Crown Prince – the most dangerous profession in the imperial court.

Eastern Palace – the high-risk group among nobles.

At this point, besides huddling together for warmth, there was no other path to take.

The Crown Prince’s emotional breakdown over his diseased foot was met with gentle consolation from the Crown Princess and Consort Guo, their words sincere and heartfelt, not entirely born from bound interests.

The Crown Prince had a mild temperament, was unpretentious, and wouldn’t deliberately suppress or belittle his wives to assert masculine authority. When problems arose, he was willing to sit down and discuss them as equals with his wives and concubines – they were more like partners than wives and concubines.

When the Crown Prince was previously held as a hostage in the capital as Prince Yan’s heir, he had to strike the right balance. He needed to face the court and people’s suspicious gazes asking “Is your father with his strong military planning rebellion?” with patience and humility, showing Prince Yan’s mansion’s submission to the central government, while also appropriately displaying strength to protect the dignity of Prince Yan’s mansion.

Emperor Gaozhu, to train his grandsons, ordered the heirs of the four princely mansions of Qin, Jin, and Yan to attend military reviews. The other three heirs went early for the review, but Prince Yan’s heir didn’t go until nearly noon. When Emperor Gaozhu asked why he went so late, Prince Yan’s heir said: “The weather is cold. Let the soldiers finish their breakfast and wait for warmer weather before the review – it’s not too late.”

Emperor Gaozhu greatly praised Zhu Gaochi for cherishing the people’s strength and having a benevolent heart, rewarding him generously.

Actually, Zhu Gaochi did this deliberately. He already had a brave and warlike father and knew his grandfather was wary of his father’s strength. If he also appeared warlike and showed strong interest in military activities like reviews, it would only make Emperor Gaozhu more suspicious of Prince Yan’s mansion.

Emperor Gaozhu trained his grandsons’ governmental abilities by having the heirs handle mountains of memorials in the duty room.

This was a deadly test.

At that time, Imperial Grandson Zhu Yunwen was already leading the Imperial Grandson’s Bureau of Rites to handle memorials, acting as a practice “emperor” – this should have been the Imperial Grandson’s job. Why have princely heirs do this?

Whether his handling opinions were consistent with the Imperial Grandson’s or not, whether good or bad, it was all wrong for Zhu Gaochi. No matter what he did, it was wrong.

The test was even more severe.

Other princely heirs were cautious and careful, examining every memorial closely, fearing they might miss something and incur Imperial Grandfather’s wrath. Only Zhu Gaochi flipped through them like a whirlwind, only looking at memorials concerning the common soldiers and people at the bottom, “choosing those with feasible general principles to report,” and didn’t point out errors and omissions in the memorials.

When Emperor Gaozhu asked why he was negligent and careless, Zhu Gaochi said, “Small errors won’t defile the imperial hearing. As long as proposals benefit the military and people, that’s enough.”

Zhu Gaochi knew that as the princely heir most feared by the emperor, he didn’t need to be perfect – having some small flaws would be better. But he couldn’t let people think he was an idiot either, so he had to show his concern for the common people.

Indeed, Emperor Gaozhu was very satisfied with his answer and praised his benevolence.

Zhu Gaochi carefully figured out the emperor’s intentions, treading carefully to maintain Prince Yan’s mansion’s reputation and put Imperial Grandfather at ease about Prince Yan’s mansion. But his second brother Zhu Gaoxu didn’t need to consider as much as his elder brother – he only needed to enjoy himself.

When encountering cold mockery, sarcasm, or gossip, he would directly turn hostile and fight, frequently causing trouble but never suffering losses. Every time he fought, he would beat people until they couldn’t move. Emperor Gaozhu repeatedly warned and scolded this troublesome grandson, and it was always Prince Yan’s heir who cleaned up after his brother and pleaded for him.

The two brothers originally had good feelings for each other, but they frequently quarreled over these fights, which was the source of their split. Zhu Gaoxu thought his elder brother was weak, especially sneering at Zhu Gaochi’s act of eating breakfast before going to the military review:

“Elder brother, during war you can’t even think about eating or sleeping, yet you wait for soldiers to eat their fill and for the sun to come out and the weather to warm up before conducting the review. The emperor praised you, but many people secretly laugh at you for not understanding military affairs, treating the military review like children playing house. What does ‘military orders are like mountains’ mean? With one command from you, even if they’re sleeping warmly in their beds at midnight, they should get up for inspection.”

Facing the criticism from the teenage Zhu Gaoxu, elder brother Zhu Gaochi couldn’t explain too much to his impulsive brother, lest it spread and his carefully cultivated persona of benevolent gentleness would collapse, making him appear calculating. So he could only suppress his inner thoughts and say:

“I’m thinking of Prince Yan’s mansion’s overall situation. You don’t understand now, and I don’t blame you. When you grow up, you’ll know.”

Zhu Gaoxu didn’t understand his elder brother’s painstaking efforts. Whenever he heard someone mock Zhu Gaochi’s round figure or joke about eating before military reviews, he would pounce like a mad dog to fight, never backing down. Several times he nearly beat people to death. When Emperor Gaozhu scolded him, Zhu Gaochi would kneel and desperately plead for mercy, then go home and scold his brother again – Zhu Gaoxu might be a rebellious teenager, but Zhu Gaochi was also a teenager in his teens who needed to vent pressure.

Thus, Zhu Gaoxu felt he was fighting for his elder brother’s reputation, yet his elder brother scolded him and showed no gratitude. Zhu Gaochi felt he had exhausted himself worrying about Prince Yan’s mansion, yet his brother kept causing trouble, showing off force, leaving him exhausted from cleaning up his brother’s messes.

The brothers’ estrangement arose from this.

Later, Hu Shanwei was responsible for the first-ever “selecting talent from the fields, marrying commoners,” and both brothers married wives.

As Emperor Gaozhu’s most beloved princely heir, Zhu Gaochi was specially chosen two outstanding selected women, Zhang Shi and Guo Shi, as wife and concubine.

Zhang Shi and Guo Shi were carried into Prince Yan’s mansion. Zhang Shi was straightforward and virtuous, Guo Shi was noble but without arrogance. The Crown Prince had an easygoing nature, and the three quickly became inseparable, sharing weal and woe.

Zhu Gaoxu also married wives and concubines. The bridegroom’s fiery temper found new channels for release. Zhu Gaoxu no longer just showed off and competed but turned his attention to procreation. Prince Yan’s mansion became somewhat quieter.

Later, Prince Yan’s explosive acting convinced Emperor Jianwen that he was truly about to die from illness, so he released everyone from Prince Yan’s mansion back to Beiping – like throwing meat buns at dogs, never to return.

Subsequently, the Jingnan Campaign began. Zhu Gaochi even sent his only son Zhu Zhanji to Yunnan as a safeguard.

After four years, the Jingnan Campaign ended and Prince Yan ascended the throne. Zhu Gaochi thought the bitter times were over and he could rest, after all, “when one person attains the Way, even his dogs and chickens ascend to heaven.” But Emperor Yongle delayed naming heir Zhu Gaochi as Crown Prince, dragging it out. Every day waiting to be named Crown Prince, though Zhu Gaochi appeared relaxed, felt like years.

Zhu Gaochi was in poor health but was a man who could support heaven and earth. When the main household was in panic and Zhang Shi and Guo Shi were anxious, he stepped forward and set the policy: No matter how the rumors outside about abandoning the elder for the younger raged like floodwaters, they would only focus on filial piety before mother, seeking medical treatment, and nursing mother back to health. As for everything else, they would leave it to heaven’s will – they had done their best.

This chubby backbone Zhu Gaochi was quite solid, supporting the main household through two difficult years of waiting. Finally, heaven’s favor blessed them, Empress Ren Xiao recovered, and Zhu Gaochi was made Crown Prince.

Everyone, including Prince Han Zhu Gaoxu, felt that elder brother had obtained the Crown Prince position too easily – he simply won lying down. Elder brother didn’t need to do anything, and father emperor gave him the throne of Crown Prince.

Only Zhu Gaochi himself knew that he had given everything, shown the determination to burn his bridges, exhausted all his wisdom and ability to achieve today’s seemingly “easy” victory.

From being made Prince Yan’s heir and held as a hostage in the capital, all his efforts behind the scenes were unknown to others. He had exhausted his scheming, yet because of his corpulent body, people misunderstood and mocked him as having a “broad heart and fat body.”

Only he knew that he wasn’t broad-hearted, just fat.

He had worried himself sick. His parents were far away in Beiping, and though they wanted to care for him, they were powerless from such distance. Sometimes when the pressure was too great, he would use eating to divert his attention. After all, the stomach and heart were so close – comforting the stomach was comforting the heart.

He got fatter and fatter, the fatter he got the more he ate, the more he ate the fatter he became. What started as just being prosperous-looking later became being a famously fat man far and wide.

No one could succeed casually. To appear noble before others, one must suffer behind the scenes. People only see the thief eating meat, not the thief getting beaten – this was exactly the principle.

With the Empress as his major backer and Imperial Grandson Zhu Zhanji being promising, even though Prince Han Zhu Gaoxu remained unconvinced, the Eastern Palace was relatively stable for five years. Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi’s mental pressure decreased, his vitality became active, and his fertility was about to overflow – he had five sons in five years.

However, good times are always short. With Empress Ren Xiao’s death, his biggest backer was gone. His left foot developed deformities and difficulty walking. A fat Crown Prince who might have both feet amputated – how long could he hold onto the Crown Prince position?

The Eastern Palace once again returned to being dominated by the fear of “abandoning the elder for the younger.”

Losing his mother plus becoming lame – it would be strange if the Crown Prince didn’t collapse. He was human, not made of iron.

Even with his wives’ gentle comfort, the Crown Prince couldn’t recover immediately. He held one in each hand, embracing his wives and crying bitterly. All his grievances and unwillingness poured out like surging river water:

“I have never harmed anyone, was kind to others, filial to my parents, loving to my brothers and sisters, listened to the Eastern Palace Right Bureau scholars, and held myself to the standards of virtue. Why has it come to this?”

Zhang Shi and Guo Shi looked at each other across the mountain of flesh and reached a tacit understanding: let him cry, cry enough, and talk after he’s done crying.

The Crown Prince’s emotional breakdown continued until he cried himself unconscious.

Outside the door, Imperial Grandson Zhu Zhanji waited for a long time. Only when he heard complete silence inside did he enter to see his father – as a son, he had to leave his father some dignity. Presumably, his father wouldn’t want his son to see his vulnerable side.

Zhang Shi and Guo Shi’s eyes were red. Zhu Zhanji said: “Mother, Consort Guo, you’ve worked hard. Please go rest first. I’ll stay by father’s side tonight.”

The eldest son was decisive. Speaking of which, it was somewhat sad – most of the imperial favor the Eastern Palace received came from Zhu Zhanji earning goodwill from Emperor Yongle.

Therefore, Zhang Shi never treated Zhu Zhanji as a child. She sighed: “Your father’s illness… is not optimistic. The imperial physicians should have already reported to His Majesty. Concerning the heir’s health, Superintendent Hu ordered a gag order – no one inside or outside the court knows. But your father can’t avoid walking for life. As soon as he gets up, people will discover your father’s difficulty walking. Paper cannot wrap fire.”

If it were other hidden ailments, at least they couldn’t be seen, but leg problems couldn’t be concealed.

Zhu Zhanji said: “Father’s poor health is not father’s fault. Besides, inconvenient legs and feet won’t affect father’s ability to speak and handle affairs. At worst… there’s still me, and five younger brothers. Mother, please be at ease – there will always be a way. The younger brothers are still small and looking for mother everywhere. Please spend more time with them. Leave this to me.”

The Eastern Palace had six imperial grandsons – Crown Princess Zhang Shi bore three, and concubine Li Shi also bore three. With flourishing offspring, there were successors.

Zhang Shi and Guo Shi withdrew to comfort the children. Guo Shi had remained childless while Zhang Shi consecutively bore two sons. Too busy to manage, she simply handed the second son to Guo Shi to raise, showing the intimacy between Zhang Shi and Guo Shi.

On the other side, when Emperor Yongle heard the imperial physicians’ report, he immediately couldn’t sit still and rushed to the Eastern Palace to see the Crown Prince. After all, this was his first son – Emperor Yongle couldn’t be indifferent to his eldest son’s suffering. Having just lost his wife, he couldn’t lose another family member.

When Emperor Yongle entered, he saw Zhu Zhanji beside the sickbed looking at a paper marking foot acupoints, massaging the diseased foot of Zhu Gaochi, who was staring at the bed curtains in despair.

The diseased foot of a diabetes patient was a grayish-defeated color, swollen and deformed, with toenails showing signs of rot. Most people would feel nauseous seeing it, let alone kneading it with their hands.

Zhu Zhanji was a filial child.

Hearing movement at the door, he turned around. Zhu Zhanji released his hands to bow, then used a cloth to cover his father’s diseased foot.

This movement awakened the distracted Crown Prince. Seeing his father emperor had come, he immediately tried to get up to bow.

“No need for ceremony, lie down first.” Emperor Yongle picked up the paper marking foot acupoints and looked at it, then lifted the “modesty cloth” from his son’s diseased foot.

Zhu Gaochi was a nimble fat man. When his diseased foot was exposed, he quickly curled up his knees and hid his feet under the blanket: “It’s truly unsightly. Your son has no face to show.”

Emperor Yongle said: “You’re willing to let my precious grandson knead your feet, but won’t let me, your father, take a look?”

Zhu Gaochi had to slowly extend his fat leg from under the blanket, revealing his diseased foot: “Body, hair, and skin are received from parents. Your son didn’t properly cherish his body and is ashamed before father emperor and mother empress’s gift of a good body.”

Actually, diabetes is directly related to genes – it’s an illness produced by genetic mutations inherited from parents. But in this era, with backward medicine, diabetes mostly affected fat people, including doctors who mistakenly thought it was caused by not watching diet and eating too much fat. Zhu Gaochi could only admit his mistake.

Seeing his eldest son like this, Emperor Yongle felt pained and cast all reproachful words from his mind. He reached out to press his son’s diseased foot: “Does it hurt?”

Zhu Gaochi was disheartened and no longer pretended to be strong as before: “It doesn’t really hurt, just feels bad in my heart.”

Emperor Yongle’s heart also ached. When Crown Prince Yiwen passed away, he brought his whole family to the capital to mourn. Originally, he had some expectations for the heir position, but father emperor established Imperial Grandson Zhu Yunwen as heir, keeping his two sons and two daughters in the capital as hostages under the name of filial duty.

Back then, eldest son Zhu Gaochi had a vigorous build and was skilled at riding and archery. But after being a hostage for ten years and returning to Beiping, he almost didn’t recognize that the big fat man before him was his beloved eldest son.

He left home as a youth and returned as a fat man. What had happened during those ten years?

Emperor Yongle had missed the fastest ten years of his son’s growth. If he had kept him by his side, he would never have let his son become so fat.

Strangely, when the Crown Prince used to work hard to perform well, Emperor Yongle often found fault and was dissatisfied with various things. Now that the Crown Prince was like a deflated ball, exposing his vulnerable side without wanting to disguise it, Emperor Yongle began to pity his son, deeply regretting the critical ten years of missing paternal love.

The Crown Prince looked pitiful, small, and helpless, with traces of tears still on his face. Who isn’t a baby after all? This reminded Emperor Yongle of when his eldest son was just born – his first son, how could he not love him? He had kissed those chubby little feet countless times.

Now these feet were ugly and might even face amputation. Emperor Yongle’s heart ached.

The Crown Prince’s poor health – but so what? Even if he becomes lame, he’s still my son, my and Miao Yi’s first son.

Moreover… Emperor Yongle looked at Zhu Zhanji beside him, who kept his eyes lowered and hands folded, quietly waiting.

Zhu Zhanji wasn’t crying. He was strong as a rock, calm and composed as always. Even though the Crown Prince might become lame and the Eastern Palace faced the possibility of changing masters, he remained unhurried, first coming to the Crown Prince’s side to fulfill filial duty.

Zhu Gaochi’s fatness made his thinness more prominent. He was thin but not weak, talented in both literature and martial arts. Even picky Emperor Yongle was completely satisfied with him.

Emperor Yongle remembered Chief Secretary Xie Jin’s words – “good imperial grandson.”

Looking at the deflated Crown Prince, Emperor Yongle rarely showed his compassionate paternal side: “Alright, you’ve cried enough. Accept reality. Difficulty walking doesn’t matter – I never expected you to go into battle. A man should get back up when he falls. With inconvenient legs and feet, people will surely mock you behind your back and point fingers. As the Ming heir, you should focus on the realm’s affairs. Don’t mind these trivial matters of flies and mosquitoes buzzing. As long as you handle the big matters correctly, you’ll be a good Crown Prince.”