Chapter 30: Family Dinner

As Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, Zhu Gaoxu was the first to butter him up.

"Long live the Emperor, may the Great Ming last ten thousand years!"

He had not forgotten that Lao Zhu still owed him a generalship.

Now that the problem was solved, he had better hurry and suck up to Boss Zhu to secure a good general's rank.

Seeing this, Zhu Di and Mao Xiang also hurriedly said in unison: "Long live the Emperor, may the Great Ming last ten thousand years!"

After speaking, Zhu Di glanced at his son out of the corner of his eye.

If one were to talk about today's events, among those present, Zhu Di was the most shocked.

Zhu Yuanzhang had long known of Zhu Gaoxi's extraordinary nature, and Mao Xiang had also seen Zhu Gaoxi angrily rebuke Hu Weiyong.

Only Zhu Di, as the father, knew basically nothing about Zhu Gaoxi.

Now, he truly looked at his son with new eyes.

A matter that had troubled the entire civil and military court had been resolved by a four-year-old child in just a few words.

The shock in Zhu Di's heart was beyond words.

Only now did he understand Zhu Yuanzhang's words.

He really knew nothing about this second son of his.

"It seems I must have a good talk with this second son of mine when I return."

Sitting on the Dragon Throne, Zhu Yuanzhang naturally did not know Zhu Di's thoughts; at this moment, he was overjoyed to hear the flattery of the crowd.

With a policy now in place for the natural disasters in the North, Zhu Yuanzhang had the leisure to chat with Zhu Di about family matters.

"Fourth, it wasn't easy for you to make this trip back. Stay in Jingcheng and keep me company for a while; I have many things that require you all!"

Upon hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, Zhu Di felt a surge of joy in his heart.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang had always been very fond of him, Zhu Yuanzhang had poured all his heart and soul into his eldest brother, the Crown Prince.

In the past, Zhu Yuanzhang would absolutely never allow a Feudatory Prince to stay in Kyoto for long.

Joyful in his heart, Zhu Di hurriedly replied: "It is my honor to be able to help the Emperor."

Afterward, the group chatted for a few more moments, and time unknowingly reached noon.

Zhu Gaoxi stood to the side, bored the entire time, listening to Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di talk about their father-son bond.

Turning his head to look at Mao Xiang, who had been standing there like a wooden post the whole time, Zhu Gaoxi curled his lips.

Just as Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di were chatting happily, Zhu Gaoxi's stomach suddenly let out a "rumble."

Hearing the sound, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the sky and said: "Don't leave at noon; I'll have someone prepare some imperial dishes. It's been a long time since we father and son had a proper meal together."

Zhu Di naturally agreed. Zhu Di called over Eunuch Li, who was waiting at the door, to give a few instructions, and then the group moved to Ma Huanghou's bedchamber.

After winding left and right through the Imperial Palace, Zhu Gaoxi finally arrived at Ma Huanghou's bedchamber.

From afar, Zhu Gaoxu saw Ma Huanghou and the Crown Prince standing at the entrance of the bedchamber.

Once the group arrived close by, the Crown Prince led Zhu Yuanzhang in offering greetings.

"Greetings to the Empress, greetings to the Crown Prince."

"No need for such formalities." Ma Huanghou smiled, reached out to gesture them up, and then said to Zhu Di: "I heard this morning that you had returned. It's been a hard journey. Your father is just impulsive; he didn't even let you go back to reunite with Miaoyun after just arriving, but instead dragged you here to keep him company."

"The Empress is joking. I can see Miaoyun in Beiping anytime, but opportunities to be with the Emperor, the Empress, and my eldest brother are rare. Of course, I want to take this opportunity to grow closer to the Emperor, the Empress, and my brothers."

Afterward, Zhu Di exchanged a few more pleasantries with the Crown Prince, and the group walked inside under Zhu Yuanzhang's impatient urging.

Zhu Gaoxi did not speak the entire time.

In truth, in Zhu Gaoxi's heart, he did not really like these kinds of occasions.

For him, the only people he truly had feelings for were his own parents.

Where is there any true family affection in the royal family?

If there were, Zhu Di would not have rebelled against his own nephew.

It was nothing more than acting; they were all acting.

Using the most precious family affection to act—he really couldn't stand it.

Unfortunately, he currently lacked the strength to change these things. Rather than thinking about these useless matters, it was better to think about how to get Zhu Yuanzhang to appoint him as a Great General.

Entering Kunming Palace, Ma Huanghou's bedchamber, various dishes had already been prepared.

And these delicious dishes were the only things Zhu Gaoxu cared about at the moment.

Smelling the aroma of the food, Zhu Gaoxu felt, for the first time, a bit of hatred for his royal status.

"Damn, there are too many rules, can't we just start eating?"

Although Zhu Yuanzhang had said from the beginning that this was a family dinner and there were no rules.

Yet everyone waited for Zhu Yuanzhang to pick up food before they did, and each time they took no more than three bites.

This made Zhu Gaoxu unhappy.

There were so many rules just for a meal; he couldn't even take a few extra bites of the dishes he liked.

Pouting his little mouth, Zhu Gaoxu simply ignored everything and ate whatever he wanted.

In an instant, Zhu Gaoxu became the focus of the table.

Everyone else was chewing slowly in small bites, while only Zhu Gaoxu was frantically piling food onto his plate.

Ma Huanghou looked at Zhu Gaoxu, whose mouth was stuffed full, then looked at the bewildered crowd, and awkwardly eased the tension: "Children just have good appetites, haha."

The Crown Prince also chimed in.

"It is said that the fourth brother's second son has innate divine strength; this appetite is truly extraordinary..."

Zhu Di looked at his son stuffing his face and his expression immediately darkened.

Zhu Yuanzhang even said to Zhu Di with a pointed meaning: "It seems I have neglected the fourth. This child has suffered quite a bit in Beiping."