Zhu Yuanzhang: My second son is invincible!

When the flying boat returned to Yingtian, it was already evening.

The setting sun that day turned the eaves of the Wu King's Palace golden.

At this moment, wisps of smoke rose from the kitchen chimney.

Zhu Hui jumped off the flying boat, carrying the few thousand-year-old snow lotuses in his arms. He walked carefully, afraid of bumping or knocking them over.

Jiang Huan followed behind, carrying other medicinal herbs picked along the way from Kunlun. Fairy Yaoguang had probably given up all hope. Hearing that Princess Wu needed to replenish her body, she simply had her disciple pack up some of the aged spiritual herbs from the herb garden.

They're quite generous.

"Your Highness, these medicinal herbs..." Jiang Huan wanted to remind him.

"I know, I know. My wife is weak and needs more nourishment." Zhu Li didn't turn his head and walked quickly towards the main courtyard.

Guanyin Nu was practicing calligraphy in the courtyard.

She was wearing a light blue Han-style ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), and her hair was styled in a simple bun.

He was sitting at the stone table, carefully copying the calligraphy model in front of him, stroke by stroke.

A ray of sunlight shone through the leaves of the osmanthus tree onto her, and she was as quiet as a painting.

"Wife!" Zhu Li's loud voice immediately broke the silence.

Guanyin Nu was startled by the voice, and her hand trembled violently, causing a drop of ink to fall onto the Xuan paper, spreading into a black stain.

She looked up and saw Zhu Li rushing in with a silly grin on his face.

"The prince is back?" She put down her pen, and a smile unconsciously crept onto her lips.

"Hmm! I brought you a gift!" Zhu Hui took out the packet of snow lotus from her bosom as if presenting a treasure, and carefully spread it on the stone table.

Five crystal-clear snow lotuses gleamed faintly in the setting sun, their delicate fragrance spreading throughout the air.

Guanyin Nu was stunned for a moment and said, "This is... a snow lotus?"

"Yes! Thousand-year-old snow lotus! Picked from Kunlun Mountain. Fairy Yaoguang said it's the best for nourishing the body. We'll make soup with it tonight!" Zhu Li said, rubbing her hands together with bright eyes.

Looking at the five priceless thousand-year-old snow lotuses and then at Zhu Hui's honest face, Guanyin Nu felt a surge of warmth in her heart.

On the grasslands, when men give women gifts, they usually give cattle, sheep, furs, or jewelry.

This was the first time she had ever seen someone bring back a medicinal herb from so far away, just because it was good for their health.

"Kunlun...they just gave it to us like that?" she asked softly.

"She gave it to me! Fairy Yaoguang is kind; she even gave me a lot more medicinal herbs! Jiang Huan, take it to the kitchen and have the cook make soup tonight, using...using that old hen!"

Zhu Hui pointed to the package in Jiang Huan's hand and said.

Jiang Huan's lips twitched, and she bowed, saying, "Yes."

He carried the medicinal herbs away, silently mourning for those thousand-year-old elixirs. He entered the kitchen of the Wu King's mansion, and no matter if they were sacred cultivation ingredients or ancient treasures, their final destination was to be stewed into soup.

Guanyin Nu picked up a snow lotus; it was cool to the touch, and the petals were as delicate as cream.

She had heard about the preciousness of Kunlun snow lotus when she was on the grassland. A hundred-year-old snow lotus could be exchanged for a hundred good horses, and a thousand-year-old snow lotus was even more priceless.

"This is too expensive..." she whispered.

"What's so expensive about it? Even if it's expensive, it's still food for people. You've been studying etiquette lately, and your eyes are getting tired. You need to replenish them," Zhu Li said, sitting down opposite her and looking at him with her chin in her hand.

Guanyin Nu's face flushed slightly.

She was indeed a little tired.

The four matrons sent by Empress Ma were strict instructors. Every day, they had to learn court etiquette, Han classics, and rules for the imperial family, and also practice their Mandarin pronunciation.

But she never complained of being tired. This was the path she chose, and she would finish it no matter how difficult it was.

"Actually, I'm not tired..." she whispered.

"Even if you're not tired, you still need to replenish your body. My mother said that a woman needs to take good care of her health so that she can..." Zhu Hui stopped midway through her sentence.

"What about later?" Guanyinnu looked up at him.

"In the future... in the future, having children won't be so hard." Zhu Li scratched her head, then blushed as she finished speaking.

Guanyin Nu's face turned even redder, as if it had been stained with rouge.

The two sat facing each other, one looking at the sky, the other at the ground, neither too embarrassed to look at the other.

The courtyard was filled with the fragrance of osmanthus and snow lotus, and the evening breeze was gentle.

Finally, Zhu Hui spoke first: "Um... I'll go to the kitchen to check how the soup is cooking."

"Hmm..." Guanyinnu nodded gently.

Zhu Hui fled as if he were running away.

Guanyin Nu looked at his retreating figure and couldn't help but smile.

This simple-minded husband is sometimes endearingly clumsy.

She rewrapped the snow lotus and brought it inside.

After thinking for a moment, she took out a small wooden box from the cabinet. Inside were several old items she had brought from the grasslands: a jewel-encrusted dagger, a string of wolf teeth necklaces, and a jade pendant carved with a wolf's head.

"Your Highness, His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived," came the voice of the maid Qingmei from outside the door.

Guanyin Nu quickly put away the wooden box and stood up to straighten her clothes.

Zhu Biao had already entered the courtyard, still dressed in his apricot-yellow prince's everyday robes, with a gentle smile on his face.

Two eunuchs followed behind him, carrying a box.

"Where is my second brother?" Zhu Biao asked.

"I'm going to the kitchen... I've met you, elder brother," Guanyinnu said, bowing.

"We're family, no need for formalities. I heard that my second brother brought back snow lotus from Kunlun. Perfect timing, I also have some tonics here, so I'll bring them over as well."

Zhu Biao gestured for the eunuch to put the box down and then smiled.

The box was opened, revealing ginseng, lingzhi mushrooms, deer antlers, and several bolts of fine silk.

"Brother, this is too precious..." Guanyin Nu said somewhat uneasy.

"It's nothing valuable. You're my sister-in-law, this is what you need. You've been learning etiquette lately, haven't you been working hard?" Zhu Biao sat down on the stone bench, gesturing for her to sit as well.

"It's not hard work, the nannies taught us very diligently."

"Just do your best. I heard from the Empress Dowager that you're learning very quickly," Zhu Biao said with a smile.

Guanyin Nu lowered her head: "It's still far from enough."

This eldest prince always had a gentle and refined demeanor, as if he wouldn't change color even if the sky were to fall.

But she knew that the person who could command the Embroidered Uniform Guard and handle the three major cases was definitely not as gentle as he appeared.

"Big brother... my brother he..." Guanyin Nu hesitated before speaking.

Zhu Biao picked up his teacup, blew on it gently, and said, "Wang Baobao is doing well in the government office. He reads and practices calligraphy every day, and recently he has even started learning to play the zither."

Guanyin Nu was stunned.

Learning the piano...

Her brother, who had always loved horseback riding and archery and dreaded books, was learning the piano...

"Big brother... are you...?" she asked cautiously.

"Did you force him? No, he wanted to learn it himself. He said that since he has so much free time, he should learn the principles of the Han dynasty." Zhu Biao put down his teacup and said with a gentle smile.

Guanyin remained silent.

She is not stupid.

Given my brother's personality, how could he possibly learn the zither on his own initiative? It must be that this Crown Prince used some kind of trick.

But she couldn't say it out loud.

"Well... thank you, big brother," she said softly.

"No need to thank me, we're all family. By the way, there's something I need to tell you. In three days, Father will be hosting a banquet at the Fengtian Hall for the surrendered Northern Yuan nobles, and your brother will be attending."

Zhu Biao stood up and said.

Guanyin Nu suddenly looked up: "Really?"

"Really? So you should prepare well these next few days. You'll be attending as Princess Wu. Are you sure you can handle it?" Zhu Biao asked, looking at her.

"Yes." Guanyinnu nodded emphatically.

This was her first public appearance as the Princess Consort of the Ming Dynasty, and she absolutely could not afford to make a mistake.

"That's good." Zhu Biao nodded.

After he finished speaking, he turned and left.