Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 94 I Don’t Want to Be Thanked by You

After a while, Zhu Youxiao took his brother and sister back to the West Warm Pavilion. The sword he took away was held in Wang An's arms.

"Are you back?" Li Zhulan heard the noise, turned around and forced a smile.

"Emperor Father!" Zhu Huiti was very happy to see Zhu Changluo was still there. She struggled slightly, but Zhu Youxiao immediately let go of her hand.

"Good girl, Ti'er." Zhu Changluo picked up Zhu Huiti who came running over and asked softly, "Is it fun?"

"It's fun." In fact, there were no entertainment activities in the palace, but children were very happy as long as they could run and jump with their playmates.

"As long as Ti'er is happy." Zhu Changluo stroked Zhu Huiti's soft hair, then put her down.

Zhu Changluo took a few breaths without leaving any trace. After his breathing became steady, he said, "The Emperor is leaving."

"Then are you still coming?" Zhu Huiti keenly noticed that her mother, who was once relatively strong, was now following her father like a frightened quail.

"Of course. Ti'er is such a well-behaved girl, why wouldn't the Emperor come?" Zhu Changluo nodded and responded with a matter-of-fact expression.

"What about my royal brother? Doesn't he live at home anymore?" Zhu Huiti turned around and asked Zhu Youxiao.

"My royal brother has grown up and has to live on his own. But he will come back to see Ti'er." Zhu Youxiao squatted down and pinched Zhu Huiti's chubby face.

"Then next time, I want that one!" Zhu Huiti said, pointing at the wooden bracelet on Zhu Youxiao's hand.

"No! We're a pair, how can we add another one?" Zhu Youjian came over and stood between them. "Besides, you already have a ball."

Zhu Changluo smiled knowingly, but he did not join the children's play. Instead, he signaled Wang An and Wei Chao to take their people and leave quietly.

Watching Zhu Changluo's receding figure, Li Zhulan suddenly felt that her husband had become so unfamiliar. Her heartbeat began to erratically, and her eyes were filled with dejection: It seemed that he no longer needed me.

After a while, Zhu Youxiao came to say goodbye to Li Zhulan: "Selectwoman Li, goodbye." Zhu Youxiao's tone was calm, no longer hinting at fear.

"Thank you." Li Zhulan bowed deeply.

"Don't thank me. I don't want to be thanked. If you want to thank someone, thank Father and Ti'er. If Father was truly determined, why would he have mobilized so many troops? Wouldn't a simple imperial edict and three feet of white silk be enough?" After completely venting his emotions, Zhu Youxiao was exhausted. All he wanted now was to find a place to sleep. He vaguely felt that he would be able to embrace his mother again in his dreams.

"Mom?" Zhu Huiti blinked her beautiful eyes and asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

Zhu Huiti felt something was wrong, but her childish nature could never have imagined that not long ago, her father had held a sword to her mother's neck.

"It's okay. Mother is happy to see your royal father." Li Zhulan shook her head. She tried her best to appear normal. But the more she pretended, the more it crumbled. "Mother is tired."

Li Zhulan turned around and left, returning to her bedroom without saying a word.

She lay on the bed, buried her head in the pillow, and sobbed secretly in a voice that no one else could hear. "Wang Cairen, you really gave birth to a good son." Li Zhulan murmured to herself, but she couldn't help but think of her own son who died at the age of five.

Zhu Youxiao wandered through dreams. He first saw his mother, Wang, cradling his young self in her arms, humming a beautiful nursery rhyme as she lulled him to sleep. Later, the warm tones of spring gave way to the coldness of winter snow. Every day, his mother would dress up and sit in the courtyard pavilion drinking tea. Whenever footsteps crossed the wall and entered the courtyard, she would cast an expectant glance toward the door, but her hope was never met.

Her mother's face suddenly transformed into that of Consort Li. She, too, was waiting, but she was far more fortunate than her mother. She finally got what she wanted. A man pushed the door open, a sword gleaming with cold light in his hand. The blade sliced ​​through the air, splitting the man in two. One looked indifferent, the other radiating satisfaction.

The images began to overlap. Mother, father, Li, and even Wang An, Wei Zhongxian, etc.
Why did Li hold my arm tightly and prevent me from leaving the Qianqing Palace? Why did Fang Congzhe pay me such respects?
Yang Lian was dead, Zuo Guangdou was dead, Wang An was dead, and almost everyone in the court was dead! Wei Zhongxian? Why was Wei Zhongxian standing next to the dragon throne, holding the dragon head on the armrest?

Water, so much water, the boat capsized!
"Father!" Zhu Youxiao woke up with a start, gasping for breath. His eyes widened, tears streaming down his cheeks. Only when the tears touched the short, green beard at the corners of his mouth did he remember the last thing he saw before waking up: his father had passed away.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Zhu Changluo was sitting at the desk by the windowsill, with a strange copper object in front of him.

"Father?" For a moment, Zhu Youxiao thought he was still dreaming.

"Are you half asleep? Why are you crying and laughing at the same time?" Zhu Changluo stood up and walked towards Zhu Youxiao.

"Father." Zhu Youxiao rolled off the bed and hugged Zhu Changluo's soft waist tightly. This was the first time he took the initiative to hug his father.

"What's wrong with you?" Zhu Changluo asked with concern.

After several days of observation, Zhu Changluo discovered that the Tianqi Emperor was extremely intelligent, a top-tier talent with both intellectual and practical abilities. Zhu Youxiao not only handled the increasingly complex coursework with ease, but also continuously improved his carpentry skills.

If he was frightened by yesterday's provocation, then there would be a big problem. Zhu Youjian's impatient personality made him unfit to be an emperor. He would be fine as an imperial censor, patrolling the country on behalf of the emperor.

"I am happy to see that your father is in good health," Zhu Youxiao said sincerely.

You said that as if I were going to die, Zhu Changluo complained inwardly.

"Isn't your father going for a morning run today?" Zhu Youxiao loosened his hands and scratched the back of his head shyly. To be honest, he really wanted to pat his father's soft belly. But he didn't dare.

Zhu Youxiao had heard the term "morning jog" from Wang An. However, he had secretly watched his father's so-called "running" and found that his so-called "running" was only slightly faster than "walking".

"Look at what time it is now." Zhu Changluo pointed to the clock in the hall.

This chime clock was a replica made by the craftsmen of the Imperial Household Department after reverse engineering. The craftsmen not only improved the accuracy of the chime clock but also reduced the number of parts, making it easier to maintain.

"What time?" Considering the direction his father pointed, Zhu Youxiao immediately understood that the so-called "what time" should refer to "what time".

"It's seven o'clock in the morning!" Zhu Youxiao swallowed his saliva, and the smiling face of Emperor Sun appeared in his mind. He said embarrassedly, "I seem to have missed the morning class."

Zhu Changluo did not blame him, but instead ruffled Zhu Youxiao's messy hair and chuckled. "But you didn't miss lunch."

(End of this chapter)