bullyxtreme Chapter 4: Was the Yongle Emperor actually Zhu Shuang, the Prince of Qin?
Chapter 4: Was the Yongle Emperor actually Zhu Shuang, the Prince of Qin?
While waiting for the princes to enter the palace, Liu Yan and Xu Miaoyun in the sky did not stop, but followed the spirit path towards Xu Da's mausoleum.
At the same time, the air pressure inside the Yongle court was very low.
Seeing Xu Miaoyun and Liu Yan holding hands so intimately, even the Yongle Emperor couldn't help but break down.
The three brothers, Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi, Prince of Han Zhu Gaoxu, and Prince of Zhao Zhu Gaosui, knelt on the ground, not daring to breathe too much, for fear that the old man would seize the opportunity to teach them a lesson.
Seeing his "mother" being affectionate with another man in the sky above, he felt uneasy.
"Your Majesty, the items have been brought."
As soon as he finished speaking, a eunuch knelt before Zhu Di, holding a tray in his hands.
The tray was laden with various gold and silver utensils, and the three brothers, wondering what their old man was up to, all cast curious glances at him.
Zhu Di took a deep breath and placed his hand on a gold ingot. The next moment, a cold voice rang in Zhu Di's mind.
"Ding! Items available for tipping have been detected. Would you like to tip?"
The next moment, a pale blue light screen appeared in front of Zhu Di, and he reached out and pressed the "Yes" button.
As Zhu Di pressed the button, the gold ingots on the tray vanished completely, turning into a pale blue glow under everyone's gaze.
"Ding! Your reward item has been redeemed! Congratulations, host, you have received 10 reward points! You have also gained one opportunity to leave a comment! Once you reach 1000 reward points, you can permanently unlock the comment function!"
As the system's voice faded, a message suddenly lit up in the live broadcast room above the sky.
"Ding-dong! Emperor Yongle (Zhu Di) has rewarded you with 1 gold ingot."
Seeing the sudden donation in the live stream, Xu Miaoyun immediately smiled and then made a heart shape with her hands.
"Thank you for the generous donation, Brother Zhu Di!"
Upon hearing the voice, Zhu Di's expression instantly shifted from gloomy to cheerful.
The familiar image of his elder brother Zhu Di made the ruthless and decisive Yongle Emperor feel as if his heart was melting.
Meanwhile, during the Hongwu reign, Zhu Yuanzhang's five sons arrived together.
Crown Prince Zhu Biao, Prince Qin Zhu Shuang, Prince Jin Zhu Gang, Prince Wu Zhu Su, and even the eight-year-old Prince Chu Zhu Zhen were all brought over.
"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."
The five men bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang in unison. Zhu Biao was just 17 years old at the time and was in the prime of his life.
Standing among the princes, his demeanor was even more outstanding.
Looking at his chosen successor, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly recalled what Liu Yan had just said, and his heart sank to the bottom.
Just as Zhu Yuanzhang was feeling melancholy, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly rang out, and everyone looked up.
Just then, Duke Xu Da of Wei was seen hurrying over, and behind him followed a figure. That figure was none other than Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan, who had recently run away from his arranged marriage.
Xu Da stepped forward and bowed deeply.
"Your subject Xu Da greets Your Majesty."
Seeing that there was no way to escape, Zhu Di, who was behind Xu Da, could only reluctantly step out from behind him and said in a deep voice.
"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."
Upon seeing Zhu Di, Zhu Yuanzhang was immediately enraged!
If Zhu Di hadn't run away from the marriage, would Xu Miaoyun have disappeared? If Xu Miaoyun hadn't disappeared, would this canopy have suddenly appeared in the sky?
If it weren't for this canopy, would I have been so vulnerable?
"You unfilial son! You dare come back! Look at the mess you've made!"
Xu Da, standing to the side, cupped his hands in greeting.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. His Highness the Prince of Yan is just a young man with a youthful spirit. I happened to run into His Highness in the military camp, and Your Majesty summoned him, so I brought him along."
"Your Highness is not to blame for my daughter's situation. Please do not be angry."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang sighed helplessly.
"Someone, please have a seat."
The eunuch immediately brought Xu Da a chair.
After Xu Da sat down, Zhu Yuanzhang finally spoke.
"Tiande, there's something you absolutely must hold on to!"
As Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to the sky, Xu Da looked up and was struck dumb.
"This...this is Miaoyun?"
Even though Xu Miaoyun has grown up quite a bit, her father recognized her appearance at first glance.
"Who is the person beside Miaoyun? This...?"
Xu Da's eyes widened in surprise. Zhu Yuanzhang patted Xu Da's hand and spoke.
"If we're not mistaken, it seems that little Miaoyun somehow went to the next life. The man beside Miaoyun is named Liu Yan, who is Miaoyun's husband in the next life."
Upon hearing this, Xu Da instantly lost his composure!
"Husband!?"
Xu Da's voice almost trembled!
In the fifth year of the Hongwu reign, Xu Miaoyun was only ten years old!
In the sky, Xu Miaoyun had already grown into a graceful young woman.
But for Xu Da, his memory was still stuck in the present. Not long ago, Xu Miaoyun was still a little baby in his arms, and now she has suddenly become someone else's wife? What father could accept that?
Upon seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang quickly reassured him.
"Tiande! Calm down! You must calm down!"
"Traveling to the future is already a pipe dream, but now it's just a trivial matter of marriage. I think Miaoyun is living quite well in this future world."
"Besides, we've both fought our way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, so why make such a fuss over this little thing?"
Just as Zhu Yuanzhang was comforting Xu Da, in the sky...
Liu Yan's voice came again.
"The Ming Dynasty lasted for 276 years and was ruled by 16 emperors. Emperor Taizong Yongle can be considered one of the greatest emperors in history."
As soon as the words fell, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was comforting Xu Da, suddenly paused.
"Emperor Taizong? So this Yongle Emperor was the second emperor of the Ming Dynasty? My Ming Dynasty only lasted 276 years? And only had 16 emperors? That's too short!"
As the sound came, Zhu Yuanzhang remembered the important reason for summoning this group of princes: who the hell had moved my capital to Beijing!
"In the thirty-first year of the Hongwu reign, Emperor Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang, passed away in the Western Palace of Yingtian Prefecture."
The moment the sound came, the entire Fengtian Hall seemed to be paused.
Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep breath. Although he knew when he would die, he thought that by then he would be over seventy years old, which was considered a long life.
There has never been an emperor who never died; living to over seventy years old is quite an achievement.
"According to the edict of Emperor Taizu, the grandson of the emperor, Zhu Yunwen, succeeded to the throne of the Ming Dynasty."
As soon as the words fell, everyone's eyes were instantly focused on Zhu Biao.
At that moment, Zhu Biao's expression froze.
What's the situation with the Crown Prince Zhu Yunwen's ascension to the throne? Where am I, the dignified Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace?
Zhu Yuanzhang was taken aback. Although he already knew that his eldest son had not inherited the throne, it still pained him to bring it up again.
"Could this Zhu Yunwen be the Yongle Emperor that this person is talking about?"
The moment Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, a phantom projection suddenly appeared in the sky!
"Nonsense! My father was buried in the thirty-fifth year of the Hongwu reign! That was also the year he passed the throne to me!"
Everyone in Hongwu's court was taken aback when they saw the figure that suddenly appeared in the sky.
What's going on with "the 31st year of Hongwu" and "the 35th year of Hongwu"? What's the deal with this?
Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to the figure that suddenly appeared and then suddenly disappeared, and asked.
"Biao'er, did you see clearly? Was that you on the sky just now?"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao shook his head. At that moment, he felt his head throbbing as if his brain was about to grow.
"After Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne, he changed the era name to Jianwen the following year."
"Jianwen? Isn't that Yongle?"
Zhu Yuanzhang and Xu Da looked at each other, both feeling a bit confused.
"In the spring of the fifteenth year of Hongwu's reign, the emperor's eldest grandson, Zhu Xiong Ying, contracted smallpox and died young at the age of eight."
"In the autumn of the same year, Empress Xiaoci Gao of the Ming Dynasty, née Ma, passed away and was buried in the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum."
"The Yongle Emperor, like his father the Hongwu Emperor, was a man deeply devoted to love. After the death of his first wife, the Empress, he never appointed another empress."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang trembled, keenly sensing the most important point in the words.
The Yongle Emperor and I are father and son!
In an instant, Zhu Yuanzhang's gaze swept over the princes present. If he was not mistaken, the Yongle Emperor must be among them!
Before Zhu Yuanzhang could analyze who it was, Liu Yan's explanation came again.
"In July of the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu, Crown Prince Zhu Biao died of a cold after an inspection tour of Shaanxi. His posthumous title was Crown Prince Yiwen."
In an instant, the entire sky of the Ming Dynasty seemed to tremble at these words.
Crown Prince Zhu Biao, Prince Qin Zhu Shuang, Prince Jin Zhu Gang, and Prince Yan Zhu Di all wore expressions of disbelief.
"Big brother? Big brother is dead?"
A look of disbelief crossed Qin King Zhu Shuang's face, but then an idea popped into his head!
"The eldest brother is dead! Does that mean we, the second brother, finally have a chance to rise up?!"
"Could that Emperor Yongle be me? Come to think of it, that fleeting figure I just saw really does resemble me quite a bit!"
"A great emperor for all time! His name will be etched in history!"
At this moment, Zhu Shuang could hardly contain his smile!