Chapter 35

Amidst the dancing yellow leaves and red maples, the mountains were filled with myriad shades of purple and green. The lake reflected the mountains, and the solitary hawk flew against the setting sun. The cool night breeze drove away the remaining heat, and the ripples on the lake were as clear as a bath under the frosty moon.

In mid-October, each household began to pay their rent, carrying newly harvested grain to the Xu family granary. The Xu family had always been generous to their tenants. This year, the harvest was good, and every family had plenty of surplus, enough to have a good year.

Soon, officials came to collect part of the autumn tax, which was divided into grain and silk. Every household in the village had to plant mulberry trees for weaving. The village chief then posted the labor assignments for the year, organizing the men to dig ditches for ten days to improve the water conservancy.

One thing that deeply impressed Xu Hao was that the elderly over seventy years old received food from the government every month, and everyone in the village respected the elderly. Any disrespectful children, once reported by neighbors, would be heavily fined or even exiled.

The farmers in the Ming Dynasty were busy all year round. As soon as they completed the year's labor, they had to start storing various grains, selling old grain to merchants or using it to make wine. The pigs in the pens, well-fed, were either slaughtered or kept for later. Large flocks of sheep were either sold or kept.

As for the dozens or even hundreds of geese and ducks, they didn't need to be fed at home. They were all released early in the morning and would return home in the evening when someone called from the lakeside. The geese and ducks, accustomed to the human voice, would follow home without a single one missing.

Every household's courtyard was filled with cured meat, salted chickens, and pickled fish, as well as skinned rabbits and other game. The jars by the walls were filled with salted duck eggs, while the eggs were sold for money.

Stone platforms in every household were used to dry small crabs and shrimp. The trees and mountains around the village were full of walnuts, jujubes, persimmons, chestnuts, peaches, and other fruits, which were picked, dried, and stored for later enjoyment.

In addition, they dried gourds, winter melons, eggplants, green beans, toona sinensis sprouts, and daylilies, storing them for the winter. The villagers also cut down unproductive trees, burned them into charcoal, and stored it in the woodshed. Although they were still busy, it was much more relaxed compared to the farming season.

Xu Hao would get up when the sun was just rising, wash, practice some uncoordinated boxing, and drink a cup of warm wine. He would then enjoy a bowl of sweet green bean and millet porridge made with water from the stream, which was fragrantly aromatic. He would eat it with white tofu and scallions, feeling full, and then put on a thick cotton coat to go out.

Sometimes, he would follow the village chief to gain experience in handling village affairs. Other times, he would visit various households, asking the elders about farming matters and remembering everything in his heart. When storytellers came to the village, Xu Hao would squat in the village square with the children, listening to stories like "Miss Yingying's Night Meeting with Her Lover," "Emperor Tang's Tour of Hell," and "Zhao Zilong's Single Horse Rescue."

Life in the countryside was simple but fulfilling. Xu Hao's parents were pleased with this. For months, Xu Hao had not asked for a single coin from home and had not caused any trouble. Even if he didn't achieve much in the future, he would definitely not be a wastrel.

His eldest sister often wrote letters, mentioning trivial matters at home, such as the fact that the Princess of Pucheng had chosen his elder brother Xu Wen, and they had already become engaged last month. After the wedding next year, his second sister would be sent north to the Qin王府 to become a concubine of the Crown Prince of Qin.

Influenced by this, his second brother Xu Ji began to work hard, moving to the capital to study at the Imperial Academy, determined to study for three to five years and take the imperial exams. Xu Hao guessed that his second brother planned to marry a daughter of a high-ranking official, not inferior to Zhu Qiaqiao, which was a good goal to have.

The Hou of Heshou, Zhang Jia, had sent a matchmaker to propose marriage, and it was said that Zhang De was determined to marry Lüzhu. Initially, the Hou of Heshou, Zhang Yi, and his wife did not agree, but they could not withstand their son's constant arguing at home.

The old matriarch agreed, and the engagement was set for next month. Coincidentally, the fourth son, Xu Song, had caused a lot of trouble recently, so he was sent to Beiping to inform their uncle of the good news.

In addition, the other sisters began to look for suitable matches, but the eldest sister's letter did not mention her own future, with a hint of melancholy in her words. Xu Hao sighed lightly. Because of Zhu Gaozhi, who would dare to marry the eldest sister? This made him feel difficult. Although Zhu Gaozhi respected the eldest sister and himself, he had not given in to the Xu family's hints. Perhaps the whole family was now hoping that he would take the initiative.

Let's wait a bit longer. At least, with this, the eldest sister's status in the family has risen sharply, and she can enjoy a few years of a comfortable life.

Recently, the old man, Xu Da, had caught a cold, which made the whole family very worried. The old lady was also very anxious and fell ill herself.

The eldest sister urged him to return home soon, saying that her father-in-law had gone to Hangzhou to purchase goods, and her mother, worried about her husband's infidelity, had a bad temper recently, making the atmosphere at home tense.

"Hangzhou." Xu Hao felt a bit tempted.

Another thing that made Xu Hao feel uneasy was that Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang had issued an edict to select concubines for his grandsons. No wonder the family was in a hurry to find suitable matches. What about Hongye?

In the Yan王府 in the capital, because the emperor had ordered the princes to send their sons to the capital for education, Zhu Di had stayed in the capital for several months. Now, he had to return to his fief.

Before leaving, Zhu Di suddenly thought of Xu Hao and ordered Zhu Gaozhi to come and ask him about Xu Hao's recent situation. Zhu Gaozhi had been paying attention to the recent developments of Xu Hao and his sister and answered fluently.

When he heard that Xu Hao was living alone in the countryside, almost in seclusion, and had no intention of returning home soon, Zhu Di smiled.

"Interesting, this is a way to express his loyalty to me."

Zhu Gaozhi asked respectfully, "I don't understand."

Looking at his son's increasingly fat body, Zhu Di found it somewhat displeasing, but since the emperor had been praising his son recently, he did not scold him and said, "Your legs are not convenient, sit down and talk."

After Zhu Gaozhi slowly sat down, Zhu Di smiled and said, "Xu Hao is quite interesting. He deliberately left home to show me that he is not interested in petty gains. Hasn't the Xu family recently sent someone to propose sending Qinglian to the palace?"

"Yes." Zhu Gaozhi's expression was complex, and he honestly said, "I did not dare to make the decision on my own, and I did not want to wrong Qinglian, so I refused."

Zhu Di asked, "What if Xu Hao himself proposed it?"

"This..." Zhu Gaozhi immediately lowered his head.

Zhu Di inwardly cursed his son for being unambitious and frowned, "Qinglian loves her brother the most, and they are of one heart. If Xu Hao proposed it, it would represent Qinglian's own wishes. Are you waiting for that day? Unfortunately, that boy is stubborn and has run to the countryside."

Zhu Gaozhi sighed lightly and did not dare to speak. Zhu Di saw this and coldly said, "It's just a woman, what's there to hesitate about?"

Zhu Gaozhi really wanted to shout that Qinglian was not just any woman, and he liked her.

Fortunately, Zhu Di did not continue, as he, being a man of experience, understood the subtleties of love, which could not be controlled by human will. Wasn't he and his father, Zhu Yuanzhang, the same, despite having thousands of concubines, they only deeply loved their first wives?

After the death of the Crown Prince, Zhu Biao, Zhu Di had thought he might become the Crown Prince, but the emperor chose Zhu Yunwen, who was not a legitimate grandson. This made Zhu Di deeply disappointed and very dissatisfied.

Zhu Di did not dare to have any ambitions yet, as he was worried about the future. Some officials had already expressed concerns about the power of the princes, fearing a repeat of the Eight Princes' Rebellion of the Han Dynasty. Fortunately, the emperor did not listen to them.

The emperor was already old, and it was time to cultivate his own power in the capital, preparing for the future to avoid being caught off guard by his young nephew.

Thinking of this, Zhu Di said, "Many people are vying to flatter us, but Xu Hao chose to do the opposite. This is the usual trick of those who call themselves smart, just to gain a good reputation. For the sake of my father-in-law, I will not hold it against him, as he is still a talent. By the way, has he never contacted the Mu family girl?"

"Yes." Zhu Gaozhi was shocked, wondering how his father knew such a small matter.

Zhu Di pondered, "At such a young age, he has such patience, even refraining from seeing his beloved. Hmm! This boy is no ordinary person. I have a feeling that he is confident that I will fulfill his wishes."

"Fulfill his wishes?" Zhu Gaozhi was greatly surprised and stammered, "Does Father, does Father intend to make Xu Hao the prince's son-in-law?"

Zhu Di said proudly, "It's just a small matter, why not?"

Zhu Gaozhi felt that he could not understand his father more and more. The mighty Prince of Yan was directly interfering in the marriage of the younger generation of the Xu family, and now he planned to make Xu Hao marry the princess of the Mu family. Wasn't he afraid of arousing the emperor's suspicions by forming alliances through marriage with the Qin Prince and the Mu family?

Zhu Di saw through his son's thoughts and said coldly, "You are foolish. The emperor would not be angry about marriages within the royal family. On the contrary, if the Mu family married into other noble families, it would be a disaster for them."