The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 144 Difficult Times
Ma Xun thought that he was enjoying himself by continuing to train his troops and living his life peacefully.

But the lives of others might not be as they wished. Even though Xue Xian, the Marquis of Yongcheng, was full of complaints, he began to head south to Hainan.

Although many of the meritorious officials who were granted titles were recorded for their faults, the one who was actually punished was him, the Marquis of Yongcheng.

At the end of November, after the military training, Zhu Chong said, "Uncle, the Queen Mother wants you and your aunt to stay in the palace for two days."

"Going to the palace again?" Ma Xun was not very willing. "I just stayed there for a few days at the beginning of the month."

Zhu Chong said, "Uncle, do you think your nephews have a say in this matter? I am just a messenger. You can go and talk to the emperor and the queen mother. If that doesn't work, go and complain to your brother."

Zhu Di next to him was already holding Wangcai's hand. The task of the three brothers was to bring their uncle and aunt to the palace.

Chang Mao was unwilling to be lonely, and said with a sly smile, "When my uncle goes to the palace, we will be happy! I will go riding and hunting, and no one can control me!"

Chang Sheng also said happily, "I'm going boating, I'm going fishing!"

Tang Ding was tempted, but then he said disdainfully, "Going boating in this weather, aren't you afraid of freezing?"

"Uncle, I'm just reading at home." Deng Zhen said attentively, "I'm just reading at home, I definitely won't follow them to make trouble."

Not to mention Chang Mao was shocked, even Zhu Chong and others realized that something was wrong.

Among all the nobles in the past, the three Chang Mao brothers were the ones that Ma Xun liked the most. Even Tang Ding and Wang De were closer to Ma Xun because of Tang He and Wang Bi.

But for some reason, Deng Zhen has been particularly close to Ma Xun these days.

I couldn't get the answer clearly after asking, but his parents and sister all said that they were closer to Ma Xun than to his own uncle.

Ma Xun felt that the boy was teachable, and said with a smile, "Go back and read the book carefully. Your father will be sending troops soon, so take the time to learn some military tactics."

Deng Zhen felt that his uncle was still as calm as ever, and he had a clear understanding of many important things.

Chang Mao and others felt a sense of crisis. Apart from those princes, is there anyone who wants to snatch our uncle from us?
Zhu Chong rode on his horse and asked curiously, "Uncle, why does Deng Zhen respect you so much now? Could it be that you went to the Duke of Wei's mansion a few days ago and cured the Duke of Wei?"

Several other princes and nobles also pricked up their ears, this seemed to be the best explanation.

Ma Xun said unhappily, "That's not the case. Your uncle has a noble character. Isn't it normal for Deng Zhen to admire him? Besides, you guys, is your respect for me fake?"

Chang Mao and others immediately shook their heads, and Zhu Chong shook his head like a rattle.

But they never expected that their uncle had learned how to set traps. He was clearly talking about something else, but he just mentioned this thing.

The three princes were waiting, and Liu Shuning quickly packed her luggage. It was mainly because she was used to it. Anyway, she was used to staying in the palace for two days every month, so it was naturally convenient to pack her luggage.

It was even possible not to pack a bag, because there was no shortage of clothes and bedding in the small courtyard of the palace. It was just that Ma Xun was sometimes very particular, and was particularly picky about the toothbrush he used to brush his teeth and the clothes he wore under his body.

When they arrived at the palace, Ma Xun went directly to Li Zhen's courtyard and asked, "Brother-in-law, Bao'er is not going to the palace again?"

Li Zhen stretched out her hand and Ma Xun took her pulse naturally. No matter how good Ma Xun's medical skills were, it became a normal thing for him to take the pulse of his family members after he entered the palace.

"Little brother, you should hurry up." Li Zhen said earnestly, "Bao'er has a child now. If you don't have one, your sister will be very worried. How will you explain to your parents?"

Ma Xun was getting closer and closer to becoming an unfilial descendant. Now people seemed to no longer mention the fact that he traveled thousands of miles to carry a coffin, but only remembered that he had been married for nearly a year and still had no children.

Ma Xun had a headache. The three unfilial acts were not having descendants, and the worst of them. He was currently in such an awkward position.

It was true that they were married, but there was no movement in Liu Shuning's belly for the time being, which became a reason for others to urge him.

The main thing is that he can't say anything, let alone Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying. Li Zhen, the eldest brother-in-law, also has the responsibility to urge Ma Xun, even Chang Yuchun, Chang Lanshi and others can say something.

Since Ma Xun is the younger brother, he can only be obedient and well-behaved at this time, and he should be humble.

Ma Xun picked up Li Jinglong. Without a child, he had no right to speak and lacked the confidence to speak, so he decided to tease the fat boy.

When Li Zhen finished teaching him a lesson, Ma Xun asked, "Brother-in-law, why did you ask me to enter the palace this time?"

"We are having a meal together as a family. I don't think you will recognize some of the people." Li Zhen explained with a smile, "Now that the important things are done, your sister and your brother-in-law are free, so we can meet as a family."

That’s right, Zhu Yuanzhang had a large number of concubines and other children, and Ma Xun didn’t really know all of them.

Li Zhen then whispered, "Your sister and your brother-in-law are arguing, so I asked you to come over and act as a peacemaker."

Ma Xun was immediately puzzled, "Why are they arguing again?"

After saying this, Ma Xun felt something was wrong. Why did he add the word "又"?

But if you think about it carefully, it doesn't seem strange. Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying had a very good relationship, but they would occasionally have quarrels, and some of them were particularly intense.

Then Ma Xun said, "I don't want to be a peacemaker. They are still angry after the quarrel. No matter who persuades them, it will be useless. If they reconcile halfway through the persuasion and act as if nothing happened, I will be so embarrassed." Li Zhen was very angry. "How can you be a brother like this? Seeing your sister and brother-in-law quarreling, you don't help to persuade them? I can only talk to Chongba, how can I talk to your sister?"

"You are my brother-in-law, why can't you say it?" Ma Xun decisively threw the pot, "My sister is now a member of your Zhu family. Besides, as a younger brother, I have to help my sister. But, do I dare to scold my brother-in-law?"

Li Zhen thought about it and it made sense. Although he was now the Duke of Cao, sometimes he still thought like a farmer.

According to his understanding, as a brother-in-law, he can naturally say something about his brother-in-law, but it is not appropriate to criticize his younger sister-in-law.

It was the same with Ma Xun. His sister and brother-in-law had a quarrel, and the first thing he, as a brother-in-law, had to do was to help his sister vent her anger. But did he dare to roll up his sleeves and shout at Zhu Yuanzhang that he wanted to beat him up?

Ma Xun was curious again, "Why did they quarrel this time?"

"It seems to be about the vegetable garden. Your brother-in-law built a vegetable garden for your sister, and your sister is unhappy." Li Zhen also whispered, "Your sister has been in a bad mood recently. Lao Wu was beaten yesterday."

Ma Xun calculated carefully and wondered if my sister was in menopause.

This calculation is very likely, the ages are correct.

Thinking of this, Ma Xun became even more worried, "Then I have to be careful, she might say something bad about me again."

Come to think of it, although Ma Xiuying was still as nice to Ma Xun as ever, she did seem to be a little "impatient" and would start criticizing him if he said something wrong.

Although he was worried, Ma Xun still shouted to the courtyard next door, "Shuning, come with me to my sister's place."

Li Zhen was puzzled. "We are going to your sister's place in a while. Why are you going there first?"

"Let's go over and take a look first." Ma Xun said casually, "Let's talk to her. Otherwise, she'll say that I'm a brother that she can't get close to. I'll be blamed a lot."

Hearing Ma Xun say this, Li Zhen also laughed, because he knew that it was not only Ma Xiuying who complained, Zhu Yuanzhang had also complained about Ma Xun not being able to get close to him.

Fortunately, I haven't heard it during this period. After all, Ma Xun is not as cautious as he was at the beginning, fearing that he would be disliked.

Grabbing Liu Shuning's hand, Ma Xun whispered, "Go to me later to get some information and clarify some things."

Liu Shuning was a little surprised, but still said, "My husband is right. It's just that I'm not smart enough in front of my sister. I'm afraid she will see through me."

"It's not a court affair, how can it be so sensitive." Ma Xun said, "It's not appropriate for me to ask too much about matters between women."

Liu Shuning had some doubts, but still asked, "My husband is a doctor, so it's not easy to ask?"

After seeing Ma Xun nod, Liu Shuning became even more worried. What a big and sensitive matter it was.

As Ma Xun mentioned some key points in a low voice, Liu Shuning's expression became more and more strange, and it seemed that it was really difficult to ask.

I also understand more and more why my husband kept his skills secret in the past, because some of the medical skills that he is good at are really easy to be misunderstood.

What is misunderstanding or not, what is medical skill or not.

It's nothing more than that in this era of information explosion, we receive a lot of fragmented information and a lot of common sense.

But in today's early Ming Dynasty, many things that seem like common sense in later generations are only superficially understood by people today, or people don't even know those things at all.

Upon asking, I found out that it was in Rouyi Palace, where the Queen's office was set up to entertain the Emperor's concubines and children and hold a 'family dinner'.

Seeing Zhu Gang, Zhu Di and Zhu Su standing in punishment, Ma Xun asked a few questions.

In fact, it was just a small matter. Ma Xiuying might have let it go before, but now she made the three of them stand in the corner as punishment.

Could it really be menopause?

If it was really menopause, Zhu Chong and his friends would have a hard time in the days ahead, and Zhu Yuanzhang would probably also be uncomfortable.

There is no need to think too much, Ma Xun's good days may be coming to an end, and he will probably be "implicated" in various ways.

The most important thing is to persuade the emperor. My sister is in a difficult and sensitive time now. As her husband, you have to give in to my sister no matter what you say!

Ma Xun was thinking about something and drinking tea by himself.

Liu Shuning held Ma Xiuying's hand and spoke intimately to her, while Concubine Li Shufei, Concubine Guo Ningfei and others also joined in the conversation in an affectionate manner.

Zhu Biao came and sat down in front of Ma Xun naturally, "Uncle, can we talk?"

Finally, someone came who could talk to him, and Ma Xun suddenly felt that the day had dawned!

(End of this chapter)