Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

Zhu Di rode his somersault cloud out of the Kunning Palace, deliberately keeping the cloud very low, almost flying past the green tiles of the Fengtian Hall.

The eunuchs, palace maids, and imperial guards along the way all looked up, reacting with various expressions of shock.

Zhu Di stood with his hands behind his back on the cloud, taking in all these reactions. He nodded slightly in satisfaction before flying towards the Wenyuan Pavilion.

He chose this time to go so that he could gather everyone together, saving him the trouble of running around to each government office one by one.

In a side hall of Wenyuan Pavilion, several long tables were put together. Xia Yuanji was holding a copy of the water conservancy chapter of the Complete Treatise on Agriculture and arguing with Song Li about the slope of the irrigation canal.

Jian Yi was engrossed in reading the chapter on iron smelting in "Tiangong Kaiwu".

Jin Zhong and Fang Bin were arguing heatedly about the gunpowder ratio, their faces flushed, and the table was covered with draft paper for calculations. Several doctors and clerks nearby were engrossed in copying pages from a book, clearly having barely rested.

Just then, a young eunuch stumbled in, his voice trembling, "His Majesty has arrived! He came riding on a cloud!"

The side hall was quiet for a moment. Everyone put down what they were holding and got up to leave.

"Has His Majesty become an immortal?" A group of old ministers filed out and lined up in front of the hall. Just as they were about to pay their respects, they looked up and were all stunned.

Zhu Di stood on a white cloud, which was suspended in mid-air, thick and dense, and was slowly and steadily descending.

Zhu Di took in everyone's reactions, then stepped down from the cloud. The cloud automatically hovered behind him in mid-air, like a well-behaved white attendant.

"My dear subjects, there's no need for such formalities." He raised his hand casually. "I just returned from the Fourth Prince's Heavenly Palace and stopped by to check on things. Have you all looked at the pages I distributed this morning? Any leads?"

Several senior officials exchanged glances discreetly. Ah well, another show-off. Riding a cloud to tour the palace! His Majesty's divine airs are growing stronger and stronger. But wait, what does "Heavenly Palace" mean? Could it be a palace in the heavens?

Jian Yi couldn't help but step forward, cup his hands in greeting, and asked, "Your Majesty just mentioned 'Heavenly Palace.' Forgive my boldness, but may I ask what this Heavenly Palace is...?"

Zhu Di had been waiting for this question, but he maintained a nonchalant expression and waved his hand dismissively: "Oh, it's just that the fourth prince built a palace in the sky, on a large cloud, and you can see the entire Yingtian Prefecture from the viewing platform. The Empress and I just had lunch up there before coming down. As you all know, the fourth prince is a very filial son..."

The assembled officials below were speechless.

And you call him "filial"? If it weren't for Empress Xu, how many times would you have met Prince Rui since you were a child? When Prince Rui was fostered by Yao Guangxiao, Yao Guangxiao was probably closer to him than you were. You stinking pig, all you do is boast.

Zhu Di, unaware of the thoughts in his ministers' minds, observed their varied and fascinating expressions before feigning regret: "Sigh, never mind, I won't say anything more for now. You can go up and see for yourselves when you have the chance later."

Jian Yi's sleeves trembled slightly: "Your Majesty, what's the situation with these clouds... these clouds?"

Zhu Di spoke casually, as if he were describing what the imperial kitchen had prepared that day: "Oh, this? It was also a gift from the fourth prince. I call it Yongle."

He reached out and gently patted the cloud's surface, and the cloud obediently rubbed against his palm.

"Actually, it's not that great. It can just fly, so it's only good for transportation. It doesn't fly very fast, only about four or five hundred li per hour. It would take about a day to get from the capital to Guangzhou. It's not as fast as the fourth prince's, but I'm not picky. I'll just make do with it. After all, it's my son's way of showing filial piety." He said this with a look of disdain.

The assembled officials fell silent.

Xia Yuanji swallowed hard, choking and coughing. Several high-ranking officials were also completely bewildered.

Each journey takes four or five hundred li (approximately 200-250 kilometers), reaching Guangzhou in a day. How many horses would die trying to cover an 800-li (approximately 400 kilometers) journey by changing horses but not riders? And this is called "just a means of transportation"?

Zhu Di saw everyone's reactions, his face still bearing a slightly disgusted expression, but he was probably secretly overjoyed.

Xia Yuanji and Fang Bin exchanged a glance, as if to say, "Is it really necessary for him to put on airs in front of us all the time? Oh well, let's just go along with him. After all, he's the emperor."

Xia Yuanji finally caught his breath, stepped forward, cupped his hands, and asked, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold as to ask—if we perform a great service, will we also…will we also receive such a cloud?"

Zhu Di had been waiting for this question. He put on a generous air: "Oh, these are all minor matters. You are all pillars of the nation. If you do something of great benefit to the country, I certainly won't be stingy. The fourth prince is not a stingy person either."

"If I talk to him, do you think he'll refuse me?" He paused, glanced at the expectant eyes of the ministers below, and added, "If the fourth prince doesn't give in, I'll give you all this cloud."

Upon hearing this, the group was taken aback again, after all, everyone wanted that cloud! Since they'd said that, there must be a chance. They then immediately buried themselves in their work again.

Meanwhile, at the Crown Prince's residence, Zhu Gaochi waited for that cloud to fly back.

He knew that the fourth prince would take his father and mother out on a cloud and would definitely send them back to Kunning Palace, so he sent a clever little eunuch to keep watch near the palace gate early in the morning.

The little eunuch was dozing off by the wall when he suddenly heard a noise above him. He looked up and saw a white cloud steadily descending from the sky.

He rubbed his eyes and scrambled back to the East Palace to report: "Your Highness! The cloud has flown back! His Majesty and the Empress returned on the cloud, but Prince Rui did not come!"

Zhu Gaochi frowned slightly after hearing this.

The fourth prince didn't come? Then how did Father Emperor ride the clouds? Could it be that the fourth prince directly taught Father Emperor the supernatural power of riding the clouds? The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. He ordered someone to prepare a sedan chair, took Zhu Zhanji, and went to Kunning Palace to pay his respects to his mother.

Upon arriving at Kunning Palace, Zhu Zhanji respectfully bowed to Empress Xu and then sat obediently to the side.

Empress Xu knew her son's temperament, so she didn't beat around the bush and asked with a smile, "Chi'er, do you have something you want to ask your mother? You seem distracted. Just ask me what it is."

Zhu Gaochi smiled sheepishly: "Mother, I just saw Father and you riding back on clouds. Why didn't Fourth Brother come with us? Could it be that Fourth Brother passed on his cloud-riding supernatural powers to Father?"

Empress Xu smiled and said, "That was a somersault cloud that your fourth brother gave to me and your father. Mine is called Little Cotton, and your father's is called Yongle. Your father borrowed mine too, and he's probably riding it around the palace right now."

Zhu Gaochi's face was filled with a huge question mark: "One person, one cloud?"

He thought the fourth prince had passed on his supernatural powers to his father, but it turned out he had simply sent Yun away.

His mind raced for a moment, and after chatting with Empress Xu for a few more minutes, he took his leave with Zhu Zhanji.

Upon returning to the East Palace, he originally intended to take Zhu Zhanji directly to the Fourth Prince's residence as quickly as possible. However, he then thought that his mother had just mentioned that each person could obtain one flower, so if he brought the whole family along, they might be able to obtain several more.

He instructed Zhang Yan to change the children into their outdoor clothes, preparing for their visit to the fourth prince's residence that afternoon. Zhang Yan asked how many children he was taking, and after thinking for a moment, he said to take them all.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he couldn't help but shake his head. For the eldest prince to be in such a position and still try to outsmart his own brother—he was truly despicable.

But then I thought about it again. These children are all Fourth Brother's nephews and nieces. They all genuinely care for him. When they come back, they all talk about Fourth Uncle. They are family. So they shouldn't be playing tricks on him... right?