Zhu Yuanzhang: My second son is invincible!

"Second brother, your real name is Zhu Zhu, Zhu as in 'zhumu' (樳木). Father Emperor once said that he wished you would grow into a towering zhumu and protect the Zhu family in the future." Zhu Biao wiped his face and cried with a smile.

"You really are my brother, my own brother."

Zheng Datou... no, he should be called Zhu Li now.

Zhu Hui stared blankly at the words on the swaddling clothes, her mind buzzing.

It turns out that Zheng Dazhu is not his biological father.

It turns out he really did have eight brothers.

It turns out he was a prince.

"so…"

He counted on his fingers, "My father is the emperor, my mother is the empress, my eldest brother is the crown prince, and I have seven younger brothers... so I have a total of..."

"Eight fathers!"

Zheng Daya suddenly interjected, her little face serious, "One biological father, one adoptive father, and the father of my six younger brothers!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao couldn't help but chuckle.

Zhu Liang scratched his head and said, "It seems...that's the logic?"

Zheng Dazhu and Zheng Huangshi couldn't help but laugh, but as they laughed, they started wiping away tears again.

"Da Tou, no, Li'er... you are a prince, you should go back. Your parents have waited for twenty-two years..." Zheng Dazhu choked up.

"father!"

Zhu Hui interrupted him, saying, "You will always be my father, and my mother will always be my mother. I just have more parents, more brothers, and it's not like I don't recognize you."

He spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and Mr. and Mrs. Zheng cried even harder.

Zhu Biao watched quietly, a soft spot forming in his heart.

His second brother grew up in the deep mountains and forests. He had never read the classics and did not understand etiquette and rules, but his inherent benevolence, filial piety and righteousness were a hundred times stronger than those civil officials who talked about benevolence and righteousness.

"Uncle Zheng, Aunt Zheng, Second Brother is right. You will always be his parents. After Second Brother returns to Yingtian Prefecture to acknowledge his ancestors, I will take you there together."

"Your father and mother will certainly treat you well to repay their kindness in raising you," Zhu Biao said solemnly.

"No, no, no... We're just country folk, how could we go to the capital..." Zheng Dazhu waved his hands repeatedly.

"Go ahead. My second brother's adoptive parents are the benefactors of the royal family. I'll decide this matter," Zhu Biao said gently, yet with an undeniable authority.

He was smiling as he spoke, but the light in his eyes made Zheng Dazhu inexplicably afraid to refuse.

Zhu Li didn't notice any of this; he was staring at the roasted wild boar leg, drooling, and said, "Brother, the meat will get cold if we don't eat it soon."

"Eat, eat all, second brother, eat more." Zhu Biao sat down again and personally tore off the largest piece of pork leg and put it into Zhu Li's bowl.

"Brother, you should eat too!"

The meal was quite lively.

Zheng Daya asked Zhu Biao curiously how big the capital was and whether there were any sugar figurines for sale.

Zheng Huangshi kept putting food on Zhu Li's plate, as if he were leaving tomorrow; Zheng Dazhu drank in silence, his eyes constantly red.

Zhu Biao answered every question, spoke softly and gently, and even promised Zheng Daya that he would send her a whole box of palace pastries in the future.

After the meal, Zhu Biao pulled Zhu Li aside to talk in the courtyard.

"Second brother, you must have encountered quite a few monsters on the mountain over the years, right?" Zhu Biao asked tentatively.

"It's alright. We have to clean them up every few days, otherwise they'll come down the mountain and wreak havoc on the village." Zhu Li sat on the stone mill, swinging his legs.

"How was it cleaned?"

"I just... used an axe to chop them down! Some ran fast, so I chased after them. Last year there was a tiger demon that could spit wind blades. I was annoyed by it damaging the crops, so I chased it for thirty miles and finally stopped it at Eagle's Sorrow Gorge." Zhu Hui gestured as he spoke.

Zhu Biao swallowed hard: "And then?"

"When I struck with my axe, the stream stopped flowing for half an hour. The tiger demon was gone, and a deep ditch appeared at the bottom of the stream."

Zhu Yuan scratched his head and continued, "Later, when the villages downstream came to ask why the river had suddenly stopped flowing and then started flowing again, I didn't dare to say anything."

Zhu Biao remained silent.

He recalled the strange tale from western Zhejiang reported by the Ministry of War last year, which said that the terrain of Yingchoujian had changed dramatically overnight, as if an earth dragon had turned over.

It turned out that it was his second brother who did it.

"Second brother, what's the biggest thing your axe can split open?" Zhu Biao couldn't help but ask.

Zhu Hui thought about it seriously and said, "I haven't tried it. I'm afraid that if I use too much force, I'll split the mountain and leave the villagers with nowhere to live."

He paused, then added, "However, the year before last, there was a mountain that kept collapsing and blocking the road. When I went to clear it, I accidentally used too much force and flattened the entire mountain."

Now it's become a platform where villagers dry their grain.

Zhu Biao followed his gaze and indeed saw a flat-topped mountain in the distance.

He remembered that the Ministry of Revenue's records mentioned that there was a mountain in western Zhejiang that was naturally shaped like a platform, which amazed the villagers.

original…

"Brother, why are you asking this?" Zhu Hui asked, puzzled.

Zhu Biao looked away and smiled, "It's nothing, I just think... my second brother is amazing."

These are the words of the heart.

His second brother inherited the power of Xing Tian, ​​possessing unfathomable strength, yet he was also simple-minded and loyal.

If such a person could be used by the Ming Dynasty…

The fire in Zhu Biao's heart burned even brighter.

"Second brother, would you like to go to Yingtian to see Father and Mother, and to see your real home?" Zhu Biao asked softly again.

Zhu Li did not answer immediately.

He first looked towards the kitchen, where Zheng Huangshi was washing dishes, Zheng Dazhu was squatting at the door picking his teeth, and Zheng Daya was running in and out tidying up the table.

Then he turned his gaze to Zhu Biao in front of him.

This older brother who suddenly appeared looked at him with great affection and spoke in a gentle voice, but the attendant who had just said one extra word was punished with twenty strokes of the cane.

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't understand the intricacies of court politics, but he knew that his older brother was no ordinary person.

None of that matters...

As long as this older brother's closeness to him is genuine, that's fine.

"I'm going to see my biological parents. Big brother, you said they've been waiting for me for too long, so I'll go. But I have to take my parents and Yaya with me, otherwise I won't feel at ease leaving them here."

Zhu Li nodded in reply.

Zhu Biao smiled: "Okay, go ahead."

Then, Zhu Biao took out a token from his bosom and handed it to Zhu Hui, saying, "This is the Eastern Palace token. It is to inform the Empress that you can come to the Eastern Palace to see your elder brother at any time. After we return, your elder brother will petition the Emperor to enfeoff you as the Prince of Wu, and your original sixth brother, Zhu Su, will be enfeoffed as the Prince of Zhou."

Zhu Hui accepted the token.

"What's the difference between the King of Wu and the King of Zhou?"

Zhu Li was a little confused. Aren't they all princes? What's the difference?

"Wu is a prosperous region, close to Yingtian. It will be convenient for you to come back and visit Uncle Zheng and Aunt Zheng in the future. Moreover, the King of Wu is of high rank and is worthy of you," Zhu Biao explained patiently.

Moreover, before his father became emperor, he was the King of Wu.

He spoke of it casually, as if changing his title to prince was just a trivial matter.

Although Zhu Hui didn't understand, he could sense that his brother was giving him the best of everything.

"Brother, why are you so good to me?" he couldn't help but ask.

Zhu Biao was taken aback for a moment, then smiled gently and said, "Because you are my younger brother, the younger brother I have been searching for for twenty-two years."

He reached out and ruffled Zhu Hui's hair, the gesture as natural as if he had done it a thousand times.

"You've suffered all these years. With your brother here, no one will ever let you suffer again."

Zhu Li's nose felt a little sore.

He looked down at the token in his hand and suddenly thought, "Having more brothers is really nice."

Late at night.

Afterwards, Zhu Biao stayed in a simple side room of the Zheng family's house, while his entourage set up camp at the entrance of the village.

Zhu Li lay in his room, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Too much happened today; he needs time to process it all.

He became a prince, had a twin brother, a father who was the emperor, a mother who was the empress, and several younger brothers and sisters.

Thinking of this, Zhu Hui touched the tattoo on his left arm, and with a thought, an axe appeared in his hand.

The bronze axe blade gleamed coldly in the moonlight.

He knew from a young age that this axe was unusual, but he never imagined that it might be some kind of Xing Tian inheritance.

Who is Xing Tian?

He wasn't quite sure, but Old Chen from the village seemed to have mentioned it in his stories; it seemed to be a very powerful deity.

"Who cares! As long as it works." Zhu Li muttered, putting away the axe.

From next door came Zhu Biao's somewhat low voice, as if he was instructing his attendants on something.

His tone was calm, yet his words conveyed an undeniable authority.

Zhu Hui listened for a while, but couldn't quite understand it, so he simply stopped listening and turned to go to sleep.

"Having multiple homes...is nice too," Zhu Li muttered to herself, then a smile unconsciously crept onto her lips before she slowly drifted off into her dreams.

Outside the window, the moon was high in the sky.

Zhu Biao stood in the courtyard, looking at the letter he had just finished writing.

The letter was addressed to Zhu Yuanzhang, detailing how he found Zhu Hui, Zhu Hui's inheritance of Xing Tian, ​​and his actions in the mountains over the years.

Finally, he brought up the matter of changing the title of King of Wu.

His tone was respectful, but his words conveyed a firm resolve: this matter had to be done.

He sealed the letter, handed it to his attendant, and said, "Express it to the Emperor directly."

"yes!"

The attendant mounted his horse and galloped away.

Zhu Biao stood with his hands behind his back, looking towards Yingtian Prefecture, his eyes gleaming.

His second brother is back.

With the power to split mountains and cleave peaks, and with the purest, most innocent heart.

It seems the world of Ming is about to get lively again.