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

Chapter 306 The Surprise of the Birth of the Crown Prince
A moment later, Aunt Xiuer walked out of the delivery room with a smile on her face.

"What are you all standing there for? Go and tell His Highness the good news to the Crown Prince and His Highness the Princess!" After leaving the house, Aunt Xiu'er looked at the crowd still standing there in a daze, wiped the bloodstains from her hands, and ordered them impatiently.

"Yes, yes, yes, we'll go right away, we'll go right away!" After hearing Aunt Xiu'er's words, the group of servants outside finally reacted. They hurriedly ran towards the front courtyard of the Prince's Mansion.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps approached from afar, heading towards the Chengyun Hall.
Inside Chengyun Hall, the crowd, who had been anxiously awaiting news from the delivery room, all looked up nervously towards the door upon hearing hurried footsteps. A short while later, they saw Xiao Xizi running in with joyful steps.
"Congratulations, Your Highness! Congratulations, Your Highness! Your Highness has given birth to the eldest grandson of the Han Prince's Mansion!" As soon as she entered, Xiao Xizi knelt on the ground, reporting this exciting news to everyone. Moreover, Xiao Xizi cleverly pointed out that it was the Prince's Mansion that had welcomed its eldest grandson. Upon hearing this, Xia Yuanji, standing to the side, couldn't help but show a look of delight. Furthermore, Xia Yuanji's gleaming eyes constantly scanned the surroundings, especially scrutinizing the Princess and her son-in-law.

"Excellent! A great reward!" Upon hearing that her daughter-in-law had given birth to a grandson, Princess Wei stood up excitedly from her chair, her eyes brimming with joy. With a wave of her hand, she generously announced to everyone a comprehensive reward for the entire royal household! This was for the continuation of the Han royal family's legacy!

"Thank you for the reward, Your Highness!" Xiao Xizi, quick-witted as ever, accepted the reward on behalf of the other eunuchs and palace maids and expressed her gratitude.

"How is the Crown Princess?" Upon hearing Xiao Xizi's good news that his wife had given birth to a son, Zhu Zhanhe subconsciously inquired about the condition of his wife, Xia Shi.

"Your Highness, Aunt Xiu'er said that the Crown Princess is a little weak after giving birth and is recuperating, but there is nothing seriously wrong!" Upon hearing the Crown Prince's inquiry, Xiao Xizi knelt on the ground and replied respectfully.

"Congratulations, Your Highness! Congratulations, Your Highness!" Upon hearing that the Crown Prince's wife, Lady Xia, had given birth to a son, all the officials were overjoyed. This meant that the Prince's residence had an heir, and the foundation of the Han Crown Prince's legacy was secured!

Among all the officials, the happiest was Xia Yuanji, the cabinet minister from Yunnan who also held the positions of minister of two ministries. The birth of a son meant that all of Xia Yuanji's efforts had been worthwhile! Moreover, when Xia Yuanji saw his son-in-law immediately inquire about Xia's postpartum condition, he was even more satisfied with his son-in-law. Therefore, he excitedly stood up and respectfully congratulated Princess Wei and his son-in-law.

"Father-in-law, you are too kind. My son has indeed worked hard this time and is a great contributor to our Prince's Mansion!" Zhu Zhanhe responded politely to his father-in-law's congratulations.

"Congratulations, Your Highness!" Seeing that His Highness had finished speaking with Xia Yuanji, Mu Sheng also raised his hand to congratulate Zhu Zhanhe. Furthermore, Mu Sheng suddenly had another idea: to send outstanding women of marriageable age from his family to the Prince's residence to marry the Han Prince as his consorts. And once this idea arose, Mu Sheng could no longer suppress it.

"Uncle Mu, you're too kind. This is a joyous day for all of Yunnan." Facing Mu Sheng's piercing gaze, Zhu Zhanhe politely stated that the birth of an heir to the Han Prince's mansion was a joyous occasion for the entire province of Yunnan.

"Father-in-law, I hereby issue an edict in the name of the Prince's Mansion, to celebrate the birth of the eldest grandson of my Prince Han's Mansion, all areas in Yunnan and Guangdong will be exempt from taxes by 10% this year!" Zhu Zhanhe was very happy about the birth of his son. In his joy, he decided to reduce taxes in all the places under his jurisdiction by 10% this year to celebrate the occasion and to share the joy with the people.

"Your Highness, Yunnan can be reduced by 10%. And Guangdong and Guangxi, didn't they already..." Xia Yuanji looked at his overly excited son-in-law, momentarily at a loss for words. Although Xia Yuanji also agreed to reduce taxes.

However, a few days ago, the imperial court sent over five hundred large ships to redeem the lands of Guangdong and Guangxi, and their son-in-law even agreed! Therefore, the lands of Guangdong and Guangxi will not benefit from this tax exemption.

"Uh~, then let's give Yunnan a 10% tax exemption."
Furthermore, notify the officials of Guangdong and Guangxi to submit their official lists. "My Han Prince's Mansion keeps its word; they still deserve a share of the newly acquired lands of Annam!" Zhu Zhanhe, reminded by his father-in-law, recalled that just two days prior, not only had his father sent enough gold, silver, provisions, and supplies to last Yunnan for ten years, along with 30,000 new soldiers, but the imperial court had also directly sent a fleet of over 500 ships to ransom the newly acquired lands of Guangdong and Guangxi.

Even if the lands of Guangdong and Guangxi are redeemed, Zhu Zhanhe is a man of his word. Since he promised to share the land with the officials of Guangdong and Guangxi, he will definitely do so! Even if the land is not redeemed, it can be supplemented with gold and silver!
"Very well! I'll arrange it immediately!" Xia Yuanji didn't object to his son-in-law's approach; on the contrary, he greatly approved of it. Xia Yuanji also believed that although the territories of Guangdong and Guangxi were no longer under Yunnan's control, they had contributed to Yunnan's development, so giving them some benefits at this time was only fair. It would both win over people's hearts and build up connections for the future! Even losing some gold, silver, and land now would be worthwhile. Moreover, Yunnan wasn't lacking in grain, gold, or silver at the moment!

"Congratulations, elder brother!" In an instant, the younger brothers and sisters in Chengyun Hall also congratulated Zhu Zhanhe.

"You all have a day off today, you don't need to go to school." Zhu Zhanhe looked at his group of younger brothers and sisters and decided to exempt them from schoolwork for a day as a reward.

"Thank you, brother~"
"Thank you, Brother!" The younger siblings were overjoyed to be exempted from a day of schoolwork, and they thanked Zhu Zhanhe with beaming smiles.

"Mother, it's not convenient for me here, so I'll have to trouble you to arrange for someone to take care of Xia Shi." Zhu Zhanhe knew that he couldn't go into the delivery room right now. Even if he wanted to, he would be stopped by countless people, including his father-in-law who would do everything in his power to stop him!

"You go ahead with your work, I'm going to check on Madam Xia. She's done a great service this time!"
Let me check on how my grandson's wet nurse and the supplements prepared by Madam Xia are going.

"Your father, the Prince, did a good job this time; he sent the name for the child back very promptly." Hearing her son's words, Princess Wei knew that her son would be busy again. So she took out the memorials sent back by her husband and the Prince from her bosom, and leisurely left with her maids.

"Eldest brother, your humble servants will also be leaving now." Seeing that his eldest brother was about to get busy again, the third brother, Zhu Zhan'an, also wisely led his younger brothers and sisters away.

"Go ahead." Zhu Zhanhe waved his hand, indicating that they could leave as well. So, led by Zhu Zhanhe, the many younger brothers and sisters left the room.

A moment later, only Xia Yuanji, Mu Sheng, and Liu Erniu were left in the room facing Zhu Zhanhe, while Xiao Xizi was serving them on the side.

"Your Highness, the Prince's confinement in Beijing has had a significant impact on the scholars. Some are already preparing to leave Yunnan." It seems that after everyone else had left, Xia Yuanji began discussing formal employment. After all, news of the defeat and capture of the Prince of Han and the Prince of Zhao had spread throughout the land. Therefore, some of the scholars recruited in the name of the Prince of Han's residence had already harbored disloyal intentions.

"Those who are willing to leave, do not force them to stay. Give them some gold and silver and send them away." Zhu Zhanhe had anticipated some of the consequences of his father's capture, but he did not think there was any problem. If people did not want to stay, forcing them to stay would be useless. It would be better to let them leave smoothly and leave a good impression.

(End of this chapter)