"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, are you familiar with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? I have rarely seen him."

After some greetings and reminiscing, Xu Yihua finally got to the point.

After the words fell, Ning Fei's cloudy eyes flashed a glimmer, and she said to Xu Yihua with a smile: "It was the fourth brother who asked you to come to the palace. You want to know something."

After Empress Ma passed away and Concubine Li Shu passed away, it was not so easy for Concubine Ning to become the mistress of the harem.

Although he has never been involved in politics, he has some understanding of political affairs, more or less.

What's more, since it concerns His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, when he had just entered the palace a few months ago, Concubine Ning asked someone to investigate the situation, including looking through the files of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Concubine Ning knew very well what was going on between Zhu Di and Zhu Ying.

She knew it, but she had never talked about it with Zhu Yuanzhang. She believed that His Majesty must be aware of it as well.

One is his son and the other is his eldest grandson.

This kind of question is ultimately about the left and right hands, and it is difficult to choose.

Since nothing has happened on the surface, just leave it alone.

When Xu Yihua asked, Concubine Ning thought about it for a moment and naturally understood.

She had heard a few days ago that an overseas talent recruitment hall had been set up, and that the fiefs of the princes would be taken back soon. Those who wanted to have fiefs could only expand their territory on their own.

Otherwise, he would be just a wealthy and idle prince.

Given Zhu Di's temperament, it was impossible for him to be an idle prince. Coupled with the expedition to Japan, some things are not difficult to guess.

"I knew I couldn't hide it from the Queen."

Xu Yihua was not surprised or stunned, and said with a smile.

This generous response made Concubine Ning laugh as well, and she said, "You are still so direct. But let me make it clear to you first, the Crown Prince is the apple of your Majesty's eye, so don't have any evil ideas."

"Your Majesty cannot tolerate any sand in his eyes. Even if I go there to talk, I have to be careful."

At the beginning, Concubine Ning proposed the method of blood test to Zhu Yuanzhang. Although Zhu Yuanzhang agreed on the surface, this topic was never brought up again until the crown prince was enthroned.

Whether he forgot or was willing, Concubine Ning didn't know, but she knew very well that no matter whether it was intentional or for other reasons, it was impossible for her to remind His Majesty about the Crown Prince's blood recognition.

Considering the appearance of the crown prince, no one would have believed that he had no relationship with the crown prince. Later, the Xiaoling Mausoleum was dug up, and the coffin and the body disappeared.

Basically, I can explain it clearly.

If I bring this matter up again, His Majesty will be furious and I will offend the Crown Prince, which will end up being a loss.

Concubine Ning also secretly observed the Crown Prince's character and personality.

His abilities in all aspects are excellent.

There is a sense of familiarity between Your Majesty and me in many places.

With the white bellyband and the eyebrows similar to those of Empress Ma, Concubine Ning finally felt relieved.

After hearing Concubine Ning's instructions, Xu Yihua immediately said, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is the nephew of the Prince of Yan. They knew each other in Beiping, and I was fortunate enough to meet him."

"Before this, there may have been some misunderstandings, and I don't want to talk too much about it. After all, we are all family, and I don't think some things are that serious."

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince personally appointed the Prince of Yan as the general to fight against the Japanese. This shows that he still trusts the Prince of Yan."

Listening to Xu Yihua's explanation, Concubine Ning nodded slightly, and then smiled and said, "If that's the case, then why did you come to the palace this time?"

Xu Yihua looked resentful and said, "Your Majesty, can't Yihua come to the palace to see you and His Majesty?"

Concubine Ning didn't buy it, and said with a smile: "I know your little tricks, so tell me what you want to do. If you don't tell me now, don't tell me later."

Xu Yihua suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

The speaking skills and rhythm control show that experience is the key.

I can only bite the bullet and say: "Yihua just wants to invite His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to come to Prince Yan's mansion to reminisce about the past when you have some free time."

Upon hearing this, Concubine Ning remained silent for a while.

Naturally, she would not be afraid that Zhu Di would treat His Royal Highness the Crown Prince badly. This was the capital of the Ming Dynasty. If there was any inappropriate behavior, then, if nothing else, the Prince of Yan would definitely be demoted to a commoner and removed from the royal family.

But Concubine Ning was wondering in her heart whether she should help with this matter, and what would happen after she helped.

She is Concubine Ning, and also Concubine Guo Ning.

Not only the Zhu family, but also the Guo family needs to be taken care of.

His own child Zhu Tan died early, but his grandson is still here.

The eldest brother Guo Xing passed away early, and the eldest son also died in the war, so there are still several legitimate sons who need to be taken care of.

The second elder brother, Guo Ying, is now a high-ranking official, the commander of the imperial guards, and is deeply trusted by His Majesty.

But she knew His Majesty's temper clearly. The more trusted she was, the more cautious she had to be. If she made the slightest mistake and was impeached, it would arouse His Majesty's suspicion.

Once you fall into suspicion, it's basically determined.

Normally, no matter what happens, we never go beyond the limit and always observe etiquette.

Seeing Concubine Ning lost in thought, Xu Yihua looked a little anxious. Facing the master of the harem, she had nothing to offer. The only thing she had was the feelings she once had in the palace.

So many years have passed, and Xu Yihua has no idea what the situation is like now.

All he could do was wait quietly for Concubine Ning's final words.

Concubine Ning thought about it and looked at Xu Yihua. She felt a little embarrassed, but she really liked Xu Yihua. The past came to her mind. Concubine Ning sighed and said, "Forget it, forget it. I will help you this time."

"Their uncle-nephew relationship is their own business, but I can't make the final decision on this matter. What happens next depends on them."

"If His Majesty the Crown Prince insists on not seeing me, I will have no choice. You know His Majesty's temperament very well."

"In my opinion, there is no need to go to the Prince of Yan's Palace. It's almost the end of the year. This is the first year since the Crown Prince returned. His Majesty will definitely celebrate it in a big way. In addition, many princes are coming this year, so it will naturally be a lively New Year."

"How about finding an opportunity on that festive day for the uncle and nephew to have a good chat?"

After Xu Yihua heard this, she hesitated for a moment and then said, "Everything is up to your Majesty's orders."

Concubine Ning smiled and said, "You, you should go to His Majesty and pay your respects, but there is no need to say too much. The more you say, the more mistakes you make. The only person in the palace who can make His Majesty biased is the Crown Prince. Even if I am there, I will be ranked lower."

"Although I am old, my heart is still pure."

This was Concubine Ning's way of waking up Xu Yihua, which was almost equivalent to telling him directly that the Crown Prince was with His Majesty and he should not even mention him.

Given His Majesty's temper, if you say a few more words, he might suspect that you have some bad intentions.

"Yihua understands."

Xu Yihua replied with eyes flashing.

She had truly seen what the situation was like with His Majesty when His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was with Him.

Our own King Yan is totally incomparable to him.

There was fear in everything Concubine Lai Ning said. As far as she could remember, even the Crown Prince wasn't so favored back then, right?

It is conceivable that the current Crown Prince is almost no different from Your Majesty.

This made Xu Yihua feel very cautious and a little aggrieved.

They are all princes and grandchildren of the emperor, how can they be so biased?

After the ceremony, Xu Yihua walked out of the harem gate and walked away in the wind and snow.

Concubine Ning stood in front of the door, looking at Xu Yihua's back and sighing softly.

…

"Is it cooked? How long will it take? I can't wait any longer. This fragrance is so comforting."

"Grandpa, it has to be cooked through, almost done."

"Hurry up, hurry up, Liu He, bring us the fire tongs."

"Grandpa, be careful of the burns."

"Hey, grandson, you don't know that I have a mouth that is not afraid of... Ouch, I'm so burned."

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, hurry up, call the imperial physician."

"What nonsense! How can this burn us? Back then, we were never afraid of being burned. In this weather, having a hot meal is something we would never dare to dream of."

"Grandpa, eat slowly, don't choke..."

Inside the main hall of the Qianqing Palace in the Daming Imperial Palace, the doors and windows were closed and many charcoal fires were burning inside the house.

In the center of the hall, Zhu Ying and Zhu Yuanzhang sat opposite each other on several small stools, with a brazier in the middle.

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang was taking the freshly baked sweet potatoes and eating them in big mouthfuls.

"It feels so good! My whole body feels warm and comfortable. It's really comfortable. My dear grandson, you know how to roast sweet potatoes like this. In this harsh winter, it really warms my heart."

Zhu Yuanzhang ate most of the meal before stopping and speaking to his eldest grandson with a smile.

Zhu Ying took the fire tongs, scraped the bottom of the basin, stirred the fire, and replied with a smile: "Grandpa, this way of eating sweet potatoes is really the best. When I was in the Western Regions, my favorite thing every winter was roasted sweet potatoes."

"It's delicious and sweet, and it can also fill your stomach and keep away the cold. My grandson relied on these roasted sweet potatoes to attract many people in the Western Regions, and it can be said that it saved many lives."

"In the years to come, I hope that the people of our Ming Dynasty can eat roasted sweet potatoes like this every winter. This will make us more hopeful about the future."

Listening to his grandson's words, Zhu Yuanzhang also sighed and said, "When we were begging on the streets, the most difficult time was the winter. If someone gave us a piece of roasted sweet potato in the snowy season, it would really make us feel so happy."

"However, I have been begging for many years, and I have no food to eat. It is common for me to go hungry for several days. How can I get such charity?"

Zhu Yuanzhang wandered for three years, going south from Haozhou to Hefei, then turning west into Henan, to Gushi and Xinyang, then going north to Ruzhou, Chenzhou and other places, going east through Luyi and Bozhou, and finally returning to Huangjue Temple.

Begging is not an easy thing. It requires skills to earn a living.

During his three years of begging, he traveled to the famous cities and towns in Huaixi, came into contact with the local customs and practices, saw the world, broadened his horizons, and accumulated social life experience. The hard life of wandering made Zhu Yuanzhang a resolute and courageous character, but also made him cruel and suspicious.

Struggling to survive at the bottom of society in troubled times is like walking on the edge of purgatory. If you are not careful, you will fall into the abyss.

Those who are not hard-hearted, not ruthless, thin-skinned, and dull-witted have long turned into dust.

Go out, come back, only one in a hundred will survive.

Zhu Yuanzhang was not a lucky man. Perhaps only he himself knew about some of his horrific experiences.

"Speaking of which, we have to thank Tang He. If he hadn't written to me, I wouldn't have been able to join the Red Turban Army until today."

Holding the hot sweet potato, Zhu Yuanzhang looked out the window and murmured, "In a blink of an eye, nearly fifty years have passed."

After saying that, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly said, "Liu He."

"I am here."

"Take some of these roasted sweet potatoes and send them to Duke Xin to warm him up."

"I obey your order."

Liu He quickly picked up the tongs, carefully picked out a sweet potato, and glanced at His Majesty.

"One is not enough, at least... two. Just two, there are only a few in total, and my eldest grandson and I still need to eat."

"I obey your order."

Liu He pulled out two roasted sweet potatoes and immediately summoned a minor official to cover them with a silk scarf and put them in a wooden box.

The young eunuch took the wooden box, bowed and retreated to the door of the hall, carefully pushed the box open a little, and quickly got out and closed it tightly, fearing that the wind and snow outside would disturb His Majesty's interest.

There was still a bit of cold wind blowing, but Zhu Yuanzhang didn't care as he was warm.

Zhu Yuanzhang took the tongs with a smile and skillfully pulled out a large roasted sweet potato. He took it from Liu He, who had already prepared a silk scarf, and handed it to his eldest grandson: "Here, eat it, grandson."

Zhu Ying took it with a smile: "Okay."

The old man and the child started eating again in the cold snow.

…

This winter is very special for all the lower-class people living in the capital, that is, the people in all kinds of streets.

It can be said to be the best winter season.

"It is all thanks to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince that we can live in peace. I never thought that the streets would be so clean."

"Those beggars and gang members have all disappeared."

"This world is really becoming more and more hopeful."

"Yes, it was difficult to buy firewood in previous years. The price would definitely go up at the end of the year. Thanks to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, those unscrupulous merchants were unable to raise the price. The price now is really unimaginable."

"Have you heard that over at Sanyuan Lane, the Qunying Chamber of Commerce is selling coal? I heard that it's a good thing. Once lit, it can burn for several hours. The price is not much more expensive than firewood."

"Are you serious? Can ordinary people like us buy coal?"

"Why would I lie to you? The news has spread everywhere in the streets and alleys. Only a guy like you who stays at home all day doesn't know about it."

"Lie down more, this will save some food, I won't say any more, where else is there for sale, I have to go buy some quickly."

"Let's go together. Let's go together."

Even with heavy snow and cold weather, it still couldn't stop the enthusiasm of the people living in the market.

There were more and more people on the street.

However, the closer we got to Sanyuan Lane, the more we could feel a hint of warmth in this severe cold.

The pace of passers-by is getting faster and faster.

Turning the corner, the alley suddenly became lively.

The crowds of people were piled up one after another, which was not surprising. What was shocking was that in this long corridor, there was a brazier standing every few meters.

The heat from the brazier was so warm that I felt like I could relax my hands and feet.

"Where is it? Why can't I see the end?"

"In the lobby at the front. Oh my, the queue is so slow. I don't know how long it will take to get to our place."

"Don't mention it. The lobby in front is very warm. It's said that even wearing outer clothes is a bit hot. There are yamen runners chasing people inside. Once you get in, you can buy a few pounds of coal, but you can't stay for too long."

"If it's our turn, we'll definitely have to rub it a little more, hahaha."

Hearty laughter rang out one after another.

For many years, there has not been such heartfelt cheering from the people in the capital city.