Chapter 432 Hu Shanxiang 23
The emperor did not ask the prince to come in to talk, but found a secluded place. When Shanxiang accompanied him all the way there, he saw the chubby prince and grandson already waiting under the grape vines not far away. When they saw the emperor coming, they hurriedly kowtowed and greeted him.
The Jinyiwei kept their hands outside and did not enter. The emperor walked forward with Shanxiang. After passing in front of the two men, he smiled at Zhu Zhanji and said, "You have no sense at all. You actually disturbed my peace. Why don't you help your father up?"
Zhu Gaochi guessed that his father knew his presence had displeased him and was trying to provoke him. When his son helped him up and looked at Miss Hu beside him, he knew better. Family disgrace should not be aired in public, and his father was truly trying to silence him.
What a pity. If he had brought that Miss Sun with him, he would have really hesitated. Wasn't this Miss Hu chosen by the old man himself to be his grandson's wife? His own little boy also likes her. They both knew the truth, but they were just family members without any official status yet.
It can be seen that the old man still has concerns and he still understands his character.
Hu Shanxiang and Zhu Zhanji sat opposite each other, one supporting Zhu Di and the other supporting Zhu Gaochi. They looked at each other and stood behind the emperor and the prince respectively.
Zhu Di carefully examined his fat son, noticing the white frost on his temples. He then thought of his son's long-standing frailty, his health even worse than his father's. He also recalled that he hadn't expected the pill to actually work, nor had he left a single drop for his descendants. Finally, he softened his tone, "Big Boss, you're old."
Zhu Gaochi could naturally hear the concern in the emperor's words, but he still chuckled and said, "Dad is right. No one can stay young forever. I remember when this child was just born, Dad didn't even have a single gray hair on his head. Now... now this child is going to be married."
The prince coughed twice, originally thinking that it would be inappropriate to talk about marriage with the girl, but remembering that his father had been in good health recently and looked even younger than himself, he stuttered and still talked about the marriage.
Zhu Di looked at his grandson, took the tea offered by his chosen future granddaughter-in-law, looked at his son who was speaking fluently and freely in front of him for the first time, turned his head and smiled at Hu Shanxiang, "Look, the prince is calling on me."
Then he looked at Zhu Gaochi and asked, "Why, are you tired of being the crown prince and come here to ask this old man to abdicate to you?"
"Grandpa, my dad didn't mean that."
Zhu Zhanji suddenly panicked and forced a smile, protecting his father behind him as he did in the past and helping him to talk things over.
Zhu Di snorted and slammed the teacup on the table. He stood up and walked to his grandson: "Son, you still don't know your father well enough."
Hu Shanxiang stood in the corner, hands down, listening to the emperor's detailed account of the officials at all levels who had come from the crown prince's entourage over the years. She knew this matter had been brooding on the old man's mind for a long time. This was the emperor's suspicion. Even though he knew the prince was not someone who would rebel, he couldn't help but feel suspicious.
This time the second son was asked to be regent, of course, in order to raise military funds and supplies, letting the second son willingly be fooled, and letting the eldest son rest for a while, but there was also the emperor's intention of checks and balances.
A prince who has governed a country and is good at fighting is different after all.
The prince also knew it very well. In fact, the prince in this drama really believed in the mantra of doing one's best and leaving the rest to fate. He tried his best to keep his position as prince, one for the safety of his family and two for the people of the world. He was truly a saint without any selfish motives.
Perhaps it was because of this that the emperor disliked him so much.
Seeing that the prince actually said he wanted to rebel, Hu Shanxiang could only kneel down. Seeing Zhu Zhanji looking at his father in disbelief, she silently sighed in her heart: The prince, as a father, really has nothing to say about his son.
The emperor was hurt by his words for a moment, and in the end he turned and left without saying a word. Hu Shanxiang didn't think twice, she stood up, bowed to the prince and the others, turned around and followed him.
Zhu Di was lying on his recliner, and when he saw someone come in, he only moved his eyes slightly: "You're back, why didn't you say a few words to the Crown Prince?"
Hu Shanxiang took the thin blanket from the smoking cage and covered the old man with it. Hearing this, she smiled and said, "I was afraid you wouldn't have dinner today because you didn't have an appetite, so I came here to watch over you."
The warm quilt dispelled the chill from the soles of his feet. Zhu Di moved his somewhat stiff arms. He glanced at her after hearing this. Seeing that Shanxiang was just sitting on a cushion beside his recliner reading a book, he knocked on the back of the chair in dissatisfaction: "What are you eating? You're full of anger."
"That won't do. We agreed to take care of your body as well. How can you not eat on time?"
Hu Shanxiang smiled and whispered, "Didn't you say a few days ago that you liked the preserved vegetable braised pork dish I made? How about asking the kitchen to make it today, and pair it with my newly brewed vegetarian wine?"
Zhu Di stuffed his hands into his sleeves and squinted at her. "Well, didn't you say that the preserved vegetables were the brainchild of a chef at your family's restaurant in Huizhou? And you said it was inconvenient to transport them due to the long distance, so you brought that jar with you. And you also said that eating too much fatty meat is not good. Why, are you giving in again today?"
Hu Shanxiang spoke frankly: "Ah, this is just to cheer you up."
"Are you worried that I'll get angry and cause trouble for that monkey kid? Girls are outgoing."
This really made Hu Shanxiang laugh and cry. Is this how a girl's extroversion works? Not to mention that she hasn't even settled down with Zhu Zhanji yet, and logically has no connection with the Zhu family at all. Even if she really did marry, she would side with the prince and the grandson. Aren't they all his sons and grandsons?
Old kid, old kid, she finally got some experience.
"Then Your Majesty, will you still have dinner tonight?"
Zhu Di threw off the quilt and sat up: "Use it, of course not. Humph, he's so proud of himself for wanting to piss me off and make me sick, what a dream."
"Hey, don't eat when you're angry. It's not good for your stomach." Hu Shanxiang poured a cup of warm honey water and handed it to him. Seeing that he drank it all in one go and had sugar in his stomach, and waited until his mood gradually calmed down, she asked someone to serve him the meal.
After all, she was still recovering from her injuries, and Zhu Di had always been very flexible with his requirements for rules, so the two of them sat down and had their meal.
After a satisfying meal and a good drink, the Emperor finally calmed down. He was going to see Jianwen tomorrow, so he naturally needed to conserve his energy. Besides...
Zhu Di was lying on the bed. Hu Shanxiang had left long ago, and the Jinyiwei were only guarding outside. At this moment, he was the only one lying in this huge room. The prince's words today once again rang in his ears.
He turned over and saw the bone whistle beside his pillow, and thought of his casual chat with Hu Shanxiang after dinner.
"Why would a son be suspicious of his father? The prince is just worried that the emperor might have concerns. You are a wise ruler. When choosing between family and country, you naturally won't be as easy as my father at home."
Family and country, huh, he is so clever to flatter him.
The prince is lucky, and I am lucky too.
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