Ming Dynasty: Empress Ma and I swapped clothes!

Chapter 31 Ma Wenxiang: Zhu, Zhu Yuanzhang? I'm not ready yet?

Ma Wenxiang did not feel ashamed about this.

Having received elite education for princes, Zhu Biao and Zhu Di should have possessed literary talent close to that of a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations), but in reality, he was at most a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examinations).

Therefore, it's normal and perfectly reasonable for there to be differences.

Ma Wenxiang has a particularly good mindset: No matter how outstanding they are, they are still my two precious eldest sons.

"Finish your homework and come with me to take a look."

Ma Wenxiang suddenly spoke up.

Zhu Biao's eyes flickered slightly, and he thought to himself: Just as I thought, the Empress Dowager is indeed the Empress Dowager, she can reward and punish at the same time.

Zhu Di breathed a small sigh of relief and ran out of the room as fast as he could. But when he looked closely, only his fifth brother, Zhu Su, was standing there. His second brother, Zhu Shuang, and third brother, Zhu Gang, had already disappeared.

After some questioning, he learned that the two had already left.

"Second and third brothers are going to be in trouble."

Zhu Di said softly, disappointed.

"Little Five, come in with Fourth Brother."

Zhu Di took Zhu Su's hand, and the two walked into the main hall.

"Mother, I was wrong."

Zhu Su lowered his head, his face full of guilt, and said in a low voice.

"What's wrong?"

Ma Wenxiang pressed for further details.

It was entirely within his expectations that Zhu Shuang and Zhu Gang did not come along.

"Xiao Wu's mistake was that he shouldn't have acted recklessly in the Great Hall. The Great Hall is a place of culture and education, and a vital place for the state of our Great Ming. We can see the big picture from small things. As the medical books say, the dosage of medicine should not be less than one qian or more than one liang. A slight difference can lead to a huge error."

"What the Empress Dowager said today is not only about medicine, but also about the great principles of the nation."

"Xiao Wu really knows he was wrong."

Zhu Su lowered his head deeply, almost burying it in his chest.

Seeing his sincere and earnest expression, Ma Wenxiang waved his hand and let him go: "From today onwards, you should follow your fourth brother and eldest brother and learn from them. You are not allowed to play with those two unreliable people anymore."

"If we keep playing like this, we'll suffer a great loss sooner or later."

"Yes, Mother."

Seeing that Ma Wenxiang had forgiven him, Zhu Su quickly put on a smile. He then obediently sat down at his desk, bit his pen, and began to diligently copy his homework.

Seeing this, Ma Wenxiang felt somewhat relieved.

As for Zhu Shuang and Zhu Gang, their task is arduous and the road ahead is long; everything can only be done step by step.

Homework finished.

Outside the main hall, in a spacious and open area, lies a lush and verdant forest.

After enjoying himself for a while, Zhu Biao left to attend to official business.

Meanwhile, the four young boys, Zhu Di, Zhu Su, Anqing, and Ningguo, played hide-and-seek under Ma Wenxiang's arrangement.

The group chatted and laughed, their laughter echoing everywhere, revealing the innocence and carefree spirit of children.

The most ruthless are those in the imperial family. Ma Wenxiang naturally knew this truth, but deep down he always believed that children should not be so harsh when they are young.

A heavy burden can easily crush a person.

During their fun, the group suddenly started arguing, and the topic turned out to be closely related to Ma Wenxiang.

Xiao Ningguo stood with his hands on his hips, while Xiao Anqing raised his head and argued vehemently, refusing to back down an inch: "It's definitely the Empress Dowager who's stronger. In this palace, the Empress Dowager manages all the concubines and female officials, so she is the most powerful person in our Great Ming Dynasty."

"The most powerful person in the Ming Dynasty was my father, the emperor."

Zhu Di glanced cautiously at Ma Wenxiang not far away, hesitated for a moment, and finally replied, "Scholar Song has said that Father Emperor is the ruler of millions of people, the master of the Ming Dynasty, possessing divine power and ruling over the nine provinces. He is a true Son of Heaven, a pillar of the nation, comparable to the sages of ancient times."

"Father Emperor swept away the flames of war, which brought about the peaceful and prosperous state of our Great Ming Dynasty today. Therefore, Father Emperor is the most powerful person in the world. Mother Empress is also very powerful, but she is still a little bit inferior to Father Emperor."

Just as Zhu Di was speaking freely, his ally, the fifth son Zhu Su, suddenly said weakly, "But it seems that Father Emperor also listens to Mother Emperor..."

Zhu Di's smug expression froze instantly. He turned around, his fierce gaze fixed on Zhu Su, and grabbed the other's face, pulling him sharply to the side: "Little Fifth, whose side are you on?"

"Little Four, having fun is fine, but why are you bullying Little Five again?"

A smiling voice came from afar, and Zhu Yuanzhang walked over to the princes and princesses in front of the main hall.

Upon seeing him, Anqing, Ningguo, Zhu Di, and Zhu Su quickly shrank behind Ma Wenxiang.

That was the place they considered safest deep down.

Seeing this, Ma Wenxiang was not surprised.

Since his transformation, his contact with these children has become much closer than before.

The daily routine of concubines and princes coming to pay their respects at Kunning Palace was still followed, as palace rules could not be broken; however, Ma Wenxiang did not personally attend to other miscellaneous matters as Empress Ma did, thus saving most of his time and energy.

While palace affairs are important, Ma Wenxiang privately believes that they are far less crucial than educating the princes and correcting their habits and minds.

This can be considered the greatest good deed done for the Ming Dynasty.

No matter how chaotic the rules in the palace are, how chaotic can they get?

It was nothing more than concubines vying for power and palace maids and eunuchs forming cliques in private. Compared to the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands or even millions of people in the future fiefdom of a prince, it was far less significant.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang arrived late, he had overheard the conversation between Zhu Di, Anqing, and Ningguo. He wasn't particularly bothered by it, and still smiled as he said, "Little Fifth is right. Your mother is indeed better than us. As for your father... we accept it."

Zhu Yuanzhang approached Ma Wenxiang with a beaming smile, his eyes filled with affection as he looked at him.

At this moment, Zhu Di, with his keen insight, pulled Anqing, Ningguo, Zhu Su, and the others who were surrounding him away first, leaving the space outside the main hall to Ma Wenxiang and Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Di meant well, but for Ma Wenxiang, it pushed him into an abyss of no return.

Although Ma Wenxiang was mentally prepared to face Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty, his heart still pounded when he unexpectedly saw him in person.

He held back the word "Chongba" for a long time, but couldn't bring himself to say it.

At this point, the fact that he didn't immediately kneel down and shout "This humble subject greets Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty!" was already the limit.

then!

Ma Wenxiang could only follow his usual tone and feign a coldness to steer the conversation toward what he was best at: the education of princes: "Your Majesty, are you aware that Xiao Er has become increasingly outrageous lately? He already had a bad reputation in the palace, and a few days ago, I even witnessed him whipping a palace maid."

"He who steals a needle when young will steal gold when old. If he becomes a prince in his fiefdom, how good can he possibly be?"

Zhu Yuanzhang did not doubt it upon hearing this.

The education of princes has always been one of the most troublesome issues in the palace, and can only be handled personally by Empress Ma Xiuying and her appointed people. Even Song Lian and others from the Hanlin Academy can only offer advice.

I would never resort to corporal punishment.

Originally, Zhu Yuanzhang did not pay much attention to this matter, but after being reminded by Ma Wenxiang, he immediately became anxious.

"What does the girl plan to do?"