ATPnovel Chapter 42: Is He Absent from the Throne?
Chapter 42: Is He Absent from the Throne?
Zhu Gaoxi hoped that Yuan Gong would see the aura of an emperor in him, so that he could make the most of his cheap father's resources.
However, he wasn't really that confident.
His original intention was simply to live a long and prosperous life, and if possible, to avoid the massive internal strife that occurred during the Jingnan Campaign.
Being poor cares themselves, being wealthy cares the world.
If he had the capacity, he hoped to do something meaningful so that people could have enough to eat and wear, reduce wars, and live peacefully.
Perhaps due to his age, he had become more mature and composed. After Yuan Gong finished scrutinizing Zhu Gaoxi, his expression did not fluctuate greatly.
There was neither surprise nor shock; his facial expression remained completely calm.
He definitely didn't look like this when he first met his adoptive father.
Zhu Gaoxi felt that he had completely lost hope, but fortunately he had prepared himself mentally and was able to barely maintain his composure.
What good is panicking!
It's better to act nonchalant and let others think I don't care at all.
Zhu Gaoxi politely invited Yuan Gong to stay for dinner at the Prince's residence, but unsurprisingly, Yuan Gong politely declined.
Jin Zhong and Yuan Gong took their leave together and departed in haste.
Zhu Gaoxi comforted the eight young eunuchs, distributed the new names he had prepared, taught them a few Chinese characters, and then returned home.
Time to go back to the vegetable garden and sleep.
When I close my eyes, the world loses its light.
This time, I'm going to sleep him until the world turns dark.
I will not get out of bed until six hours have passed.
Zhu Gaoxi deliberately avoided thinking about how to face Zhu Yunwen in the future.
Even though Zhu Yunwen was later defeated by his adoptive father, Zhu Yunwen had at least been emperor for four years, while Zhu Gaoxi was completely cut off from the throne.
From then on, he would always bow and greet Zhu Yunwen whenever he saw him.
With lowered eyebrows and meek eyes.
Extremely obedient.
Zhu Gaoxi lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.
He didn't believe in fate, but his adoptive father did.
Without his adoptive father's support, he would be unable to move an inch, and even his own safety would be difficult to guarantee.
If his adoptive father doesn't approve of him, he'll have little chance of getting ahead.
Extremely depressed!
He tried to convince himself to be more open-minded.
Princess Jiangdu received the gift from Zhu Jingyi and ran over excitedly to express her gratitude.
"Zhu Gaoxi, come out! Where are you hiding? Come out now, Zhu Gaoxi!"
Zhu Jingyi's loud voice gave Zhu Gaoxi a splitting headache.
She's about to get married, yet she's acting so loud and boisterous, showing no manners whatsoever of a well-bred lady. It's a disgrace to the royal family.
"In broad daylight, you're lying in the room sleeping. Are you still a child? Aren't you a child prodigy? How can you be so lazy! Get up, get up!" Zhu Jingyi barged in and rudely yanked off Zhu Gaoxi's blanket.
Men and women are different, don't you understand?!
Zhu Gaoxi glared at her fiercely.
Yunfei hurriedly went into the room to help Zhu Gaoxi get dressed and wash up.
Zhu Gaoxi dressed neatly and went to the courtyard to accompany Zhu Jingyi in basking in the sun.
"Zhu Gaoxi, what do you want to eat? What do you want to play? I'll buy it for you," Zhu Jingyi said, acting all rich and powerful.
She has earned quite a bit of money recently.
It's true that fools are often blessed; look at Zhu Jingyi, how well she lives.
Zhu Gaoxi sighed to himself.
Contentment is always happy.
Since we're here, let's make the best of it.
If I continue to dwell on this, I might become another Zhu Yunwen.
There's no need to care too much about that position.
What's so good about the throne?
Zhu Gaoxi seemed to have suddenly come to a realization.
Perhaps, the seemingly naive Zhu Jingyi is the one who lives the most enlightened life.
Just do your best in everything; there's no need to be demanding of a specific outcome.
Otherwise, if one's obsession is too strong, it is easy to go astray.
After thinking it through, Zhu Gaoxi instructed Yunfei to cook. He wanted to invite Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Ying, as it had been a long time since he had gathered with them.
Zhu Jingyi ran to the small kitchen to help.
To be honest, although Zhu Jingyi is a bit dim-witted, her cooking skills are surprisingly good.
Each has its own strengths.
Zhu Yunwen felt a little embarrassed. During this time, he had been deliberately avoiding Zhu Gaoxi, but Zhu Gaoxi always thought of him whenever he had something good.
For example, Zhu Gaoxi would send him two packs of sweet potato fries every few days.
Zhu Ying also felt unworthy of the honor, as he had not been able to help Zhu Gaoxi in any way.
In Zhu Gaoxi's heart, Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Ying were both his closest friends.
These two people shared a similar fate; their mothers died in childbirth when they were born.
When the father saw them, he was reminded of their mother and was heartbroken.
To avoid causing them distress, their father rarely visited them, leaving them entirely to be raised by other concubines.
Parental love is missing in their lives.
They have an extreme lack of security.
The close trust that other children have with their parents and family members is a luxury for them.
After the meal, their feelings for each other subtly warmed up.
After the banquet, Zhu Gaoxi went to the backyard to check on the progress of the mimeograph machine's development.
"I've tried many times, but the results are still not very good. The prints don't dry easily, and they turn out dark and messy when you touch them," Sanbao said with a worried expression.
"Add more oil and try diluting it," Zhu Gaoxi said enthusiastically as he took matters into his own hands.
After working hard for half a day, adjusting the proportions multiple times, and experimenting repeatedly, the two finally saw some results when Huang Liang hurriedly came to urge them on.
"Young Prince, please go quickly."
"I'll go right away," Zhu Gaoxi replied, getting up.
Just as he turned around, he heard Huang Liang exclaim, "Young Prince, your face!"
Black ink streaks were irregularly distributed on the child's tender face, like Black Cat Detective, no, more like Black Impermanence.
"Ma Sanbao!" Huang Liang shouted hoarsely, jumping up and down in anger, "What crime have you committed?!"
I have never seen Huang Liang so furious.
Sanbao knelt down and kowtowed in panic.
"Punish them all! They must all be punished! This is outrageous!" Huang Liang pointed a trembling finger at the palace servants present and shouted sternly.
"Eunuch Huang, it's not their fault. I just wanted to get this out quickly and present it to Grandpa. Sanbao was just helping me," Zhu Gaoxi hurriedly explained. "Eunuch Huang, come with me to the front to wash up."
If Huang Liang stayed in the backyard, he would definitely get a beating from Sanbao.
Zhu Gaoxi coaxed and tricked Huang Liang into staying by his side, making him follow him closely at all times.
Zhu Gaoxi finally breathed a sigh of relief after leading Huang Liang out of the vegetable garden.
The eunuchs and maids in the vegetable garden must never be driven out of the palace again.
Sanbao and Lihui are his confidants. Yunfei and the others were sent by his cheap father. They are all highly skilled and he finds them very easy to use. He has just become familiar with them and definitely cannot replace them.
Fortunately, Huang Liang restrained himself and, after leaving the vegetable garden, did not continue to persuade Zhu Gaoxi to strictly control the palace servants.
"You little rascal, you hide away the treasure you got? Didn't you say you'd show the good stuff to Grandpa first?"
Upon entering the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Gaoxi was immediately met with a barrage of questions.
In all honesty, he didn't get a single piece of the treasure.
That stingy dad of mine didn't bring me anything nice.
"Give it to me," Zhu Yuanzhang said, extending his hand to Zhu Gaoxi.
"What does Grandpa want?" Zhu Gaoxi asked knowingly.
"This is a treasure your father sent over," Zhu Yuanzhang said without beating around the bush.
"One hundred taels of gold, Grandpa, do you want it?" Zhu Gaoxi asked honestly and pitifully.
"Besides one hundred taels of gold, there's nothing else?" Zhu Yuanzhang found it unbelievable. "Really? Your father has always been generous."
"Grandpa, that was for someone else," Zhu Gaoxi said, feeling extremely aggrieved. "The gold wasn't for me either; it was for me to buy some nice things for my sister to add to her dowry."