Upon arriving at the Eastern Palace, Lady Lü was overjoyed, believing that Zhu Yuanzhang had come to reprimand Zhu Yunwen, and was very happy.
Zhu Yuanzhang did not have the palace maids and eunuchs announce his arrival. He went to Zhu Yunwen's bedroom alone and overheard Zhu Yunwen giving instructions to his two younger sisters.
"From now on, don't be afraid of anyone. With me here, no one can bully you. Although you have no father or mother, you have your brothers and me!"
Princess Yilun looked timidly at Zhu Yunwen and said:
"But Third Brother, Mother is really fierce, I'm so afraid of her..."
"Don't be afraid. If she dares to be mean to you again, I'll make her pay. What is a mere member of the Lü family?" Zhu Yunwen held his younger sister's hand.
Zhu Yuanzhang, who was outside the door, laughed heartily and walked in, saying:
"Fine, fine! Who said my grandson Yunhuo is a coward? Bullshit!"
Zhu Yunwen looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and immediately stood up:
"Grandpa Emperor!"
The two younger sisters also bowed in greeting!
"Well, Yilun, Jiangdu, you two go back and rest first. We have something to say to your brother."
After Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, the two girls left.
Zhu Yuanzhang then looked at Zhu Yunwen, but Zhu Yunwen spoke first:
"Did Grandfather receive the news and come to reprimand Yunhu?"
"Absolutely not. We just wanted to have a chat with you. As for your disrespect towards Lady Lü for your sister's sake, Grandfather is very pleased."
Zhu Yuanzhang was indeed happy. Why didn't he consider Zhu Yunwen, who was theoretically and practically the direct descendant of the emperor, as the crown prince from the beginning?
Isn't it because Zhu Yunwen is cowardly?
He felt that if a cowardly Zhu Yuntong became the crown prince, Zhu Yuntong would never be able to control the growing power of the military officials from Zhu Yuntong's mother's side.
If Zhu Yunwen had the courage and ability of his father Zhu Biao, what would he be afraid of?
Moreover, Zhu Yuanzhang would never choose Zhu Yunwen now; he has no choice but to choose Zhu Yunwen.
Just then, Zhu Yunwen showed a side that was no longer timid, so how could he not be happy?
Zhu Yunwen hadn't thought of this yet, and then Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Yunwen seriously and said:
"Yunyi, if we were to make you the crown prince, could you do a good job? Or even be like your father?"
Zhu Yunwen was stunned.
I thought to myself, this doesn't make sense. Historically, wasn't Zhu Yunwen the one who was made emperor?
What does Zhu Yuanzhang mean by this?
Is this... a test?
The royal family was extremely suspicious. Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to establish Zhu Yunwen as his successor, probably because he was afraid that Zhu Yunwen would cause trouble in the future.
Zhu Yunwen felt that this was Zhu Yunwen deliberately testing whether he had any ambitions.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yunwen shook his head:
"I have absolutely no such thought, not even a fraction of it. I, Zhu Yunwen, have neither ability nor skill. As for being the crown prince, I believe my second brother, Yunwen, is far more suitable!"
Zhu Yuanzhang was taken aback, then said:
"Your idea is bad, but even if you have just a little bit of an idea, it's fine, we can support you!"
Zhu Yunwen thought to himself, "Old Zhu is good at this, but what about me?"
If I reveal my ambition and threaten Zhu Yunwen, will Zhu Yunwen also eliminate me as an obstacle to Zhu Yunwen?
After all, Zhu Yunwen had killed quite a few people in order to ensure his stable rule over the country.
“Grandfather, I, Zhu Yunwen, swear to Heaven that I have absolutely no intention of becoming the crown prince.”
At the same time, he thought to himself: I still have ambitions to become emperor...
Zhu Yuanzhang was completely dumbfounded. At this moment, he was determined to support Zhu Yuntong, but Zhu Yuntong said he had no idea.
What should we do?
"If you don't have any ideas, we can train him. Yunhu, being an emperor is great. Look at us, how majestic we are! The ruler of the world, the supreme ruler of all people. The country, the beauty, the achievements, the power—all of these will be bestowed upon us."
At this moment, only two words came to Zhu Yunwen's mind: pyramid scheme!
It would be a waste of Old Zhu's talents if he didn't go on to do pyramid schemes in later generations.
But Zhu Yunwen was convinced that this was a trap and he absolutely could not fall into it.
So he said, "Grandpa Emperor, I really have no interest in the throne, so please don't worry!"
"How can we feel at ease if you're not interested? Yunhu, you're our only hope. Now, all you have to do is say you're willing, even just nod your head. Tomorrow, we'll start clearing all obstacles for you, so you can sit firmly on the throne!"
Zhu Yuanzhang was racking his brains at this moment. He had no choice but to make Zhu Yunwen the emperor for the sake of his family's legacy.
Zhu Yunwen felt that Zhu Yuanzhang's tactics were going too far. History clearly chose Zhu Yunwen, so why was he now trying so hard to make him emperor? Wasn't this setting a trap?
"No matter what you say, I have no interest. I'm not smart, I'm cowardly, and I'm incompetent. I can't be emperor. My second brother, Yunwen, is the best choice. If he were emperor, I estimate the Ming Dynasty could last for at least two hundred years!"
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Yunwen and said, "Your predictions are really accurate... Also, don't mention Zhu Yunwen to us!"
Zhu Yunwen felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what it was.
Zhu Yuanzhang continued to patiently explain to him how comfortable and fun it was to be an emperor, and that it was not hard work at all.
"Yunzhen, look at your grandfather. Ever since he decided to start the rebellion, everything has gone very smoothly. So, being emperor is easy, not difficult at all! Hasn't your grandfather enjoyed a very comfortable life? And, all these years, he hasn't had a single dark secret!"
Zhu Yunwen smiled and said:
"You ordered food, have you forgotten?"
Zhu Yuanzhang paused, coughed, and said:
"Ah...we were begging back then, forced by circumstances..."
"So you've been begging for food too!"
"Back then, it was pretty awesome that we could beg for food."
"But you still need to eat."
Zhu Yuanzhang was speechless and said, "Can we not mention begging?"
Zhu Yunwen: "You were once a monk!"
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