Chapter 183: Cabinet 2

"Cabinet…" Zhu Biao muttered repeatedly.

"It means, inside the palace, set up a duty office, find a few well‑versed ministers who can handle affairs, let them work there, so it's called the Cabinet," Zhu Yong said.

Zhu Biao nodded, committing the term firmly to memory.

He said nothing at once, but slowly walked back to the desk and sat down.

He remained silent for a long time.

Zhu Yong didn't press him, just kept him company.

After a while, Zhu Biao spoke.

"Second brother."

"Hmm."

"The Cabinet you mentioned... isn't just to share the Crown Prince's state affairs," Zhu Biao said slowly.

Zhu Yong gave no reply.

"This is a reform, aiming to fundamentally move the authority of the Central Secretariat," Zhu Biao whispered.

Zhu Yong felt a tightening in his heart.

He knew his elder brother was clever; indeed nothing could be hidden from him.

"Now the Central Secretariat, the Left and Right Prime Ministers, the Chief of the Secretariat, the Assistant Ministers of State... wield too much power. Since Imperial Father ascended the throne, he's wanted to curb the Secretariat's authority, but he dares not cut too harshly, fearing instability in the court," Zhu Biao said.

Zhu Biao said.

"Your Cabinet…"

He paused, and a familiar light flashed in his eyes.

That was not the gentle warmth of the benevolent Crown Prince, but the sharpness of Zhu Yuanzhang's eldest son.

"Select people from the Six Ministries and the Censorate, place them in the palace to work; nominally it's to share the Crown Prince's workload, but in reality it's... to sideline the Central Secretariat."

"Memoranda bypass the Central Secretariat, go straight to the Cabinet; the Cabinet drafts opinions, the Crown Prince and Imperial Father make the final decision, the Central Secretariat becomes an empty framework, the Prime Ministers become mere ornaments."

"And the Cabinet ministers are not hereditary, not fixed appointments, not of a set rank; the Crown Prince can use whomever he wishes, however many, for however long."

Zhu Biao looked at Zhu Yong, his gaze blazing.

"Second brother, you... helped big brother turn what Imperial Father wanted to do but dared not into reality."

Zhu Yong said innocently, "I just want to keep big brother from being so exhausted."

Zhu Biao smiled.

In that smile were satisfaction, gratitude, and a hint of complexity that Zhu Yong couldn't grasp.

"Second brother, do you know that those few words of yours could save big brother ten years of effort."

Zhu Yong scratched his head, "Ten years? I was just daydreaming."

"Daydreaming... your daydreaming surpasses what those ministers in the court have thought of in a lifetime," Zhu Biao shook his head.

He fell silent again for a moment, then suddenly said, "This matter can't be rushed."

Zhu Yong nodded, "Hmm, I understand."

"The Central Secretariat remains, the Left and Right Prime Ministers remain; acting rashly would shake the court, so it must be done slowly," Zhu Biao said.

"First, test on a small scale: find a few trustworthy Hanlin officials, let them rotate in the duty office beside Wenhua Hall, to help me review memoranda."

"We agreed they're just to review, not to divide the Secretariat's authority; once everyone gets used to it, we can expand gradually, and when the time is right, formally establish the Cabinet."

Zhu Yong listened as his elder brother calculated step by step, feeling a sudden sourness in his heart.

His elder brother, only in his twenties this year, in his previous life was still at the Great Learning making girlfriends, a clear‑hearted youth.

Yet his elder brother must, in this deep palace, contend with a group of old foxes, advancing step by step as if treading thin ice.

"Elder brother," Zhu Yong said.

"Hmm?"

"I'll help you."

Zhu Biao looked up at him.

"I can't draft memoranda, nor can I scheme against those ministers, but anyone who dares bully big brother, I'll beat them up," Zhu Yong said seriously.

Zhu Biao was startled for a moment, then smiled.

"Good... with my second brother saying that, big brother fears nothing."

In the evening, Zhu Yong came out of Wenhua Hall.

He didn't return to Wu Wang Fu, but went to Kunning Palace.

Empress Ma was watching Guanyin Nu embroider.

Zhu Huanhuan lay beside her, her small hand also holding a needle, poking a piece of cloth crookedly.

"Mother," Zhu Yong entered.

Empress Ma looked up, seeing his expression a bit gloomy, and asked, "What's wrong, your elder brother isn't resting properly again?"

"He rested, just a quarter hour today," Zhu Yong said.

Empress Ma sighed, "A quarter hour..."

"Mother, I just discussed something with big brother," Zhu Yong sat beside his mother.

"What matter?"

Zhu Yong briefly explained the Cabinet matter.

He omitted the deep implications of reform and power‑stripping, only saying he wanted big brother less exhausted, to let him rest more.

Empress Ma, after listening, set down the embroidery thread and quietly watched him.

"Yong Er," she whispered.

"Hmm."

"Is this what you imagined yourself?"

Zhu Yong nodded.

Empress Ma looked at him for a long while, then reached out and patted his head.

"My son has grown," she said softly.

Zhu Yong said nothing.

Empress Ma did not ask further.

The dusk outside the window deepened gradually.

Guanyin Nu set down the needle and thread, got up, and went to tend the lamp.

Zhu Huanhuan lay on the table, his sleepy little head drooping bit by bit.

"Mother," Zhu Yong said suddenly.

"Hmm."

"I used to dream, dreaming of some things, vague and hazy, and I'd forget them upon waking. But sometimes, when something happens, those dreams surface on their own," he said softly.

Empress Ma's hand rested on his back.

"I don't know what that is—perhaps a deity's message, or… something else."

He paused, then continued: "But I know I am your son, I am my older brother's younger brother, I just want to share my brother's burden so it won't crush him."

Empress Ma was silent for a long time.

Then she said softly, "Yong Er, you only need to remember that you are my son, you are Xiong Ying's younger brother, you are your father's Prince of Wu. Everything else is unimportant."

"Everything else is unimportant."

Zhu Yong nodded, "I've remembered."

The lights of Kunning Palace lit up.

Empress Ma lifted Zhu Huanhuan onto the couch and covered him with a thin blanket.

Guanyin Nu refilled the tea and brought Zhu Yong a plate of pastries.

Zhu Yong didn't eat, just sat there.

He recalled the fragments from his previous life.

At that time, he didn't exist.

His older brother held on alone for more than twenty years.

He endured the Northern Expedition, the reforms, and the capital relocation.

He bore Zhu Xiongying's untimely death, Chang Shi's passing, and Imperial Father's increasingly irascible temper.

By bearing all that, he eventually broke himself.

This life is different.

The Northern Yuan, the Nüzhen, Goryeo, Wa Country, and the Western Regions are all gone.

His older brother no longer has to worry about border troubles.

Zhu Xiongying is lively and bouncing, Chang Shi is healthy, and Imperial Father has a few more smiles.

Yet his older brother is still tired.

Because the state affairs are more numerous, more complicated, and more tangled than in his previous life.

The realm he conquered must be managed by his older brother.

The enemy states he destroyed must be wrapped up by his older brother.

The surrendered generals and peoples he subjugated must be settled by his older brother.

Zhu Yong suddenly felt some guilt.

"Mother," he said.

"Hmm."

"Am I… causing too much trouble for my older brother?"

Empress Ma looked at him and said softly, "Why do you say that?"

"I seize territories, my older brother governs them; the more I take, the more he tires. I thought that once the enemies were all eliminated, my brother could rest."

"But…" Zhu Yong said slowly.

He sometimes also feels lost…

He didn't continue.

Empress Ma gently grasped his hand.

"Yong Er, do you know what your older brother fears most?"

Zhu Yong shook his head.

"What he fears most isn't you causing trouble for him; what he fears most is that you're too sensible, telling him nothing, bearing everything alone," Empress Ma said softly.

Zhu Yong was stunned.

"You are his younger brother, the twin brother he searched for fourteen years to find; you share the state affairs with him, you're happy, but if you feel guilty about this, you'll only make him more sorrowful," Empress Ma said, looking at him.

Zhu Yong was silent.

"You two brothers, one bears too much, the other pushes too hard; I only wish you both to be fine, safe, healthy, not like this time…" Empress Ma sighed.

She didn't finish, her voice a little hoarse.

Zhu Yong grasped his mother's hand.

"Mother, I understand. In the court, my older brother is my backing, but… I am also my brother's backing," he said softly.

Empress Ma nodded.

Outside Kunning Palace, the night was heavy.

Zhu Yong stood up and said he would go to Wenhua Hall to see if his older brother was asleep.

Empress Ma did not stop him.

She only stood at the doorway, watching her son's silhouette disappear at the end of the palace corridor.

Guanyin Nu walked to her side and whispered, "Imperial Mother, Wang Gui…".

"It's fine, Yong Er understands better than anyone; it's just that sometimes she thinks too much," Empress Ma said softly.

Guanyin Nu nodded.

She recalled the wedding night, when that goofy husband said, "I'll treat you well."

She remembered him holding their daughter, clumsily coaxing her to sleep.

She recalled him on the battlefield, smashing an enemy general's helmet with a hammer, then turning back to ask Wang Gui, "Did I strike too hard?"

This man seemed simple‑minded, but his heart was softer than anyone's.

He just didn't say it.