Chapter 8: Zhu Yuanzhang Tears Up While Admitting His Fault

If one were to ask what the Great Hongwu Emperor cherished most in his life, it would undoubtedly be family—there could be no other answer.

Therefore, upon hearing Zhu Yunxuan declare his intent to kill Lady Lü and Zhu Yunwen, the old Emperor nearly exploded on the spot. Had it not been for Feng Sheng and Tang He sensing the danger and rushing to restrain him, Zhu Yuanzhang would likely have already pushed open the hidden door and charged out.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger! The Third Prince is currently armed with a blade and possesses the skill to subdue Jiang Huan. If you go out now, I fear..." Tang He whispered urgently while holding Zhu Yuanzhang back. Although he did not voice the potential consequences, Zhu Yuanzhang’s keen intellect made the implications clear enough.

Indeed, after a brief moment, the tension in Zhu Yuanzhang’s body eased slightly. Yet, still defiant, he snorted coldly, "What of it? Does that rebellious grandson dare to raise a weapon against me?"

No one answered. No one dared to. Yet, even Zhu Yuanzhang himself understood the cold reality that "there is no kinship in the Imperial House." Moreover, as he was currently considered "dead," it was hard to say whether Zhu Yunxuan might commit an act of treason for the sake of the throne if he were to reveal himself now.

"Your Majesty, the Third Prince has always been benevolent. I believe he would not commit an act of fratricide," Feng Sheng finally spoke up after a long silence, attempting to defend Zhu Yunxuan.

"Hmph!" Zhu Yuanzhang ignored him. With a sharp exhale, he pressed his gaze back to the peephole. He happened to catch the pathetic sight of Zhu Yunwen cowering behind Lady Lü, his face instantly darkening. A flicker of disappointment crossed his eyes, though it went unnoticed by the others.

Lady Lü also turned back to look at her precious son with disappointment. Gritting her teeth to force herself to remain calm, she glared at Zhu Yunxuan. "You unfilial child! You... are you going to kill your mother?" Even through her trembling voice, the raw fear of death remained palpable.

"Heh! Kill my mother? Are you even worthy?" Zhu Yunxuan seemed to be in a good mood, pacing back and forth with a smile. Yet, the smile on his face was so icy that it felt as if the entire Qianqing Palace were being frozen over.

"Lady Lü, surely you haven't forgotten what you have done to me all these years?"

"I truly do not know where you find the gall to call yourself a mother in front of me. Or perhaps your skin is so thick that you believe the things you’ve done to me are what a mother ought to do?"

With just these two sentences, Lady Lü’s face turned deathly pale. She shook her head incessantly, as if possessed. "No! Do not spout such nonsense! What have I ever done to you?"

"You ungrateful wretch, you cursed your own mother to death, and I, in my mercy, took you in to raise you personally. I never expected you would treat me this way..."

"If I had known, back then... back then..."

"Heh! Back then, what?" Zhu Yunxuan let out a scornful laugh. "Back then, you should have been more ruthless, or perhaps increased the dosage of poison in my daily meals?"

*Clang!*

The blade chimed. It was the result of a slight tremor in Zhu Yunxuan’s wrist as he swung the cold edge toward Lady Lü. Despite Lady Lü’s habit of barking orders in the Eastern Palace and her belief that she was composed, she felt her legs turn to jelly and collapsed to the floor at the immediate prospect of death.

This longsword was a trophy Zhu Yuanzhang had seized after defeating Chen Youliang—a blade forged at great expense. The razor-sharp edge grazed the top of Lady Lü’s head, instantly slicing through the meticulously styled hair bun and the ornate, elegant hairpins that fell scattered across the floor.

Sensing that Zhu Yunxuan truly intended to kill her, Lady Lü could no longer hold back. With eyes full of primal terror, she looked at him and gasped, "How... how do you know?"

Zhu Yunxuan did not answer, a look of contempt lingering on his lips.

Behind the wall, Zhu Yuanzhang, Feng Sheng, and Tang He stood with their mouths agape. Zhu Yuanzhang’s gaze, previously burning with fury, shifted from Zhu Yunxuan to Lady Lü.

"Vile woman! This poisonous woman actually dared to harm my grandson... How, how did I not notice this for so many years?"

*Thud.*

Whether out of guilt or the realization that he had been deceived for over a decade, the notoriously tough Zhu Yuanzhang collapsed back into his chair. Feng Sheng and Tang He exchanged a glance, both sighing inwardly.

The politics of the inner palace were truly terrifying; even the Emperor, who had led them to forge the eternal foundation of the Great Ming, had been deceived. Both men wanted to offer words of comfort, but finding none, they could only remain silent and watch the scene unfold.

Outside, Lady Lü had completely lost her composure, repeatedly questioning Zhu Yunxuan as he held the glinting blade. Zhu Yunwen, though slightly more composed, was still far from steady. Since he was not the one facing death directly, he managed to summon the courage to defend his mother.

"Third... Third Brother, how can you think such things of Mother? She... she has always treated us with equality!"

"Heh! Equality. A fine 'equality' indeed." Zhu Yunxuan spun the sword in a flourish, the blade cutting toward Zhu Yunwen. "Zhu Yunwen, do you even believe that yourself?"

"Do you not know what you wear and eat, which scholars have tutored you since childhood, and what kind of life I have lived?"

*Snap!*

The blade severed the warm, mutton-fat jade hairband on Zhu Yunwen’s head in two, coming to a halt less than a hair’s breadth from his scalp.

Zhu Yunwen, who had been coddled his entire life by Lady Lü, felt the proximity of death and his "mama’s boy" nature completely erupted. His body shuddered, and a puddle of warm, yellow liquid began to seep beneath his gold-embroidered dragon robe. Crying "Don't kill me" and "Mother, save me," he instinctively scurried behind Lady Lü, trembling uncontrollably.

Watching this from behind the wall, Tang He finally spoke: "Your Majesty, we can now be certain that the Third Prince has no intention of fratricide. He is merely terrifying the Crown Princess and the Second Prince."

Feng Sheng wanted to follow suit, but as he opened his mouth, he saw that Zhu Yuanzhang’s usually fierce dragon-eyes were already clouded with tears. He heard a whisper, the likes of which he had never heard in his life:

"I... I was wrong! I was truly wrong..."

"Yunwen wore the finest Hetian white jade, dressed in the best Yangzhou gold embroidery, and was always taught by the greatest scholars..."

"But my Yunxuan... my Yunxuan, despite being an Imperial Grandson, wore wooden hairpins, and his clothes were washed until they were faded and white."

"It was I who listened to biased words. It was I who failed my grandson!"

"I never noticed before. It was I who let Yunxuan suffer for so many years. It was I who let him live by the side of this poisonous woman, Lady Lü. It was I who forced him to face life and death at every turn!"

"I have failed you, my Yunxuan..."