Zhu Yunwen had to meet with Zhu Di, firstly to exert some pressure on Zhu Di, and secondly to see if Fu Youde had completely taken control of the military power in the north.

At the same time, he also needed to secretly investigate whether Zhu Di had privately formed an army.

After all, in history, during the Jianwen era, when Zhu Yunwen began to reduce the power of the princes, Zhu Di secretly gathered a large number of people to forge weapons and secretly recruited and trained troops.

These are things we must be wary of.

Zhu Yunwen now most likely won't have to take the path of rebellion and will become the crown prince legitimately.

Therefore, he had to guard against others rebelling.

Therefore, under these circumstances, Zhu Di became the primary threat in his mind.

After all, Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, and Prince Jin, Zhu Gang, would not live for more than a few years, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

History has changed, though.

However, this change did not have a significant impact on Prince Zhu Shuang of Qin and Prince Zhu Gang of Jin.

In particular, their lifespan will not be affected.

Even if Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne, Zhu Gang and Zhu Shuang would still die because of their health conditions.

This has little to do with the changes in the whole situation.

Since these two powerful princes were destined to die, and Prince Yan, Zhu Di, successfully rebelled in history.

Therefore, Zhu Yunwen only needs to guard against him.

Upon returning to the Eastern Palace and meeting with his two younger sisters whom he hadn't seen for many days, Zhu Yunwen instructed the eunuchs and maids of the Eastern Palace that, apart from Zhu Yuanzhang, no one else was allowed to visit his two younger sisters in the Eastern Palace while he was away.

I must not let my two younger sisters be bullied by anyone.

Although Lady Lü and Zhu Yunwen have now moved out of the Eastern Palace.

Without Zhu Yuanzhang's order, it would have been almost impossible for Lady Lü and Zhu Yunwen to enter the Eastern Palace again.

But we still need to be careful. Zhu Yunwen's only weakness right now is his two younger sisters.

As long as he can protect his two younger sisters well within the Eastern Palace, he can act freely and fearlessly to do anything.

...

The next morning, Zhu Yunwen led ten officers of the Imperial Guard to find Zhao Qingzhu.

They then headed north together.

This time, unlike last time, I didn't hide my identity and sneak out.

On the contrary, Zhu Yunwen made a big show of it, going to Beiping openly under the guise of a northern inspection tour, in his capacity as the crown prince.

Zhu Yuanzhang also readily issued an imperial edict.

The gist of the matter is that the Crown Prince is to be sent to the border to familiarize himself with the situation there.

By openly announcing to everyone that Zhu Yunwen was going to the north, it was actually a form of protection.

In this way, some people will find it harder to make any moves.

Because everyone knew Zhu Yunwen's travel route, and if any problems arose, Zhu Yuanzhang would investigate him in various ways.

As long as Zhu Yuanzhang was willing and wanted to, there was almost no case that his Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) could not investigate.

Therefore, everyone will be hesitant to act against Zhu Yunwen, and will absolutely not dare to do anything to harm him given his open and blatant behavior of running around everywhere.

Even if Zhu Yunwen was stupid, he knew this was not an opportunity.

However, he was still thinking about how to take advantage of this opportunity to launch another series of attacks on Zhu Yunwen.

His first thought was that his fourth uncle probably wasn't too happy that Zhu Yunwen had become the crown prince.

The enemy of my enemy can sometimes become my friend.

So Zhu Yunwen made a secret trip to Beiping to plan things out with Zhu Di.

Meanwhile, Zhu Di, far to the north, had also received the news.

It was said that the Crown Prince was coming to the north, and he was instructed to prepare to receive him.

This made Zhu Di's expression very unpleasant.

He summoned his eldest son, Zhu Gaochi, who sat on the throne and said with a stern face:

"The Crown Prince is coming to our Yan Prince's residence in the north. Tell me, what exactly is his purpose?"

Zhu Gaochi, the heir apparent of the Prince of Yan, was fat and physically weak from a young age, but he was indeed quite capable.

He blurted out:

"I'm afraid they're trying to give us a warning. After all, he's become the Crown Prince, and my father and some of my uncles are somewhat resentful about it."

Perhaps he sensed the resentment in the hearts of his uncles and father, and thus wanted to assert his authority and flaunt his status as the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Di took a deep breath and said:

“You’re right, that’s an undeniable fact. He has indeed become the Crown Prince. At least while your grandfather is still alive, I can’t do anything to him.”

Zhu Gaochi smiled slightly and said:

"So what we can do now is to be patient, wait and see what happens, and wait until the Crown Prince ascends the throne to see his abilities and strength. If he is very strong and capable, then Father can rest assured and be the Prince of Yan."

Zhu Di narrowed his eyes, looking at his fat son, and said:

"What if he's not very capable?"

Zhu Gaochi smiled but said nothing more.

Silence speaks louder than words.

Prince Yan, Zhu Di, took a deep look at his fat son. Although his son was still young, he was quite mature, quick-witted, and unfathomably shrewd.

If it weren't for his weight and poor health, he would indeed have been a perfect successor in Zhu Di's eyes.

However, Zhu Di's eldest son, Zhu Gaochi, had been in poor health since childhood. He was always frail and sickly, which once led Zhu Di to consider deposing him as the heir apparent and making his second son, Zhu Gaoxu, his successor.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!