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

Chapter 465 Qionglin Banquet

The main reason is that only Xiao Xizi knows that Emperor Longwu is too busy to eat properly; no one else could possibly know!

Now that the truth has been revealed, the first thing Emperor Longwu thought of was that it must have been Xiao Xizi who leaked the information!
Zhu Zhanhe's failure to eat properly was not for the purpose of practicing frugality, nor was it to leave a good reputation in the history books!
The main reason is that he's just too busy! He simply doesn't have enough time!

Even someone as energetic as him, who seems to be possessed by a dragon every night, still feels like he doesn't have enough time!

At four o'clock in the morning, he was woken up by a young eunuch. He would first go to pay his respects to his mother, Lady Wei, and then he would practice his swordsmanship for a while to warm up his body. After eating a few bites of breakfast, he would listen to a lecture by a great Confucian scholar if he had time.
Time is really tight! The morning court session starts at 5 a.m.! Basically, the morning court session lasts until noon! Today it only ended a little earlier than usual because the meeting location was changed at the last minute!

Around 10 a.m., it was time for the first proper meal of the day, and also to select the concubine to serve him that night; but he was incredibly busy, also having to review memorials and receive ministers. Therefore, the matter of choosing a concubine to serve him that night was usually left to the Empress to arrange and handle!

After finishing the first formal meal, one begins to formally handle government affairs, followed by receiving visiting ministers, or continuing to handle government affairs.
Lunch is at 2 PM, which is the second main meal of the day! After this meal, one must continue to handle government affairs or meet with ministers;

Around 5 p.m., he would have a little free time. He would check the princes' studies, chat with his mother, visit his father at the ancestral temple, or relax a bit before continuing to handle government affairs in his spare time.

Around 8 PM, he would read for a while before bed and then discuss scholarship with his ministers. Of course, the concubines who were to be with him at night would also be brought to his bedchamber. During this time, he would have some late-night snacks.

Then, around ten o'clock, he would go to sleep with his wife, who was serving him in bed. It's fair to say he was incredibly busy all day long!

There was absolutely nothing like what some videos or movies portray, where the emperor spent his days eating and drinking, strolling in the garden with his concubines, boating on the lake, and hunting—all those wonderful things!

The reason is that even the emperor has rules for eating and sleeping!
Sometimes I think back to what Zhu Zhanhe once said to his grandfather, the Yongle Emperor: "Get up earlier than the rooster, sleep later than the dog, eat worse than the pig, and work like an ox!" Looking at it now, those words were absolutely true!
Sometimes, Zhu Zhanhe really missed the days when he was the crown prince, when he lived a carefree and wonderful life!

Look at the life we're living now! What kind of miserable existence are we living?!

Actually, the reason why Emperor Longwu is so busy now is mainly because the Long Kingdom was founded not long ago and there are too many things to deal with! Moreover, the Long Kingdom is currently attacking Korea, so there are just too many things to handle!
So, when he was too busy, Zhu Zhanhe would just have Xiao Xizi make him something to eat to get by!

This is why, when he's not too busy, Emperor Longwu would sometimes go to his wives' homes for meals and relax there! It's not that he's lecherous; it's purely because he needs to relieve some stress!
However, Zhu Zhanhe found that there were just too many times when he was too busy to keep up! So he had to ask Xiao Xizi to prepare some cooked food, and when he was hungry, he could just eat more cooked food to make things easier!

But to my surprise, my son discovered this small problem!

“Father, it wasn’t the Grand Eunuch who told me. Last time, I saw the Grand Eunuch carrying a food box into the Hall of Supreme Harmony!”
"At that time, I opened the food box and saw what was going on, and that's when I found out about this!" Zhu Qiyu earnestly spoke up to clarify the matter regarding his father, Emperor Longwu's, slander of the Grand Eunuch.
"Cough cough~!"

"Yu'er, don't tell your mother or grandmother about this!" Faced with his son's discovery of this secret, Zhu Zhanhe could only awkwardly ask his son to keep it a secret!

After all, Zhu Zhanhe knew very well that as the emperor of a country, his health was not something he could control! If the officials, especially the censors and the officials in charge of remonstrance, found out about this, it would be a huge problem and would drive him crazy every day!
"Father, it's too late. Mother has already arranged for all the concubines to take turns delivering lunch to you every day at noon!" Seeing his father's somewhat embarrassed request to keep his mother and the others from finding out, Zhu Qiyu said to his father with a hint of helplessness. "You've already told your mother and the others?" Hearing his son's words, Zhu Zhanhe was stunned. After all, if this got out, it would seriously damage his majestic image as the Dragon Emperor!

"Yes, Father!" Zhu Qiyu replied firmly to his father's slightly nervous question. Moreover, before his father could speak, Zhu Qiyu spoke again.

“Father, you are also the ruler of a country, and you must follow the rules in your actions.”

Besides, it's not like no one knows what you've been doing; the court's officials are responsible for recording your daily activities.

How are the court officials supposed to write this if you do it like this?

They have asked me to see them several times about this matter! As for the daily life of my father, Emperor Longwu, Zhu Qiyu, as his son, really couldn't say much.

However, the reality is that the court officials who are responsible for recording the emperor's daily activities and words are on the verge of collapse! The founding emperor of the Dragon Kingdom, Emperor Longwu, lives a life of complete capriciousness!
Although things are gradually getting better than before, Zhu Qiyu knows that if his father becomes willful, he can be truly helpless!
For example, his father's habit of visiting concubines at noon; indulging in excessive eating; not eating on time; and having indiscriminate relationships with multiple concubines—these were all minor issues. However, Zhu Qiyu still hoped his father could be a perfect person!
"Go, go, go, go do your own thing."

"Your father isn't afraid of them!" Zhu Zhanhe was well aware of the complaints from the court officials. After all, they had sometimes been unable to bear it any longer and had subtly reminded him several times!
However, Emperor Zhu Zhanhe of the Longwu Emperor declared, "Whatever! I'm the emperor now, not some incompetent ruler. Can't I enjoy myself?"

Besides, as long as my achievements are great enough, all the minor details are just hobbies! Don't you see, the Heavenly Khan had far more problems than me, such as stealing other people's wives and killing his brothers to seize power! Yet he's still an emperor for all time!
In Emperor Longwu's view, as long as his merits were great enough, all the minor details were insignificant!

Seeing that his son had seen through his thoughts, Zhu Zhanhe, feeling somewhat embarrassed, immediately started to send the man away.

"Your subject takes his leave!" Seeing his father throwing another tantrum, Zhu Qiyu left in annoyance. He decided to go complain to his mother later! He wanted her to teach this willful emperor a lesson!

"Tell me, what kind of mess is this?!" Watching his son's departing figure, Emperor Longwu plopped down in his chair again, grumbling angrily.

However, after only a short while, Emperor Longwu regained his confidence and ate the steamed buns and side dishes that Xiao Xizi brought him with a contented expression, while looking at the memorial in his hand!
However, Emperor Longwu did not see that Xiao Xizi, who was hiding in the corner of the Taihe Hall, had a face that was even more unpleasant than a bitter gourd!

Clearly, the dignified Grand Eunuch has once again been criticized and educated by some unknown person!

Before we knew it, it was evening. The sun in the distance gradually set below the horizon, and the sky began to darken.

Meanwhile, in the imperial palace of Longdu, the scene was one of dazzling lights!
The Imperial Banquet at the Palace has begun!

(End of this chapter)