Chapter 674: A Private Box at the Dissection Institute

Building a "Li Li Dafang"—that is, constructing a massive residence—is a distinctive feature of Fujianese culture. Every Fujianese person, once they have achieved success and fame, must build a grand mansion in their hometown to showcase their accomplishments. It is a classic form of "returning home in glory." This culture had already become a widespread custom during the Great Ming Dynasty, and one could even find various styles of these grand houses throughout Fujian.

"Earn big money, build a big house, marry a beautiful wife"—these are the three great goals of life.

"The grand house Chen Jingbang built is centered on three overlapping seven-bay main halls, seven courtyards deep, with protective wings on the left and right, totaling one hundred and twenty rooms. It is less of a mansion and more of a village, for the entire estate houses seventy-two households and over three hundred people. Even so, it appears somewhat empty. The main house alone occupies forty mu of land; when you include the protective wings on the left and right, plus the pavilions and terraces, the entire estate covers nearly eight hundred mu." Liu Hanru, seeing the disbelief on the faces of the officials, had no choice but to describe Chen Jingbang's grand estate in detail.

"Eight hundred mu?" Wang Chonggu nearly jumped off his stool. The Great Ming Imperial Palace, by any calculation, only covers 1,080 mu. He, a mere third-rank Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, had actually managed to build an eight-hundred-mu estate, and a landscaped garden at that!

It is simply an inversion of the natural order!

Liu Hanru actually felt quite sympathetic toward Wang Chonggu. Back when Wang Chonggu was still a sycophantic official, he had hoarded two million taels of silver but couldn't bear to spend it, eventually using it all to plug the holes in the Xuan-Da Great Wall. Later, after entering the capital and becoming wealthy again, because he lived in the Imperial City, he had no chance to return home, not even a chance to enjoy his life. The eighty mu of the All-Shan Guild Hall was mostly for public use, rented out to officials and scholars from Shanxi in the capital to ease their living burdens.

What is the point of having money? Even with money, he doesn't know how to enjoy life. Look at Chen Jingbang, then look at yourself, Wang Chonggu—the difference is like heaven and earth.

Zhu Yijun, listening from the back hall, was dumbfounded. The Imperial Palace indeed covers 1,080 mu, but he doesn't live in the Imperial Palace; he lives in the Tonghe Palace. The Tonghe Palace, by any calculation, is less than one hundred mu. As the Emperor, with so many people around him, living in less than one hundred mu, Zhu Yijun already felt it was quite spacious.

Of course, if one includes the Royal Academy of Investigation, the Prince Lu Mansion, the Prince De Mansion, the Martial Arts Academy, the Embroidered Uniform Guard barracks, the Great Buddha Pagoda, and so on—if all these royal buildings are counted, then it does cover nearly eight hundred mu.

Since the case of the private market in Sandu'ao, Fujian, broke out, Chen Jingbang and Chen Qingcong had not dared to make a move, because the slightest action would attract the attention of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. When Chen Qingcong was arrested, it was at his residence in the capital. Chen Jingbang was arrested at the same time and taken to the Northern Depot of the Great Ming Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Zhu Yijun did not leave the Northern Depot. It was not until Zhao Mengyou brought Chen Jingbang back that Zhu Yijun summoned him.

Yet, whether it was the Yan Dang or the Pure Stream, after the private market at Shuangyu was wiped out by the Zhejiang Governor Zhu Wan, they had never established a private market. What kind of business was in this private market? Trafficking in Great Ming subjects and various contraband goods.

Zhu Yijun was extremely puzzled by this matter. If it were Marquis Wuqing Li Wei—that is, the Emperor's own maternal grandfather—who had done this, as the Emperor, he absolutely could not be lenient. Even if Empress Dowager Li pleaded for mercy, it would be useless.

Private markets—during the Jiajing era, in the age when the Japanese pirate menace was raging, even when the Yan Dang and the Pure Stream led by Xu Jie were at each other's throats, they never went so far as to create private markets.

Chen Jingbang was neither of the Zhang Party nor the Chu Party. He was a jinshi from the forty-fourth year of the Jiajing reign, appointed as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, and was also one of the lecturers for the Great Ming Emperor during his youth. Later, after Zhang Juzheng monopolized the lectures, Chen Jingbang remained in the capital and was never sent to an external post, rising step by step to the position of Senior Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

But these places were not for the private use of Zhu Yijun, the Emperor. What belonged to him as a private individual was the back courtyard of the Tonghe Palace; even the Imperial Study in front of the Dragon Pool was a place for official business.

After Wang Chonggu finished speaking, Zhao Mengyou flipped through the case files and pulled out a page. It was an official document drafted by the Ministry of Personnel, not yet stamped. If Pang Shangpeng's illness could not be cured, the position of Fujian Governor would go to Liu Hanru. On this page, there was a floating note from Zhang Juzheng and a vermilion comment from His Majesty: "Hanru, Hanru, I hope the man is as his name suggests."

This money cannot be touched. Whether it was the Yan Dang or the Pure Stream, everyone knew very well that no matter how they fought, colluding with the Japanese pirates was something that could not be touched.

When one cries most bitterly, one cannot make a sound.

At that banquet, Liu Hanru fell for a beauty trap. The focus of the beauty trap was the "trap," not the "beauty." What turned Liu Hanru from a capable Great Ming official into a corrupt giant worm was not a poem or a lyric, but that kind of natural, tacit understanding.

"It would have been fine if you had just been a little greedy, but how could you collude with the Japanese pirates? How could you indulge the sea bandits? How could you traffic in opium? You have been in the capital for a long time; do you not know my temper?"

The time when the Yan Dang and the Pure Stream fought most fiercely over suppressing the Japanese pirates was when Hu Zongxian falsely accused the Nanjing Minister of War Zhang Jing and the Zhejiang Governor Li Tianchong. At that time, both Zhang Jing and Li Tianchong were beheaded and displayed to the public. Hu Zongxian became the Zhejiang Governor afterward, presiding over the overall situation of resisting the Japanese pirates.

"Actually, Chen Jingbang had no ability to recommend you at all. Or rather, no Great Ming court official had the qualifications to guarantee you. He could recommend, but the appointments of Governors, Viceroys, and capital officials all required court deliberation and the Emperor's personal selection." At the end of the three-hall trial, Wang Chonggu told Liu Hanru that the appointment and removal of Great Ming Governors were not something that could be achieved just because someone recommended it.

But this Chen Jingbang was truly a great disappointment.

"Chen Jingbang lied to you. You could have been the Fujian Governor even without his promise of recommendation."

Back then, at the Shuangyu private market, who was taking the money?

Chen Jingbang never expected Liu Hanru to be so capable, managing this private market to such a scale, with over three hundred ships entering and exiting every day!

Zhu Yijun flicked his sleeve. He detested the phrase "deserving of death" the most, as if any crime could be wiped away by a single death.

Even since the implementation of the Evaluation Law during the Wanli era, the promotion and transfer of officials had become fairer, but one's background still remained. A first-rank Jinshi naturally goes without saying; the lowest they start as is a Grand Secretary. And a second-rank Jinshi serving in the provinces still holds a capital official's title, managing local affairs as a capital official. For example, Wang Xiyuan in Yunnan was a Censor-in-Chief inspecting Yunnan, in charge of minting money, managing the Yunnan minting furnaces.

Liu Hanru stared blankly at the vermilion comment. As he looked, he began to laugh, and as he laughed, he began to cry. His body went limp, and he sat on the ground, his eyes vacant, as if he had lost his mind. He sat there blankly, two lines of turbid tears rolling down, his body twitching, yet he did not make a sound.

The rank of one's success determined the upper limit of one's future achievements.

They were all famous generals in resisting the Japanese pirates, all for the sake of resisting the Japanese pirates, but the court was in turmoil, and the Yan Dang and the Pure Stream below could only fight each other. This is the tragedy of factionalism. Whether Zhang Jing, Li Tianchong, or Hu Zongxian died in prison, whoever lost or won, the Great Ming lost miserably.

One wrong step, every step wrong. For the sake of Chen Jingbang's promise, how many things had Liu Hanru done?

In the end, it was all for nothing.

The content of court deliberations was rarely made public. Therefore, to outsiders, it seemed to be recommended by the mentor and faction leader. The promotion of Shandong Governor Wang Yie was the result of the Emperor overcoming all opposition, while the Liaodong Governor Hou Yuzhao was the result of court officials' recommendation.

Soon, Liu Hanru confessed the evidence. Sending money to Chen Jingbang was not done directly to Chen Jingbang's hands, but to his foster son, Chen Qingcong. And this foster son was not a real foster son; he was Chen Jingbang's biological son. Because his mother was a concubine, he could only enter the house under the name of a foster son.

"Those pillars of golden nanmu, tsk tsk, I didn't even know our Great Ming still had such large ones. When the Imperial Palace was being built, His Majesty said there was a shortage of golden nanmu, so they didn't use wooden pillars but switched to concrete pillars, saving the people and money from transporting them from the Southern Capital." Liu Hanru spoke of the golden nanmu pillars in the Chen family's grand estate—there were seven in total.

That was in the past, not now.

That was in Zhejiang, when Liu Hanru was still the Zhejiang Surveillance Commissioner. The Renhe Xia clan played the host and introduced Chen Jingbang's foster son, Chen Qingcong, to Liu Hanru.

This was clearly a deliberate design. This beauty probably understood Liu Hanru better than he understood himself. But knowing it was a trap, he was unwilling to wake up.

Liu Hanru changed. He became a corrupt official, a moth of the Great Ming. He began to protect the private market, how to make money from it, how to exchange the money for various luxurious items and transport them to Putian, adding bricks and tiles to Chen Jingbang's grand estate.

"Ah?" Liu Hanru was confused for a moment, looking at Wang Chonggu with eyes full of incomprehension.

Governor, Imperial Commissioner, high official of the frontier—how could it be so simple? Could a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites decide it?

Liu Hanru was just not in the capital and didn't understand the twists and turns inside, which is why he felt that with the recommendation of a high official in the capital, there would be a possibility of promotion.

Zhao Mengyou looked at Liu Hanru's appearance but didn't say much, continuing the interrogation. It wasn't that Liu Hanru could implicate Chen Jingbang and Chen Jingbang would be convicted and imprisoned. Handling a case requires evidence. Liu Hanru was that breakthrough point. This was the reason why they had to open a breakthrough on Liu Hanru—it was the fastest and most direct method.

What is the point of this?

Wang Chonggu looked at Liu Hanru and said, "In the fifth month of the seventh year of Wanli, you were transferred to Fujian. It was Fujian Governor Pang Shangpeng who specifically named you. Shu Yinglong was actually just an add-on. It is rare in the Great Ming for a Provincial Administration Commissioner and a Surveillance Commissioner to be transferred together. In the seventh year of Wanli, Pang Shangpeng resigned due to illness, and the one he recommended was you. At that time, the court had made preparations: if Pang Shangpeng was in poor health and unable to preside over Fujian affairs, you would act as the Governor. This was an extraordinary promotion, serving as a Vice Censor-in-Chief to govern Fujian."

Liu Hanru was the fifty-ninth in the third rank. The first rank is Jinshi, directly appointed to the Hanlin Academy, without the need for Ministry of Personnel selection; the second rank is Jinshi background, able to take the Hanlin Academy examination and sit in the capital; but the third rank is Tong-Jinshi background, so they can only take the path of provincial promotion, guarding one side, spending their whole life in the provinces, unable to return to the capital.

"Why?" Zhu Yijun looked at Chen Jingbang and asked with some doubt: "Earn big money, build a big house, marry a beautiful wife—are they that important?"

"Your subject deserves to die ten thousand times. This guilty subject also didn't expect Liu Hanru to make such a big scene." Having reached this point, Chen Jingbang had nothing more to say. He was not the first to do this kind of thing, nor would he be the last.

"Liu Hanru, have you ever thought about it?" Wang Chonggu looked at Liu Hanru and suddenly said: "Your talent—the court had long noticed it?"

"Eight hundred mu, why not call him over and ask, see if his house is eight hundred mu?" Liu Hanru had confessed, so he had no psychological burden, pouring it out like beans, explaining clearly how he got connected with Chen Jingbang, bit by bit.

"Rebellion! Tomorrow, tear it down and transport it to the capital!" Wang Chonggu felt more and more angry as he listened, especially when the construction of the Imperial Palace was mentioned. His Majesty thought it was a waste of money and was afraid of fire, so he simply used reinforced concrete pillars. That thing, with a skin pasted on, looked quite grand, but it wasn't noble enough.

Liu Hanru was that unfortunate third-ranker. What was the use of being capable? The upper limit was right there. And the beauty in the beauty trap just happened to understand Liu Hanru's feeling of being a talent unrecognized. One thing led to another, they flirted, and the more they talked, the more compatible they became, sinking deeper and deeper.

It is worth noting that Hu Zongxian was also of third-rank background, so he could only rely on Yan Song and his son Yan Shifan to be promoted.

The Great Ming navy spent over two months running around on the sea just to wipe out the sea bandits. To what extent was the Great Ming exhausted to suppress the Japanese pirates? Could this single sentence "deserving of death," like a universal formula, lightly brush it all aside?

"I have abolished the status of the lowly slaves. Otherwise, your children and grandchildren would all have to taste the flavor of being slaves for generations. But it doesn't matter. I will exile your family to Ceylon. Don't you like private markets? Don't you like sea bandits? Don't you like earning big money, building big houses, and marrying beautiful wives?" Zhu Yijun's smile was somewhat chilling.

If it were Java, that would be within the Strait of Malacca, which is considered a stable place. But exiling them to Ceylon means throwing them onto a ship and leaving them to their own devices, regardless of anything. Whether they live or die depends entirely on whether Heaven grants them food.

Zhu Yijun originally wanted to throw them to Mombasa, which is in South Africa, but considering the journey was too far, if the navy soldiers responsible for the exile were lost on the way, that would be bad. It was better to throw them to Ceylon.

"Those who rise by this will surely perish by this!" Zhu Yijun's voice was devoid of any emotion. He hated the Japanese pirates. Any civil or military official who killed Japanese pirates was considered a person in Zhu Yijun's eyes and could be looked upon with extra favor. Wang Yie and Wang Chonggu were both like this.

Zhu Yijun changed the subject and asked: "Do you have anything else to say? Besides you taking money, who else took money? You know the consequences of reckless implication."

He suddenly gave Chen Jingbang a chance to make up for his crimes.

"Wang Chonggu, also Wang Chonggu and his son Wang Qian took money too!" Chen Jingbang, as if grabbing a straw to save his life, shouted loudly.

"Speaking requires evidence. Do you have evidence?" Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Chonggu the moment Chen Jingbang spoke.

Wang Chonggu remained in that calm and composed manner, looking at Chen Jingbang's expression with a bit of mockery. Does his family lack this little bit of yours?

Afterward, his complexion became more and more solemn, and he became sluggish. This was His Majesty's questioning, almost equivalent to a verdict. Chen Jingbang, in front of the Emperor, was recklessly implicating like this—false accusation leads to counter-punishment. Chen Jingbang could not possibly not understand the severity of the consequences!

Then the only possibility was Wang Qian!

This rebellious son!

Wang Chonggu instantly felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, and his whole person went numb. After a lifetime, he ultimately failed to have a good end. His Majesty gave him two chances, but he didn't grasp either. Full of confidence, he had made it to the point of a three-hall trial, and in the end, he still fell into it!

"I sent Wang Qian fifty thousand taels of silver. He took it and even wrote me a receipt!" Chen Jingbang hurriedly said: "There is absolutely no falsehood. I beg His Majesty to clarify!"

Zhu Yijun was instantly furious. He said coldly to Zhao Mengyou: "Go call Wang Qian here!"

Wang Chonggu collapsed on the chair. In a flash, Wang Chonggu had already thought of his last words.

"Your Majesty, your subject has some family assets. After scraping it all together, there are still 4.32 million taels of silver. I will take out eighty percent, which is 3.45 million taels, to invest in opening the sea. Including previous investments, all dividends will be used as rewards for technological progress. I beg His Majesty to fulfill this last wish of your old subject." Wang Chonggu stood up tremblingly.

Taking out eighty percent of the silver to donate to His Majesty, letting His Majesty use the dividends every year to reward inventors of technological progress—this was the final afterglow he had planned long ago, illuminating the path forward for the Industrial Party.

Wang Chonggu had even planned his property after death, but in the end, he ended up in a situation where he could not have a good end.

In this world, most things are done for profit. If they can receive the generous rewards of the Chonggu Prize, and also gain fame, the great craftsmen will also continuously promote technological progress.

Alas, alas, all beautiful visions and plans fell through because of a rebellious son.

"See His Majesty. Long live His Majesty." Wang Qian was still in that grinning manner. Seeing his old father looking ashen, he said in surprise: "Dad, what's wrong with you? Do you want to call the imperial physician?"

"Wang Qian, did you receive fifty thousand taels of silver from Chen Jingbang?" Zhu Yijun still felt there was something tricky, asking calmly.

"Yes, just last month." Wang Qian nodded and said with a strange look: "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong, you still ask what's wrong?!" Wang Chonggu's eyes widened, feeling that one of his feet had already stepped into the gate of the Dissection Institute. The thing he regretted most in this life was probably giving birth to such a son.

Zhu Yijun asked again: "Under what name?"

Wang Qian saw this posture and knew the problem was not small, and also sensed something was wrong, hurriedly saying: "He said he wanted to buy tickets for the Suiyuan Chidao. Your subject sold them to him at the price of 8 silver per ticket. But isn't it that the tickets haven't risen yet? So we made a contract, and your subject even wrote him a receipt. Within three months, if it rises, I will sell it to him at the price I made. If it doesn't rise, this fifty thousand silver will be returned in full, and I will pay him another five hundred taels of silver. This is just a gambling contract."

"Anything else?" Zhu Yijun continued to ask.

Wang Qian recalled carefully and said: "Nothing else."

"Nothing else?" Wang Chonggu immediately came back to life, blankly saying: "Really nothing else?"

"Nothing else, the contract is at the Yanxinglou Trading House. This is official business." Wang Qian said with a confused look: "Did something happen?"

"Nothing, you go get busy. You scared your father." Zhu Yijun waved his hand, letting Wang Qian go get busy. There was nothing for him here.

"Your subject withdraws." Seeing his father's complexion turn rosy, Wang Qian knew that the matter had not affected their family. Wang Qian looked at Chen Jingbang, who was kneeling on the ground with shackles and chains, shook his head, and left strolling. By the way, he inquired about what had happened. He had a clear conscience and was not afraid of investigation.

Zhu Yijun looked at Chen Jingbang, who was kneeling on the ground, bowing his head.

"After the trial is over, send him directly to the Dissection Institute. Take him down." Zhu Yijun waved his hand, having no interest in talking to this Chen Jingbang anymore. He had already begun to implicate recklessly, which proved that there was really no one behind him. At death's door, he was still dragging others into the water. He truly deserved to go to hell.

Since he dared to shake the Emperor, he could not blame Zhu Yijun for being ruthless. One private box at the Dissection Institute.

Zhu Yijun actually suspected that Marquis Wuqing Li Wei had business in this. Li Wei was not very honest before. Now it seems that Zhu Yijun indeed wronged Marquis Wuqing. Of course, it is also possible that Marquis Wuqing didn't have this channel.

Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Chonggu and said happily: "Vice Minister Wang, about this technological progress award, I think it's very good. How about this: 5 million silver in principal, half from Vice Minister Wang, half from me. We take out the dividends as rewards. The evaluation will be determined by the Five Classics Doctors of the Royal Academy of Investigation. If there is no evaluation, it will be injected into the investment to become principal. How about naming this award the Great Ming Technological Progress Award?"

"Your Majesty, your subject will put out 3.45 million silver alone. How about the Chonggu Technological Progress Award?" Wang Chonggu looked out the window, his eyes dodging. His Majesty is truly too greedy, even taking away the old man's inheritance! This is a means he had thought about for a long time to gain fame for himself!

Zhu Yijun thought for a while and said: "Vice Minister Wang, how about we engrave on this medal: 'Respectfully presented by Wang Chonggu to those who are well-known'?"

"Hmm?" Wang Chonggu's interest greatly increased. He nodded repeatedly and said: "This is good, this is good."

Telling a story requires a bit of "covering up while revealing." When others see it, "Respectfully presented by Wang Chonggu," they will ask, who is this Wang Chonggu, and why engrave that he presented it on the national medal? This curiosity will arise, and they will understand the story behind it. This is a fierce increase in value.

Wang Chonggu is a businessman and understands the methods inside very well.

"Then it's settled? The medal will be based on the first-class merit medal of the five-rank merit medal set of Hou Yuzhao." Zhu Yijun explained the rules of the award happily. This division of governance requires division of awards. If there is one, issue it; if not, don't.

"Your subject thanks His Majesty for the great grace." Wang Chonggu thanked him again. His Majesty spared no effort for his posthumous fame.

When Wang Chonggu left, even his steps seemed very happy. A rebellious son not sending his own father to the grave in one day is naturally worth rejoicing.

Zhu Yijun returned to the Tonghe Palace and first went to see Consort Liu and Consort Li. At this look, both of them had eyes somewhat swollen from crying. Knowing the Emperor was coming, they wanted to cover it up, but they were worried that rouge and powder would be bad for the children. Their faces were full of anxiety.

Zhu Yijun comforted the two well. It was typical prenatal anxiety. Wang Yaozhuo also had these symptoms before, being overly concerned about gains and losses, and even suffering from insomnia.

"It is truly not easy for you to maintain the peace of this harem." When Zhu Yijun came out of Consort Liu and Consort Li's Hua'e Building, he wiped the sweat from his forehead. He was not very good at coaxing women. The trick he was best at was not very convenient, so this time, he took the two jade duck eggs from last time—that pair of carved dragon-pattern jade gourds—and rewarded them to the two consorts, which finally coaxed them.

The osmanthus flowers in the Imperial Garden were blooming brilliantly. Zhu Yijun chattered about the affairs of the previous court to Wang Yaozhuo.

"That Chen Jingbang looked like a person on the surface, but I didn't expect him to be this kind of person. We also misjudged him, thinking he could govern the country." Zhu Yijun leaned on the back of the chair, sighing with great emotion: "Knowing a person's face does not mean knowing their heart. I sent him to the Dissection Institute, and Chen Jingbang's family was exiled to Ceylon."

"It's a pity about that Liu Hanru. He is indeed very talented, but he also ended up being beheaded and displayed to the public. This time, heads rolled again, and I started a great prison again."

Wang Yaozhuo looked at the osmanthus flowers in the courtyard and said: "Your subject doesn't understand the affairs of the previous court. If Your Majesty feels it is necessary to start a great prison, then start it. Your subject just feels that the child has been born."

When Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong started great prisons, it was Empress Ma and Empress Xu who were persuading them. Persuading for benevolence can also be considered one of the duties of the Great Ming Empress.

But listening to His Majesty, this collusion with Japanese pirates, opium, trafficking in Great Ming subjects, and indulging sea bandits to plunder the Great Ming coast—if any one of these things happened, they should have entered the Dissection Institute. Sometimes, this great prison must be started if it should be started.

Zhu Yijun smiled and said: "Vice Minister Wang was scared to the point of trembling, thinking his rebellious son was causing trouble outside again. Oh, that expression, pale with a yellowish tint, his hands started shaking, and he even started to explain his last words."

"The son in Vice Minister Wang's family is indeed not worry-free." Wang Yaozhuo often heard her husband mention the affairs of the previous court and was quite familiar with the father's kindness and son's filial piety of Wang Qian, as it was one of the two great joys in the Great Ming capital.

Zhu Yijun sat up straight and said: "Zhi'er is already very amazing. Now he speaks fluently and very clearly. He is only so young, and you let him learn arithmetic. Is it too early?"

Hoping for one's son to become a dragon is probably the wish of every parent, but at this age, being able to speak clearly is already very amazing.

"He is already two years old. It's just recognizing numbers and counting. I didn't let him do anything else." Wang Yaozhuo refused to give in at all. She said quite affirmatively: "He still has to learn."

"One year and eight months." Zhu Yijun corrected Wang Yaozhuo's statement and exhaled a turbid breath: "It's still four months away from two years old. The child is not afraid of me, but now he is afraid of you. Every time he sees me, he hides behind me. If he counts wrong, he can just count again. You keep a cold face, and the child is afraid."

"Understood, understood." Wang Yaozhuo looked at Zhu Changzhi who was digging soil, opened her mouth, and finally didn't say it. This is the legitimate eldest son. According to the Great Ming succession law, he is the absolute Crown Prince. If he is not excellent, it is a mistake.

Born in the imperial family, how could it be so simple.

"You still say I'm perfunctory. You are also perfunctory to me. Do what you should do at what age. He hasn't started school yet, no need to manage so strictly." Zhu Yijun saw Wang Yaozhuo's appearance and knew that Wang Yaozhuo hadn't listened.

Zhu Yijun took a look, immediately stood up, picked up Zhu Changzhi, threw the clod of soil in his hand to the side, and pretended to reprimand: "Not allowed to eat soil!"

One didn't see it, and Zhu Changzhi stuffed the dug-up soil into his mouth, intending to taste what it tasted like.

"Daddy, big flower face, paint a big flower face for Daddy!" Zhu Changzhi stretched out his dirty hands and wiped on Zhu Yijun's face. While wiping, he laughed. Zhu Yijun held him and couldn't dodge, so he could only let him graffiti.

Wang Yaozhuo watched from the side, laughing while watching. It could be considered a happy family. ===== CHAPTER 675 =====