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

Chapter 221 Everyone Feeds the Dragon
"Taoist Master...?" Xia Yuanji was completely bewildered. He looked at the old Taoist priest Zhang Zhengheng with a thirst for knowledge, hoping to get a reasonable explanation from him. After all, this issue had already touched on a blind spot in Xia Yuanji's knowledge.

"Shh~" In response to Xia Yuanji's doubts, the old Taoist priest Zhang Zhengheng put his middle finger to his lips and gently blew a breath of immortal air, signaling Xia Yuanji not to be impatient and to continue watching.

Xia Yuanji could only express his helplessness at the old Taoist's expression, and then turned his gaze back to the daughter's position at the bow of the boat.

"Sir, shall we do it again?" Zhu Zhanhe looked at his still nervous wife, gently took her hand to comfort her, and asked softly.

"No, thank you." Although Princess Xia was tempted and her eyes were full of longing after hearing her husband's words, she suppressed her emotions and firmly refused. After all, she was the Princess Consort and had to maintain her dignity. There were many other people behind her!
"Shut your mouth." Seeing his wife's obvious interest, Zhu Zhanhe turned to the large crocodile in the lake and said.

With a "snap," as Zhu Zhanhe finished speaking, the terrifying giant jaws of the alligator dragon snapped shut.

"Come on, try it." Zhu Zhanhe took his wife's hand and let her gently touch the dark, ferocious maw of the alligator dragon. At this moment, Princess Xia was extremely nervous, and even Zhu Zhanhe could feel her arm trembling slightly.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here, He will be very obedient." Zhu Zhanhe gently squeezed his wife's hand and continued to comfort her in a soft voice.

"I understand." Princess Xia carefully felt the crocodile's cold, hard, steel-like scales with her palm, and felt an intensely burning emotion brewing in her heart.

"Your Highness." Stroking the dragon, Princess Xia unconsciously touched her lower abdomen, as if she had a thousand words to say, but did not know what to say.

"It's alright, go and keep your mother company." Zhu Zhanhe noticed the complicated look in his wife's eyes, patted her hand affectionately, and said softly.

"Yes." Princess Xia replied obediently, then gently supported her belly and slowly turned to leave.

"Second brother!" Zhu Zhanhe called out with a smile as he looked at his second brother Zhu Zhanqi's longing eyes.

"Big brother, I'm here." Zhu Zhanqi was so excited when he heard his big brother call him that he almost jumped up. He swallowed hard, turned his head to look at his third brother Zhu Zhanci, who was also full of longing, and walked over with excited eyes.

"Big brother!" Zhu Zhanqi excitedly approached his elder brother and called out to him with expectant eyes.

"Go and get the things yourself." Zhu Zhanhe smiled gently as he looked at his excited younger brother and told him to go and get the things to feed the dragon.

"Yes!" Zhu Zhanqi responded excitedly, then ran over to a pile of offerings, looked them over from left to right, and finally picked up half a pig and carried it over.

"Hehehe, big brother." Zhu Zhanqi struggled to carry half a pig to his big brother, his smile was incredibly bright.

"He's got real strength." Zhu Zhanhe was speechless as he watched his younger brother carry half a pig over. At the same time, Zhu Zhanhe was also surprised by his brother's strength. It seemed that his second brother had inherited his father, the Prince of Han,'s excellent physical fitness. After all, the Prince of Han had been fighting alongside the Yongle Emperor since he was nineteen.

"Come here." Zhu Zhanhe reached out and helped his younger brother lift the half-pig and bring it to the bow of the boat.

"This is a real dragon? It's so strong and robust!" Zhu Zhanqi swallowed hard, subconsciously wanting to touch the real dragon in front of him, but he was a little hesitant to do so. So he turned to look at his older brother beside him, his eyes full of hope.

"It's okay, you can do it." Zhu Zhanhe was not surprised by his younger brother's eagerness and gently encouraged him.

"Hmm!" Having received his elder brother's approval, Zhu Zhanqi nodded vigorously, and then he actually reached out and touched the alligator's teeth!

"Such long, sharp teeth, no wonder it's a real dragon." Zhu Zhanqi murmured as he stroked the alligator dragon's teeth with fascination in his eyes.

"Big brother, let me feed the dragon." After a moment, Zhu Zhanqi struggled to remove his hand from the dragon's teeth and said earnestly to Zhu Zhanhe beside him.

"Do it yourself." Zhu Zhanhe gave his second brother the greatest encouragement. Zhu Zhanqi struggled to carry the half-pig onto the railing of the boat, stroked the alligator's teeth again, and then pushed the half-pig into the alligator's mouth.

"Smack!" The alligator dragon swallowed the half-pig in its mouth without any surprise.

Then, Zhu Zhanqi bowed deeply to his elder brother Zhu Zhanhe, and like a victorious general, turned and left with an air of arrogance.

"Third brother." Zhu Zhanhe continued to call out to his third brother, Zhu Zhanci.

"Big brother!" The usually calm third brother, Zhu Zhanci, was now filled with excitement. He came to Zhu Zhanhe and bowed respectfully.

"Third brother, these things were originally supposed to be told to you next year, when you turn fifteen."

However, you are a steady and reliable person, handling matters thoroughly and knowing when to advance and retreat.

"I'm making an exception for you this time, so don't disappoint me in the future." Zhu Zhanhe looked at his younger brother, whose eyes were full of excitement but whose gaze remained fixed straight ahead, and gently patted his third brother's shoulder, speaking with great expectation.

"Zhanci will never fail my elder brother's expectations!" Hearing his elder brother's words, Zhu Zhanci felt his heart surging with emotion.

“Go ahead, you can touch Him, don’t be afraid,” Zhu Zhanhe encouraged his younger brother.

"Yes." Although he was very excited, Zhu Zhanci still bowed to his elder brother before walking towards the offering table.

"Everyone here is a pillar of my Han Prince's Mansion, and all of you have rings as tokens of your loyalty. You are all welcome to feed Him," Zhu Zhanhe said as he slowly left the bow of the ship, addressing the expectant crowd on the deck.

"Thank you for your great favor, Your Highness." To be able to see a real dragon with one's own eyes, to be able to get close to a real dragon, to be able to touch a real dragon with one's own hands, and even to be able to feed a dragon with one's own hands is the greatest honor!
Now that His Highness the Crown Prince of Han has agreed to let them come into contact with the true dragon, no one will refuse. Even the usually calm Xia Yuanji has an expectant look on his face.

The only truly calm one was the old Taoist priest Zhang Zhengheng. After all, this wasn't his first time seeing a real dragon, so he was much calmer than the others. Even so, he still followed the crowd and walked towards the dragon.

“Mother, let’s go back to the cabin.” Zhu Zhanhe, shirtless, came to his mother’s side and said to his still incredulous mother, Lady Wei, but Lady Wei gently shook her head and refused.

"Your Highness, please put on a robe." It was Xia Shi, the wife, who felt sorry for her husband. Seeing that he was still shirtless, she immediately prepared to get Zhu Zhanhe a robe to put on.

"No need to trouble yourself, we'll have to take our clothes off after this." Zhu Zhanhe waved his hand and refused his wife's suggestion, since he would have to be shirtless when the alligator entered his body. He quietly watched as a group of people surrounded the alligator in Erhai Lake, feeding it continuously. The sound of the alligator closing its mouth was accompanied by the exclamations of the crowd.

"Ah~" Suddenly, a series of exclamations rang out. Looking up, they saw that Xiao Xizi and Wei Jizhong had actually jumped directly into the lake, which had caused the crowd to gasp.

"He'er?" Seeing her younger brother jump into the lake, Princess Wei stood up nervously, her eyes filled with tears and panic.

"Mother, it's alright. Uncle and Xiao Xizi are measuring the crocodile's recent growth. They'll be up in a bit," Zhu Zhanhe explained, seeing his anxious mother.

"That's good, that's good." Princess Wei finally showed a relieved expression after hearing her son's words.

"Your Highness, this measurement shows that Lord Tuolong's body length is over eight zhang and eight chi." About fifteen minutes later, Wei Jizhong and Xiao Xizi climbed out of the lake with joyful faces and reported to Zhu Zhanhe.

"Eight zhang and eight chi!" Everyone on the deck was stunned when they heard the length of the alligator dragon.

(End of this chapter)