Chapter 49: Lao Zhu's Inquiry

Just like this, from south to north, from Kyoto to the Northern Border, Zhu Gaoxu gained a rough understanding of the entire martial arts world of the Great Ming.

Dong Li's sphere of influence was mainly in the vicinity of Kyoto; he did not know much about the martial arts forces in other places, only knowing the general situation.

According to Dong Li, the more powerful a martial arts force is, the further away it generally is from Kyoto, as they prefer to be where the sky is high and the Emperor is far away.

His Angry Blade Hall belongs to the most pathetic kind in the martial arts world.

Among this, the most crucial information Zhu Gaoxu obtained was that the imperial court's attitude toward martial arts practitioners is very ambiguous.

It is good to some martial arts forces and bad to others; many martial arts forces have risen due to the court's support over the years, but even more have been wiped out.

After a long while, having learned most of what he needed, Zhu Gaoxu finally ended the conversation and looked at Dong Li before him, lost in thought.

Seeing Zhu Gaoxu's expression, Dong Li also knew that the time to decide his fate had arrived.

Immediately, he closed his eyes and stopped speaking.

For a time, the entire Private Room was silent...

After a long while, Zhu Gaoxu tapped Dong Li with his foot, letting the other party open his eyes.

"Open your eyes, don't pretend to be indifferent; your hand is shaking so badly it's a mess. You spoke well; your life is saved."

Hearing these words from Zhu Gaoxu, Dong Li instantly opened his eyes, the look of excitement on his face impossible to hide; he was not as calm as he had appeared after all.

"Many thanks, My Lord... er, no, many thanks, Young Master. From now on, this life of mine, Dong Li, belongs to the Young Master."

Dong Li did not know Zhu Gaoxu's specific identity, and Hu Weiyong was even less likely to tell him that the target of the assassination was an Imperial Grandson.

Therefore, Dong Li felt a bit awkward calling the four-year-old Zhu Gaoxu "My Lord," so he changed his address to "Young Master."

Zhu Gaoxu did not care about this form of address and called in two Embroidered Uniform Guards from outside to untie Dong Li.

He still decided to spare Dong Li's life for now; Dong Li knew quite a bit, and he might be useful in the future.

Finally, casting a faint glance at Dong Li, Zhu Gaoxu walked out of the Private Room and returned to the Yan Wangfu.

He was not afraid of Dong Li running away; in Jingcheng, if one really wanted to find someone, there was no one the Embroidered Uniform Guards could not find.

When he returned to the Yan Wangfu, it was already late at night. Zhu Gaoxu lay on the bed, looking slightly exhausted, and fell into a deep sleep before long.

The moon set and the sun rose; the next morning, Zhu Gaoxu slept until he woke up naturally.

After a comfortable stretch and washing up, just as Zhu Gaoxu stepped out of the Yan Wangfu, intending to go to the Ministry of Works to see how Yan Zhenzhi was doing, he saw a eunuch from the palace jogging toward him.

"Nanyang Commandery Prince, what a coincidence. His Majesty has issued an edict summoning you to the palace."

Hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu could only extinguish the idea of going to the Ministry of Works and followed the eunuch into the Imperial Palace.

Lao Zhu was still in the Study reviewing memorials; after Zhu Gaoxu arrived, he did not need to be announced and walked straight in.

Once inside, Zhu Gaoxu saw Zhu Yuanzhang sitting at the head of the table with a sour face.

Seeing Zhu Gaoxu enter, Zhu Yuanzhang first let out a cold snort, then, too lazy to be polite with Zhu Gaoxu, began questioning him directly upon meeting.

"You little monkey, I heard you went to Wanhua Pavilion yesterday?"

Zhu Gaoxu was not at all surprised that Zhu Yuanzhang knew he had gone to Wanhua Pavilion; the three hundred Embroidered Uniform Guards around him were all Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes and ears, weren't they?

Having caused such a big scene yesterday, the Embroidered Uniform Guards would certainly have reported it to their superiors.

Without refuting it, Zhu Gaoxu nodded.

Seeing Zhu Gaoxu nod in admission, Zhu Yuanzhang said with some irritation: "I heard you even took your eldest brother with you yesterday?"

Zhu Gaoxu had acted a bit dishonorably in this matter; awkwardly rubbing his nose, Zhu Gaoxu nodded again.

"I heard you even said it was Us who issued the edict for you to go?"

When Zhu Yuanzhang said this, his anger was already becoming uncontrollable.

Standing below, Zhu Gaoxu naturally heard Zhu Yuanzhang's anger, but he still said nothing and just nodded.

"I heard you even invited Our minister to Wanhua Pavilion to find you?"

With nothing to say, Zhu Gaoxu continued to nod.

Watching Zhu Gaoxu, who kept silent and only knew how to nod, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly did not know what else to say.

This kid was clearly acting abnormally today.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang still asked the question he cared about most.

"What did you talk about with Our minister?"

After learning that Zhu Gaoxu had met Yan Zhenzhi yesterday, Zhu Yuanzhang had not said anything, as Zhu Gaoxu had greeted him about it beforehand.

But soon, he discovered something wrong from the reports of the Embroidered Uniform Guards.

What did you mean by having Yan Zhenzhi take a group of craftsmen who build firearms to a brothel to find you?

After returning, Yan Zhenzhi began acting even more mysterious, taking that group of old men to cordon off a restricted area in the Ministry of Works, guarding it so strictly that even his Embroidered Uniform Guards did not know what they were doing.

During the morning court session today, Zhu Yuanzhang discovered that Yan Zhenzhi's state was even more off; his back was straight, and he kept looking at him with confidence, leaving him completely bewildered.

Zhu Yuanzhang knew this must have something to do with this little monkey Zhu Gaoxu, so immediately after the morning court session today, Zhu Yuanzhang had someone call Zhu Gaoxu over.

Hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's last sentence, Zhu Gaoxu finally understood the reason Lao Zhu had summoned him.

He had long known that all those previous words from Zhu Yuanzhang were just a buildup; would he really summon him into the Imperial Palace to reprimand him over such a small matter?