As the envoys from the tributary states departed one after another, the officials of the Ministry of Rites also finished the tasks at hand and eagerly returned to their homes to reunite with their families. After all, today was only the second day of the New Year.
Zhu Yuanzhang was no exception. Although according to the schedule he would still host a banquet in the palace tomorrow for close kinsmen and important ministers, that was a matter for tomorrow. With today's affairs concluded, he could finally rest for a while.
Passing through several gates, he dismissed the surplus palace attendants around him and even forced them to go celebrate the New Year themselves. With light steps he returned to the rear palace.
He waved his hand, signaling the palace maids not to announce his arrival. Before his foot had even stepped through the doorway of Kunning Palace, the noisy voices of his sons slipped out through the gaps of the doors and windows.
"Second Brother, Third Brother, you two have no idea. Mother obtained something, and Father has been using it to show off his might everywhere. He's even planning to add another seventeen or eighteen pages to the Record of Ancestral Instructions. When you two come back, you'll suffer for sure!"
There was no need to identify the voice carefully. From the slightly unruly tone alone, it had to be the fourth son.
Only this boy dared to say behind his back that copying the Record of Ancestral Instructions was suffering.
"Then Fourth Brother, what exactly did Mother obtain? Ever since returning, everyone has been acting mysterious. I cannot understand it."
The voice was firm and vigorous. Naturally it belonged to his second son, Zhu Shuang. The corners of Zhu Yuanzhang's mouth unconsciously curled into a faint, wry smile.
This son had some talent for command, but he had experienced too little hardship and often acted with excessive haste. If he did not correct that flaw, he would surely suffer for it in the future.
"Ah, Second Brother. Since Eldest Brother and the others are unwilling to say, then it must be…"
The sentence trailed off into silence, yet Zhu Yuanzhang could almost imagine his third son pointing with his finger while making that expression. The thought only deepened the bitterness in the Ming emperor's smile.
This third son had been born early and had endured hardship in childhood, but he had also lacked proper discipline. After the founding of the Ming, his status had risen in a single leap. Only then did Zhu Yuanzhang discover that the boy had grown arrogant. He had thought that staying in the palace had corrected it somewhat, yet after leaving the capital for only a few days on his journey to his fief, the old habits had returned.
This inevitably worried him. From the perspective of judging men, the third son might well bring trouble in the future. Yet when he thought carefully about it, Zhu Yuanzhang did indeed owe this son something.
"Father and Mother are not unwilling to say it. But Mother also said that if we directly told Second Brother and Third Brother about the light screen, the two of you would definitely refuse to believe it."
"Light screen?"
"What is a light screen?"
"Ah, Sixth Brother, even meat buns cannot keep your mouth shut!"
The sixth son, Zhu Zhen, in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes was clearly the seed of a brave general. To put it plainly, he was not very good at using his head.
But the boy possessed a pure and straightforward heart, making it difficult for Zhu Yuanzhang to scold him too harshly. Thinking about it now, he only worried how someone like this could guard a region on his own in the future.
The hall grew noisy again. Then came several sharp knocking sounds that swept away the chatter. Another youthful voice followed. It still sounded young, yet it spoke calmly and without haste. Zhu Yuanzhang could almost picture the composed expression of Zhu Su.
Instinctively, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that if the light screen truly involved the enlightenment of immortals, and if someday it could invite the Martial Marquis himself to the Ming court, then this fifth son might actually converse with the Martial Marquis quite naturally.
"Second Brother, Third Brother, why trouble yourselves with this? Since Father and Mother have acted so, there must be a reason. Instead of dwelling on it, why not celebrate the New Year first? The two of you have been away from the capital for quite some time. The prosperity of Yingtian Prefecture today surpasses that of the past. The festivities of bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new should be more than enough to keep the two of you entertained."
Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly in the darkness. Yet he soon thought of something else.
It had also been a long time since he himself had seen the New Year celebrations in Yingtian.
The two most festive days, New Year's Eve and the Lantern Festival, were precisely the two days when he was busiest as the Son of Heaven. It was impossible to spare even a moment.
During the Lantern Festival, climbing the city tower with officials and meritorious nobles to glance from afar at the bustling lights of Yingtian was already the closest he could come to joining the celebration.
"And besides, for now it would be better to hear Eldest Brother speak about how Father dealt with the Japanese envoys today."
"The matter of Japan concerns the century-long security of the Ming. As sons of the imperial lineage, branches from the sacred tree, we should share Father's worries and treat affairs of state as our own."
The hall fell silent again.
Then the fourth son's voice grumbled softly.
"Must those who seek unparalleled merit always be the ones who cross oceans under sail? If that's the case, wouldn't all my horseback training be wasted…"
"You worry too far ahead, Fourth Brother. Rather than worrying about Japan, you should first learn the art of military formations properly from your father-in-law. Do not waste Father's careful arrangements."
Zhu Biao shook his head. Then he recalled the ups and downs experienced by the Japanese envoy earlier that day. For some reason, his own heart also felt a little lighter.
"Father now understands the territory of Japan quite clearly. After merely comparing a few points with the envoy, he made the Japanese believe that our Ming already has informants within their country."
"And if we calculate carefully, before Ashikaga Yoshimitsu unified Japan he often stayed in the northern regions, and communication with our Ming had long been cut off. Those who deceived the Ming were actually the ministers of the so-called Japanese King Prince Kaneyoshi. Therefore Father punishing them for deceiving the throne can indeed be considered reasonable."
Zhu Di mentally reviewed the map of Japan and had to admit that his elder brother's reasoning made sense. So he added a guess of his own.
"Then Father must ultimately have refused the memorial submitted by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, because accepting it would not conform to ritual propriety."
"Father has now used Japan's offense to invalidate the letter of the Japanese King Kaneyoshi. Once the envoy returns and has Yoshimitsu hand over those who deceived Father and suppress the Japanese pirates, it will naturally become possible for the Ming to reestablish tributary relations. And…"
Zhu Di's voice gradually lowered toward the end. Yet he clearly saw Zhu Biao nod lightly at him.
Did that mean his guess was correct? That Father intended to allow Yoshimitsu's ambitions to grow and thereby intervene in Japanese affairs?
Outside the hall, Zhu Yuanzhang could not help sighing softly.
"I never expected the fourth son to possess such subtle insight."
"Of course."
The two simple words startled Zhu Yuanzhang so badly that he nearly jumped three feet into the air. Turning around and seeing the barely concealed amusement on the face of the empress, he could only force his expression back into composure.
"If the fourth son had been born in a chaotic age, he might have gained a reputation for both wisdom and courage. Sister, how did you walk without making a sound?"
Empress Ma cast him a sideways glance and pointed outside with her lips.
"It's snowing."
According to historical records, Yingtian Prefecture experienced snowfall in less than twenty percent of years. Even then, the snow was usually sparse, just like now.
Fine snow covered the ground in a thin layer like silk, quieting the world around them.
Without waiting for a response, Empress Ma grabbed Zhu Yuanzhang's hand and pulled him away.
"It rarely snows, and there is no state business tonight. Come walk with me."
"Biao should spend some time with his brothers. If you stay, he will only feel restrained."
"Wait a moment."
Zhu Yuanzhang removed his fur cloak and carefully draped it over his wife's shoulders, tucking it in to block every opening where the wind might enter.
"Have the attendants bring another cloak…"
Empress Ma frowned, but before she could finish speaking Zhu Yuanzhang interrupted her boldly.
"Even people in later generations say that my physique is extraordinary."
"It's just a bit of cold wind."
A palace maid silently returned to the hall to fetch two more cloaks, hurrying toward the direction where the emperor and empress had gone to stroll in the snow.
Inside Kunning Palace, the princes' banquet was growing ever livelier.