Zhu Wanning

...

The same thing was not only happening in the Great Qin.

In the Great Ming, Yingtian Prefecture, within the Forbidden City.

Kunning Palace.

"Your daughter greets Imperial Father and Imperial Mother."

Zhu Wanning arrived here. Upon seeing Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma, she immediately bowed to pay her respects.

"Wanning, quite a few things have happened in our Great Ming recently. I suppose you must have heard some of it?" Empress Ma asked.

Zhu Wanning was not Empress Ma's biological daughter, but the Empress loved the child dearly. Just like Xu Miaoyun, she had been raised by the Empress herself since childhood, making her essentially no different from a biological child.

Hearing this, Zhu Wanning paused for a moment before nodding. "To answer Imperial Mother, your daughter has indeed heard a few things, but I do not know the specifics. I only know that there is someone from later generations helping our Great Ming develop."

Compared to the Great Tang, the status of women in the early Ming Dynasty was far from as high as one might imagine.

This was mainly due to overly strict feudal ethical codes. It wasn't until the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, when anti-traditionalist thoughts arose, female literature flourished, and economic participation increased, that their status saw some improvement.

Therefore, even as a princess, Zhu Wanning had always lived deep within the palace. She rarely made public appearances and had even less contact with the outside world.

"Actually, during this time, your Imperial Father and I have been traveling to the future quite often and have come into contact with many things from later generations. Wanning, if given the chance, would you be willing to go to the future?" Empress Ma asked.

"Can your daughter go as well?"

Zhu Wanning was surprised, a look of confusion crossing her face. "Imperial Mother, I wonder what kind of world the future is?"

"It is very prosperous, thousands of times stronger and more magnificent than our Great Ming. Women of later generations can practice medicine and join the army without any restrictions. There, you can do whatever you want to do," Empress Ma explained.

Afterward, she shared with Zhu Wanning many of her experiences and observations from her recent visits to the future.

Listening to this, a look of fascination and longing appeared on Zhu Wanning's face.

"Ahem... Wanning, you are no longer young. Your mother and I have actually been thinking about finding a good family for you recently. But as you know, because of the existence of the future world, my thoughts have changed. After careful consideration, we finally decided to let you go to the future to take a look."

At this point, Zhu Yuanzhang pondered slightly and continued, "If you like the future, you can stay there permanently when the time comes."

Zhu Wanning looked puzzled, but she also understood the underlying meaning of her Imperial Father and Mother. They were sending her to the future likely with some purpose in mind—most probably, they wanted to form a marriage alliance with the future through her?

"Wanning, Chongba and I will not force you. When you reach the future, you can try interacting with Mr. Qin first. He is a very good person and about the same age as you. It would be best if you two get along, but if not, it doesn't matter," Empress Ma said.

Zhu Wanning nodded. "Imperial Mother, your daughter understands. I wonder when we can go to the future?"

"I can take you there right now to stay for a night, so you can get used to it first."

Saying this, Empress Ma stood up. Within Kunning Palace, there was also a portal leading to the future, connecting to the Great Ming Villa in the modern world.

That was a gift from Qin Ning to Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma.

Similar to the villa where Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun lived, every dynasty had a villa of its own.

People like Xu Miaoyun and Xu Miaojin lived in the Great Ming Villa, and there were dedicated people taking care of their daily lives—trusted maids personally selected by Empress Ma from her own retinue.

Meanwhile, Li Lizhi, Sizi, and others lived in the Great Tang Villa. The two villas were not far apart, making it convenient for them to visit each other frequently on normal days.

"Chongba, Wanning and I will head over first. I will also sleep there tonight and won't be coming back," Empress Ma said in front of the portal.

"Alright. I will go over to Biao'er's place in a bit. After helping him handle some government affairs, if it is still early, I will go over too. Otherwise, I will go over and join you for breakfast tomorrow after the morning court session," Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and nodded.

Empress Ma looked at Zhu Wanning and said, "Girl, close your eyes in a moment. It is also nighttime over there, but unlike our Great Ming, the lights there are very bright. I am afraid you won't be able to adapt to it all at once when we cross over."

"Yes, Imperial Mother," Zhu Wanning replied, immediately closing her eyes.

Then, Empress Ma took her hand and walked into the portal.

"Hum!"

Zhu Wanning only felt as if space had vibrated for a moment. For a split second, a sense of weightlessness washed over her entire body.

"Alright, girl, you can slowly open your eyes now," Empress Ma's gentle voice sounded beside her ear.

Hearing this, Zhu Wanning slowly opened her eyes. When she saw the scene inside the villa, a look of sheer astonishment immediately appeared on her face.

"Imperial Mother, is it really nighttime right now? It is too bright; it looks exactly like daytime," she couldn't help but say.

At this time, Xu Miaoyun, who had been watching television on the sofa not far away with Xu Miaojin, Zhu Xiongying, and others, walked over.

"Greetings, Imperial Mother."

She first bowed to Empress Ma, and then looked at Zhu Wanning. "Greetings, Imperial Sister."

"Miaoyun, Wanning will also be living here from now on. I will have to trouble you to show her around and help her get familiar with the things here first," Empress Ma said.

"Yes, Imperial Mother."

Xu Miaoyun nodded, and then led the two of them to the sofa.

"Imperial Sister."

"Aunt."

The children, Zhu Bo and Zhu Xiongying, had been fully immersed in watching the cartoon on the television. Feeling someone approaching, they couldn't help but look up. After recognizing Zhu Wanning, they obediently greeted her one after another.

Zhu Wanning smiled and responded to each of them, while her eyes curiously observed everything around her.

She saw the images playing on the television, her face full of wonder.

"Imperial Sister, this is called a television. It means roughly the same thing as the shadow puppetry back in our world."

Xu Miaoyun explained to her, and then pulled her to sit down on the sofa. "This is called a sofa, meant for sitting. The materials inside are different from those in the Great Ming; it is very soft and comfortable to sit on."

"It is indeed very soft and comfortable."

Zhu Wanning nodded and looked at the television again. "I didn't expect the shadow puppetry of later generations to be like this. It is just that these characters are a bit strange, and there are even talking sheep."

"This is a cartoon, specifically for children like Xiongying and Miaojin to watch. There are also television dramas for adults, and those feature real images and people. It is very magical. As for the principles behind it, I don't quite understand them either."

Just as Xu Miaoyun was introducing things to Zhu Wanning, four figures were seen walking in from outside the door.

In the villa area, doors were generally left unlocked at night because this region was protected by formations set up by Qin Ning. Ordinary people could not trespass, so there were absolutely no safety concerns.

The four people who suddenly arrived at this moment were Princess Changle Li Lizhi, Princess Jinyang Li Mingda, and Princess Yangzi Ying Yinman. There was also another person whom Xu Miaoyun did not recognize and had never seen before.

This young woman was none other than Princess Huayang, Ying Shiman.

Originally, Ying Zheng had planned to send her over the following morning. However, after giving it some thought, he ultimately decided to have her come over and stay the night first, allowing her to familiarize herself with her new surroundings much faster.