Chapter 41 Kunning Palace
Zhu Yuhuan guessed correctly. A month ago, Jiaozhi was in chaos. Le Loi, who had rebelled before, attacked the Ming army's base on a large scale. The Ming army failed to suppress Le Loi. Chen Qia, the Minister of War who was the military counselor, even went into battle personally. After being defeated, he committed suicide with a knife.
The originally joyous New Year became dull because of the military report, and even Empress Dowager Zhang was worried.
However, this is not Zhu Zhanji's fault. Le Loi had already been rebelling as early as the time of Zhu Di, but he had never been completely suppressed over the years.
After several years of unfavorable wars, not only could the people in Jiaozhi not farm in peace, but they also lost land one after another. As a result, all the money the country invested in the southwest was wasted, and both soldiers and civilians were lost. How could Zhu Zhanji not be worried?
If the war in Jiaozhi continues, the national treasury will have to allocate a large portion to the southwestern border. However, the Tatars and Oirat to the north are also not at peace. The Wunong Temple has just been established and has not yet achieved any results. The national finances are far from being able to fight on two fronts at any time...
To be fair, Zhu Zhanji was no longer willing to continue wasting time in Jiaozhi. It would take countless years for such a barbaric place to become a place where the people could live and work in peace. But this was Jiaozhi that his great-grandfather had recaptured. If he lost it in his hands, what would it mean?
Zhu Zhanji had a lot of thoughts in his mind, but on the surface he still had to send troops to attack Le Loi.
After the New Year, the capital was still a little cold, but it had gradually started to rain. When it rained or snowed, Zhu Yuhuan could suspend classes for a day and simply practice swordplay indoors to prevent his martial arts skills from becoming rusty.
Neither mother nor daughter had the habit of sleeping in. Under Zhu Youtong's supervision, Hu Shanxiang drank the nourishing medicine soup prescribed by Xu Wangzhi while flipping through the palace affairs book on the table. Zhu Youtong himself was learning the music score of the birthday gift that Zhu Zhanji had given to Hu Shanxiang, and plucking a few notes on the pipa from time to time.
The sound of raindrops dripping under the eaves blended with the sound of the pipa, creating a unique artistic conception. Zhu Yuhuan's sword dance was also smooth and flowing. After two sets of sword techniques, beads of sweat were already dripping from his forehead.
"I haven't asked about your homework for a long time. I didn't expect that our princess' sword dance has already developed its own style."
The mother, daughter and her two children all looked towards the door and saw Zhu Zhanji wearing a straw raincoat and a straw hat. If this was not in the palace, Zhu Yuhuan would have thought that he was some farmer who was working so hard that he was still outside on a rainy day.
When Hu Shanxiang saw Zhu Zhanji coming, she hurriedly stood up and saluted. After hearing the words "no need for formalities", she stood up again.
Zhu Yuhuan made a sword flower, sheathed her long sword, and bowed, saying, "Huanhuan greets father." She straightened up and said with a smile, "I learned it a long time ago. I wanted to perform it on father's birthday, but the imperial concubine was in labor at the time, so father didn't see it."
Zhu Zhanji was slightly stunned. It took him a long time to remember this incident, and he felt a little embarrassed.
Zhu Yuhuan continued, "Luckily, Dad didn't see it at the time, otherwise he would have laughed at me. I was still small at that time and couldn't dance very well."
Zhu Zhanji took advantage of the situation and said with a smile: "Your sword skills are quite good. It seems that Saihazhi taught you well."
"That is..."
Hu Shanxiang quickly gave Zhu Yuhuan a warning look, signaling her not to talk nonsense, and then asked: "Why did His Majesty come here suddenly..."
"The Imperial Concubine told me that you haven't been feeling well lately, so I wanted to come and see you."
"Your Majesty is so busy with affairs and affairs that he doesn't have much free time. He should rest well. Why bother worrying about my health?" Hu Shanxiang said to the palace attendant beside her, "Bring your Majesty a towel and hot tea. You too, why didn't you announce His Majesty's arrival? Are there any rules?"
"I told them not to disturb you three." Zhu Zhanji had long been accustomed to her polite and respectful appearance. He raised his hand to take off his raincoat and said, "The imperial concubine's mother came to the palace recently, and I wanted to let them have a good talk. It's raining today, and I feel bored in the Qianqing Palace. The Kunning Palace is close and quiet, so I thought I would come out for some fresh air."
Zhu Yuhuan rolled his eyes in his heart, thinking that it was no wonder that he didn't come in a sedan chair. It turned out that he came directly from the Palace of Heavenly Purity. He was probably annoyed by the military reports and just found a place to hide away and get some peace and quiet.
Zhu Zhanji rarely wore a straw raincoat and couldn't take it off for a long time. Seeing this, Hu Shanxiang had no choice but to reach out and help him untie the knot. After the straw raincoat was taken off, she also used a cloth towel to wipe the raindrops off Zhu Zhanji's face.
Zhu Zhanji was stunned when he met her calm gaze. For the first time, he felt that Hu Shanxiang looked a bit like his wife.
Seeing this, Zhu Youtong felt a little jealous. She put down the pipa in her hand, put her hands on her hips, and said, "Daddy Huang is already such a grown man, why does he still need mother to take care of him? My sister said that we should do our own things."
Zhu Zhanji was quite amused. He reached out and picked up Zhu Youtong, saying, "Why are you just like your sister, with a head full of twisted ideas?"
Ever since he taught Zhu Zhanji how to use farm tools, Zhu Youtong felt closer to Zhu Zhanji, his father whom he rarely met.
Zhu Youtong snorted and emphasized, "Daddy Huang is talking nonsense. My sister's logic is not perverse!"
Zhu Zhanji didn't argue with her, but just followed her words and said, "Okay, okay, you and your sister have the best relationship, Daddy won't say anything more." He glanced at the incense burner on the table, smiled and teased, "Tongtong plays the strings, Huanhuan dances with the sword, and you burn incense and brew tea. You three are quite elegant."
"We can't go out to play on rainy days, so this is all we can do."
Zhu Zhanji held Zhu Youtong and sat down. He reached out and tapped her forehead, saying, "Why do you just play all day? How's your homework going?"
Zhu Youtong said dissatisfiedly: "Why does Emperor Daddy talk about homework every day? Not everyone is as smart and studious as my sister..."
After hearing her words, Zhu Zhanji's heart subconsciously skipped a beat, and he unconsciously thought about what the future of the Ming Dynasty would be like if there was really no prince in the future who could surpass Zhu Yuhuan's talent and wisdom.
Seeing Zhu Zhanji standing there in a daze, Zhu Yuhuan took the hot tea from the palace maid and handed it to Zhu Zhanji politely, saying, "Dad, you came here in the rain. Drink some hot tea to warm yourself up first."
Zhu Zhanji came back to his senses and saw his daughter serving him tea. He felt that he was just worrying for nothing. His daughter was so filial, and there were national laws and family rules. Could the Ming Dynasty produce another Princess Taiping?
Besides, Zhu Yuhuan was a girl after all, so what if he didn't have one? He was in the prime of his life, and even if he died like the late emperor, he would be able to raise the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty to adulthood and control the government as easily as he did.
Zhu Zhanji took the tea, tasted it, smiled knowingly, and said to Zhu Yuhuan, "Why did you replace your mother's tea with the tea from your teahouse?"
Before Zhu Yuhuan could speak, Hu Shanxiang said, "It was I who asked Huanhuan to change the daily tea. This was the idea of my sisters. With the frequent wars in the southwest, the monthly tea cakes are too wasteful. It would be better to replace them with ordinary tea from outside. The palace should follow suit, and the quotas will not be reduced, but the quality will be slightly lowered to barely save some expenses. We can also sell off the unused stock to increase revenue. I know this amount of money is just a drop in the bucket compared to military expenses, but it can be considered a cost-saving measure. There is not much we women can do, so we can only do this to relieve Your Majesty's worries."
Zhu Zhanji often stayed at Concubine Sun's house. There were all kinds of rewards from Zhu Zhanji in Concubine Sun's palace, and the food, clothing and other necessities were naturally the best in the palace. Even when he went to other concubines' houses, Zhu Zhanji rarely paid attention to them, and naturally did not notice these subtle changes.
Zhu Zhanji was stunned to hear that Hu Shanxiang had thought so thoroughly, and then said, "You are thoughtful."
Just mentioning the matter of Jiaozhi, Zhu Zhanji inevitably felt a little upset.
Hu Shanxiang saw that he was sitting there motionless, unlike his usual way of sitting and then leaving, and seemed to be worried about something, so she had no choice but to stay by his side.
Zhu Yuhuan glanced at the sky outside, estimated the time in his mind, and then remained silent.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
