Chapter 271: Year Fourteen Check‑In

In the fourteenth year of Hongwu, on the Spring Festival.

Before dawn, Yingtian Fu was already echoing with firecrackers popping here and there.

In the main courtyard of Wu Wang Fu, large red lanterns hung densely, and the icicles under the corridor glimmered crystal‑clear in the lantern light.

The servants, dressed in new clothes, bustled back and forth, and fragrant aromas drifted from the kitchen.

Zhu Yong rose early.

He wasn't awakened by the firecrackers; it was that voice in his mind.

"Ding... Year Fourteen Check‑In of Hongwu has begun. Would you like to claim the reward?"

He lay on the bed, gazing at the dust on the ceiling, a faint smile curling his lips.

Another year has passed.

"Claim it."

"Congratulations, host, you have obtained: Alchemy Ability Blueprint Set (including high‑purity copper smelting, electrolytic purification, alloy ratios, wire‑drawing techniques, magnetic core material preparation, etc.)."

Zhu Yong closed his eyes, and a flood of information surged in his mind.

Process flows, equipment blueprints, material formulas… page after page flipped by, and though he couldn't grasp everything, he roughly understood their purpose.

Smelting copper, smelting iron, refining them into purer metals.

Making wires, making magnetic cores, making core components for generators and motors.

Power plant.

He silently muttered those three words in his heart.

He had studied in his past life: thermal power generation, hydroelectric generation, converting coal's heat or water's kinetic energy into electricity, then transmitting it via wires to countless households.

Electric lights, telephones, electric cars…

Will those things truly appear in this era?

"Prince, are you awake?" Xiao Zhu's voice came from outside.

"Mm." Zhu Yong replied, rolling over to sit up.

Xiao Zhu and Xiao Ying entered carrying hot water, attending to his dressing and washing.

"Prince, today is New Year's Day; the consort said you should wear that newly made woven‑gold python robe," Xiao Ying said while handing him a towel.

Zhu Yong nodded, letting them fuss over him.

The woven‑gold python robe had a dark base, gold thread embroidered with a five‑clawed cloud python, a jade belt at the waist, and a Gold Crown on the head.

After putting it on and standing before the bronze mirror, he looked truly imposing.

"Prince looks splendid!" Xiao Ying clapped.

Xiao Zhu also laughed, "Prince, you're more imposing each year."

Zhu Yong looked at the face in the mirror—about twenty‑five or twenty‑six years old, thick brows, large eyes, a square‑shaped face, and a full forehead.

Compared with the simple‑hearted youth he was back in Fengyang Mountain Village, it was like a completely different person.

He grinned, still with that naive vigor.

"Come, let's go to the main courtyard."

In the main courtyard, Guanyin Nu was already waiting with the children.

Wu King Consort wore a bright red, woven‑gold Mongol‑style long robe, a forehead ornament of crimson gold set with ruby, both dignified and bearing a hint of the grassland maiden's vigor.

Seeing Zhu Yong enter, she rose and bowed, "Prince."

Zhu Yong waved his hand, "How many times have I said it? No need for these empty formalities during the New Year."

Guanyin Nu pursed her mouth in a smile, saying nothing.

Beside them, the two children saluted properly.

"Father, Happy New Year." Ten‑year‑old Zhu Huanhuan, dressed in a pink embroidered dress, twin braids, a round face, eyebrows and eyes resembling Guanyin Nu's, said.

"Father, Happy New Year! I'll kowtow to you!" Five‑year‑old Zhu Qiongjiong, in a sapphire‑blue little robe, tiger‑like, eyes shining like stars, declared.

He said this as he was about to kneel.

Zhu Yong scooped him up and said, "Alright, alright, no need to kowtow, get up."

Zhu Qiongjiong, lifted by his father with one hand, was swung in the air; when he landed with a "thud," he felt no pain at all.

He looked up, reverently saying, "Father, your strength is truly great!"

Zhu Huanhuan muttered softly beside him, "Jiong Jiong, your strength isn't small either; yesterday you lifted the Stone Lock under the corridor."

Zhu Qiongjiong scratched his head and said, "That Stone Lock was only thirty jin; dad's hammer weighs six hundred jin each."

Guanyin Nu laughed, watching the father‑son's antics, and said to the senior maid beside her, "Bring the dishes up."

Two maids carried trays up, the trays holding several plates of pastries and a few red envelopes.

Zhu Huanhuan and Zhu Qiongjiong kowtowed to their parents, received the red envelopes, and happily slipped them into their pockets.

"Alright, let's eat! After the meal we still have to go to the palace to pay New Year's respects," Zhu Yong said.

The family headed to the dining hall.

Breakfast was lavish: dumplings, glutinous‑rice balls, rice cakes, cured pork, braised duck, filling the entire table.

Zhu Qiongjiong plunged into his food, his chopsticks moving with fierce vigor, not inferior to his father's own skill back then.

Guanyin Nu looked at her son, then at her husband, and laughed, "Jiong Jiong not only has strength, but also this appetite; he's probably taken after Prince as well."

Zhu Yong nodded, "Yes, the boy's strong and eats a lot—good, it helps him grow."

Zhu Huanhuan chewed slowly and swallowed gracefully, her eating manners very refined.

Zhu Yong watched his daughter, feeling reflective.

This child, since birth, has never caused him any worry.

Understanding, obedient, and learns to read faster than the boys.

I heard that in Dabentang, not a single gentleman fails to boast.

After finishing the meal and tidying up properly, the family of four went out and got into the carriage.

The carriage from Wu Wang Fu is custom‑made, twice as wide as an ordinary carriage, and can seat seven or eight people inside.

The four horses pulling the carriage are fine Mongol steeds, glossy and sleek, well‑fleshed and robust.

The driver flicked his whip, and the carriage steadily headed toward the Imperial City.

On the road, Zhu Yong leaned against the carriage window, watching the scenes on both sides of the Street.

On New Year's Day, the Street was sparsely populated; occasionally a few pedestrians passed, all dressed in new clothes, carrying gift boxes, visiting relatives and friends.

The shops along the Street had their doors closed, with red paper couplets pasted on them and large red lanterns hanging.

After passing a few Streets, one could see several smoking chimneys in the distance.

Those were the Ministry of Works' Workshop, operating all three hundred sixty‑five days of the year without stopping.

Steam engines, Flintlock Guns, steel‑forging furnaces… the items on those Blueprints became real objects one by one, placed into warehouses or installed on Warships, and shipped to the South Sea and Western Regions.

Zhu Yong withdrew his gaze and took that Blueprint from his bosom.

It was a thick stack, wrapped in parchment, with a few characters on the cover that read: Alchemical Methods.

Guanyin Nu saw it and, curiously, asked, "Prince, what is this?"

"It came to my mind this morning, given by the White-bearded Old Man, who said it can refine purer copper and iron," Zhu Yong said naively.

Guanyin Nu, already accustomed to her husband's "immortal gifts," nodded and did not ask further.

Zhu Huanhuan came over, whispering, "Father, can it refine gold?"

"No, it's copper and iron, not gold," Zhu Yong shook his head and said.

Zhu Huanhuan felt a bit disappointed, but quickly became cheerful again, saying, "Copper and iron are fine too; we can make many things!"

Zhu Qiong Jiong, listening nearby, suddenly asked, "Father, can I help you refine?"

Zhu Yong looked at his son's small frame, smiled, and said, "Wait until you grow a bit more."

The carriage entered the Imperial City and stopped outside Wu Men.

Zhu Yong's family got off the carriage and walked inside.

Just after entering Fengtian Gate, they saw Crown Prince Zhu Biao's family had also arrived.

Crown Prince Zhu Biao wore a bright yellow princely robe, a winged benevolent crown on his head, warm and smooth as jade.

Beside him followed Crown Princess Chang Wan, who wore a large red gilt palace outfit, dignified and graceful.

Zhu Xiongying wore a deep sapphire robe, and he held his sister Zhu Wenwen, who wore a pink little jacket, her hair tied in twin buns, lively and cute.

"Elder brother! Elder sister‑in‑law!" Zhu Yong strode over.

"Second brother," Zhu Biao said with a smile, greeting him.

The two families met, and the children exchanged New Year greetings.

Zhu Xiongying bowed to Zhu Yong and Guanyin Nu, saying, "Second uncle, second aunt, Happy New Year."

Zhu Wenwen mimicked, her voice babyish, echoing her brother.

Zhu Huanhuan held Zhu Wenwen's hand, and the two little girls huddled together, whispering.

Zhu Qiong Jiong ran to Zhu Xiongying, looked up and said, "Brother Xiong Ying, I lifted a sixty‑jin Stone Lock yesterday!"

Zhu Xiongying's eyes lit up as he said, "Really, Jiong Jiong is impressive; I can't even lift a Stone Lock that heavy now!"

Zhu Qiong Jiong grinned from the praise, his mouth showing a missing front tooth.

The adults watched and laughed.

Zhu Biao said to Zhu Yong, "Let's go! First, let's go to Kunning Palace to pay respects to the Imperial Mother."

The party walked toward Kunning Palace.