Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

The King of Han and the King of Zhao had finished their discussions yesterday, so they did not attend court today.

They were not required to attend court every day, except for Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi, who could not avoid it.

After finishing their business in their own residence and settling the children in, the two decided that it was about time, so they each rode their somersault clouds and flew with their entire families to Prince Rui's residence.

Since acquiring this somersault cloud, Zhu Gaoxu's entourage has been greatly enhanced. Even when he goes to visit the Prince Rui's mansion next door, he has to ride the cloud.

After all, the King of Han should travel in a grand and imposing manner.

After the court session, Zhu Gaochi returned to the Eastern Palace to pick up Zhang Yan and the children. The family rode on the Vermilion Bird Cloud, steadily flying towards the Fourth Prince's residence.

Inside the Prince Rui's residence, Zhu Gaoxi and Xu Jingchang were playing chess in the pavilion. A chessboard was laid out on the stone table, with boxes of military chess and animal chess stacked next to it.

The game of Go in front of the two players had reached the middle stage, with black and white pieces alternating and the two sides locked in a fierce and evenly matched battle.

The stone table was covered with snacks: stinky tofu fried to a golden brown and crispy, fried skewers steaming hot, chicken strips crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, grilled cold noodles cut into small pieces and arranged on a plate, with two glasses of iced drinks on the side.

The two played chess and chatted back and forth, creating a very relaxed atmosphere.

Xu Jingchang placed a piece and laughed, "Cousin, this Go game looks simple, but it's actually more mentally taxing than the Go my father taught me back in the day."

"Fourth Uncle... Fourth Uncle"

Just as Zhu Gaoxi was about to reply, he suddenly heard a familiar sound coming from above.

Without even looking up, a smile already played on his lips: "You're here."

The white tiger cloud over the Prince of Han's mansion appeared first in the sky. Zhu Gaoxu stood on the tiger's head and, without announcing anything, descended directly into the courtyard.

He had barely landed for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea when Xuanwu Yun from the Prince of Zhao's mansion arrived, and Zhu Gaosui and his family landed steadily.

A moment later, Zhu Queyun from the Crown Prince's residence finally arrived late.

The brothers were blood relatives of Zhu Gaoxi, so no one would say anything if they rode the clouds straight into the Prince Rui's residence. As for the others, they would definitely disembark at the gate.

Several children jumped down from the clouds and ran towards the pavilion as if they knew the way well.

Zhu Zhanji ran ahead, his voice preceding him: "Fourth Uncle! We're here!"

Following closely behind were Zhu Zhanhe and Zhu Zhanqi, then Zhu Zhanyi, Zhu Zhanyong, and Zhu Zhanyin, and finally Princess Jiaxing and Princess Zhending. The two little girls held hands and walked slowly, calling out "Fourth Uncle, Fourth Uncle" as they walked.

Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Gaochi, and Zhu Gaosui walked behind, each accompanied by their own princess.

Wei, Zhang Yan, and Weng also arrived, and the group walked in a grand procession toward the pavilion.

Zhu Gaoxu plopped down on the stone bench, looked at the food on the table, took a bite of chicken strip, and said, "Fourth brother, you're living too comfortably here. It's good that second brother didn't go to court today."

Zhu Gaoxi greeted his brothers and sisters-in-law with a smile, and nodded to Xu Jingchang. Before he could say anything more, he was surrounded by the children.

Zhu Zhanji, leading the way, looked up, his tone accusing: "Fourth Uncle! Yesterday you gave gourds to Father, Second Uncle, and Third Uncle, why didn't you give them to us?"

Zhu Zhanhe nodded vigorously beside him: "That's right! Why aren't we included!"

Princess Zhending stood at the front, clutching the hem of her clothes with her little hands, looking up at Zhu Gaoxi, trying her best to make a fierce expression, but her big, round eyes could only show cuteness.

She called out in her childish voice, "Why? We're not going to be friends with you anymore!"

After saying that, she stomped her foot hard, but unfortunately she was small and the stomping made no sound.

The adults present all burst out laughing.

Zhu Gaoxi took the jade gourd off his waist, weighed it in his hand, and looked down at his nephews and nieces: "How could your fourth uncle forget you? It's just a few gourds."

He unscrewed the gourd stopper, scanned it with his spiritual power, and picked out a few gourds that had been prepared beforehand.

"One for each of you." He handed the gourds to the children one by one. These gourds were specially prepared for the children. They could produce spiritual liquid to help them grow up healthily, and each gourd had its own space inside, just big enough to hold their own somersault clouds.

He took out a few more and handed them to his sisters-in-law; they were the kind of gourds that could gather spiritual energy and slow down aging.

The princesses took the gourd, exchanged glances, and smiled. Lady Wei was the first to thank her fourth brother, followed by Zhang Yan and Lady Weng.

Zhu Gaoxi made them extend their hands, and then drew out a very thin stream of blood from each of them and flicked it into the gourd.

Princess Zhending held her own little gourd, looked down at the gourd, then looked up at Zhu Gaoxi. Her previously fierce little face was now beaming with joy.

Zhu Zhanji reacted the fastest, first aiming the gourd at the somersault cloud that was resting in the courtyard. With a thought, the little white cloud transformed into a ray of white light and entered the mouth of the gourd.

He shook the gourd and heard a slight whooshing sound coming from inside. He looked up in surprise and exclaimed, "Fourth Uncle! This gourd really can hold clouds!"

Several children followed suit, storing their own somersault clouds into their gourds. Zhu Zhanhe, with the loudest voice, ran around the yard with his gourd after storing his cloud, shouting, "I have a magic weapon! I have a magic weapon too!"

"Fourth Uncle is so kind... I will still be friends with you in the future." Princess Zhending held her little gourd in both hands, carefully hung it on her waist, patted it like King Zhao, and smiled with satisfaction.

Zhu Gaoxi watched a group of children running around the yard with gourds in their hands, smiled, turned around and walked to a corner of the yard, raising his hand and waving.

With divine craftsmanship unfolding in the palm of his hand, a small and exquisite pet fence appeared out of thin air on the lawn, much like the fences found in modern pet shops.

The fence is made of wood, enclosed on all four sides, with an open top so that sunlight can shine through. It's the little house he's preparing to put his pet in later.

Several children immediately gathered around. Zhu Zhanji peered inside the house for a long time, then turned and asked, "Fourth Uncle, why did you build this? There's nothing inside."

Zhu Zhanhe tiptoed inside, almost sticking his whole head in. Princess Zhending tugged at Zhu Gaoxi's sleeve, looking up at him and asking, "Fourth Uncle, is there something going to be put in here?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Zhu Gaoxi said without further explanation. He took out a gourd from the gourd and gently shook it next to the pet house.

With a shake of the gourd's mouth, a group of furry little creatures appeared on the grass.

A golden shaded cat squatted on the ground with its head tilted to the side, a silver shaded cat lay on the steps licking its paws, a Ragdoll cat looked up at people with its blue, watery eyes, and a chubby Shiba Inu chased its own tail in circles.

The children were stunned.

Zhu Zhanhe stared, mouth agape: "Fourth Uncle... what kind of animal is this? I've never seen one before!"

As they spoke, several children opened the small gate of the fence and went inside, their eyes fixed on the pets.

Zhu Zhanqi had already squatted down and carefully reached out to touch the head of a golden tabby cat. The kitten squinted its eyes and rubbed against his fingers.

Princess Zhending squatted in front of a ragdoll cat, reaching out her chubby little hand to touch it but not daring to. She looked back at Zhu Gaoxi and saw him nodding with a smile before she mustered up the courage to gently touch the cat's ears.

The ragdoll cat meowed softly, and Princess Zhending immediately withdrew her little hand, giggling, "Fourth Uncle! It meowed! It's so cute! Can I have this one?"

Several princesses nearby also came over to watch. Lady Wei squatted down and patted the head of a corgi. The corgi immediately rolled over, its four short legs kicking in the air.

Madam Wei couldn't help but smile and look up to ask, "Fourth brother, what kind of animal is this? How come it looks so adorable? It's so fluffy, even prettier than a Persian cat."

Zhang Yan also bent down and carefully examined a Shiba Inu, exclaiming, "Fourth Brother's place really has all sorts of strange things. I've never even heard of these things before, let alone seen them before."

Zhu Gaochi stood to the side, resting his hands on his knees, looked down, shook his head, and laughed, "Is that even a question? It must have been conjured up by Fourth Brother using his supernatural powers. When have you ever seen a cat or dog like this before?"

The group formed a circle around the fence, chattering excitedly about the pets.

"Choose whichever you like," Zhu Gaoxi said, waving his hand as he watched the group of people surrounding the cats and dogs. "We have them all today, so everyone can pick one."

The children immediately rushed into the enclosure. Zhu Zhanhe held onto a silver shaded cat tightly, Zhu Zhanqi took a fancy to a corgi, and Princess Zhending held a ragdoll cat in her arms. The cat was bigger than her and wobbled as it walked, but she refused to let go.

The sisters-in-law each picked their own favorites: Mrs. Wei picked a round, golden Shaded dog, Zhang Yan chose a Corgi that rolled over to face her, and Mrs. Weng quietly picked a silver Shaded dog.

Zhu Gaochi also bent over and looked at the group of cats and dogs for a long time before finally reaching out and picking up a short-legged corgi.

The corgi kicked its short legs a couple of times in his arms, then settled down. Zhu Gaochi smiled and weighed it in his arms: "This little thing has short legs and a chubby body, just like Zhanji when he was little."

"I think it's just like you when you were a kid, boss," Zhu Gaoxu teased his boss as he picked out a pet.

"You little brat, what did I ever do to you?" Zhu Gaochi glared at Zhu Gaoxu while holding the little corgi.

"These two brothers always bicker the moment they meet," said Crown Princess Zhang Yan and Princess Wei of Han, standing to the side, holding their pets.

Zhu Gaoxu was the most careful in his selection. He squatted inside the fence, looking left and right, and finally picked up a gray and white puppy with bright blue eyes. The puppy wasn't afraid when he picked it up; instead, it tilted its head and stared at him with its icy blue eyes.

Zhu Gaoxu laughed: "This is great! It looks like a wolf, and its eyes are interesting; it looks very spirited!"

Zhu Gaoxi glanced at the dog his second brother had chosen and his lips twitched; it was a husky.

He didn't say much, but silently worried about the future furniture and walls of the Prince of Han's mansion.

Zhu Gaosui quietly picked out a fluffy white puppy that looked honest and docile.

Xu Jingchang was the last to choose. He looked around at the remaining dogs and picked one that looked similar to Zhu Gaosui's dog.

Zhu Gaoxu looked at the gray and white puppy in his arms, then at Zhu Gaosui and Xu Jingchang's, and nodded smugly: "Third brother has a good eye, he picked about the same kind as me. All of our dogs look like they're the same breed."

Xu Jingchang looked down at the dog in his arms and Zhao Wang's dog, and said with a smile, "You know what, the three of us have similar taste. These puppies will definitely be quite fierce when they grow up."

Zhu Gaoxi stood to the side, watching the three adult men holding a Samoyed, a Husky, and an Alaskan Malamute. His lips moved, but in the end, he couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Zhu Gaoxu turned to look at him warily: "Fourth brother, what are you laughing at?"

Zhu Gaoxi waved his hand without changing his expression: "It's nothing, Second Brother has good taste."