Chapter 24: Facing the Sage

Night had deepened, and the sound of night‑patrol soldiers' footsteps came from outside the camp.

Shiniu lay on the mat, his eyes open.

A crescent‑shaped little hole in the tent's roof let him see the stars outside.

He recalled that when he was young, Shi Laosan often took him to watch the stars.

The old man said that when people die they become stars, watching the people on earth from the heavens.

"Father, have you become a star?" Shiniu asked softly.

There was no answer, only the sound of wind.

He felt his chest, where there was a hard object.

It was the Jade Pendant; ever since Shi Laosan's death, he had kept it close to his body.

The Jade Pendant was warm and soothing to the touch.

"I just want to live," Shiniu murmured to himself.

Then he turned over and fell into a deep sleep.

At dawn the next day, Chang Yuchun woke Shiniu early.

The two changed into clean armor and rode into the city.

Lan Yu and Wang Gui and other meritorious generals accompanied them.

The gates of Yingtian Fu loomed high and majestic; after the city guards inspected their documents, they respectfully let them pass.

Stepping into the city, the clamor rushed at them.

Shops lined both sides of the Street, and pedestrians wove like a tapestry.

Vendors selling breakfast called out, children played at the alley mouths, and women carried baskets to the market to shop.

This was a bustling place, starkly different from the desolation of the northern frontier.

Shiniu, astride his horse, looked around curiously.

He had never seen such a lively place.

"Stop looking around, stare straight ahead," Chang Yuchun whispered.

The party passed through the bustling market and reached the Imperial City.

The vermilion palace walls rose to Three Zhang, and the golden tiles glittered in the morning light.

In front of the palace gate, the Imperial Guard stood solemn, their armor vivid.

Chang Yuchun and the others dismounted and waited outside the palace gate.

Soon, an Inner Official emerged to guide them, saying, "General Chang, His Majesty awaits in Wu Ying Hall; please follow us."

Passing through layer upon layer of palace gates and a long corridor, they finally arrived before Wu Ying Hall.

The hall doors were open, and faint silhouettes could be seen inside.

The Inner Official announced loudly, "Deputy General of Conquering Captives Chang Yuchun and the meritorious soldiers have arrived..."

Chang Yuchun took a deep breath, tidied his armor, and stepped into the hall.

Shiniu followed behind, stepping into the empire's seat of power for the first time.

The great hall was spacious, with several coiling‑dragon golden columns supporting the dome.

Sunlight streamed through the high windows, casting shafts of light upon the polished golden bricks.

Inside, many civil and military officials already stood, arrayed on both sides.

Everyone's gaze turned to the entering soldiers, lingering longest on Shiniu.

Chang Yuchun led the group to the hall, knelt on one knee and said, "I, Chang Yuchun, commander of the meritorious soldiers of the Northern Expedition, humbly request an audience with His Majesty!"

"Rise,"

The voice came from ahead, steady and imposing.

Shiniu lifted his head and looked toward the throne.

Seated there was a person.

Clad in a bright‑yellow dragon robe, his face was resolute, his eyes like lightning.

Though nearing his fifties, he radiated the aura of one long accustomed to power.

He sat there like a mountain, suppressing the entire court.

This was the founding emperor of Great Ming, Zhu Yuanzhang.

Beside Zhu Yuanzhang, slightly lower in position, sat a youth.

He looked about fourteen, with a clear and handsome face, gentle brows and eyes, yet a steadfast glint within.

He wore an apricot‑yellow dragon‑patterned robe, smiling as he looked into the hall; his appearance bore a faint resemblance to Shiniu, though one only notices after a while.

He was Crown Prince Zhu Biao.

Zhu Yuanzhang's gaze swept over Chang Yuchun and the others, paused on Shiniu, and said, "Chang Yuchun, for the Northern Expedition's achievements, I have read the battle reports; you led your troops to capture two cities in succession, raising our nation's prestige. You shall be rewarded."

"I dare not claim credit; it is all thanks to the soldiers' lives and His Majesty's heavenly might," Chang Yuchun bowed.

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said, "Merit is merit, Lan Yu..."

"Here I am!" Lan Yu stepped forward.

"You, as Vanguard, have outshone the three armies, I confer the title Marquis of Yongchang, and award you a thousand taels of gold."

Lan Yu rejoiced, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your great grace!"

Then Zhu Yuanzhang bestowed honors on several other generals.

Finally, his gaze fell on Shiniu.

"You are Shiniu?"

You are Shiniu?

Shiniu stepped forward and said, "Yes."

"Raise your head."

Shiniu lifted his head and met Zhu Yuanzhang's gaze.

At that moment, he felt a powerful pressure.

It was not the oppression of force, but the majesty of one who has long occupied the supreme throne of the world.

Yet Shiniu was unafraid in his heart, his eyes calm.

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at him for a long time, then suddenly asked, "The Helin City gate—did you really break it open by yourself?"

"Yes."

"With what weapon?"

"An iron hammer."

"Where is the hammer?"

"In the camp."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and signaled to the Inner Official beside him.

Over a dozen robust guards carried a pair of iron hammers together, exactly the ones belonging to Shiniu.

"Is this the pair?"

Shiniu's eyes brightened as he said, "Yes."

Zhu Yuanzhang rose and stepped down from the throne.

He walked to the hammer, reached out and touched the hammerhead.

The hammer's body was jet‑black, the head massive, stained with specks of blood.

"Fine hammer, fine general," Zhu Yuanzhang said.

He turned to Shiniu and asked, "What reward do you desire?"

Shiniu thought for a moment and replied, "As long as I can eat my fill…"

The hall fell silent, then an official couldn't help but let out a low laugh.

Zhu Yuanzhang also laughed, "Being full is easy, but you have achieved a great feat; you cannot merely ask for sustenance."

He paused, then said, "I hereby confer upon you the title of General Who Stabilizes the North, grant you a residence, a hundred taels of gold, and a thousand bolts of silk."

Shiniu did not understand official ranks, but upon hearing gold and silk, he knew they were valuable, and bowed, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhu Yuanzhang walked back to the throne, but did not sit immediately; instead he stared at Shiniu, a complex expression flashing in his eyes.

"The battle report of Chang Yuchun says you were adopted by your foster father Shi Laosan; your biological parents are unknown…"

"Yes."

"Do you have any token on you…"

Shiniu hesitated briefly, then finally took the Jade Pendant from his bosom.

The Inner Official took it and hurriedly presented it to Zhu Yuanzhang.

The Jade Pendant felt warm and smooth, its craftsmanship fine; the front bore a coiled dragon pattern, the back engraved with the character "Zhu."

Zhu Yuanzhang's hand trembled slightly.

He lifted his head, looked at Shiniu, then glanced at the Crown Prince Zhu Biao beside him.

Zhu Biao also saw the Jade Pendant, his complexion changed abruptly, and he sprang to his feet.

"Where did this Jade Pendant come from…" Zhu Yuanzhang asked in a low voice.

"My father gave it; he said when he found me, it was already on me," Shiniu replied truthfully.

Zhu Yuanzhang inhaled deeply and sat down slowly.

He gripped the Jade Pendant, his knuckles turning white.

The entire Wu Ying Hall fell silent as a tomb.

All officials sensed the atmosphere was off, yet none dared to speak.

After a long while, Zhu Yuanzhang spoke, "Today's bestowal ends here; Chang Yuchun and the others may withdraw first, Shiniu stay."

Chang Yuchun felt a shock in his heart, but dared not ask further, and bowed to receive the order.

As he exited Wu Ying Hall, he glanced back once.

Shiniu stood there, back straight, sunlight streaming through the hall doors coating him with a golden rim.

Chang Yuchun suddenly had a premonition.

This simpleton's fate, from today onward, will be completely altered.

The hall doors slowly closed.

Inside Wu Ying Hall, only Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, Shiniu, and a few close Inner Officials remained.

Zhu Yuanzhang stepped down from the throne and approached Shiniu.

Though he was half a head shorter than Shiniu, his aura was stronger than Shiniu's.

"Child, how old are you this year?" Zhu Yuanzhang's voice, a bit hoarse, asked.

"Fourteen…"

"When is your birthdate…"

"Father said, when he found me it was the eighth day of the twelfth month in the fifteenth year of the Zhizheng era."

Zhu Yuanzhang closed his eyes.

In the fifteenth year of the Zhizheng era, that year, he was locked in a bitter battle with Chen Youliang.

That December, Empress Ma gave birth to a pair of twins.

One of them was innately frail; shortly after birth, he vanished amid the turmoil, his fate unknown.

The child had such a Jade Pendant on them.

Zhu Yuanzhang opened his eyes and looked at Shiniu's face.

Those brows and that nasal bridge, the more he looked, the more they resembled his younger self, and also Zhu Biao.

"Biao'er..." Zhu Yuanzhang called.

Zhu Biao walked over and stood in front of Shiniu.

The two stared at each other, as if looking into a mirror.

Only Zhu Biao was a bit more delicate, while Shiniu was more rugged.

"Does it look alike?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

Zhu Biao's voice trembled: "It looks... too much like it..."

He reached out, intending to touch Shiniu's face, but withdrew.

His eyes already held tears...

Shiniu looked at them in confusion, not understanding what had happened.

Zhu Yuanzhang patted his shoulder heavily: "Child, from today onward, you will live in the palace and go nowhere."

He turned and ordered his close Inner Official: "Send the Grand Physician, prepare the Blood Kinship Test, and send people to investigate which units passed south of the city during the Battle of Yingtian in the eighteenth year of the Zhizheng era."

"All the veterans who took part in that battle, bring them to me!"

The Inner Official took the order and hurried away.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked back at Shiniu, his gaze complicated, and said: "Until your origins are clarified, you will be called Shiniu, but if they are clarified..."

He did not continue.

Shiniu stood there, still not understanding what had happened, but he could feel that the majestic Emperor before him now had a hint of... tenderness in his eyes?

Outside the hall, the sunlight was just right.

Spring finally arrived in Yingtian Prefecture.