"The eldest brother was born in troubled times and has been in charge of military affairs and government for his father since he was a child. Of course he will not be deceived by Confucian scholars. But what about the future? What about the next generation of heroes like this who were born in a deep palace and who are better than women? Is it possible?
If you are going to be controlled by a Confucian scholar, do you dare to tell me?" Zhu Zhen insisted.
He believed in educational determinism. If Zhu Xiongying was not rescued from the hands of the Lu family and his daughter, the emperor's eldest grandson's outlook on life would not be much different from Zhu Yunwen's when he grew up.
"Oh, what you said makes sense. Now I dare not say whether what you said is right or wrong." The prince sighed:
"And if Xiongying can learn from you, it will definitely be a blessing for the Ming Dynasty. Fortunately, he is still young and is only learning to read and write. You still have time to prove that you are right."
"Okay, brother." Zhu Zhen nodded and stopped insisting.
The eldest brother has received a complete princely education. Although the teachers are both civilized and military, it is obvious that great scholars like Song Lian have a far greater influence on the eldest brother than military generals like Xu Da and Chang Yuchun...
If you want to change your eldest brother's opinion, you can't do it overnight.
~~
After the banquet, the two brothers carefully avoided areas where they had political disagreements and only talked about things that made them happy.
Facts have proved that the two brothers have far more points of agreement than disagreements. So the more they drank, the more harmonious they became, and the little unhappiness was forgotten.
That night, Zhu Zhen stayed at Chunhe Palace. The prince planned to sleep on the same bed with him, but he saw that the boy was already drunk and fast asleep. He had no choice but to give up.
When he returned to his palace, he saw that Mrs. Lu had finished dressing and was waiting for him in cool clothes. She was not rich but generous.
"Have Xiong Ying and Yun Wen slept?" The prince sat on the couch, admiring Lu's exquisite curves.
"Sister took them to bed." Ms. Lu took off his shoes and socks, soaked his feet and massaged them.
"Yes." The prince nodded, enjoying the comfort from his feet. However, he heard her sobbing slightly.
"What's wrong?" The prince asked strangely: "Who made you angry?"
"No." Mrs. Lu quickly wiped her tears with her sleeves and said with a forced smile, "I'm just thinking wildly."
The prince reached out to hold her in his arms, lifted her oval-like face with his fingers and said, "Say."
"Yes, I heard that the Crown Prince and the King of Chu were arguing about teaching heroes." Fang Lu said softly, "I can't help but feel deeply worried. Uncle Liu won't hold a grudge against me, right?"
"Hahaha, no." The prince laughed loudly and said, "It's not like you don't know that Lao Liu is surprisingly good to his sisters-in-law."
"But the sister-in-law in His Highness's eyes is not my concubine..." Mrs. Lu said pitifully: "If His Highness King Chu knew that it was my concubine that prevented Xiongying from becoming his disciple, he would definitely be angry."
"Don't worry, this is my decision." The prince said calmly: "What's more, Xiongying is still young, and Lao Liu himself hasn't made up his mind yet. Let's wait until he has stabilized his character in a few years."
"Yes, people as old as King Chu always think that they know everything." Lu covered her mouth and said with a smile: "Actually, in a few years, when you look back, you will realize how ridiculous you were back then.
"
"What do you mean?" The prince's voice turned cold when he heard this, and he let go of Lu and said, "Are you slandering Lao Liu, or are you trying to instigate the feelings of our brothers?"
"Your Highness, I didn't mean anything like that. I was just chatting and joking." Mrs. Lu quickly knelt down, kowtowed and apologized: "Anyway, I made lies, please punish me."
"Remember, there are some things that should never be said. Even if you think about it, you will be guilty." The prince, who has always been kind and cheerful, said with rare harsh words: "The King of Chu is the third generation pillar of my Ming Dynasty. I will not allow anyone in my family to slander him!"
"One more time, see if I won't let anyone slap your mouth?!" He wiped his feet casually without asking Lu to help him, put on his shoes himself, stood up and said, "You should reflect on it."
After saying that, he walked away, leaving only the dumbfounded Lu there.
After being stunned for a long time, Mrs. Lu started crying and became a tearful person.
~~
Early the next morning, Lao Liu was troubled by Xiongying again.
He held the emperor's eldest grandson in his arms and ravaged him for a while, then opened his sleepy eyes and found that it was daylight.
"Hey, why didn't you go to morning class?"
"I don't know, my aunt didn't call me today." Zhu Xiongying said in a sweet voice, "My mother asked me to sleep in, but it turned out that my sixth uncle was lazier than me..."
"Who do you call lazy? Who do you call lazy?" Lao Liu and Xiong Ying started laughing and making trouble again.
After having enough fun, he sat up and asked the servants of Chunhe Palace to help him wash and dress.
Zhu Xiongying's eldest companion, Eunuch Cui, reported from the sidelines: "The Crown Prince came to see His Highness before he went to court. He saw that His Highness was sleeping soundly, so he did not let him be disturbed."
"Ah..." Lao Liu stretched and said, "Didn't you say anything else?"
"Also," Cui Eunuch said with a somewhat complicated expression: "The Crown Prince said that the emperor's eldest grandson is six years old and can be sent to the main hall. He no longer needs to study with Empress Lu."
"Oh." Lao Liu's expression changed, knowing that there must be a story here, but he didn't have a good impression of Lu, so he didn't bother to ask.
After having breakfast under the service of the palace servants, Zhu Zhen led Xiongying to visit his sister-in-law, and saw Mr. Chang playing with a sword in the martial arts field.
"Uncle Liu, have you slept well?" Mrs. Chang looked around six directions and listened in all directions, and she folded her sword and put it away.
"Hehe, yes. It's causing trouble for my sister-in-law." Lao Liu said with a smile.
"Anyway, don't you know, sister-in-law, I just like the excitement." Mrs. Chang smiled and handed the knife to the two strong palace maids. She took the handkerchief and wiped the sweat while sighing:
"It's a pity that you have grown up one by one, so you come less often. The younger brothers and sisters behind you don't dare to come, so it's a lot less deserted."
"Now that Xiongying is so old, can Chunhe Palace remain deserted?" Lao Liu said with a smile: "If sister-in-law is bored, you can go to my mother and concubine, and you two can learn from each other."
"Hahaha, okay." Mrs. Chang responded with joy, and wanted to keep Lao Liu for lunch. Lao Liu quickly said that he had an appointment with Fifth Brother, and then left.
~~
The sixth brother is not an excuse, he indeed has an appointment with the fifth brother.
But before going to Prince Zhou's Mansion, I first stopped by Prince Yan's Mansion to see my other eldest nephew.
Sure enough, Xu Miaoqing was also there. The two hadn't seen each other for several days and they both missed her very much. So they started to exchange glances with each other across the baby.
Princess Yan couldn't bear to see her as if there was no one around. She picked up Gao Chi and said, "You guys sit here for a while, it's time for Gao Chi to breastfeed."
As soon as the annoying fourth sister-in-law left, Lao Liu quickly explained to Xu Miaoqing: "The reason why I haven't been here for a while is nothing else..."
"I know." Miaoqing nodded and said softly: "It's not appropriate for you to come over during the funeral of the King of Longxi."
"My sister is so considerate. My old man was very sad. A while ago, I didn't dare to go anywhere, so I just stayed in the palace." Lao Liu said helplessly: "In the end, I missed the appointment, which made me very upset.
, don’t, don’t, don’t.”
"Brother-in-law has already explained it to you," Xu Miaoqing said in a thin voice, like gurgling spring water, with a blushing face: "We can make an appointment again when we have time."
"Absolutely no problem." Lao Liu whispered: "I'll tell you a secret. I'm going to be a student at Guozixue this year. I have plenty of time to come out and meet you."
"Ah?" Xu Miaoqing didn't care about the second half of the sentence. She covered her mouth in surprise and said, "Isn't there a main hall? Your Highness still needs to go to the Guozi School?"
"Isn't it just for the convenience of coming out to meet you?" Lao Liu started talking nonsense seriously. "I begged my father for a long time before he agreed to let me come out to study."
"Your Highness..." Xu Miaoqing covered her red face, too embarrassed to even look at him.
