Ming Dynasty: The Crocodile King of Han Prince Zhu Gaoxu's Family

Chapter 185 Closing the palace gates? It's good enough that they're not attacking!
As one of the guards died, the two princesses left the mourning hall. In an instant, the hall fell silent. Everyone stared at the Crown Prince of Han, and no one spoke.

"Aunt, uncles and elders, today someone started a fight at Grandpa's funeral hall, and Zhanhe caused bloodshed in the funeral hall. I have been impolite!"
"There's something going on at the Prince's Mansion, so we'll have to take our leave now!" Watching his mother and third aunt leave the mourning hall, Zhu Zhanhe slowly walked to the main hall and apologized to the many elders below.

Seeing that no one spoke, Zhu Zhanhe did not pay any attention. He went straight to the coffin of the Yongle Emperor, bent down and picked up three incense sticks, lit them with the candle flame, and respectfully placed them in the incense burner.

"Grandpa, I have caused bloodshed in the mourning hall today. Please forgive me."

Although the mourning period has not yet ended, my Han King and Zhao King lineages must return to their residences first.

"Upon returning to the manor, we will naturally continue to observe mourning for you!" After saying this, Zhu Zhanhe flicked his robes, knelt down with a thud, and respectfully kowtowed three times to the coffin of the Yongle Emperor.

After kowtowing, Zhu Zhanhe suddenly stood up and walked towards the entrance of the mourning hall.

"Your Highness, please wait a moment!" Before Zhu Zhanhe could reach the entrance of the mourning hall, several guards with swords blocked his way.

"What? Are you going to place me under house arrest? Or are you going to place all the families of the Prince of Zhao and the Prince of Han under house arrest?" Zhu Zhanhe walked straight to the door without stopping and asked the several guards with knives at the door with a calm expression.

When asked about Zhu Zhanhe's question, the guards exchanged glances and looked at each other, but none of them spoke.

"Hmph!" Zhu Zhanhe snorted coldly, not wanting to lower himself to the level of a few guards, and prepared to force his way through.

"Whoosh!"

"Please forgive me, Your Highness!" These guards had clearly received orders, and they drew their swords against Zhu Zhanhe, who was forcing his way in.

"You've really given me a lot of face!" Zhu Zhanhe was furious at the people who dared to draw their swords in his grandfather's mourning hall and even point them at him.

As soon as Zhu Zhanhe said these words, it was as if a hurricane swept through the entire mourning hall! Everyone in the mourning hall felt that even the heavens and earth were shaking, but the swaying fruits on the offering table showed that this was not an illusion!
The rolling sound was like thunder, echoing throughout the entire mourning hall, making everyone feel disoriented!

The immense pressure felt like the helplessness of facing a massive army alone!
"Crack, crack, crack..." The sound of a knife falling to the ground and a person falling to the ground rang out.

However, this heavy pressure vanishes in an instant, leaving one feeling as if it were an illusion.

"This world belongs to the Zhu family!"
But he's not the emperor yet!

"So eager to wipe them all out?!" Zhu Zhanhe looked at the guards who had fallen at the door, his words full of resentment. As soon as he said this, the many princes and concubines in the room frowned.

"Did my uncle know that he arranged for you to do this?"

My uncle's reputation, built up over a lifetime, was almost entirely squandered in that instant! He said this as he stepped out the door and stood outside.

He was clearly telling everyone that the person who was preparing to place the prince's family members under house arrest and pointing a knife at his blood relatives in this mourning hall was none other than His Highness the Crown Prince!

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince of Han..." Zhu Zhanhe had just stepped out of the mourning hall when he was called back by someone before he could even descend the steps.

"Hmm?" Zhu Zhanhe turned around and saw that it was one of the guard leaders who had been stunned earlier, who was struggling to get up and walking towards him.

"You can't get out! Why bother?" the head guard announced again. Immediately, everyone in the mourning hall was filled with panic! Were they being held captive?

"What? He not only sealed off the four gates of Beijing, but also the palace gates!" Zhu Zhanhe looked at his mother and third aunt below the steps, as well as his younger siblings behind them, his face full of disdain.

"Come on! Follow me, and I'll show you how this young master leaves the palace!" Zhu Zhanhe casually beckoned to the head guard, who walked down the steps without hesitation.

The head of the guards behind gritted his teeth, dropped his long sword, and jogged after him.

"Mother, Third Aunt, let's leave the palace!" Zhu Zhanhe said with a smile as he approached the crowd.

“He’er…” Princess Wei looked at her son with a worried expression, her eyes filled with panic.

“Brother.

Big brother, big brother
..." Upon seeing Zhu Zhanhe arrive before them, the younger siblings from the Han Prince's Mansion and the Zhao Prince's Mansion all called out to their elder brother.

"Alright, it's all over. Big brother will take you back to the palace!" Zhu Zhanhe reached out and rubbed the head of a little boy next to him, which made the boy look reluctant, but Zhu Zhanhe still had a big smile on his face.

"Let's go!" Zhu Zhanhe gave his mother a reassuring look, then walked to the front of the group!

The head of the guards quickly approached Zhu Zhanhe, eager to see how the Crown Prince of Han would lead this group of people out of the palace.

Soon, Zhu Zhanhe led the group to the palace gate. They found the gate locked, with several imperial guards standing at the entrance.

"Halt! The palace gates are locked!" Before Zhu Zhanhe and his entourage could get close, a guard at the gate shouted.

"I want to leave the palace, open the gate!" Zhu Zhanhe said bluntly, stating his purpose directly.

"Your Highness, the palace gates are locked..." The imperial guards standing at the gate clearly recognized Zhu Zhanhe, and immediately looked troubled upon hearing his words.

"Then call your commander over!" Zhu Zhanhe didn't want to make things difficult for the ordinary imperial guards, so he directly ordered someone to call their leader.

"Your Highness, the garrison commander has gone on night patrol!"
"I am the squad leader," the Forbidden Army captain replied loudly.

"Really? You're really lucky!" Upon hearing the Imperial Guard captain's reply, Zhu Zhanhe was taken aback at first, then a mocking smile appeared on his face.

There's a problem! A big problem! Looking at the smiling Han prince, the captain of the Imperial Guard couldn't help but have a bad feeling.

Just as the Imperial Guard captain had expected, he saw the Crown Prince of Han take out a yellow token from his pocket and place it in the captain's hand.

"Ah!" The moment the token was in his hands, the captain of the Imperial Guard panicked and knelt down on the ground, instinctively letting out a cry of surprise.

"Open the door!" Zhu Zhanhe said, pursing his lips as he looked at the Imperial Guard captain kneeling on the ground, his face full of confusion.

"Your Highness..." The captain of the Imperial Guard felt like he was about to cry. Holding this thing, he was afraid he wouldn't survive!

"Can't make the decision?" Zhu Zhanhe asked, shrugging as he looked at the Imperial Guard captain with a long face.

"Mmm-hmm-hmm-hmm!" The captain of the Imperial Guard nodded frantically, indicating that he really couldn't make the decision!

"Then go and summon your patrol officer."

"Hurry up, I don't want to keep waiting." Zhu Zhanhe looked at the Imperial Guard captain who was about to cry and decided to let him go.

"Yes, sir!" The Imperial Guard captain respectfully returned the token to Zhu Zhanhe with both hands and then ran away in a flash.

Soon, two figures came running from not far away.

Zhu Zhanhe didn't stand on ceremony and handed the token back to the Imperial Guard commander.

With a "thump," the Imperial Guard commander knelt down without hesitation! He was complaining in his heart: Your Highness, it's not that I don't want to help, but the Crown Prince of Han has this token. Even if you seal off all four gates, or even all one hundred gates of the palace, it won't make a difference!
This is the Golden Dragon Token!
Forget opening the palace gates, he's practically ordering us to attack them! We need to think this through carefully!
"Open the door?" Zhu Zhanhe looked at the Imperial Guard general kneeling on the ground with a bitter expression and asked softly.

"Your Highness..." The Imperial Guard commander felt like he was about to cry!
"Slap!" Zhu Zhanhe looked at the Imperial Guard general with a bitter expression and knew his predicament, so he immediately slapped him!

"What? Do you need me to call Fan Zhong over?"
"Or has this token expired?!" Zhu Zhanhe asked, looking at the guard who was all smiles after being slapped.

"No need, no need, no, no, open the gate immediately!" Upon hearing Zhu Zhanhe's question, the guard immediately shuddered and replied loudly.

"Open the door!" Before Zhu Zhanhe could speak again, the garrison commander knelt on the ground, turned his head and shouted loudly, "Open the door!"

(End of this chapter)