Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 131 Prince Yu stays in Beijing, the dragon gives birth to nine sons!
The scene in Yuxi Palace looked a little strange.

Zhu Houcong sat back on the dragon throne, put Prince Yu on his knees, and smiled.

Zhu Zaizhen, the Prince of Jing who was about to leave his country, was allowed to sit on the embroidered cushion on the right, with a smile on his face.

On the contrary, Prince Yu and Concubine Li, who were sitting on the two embroidered cushions on the left, had frowned eyes and wanted to laugh but couldn't.

Prince Jing's departure from the Ming Dynasty put even more pressure on Prince Yu's Mansion than if he stayed in the capital.

Prince Yu knew, and Concubine Li also knew, that the emperor's younger brother was a capable man, and once he held power, he would be able to display his extraordinary personal charm.

"This child is like me!"

In Prince Yu's mind, his father's evaluation of Prince Jing kept echoing. These four simple words revealed his father's love for Prince Jing.

In comparison, what about him as Prince Yu?
A mood of self-pity spread throughout the hall.

Zhu Houcong looked at him and called out gently, "Zhu Zaihou."

"Your son is here." Prince Yu knelt in response.

"Do you want to go out and take a look?" There seemed to be more meaning in Zhu Houcong's voice.

It sounded like encouragement.

Just as Zhu Houcong said the first thing when he saw his two sons, "I have thought about sending you out of Beijing."

"You" not only refers to Prince Jing, but also Prince Yu.

Hear the words.

Prince Jing's smile became more and more brilliant, his guess became a reality. In his father's mind, the current Prince Yu was not a suitable candidate for the crown prince.

Besides Prince Jing, Prince Yu also needed to be trained.

But will his cowardly and weak third brother have the courage to walk out?

Not to mention leaving the country, even if it's just a trip out of the capital, I'm afraid you'd have to think about it.

Concubine Li immediately looked at Prince Yu, feeling anxious. Her father's words clearly gave Prince Yu's Mansion two choices.

One, stay in the capital and wait for the throne to fall.

No matter if Prince Jing died in a foreign land or his father passed away suddenly, Prince Jing could not rush back to the capital in a short time. As the only heir to the throne in Beijing, Prince Yu could succeed to the throne in front of the coffin with the words "the country cannot be without a monarch for a day".

Second, leave Beijing and the country to gain experience.

Needless to say, following the same path as King Jing, in the end, who will succeed in becoming the crown prince depends on personal ability.

As expected by everyone, Prince Yu replied: "Your Majesty, my son is still young, and I don't want the father-son relationship to be weak."

In a word.

This caused everyone in the hall to change their expressions.

The relationship between father and son is shallow, and there is a vague implication that he is criticizing the emperor for not having an heir for decades.

Regardless of whether Prince Yu meant this or not, these words always make people uncomfortable.

Noticing the change in the emperor's face, Concubine Li didn't care about anything else and continued, "Your Highness! Although the prince is young, the descendants of the Ming Dynasty have never been spoiled since Emperor Taizu Gao. Prince Yiwen and Emperor Chengzu Wen are both tough men who have experienced many hardships and difficulties. If Your Highness believes in you, please hand the prince over to me. I am willing to seal off the palace and teach him the ways of loyalty and filial piety after you leave. Even though we are separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, I can guarantee that Your Highness and the prince will have a deep father-son relationship."

At this point, Concubine Li knelt beside the embroidered cushion, apologized to the emperor for her presumption, then looked at the prince and called out, "Come, come to your mother."

Huang Jin carefully took the prince down from the Emperor's lap and placed him on the ground. The prince was a little timid. He looked at Zhu Houcong and then at Concubine Li, but still walked towards Concubine Li step by step. Concubine Li then held him in her arms.

Prince Jing couldn't help but praise his sister-in-law. Although the prince was still young and didn't understand loyalty and filial piety, his act of a young swallow returning to its nest proved his ignorant filial piety.

Prince Yu, you can leave the capital and the country without any worries. Prince Yu lowered his head and replied, "Your Majesty, I am weak and I am afraid I cannot survive in such a long journey. I wish to stay by your side."

Concubine Li closed her eyes in despair.

Prince Jing couldn't help but turn his head away. The wise sister-in-law had done so much, but she still couldn't lead her brother.

He refused to leave Beijing or the country due to poor health.

Fortunately, there was no one else here, otherwise if the civil and military officials knew about it, which minister would dare to support the heir who they themselves said was in poor health as the crown prince?

Haven’t you seen that during the Yongle period, five dragons ruled the country together, and among the heirs of Emperor Chengzu Wen, Emperor Renzong, King of Han, and King of Zhao were competing for the throne.

Emperor Renzong was a little too "fat and generous", but as the crown prince, when he was regulating the country, he did not show the slightest sign of being overwhelmed in front of the Three Yang Cabinet.

Although the Three Yang Cabinet and all the ministers during the Yongle period knew the general physical condition of Emperor Renzong, no one dared to talk nonsense unless Emperor Renzong showed any weakness.

With the example of Emperor Renzong, it is hard to judge Prince Yu!
Zhu Houcong stopped looking at Prince Yu and told Huang Jin, "Let's start the banquet."

"Yes." Huang Jin took the order and served the dishes loudly.

Countless eunuchs and palace maids walked steadily into Yuxi Palace carrying 109 kinds of hot dishes, soups, side dishes, fresh fruits, melons, candied fruits, and snacks.

Different dishes require different tableware placement and usage.

First set: four copper-gilded pine fruit covers, two rose vases, and five blue-white jade plates.

Second route: nine blue-white jade bowls.

Three routes: nine blue-white jade bowls.

Four sets: two red lacquered flying dragon banquet boxes and four blue-white jade bowls.

Route 5 to 8: Each route has ten blue-white jade bowls and two blue-white jade fruit cups.

Inside: six blue-white jade plates, four blue-white jade saucers, one set each of gold-inlaid blue jade and ebony chopsticks, one set of gold-inlaid wooden handle jade-topped spoon, and one set of gold-inlaid wooden handle jade-topped fruit fork.

The tableware used by the emperor, prince, princess, and crown prince are similar. The only difference is the glaze and patterns on them.

The tableware used by the emperor was glazed with yellow glaze and dragon patterns inside and out, while the princes used plates and bowls with yellow Kuilong patterns inside and out.

As for the princess, she used plates and bowls with a yellow background and green dragon patterns.

With so many dishes, everyone can be full after trying a bite of each. Besides, there are so many people at the banquet that no one is in the mood to enjoy the feast.

A birthday banquet, which was also a family banquet, ended quietly with people eating without talking.

After Huang Jin sent Prince Yu, Prince Jing, Concubine Li and the Crown Prince out of the palace, he ordered the eunuchs and palace maids to remove the dishes. Not much of the food was eaten, and Huang Jin was reluctant to throw it away, so he gave it as a reward to the people in the palace.

A copy was also sent to the imperial prison.

Huang Jin only kept the jar of 1960-year-old Maotai that he had not drunk much of.

Huang Jin brought the wooden basin to Zhu Houcong's feet and put it down, then he opened the lid of the wine jar, and a rich aroma of wine wafted into his nose.

He picked up the wine jar and leaned it against the wooden basin, then poured the wine into the basin.

Putting the wine jar aside, Huang Jin picked up a stool, placed it next to Zhu Houcong, sat down, and rolled up his trouser legs.

Zhu Houcong frowned and said, "You, a dog servant, use this aged wine, the essence of all grains, to wash your feet."

Huang Jin, who was scolded, was as happy as a child. She picked up the emperor's left foot and put it into the wine. "I don't understand these things, but I heard from the Imperial Physician Li that wine is a good thing, but if people drink it, it is not a good thing. It is said to be the essence of grains, but it is only a thing for washing people's feet. It is what it should be."

Zhu Houcong was stunned for a moment, and said, "Yes, it is what it is. You can change the surface, but you can't change the inside."

(End of this chapter)