The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 15 Relatives
There's no such thing as love at first sight, it's just lust at first sight.

Knowing that he had no right to autonomy in marriage, Ma Xun naturally hoped to find a beautiful wife with a slightly better personality.

Ma Xun returned to the palace and was told to go straight back to the courtyard. He immediately felt something was wrong.

There were a lot of naughty kids in Li Zhen's yard. Zhu Chong, Zhu Gang and others were better. Zhu Di and Zhu Gang were just teasing Li Jinglong. Li Jinglong was not a good kid either. He had to play with Zhu Di and others.

"Hurry, hurry, send Wangcai back." Ma Xun was overwhelmed and immediately said to Mu Ying, "Tie him up and lock the door before coming back."

Mu Ying tried to hold back her laughter, but Zhu Chong came running over and said, "Uncle, I'll take Wangcai back!"

Ma Xun immediately spoke out to stop them, "All of you go back and let Mu Ying take you there! Go!"

Li Zhen and others watched with a smile. One can tell what people's true nature is after a long time. Although Ma Xun still maintains a certain sense of propriety, he will not be a stranger in everything.

A few followers began to "complain". They were all dissatisfied with their own uncle for being stingy and not willing to even give up Wangcai to them to play with.

Ma Xiuying jokingly said, "Looks like you've chosen me?"

Li Zhen was very pleased, "That's good. I have a good eye. I hope he likes me."

Zhu Yuanzhang was dissatisfied and said sarcastically, "You are so picky. You are so poor, yet you want to find a young lady from a wealthy family. What are you thinking?"

Ma Xiuying became even more unhappy, and said with a hint of sarcasm, "Even a cowherd dares to dream about the daughter of a landlord. My family is a scholarly family with a long tradition of poetry and literature, so how can we not be worthy of Mr. Liu's daughter?"

Zhu Yuanzhang stopped his movements only because Xu Da, Tang He and others were not in the capital. Otherwise, he would have torn their mouths to pieces, for they were leaking information everywhere and saying everything!
Zhu Biao said happily, "Wan'er said before that my aunt is quite talented and smart, and she is definitely a good match for my uncle."

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately blew his beard and glared, "When did you meet her again? What did you two talk about? Do you still need to be polite?"

Zhu Yuanzhang still had some feudal and old-fashioned characteristics in his bones and took some things very seriously.

Ma Xiuying was even more dissatisfied, "What nonsense are you talking about? If someone doesn't know, they would think that our Biao'er and Wan'er have secretly decided to spend their lives together? Watch your mouth, how will Wan'er live if this gets out?"

Li Zhen also reminded Zhu Yuanzhang, "Zhongba, how can you say such things? You are an elder, and your status is noble. If you say such things, people will think too much."

Ma Xun seized the opportunity to add insult to injury, "Brother-in-law is right, His Majesty is the emperor. I think it's nothing more than that the prince saw them when he was picking them up in and out of the palace a few days ago, and they just exchanged a few words on the way."

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly laughed, "I am the only outsider? Brother-in-law, we are much closer! How can I help them criticize me!"

"Brother-in-law helps the principle but not the relatives. Besides, I am an outsider now." Ma Xiuying said with a smile, "I will get married next year. When my hair and beard grow longer and I can wear a crown, I will get married."

Ma Xun's hair was not short, reaching the back of his neck. But in this era, it was short. If you don't know, you might think he had just returned to secular life not long ago, or just got out of prison.

Zhu Yuanzhang also laughed, "You said you didn't become a monk, you just ran away from the temple last year!"

Ma Xiuying patted Zhu Yuanzhang. During this period, they had sent many people to Fujian and conducted investigations based on what Ma Xun had said before.

Basically, some of the life trajectories of Ma Taigong and Ma Xun were restored, but many people have no impression of Ma Taigong, but have some impression of Ma Xun.

"I'm not a monk because I don't have a certificate of ordination." Ma Xun insisted on his opinion. "Besides, if I don't shave my head, I can walk back from Fujian. Won't the government arrest me?"

Zhu Yuanzhang, Ma Xiuying and others also understood what Ma Xun meant. Although the world had just been stabilized, some household registration systems were slowly being implemented, and ordinary people really could not move around.

Not to mention crossing provinces, even crossing counties is difficult.

Two more tables were set up, one for the children and one for the adults.

"Little brother, you should take up a post in the army first. I will arrange some work for you in a few days so that you can make contributions." Zhu Yuanzhang put down his chopsticks and said, "Next year, you will be granted the title of Duke and get married. We will do everything at the same time."

Ma Xun did not refuse, because he could not refuse. "I can't fight. Being afraid of death is one thing, but I am afraid of losing soldiers and generals because of my lack of ability." Zhu Yuanzhang said quickly, "I won't let you fight. I have said it several times! At most, I will let you follow Baoer. Baoer has many military merits, so I will let you take some when the time comes. You are also the son of your father-in-law. No one can say anything if you are granted the title of Duke!"

Zhu Biao also said, "It's good that my uncle is in the army. With my second brother, third brother, and uncle, I can control the military power and don't have to worry about those arrogant and powerful generals."

Over the years, Zhu Biao has never changed his words in private, saying that his eldest brother is his cousin Zhu Wenzhen, his second brother is Li Wenzhong, and his third brother is Mu Ying.

These three also watched him grow up, but a few years ago, Zhu Wenzhen made a mistake and was placed under house arrest in Tongcheng, where he died of depression. He left behind his son Zhu Tiezhu, who is now also in the palace and is also the prince's student.

"Shunning is gentle and talented, and is the best match for me." Ma Xiuying smiled and said, very satisfied with her future sister-in-law. "I also asked someone to match her horoscopes, and they are the perfect match."

If Empress Ma said the horoscopes are suitable, then they must be suitable.

Zhu Biao immediately joined in the fun, "Mom, I'll go propose marriage to my uncle in a few days!"

Now it was Ma Xun's turn to be teased, but he was used to it. Men should get married when they are old enough and women should get married when they are old enough. It was nothing.

Looking at Ma Xiuying, Ma Xun asked, "Sister, is it okay for me to move out?"

Although Ma Xiuying was not very happy, she still said, "If you really want to start a family, you can move out naturally."

"Don't be in a hurry to move out. Your sister and your nephews still need your care." Zhu Yuanzhang became even more anxious and hurriedly stopped him, "You should live in the palace first, and you can also live in the palace after you get married."

Ma Xiuying was both angry and amused. "Are you talking nonsense? Biao'er and I are fine. The second brother and the others just need to be careful. Look at the fourth and fifth brothers. Do they look like they are in trouble?"

Zhu Yuanzhang felt relieved when he saw his sons chewing meat. It was good to know some problems and control them. If you take more precautions, you can avoid some things from happening as much as possible.

Ma Xiuying continued, "I'm looking for a mansion for you now. It has to be worthy of your status. I'm afraid you'll be bullied. You're so soft-hearted that you probably won't say a word if you're bullied."

Zhu Yuanzhang deeply agreed with this. Based on their previous interactions, including the intelligence sent back from Fujian, his brother-in-law was indeed a submissive person.

In the past, I could say that I didn’t dare to cause trouble because of my low status, but now that I have a noble status, I don’t have the slightest tendency to show off.

"I am the emperor's uncle, who dares to bully me?" Ma Xun said with a smile, "I went to my father-in-law's house today, how could he not know my intention? Even if he was unhappy, wouldn't he still sit there and pretend to be nice to me?"

Ma Xiuying was immediately happy, her little brother had finally gotten the hang of it. It was not good to show off one's status, but one should use it when necessary. The most important thing was to be thick-skinned, a boy cannot be thick-skinned.

Zhu Yuanzhang was unhappy again, "That old man is still unhappy? Now that the matter is done, he is hiding in the house and laughing!"

Ma Xiuying coughed and didn't say anything more, just to save Ma's face.

Mu Ying interrupted and said, "Mr. Liu seems a little unhappy, but the two brothers of the Liu family are happy. Their uncle is so important, and he is also handsome and talented. Who wouldn't like him?"

Ma Xun looked at the table next to him and felt that Mu Ying was young and his eyesight was not good. "Jingru, Jingxian, do you think I am good-looking?"

Zhu Jingru and Zhu Jingxian immediately shook their heads without any hesitation.

The adults laughed out loud, amused by the two girls.

Ma Xiuying said quickly, "My little brother is a handsome man. He will be better when he grows fatter and fairer. The child is young and ignorant, so he can't see clearly."

Zhu Yuanzhang also loved the whole family and said, "I have a good foundation, so I just need to take good care of myself. Among my relatives, Baoer is the best-looking, and then there is me."

No one else seemed to have any objections, but looking at Li Zhen, Ma Xun felt that Li Wenzhong must be a handsome man.

Everyone in the room was chatting and laughing, without any royal stereotype at all. It was just like ordinary people visiting each other and relatives.

(End of this chapter)