Daming: I am the Crown Prince

As Xu Miaojin's 'due date' draws closer, many people are naturally becoming more and more nervous at this time.

Some experienced midwives have already moved into the Eastern Palace, and a temporary stove for boiling water has been set up.

According to Zhu Yunhuan's request, a delivery room was specially built. Although Zhu Yunhuan knew that it was impossible to achieve true "sterility", he still spent a lot of effort to use alcohol fumigation and so on.

Giving birth in this era has certain risks, and even kings and generals cannot avoid it. Moreover, this is Xu Miaojin's first time giving birth, and she is not old.

So it was not too much to be cautious because this was Zhu Yunhuan's first child.

Concubine Guo Ning has already moved into the Eastern Palace. It’s not that she doesn’t trust midwives and the like, but she needs someone with sufficient status and who is reliable to take charge.

On the tenth day of the ninth lunar month, Zhang Fusheng excitedly and nervously woke up Zhu Yunhuan, "Your Highness! Your Highness!"

Zhu Yunhuan sat up suddenly and asked quickly, "But the Crown Prince's Consort?"

"Your Highness the Crown Prince's Consort has had her bleeding!" Zhang Fusheng said hurriedly, "I have come to report this to Your Highness!"

Zhu Yunhuan stood up suddenly, grabbed his clothes and started to put them on, "Go tell Grandfather, and immediately ask the fourth and fifth sons to go to Fengxian Temple to pray for blessings."

Zhu Yunhuan's move may seem like a big move, but no one would think there is anything wrong with it. Zhu Yunhuan's brothers should pray for their nephew now.

As for telling Lao Zhu, this is of course a very necessary thing, otherwise Lao Zhu will definitely be angry afterwards, especially once a boy is born, Lao Zhu will be ecstatic.

The lights in the East Palace were already on, and the maids and eunuchs were all busy. It was naturally very tense at this time, and no one dared to make any mistakes at this time.

Zhu Yunxun hurriedly put on his clothes and ran outside the delivery room, "Miao Jin, I'll be guarding you outside!"

He may not have had such deep feelings before, but knowing that Xu Miaojin was about to give birth, Zhu Yunhuan was still very nervous. Perhaps Xu Miaojin meant more to him than he imagined.

A maid said cautiously, "Your Highness, Concubine Ning asked Your Highness to stay away and not to bump into them."

Although in later generations there would be some men who would enter the delivery room and help cut the umbilical cord, this was considered a very ritualistic thing by some people.

But in this day and age, not to mention cutting the umbilical cord, even men are not allowed to enter the delivery room, no matter how noble their status.

Zhu Yunhuan didn't say much, but stepped aside obediently and could only wait anxiously.

Zhu Yunhuan could only pace back and forth, especially when he heard Xu Miaojin's cry of pain, he felt as if someone was grabbing his heart.

A burly old man appeared, lifted the hem of his dragon robe, and trotted over with big strides, followed by a large group of eunuchs and guards.

Old Zhu panted and asked quickly, "How long have you been in there?"

"About an hour." Zhang Fusheng quickly explained the situation. "The nanny on duty noticed the noise and immediately reported it to Concubine Ning."

Old Zhu heaved a sigh of relief and said to Zhu Yunxun, who looked worried, "Don't worry too much. Wen Yao is lucky. Our Zhu family ancestors are protecting him!"

Although he said so, Zhu Yunhuan was still nervous. Seeing Zhu Yunhuan's restless look, Old Zhu didn't say anything. In fact, he was also very nervous and expectant.

The baby in Xu Miaojin's belly is really too important. It is even Lao Zhu's biggest hope now.

Old Zhu and Zhu Yunhuan seemed unable to do anything at this time. They could only pace back and forth anxiously. Xu Miaojin's cries of pain from time to time made them extremely nervous.

For Zhu Yunhuan, it now feels like every second is passing by like an age. Even though he thinks he has excellent psychological quality, he is still very nervous at this moment.

Suddenly, Zhu Yunhuan vaguely heard the cry of a baby. Although the sound was not loud, he was sure that he heard it.

"Grandfather!" Zhu Yunhuan was extremely excited and asked quickly, "My child is born!"

Old Zhu was naturally overjoyed and said excitedly, "I heard it too. Our Yunxun is now a father too!"

The next moment, Zhang Fusheng and others knelt down and began to congratulate. At such a happy moment, it was natural for them to start congratulating.

Old Zhu grabbed Zhu Yunhuan's hand and walked towards the delivery room. The birth of the child was naturally a cause for joy, but what Old Zhu was more concerned about now was whether the child was a boy or a girl.

A maid came out of the delivery room excitedly, "Congratulations, Your Majesty, the Crown Prince's Consort has given birth to His Majesty's great-grandson!"

Old Zhu was overjoyed and shouted, "Rewards! There are rewards for everyone in the East Palace! Take good care of Wen Yao and pay more attention to us!"

The maid continued to report the good news to Zhu Yunhuan, "Congratulations to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's Consort on the birth of His Royal Highness the Great Grandson. Both mother and child are doing well!"

Zhu Yunhuan was a little out of control at this moment. Apart from saying yes again and again, he seemed unable to say anything else.

Old Zhu shouted to the delivery room, "Concubine Ning, take good care of Wen Yao and our granddaughter-in-law! Yun Hun and I are going to tell our ancestors the good news!"

Concubine Guo Ning's voice came from the delivery room, "Your Majesty and Your Highness, don't worry. I'm here to watch over you. Your Majesty can rest assured!"

Old Zhu immediately dragged Zhu Yunhuan away. At this moment, Old Zhu seemed to be ten years younger. This old man, who was nearly 70 years old, was full of energy at the moment, and he seemed to be in high spirits even if he had been up all night.

"Your father's birthday is the fifth day of September, and our Wen Yao's birthday is the tenth day of September. Both are auspicious days!" Old Zhu said happily, "When Wen Yao is one month old, we will bring him to the East Palace and raise him ourselves."

Zhu Yunxun could only smile foolishly at this time, "Grandfather, after waiting for so long, I finally have a child!"

When they arrived at Fengxian Hall, Old Zhu saw Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Yunxi praying obediently, and he was in a good mood. "You two are acting like uncles, I'm happy! Yunwen, Yunxi, go back to your hometown immediately after dawn to personally offer sacrifices to your ancestors. Our Ming Dynasty is blessed with a great-grandson!"

Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Yunxi immediately knelt down and hurriedly congratulated, "Congratulations to His Majesty the Grandfather on the birth of his great-grandson, and congratulations to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince on the birth of his son."

"Okay, you guys leave!" Old Zhu was very happy, and suddenly he thought of something, "Yunyu, go to Fengxian Hall quickly and tell them that you won't be attending court today. Your brother has a son, let the officials celebrate!"

This seems a bit exaggerated, but it is not particularly exaggerated. When Zhu Xiongying was born, Zhu celebrated with great joy. Now Zhu Wenyao is the "first heir of the royal family" and the future crown prince of the Ming Dynasty. At this time, no matter how grand the celebration is, it is worth it and must be done in Zhu's opinion.

Zhu Yunhuan also smiled and said, "Remember to send someone to Zhongshan Prince's Palace to announce the good news. The rewards have been prepared in advance. The fourth son will go back to his hometown to announce the good news to his ancestors, and the fifth son will stay in Beijing to help me."

Old Zhu laughed even more happily, "That's right, you are brothers after all! Just listen to your elder brother, he has made the perfect arrangement!"

Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Yunxi naturally did not dare to say much. Even though they were woken up from a sound sleep, they did not dare to complain at all. They immediately rushed to Fengxian Hall to pray in an orderly manner.

Now that we have assigned them some tasks, they naturally won't say anything too much and will just get things done in a down-to-earth manner. These are the most important things.

Now I need to perform well, so that my brother may give me a better fiefdom when the fiefdom is divided in the future. It is true that they are all grandchildren of the emperor, but there is still a huge difference between grandchildren of the emperor and grandchildren of the emperor.

Zhu Yunwen was even more clear about this, not only because he was now a grown-up boy, but also because he had experienced what happened in previous years, which was unforgettable and deeply remembered.

Happy and excited, this is real, especially in Fengxian Hall, Old Zhu didn't care about acting like an emperor, he was busy burning incense and praying to his ancestors.

Zhu Yunhuan was naturally busier, and he also burned incense and prayed to his ancestors one by one. At this time, he should have been more pious.

Civil and military officials have actually noticed that the atmosphere today is somewhat unusual, and especially considering what has happened in recent times, they have become more cautious.

When they saw the fourth son of the former crown prince walking quickly, many officials were even more surprised. In fact, most officials did not know Zhu Yunwen, and he only appeared in front of officials a few times throughout the year.

When they heard the news that the Crown Prince had given birth to his great-grandson and that he had specially adjourned court, the civil and military officials instantly knew what to do, and now all they had to do was to submit their congratulations.

Naturally, the government offices would have to be busier. For example, officials from the Ministry of Rites and the prefect of Fengtian Prefecture would have to do their jobs well.

Chang Sheng was in high spirits. The emperor's great-grandson had some Chang family blood. After all, he was the eldest son of the crown prince!

The three words "eldest son" are enough to illustrate Zhu Wenyao's importance. Everyone can understand that this newborn is the future crown prince and emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Although the overjoyed Old Zhu and Zhu Yunhuan hardly slept, they were still very excited.

Zhu Yunhuan was a father for the first time, and Old Zhu fulfilled his wish of having four generations living under the same roof, and he also had the fat great-grandson he had been looking forward to.

"Yun Hun, let's think about granting amnesty to the world!" Old Zhu said, "Now that our Wen Yao is born, let the people of the world also share in the blessing and accumulate some blessings for our Wen Yao."

Zhu Yunhuan thought for a moment and said, "I will grant amnesty to the whole country next year. Wen Yao's birth can naturally be included in the amnesty, but there are some crimes that cannot be pardoned."

Old Zhu smiled and said, "That's how it is. A general amnesty doesn't mean all sins will be forgiven."

When the emperor ascends the throne, changes the reign title, establishes a queen, establishes a crown prince, there are major celebrations in the palace, or when a major natural disaster occurs, there will generally be a general amnesty.

However, the general amnesty is limited and cannot be applied to all people. For example, those who commit treason, deceive the emperor, or resist the imperial power will definitely not be pardoned.

Moreover, this way of showing favor was sometimes considered to be a sign of unstable imperial power, so it was necessary to win over the people by showing favor.

"Our Wen Yao is different. He has a noble status." Old Zhu was very proud and full of expectations. "There will be an imperial examination next year, and the year after that, we can have an additional special examination."

Zhu Yunhuan nodded slightly. According to the plan, Zhu will retire next year. The normal examination will naturally be held, but once Zhu Yunhuan succeeds to the throne, he will definitely hold an additional special examination the year after next.

There will be imperial examinations for two consecutive years, which will naturally allow more candidates to pass the exam and have the opportunity to truly enter the court.

The two lists of north and south officials can further balance the ratio of north and south officials. Even if it is just some middle and low-level officials, this is a good trend.

If you think about it carefully, there are still many things that need to be prepared now, and many things cannot be accomplished overnight.

Especially since Zhu Yuanzhang had made up his mind to hand over the power in his hands, this was naturally a smooth transition. However, if nothing unexpected happened, the most important thing next year would be the official succession of the throne.

"We don't need to worry about Wen Yao's affairs now. You should just do your job well." Old Zhu looked at Zhu Yunhuan and said with satisfaction, "Just don't cause any more trouble this year or next year. Once you ascend the throne, you will be able to do things right."

Taking advantage of Old Zhu's good mood, Zhu Yunhuan joked, "Grandfather, even if there is a general amnesty, Uncle Seven will still go back to his hometown to farm. If he really changes, I won't let him go to Yunnan."

Old Zhu rolled his eyes at Zhu Yunhuan and said, "If your seventh uncle doesn't change his temper, it will be difficult for you in the future. If he doesn't want to change, then let him be a rich and idle person in his hometown. Just teach him a good character, that's all."

As for his seventh son, Old Zhu was too lazy to say more. He had too many sons to manage, and if one of them was really useless, there was really nothing he could do.

The most important thing now is his grandson, his precious great-grandson, so he won't really do anything to the seventh son. Letting the seventh son go home to farm might be a good arrangement for everyone.

Zhu Yunhuan also thought about it carefully and said, "It seems that it is better to continue with Seventh Uncle's affairs. If we really change our orders every day, it will be difficult to convince the people."

Old Zhu nodded without comment. He didn't think the punishment was too heavy, nor did he think it was too light.

Just right is fine, even as a warning to other descendants, he doesn't mind letting Zhu Yuan learn a more profound lesson.

Zhu Yuanzhang was also deeply touched by the various illegalities brought by the royal family. Few of his sons were worry-free. If he didn't punish them now, those people would be in trouble sooner or later. After all, if Zhu Yunhuan really ascended the throne, he would not always seem to protect the princes like he does now.

The emperor has his own stance, while the crown prince has his own ideas. There is a certain difference here.

Old Zhu continued with a smile, "Now I am really relieved. You have been steady and clear-headed in recent years. Now that we have a child, we have nothing to worry about."

Zhu Yunhuan smiled. He thought he was doing quite well in his current position as the crown prince. However, when it came to his ambitions, Zhu Yunhuan obviously thought he had not yet achieved them.

If he really wants to achieve some goals, he will need to continue to work hard in the future. He still has a lot of things that need to be continuously worked on, and a lot of changes and advancements need to continue.

There is a happy event now, which makes people feel refreshed.

Zhu Yunhuan felt that he needed to make further efforts and take advantage of this time to continue to do something down-to-earth! (End of this chapter)