Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

The army camped at Caishiyi for one night, and had to get up at dawn the next day. The cooks of each battalion were the first to get up in the dark, start fires and cook, and wisps of smoke rose in the thin mist before dawn.

Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Di got up at 3:45 AM. According to custom, Zhu Gaoxu first knelt and bowed to Zhu Di. Then the father and son sat downstairs at the dining table and waited. After a while, there was no movement from upstairs.

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at the stairwell several times before finally getting restless. He stood up and was about to go upstairs when he said, "Why isn't Fourth Brother up yet? I'll go wake him."

Zhu Di grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back, angrily scolding, "Fourth Prince is still a child; he needs to rest. He'll naturally come down when he's rested. How can you, as his older brother, not care about your younger brother at all?"

Zhu Gaoxu was completely stunned when he heard this.

Thinking about it, isn't the fourth brother supposed to have an immortal body? He doesn't need to rest. Besides, what family's mother is 1.8 meters tall?

And wasn't I the one who cared most about my fourth brother? How come it's you now? In your presence, I feel like a complete idiot, not caring about my fourth brother at all. No, I need to be smarter; I can't let the old man single-handedly win over all my favor...

Zhu Di: Your father is still your father.

Zhu Di usually waited until all the soldiers had eaten breakfast before he would start his own meal, and this was no exception when he personally led an expedition.

Furthermore, according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, the slaughter of oxen for plowing was prohibited, so even in the imperial meals, beef was never seen. Therefore, it can be said that Zhu Di was the one who truly did not eat beef.

When Zhu Gaoxi came down from the second floor, Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu were already sitting at the dining table downstairs.

The table was set with nothing more than ordinary congee and side dishes: a bowl of thick millet porridge, a few dishes of pickled vegetables, a dish of steamed meat patties, and two freshly steamed buns.

He walked to the table, stood still, bowed deeply to Zhu Di, clasped his hands together, raised them to his forehead, and bowed deeply to the bottom.

This greeting can be given to Zhu Gaoxi anywhere, not just in the military camp. There is no need to kneel or kowtow; a simple bow is sufficient.

Zhu Gaoxu watched from the side, his eyes filled with envy.

Actually, the custom of bowing was changed after the Sword Control Technique was introduced.

The next day, Zhu Di announced in court: "The fourth prince is a disciple personally taught by the Daoist Ancestor. From now on, when he sees me in court, he does not need to kneel down, but only bow deeply."

The reason given was "to avoid offending the Dao Ancestor," and everyone in the court echoed this sentiment.

Even the few censors in the Censorate who were known for their stubbornness didn't dare to say a word against it. After all, they were just stubborn, not really stupid. Even the emperor was afraid of the Dao Ancestor, so do you think we weren't?

So one by one they stood up, cupped their hands in praise, and said that His Majesty was wise, that Prince Rui was a blessing to the Ming Dynasty, and that His Majesty's actions were reasonable and in accordance with the laws of Heaven and ancestors.

The ministers who had been impeached by the censors looked at them with meaningful eyes, as if to say: Weren't you quite tough when you impeached us? Why are you silent now? Are you just naturally quiet?

The censors, feeling the gazes around them, remained outwardly calm, but inwardly they were bitter, thinking, "Prince Rui is too powerful this season; the censors can't play him. If Prince Rui isn't nerfed soon, we'll be out of a job!"

Zhu Gaoxu, watching from the side, suddenly became interested and spoke a string of words to Zhu Di in a righteous and stern manner.

He basically meant that he felt the custom of princes having to kneel before the emperor was outdated. Since the fourth prince could perform the bow, could the rest of us brothers also benefit and not have to kneel anymore?

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaosui turned their heads at the same time, looking at the second son with extremely complicated expressions.

Their eyes held both anticipation and a smug sense of schadenfreude, as if they were waiting for the show to begin. On one hand, they were thinking that if the second son really succeeded in getting things done, they wouldn't have to kneel anymore.

On the other hand, I thought, "The fourth prince is a direct disciple of the Dao Ancestor, and you're just an ordinary emperor's son. You expect to receive the same treatment? You're just asking for trouble."

Sure enough, before Zhu Di could even speak, the censors below erupted in uproar.

Thinking that if you couldn't mess with Rui Wang, you could at least mess with him?

An old imperial censor stepped forward first, his face full of righteous indignation: "Your Highness, the etiquette between ruler and subject was decreed by Emperor Taizu Gaozu, how can it be changed lightly! Your Highness's reckless words suggest disloyalty!"

Another young censor followed closely behind, his words even more incisive: "Your Majesty, etiquette is the foundation of the nation. Princes must kneel before the Emperor; this is an ancestral rule established by the Hongwu Emperor. How can the laws of the realm be abolished for the sake of one person's personal interests? I believe that His Highness the Prince of Han's words are insidious and should not be overlooked!"

Other censors stepped forward to echo their sentiments, and for a time the entire side hall was filled with shouts of "We second the motion" and "We earnestly request Your Majesty to reject His Highness the Prince of Han's absurd remarks."

After the censors finished speaking, Zhu Di slowly said, "Prince Han, this is the rule established by Emperor Taizu Gaozu. Whether a prince or a duke, all must perform four bows before the emperor. You want to change it so easily? Are you plotting a rebellion?"

"Your subject dares not." Zhu Gaoxu looked around, the censors were still glaring at him, and Zhu Di's gaze was still on him. He finally realized what it meant to be the first to stick one's neck out, and quickly said.

Let's return to the dining table at Caishiyi.

After Zhu Gaoxi finished bowing, Zhu Di nodded and pointed to the chair opposite him: "Sit down."

As soon as Zhu Gaoxi sat down, Zhu Gaoxu immediately shoved chopsticks into his hand, his face beaming with a warm smile: "Fourth brother, your second brother has been starving for ages, just waiting for you. I'd be too embarrassed to even touch the food if you hadn't come. This porridge's been cold twice already, and if you hadn't come down soon, I'd be starving to death."

Zhu Gaoxi took the chopsticks and said with a smile, "Second Brother, you're too kind."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu immediately adopted the demeanor of an elder brother: "Between brothers, there's no need for formalities. As the second elder brother, I should give way to my younger brother. Not only will I wait for you to eat, but I'll wait for you until dark without saying a word. After all, you're still a child and need to rest more. In the morning, you can get up whenever you want; I have plenty of patience."

After he finished speaking, he picked up the bowl of porridge and took another sip, secretly pleased with himself. He had been sitting there thinking about this for a long time, just waiting for the fourth brother to come down and say it. Hearing the fourth brother's response, he felt that what he had just said was really good.

When Zhu Di heard his second son say this, his heart skipped a beat. He shook his head helplessly, thinking, "Oh, my second son has become smarter. He's even learned to plagiarize and copy. Not easy."

"Perfect timing, I have something new to give you today." After finishing his breakfast, Zhu Gaoxi took out a palm-sized jade pendant from his sleeve and placed it on the table.

The jade pendant was warm and smooth, gleaming faintly in the morning light. It was engraved with fine golden array patterns, which was the immortal version of the Little Smart Phone that he had refined last night using the sound transmission technique.

"This is called a communication jade tablet, a communication device used by immortals in the celestial realm. After being bound to a master by blood, they can communicate with each other no matter how far apart they are, much faster than messengers." He pushed the jade tablet in front of Zhu Di and Zhu Gaochi.