Chapter 1: Huzhongtianman (I)
Zhu Youhuan was born on August 25, 1465, the 18th year of Yuanguang reign, just as winter was approaching.
The mother, Wan Zhen'er, was older than the average pregnant woman. Fortunately, she was in good health and had the care of the gynecologists at the Imperial Hospital. Although it was her first child in a late pregnancy, the delivery was relatively smooth.
The cleaned baby was handed to the Empress Dowager Cihui Zhaosheng Wende Wenxuan. Hu Shanxiang looked at the child in her arms with a smile and said, "This child has a round face. You can tell at a glance that he is blessed."
The imperial concubine Zhou Yingying next to her echoed, "With the old lady's words, this child will definitely be a blessed one."
In fact, she was somewhat disappointed. When Zhu Jianshen asked Zhu Yuhuan to appoint Wan Zhen'er as the Crown Princess, Zhou Yingying strongly opposed it. Wan Zhen'er was about the same age as her, old enough to be Zhu Jianshen's mother. Although Wan Zhen'er was honest, she was not suitable for bearing children at that age. But Zhu Jianshen wholeheartedly pleaded with the emperor, and the emperor did not object in the end. Zhou Yingying had no choice but to give up.
It would be best if Wan Zhen'er could have an heir. If not, let Zhu Jianshen take another concubine. Anyway, as long as there are more royal heirs as a guarantee, Wan Zhen'er would not dare to be jealous as long as she is around.
Thinking of this, Zhou Yingying felt a little disappointed and said, "The Crown Prince is the same. He didn't come out to see if the royal heir is healthy. He's worried about the Crown Princess. Doctor Xu is inside. What can happen?"
Hu Shanxiang simply stroked the child's face and said, "The Emperor wasn't satisfied with the names previously submitted by the Ministry of Rites, so he chose another, more formal name. From now on, you'll be called 'Youhuan.'"
Zhou Yingying couldn't help but look surprised when she heard that.
The names of the princesses of the Ming Dynasty were different from those of the princes. They were always casual, but never directly followed the generation of the princes. Moreover, judging from the empress dowager's words, the emperor did not consider the issue of gender at all when naming, and obviously intended to use the same name for both boys and girls.
Zhou Yingying looked down at the blushing Zhu Youhuan in Hu Shanxiang's arms.
Could it be...
Zhu Youhuan, who was still a crying baby at this time, naturally didn't understand what Zhou Yingying was thinking. He just opened his mouth and cried loudly.
Zhu Jianshen, who was originally inside asking about his mother's well-being, suddenly remembered his daughter's existence. He came out and took Zhu Youhuan back so that his mother could take a good look at him.
After winter came, the emperor led his army back to Beijing from Liaodong.
This time, the emperor aimed his sword at the Wulingha and led his army all the way to the north of Tumuhewei. During the process, he killed and captured countless Wulingha people, which was a great victory.
On the way back, the emperor inspected the Liaodong Regional Command again and brought all the captured Uriankhai people back to the northern Zhili area for resettlement. This took some time, but he managed to return to Beijing before the New Year.
Crown Prince Zhu Jianshen and Prince Hui Zhu Shuyuan went out of the capital together to welcome him, and the people lined the streets to welcome him along the way.
Zhu Shuyuan had previously been canonized as Prince Hui and had officially married the previous year. Logically, she should have been granted a fiefdom in Huizhou, which was prosperous due to the opening of its port. Coupled with the current boom in maritime trade, such a fiefdom would have been ideal. However, the emperor, considering Prince Hui had yet to have children, was concerned that his fiefdom would be too far away for him to care for Zhu Shuyuan, so he allowed her to remain in the capital for a few more years.
Zhu Shuyuan rode behind the emperor and said, "Mother doesn't know yet, but Huan'er is waiting in the palace to pay his respects to the emperor's grandfather."
Hearing Zhu Shuyuan's words suddenly, the emperor was stunned at first, then asked in surprise: "The child is born?"
The emperor was busy with many affairs of state and was away on a military campaign, so he naturally could not be bothered with such a "small matter" as the Crown Princess giving birth.
"Yes, she is a strong daughter, very similar to Chief Minister Wan." Zhu Jianshen smiled, but felt a little nervous in his heart.
When he begged the emperor to grant him the marriage, the emperor did not quite agree with his approach and seemed to be unwilling to make this marriage happen.
Now that Wan Zhen'er has given birth to a daughter, I wonder if the emperor will feel as disappointed as the imperial concubine.
The Emperor's face showed a look of relief. He said, "Good, good, very good. As long as mother and child are safe, I'm glad. Has Wang Zhi seen it? How is the Crown Princess? Has she suffered any postpartum illness?"
Seeing that the emperor looked normal, Zhu Jianshen relaxed a lot and said, "Xu Siyao's healing skills are amazing. Minister Wan is much better now, and the emperor's grandson is safe and sound."
"It just so happens that I stole a lot of good horses from the Wuliangha this time. I asked the people in the Imperial Horse Administration to take care of them and prepare them for the emperor's grandson in advance."
Zhu Shuyuan said with a smile: "Mother, you can't be partial. You have to leave a few for me."
The emperor was amused by her mischief, "No one can be missing but King Hui, otherwise our King Hui will come to the palace to find me."
"Mother--"
After returning to the palace, the emperor was first welcomed and then checked on how the crown prince was doing as regent. By the time he finally had time to meet the emperor's grandson, it was already the New Year.
Zhu Youhuan is already four months old. He is plump and white, wrapped in a big red swaddling cloth, and looks particularly festive.
Upon seeing this, the emperor ordered his grandson to be carried to his own Luohan bed. He crawled on the bed wearing only a crab-red shirt and pants. She was very brave and not afraid of strangers at all. Her black eyes rolled around as she kept looking around.
The emperor waved the gilded ring he used for archery in front of her. Seeing Zhu Youhuan's eyes moving back and forth, he smiled and said, "You are indeed a smart child." After saying that, he couldn't help but scratch Zhu Youhuan's nose with a smile.
Zhu Youhuan's waving little hands immediately grabbed the emperor's fingers and began to babble.
Just as the Crown Princess was about to speak, the Emperor had already picked up Zhu Youhuan and said, "The most important thing for a child is his health. The Crown Prince and the Crown Princess must take good care of him on a daily basis, and don't neglect him even if he has any minor illness or pain."
Zhu Jianshen originally thought that the emperor would propose to adopt the grandson as his own, but when he saw that the emperor was just teasing the child, he obediently agreed.
"Send me the gift for the emperor's grandson."
"yes."
The palace maid brought a treasure box and opened it. Inside was a longevity lock inlaid with various gems. They were all purchased from Luchuan and other places in the southwest when he was doing business in recent years and brought back to the palace. This longevity lock was strung with pearls and looked shining and colorful. Finally, the emperor hung it around Zhu Youhuan's neck.
"This pearl was presented by the Jurchens. It looks different from the pearls from the south. It's slightly yellowish and looks fresh. I asked the craftsman to put it on this longevity lock."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Jianshen immediately said, "Mother is wise and powerful. The Jurchens know they are no match for us, so they offered tribute on their own initiative, which is quite tactful."
The emperor sneered and said, "They are just frightened by the sight of the Wuliangha being chased. Don't I know that they usually send food and cattle and sheep to the Wuliangha? I am only showing leniency because they were forced to do so."
Zhu Jianshen understood the emperor's implicit meaning and knew she would one day take action against the Jurchens. He said, "In the fourteenth year of the Yuanguang reign, our army had just captured Malacca and incorporated it into the Jinghai Administration Commission. Duke Ying (Zhang Zhong) even sent someone back to announce the good news. In the sixteenth year of the Yuanguang reign, General Wang had just pursued and suppressed the Hami tribe, with considerable success. We shouldn't wage war year after year. Moreover, our fleet just arrived in Pengzhou last year. Pengzhou is isolated and helpless, and we need to bring manpower and material resources from the Ming mainland to the Jinghai frontier. Duke Ying's health is not good, and this is the time for a transition of officials. The Ming Dynasty needs to recuperate now, so there's no need to rush."
The emperor sighed and said, "I know that money is needed everywhere. Although commercial taxes bring in a lot of money, we are not short of money, but we still need to avoid excessive expenditure on state affairs."
"Mother is wise."
The Crown Princess listened from the side, but her thoughts gradually turned to her daughter who was making "ah" sounds.
The emperor's attention turned back to the child. Seeing her frowning face and her fingers picking at the golden lock, she obviously couldn't lift the longevity lock. He couldn't help but smile and said, "Grandfather, you forgot that this lock is still a little heavy for you. You can wear it when you grow up." After that, the emperor took it off with his own hands.
Zhu Youhuan then chuckled, as if relieved of a heavy burden.
She had no idea that she was already involved in state affairs.
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