Chapter 55 No money wanted, only a person

Although Zhu Yuanzhang had not bestowed the title of Prince upon Zhu Yunsong and the others, Zhu Yunsong's new residence looked even more magnificent than a princely mansion.

The moment Zhu Yunsong stepped inside and took his first look, he fell in love with this new home. Living here was going to be far more comfortable than staying in the Eastern Palace.

"You lot, hurry up and move the things inside!"

Chang Sheng directed the soldiers with the moving, then asked, "Your Highness, where is your master bedroom?"

"Let me check!" Zhu Yunsong walked toward the back courtyard.

Usually, the master bedroom of the head of the household was the largest room in the courtyard. Zhu Yunsong quickly found it and had his luggage moved inside. He was actually quite simple as a person and did not have many belongings.

The moving process was completed in no time.

"Eunuch." Zhu Yunsong called over the eunuch who had led the way.

"Your Highness, please give your orders," the eunuch said respectfully.

"When can the rest of the servants for my manor arrive?" This was the first matter Zhu Yunsong cared about.

With such a massive estate, managing it all by himself would exhaust him to death. Since he was now an imperial grandson, he naturally intended to enjoy himself properly.

The eunuch lowered his head and replied, "Reporting to Your Highness, the Emperor has issued a decree: His Majesty will not provide any expenses for this manor, including servants. If Your Highness truly has a need for them, His Majesty said you may return and ask him for them."

"What?" Zhu Yunsong was stunned upon hearing this.

So once he moved out, he had to figure out how to cover the manor's expenses on his own.

Yet, on second thought, this was quite normal. Zhu Yunsong figured this might be another test. However, unlike Zhu Yunwen, he didn't have Lady Lü to shower him with wealth; he had to rely entirely on his own efforts.

Going forward, not only did he have to fight for the succession, but he also had to make his own money. This test was rather interesting.

"Your Highness, do not worry!" Chang Sheng declared. "I will head back right now and have servants sent over. I will cover all of your expenses."

The Chang family certainly wasn't short of such money.

Not just the Chang family, but the Lan family, the Feng family, the Fu family, and others—all the Huaixi military noble families were entirely willing to support Zhu Yunsong. When the time came, they would all happily pour their fortunes into his cause. As long as they could help Zhu Yunsong secure the position of the crown prince, they would gladly pay any price.

They had money to spare and men to deploy.

Zhu Yunsong almost agreed, but after a moment of hesitation, he waved his hand and said, "Uncle, there is no need. I can handle this myself."

Chang Sheng raised an eyebrow and said, "Your Highness, there is no need to stand on ceremony with us."

"This is not about standing on ceremony," Zhu Yunsong explained, forced to elaborate. "Since Grandfather Emperor arranged it this way, he must have profound intentions behind it. When I say no, I mean no."

Chang Sheng was quickly persuaded and pressed the matter no further.

It did make a certain kind of sense. Old Zhu wouldn't act without reason and withhold even daily expenses; perhaps this was indeed a test to see if Zhu Yunsong possessed genuine capability. If he couldn't even manage his own household, how could he possibly govern a country?

"Those twenty guards, however, I will still take," Zhu Yunsong added. "Uncle, you must remember that!"

Chang Sheng said, "Of course I remember!"

Guards were essential for ensuring safety, so they definitely had to be provided.

The leading eunuch soon took his leave to return and report back to Zhu Yuanzhang.

A little while later, Lan Yu and the others arrived together. Zhu Yunsong moving out was such a major event that they couldn't possibly fail to come and see if he needed any help.

Upon learning that Zhu Yunsong had to resolve his expenses independently, they all vied to send him money and people. Zhu Yunsong, however, refused most of it, only allowing them to leave a few hundred taels of silver to serve as starting capital for his future money-making ventures.

He treated it as a loan from them.

After sending off Lan Yu and the others, imperial uncles like Zhu Shuang arrived as well.

"Yunsong." Zhu Shuang walked in, looked around for a moment, and said with a tinge of sourness, "Father Emperor is truly偏心 (partial). The princely mansions given to us back then were far inferior to this place of yours."

Zhu Yunsong replied, "Second Uncle, you were all heading off to your respective fiefs very soon back then, so the residences in the capital didn't need to be too large. Look at mine... it's massive. Since Grandfather Emperor isn't giving people or money, I'm still at a loss as to what to do. But now that you uncles are here, you'll surely support your nephew, right?"

"There's no money to be had," Zhu Di's older brother Zhu Shuang—wait, Zhu Ji (Zhu Shuai) / Zhu Shuxi? No, Zhu Xun / Zhu Jian (King of Jin is Zhu Gang)—Zhu Gang immediately stated his stance, being exceptionally stingy.

Zhu Di chimed in, "I can spare you a few people, though."

The fifth uncle, Zhu Su, agreed, "We are even poorer than you, but we do have quite a few subordinates. If you want them, I'll arrange for a few to be sent over later."

They all claimed poverty, but at a glance, Zhu Yunsong knew they were just putting on an act.

Since they put it that way, Zhu Yunsong decided not to stand on ceremony, saving himself the trouble of recruiting people. "I want ten male servants, ten maidservants, and twenty guards. You uncles can divide the task among yourselves and send them over to me."

Even though Chang Sheng and the others could also send people to him, Zhu Yunsong didn't want to rely solely on the Huaixi faction; he also wanted a share of personnel from his imperial uncles.

This was equivalent to telling the Huaixi military officials that he had the backing of the imperial uncles, smoothing over any potential friction and maximizing the goodwill of the uncles at the same time.

Concurrently, it signaled to the imperial uncles that he still had the Huaixi military commanders behind him.

He needed to maintain their respective intentions in a delicate balance.

"You really don't know how to stand on ceremony with us, do you?" Zhu Shuang remarked. "Fine, I'll send people to you as well. But once they're delivered, we won't concern ourselves with them anymore."

"Once they're delivered, I'll take full responsibility!" Zhu Yunsong promised.

With that, the guards and servants were all accounted for.

Those imperial uncles departed shortly afterward.

Soon after, Chang Sheng brought in twenty guards, and the previously vacant, desolate courtyard finally gained a touch of life.

"Not bad!" Zhu Yunsong looked at the current state of affairs with satisfaction. He finally had a proper home, no longer had to remain trapped in the Eastern Palace, and had successfully distanced himself from Lady Lü.

Next, he needed to devise a plan on how to make money.

The imperial uncles moved swiftly as well. Half an hour later, they too had sent over guards, servants, and maidservants.

"Liu Liu, get them settled properly." Zhu Yunsong handed these people over to Liu Liu's charge.

As the master of the house, he only needed to sit back and enjoy.

Seeing that he had retained his master's trust, Liu Liu was overwhelmed with gratitude and scurried off to busy himself.

Just as everything here was settled, Zhu Yunsong saw that Xu Shu had also arrived, naturally to deliver medicine to him.

The restorative decoctions meant to nourish his constitution were all sent directly from the Imperial Hospital. The physicians were terrified of any accidents occurring along the way and dared not let anyone else bring the medicine to Zhu Yunsong, choosing instead to handle every step personally. Otherwise, if any mishap truly occurred, it would be their heads rolling.

"Grand Preceptor Xu, the longevity exercises you mentioned before—how are they practiced?" Zhu Yunsong asked eagerly after finishing his medicinal soup.

Xu Shu replied, "I shall teach Your Highness the Eight Brocades right now!"

And so, they began practicing in the front courtyard. These health-preserving exercises were easy enough for Zhu Yunsong to pick up effortlessly.

His physical condition was improving day by day.

Zhu Yunsong also discovered that as the poison lingering in his body gradually dissipated, his constitution turned out to be even better than he had imagined.

"My grandfather is Zhu Yuanzhang, and my maternal grandfather is Chang Yuchun."

"Both of them were fierce generals forged in the fires of bloody battle."

"It's only natural that I inherited their fine traits, isn't it?" Zhu Yunsong thought to himself with pleasant surprise.

Especially Chang Yuchun, who had been a ferocious military commander.

As the grandson and maternal grandson of such figures, Zhu Yunsong figured he certainly wouldn't fall short; being valiant and skilled in battle was just a baseline skill.