Daming: I am the Crown Prince

It is certainly no small matter for the Crown Prince to go out of the palace for a lake cruise, and all necessary ceremonial equipment and guards must be brought along.

After all, this is a public event, not a private White Dragon Fish Costume, so all the necessary preparations must be made, and all the necessary attention must be paid. Zhu Yunhuan will not object to this at all.

It was natural for some officials or their families to accompany him. In this case, Zhu Yunhuan naturally brought his brothers and sisters with him, as they also had a rare opportunity to leave the palace.

Zhu Yunhuan only needed to ride a horse, but his younger brothers needed to ride in a carriage.

Heading straight to Xuanwu Lake, Zhu Yunhuan was in a good mood. It was just a normal cruise on the lake, so there wouldn't be any huge warships, just some normal cruise ships.

Although it is not a dragon boat, only true nobles or royal family members can board this boat.

Zhu Yunxi was a smart child. When he saw Xu Miaojin, he behaved very well and said, "Your humble servant greets the Empress."

Xu Miaojin blushed and said quickly, "Your Highness, this is unreasonable."

"What's wrong with that?" Zhu Yunhuan said with a smile, "My little brother has some foresight. He knows that our wedding date has been set and is just waiting for an auspicious day. The fourth and fifth brothers are smarter than you."

Zhu Yunhuan certainly knows some things, but he is not like Zhu Yunxi who can act cute at the age of four or five. He is in his early teens, and in this age, he can't just be treated as a child who knows nothing.

However, with Zhu Yunhuan's reminder, Zhu Yunhuan also hurriedly said politely, "Your humble servant greets the Empress's wife."

Zhu Yunhuan arranged the tasks and said, "Old Five, take my little nephew out to play. Old Five, you and Zan Yi go together. I will assign a task to the two of you. Take a small boat and go to each ship to have a look. You two are royal relatives, so you should show your faces."

Needless to say, Zhu Yunwen was the fourth son of the former crown prince Zhu Biao. Zhu Zanyi was the only prince in the Ming Dynasty who was not from the lineage of the old Zhu. Even though Zhu Wenzheng and Zhu Shouqian had caused trouble one after another, the old Zhu still left the throne to his eldest brother's lineage.

Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Zanyi also quickly accepted the order. Zhu Yunwen had been very cautious in the past two or three years. Zhu Zanyi had been studying in the Yingtianfu Palace since Zhu Shouqian was punished. Old Zhu was afraid that his great-grandson would learn bad things.

Seeing her two younger brothers happily leaving on the boat, Princess Ningguo said with a smile, "Yun Hun still acts like an elder brother."

Princess Anqing also said proudly, "Otherwise, why does my father like Yunhu so much? It's because Yunhu is the one who cares the most about his family. In the future, my daughter will also have to rely on her brother to take care of her."

Zhu Yunxun begged for mercy quickly, "Don't worry, little aunt. I think my sister is good. I have no shortage of brothers, but I don't have many sisters."

After the second marriage, she gave birth to a baby girl. Although Princess Anqing was happy to have a child, she was somewhat disappointed because of the general preference for boys over girls. So she often reminded Zhu Yunhuan from time to time.

Princess Anqing immediately asked, "Then find a good family for your sister?"

Zhu Yunhuan said affirmatively, "Of course, I have thought it through. My sister is a princess of wealth and status and cannot be wronged. When the time comes, she can choose the person she likes. It doesn't matter if she is from a noble family or a scholar's family. Anyway, I can protect her, as long as my sister is happy."

Princess Anqing was a little dissatisfied, "How can this be possible? You still need some status."

"Why not?" Zhu Yunhuan said with great certainty, "Others have no say in this. Only I can decide the marriages of Shunchang and the others. The same is true for other clans. Most of them give orders. But my sister is different. I just hope she is happy."

These words made some people present feel complicated. Not to mention royal families, even the legitimate sons and daughters of noble families had no say in the matter of marriage. Political marriage was the most important thing.

Zhu Yunhuan then looked at Zhu Yourong, "Sister, today's event is considered an elegant one, and there are many students from the Imperial College. If someone sends me a poem later, you have to comment on it for me."

Zhu Yourong smiled and asked, "Why do you want me to comment? I am not very knowledgeable, so I won't make a fool of myself."

Zhu Youling said in a sabotaging tone, "If Big Sister doesn't help, I'm afraid Yunxun's comments will be even more ridiculous."

"That's why you don't understand." Zhu Yourong said with a smile, "Yun Hun still has some well-educated people around him. They are the real talents and knowledge. If they were to comment on the poems, they would definitely be much better than us."

Zhu Yunhuan joked seriously, "If I really let my subordinates comment on it, everyone in the world would know that the Crown Prince can't write poetry. Grandfather can still write some poetry, but it's not as good as mine."

It is difficult to say much about other people, because Emperor Hongwu's poems are very personal and others cannot learn them.

In the seventh year of Hongwu, a Hanlin scholar helped to compile Zhu's collection of essays. Zhu Yunhuan couldn't bear to read some of the poems included, which were basically doggerel. There were also poems like "Killing millions of soldiers in the south of the Yangtze River, the sword on the waist is still bloody", which showed Zhu Hongwu's temperament.

Princess Anqing joked at this time, "If you ask me, it's okay that they are beautiful and old, but their talents are comparable to mine. To call them talented women is just flattery from outsiders. It's stupid to believe it. It's like some people who claim to be masters of swords and spears and have no rivals in the world. If they really practice with others, they will be laughed at."

Those who knew the situation were all laughing, but it was even more amusing to see Zhu Yunhuan looking around with an expression of surprise, as if he was trying to find the 'someone' that Princess Anqing mentioned.

This Crown Prince sometimes behaves like a dandy, or he never puts on airs in front of people close to him.

Of course, she would also envy Princess Anqing. In the past two or three years, the status of the Crown Prince has become increasingly stable, and his prestige has been growing. However, this imperial aunt still often makes jokes about him, and the Crown Prince is not only not angry, but very cooperative.

Princess Ningguo also smiled and said, "I don't know the person you are talking about. I just know that there is a person who is the best in the world in swordsmanship, but I have never heard of him being able to use a gun."

"Aunt, you can use a gun!" Zhu Yourong also said jokingly, "People often say it's Zhao Zilong. Wasn't there a "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" some time ago? All it took was a white horse and a set of silver armor."

Although "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was not widely circulated until the mid-Ming Dynasty, it has a long history.

Moreover, although the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is based on Chen Shou's Records of the Three Kingdoms and Pei Songzhi's annotations, it also absorbs folk legends, vernacular novels, and opera stories. Some people think that the drama of the burning of Red Cliff is very similar to the battle between Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang in Poyang Lake.

There are not many records of the Battle of Chibi by Chen Shou and others, such as boats linked by iron chains, sudden northeast wind, fire attack, defeating the strong with the weak, etc. However, many similar battles can be found during the naval battle in Poyang Lake.

Zhu Youling also joked, "My elder sister and I are not very talented, so if we really want to help Yunxun comment on the poems, I think there are other people. We all know who are the talented women in Beijing!" Zhu Yunxun laughed, "First, give me some rice wine and some crabs. Miaojin and I are not married yet. When we are married, let's see who can still tease me!"

Princess Anqing said confidently, "That's hard to say. After you get married, I can still urge you to have children. As long as you two don't show your displeasure, I dare to tease you. There is nothing I can do about it. I am an aunt and an elder."

Zhu Yourong also echoed, "That's the truth, but I also know my limits. Let's just talk about it in private. We still have to give face to the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess in the court. I can't say that the Crown Prince liked to cry when he was three or four years old, and he only wanted to eat all day long."

Zhu Yunhuan immediately stopped believing it, "Big sister, that's not true. You and my second sister are two years older than me and one year older respectively. I don't remember anything, so how can you remember anything? I wasn't that fond of crying when I was a child. Anyway, I won't recognize you!"

"There are old people in the palace who watched us grow up!" Zhu Youling said immediately, "I was afraid that someone would deliberately ruin your reputation, so I asked carefully. It was like this when I was three or four years old. Few people dared to mention what happened after I was five or six years old."

This sister is a little naive, but what she said is true.

Before Zhu Yunwen was five years old, no one wanted to ruin his reputation, including Zhu Yunwen. It was useless even if he tried hard to show himself at that time. It was only after Empress Ma and Zhu Xiongying left that Zhu Yunwen began to be deliberately cultivated.

As for Zhu Yunhuan, he was just a playboy, and was left alone as usual.

Seeing Xu Miaojin gently helping Zhu Yunhuan crack the crab legs, Princess Anqing and the others were very satisfied.

In fact, Xu Miaojin was under a lot of pressure. Just looking at the people who came here and the people on this ship, she understood clearly.

Apart from the Crown Prince, who was also accompanied by Zhang Fusheng, the other guards could only guard the outside.

There are also two underage children, one is Zhu Yunxi and the other is Xu Miaojin's nephew Xu Qin.

Even his cousin Mei Shunchang was driven away, and he took his cousins ​​Fu Rong, Fu Jing and other younger sons of nobles to shuttle back and forth and inspect the ships.

The Crown Prince's three sisters followed, and his eleven aunts were also on the boat.

Among these eleven princesses, one is Princess Fucheng and the other is Princess Qingyang, both of whom are nieces of Zhu Yuanzhang. One is the sister of Zhu Wenzheng, and the other is the daughter of Zhu Yuanzhang's cousin Zhu Chongwu.

As for their age, Princess Fucheng and the others are all over fifty, while Princess Ruyang and Princess Hanshan are less than eighteen and got married only last year.

Although they were close or distant, they were all princesses. And they were all observing Xu Miaojin, consciously or unconsciously, and watching her performance.

It is true that Princess Anqing, Princess Ningguo, or Zhu Yourong and Zhu Youling seem to be very close to Xu Miaojin. However, they are closer to Zhu Yunhuan, so they naturally hope that Xu Miaojin is gentle and virtuous and can take good care of Zhu Yunhuan.

Watching Zhu Yunhuan eating crabs slowly, Xu Miaojin said, "Your Highness is very patient."

Zhu Yunxun asked in confusion, "Where did you get this from?"

"This crab doesn't have much meat, and many people don't have the patience." Xu Miaojin said with a smile, "I have always heard that Your Highness is swift and decisive in his work, and doesn't pay attention to details, so I say this."

Zhu Yunhuan didn't care. "I never tire of fine food. It's okay to eat two or three crabs occasionally, but I still need to eat some food to feel full. These things are just for tasting."

Xu Miaojin also volunteered and said, "Your Highness, I dare not claim to be knowledgeable and talented, and it is difficult for me to write a good work. But if you appreciate it, I may be able to give you some experience."

"Articles are naturally gifted, and they are achieved by a skilled hand." Zhu Yunhuan said with a smile, "No wonder we can be a couple, I think so too. If you really ask me to write a poem, I definitely can't do it, but if you ask me to appreciate it, I can say something. After all, I have read a lot of Tang and Song poems, and it would be unreasonable if I can't appreciate a few of them."

Zhu Yunxi came over holding a plate, "Brother, sister-in-law, my elder sister asked me to bring some fruits."

Zhu Yunxun was in a good mood and rubbed Zhu Yunxi's head. "Old Five, you performed well today. Tell me if there is anything you want."

Zhu Yunxi hesitated for a moment before saying hopefully, "Brother, I want a horse."

"Horse?" Zhu Yunhuan said, "This is my brother, but you are too young now. How about this, I will let Xu Qin go with you, and you two can walk around the palace. Reading, martial arts, riding horses, archery, what do you think?"

Zhu Yunxi immediately became happy, "Brother, how about we not go to the main hall?"

Zhu Yunhuan was immediately at a loss for words, "This is really my brother! Forget it, you can't understand what you read at your age. Only by reading can you understand things, and you should still read. I won't force you to study, just study for two hours in the morning, is that okay?"

Zhu Yunxi pleaded, "Two hours is too long. It's already noon. How about one hour? I still need to ride a horse!"

"Okay, one hour!" Zhu Yunhuan said with a smile, "It's not good for a child this young to study all day. You can learn from me, study for half a day and play for half a day. If you really can't concentrate in school, you can lie down and sleep, as long as you don't affect other people's studies."

Zhu Yunxi was happy at this, and the boy jumped away happily.

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "This child is under too much pressure, her mother must be afraid. I am not a petty person, and there are some things that I cannot say. Fortunately, this child is still young. Look at the third child, he is so timid now, how can he be the grandson of the emperor!"

Xu Miaojin thought for a moment and said cautiously, "If I enter the palace, I will definitely take care of His Royal Highness the Grandson."

In fact, seeing Zhu Yunxun's attitude towards Zhu Yunxi, Xu Miaojin was still very happy.

Many people knew that the Crown Prince and the King of Wulin had a fierce fight three years ago. Now the three descendants of Crown Princess Lu were cautious and prudent, and many people thought that this was natural, and most people kept their distance and dared not contact them.

But if you look at the heart of the Crown Prince, let alone Zhu Yunxi, he never made things difficult for Zhu Yunwen. There is a reason why he could become the Crown Prince! (End of this chapter)