Ming Dynasty: The Crocodile King of Han Prince Zhu Gaoxu's Family

Chapter 187 Zhu Zhanhe's True Intentions Towards the Old Taoist Priest
Upon returning to the Prince of Han's residence, Zhu Zhanhe immediately summoned Steward Hu, Liu Erniu, his uncle Wei Jizhong, and other stewards from the residence to begin assigning tasks.

"Chief Steward Hu, immediately arrange a mourning hall in the main hall of the Prince's Mansion. We must keep vigil for the late Emperor at the Prince's Mansion; there must be no delay."

"Yes!" Steward Hu accepted the order.

"Steward Wei, from today onwards, the Prince's Mansion will be closed to all visitors. Except for those who come from the palace to deliver imperial decrees, no one else will be seen! All the food, clothing and other necessities for the mansion will be purchased by a special person until the mourning period ends."

If someone from the Prince Zhao's mansion next door comes, they can just come in through the side gate!
"Go to the Taoist temple to invite a master to the residence to pray for the late emperor; also send several people to the Prince of Zhao's residence to pray for blessings."

"Yes!" Uncle Wei Jizong bowed and accepted the order.

"Erniu, something has happened at the Prince's mansion. Brothers, please do your duty and keep watch. At this time, we absolutely cannot let anything go wrong!"

"Yes!" Liu Erniu answered the loudest.

"Aunt Xiuer, schedule a time for your younger siblings. They all need to come to the main hall to observe mourning! Those who are still young should be accompanied by their nannies!"

Their meals were provided by the small kitchen; they were not allowed to cook for themselves!

"Yes!" Aunt Xiu'er looked at the young master, whom she had raised since childhood and who possessed a majestic air, sitting upright in the main hall, and readily agreed.

……

After a long while, Zhu Zhanhe finally finished arranging the various matters in the Prince's Mansion and couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

"Mother, do you think this arrangement is reasonable?" Zhu Zhanhe, having finished arranging things, turned his head and looked at his mother, Madam Wei, who was standing to the side.

"My son's arrangements are excellent, let's do it this way!" Princess Wei of Han looked at her son with delight, her heart filled with joy. Although her own Prince Han was unreliable and had brought great trouble to the palace, her son was truly admirable!

"Make the arrangements!" Zhu Zhanhe said, and then told everyone to go and arrange their own work.

"Aunt Xiuer, please wait a moment." Zhu Zhanhe called out to Aunt Xiuer, who was about to leave.

"Young Master?" Xiu'er turned to look at Zhu Zhanhe, waiting for instructions.

"Aunt Xiuer, Mother has been quite tired these past few days. Please arrange for her to go and rest. I will stay here and watch over her." Zhu Zhanhe looked at his slightly haggard mother and asked Aunt Xiuer to take her to rest first.

"Yes!" Xiuer had no objection to this.

"He'er...?" Princess Wei was deeply moved at this moment, her eyes filled with tears, and she sighed in her heart: My son has really grown up.

"Mother, don't worry, I'll keep an eye on things. You can rest assured, nothing will happen to my Han Prince's Mansion!" Zhu Zhanhe said softly, comforting his mother who was about to cry.

"Hmm~!" Princess Wei of Han gently wiped away her tears, feeling full of confidence in her son's promise. Then, supported by Xiu'er, she turned and left the main hall.

Meanwhile, the servants of the Prince's mansion were busy setting up the mourning hall.

By the morning of the following day, the mourning hall at the Prince of Han's residence was fully set up. Zhu Zhanhe then led his younger siblings in taking turns keeping vigil. While his siblings took turns resting, he, as the head of the household, kept vigil every single day from beginning to end.

Before we knew it, the twenty-seven-day vigil had passed.

On this day, Zhu Zhanhe was chatting with the old Taoist priest in his study.

"Teacher, I have no intention of rebelling. But I wonder if you would like to become a figure like the Four Heavenly Masters, receiving incense offerings from the world?!" Ever since the old Taoist learned that the Prince of Han and the Prince of Zhao had fled Beijing and begun to gather troops to rebel, the old Taoist had been somewhat restless and constantly probing Zhu Zhanhe's motives.

Sure enough, the mourning period had just ended today, and the mourning hall had just been taken down when the old Taoist priest spoke with Zhu Zhanhe again.

Zhu Zhanhe didn't hesitate to ask the old Taoist a question, directly throwing out one that left the old Taoist speechless.

"Don't talk nonsense, kid! How could that be possible!" After hearing his student's words, the old Taoist priest Zhang Zhengheng couldn't help but swallow hard and subconsciously refuted him. However, his longing eyes were fixed on Zhu Zhanhe, and the longing in his eyes was genuine!
"Is the teacher not interested?"

However, the students are still prepared to say something.

"Please help me identify it, teacher." Zhu Zhanhe got up and went to the old Taoist priest who was swallowing hard and looking on expectantly. He respectfully helped him sit down, then got up and went to the desk, pointing to a map of the world hanging on the wall behind him.

"Teacher, please look, Yunnan is here. It is the fiefdom of my Han Prince's lineage." Zhu Zhanhe pointed to the Yunnan fiefdom and began his explanation.

"The Yunnan fiefdom is not far from the Indian kingdom where Xuanzang went on his pilgrimage."

The surrounding Jiaozhibusi, Wusizangdusi, and some other small kingdoms are all easy for me to deal with.

After preparing to take up their posts, the students headed towards India, bringing the surrounding countries under their control and establishing a new dynasty!
Since my grandfather's legacy has been passed down, I should respect his wishes.

But my desire to explore new lands is beyond question! Zhu Zhanhe looked at the map, casually gesturing with his fingers, his hand clenched as if everything was under his control.

This scene left the old Taoist priest dumbfounded, but he had to admit that the student in front of him had the ability. After all, the appearance of that huge alligator dragon basically meant invincibility!

However, the old Taoist priest was concerned about the matter of incense offerings! He wanted to be able to rival the Four Celestial Masters!
"Continue! Continue!"

Tell me! Tell me!
"Listen up!" The old Taoist priest looked excitedly at the cheap student in front of him, took a step forward, and stared at the map. His skills were not like those of a man who was almost eighty years old!

"Cough, cough." Seeing the teacher's hurried appearance, Zhu Zhanhe also felt that it was not good to fool the old man, so he decided to give him a treat.

"Teachers, pioneers throughout history have all been remembered for their virtues."

Zhang Tianshi established Taoism; Ge Tianshi established the Lingbao School; both made boundless contributions.

Now that Buddhism is flourishing, if the teacher could establish the foundation of Taoism in the birthplace of Buddhism!
Even to the point of replacing Buddhism with Taoism, truly realizing that Buddhism is Taoism!

"Your achievement is comparable to that of the Four Celestial Masters!" Zhu Zhanhe, like a demon, came to Zhang Laodao's side, massaged the old Taoist's shoulders with both hands, and said softly to the old Taoist.

With a "whoosh," the old Taoist priest suddenly stood up, staring blankly at Zhu Zhanhe, his expression as if he were looking at a ghost.

"You, you, you, you..." The old Taoist pointed at Zhu Zhanhe, too shocked to speak.

"Teacher, is what the student said correct?!"

At that time, the students will lead their army to march up and directly occupy the territory.

And you, leading countless Taoist masters, propagated the truth of Taoism!

"At that time, you will have gained countless followers for my Taoism, and you will surely be remembered in history, comparable to the Celestial Master!" Zhu Zhanhe continued to deceive the old Taoist in front of him.

"However, teacher, this requires you to lead countless fellow Taoists to establish my Taoist temples in the new land and help me educate the people!"
"But isn't this also for the supreme glory of my Taoist school!" Zhu Zhanhe smiled at the old Taoist priest, finally revealing his true purpose!
(End of this chapter)