The Ming Dynasty: The most ruthless imperial grandson, Old Zhu begged me not to kill him.

Chapter 380 Three Gods Leading a Pit

Empress Ma frowned upon hearing this, and then spoke.

"If you want to come, then come along. Follow your brother closely, listen to your brother, and you'll be sure to have a bright future!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen was extremely excited. Indeed, he still held a certain status, at least not comparable to those unfavored princes.

However, everyone except Zhu Yunwen understood the meaning behind Empress Ma's words.

Empress Ma has already made her hints very clear. If he still has any other ideas, then he has no one to blame but himself.

Zhu Yunwen happily followed behind Zhu Xiong Ying and the others headed towards the palace.

Qi Tai and the others had extremely complicated expressions. The words they used to scold the Empress were actually nothing more than telling Zhu Yunwen to listen to Zhu Xiong Ying more, and that the position could only belong to Zhu Xiong Ying. After thinking about this, they sighed.

Huang Zicheng, standing to the side, felt extremely embarrassed, his eyes filled with resentment.

At this moment, he looked at Qi Tai beside him and said with a frown.

"Lord Qi, what should we do next?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Tai sighed, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

Although the Empress didn't say it explicitly, we all understood her meaning: if Prince Yunwen continued to fight, it would absolutely not benefit him. This was the one person in the entire Ming Dynasty whom they absolutely could not afford to offend!

"If you offend other people, you might have a chance to survive, but if you offend the Empress, you won't have a chance at all!"

"It seems we'll have to back down for the time being; now is not the best time to fight!"

Huang Zicheng's eyes were full of resentment. Although he had expected this to happen, he was still very unwilling when the truth came out of Qi Tai's mouth.

"Then how long do we have to wait?"

"We can't keep going like this. If we wait until Zhu Xiong Ying's position becomes more secure, we might never have another chance!"

Qi Tai shook his head.

By now, he felt that he probably didn't have many chances left, but what could he do? In this position, it was a matter of either moving forward or falling behind, and he didn't have many ideas, which was fine. But now Zhu Xiong Ying was very clear about their plans, and Zhu Yun Wen's desire to compete for that position was very obvious.

There wasn't even time to run away.

"At least while His Majesty and the Empress are still alive, we cannot take any action. Of course, if something happens to Zhu Xiong Ying!"

"We can certainly step up our efforts!"

These words seemed to have given Huang Zicheng an idea.

“You’re right. The root of all the problems lies with Zhu Xiong Ying. If Zhu Xiong Ying is gone, then the one who can inherit that position will probably be Prince Yun Wen!”

Qi Tai was startled when he heard these words.

"Are you out of your mind? How dare you even consider this? Don't you know how powerful the guards protecting the Crown Prince are?"

"Moreover, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Western Depot are not to be trifled with. If we make any rash moves and they find out, we'll be in deep trouble!"

You should think this through carefully.

Huang Zicheng's expression shifted several times, as if he were thinking about something, before he said in a sinister tone, "Don't worry, I understand."

Qi Tai sighed.

Given Huang Zicheng's personality, it's highly unlikely that he would let this matter pass so easily. It seems that something big might happen next, and hopefully they won't do anything impulsive.

Otherwise, they will be affected regardless.

Even Prince Yunwen will be implicated.

Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Xiong Ying were three generations of the same family.

Upon arriving at Renshou Palace, all the palace maids and eunuchs were dismissed.

Empress Ma also left to cook, and now only the three of them and Zhu Yunwen, who was following beside them, remained in the palace.

The expressions of the group were extremely serious, which startled Zhu Yunwen. He had never seen Zhu Yuanzhang and Crown Prince Zhu Biao like this before, and he just sat there without daring to say a word.

At this moment, Crown Prince Zhu Biao stepped forward and spoke.

"Although the unavoidable issues of this time have been resolved, there is still a lot of trouble in the north!"

"It is said that the previous battles completely scattered the various tribes in the north, but many of them only nominally submitted and are actually waiting for an opportunity to attack us!"

"After we took over Goryeo, these people dared not make any more moves. But now the attack from the Eastern Chagatai Khanate seems to have given them an opportunity. There are many troublemakers among the tribes on the steppe!"

"Although the Duke of Song is defending the north, there shouldn't be any major problems in the short term. However, once the battle between us and the Eastern Chagatai Khanate begins, we may not be able to predict the outcome!"

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly, then took out the intelligence that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had given him.

"That's far more than that. This is what the Embroidered Uniform Guard recently discovered. There have been people who have never been to this place before moving around the place where Kökö Temür and Togus Temür are being held. It seems that their goal is to rescue these people!"

Upon hearing these words, Zhu Xiong Ying instantly understood what was going on. It seemed that these people had very serious intentions. However, this was indeed a good idea. Both Kökö Temür and Togus Temür were extremely important to the grasslands. Since he had captured these people, the various tribes on the grasslands had been in disarray.

They have virtually no fighting power, and they even fight amongst themselves to seize territory, which brings them considerable benefits.

The emergence of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate has presented them with an opportunity. It seems they intend to use this opportunity to rescue them. With the prestige of Togus Temur and Kökö Temur, many tribes on the steppe will likely unite once again, which may not be a good thing for them.

"No matter what, we absolutely cannot let Koko and Togus return to the grasslands. If those guys on the grasslands want to cause trouble, then let them cause trouble. Anyway, with our army there, it doesn't matter how much trouble they cause!"

Crown Prince Zhu Biao nodded.

"That's what I think too, so I wrote a letter to Duke Feng Sheng of Song, hoping that he could stabilize the situation on the northern grasslands. If necessary, he could make an example of someone to warn others, but he shouldn't be too harsh, lest it provoke the tribes of the grasslands to unite against a common enemy!"

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Xiong Ying and said.

(End of this chapter)