The Ming Dynasty: My sister, Empress Ma

That's the truth.

Looking across the entire Ming Dynasty, only the Crown Prince was more distinguished than Ma Wenyuan.

Even princes might not be as good as him, after all, he was the only son of the Ma family.

The only member of the maternal family of the founding empress of the Ming Dynasty.

"I don't think my request is too much, is it?" Empress Ma asked tentatively.

Listening to the melodious tune, Xie nodded.

"That's only right, our younger brother should find the best."

Lady Lan, who was standing nearby, also chimed in, "I've heard that Prime Minister Li has a niece..."

But he hadn't finished speaking.

She was interrupted by Xie, who said, "No, no, I can't stand Prime Minister Li."

"What's it to you? You're just a woman, how dare you look down on a prime minister?"

Chang Lan snorted coldly. The two of them had known Ma Xiuying for a long time, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them close friends.

At this moment, one naturally speaks without any reservations.

"Otherwise, you can wait until your daughter grows up and then marry her off to your younger brother."

Xie's eyes darted around, and she suddenly looked at Ma Xiuying with a smile.

Unexpectedly, Ma Xiuying's expression changed, and she quickly said, "How can we wait that long? Besides, wouldn't the seniority be messed up?"

The main problem is that I can't wait that long.

Disorder in generational hierarchy is unavoidable.

Who can blame him when Ma Wenyuan is of such a high generation? Few of his peers aren't approaching fifty.

"Women from the Li family are also unsuitable," Empress Ma added.

She did not interfere in politics, but that does not mean she was ignorant of politics.

Ma Xiuying was unwilling to let her younger brother get involved.

Xie's wishful thinking failed, but she did not persist.

Her daughter is different from other families; Xu Da was just saying today that he wanted to give Ma Wenyuan an extra tuition fee.

If that's the case, then it's a teacher-student relationship. If they also get married, wouldn't that create chaos?

After a while, Xie suddenly said,

"In my opinion, we should find the daughter of a learned and upright scholar."

"Families of upright officials do not have to worry about getting involved in court politics, so the women are naturally virtuous and capable."

These words were spoken.

Ma Xiuying's eyes lit up, and she thought this was a good idea.

"Does Mr. Fenglin have a granddaughter?" Ma Xiuying asked.

Mr. Fenglin is Zhu Sheng, also known as Zhu Yunsheng.

During the Zhizheng era, he ranked second among the provincial candidates for the imperial examination in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and later became an advisor under Zhu Yuanzhang.

He proposed the strategic policy of "building high walls, storing up grain, and delaying the declaration of kingship".

He died last year.

But that doesn't mean Ma Xiuying has forgotten this meritorious person.

"There probably is. My husband once told me that Mr. Fenglin has a young son who is in his thirties. Maybe his granddaughter is actually of marriageable age!"

"Zhu Tong?"

Ma Xiuying suddenly remembered, "Didn't I hear he went into seclusion in the mountains?"

Nevertheless, Ma Xiuying still included it in the list of candidates' homes.

Zhu Tong did not enter officialdom, which means he had no connection with the court, which is good.

We have a direction now.

The three quickly found more candidates.

Where is Mr. Qianxi?

Lan asked.

That is, Song Lian, the one who was recently demoted.

He was also a famous Confucian scholar during the late Yuan Dynasty.

"I know he has a daughter!" Ma Xiuying laughed. "The Song family would be a good match too."

Ma Xiuying herself thought of someone to come.

"Mr. Kanzani must also have a granddaughter."

Wang Kekuan was a pioneer of Neo-Confucianism and authored "Huangu Collection" and "A Study on the Meaning and Pronunciation of Cheng-Zhu Yizhuan".

He was a true scholar.

He was summoned to the capital by Zhu Yuanzhang a few years ago to compile the history of the Yuan Dynasty, and only recently retired.

They are also a family of refined people.

With three candidates in mind, Ma Xiuying was overjoyed. "In a few days, I'll have my brother-in-law go and check them out one by one. If he thinks one is suitable, I'll have him propose marriage."

This left both Xie and Lan somewhat at a loss.

The emperor himself proposed marriage?

Is this correct?

The Crown Prince went through the proper channels of the Ministry of Rites, and the Emperor never even proposed marriage to him.

In an instant, Ma Xiuying seemed to understand, and her smile vanished.

"My younger brother is only an elder in my family. According to custom, an elder should be present when proposing marriage. If I can't go, then neither can his brother-in-law..."

Thinking of this, Ma Xiuying felt somewhat indebted.

……

In the main hall, the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet was gradually reaching its climax, and the officials, having drunk too much, no longer paid attention to etiquette.

Gradually, the hall became noisy.

Ma Wenyuan was unaware of what had happened in the harem.

He was unaware that his life's most important event had been decided.

He was wondering at that moment whether Zhu Yuanzhang beat his son out of habit or affection.

In a corner of the main hall, Zhu Yuanzhang personally took a whip and lashed Zhu Di's body with it, one lash after another.

Ma Wenyuan felt a pang of pity watching this, and after only a few lashes, he stepped forward to stop him.

His original intention was to give Zhu Di a complete childhood, but he also did not want Zhu Di to die prematurely.

Zhu Yuanzhang only gave up after listening to Ma Wenyuan's advice, and said fiercely to Zhu Di,

"From now on, you'd better learn from your uncle, do you hear me?"

Zhu Di rubbed his bottom, trying to hold back his tears.

"I heard you!"

He now feels that his uncle is his savior.

In the past, when my father beat me, my older brother would always try to stop him.

My older brother is currently very busy and has no time to deal with him.

Without his uncle, Zhu Di dared not imagine how badly he would have been beaten.

After Zhu Yuanzhang left, Zhu Di limped over to Ma Wenyuan, and, fighting back tears, bowed with a hoarse voice, saying...

"Thank you, Uncle!"

Seeing that Zhu Di didn't forget to bow and express his gratitude even in this situation, Ma Wenyuan couldn't help but feel amused.

This kid is at least polite.

Ma Wenyuan said with a smile,

"Be more obedient from now on. I won't always be in the palace."

"yes!"

……

The banquet in the palace was halfway through.

Ma Wenyuan then left.

Zhu did not require his subjects to participate in the entire process.

Aside from a few particularly ambitious individuals who would stay up late into the night, namely those minor officials who had received special honors.

People like Ma Wenyuan and Liu Ji wouldn't even want to come.

Zhu Laosi and Zhu Laowu also left the palace with Ma Wenyuan.

The fourth brother simply wanted to follow Ma Wenyuan, while the fifth brother had no choice but to follow because he needed to apply medicine.

It has to be said that Zhu Su values ​​his brother quite a bit.

Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, so there is no curfew in Yingtian Prefecture.

At this moment, Yingtian Prefecture was also bustling with activity.

Ma Wenyuan got the urge to go sightseeing and took the two little ones to a crowded place.

The banks of the Qinhuai River near Confucius Temple were deserted, and although there were no lanterns or decorations, the atmosphere of peace and prosperity gave rise to a new sense of "reunion" for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Ma Wenyuan's carriage came to a stop far from the Confucius Temple, so he had to get off and walk, asking someone to drive the carriage back.

Seeing people strolling around under the moon, Zhu Di immediately forgot his previous pain, his eyes widening in disbelief.

He's still a child; playing is in his nature.

Ma Wenyuan wasn't in the mood for playing around; he was simply curious about what the Mid-Autumn Festival was like in Yingtian Prefecture of the Ming Dynasty.

Many people were releasing water lanterns along the Qinhuai River.

Various kinds of water lanterns shimmer on the Qinhuai River, creating a unique atmosphere.

Some children were listening to the old man tell the story of Chang'e flying to the moon.