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

Chapter 266 The Placement of the Imperial Concubines
"Your Highness!" As soon as Zhu Zhanhe entered the bedroom, he saw Xiao Zhi waiting at the door with a happy smile on her face.

"Where is the Crown Princess?" Zhu Zhanhe knew his wife was in the room, but he still asked instinctively.

"Your Highness, the Crown Princess is inside." Xiao Zhi stared at Zhu Zhanhe with eager eyes, her gaze filled with intense longing.

"Understood." Before entering the inner room of the bedroom, Zhu Zhanhe casually pinched Xiaozhi's delicate cheek, which immediately made Xiaozhi shy and at a loss. She lowered her head, clutching the hem of her clothes, and followed behind Zhu Zhanhe with small, hesitant steps, walking timidly into the inner room.

"My lord~" Upon entering the inner room, Zhu Zhanhe saw the Crown Princess Xia, dressed in a loose red embroidered dress, sitting gracefully at the table, drinking a bowl of dark, murky medicine. Judging from her furrowed brows, the medicine must be very bitter. On the table beside her was a full spread of food and wine.

"Your Highness~" Upon hearing Zhu Zhanhe's call, Madam Xia hurriedly put down the small bowl in her hand, stood up in a fluster, and looked at Zhu Zhanhe with tears welling up in her eyes.

Seeing this, Zhu Zhanhe stepped forward and gently embraced his wife. The Crown Princess Xia also hugged her husband tightly, whom she hadn't seen for months, pressing her head against his chest and deeply inhaling the familiar and intoxicating warmth of his scent.

"Your Highness has been busy with state affairs since you returned, and you haven't even eaten. You must be starving. I have prepared some wine and dishes for you to have." After a long while, Princess Xia reluctantly broke free from her husband's warm embrace and said to Zhu Zhanhe with a shy expression.

"I'm not hungry, I just want to talk to my husband." Zhu Zhanhe didn't sit down to eat. Instead, he hugged Princess Xia in her astonished gaze, gently placed her on his lap, and softly touched her protruding belly, saying with a warm expression.

"Be careful with the baby." Hearing her husband's words, Princess Xia was even more delighted. She gently rested her head on her husband's chest, feeling his strong heartbeat, and felt very content.

"It's nighttime, why are you still taking medicine?" Zhu Zhanhe looked at the medicine he had seen his wife take when he came in and asked with concern.

"This is a pregnancy-preserving medicine specially prepared by my master. I drink one dose every night before bed. Master Li personally prepared all the herbs and doesn't allow anyone else to handle it."

"It was Aunt Xiu'er who brewed the medicine. After the master prepared the herbs, he handed them directly to Aunt Xiu'er. Every day, Aunt Xiu'er personally supervised the brewing in the small kitchen and then personally delivered the medicine to me to drink. Aunt Xiu'er didn't allow anyone else to take over." Princess Xia told Zhu Zhanhe about the origin of the medicine and even the process of brewing the herbs.

"Aunt Xiuer, you've worked so hard." Zhu Zhanhe couldn't help but feel emotional after hearing his wife's words. He himself had been raised by Aunt Xiuer when he was a child, and now his son also needed Aunt Xiuer's care.

"Of course Aunt Xiuer is a good one." Princess Xia highly approved of her husband's praise of Aunt Xiuer. She couldn't help but twist her head against her husband's chest a couple of times, finding another more comfortable position to lean against.

"How are the discussions about Yu Shu's marriage going?" Zhu Zhanhe looked at his restless wife in his arms and continued talking to distract himself, otherwise, he was afraid he would get a nosebleed from getting too hot! Of course, Zhu Zhanhe still gave his wife the respect she deserved.

In an instant, Zhu Zhanhe felt his wife Xia Shi's body tremble noticeably, but Xia Shi remained stubbornly leaning against her husband's chest, not moving at all, and even stared at Zhu Zhanhe again and again with her watery eyes.

"Cough cough~" Seeing this, Zhu Zhanhe couldn't help but swallow.
"Your Highness, Mother has finally chosen Lin-ge from the Mu family. Lin-ge is the same age as Sister Yu-shu and is not yet engaged. Although Lin-ge is not the eldest son, the Mu family has been raising him as if he were the eldest son since childhood."

Now that he serves in His Highness's army, he's someone you can trust. The Crown Princess was quite aware of her younger sister's marriage. After several discussions with the Mu family, Princess Wei decided to choose Mu Lin as her son-in-law. After all, the Mu family had status and influence, the boy was well-mannered, and most importantly, Lin-ge'er could help her son!
"Lin-ge'er is a good candidate. Hu Tian and the others all speak highly of him; he's someone who will amount to something in the future. Recently, among the scholars Father sent, have Erniu investigate them thoroughly to see if there are any suitable candidates, or if their families have anyone worth cultivating. Another batch of people will arrive in a few months; have someone investigate them carefully as well. In our royal palace, not only are there unmarried sisters, but also unmarried brothers."

"Take your time to plan, examine each one carefully, little by little. These are the future pillars of the Prince's mansion," Zhu Zhanhe said softly, gently stroking his wife's pregnant belly. Zhu Zhanhe's intention was for his wife to help find suitable wives and husbands for his younger siblings. But clearly, the Princess Consort misunderstood.

"I've got it!" Feeling the warm hand on her belly and hearing her husband's blunt words, Princess Xi, the Crown Prince's wife, trembled slightly, then immediately replied with a firm gaze. However, to Princess Xia's ears, Zhu Zhanhe's words meant that her husband was looking for a foundation for his future child!

Seeing his wife's suddenly resolute gaze, Zhu Zhanhe was taken aback. However, he immediately realized that his words had probably caused the Crown Princess to misunderstand. But he did not intend to explain and continued speaking.

"My father-in-law called me today and said he wants to suspend the selection of concubines and the taking of concubines. Don't rush things, just hold off for now." Zhu Zhanhe held his wife's small hand and played with it delicately.

"Why? I'll go tell Father!" Upon hearing Zhu Zhanhe's words, Princess Xia's eyes became cautious. She looked at Zhu Zhanhe expectantly, afraid that her husband would show even the slightest displeasure.

"Don't overthink it. We are about to conquer Annam, and the territory we occupy will only grow larger in the future."

My father-in-law's idea is that every time we conquer a country, I should select a concubine from the conquered territory. This will be beneficial to our future rule.

That's why the current selection of imperial concubines has to be temporarily suspended." Seeing that his wife was about to misunderstand, Zhu Zhanhe quickly explained to avoid her going after him and causing trouble for him in the future. It wasn't worth it!

“But we’ve reached the final stage of the selection process, and we’ve already chosen more than thirty women.” Hearing her husband say he wanted to stop the selection, Princess Xia was somewhat troubled. After all, she had already chosen thirty or forty women; she couldn’t very well send them back now.

"It's already the final selection?" Zhu Zhanhe was surprised that his wife was so quick and efficient, selecting more than thirty suitable women in just a few months.

"Here's what we'll do: ask the selected people if any of them are willing to go home, and let them go home and give them some compensation."

Those who were unwilling to return home were handed over to Aunt Xiuer for training.

My father has just sent two hundred scholars, and in three months, my father-in-law will organize Yunnan's first talent selection. At that time, there will surely be some outstanding scholars who are still unmarried.

"Have Aunt Xiuer train them properly here, and you can take a look at them when you have time. When the time comes, the Prince's Mansion can give some dowry and marry them off to some promising scholars. Wouldn't that be a wonderful story?" After hearing his wife's words, although Zhu Zhanhe felt a little sorry for the dozens of newly selected beauties, he quickly came up with a solution.

After all, the young ladies selected and trained by the Prince's mansion were all noblewomen. To marry them off to scholars, especially those from impoverished families, would be considered a significant step down.
Then the Prince's Mansion will provide a similar dowry. This is a perfect political investment. It wins people's hearts, finds a good home for the woman, and gains a talent who will not betray her. It directly binds her to the Han Prince's Mansion's big ship!

(End of this chapter)