"Rebellious son, why don't you kneel down for us?"

Inside the Huagai Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang entered and waved back.

Jiang Li simply closed the door, leaving only Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di inside.

Before Zhu Di could say anything, Zhu Yuanzhang burst into tears.

The soundproofing in ancient times was very poor and the sound was transmitted directly.

Jiang Lin, who was waiting outside the door, was so frightened that he trembled, his legs went weak, and he almost fell to his knees.

Several eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department nearby prostrated themselves on the ground without hesitation.

Several Jinyiwei guards who were guarding the place knelt on one knee.

Jiang Li waved his hand, and when everyone dispersed, he went ten meters away from the door.

I can't listen to the royal family's affairs.

Inside the door, Zhu Di trembled and immediately knelt on his knees.

At his age, in his early thirties, he would not frown even if he had to fight for his life on the battlefield.

But when facing his father, he seemed to be the same child as before.

"Dad, my nephew just said that I was just joking with him."

Zhu Di was smart. At the moment when there were only two of them, he didn't even call him father, but called him dad as the common people did.

Sure enough, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was originally furious, after hearing this "father".

He paused for a moment.

Perhaps it triggered his past memories. After a long silence, Zhu Yuanzhang sighed and said:

"Get up."

"Thank you, Dad."

Seeing that it was effective, Zhu Di hurriedly took advantage of the situation, shouted again, and stood up.

Zhu Yuanzhang turned around and scolded: "I am angry, not because of the little thing between you uncle and nephew just now."

"Let me ask you, what is the situation with Zhu Ying? If it weren't for the report from the Royal Guards, we wouldn't have known that our eldest grandson was back."

"Or do you not even know your nephew? Or are you planning to do something dirty in secret?"

Faced with this series of questions, Zhu Di lowered his head slightly, and a gleam of light flashed in the depths of his eyes.

Then he raised his head and smiled bitterly: "Dad, how could I not know my nephew? He is the sweetheart of all of us."

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's expression eased slightly.

Zhu Di continued, "Last month in Beiping, I was stunned at the first sight of Zhu Ying."

"That's exactly the same as my eldest nephew."

"But I know that my nephew has already been buried. When he was buried, I was standing by his side, watching the coffin being lowered and the coffin being covered."

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

As the eldest grandson of the entire Ming Dynasty, the eldest grandson must be the heir to the Ming Empire.

Even though there was a popular saying that children who died young were not allowed to be buried in the imperial mausoleum, Zhu Yuanzhang strongly refuted it and forced them to be buried in the Xiaoling Mausoleum.

He even buried with him all the toys that his eldest grandson loved, including jade carvings, jadeite, gold and jewelry.

Even after his eldest grandson was completely buried, Zhu Yuanzhang stayed for several hours before returning to the palace.

There are thousands of Xiaoling Guards guarding the tomb of the eldest grandson.

From any perspective, even if it is a real fake death, there is no hope of coming back to life.

"You must have investigated his identity carefully. Tell us." Zhu Yuanzhang asked calmly.

Although everything seemed impossible, whenever he thought of Zhu Ying, his intuition told him that it was his eldest grandson.

"I naturally sent people to investigate carefully as soon as possible. I arranged for my men to check through the pass."

"But the news I got was disappointing."

"Zhu Ying's father was indeed a traveling merchant. He was born in the fifth year of Hongwu, and is two years older than my eldest nephew."

"His mother died of complications during childbirth after giving birth to Zhu Ying, and his father took him with him to do business. There are no other omissions."

After listening to what Zhu Di said, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned.

Of course he believed that the Fourth Brother would never dare to deceive him. After all, the Jinyiwei had already been dispatched, and it wouldn't be long before more detailed information would arrive.

But from the sound of it, Zhu Ying and his eldest grandson are completely unrelated.

Not to mention that he was born two years earlier, Zhu Ying had been following his father in business since he was a child. This is very easy to check, as there will be proof of it on the travel permit.

Everything can be investigated in the files.

It is the period from the seventh year of Hongwu to the fifteenth year of Hongwu.

The eldest grandson lives in the palace.

Zhu Ying, however, traveled around doing business.

Looking at it this way, it doesn't match at all.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned even more, and felt vaguely annoyed.

He looked at Zhu Ying's appearance, thinking how could he not recognize the grandson he had raised.

Even twins cannot be exactly the same.

Including the look and temperament, these are not what a traveling merchant should have.

At this moment, a look of hesitation appeared on Zhu Di's face.

Zhu Yuanzhang was sharp-eyed and immediately said, "Fourth Brother, what else are you hiding from us? Tell me now."

Zhu Di's hesitation was, of course, for his father to see. Hearing this, he seemed to be a little hesitant and said:

"Although the information I found is completely different from that of my nephew, Zhu Ying is still shocking."

Zhu Yuanzhang asked curiously, "What do you think of this?"

"Zhu Ying's father passed away in the 17th year of Hongwu. At that time, Zhu Ying was only 12 years old."

"But even so, Zhu Ying thrived in the grasslands of the Western Regions. He also gathered a group of wild Jurchen tribes and strong men from other countries, forming a small force on the border of our Ming Dynasty."

"In the past few years, I got the way to snowflake salt from overseas merchants. I guess I made a lot of money."

Zhu Di said slowly, with shock in his tone.

This sounds too legendary.

A child of about ten years old, after the death of his father, convinced a group of wild Jurchens to join his army.

The hardships involved are unimaginable.

"You mean, the snowflake salt was obtained by our eldest grandson?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked in disbelief.

Of course he knew about snowflake salt.

This thing has become popular throughout the Ming Dynasty since three years ago.

Not only is the price extremely high, but it is also as crystal clear as snowflakes and has no astringency at all.

When snowflake salt was first delivered to the Ming Imperial Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang began to enjoy food more deliciously.

No matter what dish it is, the taste is completely elevated to a higher level.

At this moment, Zhu Di heard Zhu Yuanzhang still calling his eldest grandson, and a hint of joy flashed in his eyes.

He understood his father's character. Once he made up his mind, nothing could change it.

It only takes a little bit of doubt to turn the whole thing upside down.

"That's right. The channel of Snowflake Salt has always been controlled by Zhu Ying. The first time I met him was because of this matter." Zhu Di said.

Zhu Yuanzhang walked around in deep thought, then stopped and asked, "Why didn't you tell me about this as soon as you came to Beijing? Why did you have to wait for me to find out?"

Zhu Di complained: "Dad, my elder brother passed away at that time. I dare not say such things at this time."

"If I didn't know your temper, I would have thought Zhu Ying was your illegitimate child."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded. He knew very well about his eldest son Zhu Biao.

Be kind and generous, and dare to take responsibility for your actions.

If there are other women outside, he will just bring them back home instead of leaving them outside, let alone having children with them.

Zhu Yuanzhang also tried many times to find another concubine for his eldest son Zhu Biao, but was rejected by Zhu Biao.

So having an illegitimate child is totally impossible.

Seeing his father frowning and thinking deeply, Zhu Di whispered, "Dad, actually, when I was investigating Zhu Ying, I heard another version of the story."

"Hmm?" Zhu Yuanzhang turned and looked at Zhu Di.

Zhu Di said in a deep voice: "According to the villagers in Zhu Ying's hometown, it was around the 16th year of Hongwu when Zhu Ying returned home with his father to worship his ancestors and was included in the family tree."

"An old man who is familiar with her said that Zhu Ying was darker and more like a mother in the past."

"And when I came back that time, not only had I become whiter, but my appearance had changed so much that they didn't even recognize me at first."

"But at that time, Zhu Ying and his father had not been back for five or six years."

"Although it's a little strange, young people change a lot, so I didn't think much about it."

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he stood up all of a sudden after just sitting down.

He walked up to Zhu Di in two steps and asked, "Is what you said true?"

Zhu Di bowed his head and said, "I dare not deceive my father."