Soon, Zhu Yunwen and Zhao Qingzhu left the valley together with Zhang San and Li Si.

Then, they proceeded slowly and steadily from the west of the Ming Dynasty towards Nanjing.

Zhang San and Li Si remained in disguise because, under the current circumstances, although they had learned that their family members had been killed by the king and prince of Chechi Kingdom, they were still in a state of confusion.

However, in order to cooperate with Zhu Yunwen's plan, they still needed to continue disguising themselves.

Zhu Yuntong was also in disguise.

He cannot reveal that he is still alive, and Zhao Qingzhu, who has been by Zhu Yunwen's side for many years, has also made some minor disguises in order to avoid attracting attention.

In fact, if she wanted to disguise herself, the method was very simple: just put on some very ugly makeup. Even so, she would still be beautiful, but she would look somewhat different from the original, even more stunning Zhao Qingzhu.

You can't see it unless you look closely.

After everything was prepared, the four of them headed towards Nanjing.

After arriving in Nanjing, Zhu Yunwen and Zhao Qingzhu found a relatively secluded inn and settled in.

Zhang San and Li Si immediately went out again to continue gathering information.

Meanwhile, Prince Zhu Gang of Jin had already arrived in Nanjing and went to the palace to see Zhu Yuanzhang immediately.

Inside the imperial study, Zhu Yuanzhang looked haggard.

The cabinet, including Yang Rong, Yang Pu, and Yang Shiqi, shared a lot of his workload.

But there are some crucial matters that ultimately require Zhu Yuanzhang's approval.

So even though he didn't read many memorials each day, he still seemed somewhat overwhelmed.

Perhaps it was because Zhu Yunwen's death was such a huge blow to him that this emperor, who had originally had a relatively good life, aged prematurely.

When Zhu Gang saw Zhu Yuanzhang, as his son, he felt no heartache or sadness, but rather a secret joy.

The reason is quite simple: as Zhu Yuanzhang grew older and neared the end of his life, his son, who currently had the best chance of becoming the crown prince, would perhaps have an even greater opportunity.

The real fear is that Zhu Yuanzhang is still very energetic and might be able to cultivate another successor, which would be extremely bad for Zhu Gang.

When Zhu Gang met Zhu Yuanzhang, he respectfully cupped his hands and said:

"Your son greets Your Majesty and pays his respects."

Zhu Yuanzhang slowly raised his head and glanced at his third son, Zhu Gang.

He didn't have a very good impression of his third son, Zhu Gang, especially before Zhu Yuntong became the crown prince. Zhu Gang had a volatile temper and did a lot of bad things in his fiefdom.

The methods used were quite cruel, though slightly better than those used by Zhu Shuang.

However, in Zhu Yuanzhang's view, if he were to choose an heir or the position of crown prince, he would basically not consider Zhu Gang.

Fortunately, after Zhu Yuntong became the crown prince, Zhu Gang was suppressed by Zhu Yuntong and became much more disciplined.

This actually increased Zhu Yuanzhang's goodwill towards him.

However, now that Zhu Yunwen has died, Zhu Gang has repeatedly submitted memorials, saying that he is concerned about Zhu Yuanzhang's health and wants to come and see him.

In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, this clearly indicated that there were other intentions, but even if he knew, so what?

The issue of succession is indeed giving Zhu Yuanzhang a major headache, and for a time he doesn't know who to choose as his successor.

Given the current situation, if ranked by qualifications, Zhu Gang would indeed be in the top tier.

At this very moment, Zhu Gang, through some unknown means, managed to gain very high praise from some officials in the court.

The main reason is that Zhu Gang has indeed kept a low profile in the past year or two, so Zhu Yuanzhang can't find any fault with him. That's why Zhu Yuanzhang decided to meet him. If Zhu Gang has indeed changed his personality a lot and only wants to be emperor, without any other character issues, then it's not impossible to consider him.

Then Zhu Yuanzhang slowly spoke to Zhu Gang:

"You've been longing to visit us, and now that you've finally seen us, what are you going to do?"

Zhu Gang had not expected Zhu Yuanzhang to be so sharp-tongued, asking such a question that left him momentarily speechless.

He stammered for a moment before finally saying:

"Your son was very worried about your health, but now that I see that you are in good health and spirits, I am finally relieved."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Gang and slowly said:

"Yeah?"

His gaze seemed to see right through Zhu Gang, who became increasingly nervous, constantly swallowing.

After a long pause, he finally answered:

"The death of the Crown Prince brought grief to the entire nation. When I learned of it, I was so saddened that I didn't eat for three days. I was also very worried that my father's health might not be able to withstand it."

Now that my eldest and second eldest brothers have passed away, I am the eldest of Father's sons, and I should take on the leading role of my elder brother.

Therefore, it is only right that I come to see my father, and I urge him to take care of his health. The Ming Dynasty cannot do without my father, nor can it do without his concern.

On the surface, Zhu Gang's words seem to express his filial piety as a son, showing concern for his father and worrying about his health, not wanting his father to collapse and leave the vast country without its support.

But in reality, he was subtly reminding Zhu Yuanzhang that he was now the eldest son, the current eldest among Zhu Yuanzhang's many sons.

It also served as a reminder to Zhu Yuanzhang that such a large country as the Ming Dynasty needed a reliable successor to govern it.

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