Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

The first to see Zhu Di's family flying in the sky were the eunuchs and palace maids in the imperial city.

Under the eaves of Kunning Palace, several young eunuchs were squatting in a corner eating fruit. One of them, with sharp eyes, looked up and saw a streak of dark light flash across the sky. The figure, with half a piece of jujube cake still dangling from its mouth, pointed at the sky, whimpering incoherently. Those nearby followed its gaze, and the fruit in their hands fell to the ground with a thud.

"That's... His Highness Prince Rui?" a young eunuch asked, his voice trembling.

No one answered him. Because everyone could see from afar a group of people standing atop a massive, black sword. Even from a distance, they could tell that the one on the sword was the emperor.

An old eunuch, still clutching a broom, knelt on the ground, muttering, "This old servant has served in the palace for forty years, and this is the first time I've ever seen the Emperor fly by from the sky..."

Inside Yikun Palace, Consort Quan was leaning against the window doing needlework. Suddenly, a palace maid exclaimed in surprise. She looked up, not even noticing that the needle had pricked her finger.

The giant sword swept across the sky above Yikun Palace. In the distance, she could see a group of people standing on it. The one in the dragon robe was undoubtedly Zhu Di, standing on the sword with his robes fluttering in the wind, his hands behind his back. The emperor, at this moment, was standing on a sword, flying over her head.

Consort Quan dropped the handkerchief in her hand, her lips trembling for a long time before she managed to squeeze out, "Your Majesty... His Majesty he..."

Consort Wang ran out of the inner room, looked up and saw the giant sword in the sky. Her legs went weak, and she had to grab the door frame to keep from falling. She remembered that she had been muttering to herself that morning, "What kind of sword flight is this? It must be sorcery." Now, the sorcery had flown right over her head. She opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Inside Jingren Palace, Consort Gong, Lady Li, was coaxing her young prince to take a nap. Hearing the palace maids scream outside, she pushed open the door and saw the giant sword sweep overhead. She froze, the prince in her arms waking up and wailing, before she could even react. The palace maids knelt on the ground, their kowtows echoing loudly.

On the walls of the imperial city, soldiers were changing shifts. An old soldier was handing his spear to his comrade, but as he reached out, he looked up and saw a giant sword in the sky. He exclaimed in shock, "How come the Emperor is in the sky?!"

Outside the imperial city, the streets and alleys of Yingtian Prefecture were in an uproar.

On Chang'an Avenue, several pedestrians were walking when suddenly it got dark overhead. A vendor selling candied hawthorns looked up, and his candied hawthorn stand crashed to the ground, scattering hawthorns everywhere. He craned his neck, his mouth agape wide enough to fit an egg.

On the banks of the Qinhuai River, a boatman on a pleasure boat was punting when he heard a strange noise overhead. Looking up, he saw his bamboo pole had fallen into the water. A passenger on the boat leaned out, glanced at the scene, and was so frightened that he slumped to the bow, dropping his wine cup into the river, splashing water everywhere.

In the market south of the city, vegetable vendors were hawking their wares. An old man selling tofu looked up and saw the giant sword in the sky. He abandoned his tofu stall, knelt down with a thud, and cried out, "The gods have appeared! The gods have appeared!" The woman buying vegetables was stunned for a moment, then knelt down as well. In an instant, the market was filled with kneeling people, and even the quarreling stopped.

In the blacksmith's shop in the north of the city, the blacksmith was hammering away. Hearing the commotion outside, he ran out with his hammer in hand. Looking up, he saw a giant sword in the sky. The hammer fell to the ground and hit his foot. He winced in pain, but didn't bother to rub it. He just stared in disbelief.

His wife ran out of the house, glanced at it, her legs went weak, and she sat down on the ground, muttering, "Sword...in the sky...a great sword...our Ming Dynasty has produced a true immortal."

Inside the tea stall, several merchants were taking a break. One merchant was drinking tea when he looked up and saw the giant sword in the sky. The bowl fell to the ground and shattered, spilling tea all over him, but he didn't bother to wipe it off. The tea stall owner ran out from behind the counter, craned his neck to look, and then his legs gave way, and he sat down on the ground.

Everyone in the village came running out, craning their necks to look up at the sky. Children chased after the dark light along the field ridges, shouting, "God! God! Wait for me!"

The Dragon-Slaying Sword flew from south to north, from east to west. Wherever it passed, people knelt down. Some kowtowed, some burned incense, some held their children and prayed to the heavens, and some knelt on the ground and wept.

As the Dragon-Slaying Sword carried the family slowly across the sky above Yingtian Prefecture, the ministers returning home after court were craning their necks.

Zhang Fu stood in the courtyard, gazing up at the dark light in the sky. His eldest son, Zhang Mao, followed him out, his mouth agape: "Father, you said His Highness Prince Rui could fly... I thought..."

"Do you believe it now?" Zhang Fu didn't look at him; his gaze remained fixed on the sky.

Zhang Mao nodded vigorously, but his mouth remained open.

Zhu Yong was squatting in the yard, talking to his youngest daughter. His daughter, with pigtails, skipped over and called out, "Daddy!" Zhu Yong reached out and gently pinched her nose, smiling as he said, "Sweetie, in a few days Daddy will take you to meet someone. A very impressive person."

The daughter tilted her head: "Who is it?"

Suddenly, darkness fell overhead. The daughter pointed to the sky and cried out in her childish voice, "Daddy! What's that?"

Zhu Yong suddenly looked up. A massive, jet-black sword was slowly flying overhead. Although it was quite high, it was clear that the figures standing on the sword were Zhu Di, Empress Xu, and Prince Rui, Zhu Gaoxi. His mouth gaped open, and even when his neck ached from looking up, he refused to lower it. His daughter was still shouting beside him, "What a huge ship!"

Zhu Neng snapped out of his reverie, glanced down at his daughter, and suddenly smiled. He patted her head and whispered, "Sweetie, did you see that little boy in the moon-white shirt?"

The daughter nodded vigorously.

"If you get along well with him in the future—" Zhu Neng swallowed hard, "our whole family will rise to prominence."

After Zheng Heng returned home and told his wife about the events at court that day, he sat in his study in a daze. His wife brought in a bowl of white fungus soup.

He suddenly asked, "Madam, how old is our daughter this year?"

"Five years old."

Zheng Heng nodded thoughtfully and murmured, "The Duke of England's little granddaughter is also five years old, and he's already making plans for her."

Suddenly, a maid's scream rang out from outside. Zheng Heng jumped up and pushed open the window—a giant sword swept across the sky, its blade whistling. He stood there, stunned, his mouth agape.

His wife followed him out and took a look, then her legs went weak and she grabbed the doorframe for support. Although she knew what her husband said was true, hearing about it was nowhere near as shocking as seeing it for herself.

Zheng Heng suddenly slapped his thigh: "Madam, look! That's Prince Rui!"

The lady stared at him blankly. Then she suddenly slapped her thigh: "Our daughter is five years old, she's not young anymore. If she can grow up with Prince Rui from a young age, she can be considered a childhood sweetheart. If Prince Rui takes a liking to her in the future..." She thought to herself that if she could become Prince Rui's wife in the future, maybe she could stay young forever.

"Yes, I have a few nieces on my mother's side who are also of marriageable age. I'll go home and ask them tomorrow." With that, he hurriedly turned and went back into the house. Zheng Heng was still craning his neck, watching the giant sword in the sky fly further and further away.

As soon as Zhao Hong entered the house, his wife greeted him: "My lord, everyone outside is saying that His Highness Prince Rui can fly. Is it true?"

Zhao Hong sighed: "It's true. I saw it with my own eyes."

The lady then asked, "Didn't you say you were going to send our daughter to the palace to keep Prince Rui company?"

"No rush," Zhao Hong waved his hand. "Let's wait a few more days, until things calm down. Sending them in now would make us seem too opportunistic."

Before he could finish speaking, a maid's exclamation came from outside. Zhao Hong suddenly stood up, pushed open the window, and saw a huge, dark sword shadow flying overhead. His mouth gaped open, unable to close it for a long time.

The lady followed and glanced over, her face turning deathly pale. Zhao Hong whirled around and shouted at her, "Go and fetch our daughter! Now! Immediately!"

The lady was taken aback: "Sir, you just said to wait a few more days."

"What are you waiting for!" Zhao Hong stamped his foot impatiently. "Look at the sky! The Duke of Yingguo and the Duke of Chengguo have already seen it! If we wait a few more days, it'll be too late!"

Fang Bin locked himself in his study. His wife knocked three times, but he didn't answer. Growing impatient, she called out through the door, "Master, it's all over the place saying His Highness Prince Rui can fly! Is it true?"

The door opened. Fang Bin poked half his body out, looked around, and lowered his voice: "Come in and close the door."

The lady slipped inside. Fang Bin closed the door and said in a low voice, "I saw it with my own eyes in the court. His Highness Prince Rui descended from the sky on a flying sword, and all the civil and military officials knelt on the ground."

The lady's mouth was wide open.

"Furthermore, I had a heated argument with that old fox Zhao Hong in court. He wanted to give his daughter to Prince Rui, which I couldn't stand."

The lady's eyes widened: "Sir, does our daughter have a chance?"

"Our daughter is eight years old this year, and His Highness Prince Rui is seven." Fang Bin paced back and forth a couple of steps, his hands behind his back. "A year older is just right."

A sudden gasp came from outside. Fang Bin pushed open the window, and a giant sword flew overhead. He froze, his Adam's apple bobbing a few times, then abruptly turned to his wife and shouted, "Go and fetch our daughter! While His Highness Prince Rui is still in the sky, let her go out and take a look!"

The lady paused for a moment, then turned and ran.

Fang Bin stood by the window, watching the giant sword in the sky gradually disappear into the distance, muttering, "Eight years old is good, eight years old is good. A year older means they'll know how to care for others. What does Zhao Hong, that six-year-old, know?"

On the sword, Zhu Gaoxu peered down, excitedly shouting, "Fourth Brother! Look! A whole bunch of people are kneeling down there! They're all kowtowing to you!"

Zhu Zhanji, also lying beside the sword, his face flushed red, exclaimed, "Fourth Uncle! They're all calling for a deity!"

Zhu Gaochi sat on the sword, his hands gripping Zhu Gaosui's arms tightly. His face was pale, but a smile played on his lips. He glanced down at the kneeling people below and sighed, "Fourth brother, after your flight, the people of the Ming Dynasty will probably worship you."

Zhu Gaoxi stood on the tip of the sword, his robes fluttering in the wind. He suddenly turned back and smiled at his family: "Father, Mother, it's time to go back."

Zhu Gaoxu quickly shouted, "No! Fly one more circle! Second Brother hasn't seen enough yet!"

Zhu Di glanced at him: "Go back."

Zhu Gaoxu immediately shut his mouth.

The Dragon-Slaying Sword changed direction and flew towards the palace. The wind on the sword was still strong, the sunlight was still bright, and the people below were still kneeling. The dark light grew smaller and smaller on the horizon, gradually disappearing in the direction of the palace.

Along the banks of the Qinhuai River, the people who had been kneeling slowly rose to their feet. Boatmen picked up their bamboo poles, and guests picked up their wine cups; no one spoke. In the market south of the city, vegetable vendors got up, dusted themselves off, and packed up their stalls; no one was in the mood to do business anymore.

Through the mouths of the ministers today, the news quickly spread from Yingtian Prefecture, and everyone knew that the immortal of the Ming Dynasty was Prince Rui, Zhu Gaoxi. Many common people even began to offer incense to Prince Rui.