Twenty-five years later.
The capital of Ming Dynasty, Jinling.
This was the best place in the country, but it was not as noisy as before.
The bustling city was still solemn.
There was no other reason. Prince Zhu Biaojia of Ming Dynasty died and the whole country was in mourning.
All forms of entertainment were prohibited.
White banners were hung everywhere in the palace. All the eunuchs and palace maids looked nervous and hurried.
No one dared to say a word, because everyone knew that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, was in an extremely bad mood.
In the hall, Zhu Yuanzhang stroked his forehead with one hand and tapped his knee with the other.
His expression was as calm as an ancient well, but the chief eunuch standing beside him could feel great grief from this oppressive atmosphere.
He lost his father when he was young, his wife when he was middle-aged, and his son when he was old.
The old man in front of him had already experienced all three hardships of life. Even though this person was Emperor Hongwu who had fought his way out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, it was difficult for him to hide the grief in his heart.
However, what the chief eunuch did not know was that apart from sadness, Emperor Hongwu was also very sad.
He was still thinking about something more important than sadness.
That was the survival of the entire Ming Empire.
The successor that he had painstakingly nurtured had suddenly died, catching him off guard.
Half a lifetime of hard work had gone to waste. Ten years to grow trees, a hundred years to raise people.
It was needless to say how much effort he had put into nurturing Zhu Biao.
More importantly, he did not have the time to nurture another successor.
Therefore, now was not the time for him to grieve. He had to take advantage of the fact that he was still alive.
Choose a suitable successor for Da Ming so that he could continue the empire that he had worked so hard to build.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang quickly thought about his children and grandchildren in his mind.
Even the decisive Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't make up his mind.
The more choices one had, the more confused they would be.
When Zhu Biao was still alive, Zhu Yuanzhang never had such thoughts.
This was because he only had one candidate in his heart and would not consider anyone else.
However, after all the children and grandchildren had passed, two candidates appeared in his mind.
One was his fourth son, Zhu Di, who was now a vassal of Beiping. He and Zhu Biao were siblings, both of whom were born to Empress Ma.
Compared to Zhu Biao, Zhu Di was much more courageous.
If the world was handed over to Zhu Di, at the very least, he could guarantee that there would not be any major trouble.
However, Zhu Yuanzhang was also clear in his heart.
He could conquer the world immediately, but he could not rule the world immediately.
As such, he had already made his fourth son, Zhu Di, a vassal of Beiping to guard the Great Ming Dynasty.
The other candidate was naturally Zhu Yunwen, the current eldest grandson of the emperor.
According to normal logic, the throne of Ming Dynasty would definitely be passed to Zhu Yunwen.
However, the young master was suspicious of the country.
However, it was better to be safe than sorry.
At that time, if anything happened, it would still endanger the world of the Zhu family.
For a moment, even the decisive Zhu Yuanzhang felt troubled.
He didn't know if he should choose his fourth son, Zhu Di, or his current eldest grandson, Zhu Yunwen.
Just as Zhu Yuanzhang was letting his imagination run wild.
A person's name flashed through his mind again.
The 18th Prince Zhu Zhe.
Thinking of his son, Zhu Yuanzhang revealed a faint bitter smile.
When the head eunuch saw Zhu Yuanzhang's expression, he was shocked.
This was the first time he had seen the emperor's expression in so many days.
How could the chief eunuch not be shocked?
The reason why Zhu Yuanzhang would reveal such an expression was because he was not afraid.
It was all because his eighteenth son, Zhu Zhe, was really a little different.
Compared to the other princes, Zhu Zhe was simply a maverick.
This Zhu Zhe was only a few years older than Zhu Yunwen.
However, he had always kept a low profile.
A few years ago, when he was a vassal, Zhu Yuanzhang asked Zhu Zhe where he wanted to make his fief.
Zhu Zhe actually said to Zhu Yuanzhang without thinking,
"Imperial Father, your son wants the land of South Yue as his fief.”
Zhu Yuanzhang was already surprised that he could choose land as his fief.
One had to know that when the other princes were choosing their own fiefs, although he had told them to choose their own fiefs.
However, most people still handed the choice to themselves in the end.
Although he would not mistreat his son.
However, Zhu Zhe's choice still surprised Zhu Yuanzhang.
However, this was not the real surprise.
What was truly surprising was the place that Zhu Zhe had chosen.
When the other princes chose, they would either choose the most dangerous places in Guanzhong or the most fertile places in the Central Plains.
Basically, they would do whatever was important and prosperous.
He was afraid that his fief was not rich enough and that his descendants would suffer in the future.
He almost wanted to make a scene with her.
And this Zhu Zhe had picked a place that he had never thought of.
South Yue.
The land of South Yue sounded pretty good.
However, it was the place where Da Ming was the most disliked.
Zhu Yuanzhang did not know about others, but if he had to choose, he would definitely not choose this place as his fief.
This place was not only filled with miasma, but it was also hot and humid all year round. Moreover, it was far from the capital.
Zhu Yuanzhang could not figure out why Zhu Zhe would choose this place.
For a moment, Zhu Yuanzhang even suspected that his son had been deceived by someone.
Was it Zhu Zhe's royal brother or someone in the residence who instigated the young and ignorant Zhu Zhe to make this decision?
Although Zhu Yuanzhang was decisive in front of outsiders, he was not cold-blooded in front of his children and grandchildren.
Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a moment and said,"
"Zhe 'er, are you sure you didn't choose wrongly?”
"That place is South Yue, and it is very far away from Imperial Father's capital!”
The expression on the young Zhu Zhe's face did not change at all. He said to Zhu Yuanzhang, who had a curious look and a little heartache,
"Imperial Father, your son did not choose wrongly. Your son wants South Yue!”
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard Zhu Zhe's words, he did not say anything more.
Even though she could not understand why her son would make such a choice.
However, since Zhu Zhe had made the decision himself, even if Zhu Yuanzhang did not understand, he did not interfere too much.
After all, the entire world was the land of the king. South Yue was also the territory of the Ming Dynasty, so they needed to send a vassal king to guard it.
Especially after sending the Jinyiwei to investigate, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that he could not see through his son.
Because according to the information sent back by the Embroidered Uniform Guards.
Zhu Zhe was not bewitched by anyone at all, nor was he threatened by any imperial brother. It was really Zhu Zhe's own choice.
Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a long time but could not come up with a conclusion.
At this time, the sky outside had already darkened.
Time passed bit by bit.
The chief eunuch stood beside Zhu Yuanzhang, listening to the sound of the night watch coming from the palace. A trace of worry appeared on his face.
Unknowingly, it was already midnight.
His Majesty was already old. If he continued to endure, his body might not be able to take it.
Thinking of this, the chief eunuch bent down and said softly,"
"Your Majesty, it's getting late. You should rest early.”
The voice of the chief eunuch pulled Zhu Yuanzhang back from his thoughts.
He looked up at the sky outside.
Zhu Yuanzhang said,
"Oh, is it already dark?"
"What time is it now?"
Hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, the chief eunuch hurriedly said,"
"Your Majesty, it's already midnight.”
Zhu Yuanzhang sighed lightly. He didn't expect that he would sit here until now.
He rubbed his brows and said,"
"Yes, I'm tired too. Let's go back to the bedroom and rest.”
Hearing this, the chief eunuch hurried over and helped Zhu Yuanzhang up.
After Zhu Yuanzhang stood up, he shook off the support of the chief eunuch.
This emperor who was about to conquer the world would not show the slightest weakness in front of outsiders.
Accompanied by the chief eunuch, Zhu Yuanzhang returned to his bedroom.
Under the service of the palace servants, he lay on the bed.
Then, the chief eunuch called all the palace servants to leave, leaving the emperor some space.
After all, he was no longer young.
Zhu Yuanzhang also did not have the energy of his youth.
After lying down on the bed, she fell asleep not long after.
However, today was different from the past.
In his sleep, Zhu Yuanzhang heard a voice in a daze,"
"Dream of a butterfly? Are you awake?"
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]