Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

After the army set off, the palace became even more lively than usual.

No sooner had Zhu Di, Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaoxi left than Crown Princess Zhang Yan sent messengers to the residences of the Prince of Han and the Prince of Zhao to deliver messages: "We're playing mahjong in the palace, and we're one short. Come quickly!"

Zhang Yan was packing some snacks to take to the palace when Zhu Zhanji came running over from the study.

He heard that Zhang Yan was going to the palace, and that his younger siblings from his second and third uncles' families were going to go with her. He was already itching to go, so he stood at the door and peeked inside, asking in a roundabout way, "Mom, are you going to the palace? Can you take me with you?"

Zhang Yan didn't even look up, replying as she packed her things, "Have you finished your homework? How many words did you write on the essay the Grand Tutor assigned today?"

Zhu Zhanji choked for a moment, then took another half step forward, unwilling to give up: "Can't I write it when I get back? When I went to my fourth uncle's place before, didn't I always catch up on my homework when I got back? My fourth uncle said that children should go out and broaden their horizons."

"You little brat, don't try to intimidate me with your fourth uncle's words. When your fourth uncle was in the capital, when did I ever stop you from going to Prince Rui's mansion?" Zhang Yan raised her head, looking at Zhu Zhanji trying to cheat again, feeling both angry and amused.

"But now that your fourth uncle has gone to war, you need to study hard. You've fallen behind in your studies recently, so catch up on your strategy essays in the next few days, or you can forget about playing..."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhanji's face turned ashen, as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water.

Everyone else can go, but he can't. While his younger siblings play with cats and dogs in the palace, he has to sit alone in his study, staring blankly at his policy essays. If he doesn't write them properly, he'll definitely get a beating again.

At that moment, he thought to himself: His mother hits so hard, why doesn't she go to war? If his mother went to war, at least no one would be watching him write his policy essays. No, there's still his father. Oh, destruction, world!

Meanwhile, the children of the Han Prince's Mansion and the Zhao Prince's Mansion were in a completely different situation.

When Zhu Gaoxu was alive, he basically monopolized the cloud storage space for his sons all day long, making it difficult for his two sons to even use it.

Now that Zhu Gaoxu had gone on an expedition with Zhu Di and Prince Rui, Zhu Zhanhe and Zhu Zhanqi felt as if the sky had brightened a bit, and today their somersault clouds were finally free! The two children summoned their somersault clouds early in the morning and flew around the courtyard.

The three princesses, each with their children, flew towards Kunning Palace on somersault clouds.

Several white clouds rose from their respective palaces and landed in the courtyard of Kunning Palace in no time.

Empress Xu had already been informed and had a mahjong table set up in the side hall, with a full table of various desserts and milk teas. The milk teas and desserts were from the gourd that Prince Rui had left for her when he left last time.

Several children were playing at the other end of the side hall, watched over by palace maids and eunuchs. Princess Zhending shoved her plush cat into the arms of a palace maid and ran towards Empress Xu, calling out "Grandmother, Grandmother".

Empress Xu picked her up and kissed her on the cheek before smiling and telling her to go play with her older brothers and sisters.

The card table was set up, the four people sat down, and the sound of shuffling the cards echoed in the side hall.

Empress Xu was the dealer, while Zhang Yan, Lady Wei, and Lady Weng each occupied one side. As soon as the cards were dealt, Lady Wei spoke first.

She picked up a card, glanced at it, and then played it away, her tone tinged with a touch of melancholy: "You know, when the second brother was around, he was always hanging around me, and I found him quite annoying. Now that he's suddenly gone, it's quiet, but I feel like something's missing..."

Zhang Yan was arranging her cards when she heard this. She looked up and deliberately dragged out her words, "Oh—oh, your sister-in-law and second brother have such a good relationship. Second brother only left a short while ago, and you're already missing him?"

Madam Weng smiled and said, "Second sister-in-law and second brother really have a good relationship. I could tell when we were playing mahjong at Prince Rui's mansion last time. Second sister-in-law said she found second brother annoying, but her eyes kept glancing in his direction."

Teased by the two men, one after the other, Wei's face flushed a rare blush. She slammed the cards she had just drawn onto the table and feigned annoyance, saying, "Don't talk nonsense! I was just making a casual remark, who was thinking about him!"

Empress Xu felt happy watching her three daughters-in-law bickering back and forth; this was what made a family feel like.

She slowly arranged the cards in her hand, and waited until everyone quieted down before calmly speaking: "That's how life is. When people are around, you find them annoying, but when they're not around, you miss them... Now they're fighting wars outside, and we're staying in the inner quarters. If we don't cause any trouble and just live our lives peacefully, that's the biggest help we can give them."

Upon hearing this, Lady Wei pushed the mahjong tiles in her hand onto the table and laughed, "Your Majesty is right. But what trouble could we possibly cause? We can just play mahjong peacefully in the palace. Where would we find the time to cause trouble? It's good that the Prince of Han is gone. I can come in and play mahjong with you every day, instead of having to listen to his shouting and yelling in the mansion."

Zhang Yan chimed in from the side, her tone tinged with a hint of amusement: "Sister-in-law is right. They're fighting a war outside, the men have their big battlefield, and we women are playing cards inside, we have our little battlefield. Everyone has their own battlefield. Come on, let's keep playing, I'm going to win this round."

After Zhang Yan finished speaking, she slammed down a card with a swift motion, as quick as a military formation.

On the other side, Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaosui were burying the first batch of memorials submitted by various departments.

Before leaving, Zhu Di entrusted the affairs of state to him, with Zhu Gaosui assisting him. The two of them hadn't rested since the morning court session ended. The autumn grain reports submitted by the Ministry of Revenue were piled up half a foot high, and the Ministry of Works was urging for funds to repair water conservancy projects.

After finishing one book, Zhu Gaochi opened the next, occasionally looking up to catch his breath. He then turned thoughtfully to Zhu Gaosui, who was sitting behind the desk beside him, and said, "Third brother, you know, with the second brother gone, I've had a lot more peace and quiet. But I don't know why, I always feel like something's missing."

Zhu Gaosui didn't even look up, continuing to write a line of small characters on the memorial with his vermilion brush. Hearing Zhu Gaochi's words, he raised his head and said in a light tone, "Elder brother, I thought I was the only one who thought this way. I didn't expect you to feel the same way. I thought you would be happy for Second Brother to leave..."

"Indeed, it's a bit different without my second brother's voice. When he was here, he could make my head hurt from talking. Now that he's gone, I'm not used to it."

Zhu Gaochi smiled and shook his head: "How could that be? We're brothers, blood is thicker than water. It's just that's how he is, loud voice, explosive temper... I used to think he was noisy, but now that he's really not noisy, I'm not used to it."

He picked up his vermilion pen again, lowered his head and continued to annotate the folds, a slight smile still lingering on his slightly chubby face.

Actually, when you think about it, it's the presence of both flaws and strengths that makes a person a real person. Someone like the second brother wears his heart on his sleeve; he never plays mind games with you. Being with him might be a bit chaotic, but you feel secure. If someone only shows you their good points, is always considerate and attentive, you should be more cautious.

Actually, the eldest brother's summary of the second brother could be summed up in four words: "Stupid and clumsy like Zhu." Hehehe, second brother, I didn't expect to rate you so highly, did I?

Hanwang: I'm a clown, I'm just a fool who was moved to tears.

Zhu Gaochi: Otherwise, I'd say you're a brute.