Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

The next morning, before dawn, a thin layer of morning mist floated on the Changjiang River, and figures were already moving around in the camp.

"Thanks to His Highness Prince Rui, I slept really well last night." An old soldier came out of the barracks, stretching and yawning, the wrinkles on his face smoothing out.

"Yes, who can argue with that? Fighting alongside His Highness, we live in a warmer place than at home," a companion chimed in, fastening his belt.

Then he looked up at the row of neat wooden houses, his tone tinged with reluctance, "Such nice houses, I wonder who will benefit from them later. We're about to set off, so these houses will probably have to stay here."

"Hurry up and start a fire to cook, we'll be heading out to war soon." The cook carrying a large pot came over from the kitchen, interrupting their musings.

Soon, wisps of smoke rose from the campsite, and the aroma of rice porridge mingled with the morning mist.

Although there was plenty of self-heating rice and dried meat, the cooks still preferred to cook several pots of thick porridge for everyone to warm their stomachs in the morning.

Zhu Di also got up early.

He slept very well that night. The wooden bed in the river-view room was soft and stable, much more comfortable than the cot in the central command tent.

More importantly, the effects of yesterday's Human Essence Pill hadn't worn off yet, and I felt refreshed and invigorated.

He dressed neatly, walked out of his bedroom, stretched his limbs in the corridor, and then drew his sword and performed half a set of sword techniques. His movements were light and agile, and the sword light drew silver lines in the morning mist.

The guards nearby were dumbfounded, thinking that this person's skills didn't seem to require their protection!

Zhu Gaochi, Zhang Fu, and others also rose up one after another.

Although they drank quite a bit last night, they didn't get completely drunk, and the few Human Essence Pills were indeed effective. After a good night's sleep, they not only didn't have hangover headaches, but were all full of energy.

Zhu Gaoxu practiced a set of boxing moves in the courtyard, then went to the Tiger King's place, fed him half a carcass, before slowly walking towards Zhu Di's building.

They happened to run into Zhang Fu and Zheng Heng on the way, and the group walked together, chatting about their river crossing that day.

After Zhu Gaoxi got up and finished washing up, he came to Zhu Di to pay his respects.

Upon entering, one could see Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu already seated at the dining table.

"Fourth Prince is here. Sit down and eat." Zhu Di nodded to him and served him a bowl of porridge.

On the table were several exquisite side dishes: perfectly pickled cucumbers, translucent slices of ham, a plate of golden, oily salted duck eggs, several steaming baskets of crab roe dumplings, and a pot of thick millet porridge.

"Fourth brother is here, please sit down." Zhu Gaoxu greeted him with a smile and even served his fourth brother a small steamed bun.

Zhu Gaoxi sat down opposite the two men, drinking his porridge while discreetly observing Zhu Di.

He had decided last night that it was best not to say anything during the day, but to stop Zhu Di when he had finished breakfast and was about to go to the meeting.

Zhu Di was eating at a leisurely pace, occasionally exchanging a few words about military affairs with his second son, clearly indicating that he was in a good mood.

Just in time, this caught old Judy completely off guard.

After all, children should be filial and know how to surprise their parents.

Tell Zhu Di about this when he's in a good mood; it will be a bigger surprise for him.

After finishing his meal, Zhu Di took a sip of tea and was about to get up to discuss the arrangements for marching and crossing the river with Zhang Fu.

Today, we will meet up with Mu Sheng's eastern army at Baihejiang, and the two armies will join forces. This was a strategy decided before the expedition.

Mu Sheng started from Mengzi, Yunnan, and headed south along the upper reaches of the Red River valley. He entered Annam from the northwest and continued southeast. According to the time, he should reach Baihejiang today.

He had just stood up when he heard the fourth brother speak.

"Father, wait a moment, I have something to tell you." Zhu Gaoxi put down his chopsticks, his tone somewhat solemn.

Zhu Gaoxu had originally planned to go with Zhu Di, but upon hearing the fourth prince's words, he pulled back his foot, plopped back down in his chair, and looked at him curiously.

Zhu Di smiled, sat down again, picked up his teacup, and took another sip.

He noticed that the fourth brother kept looking in his direction during breakfast, and thought to himself that the kid was definitely holding something back. He wasn't in a hurry and just waited for him to speak. "Fourth brother, what is it? Just say it."

"Fourth brother, what do you want to say to Father? Can your second brother listen?" Zhu Gaoxu leaned over, his eyes sparkling, wanting to join in the fun.

"It's alright, Second Brother, you should stay too. This matter is also related to you, Second Brother." Zhu Gaoxi glanced at him.

Upon hearing that it was related to him, Zhu Gaoxu immediately perked up, chuckled, and sat up straight.

Zhu Di glanced at his second son, thinking to himself, "This second son is always trying to stir up trouble. It was clearly the fourth son who approached me, but he's the one who's so eager to speak." But since the fourth son said it was also related to the second son, he decided to let him listen.

Zhu Di then dismissed his attendants and sent all the guards and eunuchs in the room away.

Once the door closed, only the father and his two sons remained inside.

Looking at Zhu Di's calm face, Zhu Gaoxi wondered how he could stir up trouble later.

He thought for a moment, then spoke slowly and deliberately: "Father, I can bring Grandpa back to life. Do you want to see him?"

"puff--"

Zhu Di spat out the mouthful of tea he had just taken a sip of, spraying it all over the table.

He froze in his chair as if struck by lightning, his eyes wide open, coughing repeatedly, his face turning red.

His teacup trembled violently, and he didn't even notice the tea spilling all over him.

He was originally thinking of giving the fourth brother some surprise, but the fourth brother's words almost sent him to his death.

He coughed as he cursed inwardly: Who are you trying to scare to death this early in the morning? Your dad almost turned into a dead Zhu!

"Fourth Brother, what did you say? Say it again?!" Zhu Gaoxu, who was smiling, froze on his face upon hearing this. His eyes widened like copper bells, and his mouth opened wide enough to fit an egg.

He even wondered if he had misheard. He hadn't drunk that much last night, but what if he hadn't sobered up completely? He quickly patted his face.

Then what came to mind? Right, where's the jade pendant? This amazing scene must be recorded.

I like to wear jade pendants around my neck. I touched one and realized, oh, so that's where it is!

He shakily turned on the video recording function and pointed the camera at Zhu Gaoxi.

Zhu Gaoxi was extremely pleased to see Zhu Di coughing and spitting out tea.

Yes, yes, that's exactly the effect he wanted.

He sat there calmly, even taking a sip of tea, looking completely harmless.

"Fourth Prince, what did you just say? I didn't hear you clearly, say it again." Zhu Di finally caught his breath and wiped the tea off his chin with his sleeve, his voice trembling slightly.

He actually heard it clearly, every single word, but subconsciously he hoped he had misheard.

After all, he thought the fourth son was a filial child.

A multitude of thoughts exploded in his mind: Is Dad going to live?

Zhu Di became increasingly flustered and confused as he thought about it, but he forced himself to remain calm on the surface. He quickly made up his mind: no matter what the fourth prince says later, I must politely refuse.

Just say: It's better not to meet at all. Let bygones be bygones. Let your grandfather and the others rest in peace. Don't invite them up here to cause trouble.

Yes, that's what I'll say.

"Dad, I just said I can resurrect Grandpa. And Grandma too. Uncle and Uncle can be resurrected as well. Would you like to see them?"

Zhu Gaoxi was secretly laughing at his father's absent-minded appearance, but he kept a straight face and repeated the earth-shattering words one by one.

Upon hearing this string of names, Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu were completely dumbfounded.

The room was so quiet that you could hear birds chirping outside the window.

Zhu Gaoxu's hand, holding the jade pendant, froze in mid-air; his mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out.

He had only one thought in his mind: His fourth brother wants to bring Grandpa back to life? What about my throne then? No, no, I don't want the throne! But if Grandpa really comes back to life, who will rule the Ming Dynasty?