Chapter 37

"Those civil officials and scholar-officials? Kill just two of them, and you'll have wiped out ten Jurchens!"

Emperor Sizong the Martyr:

"Great-grandfather, he is, after all, my father-in-law; we must at least spare his life."

Emperor Taizu the Exalted:

"Spare his life? Spare what life? The way he scoops up silver, he clearly doesn't consider himself an outsider at all!"

"No, he considers himself far too much an outsider; he's aiming to dig our Zhu family hollow!"

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang's brows knitted tightly together.

Just an imperial father-in-law!

Even if granted a noble title,

he commands no troops and holds no real power.

What method could he possibly have to rake in money?

Yet a mere titular imperial relative possesses half a million taels of silver in assets.

Then how 'incorrupt' must Chongzhen's entire court of civil and military officials be!

Just as Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang remained immersed in shock,

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen quietly entered the great hall.

He knelt prostrate before Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Imperial Grandfather..."

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen hesitated, words catching in his throat.

Finally, he simply bowed solemnly to the ground and kowtowed once to Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang raised his head in surprise.

Looking at Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen, he asked,

"What's wrong with you, boy?"

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen whispered,

"Imperial Grandfather, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen, perhaps Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen is not suited to be the heir apparent."

"Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen begs Imperial Grandfather to establish Fourth Uncle as the heir apparent!"

Hearing Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen speak thus,

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang's jaw nearly dropped in astonishment.

Was this still his beloved eldest grandson?

But very quickly, Old Zhu reacted.

Staring fixedly at Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen, he demanded,

"Did Su Qiao say something to you?"

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen nodded and said,

"Yes, Mr. Su, Mr. Su said that Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen cannot control the hundred officials."

Mentioning this,

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang immediately became alert.

Staring fixedly at Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen, he demanded,

"What?"

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen whispered,

"Mr. Su said that if Imperial Grandfather, if Imperial Grandfather passes away, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen might be manipulated by the court officials."

"If it were Fourth Uncle, the civil officials would not so easily manipulate him..."

With a loud "bang,"

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang abruptly stood up.

Staring fixedly at Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen, he demanded,

"Did Su Qiao truly speak to you like this?!"

"Yes..."

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang's expression tightened, and he immediately roared fiercely toward the hall exterior,

"Quickly, summon Su Qiao to enter the palace!"

The surrounding young eunuchs looked at Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang with faces full of confusion.

Before several of the young eunuchs could even open their mouths,

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang roared fiercely again,

"Are you all deaf? Did you not hear us ordering you to quickly find Su Qiao for us!"

"Yes!"

The eunuchs of the Qianqing Palace dared not delay.

They immediately rode horses out of the palace.

Outside the Qianqing Palace,

Huang Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai, who had originally chased all the way to the hall exterior at a trot, could only watch helplessly as Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen entered the great hall just like that.

Seeing the eunuchs of the Qianqing Palace galloping away at full speed,

both men's hearts immediately gave a sudden "thump."

Trouble.

Could His Majesty truly have developed thoughts of deposing and replacing the heir?!

The two men stood outside the Hall of Heavenly Purity, staring at each other in dismay.

But in the end, they had no choice but to steel themselves and burst into the main hall.

The moment they stepped inside the Hall of Heavenly Purity,

Huang Huang Zicheng dropped to his knees with a thud.

Sobbing and sniveling, he looked up at Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang and said,

"Your Majesty, we failed in our duty of care. The Crown Prince was merely bewitched by Su Qiao into speaking nonsense; Your Majesty must not take his words seriously."

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang lifted his head in a foul mood.

He roared furiously at Huang Huang Zicheng,

"So you admit you failed in your duty of care?!"

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen turned his head, a look of utter confusion on his face, and said to Huang Huang Zicheng,

"Master Huang, Grandfather the Emperor has already sent someone to summon Master Su to the palace for questioning."

Upon hearing this, Huang Huang Zicheng froze in shock.

Summon Su Qiao to the palace?

Wasn't the plan to depose the Crown Prince?

Huang Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai instantly broke into smiles.

If the Crown Prince was not to be deposed,

then this meant sending Su Qiao to his death!

Huang Huang Zicheng, brimming with excitement, bowed to Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang and said,

"I submit to Your Majesty: I have long stated that this youth Su Qiao is dissolute, arrogant due to his talent, and guilty of deceiving the sovereign and defying the throne; he should have been executed long ago!"

Qi Tai chimed in from the side,

"Your Majesty, hesitation brings chaos; you must decide now, Your Majesty!"

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly jerked his head up and roared at the two men,

"Did I ask either of you? If you are so eager to speak, pack your bundles tomorrow and go to the Censorate; I will let you talk until you are hoarse!"

Old Zhu's voice was exceptionally loud.

The moment the words left his mouth, nothing but a ringing hum remained in their ears.

Huang Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai dared not say another word.

They hastily dropped to their knees and fell silent.

At Su Qiao's home.

Su Qiao, having just returned from the Eastern Palace, had not even managed to take a sip of tea.