No matter where you are, filial piety and paying taxes are unavoidable. Although Xiaoji "hid in Yunnan and no one knew him", he still had to follow the rules. Xiaoji had to wear mourning clothes for his grandfather Zhang Lin for a year, could not eat meat for three months, could not attend operas or other entertainment activities during the year, and could not wear fancy clothes such as fur and silk.
Fortunately, the winter in Kunming is not cold, and Xiaoji can survive it even with his thick cotton-padded jacket. Since he cannot eat meat, the breeder Mu Chun feeds him milk and eggs. Seeing that he really craves meat, he invites a chef who specializes in vegetarian dishes to make various vegetarian meats with gluten tofu that are extremely similar in texture and taste to meat for him to eat.
As the eldest grandson, there cannot be any stain on filial piety, especially for the eldest grandson of the royal family.
When Mu Chun was a child, he was a "rebellious son" who dared to blow up shit in the ancestral temple and smear feces on the walls, but to the emperor's grandson, he had to fulfill his responsibilities as a godfather.
Anyway, he is not the one who eats vegetarian food. He can't even survive a day of eating vegetarian food.
A Lei hid the meat pie in her skirt and secretly passed it to Xiao Ji, "Brother Ji, you eat it. They don't know."
Xiao Ji shook his head, "No."
"It's just baked in the kitchen. It's delicious." Arei took out a round meat patty and took a bite. A crack immediately appeared in the round shape. The meat filling escaped from the complete blockade of the dough, and the aroma of meat filled the air, launching a fierce attack on Xiaoji's taste buds.
A very simple and classic filling - 70% lean pork and 30% fat pork and shallot filling. The pork is a black free-range pig raised on a small farm, and the meat is delicious. The shallot is a small green wild onion dug from the riverside. Mixing the two together is a match made in heaven, a pair of fairy lovers.
Xiao Ji looks mature, but he is still a child after all. When he smelled the long-lost aroma of meat, his saliva immediately flooded and he was overwhelmed by the aroma. After all, vegetarian meat cannot compare to real meat, at least the aroma cannot deceive people.
Xiao Ji swallowed his saliva with a gulp, "I have to observe mourning for my grandfather, so I can't eat meat."
As expected of Mu Chun's biological daughter, A Lei had a unique and unconventional mindset. "Do you know him? Are you familiar with him?"
"I don't know him. I'm not familiar with him."
Not only was he unfamiliar with his grandfather, he was also unfamiliar with his own parents. Xiao Ji sighed like a little adult, "But he is my grandfather. I heard from the guards that my grandfather was injured while protecting Peking - that is, the injury he suffered in the battle when my godfather carried me to the sea to escape. He was an outstanding general. I should mourn for him properly."
Zhang Lin's title of Marquis of Pengcheng was obtained through fighting, and he was definitely not an ordinary relative who was granted the title through nepotism. He was respected by the soldiers in the Prince of Yan's Palace.
A Lei said: "My sister told me the story of Zhuangzi, who beat a basin and sang after his wife died. The real sorrow cannot be judged by appearance. I asked my sister, if she died, could I eat meat? My sister said, I can eat it if I want, it doesn't matter, but I just don't let outsiders see it."
Arei handed the meat pie to Xiaoji again, "There are no outsiders here now, you can eat it."
Xiao Ji refused with drooling, "Your sister agreed, but my grandfather didn't have time to agree, so you can't eat it."
Arei was a little impatient, so he picked up the meat pie and walked away. He walked three steps, thought for a while, stopped, turned around and said, "During the filial period, we don't eat meat in order to avoid killing and accumulate merit. How about this, from today on, you eat meat one day, and I eat vegetarian the next day. We take turns, you eat the meat pie, and I eat vegetarian today. This way, you don't have to kill, and you can still eat meat and accumulate merit."
Is this still possible? Xiao Ji thought about it and it seemed to make sense, but he also felt that it was not right, "But, this way you can only eat meat the next day."
Arei couldn't understand Xiaoji's idea: "But, we can both eat meat every other day. It's such a good thing, but you made it sound so miserable."
Xiao Ji is under pressure that even adults can hardly bear. Although he seems to be positive, he is actually pessimistic by nature. He prepares for the worst, goes all out to make his greatest effort, and always shows his best side to others. This is bravery, but life is really tiring, so he can never gain weight. This five-year-old child carries the soul of a fifty-year-old and moves forward with a heavy burden.
Arei is optimistic by nature, and this optimism is contagious. In her opinion, the same thing is a win-win situation.
Xiao Ji finally ate the meat pie and even licked the crumbs that fell on his cotton robe.
For the first time that day, Arei did not touch any meat. In order to keep the secret, he refused to explain to his sister and brother-in-law.
Hu Shanwei thought his daughter had a poor appetite, so he boiled hawthorn in water to stimulate her appetite.
In order to repay A Lei for the meat pie, Xiao Ji immediately "betrayed" his godfather Mu Chun and told him about the night snack of yogurt. "I'll save half for you. When the lights are turned off, you pretend to sleep and I'll secretly bring it to you. This is a secret that can't be told."
There is such a good thing? Of course, A Lei agreed.
However, none of this could be hidden from Hu Shanwei's eagle eyes. She was a master at solving cases. She discovered clues from the fact that A Lei and Xiao Ji took turns eating meat, and when she was dressing A Lei in the morning, she smelled a suspicious scent of milk.
Hu Shanwei did not expose the two children's little secret. He just went to "wake up" Arei every night when he estimated that she had finished her midnight snack and asked her to brush her teeth again.
The winter is not as hot as the summer, and Are's body gradually became whiter. Although he ate vegetarian food every other day, he still maintained a round figure after eating midnight snacks for three months. He changed from a black boiled egg to a white and tender boiled egg.
In the spring, they were both a year older. A Lei's bald head had some hair, which he could just tie into a small braid with a red ribbon.
Hu Shanwei will happily tidy up the few yellow hairs on his daughter's head tomorrow morning.
In order to keep warm, Hu Rong always wanted to entertain himself. In the past, he would take his two children to the teahouse every few days to watch the lively and funny "Journey to the West". However, since A Lei had to observe mourning, this entertainment was cancelled. Xiao Ji watched A Lei go to the theater with envy, and he could only write big characters at home.
On this day, Arei came back from a play with a colorfully painted Monkey King mask in his hand. He secretly rummaged through his boxes and found the tiger-skin mattress that he had used on his bed in the winter. He cut a piece of tiger skin with scissors and tied it around his waist, making it into Monkey King's iconic outfit - a tiger-skin skirt.
She broke off a few willow branches, braided them into a headband, and inserted two light yellow daisies into it, and it immediately became the golden hoop worn by Sun Wukong.
Are called Xiao Ji to the shade of a tree, broke off a branch to use as a golden hoop, put on a mask and a "golden hoop", and wrapped himself in a tiger skin skirt. "You can't watch the show, so I'll perform it for you."
Xiaoji: …
Arei stood on one leg, with his right hand on his forehead, doing Sun Wukong's signature move - looking far ahead with his hand on the pergola, and said in a pinched voice: "Master! There is an evil spirit!"
Xiaoji: …
A Lei dragged his stick and drew a circle, enclosing Xiao Ji inside, and said, "Master, you stay here and don't move. I'll go get some vegetarian food for you."
"Don't leave this circle, or you'll be captured by the monster. Wash it and put it in the steamer and eat it."
Xiao Ji was still a child after all. After a brief shock, he squatted in the circle obediently and immediately got into the role of Tang Monk. "Master will not leave. Master is hungry. I will wait for you to beg for alms here."
Arei nodded and shouted, "Somersault Cloud!"
Arei pretended to ride on a cloud, ran quickly to the kitchen, got two meat patties, gave one to Xiaoji, and the two sat in a circle together to eat the pork and scallion meat patties - three months had passed and Xiaoji could eat meat normally.
In order to play the role of Sun Wukong well, A Lei asked Mu Chun to teach her how to use a stick and somersaults. Mu Chun was happy to teach her daughter. A Lei was a flexible little fat girl, and children's bones were soft. After a month, she could do ten somersaults in a row and still stand steadily.
Mu Chun thought she was cute, so she invited a martial artist to teach her. A Lei's acting as Monkey King became more and more exquisite. Hu Shanwei did not stop her. It didn't matter if his daughter became a monkey or a lady. It was rare that A Lei treated people sincerely and tried his best to solve Xiao Ji's problems during the mourning period. Anyway, as long as she was happy, it was good enough. As parents, they had the ability to support her and allow her to grow freely.
What's more, learning from Sun Wukong had an unexpected benefit. By early summer, Are had lost weight at a speed visible to the naked eye. She was no longer a fat girl, and when she laughed, she looked quite pretty.
A Lei heard something from somewhere and asked Hu Shanwei, "Sister, is Xiao Ji leaving?"
Hu Shanwei nodded, "Yes, he is a guest of our house. He has his own home. His family misses him too, but for many reasons, they cannot take him home for the time being."
A Lei thought for a moment and asked, "Is it the same reason why my sister couldn't go home for four years?"
Hu Shanwei almost burst into tears after hearing this. "Yes, no one in this world can do whatever they want. Except for Zhuangzi, whom my sister told you about. But there has only been one Zhuangzi like this sage in thousands of years."
After hearing this, A Lei knew that Xiao Ji's departure was inevitable. A look of melancholy that didn't match her age appeared on her face. "Since Xiao Ji was leaving, why did he come to our house? He and I are very familiar with each other. He has been in our house since I can remember. It's like raising Xiao Hei..."
Arei whistled, and the hound Xiao Hei came over. Arei rubbed Xiao Hei's ears and said, "I have raised him well. If Xiao Hei leaves, I will be very sad. But if the neighbor's Da Huang leaves, I don't care."
Hu Shanwei asked back: "Do you want Xiaoji to be a guest in someone else's house?"
Arei opened his mouth to answer, but his brain was stuck for a moment, and his mouth remained open, motionless, very entangled. After a long while, he puffed his cheeks and stamped his feet, "Oh, sister, what you said is so boring, I won't talk to you anymore."
Arei also encountered a dilemma that he couldn't solve, and he immediately came to his senses and grew up. From this summer on, he didn't want Muchun to take a bath. The fat rabbits that were raised at home, which looked like piglets, had grown up and could produce four cubs. She generously gave half to Xiaoji, "Take it and raise it when you go home."
In Kunming, everyone was ready for Xiaoji to return to Beijing. Xiaoji practiced calligraphy every day, and picked out the best one to put in a box, waiting to show his parents, to show that he had never been lazy. He memorized the Confucian classics, even if he didn't understand the content, he still memorized it. It is said that his grandmother, the empress, likes reading and is known as a "female scholar". I believe she will test his knowledge when he returns home.
In addition to studying, Xiao Ji also practiced horse riding and archery. From the eager eyes of the hundred guards, he set the standard far higher than his age. He did not want to disappoint his family members whom he had never met, so he had to do everything to the best of his ability.
He learned everything by himself. His return to the palace was different from his godmother Hu Shanwei's return home. His godmother only needed to be herself, but he had too many rules and standards. If he couldn't do it, he would not be qualified to go home.
Especially when he waited and waited, from spring to summer, and from summer to autumn, the big characters he wrote filled a box, and even the lid could hardly be closed, but the person who came to pick him up still did not come.
Xiao Ji began to doubt himself. Was it because I didn’t do well enough that they didn’t want me anymore
So Xiaoji demanded too much from himself, and the weight he had gained with great difficulty was lost again. Hu Shanwei and Mu Chun tried to persuade him, but Xiaoji said "yes" on the surface, and then... secretly practiced and memorized.
This will only make things more tiring, worse than before. Royal children are destined to pay more than ordinary people.
There was no other way, the couple could only let him go and told him not to study secretly, or he might ruin his health.
Only when he was with Arei, especially when he watched her dress up as the Monkey King, would Xiao Ji relax and reveal an innocent smile of a child. Occasionally, he would follow Arei to learn somersaults like the Monkey King. He was thin, so he had more advantages in dressing up as the Monkey King, which made Arei very jealous.
The last autumn leaf fell, and another New Year passed, but still no one came to pick up Xiao Ji.
In the second year of Yongle, spring came and Xiaoji and A Lei were both seven years old.
Xiao Ji read the latest issue of the court bulletin. A concubine in the Eastern Palace named Li gave birth to a son and named him Zhu Zhanjun. This was the second grandson of the royal family. From then on, Xiao Ji was no longer the only one.
After reading this, Xiao Ji felt inexplicably relaxed. He was not as focused as before on memorizing, practicing calligraphy, and riding and shooting. When he had free time, he would either take Xiao Hua and Muchun to go hunting, or wander around Kunming with A Lei and eat all over the city.
Mu Chun was relieved to see that his godson had come to terms with it, had made progress, and was no longer so tense. To be honest, Xiao Ji worked too hard, and he was really afraid that one day his godson's nerves would be stretched to the extreme and break, which would be disastrous.
Just when Xiao Ji felt that the royal family had forgotten him and he planned to live out his life in Kunming with Are's family, a turning point came.
Mu Chun returned from hunting with little Ji Alei with a great harvest. When they were returning home, they saw from a distance a group of people surrounding their house.
The person in the lead was so handsome that it was impossible to take your eyes off him. As Arei stared at that person, he was so stunned that he forgot to eat the string of fried dumplings on a bamboo skewer in his hand.
When Mu Chun saw that person, he immediately stopped smiling and let out a murderous look. "You act so high-profile in front of my house. Do you want everyone in the world to know the secrets here?"
Not only was the man not annoyed, he even winked at A Lei who had opened his mouth and forgot to eat the glutinous rice balls, "I'm here to pick someone up. If I take the biggest secret away, you will be much more relaxed in the future."
The man who came was none other than Ji Gang, the commander of the Jinyiwei. After Emperor Yongle ascended the throne, he learned from the lesson of Emperor Jianwen who closed his eyes and ears and was deceived by his incompetent ministers, and immediately restored the Jinyiwei's signboard and organization, with spies all over the country. Now Ji Gang was his confidant, eyes and ears.
"Lord Mu, the emperor sent me and Lord Ji to pick up the emperor's eldest grandson. We were in a hurry and did not inform you in advance. Please forgive us." A man walked out from behind Ji Gang. He was fair and handsome, with a calm temperament and eyes as bright as stars. He was Ma Sanbao, the eunuch most trusted by Emperor Yongle.
Ma Sanbao and Hu Shanwei had a good relationship. They became acquainted because of the case of Liu Siyan's murder in the Qin Palace. Later, he followed Zen Master Daoyan to Beiping, and thus became acquainted with the Yan Palace and became Yan's confidant.
Mu Chun's attitude towards Ma Sanbao was obviously different. He said, "Eunuch Ma, please come in and have a cup of tea before you leave."
Ji Gang laughed and said, "Lord Mu, you should change your words in the future. The emperor gave them both names. Zen Master Daoyan got the common name Yao Guangxiao, and Ma Sanbao was given the name Zheng He. People outside call him Eunuch Sanbao."
The author has something to say: You finish your performance and I come on stage, the glorious Yongle Dynasty is here.
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