Chapter 162

Seeing Yao Guangxiao's determination, Zhu Di was momentarily stunned.

Zhu Di had not expected Daoyan to be so loyal.

But only Daoyan himself knew.

If Zhu Yuanzhang learned of this matter, his life's ideal could never be realized.

Rather than let that happen,

Yao Guangxiao would rather die.

The two, ruler and subject, were shut inside the room by Su Qiao's words, deliberating all night long.

Yao Guangxiao had calculated almost every possible situation Zhu Di might encounter.

But all of this, for Su Qiao,

no longer mattered.

That very night,

Jiang Huan, who had already left the palace, hurriedly turned back to the inner court.

He found Zhu Yuanzhang already lying down to rest.

Jiang Huan cared for nothing else and barged straight into Zhu Yuanzhang's bedchamber.

"Your Majesty, something has happened!"

Zhu Yuanzhang, who had been closing his eyes to rest, suddenly opened them and asked in a hoarse voice,

"What is it?"

"Minister Su Qiao went to see the Prince of Yan tonight."

No sooner had Jiang Huan finished speaking.

than a deathly silence fell over Zhu Yuanzhang's bedchamber.

And this was precisely the effect Su Qiao wanted.

Did it matter whether Zhu Di agreed to rebel with him?

What mattered was that he had visited Zhu Di late at night.

And that Zhu Di had received him.

From this point on, whatever Su Qiao did,

anyone seeing it would find it hard not to believe Su Qiao and Zhu Di were involved!

Old Zhu struggled to rise from the bed.

He gritted his teeth, stared at Jiang Huan before him, and asked in a low voice,

"Did that young man really go to see the Fourth?"

Zhu Yuanzhang had already suspected Su Qiao of colluding with Zhu Di.

But after a careful investigation, he could find no evidence.

So he had to let it drop.

Who would have thought that today Su Qiao would voluntarily deliver himself into the hands of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!

Zhu Yuanzhang's chest began to heave gradually.

He stared fiercely at Jiang Huan before him and said in a low voice,

"Continue the investigation. You must find out exactly what the two of them said tonight!"

"Hurry!"

A feeling of being deceived lingered in Old Zhu's heart.

High places are bitterly cold.

Compared to that chill,

what terrified Old Zhu even more was his subordinates conspiring together to deceive him.

After Old Zhu issued the imperial decree,

the entire Embroidered Uniform Guard in the capital sprang into action.

Zhu Di, who was hiding in a room plotting,

also clearly sensed the movement of eunuchs and maids outside the Ten Wang Fu.

When Zhu Di's reaction was reported to the palace,

Zhu Yuanzhang's face grew even more iron-green.

Could it be that this young man Su Qiao truly belongs to the Fourth?

This question kept arising in Zhu Yuanzhang's mind.

Thinking of this,

Zhu Yuanzhang could not help but open the chat group.

Taizu Gao Emperor:

"@Emperor Sizong Lie, I ask you once more: Did that young man Su Qiao commit suicide at Xiaoling after the Fourth entered the city?"

Emperor Sizong Lie:

"Yes, Great-Grandfather, the Ministry of Personnel's records state exactly that."

Taizu Gao Emperor:

"Then could it be that the Ministry of Personnel recorded it incorrectly or something?"

"Or did the Fourth play tricks and hide Su Qiao's true name?"

Emperor Sizong Lie:

"Great-Grandfather, there should be no need for that, right?"

Great Ancestor High Emperor:

"Ancestor Emperor Chengzu Wen, what name did you change for that boy Su Qiao?"

Ancestor Emperor Chengzu Wen:

"????"

"Father, I am already the Emperor; do I need to bother with that? If he truly is my man, I would simply let him keep his original post."

"Besides, look at how I acted when I first met that boy; did I seem like someone who had seen him before?"

Reading this,

Zhu Yuanzhang's heart finally relaxed slightly.

No one knows a son better than his father.

After all, the way Zhu Di looked during that first video call when he met Su Qiao did not seem like an act.

Ancestor Emperor Chengzu Wen:

"Father, what exactly is going on? Did that boy Su Qiao anger you again?"

Great Ancestor High Emperor:

"Nothing, it's just that that boy Su Qiao seems to want to drag you into rebellion."

Ancestor Emperor Chengzu Wen:

"Oh."

"Ah?!"

"No, Father, while you were alive, I never saw that boy."

"Father, listen to my explanation!"

No matter how much Zhu Di cried out in the group.

Clearly, Old Zhu had grown too lazy to bother with Zhu Di.

And on the other end,

Su Qiao had returned home early, having just bought a large amount of firecrackers from the street, and then purchased several large bags of white sugar.

After dismantling all the gunpowder, Su Qiao had been cooking syrup at home ever since.

And around Su Qiao's small courtyard, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had already gathered in full force.

Until the next morning.

Su Qiao changed into an official's robe and prepared to go on duty at the Donggong.

After Su Qiao left,

Jiang Huan personally led men to the entrance of Su Qiao's home.

He asked in a low voice