Chapter 202: Uncle's Visit

Li Zhen nodded, but said little.

He had spent his whole life fighting wars, had seen every danger; his son was in Wa Country, so he was naturally worried—after all, across the sea anything could happen—but what worried him more was himself…

He lowered his head to look at his hands, dry and covered with age spots.

"Yong Er! In this life, living to seventy‑four is already worthwhile; Zhong Ba has been good to us. Though your aunt passed early, I have spent many years with her."

"Our son has made a name for himself, our grandson is well‑behaved… I have no regrets now," Li Zhen said suddenly.

"Uncle, what are you saying?" Zhu Yong frowned.

Li Zhen waved his hand, smiling, "Just talking, nothing to worry about; an old man loves to babble like this."

Guanyin Nu listened nearby, feeling a pang of sorrow.

In the few years since she married into the Zhu Family, she has come to know this old uncle as a magnanimous man, never vying for power, honestly serving as his duke.

Zhu Yuanzhang also respected this brother‑in‑law greatly, inviting him into the palace every few days for a talk.

But the old man's age had taken its toll; his health declined year by year, an inevitability no one could stop.

"Uncle, since you're not leaving today, stay in the residence for a meal; I had someone stew lamb in the Grassland style—please try it," Guanyin Nu said.

Li Zhen laughed, "That sounds great, we love meat."

In the courtyard outside, Zhu Huanhuan was pulling Li Jinglong to look at her snowman.

The snowman was built crookedly, with two coal balls for eyes, a carrot for a nose, and a tattered straw hat perched on its head.

"Pretty, right?" Zhu Huanhuan said proudly.

Li Jinglong examined it seriously, nodded and replied, "Pretty."

"You build one too, let's compare!" Zhu Huanhuan said.

Li Jinglong shook his head, "I can't."

"I'll teach you!" Zhu Huanhuan grabbed him and began rolling snowballs.

The two children busied themselves, their little hands turning bright red from the cold, yet they refused to stop.

Xiao Zhu stood in the corridor watching, fearing they would freeze but not daring to intervene, so he asked Xiao Ying to fetch two pairs of thick gloves.

Inside, Li Zhen took a few sips of hot tea and felt much more spirited.

He returned Zhu Qiongjiong to Guanyin Nu, leaned on the couch, and spoke with Zhu Yong.

"Yong Er! I heard your craftsmen have cooked up another new gadget?" Li Zhen asked.

Zhu Yong, unable to hide his curiosity, said, "Uncle knows this too?"

"How could we not know? The whole court, civil and military, is talking about the Wu Wang's craftsmen who built some kind of machine that puffs smoke, can draw water and pump air. It sounded fresh to us, so we wanted to ask," Li Zhen said with a grin.

Zhu Yong rubbed his hands and said, "That's a steam engine, improved by people from the Ministry of Works; now it can run half a month without breaking, and next year it should be usable in the weaving workshops."

"Fine stuff! When I was young, marching with the emperor to conquer the world, I endured every hardship; had we had that machine then, we wouldn't have exhausted so many people."

Li Zhen sighed.

Zhu Yong nodded.

He knew Li Zhen was speaking the truth.

In his previous life he had read histories and knew how suffering the common folk were in early Ming.

The war had just ended; everything lay in ruins and had to be rebuilt from scratch.

With such technology to help, the people could suffer far fewer hardships.

"Uncle, don't rush; this machine can be improved further. I have some ideas in mind; once I work them out, I'll hand them over to the Ministry of Works," Zhu Yong said.

Zhu Yong said.

Li Zhen looked at him, his gaze complex.

This young man, he had watched him rise step by step from the army; that simpleton who once broke the gate of Kaiping City with three hammers is now a world‑shaking great general, commanding thirty‑thousand troops, and has produced so many beneficial inventions for the nation and its people.

"Yong Er! You are truly blessed," Li Zhen said softly.

Zhu Yong chuckled naively, "I have a father, a mother, an elder brother, a wife, and children—I'm blessed."

Li Zhen smiled and patted his hand.

……

At noon, the warm pavilion was set with a meal.

Stewed lamb, braised pork, lightly stir‑fried seasonal vegetables, and several pastries.

Steam rose, and fragrance filled the air.

Li Zhen had a good appetite, eating more than half a bowl of lamb and drinking a bowl of soup.

Zhu Huanhuan and Li Jinglong also sat down to eat; the two children, tired from play, buried their heads in the food eagerly.

Guanyin Nu cradled Zhu Qiongjiong, nursing him; the little fellow woke for a while, ate his fill, then fell asleep again.

He was drinking goat's milk.

After the meal, Li Zhen sat for a while, then rose to take his leave.

"Uncle, sit a bit longer!" Zhu Yong said.

Li Zhen shook his head, "No, go rest. This old bone of mine can't endure any more trouble now."

Zhu Yong escorted him to the second gate and helped him onto the carriage.

Li Jinglong also climbed into the carriage, lifted the curtain and waved at Zhu Huanhuan, saying, "Huan Huan, next time I'll come to play with you!"

"Okay!" Zhu Huanhuan waved energetically.

The carriage set off, slowly leaving Wu Wang Fu.

Zhu Yong stood at the doorway, watching the carriage disappear around the corner.

Guanyin Nu came over, whispering, "Uncle… he seems a bit off."

Zhu Yong nodded, "I know."

Zhu Yong knew what the old man was thinking.

He was getting older, his son not by his side, his grandson still young, and his heart felt uneasy.

"I'll go see him more often from now on," Zhu Yong said.

Guanyin Nu clasped his hand: "Mm."

……

In the evening, the sky grew gloomy again, as if snow were about to fall.

Zhu Yong sat in the study, a stack of blueprints spread before him, the improvement plan for the firing gun sent by the Ministry of Works.

He looked at it for a while, drew several circles on it and added a few words: "The spring is too stiff; make it three points softer."

Although Zhu Yong didn't like to strain his mind, he still possessed the necessary insight.

After writing, Zhu Yong set down his pen and walked to the window.

Outside the window, a thin layer of snow had accumulated in the courtyard.

The snowman that Zhu Huanhuan and Li Jinglong built that afternoon was still there, lopsided and crooked, wearing a tattered straw hat.

Zhu Yong looked at the snowman and suddenly smiled.

He recalled the words Li Zhen had said today.

"Yong Er, you are blessed,"

Indeed! Blessed.

A father, a mother, an elder brother, a wife, children, so many family members, and so many brothers willing to follow him.

Isn't that exactly being blessed.

The door was pushed open, and Guanyin Nu entered carrying a bowl of hot soup.

"Prince, have some soup, warm your body."

Zhu Yong took it, took a sip, hot, warming from his mouth to his heart.

"Minmin..." Zhu Yong suddenly turned and called.

"Mm?"

"Thank you."

Guanyin Nu was startled for a moment, then laughed: "Thanks for what again?"

This simpleton just loves to say thank you...

Zhu Yong set the bowl down, pulled her into his arms and said: "Thank you for giving me a son, thank you for keeping me company, thank you for being by my side."

Guanyin Nu leaned against his chest, softly saying: "Fool, I'm the one who should be thanking you."

Outside, the snow finally began to fall.

Flurrying silently, it turned the winter night into a boundless white.

In the study, candlelight flickered as the two figures nestled together.

In the distance, the bells of Fengtian Hall drifted faintly, long and tranquil.

The winter of the ninth year of Hongwu passed slowly, just like that.

Zhu QiongJiong's full moon, the old uncle's visit, the children's laughter, and that lopsided snowman.

All will become the warmest memories of this winter.