Weary from his journey, Zhu Xiong Ying returned to Yingtian Prefecture. Following the usual procedure, he paid his respects to the emperor and then went to the Fengxian Hall to worship his ancestors. Although Zhu Xiong Ying longed to see the eldest Zhu, the old Zhu was adamant that they should go to the Fengxian Hall first.
At this moment, Lady Lü was far from being 'spirited'; she was now only praying that the Crown Prince would recover soon. Otherwise, she would be supervised by eunuchs and maids to perform ancestral rites and prayers in the Fengxian Hall.
Upon seeing Zhu Xiong Ying, Lady Lü instinctively shuddered and dared not approach him. She was now praying, praying that the Crown Prince would show mercy and spare the lives of Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Yunxuan, and not banish them to the high walls of Fengyang.
“The situation is definitely not good. Not only does my grandfather forbid me from going to the East Palace, but the atmosphere inside the palace is also a bit strange.” Zhu Xiong Ying finished drawing the memorial tablets for his grandmother and the Crown Princess and began to analyze, “The maids, eunuchs, and even the guards are all very cautious, and the atmosphere is indescribably oppressive.”
Most importantly, in the past, when Zhu Xiong Ying returned to Yingtian Prefecture, her younger siblings would have already come over. But now, Zhu Yun Tong is nowhere to be seen, and neither are the sisters Zhu Xi and Zhu Yue; it's as if they don't know that Zhu Xiong Ying has returned to the palace.
Moreover, Zhu Xiong Ying also remembered that when she visited Old Zhu earlier, although Old Zhu seemed very happy to see his grandson, Zhu Xiong Ying also sensed that Old Zhu was frowning and his previous demeanor was even a forced show of energy.
Having settled these matters, there was naturally nothing to stop Zhu Xiong Ying from going to the Eastern Palace, and no one really dared to stop him.
The atmosphere in Chunhe Palace became even more oppressive. Many people in the palace breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Zhu Xiong Ying return. Because of the Crown Prince's illness, the pressure on these people was immense; the Emperor's wrath was something they could not bear.
When Zhu Yunwen saw Zhu Xiong Ying return, his eyes reddened. "Your Majesty."
Zhu Xiong Ying patted Zhu Yun Tong's head and said with a smile, "That's good, you've finally grown up."
“Brother, Father was tired the other day.” Zhu Yunwen’s eyes reddened as he said with a wronged expression, “He has been getting better and worse these days, and has never fully recovered. He also caught typhoid fever a few days ago and had a fever for several days.”
Zhu Xiong Ying felt a chill run down her spine. In this era, there seemed to be considerable advancements in medicine. However, even a common cold could be fatal. Not to mention ordinary people, even emperors and crown princes often couldn't avoid them.
Zhu Xiong Ying nodded, and then carefully entered Da Zhu's palace.
I touched Da Zhu's forehead. It was alright. Although he had a slight fever, it wasn't particularly high.
Zhu Xiong Ying looked at the white-bearded imperial physician and asked, "How is the situation?"
"Your Highness, His Highness the Crown Prince overworked himself a few days ago and damaged his vital energy," the imperial physician replied cautiously. "It's under control now, but His Highness the Crown Prince must not overexert himself and will need some time to recover."
Zhu Xiong Ying nodded and said, "Stay here and keep a close watch. Don't just think about getting by without making any mistakes, understand?"
The imperial physicians were given a dressing down by Zhu Xiong Ying. These physicians did possess some medical skills. However, when treating the emperor and the crown prince, they mostly used mild remedies, aiming to avoid mistakes rather than seek merit.
The necessary reprimands still need to be given; Zhu Xiong Ying is genuinely worried that Da Zhu's condition will continue to linger.
After lingering in Chunhe Hall for a while, Zhu Xiong Ying headed towards Qianqing Palace.
Old Zhu glanced up at Zhu Xiong Ying, then continued working on his memorials. Zhu Xiong Ying naturally picked up a stack of memorials, and Shuang Quan immediately and perceptively took out a writing brush. Wang Cheng En gave his former underling a subtle glare and quickly ground ink for Zhu Xiong Ying.
"Grandfather, the Western Regions are still unstable. I think we should let the Duke of Liang don his armor again, drive the bandits there into Handong, and establish the Handong Guard." Zhu Xiong Ying pondered the memorial for half an hour before speaking, "We still need to take that place."
Old Zhu looked up at Zhu Xiong Ying and said, "We'll take that place sooner or later, so we can attack the remnants of the Northern Yuan. We can't let the Oirats grow too powerful there, but we can't afford to use force right now."
Handong, which is the area in the Western Regions, was naturally of interest to Zhu Xiong Ying.
Moreover, there are powerful rivals there. Although the Mongol ethnic group is now fragmented, powerful tribes such as the Dzungar, Dorbet, and Torgut inhabit the eight tributaries of the upper Yenisei River. The Oirat are currently active in that area, and together with the Tatars and Uriyangkhai, they are known as the three major nomadic groups in northern Mongolia.
Zhu Xiong Ying was naturally aware of this, so he said, "Let's stabilize things over there first and drive in a wedge. Only after things are stable in Japan and Korea can we consider weakening those Mongol tribes."
Old Zhu remained noncommittal, saying, "Then we'll see if you can defeat the Tatars. The Tatars and the Oirats are currently locked in fierce combat, but if you push them too far, they might reunite. Ying'er did a good job preventing salt and iron from entering the grasslands."
"Just let them go hungry; they're lacking some supplies right now," Zhu Xiong Ying laughed and said to Old Zhu. "When the new year begins, Grandfather, remember to have someone send more inferior tea to Beiping. Those Mongols can't tell the difference between good and bad tea."
Old Zhu immediately smiled and nodded without any hesitation, "Alright, but I must remind you. You are the grandson of the Ming Dynasty's Crown Prince. Tell me yourself, in what kind of business dealings have we shortchanged you?"
"Grandson doesn't need silver; there are just too many good things." Zhu Xiong Ying laughed and said to Old Zhu, "It's just that I'm thinking of having the country control some trade so that we can open up more sources of revenue. The Ming Dynasty is still not rich enough, and I'm also thinking of opening up more land and mines to produce more grain, salt, and iron."
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