My father, Zhu Di, was granted a second life by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Chapter 128 The two princes tried to get close to Zhu Gaochi

Just as Zhu Gaoxi was about to offer a few perfunctory words to appease the old emperor, Huang Liang came in to report that Xia Yuanji was waiting outside the hall.

"Come in," the old emperor said, glancing at his eldest grandson with affection.

He was in his early thirties, of medium height, slender, and had a dignified and peaceful demeanor.

Upon seeing Xia Yuanji up close for the first time, Zhu Gaoxi was somewhat lost in thought, only to be brought back to reality by the old emperor's cough.

"The King of Wu is opening a cotton cloth shop, and he's paying part of the money from the Ministry of Revenue. Go there and verify the amount," the old emperor said bluntly.

Zhu Gaoxi continued, "Currently, it is still in the planning stage and is divided into two parts: the water-powered spinning wheel is built on the riverbank, and the manual spinning and weaving is near the Zhongcheng Bingmasi."

Seeing Zhu Gaoxi looking at him expectantly, Xia Yuanji said unhurriedly, "After I entered the Imperial Academy to study, my mother moved to the capital with me and bought a spinning wheel. She earns six or seven shi of grain every year, which is enough to cover the food and clothing expenses of my mother and younger brother."

"Does the spinning wheel have three or four spindles?" Zhu Gaoxi asked with great interest.

"Three spindles," Xia Yuanji pondered for a moment, then said, "I have heard that there is a wealthy family in Suzhou who uses three people to work together on a spinning wheel, leading their workers to spin. Every night until the second watch, they earn 200 coins a day to provide for their master's food and clothing."

"Is it in Wu County?" Zhu Gaoxi's interest was piqued; he really wanted to go and see for himself.

Natsuhara Yoshiya couldn't pinpoint the exact location.

Since the seat of Suzhou Prefecture was located in Wu County, this possibility is extremely high.

Zhu Gaoxi took out a charcoal pencil and paper and enthusiastically discussed with Xia Yuanji ways to increase the number of ingots. Seeing the two chatting happily, the old emperor couldn't help but smile slightly.

Zhu Gaoxi felt a deep regret that they hadn't met sooner, and immediately made an appointment with Xia Yuanji to go to the cotton cloth shop together another day.

The water-powered spinning wheel with 32 spindles recorded in Wang Zhen's "Agricultural Treatise" of the Yuan Dynasty could only be used for twisting hemp yarn and long silk fibers. Zhu Gaoxi, Han Da, and You Dun studied and improved the spinning wheel for several days, enabling it to spin cotton yarn.

Zhu Gaoxi trusted his intuition and believed that Xia Yuanji would become a trusted minister who shared his ideals.

As Zhu Gaoxi emerged from the Qianqing Palace, he encountered Prince An, Zhu Ying, who, judging from the direction he was coming from, had just come from the inner palace. Zhu Gaoxi took the initiative to greet him, saying, "Uncle Prince, did you go to visit Consort Wang?"

Zhu Ying nodded with a worried expression.

"Is Consort Wang feeling unwell?" Zhu Gaoxi asked with concern.

"I've already taken my medicine and am resting," Zhu Ying replied wearily.

"Why don't we go to the vegetable garden to rest for a while?" Zhu Gaoxi took Zhu Ying's hand.

Zhu Ying forced a smile, moved, and nodded mechanically.

Back in the vegetable garden, Zhu Gaoxi first had the eunuchs attend to Zhu Ying so he could rest, and then he sent someone to fetch Han Da.

Han Da quickly appeared, looking meek and obedient.

"Take some time to think about whether you can design a large human-powered spinning wheel that can be operated by three or five people, and the hand-cranked spinning wheel that we talked about last time. If you can really build it, it will be a great achievement," Zhu Gaoxi chuckled, encouraging Handa.

Han Da will no longer have to repeat the fate of his grandfather and father. The days when he could not improve his life with his skills are gone forever. As long as Han Da can make a breakthrough in textile technology, Zhu Gaoxi is happy to promote him to a higher official rank.

Han Da grinned happily, accepted the order, and carried the miscellaneous books on crafts and techniques that Zhu Gaoxi had recently found back to the backyard.

Zhu Gaoxi and Mu Xin returned to the vegetable garden for lunch, but before they could see anyone, they heard him shouting loudly, "Fourth brother, fourth brother, your second brother is starving! Is there anything to eat?"

Upon hearing the sound, Yunfei quickly led Yunfei and Yunqing to set out the food.

After finishing a bowl of beef, Zhu Gaoxu wiped his mouth and said, "Fourth brother, have you found out yet? Whose idea was it? Why can't we study alone anymore? Zhu Song and Zhu Mo are always trying to get close to me, those two sycophants. The way they fawn over the Crown Prince is so obsequious, even though he's their uncle. I feel ashamed for them."

Although Zhu Gaoxu's voice was very low, it could still be heard clearly when he got closer. Zhu Gaoxi knew that his second brother's outspoken nature was hard to change in a short time, so he did not waste his breath trying to persuade him. He simply ordered Yishiha to lead people to guard the door and to warn them immediately if any outsiders came.

Zhu Song and Zhu Mo were the twentieth and twenty-first sons of the old emperor, respectively, and were enfeoffed as the Prince of Han and the Prince of Shen. They were sixteen years old, the same age as Zhu Gaoxu, and had not yet taken up their fiefs.

Zhu Gaoxi fell into thought. If he remembered correctly, Zhu Song died in the fifth year of Yongle's reign before he could take up his fief. He was only twenty-seven years old and had no son. His principal wife was the daughter of Feng Cheng, the commander of the Yunnan Provincial Military Commission, and the granddaughter of Feng Guoyong, the Duke of Ying.

In the sixth year of the Yongle reign, Zhu Mo was reassigned to Luzhou in Shanxi and took up his post.

With limited information, Zhu Gaoxi could not determine their attitude towards Prince Yan, Zhu Di, during the Jingnan Campaign. Living under Zhu Yunwen's watchful eye, even if they internally agreed with Zhu Di, they might not have dared to stand up and oppose Emperor Jianwen.

There's no such thing as a free lunch. The Crown Prince arranged for Zhu Gaoxu and Mu Xin to study with the other princes and grandsons, with two possible motives: first, to find someone to sow discord between Zhu Gaoxu and the Crown Prince; second, to force Zhu Gaoxu to make a mistake and shift the blame onto the Prince of Yan.

Upon closer examination, the first intention seems more likely.

As long as we can successfully disrupt the relationship between my second brother and us, and weaken our power, the Crown Prince can take advantage of the situation and reap the benefits.

His wishful thinking was bound to fail. Zhu Gaoxi would never let him get what he wanted, and although Zhu Gaoxu was straightforward, he was not stupid.

However, allowing Zhu Gaoxu to wander around the palace all the time and come into contact with so many people every day is ultimately a hidden danger. We need to come up with a legitimate reason to ask the old emperor to assign Zhu Gaoxu some tasks and give him some opportunities to train.

This matter cannot be rushed; we must wait for the right opportunity and act accordingly.

Zhu Gaoxi did not directly answer Zhu Gaoxu's question, but claimed that he did not know either.

Zhu Gaoxu pouted and shook his head in disappointment. "Fourth brother, you can't let your guard down. I have a feeling it's the Crown Prince's idea. He's full of bad intentions and very cunning. You have to be careful and not fall into his trap."

Mu Xin echoed, "Second Brother is right, we can't be careless."

Zhu Gaoxi smiled gratefully and asked Yunfei to bring up more meat.

The two buried themselves in their food and ate with great relish.

After eating their fill and drinking some hot tea, the two of them went to the main hall to pretend to be something they weren't.

Zhu Gaoxi passed by Zhu Ying's room and heard the sound of someone turning over, so he went in and called him to eat.

Zhu Ying was wide awake. She sat up and smiled at Zhu Gaoxi.

He must have woken up long ago, but he didn't want to meet Zhu Gaoxu, so he hid in the room and refused to go out, Zhu Gaoxi thought to himself, while chatting casually with Zhu Ying without showing any emotion.

Zhu Gaoxu had never shown any respect to his uncle, who was three years younger than him. He would tease and ridicule Zhu Ying without any restraint, leaving Zhu Ying in a sorry state every time, so he could only keep his distance.

When the Prince of Yan returned to the capital this time, he brought many practical gifts for his younger brother and sent them directly to the Prince of An's residence. However, Zhu Ying never went to the Prince of Wu's residence to pay his respects to his elder brother.

Zhu Gaoxi was initially unhappy, thinking that Zhu Ying was disrespectful to his adoptive father, but he gradually came to understand.

Maintaining distance from the King of Wu and the King of Yan was perhaps his way of protecting himself; he couldn't force everyone to stand by his side without hesitation.

Zhu Ying has her own social circle and way of life, which cannot be forced upon her.

As long as there is no ill intent or malice, tolerance is acceptable; Zhu Gaoxi did not want to argue with his relatives over trivial matters.