Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

Chapter 241 Empress Ma's Tears
“Sister, you… passed away on the 23rd day of the eighth month of the fifteenth year of Hongwu…”

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Empress Ma and spoke.

When he said these words, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a pang of pain in his heart.

His voice also became heavy.

Even if this happened in a past life, a very long time ago.

But he still refused to mention it.

Every time I think about it, it makes me feel incredibly sad.

That was the darkest moment of his past life, and it caused him immense suffering for a very, very long time.

Just thinking about it makes my heart ache so much I can hardly breathe.

Empress Ma was startled upon hearing this, for her guess was indeed correct.

I was indeed dead a long time ago.

It is said that Empress Ma has been speculating a lot about her own affairs lately.

I feel that my fate is not very good, and I am very likely to die young.

She knew her son, Chongba,'s personality all too well.

If you had a good life in your past life, you lived a long time.

Given Chongba's personality and his concern for her.

There was no need for me to ask; he had already eagerly brought it up to me, as if it were a treasure to be shared.

How could someone have remained so calm all this time?

He won't say a word unless you ask him.

Looking at it now, that's indeed the case.

"Zhongba, I died of tuberculosis, didn't I?"

Empress Ma looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and asked again.

Zhu Yuan sighed inwardly and nodded, saying, "Sister, you're absolutely right. She died of tuberculosis."

In front of his own sister, he really can't keep any secrets.
Empress Ma nodded to herself, things were indeed exactly as she had thought.

Why would Chongzhen Emperor, who was doing so well, possibly establish a medical school and have so many doctors devote so much effort to tackling tuberculosis, such a difficult and complicated disease?

They said they wanted to solve all the difficult problems as much as possible and bring benefits to the people.

Let these diseases no longer harm people.

Based on his understanding of Chongba, such targeted measures, once successful, would certainly benefit the people.

However, there is also a strong possibility that one of their close relatives suffered from tuberculosis in a previous life.

That's why.

The reasons for the deaths of his own son Biao'er, Xiong Ying, his eldest son's wife, and his second and third sons were also clear to him.

It has nothing to do with tuberculosis.

In this situation, there is only one explanation.

That means there's a high probability that he contracted tuberculosis and died.

That's why the Chongba Emperor would be like this.

The fifteenth year of the Hongwu reign!

He died so young?
He died a full fifteen or sixteen years earlier than Chongba!
Thinking of this, Empress Ma couldn't help but tear up.

Upon seeing Empress Ma shed tears, Zhu Yuanzhang panicked immediately.

He hurriedly hugged Empress Ma and comforted her repeatedly, "Sister, sister, don't cry, sister!"

That's all in the past. We've made preparations for this life, and we'll never let you get tuberculosis again.

Even if one contracts tuberculosis, there are ways and the ability to cure it.

I will never let you suffer such a misfortune again!

Tuberculosis is nothing to worry about.

In later generations, tuberculosis, a difficult and complicated disease, was no longer considered a difficult and complicated disease.

It can be cured.

Of the millions of people who contract tuberculosis, only about two thousand die from it each year, and only about two thousand can be controlled.

Compared to the number of people who die from colds every year in our Great Ming Dynasty, that's nothing.

"Don't worry about me, girl."

Zhu Yuanzhang held Empress Ma with heartache, repeatedly comforting her.

Upon hearing this, Empress Ma burst into tears and choked out, "Chongba, I... I'm not worried about myself, nor am I shedding tears for myself."

I...I feel sad and upset for you.

Chongba, tell me... tell me why your life is so miserable!

My family suffered a great tragedy when I was young, and my parents passed away one after another.

He endured countless hardships and tribulations, struggling and suffering, and facing numerous life-or-death crises before finally becoming emperor and the supreme ruler of the land.

However, Chongba, your calamity did not end there.

Your eldest grandson left you, and in the same year, I, your wife of many years, also left you.

In your later years, your children, including Biao'er, the second son, and the third son, passed away one by one.

You, Chongba, have tasted all of life's greatest sufferings.

"Zhongba, how did you live your past life, Chongba?!"

The more Empress Ma spoke, the more tears she shed.

He reached out and stroked Zhu Yuanzhang's face, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

Chongba has always valued himself, Biao'er, Xiong Ying, and his family.

She is a sentimental person.

But as a result, now these closest relatives of his are passing away one after another, one after another passing in front of Chongba.

How cruel was this for Chongba?

She suddenly remembered why, on the day of the grand court assembly in the eighth year of Hongwu's reign, Chongba had acted that way upon seeing her, clinging to her and refusing to let go.

Chongba's longing for himself was etched into his very bones, and it could never be severed, year after year...

The more Empress Ma thought about it, the sadder and more distressed she became.

My family's fate of being born in the year of Chongba is truly tragic.

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but tear up when he heard what his sister said.

Thinking back to my past life, as my loved ones passed away one by one, I couldn't help but feel a deep sadness.

I almost lost control of my emotions.

My own sister is my own sister, my own bedmate, she's just different.

To truly cherish, love, and respect yourself.

When others mention him, he is often described as an emperor, the supreme ruler of the world, or a cowherd, unworthy of his position, and so on.

But when the girl talks about herself, she sees more of her hardships.

He saw the suffering he had endured.

The girl is the one who truly loves herself.

"Little sister, little sister, don't cry, little sister."

That's all from a past life; God has been very kind to us.

Not only did she give me the opportunity to go from a poor cowherd to an emperor, but she also allowed me to meet a soulmate like you, my dear sister.

We're already very satisfied with Biao'er and the other kids.

Although you all left us early in our past lives, at least we had these things and enjoyed them.

These are all deeply hidden in our hearts, and we can never forget them.

It was our most wonderful experience and our most beautiful memory.

What's more, we've now had such a magical experience.

They returned and regained it all.

The girl is here, Biao is here, Xiong Ying is here, and the eldest brother's wife is here.

The rest of those bastards were there too.

We can start over and enjoy family life again.

It also gave us a regrettable opportunity.

Such suffering will never happen again in my life.

Whether it's you, Biao, or U.A., you all have to be well.

They will never leave us so soon again!

Zhu Yuanzhang spoke these words with particular conviction.

It was as if he was speaking to Empress Ma, or as if he were making a vow to himself.

I must cherish this opportunity and do my job well.

This cannot continue.

"Yes, Chongba, you're right, that's definitely how it will be!"
Chongba, I believe in you.

I will take good care of my body in the future and try my best to avoid getting sick.

Even if you get sick, try to avoid contracting difficult-to-treat diseases like tuberculosis.

I want to stay with Chongba for as long as possible, watching my Chongba grow step by step.
Watching my son, Chongba, display his talents and establish a completely new and different Ming Dynasty!

Empress Ma stopped crying and smiled, cupping Zhu Yuanzhang's face in her hands as she spoke with utmost seriousness.

Zhu Yuanzhang reached out and gently wiped away Empress Ma's tears.

"Don't worry, girl, we'll definitely show you a different side of the Ming Dynasty!"

"Yes, I'll wait. I believe Chongba will definitely not disappoint!"

Empress Ma nodded vigorously, her voice firm and unwavering.

……

Inside the royal tent of the Northern Yuan court, the Prime Minister's expression changed drastically after hearing what the Northern Yuan Emperor said.

My heart couldn't help but skip two beats.

He was clearly taken aback by what the emperor said...

The emperor's decision was something he hadn't anticipated.

He originally thought that the matter had been discussed to this extent, and that Nahachu had sent an envoy to discuss these matters immediately, which was enough to show his sincerity.

His Majesty is a reasonable person and knows that this is a treacherous scheme by Zhu Yuanzhang's side, so he cannot continue to pursue this matter. This matter can basically be considered closed at this point.

Unexpectedly, His Majesty would say such things after Nahachu's envoy left.

They're actually going to take it a step further.

"What, does the Prime Minister think my decision is inappropriate?"
Upon hearing this, the prime minister bit his lip and shook his head.

"Your Majesty, that is not the case."

Your Majesty's consideration is correct, after all, this matter is indeed very serious, and we need to take precautions just in case.

It’s just…it’s just…”

The sound of its bite against me seemed somewhat hesitant.

"But how?"

It's best to stop here...

It can be basically confirmed that this was a treacherous scheme devised by Zhu Yuanzhang. Nahachu also sent someone to explain immediately.

This clearly demonstrates his integrity.

I believe it is best to stop here and not to continue probing further.

In my humble opinion, Your Majesty would be most pleased to bestow some rewards upon Nahachu to appease him.

Only in this way can Zhu Yuanzhang's treacherous scheme be thwarted.

If Nahachu isn't mentioned, there's no reason for him to suspect anything.

Even if there were any real suspicions, His Majesty could appease them with these methods.

The human heart is most vulnerable to testing.

A little probing is fine; too much probing might only cause heartbreak.

Even things that didn't exist can easily reveal something through probing.

If that happens, it won't be a good thing for His Majesty or for our Great Yuan.

Upon hearing the Prime Minister's words, Ayushiridara's expression changed.

He fell silent, seemingly lost in thought.

After a moment, he nodded and said, "What the Prime Minister said is exactly what I meant."

That is indeed the case; the human heart truly cannot withstand too much testing.

Hearing what Ayushiridara said, I felt a sense of relief.

Thankfully, His Majesty is reasonable and was persuaded to stop.

There's no need to worry too much now; this matter is over and won't cause any further trouble.

Fortunately, His Majesty is a person who listens to advice and is not without vision.

Otherwise, this matter will become quite difficult to handle.

If not handled properly, it could really backfire.

"Prime Minister, let's do it my way."

Let's test them one more time, and have Nahachu bring me the heads of the Goryeo general and the Ming envoy.

If he comes, I will be able to see his integrity and know that he has been wronged in these matters, and I will not think otherwise.

After he arrives, I will definitely not mistreat him, I will treat him well, and reward him handsomely.

This one time will clear up all the misunderstandings.

From now on, I will trust him even more and will absolutely not hold this matter against him.

Upon hearing what Yushridara said, the Prime Minister felt a jolt in his heart.

Ayushiridara’s words once again exceeded his expectations.

This surprised him.

He really wanted to persuade the emperor again to stop testing the waters in this matter.

Too much probing like this is not a good thing.

If things go wrong and turn out badly, then things will not be good.

For the Yuan Dynasty, this would be a disaster.

The Yuan Dynasty is now too fragile to withstand so many storms.

Moreover, the power that Naha possesses is indeed extremely important to his Great Yuan.

If, due to various tests, one becomes dissatisfied with the rise of the Great Yuan, and truly harbors any disloyal intentions...

It's truly heartbreaking, and something he absolutely doesn't want to think about.

But after the words reached his lips, he ultimately swallowed them back.

I didn't say anything more about it.

"Your Majesty is right, we do need to be careful."

We need to conduct some preliminary tests to finalize this matter.

This matter is far too important for our Great Yuan Dynasty; it demands our utmost attention and caution.

The prime minister insisted, expressing his agreement.

Even if he is very dissatisfied, you can't continue to persuade him.

After all, the emperor has already put his heart and soul into this matter, so if he were to speak out or object to it under these circumstances, it would be inappropriate for him to do so.

The emperor would definitely be dissatisfied with himself.

And she might wonder if there's something going on between her and Nahachu.

Moreover, it's clear that His Majesty is still influenced by Zhu Yuanzhang.

I'm a little worried about how much Naha has to give.

So the most important thing to do now is naturally to quickly dispel the emperor's suspicions.

Otherwise, it would be too dangerous for our Great Yuan.

If the emperor harbors any doubts about Nahachu, the longer those doubts accumulate in his mind, the more dangerous and unfavorable it becomes.

This could have particularly negative consequences at some crucial moments in the future.

His Majesty also said that this would only be a test.

It's not impossible that we won't test the waters again after this.

Although this move might cause some dissatisfaction in Nahachu's heart, it's not serious.

Moreover, compared to his dissatisfaction, it is more important to dispel His Majesty's suspicions.

"Haha, good, I knew the Prime Minister would understand me."

Upon seeing the reaction of being bitten, Ayushiridara spoke up with a broad smile.

"I believe Nahachu will definitely not let us down."

After saying that, he added something else.

"However, Prime Minister, this matter is best left to us alone."

The Prime Minister must not leak any information to Naha in the future.

So that we can see Nahachu's true intentions in this matter.

He reminded him to bite.

Upon hearing this, he nodded vigorously, his expression solemn.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, I will absolutely not do such a thing."

"My thoughts are only for Your Majesty, and for our Great Yuan."

"Haha, the country is in dire straits. Having a prime minister like me is truly a blessing."

After saying this, Ayushiridara personally picked up the wine pot, poured a bowl of wine for the prime minister, and poured one for himself as well.

He was indicating that he wanted to have a drink.

This wine originated from the Ming Dynasty.

It tastes pretty good; it's definitely better than the wine from their grasslands.

Although they repeatedly issued orders forbidding the tribes on the grasslands from trading with the Ming Dynasty, the goods from the Ming Dynasty were indeed of very high quality.

Even their royal court has some Ming Dynasty elements...

……

"Father, the news coming from Goryeo, is it not true?"

"You...you don't actually have some connection with Zhu Yuanzhang, do you?"

Nahachu's son looked at Nahachu and asked a question.

"Of course it's not true, my heart is only for the Great Yuan."

All he cared about was the Yuan Dynasty.

"Zhu Yuanzhang is such a shameless person, resorting to such methods to frame me and sow discord. He is truly despicable and shameless!"

Naha couldn't help but yell and curse when the matter was brought up.

I felt incredibly upset, like I'd swallowed a fly.

I've never seen anyone more despicable than this cowherd, this beggar.
"Back then, I felt something was off when that guy let me go back."

I felt this guy had ulterior motives.

Now it seems that was indeed the case; that bastard actually had such an idea.

Unfortunately, his methods were far too clumsy.

The emperor certainly wouldn't believe it.

I immediately dispatched an envoy with a sincere letter, providing a detailed explanation of the matter, and that resolved the issue.

Upon hearing what Nahachu said, Nahachu's son nodded in agreement with his father's statement.

How could his own father be a spy for the Ming Dynasty?
Just then, someone rushed over and delivered some news.

The Goryeo general and the Ming Dynasty envoy he brought with him have both disappeared!
"Go find it immediately!"

Naha immediately gave the order.

However, he wasn't too worried about it.

They are just two insignificant people. At this point, whether or not these two people can be found will not affect the overall situation.

……

"Chongba, how many years did my Great Ming Dynasty exist, and what caused its downfall?"

Inside the Kunning Palace, Empress Ma stopped crying and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang before speaking...

(End of this chapter)