Ming Dynasty: What's wrong with being a leisurely crown prince?

Chapter 17 Two beautiful concubines fell off while sitting

As dusk fell, the Eastern Palace remained restless.

Zhu Gaochi finally managed to calm Zhang Yan down, but he was exhausted and put his hands on his waist.

"Oh dear, I guess I really am getting old..."

Zhu Gaochi sighed, sitting in his chair with a look of utter despair and helplessness.

In Zhu Gaochi's eyes, he should be majestic and still full of vigor, so how could he be like this now, as if his whole body has been hollowed out and he can't muster any strength at all?

"Stop whining. You're not old, you just need to exercise more."

Zhang Yan walked in with a bowl of soup, looking quite energetic, and placed it next to Zhu Gaochi.

"Brother, it's time for your soup!"

Zhu Gaochi looked at Zhang Yan, who seemed even younger, more radiant, and incredibly charming, and couldn't understand it at all.

Why?

He's not the one who exercises the most, so why is he the most tired?

Look at Zhang Yan, she doesn't look tired at all.

Zhu Gaochi glanced at the soup Zhang Yan had made for him and his lips twitched. Had he really fallen so low that he needed to drink this stuff after a strenuous workout?

He lay completely flat, mouth open.

"Ah~"

"Okay, I'll feed you."

With a happy smile on her face, Zhang Yan carefully began to feed Zhu Gaochi.

After finishing one bowl of soup, Zhang Yan ladled out another.

"No, you want to drink more?"

"You have to drink it, you have to drink three bowls. This is something I made myself, stewed with an old hen and some medicinal herbs."

"What, you're worried about being poisoned? Open your mouth."

Zhu Gaochi was both amused and exasperated. Was he really that haggard? Did he need to drink three more bowls of wine to recover?

They stopped arguing and continued drinking.

While feeding them, Zhang Yan said softly, "I've already made arrangements for that Huang woman you favored before. The house is the one on the south side at the back. I've sent a gift to her family."

"And Chen, the maid you wanted to favor last night, I arranged for her to stay in the room on the east side, and her family also sent her gifts."

"Huh? That Chen woman, I didn't even touch her, what's the point of keeping her around..."

"Oh, and those maids, I asked you to transfer them earlier. Hurry up and don't stay by my side anymore, I mean it."

Zhu Gaochi tilted his head slightly to look at Zhang Yan, seemingly without any emotion. He muttered something and then quickly tried to make amends.

Zhang Yan looked at Zhu Gaochi's expression and shook her head with a smile.

"I'm not that petty. It's normal for you to take a concubine. Even the second or third son has quite a few concubines in the household."

You are the Crown Prince, and it's impossible for you to have only me. Even if you were willing to have only me, I would not agree.

The reason I was angry before was because you deliberately chose maids like that for those private matters, which not only damaged your reputation and displeased the old man, but also delayed your handling of state affairs.

If you have a woman you like, just tell me and I'll make arrangements for you. Or you can tell me before you take her into your household, either way is fine.

As for your maids, wouldn't you feel bad if I really transferred them away?

Since Zhang Yan chose to speak out, she showed no resentment towards Zhu Gaochi.

She had actually seen through these things long ago.

Moreover, she was well aware that Zhu Gaochi was the crown prince and would be the emperor of the Ming Dynasty in the future, so it was impossible for her to be the only one in the harem.

Whether Zhu Gaochi liked it or not, even if he didn't, sometimes he had to accept more gifts for the sake of the situation.

Even if it's an extreme case, even if Zhu Gaochi disagrees, she still has to take the initiative to find him a place.

Because if we want to have many children, she alone is not enough.

Zhang Yan accepted that Zhu Gaochi had other women as concubines, but she was able to bring it up now because she could sense that Zhu Gaochi cared about her.

Actually, Zhang Yan was already quite satisfied with just this.

From Zhu Yuanzhang to Zhu Di, there were quite a few concubines in the imperial harem, especially Zhu Yuanzhang, who had far more than Zhu Di.

However, one of them loved Empress Ma, while the other loved Empress Xu.

Zhu Gaochi looked at Zhang Yan, took a sip of soup, and then took Zhang Yan's hand in his hand.

"We will always be family, and your place in my heart will never change."

Zhu Gaochi propped himself up and gently kissed Zhang Yan's lips.

Zhu Gaochi knew very well that it was impossible for Zhang Yan to be the only one; there were already two other people involved.

Zhang Yan distributed the rewards and arranged accommodations; the matter was essentially beyond redemption.

In such circumstances, sometimes saying sweet words is better than just taking action in Zhu Gaochi's eyes.

Actions must be taken, but words must also be spoken.

According to him, women need to be coaxed more, especially one's own woman. If you don't coax her yourself, are you going to wait for someone else to coax her?

Saying a few sweet words, coupled with actions, is the antidote.

As Zhang Yan listened to Zhu Gaochi's words, her lips felt his tenderness and moisture, and she blushed.

"He's never serious, and he drinks by himself."

Zhang Yan placed the bowl in Zhu Gaochi's hands, then sat down beside him and stopped feeding him.

In truth, Zhang Yan was extremely content.

Zhu Gaochi's words, "We'll always be family, and his place in my heart will never change," captivated her.

Zhu Gaochi didn't say anything more, and finished the soup. He felt energy gradually appearing in his lower abdomen, and he felt much more energetic.

At this moment, Zhang Yan's voice came again.

"That cousin of the Huang family is Wang Ji, a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) this year, who is now a Supervising Secretary in the Ministry of War."

You could try to contact him sometime, assess his abilities, and perhaps even try to win him over.

When Zhang Yan spoke of her family, she was overcome with emotion.

Looking at other people's families and then at her own, Zhang Yan was momentarily speechless.

Zhu Gaochi was taken aback and thought about Huang's information.

This woman surnamed Huang, whose full name was Huang Jindi, and then... that was it.

In fact, Zhu Gaochi was unaware of either Wang Ji or Huang Jindi.

Historically, Wang Ji was the first civil official in the Ming Dynasty to be granted a title for his military achievements. Only three such figures appeared in the entire Ming Dynasty, which is enough to demonstrate his ability. He was both a scholar and a warrior, a talent who could fight on horseback and govern a region on foot.

Since the Tang Dynasty, people who are skilled in both literature and martial arts have become increasingly rare.

As for Huang Jindi, she was the great-aunt of Lady Huang, the principal wife of Prince Xiuhuai, and Wang Zeng, the husband of Princess Jiashan.

Unfortunately, Zhu Gaochi was unaware of all this.

Zhu Gaochi nodded in agreement after hearing Zhang Yan's words.

"Alright, I'll go and see this scholar when I have time."

Zhu Gaochi didn't dwell on it too much. In his view, if someone was truly talented, they would naturally come to his attention.

If he were incompetent, he wouldn't have made any special exceptions to promote this person just because of the Huang family.

They're not Zhang Yan's relatives. If they were, even if they weren't capable, they could still make some arrangements.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yan didn't say anything more. She was just reminding Zhu Gaochi of these things.

"Then I'll have to transfer your maidservants away. Are you really willing to do that?"

"Hey, honey, you'd better transfer them away soon, I'm really scared now."

As Zhu Gaochi spoke, he deliberately rubbed his waist, which made Zhang Yan roll her eyes at him and then cover her mouth to chuckle.

After chatting for a while, Zhu Gaochi asked, "How's that kid? Is he alright?"

The boy Zhu Gaochi was referring to was none other than Zhu Zhanji.

Zhu Zhanji was badly beaten by the mixed doubles today, taking a lot of solid hits.

When Zhu Zhanji was mentioned, Zhang Yan's expression changed immediately.

"It's all your fault. You said it was okay to hit people with bamboo sticks, but my son has red marks all over his body and is in a lot of pain."

You too, you're a father now, and you were still peeking from the sidelines. Why didn't you try to stop me then?

As Zhang Yan spoke, she looked ready to take action, which stunned Zhu Gaochi.

No, at this point, can we still blame him?

"Don't worry, it's just skin pain. When you're hit with a bamboo stick, it only hurts the skin, it doesn't hurt the bones. It'll be fine in a couple of days."

"Will it really get better in a couple of days?"

"It will definitely get better. The bamboo stick hurts when it hits you."

"You need to teach this kid a lesson from now on. He's so irresponsible, especially what he did today. He deserves a beating."

As Zhu Gaochi spoke, he continued to provoke Zhu Zhanji.

Anyway, it's better for me to die than for my fellow Daoists to die. If Zhu Zhanji is whipped, I can still save him. But if he is arrested, who can save him?

Moreover, Zhu Zhanji really needed to be properly taught to prevent him from going astray.

He did say that he would let Zhu Zhanji play for another two years, but Zhang Yan never said that.

Doesn't that make sense?

After hearing this, Zhang Yan also felt that Zhu Zhanji deserved to be slapped.

Anyway, as long as nothing goes wrong, she'll be fine in two days, so she's not worried anymore.

But then he looked at Zhu Gaochi and sighed in dismay.

"You're really something, you have no shame at all, you push all the blame onto your son."

And another thing, you're his father, yet you say you won't take care of him for the next two years, so you're saying you've handed him over to me to manage?

"You Zhu family members are shameless! The old man is like that, and so are you—you're all the same."

Zhang Yan pretended to be angry, put away the soup bowl, and then went downstairs.

Zhu Gaochi could only shake his head and smile.

Only Zhang Yan dared to say those things, and Zhu Di and Xu Miaoyun truly didn't care.