My father, Zhu Di, was granted a second life by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Chapter 81 Conflict and Anxiety

The marriage was arranged too hastily, and Zhu Gaoxi felt uneasy. At night, lying in bed, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep, and quickly searched his mind for information about Xu Zengshou.

Zhu Gaoxi's initial goodwill towards Xu Zengshou stemmed from his support for Zhu Di during the Jingnan Campaign, but he never thought about anything further.

According to some sources, Xu Zengshou once served as a bodyguard and attendant to the emperor, which gave him the opportunity to come into contact with palace eunuchs and become acquainted with Huang Liang, Lin De, and others.

Xu Zengshou was generous and often helped those in distress; he was also very good at cultivating relationships.

I heard that Xu Zengshou loved reading, especially history books. His study was filled with books, and he liked to invite wise men to his home to discuss the successes and failures of past dynasties.

However, based solely on this superficial information, Zhu Gaoxi could not fathom what was on his mind.

Not knowing his true thoughts, even though she was already married to Xu Jingyan, she had to be cautious when cooperating with him to avoid making a mistake by trusting him too easily.

Zhu Gaoxi was a risk-averse person and always acted cautiously.

One wrong move and the whole game is lost, plunging into an abyss with no chance of recovery—this is the scenario Zhu Gaoxi desperately wanted to avoid.

Zhu Gaoxi never acted rashly. Even if he won more slowly, he would proceed step by step, knowing when to attack and when to defend.

He firmly believes that all success is built up little by little, and that haste makes waste.

We must not be impatient for quick results and lose our composure.

As long as you make fewer mistakes, or even none at all, and gradually accumulate advantages, you will surely be able to forge yourself into an indestructible, incomparably sharp, and invincible force.

Xu Zengshou seemed very friendly, yet he was shrouded in mystery, making him difficult to see clearly, unlike Xie Jin and Yin Changlong.

After Zhu Di launched his rebellion, Xu Zengshou went to great lengths to secretly transmit the capital's plans to Beiping. This is understandable, because he...

She was born to Xie, Xu Da's second wife, just like the Princess of Yan.

Siblings born of the same father and mother naturally have a close relationship and offer each other their full support.

But why did Xu Zengshou choose me? My birth mother was not his biological sister, Princess Consort Xu Miaoyun.

Zhu Gaoxi thought and thought, but still couldn't find a convincing reason.

Xu Zengshou was probably a very ambitious person, otherwise what would be the point of him painstakingly building his network of connections?

Although, in history, Xu Zengshou was executed by Emperor Jianwen and did not have the opportunity to fully reveal his ambitions and schemes.

However, it was still best to be cautious; Zhu Gaoxi did not want to invite trouble into his home.

If Xu Zengshou's ambition was merely to be granted the title of duke like his father, Zhu Gaoxi would be happy to grant it.

If he were to push his luck and harbor thoughts of usurping the throne, Zhu Gaoxi would not tolerate it.

Generally speaking, arranging a marriage between children only requires both sets of parents to make a promise and then fulfill the agreement.

However, the old emperor believed that his eldest grandson's marriage should not be taken lightly, and insisted that the Ministry of Rites draft a ceremony, select an auspicious day, and announce it to the world.

When Zhu Yunwen heard the news, he rushed to the Qianqing Palace in an attempt to stop it.

Zhu Gaoxi was only five years old when he was betrothed, and the marriage was to the Duke of Wei's family.

Xu Da ranked first among the military generals in the early Ming Dynasty. He commanded troops in the attack on Zhang Shicheng, the Northern Expedition of the Ming army, and many subsequent northern expeditions.

Over the years, Xu Da has accumulated considerable influence in the military.

Although Xu Da had died in the eighteenth year of the Hongwu reign, Zhu Gaoxi, after becoming engaged to the Xu family, would certainly try every means to maximize this influence.

Seeing Zhu Gaoxi's growing power, how could Zhu Yunwen sit idly by and stand by?

However, by the time Zhu Yunwen arrived, Xu Zengshou had already left the palace, and he was ultimately too late.

Having arranged a marriage for his eldest grandson before his death, the old emperor was overjoyed and, still feeling a bit unsatisfied, spoke to Zhu Yunwen about the matter with great enthusiasm.

Zhu Yunwen listened to the old emperor briefly recount the whole story, his face turning almost green with anger, but he had no choice but to suppress his rage.

"Grandpa, you absolutely mustn't! My little brother is too young. If we arrange a marriage for him too early, there will be endless troubles in the future."

Zhu Yunwen understood better than anyone else that once the old emperor made a decision, it was extremely difficult to change it.

Although the chances are slim, we'll only know if we try, whether it works or not.

However, the old emperor was in high spirits and wouldn't listen. "Yunwen, you don't understand your grandfather's good intentions. Your grandfather doesn't want Gao Xi to be troubled by love. Miao Jin is about to get married, but he still can't give up on her. What's going on? People will laugh at him if word gets out. Why don't we arrange a marriage for him as soon as possible and make him settle down?"

When Zhu Yunwen heard his grandfather say this, it seemed that he wasn't talking about Zhu Gaoxi, but rather that his grandfather was subtly reminding him to pull back from the brink and not to be stubbornly wrong.

He was indeed resentful to watch Xu Miaojin marry someone else.

Even his offer of the position of Crown Prince's consort couldn't sway Xu Miaojin's heart.

Now, Xu Miaojin is actually willing to condescend to become Zhu Youdun's secondary concubine.

Is Zhu Youdun really that good?!

Zhu Yunwen couldn't understand how he was inferior to Zhu Youdun.

The situation is beyond redemption; there's no point in dwelling on it. It's better to accept reality and change course promptly.

Zhu Gaoxi quietly entered the room, but Zhu Yunwen, preoccupied with his anger, did not notice.

Seeing that Zhu Yunwen was about to explode with anger, Zhu Gaoxi cursed inwardly: "Our engagement is none of your business. Why are you going to such lengths to stop us? When you got married, we weren't this wicked! We were all happy to send our blessings."

This is absolutely outrageous!

Although Zhu Gaoxi was unhappy inside, he still beamed with joy on his face. He followed the old emperor around, constantly flattering him, which made the old emperor stop him, saying, "Xi'er, don't let your joy cloud your judgment and make you forget the important matters. Let's look at the memorials first."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gaoxi immediately obeyed the order obediently.

Zhu Yunwen had nowhere to vent his anger, and it was so hard to bear. He found an excuse to return to the East Palace and smashed more than ten teacups in a fit of rage before he felt a little better.

Seeing her son so angry, Madam Lü quickly came over to comfort him, "Yunwen, think more positively. Zhu Gaoxi is only five years old, and it will be at least ten years before he gets married. Many things can happen in a year or two, let alone ten years. We need to look at the long term and not worry about short-term gains or losses."

"Mother Consort," Zhu Yunwen said, feeling wronged, and buried his head in Lady Lü's arms.

Upon seeing this, Wu Liang hurriedly ordered all the palace servants present to leave.

After venting his anger at the Eastern Palace, Zhu Yunwen changed his clothes, washed up, and calmed himself down before returning to the Qianqing Palace.

However, when he went inside, he found that it was empty.

The Crown Prince was of high status and could enter and leave the Qianqing Palace at will without being notified. Therefore, no palace servants took the initiative to report the whereabouts of the old emperor.

So, where did the old emperor go?

He took Zhu Gaoxi and Zhu Youdun to the Office of General Affairs.

Because Prince Ning, Zhu Quan, had submitted a memorial.

The old emperor, impatient for the Office of Transmission to register all the memorials, went to see the original documents with trepidation.

"Recently, cavalry patrolling the border found broken spokes left on the road, indicating that barbarian soldiers were coming and going, and there was a fear of border incursions."

The old emperor read the memorial repeatedly, his heart churning with turbulent emotions.

What Gao Xi said was indeed true. What should we do?

What should we do?