Chapter 27 Will
She beat the two children's shoulders, feeling distressed and angry. "I raised you, but you only remember his kindness in giving birth to you, but how could you forget my love for raising you? Your great uncle is still lying in bed, and he forced me to ask if your great uncle is dead and whether I don't want to be buried with him..."

Zhu Zihou and Zhu Ziqi became even sadder after hearing this, with tears and snot streaming down their faces. They turned around and kowtowed to Zhu Youjue, begging him to stop making trouble.

Zhu Youjue really thinks that these two children are not as good as giving birth to a piece of barbecued pork. You can eat a piece of barbecued pork, but what’s the point of giving birth to these two things?
Just as they were arguing, the butler came running in, his eyes sparkling, and shouted loudly: "Princess, Princess, the chief secretary is back, the chief secretary is back——"

Everyone fell silent.

Princess Zhou raised her tearful face and asked anxiously, "Did the Chief Secretary come back alone?"

The housekeeper panted and said hurriedly: "No, there are also officials from the Ministry of Rites and eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department."

Princess Zhou couldn't help but hold her chest and said, "May you be blessed with infinite happiness——"

Is this going to work?

She hurriedly said to Zhu Zijin: "Hurry, go pick them up."

Zhu Zijin agreed and ran out quickly.

Princess Zhou wiped the tears from her face, pulled Zhu Zihou and Zhu Zizhen up with one hand each and said, "Go and help your brothers."

Zhu Zihou and Zhu Ziqi wiped their faces and hurriedly chased after him.

Zhu Zijin was confined in the countryside for many years and lacked a lot of education. He was afraid that he could not deal with the officials of the Ministry of Rites and the eunuchs of the Imperial Household Department.

Zhu Youjue's chest heaved. He suppressed the myriad thoughts in his mind, looked deeply at Princess Zhou, and then left.

Princess Zhou was standing guard in front of the main door. She nervously held Nanny Qin's hand, waiting for news from the front yard.

Xuanmiao looked around the palace and said, "King Zhou's time is coming."

Tao Ji and Pan Yun didn't say anything. Although they were prepared, they still felt a little sad.

This King of Zhou was a rare good and generous man.

Most of Pan Yun’s current assets come from him.

Soon a servant came to report, "Princess, the eldest son received the imperial edict in the front yard. His Majesty has appointed him as the Crown Prince. The chief secretary quietly told me that the name on the imperial edict has also been changed. The eldest son is now under the name of the prince and princess."

Princess Zhou breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but recite the Taoist name again.

Soon, a servant was sent to report: "The angels who announced the decree are coming to pay respect to the prince."

When the princess heard this, she quickly looked at Tao Ji.

Tao Ji took out the needle bag he carried with him and said it was no problem.

The officials from the Ministry of Rites and the eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department not only came to announce the imperial decree, but also visited King Zhou on behalf of the court and the emperor. They had to report in detail after returning.

Zhu Youluo followed them and finally entered the main room and met Zhu Youdun.

Zhu Youdun was lying there, and apart from his slightly pale face, he looked no different from the last time he saw him.

But in the eyes of the officials of the Ministry of Rites and the eunuchs of the Imperial Household, the King of Zhou was too thin and pale, and looked like he would not live long.

The two men were sure that the Chief Secretary had not lied and that the King of Zhou was indeed seriously ill and difficult to treat. They sighed in their hearts and felt relieved. What they hated and feared most was the vassal kings causing trouble and telling lies.

The officials and eunuchs immediately changed their expressions, looked at King Zhou with a sad face, and asked if they could talk to King Zhou and convey the emperor's will in person.

King Zhou chose to sleep and wait for this day, so the Princess did not hesitate and asked Tao Ji to come forward and give King Zhou acupuncture.

Tao Ji first felt King Zhou's pulse, then had people prepare medicine and various foods that the king liked, and then began to give him acupuncture.

After this injection, King Zhou would be awake for the last time. If he fell asleep again, he would sleep forever.

The princess also knew this, so she had someone notify everyone in the palace, including the ladies and stewards who might be called, to wait outside.

After Tao Ji gave the last injection and a slight twist, King Zhou's eyelids trembled and he slowly opened his eyes.

The eunuchs of the Imperial Household Department looked at Tao Ji in surprise. They had not expected that there was such a capable doctor among the people who could actually avoid death by falling asleep.

Prince Zhou opened his eyes for a long time before coming back to his senses. The princess looked at him with concern and whispered to him, "Your Majesty, His Majesty has sent someone to check on you."

King Zhou was cheered up. Has the court reached a conclusion?

He opened his mouth and wanted to speak, but only a small sound came out.

Tao Ji slowly pulled out the needles from his body one by one and said, "Give the prince some water."

After saying that, he stepped aside.

Zhu Zijin immediately brought up a bowl of water, gently lifted King Zhou up, and fed him two sips of water.

The officials from the Ministry of Rites nodded secretly when they saw how carefully he was feeding the food. They roughly knew what to write when they would confer the title of King of Zhou on him.

After the King of Zhou drank the water, everyone could hear what he said: "Your Majesty, are you well?"

The eunuch of the Imperial Household Department quickly replied, "Your Majesty, please take care of yourself. Before coming here, His Majesty was still saying that if he is free in the future, he would like to invite you to the capital for a gathering."

King Zhou just listened, and since he woke up, that meant he was able to live to this day.

It was the last day, and King Zhou did not want to waste time. Every moment was precious to him. If he said one more word of nonsense, he would live one less word of nonsense, so he asked directly: "Your Majesty, have you agreed to my request?"

Facing a dying person, everyone would be soft-hearted, so the officials from the Ministry of Rites and the eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department did not bother and directly showed the imperial edict to King Zhou.

King Zhou was both happy and regretful. "Your Majesty has been so gracious that I can be reunited with my father before my death, and my lineage as King Zhou can continue."

King Zhou asked Zhu Zijin to kowtow towards the north to thank the emperor.

Zhu Zijin obeyed, and nodded his head three times towards the north.

King Zhou then asked, "Is this the only imperial decree? I would like to ask the emperor to exempt the people from being buried alive with the dead in the palace..."

The official and the eunuch looked at each other. Although the emperor had agreed to draft an edict before departure, this matter could not be finalized unless it was written down and sealed with the imperial seal. Neither of them could make a promise to King Zhou. They only said that the emperor missed King Zhou and wanted to follow his will.

When King Zhou heard this, he understood that the emperor had agreed, but some people in the court did not agree, so the imperial edict could not be written.

King Zhou gritted his teeth, guessing that someone in the royal family disagreed.

He had no complaints, but just smiled bitterly, but his eyes involuntarily searched the house for Pan Jun's figure.

Pan Jun stood behind the curtain, watching all this silently.

She was young and her clothes were the common blue-gray color, so she did not attract attention. Most people would not notice her standing there. If they did, they would just think she was a maid holding a cat in the palace.

Seeing King Zhou's eyes moving among the crowd, she quietly moved half of her body out of the curtain so that King Zhou could see her.

She nodded to him slightly, indicating that he should not be anxious and that there was still room for maneuver.

The King of Zhou put the matter aside for the time being and began to worry about his funeral arrangements.

Seeing Zhu Youjue, he called out, "Fourth brother is here too."

Zhu Youjue lowered his brows in sadness, "Big Brother..."

King Zhou sighed and said, "Don't be sad. This day will come to pass. You and I are the best among the brothers. Please take good care of Jin after I leave."

Zhu Youluo agreed with sobs.

King Zhou looked at Zhu Zihou and Zhu Ziqi and waved to them.

The two brothers immediately followed Zhu Zijin's lead and half-knelt in front of the bed.

King Zhou felt that he was getting better and better. He even had the strength to hold the hands of the three children, put them together and patted them, saying: "After I leave, you three brothers must look out for each other. Zijin, you are older than them, so you should take care of them more in the future."

Zhu Zijin agreed.

"Your eldest brother has suffered a lot. If he makes any mistakes or is inconsiderate in the future, you should remind him and don't let this become a rift."

Zhu Zihou and Zhu Ziqi also nodded repeatedly, tears streaming down their faces.

King Zhou laughed and said, "Why are you crying? I am very satisfied to be alive today. Zihou, you love making friends and are generous and magnanimous, which is a good thing, but you are too soft-hearted. Don't trust others too easily in the future, and drink less alcohol, as alcohol is harmful to your health~"

Zhu Zihou agreed with tears in his eyes.

"Ziqi, since you love medicine, you should continue to live in the Zhou Palace and study. It is up to you to carry forward the manuscripts of the classics left by your grandfather. Your father, uncles, and I are all useless. None of us can inherit your grandfather's legacy."

King Zhou looked at Zhu Zijin.

Zhu Zijin said that his brother lives here and everything remains the same. He will find a way to get whatever he needs for his studies.

King Zhou was very satisfied, and took the hands of the three men and said, "Good, good, I hope that you three brothers can always be friendly and respectful to each other, and don't learn from us old men."

King Zhou felt very disappointed when he said this.

After explaining all this, he looked at the princess.

The princess wiped the tears from her eyes, walked forward and sat beside the bed, holding the hand he extended.

The two didn't speak for a long time, just looking at each other quietly.

After a while, King Zhou sighed and said, "Princess, I am sorry for you. I have wronged you in my life."

Gong cried and shook her head, "The prince treats me very well, I don't regret it."

King Zhou couldn't help but hold her hand tightly, "From now on, the palace will be handed over to you, Shi family and others..."

Gong held his hands tightly and responded, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. No matter what the result is, I will take good care of them."

If they could not escape being buried alive, she would give them a good send-off. If they managed to escape by chance, she would treat them well.

The couple looked at each other and sighed.

Life is too hard, and they have all seen people being buried alive with their own eyes.

Their thirteenth brother, Zhu Youxun, died of illness at the age of twenty. It was Zhu Youdun and Princess Gong who assisted in the funeral.

His brother's sister-in-law Zhang committed suicide to be buried alive with him, and her concubines and maids were directly executed to accompany her. Zhu Youdun shuddered every time he thought of it.

How can people be treated like animals and have their life and death decided at will?

Even livestock should be killed only when they are useful. This is the best way to make the best use of them and not let down the law of nature.

But what is the meaning of burial alive?
Zhu Youdun admitted that he was timid and cowardly. He only dared to ask for his own family to be exempted from burying people alive with the dead, and did not dare to propose abolishing the ancestral system.

As his bedmate, Gong naturally knew all this, so she would do her best to address his greatest concerns. However, she could not guarantee the extent to which she could do so.

The Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Household Department witnessed Zhu Youdun's instructions for his funeral. All of these will have to be reported and may also be recorded in the clan affairs office's book.

King Zhou was getting more and more energetic. Not only did he get up and eat his favorite food, he also walked around the yard and basked in the sun for a while.

At this time, the King of Zhou called Pan Yun to speak, "I have entrusted the matter of abolishing the practice of burying people alive with the dead to you, you must keep your word."

"Don't worry, if I don't work hard, you can come back to me."

King Zhou couldn't help laughing, "How can I come back after I'm dead?"

"The dead have souls. As long as you want to come back, you will definitely be able to come back."

King Zhou: "Okay, then I'll keep an eye on you."

　The ten lucky numbers for this chapter are numbers ending in 6. The screenshots are for proof. The screenshot time will end when the next chapter is updated. Add "The Ming Dynasty who takes an unconventional approach" to post the screenshots and receive the prize.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)