In the blink of an eye, it was Zhu Yuanzhang's birthday, and at the end of the day, Ah Xiu waited for Zhu Yuanzhang, who returned the night before, to get up, put on a court dress for him, and he was also wearing the same court clothes. At three o'clock, after the two of them used it a little too early, Ah Xiu respectfully presented Zhu Yuanzhang with a detailed list of the day's arrangements. One of them, the qiē system, not only conforms to the specifications of the Han princes of the Song Dynasty, but also pays extra attention to the dignity and glory of the new king. Including all the processes of the day until the time of the day, the remarks are listed in detail, and the part that must be participated by the abbot of the prince, Ah Xiu marked it with a pen in an additional circle, although the steps of the day are complicated, but it is still clear at a glance, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at it and praised it again and again. Chenzheng, Zhu Yuanzhang, accompanied by A Xiu, entered the ancestral hall to worship.

Shoutang is located in the main hall of the palace, because it is to entertain guests, the place to worship the birthday ceremony, so the arrangement is particularly festive: the hall hangs a big "one stroke of longevity" picture, and there are dozens of small blessing characters of different shapes around it, implying that the blessing and longevity are complete. On both sides, there are three stars of Fu Lu Shou, and there are also immortals such as Antarctic immortals and eight immortals. The big chairs in the hall are replaced with new big red chair drapes, big red chair cushions, and the patterns on them are all pine, cypress, bamboo, chrysanthemum, plum, peach, crane, etc., with the homophony of each picture symbolizing longevity and so on. The red carpet is laid on the ground in the hall, and the longevity screen is placed on both sides, and there are various colors of longevity characters on the longevity screen, and the materials are exquisite, highlighting the status of the royal family. The pillars and beams around are decorated with red yarn.

On the table of the Eight Immortals on the main seat of the hall house, there are various colors of gold and silver porcelain, as well as longevity cakes and peaches, longevity wine and longevity noodles, longevity fruits and longevity fish. "Cake" has the meaning of longevity higher than the mountain; "Peach" is a necessary thing for the Queen Mother of Heaven and West to set up a banquet for all immortals; "Wine" has a long-term meaning; "Noodles" take the meaning of long, with the meaning of longevity; "Fruit" is fruitful; "Fish" is more than every year. The longevity cakes and peaches are all made by Ah Xiu himself, and the longevity cakes are particularly brilliant, stacked very high, almost six or seven feet, which is really the color language that should be higher than the mountain. In addition, for the consideration of the evening, the birthday candles and lanterns were prepared.

At the beginning of the year, Zhu Yuanzhang sat in the main hall and accepted the family gifts of his wife and concubines and sons. Ah Xiu brought all the wives and concubines to Zhu Yuanzhang to salute and give him a new jade belt made by himself, Zhu Yuanzhang saw that the decoration was exquisite, the jade color was very, and he liked it very much, so he asked Ah Xiu to put it on himself. Zhu Biao took a few younger brothers and sisters to kowtow to Zhu Yuanzhang first, and even Zhu Zhen and Zhu Rong in swaddling clothes were held by the nurse to salute Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Biao is the eldest son who served wine for Zhu Yuanzhang's birthday, Zhu Yuanzhang took the wine glass, took the wine and left his seat, went to the outside of the hall to respect heaven and earth, and then returned to the hall to take a seat. Zhu Biao stepped forward and bowed again, and said in a crisp voice: "Erchen is still young, not like a righteous brother who has become an adult, and has served his father for many years. The sons did not have any expensive gifts to give gifts, but their mothers often taught that 'the gift is not in the gold taels, but in the heart'. Therefore, in order to congratulate his father's birthday, the son sent a large character written by himself as a birthday gift, and asked his father to smile. The sons and daughters hereby wish their father eternal success. ”

Zhu Yuanzhang listened to his words reasoned and well-founded, and respectfully respected, so he was naturally very happy. Although Zhu Biao is young, it is very rare to write a good handwriting, Zhu Yuanzhang was full of praise, took a jade pendant from the belt and handed it to him, all as a reward. Zhu Fan and Zhu Li also presented their birthday gifts in turn, which were fans and inkstones, and Zhu Yuanzhang also took them and praised them a few words. After the ceremony was finished at home, Zhu Yuanzhang left only Ah Xiu by his side and let everyone go back. At three o'clock, still in the main hall of the palace, Zhu Yuanzhang accepted the congratulations of his subordinates, and King Xiaoming, together with several surrounding forces that were temporarily peaceful, sent envoys to congratulate, Wen Ying (Zhu Yuanzhang gave the surname Zhu, changed Mu Ying to Zhu Wenying) and Tang He took people outside the palace to carefully check before letting them in. Zhu Yuanzhang gave them seats one by one, accepted their gifts, exchanged a few words of greeting, and ordered someone to take them into the garden.

Ah Xiu saw that Zhu Yuanzhang was full of joy, reminded him to drink some tea from time to time, and occasionally accompanied him to enjoy the gifts he received. "Madame has worked hard, informing so many people one by one, so that the king's face is shining, it is really difficult for Mrs. to be thoughtful, when I got up in the morning, I saw that Mrs. was dark now, and now I saw that I was not tired! Ben Wang was also a little less worried. Zhu Yuanzhang took Ah Xiu's hand, and his gratitude was beyond words. Ah Xiu smiled slightly: "I just secretly used a cotton ball dipped in good tea to compress it, and covered it with powder, naturally I can't see it, not to mention that today is a good day for the prince, I naturally borrowed joy, how can I still be tired!" After speaking, someone came to congratulate again, Ah Xiu and Zhu Yuanzhang restrained their intimacy, said goodbye and went to the garden to greet first, and ordered someone to call Lian'er to serve beside the prince and receive the remaining guests one by one.

The whole mansion is full of lights, except for Fu Youde, who has just conquered Yiling and is still on the way back to recover his life, the rest of the courtiers, Xu Da and Yang Zhen, who had just captured Jiangling at the beginning of the month, all came to the door to celebrate their birthdays, and the people inside and outside the mansion were bustling, so lively. This is the first time after becoming the king, all the regulations have been greatly defeated before, and because Ah Xiu takes care of it quietly everywhere, he has changed new clothes for the house slaves in the whole house, and the red tassels are hung around his waist, which adds to the joy.

Ah Xiu hadn't slept well for a few days, and he planned and operated independently, and now he was in a strong spirit and sent domestic slaves in the garden to greet a group of guests. Hu heard that there were more and more people, and because of several times in the past, he was especially close to Ah Xiu, and now he came to the garden early to help. At this time, Hu Shi saw that Ah Xiu's face was slightly pale, and he had to stand aside, secretly supporting her waist and supporting her. Ah Xiu thanked him gratefully, and the two of them took care of it together, occasionally saying a few words of homely things, and gradually felt less tired.

Until he was ready to start the banquet, Zhu Wenzheng did not show up, nor did he send anyone to send birthday gifts or greetings. Ah Xiu waited until now, and he had no intention of caring about him anymore, just a mother and son, seeing him so disobedient, he was a little sentimental, but it was not easy to show it. Sighing, he and Lian'er entered the garden and took their seats. Hui Lan was humiliated last time, and today she said that she couldn't get sick, Ah Xiu felt a little more comfortable, feeling that whether she knew her mistake or didn't come because she resisted, she had already gained the upper hand, so she didn't want to be careful.

Whenever they saw the righteous son of the Zhu family coming to pay their respects, Ah Xiu and the Hu family treated them gently and kindly, and asked them about their current condition. All the righteous sons have always respected this stepmother, and they are very respectful. There are a lot of people, Tang He came in for Wenying, because he married a beautiful wife, he naturally missed Ah Xiu's love and kindness, and now that he finally met in private, he naturally lifted his hem and wanted to give Ah Xiu a big gift, Ah Xiu pulled him with a smile, and asked a few words of homely things, let people lead him in, read that he stood at the door for a long time, and sent someone to hand him a few snacks to fill his stomach.

At noon, a banquet was held in the palace garden, and the wives and concubines of the envoys were seated according to the system, and the Xuanyi announced the beginning of the banquet. After waiting for the banquet, he gave everyone a reward, Xuanyi led everyone into the congratulations, and when he arrived at the stage, he started the play again. Lian'er ordered the house slaves to withdraw from the banquet and prepare for the evening family banquet and opera juggling. Zhu Yuanzhang went to the room with Ah Xiu to rest. "Madam, Yuan Zhang remembered something." Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly and looked at Ah Xiu. "The prince is so happy today, why is he sad? Is there something wrong with Ah Xiu? Please say it to the prince, and Ah Xiu will also listen to it to see where he was negligent and negligent. Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head: "Did Wen Zheng not come?" ”

Ah Xiu chuckled in his heart: It's broken, the prince found out. Just now, I kept playing the drum in my heart, how to hide and say, and now I asked, hey, do your best to obey the destiny of heaven. Thinking of this, Ah Xiu covered up Zhu Wenzheng with a smile on his face: "The prince ordered him to guard Hongdu, and the child doesn't like restraint, and he doesn't want to like many people, I'm afraid it's normal if he doesn't come, the prince thinks about it, isn't it like this all these years?" In addition, he and Su Xin just broke off, so I was afraid that I would blame me, and I was afraid that I would be embarrassed to meet, so I didn't come. ”

"Madame is kind-hearted and helps him cover up, but I see some clues. I'm afraid that Wen Zheng thinks that after the previous battle of Peng Ze, I only named him the governor, but I never rewarded him as well as others, and he has resentment in his heart! Zhu Yuanzhang's face turned a little colder, and he looked at Ah Xiu's eyes. Ah Xiu had no choice but to speak again to persuade him: "When the prince said this, he inevitably wronged Wenzheng's child." The prince can remember that when Peng Ze returned from victory before, the prince asked what he thought about the reward, the prince was complicated, I am afraid that he forgot it, but Ah Xiu still remembers! It was Wenzheng who replied to the prince and said, 'Uncle has become a great business, why not be rich. How can you serve the public by rewarding your personal relatives first? ’”

Wen Zheng's words, the prince should remember that he knows that the prince will be a great cause in the future, he is a righteous son and a nephew, and he will naturally want everything at that time. But when the world is not decided, you can't give the title to your family first, otherwise you won't be able to convince the public. How can he be famous? Zhu Wenzheng thinks about the prince everywhere, and there will be no dissent. Besides, the prince also appointed Zhu Wenzheng as the governor of the capital, and all the military deployment was controlled by him. I'm afraid that the prince is too careful. Ah Xiu knew that it was naturally best to pull out the old feelings, so he pulled Zhu Wenzheng's past words to persuade him.

Zhu Yuanzhang was slightly relieved on his face, but he had more heart in his heart: Ah Xiu never avoided me in everything, but now I am only afraid that it is to comfort me, and I also see that Wen Zheng's words and deeds in the past half a year seem to be estranged a lot, but I am afraid that Ah Xiu is also worried, but he just sees me suspicious and forgives me. Ah Xiu has a good heart, and thinks that he is the descendant of the Zhu family, so he has many good words to protect the children, but now that I want to achieve a great cause, I still have to have more eyes to visit this righteous son.