Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

The brothers each held their own gourd, examining it over and over, unable to put it down.

Zhu Gaochi was the first to raise his head, carefully put the gourd away, and said solemnly, "Fourth brother, I am truly grateful to you. You have given me both a cloud and a gourd, each one more precious than the last. Holding them in my hands, I feel both happy and ashamed."

Zhu Gaoxu nodded vigorously beside him, patting the wine gourd in his arms and saying, "Yes, yes, fourth brother, you've been so good to us brothers. Second brother doesn't know how to repay you."

Zhu Gaosui nodded in agreement, while Zhu Zhanji was even more direct, saying crisply while holding the gourd, "Fourth Uncle is the best!"

Zhu Gaoxi waved his hand with a smile: "Alright, alright, let's stop talking now and eat first. The other brothers aren't hungry, but I am."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu immediately tucked the gourd into his robes: "Yes, yes, listen to your fourth brother! Your second brother is starving, just waiting for this meal!"

Zhu Gaoxi recited the names of the dishes in front of the table, and the golden light of the gourmet dining table flashed, and one dish after another appeared out of thin air on the table.

Seafood in a broth, hand-shredded Sichuan peppercorn chicken, braised pork intestines, shredded pork with garlic sauce, steamed turbot, crab roe tofu, braised pork in red wine lees...

The table was piled high with food, all looking and smelling delicious; just looking at it made one's mouth water.

Zhu Gaoxu was the first to reach out with his chopsticks, pick up a piece of braised pork intestines and stuff it into his mouth, exuding emotional value: "Fourth brother, the food here is so good that I could eat it my whole life and never get tired of it." You give me emotional value, you dare to eat braised pork intestines.

The meal was very enjoyable.

After finishing his meal, Zhu Di leaned back in his chair for a while, then stood up and said, "Alright, that's enough. I still have memorials to approve, so you all should go back and take care of your business. Although the food here is good, you can't stay here every day."

The brothers also stood up.

I spent most of the day at Lao Si's place today, discussing supplies, dividing gourds, and eating. There's still a lot of official business to attend to.

To be honest, they were very busy every day. Zhu Di had to approve memorials, Zhu Gaochi had to deal with the Ministry of Revenue's messy accounts, Zhu Gaoxu had to keep an eye on the expedition to Annam, and Zhu Gaosui had to supervise the construction of ships.

But when the fourth brother offered to stay for dinner, none of them refused. It wasn't because the food was delicious, but because the fourth brother was important; in fact, it was because of his extraordinary abilities.

There will always be people in this world who say they don't have time for you. But it's not that they don't have time; it's that you're not important enough to them, that you have no value.

Zhu Gaoxi escorted everyone to the courtyard. Zhu Gaoxu was about to summon Baihu Yun.

Zhu Gaoxi stopped him and pointed to the gourds they were carrying: "Brothers, from now on, you don't need to stop the Somersault Cloud in the mansion. Just put it in the gourd. It's convenient to carry it with you."

The group of people were stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening.

Yes, this gourd has its own internal space; it can even hold gold, so what's a cloud to it?

Zhu Gaoxu slapped his forehead, grinning with satisfaction: "This is great! We won't have to go to Tingyun House first when we go out anymore!"

Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaosui nodded in agreement.

Zhu Di took the lead, riding the clouds into the sky, followed closely by Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanji, with Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui also following. Standing atop the clouds, they turned back to wave goodbye to Zhu Gaoxi.

Zhu Gaoxu shouted at the top of his lungs, "Fourth brother! Don't worry about the gourd, second brother will get everyone to find it for you as soon as we get back!"

The others chimed in, telling him to rest assured and that they would definitely get him the best gourds.

Zhu Gaoxi stood in the courtyard, watching several somersault clouds drift further and further away in the night sky until they disappeared into the horizon in the direction of the palace, before turning back to the main hall.

As soon as Zhu Di returned to the Qianqing Palace, before he could even sit down and catch his breath, he summoned Huang Yan to his side and said, "Go, take some men and find out all the gourds in the palace's treasury. Whether they are ornaments or medicine gourds, send them all to Prince Rui."

Huang Yan was taken aback and wanted to ask something, but Zhu Di glared at him and stopped him. He quickly bowed and agreed, then turned and ran out.

Meanwhile, Zhu Gaoxu had just entered the Prince of Han's residence and, without even seeing Lady Wei, immediately summoned the steward.

His voice was so loud that the entire palace could hear him: "You, go now, take everyone and bring me all the gourds in Beiping Prefecture! Big or small, old or new, as long as they're gourds, bring them all back!"

The King of Han, also known as the Golden Bean King, had plenty of money. He planned to buy it all back and then select the best pieces to send to his fourth brother.

The butler's ears were ringing from the shouting, and he scrambled out to relay the order.

The Crown Prince's residence and the Prince of Zhao's residence were similar. The first thing Zhu Gaochi did after returning to his residence was not to look at the commemorative documents, but to send people to various prefectures and counties to spread the word and keep an eye on the gourd.

Zhu Gaosui also instructed his servants to search for them, and he also tended to the gourd vines in the mansion that had been planted for many years, watering them with spiritual liquid, to see if they could produce a few more of good quality fruit.

As for the civil and military officials who had received the news beforehand, they dared not be negligent.

Upon returning home, Zhang Fu ordered his men to pack up the old gourd that had been kept in his study for decades. Yang Rong wrote a letter overnight and sent it by fast horse to Quanzhou. Xue Lu's son-in-law was personally escorted by his father-in-law back to Baoding to ask his uncle for the gourd.

Initially, only Zhu Di, the Crown Prince, the Prince of Han and the Prince of Zhao, and the ministers present knew about this.

After they went out, they quietly put away the gourds, and no one made a sound.

These people all had the same idea in mind: if their colleagues found out, wouldn't the gourd be snatched away? And wouldn't they miss out on the credit?

But these people searched the entire city and made large-scale purchases, making their operation bigger and bigger, and they could no longer hide it.

Within a few days, the whole capital knew that His Highness Prince Rui wanted a gourd, thus setting off a huge gourd craze.

Officials were looking for it, wealthy businessmen were looking to curry favor, and even ordinary people were rummaging through their belongings to see if they had any old gourds.

Overnight, the price of gourds in Yingtian Prefecture skyrocketed. The vendors selling gourds on the streets and alleys were stunned. The old gourds that usually cost a few coins were suddenly in high demand, and the price increased several times over.

An old man selling gourds was surrounded by a group of wealthy servants who were trying to buy them. He was so frightened that he was trembling. A man who looked like a manager waved his hand and said, "Name your price. We'll take all the gourds here."

The old man was both surprised and delighted, and quickly stuffed the entire gourd into the gourd.

Not only in Yingtian Prefecture, but also in nearby villages and several surrounding counties, all the gourds were harvested within a few days. Not to mention old gourds, even newly picked tender gourds could not be found on the market.