At the end of April, there are still six days before the Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on the fifth day of May.
After the Dragon Boat Festival, summer is about to begin, and mosquitoes are rampant, making it easy to contract malaria.
But now Beiping City already has Fengyou essence, toilet water, mosquito coils, etc., so we no longer have to worry about mosquitoes.
The custom of hanging mugwort leaves on the doors of every house to drive away mosquitoes still remains.
In the Duke's Mansion, there are beautiful gardens.
The servants in the house are all busy cleaning the house, cleaning inside and outside.
The main house is also bustling with activity.
Li Xiao specially invited everyone to make rice dumplings together today, and he also did it himself.
The mistress Zhu Ningyun, the head of the family Li Xiao, and the daughter Li Wuyou were at the table.
Some people who are close to them as their own, such as Li Xiongzhi, Zhang Cuicui, Chang Yingwu, Li Kefang, Liu Dakai, Song Yingxing and others were sitting on another table making rice dumplings and feeling the joy of the festival.
"Father, mother, is this rice dumpling made beautifully by my daughter?"
Li Wuyou also learned to make rice dumplings, but the rice dumplings he made were not pretty. When he put them in front of Li Xiao, he looked at Li Xiao with bungling eyes.
Li Xiao smiled and rubbed her pink cheeks, "It's pretty good. A tiger father has no dog daughter, haha."
Li Xiao also likes this little daughter more and more. She is well-behaved and sensible, and Li Xiao has always raised her as his own daughter.
Zhu Ningyun smiled like a flower, glanced at Li Xiao, and muttered: "You are really a saleswoman, selling yourself and boasting."
"Miss is really smart. Not only is she good at reading, but she can also learn how to make rice dumplings in one go."
Chang Yingwu laughed and said, and everyone else responded with "Yes, yes, it is really a tiger father and a dogless daughter", which caused a burst of hearty laughter.
Zhu Ningyun smiled and said: "You are the only one with a sweet mouth."
Li Wuyou was busy with his studies, and he rarely saw his father. It was rare for him to experience the joy of the festival with his father, so he stood next to Li Xiao and clumsily wrapped rice dumplings with his pink little hands, giving Li Xiao a look from time to time.
The good times of the deep love between father and daughter did not last long. Not long after, another little head popped out from the side and appeared next to Li Wuyou mysteriously, "Sister Wuyou, let me help you."
Li Wuyou turned around and saw that it was Zhu Zhanji, and immediately frowned slightly.
"Sister Wuyou, I'm really good at making zongzi."
Zhu Zhanji was a few months older than Li Wuyou, so he called her sister.
"Hey, Zhanji, why are you here?"
Li Xiao looked at Zhu Zhanji, you kid, didn't you hold your shit in? You're only five years old, and you're just thinking about how to pick up girls. Do you want to pick up my daughter?
Naturally, Zhu Zhanji was not sent alone, but was brought with him, and Zhu Di and Xu Miaoyun arrived one after another.
"Father, emperor, mother."
At this time, Zhu Ningyun suddenly put down what he was doing and greeted him enthusiastically.
"See the Holy One, see the Queen!"
Li Xiongzhi and others were frightened and frightened. The Holy Spirit came in person and hurriedly knelt down to worship.
Zhu Di waved his hand, and these people immediately cupped their hands and retreated.
"I have met my father-in-law and mother-in-law."
Li Xiao greeted him hurriedly, and then said: "Why didn't you inform me in advance when my father-in-law was coming, so that my son-in-law could make some preparations in advance?"
Zhu Di smiled again and again and said: "As a family, why are you so invisible to outsiders? Li Xiao, Li Xiao, you haven't come to the palace to see us for a few days, and you asked us to come to see you in person."
Xu Miaoyun looked at Zhu Ningyun with a smile and said, "This matter still depends on Ningyun. This girl Ningyun doesn't even care about us anymore."
"Mother, how can I have a daughter?"
Zhu Ningyun happily took Xu Miaoyun's arm, and the mother and daughter sat down.
"Isn't the Dragon Boat Festival coming? Let's have fun making rice dumplings as a family." Zhu Ningyun said with a smile.
"My mother hasn't made rice dumplings for a long time. It's better to hurry up than to hurry up. Today my mother will be here to make rice dumplings with you." Queen Xu said.
Zhu Ningyun smiled and nodded.
"Okay, let's make rice dumplings together."
Zhu Zhanji approached Li Wuyou and said, "Sister Wuyou, teach me."
Li Wuyou said helplessly: "Okay, let's agree first, I will only teach you once."
Zhu Zhanji said: "How can I learn it once?"
Li Wuyou: "Then one more time, two more times."
Zhu Zhanji: "Sister Wuyou is the best."
Li Wuyou: "."
Girls mature slightly earlier than boys, so this conversation is obviously a bit asymmetrical.
Hearing the conversation between children will make everyone smile.
Zhu Di smiled and said, "Madam, you are right here. My son-in-law and I will go out for a walk."
Zhu Di came today with a purpose. Firstly, he brought his wife to see his daughter. In addition, his grandson was pestering him to come, and Zhu Di wanted to talk to Li Xiao about recent events.
"go Go."
Xu Miaoyun responded, and then went to chat with her daughter.
Li Xiao followed Zhu Di out of the house and wandered around the house chatting.
Zhu Di first talked about the recent arrival of the great scholar in Beijing.
Li Xiao also had a headache about this matter, and replied: "Your Majesty, this matter is indeed a bit unexpected. I didn't expect that these Confucian scholars would have such a big reaction. Since the Sui Dynasty, the imperial examination has been going on for thousands of years, and the tests are all about Confucianism. . Since the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty has deposed hundreds of schools and only respected Confucianism for thousands of years. The sudden change has indeed caused some turmoil in the world, but my son-in-law is sure that it is feasible to abolish the imperial examination. Confucianism also has merits, and it is still necessary Retain, but also evaluate talents comprehensively.”
Zhu Di nodded slightly, and then Nan Nan said: "You know, although Confucianism has cultivated a bunch of rotten Confucians, it has also been helpful to the rule of the dynasty. In fact, I have always been worried about such a change. I don't know whether it is a good thing or not. It’s so bad, I often think about it and can’t sleep at night.”
Zhu Di did not understand the direction of future generations, and did not have Li Xiao's vision. In his position, his worries were understandable.
Li Xiao said: "Your Majesty, your dragon body is the most important thing."
Zhu Di smiled and patted Li Xiao on the shoulder and said: "Xian son-in-law, you don't need to see anyone in private. Although I am the emperor now, you made long-term plans for me when I was the prince. You are dedicated to this family." , I see it in my eyes and have long treated you as my own son."
This is Zhu Di's true words. The reason why Li Xiao was able to implement reforms was that he gained Zhu Di's trust. This is not the kind of trust between monarchs and ministers, but family affection.
Otherwise, no matter who it is, it would be impossible for any official to handle this matter, and Zhu Di would be jealous.
Li Xiao nodded and said with determination: "Father-in-law, I have long regarded you as my biological father. If not, how could my son-in-law dare to do such stupid things?"
"Hahahaha. You, you, you."
After saying that, Zhu Di burst out laughing, then looked at Li Xiao and said seriously:
"Li Xiao, have you ever thought about it, even if we can succeed in the reform this time, if our descendants encounter unworthy descendants, they may recover at any time and fall short of our achievements. Think about the Qin Dynasty that unified the country and it took seven generations of hard work to bring about all the achievements. The consequence was that the country was unstable and the second generation died. If Liu Bang, the later emperor of the Han Dynasty, had not unified the country again, all efforts would have been in vain, but even so, the country would have changed hands."
Now that Zhu Di is the emperor, he stands in a different position and thinks about problems from a different perspective.
Compared to when I was a prince, I think further, not only about the present, but also about the future of the dynasty.
Hearing this, Li Xiao frowned slightly, thinking that this was really possible.
Among the descendants of Zhu Di's lineage, all wise kings are short-lived, while all foolish kings are long-lived.
Even Chongzhen, who refined the elixir of immortality, lived for a long time. There were also people who played sister-brother romance, leopard room, and the most outrageous thing was one who had been idle for thirty years.
Even these current reforms may really be subverted and returned to the original status quo as time goes by.
"This" Li Xiao suddenly didn't know how to answer.
"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore."
Zhu Di smiled and said: "The world is unpredictable. Who can see so far? If there is such a capable person who can see the future, how can the dynasty be destroyed? However, the results of your reforms in the Peking Special Economic Zone are appreciated by both me and the Supreme Emperor." In my eyes, keep changing it!"
Li Xiao cupped his hands and said, "Yes, father-in-law. That father-in-law and son-in-law have an unkind request."
Zhu Di said: "But it doesn't matter."
Li Xiaodao: "After these reforms are over, my son-in-law wants to resign from the position of Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty, ignore the government affairs, and become a couple of gods and gods together with Ningyun, and visit the mountains and rivers. Please allow my father-in-law."
This is Li Xiao's vaccination in advance. He cannot be a powerful minister forever. Learning to leave like Tang He is the right way to protect himself.
Although Zhu Di was with him heart and soul, he couldn't stay away forever. The main thing was that after everything was done, he really wanted to have fun with Ningyun.
"You don't have to be so afraid of me."
How could Zhu Di not understand the meaning? He said slightly dissatisfied: "No matter how great your achievements and achievements are, Li Xiao, you still can't shock me. How can I be suspicious of you?" .”
"Father-in-law misunderstood." Li Xiao hurriedly explained: "Li Xiao just wants to travel the mountains and rivers with the one he loves and live a more relaxed and comfortable life."
"You kid." Zhu Di said with a helpless smile: "You will enjoy it. Let's not mention it for now. Let's talk about it after this reform is fully completed."
Of course Zhu Di was reluctant to let Li Xiao leave. How could a person who didn't care about power and money and was capable of helping him make Ming Dynasty better, how could he be willing to let him rest?
"Come on, since we left Peiping, we haven't exercised together for ten years. Does your government have a martial arts arena?"
Zhu Di asked with a smile.
"Yes, my father-in-law is really a noble man who forgets things." Li Xiao laughed: "This Duke's Mansion was originally the Princess' Mansion, and it was you who gave it to Ningyun as a dowry."
"Yep."
Zhu Di patted his head and remembered, and said with a smile: "Now that the state affairs are busy, I can't remember many things. I still remember that girl Ningyun changed the Princess's Mansion to Li's Mansion. Eleven years have passed in the blink of an eye. . By the way, in fact, this mansion was originally reserved for Zhu Gaoxu. Unexpectedly, things are unpredictable. I have ascended the throne, and Gao Xu will no longer be able to use it."
"So this was still the case?"
Li Xiao also lamented: "Everything in the world is unpredictable."
Now that Zhu Gaoxu has become the vassal king, he is very busy training troops all day long in order not to be driven to Yunnan by Zhu Di.
After wandering for a while, the two came to the martial arts arena.
"It's been a while since I held a bow."
Zhu Di smiled and walked to the weapon rack, picked up the hard bow, stringed the bow and shot an arrow.
The arrow came out like a rainbow, penetrated into the bull's eye with a buzzing sound, and penetrated three points into the wood.
"My father-in-law is very accurate, and his sword is not old yet!" Li Xiao said flatteringly.
Zhu Di smiled and said: "I still remember the first time you met me, it was at the martial arts field of Prince Yan's Mansion. I shot an arrow. Do you still remember?"
"Remember, remember." Li Xiao joked: "Back when my father-in-law was beating my son-in-law, Ningyun had not recovered his appearance at that time and had a sensitive temperament. You were worried that Ningyun would be stimulated, so you said that my son-in-law should be like this arrow. You have to be single-minded. Otherwise, like this target, one arrow will pierce your heart."
"Hahaha, it seems you still remember it."
Zhu Di said with emotion: "That's what I like most about you. You did it. What makes me even more gratified is that you still do it now!"
Li Xiao smiled and said: "With Ningyun's heart, my son-in-law has no regrets in this life."
"It's a pity." Zhu Di wondered: "Xian son-in-law, your medical skills are amazing and you can restore Ningyun's appearance. Why can't you let Ningyun get pregnant?"
This is something that Zhu Di has always been worried about. His daughter is now twenty-nine years old, and Li Xiao is already thirty-three years old, but they have not given birth to a son or a daughter. When it comes to this matter, Xu Miaoyun has also been worried about it. .
"Why"
Li Xiao said helplessly: "Not all difficult and complicated diseases can be cured."
Li Xiao also searched the system but couldn't find a way to solve the problem. This may be a genetic problem. No matter how good his medical skills are, he can't solve it.
Li Xiao guessed that it might be the ultimate gift package to get this thing, right?
“There are three unfilial piety, the greatest of which is not having offspring.”
Zhu Di said: "I have discussed it with the Queen. As the Duke of the country, how can I let you cut off your incest? Now Ningyun has recovered his temper, is reasonable and open-minded. It was not allowed before, but now... I allow you to take concubines." , to continue the incense.”
For ancient people, cutting off the incense was a matter as big as the sky.
It means that future generations will no longer have their own bloodline, and their bloodline will be cut off.
Although Li Xiao now has a daughter, Li Wuyou, she is an adopted daughter after all and has no blood relationship.
Queen Xu Miaoyun hesitated on this point for a long time, but finally made up her mind and discussed with Zhu Di for a long time, and the two reached a consensus.
"Father-in-law, I."
Li Xiao just wanted to speak, but was interrupted by Zhu Di raising his hand.
Zhu Di said: "You don't need to say more. The queen should have told Ningyun that she is in a generous mood now and will not blame you. It's just a concubine. It's not a big deal. I'm not like that." Be careful."
Speaking of which, although Zhu Di was in love with Xu Miaoyun, he had many concubines. Not long ago, he even took in a young concubine. In the ancient thought of male supremacy, this was a normal thing.
Nowadays, Li Xiao is the Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty and the Duke of Yongle. Such power cannot leave any descendants. Zhu Di is afraid that people in the world will scold him for being petty and caring too much about his son-in-law.
"Father-in-law, I appreciate your kindness."
Li Xiao flatly refused: "My son-in-law is only willing to stay with Ningyun forever, and the other sons-in-law don't care."
What Li Xiao said was also extremely sincere.
Ten years later, he also realized that everyone around him would grow old, but he and Ningyun would not.
Even if you give birth to sons or daughters, you can only watch them grow old, and the black-haired people give away the white-haired people. Instead of doing this, why add to the sadness.
"Do you really think so?"
Zhu Di looked at Li Xiao in surprise.
I was extremely surprised. I didn't expect that he actually loved his daughter so much. He really hadn't entrusted her to the wrong person.
Suddenly, Zhu Di had a thought and recalled what Li Xiao said.
Want to live forever with Ningyun?
Good guy, you really want to refine the elixir of life.
It turned out that I had this idea
Thinking of this, Zhu Di said earnestly: "A good son-in-law must not be greedy for immortality. The golden elixirs are poisonous and will only be counterproductive and damage life span."
Li Xiao: "????"
Li Xiao was a little confused, why was this topic so exciting?
Why is it related to the longevity technique?
"Huh?" Zhu Di's eyes suddenly lit up and he pointed at Li Xiao's chin and said, "Xian son-in-law, why did your beard fall off?"
"Has your beard fallen off?"
Li Xiao hurriedly took out a small mirror from his cuffs and took a look at it. He didn't glue his beard well that morning, half of it fell off and was hanging on his chin.
Eleven years have passed, but the years have not left any trace on Li Xiao's body, so Li Xiao has no choice but to use a fake beard to pretend to be more mature.
Li Xiaogang wanted to turn around and put on the fake beard.
Zhu Di frowned slightly, with quick eyes and quick hands, he reached out his hand and pulled gently.
Zila~
The fake beard was pulled off directly by Zhu Di. Zhu Di looked at the whole person and was stunned in place. The Li Xiao who had removed the fake beard was no different from the Li Xiao ten years ago!
"You, you, you, you, you have been using a fake beard? You are still so young??"
Zhu Di was horrified, and his heart became hot, and he said: "Xian son-in-law, you can't really practice the elixir of immortality!"
"Father-in-law, you are laughing."
Li Xiao hurriedly cupped the offering hand and said: "How can my son-in-law have such magical means? This is just a good look, and my son-in-law is an important minister of the country. It is said that he can't do things well if he has no hair on his mouth, so he has this fake beard. .”
Hearing this, Zhu Di took a breath and let go of his doubts.
At the same time, a trace of disappointment flashed in his eyes.
Which emperor doesn't want to live forever? The same is true for Zhu Di.
It's just that he is relatively rational and knows that those immortality spells are all tricks used to deceive people, and he should not believe them to be true.
Zhu Di was surprised and said: "How do you maintain your appearance? No wonder Ningyun has not aged ten years, and your mother-in-law is quite envious of her."
Zhu Di felt that Li Xiao was a miracle doctor and maintaining his appearance was not a big deal. This explanation did not doubt Li Xiao's longevity at all.
"This is a facial mask, prepared with specially prepared herbs."
Li Xiao's mind changed quickly. He took out a few gold-packaged facial masks from his large sleeve robe and said, "Every few days, apply this mask on your face. It will make your skin fair and tender, and your appearance will last forever. However, it can only Delay aging, as time goes by, you will still get older.”
"I see." Zhu Di took the mask and said strangely: "Xian son-in-law, it's just Ningyun. Why do you, a man, want to stay in the beauty salon?"
Li Xiao explained with a smile: "Shennong tasted the herbs, and the doctors tested the medicine first. This mask was prepared by my son-in-law, so naturally he wanted to test the effect."
"No wonder." Zhu Di nodded.
Seeing this, Li Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, as he had been fooled again.
I tried it again and again. It seems that it will become more and more difficult to fool me in the future.
"A good son-in-law."
Zhu Di suddenly shouted again.
Li Xiao was shocked, could it be that he didn't believe it?
"Father-in-law, what advice do you have?" Li Xiao said.
Zhu Di said angrily: "There is such a good thing, if you didn't take it out for your mother-in-law to use earlier, you are not filial enough."
It turned out that this was what I was saying. It shocked me. Li Xiao said hurriedly: "I have developed a lot of them recently and I am planning to give them to my mother-in-law."
Zhu Di clapped his hands and said with a smile: "That's about it."
After saying that, he added: "By the way, since you are not refining the elixir of immortality, why do you send people to various places to find alchemists?"
After hearing this, Li Xiao finally understood why his father-in-law suddenly mentioned whether he wanted to practice the elixir of immortality. It turned out to be this reason.
Li Xiao explained: "Because my son-in-law plans to build a higher education institution called a university to cultivate more advanced talents for the Ming Dynasty."
"University. More advanced talents." Zhu Di was stunned for a moment and then said doubtfully: "You shouldn't let those alchemists be your masters."
Li Xiao smiled and said: "Father-in-law Shengming, I can't hide anything from you."
"Nonsense."
Zhu Di was so angry that he said: "You are too ridiculous, and you want these people to be masters? What you call cultivating high-level talents is to cultivate a group of scheming alchemists? Let this matter be put aside and cannot be mentioned again. Still. It's a good thing that those Confucian scholars who are afraid of chaos in the world know about it, otherwise they will make a big fuss and publicize it widely, and your reputation as a master of the Ming Dynasty will be ruined."
Li Xiao didn't know how to explain it, so he could only say: "Actually, as long as those alchemists don't refine elixirs, they still have some abilities."
Zhu Di said: "If the alchemist doesn't refine elixirs, what else can he do?"
Li Xiao said: "Why don't you come to my house in a few days, father-in-law, to find out what's going on? These alchemists are studying something these days, and it should be out soon. You'll know it when you see it."
Zhu Di snorted: "If someone else said this to me, I'm afraid I would forsake him on the spot. But now that the wise son-in-law has spoken, I will go there in person in a few days. If it is evil, Li Xiao, you still You should listen to my advice, you know?"
"Li Xiao knows." Li Xiao hurriedly handed over his hand.
"It's good to know." Zhu Di turned around and walked towards the house, and Li Xiao hurriedly followed.
Zhu Di said as he walked: "Li Xiao, the Emperor's health has become worse and worse these days. He often coughs. If you have time, go and take a look and take care of yourself."
Li Xiao took a breath and said, "Li Xiao will do his best."
He knew mentally that Zhu Yuanzhang's end was coming. No matter how hard he tried, he could not withstand the aging of his body's organs. Zhu Yuanzhang might only have a few years to live.
"correct."
After taking a few steps, Zhu Di said worriedly: "Your mother-in-law has been tossing and turning in her sleep recently. She refused to come to your place to have a look, and she refused even if she asked the imperial doctor to take a look. It's really strange. You Take the initiative to mention it later and help her find out where she feels uncomfortable."
"Are you coughing?" Li Xiao asked.
"No cough."
Zhu Di shook his head, thought for a while and said: "My appearance is not bad, I don't see any problems, but I can't sleep well at night and I often turn over."
"No cough"
Li Xiao was shocked. It seemed that around this time in history, Queen Xu died suddenly due to overwork and resentment.
I thought that the amoxicillin I gave ten years ago would solve the problem of pneumonia. But now it seems that the problem is not pneumonia, but another disease?
The two returned to the hall, where Xu Miaoyun was talking about Zhenghuan with Ningyun, smiling again and again.
Li Xiao didn't see anything wrong from her face.
"Li Xiao, come here."
Xu Miaoyun waved and asked Li Xiao to sit next to her. She smiled and said, "Ningyun and I have already agreed, you..."
Li Xiao knew as soon as he heard it that it was the concubinage that Zhu Di mentioned just now.
Zhu Ningyun also looked at him with a smile, without showing too much jealousy.
However, Li Xiao knew that she had had this idea for a long time, not to mention that it was her father, emperor, mother and concubine who brought it up this time. She was feeling uncomfortable, but she was only focused on herself and did not show it.
Li Xiao hurriedly said: "Mother-in-law, I told my father-in-law just now that I, Li Xiao, only focus on Ningyun. It is difficult for Li Xiao to obey my order. I hope my mother-in-law will stop worrying about this matter."
The words fell.
Queen Xu's face froze, with expressions of surprise, emotion, and joy changing on her face.
After talking for a long time, Zhu Ningyun also accepted the matter.
But now, after Li Xiao refused without hesitation, Zhu Ningyun couldn't help but be extremely moved.
"Xiaolang you." Zhu Ningyun was about to say something when Li Xiao stood up and hugged her, saying gently: "Okay, don't mention this matter again."
"Yeah" Ningyun nodded gently and buried his head in Li Xiao's arms.
Another show of affection in public, Zhu Di and Xu Miaoyun looked on with smiles.
"Okay, someone is here."
Ningyun patted Li Xiao, and then the two let go.
Empress Xu smiled and said: "That's it for today, your father and I will go back to the palace first."
Then he looked at Zhu Zhanji and said, "Zhanji, let's go."
Zhu Zhanji looked reluctant to leave.
At this time, Li Xiao had been observing and found nothing wrong, so he had no choice but to say: "Mother-in-law, can you please move? My son-in-law has something to say to you."
Queen Xu glanced at Zhu Di and guessed that he must have told Li Xiao about her physical condition and wanted to show it to herself.
However, some illnesses are difficult to talk about, but thinking that Li Xiao is his son-in-law and a person of Su Hui, seeing his solemn expression, he might know something, thinking about the change in Queen Xu's face, she hesitated and agreed.
The two entered the side room next to them.
After some looking, hearing and listening.
Li Xiao's forehead was dripping with sweat, and his expression was not good.
It is indeed a big trouble.
Advanced cancer.
Fortunately, a nine-turn golden elixir came out a few days ago.
(End of chapter)
