Emperor Yongle led his second expedition in person, and the Crown Prince once again became regent. The harem was managed by Consort Quan Xianfei, assisted by Hu Shanwei.
As soon as Emperor Yongle and the Crown Prince left the capital, the Prince of Han and his son, who had gone north to attend the funeral, returned to the capital. As usual, the Prince of Han was responsible for the defense of the capital, including supervising the Crown Prince.
Once is new, twice is familiar. With the first experience, the prince became more skilled and adept at regulating the country. From the many obstacles he encountered the first time, to getting whatever he wanted the second time, the prince found that after his second time as regent, more ministers listened to him and followed his wishes.
For this reason, the prince deeply felt the power of "orthodoxy". The combination of the Eastern Palace and the Crown Prince's Palace stabilized the Eastern Palace's position as the crown prince.
Although the emperor was still strong, he was getting older day by day. Ever since the coffin of Empress Renxiao was sent to be buried at Tianshou Mountain in Beijing, the hair on Emperor Yongle's temples turned as white as snow overnight. It was a sad farewell. No one can defeat the years.
The waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves in front of them. The waves in front are mighty and powerful, and they roll up thousands of snowdrifts, but they will eventually be smashed on the beach. The waves behind are different. No matter how small their momentum is, they are growing and developing at a speed visible to the naked eye. The officials in the court are not blind, and their attitude towards the prince has changed from one-sided "abolish the prince" to "making do with it" now. The prince's ridiculous penguin steps are not in line with the national dignity, but they have to endure it.
What's more, there is a "good holy grandson" the Crown Prince as a spare tire. Even if the old tire of the Crown Prince explodes one day, the Crown Prince can change the tire in a second and make a seamless connection.
After learning from his failure the first time, the King of Han became much more cautious than before. He no longer reported on the Prince for trivial matters that were harmless to him, such as holding literary meetings, sleeping with women, etc.
This time, the King of Han changed his strategy. He did not make a big fuss about trivial matters. Like a hunter, he waited patiently, ready to find out the prince's biggest mistake and hit him with one strike.
The prince felt that his brother, the Prince of Han, had become a different person since he came back from the last funeral. He was no longer as aggressive as before, and always had an expression that asked, "Is the prince doomed today?"
Perhaps it was because of his mother's funeral that aroused the King of Han's brotherhood, and Xiao Ji was named the Crown Prince, which put an end to the King of Han's delusions.
In any case, the prince was happy about the transformation of the King of Han's younger brother. No matter how many times my younger brother abused me, I still treated him like my first love.
The Crown Prince often summoned the King of Han to the palace, where the two brothers would drink and chat together, expressing their brotherhood.
Hu's house.
Brother Shuikeng came back and brought a lot of local products from the north to the Hu family. He complained to Hu Shanwei, "… I wanted to stay in Beijing and follow the emperor to fight against the Oirat, but the emperor said I was still young and refused, so he sent me back. How am I young? The crown prince was this age when he first followed the emperor to fight. Why is it not suitable for me?"
Because he is the crown prince, and you are the prince of Han, the emperor has already arranged your positions.
Hu Shanwei thought so in his heart, but said: "Staying in Nanjing is also a big deal. What's more, the emperor is personally leading the army, and the crown prince is usually stationed in Beijing, and he has not fought with the past. You are impatient and look forward to growing up all day long. When you really grow up, you will probably want to go back."
Zhu Zhanhe glanced at the backyard of the Hu residence and said, "I'm here, why doesn't Sister A Lei come out to see me?"
"She's busy. I'll take you there." Hu Shanwei stood up and sighed, "Not to mention you, even I can hardly see her. She's always banging around in the backyard, doing something. She even needs someone to urge her to eat."
The two went to the inner house, where there was a large house with floor-to-ceiling windows on all four sides. In order to facilitate lighting, half of the roof was covered with transparent glazed tiles instead of ordinary green tiles. Even in the rainy weather in winter, it was bright.
The large desks lined up in a row in the room were filled with various gears, bearings and other machinery. These were all parts that Are removed from the seven large clocks sent by the Crown Prince.
In the middle of the room there was a large water tank filled with water. On the water floated a small wooden boat. Arei was sitting on a stool next to the water tank, holding a pocket watch in his hand, staring at the boat anxiously.
Zhu Zhanhe looked at the pile of wreckage and couldn't help asking, "Sister A Lei, aren't you working at the shipyard? Why did you change your career... to repair clocks?"
Zhu Zhanhe originally wanted to say "tear down the clock", but his desire to survive made him change his words temporarily.
A Lei did not look back at Zhu Zhanhe, but held out his hand, "Don't talk, the time is almost up."
Zhu Zhanhe shut up and moved closer. Arei stared at the hands of the pocket watch. At exactly ten o'clock, the wooden boat floating in the water actually started to move on its own!
The boat was spinning madly in the water tank, and when the second hand reached sixty seconds, the boat stopped.
Zhu Zhanhe was amazed. "Is this a water clock? A ship clock? A water ship clock? When it glides in the water, it is more circular than the one I drew."
Arei did not answer. She recorded this scheduled "voyage" in a booklet. Zhu Zhanhe poked his head out like a turtle and saw that at every even hour in the booklet, that is, two hours, the boat would start sailing for one minute at the six times of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12.
A Lei wrote on today's date at 10:00: "Driving normally for one minute, nothing unusual."
After finishing the recording, Arei said, "It has just been completed. It is still under testing. Sometimes it moves inaccurately, and sometimes it is like paralyzed and cannot move at all."
Zhu Zhanhe saw a similar thread-bound book on the desk. He flipped through it and found densely packed data recorded inside. The earliest data started from a month ago.
Zhu Zhanhe was very impressed. "Recording every hour is fine during the day, but don't you sleep at night?"
A Lei rubbed his temples and said, "Sleep. I'm not an iron man. At night, I need two maids to take turns to watch over me and wake me up every hour."
Zhu Zhanhe asked: "So you haven't slept a full night in this month?"
A Lei nodded and whispered, "Don't tell my sister. I told the maids not to tell anyone and keep it a secret from my sister."
Zhu Zhanhe was silent, and then winked at Arei frantically.
A Lei laughed and said, "Why are you twitching and rolling your eyes? Do you have facial paralysis at such a young age?"
Hu Shanwei, who had remained silent for fear of alarming A Lei, said, "Of course I kept it a secret for you."
It's over.
A Lei's smile gradually froze, and he mustered up the courage to turn around, "Sister... Actually, if you add up the total, I can definitely sleep for four hours a day."
Hu Shanwei was so angry that he laughed. He said coldly, "You get up once an hour at night? Even staying up all night to watch an eagle is not as hard as you are. You are more patient than an eagle. Do you still want your eyes?"
Hu Shanwei was afraid that Are's eyesight would get worse, so he simply renovated the house. The transparent glazed tiles on the roof were very valuable, and it was very difficult to fire glazed tiles of this purity, and often not even one tile could be produced in a kiln.
There are also rows of sliding floor-to-ceiling windows around the house, which were specially made by Japanese carpenters to ensure that Arei has sufficient light when seeing things without straining his eyes.
But no matter how careful you are, you can't resist staying up late, which is the most damaging to your eyes.
Arei lowered his head, knowing that truth would come out sooner or later. Based on his experience, if he continued to argue at this time, it would only make his sister angrier and angrier.
Hu Shanwei picked up the ship bell from the water tank and said, "No matter what you like to do, I support you. I never force you to follow the secular requirements for women. You don't like needlework or socializing, I let you do it. But you can't abuse your body. You are still so young. You need glasses to read at night. What will you do when you get old? I am more than 30 years older than you. Can I still take care of you for the rest of your life?"
Arei was anxious. "Sister, I was wrong. I will never stay up late again. Please return the ship's clock to me. After a month of debugging, it has become more and more accurate. From 2 a.m. last night to 10 a.m. now, it has not made any mistakes. The ship will set sail on time. It is very likely that this time it will succeed."
Zhu Zhanhe advised, "Hu Shang Gong, A Lei knows he was wrong. It is a great virtue to know his mistakes and correct them. From now on, ask the literate maids to help record everything at night. Write down the good and bad things. Wait until A Lei wakes up in the daytime to deal with it. Isn't it a win-win situation?"
Hu Shanwei hesitated. If he let her off lightly this time, what if A Lei didn't learn his lesson? She was only thirteen years old. What if her eyes got hurt? What would she do in the future
A Lei shook Hu Shanwei's arm and said coquettishly, "If you don't believe me, how about locking me in the bedroom at night and giving the key to you for safekeeping?"
Hu Shanwei said, "You have so many tricks up your sleeve. Can a lock trap you? If the door is not opened, can you climb through the window? If the window is nailed shut, you might even dig a hole in the ground."
All trust between the sisters is gone.
A Lei's eyes turned and a plan came to his mind. "Sister, this ship bell is a birthday gift I prepared for my brother-in-law. I was afraid that it would not be completed before his birthday, so I stayed up all night to make it. Now the most difficult part of the ship bell has been completed. If I stop halfway, it will be like cooking a pot of half-cooked rice. No matter how much fire is added, it will not be cooked. All the previous efforts will be wasted, and my brother-in-law's birthday gift will also be ruined. My brother-in-law will be sad."
When he heard that it was given to Muchun, Hu Shanwei's eyes immediately warmed up. He thought that he had not raised this daughter in vain.
Hu Shanwei returned the ship bell to A Lei and said, "Since your brother-in-law is not at home, you will sleep with me from today on."
Hu Shanwei doesn't believe in a lock, she believes in herself.
Are quickly put the ship's bell into the water and continued recording.
Hu Shanwei said, "I'm at home today and I'll record it for you. You haven't had a full night's sleep in a month. Go to the bedroom and catch up on your sleep to nourish your eyes."
Although Hu Shanwei was angry, most of the time he felt sorry for A'lei and blamed himself. He had to get up once every hour of sleep. How did he get through this month
Alas, as a mother, I didn’t even notice my daughter’s abnormal behavior. I treated myself like a hawk and tortured myself.
Arei was reluctant to leave her boat, "I can't sleep in the broad daylight."
Hu Shanwei said with a straight face, "Even if you don't want to sleep, it's fine to close your eyes."
Zhu Zhanhe intervened, "If you don't want to sleep, then don't sleep. Let's go watch a play. Today, the Jiaofangsi will perform the entire Journey to the West from morning to night. It will be very lively."
Zhu Zhanhe proposed a compromise plan, A Lei thought it was feasible, and Hu Shanwei thought watching a play was also a way to relax, so he agreed.
Arei looked back every few steps and reluctantly left her studio. When he reached the door, he suddenly turned around and ran over.
Hu Shanwei picked up the ship's bell and was about to confiscate it. Are took out a pair of glasses wrapped in velvet from the drawer, shook them at Hu Shanwei, and left with Zhu Zhanhe.
Hu Shanwei, an empty-nest middle-aged man, was waiting for the next hour in boredom when the butler outside came to report that Lord Ji, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, had arrived.
"Please come in!" Hu Shanwei was overjoyed. Needless to say, Ji Gang must be forwarding Mu Chun's letter.
The postman Ji Gang brought the family letter to Hu Shanwei for signature. He always delivered it personally. This time, Ji Gang also included a message: "The fourth son of the Mu family, the son-in-law Mu Xin has doubted A Lei's background, and wrote to Mu Sheng, saying that he saw a man who looked like Mu Chun with A Lei. Mu Sheng told Mu Chun and sent Mu Xin's letter intact to the Jinyiwei, asking for my advice on how to explain to Mu Xin. I want to ask for your opinion, after all, he is your fourth uncle."
Hu Shanwei buried his head in reading Mu Chun's letters home. Every time he wrote, everything was fine. Then he complained about the many mosquitoes, insects and snakes in Jiaozhi. Finally, he complained that Mu Xin was meddling and asked her to listen to the decisions of the Jinyiwei and the emperor.
Hu Shanwei greedily read it twice before closing the letter. "It can't be concealed anymore. Do you dare to silence the prince consort? Although Mu Xin is a member of the Mu family, she is the prince consort, the son-in-law of the emperor. You should ask the emperor for his opinion. My only request is that Mu Xin stop harassing and stalking my A Lei. She is the daughter of Mu Chun and me. She has the same surname as me, Hu. She is not the eldest daughter of the Mu family. She was, is, and will be my sister. You are not allowed to have any ideas about her or try to trace her ancestry."
The author has something to say: I am a little thin today, I will write a little fatter tomorrow, thanks to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated me with nutrient solution~
Thanks to the little angel who cast [mines]: 1 piece of warm morning light;
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated [nutrient solution]:
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Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!