Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

The same thing happened at the Crown Prince's residence.

When Zhu Gaochi returned to the Eastern Palace, Zhang Yan was waiting for him in the main hall of the mansion.

Ever since she became younger during the day, she was overjoyed. Whenever she saw Zhu Gaochi, she would talk about it, saying that her fourth brother was so good to them, and that His Highness should listen to his fourth brother more in the future.

Zhu Gaochi readily agreed, and after a few words, urged her to rest early.

Zhang Yan got up and walked into the house, glancing back at him with a hint of unspoken words and a touch of allure, as if to say, "Come and rest early today."

Zhu Gaochi was a little aroused when he saw that his wife looked younger. He was planning to rest early, but when he took off his outer robe, he touched his chest and found that the two books were still there.

He thought the fourth brother's storybook must be good, so he flipped through a couple of pages and went to sleep. But when he opened "After I gave up, my whole family couldn't do anything about me," he couldn't stop reading after just one page.

The protagonist of the book is named A Liang. His family runs a large business with businesses all over the city. As the eldest son, he gets up before dawn every day to check the accounts, meet customers, and discuss business. His schedule is packed, and when he's busy, he doesn't even have time to eat a hot meal.

And what about his younger brothers? They sleep until noon every day, then get up to engage in cockfighting, horse racing, music listening, and drinking. They spend money like water and are also eyeing the family business covetously.

What's most disheartening is the old man in the family. Ah Liang works himself to the bone to run the business, but the old man has never praised him once. Instead, he's always finding fault and criticizing him. When his younger brothers get into trouble because of eating, drinking, and having fun, the old man just casually covers for them and even blames Ah Liang for not keeping a good eye on his brothers.

"Waaah... Waaah... How can there be someone whose realm is so similar to mine? The old man is so biased!..." The more Zhu Gaochi read, the more he felt that the protagonist was practically his half-brother. He wiped away his tears as he flipped through the book.

He lay on the desk, turning the pages one after another.

He lay on the desk, turning page after page. When he came to the page where Ah Liang looked up at the sky and sighed, "I work from dawn till dusk every day, doing so much, and in the end...", large tears fell onto the pages.

Turning to the ending, after Ah Liang's serious illness, he had a sudden realization and simply gave up and let his younger brothers manage the business. He ate whatever he wanted and did whatever he wanted every day. In contrast, his father stopped talking to him, and the whole family couldn't do anything about him. In the end, he actually lived a comfortable life.

"Waaah...waaah...waaah..." Zhu Gaochi couldn't hold back any longer and burst into tears.

He had kept his father's favoritism to himself for so many years, never daring to utter a word.

He's overweight and can't ride a horse into battle, but he's single-handedly kept the court running all these years. Every single one of those things was his hard work. When has the old man ever praised him? If he's useful, he's the crown prince; if he's useless, he's called a good-for-nothing.

The second son, on the other hand, would be remembered by his father for three years for winning a battle, and if he became younger, he would be allowed to go on a military expedition without a word. If he even mentioned the money for water conservancy projects, he would be scolded.

He cried harder and harder, sobbing softly, "From now on, I'm going to just lie low and do nothing! Let whoever wants to be the crown prince do it!"

The situation at Prince Zhao's residence was similar. After returning home, Zhu Gaosui chatted with Madam Weng for a few minutes. Madam Weng, unusually proactive, asked him if he looked good now that he looked younger, and Zhu Gaosui answered earnestly.

Mrs. Weng urged him to rest, and he nodded, heading to his study. He took out "The Steady Old Man Han," sat down, and thought he'd only read one page. But he ended up reading until dawn.

The book's description of Old Man Han's meticulous, always prepared, and uncompromising approach to things was truly enlightening.

"Wonderful, wonderful..." He would keep exclaiming "wonderful" when he saw something urgent. No wonder he had been in the court for so many years and was still passive at every turn. It turned out that it was because he was not careful enough.

The guards at the gate could hear Prince Zhao meowing repeatedly.

When Lady Weng woke up in the middle of the night, she found that the bed next to her was still empty. She put on her clothes, got up, and walked to the door of the study. Through the crack in the door, she saw her prince sitting upright, holding a book, muttering something about "seeking stability," "keeping a backup plan," and "avoiding karma."

Zhu Gaoxi never expected that the few online novels he casually picked up, which are commonplace in modern times, would have such a powerful impact in ancient times. If these books were to be passed down, a new style of vernacular fiction might emerge in the Ming Dynasty.

In front of the Meridian Gate, Zhu Gaochi and his two brothers chatted about the storybook they had read the night before, getting more and more excited as they talked.

The surrounding ministers listened intently for a long time, only vaguely catching a few words like "storybook," "good-looking," and "can't stop reading," and they all began to have doubts.

The officials of the Crown Prince's Palace all looked at the Han King's faction with the same question in their eyes.

What kind of storybook could make the three princes read like this? These three princes never chat together before court, but today, with dark circles under their eyes, they're exchanging their thoughts on the book. They seem to be very friendly and respectful to each other, which is quite rare. It's really a strange sight.

Zhu Zhanji stood behind Zhu Gaochi. Although he was small, he knew quite a lot.

Yesterday, Zhang Yan looked younger. As usual, whenever Zhang Yan was in a particularly good mood, Zhu Gaochi would come back and fight with her. Although he didn't know why, he understood the pattern.

As a result, there was no sound at all last night, and Zhang Yan went to bed early. When she woke up this morning, the guards told her that her father had been crying all night in the study. After listening for a while, she realized that Zhu Gaochi had been engrossed in reading a storybook.

A storybook? What storybook could make Zhu Gaochi cry so bitterly? Although he was young, he loved reading storybooks and immediately made up his mind: when he got back from court today, he would see what storybook Zhu Gaochi had read.

The surrounding ministers listened intently for a long time, vaguely catching the words "storybook," "good-looking," and "can't stop reading," and began to have doubts.

An official from the Crown Prince's residence approached and noticed Zhu Gaochi's dark circles and red-rimmed eyes. He couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, what... what storybook made you look like this last night?"

Zhu Gaochi rubbed his eyes with his sleeve, waved his hand and said that court was about to begin. After court, come to the Eastern Palace and I will explain everything to you in detail.

The situation was even more lively at the Prince of Han's residence. Several military officers swarmed around him, bombarding him with questions: what had he been doing last night? Why were his eyes even darker than after a battle? Zhu Gaochi waved his hand and said that court was about to begin, and everyone should come to the Prince of Han's residence afterward.

The situation was much quieter on the Zhao Prince's side. Several people who were on good terms with him stepped forward and asked a question. Zhu Gaosui simply said that he had read a good book and benefited greatly from it. He added that he would come to the Zhao Prince's residence after the court session to say so.

After the morning court bells and drums sounded, the Meridian Gate slowly opened, and civil and military officials filed in, lining up on either side of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaosui took their places, while Zhu Zhanji stood to the lower left of the throne.