The Great Ming Demon Pill: Your Majesty, please address me as the Crown Prince!

Zhu Zhanjun immediately leaned in and hooked his arm around Zhu Gaosui's neck.

"Third Uncle."

"I remember, my aunt, the princess, was just deposed."

"Grandfather, are you planning to marry the daughter of Duke Mu Sheng of Qian to Third Uncle?"

Zhu Gaosui's lips twitched, but he remained calm and composed.

"That's true."

Zhu Zhanjun chuckled.

"Third Uncle, you don't want Grandfather and Duke Mu Sheng of Qian to know you're here soliciting prostitutes, do you?"

Zhu Gaosui's face darkened.

"Nephew, what are you going to do?"

Zhu Zhanjun coughed lightly.

"It's lantern festival today, so I invited my brothers over for a visit."

"But I'm short of money..."

[Ding! You have obtained a golden treasure chest!]

Zhu Gaosui was speechless.

That kid is damn rich, and he's still pretending to be innocent in front of him.

He said irritably.

"Tonight, all your expenses will be paid by me."

Zhu Zhanjun released Zhu Gaosui with satisfaction.

Although his third uncle is treacherous, he is currently on the same side as his father.

Just take a couple of bites.

Just then, a commotion suddenly arose outside the open room, growing louder as it approached, accompanied by the sound of gongs and drums, as if the entire Qinhuai River had come to a boil.

Yu Xiang listened intently and quickly said with a smile, "Gentlemen, it's so lively outside, the lantern festival parade on the river is about to begin."

"This year, the government has made it exceptionally grand. I heard that there are thirty-six lantern boats linked together to form a golden dragon playing in the water, as well as various acrobatic performances and fireworks. It's the most spectacular thing ever."

Zhu Zhanjun's eyes lit up.

Holy crap, is this even possible?

He immediately jumped off the chair.

"Brothers, let's go! Let's go check it out!"

Zhu Yi, Zhang Mao, and the others were also greatly excited and quickly jumped up.

Zhu Gaosui was left standing there, completely bewildered.

He finally shook his head helplessly, straightened his robes, and followed the others out of the open room.

The group arrived at the open-air deck on the second floor of the pleasure boat.

The view here is expansive, and the river breeze caresses the face, instantly dissipating much of the warm, fragrant scent of perfume from the room.

The Qinhuai River was now ablaze with lights and colors.

In the distance, a long fleet of lightboats is slowly approaching.

Leading the way was a huge dragon-headed lantern boat, with the dragon's body made up of dozens of small boats connected together, each boat covered with lanterns of various colors, outlining the winding shape of the dragon.

A huge glass lamp is inlaid in the dragon's eyes, shining brightly in the night. The scales on the dragon's body are composed of hundreds of small lamps, rising and falling with the waves, as if a real dragon is swimming in the Milky Way.

Following the dragon boats are lantern boats decorated with auspicious beasts such as phoenixes, unicorns, and cranes, as well as colorful boats depicting scenes from stories like the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea and Chang'e Flying to the Moon.

On each boat, musicians played instruments and sang, and dancers danced gracefully. The lights reflected on the water, creating shimmering shadows, like a fairyland.

Crowds from both sides of the strait thronged the area, their cheers and applause deafening.

Many people, young and old, stood on tiptoe and craned their necks, with children riding on their fathers' shoulders, pointing at the river and shouting excitedly.

"Wow! It's so beautiful!" Zhang Mao leaned on the railing, staring intently.

The group of young men behind him nodded in agreement.

Zhu Gaosui looked at the performance on the river in front of him with a depressed expression.

At this hour tonight, shouldn't he be lying in bed, whispering sweet nothings to his beautiful wife?

Why am I hanging out with a bunch of brats?

Not far away, people on several adjacent painted boats were already placing lotus-shaped lanterns into the river.

The flickering lights, swaying with the waves, drew gasps of surprise from the shore.

"Look! They've started releasing lanterns over there!" Zhu Yi exclaimed excitedly, pointing at the river.

Zhang Mao leaned over the railing and said, "Squad leader, let's let it down too!"

Lady Jade Hairpin, who had appeared on the deck at some unknown time, stepped forward at the opportune moment.

"Young gentlemen, would you like to release river lanterns to pray for good fortune?"

"Our Yixiangfang also has excellent lanterns, with exquisite designs and auspicious meanings."

"If you set off a lamp to pray for the peace and well-being of your family, or to pray for a bright future for yourself, it is a very good thing."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhanjun raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? How much is it?"

Yu Zan's smile deepened.

"In reply to your question, young master, the lanterns here are divided into three grades."

"The most common item is a paper lotus lantern, which is small and exquisite, and costs fifty coins per lantern."

"The better ones are covered with silk gauze, painted with auspicious and longevity patterns or mandarin ducks playing in the water, and cost two hundred coins a cup."

"The finest are octagonal palace lanterns with glass covers, which can hold small candles inside. Painters would paint scenes of Nanjing or poems by famous poets on the lanterns. They not only burn for a long time, but they are also very eye-catching when placed in the river. One lantern costs two strings of cash."

"If you gentlemen wish to purchase, I can have someone bring over samples for you to choose from."

"Today's lantern festival is all about celebration. We can also write prayer notes on our boats and put them in the lanterns to make your wishes even more sincere."

Zhu Zhanjun was amazed.

Damn, these guys really know how to make money.

That's really expensive!

His gaze suddenly fell on Zhu Gaosui beside him.

Zhu Gaosui suddenly felt a chill and subconsciously took a step back.

Zhu Zhanjun: "..."

Was the half-step back gesture for real?

Such a small action can cause such great harm.

He coughed lightly.

"Third Uncle, you just said you'd pay for everything tonight?"

Zhu Gaosui's eyelids twitched.

He had a bad feeling.

Zhu Gaosui forced a smile onto his face.

"You want to buy a lantern?"

"Your third uncle can sponsor you some money, but..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhu Zhanjun immediately waved his hand.

"Brothers, my third uncle said he'll pay for all the lanterns."

"Hurry up, all of you, my third uncle has plenty of money!"

Zhu Yi, Zhang Mao, Li Heng, Zheng Yu, Zhu Zhanqi, Liu Zhong and others cheered and surrounded the Jade Hairpin Lady, asking for lanterns.

However, perhaps out of embarrassment, they each only ordered one ordinary lotus lantern.

Zhu Gaosui was relieved to see that these kids knew what they were doing.

He had just breathed a sigh of relief when he suddenly heard Zhu Zhanjun's voice again.

"Give me a hundred of the most expensive lanterns!"

[Ding! You have obtained a golden treasure chest!]

Zhu Gaosui: "..."

He glared at Zhu Zhanjun, who looked completely innocent.

What a fine nephew of his!

He bought 100 paper lanterns for 200 strings of cash; he was really outrageous.

Zhu Zhanjun looked completely innocent.

"Third Uncle, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Pay up."

Zhu Gaosui: "..."

He said irritably.

"Don't worry, I won't owe any money."

Zhu Zhanjun nodded in satisfaction and said to the Jade Hairpin Lady.

"Were these paper lanterns on the pleasure boat collected from ordinary people? Were any disaster victims also working there?"

Lady Jade Hairpin nodded and spoke righteously.

"In reply to the young master, although we engage in some business related to pleasure, we have always responded to the imperial court's call."

"These lanterns were made by a group of skillful disaster victims."

"We didn't shortchange you a single penny!"

Zhu Zhanjun nodded slightly and addressed Zhu Yi, Li Heng, and the others beside him.

"Brothers, did you all hear that?"

"If we buy more, we can help those disaster victims find some work so they won't go hungry."

"Cheer up, don't be shy."

"We're not spending my third uncle's money; we're using his money to do good deeds for him."

[Ding! You have obtained a golden treasure chest!]

Zhu Gaosui: "!!!"

Zhu Yi, Li Heng, and the others immediately looked at Zhu Gaosui with reverence.

Zhu Zhanqi said excitedly.

"My third uncle is a real man!"

"Well done, Your Highness Prince Zhao!" Li Heng said hastily.

Zheng Yu stood tall and proud.

"Third Prince, then I won't stand on ceremony."

"Housekeeper, bring me a hundred of the most expensive ones too!"

"Me too!" Zhu Yi immediately shouted.

Zhu Gaosui's vision went black.

These stupid kids are such a pain in the ass.

When Liu Bang arrives and sees you bunch of little rascals, you'll all have to shout "Great Chu is victorious!"