Yingtian Mansion, Forbidden City, in the back hall of Huagai Hall.
Zhu Yuanzhang, who was lying on the table, woke up from a deep sleep and glanced around. There were candles and incense burning in the study. There were five more bags on the table that were incompatible with the furnishings in his study. They looked very strange, but this was exactly what happened. It was he who took back the Ming Dynasty fruit from Chu Zhen!
The tiredness suddenly disappears.
"Somebody come!"
Zhu Yuanzhang shouted, and two eunuchs came in quietly from outside the door. They stood with their heads bowed, waiting for His Majesty's order.
"How many days has it been?"
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at the eunuch on the left who was paying tribute from Goryeo. He still remembered his name, Jin Liyuan.
Although he was from Korea, he was easier to use than the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty.
"Your Majesty, it's almost the third watch, and it's time to rest." Jin Liyuan said with a smile on his face, "The Queen just sent someone to urge me. I have my instructions from Long Live Grandpa and don't dare to disturb me."
"The Queen is not asleep yet?"
Zhu Yuanzhang showed joy on his face and ordered them: "Call a few people to come in, take these five bags of things for me, and go to the Queen!"
"I obey the decree."
Jin Liyuan immediately called several eunuchs into the study. Under the emperor's gaze, he carefully took several bags from the desk and handed them to other eunuchs.
Zhu Yuanzhang was very satisfied. Although this Korean eunuch was not from the Ming Dynasty, he knew the rules very well and would not let a bunch of people come to his desk to take the bags randomly.
"Long live Grandpa, the toilet is ready."
"Well, keep an eye on the bag for me. If there is one missing piece of fruit, why don't you ask for it!"
"I obey the decree!"
Jin Liyuan was respectful, lowered his head and waited for a while. When His Majesty got on the toilet and eight people lifted the toilet and walked forward, he secretly slowed down and came to the eunuchs behind him.
Tell him with your eyes to open the bag.
How dare the young eunuch offend Lord Right Young Supervisor, so he quietly opened this strange-looking bag that didn't look like it was made of cloth.
Jin Liyuan took a look. It was full of dark red fruits hanging on the branches, and the leaves were still green.
"Is this a fruit unique to Ming Dynasty?!"
Jin Liyuan was surprised that he could not recognize the fruit at all.
A eunuch next to him came over, looked at it again and again, and then lowered his voice and said, "Sir, this looks like the pickled lychees that Long Live Grandpa had eaten before."
"litchi?"
No matter how ignorant Jin Liyuan is from Goryeo, he has heard of this famous Lingnan fruit.
It’s not that it’s too delicious, but it’s that it’s too famous.
"Why did lychees suddenly appear in Long Live Master's study? Who sent them to the palace?"
Jin Liyuan was puzzled. Logically speaking, coming in through Litchi from outside the palace would have already made a fuss in the palace, and even the courtiers outside would discuss it.
But now, half a bag of lychees appeared on Long Live Master's table as if falling from the sky.
At the second watch, he went into the study to add incense for Long Live Lord, but he hadn't seen the bag at that time.
Unable to figure it out, Jin Liyuan quietly looked into other bags and found that they contained different fruits.
There is a yellow fruit as big as a fist, with a strong aroma that makes people drool.
There is also a bayberry that is as big as a thumb, plump and attractive in color.
"No wonder Lord Long Live has strictly ordered me not to eat secretly..."
Jin Liyuan swallowed and resisted the urge to take one.
If he wants to steal something, he must score one of these little eunuchs, otherwise they will probably expose him.
Just forget it, your life is at stake.
"Put it all away, grab the bag!"
Since he couldn't eat it, Jin Liyuan had no choice but to keep it out of sight. He asked the eunuch to close the bag and walked beside him to prevent them from stealing it.
All the way to the queen's palace.
After getting off the toilet, Zhu Yuanzhang saw the queen leading the maids to greet her at the door. He couldn't help laughing: "Come on, sister, I brought you fresh lychees!"
Queen Ma was surprised, "Where did your Majesty come from...oh, yes, Chu, Chu."
She didn't know how to address Chu Shangxian in public.
It's okay to call Chu Shangxian in private, but with the dignity of a queen, in front of many maids and eunuchs, if you call Chu Shangxian, the news will spread inside and outside the palace the next day, and everyone will start to ask who Chu Shangxian is.
"Zhenren Chu!"
Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile, giving Chu Zhen an official title in the Ming Dynasty.
Empress Ma understood and came up to congratulate her: "Your Majesty has received another gift from Master Chu. I would like to express my congratulations to your Majesty."
As he spoke, he smiled and saluted.
Zhu Yuanzhang supported her and said, "Why are you congratulating me? I paid for him. Come on, let's go back to the room to eat!"
A group of palace maids holding lanterns and eunuchs standing nearby all had their heads lowered, their faces full of confusion, not knowing what the Long Live Lord and the Queen were talking about.
Who is Master Chu?
Where did lychees come from?
The whole world belongs to the emperor, why do you still have to spend money to buy it?
On the contrary, no one questioned the statement that he would go back to the room to eat. Long live the Lord used to use folk sayings, not calling the palace, but the room.
The emperor and empress entered the palace, and Jin Liyuan ordered the young eunuch to hand the bag to the empress's maid, who would guard the door.
The maids opened the bags and placed them on the table.
"Jungpachi."
Queen Ma was surprised and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "Did you buy all these fruits from Master Chu? Did you bring money with you when you went?"
In private, Empress Ma would address her husband more casually and in a more casual tone, but in formal occasions, she still adhered to the etiquette of an empress toward her majesty, and asked Zhu Yuanzhang to call her "Queen" more formally, or "Zi" more affectionately. "Tong", but Zhu Yuanzhang was too lazy to change it. He mostly called her sister and barely called her queen.
"cough."
Zhu Yuanzhang took a sip of tea to soothe his throat: "Next time I go, I will bring him ten pounds of gold! Sister, prepare it for me and put it in a gift box."
"Ten pounds of gold...you are so!"
Empress Ma covered her forehead helplessly, glanced at the fruit on the table again, and sighed: "It's not expensive, but it's just this once, don't buy it next time."
It costs a lot to send fresh lychees by fast horse from Lingnan, so fresh lychees have never come to Yingtian Mansion.
All in all, this lychee is the first fresh lychee that appears in the Forbidden City.
"Hahaha!"
Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said, "My sister is wrong. Ten kilograms of gold can buy several thousand kilograms of lychees. Chu Zhen told me personally that a kilogram of lychees at his place costs three or four cents. I will give him more silver first." , lest he refuses to buy more!”
"Thirty or four cents a pound of lychees?!"
Queen Ma was very surprised, "I'm afraid the lychees in Lingnan are only so cheap. And this fruit is also from Lingnan? Is this a bayberry? How can it be so big?"
She hasn't seen a mango either.
"So eat whatever you want." Zhu Yuanzhang picked up a mango, peeled it for her personally, and taught her how to eat the fruit.
"I've met, let me come."
Queen Ma smiled and wanted to take the mango, but Zhu Yuanzhang refused and asked her to sit down.
The couple looked at each other.
"Chongba, do you have something to say to me?" Queen Ma could see that her husband was worried.
"What can happen? Girl, don't think too much, just eat!"
Zhu Yuanzhang handed the half-peeled mango to his wife.
He couldn't bear to think about what the little girl said. When Emperor Hongwu regained Liaodong, Empress Ma had already passed away several years ago...
He would rather not take Liaodong for the rest of his life!
Or send troops to take over Liaodong tomorrow!
"Mmm, this tastes really good."
Empress Ma took a bite of the pulp and couldn't help but praise it. She said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "Although it was a gift from Master Chu and Your Majesty spent money to buy it, it should be distributed to the concubines. I will have people carry it over."
"Give it to them? No!" Zhu Yuanzhang refused.
At most, I gave some to Biao'er to have a taste, but no one else had any.
"I can't take care of the affairs of the court, but I can take care of the affairs of the harem!"
Seeing that he disagreed, Queen Ma also became adamant and raised her hand to call the maid over.
"I want you to take care of the affairs of the court!" Zhu Yuanzhang stopped her, "The harem can be involved in politics, but I also have to take care of the affairs of the harem. No gifts are allowed!"
"..."
Queen Ma was shocked by his words and reached out to touch her husband's face, "Are you Zhu Chongba?"
"I am the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. If I say that the harem can be involved in politics, then the harem can be involved in politics!"
The two had a noisy argument, but Zhu Yuanzhang finally compromised and allowed Queen Ma to bring some fresh lychees, bayberries, and strawberries to the concubines in the harem.
A total of ten lychees were taken out, but there were twenty concubines in the harem, so it was a headache for a while how to divide them.
"We'll see you again tomorrow, I thought of something."
Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly ordered Queen Ma: "Tomorrow morning, sister, please ask all the concubines in the palace to come here and wait with my sons and daughters, plus the maids and eunuchs in charge."
Empress Ma was a little surprised and asked him what it was about, but Zhu Yuanzhang said he would mention it tomorrow.
Empress Ma could only agree and ordered the palace maid to inform the concubines tomorrow morning to take care of their own affairs.
She guessed it was still related to Master Chu!
