Chapter 10: Raccoon Slave

The Xingbang and Huangbang were released one after another, and the capital was filled with joy. People's attention gradually shifted, but there were still some rumors in private.

There's no way around it. Everyone is used to hearing about brothers being friendly and respectful to each other, so naturally, palace secrets are more attractive, especially when the parties involved are both members of the royal family. One is a princess favored by three generations of emperors, and the other is the future emperor of the Ming Dynasty and the current crown prince. Such exciting gossip spreads quickly and widely.

Zhu Yuhuan naturally knew that this rumor would have both positive and negative consequences. Unlike his previous robbery, which had mostly garnered sympathy, this time the Imperial Stables were clean and innocent. Only the two parties involved could have acted. As the older one, Zhu Yuhuan was more likely to be considered a suspect.

But Zhu Yuhuan didn't mind. After all, if he was always the innocent one, it would seem too suspicious.

"Sister, put it up a little higher—"

"Okay."

Zhu Yuhuan stretched the string a little longer and gave it a slight shake. The wild goose-shaped kite flew high into the sky. Zhu Youtong and Zhu Qiyu, who were watching nearby, exclaimed in unison.

The Dragon Boat Festival was coming soon. While there was still some wind and Zhu Yuhuan had nothing to do, he took his younger brothers and sisters to fly kites in the Kunning Palace.

Although Zhu Yuhuan was under house arrest, his connections with people in Kunning Palace remained. Wu Miaosu even took advantage of the good weather to often bring her son to Kunning Palace for a short visit. After all, the only sisters of Zhu Qiyu's age were Zhu Youtong and Zhu Hanjia. Zhu Hanjia was not a lively and active person, so Wu Miaosu had no choice but to come to Zhu Youtong.

There were two little children there, so it was the same whether Zhu Yuhuan was in confinement or not.

As for the Crown Prince Zhu Qizhen, he was personally taught by Empress Dowager Zhang and was strictly disciplined, so Wu Miaosu could not disturb him.

Empress Dowager Zhang naturally knew the ins and outs of what happened at the horse farm that day, so she became much stricter in disciplining Zhu Qizhen and would never allow him to act recklessly, especially in such a life-threatening way.

Zhu Youtong said with some envy: "It's great to be able to fly so high..."

Although Zhu Qiyu didn't understand what Zhu Youtong envied, he still said very considerately: "Sister Goose, fly too. Big sister, use the string to put Sister Goose into the sky."

At his age, he can speak much more fluently, but his pronunciation is always unclear, so Zhu Youtong, the second sister, became "Sister Goose".

Zhu Youtong exclaimed, "What?! I'm not a kite! Xiaoyu, you clearly called me Big Sister, but why do you call me Goose Sister?"

Zhu Qiyu was even more confused now. "The goose... doesn't fly? Why? The goose wants to fly."

Hu Shanxiang and Wu Miaosu, who were sitting nearby chatting, couldn't help laughing when they heard this. Even Zhu Yuhuan was amused by the childish talk and said to them, "The word 'big' is easy to pronounce. Xiaoyu even calls Jia Jiashan sister."

Zhu Youtong sighed deeply. Seeing Zhu Qiyu's confused look, he could only helplessly repeat again: "Second sister..."

"Goose...sister..."

Zhu Yuhuan tried hard to suppress his laughter and joked to Zhu Youtong, "Teach Xiaoyu to recite Luo Binwang's "Ode to the Goose." Maybe she can recite it faster."

Zhu Youtong always believed in his sister's words. As long as Zhu Yuhuan said so, Zhu Youtong was willing to try it, such as learning painting or teaching Zhu Qiyu to recite poems.

So she immediately said with great interest: "Xiaoyu, can I teach you to recite a poem?"

Zhu Qiyu did not refute Zhu Yuhuan and Zhu Youtong, and said obediently, "Okay."

Seeing this, Zhu Yuhuan handed the kite string in his hand to the palace maid, and then returned to sit next to Hu Shanxiang and Wu Miaosu.

Seeing that she was as usual, Wu Miaosu smiled and said, "I feel relieved to see that the princess is still as energetic as before."

Zhu Yuhuan didn't take it seriously and said, "It's just a rumor that will disappear in a few days. Why worry about such a small matter? Wouldn't it be better to use this energy to do something else?"

She estimated that the grain that Shen Guangci had entrusted to the canal transport had already arrived in Yingtian. By then, there would be great scholars to debate for her, so she would not take it to heart.

"The princess is right. A gentleman is open and honest, while a villain is always worried."

As they were speaking, a palace maid outside came in to announce that the eunuch Wang, who was serving the emperor, had arrived, so Hu Shanxiang asked someone to invite him in quickly.

Wang Jin bowed and greeted the group. Hu Shanxiang asked him to stand up and then asked, "Why did Wang Dayun come here in person?"

Wang Jin smiled and said, "Your Majesty has just painted a new painting called 'A Cat Snatching Flowers'. It has just been framed and you sent your servant to bring it to the princess."

Zhu Yuhuan smiled as he stepped forward and took the scroll, saying, "There's no need for the eunuch to deliver it personally. We can just ask a small eunuch to run errands for us."

Seeing that she was about to open the picture on the spot, Wang Jin took the other end of the scroll and helped Zhu Yuhuan unfold it. As she did so, she said, "The other day, the Emperor noticed that Your Highness's yisa was a little short. He knew that Your Highness had grown taller, and was worried that the measurements taken by the Shangfu Bureau that spring wouldn't be enough, so he asked me to go to the Shangfu Bureau and give them some advice."

Zhu Yuhuan thought to himself that Liu Siyi had already measured it for me, and by the time you remembered it, the daylily was already cold.

Zhu Yuhuan thought this in his heart, but still smiled and said, "Daddy is really attentive. I didn't even notice it."

Wang Jin said cheerfully, "Have them prepare a few more sets when the time comes. His Majesty has promised to reward His Highness with one set each of the Flying Fish Suit, the Qilin Suit, and the Bullfighting Suit."

The scroll was unrolled, but Hu Shanxiang had no interest in appreciating it. She frowned and said, "How can there be any rules for awarding clothes to the princess? Your Majesty isn't afraid of people outside finding out."

The princess has her own dress, and these awards are given as rewards to foreign officials. How could this be done?

"The Emperor said that His Highness loves to wear these, and looks very majestic. When we go to the palace to shoot willows later, His Highness must change into new clothes."

Zhu Yuhuan knew that this was nothing more than Zhu Zhanji's consolation, and said with a smile: "That's perfect, I'll just wait for the clothes to be delivered."

She tilted her head slightly to look at the painting in her hand. It depicted five raccoons: two tabby cats, two tortoiseshell cats, and a white cat. These five cats, each in their own unique form, were nestled among the rocks, all appearing content and close to one another. One tabby cat leaped the highest, seemingly reaching for wildflowers growing on the rocks, drawing particular attention. The tabby cat beside it stared eagerly. One of the other two tortoiseshell cats rolled on its belly, while the other patted it with its paw. As for the smallest, the white cat, it tilted its head to look at the others.

Wu Miaosu was the first to understand the meaning of the painting and couldn't help but burst out laughing. Seeing that everyone else was looking at her, she tried hard to suppress her laughter and said, "I just remembered something funny..."

When Zhu Zhanji painted the picture of mice, Wu Miaosu was next to him. Now when she saw the picture of the cat, she was of course the first to understand.

Zhu Yuhuan knew from Wu Miaosu's smile that the painting was most likely of their five brothers and sisters, and the one jumping the highest was naturally her.

Zhu Qiyu, confused, walked to the side of the scroll and pointed at the little white cat on it, saying, "I...I..." Zhu Yuhuan didn't expect the little guy to claim it on his own. He never thought that Zhu Qiyu would say the next sentence, "I like this one."

Now not only Wu Miaosu laughed, but also Hu Shanxiang, her mother and daughter, and even the palace maids couldn't help laughing.