Lu has a very clear view of everything that is happening now.

Although she has not seen the resurrected Zhu Xiongying, she can be said to have watched Zhu Xiongying grow up to the age of eight.

Zhu Yunwen was very young at that time, and had no vague idea of ​​what position Zhu Xiongying held in the emperor's heart.

But Lu had always seen it.

As the Crown Prince's second wife, Lu's status was absolutely top-notch in the entire Ming Dynasty.

If you want to become the crown prince's second wife, beauty alone is not enough. With a personality like Zhu Yuanzhang, he pays special attention to the concubine of his eldest son.

Background checks, visits by the Embroidered Uniform Guards, and even everything that could be found about Lu's life from childhood to adulthood were checked.

Mrs. Lu's character is extremely pure, kind, dignified and virtuous.

Otherwise, after Chang's death, she would not be qualified to become Zhu Biao's second wife.

In terms of moral character, no one can find fault with Mr. Lu.

Not fighting is called fighting. She became the step-wife not by trying her best to fight for it, but by getting the approval of Zhu Yuanzhang.

Although she knew that her son Zhu Yunwen was jealous of the position of Crown Prince, as a semi-outsider, Lu had a much more thorough view of the matter.

The only thing that can prevent Zhu Xiongying from becoming the crown prince now is the issue of identity.

However, judging from the current situation, Lu does not have much expectations for this.

Of course, she didn't just sit there and wait for death, she still made some tentative moves.

Yesterday, after He Yunwen had dinner, Lu went to the back garden to watch a play with many concubines.

The women in the Ming Dynasty harem had everything from luxury to wealth. Besides taking care of their skin and figure and practicing their talents every day, they also indulged in gossip.

Lu first found the concubine who loved gossip the most among many concubines, and then inadvertently mentioned the matter of Xiaoling Mausoleum.

The matter of Xiaoling had long been spread throughout the harem, but now the heat had died down a bit and the ordinary concubines did not have much interest in it.

Only the loud-mouthed concubine, with a burning gossip heart, did not miss any tiny details and soon became interested in chatting with Lu.

By chance, Lu started talking about King Yu.

The smart Lu would certainly not tell only one concubine everything about Zhu Xiongying, as that would expose herself too easily.

As Zhu Yunwen's mother, if the blame was traced back to me, it would easily arouse His Majesty's suspicion.

Under such circumstances, Lu made careful arrangements and guidance.

She first used the loud-mouthed concubine to bring up the matter of Xiaoling again.

Then I will talk about other points related to Zhu Xiongying that have not attracted much attention.

For example, let’s talk about His Majesty sleeping in the Kunning Palace.

The concubines in the harem always pay attention to where His Majesty sleeps every night. For them, this is the biggest thing.

Then guide at a few other points.

Soon, starting with the loudmouthed concubine, and then several other concubines added to the story, a clue soon emerged.

Your Majesty was not sleeping alone in Kunning Palace last night. There was someone else with you, probably a teenager.

Zhu Yuanzhang actually did not hide too much about Zhu Ying's entry into the palace.

In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, the Ming Imperial Palace was Zhu Ying's own home. If the time when his eldest grandson would return home was concealed, wouldn't this be disheartening?

What Zhu Yuanzhang has done so far is simply not gathering everyone together and fully announcing the existence of his eldest grandson.

However, an imperial decree had already been issued throughout the imperial palace, allowing the eldest grandson to go anywhere he wanted.

This decree was issued through the Embroidered Uniform Guard, such as the Twelve Imperial Guards who guarded the imperial palace. All patrolling palace guards were well aware of Zhu Ying's existence.

Another imperial edict was sent to Liu He, conveying the message to the twelve prisons in the imperial palace, including the four departments and eight bureaus under them, to all be delivered.

Logically speaking, since so many people have already known the news, everyone in the entire Ming Imperial Palace should know about it, especially the concubines in the harem, who are particularly fond of gossip and should know it better.

In fact, all the guards and eunuchs who knew the news kept their mouths shut subconsciously, even though there was no ban passed down.

Matters concerning the resurrection of the eldest grandson of the Ming Emperor must be kept secret. Many eunuchs even felt weak in the knees when they heard the news.

There has always been a saying circulating in the palace: the more you know, the faster you will be buried.

Many royal secrets, even if heard accidentally, could bring about fatal disaster.

When many eunuchs entered the palace, they were taught by their predecessors that if they wanted to survive well in the palace, the first thing they had to learn was to pretend to be deaf and dumb.

In these respects, the concepts of palace guards and eunuchs are similar.

So at present, a very strange phenomenon has emerged.

When Zhu Ying walked in the palace before, all the guards and eunuchs who saw him treated him with the courtesy of His Royal Highness the Emperor's grandson.

But when he turned around, it was as if he had never seen His Royal Highness the Grandson.

Anyway, everyone has the same idea that if His Majesty doesn't speak, we won't speak either, and we'll just pretend that we have never met His Royal Highness the Grandson.

This also led to the fact that the most gossipy harem did not get any news about Zhu Ying's entry into the palace.

Lu's actions added fuel to the fire and quickly raised the heat of the matter in the back garden. When combined with the previous incident at the Xiaoling Mausoleum, many concubines began to speculate on the reasons.

Such high popularity soon attracted the attention of Concubine Ning, who was in charge of the harem. After asking, Concubine Ning immediately understood the whole story.

This is why Concubine Ning went directly to the Qianqing Palace at night to ask His Majesty about the real situation.

Not only did Lu not reveal the slightest bit of this arrangement, she even discussed it with the other concubines who were just watching.

Especially this afternoon, several concubines who were familiar with Lu told her in all seriousness that His Royal Highness Prince Yu might still be alive.

Lu also showed her surprise and disbelief appropriately, which made the concubine feel satisfied.

Although he used some tricks, Lu's ideological awareness was really high.

She was actually very open-minded about the fact that her son could become the crown prince and inherit the throne.

This may seem a bit strange, but that is the throne, which many people dream of.

But if you carefully think about Lu's growth experience, this idea will not seem strange.

As early as ten years ago, Lu had already become Zhu Biao's second wife and a legitimate Crown Princess, which meant that she would be the mother of the Ming Dynasty and the Empress Dowager in the future.

Zhu Biao did not have many concubines like his father. After Chang's death, he became more and more fond of Lu.

Mrs. Lu also behaved very well. She had no bad habits like jealousy, and she was very good at supporting her husband and raising children.

During this stage, Lu found that he no longer had anything to pursue.

In terms of status, she has already stood at the highest position among all the women in the Ming Dynasty.

Cultivating one's character became Lu's daily routine.

Is it really good to be an emperor?

Deep down, Lu didn't think so.

Zhu Biao once enjoyed the power of an emperor in terms of authority.

Since she married Zhu Biao, what Lu saw most was Zhu Biao reviewing memorials in his study late at night.

Not everyone has a body as strong as your Majesty.

The large amount of memorials required Zhu Biao to work day and night, and his body was almost worn out.

Why did a simple cold take her husband's life? In fact, Zhu Biao's body had been completely hollowed out.

Mrs. Lu had already lost her husband, and she did not think that her son would be better than her husband. She knew very well how capable the son she had raised was.

Zhu Biao is thirty-seven years old this year, and Lu is already in her thirties.

As the saying goes, a woman is like a wolf at thirty and like a tiger at forty. To put it bluntly, Lu is now a widow. Every late night, when she thinks of the days she spent with Zhu Biao, she can only wet her pillow with tears and look at herself in the mirror.

In fact, as far as the Lu family is concerned, they are already in an invincible position. Even if Zhu Xiongying enters the palace and becomes the crown prince, or even the future emperor, he will have to recognize her as his mother. She sits firmly on the position of empress dowager.

…

The next day, Ming Imperial Palace, Fengtian Hall.

The morning court begins again day after day.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat high on the dragon throne, gazing at the ministers below with a covetous look.

Today, Zhu Yuanzhang had a gloomy face and a fierce light in his eyes, as if he was ready to choose someone to devour.

Since Zhu Ying appeared, this was the first time that Zhu Yuanzhang appeared in the morning court like this in the past month or so.

The civil and military officials below had already knelt on the ground, trembling with fear.

The Majesty they were familiar with returned today.

"You good ministers, please tell us why it is only today that a memorial has been sent to us regarding such a severe famine."

"More than 300,000 people! That's more than 300,000 people. Where is your conscience? Do you know how many people are suffering from hunger even as we are talking?"

"Even if it's delayed for a day, how many people will starve to death. People often talk about me being a butcher in private. In my opinion, you are the ones who kill without spilling blood and eat people without leaving any bones."

Zhu Yuanzhang was so furious that his hair stood on end and he let out a terrifying roar, as if the entire Fengtian Hall was shaking uncontrollably.

The Jinyiwei who were in charge of guarding the surrounding areas had their hands on the hilts of their swords, waiting for the emperor's order to drag certain ministers directly outside the palace gate and execute them.

According to past situations, many Jinyiwei guarding the Fengtian Palace understood that if a few ministers were not killed, the emperor's anger would be difficult to quell.

The ministers below, especially the top ministers and vice ministers, had their heartbeats half a beat faster or slower. The ministers involved in the matter were not just trembling in their calves, their entire bodies began to shake.

However, after the thunder, Zhu Yuanzhang did not speak again. He looked at the ministers with cold eyes and did not start the execution.

This makes everyone even more tormented, and the fear of the unknown is even more frightening.

After a long time, just when all the ministers were about to lose their patience, a voice came: "Everyone, stand up and discuss how to deal with this famine."

The ending was so unexpected that even the ministers suspected they had hallucinated.

This is still His Majesty who kills people at will. For such a big matter, why did he let it go without killing a few ministers, maybe a dozen?

For a moment, the ministers kneeling on the ground couldn't believe it, and no one even dared to stand up.

"Are you deaf? Didn't I speak clearly enough? Or do you all think there is no way to deal with this matter? Just apologize directly?"

"I think there's no need for you to kneel. All of you should be exiled to Henan to experience the lives of disaster victims."

Zhu Yuanzhang scolded.

Upon hearing this, many ministers quickly stood up, and at the same time, the stone in their hearts finally fell to the ground.

"Ruhong, tell me, what is going on? Why did we only know about such a serious disaster last month? Or is it that your military department is full of good-for-nothings who can't even deliver a message?"

Zhu Yuanzhang specifically asked the Minister of War Ru Rong about the matter.

The communication of disaster information was generally done by post stations, which were under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War's Chariot Division.

Delaying the disaster is a great sin.

Ru Hong was no longer as calm as usual. Beads of sweat as big as soybeans kept rolling down her forehead, and her back was already wet.

He knew in his heart that if he didn't give a good answer, or if he couldn't satisfy His Majesty, his life would be over.

After a short pause, Ru Heng bowed and said, "Your Majesty, since I learned about this matter last night, I have already launched a thorough investigation. After a detailed investigation, I have also found out the problem of the delay in the post station's message."

"In Henan Province, many disasters are happening at the same time. Not only floods, locust plagues, but also plagues are rampant. The extent of the plagues is the worst in recent decades."

"This plague is extremely terrible. There is no cure at all. Not only the common people, but also the officials have been infected and died in large numbers. That's it."

"When the pestilence spread, every family suffered from zombies, and every room was filled with wailing. Some families died, and some families were wiped out."

"Almost all of the postmen of the Henan Provincial Government were killed, so there was no one to report it. Finally, the nearby post station discovered the incident and sent a message to the capital."