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

Chapter 343 Conferring the Title of King of Han!
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Zhu Zhanhe, the heir apparent of the Prince of Han, possessing both literary and military talents, is hereby granted the title of Prince of Han, and is bestowed with a golden seal; rewards are given, and we look forward to your service." After reading the first imperial edict concerning the Prince of Han, Yang Shiqi, seeing that no one was paying attention to him, reluctantly took another imperial edict from the tray held by Fan Zhong and began to read it aloud. The content of this edict was also very simple: it legally granted Zhu Zhanhe the title of Prince of Han, bestowed upon him a seal and other tokens representing his status as a prince, as well as some gold, silver, fine silks, pearls, and other valuables, and finally made some grand pronouncements about Zhu Zhanhe's future loyalty to the court.

In short, Zhu Zhanhe considered the imperial edict in Yang Shiqi's hands to be utter nonsense! What, are you going to stop me from inheriting the throne or something? Zhu Zhanhe was utterly disdainful of the imperial edict. However, even with his disdain, Zhu Zhanhe patiently listened to the whole thing. After all, he was still nominally a member of the court and couldn't go too far.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Princess Wei, with her benevolence and kindness, is hereby granted the title of Dowager Princess, and is bestowed with a gold seal and other rewards." This next imperial edict was the court's decree elevating Princess Wei to the rank of Dowager Princess. Similarly, the court bestowed upon her a gold seal and other valuables.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The Crown Prince's Consort, Lady Xia, is virtuous and kind, having given birth to the eldest grandson. She is hereby granted the title of Princess Consort of Han and bestowed with a golden seal." This last decree concerned the promotion of the Crown Prince's Consort, Lady Xia, to Princess Consort of Han. As always, the court also bestowed upon her a golden seal and other valuables.

"Your Highness, Your Highness the Dowager Consort, Your Highness the Princess Consort, please accept the decree." Yang Shiqi painstakingly read through several imperial edicts for a long time, finally finishing reading them. However, after finishing, Yang Shiqi saw that Zhu Zhanhe, the Dowager Consort Wei, and the Princess Consort Xia showed no intention of accepting the decree. Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Yang Shiqi had no choice but to go to Zhu Zhanhe and quietly remind him.

"Thank you for your trouble, Grand Secretary Yang." Zhu Zhanhe showed no intention of expressing gratitude, instead directly taking the last imperial edict from Yang Shiqi's hand. At this moment, Yang Shiqi's lips twitched with anger, but he dared not retaliate. "Why does my mouth taste so bitter today?!" Yang Shiqi couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"Grand Secretary Yang, the Prince and the Dowager Princess are overwhelmed with grief and find it difficult to control themselves. I hope you won't mind." Seeing that the atmosphere was indeed becoming awkward, the unfortunate father-in-law, Xia Yuanji, had no choice but to rise from his kneeling cushion and rush over to help his son-in-law out of the predicament. His excuse was still the same: being overwhelmed with grief!
"Lord Xia, I understand, I understand." Xia Yuanji's words came at just the right time, instantly relieving Yang Shiqi's embarrassment. Although Xia Yuanji's reasoning had made Yang Shiqi's eyebrows tremble with anger, given the current situation, Yang Shiqi still readily accepted the situation and quickly backed down.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Highness, Your Highness, may you live a thousand years, may you live a thousand years, may you live a thousand years!" After appeasing Yang Shiqi, Xia Yuanji, together with Mu Sheng who had come with him, knelt down before their son-in-law and loudly addressed Zhu Zhanhe as Your Highness. In effect, they directly appointed the new prince of the Han Prince's Mansion in front of the late king's coffin.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Highness! Your Highness, may you live a thousand years!" With Xia Yuanji and Mu Sheng leading the way, all the officials in Chengyun Hall, as well as the eunuchs and family members of the Prince's Mansion, knelt down before Zhu Zhanhe. Even Princess Wei rose from her prayer mat, while the Crown Prince's wife, Xia, led her younger brothers and sisters to kneel before Zhu Zhanhe.

"Your humble servants pay their respects to Your Highness the Empress Dowager. May Your Highness enjoy a thousand years of peace and good health!"

"Your humble servants pay their respects to Your Highness the Princess. May Your Highness live a thousand years and enjoy peace!"

Furthermore, after paying their respects to Zhu Zhanhe, the newly appointed Prince of Han, the group continued to pay their respects to the Dowager Consort Wei and the Princess Consort Xia. Dowager Consort Wei stood quietly before the altar, accepting the respects of everyone, including her son Zhu Zhanhe.

Finally, the numerous officials and eunuchs paid their respects to Princess Xia. Immediately, Zhu Zhanhe stood beside his wife, Xia, to support her, who was somewhat nervous.

Seeing the lively scene inside, Yang Shiqi, Yu Qian, and the others knelt down without hesitation, paying their respects to the newly appointed Prince of Han, the Dowager Princess, and the Princess. After all, in Yang Shiqi's view, this wasn't the first time they'd knelt; they'd knelt when the prince was still a heir apparent, and now that he was a prince, kneeling again wasn't shameful!

"Rise." Zhu Zhanhe stood up with the imperial edict after his father-in-law addressed him as "Your Highness." After everyone had finished kneeling and kowtowing, Zhu Zhanhe slightly raised his hand, indicating that everyone could stand up.

"Thank you, Your Highness!" The numerous officials, eunuchs, and their families quickly expressed their gratitude to Zhu Zhanhe before slowly rising to their feet.

"Third brother~!" The first thing Zhu Zhanhe did after everyone stood up was to call out to his third brother, Zhu Zhanyi.

"Big Brother~!" Upon hearing his elder brother's call, Zhu Zhan'an immediately responded. He knew his brother was addressing the third son of the Prince of Han's residence, not him; he only needed to reply with "Big Brother." Immediately, Zhu Zhan'an quickly went to his elder brother's side, listening to his next instructions. Seeing his third brother approach, Zhu Zhan'an casually tossed the imperial edict into his wife, Xia Shi's, hands. His nonchalant manner caused Xia Shi to scramble in confusion. After all, this imperial edict meant that from that moment on, she was truly the Princess Consort of Han! How could Xia Shi not be nervous?

"Third son, the late king has passed away."

During his lifetime, the late king was one of the most outstanding generals in the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, in order to pay homage to the spirit of the late king, the eldest brother plans to personally go to Annam, conquer the entire territory, and achieve a great victory to inform the late king in the afterlife.

Tomorrow, my elder brother will be leaving for Annam.

Now, your second brother is still in the military camp and has not returned home, so you are the eldest man in the family.

Starting tomorrow, you will be in charge of handling the affairs following the late king's death.
And you must help your elder brother protect the brothers and sisters at home;

You must also study diligently. Next year is the day you leave the manor, don't let your elder brother down." Zhu Zhanhe gently patted his third brother's shoulder, then said to him with encouragement.

"Big brother~~" After hearing his elder brother's words, Zhu Zhan'an couldn't believe his ears for a moment. Had his elder brother entrusted him with the task of guarding the family again? After all, things were different now; his elder brother now had an eldest son! Although the eldest son was young, according to the law, this matter shouldn't be his turn! Overwhelmed with immense joy, Zhu Zhan'an was somewhat incredulous.

"Don't worry, elder brother, Zhanhan will definitely take good care of the Prince's Mansion and Yu'er."

"Third brother is waiting patiently for eldest brother's return at the palace!" However, facing his elder brother's encouraging gaze, Zhu Zhan'an couldn't help but swallow hard, excitedly assuring him. Of course, Zhu Zhan'an cleverly added that he was only helping his elder brother guard the house, and wouldn't forget to take good care of his nephew. This relieved Princess Xia, who had initially seemed somewhat tense.

However, Xia Yuanji showed satisfaction with Zhu Zhanhe's arrangements. After all, even if the Third Prince was guarding the household, there were veteran ministers like them around, so nothing could go wrong!

"Don't feel pressured. Lord Xia, Lord Mu, and many officials of the Prince's Mansion will help you." Looking at his somewhat nervous third brother, Zhu Zhanhe couldn't help but chuckle. He then continued to encourage and comfort his third brother.

In reality, Zhu Zhanhe was grooming his many younger brothers one by one, while also subtly testing them.

(End of this chapter)