The sky was bright, and Dayan's ships returned to the port one after another. This battle was a great victory, sinking almost all of the opponent's ships, capturing nearly a thousand prisoners, including the highest commander of the Fanbang people, and the number of casualties on their own was less than 200. , a great victory.

Zhu Yunjing accompanied Zhu Yunxuan to wait on the pier, He Huailing got off the boat with a solemn expression, and reported to Zhu Yunxuan: "I have sent people to search the sea area for almost two hours, but I haven't seen General Xiao, ... ... all the corpses that could be fished were brought up, and there was no him."

There were no people in life and no corpses in death. At that time, the sea was windy and rough, and if Liang Zhen's body floated away with the waves, it was very possible. This sentence, He Huailing thought about it and swallowed it back. Even if he didn't say it, Zhu Yunxuan must have known it.

Zhu Yunxuan's thoughts were emptied for a moment, and his unfocused eyes looked at the still surging sea in front of him. After a long time, he moved his eyelashes calmly, and ordered in a hoarse voice: "Continue to send people to search."

After returning to the General Military Mansion to deal with the follow-up matters, it was night again. Zhu Yunxuan went to the backyard. Xuer was playing with Minger in the courtyard. When he saw his father who he hadn't seen all day, the child immediately flew over. , called him happily: "Daddy, I caught a butterfly just now, and I'll show it to you."

The butterfly was packed in a glass bottle, the color was very bright, and it was flying up and down trying to fly out. The child took the bottle from the little servant on the side, and held it in front of Zhu Yunxuan like a treasure: "Does it look good?"

Zhu Yunxuan squatted down and didn't look at the butterfly in the bottle. He just stared at the very innocent child in front of him with a smile and curved eyes. He wanted to see some vague shadows of that person in his eyebrows, and he held on all day. At this moment, his composure was finally on the verge of collapse, and he pulled the child into his arms.

The glass bottle in Xu'er's hand fell to the ground, and the butterfly that fluttered for a long time finally regained its freedom. It circled in front of them and flew away quickly. The child stared blankly and whispered: "The butterfly has flown away, I'm going to catch Daddy again, Daddy don't be sad..."

He didn't know what was going on, only vaguely aware of Zhu Yunxuan's depression, trying to comfort his father in his own way childishly, Zhu Yunxuan's voice contained a choked sob: "Be good."

Zhu Yunjing stood behind them, seeing so many words of consolation that he couldn't say anything. After a moment's pause, he stepped forward, patted Zhu Yunxuan on the shoulder, and reminded him: "Let's have dinner first. , the children should be hungry."

Sitting at the dinner table, Zhu Yunxuan was still distracted, he just held Xu'er on his lap and fed him spoon by spoon, but he didn't use a few mouthfuls. Zhu Yunjing gestured to Gao An who was standing behind Zhu Yunxuan, Gao An stepped forward, clothed Zhu Yunxuan with vegetables, and persuaded him in a low voice: "Your Majesty, the dragon's body is important, you can eat more."

Zhu Yunxuan frowned slightly, then slowly stretched out after a while, without saying anything, lowered his head and continued to feed his son.

Xu'er squeezed her small spoon and scooped a spoonful of egg custard to his mouth: "Daddy eats it too."

Zhu Yunxuan was slightly startled, the corners of his mouth raised slightly, and he touched the child's head: "My dear."

After dinner, Zhu Yunxuan asked Zhu Yunjing to take Xu'er away: "I still have things to deal with, and I have to get up early tomorrow morning, so don't let him follow me."

Zhu Yunjing frowned in disapproval: "You didn't sleep all night last night, are you still going to stay up?"

"nothing……"

Zhu Yunjing stuffed Xu'er back into his arms, and patted the child on the back: "Go to sleep with your father."

Xu'er hugged Zhu Yunxuan's neck obediently, staring at him with bright eyes, Zhu Yunxuan's heart softened, and he hugged the child tightly.

Zhu Yunjing sighed lightly: "I know you are sad now, but no matter how sad you are, you have to take care of your own body and think about Xu'er."

Zhu Yunxuan didn't say anything else and went back to his residence with Xu'er in his arms.

At night, Xu'er was lying in Zhu Yunxuan's arms. He didn't bother him as usual, but asked him in a low voice, "Dad, why are you unhappy?"

Zhu Yunxuan kissed his forehead, and his eyes were slightly red: "Daddy is not unhappy."

"Daddy lied to me," the child said firmly, "Daddy is just not happy."

After thinking about it, he asked Zhu Yunxuan again, "Where's my father? Why hasn't my father come back yet?"

Zhu Yunxuan was stunned for a moment, and murmured in a hoarse voice: "Your father will come back, he will definitely come back."

In the blink of an eye, three days passed, and there was still no news of Liang Zhen. The Java Island sent someone to send a peace negotiation book, requesting that the prisoners be released, but the Dayan court refused, saying that they would only accept surrender and not negotiate. As for the pirates who were caught, they have been interrogated, and they still haven't been asked about the specific location of their hiding islands. However, after this battle, these pirates were almost wiped out, and at the last moment they escaped back to the only one in the chaos. There are only a few old and weak women and children left on their island, and the boat is gone. I am afraid that they will be trapped on the island for a long time, and they will no longer pose any threat to the Dayan border.

"According to those pirates, their soldiers at the bottom really don't know how to get in and out of the island. Only a few of the higher-ranking ones said in detail that it was related to the time and wind direction. Only at special times can they enter and exit along the tide. On the island, it is the same as what we guessed before, but they can't tell more specifically, only a very few people really understand this, it is very unfortunate, either died or escaped."

He Huailing reported the situation of the interrogation in a deep voice, and Zhu Yunxuan listened absently. After He Huailing finished speaking, he stopped and waited for a while. Seeing that Zhu Yunxuan still did not respond, the cabinet official beside him gave a low cough and reminded him: "Your Majesty..."

Zhu Yunxuan returned to his senses, nodded, and instructed He Huailing: "Continue the interrogation, ... don't stop searching at sea."

He Huailing reluctantly responded: "The minister leads the order."

The cabinet official hesitated and asked: "Your Majesty, the naval battle is over, and now there are only a few finishing touches left, and it's just a matter of handing it over to the Minyue Navy. "

Zhu Yunxuan lowered his gaze, and after a moment of silence, he ordered in a deep voice: "Send all the accompanying courtiers here. I have something to tell you now."

When he came to the south this time, there were quite a few officials from the cabinet and various ministries accompanying him. As soon as the emperor summoned them, they all arrived soon. Zhu Yunxuan's eyes slowly swept over the crowd and said calmly, "It has been six years since I ascended the throne. , you have been urging me to stand up before, for fear that my country will have no successor, now I have an heir, and after returning to Beijing, I will sacrifice to the Temple of Heaven and Earth, and officially canonize the crown prince."

The voice fell, the hall was quiet for a moment, and then it was like a pot was opened, and the ministers whispered in each other's ears.

Someone tentatively asked Zhu Yunxuan: "I don't know where is your little highness now?"

Zhu Yunxuan instructed Gao An in a low voice, "Pass the crown prince."

"Pass the prince!" Gao An repeated loudly.

Xu'er was taken outside the door by her grandmother, and under the gaze of countless pairs of eyes, the little child stepped over the threshold that was almost half his height, and headed towards Zhu Yunxuan.

He walked slowly and slowly, looking around curiously while walking, meeting the gazes of the courtiers, although he was a little timid, he smiled back at everyone obediently, and walked to Zhu Yunxuan step by step, calling him: "Daddy!"

Zhu Yunxuan held the person on his lap, and the child raised his head and asked him, "Dad, why are there so many uncles here?"

Zhu Yunxuan touched his face: "Be good."

The courtiers looked at the two faces, one big and one small, very similar. They were shocked and horrified, and they became more and more confused. This child is obviously the youngest son of Duke Dingguo. Will become His Majesty's son? !

Although, they were all surprised when they saw this child for the first time, but it is a well-known secret that Mrs. Dingguo is the former abolished prince who has come back to life, and his son looks like His Majesty. ,Can……

He Huailing probably knew that he would be guessed for no reason. He had previously quit in the name of running an errand, and now the people next to him couldn't ask him even if he wanted to.

Or the Minister of Rites, who was in charge of the ritual system, did not forget his responsibilities, so he bravely stepped out and asked Zhu Yunxuan: "Your Majesty, I don't know who His Highness' biological mother is...?"

Zhu Yunxuan squeezed Xuer's hand and answered him in a low voice: "He is my son, the son of me and General Xiao."

ho!

Who is still unknown about that young General Xiao who was born out of nowhere, the undercover thief made a great contribution in this naval battle and then fell into the sea and disappeared. So far, there is no news. Moreover, he is also the son of Xiao Junbo, the chief soldier who went out to sea to suppress bandits at the will of the late emperor. A group of people who thought he had died long ago hid in Nanyang for nearly 30 years. After the beautiful talk that everyone in the streets and alleys sang about, after the naval battle, everyone returned to the imperial court to reward them for their merits and deeds.

Now, His Majesty said that the two of them actually still have this level of relationship, and they also have a prince who is three or four years old?

The sweat on the head of the Minister of Rites was about to come out: "But General Xiao has been in Nanyang all these years..."

"He used a pseudonym in Beijing for some reasons. He came to Nanyang three years ago. The child is indeed my and his."

A censor who was not afraid of death asked, "If that's the case, why didn't your majesty say it before? Why was the child raised in Duke Dingguo's mansion and became the son of Duke Dingguo?"

Perhaps the other party's voice was a little too excited, so Xu'er shrank into Zhu Yunxuan's arms, a little frightened, and whispered to Zhu Yunxuan, "This uncle is so fierce, Xu'er doesn't like him."

A group of courtiers: "..."

Censor: "..."

Zhu Yunxuan glanced at the other party coldly, and said lightly: "The prince was born prematurely and was weak. After the full moon, he was sent to the southern border for medical treatment. Children are all blessed people, the prince and their righteous brothers can be infected with blessings, in order to change the fate of the prince, only when he is three years old and suffers from the root of the disease can I recognize him."

The censor shut up, and even brought out the rhetoric of criticizing hexagrams and changing fate. What else could he say? The emperor was determined to recognize his son. .

The Minister of Rites carefully continued to ask Zhu Yunxuan: "Since it is General Xiao who gave birth to His Highness, then this title..."

Zhu Yunxuan narrowed his eyes and said solemnly, "When he returns, the ceremony will be held."

All the ministers: "..."

Okay, the empress who was chasing the seal is also an empress, although they only dared to think so in their hearts, and did not dare to say it in front of Zhu Yunxuan.

The stubborn Minister of Rites still had to ask, but Zhu Yunxuan frowned suddenly: "I am the one who gave birth to the prince."

All the courtiers were stunned collectively. Zhu Yunxuan's face was not embarrassed at all, and he said calmly: "The prince was born by me and came from my belly."

No... Your Majesty, when did you come out pregnant and give birth to a lively prince, why don't we know at all?

At this time, even several cabinet ministers began to persuade him: "Your Majesty, even if the prince was born by you, you should still say that he was born by General Xiao."

"Yes, Your Majesty, you are the Son of Heaven, with a body of ten thousand gold, how can you conceive other men, if this is spread out, wouldn't it be..."

"No need," Zhu Yunxuan interrupted them, "I have made up my mind, that's all, it's enough for you to know about this matter, and you can all retire."

"His Majesty!"

Zhu Yunxuan lowered his voice: "I said it, I have made up my mind, don't let me say it a third time."

In the darkness, Liang Zhen slowly opened his eyes, and there was a faint sound of the board opening above his head. He had been lying on the haystack at the bottom of the cabin for a long time, and the wound on his arm that had been soaked in sea water three days ago was still untreated. In the pain, someone walked down with a lantern, no longer the one who had been delivering food to him before.

Liang Zhen sat up, narrowed his eyes and looked at each other vigilantly.

The visitor reminded him coldly and expressionlessly: "We're here, let's go."