Chapter 98

"Lord Su, what does 'kicked the bucket' mean?"

"Ugh, you're so dumb! It means, you know, that!"

"Hiss~!"

"Lord Su, do you mean His Majesty?"

"I didn't say it was His Majesty. I just said that Miss Liu had a bitter fate—young as she was, left a widow. Just bad luck, that's all."

"……"

Jiang Huang's mouth twitched slightly.

He nearly tripped head over heels on the threshold as he walked out of the imperial prison.

The moment he stepped out of the imperial prison,

he saw Zhu Yuanzhang, hair bristling with fury, storming toward the prison gripping an Embroidered Spring Saber, radiating murderous intent.

"That little brat—today I'm going to cut him down with my own hands!"

"Nobody stop me!"

"Your Majesty, please calm yourself, calm yourself!"

Zhu Yuanzhang kicked two young eunuchs flying, and in no time was standing before Jiang Huang, roaring at him while his mind was still completely blank.

"I told you, don't stop me—are you deaf?!"

Jiang Huang, having been shouted at by Zhu Yuanzhang, gave an involuntary start.

"Your servant wan—no, wait."

"Your Majesty, please calm down, Your Majesty! Although this madman Su Qiao shows no respect for his sovereign, he still has some use for our Great Ming."

Hearing Jiang Huang say this, Zhu Yuanzhang finally sulkily tossed aside the Embroidered Spring Saber in his hand.

He turned and stalked off on his own.

Seeing Old Zhu head back to the palace,

Jiang Huang finally managed to let out a breath, muttering softly to himself.

"Sigh, Your Majesty, although you are the Emperor, on this matter I still feel you didn't handle it fairly."

"Such a fine young lady, and you just let her become a widow—how hard will her life be from now on?"

"If you really like her, Your Majesty, I could make a trip and bring her into the palace for you…"

The moment Jiang Huang finished speaking,

he immediately saw the leg Zhu Yuanzhang had already stepped forward with freeze, suspended in mid-air.

Jiang Huang instantly gave a violent start.

Then he saw Zhu Yuanzhang's face darken, as he forced a smile onto his face—uglier than crying—and gestured to Jiang Huang.

"Here, Jiang Huang, come here, come here."

Jiang Huang looked at Zhu Yuanzhang with a bitter smile.

"Your Majesty, I…I didn't say anything."

"I told you to get over here!"

Jiang Huang gave a start, then scurried over to stand before Zhu Yuanzhang.

The instant he arrived, Zhu Yuanzhang flew up with a kick and planted it squarely in Jiang Huang's chest.

"I already told you—since I raised my army, I've never even met the Fourth Miss Liu."

"She married a consumptive wretch on her own—what does that have to do with me?!"

"Whatever that Su Qiao says, you all just believe it?!"

Having worked off some of his pent-up fury by beating Jiang Huang, Zhu Yuanzhang's anger finally subsided a little.

"Back to the palace!"

With that, Zhu Yuanzhang climbed into the imperial dragon carriage on his own.

Once back in the palace, Zhu Yuanzhang opened the chat group and sent a message to Zhu Youjian.

Emperor Taizu Gao:

"You little brat, get out here."

"I've got a plan."

"How many princes are still left in our Great Ming?"

Emperor Sizong Lie:

"Great-great-grandfather, only Granduncle Qin and Granduncle Tang remain."

Emperor Taizu Gao:

"The one that was lost—was it Chang'an? Our second son's old fief?"

Emperor Sizong Lie:

"Yes."

Emperor Taizu Gao:

"Have that descendant of the second son's line gather up the remains of the Qin Prince's descendants, and send a thousand or two troops to escort them back to Chang'an for burial."

Emperor Sizong Lie:

"? Great-great-grandfather, Chang'an is lost! It's no longer in our Great Ming's hands."

Emperor Taizu Gao:

"Are you brainless yourself?"

"Get back here and figure out why on your own!"

After being scolded out of nowhere by Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Youjian…

He muttered helplessly.

"Who is this with... Sigh."

"Chang'an is already lost; how can I send it back? And they only sent two thousand soldiers..."

As he spoke these words, Zhu Youjian's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Right! We will just go back and bury the descendants of the Qin Wang Fu!"

"Not only bury the descendants of the Qin Wang Fu."

"All the other feudal lords must be given grand funerals!"

Having understood the crux of the matter, Zhu Youjian immediately felt as if his Ren and Du meridians had been unblocked.

Emperor Sizong Lie:

"Great-Grandfather, this humble son understands! This humble son will go prepare immediately!"

Taizu Gao Emperor:

"Wait a moment, I have something to ask you."

Emperor Sizong Lie:

"Great-Grandfather, please ask."

Taizu Gao Emperor:

"I ask you, did the historical records of later generations not record anything between me and the Fourth Young Lady of the Liu family?"

"That is, the Fourth Young Lady of the Fengyang Yi Hui Hou household."

Emperor Sizong Lie:

"No."

Taizu Gao Emperor:

"Truly?"

Emperor Sizong Lie:

"Of course. What is there to fear? Great-Grandfather, rest assured; our Great Ming records history in great detail."

"They even recorded the incident where you poisoned the Zhongshan Wang with roast goose to kill him; as for this Fourth Young Lady Liu, this humble son has truly never heard of her."

Taizu Gao Emperor:

"Oh, then I am relieved."

"Wait, hold on!"

"When the hell did I poison and kill Xu Da?! That was clearly just that old rascal himself being greedy; how did this matter get pinned on me? Are these Shi Guan crazy?!"

"Damn it, who dies from eating roast goose? Did the entire families of these Shi Guan all die from eating roast goose?!"

"..."