Chapter 170: Returning to the Village

In the eighth year of the Hongwu era, the eighth day of the third month.

Suitable for traveling...

At the beginning of the Mao hour, the sky just dimly brightened, and in front of the Wu Wang Fu gate three carriages and dozens of fine horses were already parked.

Zhu Yong, dressed in ordinary attire, stood at the gate directing the Imperial Troops to load the carriages.

Guanyin Nu held Huanhuan, who was still yawning; the little girl slept drowsily, rubbing her eyes with her small hands.

"Daddy, is it daylight?" Huanhuan asked in a baby‑like voice.

"It's bright. Huanhuan, sleep a bit more, and sleep on the carriage." Zhu Yong took his daughter, lifted her onto the most spacious carriage.

The carriage interior was laid with thick soft padding; Guanyin Nu followed up, cradling the girl in her arms.

At that moment, another carriage arrived—it was Empress Ma's phoenix carriage.

Empress Ma stepped down from the carriage; today she wore plain ordinary clothes, with only a jade hairpin in her hair, looking like an ordinary matriarch.

"Yong Er, is everything ready?" Empress Ma asked with a smile.

"Mother, everything is ready. Why are you up so early?" Zhu Yong hurried forward.

"Leaving early lets us reach Fengyang early, Huanhuan still not awake?" Empress Ma said, looking toward Huanhuan in Guanyin Nu's arms.

"Just woke up, then fell asleep again." Guanyin Nu replied softly.

Empress Ma boarded her own carriage, where the two maidservants Xiao Zhu and Xiao Ying were also seated.

Zhu Biao rushed out of the palace to see them off, carrying two food boxes, and said, "Second brother, these are for the road; Mother loves osmanthus cake, and Huanhuan's favorite candied fruit are inside."

"Elder brother, rest assured, I'll take good care of Mother." Zhu Yong took the food boxes and said.

Zhu Biao added, "On this trip to Fengyang, supervising the construction of the new capital is secondary; the main purpose is to pay respects to Uncle Shi, to thank him on behalf of our parents."

"Also… if anything is amiss in Fengyang, keep an extra eye out."

"I understand." Zhu Yong nodded.

"Imperial Mother, Second Prince, may your journey be smooth. It's just that Father won't let us accompany Imperial Mother; otherwise we would go…" Zhu Shuang and his brothers also came to see them off, expressing displeasure at Zhu Yuanzhang for not letting them accompany Imperial Mother and the Second Prince.

"Exactly, exactly…"

"All three are right…"

"If you all intend to go, then you're already bound; still you're thinking where to go, learning to handle affairs from those officials…" Empress Ma glared at her several sons.

"Yes, Imperial Mother…"

Hearing that, Zhu Shuang and his brothers instantly tucked their necks, then obediently nodded.

Zhang Wuhe and Chen Heng had already organized the troops: fifty Imperial Troops, twenty Jinyi Guard, plus carriage drivers and attendants, totaling over eighty people.

"Depart!" Zhu Yong flipped onto his horse.

The convoy slowly drove out of the Wang Fu streets, heading toward the North Gate.

By then the sky was fully bright; shops along the Street opened one after another, and early‑rising townsfolk, seeing the procession, gave way.

"It's the Wu Prince's carriage."

"I heard the Wu Prince is returning to his ancestral home in Fengyang to perform ancestor rites."

"Empress Ma is also going; look at that phoenix carriage…"

The townspeople murmured softly.

Zhu Yong rode his horse at the front, leading the convoy slowly out of Yingtian.

After passing the North Gate onto the official road, the convoy's speed increased a bit.

Empress Ma had a maid lift the carriage curtain, watching the gradually familiar scenery outside.

She was only eighteen the year she married Zhu Yuanzhang; at that time she was still in Haozhou, and later followed her husband in campaigns north and south. Though she never stayed long in Fengyang, she nonetheless has close ties to it.

There are the jujube trees she planted herself, the old house where she lived with her children, and those hard yet warm years.

"Your Highness, look, that forest is still there!" Xiao Zhu said, pointing to a pine forest in the distance.

Empress Ma looked over, nodded, and said, "That winter there was no firewood; Zhong Ba led Xu Da, Tang He and others to that forest to cut wood, their hands froze and cracked."

"What happened later?" Xiao Ying asked curiously.

"Later, we took apart the cotton coat we wore when we married and made gloves for them," Empress Ma said, a gentle light shining in her eyes.

In the carriage at the front, Huanhuan was fully awake, perched at the window watching the scenery.

"Mother, what are those green things in the fields?" she asked, pointing at the wheat fields by the road.

"Those are wheat; they turn yellow in autumn, and when ground into flour can be used to make noodles or mantou." Guanyin Nu explained patiently.

"Daddy can make mantou?" Huanhuan asked again.

Zhu Yong, riding his horse nearby, heard it and chuckled, "I can, the mantou I make are huge; Huanhuan can't finish them in one sitting."

"Huanhuan can eat!" the little girl protested.

Guanyin Nu smiled and shook her head; this adult and child sometimes truly seem like two kids.

At noon the convoy rested at a Post Station, ate a simple lunch, and continued on.

The farther north they went, the more familiar the scenery became.

Zhu Yong looked at the hills and fields beside the road, and a vague, indescribable feeling rose in his heart.

This is the place where he grew up; every mountain, every river, he has walked and crossed.

The forest where Shi Laosan took him hunting, the little cottage where Aunt Li mended his clothes, the old locust tree where Ergouzi and he extracted bird eggs…

All are still there.

At the end of the Shen Hour, the convoy reached the Fengyang jurisdiction.

Prefect Wu Liang of Fengyang had already been waiting with officials at the boundary marker.

"I, Prefect Wu Liang of Fengyang, request an audience with Imperial Mother, request an audience with Prince Wu," Wu Liang led the crowd in a kneeling salute.

Empress Ma said in the carriage, "Stand down, this visit of mine is private; no need to alarm the locals."

Despite that, Wu Liang dared not be negligent; he personally led the way at the front, escorting the convoy toward Fengyang City.

But Empress Ma said, "Prefect Wu, I will first go to Fengyang Village, and enter the city tomorrow."

Wu Liang was startled, then hurried, "Your Majesty, Fengyang Village is remote, the road is difficult, and night is falling…"

"No problem, Yong Er knows the way," Empress Ma insisted.

Wu Liang dared not object further and had to assign the yamen guards to clear the path ahead.

The convoy turned west, and after another half‑hour of travel, the sun was already sinking westward.

At last, a settlement appeared in the distance.

Wisps of cooking smoke rose, and the faint sounds of chickens crowing and dogs barking drifted out.

Under the old pagoda tree at the village entrance, dozens of people stood.

The old village chief leaned on a cane at the front, behind him were Li Aunt, Wang Tiejiang, Li Uncle, and Ergouzi, who had played with Zhu Yong back then.

The convoy stopped at the village entrance.

Zhu Yong leapt from the horse and hurried over.

"Village chief, Li Aunt, Li Uncle…" he called each name, his voice a little hoarse.

"Shiniu… no, Prince Wu…" the old village chief trembled, about to kneel.

Zhu Yong grabbed him and said, "Village chief, don't do that; I am still Shiniu."

Empress Ma also stepped down from the carriage, with Guanyin Nu holding Huanhuan behind her.

The villagers, seeing Empress Ma, prepared to kneel and pay homage.

"Everyone stand up; today I am a guest, no need for formalities. These years, thank you all for looking after Yong Er," Empress Ma stepped forward, addressing the plain villagers.

Li Aunt wiped her tears and said, "Your Majesty, what you say is true; Shiniu… Prince Wu grew up under our care, just like our own child."

"Indeed, that kid caused plenty of trouble for our chicken coop when he was young," Wang Tiejiang laughed heartily.

Zhu Yong scratched his head and gave a goofy smile.

Huanhuan poked her head out of Guanyin Nu's arms, curiously watching the people.

"Huanhuan, this is Grandfather Tai, this is Grandma Li, this is Grandfather Wang…" Zhu Yong introduced his daughter one by one.

Huanhuan called out obediently, making the elders laugh heartily.

"Come, come, come, let's go inside; the meal is ready," the old village chief tugged Zhu Yong toward the village.

The village path was still a dirt road, but it was swept clean.

Some houses on either side had been renovated, while others remained unchanged.

Zhu Yong's old house was still standing; Li Aunt had been helping with the cleaning, and the courtyard was planted with vegetables that were thriving.

"You, Li Uncle, just the other day said you wanted to repair the roof, fearing you might return to live here someday," Li Aunt said, pointing at the house.

Zhu Yong looked at the little house he had lived in for over a decade, feeling warm inside.

Dinner was set up in the old village chief's courtyard, with five or six tables filled with people.

The dishes were home‑cooked fare: stewed chicken, cured pork, seasonal vegetables, and a large bowl of noodles.

Empress Ma did not mind the simplicity, sitting at the same table as the old village chief, chatting about everyday matters.

"Shi Laosan left after a hunting trip…" Empress Ma asked softly.

The old village chief sighed, "Indeed! Back then Yong Er's appetite grew, nothing was enough, because the game on the outer mountains had been taken by them father and son, so they had to go deep into the mountains, and then…"

Empress Ma's eyes reddened as she said, "It was me and Zhong Ba who owed him; we raised Yong Er for so many years and never got a chance to thank him…"

"Your Majesty, please don't say that; the day Lao San found Shiniu, he was so delighted, telling everyone he now had a son."

"He treated Shiniu as his own son," the old village chief said.

Zhu Yong sat at another table; hearing this, he lowered his head to eat, his nose a little sour.

Guanyin Nu grasped his hand under the table.

Huanhuan sat in Li Aunt's arms, her little mouth eating messily, and Li Aunt lovingly wiped her mouth.

"Huanhuan really resembles Shiniu when he was young, can eat a lot," Li Aunt laughed.

"I can eat now too," Zhu Yong said naively.

Everyone laughed.

After the meal, the sky was completely dark.

The villagers lit lanterns and escorted Zhu Yong's family to the old house.

Though the house was simple, it was tidied very cleanly, and the bedding was all new.

"Your Majesty, we have caused you inconvenience," Li Aunt said apologetically.

"What inconvenience is there? The place I lived in back then was even worse than this!" Empress Ma waved her hand.

After settling Empress Ma, Zhu Yong carried Huanhuan and, with Guanyin Nu, returned to the east room he had lived in before.

The interior furnishings were unchanged: the old wooden bed, the broken wooden cabinet still there, and a slingshot he played with as a child hung on the wall.

"Father used to sleep here," Zhu Yong placed Huanhuan on the bed.

The little girl curiously touched and examined everything.

Guanyin Nu surveyed the room, softly asking, "Did your husband grow up here?"

"Hmm, my father left the best for me; he slept in the outer room, which was drafty in winter and stuffy in summer," Zhu Yong said, pulling a wooden box from under the bed.

Opening it, inside were some old items: a few tattered clothes, a cracked ceramic bowl, and a wooden toy horse made by Lao San.

"This is the one my father made for my fifth birthday," Zhu Yong lifted the little horse, feeling its grain.

Guanyin Nu leaned on his shoulder, gently saying, "Tomorrow we will go to pay respects to my father, and take Huanhuan along."

"Hmm." Zhu Yong nodded.

Outside the window, the moonlight was like water; the village dogs barked occasionally, making the night feel even quieter.

In Empress Ma's room a lamp was still lit, and Xiao Zhu was combing her hair.

"Your Majesty, you've walked so much today; you're tired, aren't you?" Xiao Zhu asked.

"Not tired, my heart is glad. Seeing Yong Er return here, seeing that he still has so many relatives, makes me happy." Empress Ma said, looking at herself in the mirror.

She paused, then added, "Tomorrow after worshipping Shi Laosan, we'll go into the city to take a look. Zhong Ba always says Fengyang is a dragon‑rising land and wants to build a new capital here. I want to see how the construction is coming along."

Xiao Zhu nodded and said, "Prince Wu is coming this time also to supervise the new capital's construction."

Empress Ma said nothing, only gazing at the moonlight beyond the window, lost in thought.

She felt a vague unease in her heart.

Zhong Ba wants to build a new capital in Fengyang; as a mother she can see that Biao Er and Yong Er are opposed in their hearts, perhaps fearing it would overburden the people and waste resources.

This time, besides worshipping Shi Laosan, she also wants to see with her own eyes what the new capital's construction really looks like.

As night deepened, the whole Shi Village sank into slumber.

Only the old locust tree at the village entrance swayed gently in the night breeze, as if it were telling something.