Chapter 144

"I would never dare entertain such a thought. Your Majesty is a man of great talent and grand vision. It must be that Lord Su has taken some wrong medicine again."

Still, Jiang Huan's words had given Old Zhu a reminder.

In the eyes of these court officials.

Perhaps recently Old Zhu really did look a bit like a muddled ruler.

And in Jiang Huan's heart, he actually saw it the same way.

All the Huaixi military generals, deep in their bones, were loyal to the Prince of Yan at heart.

What sort of thing is Zhu Yunwen?

Once he ascended the throne, he would surely be reduced to a puppet by those scholars-officials.

And then look at Old Zhu.

First he inexplicably confined Fu Youde and the others inside the palace for a whole month, not letting them out.

Then he spent every day with this "what if" and that "what if."

Anyone who looked at him would think he was a muddled ruler obsessed with running scenarios.

Could this boy really be risking his life to recommend these grain seeds to us?

At this thought, Zhu Yuanzhang's brow could not help but furrow deeply at once.

Zhu Yuanzhang's brow was tightly locked.

After a long silence.

He rose on his own and instructed,

"Go take a look at Su Qiao's house."

"Yes!"

Not long after, Zhu Yuanzhang had once again returned to Su Qiao's home. Returned to Su Qiao's Sihe Academy.

Gangyijin Sect, Zhu Yuanzhang saw that the few plots in the very center of the courtyard, where the sunlight was best, had already been carefully dug open by two Embroidered Uniform Guards.

Zhu Yuanzhang walked into the courtyard, looked up to survey the sky, and then could not help but lower his head to glance at the earth beneath his feet.

In the end he could not help but mutter to himself,

"If I don't let you dig them out, by next spring these seeds will probably have already sprouted."

Hearing Zhu Yuanzhang say this.

Jiang Huan, who stood beside him, hurriedly said in a low voice,

"Yes."

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Jiang Huan, and then said nothing more.

Jiang Huan, deep in his bones, still held a certain fondness for Su Qiao.

Ever since Su Qiao entered court.

Old Zhu himself might not have noticed that he had gone a long time without killing anyone.

Those so-called "criminal ministers," compared to Su Qiao, were no longer quite so hateful.

The more people Old Zhu killed, the more miserable Jiang Huan's eventual fate as Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard would be.

The example of the first Regional Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Mao Xiang, was right before his eyes.

What's more, Mao Xiang's father was also Old Zhu's fellow townsman from Fengyang, an old retainer who had thrown in his lot with Zhu Yuanzhang in the same batch as Li Shanzhang.

Even Mao Xiang met such an end.

Let alone Jiang Huan.

Earlier, when Old Zhu had wanted to move against Lan Yu, Jiang Huan had already been so frightened that he could not eat or drink for several days.

But after Su Qiao entered court and declared that Lan Yu was bound to die.

Zhu Yuanzhang instead simply froze on the spot, and did not continue to move against Lan Yu.

After all, Jiang Huan still did not know that by now Lan Yu had already run off to Liaodong at the end of the Ming dynasty to play the mountain king.

Zhu Yuanzhang quietly surveyed the little courtyard of Su Qiao before him.

After a long while, he let out a deep sigh.

He casually picked out two kernels of corn from the cloth bundle, then took a dagger and gently cut off a piece of potato.

Zhu Yuanzhang then handed these three seeds to a young eunuch who had accompanied him.

And Old Zhu himself carefully planted the corn kernels back.

After a moment, Zhu Yuanzhang only then struggled to his feet and instructed in a low voice,

"Restore this courtyard to its original state. Don't let that little rascal notice anything amiss."

Hearing Zhu Yuanzhang say this.

A sudden surge of delight rose unbidden in Jiang Huan's heart.

After all, the fact that he still needed to worry about whether Su Qiao might notice anything amiss.

Meant that at the very least Su Qiao would be released back.

After all this was tidied up.

Zhu Yuanzhang struggled to his feet from the ground, and then walked straight out of Su Qiao's house.

Gangyijin Sect stepping out of the little courtyard.

Zhu Yuanzhang caught a familiar aroma.

"This is……?"

Jiang Huan said in a low voice,

"Your Majesty, this is Jin Ling roast duck. Part of what's served in the palace also comes from this shop."

Hearing this, a smile could not help but surface on Old Zhu's face.

"No wonder this smell feels so familiar to us."

The world only knows Quanjude, not realizing that roast duck actually originated in Jin Ling.

After Zhu Di moved north, it was only then brought to the north.

Moreover, roast duck was named after Old Zhu.

Many unofficial histories record that Zhu Yuanzhang ate a roast duck every single day.

What the ruler favors, the subjects emulate.

Thus, this led to the fact that not a single duck in later generations could walk out of Jin Ling.

Just as Old Zhu gazed at the roast duck shop.

The waiter at the door came running over with a quick trot.

"Two masters, our shop just baked some ducks; would you two like one?"

Looking at the enthusiastic waiter before him, Old Zhu couldn't help but glance again at the small courtyard in the distance.

He couldn't help but snort coldly

"This young man really knows how to pick a place."

"What does my Lord Su, your neighbor, usually eat at your place? Serve us a set just like what he eats."

The moment the words fell.

That waiter couldn't help but freeze, then asked with some confusion

"This customer, I wonder which Lord Su you are referring to? Our shop has never heard of any Lord Su in the court."

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression froze.

Pointing at Su Qiao's small courtyard, he said

"Don't you know that courtyard is the residence of Su Qiao, the Lecturer of the Donggong?"

Hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words.

That waiter finally understood and suddenly slapped his forehead.

"That is the Lord Su of the Donggong?"

Zhu Yuanzhang then nodded slightly and said

"Remembered?"

The waiter replied with a beaming smile

"I have an impression, but this Lord has never come to our shop to eat roast duck."

Hearing the waiter's words.

Zhu Yuanzhang was obviously stunned.

"So close, and this young man has never eaten here?"