The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 48 Am I so awesome?
After worshipping Ma Taigong, Ma Xun led a few noisy teenagers towards Li Zhen's yard.

As soon as I entered the yard, I saw Li Zhen teasing Wangcai with a few children.

"Uncle!" Zhu Su had good eyesight and ran over immediately, "Nephew greets uncle."

Zhu Jingru and Zhu Jingwan also hurriedly bowed, "Niece greets uncle."

Li Jinglong became anxious, and the chubby child fell to the ground and said, "Uncle."

Ma Xun said cheerfully, "We are all family, no need to be polite."

After saying that, Ma Xun stepped forward and bowed, "How are you, brother-in-law?"

Li Zhen looked at Ma Xun with a smile, unable to hide his fondness, "I eat well, wear warm clothes, and Jinglong is also well behaved. I am fine. I have returned victorious from the expedition, so I will go take a bath and get rid of the dust first."

Ma Xun said quickly, "Yesterday, I knew I had to cross the river and enter the palace, so I took a bath and changed clothes in advance."

Zhu Chong said, "Uncle, it's not that you are dirty or smelly, it's your uncle, father, and mother who are worried that you might get hurt outside. You have to take a bath, otherwise everyone in the family will be worried."

Li Zhen also said, "You have a calm personality. You take care of everything yourself, big or small. If you really have something, you won't tell anyone. You need to take a bath. The hot water is ready for you."

Ma Xun suddenly felt overwhelmed, but it was good to have someone care about him.

"Then I'll go take a shower. I've traveled thousands of miles and didn't even see a single Tartar." Ma Xun laughed and complained to himself, "If I can still get hurt, that would be weird!"

Zhu Di felt something was wrong and said excitedly, "It has spread all over the capital. Not only did my uncle save General Chang, he also rushed thousands of miles to help Qingyang, which is why he helped the general break the city!"

Zhu Gang also said quickly, "That's right, uncle is so humble! General Xu fought for three months and still couldn't take Qingyang, but it was uncle who led his troops into the city first and killed that little Pingzhang and his son!"

Ma Xun’s face turned red, he was so embarrassed: I didn’t know I was so capable!
That’s how rumors start!
What’s even more terrible is that this is now a fact recognized by many people, and everyone says so from top to bottom.

Li Zhen smiled and said nothing. He knew some things in his heart, but he would never say them in front of the children. He also praised Xu Da for being smart. Among the generals fighting outside, Xu Tiande was the most capable and understood Chongba the best!
Hot water had been prepared in the side room, and everyone in the family knew that Ma Xun was not used to having someone wait on him while he took a bath. So as soon as he took off his clothes and sat in the bathtub, Li Zhen immediately pushed the door open and came in.

Holding the clean clothes, Li Zhen said cheerfully, "Little brother, these are all new clothes."

Ma Xun immediately said politely, "Thank you, brother-in-law. I'm really not injured."

Li Zhen didn't care what Ma Xun said. She still took a serious look before she felt relieved.

It’s good that there are no new injuries, and I won’t mention the old injuries.

Seeing Li Zhen was about to leave, Ma Xun said, "Don't tell my sister about the previous injuries, so that she won't think too much."

Li Zhen thought carefully before saying, "Your sister knows about this, and Chongba will not hide it from her. If you don't mention it, your sister will pretend not to know. It's fine this way, as long as she knows it in her heart."

Ma Xun took a bath, changed his clothes, and looked homely in his Taoist robe.

After taking a shower, there were still a room full of naughty children in the yard. Li Jinglong chased Zhu Di and Zhu Su. Zhu Su and Zhu Su sat on the chairs and ate snacks like young masters.

Zhu Jingru and Zhu Jingxian were helping to pack, and Ma Xun's luggage was sent to the yard.

Seeing Ma Xun, Zhu Jingru immediately poured a cup of tea and brought it over, "Uncle, have some tea."

Ma Xun smiled and nodded, took the tea and took a sip, "Uncle brought you some little things, see if you like them."

Having said this, Ma Xun immediately ran to open his luggage bag.

Two big bags full of them. It's normal to bring back some local specialties from a business trip.

Taking out the embroidery, Ma Xun said, "There are embroidery and sachets in Qingyang, which are roughly different from those in Jiangnan. Take them."

Zhu Jingru and Zhu Jingxian were naturally very happy. Although they were princesses, they were very frugal under Ma Xiuying's words and deeds. Ma Xun opened another bag and said, "Walnuts, take them and eat them. They are good and nutritious. Remember to eat more walnuts every day in the future. They are good for you."

This was the doctor's order, and Zhu Jingru wrote it down immediately. "I'll remember that and ask someone to prepare more."

"That's the best. Eat more food in the future, including meat, vegetables, and fruits." Ma Xun never tires of saying this. In fact, he has said some things before, "The fourth and fifth children like to eat meat but not vegetables, but that's not okay."

Zhu Jingru smiled and said, "My father and mother have ordered people to keep an eye on them. They dare not not eat vegetarian food or fruit."

Ma Xun took out a large bag of things and said, "I know that my eldest brother-in-law doesn't lack good things, so I asked someone to find some tea leaves and codonopsis. If you don't mind, please keep them."

Li Zhen said cheerfully, "I am really thoughtful. I brought back so many good things after going out. You won't see them outside."

This is to save face for Ma. Although some things are not tributes, with Li Zhen's current status, what good things can he not get?

But what Ma Xun brought back was different. Whether the things were good or not was another matter. What mattered most was the thoughtfulness behind it.

Ma Xun put a tiger-head hat on Li Jinglong and said cheerfully, "Not bad, I found some new and good ones from Qingyang."

Li Jinglong grabbed his hat and said, "I have a lot."

"Then you take it too." Li Zhen was even happier. "Your uncle loves you so much that he even thought of bringing you something back when he went out to fight. Come on, kowtow to your uncle."

Ma Xun quickly stopped him, "It's only right for me to give it to you. It's too formal for my brother-in-law to say that."

Everyone in the family received a gift, which was mostly the same, but with some differences. Generally speaking, all the children were treated equally.

When Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying brought Zhu Biao over, they looked very happy. Zhu Jingru and Zhu Su were showing off that their uncle had brought them many gifts.

Zhu Yuanzhang was happy in his heart, but he was polite in his words, "Oh, you are such a fool! You are going out to fight for a serious matter, why do you bring so many things with you!"

Ma Xiuying also smiled and said, "They don't lack anything, why give them these good things?"

"They are not good things. They don't have what they want." Ma Xun said with a smile, "It's not easy to prepare some for my brother-in-law and sister. They are just ordinary things that are not presentable."

Zhu Biao looked at the things on the table and said, "Uncle, isn't that for my nephew?"

Ma Xun quickly stopped him and said, "I'll have someone send it over later."

Zhu Chong and the others who were originally happy calmed down after a moment of disappointment. Father and mother have always favored the eldest brother. The uncle was the same, and now the uncle is also like this, there is nothing to say.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying were even happier. The younger brother was sensitive and took care of the other children, but he also knew that Biaoer was different, so the things he prepared might be a little special.

The thought is what matters most, whether the item is good or not is another matter.

Li Zhen smiled and said to Zhu Yuanzhang, "Zhongba, I remember when your sister and I went back a few years ago, you brought Shengbao to pick us up before we even got to the house."

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately became proud, "I am the youngest among my brothers and sisters, so I am naturally favored. I had no choice but to take Shengbao with me at that time, because he is my nephew."

Zhu Shengbao was the eldest son of Zhu Yuanzhang's eldest brother and the elder brother of Zhu Wenzhen. He died in the turbulent times in his early years.

Zhu Yuanzhang continued proudly, "I'm so smart. As long as my brother-in-law takes my sister back, he will bring a lot of rice and flour, and he must have brought snacks. I have to eat them first, otherwise my parents will scold me."

Li Zhen also smiled and said, "Your sister liked you back then, because you are the youngest in the family. It's just that she didn't enjoy the happiness with me. If she saw how successful you are now, it would be great."

"Why don't you enjoy happiness?" Zhu Yuanzhang said unhappily, "My family doesn't have enough to eat or warm clothes, and the work is heavy and heavy. Following my brother-in-law, I can not only eat enough, but also eat meat. There is nothing I can do in troubled times, and there is nothing I can do when I am sick. I can't blame my brother-in-law."

After Ma Xiuying asked Ma Xun about the expedition, she started to prepare meals with her daughters. Eat first and then chat, and talk while eating, there are not so many rules!
(End of this chapter)