Ming Dynasty: Zhu Biao's younger brother, the most rebellious son in history

Zhu Biao smiled and grabbed Chang's hand: "Are you thinking of beating the child now? You should go and deal with Xiongying first. That kid is now despised by dogs. I heard that he is very naughty now."

"Yes, he has just learned to walk and he is so naughty. Yesterday he broke the vase in my mother's room. I wanted to punish him, but my mother wouldn't let me. It is true that the relationship between the elder and the younger generation is close."

Chang was quite straightforward. She couldn't help but grind her teeth when she thought of Zhu Xiongying. It was obvious that she had been patient for a long time. "It's okay. When Kaidi's child is born, mother won't have time to take care of Xiongying. Then I will return all the anger I have accumulated these days."

"Hahaha!"

When Zhu Biao heard what Chang said, he laughed happily: "Then you must remember it well, so as not to teach him a lesson later...Have you prepared the clothes from my sister-in-law's house?"

"I prepared it, but my mother said I didn't do it well and she also made fun of my fingers that looked like rolling pins."

Chang curled her lips, "Brother Kai is back, right? I have to have a good talk with him. After Xiongying was born, I didn't make him any clothes. I have to ask Brother Kai to compensate me with some money. The money in the East Palace is not enough to spend."

Zhu Biao raised both hands in agreement: "Sure, it's a good opportunity to fight against the local tyrants."

Mrs. Lu, who was standing behind, couldn't help but frown as she listened to these gossips.

This is the Eastern Palace, the most powerful family in the Ming Dynasty besides the emperor and the empress. How can we chat about such trivial matters?

He even said he wanted to ask Zhu Kai for money... Doesn't this make him a beggar?
Lu believed that asking Zhu Kai for money would be a slap in the face to Zhu Biao.

At the same time, he was also jealous of Zhu Kai's position in the palace.

He is just the second prince, and Zhu Biao should be the one most valued by Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying. But now the Eastern Palace is out of money, and they actually have to ask Zhu Kai for it... What's the logic?
Shouldn't he just give it to him?

But Zhu Kai refused to give it, and Lu couldn't say anything. Zhu Kai and Zhu Biao had a deep brotherly love, but Lu felt that it was wrong to ask his brother for money.

Even if I am poor to death, I can't beg for food!
"Sister, is it inappropriate to ask the Second Prince for money?"

Mrs. Lu looked at Mrs. Chang and said carefully, "If there is no money in the palace, I can go back home and get some. I also have some gold and silver jewelry, which should be able to support me for some time."

She didn't dare to say it. After all, her father Lü Ben was only the Minister of Taichang Temple. If he could provide expenses for the Eastern Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang would inevitably suspect that there was something wrong with his money, and then Lü Ben would not be able to protect himself.

"..."

"..."

Zhu Biao and Chang didn't know what to say.

Mr. Lu, he seems to be good in every way, but why does it seem like his brain isn't working well?

She has been in the Eastern Palace for a year, but why does she still seem like she just arrived and knows nothing about the relationships in her family?

Zhu Biao was intelligent, and he dealt with various powerful officials in the court, so he was quite sensitive to people's hearts. Lu's words were enough to prove that she had always been rather averse to the relationship between the Eastern Palace, Zhu Kai, Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying.

"This woman is different from my parents, my brother Kai, and my sister Chang..."

Zhu Biao thought so in his heart, but he did not distance himself from Lu because of it.

On the other hand, Chang, who was standing next to her, giggled after a brief moment of surprise. In the surprised eyes of Lu, Chang stood up and pulled her to sit beside her, holding her hand and said, "Sister, you are too honest. The prince and brother Kai don't share these things. Besides, our sister-in-law Miaoyun is a good businessman and has done a lot of business. The prince has a 10% stake in brother Kai's business, and there will be dividends every year, but the prince doesn't want it. Otherwise, the dividends of this 10% stake would be too much for us in the East Palace to spend in ten or twenty years."

"what?"

Mrs. Lu didn't expect that Zhu Biao and Zhu Kai actually had business dealings, and couldn't help but blurt out: "Doing business, wouldn't it be degrading farmers?"

Since the founding of the Qin Dynasty, almost all rulers have been very averse to doing business. Lu Ben was a scholar. He had been reading books since he was a child, and what he basically learned was that doing business would harm farmers.

In addition, Lu also became jealous of Chang.

Why doesn't she know so many things? If Chang knew about it in advance, why didn't she tell me? Why is she still mocking me?
Chang, are you going to step on me?
All kinds of jealousy made Lu furious... In the words of later generations, Lu was a persecution maniac. She always felt that she was the best and superior to others, and that others who were different from her were harming her.

Chang wanted to elaborate on the benefits of doing business, but was interrupted by Zhu Biao: "Doing business does not harm farmers... I trust Brother Kai's character, he will not harm the people; now we are talking about family affairs, not political affairs, so don't say these opposing words in the future."

This was Zhu Biao's warning to Lu. When Lu heard it, she was frightened and thought she had offended Zhu Biao, so she nodded quickly.

"Sister, Brother Kai has a lot of exciting things going on. I will tell you little by little later."

Chang was not so cunning as to engage in open or covert fighting, so she did not notice Lu's jealousy. Instead, she thought it was her fault: "I have never told you about the palace. If you want to know anything in the future, tell me and I will tell you."

Mrs. Lu suppressed her inner unhappiness and forced a smile on her face: "Thank you, sister."

Zhu Biao knew Chang's character. She was a "silly girl" who didn't have any brains. She believed whatever others said and was very protective of her children. It was her character to help her relatives instead of others.

Such a character can save Zhu Biao a lot of trouble.

But if there is someone around her who wants to harm her, it will be a disaster for the Chang family.

After resting at night, Zhu Biao hugged Chang and whispered in her ear: "In the future, be careful of Lu. She is not the same as Brother Kai and my parents."

"what?"

Does the family still need to be on guard?

Chang was a little confused. She had never encountered such a situation before. She even had to be on guard against her own people. Wasn't that too bad?

Zhu Biao knew that Chang might not do what he said, so he added: "No matter what, you can tell mother, and you can also tell Kaidi's family, but don't tell anyone else. This is the imperial palace, and some people have different thoughts than us, so you have to be careful."

"Oh, I see."

Chang took Zhu Biao's reminder to heart: "Lü is my sister, I know what I should do."

"Ah."

Zhu Biao asked Chang to lean her head on his shoulder, and the two of them snuggled together and began to rest.

……

Di Baonu is only seven years old now, but in the palace, he is always an outsider and naturally cannot stay in the palace.

Zhu Di already knew Di Baonu's identity, and with Zhu Kai's special arrangements, he would naturally take good care of this little brother.

Take him around the palace and then send him out.

Dibaonu had no place to live yet. After asking Dibaonu where he lived, he vowed to Dibaonu: "Tomorrow, I will find you and take you around Yingtian Prefecture. From now on, you can do whatever you want in Yingtian Prefecture. Just say that you are my man."

"Okay, Fifth Brother!"

Di Baonu felt that his trip to Yingtianfu was well worth it. He met so many good brothers. Wasn’t it more interesting than being on the grassland?
The place where Dibaonu lives is the house that Zhu Kai found for their family. No matter what, he must let his younger brother have a place to stay in Yingtian Prefecture, right?
When he got home, Dibaonu saw his father Toghon Temur and his mother Jilan cleaning the house. Before, Dibaonu had never seen Toghon Temur working...except cooking, Jilan might do some work occasionally, but it was only light work.

Like now cleaning, fetching water from the streets, cleaning the furniture... With so much work, Dibaonu felt very tired at the sight. He saw that Toghon Temur couldn't even straighten his back.

"father."

Dibaonu trotted over and supported Toghon Temur: "Don't we have a lot of servants? Can't we just let them do the work?"

"Silly boy."

Toghon Temur knocked on Dibaonu's head, thought for a while and decided to hide the truth from Dibaonu. He just said, "Didn't I tell you when we left the grassland? We will live in a different place, a completely different life from before. Baonu, there are things you will have to do in the future. We will no longer have the days of having everything provided for us."

Jilan looked at her son and her husband and wanted to cry...

They used to be the superior ones, but now they have to clean up their own rooms.

She couldn't understand this kind of life, and she didn't know if Dibaonu could endure such hardships.

Although Dibaonu was naughty, he was a sensible child. When he saw Toghon Temur and Gilan working, he did not sit idle and helped with what he could.

The next day, Zhu Di kept his promise and came to find Di Baonu and took him out to play. He was accompanied by a group of yamen from Yingtian Prefecture. They already knew Di Baonu's identity, but they did not discriminate against him. Influenced by Zhu Di, this group of playboys had already chatted and made fun of the peddlers and tofu widows on the streets, and there was no so-called distinction between high and low.

When Zhu Di saw the slave working, he immediately wanted to pull him out to play: "Good brother, let's go out and play together."

"Fifth brother, I can't go."

Dibaonu was a little conflicted, but finally made up his mind: "My father and mother are working, and I am the only one at home. I can't ignore them."

Zhu Di took a look at the living environment of Di Baonu and found that they had only cleaned up one room to live in, and the other rooms had not been cleaned up yet.

These are three people who can't work.

"Brother, what are you talking about?"

Zhu Di patted his chest and expressed his loyalty: "Good brothers should share weal and woe. Let's do these chores at your house together!"

When Toghon Temur saw Zhu Di trying to come forward to help, he hurried forward to stop him.

What a joke, letting Zhu Yuanzhang's son work for a king who lost his country. If this gets out, will he still be alive?

But Toghon Temur could not stop it at all, as Zhu Di and his friends had already started working.

Cleaning the room, picking up the garbage, wiping the furniture, and putting it in order... Toghon Temur originally thought that it would take three days to clean up the house, but Zhu Di and his good friends finished it in just one morning, which surprised him a little.

How come Zhu Yuanzhang's son is so efficient at work?

In his eyes, the princes were all high and mighty, with everything provided for them, and many people surrounding them. As for work? It was good enough that he could wear his own clothes, but he never expected that... Zhu Yuanzhang's child was actually good at work.

Is this the difference between the Mongols and the Ming Dynasty?

Toghon Temur couldn't understand.

The Dibaonu was covered in mud at this time, but he smiled very brightly: "Thank you, Fifth Brother."

"You're welcome. There's no need to say thank you between us brothers."

Zhu Di waved his hand, and then said to Di Baonu very seriously: "My second brother told you to go to school. If you act naughty in class, I will beat you up!"

"Ah."

Dibaonu nodded vigorously, "Fifth brother, don't worry, I will study hard."

"Remember what you said today."

Zhu Di knocked on Di Baonu's head and said, "In the future, if you encounter troubles in Yingtian Prefecture, tell me. You still have these brothers, they are all your backers. If anyone bullies you, it means that they don't respect me, Zhu Di!"

Zhu Di asked Di Baonu to study hard, but he himself did not study... In fact, Zhu Kai once told him that if we don’t study, we won’t understand the truth, but there will be many people and many things that will make us understand many truths, but some people are different. If they want to change their family, they must study. This is the only way out for him and his family.

Although Zhu Di was not very good at studying, he listened to Zhu Kai's words. Whatever Zhu Kai said was right, and when he was wrong, he would refer to the first point.

In Zhu Di's view, the only way out for him to change his family's current situation was to study hard.

Toghon Temur didn't know how to thank Zhu Di.

Anyway, in his opinion, Zhu Di is much more reliable than Zhu Kai. Zhu Kai only knows how to let the land security slave act naughty, while Zhu Di knows how to let the land security slave study.

"Your Highness, Prince Yan, how about...you stay home for dinner?"

Toghon Temur didn't have any reward to give out now, and he was reluctant to spend the 100 taels of gold Zhu Yuanzhang gave him. After thinking about it, he thought it would be most appropriate to treat them to a meal: "How about I treat you to fish soup? The second prince ate the fish soup I made and praised it highly."

"Forget about it today. I'll take Dibaonu out for a walk."

Zhu Di did not intend to keep him, but took Di Baonu away: "He will have to stay in Yingtian Prefecture in the future, and he cannot do without someone knowing him."

"..."

Toghon Temur withdrew his gratitude to Zhu Di. This kid was of the same kind as Zhu Kai, both were troublemakers.

Dibaonu immediately agreed happily: "Dad, I'm going out to play and will be home in the evening."

Then he ran out with Zhu Di.

Not long after Zhu Di left with Dibaonu, Xiao Qi, a eunuch beside Zhu Biao, came to Toghon Temur and said, "The Crown Prince has summoned you to see him."

"Yes."

Toghon Temur was a prisoner and could only obey the orders.

When they arrived at the Government Affairs Office, Zhu Biao was discussing state affairs with Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen. When they heard the eunuch outside say that Toghon Temur had arrived, Zhu Biao stopped the conversation and asked someone to call Toghon Temur over. Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen were both curious about this fallen king of the Yuan Dynasty and wanted to see him with their own eyes.

Zhu Biao briefly talked to Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen about some information about Toghon Temur, and at the same time told Liu Bowen that Zhu Kai asked him to be the teacher of Toghon Temur's son Dibaonu. When Liu Bowen heard that it was Zhu Kai's arrangement, he immediately nodded and agreed.

Just kidding, Liu Bowen would not reject Zhu Kai even if he rejected Zhu Yuanzhang. (End of this chapter)