Good news from the Grand Prince's Mansion

Chapter 45: Good News from the Grand Prince's Mansion

The news of the eldest prince's wife's pregnancy reached the emperor's ears immediately. This was his first grandchild. For some reason, his three adult sons had married one after another in the past two years. He thought he would soon have several cute and clever grandchildren, but he didn't expect that two years had passed before he had just one child, and that the child would have to stay in his mother's womb for more than eight months before being born.

There were many women in the backyards of the remaining two sons' homes, and not even a single egg had hatched. The emperor actually wanted Wang Zhengyuan to take his sons' pulses, cure any illnesses, or strengthen their bodies.

When the Second Prince received the news that the First Prince's wife was pregnant, he was still in his study, grinding ink and painting. The next second, his hand trembled, ruining the nearly completed landscape painting. "You, the First Prince, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, did you deliberately ask your father to let you confine yourself to self-reflection, with no outsiders allowed in and no things brought in, so that you could give birth peacefully? I really underestimated you!"

Originally, the three brothers had no children, so they weren't in a hurry. Now that a child has suddenly emerged, the rest seem a bit inferior. The second prince threw the wolf-hair brush into the brush wash and stormed off to the main courtyard. He would be staying there for the whole month!

The Second Prince's wife was originally anxious, having received a private message from her family urging her to get pregnant quickly, even though the First Prince's wife was already pregnant. As for the Second Prince, whose room he wanted to sleep in, was that something she could decide? The nanny watched her master pace around the room again and again, unable to help. The Second Prince's temper was such that no one could persuade him unless he made his own decision.

It was just the beginning of the afternoon when the servants in the main courtyard saw the Second Prince rushing into the courtyard in a hurry. They were so frightened that they saluted and greeted him cautiously.

With a clang, she pushed open the door to the inner room and said to the maids and servants standing aside, "Get out!"

"Yes, I'll take my leave." The head maid and the nanny were startled and quickly bowed and took their leave.

"Cousin, you scared me." The Second Prince's wife was interrupted by the sudden sound and complained to the culprit who made the noise.

The second prince stepped forward, picked up his wife horizontally, and carried her into the colorfully carved and treasured bed.

"Cousin, this is against the rules..."

"You don't need to follow this rule. I'll be in the main courtyard this month."

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The maid and the nanny guarding the door looked at each other, turned a deaf ear and looked at their noses, thinking they were just wooden.

When the Third Prince received the news, he was discussing countermeasures with his advisors. He was stunned by the news that the First Prince's wife was pregnant. What the hell? The First Prince, a lecherous and incompetent man, already had a legitimate child? And this was just after a month of self-reflection?

"How long has the eldest prince's wife been pregnant?"

"My Lord, the news from the Imperial Hospital has been circulating for over a month."

"Tsk, I have to say, the eldest prince is not very smart, but he has always had good luck."

"Can we still send things into the Grand Prince's Palace?"

"Master, it's too difficult. All the medicinal materials have passed through the hands of Imperial Physician Miao. His Majesty has issued an oral decree that if the eldest prince's wife has an accident during this pregnancy, Imperial Physician Miao will be buried with her."

"Father is indeed concerned about the eldest prince."

After hearing this, no counselor dared to respond, and the study fell silent.

"Let's stop here for today and continue tomorrow. You can discuss it among yourselves first." After saying this, the third prince left in a hurry.

The counselors looked at each other, but there were some things they didn't dare to say. After all, if you had to think about it, this was the Third Prince's private matter, and the Third Prince's wife had the right to decide the fate of all the female members of the inner court.

The emperor later received news that the remaining two princes were also trying hard to have children, and he was relieved. Recently, the court has been much quieter. They really couldn't tell the priorities, and they would only take two steps if he, their father, whipped them from behind.

Fengjing has settled down for the time being, but the northern border is quite lively.

After the patrol, Chu Huaibei first dealt with the cotton-padded jacket issue. He then found time to carefully question the two attendants assigned to General Jin. After a month of observation, what was General Jin like?

The two followers both looked extremely conflicted, which made Chu Huaibei think that another difficult person had arrived.

"Tell me everything, so that I can be prepared."

"Your Highness, this General Jin likes to eat at Ma's Restaurant, enjoys watching the fun everywhere, and loves to stand up for others. He knows nothing about military affairs. He spent a long time studying General Huaihua's official document booklet, and most of the time he was asking us what the booklet meant..."

Chu Huaibei felt something was amiss as she listened. What was going on? The court had sent her a scumbag. Had the emperor suddenly changed his mind and abandoned the checks and balances system? Never mind. She would meet General Jin in person when she had time.

He waved his hand to let the two followers continue to follow him, and he finished the official business at hand before making other plans.

The deputy general opened the tent door and brought in food. "Your Highness, please have lunch first."

"Okay, put it down. I'll come after you finish this."

The deputy general carefully placed the lunch on the empty table, waiting for the prince to dine together.

"You don't have to wait for me in the future. Eat it while it's hot." Chu Huaibei said casually while shoveling rice into his mouth.

"It's okay, I like cold food."

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The deputy general is good in every way, except that sometimes his brain waves are not on the same frequency as hers.

After lunch, Chu Huaibei asked his personal guards to take away the tableware. He stood up and straightened his clothes.

"Come on, Qin Feng, come with me to meet General Jin."

"Okay, okay." Qin Feng immediately followed.

Chu Huaibei opened the tent door and found General Jin still buried in his meal. "General Jin, are you getting used to living in the Northern Territory? Are you used to the food in the army?"

Jin Hongye originally thought that it was his followers who came in, so he didn't look up. Now, the King of Zhenbei discovered that he was eating in such a vulgar way, which made an even worse impression on him. Oh, he had it so hard.

He quickly put down the bowl in his hand, swallowed the food in his mouth in a few gulps, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and then stood up to salute.

"Your subordinate greets the King of Zhenbei. In reply to Your Majesty, I have become accustomed to the climate of the northern border. The food in the camp is delicious, and the food in the restaurants in the northern border is also delicious..." Jin Hongye regretted the last sentence he said, and wanted to punch himself. It was obvious that he had gone out for a stroll during the grand patrol. In theory, as a general, he was not allowed to leave the camp.

Chu Huaibei looked at General Jin's handsome face with rich expressions and realized that he should be quite young. In their previous quick encounter, he only remembered that he was tall and strong, with a sturdy build, but he had overlooked his age.

"Just get used to it. Tomorrow, the generals will discuss the allocation of New Year affairs in the meeting hall. General Jin is welcome to raise any opinions. So, I won't disturb General Jin from his meal for now."

"Okay, Your Highness, ah, I didn't disturb you, it's okay..." Jin Hongye despairedly discovered that it was rare for the Prince to come to him on his own initiative, but he was actually eating! Then the Prince politely asked him to eat first, and then the Prince left!! What a good opportunity to get along with the Prince at close range was wasted in vain! Ahhhh, this disappointing stomach, how can it eat so much! While Jin Hongye was angry at himself for not being disappointing, he returned to the table and swept away the food in the bowl...

After returning to his tent, Chu Huaibei asked his deputy general to find General Jin's list. This was equivalent to his resume in the previous life. Except for the fact that he wet his pants as a child, all other information was recorded on it.

At first glance, he was indeed young, only twenty-one, a little younger than Qin Feng. He was from the Jin family of Yangzhou. I had never heard of the Jin family before, so I went back to ask my mother. This year's new top military scholar had been transferred to the northern border after serving in the Ministry of War for only two weeks. No wonder he knew nothing about military affairs.

The deputy general raised his eyebrows after reading the message. "Is the Ministry of War out of people?" After so much deliberation, they finally chose someone like this. What kind of place is the Northland? What if they scare the children to tears?

"Qin Feng, you should pay more attention to him. Now I'm not worried that he will cause trouble on purpose. I'm worried that he will cause trouble unintentionally, which is more difficult to prevent." Chu Huaibei had a headache.

"Yes, Your Highness, don't worry, I will arrange for someone to keep an eye on it."

"Um."

"Did the remaining guards make any moves during this major patrol? Especially the two people we were watching last year."

"There was no movement. One of them didn't go out, and the other didn't leave the camp. They were under the eyes of the soldiers every day." The deputy general also felt that it was too quiet.

"Okay, then keep watching, you'll always find something."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After finishing a day's military duties, everyone went home in the evening.

That evening, after dinner, Chu Huaibei went to his mother to learn about the situation of the Jin family in Yangzhou. When the Concubine first heard about the Jin family, she didn't remember them for a moment. It was only after Aunt Wen reminded her that she finally dug up some information about the Jin family in a corner, after all, it had been over a decade.

"The current head of the Yangzhou Jin family is the younger sister of the former Imperial Concubine Zhu. Her father, Zhu Gengnian, held the rank of Minister of Revenue, but Imperial Concubine Zhu died young, leaving behind a prince who was personally raised by Emperor Chongde. He was given the title of Prince Xian and his fiefdom is in Longzhou. He is the current emperor's only living brother, but there's a significant age difference between them. If I remember correctly, this Prince Xian is two years younger than you."

"That's amazing! He's still strong despite his old age." Chu Huaibei sighed.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Be serious. Why are you asking about the Jin family?"

"Oh, this General Jin Hongye, newly sent by the Emperor, is the legitimate son of the Jin family."

"Well, I didn't expect the Jin family to let their eldest son appear in the court. It's quite surprising. When Minister Zhu died in prison, I thought his descendants would not serve in the government, at least not now."

"Mother, is there any other explanation for this?" Chu Huaibei became interested.

"If the emperor killed your father or grandfather on trumped-up charges, would you still be an official?"

"Of course not!"

"That's it. This matter caused a lot of uproar back then, but now so many years have passed. Maybe the Jin family has other plans." The concubine frowned and guessed the Jin family's motives.

"It's just that my son feels that the Jin family might have hired the wrong person. This Jin Hongye, well, to put it nicely, he's innocent and honest... He doesn't look like he's pretending. I still can't figure out why the emperor sent him here." Chu Huaibei summarized the information he had obtained from observing him for a month and complained to his mother.

"This... I haven't figured it out either. Theoretically, the emperor wouldn't want to see anyone related to the Zhu family. I'll write a letter to Fengjing to inquire about the situation."

"Okay, thank you for your help, mother. I'll go back first. You should get some rest." Chu Huaibei got some useful information from his mother and went back to rest. Hey, I've been away for a month and encountered so many things. I need to spend some time with Hu Zhi.