Before the wedding, Hu Shanwei taught A Lei one-on-one what to pay attention to during the wedding night. At the end, he gave him a small box filled with carefully processed fish bladders and sheep intestines. "You can get married, but you must be careful about contraception and don't have children. If you have children, it will be difficult for you to leave when the time comes."
Hu Shanwei still remembers that she was forced to wean Arei five months after giving birth to him. In order to find out the truth about Fan Gongzheng's death, she left Arei in his cradle to Mu Chun and rushed to Yangzhou alone. She piled up a mountain of silver and bought his bones with a fortune, and mobilized the water ghosts to sift almost all the water in the Yangzhou section of the Yangtze River.
Sixteen years have passed. Whenever Hu Shanwei thinks back to the past, she can still feel the pain of separation between mother and daughter. At that time, whenever she thought of A Lei, her chest would automatically swell and ache. She drank hawthorn and cooked malt for a month before her milk came back.
However, the physical pain was less than one percent of the psychological pain of separation anxiety. Mu Chun felt guilty about A Lei and often had nightmares at night, dreaming that A Lei was lost, fell, was hungry and no one cared for him, or was taken away by a wolf, etc. The pain gradually lessened until Mu Chun entrusted A Lei to the care of her father-in-law Hu Rong and came to Beijing to find her.
Father Hu Rong raised A Lei very well, and his granddaughter was like glue, mending the father-daughter relationship that had long since fallen apart.
Five years later, Hu Shanwei, who helped the Ming Dynasty change its emperor, retired and returned to Yunnan. The white, plump and soft little fat boy in her memory turned into a dark, salted egg. The only white parts of her body were the soles of her feet and the whites of her eyes. The "salted egg" asked her, "Who are you?"
The legs of the braised egg were covered in mud, and he was just trying to catch shrimps, like a savage.
The bitterness of that moment was unforgettable, and Hu Shanwei would never forget it for the rest of his life.
Whether you are a man or a woman, it is actually impossible to ever achieve a balance between family and career. Everyone has limited time and energy. If you focus too much on one, you are bound to have less on the other.
The world has been indoctrinated with too much chicken soup for the soul, which touts that as long as you work hard enough, you can balance family and career, and requires people, especially women, to be so-called successful people who have both family and career.
If you can't do it, they will accuse you of not working hard, not being worthy of being a very good mother, and saying you are selfish and indifferent.
In fact, it is impossible in reality. In the cruel workplace with complete competition, to do your job well, you need to be focused and keep working hard - sometimes you may not be able to do it well even if you try hard!
It's rare for a working woman to be 70% good as a mother, so go to hell with the perfect mother. Accept your imperfections, make peace with yourself, and live your own life well. Don't be fooled by chicken soup for the soul. Human civilization is far from reaching the point where it can truly respect the value of full-time housewives.
Hu Shanwei can choose to temporarily hand Arei over to his father for "custody", and then she can take Arei back and reunite the family. However, the royal family will never allow Arei to take the child away.
Hu Shanwei suffered the pain of separation from her mother and daughter, and she hoped that A Lei would not repeat the same mistake. She was sentenced to a "fixed-term sentence" and A Lei was sentenced to "life imprisonment", and they would suffer in the future.
This is a mother's last protection for her daughter.
Arei accepted this "big gift" with a red face.
After A Lei got married, Hu Shanwei and his wife went to Beijing to prepare for the new palace.
Three years later.
In August of the 18th year of Yongle's reign, the Beijing Imperial Palace was completed. Emperor Yongle summoned the Crown Prince and the Crown Prince's grandson to Beijing.
In November, Emperor Yongle announced to the world that the capital of the Ming Dynasty would be Beijing. The original capital Yingtianfu was called the Southern Capital, so it was called Nanjing. His hometown Fengyang was still the Central Capital.
Since there was still a group of people who opposed the relocation of the capital, Emperor Yongle did not argue with them to the end. He creatively launched the "soft capital relocation" strategy and announced that Nanjing would be the same as Beijing. Although the capital was moved to the north, Nanjing would retain the six ministries, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Imperial College and other complete central leadership teams, forming a unique political power model of "one country, two systems".
There are two complete political systems. If one has problems, the second one can immediately take over.
Those ministers who were unwilling to move the capital stayed in Nanjing and continued to serve as officials. Their salaries and benefits remained unchanged, but they were moved away from the core political circle.
The Xu family of the Duke of Wei's Mansion was left in Nanjing permanently. Just like the Mu family of the Duke of Qian's Mansion who had settled in Yunnan for generations, the Xu family would guard Nanjing from then on. Whether in life or death, they were forever tied together, rising and falling together.
In December, the crown prince and the crown prince's grandson arrived in Beijing with their families. Chunwei and his wife had been waiting anxiously for their daughter... and granddaughter.
Wait, why is there a granddaughter? Did the box of goat intestines and fish maws come for free
Back to last year, when they heard that the Crown Princess was pregnant, Hu Shanwei and Mu Chun in Beijing were stunned. It seemed that it was not Are who was pregnant, but she was struck by lightning. The two of them used the excuse of visiting their "sister" and rushed to Nanjing day and night.
Hu Shanwei was so furious that he questioned A Lei, using almost the same words that Ru Siyao had questioned her: "I told you a long time ago to be careful not to get pregnant, and how you would get out of this unscathed after having a baby. Why did you get your belly bigger anyway? Is it that the fish bladder doesn't work, or the sheep intestines don't work? What on earth were you thinking? Have you forgotten your original intention?"
Mu Chun had no choice but to stand in the way, "Calm down, talk slowly if you have anything to say. She's pregnant now, don't scare her. Alas, she's already pregnant, how can she not give birth? Her health is more important!"
Mu Chun felt more distressed than angry because A Lei looked unwell.
Arei has been pregnant for four months. She had severe morning sickness in the early stages and her pregnancy appearance was not good. Other people would gain weight during pregnancy, but she lost weight instead, so she kept it a secret and only announced it after three months when the fetus was stable. Now she has gained some weight, and with one weight lost and one weight gained, her figure is almost the same as before she got married.
A Lei hid behind Mu Chun, just like when he was a kid and got into trouble and sought shelter from his brother-in-law. "I haven't forgotten. We used it, every time. Really. Otherwise, why would there be movement in the stomach two years after marriage? I don't know what happened, maybe... there was a hole in that thing."
Upon hearing this, Hu Shanwei and Muchun exchanged glances: A Lei came in the same way, an unexpected child.
Seeing that Hu Shanwei seemed to have calmed down, A Lei came out from behind Mu Chun tremblingly, hugged Hu Shanwei's arm and said coquettishly: "Mom, I was very scared at first and didn't want this child. I felt it was a restraint, but as the child grew in my belly day by day, I slowly began to look forward to this child."
Hu Shanwei reached out and touched Are's lower abdomen. It was still as plain as before, and there was no sign of a fetus the size of a peanut sprout inside.
Are's face was full of maternal radiance. Hu Shanwei suddenly remembered that when she accidentally became pregnant with Are, she also went from fear to longing.
Ru Siyao warned older mothers that there were high risks and that she should be careful about contraception. But that only happened once and her penis broke at some point. She thought it was just a coincidence, but it went off at once and she got pregnant with A Lei. Hu Shanwei was 38 years old, but with the help of Ru Siyao, he almost risked his life to give birth to her.
Do you regret it
Never regret.
Hu Shanwei sighed and held A Lei in his arms, "Since you already have a baby, take good care of it. From now on, your brother-in-law and I will start to eat vegetarian food, do one good deed every day, and pray for you. I hope you will give birth to a daughter, so that you can save a lot of worries in the future."
Compared with princesses in all dynasties, the life of the princesses of the Ming Dynasty was the best. All princesses chose their prince consorts in the capital and did not have to marry far away and wander in a foreign country.
If he gave birth to a son... the eldest legitimate grandson, A Lei would probably be trapped in the palace for the rest of his life.
The Crown Prince personally sent his father-in-law and mother-in-law away, and said carefully: "Don't worry, I will take good care of A Lei."
How can you be assured? How can you be assured? Can you get pregnant for her or give birth to her child
Alas, when will women be free from the pain of childbirth? Hu Shanwei was annoyed and disliked his son-in-law. He said coldly: "There is a concubine in the palace of the Crown Prince, as well as three concubines. The four of them are all selected by me to expand the royal family. Now that A Lei is pregnant, she cannot sleep with the Crown Prince. What arrangements does the Crown Prince have for these four people? The East Palace should have urged the Crown Prince, right?"
After A Lei was named the Crown Prince's Consort, Consort Sun and three concubines were carried into the Crown Prince's palace one after another, but they had not yet slept with him.
The royal family values having many sons and grandsons, but they value the eldest son even more. So Zhu Zhanji and A Lei lived in their own world for the past two years after their marriage, loving each other and enjoying their love. It was the happiest time of their lives.
But now it’s different. Arei is pregnant. According to royal rules, the concubines from the Crown Prince’s Palace should be arranged to sleep with him.
A Lei never mentioned this to Hu Shanwei, but Hu Shanwei could feel A Lei's pressure and anxiety. No woman would willingly share her husband with others - unless she no longer loves him, because love is exclusive.
Hu Shanwei has witnessed the love and marriage of three generations of emperors and empresses. She knows that love is not eternal. It will be slowly worn away by time, suspicion, interests, conflicts, etc. In the end, love will be transformed into political alliances and partnerships, or even enemies, sleeping in the same bed but dreaming different dreams. At that time, love will be gone, and women will no longer mind sharing men.
At that time, men were no longer lovers, but sperm banks and shared bicycles that could be used by scanning a code. This was the case with the Eastern Palace from the beginning, with the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess being a political couple.
However, A Lei is still in the period of passionate love. She will be sad to share Zhu Zhanji at this time.
Facing his mother-in-law's questioning, Zhu Zhanji said, "To be honest with you, Consort Hu, the Crown Princess mentioned this matter briefly, but I refused. There is a difference between legitimate and illegitimate children, and it involves the foundation of the Ming Dynasty for thousands of years. There is no need to rush to have a legitimate son. The Crown Princess also agreed with my decision."
What this means is that before Arei gives birth to a legitimate son, the four vases in the Crown Prince's Palace will remain as decorations and the Crown Princess will not put pressure on Arei.
However, Hu Shanwei was not satisfied with this answer. She hoped that A Lei would give birth to a daughter, and said, "I know the rules of the royal family. A crown prince without an heir cannot last long. However, I also have my own rules. The day when the crown prince visits the concubines is the day when I take A Lei away. This is the rule we privately agreed to this marriage. If the feelings are gone, the marriage is gone. The crown prince should not forget it."
Zhu Zhanji was still immersed in love and the ecstasy of becoming a father. "I will never forget that no matter whether A Lei gives birth to a son or a daughter, she is the only one for me. Those words were used to deal with the Crown Princess. I gave her a promise, and the Crown Princess will not put pressure on A Lei."
Seeing Zhu Zhanji's wide smile, Hu Shanwei felt mixed emotions. How happy he was now, and how miserable he would be in the future...
Alas, don’t think too much about it. Everyone can only live in the present. At least now they are a happy couple.
Hu Shanwei and Muchun returned to the capital. Muchun, who loved meat, fasted sincerely. The old couple prayed day and night for Are to give birth to a daughter. More than five months later, the good news came: Are gave birth to a daughter, the first great-granddaughter of the royal family.
The Chunwei couple were so happy that they set off fireworks all night long.
In the cold winter, the Crown Prince and the Crown Prince brought their families to Beijing. The Chunwei couple saw their granddaughter for the first time, and Emperor Yongle also saw his great-granddaughter for the first time.
As soon as Emperor Yongle saw his great-granddaughter, he held her in his arms and refused to let go, even saying that the baby looked like her great-grandmother.
Everyone was speechless. It was really hard to see the shadow of the dignified and solemn Empress Renxiao in the portrait from the little baby girl who was as white and chubby as a silkworm.
But when the emperor said it looked alike, who dared to say no? They all agreed that they really looked alike.
In this way, in the harmonious atmosphere of family reunion, in the 19th year of Yongle, the Ming Dynasty entered a new era, and Beijing became its political center.
After the capital was officially moved, it was time for Hu Shanwei to retire. Emperor Yongle kept his promise and held a grand banquet to see Hu Shanwei off in a grand manner.
Hu Shanwei had to leave this time because the Crown Prince's Palace was moved to the Forbidden City in Beijing, and given her relationship with A Lei, she had to avoid suspicion.
During the three years that Hu Shanwei was preparing the staff for the palace, she had secretly planted several "nails". Originally, she did not intend to do so, but since A Lei was in the palace, she had to make some plans for A Lei and have a backup plan.
Since they were going to retire, they should do it quickly and without any hesitation. After the farewell banquet, Hu Shanwei and Mu Chun left the next day, saying that they were traveling together and their whereabouts were unknown.
In the first month of the 19th year of Hongwu, the new year brought a new atmosphere. To celebrate the relocation of the capital of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Yongle went to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to worship the five gods, Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi went to the suburban altar to worship the gods of heaven and earth, and Crown Prince Zhu Zhanji went to the altar of land and grain to worship the gods. Mu Sheng, Duke of Qian, was recalled to the capital to report on his work and went to the altar of mountains and rivers to worship the gods of mountains and rivers.
Mu Sheng was the father-in-law of Zhao Wang Zhu Gaosui. Zhao Wang was very proud of his father-in-law's such treatment.
Emperor Yongle accepted the congratulations of his ministers in the Fengtian Hall and officially declared Beijing as the new capital.
Everything seems to be going well.
However, in April, the three main halls in the palace, Fengtian Hall, Huagai Hall, and Jinshen Hall, suffered a fire, and the newly built palace was destroyed!
All of a sudden, the officials wrote to the emperor, saying that this was a warning from the natural disaster, and they all requested to return to Nanjing. In early spring, Beijing was cold and dry, with strong winds and sandstorms. These officials who were used to the climate of Nanjing and the south of the Yangtze River could not adapt to the north, and many of them fell ill and suffered from homesickness.
The prince was also ill and supported moving back to Nanjing.
However, the Crown Prince believed that Beijing was the capital of the Ming Dynasty, and that the palace should be burned down and rebuilt. Beijing had dry weather that was prone to fire, and fires were not uncommon. It was not a natural disaster warning.
This was the first time the father and son had a disagreement.
Emperor Yongle was a great ruler, and the burning of three palaces could not shake his decision at all. With the support of the Crown Prince, he insisted on making Beijing the capital.
In the 20th year of Yongle's reign, Emperor Yongle personally led an expedition against Arutai, and the crown prince served as regent.
During the period when the crown prince was regent, he governed the country wisely and was praised by all the ministers. He also solved the case of rebellion by his third brother, Prince of Zhao Zhu Gaosui. On his way back to Beijing, Emperor Yongle saw the edict of succession that the crown prince had found in Prince of Zhao's mansion and cried out, "How could this be possible!"
The Prince of Zhao, who was already a prisoner, refused to admit it and said that the prince deliberately framed him. However, the evidence was irrefutable. In addition to physical evidence, there were also witnesses, and he had no way to defend himself.
The prince knelt down again and begged Emperor Yongle to forgive his third brother, saying, "Gao Sui would not have participated in the conspiracy, this is what the subordinates did." He gave the same reason as when he pleaded for mercy for the King of Han, saying that it was not his younger brother's fault, but that it was the people below who led him astray.
After all, he was his biological son, and Princess Zhao was the daughter of Mu Sheng, Duke of Qian. Emperor Yongle only dealt with the accomplices, massacring the officialdom with blood, and thousands of people were beheaded.
Emperor Yongle released Prince Zhao and ordered him to study at home and reform himself.
At this point, both the King of Han and the King of Zhao completely withdrew from the fight for the throne. In addition, the Crown Prince had been regent for many years and all the ministers had submitted to him, so the Crown Prince's position as crown prince was as stable as a rock.
Without any competitors, the Eastern Palace was at peace as never before. Crown Princess Zhang became increasingly silent, and she said to the Crown Prince, "From now on... you must stand in line with the Crown Prince. He is your father."
Zhu Zhanji thought of the fate of his third uncle, Prince Zhao, and his heart sank. "Yes, son, remember this and will not go against your father."
Unknowingly, although the prince had not yet ascended the throne, he had already taken control of the Ming Empire.
In the 22nd year of Yongle's reign, Emperor Yongle once again led an expedition against Arutai. He fell seriously ill on the way and had to return.
On July 18, when the army reached Yumuchuan, a meteor as big as a bowl appeared in the night sky, red and dazzling. Afterwards, a heavy rain and wind blew, and hailstones as big as tiles fell. Horses broke their necks and died, and soldiers without helmets even had their heads smashed.
Emperor Yongle ordered the cabinet ministers Yang Rong and Jin Youzi to "be in the palace for many years and be familiar with government affairs. After returning to Beijing, all military and national affairs will be handed over to them."
The two grand secretaries drafted the edict of succession according to Emperor Yongle's wishes.
At the moment of death, the ship's clock on the table struck the hour and the ship began to sail on its own. Two little men leaning on each other popped out from the deck and rode the wind and waves.
Emperor Yongle only felt that his body was becoming lighter and lighter, the boat was becoming bigger and bigger, and the people on the boat came alive. The person he thought about day and night stood at the bow, looking as if he was young, smiling and waving at him.
"Miaoyi, you are here to pick me up!" In a trance, Emperor Yongle boarded the ship, holding the man's hand, and never separated again.
The author has something to say: The prince finally made it!
Congratulations to the prince! Send 200 red envelopes!
Thank you to the little angels who cast their votes for me or irrigated me with nutrient solution~
Thanks to the little angel who threw the [grenade]: 1 big-faced cat from Duzheng;
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Gudong is here!, Nuomijun, 321 20 bottles; Changgedangwu, Tiger Going Down the Mountain, yiyiishere, Moshangsaki 10 bottles; milli, Molan 5 bottles; Jiuwo, Baobao 2 bottles; 17471398, Zhier, Either Endure or Be Cruel or Get Out, Qingxuanzhubaizhou19 1 bottle;
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