In Bianliang City, there was a courtesan named Song Yinzhang who fell in love with An Xiushi, a scholar from Luoyang, and they vowed to marry each other... After their marriage, he abused her in every way. Zhao Pan'er, in order to save her sister Song Yinzhang, used her charm and wit to defeat the wicked young man Zhou She.
This is a grand play being staged at the Prince Zhou's residence. It is one of the zaju plays compiled by Zhu Youdun, the heir of the Prince Zhou, and comes from the zaju play "Saving the Fallen Woman" created by Guan Hanqing, a playwright of the Yuan Dynasty.
Princess Consort Feng diligently placed the peeled pomegranates on the table, watching with doting eyes as little Zhu ate the fruit while watching the show.
She is Feng Sheng's daughter, and there must be some deep connection between her and Xiao Xiao Zhu. For example, her older sister is the wife of Chang Mao, Xiao Xiao Zhu's great-uncle, and she is the Duchess of the Founding State. In the early years, Chang Mao had no children, which was a very big deal.
But now, the Duchess of the Founding State has not only given birth to children, but more than one. This made Chang Mao generous, allowing his eldest son to be adopted into the Feng family to inherit Feng Sheng's title of Duke of Song. After all, Feng Sheng only had daughters, no sons.
Previously, Feng Sheng was determined to pass on his title to his nephew Feng Cheng. However, after Lan Yu brought back a son from the Prince of Shu, Feng Sheng, who had been stripped of his military power by Zhu Yuanzhang and left idle, kept a close eye on his two sons-in-law.
Old Zhu sat in his chair, leisurely watching the play. His gaze wasn't mostly focused on the stage; he would occasionally glance at Little Zhu and Prince Zhou's heir, Zhu Youdun, who was currently busy explaining the play to Little Zhu.
"You uncles who are princes, you're always the same, even if you're a prince." Old Zhu took a sip of wine and said with a smile, "Your elder brother didn't have such a carefree life in his younger days. Your nephew had to work hard at a young age. But you guys are always indulging in pleasure and going to brothels and theaters. You're much more carefree than your elder brother and nephew."
Zhu Su was not nervous, not only because he was now the most beloved son of Emperor Zhu in the Ming Dynasty, but also because he knew his limits.
"Father, in my opinion, people are just different." Zhu Su was also relaxed and said with a smile, "I won't say much about my eldest brother. We knew what Xiong Ying was like a long time ago. My second, third, and fourth brothers all told us that when we were not enfeoffed in our hometowns, we were all afraid that Xiong Ying would deal with us in the future."
Old Zhu glanced at Zhu Su and said, "You weren't wrong about him. Even before he became emperor, he was already thinking about dealing with you guys."
"So be it. At least we've been given a place to settle down." Zhu Su said with a smile, but this was not flattery. "We were unwilling to do so in the past, but now that I think about it, Xiong Ying was raised by the Empress Dowager. It's not good for a prince to be enfeoffed. Even if the princes of our Ming Dynasty are not as good as the princes of the Han Dynasty, it's hard to say what will happen if they have military power."
Old Zhu glared at him and said irritably, "So, in the end, it was us who did something wrong?"
“That’s right, that’s right,” Zhu Su quickly tried to salvage the situation, saying, “I remember that you were also summoned to the palace by Xiong Ying a while ago. Each generation has its own affairs. Father Emperor ordered us to take up our fiefdoms to reclaim our military power. I didn’t expect to reclaim our military power from the nobles so quickly. Xiong Ying naturally wants to take back the military power from the princes.”
Old Zhu glanced at Zhu Su and said, "Not bad, you're not stupid."
Zhu Su became proud and said smugly, "My son may not be as good as my elder brother, but he has been taught by the Empress Dowager for many years and should have made progress."
Just then, Little Zhu shouted, "Fifth Master, you should say these things to our father. Our father likes it when people say that our great-grandmother is good. Kunning Palace is still not allowed to be touched. It is exactly how it was when our great-grandmother was taking care of our father in the early years."
Old Zhu immediately smiled and said, "Ying'er is good in every way, except that he is a bit fussy. Even though his grandmother has been gone for so many years, he still often goes to Kunning Palace to visit. Years ago, we wanted to take some things away because we wanted to remember her by looking at the objects, but we angered him and he wouldn't let us. You know that many of Ying'er's undergarments were sewn by his grandmother, and we've kept them all."
While Zhu Yunying's actions certainly stemmed from gratitude, they also reflected an attempt to curry favor with Zhu Yunying.
However, others would not think that way; they would only see the deep bond between Empress Ma and Zhu Yunying as a relationship that aligns with current universal values.
As if remembering something, Zhu Su said, "Last time we saw the Crown Prince wearing a crown, and at first we thought it looked a bit old. But then we realized that Xiong Ying also had a crown like that in the past, which must have been sewn by the Empress Dowager."
Old Zhu glanced in the direction of the palace and said, "That child has suffered. He lost his mother when he was four and his grandmother when he was eight. Although he lives with your eldest brother, he still has to be wary of the Lü family. That child doesn't say anything, but he knows everything. He not only has to be ambitious, but also has to take care of his younger siblings. People outside say we favor him. Our grandson is so sensible, if we don't favor him, who will?"
Zhu Su could only nod; his father's favoritism went far beyond mere favoritism. As for whether the current emperor was unfortunate, that was a matter of opinion; at least many members of the imperial clan envied him greatly.
“These days, Ying’er has been keeping an eye on the autumn tax, so busy that she can only sleep for two hours a day.” Old Zhu said helplessly, his heart aching for his grandson. “But many members of the imperial clan are useless; they either write their own memorials or send their princesses to the empress. We don’t expect them to share Ying’er’s burdens, but they should at least prioritize them!”
Zhu Su was naturally aware of these matters. Many of his younger brothers coveted Goryeo and dreamed of establishing it as a vassal state. While the brothers didn't necessarily turn against each other, some friction was indeed present.
Zhu Su was somewhat embarrassed and could only say, "I will talk to them properly later. This is really quite inappropriate."
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