The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the Somersault Cloud, Old Zhu was so envious he cried!

"Sixth Brother, do you like the gift your Fourth Brother gave you?"

"I love it!" Zhu Mingchao shouted.

The child's clear, childlike voice, coupled with that happy expression, was extremely adorable.

Upon seeing this scene, Zhu Di felt that all the hard work he had put into finding the horse over the past year had been completely worthwhile!

"Mommy, can I go play with Little Horse?"

Zhu Ming took short strides and ran all the way to Empress Ma. He looked up at her with his big, charming eyes and pleaded softly.

However, Empress Ma, concerned for the safety of her young son, refused, saying, "No!"

When Zhu Ming heard his mother say no, his bright expression immediately dimmed, but he was very sensible and did not throw a tantrum.

Instead, he stood obediently beside Ma Xiuying, but his gaze kept glancing at the little red horse.

Looking at the young child's well-behaved and sensible appearance...

Empress Ma's heart softened, and she almost changed her mind, but in the end she still gently comforted her.

"Ming'er, it's not that Mommy doesn't want you to play with it, it's just that Mommy is afraid it might accidentally hurt you when it first sees you."

"But I promise you, once you're familiar with it, I'll allow you to ride it."

"Really?" Zhu Ming perked up again and said sweetly to Empress Ma, "Thank you, Mother!"

Zhu Di, who was standing nearby, wanted to say: With him watching over things, the horse won't hurt my sixth brother.

As soon as he opened his mouth, Empress Ma glared at him, and he immediately shut his mouth, not daring to say a word.

However, he thought sourly to himself: before Xiao Liuzi was born, his mother had always treated all of them equally and without bias.

But since the birth of their sixth brother, the combined maternal love received by the five of them is less than half that of their sixth brother.

The Empress Dowager is so biased!

Soon, the little red horse was taken away and kept in the stable.

Next to arrive was Lao Zhu's brother-in-law, Li Zhen. To show respect, Lao Zhu personally stood at the door to greet him.

Duke Li Zhen of Cao was dressed in casual clothes, holding a gift box in one hand and leading a five-year-old child by the hand in the other.

Upon seeing Zhu Yuanzhang, Li Zhen immediately wanted to bow in respect, but Zhu stopped him right away.

Zhu Chongba: "Brother-in-law, what are you doing?"

Li Zhen was supported by Old Zhu's arm, and seeing that he couldn't bend down, he had no choice but to stand up, still maintaining a respectful attitude.

"Your Majesty, a ruler is a ruler, and a subject is a subject. Titles and etiquette must not be confused. If a subject were to lose his manners, wouldn't he become a laughingstock?"

Historically, Li Zhen was highly respected by Zhu Yuanzhang's family, largely because he never took credit for himself.

Even though he had delivered grain to Lao Zhu and saved his life when Lao Zhu was in his most difficult time.

But Li Zhen never mentioned this matter, and instead always adhered to the proper etiquette between ruler and subject in private.

You know, it's hard not to respect someone like that!

Upon hearing Li Zhen's distant remarks, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately expressed his dissatisfaction, saying, "We've already said this is a family banquet, so there's no distinction between ruler and subject. Tonight, there's only my brother-in-law and Chongba here; there's no such thing as ruler and subject."

Seeing this, Li Zhen had no choice but to agree.

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately became happy again and said to his fourth and sixth sons, "What are you two standing there for? Hurry up and call for help!"

Zhu Di quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Uncle."

Zhu Ming, with his short legs, ran up to Li Zhen and greeted him in a clear, cheerful voice, "Hello, Uncle!"

When Li Zhen saw the little boy Zhu Ming, her solemn and serious expression instantly melted away, replaced by undisguised affection and fondness.

"Oh, it's Xiao Liu Zi. I heard it's your birthday today, and your uncle prepared a special gift for you. Do you like it?"

Upon hearing the word "gift," Zhu Ming's eyes lit up immediately. She then raised her little face and said softly, "I'll like whatever Uncle gives me!"

That's why everyone likes a sensible child!

Looking at the well-behaved and sensible Zhu Ming, Li Zhen grew to like him more and more. She quickly opened the gift box in her hand and handed it to Zhu Ming.

Zhu Ming leaned forward and looked down, only to find that the gift his uncle had prepared for him was not some rare treasure, but rather some illustrated books.

Li Zhen reached out and patted Zhu Ming's head with a kind smile, explaining, "Your Highness has heard that he loves to listen to little stories."

"So I specially sent people to search around and collect many interesting folk tales and strange stories from the streets and alleys. Then I had an artist draw them into pictures and compile them into a book for Your Highness's convenience."

Li Zhen's gift was very thoughtful, knowing that the Sixth Prince was in poor health and could not easily leave the palace.

He then sent people out of the palace to search for folk tales for him.

Concerned that His Highness was too young and his literacy skills were incomplete, which might cause reading difficulties, they specially commissioned an artist to create a picture.

Leaving aside the expenses incurred during this process,

This sentiment alone is enough to prove how much Li Zhen dotes on Zhu Ming.

After hearing the introduction, Zhu Ming's first thought was, "Isn't this just a comic book?"

In the additional memory that appeared in his mind,

However, there are many classic comics like this, such as Luffy, Naruto, the Immortal Lord of the Myriad Laws of the World, and something like "Shameless..."

"It's really kind of you, brother-in-law, to go to so much trouble. Ming'er, why don't you hurry up and thank your uncle?" Empress Ma first bowed slightly to Li Zhen, and then reminded Zhu Ming.

Zhu Ming snapped out of his daze and quickly bowed to Li Zhen, his small voice clear and sincere: "Thank you very much for your generous gift, Uncle. I am very pleased with it."

Li Zhen quickly waved his hand with a smile and said in a kind tone, "It's just a small token of my appreciation, nothing to mention. I'm glad Your Highness likes it."

Zhu Di, standing to the side, seemed to have been completely ignored.

From the moment they greeted each other until now, Li Zhen hadn't looked at him once; her gaze had been fixed on Xiao Liuzi.

This made Zhu Di inwardly complain.

It's always been like this: wherever Sixth Brother is, everyone's eyes are focused on him, and everyone else is like air.

And giving him gifts? Why didn't anyone give him comics when he was little?

It's true what they say, comparisons are the thief of joy!

After Zhu Ming accepted the gift,

Empress Ma then invited everyone inside, saying, "Chongba, let's go inside and talk. How can we let your brother-in-law stand outside in the wind?"

"Yes, yes, my sister is right. We were so busy talking that we forgot." Zhu Yuanzhang had originally wanted to chat with his brother-in-law, but he realized his mistake after hearing his sister's reminder.

"Brother-in-law, let's go inside and talk. My sister cooked all the dishes tonight, so we're going to have a good drink together!"

Li Zhen cupped his hands and said, "Since Your Majesty has such an elegant interest, I will naturally accompany you to the end."

So, the group chatted and laughed as they entered the hall.

Zhu Ming was being held by Empress Ma's little hand when he turned his head and saw a little guy secretly watching him.

This person was the five-year-old child that Li Zhen had brought.

He was the grandson of Li Zhen, and also Li Jinglong, who was known in history as the God of War of the Ming Dynasty.

But for now, he's just a snotty-nosed little kid.

The group sat at the dinner table chatting, but after a while, they realized something was amiss.

"Hey, where are the eldest, second, third, and fifth brothers?" Empress Ma asked in confusion.

She remembered that Lao Zhu had sent someone to inform them a long time ago, so why hadn't they come yet after so long? Could it be that something happened on the way?