Chapter 6: Another Choice

"Get up! The days of sleeping in are over!"

At the fifth watch of the night, Zhu Zhen, who was dreaming about gnawing on a trotter, was pulled out of his bed.

"Who dares to lay hands on me, the prince?" Prince Chu strained to open his sleepy eyes, baring his teeth and waving his arms, looking rather cute.

He saw the smug smile on his fourth brother Zhu Di's face. Prince Yan, with his incredible strength, effortlessly lifted the little fatty.

"Hey, Zhu Di..." Zhu Zhen smiled sweetly, raised his chubby right fist, and extended his middle finger.

"Call me Fourth Brother, you disrespectful brat!" Zhu Di slapped his plump bottom.

"You two, stop fooling around." Crown Prince Zhu Biao watched the two brothers bickering with a smile. "Hurry up and get dressed."

"Is Big Brother here too?" Zhu Zhen was somewhat surprised. Was the Crown Prince so idle?

"If I didn't come to wake you up, would you two obediently go to school?" Zhu Biao said irritably.

"Taking me along again..." Zhu Di's lips twitched, clearly indicating that Zhu Biao had gone to his place first.

The palace attendants hurriedly came forward to wash Prince Chu's face, comb his hair, and dress him.

Prince Yan also wanted to help, but mainly to pinch the little fatty. Crown Prince Zhu Biao naturally wouldn't let him get away with it, pulling Zhu Di out to have breakfast first.

The country was newly established, with frequent wars and a struggling populace, so everything had to be frugal.

Moreover, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang was perhaps the most frugal emperor in history. He only ate two meals a day, and his diet was simple, with no exotic delicacies. For breakfast, he only had vegetables and noodles, plus a dish of tofu, to remind himself not to forget his roots.

Following his lead, Empress Ma also lived a simple life, growing vegetables and cooking herself, never finding it hard.

Following the example from above, the palace also practiced frugality. Breakfast was just ordinary baked buns, wontons, vegetable buns, and congee, a far cry from the luxurious feasts of later royal courts.

Fortunately, Zhu Biao and his brothers had grown up in the midst of war, so they didn't feel any hardship.

Zhu Zhen, in particular, had no reason to feel aggrieved. Even if it wasn't the best, it was still the level of a medium-sized landlord's household, much better than what he had before.

After a quick breakfast, the four brothers left through the Wan'an Gate, heading towards the Daben Hall.

The sky was just beginning to lighten in the east.

Zhu Di walked ahead, then fell back, gesturing wildly and talking non-stop.

Crown Prince Zhu Biao watched his teenage brother with a bitter smile, wondering when he would grow up.

Zhu Zhen lagged behind, whispering to his fifth brother, "Aren't we going to wake up the seventh brother?"

"Are you talking to me?" Zhu Wu was incredulous, pointing at himself.

"Of course."

"My good little brother, you notice me." Zhu Wu, moved to tears, gripped his hand. After a while, he asked, "By the way, what did you ask me?"

"Why aren't we waking up the seventh brother?"

"Seventh Brother doesn't need Big Brother to worry. He's always the first to arrive at the Daben Hall, probably already starting his morning reading."

"Uh..." Zhu Zhen was surprised. He didn't expect the seventh brother to be such a good student. This didn't match the violent child described by the people below.

But then again, who isn't a method actor?

"Why can't you get up, Fifth Brother?" Zhu Zhen asked curiously. Prince Wu seemed like a well-behaved child.

"Sometimes." Fifth Brother nodded with a smile.

"Indeed, who wants to leave a warm bed on such a cold day?" Zhu Zhen felt he wasn't alone.

"Fifth Brother stays up late reading, only going to bed in the early hours of the morning." Crown Prince Zhu Biao turned back and laughed. "When do you go to bed?"

"I go to bed early, but I fall asleep late." Zhu Zhen blushed, loudly defending himself.

"Sixth Brother, don't fall for it. These good students are just trying to make us look bad." Zhu Di ran back, pinching his chubby cheeks. "It'll be better when Second Brother comes back."

"Doesn't Second Brother also make fun of us?"

"No, when Second Brother comes back, we won't be the worst anymore."

"Ha ha ha!" The brothers laughed and joked, enjoying their walk to school.

~~

After entering the Wenhua Gate, the brothers quieted down.

Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang was very concerned about the education of his descendants. In the first year of the Hongwu era, he established the Daben Hall, filling it with ancient books and inviting famous scholars to teach the Crown Prince and princes.

However, after the Crown Prince grew up, he moved to the opposite Wenhua Palace for separate imperial education.

Before entering the Wenhua Palace, the Crown Prince carefully adjusted Zhu Di's dragon robe and tidied the strand of hair that had fallen over his forehead.

Then, while tidying Zhu Zhen's appearance, he said gently, "I reported to Father about your recovery yesterday. He was very pleased and encouraged you to study hard. He said he would check your progress in a while."

"Wang Defa!" Zhu Zhen gasped.

"Your Highness, what do you need? I can't go in..." Wang Defa quickly responded outside the Wenhua Gate.

"I didn't call you." Zhu Zhen was annoyed by the pun.

Right, Zhu Di?

After tidying up the two troublesome brothers, the Crown Prince entered the Wenhua Palace.

The three brothers respectfully watched the Crown Prince's figure disappear, then entered the Daben Hall.

In the bright and clean classroom, many people were already seated.

The young men in white robes were the sons of high officials, who, though they might be arrogant outside the palace, were just background characters here, easily ignored.

Two children in dragon robes stood out.

Zhu Zhen's gaze automatically skipped over the eighth brother, who still had a runny nose, and focused on the seventh brother, who was sitting upright and reading aloud.

This boy, with his clear features and proud demeanor, was the kind of good student everyone disliked.

Zhu Di nudged his chin towards the seventh brother's dark circles and said, "Look, this kid studies hard at night, almost catching up to me. Annoying!"

When the seventh brother received praise from their father, he would inevitably be scolded. The more praise the seventh brother received, the more scolding he would get...

"Doesn't Fifth Brother also stay up late reading?" Zhu Zhen asked.

"I don't read the school books; I read medical books." Zhu Wu explained softly.

As they spoke, the cloud board in the courtyard rang, signaling the teacher's arrival.

The three quickly took their seats.

Zhu Zhen had already observed that each row in the classroom had only two desks.

The first two desks were empty, probably for the second and third brothers.

Since the fourth and fifth brothers sat in the second row,

Zhu Zhen naturally sat with the seventh brother in the third row, truly a case of enemies meeting by chance, and they were even desk mates.

When the cloud board rang again, the lecturer entered.

To the students' surprise, today's teacher was Liu Bowen.

"The sun is rising in the west." Zhu Di muttered. "I wonder what got into him."

Zhu Zhen smiled but said nothing.

After the teacher and students bowed, Liu Bowen sat behind the lectern and said to Zhu Di, "Prince Yan, please go first."

Zhu Di stood up, took his book, opened it to the page he was studying, and placed it on the lectern, waiting nervously for the teacher to teach.

This was a stark contrast to his carefree demeanor before class.

The others quickly opened their textbooks and buried their heads in last-minute preparation.

Zhu Zhen opened his book and found it incomprehensible.

'What the hell, not even any punctuation.' He cursed inwardly and tilted his head to glance at the seventh brother.

The seventh brother, feeling his gaze, finally couldn't help but whisper, "What are you looking at?"

"You know why." Zhu Zhen smiled coldly.

"I don't know..." the seventh brother said, trying to sound tough.

"I'll help you remember." Zhu Zhen continued to pressure him.

"Who knows what you're talking about!" The seventh brother buried his head in his book, avoiding eye contact.

"Right, I'm not human now; I'm a ghost." Zhu Zhen said in a sinister tone. "I've come back to seek revenge..."

Suddenly, there was a loud 'slap' as Liu Bowen, who had been enduring their behavior, finally couldn't take it anymore and struck the ruler.

Prince Qi was so startled that he almost jumped out of his seat.

"No talking in class!" Liu Bowen said sternly. "The two princes, please step outside!"

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