Chapter 69: Lu, you have a heart...
The next morning, Zhu Yunhuan got up early as usual.
After washing his face casually, he started his daily running laps.
After this period of exercise, his physical condition has greatly improved. He used to be out of breath after running a few steps, but now he can run for most of the circle by stopping and starting.
The reason why Zhu Yunhuan made such great progress was first of all due to his good appetite and strong absorption ability. Secondly, he should thank a certain old man who did not want to reveal his name.
With the constant support of the old man, he finally had the money to exercise.
Otherwise, if he doesn’t even have enough to eat every day, how would he have the energy to exercise?
Just thinking about the old man playing tricks on him, Zhu Yunhuan felt filled with resentment.
Look how stingy that old man is, it's just a house, and he's trying to be a rogue to me over a matter of several thousand taels of silver!
On the other side, Lao Zhu got up early in the morning, washed his face, and ordered people to carry him to Xuanwu Gate. Then he pretended to exercise outside Xuanwu Gate.
According to the grandson's habit recently, he would be exhausted when he ran here every day and could only walk with his legs dragging.
I'll wait here and pick him up for breakfast.
Old Zhu is the emperor, and an emperor has to maintain his reputation. How could he bow to his rebellious grandson?
Therefore, he deliberately designed such an encounter.
Sure enough, after waiting for a while, I saw the little traitor running over from the West Fifth Institute, panting.
Old Zhu saw that the little rebellious grandson was already at the end of his strength, but had no intention of stopping to rest, and still gritted his teeth and insisted on running forward.
Old Zhu saw it with his own eyes and felt sad. Regardless of the child's character, he admired his perseverance very much.
Since ancient times, those who have accomplished great things have all been people of strong character. This boy can endure this hardship and fatigue, and he is a person who can accomplish great things!
When Old Zhu saw his eldest grandson approaching, he immediately took a towel from the young eunuch and greeted him warmly.
"Little rebellious grandson, come here and wipe your sweat!"
Zhu Yunhuan took a look when he heard this and snorted coldly.
"Who are you? I don't know you!"
When Old Zhu saw that this rebellious grandson dared to pretend not to know him, he was so angry that he almost threw the towel away.
This ungrateful little thing actually dares to get angry with me!
But when he thought of the grievances his grandson had suffered, Old Zhu's heart softened again.
"Little rebellious grandson, are you still angry with me?"
Zhu Yunxun rolled his eyes.
"How dare I!"
"You are so arrogant, you don't even listen to my explanation, you just beat me up!"
"You didn't admit it when you hit me by mistake!"
When Old Zhu heard these aggrieved words, he immediately burst into laughter.
"Oh my, look how wronged this little rebellious grandson is . I just hit you wrongly once, why do you still want to hit me back?"
"Come on, let's just stand here. If you have any grievances in your heart, just hit us a couple of times to vent your anger!"
Old Zhu spoke passionately, but when he saw that little rebellious grandson really coming over and raising his hand to gesture a few times, he immediately became so angry that his face turned black.
He grabbed the rebellious grandson by the collar and kicked him on the butt a few times.
"You little rebellious grandson, I was being polite to you and you took it seriously!"
“Hey hey!”
"Don't talk nonsense, I was just comparing our heights, I didn't mean to hit you!"
"oh?"
"So that's what's going on!"
When Old Zhu heard what Zhu Yunhuan said, he immediately let go of his hand in embarrassment and looked at this little rebellious grandson.
You don’t know until you see it. It’s shocking.
In just a few days, this little rebellious grandson has grown a lot and is almost reaching his chest!
"In a few years, I will be taller than you, la la la!"
When Old Zhu heard Zhu Yunhuan say this, a complex smile appeared on his face.
From the emperor's perspective, he wished that his grandson would grow up tomorrow so that he could take over his father's position and govern the Ming Dynasty.
But as a grandfather, he hopes that the child can be happy every day and never be involved in the treacherous political intrigues.
However, as a royal heir and the orphan of the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty, some things were destined to be inevitable for Zhu Yunhuan.
"yes!"
"In a few years we won't be able to defeat you!"
Old Zhu sighed, then hugged his eldest grandson's head and rubbed it lovingly.
"Wipe off your sweat, and come back with me in the sedan chair to have dinner!"
Zhu Yunhuan was a little shaken when he heard this, but when he thought about the old man playing tricks on him, he felt unhappy.
"I'd rather not go to your house and disturb you..."
Old Zhu was choked by these words and almost rolled his eyes.
What is this grandson talking about? What does "your home" mean? Is he trying to draw a line between himself and us?
"You really aren't going?"
“No!”
Seeing that his little rebellious grandson was so stubborn, Old Zhu became a little angry and said angrily.
"Go if you want!"
"If you don't go, we can save our bear paws !"
"What?"
When Zhu Yunhuan heard the word "bear paw", his eyes lit up.
After traveling into the palace for so long, although the food is not bad, it is only chicken, duck, fish and meat.
This was not much better than the food he had in later life. After all, chicken in later life only cost six or seven yuan per pound.
As long as people are not lazy and can buy groceries and cook for themselves, it is not difficult to achieve the freedom to eat meat.
However, he had never eaten any delicacies from land and sea, especially the legendary bear paw, which he had only seen in movies.
Moreover, considering how stingy Old Zhu is, this kind of delicacy is definitely not a common thing in the palace. If you miss it this time, you never know when you can have it next time!
"Grandpa Emperor, I think it would be too lonely for you to eat alone, so I'd better eat with you!"
When Old Zhu heard the word "Emperor Grandfather", he secretly laughed in his heart and deliberately put on a stern face.
"I'm not alone, it's so delicious when I eat alone!"
"Besides, who are you? I don't know you!"
"Erhu, let's go back and eat bear paws and abalone!"
After saying this, Old Zhu turned around and left, but unexpectedly the little rebellious grandson stuck to him like a sticky candy, hugged his arm and shook it, shouting as he shook.
"Grandpa Emperor, you can't deny me. You are my only relative in this world!"
How could Old Zhu stand this? He laughed and scolded him as a "glutton", then carried his little rebellious grandson into the sedan chair and went back happily to have his meal.
Zhu Yunxun enjoyed this meal very much. The table was filled with many delicious dishes.
All kinds of things like shad, bear paws, bird's nests, shark fins, sea cucumbers, etc. were there, dazzling the ignorant Zhu Yunhuan.
Xu Xingzu had to give a few words introduction to each dish, which made Zhu Yunhuan even more stunned . He exclaimed in his heart, "Wow, these are all delicacies from land and sea!"
But Old Zhu felt a pain on his face when he heard this. He knew that Xu Xingzu was talking to him, and every word he said could be translated into another three words - you have to pay more!
Although Old Zhu felt a pain in his heart, he became happy too when he saw his grandson enjoying his meal.
When breakfast was almost over, a young eunuch came in to report that the Crown Princess was kneeling outside the palace waiting to be summoned.
When Old Zhu and Little Zhu heard this, they frowned at the same time, and then spoke almost at the same time.
"What is she doing here?"
"What is she doing here!"
When Old Zhu heard what his eldest grandson said, he immediately glared at him fiercely.
"Don't be disrespectful!"
Zhu Yunhuan rolled his eyes, agreed reluctantly, then put down his chopsticks and drank a few sips of soup.
"Grandpa Huang, I'm done eating. I'm going to go to the main hall for class first!"
When Old Zhu heard this, he knew that his grandson didn't want to meet Lu and was deliberately finding an excuse to slip away.
But he didn't expose it. After he left, he just smacked his lips at the table full of leftovers.
"How much did this meal cost today?"
"Your Majesty, bear paws are the most expensive. This steamed bear paw alone cost nearly a hundred taels. The other items are average, and all together they cost less than a hundred taels."
Old Zhu took a breath of cold air when he heard this.
"hiss!"
“Why is it so expensive!”
"It wouldn't cost that much to buy a bear, would it?"
Xu Xingzu hurriedly explained.
"Your Majesty, it's just a bear!"
"Don't you think about it? If you only buy one claw, who will sell it to you?"
Old Zhu's cheeks were trembling with pain and he kept muttering to himself.
"Just this one meal!"
"Don't spoil that rebellious grandson like this anymore!"
"If he gets spoiled, won't he give us a world of wine and meat in the future?"
Old Zhu muttered a few words and looked at the leftovers on the table with a look of deep regret.
"How about we have lunch at noon..."
When Xu Xingzu heard this, he immediately removed the leftovers from the table.
"Your Majesty, don't even think about it. I've been busy all night. Please at least leave me a bite!"
Xu Xingzu didn't mean to offend anyone by saying this. He just couldn't bear to see the emperor eating leftovers, so he found an excuse to eat something himself.
Old Zhu also understood what Xu Xingzu meant, so he could only shut up awkwardly. After a long while, he seemed to remember something and spoke to the eunuch beside him.
"Who did you say wanted to see me just now?"
"Your Majesty, the Crown Princess requests an audience!"
Upon hearing this, Old Zhu immediately stood up and walked from the side hall where he had eaten to the main hall. After being dressed neatly with the help of the eunuch, he went to the door to meet Lu.
Mrs. Lu was immersed in resentment towards someone. Just now, that person ran out of the Qianqing Palace and didn't even say hello when passing by her. She was so angry that she wanted to strangle that rebellious son to death.
At this moment, he suddenly saw His Majesty walking out of the palace. He immediately threw the rebellious son out of his mind, put on a sad expression, and kowtowed deeply to Old Zhu.
"The daughter-in-law pays respects to the emperor!"
"Get up and speak!"
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Lu made no attempt to stand up. She just knelt upright and held a memorial with a white cover high above her head.
"I beg you, father, to allow me and the people in the Crown Prince's Mansion to be buried alive with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
"Buried alive?"
When Old Zhu heard about such a big thing as "requesting to be buried alive", his face was moved.
Even if no one volunteered to be buried alive, Zhu was still planning to kill a few of his sons to accompany him. But it was better to have someone volunteer than to be forced, right?
Moreover, if this matter were to get out, it would also bring honor to the prince!
When the eunuch next to him saw Zhu Yuanzhang's expression, he immediately stepped forward, took off the memorial, and handed it to Zhu Yuanzhang.
When Old Zhu opened the memorial, he saw that it was filled with names of people, basically listing all the concubines in the prince's mansion.
"Did they really ask for it?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, everyone in the Crown Prince's Mansion, from the daughter-in-law to the concubines and maids, to the palace maids and eunuchs, are grateful for the Crown Prince's kindness when he was alive, and are willing to follow His Majesty in his grave!"
When Mrs. Lu reached this point, she sobbed and kowtowed again, begging.
“I hope Your Majesty will grant my daughter-in-law’s request and let her serve His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in the underworld, sob…”
Just as Zhu Yuanzhang was hesitating whether to approve the request, he suddenly heard a cry coming from outside the door. Then he saw a palace maid running towards him, holding a baby in her arms, crying.
"Your Highness, this is terrible. Her Highness Yunxi has been crying since you left, and she refuses to eat even when the nurse feeds her..."
When Old Zhu saw this scene, he sighed secretly in his heart.
"Ms. Lu, you are thoughtful..."
