Chapter 26 Lucky Man
Zhu Yuhuan became Liu Yuanran's disciple outside the palace. Since Liu Yuanran was an outsider and could not enter the palace often, Zhu Yuhuan had to leave the palace and go to Dongyue Temple to practice Taoism. This met Concubine Sun's request and prevented Zhu Yuhuan from always hanging around the prince.
Zhu Yuhuan didn't care. After all, her target had never been the prince. She was more curious about how Liu Yuanran made the elixir. After all, this was related to Zhu Zhanji's life span.
Zhu Yuhuan was studying very hard here, but some bad news came from the border: Yangwu Hou Xue Lu was seriously ill.
After all, Xue Lu was already seventy-three years old. It would be difficult for him to survive an illness at this age, so Zhu Zhanji immediately issued an order allowing Xue Lu to return to Beijing to recuperate.
Unexpectedly, just one month after returning to Beijing, Xue Lu died of illness at home. Zhu Zhanji was deeply saddened and posthumously awarded Xue Lu the title of Duke Jin and the posthumous name of Zhongwu.
Xue Lu had followed Zhu Di in suppressing the rebellion and made great contributions, and was also highly valued by Zhu Zhanji. Therefore, his funeral was grand and many colleagues came to pay their respects.
Zhu Yuhuan happened to be outside the palace, so he watched from afar for a long time. He was about to leave when he unexpectedly ran into the carriage of the Duke of Yingguo's mansion. Zhang Fu and Zhang Zhong, father and son, were there. When they saw Zhu Yuhuan, they sent someone over to inquire.
Zhu Yuhuan lifted the carriage curtain slightly and said, "Why don't you and your husband go to the teahouse and sit down?"
Duke Yingguo Zhang Fu naturally agreed and followed Zhu Yuhuan's carriage to Taiping Teahouse. Zhu Yuhuan specially chose a quiet private room in the corner and sat for a while with Zhang's father and son.
Zhang Fu said with a smile, "I've always heard people say that the tea at Taiping Teahouse tastes like nectar. Today, I tasted it and it's true. No wonder my wife couldn't forget it after trying it once."
Zhu Yuhuan waved his hand and said, "You are too polite, Duke Ying. These teahouses and cloth shops are just for fun, to give the people of South City something to do. They are not really businesses."
It wasn't that the teahouse wasn't profitable, but compared to the business in the south, the revenue from the teahouse and cloth shop was nothing. The Shen family controlled trade routes to Jiangnan, Yunnan, and even further afield, so their wealth was naturally innumerable.
Although Zhu Yuhuan had not yet heard the good news about the loom transformation from Shen Guangci, his future was still full of hope and very bright.
The weather was a bit overcast today. Zhang Zhong was standing by the window of the private room, leaning on the railing and looking out. The bustling street scene of the past had lost its luster, so Zhang Zhong could only sit back at the table.
"I wonder what's going on at Duke Jin's house?" Zhu Yuhuan said, explaining, "I'm not very familiar with Duke Jin's family, and my father hasn't said anything explicitly, so I can't go there rashly."
Zhang Fu naturally understood this. As a royal princess, Zhu Yuhuan's every word and action was meant to be a role model. Many rumors had been circulating before, so she understood what it meant to act cautiously.
Therefore, Zhang Fu replied, "Duke Jin's eldest grandson has been married for many years, and even his great-grandson is already an adult. Moreover, Duke Jin served his country loyally and died while in office. He was posthumously conferred the title by Your Majesty. It is a good thing for the family that his eldest grandson inherits the title. Although he has a younger son, who is two years younger than the princess, he has a brother from the same mother, so his life will not be too bad."
Zhu Yuhuan vaguely heard a hint of self-mockery and anxiety in his words and immediately understood.
Previously, when Zhu Zhanji abandoned Jiaozhi, Zhang Fu, like Liu Yongcheng, had tried to secure it, but Zhu Zhanji had already made up his mind, and the effort ultimately came to nothing. Without the means to establish himself abroad, military heroes like Zhang Fu naturally turned their attention to their own children and grandchildren, and inheriting the title became their top priority.
Xue Lu himself, for example, had a good ending, as his eldest son Xue Xun died young and his eldest grandson Xue Shen inherited the title. In contrast, Zhang Fu's only son, Zhang Zhong, was already quite young and had a leg disability. Although he had recovered considerably, Xu Wangzhi had also stated that Zhang Zhong might not be completely cured. Now that Zhang Fu was over fifty, if something bad happened to him, the title of Duke of Ying would be wasted.
Not to mention, Zhang Zhong could not inherit his military position, and his family would have to rely on the capital left by Zhang Fu to make a living.
Therefore, Zhang Fu had to be anxious, especially after seeing Xue Lu's grandson inherit the title, Zhang Fu immediately began to consider letting his son get married and have children.
Zhu Yuhuan comforted him, "Duke Ying is in good health, so there's no need to worry. Besides, there's the matter of Duke Jin, and Duke Ying is a loyal minister. It's only natural for him to inherit the title, so there's no need to worry."
That being said, Duke Yingguo Zhang Fu also seemed to have died in the Battle of Tumu. As for how the title was finally inherited, Zhu Yuhuan was not quite sure.
There was no way around it. The Zhu family's petty affairs were exactly what everyone loved about the thrilling stories of kings, princes, and generals. In comparison, who would care about the ordinary people who were inexplicably used as foils for the royal conspiracy theories? Even Duke Ying of Ying, Zhang Fu, was ignored.
The two chatted for a while about Xue Lu's posthumous honors, and then Zhu Yuhuan got to the point and asked, "I wonder if the Duke of Ying has ever heard Father or the ministers mention General Liu's border battle reports?"
Zhang Fu was stunned because he didn't expect Zhu Yuhuan to ask about military intelligence and reports so directly.
Zhang Zhong hurriedly explained to Zhu Yuhuan: "Dad forgot that General Liu is your highness's master."
Zhang Fu naturally remembered this. He coughed before saying, "It's hard to say. If the Wuliangha hadn't invaded south, finding them wouldn't have been easy. Furthermore, General Liu couldn't attack without Your Majesty's permission."
Zhu Yuhuan also understood the difficulty of going out on military expeditions. Compared with Zhu Zhanji who personally patrolled the border and made decisions, Liu Yongcheng, who was under pressure, naturally could not act solely based on his experience in marching and fighting. He had to ask his superiors for instructions first.
Under so many restrictions, it is not easy for Liu Yongcheng to win a battle.
Now it was Zhang Fu's turn to comfort Zhu Yuhuan. He said, "Liu Pianjiang has served Emperor Taizong for many years, so he's no problem marching and fighting. Not only will he have ample food and fodder for this expedition, but he'll also have support at the border. He can prepare for a patrol and will undoubtedly have a chance to defeat the enemy. Your Highness, don't worry."
Zhu Yuhuan also knew that military intelligence and reports could not be leaked at will, but seeing Zhang Fu's affirmative response, he could only nod slightly and said, "Duke Ying is right."
Zhang Fu was relieved to see that Zhu Yuhuan had stopped asking questions. He smiled and said, "Your Highness cares so much about General Liu. If he knew, he would definitely show off to me again."
Zhu Yuhuan smiled and said, "It's natural for students to care about their teachers."
Zhang Fu naturally nodded in agreement, and couldn't help but feel that Liu Yongcheng was fortunate to be Princess Shunde's teacher.
The rumors were circulating that Princess Shunde and the Crown Prince were at odds, but Zhang Fu knew full well that if the relationship between the two siblings was truly bad, how could the palace be peaceful? Perhaps their relationship was incredibly close. Even though Liu Yongcheng's recent appearance seemed to have offended His Majesty, his days of being highly valued were still to come, not to mention the rewards His Majesty would offer him if he won a victory.
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