Lady Lü was both excited and a little thrilled because the Crown Prince had suddenly fallen ill, and quite seriously. She was also relieved that there was currently no Emperor in the palace, and the Imperial Grandson was stationed in Beiping. There was also no Empress or Crown Princess.

She was also quite excited. Fortunately, her beloved son Zhu Yunwen had returned from his hometown of Fengyang, otherwise she would have missed this opportunity.

Zhu Yunwen suppressed his excitement, his expression revealing his joy. "Mother, Father is seriously ill, so it is only right that your son takes good care of him and stays by his side day and night."

“That man is now far from the capital and cannot be with your father,” Lady Lü said in a low voice. “My son is well-versed in history and is kind and filial. He has not been close to His Majesty these past years, but that man was born a few years earlier.”

Zhu Yunwen was somewhat worried and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty is the eldest son of the legitimate wife, while I am just a son of a concubine!"

Lady Lü was displeased and snorted coldly, "Now in the Eastern Palace, I am the most respected! If your father ascends the throne one day, I will surely be the Empress! Your Majesty is a hero from humble beginnings. How many changes have we made to the rites and regulations of our Great Ming Dynasty? Do you not know? Can you count how many things the Great Ming Dynasty has done in recent years that have deviated from the established rites and regulations?!"

Just as the mother and son were discussing the matter, the sounds of guards and maids trying to stop them suddenly came from outside the door.

The palace doors were suddenly pushed open, and Zhu Xi and Zhu Yue looked extremely displeased, their faces contorted with anger.

Zhu Yunwen also looked displeased. After standing up, he said, "Elder sister, how dare you barge into Mother's palace like this..."

"Your mother?" Zhu Xi rebuked Zhu Yunwen without any politeness, "You better remember this: your mother is now buried on the east side of Xiaoling Mausoleum! I should ask you, how did the prince who left the palace without imperial decree return to the capital?"

Zhu Yunwen was quite taken aback, and then said, "Father is ill, so it is only right for your son to enter the palace to visit and serve you."

Zhu Yue sneered at this moment and said, "You are indeed filial, which is what a son should do. But my Yun Teng is not as filial as you, and he was kept outside the palace, wasn't he?"

Lady Lü's expression turned sour and she was displeased. "Your Highnesses, although I am a concubine, I still manage the affairs of the Crown Prince's Palace..."

The status of a concubine was actually not low; generally speaking, her rank was below that of a princess but above that of other concubines. Therefore, what Lady Lü said was not problematic.

Zhu Xi stared at Madam Lü, her gaze chilling. "If that's the case, why is my Yunwen being kept outside the city? Is it Fugui or Tianfu, the one in front of you?"

"They've all been dragged out and beaten to death!" Zhu Yue said sarcastically. "A mere servant girl, yet she has quite the nerve, daring to stop the Prince from visiting the palace?! Which relative of yours guards at the city gates? They just received an imperial decree to have their entire family executed!"

Lady Lü jumped up abruptly, pointing at Zhu Yue and shouting, "Imperial edict? What imperial edict?"

Zhu Xi immediately took out an imperial edict, unfolded it, and read, "By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees!"

Lady Lü and Zhu Yunwen immediately knelt down. They were now unsure whether the imperial edict was genuine or not. But it seemed to be real. At this moment, they dared not be careless in the slightest.

"The Lü family entered the Fengxian Hall to pray for blessings."

Hearing Zhu Xi's cold voice, Lady Lü's face paled. Being sent to the Fengxian Hall to pray for blessings was practically tantamount to being banished to the cold palace. If the Crown Prince couldn't recover after entering the palace, she might suffer even worse; perhaps a white silk noose would be tied, or she might be forced into nunnery.

Zhu Xi looked coldly at Zhu Yunwen and said, "Yunwen, what my elder brother means is that you have already been granted the title of Prince. However, I reckon you haven't yet considered the hardships your grandfather endured in establishing the dynasty. You should return to Fengyang. Visit the place where our ancestors founded the dynasty and understand how our Great Ming Dynasty rose to prominence!"

Lady Lü trembled slightly, her voice trembling with tears, "Your Majesty, I accept the imperial decree!"

Zhu Yunwen tried to resist, saying, "Elder sister, Father is ill. If I leave now..."

"You're quite clever!" Zhu Xi said bluntly without any politeness. "My brother said before that you seem kind but are actually cold-blooded! Do you really think that reading a few books is enough? Don't pretend in front of me. Your tricks are no match for my brother! I'll ask you one more time, are you going to Fengyang or not?"

Zhu Yunwen kept his head down and remained silent. At this moment, Zhu Yue sneered, "You want an imperial edict, right? I have plenty here! My brother has plenty too! If you don't want to go to Fengyang, go to Beiping, go to Liaodong! Just remember this: focus on being a good prince, writing and studying. Your brother won't mistreat you. If you have any other ideas, he has plenty of ways to deal with you."

Just then, a young eunuch announced loudly, "Her Highness the Imperial Concubine has arrived!"

Consort Guo Ning has been managing the affairs of the inner palace for many years. Her brothers, Guo Xing and Guo Ying, have been ennobled for their merits and have also gained status in the inner palace.

Consort Guo glanced at Zhu Yunwen and asked, "How did you enter the palace?"

Zhu Yunwen lowered his head and said softly, "Having heard that Father is ill, it is only natural that I should go to the palace to visit and take care of him."

"Oh?" Consort Guo Ning nodded slightly, then asked, "That makes sense, but I didn't know that the Prince had entered the palace. Investigate who is guarding the city gate. Since he is disobeying the imperial order, imprison him."

Zhu Xi then said with a smile, "The Zhao family, it seems, is related to the concubine's brother-in-law. They just received an imperial edict and their entire family was executed."

Consort Guo Ning laughed and said to Zhu Xi, "I see. In that case, let Guo Zhen supervise the execution. What do you think, Your Highness?"

“Then I’ll have to trouble you, Uncle.” Zhu Xi said with a smile. “I’ve heard that Marquis Wuding has made great contributions this time. My brother has written home many times, saying that with Marquis Wuding in charge, the Tatars dare not make any rash moves.”

Kneeling on the ground, Lady Lü's face was deathly pale. She now understood that the imperial edict in Zhu Xi's hand was likely a forged edict. But what did it matter? Apart from her protest, everyone else seemed to accept the edict.

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