Chapter 5 Emperor Yongle
"Your mother showed me all the calligraphy you've been writing lately. It's quite impressive, but you're still focusing on drawing." Zhu Zhanji took his daughter's hand and said, "They say seeing words is like seeing a person. Writing is the foundation of a person's life. You've just started learning calligraphy, so you must practice diligently. Don't slack off just because it's difficult at the beginning. Do you understand?"
The emperor's bedroom was not close to the East Palace. It was cold in winter, so the father and daughter took a sedan chair to the vicinity of the Qianqing Palace before walking. Along the way, Zhu Zhanji did not forget to give his daughter careful instructions. As for who he was talking to, only the listener knew.
Zhu Yuhuan nodded obediently and said, "Don't worry, Daddy, I won't be lazy or play tricks."
If it were any other father and daughter, it would be considered a strange thing for them to care so much about their daughter's studies, but for the Zhu family father and daughter, it was perfectly normal.
There are not many favored princesses in the palace. There is Emperor Taizu's youngest daughter, Princess Baoqing, who was raised by Empress Renxiao herself. When she got married, it was the current crown prince who sent her off with a generous dowry. However, there are many princesses who are unfavored or even unfortunate. Just take the current emperor as an example. He even severely punishes the husband's family of Princess Yongping, his and Empress Renxiao's eldest daughter, if they make mistakes. He is even more harsh than the current emperor.
But the most special thing is the upbringing of this future little princess.
In the past, Empress Xiaoci and Empress Renxiao compiled women's books and ordered the ladies of the imperial court, princesses and palace maids to study them, but they had never taught girls the classics, history and literature in this way.
The eunuch had served Zhu Di for many years and had naturally seen many people and things. He felt that this young master was very blessed.
The emperor, the crown prince, and the crown prince doted on her so much that she was allowed to walk freely at such a young age. Even Princess Baoqing did not have such an honor.
As they approached the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the eunuch smiled and said, "The Emperor is waiting inside. The Crown Prince and the Young Master, please give me your cloak first so I can warm myself up before entering, lest I get sick from the sudden change of temperature."
Both father and daughter responded, and after they passed the palace gate, palace servants came forward to serve them.
Zhu Yuhuan stood by the fumigation cage to keep warm, feeling a little puzzled.
Usually, Zhu Di would wait inside early, and when he heard the palace servant's message, he would call his grandson and great-granddaughter forward first. Why is the palace so quiet today, as if there is no one there?
Zhu Zhanji didn't seem surprised. Instead, he whispered to Zhu Yuhuan, "Go and find your great-grandfather."
Zhu Yuhuan exclaimed, and glanced inside unconsciously, trying to find Zhu Di with his eyes first.
Although the relationship between the grandfather and grandson was good, if they accidentally offended Zhu Di, the consequences would be disastrous...
However, Zhu Zhanji was standing nearby, so Zhu Yuhuan had no choice but to tiptoe forward. But then she felt like a thief, so she stopped and slowed down, walked around the screen made of the map of the northern border, and saw Zhu Di in casual clothes, half leaning on the south bed, still holding a book. It was obvious that he dozed off while reading, but his hands were empty.
Zhu Yuhuan took a closer look and found that the book had already fallen to the ground, revealing its title "Complete Collection of Poems on the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars".
Zhu Yuhuan blinked and looked at the sleeping Zhu Di. Without the Yishan crown and the gold-woven dragon robe, Zhu Yuhuan vaguely saw the old age of an ordinary old man on his face, instead of the usual majestic demeanor of an emperor. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart that heroes grow old, and no one can escape it, no matter whether you are an emperor or a general.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuhuan picked up a corner of the blanket quietly and covered Zhu Di with it. Zhu Di showed signs of waking up. Zhu Yuhuan caught a glimpse of it, but pretended not to know. He picked up the book on the ground, ran quickly to the outside of the screen, and put it on the desk.
Zhu Zhanji had already taken the hot water that the palace servant had prepared and personally made tea for Zhu Di. When he saw Zhu Yuhuan coming out, he asked, "Where is the emperor?"
Zhu Yuhuan shook his head and said, "Grandpa studied too hard and fell asleep from exhaustion. Dad, let's come back later."
Zhu Zhanji did not answer her. Instead, he smiled and looked behind her, saying respectfully, "Grandson pays homage to the Emperor."
Zhu Yuhuan then realized that Zhu Di had stood up and walked out without knowing when. As soon as he walked around the screen, she hurriedly bowed and said, "Huanhuan greets great-grandfather."
Zhu Di uttered an "oh" and raised his voice slightly. "Why is Huanhuan still estranged from Great-Grandpa? Your father won't teach you, won't you learn well? When he was little, he was never so respectful to Great-Grandpa. He was more like a knight-errant, a bit careless and particularly mischievous. If the prince hadn't been unable to catch up with him, he would have been beaten with a whip and fried meat long ago."
While Zhu Di was talking about the past, a tactful young eunuch had already brought a stool for Zhu Zhanji so that the crown prince could have a seat.
When Zhu Yuhuan heard about Zhu Zhanji's secrets, he immediately pulled Zhu Di's sleeve and shook it, then asked coquettishly, "Really? Was Daddy as naughty as me when he was a child?"
It would be a shame not to listen to such gossip, and it can also bring you closer to Zhu Di, so why not do it?
"Naughty, naughty!" Zhu Di held Zhu Yuhuan in his arms and then sat in the main seat, saying with a smile, "Grandpa made him learn horseback archery, and he's quite good at it. He first shot down a bird's nest on a tree in the Crown Princess's courtyard, which scared the Crown Princess. She thought someone was deliberately trying to scare her, so she ran to your great-grandmother to complain. Later, she found out that it was your father who was practicing with the bird's nest outside the courtyard wall!"
Zhu Yuhuan responded with understanding, and then stretched out his voice, "So Daddy has been piercing a bird's nest since he was a child."
But she was also a little curious. Why would the Crown Princess be afraid of being intimidated? Could it be Concubine Guo?
Zhu Zhanji, who had just sat down, felt a little embarrassed when his grandfather told him about his childhood embarrassing story in front of his daughter. He coughed lightly and said to Zhu Yuhuan, who was sitting on Zhu Di's lap, "Huanhuan, why don't you come down quickly?"
Before Zhu Yuhuan could move, Zhu Di said, "Why are you coming down? I haven't given my precious great-grandson the gifts I brought back from Mongolia yet." He then waved his hands in front of Zhu Yuhuan and said, "Guess what goodies your great-grandfather has brought you back?"
Zhu Yuhuan thought for a moment and said, "Is it a jade bracelet? Or a jade brush washer?"
Zhu Di was a little surprised. "Jade?"
"Last time, Grandfather the Emperor gave me two pairs of jade bracelets and a jade brush washer. I gave one pair to my younger sister, but the Second Concubine is pregnant with a younger brother, so of course Grandfather's gift can't be reserved for me alone." Zhu Yuhuan said seriously, "Mother taught me that a gentleman should be modest and gentle like jade. Jade is the symbol of a gentleman. My younger brother will also be a gentleman in the future, so it's natural for him to wear jade. But I don't have any good things, so I can only ask Grandfather Great-grandfather for a reward."
Zhu Di couldn't help but laugh when she said that. He said, "Your brother hasn't even been born yet, and you're already asking for a reward on his behalf?"
Zhu Yuhuan said with a smile: "Brothers and sisters are as close as brothers. If there is me and my sister, there must be a brother."
"Hmm..." Zhu Di pondered for a moment before saying to the eunuch at the door, "Take some things from my storehouse and send them to the Crown Princess. Tell her to distribute them to the two children."
The emperor said this calmly, but Zhu Zhanji who was present quickly understood that Zhu Di had probably forgotten his other two great-grandchildren and only remembered the little girl in front of him.
Zhu Zhanji couldn't help but feel sorry in his heart that his eldest daughter was mistakenly born as a girl. She was born smarter than ordinary children and knew how to read people's expressions since she was young. Even in the royal family, she was already a top-notch talent. Not to mention that when he looked at his daughter's homework when she was just learning to write, although the strokes were immature, he could vaguely see the perseverance that was rare among ordinary people from those big characters.
He was feeling this way, and Zhu Yuhuan had already guessed several times without success, scratching his head. Seeing this, the old man smiled and pulled out a small dagger from the side of his bed, handed it to Zhu Yuhuan, and asked with a smile: "How is it? Have you seen this?"
The sheath of this dagger is very gorgeously decorated, and the inlaid gems are shining, which makes people feel uncomfortable to look at it directly.
Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. He took the dagger with both hands and said, "Is this also something from the Tartars?"
Seeing her like this, Zhu Di couldn't help but feel a little proud and said, "This is a gift from Jin Zhong. Although it's small, the blade is sharp. Grandpa Zeng knew you liked this kind of gadget at first sight, so he had it accepted."
Zhu Yuhuan nodded, seeming to understand, but then asked with some confusion, "Isn't Jin Zhong a Han Chinese name? Did Great-grandfather send Han Chinese to control the Tatars?"
Zhu Zhanji stopped him and said, "Huanhuan, you can't ask about state affairs without permission."
"Ah." Zhu Di waved his hand and patiently explained, "His original name was Yesen Tugan, the sixth-generation grandson of Yesen Buhua. He was originally only granted the title of governor, but after meeting my great-grandfather, he obediently accepted the surrender. Since he is a descendant of the Ming Dynasty, he naturally has to use the Ming Dynasty's name, so he was given a Chinese surname and given a Chinese name."
Zhu Yuhuan looked up at Zhu Di and praised him sincerely, "Grandpa is amazing! This is what Daddy said—civil servants can govern a country, and military force can bring peace to the nation. All nations come to pay tribute and sincerely submit!"
Apart from anything else, his military achievements included the Northern Expedition against the Tatars, and his literary achievements included the Yongle Encyclopedia. Regardless of other things, for Zhu Di personally, these were already the highest achievements and praises of an emperor.
"Good!" Zhu Di looked at Zhu Zhanji and said with a smile, "Grandson, the Grand Princess has taught well. This is how the young county lady should be taught. Don't just learn those women's books. You should learn from many people like your grandmother did."
Zhu Zhanji said respectfully, "Grandson, I obey Grandpa Huang." Then he felt something was wrong and said quickly, "Grandpa Huang, how can you call her Princess Huanhuan? She hasn't been officially canonized yet..."
Zhu Di stroked the top of his great-granddaughter's head and said, "When great-grandfather comes back next year, I'll give our little county lady a title, so that everyone in the palace won't just call her "little master" and "little master" and not be able to tell which is Huanhuan."
Before Zhu Zhanji could even wink at his daughter, Zhu Yuhuan had already jumped off Zhu Di's lap and saluted obediently, saying, "Huanhuan thanks great-grandfather for his grace."
"Huanhuan is much more obedient than your second and third grandfathers. He deserves to be rewarded for being obedient."
Zhu Yuhuan hung the dagger on his waist and said firmly, "Huanhuan will study hard, just like Grandpa Zeng! I will definitely not let Grandpa Zeng down!"
Seeing her holding the dagger with great interest, Zhu Di said, "Grandpa will hire a master for you later to prevent this dagger from hurting you."
Zhu Yuhuan saw that a pillow was brought to him when he felt sleepy, and he immediately said, "Grandpa Zeng, Huanhuan still wants to learn archery."
Zhu Di couldn't help but smile and asked, "Do you want to be as fast as your father and sneak through a bird's nest?"
Zhu Zhanji was prodded again and couldn't help but say helplessly, "Grandpa Emperor, why are you bringing this up again? Let this little girl remember this. How am I, as her father, going to discipline her in the future?"
"Stop acting like a big shot." Zhu Di hugged his great-granddaughter and said, "Why do you want to learn archery?"
Zhu Yuhuan smiled and replied, "When Huanhuan practices calligraphy, he always feels overwhelmed. He gets tired after writing a few strokes. But when I look at the calligraphy in Daddy's study, it's so vigorous and powerful. I think it must be because of his martial arts training. Grandma once said that Daddy could pull a 60-jin bow. If Huanhuan could also pull a heavy bow, he would definitely be able to practice calligraphy even better."
Seeing her face full of expectation, Zhu Di agreed, "Okay, let's ask Ma to teach you, okay? Let's start with the little ones."
Zhu Yuhuan didn't know who the horse he was talking about was. Zhu Zhanji was surprised and said, "General Liu has many duties to attend to. How can he have the time to teach Huanhuan? Grandpa Emperor, please just appoint a Jinyiwei to teach her."
Zhu Yuhuan then had some impression that the "horse" Zhu Di mentioned should be the eunuch Liu Yongcheng. Although he was a eunuch, he was extremely brave. He had always followed Zhu Di as a "little general" and had made many military achievements. He had a very high reputation in the court, just like the eunuch Sanbao.
However, it was rarely mentioned in later best-selling books. If Zhu Yuhuan had not heard the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess talk about the Northern Expedition and often mentioned the names "Liu Yongcheng" and "Eunuch Liu Ma", and had asked Hu Shanxiang curiously, she would not have known that such a person existed.
Zhu Di waved his hand and said, "It's only a month, perfect time for him to rest. Then we can appoint someone else to teach her. Huanhuan has such thoughts, why do you always pour cold water on her? I heard that you usually treat the Crown Prince's Consort with disdain at home, and think she is restricting your daughter. But I don't think you are much better. No matter how busy you are, you should spend less money on your wife and children."
When Zhu Yuhuan heard what Zhu Di said, he was shocked.
The Eastern Palace was managed by the Crown Princess, and no news was ever leaked out on a daily basis. However, Zhu Di was able to find out the situation in Zhu Zhanji's family so easily, and he told it so casually. Thinking of her previous intentional or unintentional attempts to speak well of Hu Shanxiang, Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, vaguely catching a glimpse of the imperial wit of this seemingly kind old man.
Who knows, the old man might still be laughing at her, a little smart-ass kid.
Zhu Zhanji didn't look surprised. It was unknown whether he had anticipated this or simply didn't mind having his "family affairs" snooped into. He couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Grandpa Emperor, are you still going on a northern expedition after the New Year?"
Judging from what Zhu Di said, he was obviously thinking of going north again after the New Year. It has been less than half a month since he returned, so why is he thinking about going north again?
Zhu Di had a stool brought for Zhu Yuhuan to sit next to him, and then he said to Zhu Zhanji, "We didn't encounter Alutai during this northern expedition. I'm always worried about them wandering around in the north. Why not take advantage of this month to prepare and march north again to wipe them out completely."
He said this lightly, as if he was just going to clean the house, but when Zhu Yuhuan thought that Zhu Di was leading an army of hundreds of thousands, his hair stood on end.
These hundreds of thousands of troops went there not just to clean up the house, but to crush the Tatars.
Zhu Zhanji showed a worried look on his face and immediately stood up and said, "Grandson is willing to go north with Grandpa! Together we will defeat the Arutai tribe!"
"No need, just stay in Shuntian. Your whole family can't live without you." Zhu Di coughed, cleared his throat, and said, "I don't know if I can find that little thief Alutai this time. If I take you with me, I'm afraid it will be a wasted trip. It's better for you to stay in the court and follow the Crown Prince to get involved in government affairs. Don't worry, Grandson. If I encounter Alutai, I will definitely deal with them completely, leaving no one alive. I will beat the Tartars so hard that they won't dare to graze south for fifty years."
Seeing Zhu Di's insistence, Zhu Zhanji had no choice but to say, "Grandson, I will listen to you, Grandpa."
Zhu Yuhuan tugged at Zhu Di's sleeve and asked, "Will Great-grandfather still accompany Huanhuan to see the lantern tower? Grandma also said that Great-grandfather has returned victorious and we should celebrate well during the Lantern Festival."
Zhu Di smiled and pinched her face, saying, "Look, my great-grandfather loved watching lanterns." He looked up at an unknown point in the distance and said, "When I was in the south, the ten-mile-long street along the Qinhuai River was brightly lit during the Lantern Festival. I took her upstairs to watch it, it was so beautiful..."
Zhu Yuhuan smiled and said contentedly, "That's good. Huanhuan just wants her great-grandfather to accompany her to watch the lanterns." She glanced at Zhu Zhanji. Although he was smiling, the smile was a little false. He was probably thinking about Zhu Di's northern expedition.
After the New Year, we will march north to catch up with Aluta, and it will take more than four months to return to Beijing.
Thinking of Zhu Di's rare old age that he had just witnessed, Zhu Yuhuan vaguely felt that the Yongle era of prosperity might soon be over.
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