Chapter 68 Clinging to Him
On the day of Zhang Zhong's wedding, the emperor and empress bestowed many rewards, including, of course, a thank-you gift from Zhu Yuhuan, which also gave enough face to the elderly nobleman, the Duke of Ying.
Zhang Fu understood that the Emperor, Empress, and Princess had bestowed extra favors on Zhang Zhong in recognition of his contribution in protecting Princess Shunde, but he still felt a little moved, wondering if this also meant that the Emperor and Empress agreed that their grandson, whose whereabouts he didn't know, would inherit the title in the future.
Taking advantage of the good weather, Zhu Youtong specially called Zhu Qiyu over and let him wander around in a corner of the courtyard and paint by himself.
"Finally, all the gifts have been sent away. Now I can paint in the courtyard."
Zhu Qizhen, who had come uninvited, asked curiously, "What gift?"
If Zhu Qizhen and Zhu Qiyu hadn't been together at the time, Zhu Youtong would never have let the palace servants around her bring Zhu Qiyu to Kunning Palace. However, since they had already arrived, Zhu Youtong could only reluctantly say, "Sister has prepared quite a few wedding gifts for the Duke of Yingguo. Together with the gifts from the Emperor and Mother, several loads have been placed in the courtyard since early this morning."
Zhu Qizhen groaned and said, "Dad gave the Duke of Ying something in recognition of his years of loyalty to the country. Why did Big Sister give him something?"
Zhu Youtong wanted to say it was because your maternal grandparents nearly killed your sister, but then she thought about Zhu Qizhen, a second-generation rich man who would definitely make a scene if he knew. But if Zhu Youtong didn't answer him, he was afraid that Zhu Qizhen would annoy her to the point of being unbearable. Zhu Youtong had no choice but to put down her brush and said, "Of course it's because my sister is friends with the young man from the Duke of Ying."
"Friend?" Zhu Qizhen looked puzzled and said, "The Duke of Ying is a minister, and his son can only be a minister too. How can he be friends with a minister? Oh, I see... It must be this Duke of Ying's son who is trying to curry favor with the rich and powerful! He's obviously not a good person!"
Zhu Qiyu, who was originally playing Cuju against the palace wall, turned around with some confusion and asked, "Climbing on the dragon and attaching himself to the phoenix?"
"Although Mr. Zhang has a disability, he's a good person and often helps out at the charity center." Zhu Youtong was speechless when he said this. After a long pause, he asked, "Prince, who taught you to say something like 'climbing the dragon and attaching yourself to the phoenix'?"
Although she didn't like Zhu Qizhen, she also knew that Zhu Qizhen was a child, and she herself never said a word inappropriate to Zhu Qizhen. How could someone dare to do that?
"Mr. Wang."
Zhu Yuhuan happened to come out of the house holding a pile of books. Upon hearing what Zhu Qizhen said, he asked with a smile, "Mr. Wang? What did Wang Zhen say?"
Zhu Youtong finally welcomed his savior and immediately said, "What did Wang Zhen teach the prince about? Climbing the dragon and attaching himself to the phoenix!"
Zhu Qizhen nodded and said, "Mr. Wang taught me that those who actively show their affection to me must have taken a fancy to my status as the crown prince and have something to hide."
Zhu Yuhuan immediately guessed what Wang Zhen was thinking. He was probably afraid that others would take the opportunity to get close to the prince like him and wanted to hold on to the fat piece of meat that was Zhu Qizhen.
He was so anxious that he even cursed himself, completely forgetting how he had asked Zhu Yuhuan for a ladder to climb to the sky.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuhuan deliberately joked and asked, "So, isn't Zhen Ge'er afraid that I will try to get close to someone powerful?"
Zhu Qizhen said as a matter of course: "We brothers and sisters are originally dragons and phoenixes, so why should we try to cling to them?"
Zhu Youtong curled his lips, dotted around on the paper with his paintbrush, and muttered softly, "Flattery..."
Zhu Yuhuan didn't care. Instead, he handed the stack of books in his hand to Huai En beside him and said, "Have someone extract the titles of the books and compile them into two copies. Give one to the prince's Wang Banban and ask him to let the prince read them more often. The other copy is given to Cheng Banban."
Huai En responded: "Yes."
Zhu Qizhen was worried when he saw so many books. He complained, "Sister, why do you still have so many books? The books you sent me last time were not interesting at all. Mr. Wang hasn't finished his lecture yet."
Zhu Yuhuan smiled and said, "These are all classics I've read before, most of them were recommended by the lecturers. If you don't read them now, you'll have to read them after you leave the palace to study. It's better to finish them sooner rather than later, so that you can surprise the lecturers."
Zhu Qizhen glanced at the tall book, and finally nodded solemnly, saying, "I understand." He was afraid that Zhu Yuhuan would take out another pile of books, so he quickly ran to Zhu Qiuyu and played Cuju with him.
Anyway, Big Sister had no control over Renshou Palace and never tested him on his homework when he came to play. Even if he didn't read, Big Sister wouldn't know. Besides, it's not like he didn't read, he just read slowly, so it wasn't like he was fooling Big Sister.
Zhu Yuhuan knew from his expression that Zhu Qizhen most likely didn't take his words to heart, so he didn't care.
Ever since the conversation at the Princess Jiaxing Mansion, Zhu Yuhuan had treated Zhu Qizhen not only as his brother but also as his own son, always urging him to read more. She only had to fool Empress Dowager Zhang, and it would be fine if Zhu Qizhen read it, but even better if he didn't.
The children were having a great time when Wu Miaosu, Concubine He Hui and several other concubines came out. Concubine He Hui saw this and jokingly said, "Princess Yongqing is painting again. Is she going to hold an exhibition at the Taiping Teahouse again?"
Zhu Youtong laughed and said, "This time I want to draw Xiaoyu. This is a gift for Madam Wu. If I have the chance in the future, I will draw one every year. That way, when Xiaoyu grows up to be a handsome man, Madam Wu can still see what Xiaoyu looked like when he was little."
Wu Miaosu sighed and said with a smile, "Then I have to think carefully about how to return the gift to match Tongtong's kindness."
Zhu Qiyu felt a little embarrassed when he heard this, and without caring about the Cuju under his feet, he hid behind his mother.
Zhu Yuhuan saw the palace servant beside Wu Miaosu holding the account book, and couldn't help but smile. He said to Wu Miaosu, "Thank you for coming to my place every day."
Wu Miaosu smiled and said, "It's because we don't have much to do, so the Queen assigned the charity hall's affairs to us, which can be regarded as a way to pass the time."
Concubine He Hui looked at the two Zhu brothers with a hint of envy. She said, "Alas, every day I watch my brothers and sisters grow up, but we haven't made any progress at all..."
Wu Miaosu knew her worries and anxieties and said, "Don't dwell on these things. Didn't Her Majesty say that there have been signs of a locust plague in Northern Zhili recently? Your Majesty is busy with official duties, so it's inevitable that he'll come to the harem less often and won't be able to take care of everyone."
Concubine He Hui became angry when she heard this, but when she thought that the prince was right here, she didn't know what to say and just sighed.
Wu Miaosu understood her thoughts and comforted her, "There's still a long way to go, and there will always be good news."
A group of concubines walked out of Kunning Palace. Zhu Yuhuan listened from the side and counted the days while grinding ink for his sister.
Seeing that the Qixi Festival is approaching, it is only a matter of time before the end of the year, and this day may not last long.
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