gnovel Chapter 8 The Zhu Family: Five Sons and Two Daughters
Chapter 8 The Zhu Family: Five Sons and Two Daughters
In the morning, after the concubines arrived, the princes arrived one after another.
"Your subject greets Your Majesty."
The five sons of the Zhu family, led by Zhu Biao, spoke in a friendly yet slightly respectful tone, bowing in unison.
After completing the palace etiquette, Ma Xiuying smiled faintly.
Then, Zhu Biao, the eldest son who was usually the most honest and disciplined, surprisingly took a seat and sat down, just like his lively younger siblings.
Zhu Di, Zhu Shuang, and Zhu Gang were the future Princes of Yan, Qin, and Jin.
Needless to say, the three of them, who were always fond of causing trouble and playing around in the harem, were unusually quiet today, as if they had not had their usual hyperactivity and were trying their best to restrain themselves.
Zhu Su, the fifth son of Empress Ma and Prince Zhou, was not holding a copy of the Analects. Instead, he was engrossed in reading a medical book from the Imperial Medical Academy, muttering to himself, "Star anise, Angelica pubescens, Angelica sinensis..."
He recited each Chinese medicinal herb in a rather pleasant tone.
Besides the five sons of the Zhu family, there were also two daughters who were only about seven or eight years old.
Princess Ningguo and Princess Anqing are holding books and reciting the Classic of Filial Piety.
But after chanting for less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the two little girls each stretched out their hands, touching each other, their fingers intertwining as if one finger became two, and two fingers became four.
They started playing like that in public inside the Kunning Palace.
As Ma Xiuying stared in disbelief, her close maid Su Qing'er laughed cheerfully and praised, "His Highness the Crown Prince's Eight-Section Brocade exercise is becoming more and more impressive; he's almost seventy percent as skilled as Your Majesty."
"As expected of His Highness the Crown Prince."
Zhu Biao smiled sheepishly, scratched his head, and said respectfully, "Sister Qing'er, you flatter me. How can I compare to Mother Empress? Even the imperial physicians and the guards in the palace all say that they are not as good as Mother Empress."
"I still have a lot to learn and improve upon."
Although Zhu Biao used humble words, he couldn't suppress the joy on his face, which was quite rare.
Then, with his hands behind his back and strode forward with a powerful, dragon-like gait, he began to survey his younger siblings, as if he had once again shouldered the heavy burden and responsibility of being the eldest brother.
But it seems that he doesn't need to worry about monitoring Zhu Di, Zhu Gang, Zhu Shuang, or even Zhu Su who studies medicine, as well as his two lovely younger sisters Ningguo and Anqing.
They were either immersed in their own world or having a blast.
"Your Majesty has the best solution."
Seeing the joyful and harmonious scene in Kunning Palace, even Sun Miaoran, a female official in Kunning Palace who was always down-to-earth and disciplined in the palace, couldn't help but show a rare smile. "Although the princes knew how to behave properly in the past, they have lost some of their childlike nature. We servants are also worried about this."
"But lately, Your Majesty has come up with many ingenious methods..."
Sun Miaoran looked at Zhu Biao and then smiled, "Although His Highness the Crown Prince participates in court affairs, his physical strength is relatively weak. Since he started practicing this health-preserving exercise, even if he neglects his duties for a little while, it will be a sign of longevity and good fortune."
"Recently, I've been doing some heavy work to stretch my muscles and strengthen my body. My energy is so good that even His Majesty was so pleased that he ate three bowls of rice and three large sesame cakes."
Sun Miaoran was speaking with great enthusiasm when she saw that Ma Xiuying was slightly taken aback but did not stop her, so she continued to talk eloquently: "There are also the Second Prince and the Third Prince. Even though His Majesty disciplined them many times in the palace, they were like the sage Yu the Great controlling the floods, only blocking and not dredging."
"But Her Majesty's ingenious method, though it only allowed the children to play, completely exhausted the two princes' energy, making them much more well-behaved than before."
"Their reputation in the palace is getting better and better! Even the Fourth Prince and the Fifth Prince have made great progress."
"In particular, Her Majesty encouraged the Fifth Prince not to be demanding of him to study the Four Books and Five Classics or to uphold the filial piety of Heaven, Earth, Emperor, Parents, and Teacher, but to pursue his hobbies in his spare time."
"It is said that throughout history, no member of the royal family has ever been a physician. Perhaps if the Fifth Prince could become the only one, the safety of our royal family would be greatly enhanced. It is precisely for this reason that His Majesty did not stop him after learning about it, but instead encouraged him."
Although Her Majesty no longer personally instructs the princes, the scholars of the Hanlin Academy and the officials of the Imperial Medical Academy are even more dedicated to their duties. Even the Grand Scholar Song Lian praised Her Majesty's method as "teaching according to aptitude," saying it greatly inspired the officials of the Hanlin Academy and expressing his gratitude to Her Majesty.
At this moment, Ma Xiuying was also moved by Sun Miaoran's words. Seeing her suddenly stop, she couldn't help but ask urgently, "What about Ningguo and Anqing?"
As Ma Xiuying spoke, she looked at the two girls and saw that their innocent faces were beaming with smiles, their red lips and white teeth showing the same joy she herself had when she was young, and even more carefree.
She no longer seemed like a noblewoman, bound by palace rules and regulations, but rather like an ordinary daughter of a commoner, free and joyful.
For a moment, even Empress Ma Xiuying, the mother of the nation, was somewhat dazed.
"Does Your Highness want us to continue praising her?"
Su Qing'er covered her mouth and chuckled, appearing bolder than before, and growing closer to Empress Ma Xiuying.
Although they were close in the past, the boundaries of respect between superiors and inferiors seem to have become faintly blurred now.
This closeness makes it seem much more genuine.
Sun Miaoran chatted and laughed.
Su Qing'er held her head high and looked at Ma Xiuying with more admiration than ever before. Her nose even tingled, and she wiped away tears in front of everyone.
"The hearts of parents are all the same. Her Majesty has worried herself sick over the two young princes, and has even said some outrageous things that she has never said before."
Su Qing'er choked up, but continued with a smile: "Her Majesty said that since the two young princes are royal women and members of the Zhu family, they only need to maintain decorum and respect the words of the Book of Rites on the surface."
"A wife follows the benevolent, and also follows her father and elder brother. After marriage, she follows her husband, and after her husband's death, she follows her son." "The husband is the guide for the wife" is one of the three cardinal guides. The Book of Changes also says, "Heaven is high and earth is low, and Qian and Kun are established. The man is heaven and the master, and the woman is earth and the follower."
As long as one does not lose face or decorum in public, it is acceptable.
However, in secret, if the person she marries in the future is respectful and loving, she will naturally be a good wife and mother, and work together harmoniously. But if the person she marries is immoral and has an improper attitude, even if she is a royal princess, as was the case in the Tang Dynasty, why can't a princess of the Ming Dynasty do the same?
"However, the purpose of our actions needs to be concealed."
"Your Majesty's painstaking efforts for the two young princes have warmed our hearts."
"A wife need not obey her husband; if the husband is wrong, she can be expelled. Your Majesty's words truly strike a chord with us women."
Sun Miaoran's eyes were also filled with tears, and her voice was choked with emotion as she said, "Your Majesty, you are truly the best Your Majesty in the world."
"You two girls, you've already said what you wanted to say, why are you crying now?"
Ma Xiuying snapped out of her daze and listened to those deafening words. Although they were somewhat unconventional, they sounded strangely pleasant to her, making her vague unease disappear.
Ma Xiuying was an extraordinary woman, not one to conform to conventions.
Otherwise, how could she have earned the reputation of a wise empress throughout the ages, and the reality of being the founding couple of the nation?
She was never a short-sighted person.