"Sister-in-law, I haven't seen you for more than a year, but you have become more graceful and elegant."

"Thank you for the compliment, Princess. I am so mediocre, how dare I compare myself with you?"

The Crown Princess spoke rather politely; the attitudes of the two of them did not seem like a normal relationship between sisters-in-law at all.

After all, they were born in the emperor's family. How could they have any normal relationship as relatives?

It's just a superficial relationship. Fortunately, Zhu Kai and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince don't have any excessive party political disputes, otherwise it would be even more awkward for these two people to meet.

"Why did you come here alone? I didn't see that brat Zhu Kai come with you. He should have stayed in the palace and slept last night. Aren't you worried or scared being home alone?"

Xu Miaoyun replied calmly.

"Reporting to the Queen Mother, the prince often handles official business alone until very late, even when he is in the border area.

I am usually the only one who goes to bed first every night. I don’t know when the prince will come back. Sometimes he comes back from official business in the middle of the night and I don’t even know when he went to bed.

I am really an unqualified wife, and even more so an unqualified princess."

"Miaoyun, please don't say that. Zhu Kai is a child who usually goes to bed late at night and wakes up late in the morning. He usually likes to handle some official business at night.

You two just need to get used to being together. If this happens again, you don't have to worry about it. Just take care of yourself. They are all men who have to work outside. "

"If that's the case, then I should pay more attention to the prince and take good care of his food and daily life. Otherwise, why would he marry me?"

Ma Xiuying covered her mouth and smiled.

"Of course it's to continue the family line. You two still haven't had any good news, but I'm so worried. You've been married for such a long time, why is there no news at all?"

After Ma Xiuying said this, the Crown Princess and Xu Miaoyun both felt a little embarrassed. There was nothing they could do. Women in ancient times were so shy that they were not allowed to bring up these topics even after they were married.

"You two don't have to be like this. Sorry, there are no outsiders here. You have to hurry up and continue the family line. I also want to see which of you two can give birth to the emperor's grandson."

Xu Miaoyun knew in her heart that Zhu Kai didn't want a child at all. The two of them had never made any plans in this regard. Zhu Kai had his own plans, and after this new year, he would go somewhere else.

It would be inconvenient to go to such a far place if we had a child. Xu Miaoyun knew Zhu Kai's plans very well, so he never mentioned this matter. He just waited for Zhu Kai to bring up these things on his own initiative.

"Mother, you are right. It's all my fault. There has been no movement for such a long time. But please rest assured, mother. I will definitely keep this matter in mind."

Xu Miaoyun was quite good at speaking. He was able to say words that would reassure Empress Ma and also conveniently shut him up to avoid him bringing up these upsetting things in front of Zhu Kai again. Zhu Kai would definitely be unhappy if he heard them.

As they were talking, Zhu Kai and Zhu Di also slowly set out from the other side. In the blink of an eye, they finally arrived at the Queen's palace.

"Why is there no one outside? Normally there should be a lot of people guarding here at this time. Brother, could something have happened?"

"What could possibly happen in broad daylight? I think you are overthinking it. It's really weird.

Didn't Xu Miaoyun just come back not long ago? You don't have to worry about these things. They should be reminiscing about the past in there at this time. It's not good to ask too many questions.

I think we should not go in yet, let us wait outside and let them have a good chat in the house.

I heard that the Crown Princess has also come. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and my father are all in the front court discussing state affairs with the ministers. Naturally, the affairs of the harem will have to be left to my mother to decide.

Judging from this, they should be talking inside. We should not disturb them, which is the greatest respect. Let's walk around outside and wait for them to finish talking before going in. This will not disturb their private conversations."

The eunuch at the door had good eyesight and immediately noticed that Zhu Kai and Zhu Di were coming.

Without asking for permission from either of them, he went straight in to report.

"Reporting to the Queen, His Royal Highness Zhu Kai and His Royal Highness Zhu Di are here."

"They are finally here. I knew that Zhu Kai would not come out unless he woke up. Zhu Di is completely different. This child has become more and more taciturn in the past year or so."

Xu Miaoyun knew very well that although Ma Xiuying was not Zhu Di's biological mother, he treated all children equally and never thought too much about saying these words. It was natural for him to show his concern for Zhu Di.

He had to defend Zhu Kai, as if to make others mistakenly believe that Zhu Di had suffered a lot of injustice by living with the two of them. Wouldn't this put Zhu Kai in an awkward position?

"Mother, please don't think too much. Fifth brother has always been like this. Although he is taciturn, he always has his own ideas."

"what do you mean……"

Before Empress Ma finished speaking, Zhu Chong walked up to her and spoke.

"Mother, since you and the two sisters-in-law are talking in private here, it is not appropriate for the two of us to stay here. Let's go out and look for my second brother first."

"That's fine. When you go out, don't make too much noise. The emperor is discussing with the lords in the court. It would be bad if you make too much noise and alarm the emperor."

Ma Xiuying knew that there were some misunderstandings between Zhu Kai and Zhu Chong, and was afraid that they would have some conflicts at this time. If Zhu Yuanzhang was really alarmed, he would be very unforgiving.

The key point is that Zhu Yuanzhang has already issued the imperial edict. Even if they are dissatisfied, they cannot disobey the emperor's orders.

"Mother, don't worry. I will take good care of my two brothers and won't let them cause any trouble."

"Yeah, that's right."

After saying that, Zhu Gang pulled Zhu Chong out of the house. Now only the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law were left in the house, and they could talk in private.

Zhu Chong was pulled out and came face to face with Zhu Kai at the door.

When he saw Zhu Kai, he didn't say anything. Zhu Kai immediately understood that the other party still resented him.

"My two younger brothers got up early!"

"It's right for the second brother to get up early. Usually in the border area, the second brother doesn't get up until noon."

Zhu Chong was somewhat sarcastic, using it to vent his dissatisfaction.

"I just sleep a little longer when I'm resting. I don't do this at other times. It makes me sound like I'm being lazy when you say that." Zhu Di couldn't bear it as he saw the tension between the two brothers. After all, if it continued like this, it would be terrible.

If Zhu Yuanzhang is alarmed, no one will have a good life.

"Second brother, didn't we already agree before we came here that when we see Third Brother, we should explain everything to him so that he wouldn't have too many misunderstandings?"

"Zhu Di, stop pretending to be a good person here. Do you think I don't know you?"

Zhu Chong was so angry that he lost his mind. He didn't care about anything and just started scolding the people around him.

Zhu Gang is really at a loss now. No matter who he persuades, they are all useless. He is also the one with the least presence among the people here. He is not outstanding in any aspect, his qualifications are mediocre, and there is nothing outstanding about him.

Now in front of his brother, he had no right to persuade them to maintain a calm state of mind.

"Second sister-in-law has already gone in, but now there are only mother, the crown princess and second sister-in-law in the room. Let them talk to each other in private, and we will wait outside."

"Alright."

Zhu Kai now feels a little regretful that he cannot be with Xu Miaoyun. He wonders how nervous he will be when facing Queen Ma.

Zhu Kai looked at Zhu Chong and Zhu Gang standing in front of him. It had probably been two or three days since he last saw them, but these two guys seemed to have grown a lot taller.

"I was wondering if you two had taken growth hormones? I haven't seen you for the past two days, and you seem to have grown a lot stronger."

"What to eat? Growth hormone? No, we didn't. When we came back these two days, our mother arranged a lot of food for us, such as roast chicken, roast duck, and various desserts."

"Oh, by the way, I almost forgot that all the desserts in the Ming Dynasty were made with lard. In your time, there was no vegetable oil or animal butter.

Most likely they use lard, no wonder you are so fat, eating less cakes is good for you. You are so fat at such a young age, be careful of the three highs!"

"Second brother, you start to blame us when you see us two. In the past year or so, we have been eating beef, mutton, horse meat, and various kinds of dried meat in the border area.

Even vegetables are hard to come by. We finally got back to Beijing, so can't we eat more of what we like? I don't want to eat anything related to dairy products anymore.

Now that I think about it, it's sweet and greasy, completely different from the exquisite dishes made by the chefs in the palace. We don't care whether it's lard or horse fat, I just know it tastes good."

"Everything I just said is for your own good. You should exercise more at such a young age. Now think about it, there are too many young men like you who live a life of luxury in the world.

If this goes on for a long time, won't everyone in the Ming Dynasty become fat? How can we become a strong country and a strong army? No, I now have a bold idea. "

When Zhu Chong heard Zhu Kai say that he had some bold ideas, he was not surprised at all, because Zhu Kai's mind was full of bold ideas.

Ever since he met his second brother, he always had some strange and puzzling things. Sometimes he even wanted to open his head to see what was going on in his mind because he had no way of understanding these things.

"Second brother, what have you thought of?"

Zhu Kai looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, put his hands behind his back, and spoke seriously.

“A sports powerhouse!”

"Sports? What is sports? Is it the same as the fitness you mentioned, brother?"

Zhu Gang asked curiously.

"Fourth brother, you are finally smart for once."

"What's the matter?"

"Look at you guys now, you are all so weak, what will you do on the battlefield? Do you know why it is so difficult to fight the Mongol tribes?"

"Because Wang Baobao is full of tricks and has strong fighting ability, they are all like this because they grew up on horseback. Even though the soldiers of our Ming Dynasty have selected elite soldiers and generals, there is still a huge gap in fighting ability in front of the grassland tribes."

Zhu Kai smiled and said.

"That's right. This is the difference in physical fitness. The Mongolian tribe has already surrendered. What should we do in this situation?"

"Of course I continued. Although it is said that one should not pursue a desperate enemy, sometimes it depends on who we are facing. These barbarians have always been ambitious and will never give up unless we defeat them all.

If you ask me, since the current situation is like this, we still have to look at the arrangements of the emperor. Second brother, we have no say. Now it is a matter of national importance, and we can only listen to the emperor. "

Zhu Gang usually portrays himself as a good old man, because he has been following Zhu Kai since he was a child and has become accustomed to listening to his second brother. He does whatever his second brother tells him to do and has no ability to think independently.

"Third brother, don't be angry with second brother about this matter. In fact, you should have guessed it a long time ago."

Zhu Chong said indignantly beside him.

"Can I guess?"

"Wang Baobao often went to have dinner and chat with my second brother alone. In addition to the business dealings between the two of them, his purpose was very obvious. It was as clear as day for everyone to see.

In fact, I had already seen that she wanted to send her sister Guanyin to live with us brothers, but she didn't show it very obviously at that time.

This is just my guess, I didn't say it out loud, if you want to blame someone, you should blame me, don't put all the blame on my second brother."

After Zhu Gang said this, Zhu Chong was completely confused. He usually never thought about these things and was only concerned with finding ways to fight for power, but now he was not taken seriously.

He also became Zhu Yuanzhang's tool to contact Wang Baobao.

"Second brother, I..."

Zhu Kai knew very well that his younger brother was just arrogant. If he apologized properly in front of them, their brotherly relationship would not be so strained.

"Third brother, actually, I should apologize to you. I already knew about this matter a long time ago, but I didn't tell you when we were at the border because I was afraid you would lose your temper.

This is indeed my brother's fault. I formally apologize to you now!" (End of this chapter)