Chapter 13 Birthday Gift
The palace maid brought a bronze mirror to Zhu Yuhuan. Zhu Yuhuan raised his hand to stroke his hair, looked left and right to see if it was ok, then took a few steps back, turned around, looked at the small bun on his head, and couldn't help laughing.
The longer she stayed in the Ming Dynasty, the more she looked at herself and the more she looked like a "Ming Dynasty person", so she laughed out loud.
The maid combing the hair became a little nervous when she saw this, and hurriedly asked, "Young Master, do you think there's something wrong with your bun? I'll change it right away..."
Zhu Yuhuan waved his hand and said with a smile: "I thought the jewelry my great-grandfather gave me was boring before, but after putting them on, I found that they were so beautiful."
The maid breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "Before, according to the rules of the Grand Master, the young master never grew her hair long. Now, she can finally tie it up in a bun. With the addition of a wig and jewelry, the bun looks very beautiful. It matches the peach-colored jacket and makes the young master look even more lovely. If the emperor saw it, he would definitely be delighted."
Zhu Yuhuan was naturally in a good mood after being flattered. She tidied her short hair hanging behind her, hung the dagger around her waist, and then leisurely walked towards the front hall.
It is Zhu Zhanji's birthday today, and not only is he busy, but his younger brothers also want to celebrate Zhu Zhanji's birthday. Therefore, as soon as Zhu Yuhuan entered the house, he saw a group of his uncles gathered together, talking to Zhu Zhanji.
It was also thanks to the good relationship between Zhu Zhanji and his brothers. If it had been the Qing Dynasty, it would probably have been another grand scene of nine sons fighting for the throne. In comparison, the fight for the throne in the Ming Dynasty seemed calm. Take the Prince of Han, Zhu Gaoxu, for example. He rebelled as if it were a joke. In the end, his subordinates either wanted to capture him to gain merit or persuade him to go all the way. Instead, he ran to Zhu Zhanji to beg for mercy and surrender, and finally made a big mistake, which made later generations laugh at him.
Before Zhu Yuhuan could slip away, his uncle Zhu Zhanzhen caught him red-handed. He said, "My niece is here! You're dressed so beautifully today!"
As soon as he spoke, the brothers around Zhu Zhanji immediately looked over and smiled and praised Zhu Yuhuan for growing up and becoming more well-behaved and lovely.
Zhu Yuhuan, who hadn't even had time to change his cloak, showed no fear. He simply hid the cricket cage, agreed with a smile, and exchanged praises with the uncles. Zhu Yuhuan managed to cope for a cup of tea, which allowed him to change the topic to other matters without having to deal with polite remarks like "I held you in my arms when you were a child."
Thanks to the large crowds here, there's no need to worry about anyone hearing the crickets.
Zhu Zhanzhen, who had spotted Zhu Yuhuan earlier, saw that Zhu Yuhuan had breathed a sigh of relief, and came over with a smile and said, "Niece, I heard that you have been learning horseback archery with Saihazhi recently. No wonder I don't see you so often."
Zhu Yuhuan was not polite and said with a smile: "Then little uncle, come with me to practice martial arts with the commander, so that we can see each other more often."
Although the two are uncle and nephew, Zhu Zhanzhen is only four years older than Zhu Yuhuan. In addition, Zhu Yuhuan is mentally mature, so the relationship between uncle and nephew is no different from that of peers. The two of them interact with each other, and at first glance they look like brother and sister.
Who told Zhu Zhanji to take care of Zhu Zhanzhen as if he were his own son? Although the two brothers were not biological brothers from the same mother, there was no difference. Zhu Zhanzhen often came to visit his sister-in-law Hu Shanxiang, and over time he became familiar with Zhu Yuhuan. When speaking to him, he was not as reserved as he was with other people.
Zhu Zhanzhen curled his lips and said, "Forget it. That's the favor the Emperor has bestowed upon you, his precious great-grandson. We can't compare to that. Besides, I'm not good at this either. In this peaceful and prosperous era, with the Emperor pacifying the Tatars, where is there any place for us to use our talents? I'd better study hard. If I can help the ministers of the cabinet edit books in the future, I'll be doing something."
To be honest, Zhu Yuhuan didn't really know much about Zhu Zhan'an's future, but there was one thing she was very sure of, that was that his martial arts skills would come in handy in the future.
I just don't know whether Zhu Zhan'an was still there at that time. If he had already been relocated to a remote place, we wouldn't have to worry about the Tatars wandering around outside the capital.
Zhu Zhanzhen didn't hear Zhu Yuhuan's reply. He turned around and saw Zhu Yuhuan looking at him eagerly. Goosebumps broke out all over his body. He asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
He had heard from his mother, Concubine Guo Ci, that his elder brother Zhu Zhanji was exceptionally intelligent when he was young. He had not taken it seriously at first, but when he saw his brother's equally precocious daughter, Zhu Zhanji began to believe that there were indeed people in this world who were born "smart", and that was why he felt uncomfortable when Zhu Yuhuan looked at him.
Zhu Yuhuan stood on tiptoe, reached Zhu Zhan'an's shoulder, and patted him gently. "It's okay, it's better not to learn it, because it means you won't need it in the future."
"Pssst, psst, psst! We haven't even had a few days of peace, and you're already talking about this?" Zhu Zhanzhen covered her mouth and warned, "If I can't use my martial arts, then you can't use them either! Don't ever say that again. If someone hears it and makes a story about it, it'll be a repeat of the old days when the King of Han was here."
Zhu Yuhuan patted his hands, signaling him to open his mouth, and then said with a smile: "I was just talking, why did you take it seriously, little uncle?"
Zhu Zhanzhen shook his head helplessly and said, "Don't say anything carelessly... Even if it's a nice thing, saying it a thousand times will cause trouble." He then whispered to Zhu Yuhuan, "Everyone in the palace says that Concubine Sun is pregnant with a boy, so the Crown Princess and the Crown Grand Princess are taking such good care of her. The palace concubines and the palace maids are also praising her. It's just a pregnancy, but they've made such a big fuss about it. But if Concubine Sun doesn't give birth to my eldest brother's eldest son, who knows what kind of rumors will spread in the palace..."
Zhu Yuhuan quickly distanced herself from the matter, saying, "Whether the concubine gave birth to a brother or sister, they are all my father's children, my brothers and sisters. Grandma and Mother value them equally." Seeing that Zhu Zhanzhen remained silent, she changed the subject: "Has my uncle prepared a birthday gift for my father? What is it?"
Zhu Zhanzhen relaxed considerably after no longer mentioning those palace secrets. He puffed out his chest and proudly said, "This is a top-quality She inkstone that my mother asked someone to find. It's even engraved with the auspicious Qilin beast. It's perfect for Big Brother."
Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but sigh that Concubine Guo Ci was really generous, which was completely different from her grandmother's frugality. No wonder the Crown Princess disliked Concubine Guo Ci so much.
However, apart from this, there seemed to be discord between the two of them for a long time. However, now that there was an external threat, if the prince could not succeed to the throne smoothly, it would be in vain for the two of them to fight each other. It was more important to unite against the outside world, so they had always maintained superficial peace. Occasionally, there were some rifts, but the Crown Princess would take a step back and Concubine Guo would step down.
Zhu Zhanzhen nudged Zhu Yuhuan with his arm and asked, "Niece, what goodies have you prepared?"
Zhu Yuhuan raised his eyebrows slightly and hooked his finger at him. Then he took out a small bamboo basket from his cloak, handed it to Zhu Zhanzhen, and said with a grin, "Here, this is it."
Zhu Zhanzhen didn't think much of it at first, but suddenly he heard the sound of crickets chirping inside. He couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Crickets? Where did you find crickets at this time of year?"
When he shouted like this, Zhu Zhanji, who was originally speaking, looked over and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
Zhu Yuhuan no longer concealed his feelings. He held up the bamboo basket with both hands and handed it to Zhu Zhanji, saying, "This is a birthday gift from Huanhuan to Daddy. Please accept it."
The things given by his daughter, no matter whether they were good or bad, were all a token of his thoughtfulness. Zhu Zhanji gladly accepted them, but his eyes widened when he opened the bamboo cage.
The other imperial grandchildren around were very curious about what kind of gift this was. How could the Crown Prince, who could remain calm even when faced with a mountain collapsing in front of him, be so surprised? They all quieted down and waited curiously for Zhu Zhanji's answer. Unexpectedly, before Zhu Zhanji spoke, a crisp sound came from the cage. The sound was loud and clear, and was particularly clear in the silence. The imperial grandchildren who were originally waiting were startled, but they couldn't help but smile knowingly.
It is well known that the Crown Prince likes crickets. No wonder Zhu Yuhuan specially gave this to him. After all, children are still naive. They only give what they think is good, and forget the face of Zhu Zhanji, the Crown Prince.
Zhu Zhanji recovered and quickly cleared his throat, saying, "This is a nice gift. Someone, take it." He waved to his trusted eunuch, signaling him to put away the bamboo basket. Then he reached out and picked up Zhu Yuhuan. He said to his brothers, "I'll go to the backyard first to see if the family banquet is ready. Brothers, enjoy your tea."
After saying that, he quickly left with his daughter.
When everyone saw him leave, they couldn't help but laugh.
"Huanhuan, too. Why would she send this to her father on his birthday? It won't sound good if people tell others about it."
"Yes, if others saw it, they would think that Big Brother was indulging in pleasure."
"It's normal for children to like flowers, birds, fish and insects."
Zhu Zhanzhen said quietly, "Although it's spring now, it's not easy to find a cricket with such a loud voice."
It's not so much difficult as it is nearly impossible. How can winter in the capital be so warm? If you want to catch crickets, you have to wait until late March...
After he said this, everyone realized that this little cricket was actually not simple.
On the other hand, Zhu Zhanji's younger brother, the fifth son, Zhu Zhanji, waved his fan with a certain amount of pride: "My eldest niece is no ordinary little girl. She is born with intelligence and talent. Otherwise, why would even the emperor dote on her so much?"
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