The Forbidden City was actually a little busy late at night.
Groups of soldiers and palace visitors walked up and down the corridors of the palace, carrying gauze lanterns.
Zhu Yuanzhang was alone, standing under a screen wall, looking up at the dark night sky.
"We haven't killed anyone for so long that no one else is afraid!"
After the words fell, Pu Bucheng and others who were kneeling on the ground bowed their heads even more humbly.
"Go!" Zhu Yuanzhang's voice sounded, cold and clear, without any emotional fluctuations, "No matter who it is, whether it is the person who spread these words or the person who listened to these words, kill them." As he said that, he turned around and smiled, Looking at Pu Bucheng, "You know how to do it!"
"My slave obeys the order!" Pu Bucheng replied.
Soon after, in the deep palace, the eunuchs and guards in the respect room pulled countless palace people out of bed and took them away.
Whether they are eunuchs, maids, or nuns who are usually decent in the palace, as long as they are related to those two talkative maids who talked about their master behind his back, all of them will be taken away.
The palace people in white clothes, who did not even dare to cry loudly, were tied in a line with ropes and pulled to the depths of the palace, to those extremely desolate places.
What awaits them, they don't know, but they may imagine it. They just listened to some rumors and maybe talked casually. In exchange, this is the outcome.
When the others were almost caught, the deep palace returned to peace.
Pu Bucheng's emotionless face slowly appeared in the dark corner and walked under the light of the white gauze lamp.
The voice that made people's skin crawl all over sounded again, "The master who planned it behind the scenes? He was killed in error and he was not spared!"
~~~~~
When, when, when.
The sound of wooden fish beating came from the Buddhist hall in the corner of the East Palace.
The person who knocked on the wooden fish seemed a little restless. If the mind is not calm, the hands will be unstable, and the sound of the wooden fish will be slow and fast, with no rhythm at all.
The wooden fish has no rhythm, and the scriptures recited in the mouth are messy. The Buddhist sutra is supposed to bring peace of mind, but it sounds panicky and violent.
With a click, the wooden fish's wooden handle broke.
The blood vessels suddenly appeared in Lu's pale hands. She tremblingly picked up the broken wooden fish and suddenly raised her head among the burning sandalwood. The Bodhisattva enshrined in the Buddhist hall seemed to be smiling with her solemn face.
For no reason, Lu's heart trembled.
There are no secrets in the palace. The old prince met two cheap maids who were behind the master's plans. The old prince went to Ruixiang Pavilion in the East Palace and found those little people with names. He took King Wu to an unknown place. All these things Someone had reported it to her privately.
However, the time for two sticks of incense had passed, and the person who reported the news had no follow-up and no further news.
This made Lu feel very confused, panicked, and even scared.
She suddenly regretted it and learned from the books she had heard about to frame Zhu Yunxi.
That kid is like a monkey, he is the best at acting coquettishly in front of the old man, and he is the best at making the old man happy. Although the old emperor is old, he is definitely not a dim monarch.
What if everything doesn't work out?
No, it will definitely happen.
Mrs. Lu clasped her hands together and kowtowed to the Buddha statue.
What happened to my grandson? What the old man believes in is that he would rather believe what he has than what he doesn’t have. Even if the witchcraft can't kill Zhu Yunxi, it will destroy his future.
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"Buddha bless you! If my son can ascend the great treasure, the faithful woman will definitely reshape the golden body of Buddha statues all over the world and spread the Dharma...Namo Amitabha!"
At this time, there were sudden footsteps coming from outside.
"Who?" Lu asked with a tremor in her heart.
"Mother, you haven't rested yet. My son asked someone to cook ginseng soup for you!" Zhu Yunwen held a blue and white covered bowl in his own hands, walked in carefully, and said with a smile, "Mother, you have lost weight recently, please replenish your body!"
Lu's worried face instantly turned into a smile, "Thank you for your hard work, my son!"
Zhu Yunwen smiled at his mother, then put the ginseng soup in the tureen into a small blue and white porcelain bowl, and placed it in front of his mother with a spoon with a tangled pattern.
"Mom, this is Korean ginseng sent as a tribute from Korea. It is the most nourishing. You can take it while it's hot."
"My son still knows how to love me!" Ms. Lu said with a smile.
"It's only natural for a son to love his mother!" Zhu Yunwen sat opposite and smiled.
Mrs. Lu took a sip of the ginseng soup, but she didn't know how to taste it. After listening to her son's words, she felt at ease and suddenly smiled more.
He immediately said, "Have you learned how to say nice things to coax people? Don't tell your mother about this. Go tell your imperial grandfather. It's better to make him happy than anything else."
Suddenly, Zhu Yunwen's face froze. He wanted to coax him, but now he couldn't even see his imperial grandfather.
The University Hall where I study is opposite Fengtian Hall, across a narrow road. But the emperor's grandfather hadn't seen his homework for a long time.
In the past, he was the best-read among the emperor's grandchildren, and he often attracted praise from the emperor's grandfather. But now, he seems to have been deliberately left out and forgotten.
He has always been the proud son of the palace. His grandfather's kindness, his father's teachings, and his mother's status as a princess made him particularly eye-catching in the palace.
But now, everything he had was surpassed by one person. That person was inseparable from the emperor's grandfather, that person helped the emperor's grandfather read the memorials, that person could actually appear in the court, and that person could actually make suggestions.
He is a sensitive and self-respecting person who is particularly sensitive to the attitudes of those around him. He realized that the teachers in the university no longer regarded him as the only one.
How is that person better than him? Just climbed onto his head inexplicably? He was really unwilling, really unwilling.
But he had no choice, everything he had came from his elders. Without the care of his elders, he was like a young bird exposed to the wind prematurely, unable to withstand the cold north wind.
Seeing her son's face looking a little lonely, Mrs. Lu immediately understood that her words aroused her son's melancholy. Then he spoke gently and smiled, "How have you been studying lately?"
"My child has no other abilities, but he only knows how to read!" Zhu Yunwen said with a forced smile.
"Being able to read is the greatest skill. Back then, your imperial grandfather told your father that the Zhu family relied on knives to conquer the world, and books to govern the country." After saying that, Mrs. Lu looked outside the Buddhist hall and whispered, "Son, you are good. Mom will do your reading and other things for you!"
Zhu Yunwen was startled and said hurriedly, "Mother, my son has always been restless recently. You..."
"Why are you panicking?" Mrs. Lu was displeased and said with a straight face, "You are a man now. You have to be calm and calm, and keep your emotions and anger under control. Do you understand? If you panic when something happens, what will it look like?"
"My child is not scared, mother." Zhu Yunwen suddenly took his mother's hand, "Mother, my son is afraid." He said, looking at his mother timidly, "Mother, my son knows that you want to set up the third child... .But if it doesn’t work out, for the sake of reputation...”
Pa, there was a sudden pain on his face, and Zhu Yunwen was stunned.
Lu suddenly gave her son a slap in the face and stared into his eyes, "You can't turn back when you are about to shoot. Who do you have this indecisiveness like? You have never been a poisonous husband since ancient times. Why don't you have any ruthlessness? These things Mom will do it, you just have to wait. If you are afraid of wolves in the front and tigers in the back, what big things can you accomplish?"
As he spoke, he rubbed his son's cheek and said sternly, "Son, you are a man, do you understand? A man must be ruthless, and in order to achieve his goal, he must do whatever it takes, do you understand?"
Zhu Yunwen whispered, "Son, I remember!"
"Keep it in mind!" Lu continued, "In addition to the third child, there are also your uncles. None of them are fuel-efficient. You can't help but dare to deal with them. But what about them? They are all holding back their energy. Son, I’ll do something dirty to you!”
"Mother..." Zhu Yunwen's words were suddenly interrupted by a burst of messy footsteps outside.
Lu was surprised at first, and then happy again.
The visitor is Huang Gou'er, the emperor's personal eunuch.
Ms. Lu stood up and said with a smile, "Eunuch Huang..." But then her face was full of shock and she couldn't speak anymore.
In the past, Huang Gou'er would come alone to see their mother and son. But now, Huang Gou'er was followed by several strong eunuchs with gloomy faces, and Huang Gou'er's face was not as flattering as before.
"This slave has met your empress!"
"My servants have met His Highness Prince Huai!"
Although the eunuchs were polite, they stood there without moving. Their cold eyes fell on Lu, making her feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave.
"What's the matter, Eunuch Huang?" Zhu Yunwen asked displeasedly.
Huang Gou'er forced out a smile and said, "Your Highness, please stay away!"
Zhu Yun stood up awkwardly and subconsciously protected his mother, "What is going on?"
Huang Gou'er looked past Zhu Yunwen and looked at Mrs. Lu, "Mother, you should know something. Please ask Your Highness to avoid it!"
"I don't!" Zhu Yunwen seemed to have a premonition of something, clenching his fists and shouting, "What's going on?"
"Your Majesty, do you understand?" Lu managed to calm down and spoke calmly. But the panic and nervousness in her eyes made her look much older instantly.
"Everyone knows, that's why I sent this old slave!" Huang Gou'er said softly.