Just as she stepped out of the main hall, Zhu Zhi stopped her: "Fourth brother, the timing of your vomiting blood today is quite perfect."

Physician Jiang was helpless. They were fighting like gods, and he didn't want to be dragged into it. So he silently let go of Lu Xiaoyun and took a few steps to the side to make sure he couldn't hear what they were saying.

Lu Xiaoyun glanced at Physician Jiang, then turned back and smiled faintly: "Not as good as my elder brother, the Crown Prince, at seizing opportunities."

Zhu Zhi leaned closer, lowered his voice, and looked at Lu Xiaoyun with a half-smile: "These 200,000 troops were trained by you, each one a master capable of taking on ten men. You're just handing them over like this, without even a pang of regret? Or perhaps, Fourth Brother, you have some other plans?"

Lu Xiaoyun gave a forced smile. If Zhu Zhi hadn't been the legitimate heir and the old emperor's affection for Empress Xiaode, how could such a fool like him have been chosen as the crown prince?

Lu Xiaoyun subtly distanced herself from Zhu Zhi: "What are you saying, Crown Prince? What plans could I possibly have? I've already handed over the Tiger Tally, what plans could I possibly have? I didn't have any plans when it was in my hands before."

"Besides, I didn't train the Northern Army. I've only been in the army for ten years, and the Northern Army already existed back then. Moreover, the army is a vital instrument of the nation, and all soldiers under heaven are subjects of the king, belonging to my father. Now that the Great Zhou is peaceful and prosperous, what use would I be holding onto this tiger tally?"

Zhu Zhi chuckled noncommittally, and seeing that he couldn't get the information he wanted out of him, he waved his hand, his face turned cold, and he walked toward the East Palace.

Zhu Zhi's attendant eunuch, Xiao Quanzi, stepped forward, bowed, and asked in a low voice, "Your Highness, did Prince An really hand over the Tiger Tally of the Northern Army so willingly?"

Zhu Zhi paused, looking at Xiao Quanzi: "What do you mean?"

Xiao Quanzi lowered his voice and said, "This servant has a feeling that this is not something Prince An would do. Could it be that His Highness Prince An doesn't want to go to the Northwest and wants to stay in the capital? Your Highness, think about it, Prince An has been in the army for ten years. It's very possible that he has cultivated a large number of his own confidants and secret guards, or even a private army..."

Zhu Zhi's face darkened: "You mean..."

Zhu Yu, could he really dare to do that?!

Xiao Quanzi nodded solemnly.

Zhu Zhi walked to the corner, glanced at Lu Xiaoyun's back a few times, and said to Xiao Quanzi, "Go and inform Ren Yong'an that I will meet her at the usual place in Ganlu Temple tomorrow."

Xiao Quanzi hurriedly agreed, and upon looking up and seeing Bu Feizhang, immediately bowed: "Your Excellency, Right Chancellor."

Bu Feizhang waved his hand, and Xiao Quanzi withdrew.

"Grandfather, could Zhu Yu really be keeping a private army? That's a serious crime of treason! How could he dare to do that? And where would he get so much money?"

Bu Feizhang looked at his grandson with deep eyes. He was able to be reincarnated and entered his daughter's womb, but unfortunately, he was not very bright and was not as good as a little eunuch.

“Prince An’s mother, Bi Yueyi, was born into a merchant family, and her businesses are spread throughout the counties of the Great Zhou. Does Your Highness really think he would be poor?”

Zhu Zhi scoffed, "Impossible, maternal grandfather. Who in Shengjing doesn't know that Consort Duan dislikes his son? She gave him away to a palace maid to raise before he was even three months old. Consort Duan is also a selfish, mean-spirited woman. How could she possibly give her own property to Zhu Yu?"

Bu Feizhang looked at Zhu Zhi with an "innocent and naive" expression: "If Consort Duan doesn't give these things to Prince An, who else would she give them to? No matter how much she hates him, he is still her only son."

After a pause, Bu Feizhang took a deep breath and said, "Your Highness, you must learn to see beyond the surface and understand the innermost things, instead of just following the crowd."

Zhu Zhi blinked in confusion: "What do you mean? Isn't this something everyone in the world knows? Besides, she's squandered almost all of her assets over the past few years. How much can she leave to Zhu Yu?"

Bu Feizhang felt utterly helpless, like talking to a brick wall. He seriously doubted whether this child was even a member of the Bu family, and why he had been born into the royal family.

Zhu Zhi had no choice but to change the subject: "Then, maternal grandfather, what do you think Zhu Yu was planning when he handed over the tiger tally?"

Bu Feizhang snorted coldly: "Your Highness, you must not underestimate this Prince An. The tiger tally is inanimate, but the man is alive. He has been in the Northern Army for ten years, and everyone in the army, from top to bottom, listens to Prince An as a person, not just a tiger tally."

Zhu Zhi's expression changed: "Grandfather means that Zhu Yu really wants to seize the throne?! Apart from the Northern Army, even if we add his private army, he has offended all the ministers in the court. What does he have to rely on to seize the throne?"

Bu Feizhang's face darkened: "Does Your Highness think that one Northern Army is not enough? In the face of absolute military force, the civil officials of the court are nothing but a fart!"

Zhu Zhi pursed his lips and silently glanced at the Right Chancellor, the head of the civil officials.

“Your Highness, ten years ago, Prince An went to the Northern Army in the Northwest alone. A month later, the Emperor sent you to the Northern Army as well. Why couldn’t you have persevered then? Ten years ago, the Emperor didn’t assign anyone to Prince An, nor did he say a word to Duan Chang. But Your Highness is different; you are the Crown Prince.”

“Prince An rose from a lowly soldier to a military commander in just five years, firmly controlling 200,000 Northern Army soldiers. But you, but you, alas…”

Bu Feizhang was disappointed in Zhu Zhi. This grandson was the only bloodline left by his daughter in this world. For the past twenty years, he had devoted himself to clearing away many obstacles for Zhu Zhi, creating a situation of confrontation with the Third Prince and the Duke of Yingguo.

His disadvantage was that he lacked military power.

In addition, he's not very bright.

Zhu Zhi muttered, "Grandfather, you haven't been to the Northwest, so you don't know. That place is full of sandstorms in summer and autumn, and bitterly cold in winter and spring. It's not a place for humans to live. Moreover, what kind of people are the Northern Qi? They eat raw meat and drink blood like savages. Their iron cavalry is especially fierce and frightening to look at."

"The Great Zhou Dynasty has only been established for a few decades, while the Northern Qi Dynasty has been established for more than three hundred years. Its national strength is extremely strong, which is far beyond what my Great Zhou can compare with. They have long harbored the ambition to annex the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the Northern Qi army has repeatedly harassed the northwestern border. In the six months I was there, there were no fewer than ten battles, large and small. I lived in constant fear every day. If I did not return, I would die in the northwest."

"I am the Empress Dowager's only son, your only grandson, and the Crown Prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Why should I suffer such hardship? Even a wise man doesn't stand under a crumbling wall. Aren't you afraid I won't make it back to Shengjing alive?"

“You, sigh…” Bu Feizhang’s beard trembled with anger.

"Alright, Grandfather, let me ask Ren Yong'an first. That useless bitch didn't even get a single clue. What use is she!"

Bu Feizhang's face darkened, and he glared at Zhu Zhi, saying, "Don't pin your hopes on a woman; be careful not to play with fire."

"I know," Zhu Zhi said, sounding somewhat impatient.

All they know is to lecture him. If they're so capable, why don't they hold hundreds of thousands of troops under their command?

If he had military power, he wouldn't even look at a lowly wretch like Ren Yong'an.

Pretentious, you tea bitch!