Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

Zhu Di smugly stuffed the two gourds into his sleeves and looked around.

His sons were staring longingly at his sleeve, their eyes like those of a group of children waiting for candy.

Seeing their expressions, he instantly flew into a rage. These kids, all they ever do is sponge off the fourth prince; they're all mine! "What are you all looking at? The fourth prince is capable and filial. It's only right that he gives himself to me, because I'm his father!"

"Boss, all you do is eat. Are you a pig? If it weren't for your claim of having a good son like Zhanji, I wouldn't even bother with you."

And then there's the second brother, who always acts like a brute, showing off everything he does, as if he's afraid others won't know about his abilities.

The third one is even worse; he's a fence-sitter, always bending whichever way the wind blows.

Zhu Di leaned back in his chair, his gaze sweeping over the three men's faces one by one, his tone becoming increasingly impolite.

Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaosui were all stunned by this barrage of reprimands. "We just wanted to see the gourd, what's wrong with that?"

The three men exchanged glances, their eyes conveying the same message: the old man is here again. Ever since the fourth son returned to the palace, the old man has become increasingly rude in his scolding of them. He used to at least pretend, but now he's too lazy to even pretend anymore; he scolds and criticizes whenever he wants.

But they were used to it. Anyway, the fourth son was capable, and if the old man was in a good mood, he could scold him a few times. It wouldn't hurt him.

Only Zhu Zhanji escaped the scolding and even received praise.

He sat quietly in the corner the whole time. When he heard Zhu Di praise him, he couldn't help but smile, pretending to be modest: "Grandpa, you flatter me. I am not as good as you say."

Zhu Gaoxu didn't bother to argue about his father's favoritism; his eyes never left the two gourds in Zhu Di's sleeve.

He leaned forward, rubbing his hands together. "Dad, what exactly is in this gourd that Fourth Brother gave you? Is there something good in it? Is this gourd any good? Please show us!"

Although Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaosui weren't as impatient as their second son, they couldn't help but lean forward a little.

Zhu Zhanji was even more direct, calling out crisply, "Grandpa Emperor! Please show us this gourd!"

Zhu Di glanced at them, and surprisingly refrained from continuing his scolding; a slight smile curved his lips.

With a thought, a small pile of gold ingots and several pieces of jade of excellent quality poured out of the gourd on the left. The gold ingots were of high quality, and the jade was warm and translucent, clearly not ordinary items.

He patted the gourd and said to Zhu Gaochi, "See this? It's all gold and silver jewelry that the fourth brother gave me."

"My lord, you can't say you have no money now, can you? Stop complaining to me about being poor with the Ministry of Revenue. With the Fourth Prince here, you won't need to worry about the national treasury anymore."

Zhu Gaochi stared wide-eyed at the pile of gold on the table. He picked up a gold ingot and weighed it in his hand, then picked up a piece of jade and examined it against the light, nodding repeatedly.

Zhu Di then picked up the gourd on the right and waved it in front of everyone. He tilted it to the left, and a cool breeze blew out of the gourd's mouth, feeling refreshing on his face, much better than a fan.

As it tilted to the right, a wonderful aroma of alcohol wafted out.

"These two gourds also have their own attributes; the one on the left emits a cool breeze, and the one on the right can brew spirit wine."

Zhu Gaoxu's eyes nearly popped out of his head. The wine gourd—he wanted that wine gourd too; he loved drinking.

He stared at the gourd, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly, wanting to say something but too embarrassed to speak.

Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaosui had the same expression. The brothers, along with Zhu Zhanji, all five pairs of eyes were fixed on the gourd in Zhu Di's hand, then looked at Zhu Gaoxi, and then at Zhu Di. Their eyes were full of desire, but no one spoke first.

They've taken far too much from Lao Si, but what they can give him in return is far too little.

I finally had a chance to help Lao Si find a gourd today, and I just said "I'll definitely help you find one," but then I turned around and asked Lao Si for a new gourd. No matter how thick-skinned I am, I can't bring myself to ask him for one.

Zhu Gaoxu gritted his teeth, patted his chest again, and this time his voice was more serious than before: "Fourth brother, your second brother hasn't been able to help you much before, but don't worry this time, your second brother will definitely find you a top-notch gourd!"

"If you can forge an even better magic weapon in the future, could you... could you get one like this for your second brother too? It doesn't have to be super fancy, your second brother isn't picky..."

Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaosui followed closely behind: "We are the same."

Zhu Zhanji was the last to speak, staring at the jade gourd brothers at Zhu Gaoxi's waist: "Fourth Uncle, I also want one. A small one will do. I also want to help you find gourds, and send them to you when I find any good ones."

Zhu Gaoxi looked at the expectant faces in front of him and couldn't help but laugh: "What's going on? We're brothers, family, no need for formalities. If you brothers want gourds, just say so. Why do you have to help me find gourds first? Come on, all of you, come and choose for yourselves."

After saying that, he gently patted the jade gourd, and dozens of streams of light flew out of the gourd's mouth, landed on the table, and transformed into rows of gourds of various colors.

The red jade gourd is crystal clear and belongs to the fire element; the blue jade gourd has faint water patterns flowing on its surface and belongs to the water element; the dark green jade gourd carries a refreshing grass and wood fragrance and belongs to the wood element; there are also white, yellow, and purple ones, with various other elements.

Although they couldn't compare to the jade gourd at his waist, each one had its own space, ranging in size from one to three cubic meters, and some even had special attributes.

The group stared wide-eyed at the gourds spread across the table, but were too embarrassed to reach for them.

Zhu Gaoxu scratched his head and chuckled, "Fourth brother, I don't really know much about this either. Can you help me choose one?" The others chimed in, letting their fourth brother pick one for them.

Zhu Gaoxi smiled and picked up a wooden gourd made from ebony wood from the table. It was jet black and shiny, and you could smell a faint aroma of wine when you got close to it.

He handed the gourd to Zhu Gaoxu: "Second brother, this is for you. It's also a wine gourd, just like Father's. It produces its own spiritual wine inside. Drink a small cup every day to strengthen your body. After you finish drinking it, it will slowly regenerate itself. Don't drink too much at once, or it will have a strong aftereffect."

Zhu Gaoxu took it with both hands, uncorked it, and smelled it. The rich aroma of the wine hit him right in the head. His eyes widened, and he was so excited that he almost tilted his head back and took a swig on the spot. But then he remembered that his fourth brother had said it had a strong aftereffect, so he forced himself to stop.

Zhu Gaoxi then picked up a white jade gourd, which was cool to the touch and had a faint frost-like pattern on its surface. He handed it to Zhu Gaochi: "Brother, this is for you. You are afraid of the heat, this gourd can help you stay cool. You can carry it with you and you won't sweat even under the hot sun."

Zhu Gaochi took it, and it felt cool to the touch. He couldn't help but press the gourd against his chubby cheek to test it, and immediately sighed with pleasure: "This is good, this is too good. Fourth brother, you don't know, every summer when I'm reviewing memorials, my sweat can soak up a whole patch of the document."

Zhu Gaoxi finally picked up two dark green jade gourds, both exuding a faint fragrance of grass and wood. He handed one to Zhu Gaosui and the other to Zhu Zhanji: "Third brother, Zhanji, these two are of the wood element. They can produce spiritual liquid inside. The spiritual liquid can strengthen the body and can be used to make tea or water flowers. The flowers will grow better than usual."

Zhu Gaosui took the gourd, examined it in his palm for a moment, a slight smile curving his lips, and carefully put it away close to his body.

Zhu Zhanji held his small gourd in both hands, examining it from all angles. He looked up at Zhu Gaoxi, his eyes shining brightly, and asked, "Fourth Uncle, can this be used to water flowers? Can I take it back and use it to water the pomegranate tree in my yard?"

"Yes, this will help the pomegranate tree grow better," Zhu Gaoxi said with a smile.

Zhu Zhanji hugged the gourd to his chest, jumping for joy: "Then I'll water it every day from now on, so that its pomegranates will be even better than the one in the Eastern Palace!"