In the brightly lit hall, Zhu Yuanzhang sat quietly on the dragon throne, without uttering a word.
After a long silence, Zhu Yuanzhang calmly spoke, looking at his trusted ministers and older princes below. "Let's discuss what we should do," he said.
Liu Xian left decisively, making it clear that she did not want to get involved in human affairs.
"Your Majesty, I have something to say."
An official stepped forward and said with great enthusiasm:
"These tyrannical emperors all come from the descendants of the Prince of Yan. Your Majesty only needs to rectify the situation and prevent the Prince of Yan from having any chance of seizing the throne."
The Crown Prince is virtuous and kind, and the Crown Prince's grandson is filial and brave at a young age; both are first-rate successors to the throne…
Zhu Di had reached his limit. What did he mean by preventing him from having any chance of seizing the throne? Did he mean to kill him, or to be more "lenient" and strip him of all power?
"I had no idea that Xiong Ying was made Crown Prince by my father?"
Zhu Di hastily interjected a sentence, glancing at Zhu Yuanzhang's expression out of the corner of his eye, about to accuse him of something serious.
For example, who do you think you are, daring to speak lightly of succession to the throne?
"Enough!" Zhu Yuanzhang slammed his hand on the table, gave everyone a sharp look, and saw the Prince of Yan bow his head in defiance. He couldn't tell anything from the Crown Prince's face, but his head started to throb violently.
All children are good children, but there can only be one throne.
The question of whether Biao'er would live long remained a concern for everyone, especially since the Crown Prince was being entrusted with the task. If anything were to happen to him, the Ming Dynasty could not withstand the turmoil.
The throne was originally intended to be handed over to the Prince of Yan, who would have been the future successor, and he had made remarkable achievements. But what kind of people were the Prince of Yan's descendants?
Moreover... Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his eldest son with a hint of heartache on his face. Biao'er had been a favored son of heaven since childhood and was his heir. How could he bear to see him fall into such a state?
Zhu Biao stepped forward at the right moment, seemingly unaware of the argument between his own faction and his younger brother, focusing solely on how to prevent future events from occurring.
The prohibition against eunuchs from holding power was mentioned again, along with other suggestions such as establishing military examinations and setting up a cabinet. These were all mature and prudent suggestions, which made Zhu Yuanzhang nod repeatedly.
Seeing that the Crown Prince had taken the lead, the others also opened their minds and offered their suggestions.
The atmosphere on the field was electric, but the Prince of Yan was left seemingly lost in thought, feeling a surge of anger rising within him and a chill creeping down his spine.
He still couldn't understand why, with such a powerful ancestor as himself, his descendants were all so incompetent.
Why do fathers and sons often resemble each other? Zhu Di also thought of a possibility—it must be that his children and grandchildren married bad wives. Of course, his wife, Princess Xu, was intelligent and open-minded, and only good wives were available.
What's the difference between a princess and the wives of her children and grandchildren?
Zhu Di pondered and pondered, becoming increasingly stubborn and inflexible in his thinking.
Just as the emperor and his entourage had almost finished their discussion, a loud shout suddenly rang out: "I understand!"
Zhu Yuanzhang's hand trembled, and he looked in the direction of the sound. He saw his fourth son with bright eyes looking at him excitedly and saying a lot of things.
"You've thought about this for so long, and all you've come up with is choosing consorts for the royal family? Instead of just picking from respectable families, you should also include the daughters of nobles and officials?"
It is important to know that in order to prevent relatives of the empress from interfering in politics, Zhu Yuanzhang had long ago decreed: "All the empresses, consorts, and palace women of the emperor and princes shall be carefully selected from good families, and those who are offered positions shall not be accepted."
This means that members of the imperial family surnamed Zhu could only find wives from among the common people.
Of course, the emperor's previous sons had already married, and their wives were either daughters of founding heroes or Mongol princesses chosen to appease the previous dynasty.
Zhu Di married Xu Da's daughter. After thinking it over, he concluded that the concubines from the common people were not good enough, as they did not receive a high level of education, which resulted in their children not being well-educated.
He explained his idea in its entirety, and for a fleeting moment, Zhu Yuanzhang actually felt that it made sense.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized, "Yes, my bloodline is the most noble in the world, and my offspring should inherit its benefits. If they are not, it's definitely not my fault..."
Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di looked at each other.
In that instant, their hearts miraculously connected.
Perhaps this is the unspoken understanding between those who have a claim to the throne.
Zhu Yuanzhang was decisive and efficient, and immediately declared that the previous decree was null and void.
He wanted fair competition, to give face to his ministers, and to allow their daughters to "have the honor" of accompanying the king.
The ministers who heard this reacted in unison: "Your Majesty is wise! Your Majesty did a great job!"
Just then, a bolt of lightning struck the clear sky outside, accompanied by a deafening clap of thunder.
Everyone was startled, but thankfully nothing further happened.
It should just be a dry thunder, everyone thought.
The voice was barely audible: "Host, the progress bar is full. The mission in this world is complete."
"oh."
"There's one more thing. We only have seven days left to stay, and the world's consciousness is eager to get rid of us."
The system will point to the bright red countdown on the panel.
"Seven days?"
Ling Xiao looked up and saw that she was lying in a huge pool of "water". The "water" in the pool was like a light veil or thick mist, ethereal and uncertain.
With a splash, the snake's tail stirred the pool water, creating a whirlpool. Wisps of water mist, visible to the naked eye, were absorbed, causing the water level to drop slightly.
"Seven days is too short, the time is too tight and not enough."
The beautiful serpent reached out and affectionately embraced the milky-white ball of light, her jade-like and icy face filled with distress.
"Well, there's nothing this system can do. If we exceed the allotted time, this world will reject us. You've experienced that before, host."
The system was helpless. It was because the host had been using official business as an excuse to do his own personal work. Now that the official business was done, the other party was unwilling to make an exception, and there was nothing the system could do.
"Alas, who would have thought that the mighty Ming Dynasty couldn't even last this short time."
"If I kill Zhu Biao, could you rewind the progress bar a little?"
The system is about to crash, that won't do! Do you think you're exploiting a bug?
Seeing this, Ling Xiao stopped teasing him and gently said, "I'll rest my head on my hand."
"Since you're not going to give me face, then I don't need to give you face either. It's all about reciprocity."
The system was speechless; it had no idea when its host had given face to the world's consciousness.
Is this the time to bully someone else's own son, a time for Buddhism and Taoism?
Or is it a time to aggressively consolidate faith and prepare to exploit others for personal gain?
It's quite remarkable that the world's consciousness hasn't been driven mad, given that the Ming Dynasty is on the verge of becoming a colonial society.
Ling Xiao closed her eyes and slowly sank to the bottom of the pool, maintaining her snake-tailed, human-bodied form—the most common image seen by believers.
Immersed in the pool, the prayers of believers came from all directions, whispering frantically in Ling Xiao's ear.
Some pray for their family's health, some for wealth and prosperity, and most pray for peace and safety.
Of course, there were also many curses directed at others, perhaps because of the Snake God. They simply believed that Liu Xian could command all snakes, since snakes are poisonous. Ling Xiao's divine duties inexplicably included an additional one.
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