On the 27th day of the tenth month of the seventh year of the Hongwu reign, the imperial city of Yingtian Prefecture was brightly lit.
A tense and expectant atmosphere permeated the Chunhe Hall.
A young man paced anxiously in front of the hall, especially when he heard the mournful screams coming from inside, which made him even more nervous.
"Congratulations, Your Highness!" A pale-faced, beardless eunuch rushed to the young man and knelt down with an excited expression. "The Crown Princess has given birth to the Crown Prince!"
The young man, his face filled with excitement and elation, asked, "How is the Crown Princess?"
The young eunuch immediately replied, "The Crown Princess is well; Her Majesty the Empress is personally taking care of her."
The young man's expression finally relaxed, and he excitedly said, "Good! A reward for today's Eastern Palace..."
Just as the young man was about to reward the palace maids and guards, he suddenly calmed down, grabbed the little eunuch, and looked somewhat ferocious.
"Is the Crown Prince truly unharmed? Why was there no sound of crying?!"
Just as the young eunuch was trembling with fear, a palace maid hurried over and said, "Your Highness, Her Majesty has instructed me to inform you that the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess are both well. Her Majesty has decreed that Your Highness should personally go and report this to the Emperor."
The young man immediately realized that this was his mother's personal maid, absolutely reliable!
Since we're not allowed to see the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince, let's go and deliver the good news.
The usually composed and refined Crown Prince strode out of the Chunhe Palace.
A middle-aged man with a majestic appearance paced back and forth anxiously, saying somewhat irritably, "Hey you, go and investigate some more!"
Immediately, a eunuch was given the order, but before he could even leave the palace, another eunuch rushed in.
"Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"
The middle-aged man looked tense and asked repeatedly, "Has the Crown Prince arrived?"
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince seems extremely happy." The young eunuch knelt down and said loudly, "Congratulations, Your Majesty and Your Highness the Crown Prince! The Crown Princess has given birth to a grandson for our Emperor!"
This middle-aged man was none other than the famous Hongwu Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang.
"Get out!" Zhu Yuanzhang's expression changed from initial delight to extreme anger. "You self-righteous scoundrel!"
After kicking over the self-important eunuch, Zhu Yuanzhang composed himself. Biao'er was coming; he was here to deliver good news! He had to maintain his composure; he had to show Biao'er his dignified side…
We're only forty-six now, we can still nurture the Crown Prince... The Crown Princess has rendered great service, may our Ming Dynasty last forever...
Just as Zhu Yuanzhang was lost in thought, Zhu Biao entered the Qianqing Palace and announced, "Father, the Crown Princess has given birth to the Crown Prince!"
"Haha, Biao'er is a father now, and I'm the Emperor's grandfather!" Zhu Yuanzhang quickly helped his son up and said, "We've already had your court robes prepared. Quickly change into them, and let's go to the Ancestral Hall to make our ancestors happy!"
Everything was prepared long ago; Zhu Yuanzhang had already changed into his court robes. He was experienced, while his own son, Biao'er, was a first-time father and hadn't considered things as thoroughly as they had!
On the 27th day of the tenth month of the seventh year of the Hongwu reign, the Crown Princess Chang gave birth to the Imperial Grandson.
Zhu Xiong Ying felt dizzy, her mind a complete blank. Just as she tried to think of anything, she felt incredibly tired and fell asleep. When she finally woke up, she instinctively suckled. She felt no hunger and tried to open her eyes to see clearly, but she couldn't see anything at all.
Life is really not good. I'm basically in a drowsy state every day, and the time I'm awake is too limited.
Time passed, and Zhu Xiong Ying seemed to be slowly figuring out the situation. Although he still slept a lot, he could now think about things a little better and see things more clearly.
"Your Majesty, our grandson is so adorable! He looks exactly like Biao'er when he was little!"
"Don't talk nonsense! When Biao'er was born, you were attacking Jiqing!"
"That's our picture too, we just remember what he looked like when he was little!"
Empress?
Biao'er?
Wow, could it be that I was really born into some kind of royal family?
"If only your father could see the Crown Prince!"
“Mother, Father’s spirit in heaven will surely bless your daughter and the Crown Prince.”
Is my cheap maternal grandfather some kind of prince?
Zhu Xiong Ying, lying on the couch, tried to hum twice, her little face scrunched up.
A pretty palace maid immediately whispered, "Your Highness, His Highness the Crown Prince has woken up."
The Empress, who had just been sewing, immediately put down her needle and thread and said, "My grandson is awake, let Grandmother hold him!"
Shame, absolute shame.
Pooping and peeing are things that people want to see.
"Brother, Mother says that I am the most well-behaved nephew and never cry!"
"Your Majesty, you and your sister-in-law should not take your nephew back with you. He should stay in Kunning Palace!"
Empress Ma was secretly delighted, but she pretended to scold, "Don't talk nonsense. I'm too old to help your brother take care of his children."
Zhu Biao's mind raced. He and his father were both intelligent and shrewd. But there was one woman in this world who could keep them completely under her thumb.
Zhu Yuanzhang, who was pretending to look at the memorial, coughed and said, "Biao'er, you and the Crown Princess are still young. Although you have nannies and wet nurses to help take care of you, none of them are as meticulous as your mother. How about this, the eldest grandson will stay in Kunning Palace."
Zhu Biao's expression turned bitter, and he quickly said, "Father, this is unreasonable!"
Crown Princess Chang was even more distressed, saying, "Father Emperor, Mother Empress, I will do my best to take care of the Crown Prince."
"I don't intend to raise the Crown Prince. Once he's a bit older, I'll send him back." Empress Ma held her chubby grandson. This family banquet was all about 'snatching' her grandson. "Biao'er is about to take charge of state affairs, so the Crown Princess should prioritize taking care of the Crown Prince."
Zhu Yuanzhang was taken aback. The Crown Prince was in charge of governance?
We don't know!
Just as he was about to cough, Zhu Yuanzhang heard the Empress cough and immediately realized what was happening. "Biao'er is twenty now. He needs to meet with the ministers, listen to and review reports from various government departments, and learn how to handle affairs. Since I became emperor, I have never been lazy. I am always afraid of handling every matter improperly and failing the trust placed in me by Heaven. I get up before dawn and don't rest until midnight. You see this every day. If you can learn from me and follow my example, you will be able to protect the empire."
Zhu Biao was even more bitter inside. In truth, he had always been studying diligently and occasionally overseeing the state. But this time was different. His father and mother, in order to seize the right to care for the crown prince, actually made him attend court sessions daily to hear reports from various departments, in order to practice governing the country!
This is like giving someone a slap and then a sweet treat!
Seeing that the grandson had fallen asleep again, the family banquet could end.
When the Crown Prince and Crown Princess reluctantly left, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately complained, "Empress, the inner palace must not interfere in politics!"
Empress Ma didn't care about anything else, she just looked at her chubby grandson and said, "Chongba, my chubby grandson is so good!"
Zhu Yuanzhang immediately came over and carefully picked up his chubby grandson, "Hehe, when Biao'er was born, we were fighting a war. Now that our eldest grandson is born, we should hold him more often!"
Chongba, Biao'er...
Am I Zhu Yunwen?
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