Chapter 189: The Capital Shakes! The Champion Marquis

Obviously!

After reading the content of the imperial edict, Lu Ben’s first reaction was disbelief.

After all, such a thing had not occurred in a very long time—indeed, not since the founding of the Great Ming.

“Eunuch Wang, are you certain this edict came from the Wenyuan Pavilion?”

Lu Ben closed the edict and looked at Wang Jinghong with a solemn expression.

Obviously!

Lu Ben himself was also startled, unable to believe it.

“The imperial seal has been stamped on this edict—how could it be fake?”

Wang Jinghong glanced at Lu Ben, then smiled: “It is the Emperor’s and the Crown Prince’s will.”

“Just carry out the edict, Minister Lu.”

Obviously!

Wang Jinghong had already read this edict himself; otherwise, he would not be so calm.

“In that case, your servant understands.”

Lu Ben tightly gripped the edict in his hand and bowed deeply to Wang Jinghong.

Seeing this,

Wang Jinghong nodded and immediately said: “Then I shall return to the Emperor and Crown Prince to report.”

Saying this,

Wang Jinghong waved his hand and turned away at once.

After he left,

Lu Ben opened the edict again.

The sole subject of this edict was: the Crown Prince Zhu Biao had adopted the son of the Champion Marquis, Zhu Xi, as his adopted grandson, granting him the Crown Prince’s generational character, bestowing the name “Zhu Wenxi.”

“The Crown Prince’s favor toward the Champion Marquis is truly unprecedented.”

“In the entire court, no one can compare with the Champion Marquis.”

“If Yunwen wishes to become the Heir Apparent, he must firmly secure the Champion Marquis’s household—perhaps the balance of the Emperor’s and Crown Prince’s future decisions will rest upon the Champion Marquis’s household.” Lu Ben thought silently.

Immediately,

Lu Ben returned to his chair, picked up his brush, and wrote a note, then looked at a clerk beside him.

“Deliver this to the Crown Prince’s concubine.”

After sealing the note, Lu Ben told the clerk.

“Yes.”

The clerk respectfully took it, immediately lifted the paper, and swiftly turned to leave.

“Adopted as an heir grandson.”

“Bestowed the imperial generational character.”

“With this, the Champion Marquis’s household shall enjoy prosperity for two generations.”

“The Emperor’s grace is boundless—truly extraordinary.” Lu Ben thought silently, filled with awe.

The Eastern Palace!

“My Lady.”

“This is a secret letter sent by Minister Lu.”

Lu Ben’s trusted palace maid entered the hall and respectfully handed Lu Ben’s letter to Lu Shi.

“Did he say anything?” Lu Shi took the letter and asked the maid.

“The man sent by Minister Lu said, ‘My Lady will understand upon reading it.’” The maid replied respectfully.

Seeing this,

Lu Shi did not hesitate and immediately opened the letter.

Upon reading its contents, Lu Shi’s eyes widened—she was clearly incredulous.

“The Crown Prince’s favor toward the Champion Marquis exceeds even that granted to a Duke.”

“Today, when the Champion Marquis’s wife and son entered the palace, such news immediately spread.”

“With the Crown Prince adopting him as an heir grandson, the Champion Marquis will now fully pledge his loyalty to the Crown Prince—his greatest future support will be the Crown Prince himself, with boundless favor.”

“But the Crown Prince surely intends to fully win the Champion Marquis over as his trusted ally.”

After reading the letter, Lu Shi herself was also incredulous.

Such favor, she had never seen before.

However,

To her, this did not seem like a bad thing.

The closer the Champion Marquis’s household became to the Eastern Palace, the more opportunity she, as its mistress, would have to cultivate influence—should she manage to bind the Champion Marquis’s household to her son’s cause, his future support would greatly increase her son’s chances of becoming Heir Apparent.

“The northern campaign may soon end.”

“We must learn the Champion Marquis’s preferences—so we may court him later.”

“If Yunwen could be accepted as the Champion Marquis’s disciple to learn martial arts, that would be ideal.”

Lu Shi was already plotting silently.

Obviously!

When Zhu Biao adopted an heir grandson, such extraordinary favor clearly signaled the future glory awaiting the Champion Marquis’s household.

The scene shifted.

Less than an hour after noon.

At the front of the Champion Marquis’s residence, the Zhu household!

Imperial guards led the way.

The Emperor’s envoy arrived.

At the head of the procession stood a eunuch holding the imperial edict, alongside numerous scrolls prepared by the Ministry of Rites, arriving in grand procession before the gate.

Naturally, this drew crowds of commoners gathering to watch.

“What’s going on with the Champion Marquis’s household again? Why are imperial guards arriving once more?”

“Hah, you don’t know—of course it’s because the Champion Marquis has achieved another great feat! The Emperor is sending rewards.”

“Indeed.”

“That makes sense—could the Champion Marquis have captured the Yuan Emperor in the northern frontier?”

“The Yuan Emperor is hardly that easy to capture.”

“Still, the meaning is roughly the same—I heard the Yuan capital has already fallen to our northern expeditionary army, and the Champion Marquis was the first to breach its walls.”

“True?”

“The Champion Marquis truly lives up to his title! Once he led our Ming cavalry to crush the invincible Mongol iron cavalry, and now he has breached the Yuan capital—what a true man!”

“This… this truly proclaims our nation’s might.”

“Yes, truly does our Great Ming’s glory shine!”

“The Champion Marquis is truly formidable…”

Watching the Emperor’s envoy escorted by imperial guards, the crowd of commoners murmured endlessly—do not underestimate the people of the capital; many of them truly know much about court affairs, and know it well.

“The Champion Marquis’s wife, Shen Yuer.”

“The Champion Marquis’s son, Zhu Xi.”

“Listen to the edict.”

Wang Jinghong held the edict and shouted loudly.

“Your servantess humbly receives the edict.”

Shen Yuer bowed slightly, while Zhu Xi knelt down.

After all, she held a noble title, but her son did not—and around them, the Zhu household’s servants and the surrounding onlookers all knelt as well.

“By the Mandate of Heaven, the Crown Prince’s decree declares!”

“The son of the Champion Marquis, Zhu Xi, is young, intelligent, quick-witted, and possesses extraordinary talent!”

“I am greatly pleased by him.”

“Therefore,”

“I adopt Zhu Xi as my adopted grandson and grant him my generational character—the ‘Wen’ character.”

“Zhu Xi shall be named Zhu Wenxi.”

“As my adopted grandson.”

“This is my decree.”

Wang Jinghong held the edict and proclaimed it loudly.

His voice spread.

It reached fully the ears of the onlookers lining both sides of the street.

This was the purpose of the edict’s public proclamation—not merely within the household.

For thus, the people would spread the word by mouth, and soon all would know that the Champion Marquis’s son had been adopted as an heir grandson by the Crown Prince.

“Your servantess thanks the Emperor for his boundless grace.”

“Thank you, Crown Prince, for your boundless grace.”

Shen Yuer cried out loudly, her face flushed with indescribable excitement.

Though it had already been confirmed inside the Hall of Literary Profundity, now that the imperial edict had truly arrived and been formally proclaimed, it was definitively settled: his son had become the Crown Prince’s adopted grandson.

The significance was immense!

“Madam Zhu.”

“This is the clan character register drafted by the Ministry of Rites. Since the son of the Champion Marquis is now the Crown Prince’s adopted grandson, when he comes of age, his eldest son may also be granted a character from the imperial lineage.”

“In addition, there is the imperial jade genealogy scroll to be bestowed upon the Crown Prince’s adopted grandson.”

Wang Jinghong stepped forward, holding out a box to Shen Yuer.

“Yes.”

Shen Yuer solemnly received it.

That the eldest son may receive a lineage character implies that, in the future, only the legitimate firstborn shall have this privilege.

That is, Zhu Xi’s future legitimate firstborn shall continue the lineage character of the Crown Prince Zhu Biao’s great-grandson, in perpetuity.

“The imperial edict has now been fully proclaimed.”

“Your servant shall return to the palace to report.”

After completing all formalities, Wang Jinghong smiled at Shen Yuer, wasted no time, and departed under the escort of the Imperial Guard toward the palace.

“We respectfully see off Your Eunuch.”

Shen Yuer called out loudly.

Only after the Imperial Guard had escorted Wang Jinghong far away did Shen Yuer help her son to his feet.

Clutching the imperial edict and the box from the Ministry of Rites, she was overcome with emotion.

“Xi’er.”

“Though you are still young, you have brought honor to your father.”

“With this status, your father’s path forward will be far smoother.”

Shen Yuer lifted Zhu Xi into her arms, her face alight with an indescribable surge of emotion.

“Young Mistress, let us return to the mansion.”

Seeing the crowd gathered outside, Lin Fu stepped forward to remind her.

“Mm.”

Shen Yuer nodded and immediately walked into the mansion, carrying Zhu Xi.

But Lin Fu did not follow immediately; instead, he shouted to the gathered crowd: “Fellow townspeople, today the Champion Marquis’s mansion celebrates great joy, and we must rejoice together!”

“Today, all wine in our Zhu family taverns and distilleries is sold at half price—only for today!”

“As a celebration.”

Lin Fu announced loudly, beaming.

The moment he finished speaking,

the crowd of wine-loving commoners erupted in excitement.

“Manager Lin is mighty!”

“Half price? That’s real generosity!”

“Come on, hurry and buy wine!”

Many wine lovers immediately sprinted toward the taverns and distilleries.

Of course.

And at this moment,

most of the onlookers outside were in an uproar.

“The Crown Prince truly favors the Champion Marquis—he’s even adopted his son as his grandson!”

“With this, the Champion Marquis’s standing in court will rise even higher; perhaps one day he’ll surpass even the Huaixi faction.”

“Indeed.”

“Since being granted the title of Champion Marquis, he is no longer ordinary.”

“Now that his son has been adopted as an imperial grandson, it’s the final flourish.”

“Enough talk—let’s go buy wine first, or we’ll miss out!”

“Half price! Never seen before—hurry…”

Instantly!

The crowds gathered outside the mansion dispersed, all rushing toward the Zhu family taverns and distilleries to buy wine.

The Shen family!

“Master.”

“This time, our family has truly erred.”

“The Crown Prince has adopted Zhu Ying’s son, Zhu Xi, as his grandson, and granted him the name Zhu Wenxi, placing him in the Crown Prince’s ‘Sun’ generation.”

“Such favor—we cannot possibly compete.”

“What shall we do?”

The Shen steward rushed to Shen Wansan, bringing yet another terrible piece of news.

Though Shen Wansan had already heard many bad tidings, upon hearing this, his face turned deathly pale.

“The Crown Prince has adopted Zhu Ying’s son as his grandson.”

“This… how is this possible?”

“How could he earn such favor?”

Shen Wansan’s voice trembled.

A deep, bottomless despair rose within him.

…

Northern Frontier!

On the grasslands hundreds of miles from the Yuan capital.

A tribe loyal to the Northern Yuan had been overrun.

Countless red-armored cavalry had trampled it into ruin.

Countless banners bearing the character “Ming” fluttered in the wind across the deep grasslands, displaying the might of the Great Ming.

And now,

tens of thousands of Ming cavalry surrounded the area.

Within their encirclement, corpses littered the ground; tents lay shattered, Yuan soldiers slaughtered everywhere.

Tens of thousands of captured Northern Yuan barbarians had been herded together.

At this moment,

beneath the awe-filled gaze of countless Ming soldiers,

a Ming general, mounted on a towering black stallion, walked forward with his sword, approaching the kneeling, captured Northern Yuan barbarians, his icy gaze sweeping over them all.

Unsurprisingly,

though the captives bowed their heads, their sidelong glances at Zhu Ying burned with hatred, seething with vengeance, longing to tear him into a thousand pieces.

To them, Zhu Ying was the butcher who had shattered their tribe and slaughtered their people.

“In days past,

your Northern Yuan armies breached our Huaxia gates, slaughtered our people, razed our cities, and bathed our Han lands in blood.”

“Today,

I, Zhu Ying, merely follow the path you once took.”

“Of course,

I will not be as cruel as your Yuan were toward our Han people—no city will be razed, no soul slaughtered without cause.”

“I shall follow the customs of your grassland tribes.”

Zhu Ying coldly surveyed the captives, his eyes utterly devoid of emotion.

Though they seethed with hatred, their glares could not kill him, and he cared nothing for their hatred.

In days past, the Five Barbarians ravaged Han lands.

In days past, the Xiongnu trampled the Northern Frontier.

In days past, the Yuan dynasty drowned Han civilization in blood.

All of this—hatred alone is useless.

Only blades, only armies that strike back, hold true power.

After a cold glance, Zhu Ying roared: “All men taller than a cartwheel—kill them!”

At these words,

the surrounding generals shouted: “Did you hear that?”

“The General’s order:

All men taller than a cartwheel—kill them!”

Zhang Wu, Chen Heng, and other officers bellowed in unison.

“We obey the order!”

Thousands of Ming soldiers shouted back in chorus.

Immediately,

thousands of cavalry dismounted and drew their short blades.

Soon, many soldiers dragged numerous carts out of the ruined tribe, using them as reference.

Faced with this.

The male captives among them were already filled with fear and despair.

“These damned barbarians mean to exterminate us! My sons, kill! Fight them to the death!”

“Kill!”

“Fight them to the death…”

Many captured Tartar men surged up, charging wildly toward the approaching Ming soldiers, as if knowing survival was impossible and seeking one final strike.

But.

They thought too much.

The moment they rose.

“Kill!”

Zhang Wu let out a cold command.

Instantly, countless arrows pierced the air, slaughtering every man who had stood up.

Rise one, kill one.

Regardless of gender, kill them all.

Zhu Ying watched with cold indifference.

This, is war!

Afterwards,

Thousands of soldiers advanced, dragging each Tartar man to the wheel of a cart—those taller than the wheel, beheaded!

……

(End of Chapter)