Hu Chongfei was already over forty years old, but she had maintained herself well. She was still dignified and beautiful, graceful and elegant.
It could be seen that when she was young, she was a peerless beauty.
Regarding Hu Chongfei's beauty when she was young, Zhu Yuanzhang commented: "The most beautiful woman in the world is such a woman who can't see her toes.”
Among all of Zhu Yuanzhang's concubines, she was the oldest.
She was two years older than Empress Ma.
In the harem, Empress Ma was benevolent and wise. She loved history books and was the mother of the world. Her kindness was obvious and she was favored by Zhu Yuanzhang.
Empress Ma was smart since childhood. She could write poetry and draw. She read history books and emphasized ancient precepts.
Her level of education was much higher than Zhu Yuanzhang.
In fact, many historical allusions were told to Zhu Yuanzhang by Empress Ma in the beginning.
Even though Zhu Yuanzhang had surpassed his master and had learned many Confucian classics from Song Lian and Liu Ji, he was still a genius.
He would become the wise and mighty Emperor Hongwu.
However, Empress Ma was truly his good teacher and friend.
Empress Ma was a benevolent person and was tolerant and compassionate to the concubines in the harem.
Even as the Empress, the master of the harem, she often called Hu Chongfei and sister.
If the concubines or palace people made mistakes or went against the emperor's wishes, Empress Ma would also mediate.
As for Consort Hu Chong, although she was the oldest, compared to the other young and beautiful concubines, she seemed a little old and frail.
It seemed like he was going to be neglected by Zhu Yuanzhang.
But in reality, Hu Chongfei had always been favored.
His level of favor was only behind Empress Ma, and was on par with the young and beautiful Noble Consort Sun, Consort Li Shu, and Consort Guo Hui.
In fact, after Empress Ma passed away in the 15th year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang even wanted to make Consort Hu Chongfei the Empress, but he gave up because of the obstruction of the courtiers.
Why did the courtiers want to stop it? It was nothing more than the problem of the legitimate heir to the throne.
If Consort Hu Chong was granted the title of Empress, where would Prince Zhu Biao be placed?
The most direct evidence of Hu Chongfei's favor was her biological son, the sixth prince Zhu Zhen.
Being conferred the title of King Chu was the wealthiest fief in the entire Ming Dynasty.
"In the world, the Shu Manor is the richest, followed by the Chu Manor and the Qin Manor. Prince Zhao of Chu, the beloved son of Emperor Taizu Gao, had the most land, so he was rich.
One of the reasons why she was so favored was that Hu Chongfei was Zhu Yuanzhang's first love goddess.
After spending so many twists and turns, Zhu Yuanzhang had waited so many years to get married. The fated person finally got married, so Zhu Yuanzhang naturally cherished it.
On the other hand, and most importantly, Hu Chongfei had a quiet personality and was very low-key. She never fought for favor.
This point was similar to Duke of Wei Xu Da's cautiousness.
One word, steady.
Although Emperor Hongwu was wise and mighty, he did not like those who were ostentatious and showed off their intelligence.
For example, Liu Bowen, although he had unparalleled wisdom and thought that he was smarter than Zhu Yuanzhang, and could often guess Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts, Old Zhu did not really like him.
The other was Lan Yu. Although he was a rare fierce general, Zhu Yuanzhang was able to tolerate him for so long because he was the wife of the Crown Prince Zhu Biao.
Zhu Yuanzhang really liked stable people, such as Xu Da and Tang He.
In the harem, it was Hu Chongfei.
Of course, Hu Chongfei was very low-key and never fought for favor.
However, she had the temper of a young miss.
The older they got, the more they liked to dress up. They always wanted to look beautiful.
Of course, she did it.
It was rare to see such beauty even though she was over forty years old.
Other than being pretty, she also liked to look at herself and feel sorry for herself.
He often read some lyrical poems.
In this aspect, Zhu Zhen had learned a lot.
Queen Ma read history books, Hu Chong concubine read love poems.
This was the difference between them.
Of course, as a mother, Hu Chongfei was dutiful.
He didn't eat his meal, but he kept putting food into his precious son Zhu Zhen's bowl.
Zhu Zhen was used to this and just ate.
Food is delicious!
Every time this happened, a satisfied smile would appear on Hu Chongfei's plump face.
Hu Chongfei often found it strange that her son could eat so much, but why didn't he get fat?
The Fifth Prince Zhu Xi, who was raised by Noble Consort Sun next door, also loved to eat, so he ate until he was white and fat.
That toot little face made people want to pinch it.
Of course, although his son was not cute, he was tall and handsome. The other princes could not compare to him.
Hu Chongfei placed a piece of red braised pork into Zhu Zhen's bowl. The smile on her face grew wider as she lovingly reached out and touched his forehead.
"My son, you're getting more and more handsome.”
"Consort Mother, eat well."
Zhu Zhen frowned and complained.
His mother was good in everything except for this. She was very narcissistic.
She was narcissistic and was not satisfied with her beauty.
She often narcissised that her son was handsome.
"Yo, our precious son is starting to dislike me?”
Zhu Zhen ate the red braised pork in big mouthfuls and pouted." I know I'm handsome, but Consort Mother, you say it every day. If you're not tired of it, I'm tired of it."”
Hu Chongfei laughed and was about to start lecturing when she saw Eunuch Wang Jinghong walk in with a food box.
"Greetings to the Empress!"
"Greetings to His Highness King Chu!"
Hu Chongfei stopped smiling and sat upright." Eunuch Wang, why are you here today?"”
"Congratulations, Your Highness, congratulations, King Chu!" Wang Jinghong smiled.”
"His Majesty ordered the imperial kitchen to specially make spiced beef and had this servant send it over.”
Hu Chongfei was confused. Why would the Emperor send over braised beef at this time of the year?
Zhu Zhen's eyes lit up.
With his favorite spiced beef, he didn't care so much. He just ate it.
"Eunuch Wang, hurry up and serve it to me!”
......
The Great Ben Hall was located in the eastern part of the Ming Dynasty's Imperial Palace. It was one of the places where the Ming Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, built the library.
Here, Zhu Yuanzhang collected ancient and modern books and invited famous scholars to teach the crown prince and prince.
Prince Zhu Biao was now 20 years old and had long passed the age of studying. He began to help Zhu Yuanzhang manage the government.
Now, a few older princes were studying.
Zhu Yuanzhang brought the Crown Prince Zhu Biao to the base camp, but he didn't go in directly.
Instead, he lay outside the main hall and secretly observed the princes 'learning through the gaps in the windows.
Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang was very clear about the character of each prince.
However, even the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, had the heart of an old father.
He wanted to see if his children were hardworking in their studies.
Zhu Biao smiled as he watched his father peeping through the window like a thief. He shook his head speechlessly.
This old man was a wonderful person!
At this time, in the main hall, Teacher Li was holding a ferule in his hand and began to check the recitations of the princes.
"Next, we will recite 'The Analects of Confucius: The Second Theory of Governance'. Your Highness, you go first.”
The oldest king of Qin, Zhu Rong, hesitated for a long time before standing up reluctantly.
As a slacker, his biggest headache was memorizing.
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