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

Chapter 13 Terrifying Woman

Xu Miaoyun listened to Zhu Gaochi's words, looked at him intently for a long time, and then suddenly began to cough.

"Mother, is it getting worse again?"

Zhu Gaochi gently patted Xu Miaoyun's back, then poured her some hot water, but frowned.

"Someone, quickly go and fetch the honey!"

"Yes, Your Highness."

Xu Miaoyun remained silent, letting Zhu Gaochi gently pat her until she felt slightly better.

When the servants brought honey, Zhu Gaochi added some honey to the hot water.

"Mother, drink some water. With honey added, your throat won't be so itchy. Honey also has a certain cough-suppressing effect. Drinking it when you have a bad cough will make you feel much better."

Xu Miaoyun looked at Zhu Gaochi's serious yet worried expression and suddenly smiled.

"Okay, thank you for your thoughtfulness, boss."

Xu Miaoyun took the hot honey water and drank it, and began to understand Zhang Yan's actions earlier.

The current Zhu Gaochi is completely different from before; he is now much more considerate of others.

After drinking the honey water, although I still felt a little uncomfortable, I did feel much better than before.

After gesturing for the surrounding palace maids to leave, Xu Miaoyun slowly spoke.

"Eldest son, I am very pleased with how you have changed."

But you've changed so much, it's like you've been reborn, which makes me a little uneasy.

"Mother, you haven't gotten used to it yet. Once you get used to the changed me, you won't feel this way anymore."

Zhu Gaochi felt extremely uncomfortable under Xu Miaoyun's gaze.

He appeared gentle, but his profound meaning was many times sharper than Zhu Di's, as if it could penetrate into his very heart.

Despite the fact that he and Xu Miaoyun were getting along quite well and he didn't seem as reserved as he was around Zhu Di.

However, in terms of the level of discomfort, it was far worse than facing Zhu Di.

Zhu Gaochi also gained a deeper understanding of the saying that women are as meticulous as hair.

Everyone says that Emperor Zhu Di was unpredictable, but in Zhu Gaochi's opinion, Xu Miaoyun was the truly unpredictable one, and even more oppressive than Zhu Di.

Xu Miaoyun smiled and nodded, then said, "My daughter-in-law just told me about what happened last night. You didn't disappoint me."

You can keep those maids, but you must be able to control them.

You are the Crown Prince, the heir apparent of the Ming Dynasty, unlike others.

Others may do whatever they want, but you need to be even more able to control yourself.

"Treat my daughter-in-law well; she's a virtuous and capable wife. With her around, you won't need to worry about any affairs of the inner court."

Xu Miaoyun kept talking, saying a lot, almost all of it was about what Zhu Gaochi needed to pay attention to, instructing Zhu Gaochi.

Xu Miaoyun kept an eye on Zhu Gaochi out of the corner of her eye, and at the end, seeing that Zhu Gaochi was listening attentively, her eyes showed relief.

"Mother, I understand. I've gradually come to realize these things over time."

To be honest, my weight gain and subsequent weakness are probably related to those factors.

After Zhu Gaochi finished speaking, he shook his head and smiled bitterly, feeling a pang of bitterness.

Zhu Gaochi was absolutely right about this. Historically, there was a case where Li Shimian advised the original owner to restrain his desires shortly after he ascended the throne. This angered the original owner, who thought Li Shimian was insulting him. He then tortured Li Shimian and almost killed him.

Given that Zhu Gaochi had many concubines in his harem, he wouldn't believe there wasn't this reason.

Without much exercise, years of sexual activity, coupled with busy government work, frequent late nights, or even all-nighters, it would be strange if problems didn't arise.

Seeing Zhu Gaochi's sincere words and his obvious lingering fear, Xu Miaoyun smiled with relief.

Afterwards, Xu Miaoyun chatted with Zhu Gaochi for a long time, mostly about the past.

After a long while, Xu Miaoyun's heart finally settled down.

In fact, Zhu Gaochi's change did make her realize that something was wrong.

She had been talking about the past to see Zhu Gaochi's perspective on it, and he hadn't disappointed her.

"Eldest brother, if you had been more sensible earlier, your father would never have looked down on you."

From now on, try to be less argumentative with your father and be more accommodating to him. After all, he's your father, understand?

"Mom, you can't just blame me for this. Where did I argue with him? Where did I not give in to him?"

But Mother, you know his temper; he's useless."

At this point, Zhu Gaochi began to pour out his grievances, recounting his hardships.

Actually, he already knew Xu Miaoyun's purpose when she talked to him earlier.

But this greatly alarmed him. He concentrated on searching his memories while chatting with Xu Miaoyun, which took a lot of effort.

Now that Zhu Gaochi knows he has passed Xu Miaoyun's test, he no longer needs to worry about his changes.

Zhu Gaochi was still not at ease, so he directly shifted Xu Miaoyun's attention to Zhu Di.

After all, it's better to die for a friend than for yourself. Whether Zhu Di will be reprimanded by Xu Miaoyun is none of his business.

Now, he needs to protect himself and can't let Xu Miaoyun keep asking him these questions.

Now Zhu Gaochi understands that Xu Miaoyun, who seems the gentlest and kindest to them all, is actually the most terrifying among this family.

His eyes were like those of a hawk, sending chills down one's spine.

"Mom, tell me, he asked me to give him a suggestion, and when I did, he got upset and suspected I had ulterior motives. Am I being wronged?"

Anyway, I'm not going to worry about these things anymore. I'll just focus on being the Crown Prince.

Next, I'm going to read medical books and take care of my health. I don't want to argue with him anymore.

"Eldest brother, you are the crown prince, how can you do this?"

Even though he's wrong, he's still your father. You should respect and be humble in front of him.

I know it's not easy for you, but you must not slack off because of it.

As for those medical books, don't bother looking at them. I know my own body best.

I know your dad used to secretly read medical books late at night, but it was all in vain.

As long as you, father and son, brothers, live in harmony, and I see the Ming Dynasty gradually recovering and its national strength increasing, I will be content.

When talking about her illness, Xu Miaoyun took it in stride.

She had no choice but to accept this reality; she had to let go of it.

Perhaps this is fate.

She had been working hard ever since she married Zhu Di.

After arriving in Beiping, Zhu Di was busy with military affairs, so she took good care of the house and internal affairs for him, and also helped him win over the hearts of the people. She met with and rewarded the wives of Zhu Di's confidants.

Until Zhu Di's Jingnan Campaign, she was in charge of logistics and took care of everything.

Zhu Di became emperor, and she became empress, but things became even more complicated.

The empire, which had recovered much of its former glory, was once again devastated by war after several years of pacification.

In addition, since Zhu Di seized power through the Jingnan Campaign, she had been helping him restore the people's livelihood. She advised Zhu Di on many national affairs, and she also had an inner palace and harem, so she had a lot to do.

It can be said that since she married Zhu Di, Zhu Di has never had a proper rest for a single day, but she has never had a proper rest either.

Every day when I open my eyes, there are all sorts of things to deal with, and I simply don't have time to rest.

But she did not complain at all, because she knew clearly that national affairs should always come first.

She also constantly learned from Empress Xiaoci Gao, also known as Empress Ma, and never slacked off or complained.

Now that she knows her health is failing, she is not worried about anything else, except for the father and sons.

She knew Zhu Di's temperament well; once she was gone, no one would be able to persuade him.

At that time, the father and son would be suspicious of each other, and Zhu Di, being an emperor who rose from the ashes, would likely act in the court in the same way he did when leading troops. This would have both advantages and disadvantages, but at that time, no one would dare to mention the bad side.

Her brothers Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaosui also caused her considerable worry.

As Zhu Di's wife and the mother of Zhu Gaochi and the others, she knew all too well what kind of temperaments these people had.

Zhu Gaochi's change has given her hope again, and hope that things can turn around.

She truly hoped that Zhu Gaochi could maintain his position, rather than being a fleeting phenomenon.

Xu Miaoyun said a lot, and Zhu Gaochi listened attentively to everything she said.

"Mother, don't worry, you'll be fine. The things you're worried about won't happen."

Zhu Gaochi spoke confidently, believing that it would definitely be different from history.

Otherwise, what would be the point of his trip?

However, some things need to be done slowly and cannot be rushed.

Zhu Gaochi was also eager to see how Zhu Di, Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaosui would react if Xu Miaoyun were still alive.

In this Ming Dynasty, no one else could control these people except Xu Miaoyun.