Chapter 504: Zhu Di: Impossible! These Are My Descendants?! (5/7, Request Subscription)

"Yunwen ascended the throne!"

"Old Four rebelled?!"

"Yunwen went too far—Old Four's rebellion is understandable. Even I, in that situation, would have had no choice but to rebel! His actions left no room for any other Zhu family members to live. This wretched brat!"

"The Emperor Who Called at the Gate?!!"

"The Elixir Emperor?!"

"The Carpenter Emperor?"

"What kind of monsters are these? Old Four, are your descendants really such bizarre people?"

At first, when he saw Zhu Di rebel, he wasn't even that angry.

But after seeing the bizarre emperors of the Ming, he felt his stomach ache from rage.

There weren't even a few normal people among them.

Zhu Di read quickly, and now his expression was utterly grotesque, like he'd eaten shit.

"Big Brother, this is slander by a charlatan! How could I possibly give birth to so many inhuman creatures? It must be some old Taoist or monk who resents me and is slandering me!"

Empress Ma let out a long sigh, closed the book, and glanced at Zhu Di with deep meaning: "Now I finally understand why Old Zhu beat Old Four. This Old Four needs a good beating—otherwise, by '08, the Zhu family's kingdom will be utterly ruined by him."

"Mother, you actually believe this book?"

"This book is fake! Father, even if you want to punish me, you can't punish me just because of some charlatan's book! Isn't this false accusation? I'm even more wronged than Yue Fei!"

Zhu Di cried injustice: "Though I despise it, I could never have descendants who are all bizarre! This is utterly unreasonable. The person who wrote this history must hate me—don't be fooled by them!"

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly: "The historical records are flawless."

With a wave of his hand, a cold light appeared, and the next moment, the hall split open down the middle.

"Protect the Emperor!"

The next instant, a squad of guards rushed in.

Zhu Yuanzhang waved: "Leave."

"Yes."

Zhu Di and Zhu Biao were stunned.

"Father, have you become an immortal?" Zhu Biao exclaimed joyfully.

Zhu Di stared at the crack in the hall, wishing he were dead: Could the historical records be a gift from the higher realm? Are my descendants really like that?

No way—I lived my whole life as wise and mighty, yet I gave birth to so many bizarre people?!

"Not yet!" Zhu Yuanzhang let out a long breath, steadied himself, confirmed he wouldn't explode in rage, then repeated what he'd just said: "Those historical records came from the group chat. Besides me, there's another last emperor of the Ming—he even threatened to exterminate my entire clan. Old Four, what do you think?"

Zhu Di flew into a rage: "How dare he speak to Father like that? Let me go teach him a lesson!"

Zhu Biao frowned: "He truly lacks the bearing of a ruler. Even if he's from another world, he should still have some reverence."

Empress Ma sighed: "So, when you raise your children in the future, you must be vigilant. Don't raise such people—especially you, Old Four!!"

"Yes, Mother." Zhu Di sighed helplessly.

Though it was a scapegoat, he had no choice but to bear it.

Zhu Yuanzhang waved: "Forget it, let's drop this for now. Come, I originally planned to beat Old Four to vent my anger, but your attitude in admitting fault is decent—so I won't beat you! Here are four Xisui Dan. One each for you two, and the last one for Xiongying."

"Father, these are the immortal elixirs?" Zhu Di hurried forward eagerly.

Bam!

Zhu Yuanzhang growled: "Your brother hasn't taken his yet—why are you rushing?"

"Hehe, I'm just eager to cultivate," Zhu Di said awkwardly.

Zhu Yuanzhang: "Eager or not, listen—I'm telling you, don't even think about the throne. Joining this group chat means your father will likely live forever. You won't have any chance at the throne."

Zhu Biao smiled: "Perfect—with Father personally ruling, the realm is secure."

Zhu Di nodded: "Perfect—I'll be Grand General and expand Great Ming's borders."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved: "Enough. Take your elixirs now. Then, Elder Brother and Old Four, pick ten thousand troops and train them. In the group, Ying Zheng and Li Er are training transcendent armies—how can Great Ming fall behind?"

Zhu Biao frowned: "Are Qin Shi Huang and Tang Taizong in there too? Won't there be conflicts?"

Zhu Yuanzhang waved: "Relax—worlds are different, so what conflict? Besides, though the group has no leader, it's clearly centered around Daojun Taixuan. As long as Daojun forbids it, no one dares act recklessly."

Zhu Biao praised: "Father, you truly think ahead."

Zhu Yuanzhang smugly: "Of course. You didn't see Old Four's descendants—once they joined the group, they screamed, flaunted their imperial status, and didn't even understand the group's basic purpose. What an idiot."

Zhu Di held the elixir, about to swallow it—when he got kicked again.

"If I ever get the chance, I'll make sure to settle the score with this Zhu Youjian—he made me look so foolish," Zhu Di muttered to himself.

Moments passed.

A chorus of exclamations rose in the hall.

"Mother, you've become so young!"

"Old Four, you too—you've turned smooth-skinned and delicate. Will your household even recognize you when you go home?"

Zhu Biao looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and asked: "Father, didn't you take the elixir?"

"Of course I took it," Zhu Yuanzhang said, peeling back his face with a hand—revealing a young, handsome visage. "I just didn't want to cause too much of a stir, so I bought a disguise technique."

Empress Ma mused: "The Emperor's sudden transformation would cause too great a disturbance. Wait until your strength advances further before announcing it."

Zhu Biao nodded: "That's true. Though Great Ming has unified the realm, the great families below may not be loyal to us. Old Four, be careful—don't leak word. If anyone asks, say you used rouge!"

Zhu Di pointed at his face, fingers trembling: "I—use rouge? Big Brother, that'll ruin my reputation!"

"Don't worry," Zhu Biao didn't care. "Compared to your descendants, a little rouge is nothing!"

Zhu Di was near tears: "Those are events from another world—here, they haven't happened yet!"

"Enough," Zhu Yuanzhang waved. "Stop being sentimental. Here, I'll give you a disguise technique—just temporary."

Empress Ma pointed at herself: "What about me?"

"For now, let's also alter our appearances. Once some time has passed and Brother One and Brother Four have gained sufficient strength, we won't need to hide anymore." Zhu Yuanzhang was confident, "At that time, if the realm falls into chaos, Brother One and Brother Four can easily quell it without destabilizing Jiangshan."

In the end, Zhu Yuanzhang and the others reached an agreement and continued to present themselves in their old appearances.

As an Emperor who rose from the bottom, Zhu Yuanzhang understood better than anyone the benefits of stockpiling grain, building high walls, and delaying the declaration of kingship.

Compared to Li Shimin and others, he was more adept at the Way of Survival.