Chapter 15: Angrily Confronting Hu Weiyong in the Street

Only then did Hu Weiyong remember the three hundred Brocade Guard surrounding him.

However, as the Left Chancellor of the Great Ming, although he was a bit panicked inside, he did not show it on his face at all. Instead, he asked indifferently: "May I ask if the Imperial Grandson has the Ministry of Rites documents? Does he have the Feudatory Prince Golden Treasure and Golden Register? Does he have the Enfeoffment Ceremony?"

Whether it is a Feudatory Prince or a Prince, the enfeoffment always has a ritual. Generally, the Emperor selects someone and then transmits an edict to the officials of the Ministry of Rites, for example: "So-and-so has excellent moral character and is specially enfeoffed as the XX Prince. Let your ministry investigate an auspicious date and report it." This is firstly to make it public, and secondly to choose a date for the formal enfeoffment.

Afterwards, on the day set for the enfeoffment, the person being enfeoffed arrives at the location to accept the enfeoffment. Generally, one principal and one deputy envoy are sent to give the prince the symbolic objects (such as the register and treasure), after which the recipient must express gratitude.

Therefore, Zhu Gaoxu currently has nothing at all. He was only enfeoffed by Zhu Yuanzhang today, which simply does not conform to ritual and law.

However, the Emperor has spoken, and this matter counts as the Emperor's family business; it is merely an early enfeoffment for an Imperial Grandson. Basically, no one would make an issue of this, and on the contrary, everyone is willing to give the Emperor face.

That is to say, Zhu Gaoxu's status as the Nanyang Commandery Prince is already set in stone; from the moment Zhu Yuanzhang issued the decree, he was already a Prince.

Hu Weiyong's action here is deliberately picking a fight.

If it were an ordinary four-year-old child, he might truly have been cornered by the other party, and it might even have resulted in a total loss of face, disgracing the Imperial family.

But Zhu Gaoxu is different; how could he let the other party easily manipulate him?

"I have long heard that Chancellor Hu wields immense power in the imperial court. Seeing it today, it is indeed so, to the point that even members of the Imperial family must be managed by you?"

Never mind the details, first dig a pit for the other party.

But Hu Weiyong has spent many years in the imperial court; such tactics are certainly not enough.

"The Imperial Grandson is joking. There are no small matters in the Imperial family. As a member of the Imperial family, one should set an example and follow the rules and rituals. The Imperial Grandson is still young, and as the Left Chancellor of the Central Secretariat, it is only right for me to advise you, so as to avoid becoming a laughingstock and losing the Imperial family's face."

Seeing this "old fox" Hu Weiyong easily avoid the pit he had dug, Zhu Gaoxu was not surprised in the slightest.

Instead, he continued to smile and said: "Chancellor Hu speaks well. I didn't expect Chancellor Hu to even know about Imperial family face!"

"This Prince was enfeoffed by the golden words of the Imperial Grandfather. Could it be that the Imperial Grandfather's words are not as good as those Ministry of Rites documents? Not as good as those Feudatory Prince Golden Treasure and Golden Register? Not as good as that Enfeoffment Ceremony?"

"You keep talking about Imperial family face, yet you are here bullying me for being young. By performing this act of a powerful official bullying his master on the streets of Kyoto in front of so many commoners, have you ever considered the Imperial family's face?"

"Your carriage met with this Prince here, yet you refuse to yield in the slightest, and even now you are blocking the road. Could it be that you want this Prince to yield to you? Is this the Imperial family face you speak of?"

"As a Chancellor of our Great Ming, you first ignore the Emperor's decree, second use your power to oppress a young master, and third ignore the hierarchy of superior and inferior. Is this the 'following of rules and rituals' you speak of?"

"What virtue or ability does an old scoundrel like you have to sit in that Chancellor's position? What virtue or ability do you have to be the head of all officials? What virtue or ability do you have to be a model for the scholars of the world?"

As Zhu Gaoxu spoke, he stood up on the carriage. Although he was young, he pointed at Hu Weiyong's nose and cursed.

Hu Weiyong was flushed red from Zhu Gaoxu's scolding and reached out to point at Zhu Gaoxu, but halfway through, he thought of something and hurriedly put his hand down.

His chest heaved violently several times, and finally, Hu Weiyong managed to calm the anger in his chest, though his face grew increasingly dark.

Standing on the carriage, Zhu Gaoxu sneered at this. Not giving Hu Weiyong a chance to reply, he immediately snorted coldly: "Get out of the way and clear the road for this Prince!"

After saying this, Mao Xiang stepped forward and blocked Hu Weiyong, clearly not giving him another chance to speak.

Hu Weiyong clearly had not expected that the four-year-old Zhu Gaoxu's words would be so sharp. The key was that after such a scolding, the other party wouldn't even let him explain. If this label were firmly attached to him, how could he have a good life?

He wanted to step forward to say something, but after looking at Mao Xiang in front of him, Hu Weiyong ultimately did not speak again. While harboring resentment toward Zhu Gaoxu, he could not help but feel some trepidation.

In the end, Hu Weiyong did not make any moves; he cupped his hands in a salute and walked toward the rear.

Hu Weiyong is narrow-minded; he has certainly noted this grudge today.

However, Zhu Gaoxu was not panicked in the slightest. Since he dared to offend Hu Weiyong, he was not afraid of his retaliation.

What's more, counting the days, the other party is not far from death.

"When is Lao Zhu going to make a move?"

Watching Hu Weiyong's departing back, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but ponder in his heart.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who was being thought of by Zhu Gaoxu, had just parted ways with the Crown Prince Zhu Biao and was sitting alone in the Imperial Garden.

Jiang Huan, who had just been promoted to Commander of the Brocade Guard, arrived silently behind Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Your Majesty, the Nanyang Commandery Prince just had a conflict with Chancellor Hu in the city."

Jiang Huan knew that his master was very interested in this Imperial Grandson Zhu Gaoxu, so he took the initiative to mention what had just happened.

Just as he expected, Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows after hearing this and said: "It hasn't been long since I last saw him, and that little monkey is already at odds with Hu Weiyong?"