Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1078 The Crown Prince Has a Successor
Du Yinxi was a pragmatist. After meeting the emperor, he first went to the Zongli Yamen to visit Zhang Xijun. Although Du Yinxi's official position was not high, because of his special status as the prefect of Taiwan and Zhu Shencui had already notified Zhang Xijun in advance, Zhang Xijun made a special effort to meet with Du Yinxi in person and listened carefully to his idea of ​​setting up a trading port in Taiwan to conduct foreign trade and re-export trade.

The two had a good chat. The Zongli Yamen had just been established, and Zhang Xijun, as the Prime Minister, was about to make a breakthrough. In addition to integrating the northern sea trade routes that were already in operation, he also had to improve and manage the newly established major trading ports. In addition, how to make a breakthrough and do a good job of the work entrusted by the emperor was the top priority. Although the Zongli Yamen was only a newly established institution, Zhang Xijun was very clear about its importance in the future.

Now Du Yinxi proposed to set up a trading port in Taiwan and planned to conduct foreign trade and re-export trade, which happened to be within the scope of Zhang Xijun's responsibility. Although Taiwan was not one of the five major trading ports that the court was preparing to set up, its geographical location was extremely important. From south to north, Taiwan was located on the main sea route. Opening a port in Taiwan would indeed be a good choice.

Moreover, the court's development and governance of Taiwan was a major event, and Zhang Xijun, as the Prime Minister, naturally supported it. In addition, some of Du Yinxi's ideas coincided with Zhang Xijun's, which made Zhang Xijun feel more like a confidant. During the conversation, Zhang Xijun also said that if the emperor had not decided to let Du Yinxi go to Taiwan, he would have found a way to get Du Yinxi to the Zongli Yamen. With his talent, he was qualified to be the left assistant minister, but it was too late.

After the two discussed, Du Yinxi combined the actual situation and Zhang Xijun's suggestions, adjusted and optimized the previous plan, and then wrote a detailed memorial to the emperor. After reading the memorial, Zhu Shenzhu summoned the cabinet to discuss it, and the cabinet was also very impressed. In this way, the court's policy towards Taiwan was also adjusted under this memorial, agreeing to Du Yinxi's establishment of additional ports in Taiwan, and conducting foreign trade and entrepot trade in the name of Taiwan Prefecture together with the Zongli Yamen, and at the same time confirming the special status of Taiwan Prefecture in the Ming Dynasty.

In this respect, it is somewhat similar to the special economic zones of later generations. The imperial court provides policies and certain support, so that Taiwan has a stable source of financial income and funds. This part of the income will be invested in the development and construction of Taiwan, which can greatly reduce the financial pressure of the imperial court. In addition, Taiwan can not only profit from it, but also promote the further development of maritime trade. Coupled with some other means, it can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

A few days later, Du Yinxi officially left Beijing to take up his post in Taiwan. With his departure, Taiwan, as a prefecture of the Ming Dynasty, officially entered the operation stage. Zhu Shenzhu hoped that Du Yinxi could achieve results in Taiwan, and he also believed in his abilities and was very much looking forward to it.

On this day, Zhu Shenzhui had a rare period of free time. After finishing his government affairs in the morning and having lunch, he walked to the harem and stayed in the Queen's Palace for the whole afternoon. He chatted with the Queen for a long time and met the virtuous concubine and several children who came to pay their respects to the Queen's Palace.

In the blink of an eye, Zhu Shenzhui is no longer the young man he was back then. Now he is nearly forty years old and gradually getting old. Time flies so fast. The past events are still vivid in my mind, and so many years have passed in a flash.

Seeing his children all around him, Zhu Shenzhu was extremely happy. He specially set up a family banquet in the harem and called the crown prince who happened to be back in the palace today to bring his crown princess and the King of Song to the banquet. Although the royal family is different from the common people's family, they also have the joy of family. After all, the emperor is also a human being!
Unexpectedly, during the family dinner, the Crown Princess suddenly felt unwell, which made the Crown Prince and the Empress quite nervous. Zhu Shenzhui hurriedly called the imperial physician to treat the Crown Princess. Unexpectedly, after taking the Crown Princess's pulse, the imperial physician smiled and congratulated the Emperor, the Empress and the Crown Prince, saying that the Crown Princess was not ill, but was pregnant.

Zhu Shenzhui was very happy at this sudden good news. It had been some time since the Crown Prince's wedding, but the Crown Princess was still pregnant. The Crown Prince did not care because they had a good relationship. Besides, the Crown Prince was currently studying in a military academy with strict school rules. The Crown Prince could only return to the palace once every ten days, so the two did not have much time to meet each other and the chance of conception was naturally low.

Zhu Shenzhui did not think much about it. After all, in his opinion, neither the crown prince nor the crown princess was old. Even the oldest of his sons, the crown prince, was not yet 20 years old. In later generations, he would still be a college student. At this age, he would still be a teenager. There was no need to have a child so early. Moreover, he was still in the heyday of the Spring and Autumn Period, so he had a long life ahead of him.

But other people don't think so, especially Queen Xu Jingqiu. After all, the Crown Prince is her eldest son, and whether the Crown Prince has an heir is related to the foundation of the country. If the Crown Prince has a grandson sooner, it also means that the position of the Crown Prince is more stable. The Queen is very concerned about this, and the ministers in the court are also very concerned about this. Although they don't say anything at present, if the Crown Princess has no children for a long time, I'm afraid someone will jump out and ask for a concubine for the Crown Prince.

But no one expected that the good news would come so soon. The Crown Princess was finally pregnant. When the Queen heard what the imperial physician said, she was overjoyed and couldn't close her mouth with a smile. Even the Crown Prince was very happy after his initial surprise. The Crown Princess looked shy, but her face was much more relaxed. As the Crown Princess, she must have been under a lot of pressure these days. Now that she is finally pregnant, it is a great joy for the royal family.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty!" Everyone smiled and congratulated Zhu Shenzhui. Zhu Shenzhui laughed and waved his hand to reward him generously. At the same time, he was also moved that he was going to be a grandfather at his age. When he thought that the little grandson would be born in a few months, he was even more happy.

Because the Crown Princess was pregnant, Zhu Shenzhui asked the Crown Prince to take care of her and go back to the East Palace to rest. After the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess said goodbye and left, Zhu Shenzhui, with a smile on his face, was still immersed in the joy just now. At this time, the Queen beside him whispered to him: "Your Majesty, I think Cheng'er is not young anymore, so his marriage should be arranged as soon as possible."

"Second son?" Zhu Shenzhui was slightly stunned, and looked at Song Wang Zhu Mincheng who was not far away. This kid is indeed not young anymore. He has grown up a lot in the past two years. He was about the same age as the prince when he got married. Now he has gradually grown up. Today, he is wearing a military school uniform, and his upright body reveals his heroic spirit. However, he is slightly different from the calm prince. Zhu Mincheng has a more lively personality. When he knew that the princess was pregnant, he was always happy to watch the fun, and he deliberately gathered around the prince and muttered something. Judging from his expression, he probably wanted to ask for some benefits from the prince. As for his own marriage, Zhu Mincheng probably didn't even think about it. He was just like a big child.

But no matter what, it is human ethics for a man to get married when he is old enough, let alone a prince. At Zhu Mincheng's age, he should consider getting married. And the Queen suddenly asked this question today, probably not only because of the Crown Princess's pregnancy, but she probably had considered this for a long time. "That's right, the child has grown up in the blink of an eye, Cheng'er should get married. You asked about this today, but do you have a suitable candidate in mind?" Zhu Shenzhu asked with a smile.

Xu Jingqiu laughed and nodded, "Your Majesty, I really can't hide it from you. I have indeed been looking for Cheng'er's marriage, and I have a few candidates."

"Whose girl is this?" Zhu Shenzhui asked with a smile.

Xu Jingqiu whispered a few names, and Zhu Shenzhui nodded slightly. Xu Jingqiu was indeed concerned about Prince Song's marriage. She had selected several women, and some of them were old nobles of the Ming Dynasty, and they all had good family education. It seemed that she had been thinking about this matter for a long time.

"Have you discussed this with Cheng'er?"

"His marriage still needs to be decided by His Majesty himself, so naturally we have to wait for His Majesty's approval."

"You and I are one. As a mother, you should just decide on your son's marriage. Why must you do this?" Zhu Shenzhui smiled and shook his head. He understood what Xu Jingqiu meant, but they were a poor couple and were different from ordinary emperors and empresses. They had supported each other all the way to where they are today, so there was no need for them to follow these rules.

Besides, it was only natural for a mother to find a suitable marriage partner for her son. However, Xu Jingqiu quietly told Zhu Shenzhu that she had tentatively asked Zhu Mincheng a few days ago, but he didn't know whether he really didn't understand or was pretending to be confused, so she took the opportunity today to let Zhu Shenzhu make the decision.

Zhu Shenzhui frowned slightly, thought for a moment and nodded, comforting Xu Jingqiu that he would ask Zhu Mincheng what he thought. This kid was usually very smart, and with his intelligence, he should not be unable to understand the meaning of Xu Jingqiu's words. Could it be that this kid had his own ideas?
Because of the Crown Princess, today's family dinner was not held too late and ended soon. After the family dinner, Zhu Shenzhu was ready to return to the Qianqing Palace. After he stood up, he glanced at the King of Song and left first. After the emperor left, the concubines said goodbye to the queen, and the King of Song also bid farewell to his mother. After eating and drinking, he happily left the Queen's Palace. When he was about to return to his residence, he was stopped by the Qianqing Palace eunuch Lu Jiude who was waiting outside.

"Your Highness, stay!"

"Is there something wrong, father-in-law?"

"His Majesty asked me to invite you to go to the Qianqing Palace." Lu Jiude said respectfully.

"Father asked me to go to the Palace of Heavenly Purity?" Zhu Mincheng was slightly stunned, then said with relief: "Then I'll trouble you to lead the way, eunuch."

"I dare not, Your Highness, please..." Lu Jiude said hurriedly, and then led Zhu Mincheng to the Qianqing Palace.

When they arrived at the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Mincheng was brought into a side hall. Zhu Shenzhu was already waiting there, drinking tea leisurely. When he saw Zhu Mincheng coming, he stretched out his hand and pointed to the side, asking him to sit down and talk.

(End of this chapter)