Daming Palace, Fengtian Hall, morning dynasty.

"Your Majesty, I have a report to you. The Goryeo envoys have arrived near the capital and will be staying at the Tianjie Temple soon. Please give your instructions, Your Majesty."

Minister of Rites Ren Hengtai stepped forward, bowed, and asked.

In the Jinluan Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, took the memorial handed over by the eunuch, read it, and said: "This time, Li Chenggui sent someone to ask us to give Goryeo a name, which means he wants to be king."

"We think Lee Seong-gye is a good person, very different from the previous Goryeo King, so we should let the Heavenly Realm Temple entertain him well."

This document regarding the transfer from Goryeo had naturally been reviewed by Zhu Yuanzhang long ago, and coming to the court early was just a formality.

Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy about Lee Seong-gye's surrender.

In the 20th year of Hongwu, when the remnants of the Northern Yuan Dynasty had not yet been destroyed, Zhu Yuanzhang sent a letter to the then King of Goryeo, requesting the occupation of Tieling Wei, which was originally controlled by the Yuan Dynasty.

However, the Goryeo Dynasty had already taken the opportunity to occupy this place, and naturally was unwilling to give it to the Ming Dynasty and wanted to attack Liaodong.

In the end, Lee Seong-gye ended up with Lee Seong-gye's rebellion.

In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, Lee Seong-gye was his ally, and the words he used in the memorial were very submissive.

Now Zhu Yuanzhang was trying to incorporate the overseas vassal states that had previously served the Yuan Dynasty into the new system of serving the Ming Dynasty, and the current situation in Goryeo was exactly what he wished.

Upon hearing this, Lim Heng-tae, the Minister of Rites, asked again, "Your Majesty, among the Goryeo envoys, there is a woman named Lee Seong-gye who presented her to Your Majesty. How should we deal with her?"

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows when he heard this and said, "Let's place them in Tianjie Temple first."

"I obey your order."

After the morning court session, Zhu Yuanzhang went to the Huagai Hall.

Liu He quickly sent the portrait presented by the Goryeo envoy.

Zhu Yuanzhang took a look and said, "This Lee Seong-gye told us that this woman was selected by him with the efforts of the whole country. I think that's true."

"Her appearance is not bad, but to say that she is stunningly beautiful is a bit exaggerated."

Upon hearing this, Liu He said, "Your Majesty, Goryeo is just a tiny country. How many people can it have? Naturally, it is impossible for it to be more than our Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "I just don't know if our eldest grandson likes it. You can have someone send the portrait to our eldest grandson later."

"If he is interested, he can go to the Tianjie Temple to take a look. If he likes her, he can become her concubine."

The documents sent by Goryeo naturally would not say that they were about selecting a concubine for Zhu Yuanzhang. As a vassal state, Goryeo had no such qualifications.

Generally, when vassal states sent their daughters, they did so under the pretext of sending them to the royal family. As for how the Ming emperor arranged them, they didn't care. As long as the intention was there, it was enough.

"I obey your order." Liu He put away the portrait and bowed.

At the same time, I understand more deeply in my heart how much His Majesty dotes on His Royal Highness the eldest grandson.

At the same time.

Zhu Mingyue and Zhu Yunhuan came out of the Imperial Academy and were on their way to find Zhu Quan.

"Sister, why did Grandpa Huang ask us to bring my uncle with us?"

Zhu Yunhuan said in some confusion. He had finally asked for leave from the teacher in the academy today and went to play with his eldest brother with his sister. However, he received an oral order that he had to bring his seventeenth uncle Zhu Quan with him.

Zhu Yuanzhang had many descendants, some of whom were not much older than him.

In terms of birth, Zhu Quan was only one year older than Zhu Yunhuan and several months older than Zhu Mingyue.

Due to their seniority, the princes and grandchildren in the imperial palace academy are relatively clearly distinguished.

"Seventeenth Uncle was crowned a king last year, and his fiefdom is Daning, which is the frontier of the Ming Dynasty. Don't you understand what Grandpa Huang meant?"

"Forget it. You won't understand even if I tell you. Just do as Grandpa Emperor tells you."

Zhu Mingyue said.

"Okay." Zhu Yunxun muttered and followed his sister Zhu Mingyue.

Prince Ning Zhu Quan was not very old and was originally receiving education in the imperial palace academy together with everyone else.

After conferring the title of King of Ning last year, Zhu Yuanzhang arranged a separate teacher for him to provide one-on-one teaching.

On the west side of the square in front of Fengtian Gate is Youshun Gate, inside the gate are the palaces of the kings who have not yet been enfeoffed.

The kings of Qin, Jin, Yan, Zhou, Chu and other dynasties also lived here.

At the Youshun Gate, the two children asked the eunuch to convey the message.

Soon, a young man came out.

"Uncle Seventeen."

The two children bowed respectfully.

This is the most unhappy thing. Although everyone is about the same age, if you are one generation older, you become the elder.

Zhu Quan bowed in return, looking regal and graceful, which was a feast to the eyes. No wonder Zhu Yuanzhang liked him so much even though he was just a bastard's son.

…

Just when the three little ones were leaving the palace, in Chunhe Palace.

Zhu Yunwen and Li Jinglong sat opposite each other.

In the entire palace, when it comes to appearance, Li Jinglong and Zhu Quan are at the ceiling level.

Just by sitting there, Li Jinglong made Zhu Yunwen's eyes light up.

"Cousin, you didn't even tell me you were coming back this time. I didn't even know you were back." Zhu Yunwen said with some complaint.

Li Jinglong smiled slightly and said, "Your Highness, it is the trade season in Xifan, and there are too many things to arrange. I was in a hurry to get back this time, so I didn't come to talk to you."

Zhu Yunwen was a little unhappy when he heard this. Li Jinglong's tone made him feel a little strange.

Li Jinglong obviously noticed it, and said calmly: "For this tea-horse trade, I specially selected a batch of top-quality horses and brought them to Your Highness."

"It's just that we were in such a hurry that the horse has not been completely tamed yet. Once it is tamed, I will present this horse to Your Highness."

When Zhu Yunwen heard this, the slight unhappiness in his heart was immediately forgotten.

Li Jinglong was Zhu Yuanzhang's great-nephew and of the same generation as the emperor's grandson. Although there was a ten-year age difference between them, he had also lived and grown up in the palace.

Li Jinglong, who was handsome and a grandson of the emperor, had always been admired by Zhu Yunwen.

"Thank you, cousin." Zhu Yunwen said with satisfaction.

Li Jinglong smiled and said, "This is what my cousin should do."

“Ahem.”

Huang Zicheng, who was standing by, saw the two people constantly exchanging greetings and couldn't help but cough twice to remind Zhu Yunwen.

When Zhu Yunwen heard the voice, he remembered the purpose of calling his cousin Li Jinglong this time.

"After returning to the capital, my cousin heard the legend about the Xiaoling Mausoleum," Zhu Yunwen asked.

Li Jinglong nodded slightly and said, "This matter has spread widely. Now it is not only in the capital, but also in other places."

After finishing speaking, Li Jinglong frowned and said, "It's strange. Xiaoling Mausoleum is the ancestral mausoleum of the royal family, but the government did not intervene to stop this rumor."

After hearing this, Zhu Yunwen judged that Li Jinglong might not know about his elder brother Zhu Xiongying.

So he asked, "Cousin, do you think it is possible for a person who has been dead for ten years to be resurrected?"

Li Jinglong shook his head and said, "A gentleman does not speak of strange things. Such talk of ghosts and gods is just to fool the world and cannot be taken seriously."

Zhu Yunwen was delighted when he heard what his cousin Li Jinglong said.

He directly expressed his speculation about his eldest brother Zhu Xiongying.

Li Jinglong frowned upon hearing this, and after a long while he said, "My cousin means that someone is pretending to be the eldest grandson who passed away ten years ago, and is deceiving Your Majesty."

Zhu Yunwen did not answer directly, but said: "I was still young ten years ago and don't remember much. I think my cousin should have been involved in my elder brother's situation."

Li Jinglong nodded. He was also a member of the funeral procession ten years ago and witnessed the burial of his eldest grandson Zhu Xiongying.

So I didn’t think much about the matter of Xiaoling Mausoleum.

After thinking for a while, Li Jinglong said, "When Prince Yu was a child, he looked very similar to the Crown Prince. I think he will be the same when he grows up."

"Your Majesty has determined that it is His Royal Highness Prince Yu who has resurrected. Apart from the matter of the coffin in the Xiaoling Mausoleum, I think the person who appeared in the capital must look exactly like His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen's face turned extremely ugly.

He didn't have much impression of his elder brother Zhu Xiongying. After all, he had seen him rarely and was young at the time.

By the time he was old enough to understand, Zhu Xiongying had already become a taboo in the palace and no one dared to discuss him in private.

As for his appearance, he really didn't know.

Seeing his cousin Li Jinglong frowning in thought, Zhu Yunwen asked tentatively, "They look similar and are about the same age. Could it be that this person is really my elder brother Zhu Xiongying?"

Li Jinglong shook his head and said, "There must be something fishy about this. When His Royal Highness Prince Yu passed away, he stayed in Renzhi Hall for seven days before being buried. He was only eight years old. Even if he was faking his death, it is impossible for his body to survive without food or water for seven days."

"Not to mention being sealed in a coffin. Even if you fake your death, you will suffocate and you won't be able to survive when you wake up."

Zhu Yunwen nodded. There were too many doubts.

But the Emperor really trusted him too much. Zhu Yunwen could feel that if he did not do something, when the time came to enthrone the grandson in September, he might not be the one to take the throne.

"When I was in Xifan, I heard that there were special people outside the country who knew the art of disguise." Li Jinglong did not finish his words, but Zhu Yunwen on the opposite side already understood it completely.

"Cousin, what you mean is that this person came here in disguise and wants to destroy our Ming Dynasty!" Zhu Yunwen raised his voice and said.

Li Jinglong shook his head slightly and said, "It's hard to say. Your Majesty must have investigated this matter thoroughly. There may be some key points that neither you nor I know clearly."

"But in my opinion, it is simply too unbelievable to want to deceive Your Majesty, especially in the Xiaoling Mausoleum."

"This person's past and background must have been strictly screened by the Royal Guards. They would not have missed any clues."

"Your Majesty will not let go of anything suspicious. Your Majesty's temper should be better known to you, my cousin, than to my brother."

Zhu Yunwen nodded. It was precisely because he was so clear about this that he could not openly oppose his grandfather the Emperor. He could only obey and then find another way.

"I would like to ask my cousin if he can go and look for this person. Regardless of whether it is true or false, my cousin should be much clearer after seeing him." Zhu Yunwen said again.

Li Jinglong nodded and agreed.

Unlike Zhu Yunwen, Li Jinglong, as the son of Li Wenzhong, King of Qiyang, and Duke of Cao, had considerable connections in the capital.

It is not difficult to investigate the situation.