Chapter 61: Father also likes this grandson more?
When Zhu Gang heard this explanation, he was speechless.
It’s only been a few years since we last saw each other, and this grandson has become so naughty?
I wanted to slap him a few times, but when I saw my nephew's miserable butt, I couldn't bring myself to hit him.
However, when it thought about how it was also a naughty child in its youth and how it particularly hated reading and writing, it felt relieved.
Children, how can they not love to play?
Although Zhu Gang expressed his understanding of Zhu Yunhuan's behavior, he still turned him over, put him on the horse's back and scolded him.
"Zhu Yunhuan, you are the only surviving legitimate son of the Crown Prince. Now that the Crown Prince has passed away, you are the future of the Ming Dynasty..."
"Therefore, whether you like studying or not, you have to work hard in the future. Only in this way can you win the favor of your grandfather and have a chance in the future..."
As a vassal king, Zhu Gang could only say this much.
Because if I continue talking, I might end up harming the child.
If this child, under his instigation, develops the ambition to seize the throne and is ultimately defeated by Lu's son, his future fate will surely be extremely miserable.
What's more, he hasn't seen his father for several years, and he doesn't know what his father's attitude towards the child is.
Therefore, there were many things he couldn't say.
"Do you remember it?"
Zhu Yunhuan felt the strength coming from Zhu Gang's hand and nodded quickly like a chicken pecking at rice.
"Uncle San, I will remember what you said. I will study hard and make Grandpa Huang happy!"
When Zhu Gang heard Zhu Yunhuan say this, he immediately turned his horse's head and looked at Zhu Gui beside him with cold eyes.
"Zhu Gui, do you know your mistake?"
When Zhu Gui heard this, his calves began to cramp. He respected his third brother the most, but he was also the most afraid of him.
Because the third brother is different from others. If someone offends him, he really dares to beat them.
"Third brother, I didn't do anything wrong, did I?"
Seeing that he still didn't know what he did wrong, Zhu Gang immediately swung his whip and whipped him.
"Brother Crown Prince passed away, and instead of keeping vigil for him, you brought Zhu Yunhuan to a place like this. And you still dare to say that you did nothing wrong?"
Zhu Gui asked with a confused look on his face.
"What kind of place is this? We were just strolling around the street..."
Zhu Gang pointed at the plaque of "Qin Yue Tower" and asked sternly.
"How old is Zhu Yunhuan? You bring him to hang out in a place like Qinyue Tower. How can you be such an uncle?"
When Zhu Gui heard this, he cried out that he was innocent.
"Third brother, you are really wronging me. We were just passing by and didn't go in at all..."
"Just passing by is already a serious crime, and you actually want to bring him in?"
Zhu Gui explained himself while dodging the whip.
"Third brother, please listen to my explanation..."
"He didn't blame me for this. It was Zhu Yunhuan... He insisted that I take him... out of the palace..."
“Pah pah pah…”
Zhu Gangcai didn't listen to Zhu Gui's explanation and just whipped him a few times before he spoke.
"How old is he? How old are you?"
"He is ignorant, aren't you ignorant too?"
"Someone come!"
"Tie him up for me, bring him to the palace, and throw him in front of the Crown Prince's spirit to make amends!"
Zhu Gang's guards knew that the prince was angry and said only words in anger, so they did not actually kidnap anyone.
He just brought a horse over and handed it to Zhu Gui, and asked in a low voice whether he could ride a horse. When he nodded, he let him ride it by himself.
The group arrived at the palace gate. Zhu Gang was about to dismount and walk when an eunuch ran over and said something.
"His Majesty has ordered that His Royal Highness Prince Jin be allowed to ride into the palace on horseback!"
Zhu Gang also wanted to see his father as soon as possible. When he heard the decree , he clasped his fists and bowed towards the palace gate as a way of expressing his gratitude.
Then he took his rebellious nephew Zhu Yunhuan, his foolish brother Zhu Gui, and a dozen followers, and rode all the way into the palace and arrived at the gate of the Qianqing Palace.
Old Zhu had been waiting here for a long time. When he saw his third son coming back, his eyes were immediately blurred with turbid tears.
"Emperor!"
"Father?"
"Your hair..."
When Zhu Gang saw his father's head full of white hair, he collapsed instantly.
He clearly remembered that the last time he met his father, his father still had black hair. When he accompanied him hunting, he did not even breathe for the whole morning.
After not seeing him for two years, his father looked so haggard. He looked so old that even his biological son could hardly recognize him!
Old Zhu walked down the steps impatiently. Seeing this, Zhu Gang hurriedly dismounted, stepped forward to hold him and called out affectionately.
"Father, how come you have aged so much all of a sudden? Woo woo woo..."
"Yes, yes, my son almost forgot to pay his respects to the emperor..."
However, before he could kneel down and kowtow, he found himself being hugged by his father.
"Third brother, we finally got you back, wuwuwu..."
Lao Zhu cried very sadly, but no one understood his sadness.
Ever since the crown prince passed away, he immediately sent letters to the princes who were enfeoffed in various places, hoping that they would rush back to see their eldest brother off.
However, more than ten days had passed since the letters were sent, but not a single prince had returned. How could he not feel sad?
When he thought about his eldest son who had not been buried yet and was suffering under the scorching sun every day relying on ice, his heart ached so much that it almost broke.
The King of Zhou and the King of Chu, who were nearby, had not arrived yet, but the King of Jin, who was far away in Jinyang, had arrived first.
While Lao Zhu felt extremely relieved, all that was left in his heart was emotion and gratitude to God.
At least in their Zhu family, there is still a good man who values love and friendship!
Old Zhu hugged Zhu Gang and cried for a long time before he gradually calmed down. He wiped his tears with his sleeves and held Zhu Gang's hand to talk.
"Old Third, you must have suffered a lot along the way, right?"
"Reporting to the Emperor, Father, as soon as I received the news of my elder brother's death, I rushed back day and night, fearing that I would not be able to see him for the last time."
"Change the horse but not the man?"
"Um!"
“How many horses died?”
"Dozens of horses..."
When Old Zhu heard this, he patted Zhu Gang’s shoulder heavily.
"Third brother, the emperor really didn't misjudge you. Your eldest brother has shown great kindness to you, which is worthy of your heart!"
When Zhu Gang saw his father praising him so much, there was no joy on his face, but instead he looked even more sad.
"Father, I was afraid that I would be late on this journey and keep you and my elder brother waiting..."
Upon hearing this, Old Zhu looked up at the sky, took a deep breath and said sadly.
“You’re good!”
"Not only are you not late, you are the first one to come back..."
When Zhu Gang heard this, he was stunned and asked with a puzzled look on his face.
"How can it be?"
"Aren't the fiefs of my fifth and sixth brothers very close to the capital?"
When Old Zhu heard these two people, he said with a dark face.
"Don't mention those two ungrateful bastards to me. Your elder brother and I have been caring for them in vain!"
When Zhu Gang heard this, he was very angry.
I have a long way to go, so it is normal for me to come back a few days late. But those two people, one is in Kaifeng and the other is in Changsha, which is not closer than me, and they haven't arrived yet. It's really unkind.
Old Zhu obviously didn't want to mention those rebellious sons. After saying a few words to the third brother, his eyes suddenly glanced at the sneaky duo.
"Old Third, why did you bring these two evil creatures back?"
When Zhu Yunhuan heard this, he was so frightened that his heart almost jumped out of his throat. He was afraid that his great enemy, his uncle, would report him and make him be beaten by Old Zhu again.
This old man looks so skinny, and it hurts so much when he hits someone!
"Grandpa Emperor, I just..."
"Shut up!"
"Did we ask you?"
"No rules!"
After scolding Zhu Yunhuan, Old Zhu turned around, took the third brother's hand and asked in a gentle tone.
"Third brother, I don't trust anyone else but you now!"
"Tell me, has this little rebellious grandson caused any trouble outside?"
"Reporting to the Emperor, when I entered the city, I happened to see him and Zhu Gui coming out of Qinyue Tower..."
When Zhu Yunhuan heard these three words, sweat immediately broke out on his forehead. He wondered why his uncle, this villain, was still making up lies.
Zhu Gui was even more nervous and his face turned pale with fear.
If this crime is really proven, he will be beaten to death by his father!
"Uncle San, how can you slander someone's innocence out of thin air? I didn't go to that kind of place!"
When Lao Zhu heard the three words "Qin Yue Lou", he just felt that they sounded somewhat familiar, as if he had heard of this name somewhere.
Now seeing Zhu Yunhuan's eager defense, he immediately thought of what Qinyue Tower was. Wasn't this the brothel secretly opened by that rebellious son Zhu Chong?
"Zhu Gui, you are so brave to go to such a filthy place. If I don't punish you severely today, what will happen if you are sent to a vassal state in the future?"
When Zhu Gui heard this, he was so frightened that he fell to his knees with a thud, and kowtowed loudly.
"Father, I didn't. Don't listen to Third Brother's nonsense. We were really just passing by..."
Zhu Yuanzhang ignored Zhu Gui's defense and turned to look at Zhu Yunhuan who looked indignant.
“And you!”
"You haven't even grown all your hair yet, and you're already hanging out in that kind of place. When you grow up, won't you burn down our imperial temple?"
"Someone come!"
"Drag this shameless uncle and nephew away and give each of them thirty lashes of the cane!"
When Zhu Gui saw the Jinyiwei coming to drag him away, he was so scared that he almost wet his pants.
"Father, I am innocent..."
Relatively speaking, Zhu Yunhuan was much calmer, with more anger than fear on his face.
"Uncle San, I will remember you, this sinister villain!"
“Hehehe!”
When Zhu Gang heard this, his heart skipped a beat.
Huh?
This grandson is amazing. Not only is he not afraid of such a thing, he even dares to threaten me?
Wow, you've really improved. You're much better than before when you would cry at every turn!
When the two men were dragged several feet away, Zhu Gang suddenly called out to the Jinyiwei.
"stop!"
"Father, I haven't finished speaking yet."
"I just saw them sitting at a stall next to Qinyue Building eating, but I didn't see them going to that kind of place."
"oh?"
"Since you have never been to such a place, then you can be spared the thirty lashes."
"But you can be exempted from the beating, but you can't be exempted from the homework."
"Each of you go back and write 500 characters, and hand them in to the teacher for inspection tomorrow!"
When Zhu Gui and Zhu Yunhuan heard this, they both felt relieved. Zhu Yunhuan was even more delighted thinking that he finally didn't have to face that old man Lao Zhu.
This old man is so hard to deceive. Comparatively speaking, Qi Tai is much easier to talk to.
But just when Zhu Yunhuan was thinking this, Old Zhu added another sentence.
"Zhu Yunxun, let me personally check your homework and send it to you during breakfast tomorrow morning!"
"ah?"
When Zhu Yunhuan heard this, his face immediately fell.
Zhu Gang was shocked when he heard this. Has the palace changed so much? He hasn't been back for only two years, and his grandson has reached the point where he needs his father to personally supervise his studies?
You know, in the past only the eldest prince had this kind of treatment!
When Zhu Gang thought of this, his heart was filled with eagerness.
Could it be that the emperor also likes this grandson more?
