SWDnovel Chapter 7: Zhu Yuanzhang's preparations to deal with Lan Yu?
Chapter 7: Zhu Yuanzhang's preparations to deal with Lan Yu?
About half a month later, Zhu Yuanzhang's condition improved, and Zhu Gaoxi was allowed to go in and keep him company.
In order to see his grandfather, Zhu Gaoxi called out, and Zhu Yunwen took his hand.
I've never been so humiliated in my life!
It's all Xu Miaojin's fault!
If it weren't for her stirring things up...
Regardless, I was still very happy to see my grandfather.
Zhu Gaoxi nestled in Zhu Yuanzhang's arms, obedient and quieter than a kitten.
"Xi'er, do you miss your grandfather?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked, gently patting his grandson's back.
"Yes," Zhu Gaoxi answered loudly.
Zhu Yuanzhang was so moved that tears streamed down his face.
Zhu Gaoxi was given another chance to live.
Just as the grandfather and grandson were enjoying their intimate moment, Jiang Huan, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, entered.
"How is it?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked softly.
"The net has already been cast," Jiang Huan replied in a low voice.
"Keep an eye on it," Zhu Yuanzhang sighed.
Jiang Huan acknowledged and withdrew.
Zhu Gaoxi had a premonition that something big was about to happen.
Could it be the Lan Yu case?
He couldn't quite remember the exact dates of some historical events, and he wasn't sure what would happen next.
He always felt that Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yunwen were mysterious, as if they were intentionally hiding something.
Perhaps due to the cold winter, Zhu Yuanzhang's condition fluctuated, and he remained bedridden for a long time.
The Spring Festival is here in the blink of an eye.
Zhu Yuanzhang gave Xu Miaojin a holiday so she could go home for the New Year.
She said she wanted to stay in the palace with the emperor.
Zhu Yuanzhang was deeply moved by their words and, with a stroke of his pen, rewarded them with one hundred taels of silver.
Xu Miaojin took out two taels of silver to buy a gift for Zhu Gaoxi.
A whole bunch of things were laid out, including clay dolls, dough figurines, wooden guns, books, pens, green frogs, wooden knives, and so on, and he could choose whatever he wanted.
Zhu Gaoxi rushed straight for the books.
He didn't know much about the history of the Ming Dynasty before he traveled through time, so he wanted to brush up on it.
Xu Miaojin was greatly surprised, "Can you understand it?"
Zhu Gaoxi pronounced a single word clearly: "book".
The stingy Xu Miaojin didn't spend a penny and just randomly picked out a copy of the Three Character Classic to fool him.
Poor thing, he had so much to say, but when it came to his lips, he could only utter a single word: "No...don't."
Xu Miaojin remained unmoved and even told everyone about it as a joke.
Zhu Gaoxi cursed inwardly, "A girl who has no brains is vulgar no matter how beautiful she is."
Upon hearing of this, Zhu Yuanzhang instructed Zhu Yunwen to take Zhu Gaoxi to the Great Hall, where he could choose any book he wanted.
However, it contains the history of the previous dynasty; the daily records are not placed here, and the Veritable Records of Emperor Taizu have not yet been compiled.
Official gazettes, memorials, and other documents from the current dynasty are stored in a special archive.
Under Zhu Yunwen's introduction and guidance, Zhu Gaoxi took a copy of "Ancestral Instructions".
This is a set of instructions that Zhu Yuanzhang wrote for his descendants.
Zhu Yunwen also brought him a copy of "The Art of War" and emphasized that "this is the military book that my grandfather loves to read the most."
"Little brother, do you recognize all these words in the book?"
This matter was difficult to explain clearly, and Zhu Gaoxi ignored his question.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Zhu Yuanzhang was in good spirits and wanted to give everyone a piece of calligraphy.
Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Yuntong were worried that their grandfather would get tired, so they each asked for a "Fu" character.
Xu Miaojin, that sycophant, begged for the poem "Ode to Snow Bamboo" written by Zhu Yuanzhang.
Snow weighs down the branches, yet they do not touch the mud. When the red sun rises one day, they will once again reach the sky.
Seeing that Zhu Gaoxi was holding a plum blossom, Zhu Yuanzhang wrote Wang Anshi's poem "Plum Blossom" and gave it to him.
A few plum blossoms in the corner of the wall, blooming alone in the cold; I know from afar it is not snow, for there is a faint fragrance.
Grandfather clearly had high hopes for him.
Zhu Gaoxi got so excited that he ate two bowls of wontons.
Jiang Huan, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, sent secret reports almost every day.
In recent days, Zhu Yuanzhang even sent Zhu Yunwen away.
Jiang Huan only wrote words without speaking, and Zhu Yuanzhang threw the paper into the charcoal brazier after reading it.
Given the extreme caution and meticulousness, Zhu Gaoxi guessed that the target was Lan Yu.
On the second day of the second lunar month, the dragon raises its head, and a light rain falls from the sky, accompanied by a warm breeze, creating a poetic scene.
Zhu Gaoxi staggered into the courtyard, tilting his head back to greet the gentle rain.
A gust of wind blew by, and a withered leaf fell from the bright yellow glazed tile. Zhu Gaoxi picked up the leaf, carefully felt its veins, and seemed to be deep in thought.
The rain is coming and the wind is all over the building.
Zhu Yuanzhang issued an edict, "ordering the Prince of Jin to lead the cavalry and infantry troops of Henan and Shanxi under the command of Duke Feng Sheng of Song to cross the border... Sheng, along with Duke Fu Youde of Ying, Duke Chang Sheng of Kaiguo, Marquis Wang Bi of Dingyuan, Marquis Sun Ke of Quanning, and others, shall return to the capital by express courier, and all other generals and officers shall be under the command of the Prince of Jin."
At the same time, Zhu Yuanzhang issued an edict ordering "Marquis Geng Bingwen of Changxing to return to the capital".
The eunuch Tian Qing followed behind Zhu Gaoxi, holding an umbrella.
Tian Qing was the self-purifying slave that Lan Yu gave to Zhu Yunwen.
Zhu Gaoxi had seen him practice boxing with Zhu Yunwen; he was agile and his skills were not weak.
Xu Huizu was summoned to the palace and brought Xu Miaojin her favorite toon meatballs.
Zhu Gaoxi only managed to grab two, and not satisfied, he shouted, "More!"
Xu Miaojin asked Xu Huizu when he would enter the palace again.
Seeing that the little ones were craving the food, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Xu Huizu to take them out of the palace so they could enjoy a delicious meal.
Zhu Gaoxi's heart leaped with joy as he left the palace for the first time in his life.
But Xu Huizu had no intention of taking them for a stroll through the streets; he simply got into a carriage and headed back home.
As soon as he entered the Duke of Wei's mansion, a tall, thin young man walked towards him and addressed Xu Huizu as "elder brother".
Xu Miaojin sweetly called out "Third Brother".
Based on the sweetness in his voice, Zhu Gaoxi judged that this person was Xu Zengshou.
Xu Miaojin keeps nagging about it, and my ears are practically calloused from it.
Zhu Gaoxi was suddenly lifted up by a strong, powerful arm.
"Young Prince, I am your third uncle," Xu Zengshou introduced himself with a smile.
The son of a vassal king is a prince of the second rank, so there's nothing wrong with him calling him that.
I don't want to walk by myself anyway, so feel free to carry me if you want.
Zhu Gaoxi remembered that during the Jingnan Campaign, Xu Zengshou sided with his adoptive father.
"The Marquis of Wuding has arrived and is waiting for you at Youran Pavilion," Xu Zengshou whispered to Xu Huizu.
Xu Huizu nodded, "You can come along too."
Marquis Guo Ying of Wuding was the second elder brother of Consort Guo Ning.
Why is Marquis Wuding here at such a delicate moment? Has Zhu Gaoxi become even more interested?
Xu Zengshou wanted to hand Zhu Gaoxi over to Xu Miaojin, but Zhu Gaoxi clung tightly to his neck and refused to get down no matter what.
"Forget it, let's take him with us," Xu Huizu urged.
He was tall and strong, with gray hair and beard, and bright, piercing eyes.
Guo Ying's image is not much different from Zhu Gaoxi's imagination.
Upon seeing Zhu Gaoxi, Guo Ying quickly bowed and greeted him as "Young Prince."
"No need for formalities," Zhu Gaoxi replied in a childish voice.
The three were instantly taken aback. Was this child so precocious?
Their conversation revolved around Prince Zhu Gui of Dai.
Zhu Gui's principal wife was Xu Huizu's second younger sister.
Zhu Guixin took a concubine and doted on her so much that he neglected his wife. Xu was beaten whenever she expressed any dissatisfaction.
Miss Xu had never suffered such a great injustice. In a fit of anger, she secretly wrote a memorial to the emperor requesting a divorce.
Fortunately, Ji Shan of the Prince of Dai's Mansion had received a great favor from the Xu family and secretly intercepted the memorial, sending it to the capital by fast horse.
Xu Huizu was worried that his second sister would anger the emperor by submitting another memorial, so he specially consulted with Guo Ying.
Guo Ying's second son, Guo Ming, was married to Xu Huizu's cousin.
Therefore, the two families can be considered related.
The key to this matter lies in how to manage the inner quarters of the Prince Dai's residence.
All three were military officers, and they were all helpless in the internal strife.
After discussing it for a long time, they still couldn't come up with a good solution.
Zhu Gaoxi believed that the best way was to find someone to give Zhu Gui a good beating without anyone noticing.
But this is not something he needs to worry about.