Chapter 39: Abdominal Muscles

Zhu Shuang lunged forward in a swift motion, wrapping his arms around her waist. Unlike Minmin’s taut, athletic abs, Zhang Hongqiao’s midsection—shaped by years of dance—felt slender yet supple, with a smooth, elastic texture that was incredibly pleasing to the touch.

"Get your filthy hands off me, you shameless scoundrel!" Zhang Hongqiao’s face flushed a deep crimson, and she felt a ticklish sensation crawling up her waist.

Zhu Shuang countered with a shameless grin, his tongue darting out. "Put that down first, or my hands won't be able to stop themselves from reaching the peak." As he spoke, his fingers traced a path upward along her abdomen, mimicking a climber scaling a mountain.

Zhang Hongqiao gasped, her hands slipping. Zhu Shuang quickly performed a frantic somersault, arms outstretched, and narrowly caught the sandalwood chest before it hit the ground.

He would have been more heartbroken if this chest, filled with thousands of taels, had been damaged than if he himself had been bruised. After all, his father, Zhu Yuanzhang, had once been poor enough to beg for food.

Seeing him hugging the chest and planting kisses on it, Zhang Hongqiao was both infuriated and amused. "I truly cannot understand how a shameless, money-grubbing man like you ever became a Prince."

Zhu Shuang pointed to his nose and sighed, "I don't know either; I was born a Prince. People in this world rush about, all for a few bits of silver. Yet, those few bits of silver can resolve a myriad of sorrows. Do you mean to tell me you don’t love money?"

Zhang Hongqiao retorted, "A gentleman loves wealth but acquires it through proper means. I love money, but I do not covet what is in others' purses."

Zhu Shuang laughed heartily. "Ha! I love other people’s money, not other people’s wives. Is that a crime?"

Zhang Hongqiao pouted, her lips puffed up in annoyance. "Sophistry! I have never seen such a shameless member of the imperial nobility. What is the point of a Prince like you hoarding so much gold?"

Zhu Shuang stood up, placed his hands behind his back, and said solemnly, "You are wrong. What is money? Money is a man’s backbone. Without a strong backbone, can the spear-shaft truly stand tall?"

For the first time in her life, Zhang Hongqiao encountered a man who could turn shamelessness into a perfectly logical closed loop. She couldn't help but curse, "You rogue! You beast! You are utterly incorrigible."

Zhu Shuang didn't mind. If his pockets were full, what did a few insults matter? If he could charge for being scolded, he would have upgraded this young lady, Hongqiao, to a lifetime VIP member immediately.

He continued, "Do not sigh, and do not blame the heavens. If the money stays in your hands, it will only end up benefiting some glib, penniless scholars. What good would that do for you or the world? But in my hands, it’s different. It means another cowherd boy in a schoolhouse changing his destiny, a refugee outside the city walls getting a winter coat, or a bullet fired by a soldier at the Tatars."

"Has the money disappeared? It has simply moved from your hands to the hands of those who need it. The money hasn't vanished. I don't produce wealth; I am merely a porter of wealth. If you understand, please applaud."

Beguiled by this impassioned speech, Zhang Hongqiao stood dazed, ready to clap, when a flash of realization struck her. She suddenly intuited, "Wait, that’s not right! You use my money to do great deeds and earn fame, but where does your own money go?"

Faced with this soul-searching question, Zhu Shuang—a distinguished owner of a "Cadillac"—remained unfazed. He took her hands in his and looked into her eyes with earnest sincerity. "My dear, that is not my money; it is *our* money. No, wait—in the future, it will all be *your* money."

As a novice in such matters, how could Zhang Hongqiao withstand such greasy, heavy-handed tactics? Her body went limp, and Zhu Shuang pulled her into his arms, saying with a straight face, "Babe, if you fall, the floor won't feel pain, but my heart will."

"Heavens!" Zhang Hongqiao had never been subjected to such cheesy romantic lines; she felt as though she had been dipped into a vat of red dye from head to toe.

"Do you think I’m after your money? Babe, for you, I would be willing to live in a mansion, eat delicacies at every meal, and ride in a carriage drawn by four horses."

"Stop talking, I’m scared," Zhang Hongqiao clutched her collar tightly, looking like a delicate flower battered by a storm.

"Since I met you, I no longer eat mooncakes on the Mid-Autumn Festival, for my own Chang'e fairy is right by my side."

Zhu Shuang pressed on, "I have no need to visit the Luo River, for I have already encountered my true Goddess of the Luo here."

Zhang Hongqiao felt as if her entire body were steaming like a bamboo basket; she closed her eyes and fainted. Zhu Shuang smiled triumphantly to himself: *I am a damn genius. I’ve secured these two thousand taels of gold.*

Zhu Shuang laid Zhang Hongqiao down on the carriage couch. Having been preoccupied with the money along the way, he finally took a good look at her.

Her skin was white as snow, her face oval-shaped, her nose delicate and petite. On the bridge of her nose sat a small, blue-tinted birthmark that looked like a beauty spot. Beneath willow-leaf eyebrows were long lashes, and her almond-shaped eyes were bright, lively, and full of expression. Her lips, painted with rouge, were as thin as cicada wings.

Compared to Minmin, who appeared cold but was fiery inside, and Xu Miaoyun, who looked dignified and imposing yet possessed the charm of a girl-next-door, Zhang Hongqiao had both a fragility that stirred one's protective instincts and a distant, somewhat naive, cold elegance typical of a young lady from a good family.

If he had used his cheesy lines on Minmin, she would have immediately suspected him of keeping mistresses. If he had used them on Xu Miaoyun, it would have been a crime. But for Zhang Hongqiao, a single, literary-minded woman over twenty who had never been in love, it was just right.

Ma Sanbao announced, "Master, we have arrived home."

As soon as Zhu Shuang stepped out, the guards at the gate reported his arrival. Moments later, Minmin and Xu Miaoyun came out to greet him. Minmin, whose face had been beaming with joy as she watched the soldiers carry the chests of silver inside, immediately soured upon seeing the woman slung over Zhu Shuang's shoulder.

"Well, well, the master can go missing for days, but the moment he returns, he brings a new sister home for me and Miaoyun."

As she spoke, she deployed her "Nine-Yin Bone-Clawing" technique, pinching the soft flesh at Zhu Shuang's waist with all her might. Zhu Shuang was speechless; he should have kept his armor on before entering the estate.

He could only offer a forced smile. "My lady is with child; you need not come out to greet me."

"And if I didn't come out, how would I have seen you bringing a vixen home? You already have me and Miaoyun, yet you dare to provoke other women? Have you forgotten my warnings?" Minmin prepared to strike, but was held back by a small hand. Xu Miaoyun urged, "Sister, please do not be agitated, lest you harm the child. Let me ask him the reason."

Zhu Shuang thought to himself, *As expected of a future virtuous Empress, Miaoyun is a good woman. As for the abusive Minmin, she is, of course, a bad one.*

Minmin huffed and turned away, ignoring him. Xu Miaoyun whispered, "Brother Qin Wang, who is this lady you have brought into the estate?"

Seeing her clenched fists, Zhu Shuang realized that jealousy in women knows no age. He had no choice but to recount the general events.

Upon hearing the name Zhang Hongqiao, Minmin was stunned—it turned out she was the one who had inadvertently brought this upon them. She laughed awkwardly, "I... I woke up early today and feel quite tired. I shall return to my room to rest. You two chat slowly, ha-ha."

Zhang Hongqiao had become a hot potato. Zhu Shuang was speechless; *how could this woman have so little sense of responsibility?*

Xu Miaoyun furrowed her brows for a long time, but finally, her expression softened. "These courtesans are wretched souls. While you have rescued them, Brother, their beauty will inevitably draw the covetous eyes of others. Furthermore, having lost their means of livelihood, they have no other path; eventually, they will be forced to return to their old ways."

"I have an idea. Most of these women are literate. Why not have you, Brother, recruit her into the National Bank under my name to work as an accountant or a clerk? What do you think?"

Zhu Shuang dropped Zhang Hongqiao, hugged Xu Miaoyun, and kissed her forehead several times in excitement. "Your little head is too clever! We shall do exactly as our family’s female strategist suggests."

In this day and age, banks were staffed by groups of old men. If he put a bunch of beautiful women in his bank, just like in the future, the class of the establishment would skyrocket.

Xu Miaoyun, her face covered in his saliva, felt both shy and nauseated. This brother of hers was good at everything, except for his lack of understanding that relations between men and women should be governed by propriety.

Just as Zhu Shuang was rejoicing, thousands of miles away, in the camp of the Ming Northern Expeditionary Army in Qingzhou, Shandong, the mood was dismal.

Because of the butterfly effect caused by Zhu Shuang, the Great Yuan’s pillar, Chaghan Temür, who should have died long ago, was not only alive but had been entrusted with heavy responsibilities by the Yuan court.

Originally, Emperor Toghon Temür intended to use the chaos following the assassination of Bolod Temür to lure Chaghan to Dadu and have him killed to seize his military power.

However, Zhu Shuang’s other father-in-law, Xu Da, had not followed the historical path of taking Henan before Shandong. Seeing the internal strife in the Yuan court, Xu Da had planned to land at Dengzhou via the sea from Nanjing, pass through Laizhou and Jinan to enter Hebei, and strike directly at Dadu, hoping to crush the Yuan Dynasty in one decisive blow.

Yet, due to Zhu Shuang’s erratic actions, Wang Baobao had marched north to force the Emperor’s hand, and the Ming army had advanced through Shandong with unstoppable force. Under the pressure of impending national ruin, Emperor Toghon Temür had been forced to grant Chaghan command over all the armies of the Yuan Empire.

Historically, the young and inexperienced Wang Baobao would not have been enough to stop the Ming Northern Expedition. But combined with the cunning of the old fox Chaghan, the result was far greater than the sum of its parts.

Chaghan Temür not only integrated over 300,000 scattered Yuan "insurgent" forces in Hebei but also fostered Wang Baobao’s rapid growth through personal tutelage.

Zhu Shuang could never have imagined that, by his own hand, he had brought about a life-or-death struggle between his two fathers-in-law.

Inside the Ming command tent, Chang Yuchun lay on his bed, riddled with arrow wounds. He roared, "Lan Yu, help me up! I can still fight! A man should die on horseback; I will not die on a sickbed like a coward!"

Lan Yu spread his hands, tears streaming down his face, while Chang Mao knelt on the ground, wailing, "Father, the camp physician said you cannot get agitated, or your life will be at stake! Father, please let your son fight in your stead!"

Chang Yuchun clutched his wounds and forced himself up, his face deathly pale. "Your martial arts are mediocre; can you save these 200,000 troops? If you are my son, help your father onto his horse. If not, I have no such son!"

Chang Yuchun stumbled to his feet, his tiger-like eyes glaring. "As the Deputy General of the Northern Expedition, I command you to help me onto my horse!"

Just as everyone was caught in a dilemma, Xu Da, dressed in full military regalia, walked into the tent and supported Chang Yuchun. He comforted him, "Brother Boren, things have not reached the point of no return. There is no need for a fierce general like you to take the field. With me as the commander, you may rest and recover in peace."