I was to be executed by Zhu Yuanzhang, and Empress Ma smashed Zhu Yuanzhang's jade seal.

The thirteenth year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty.

Kunning Palace.

Empress Ma's bedroom.

The palace maids and eunuchs who usually served the palace were now huddled far away outside the hall, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Inside the hall, only a few thick tallow candles were lit, their flickering flames illuminating a figure seated on a phoenix throne, making the figure's outline distinct.

Empress Ma, dressed in an ordinary cloth dress, waited angrily for Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang actually wanted to kill his own son.

Footsteps sounded outside the hall.

A tall figure appeared at the entrance of the palace.

He wore a ochre-yellow casual outfit, and his face bore the marks of battle.

It was Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

He tiptoed in, like a child who had done something wrong, not daring to make a sound.

But the moment he stepped into the palace, the gaze that had been fixed on the entrance pierced through all his pretense like two sharp swords.

"You're back."

Empress Ma's voice was calm, so calm that it was without any ripples, but Zhu Yuanzhang felt a chill run down his spine.

He knew this was a sign that his wife, who had been with him since he was a commoner, was about to become truly angry.

"Hey girl, it's getting late, why aren't you resting yet?"

Zhu Yuanzhang forced a smile that looked more like a grimace, and as he spoke, he walked toward the phoenix throne.

He wanted to reach out and take Empress Ma's hand.

Empress Ma suddenly pulled her hand away, avoiding his touch.

Zhu Yuanzhang's hand froze in mid-air, and the smile on his face also froze.

"I'm asking you, did you lock our fifth brother up in the dungeon?"

Empress Ma's voice suddenly rose, instantly stirring up a storm on the calm lake surface. Every word was squeezed out from between her teeth, carrying a chilling aura and an uncontrollable rage.

Zhu Yuanzhang's heart skipped a beat; he knew that this matter could not be kept secret in the end.

He was somewhat blustering but weak inside; in front of this woman, he could never put on the airs of an emperor.

He was afraid of her, but not of the emperor's power; rather, he was afraid of the guilt and respect a man would feel for a woman who had given everything for him.

But when he thought of those five hundred gleaming suits of armor, and of the Fifth Prince's unparalleled prestige and achievements, his fear of his wife was instantly suppressed by an even stronger imperial suspicion.

He had to harden his heart for the sake of the Ming Dynasty and for Biao'er's future!

"We were the ones who ordered it closed!"

Zhu Yuanzhang stiffened his neck, stubbornly raised his head, and his voice became louder, "Sister, don't just believe everything you hear! There's a reason we're doing this!"

"reason?!"

Empress Ma suddenly stood up from her phoenix chair, swaying slightly from the sudden movement.

She rushed to Zhu Yuanzhang, her eyes bloodshot, staring intently at him.

"Zhu Chongba! You're telling me the reason? Fifth Prince is our son! He's been following you to the battlefield since he was a teenager, fighting the Mongols in the north, suppressing rebellions in the west, risking his life every time to build this empire for you. He performed the legendary feat of sealing the wolf's lair and making unparalleled contributions to our Ming Dynasty. Is this your reason for him? One was imprisoned, the other was beheaded?!"

"A woman's view!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was hit where it hurt, and the name "Zhu Chongba" made him feel extremely embarrassed.

He abruptly flung his sleeve and roared back, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard found a full five hundred suits of armor in his Prince Ying's residence! Five hundred! Do you know what crime that is? This is treason! A crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family!"

"rebellion?"

Empress Ma heard the funniest joke in the world. Instead of getting angry, she laughed, but her laughter was full of sorrow.

"Zhu Chongba, Zhu Chongba, have you lost your mind from being emperor? The fifth prince wants to rebel? When he had 300,000 troops in the Northern Expedition, when he was drinking from the Gobi Desert, if he wanted to rebel, would you still be able to sit on this dragon throne securely?"

"He hasn't objected now, but that doesn't mean he won't in the future!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's voice grew louder and louder, as he tried to persuade Empress Ma, but even more so, he tried to persuade himself.

"His achievements are too great, so great that we've almost run out of titles to bestow! In the court and in the army, everyone only knows the Prince of Ying, not the Crown Prince! If we don't take action against him, what will happen to Biao'er in the future? With Biao'er's kind and gentle nature, can he control him? We're paving the way for Biao'er, paving the way for the future of the Ming Dynasty!"

Empress Ma stared blankly at the man before her, a man who was both familiar and unfamiliar.

She saw the Zhu Chongba of yesteryear, full of vigor and ambition outside Haozhou City, and she also saw the Hongwu Emperor of today, whose mind was corrupted by the throne and suspicion.

Her heart sank little by little.

It turns out the crime wasn't the five hundred suits of armor.

The real crime was Lao Wu's outstanding military achievements and his irreplaceable status.

"So, those five hundred suits of armor were a frame-up by you."

Empress Ma did not question further, but instead spoke in a declarative tone, word by word.

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes flickered for a moment, then he stiffened his neck and said firmly, "Whether it's a frame-up or not is unimportant! What's important is that this is a pretext, a pretext to remove him from that position!"

"Get down?"

Empress Ma smiled sadly, "To be thrown into the imperial prison, to be subjected to the guillotine outside the Meridian Gate, is this what you mean by 'coming down'?"

"we……"

Zhu Yuanzhang was speechless for a moment.

He meant to say that he just wanted to give him a warning and strip him of his military power and the throne.

But he swallowed the words back down his throat.

He knew that, given Lao Wu's personality, he would rather break than bend.

Once this happens, the bond between father and son, and the duty between ruler and subject, will be completely destroyed.

A son who holds great military power and enjoys immense prestige is no longer a son if he becomes disloyal and alienated; he becomes a sword hanging over one's head.

Therefore, he must die.

Only the dead are not a threat.

Seeing the murderous intent flash in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, Empress Ma felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

She knew this man too well.

He can be ruthless to enemies, ruthless to corrupt officials, and for the sake of the country, he can even be ruthless to his own son!

"Zhu Chongba, I'm asking you one last time."

Empress Ma's voice was as cold as iron chains in a prison cell, "Have you already made up your mind to kill the Fifth Prince?"

Zhu Yuanzhang remained silent.

His silence was the cruelest answer.

Empress Ma stared at him for a long, long time, until the anger in her eyes gradually died down, replaced by a deathly despair.

She slowly took two steps back, creating distance between them.

"Okay, okay, okay..."

She said "good" three times in a row, her voice trembling, "Since you are unkind, don't blame me for being unjust."

"What do you want to do?"

Zhu Yuanzhang had a bad feeling.

"If he dies, I'll immediately commit suicide! I'll go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple and kowtow, telling my parents how you, Zhu Chongba, forced your own son to his death! I'll also tell the world that you, the emperor, even framed loyal officials!"

After saying that, she turned around abruptly and rushed out of the hall without regard for anything else.

"Stop the Empress!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked; he had not expected Empress Ma's reaction to be so intense.

He knew his empress's temperament well; if she said it, she would definitely do it!

If she really makes a scene at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, then his reputation as emperor and the reputation of the Ming Dynasty will be completely ruined!

……

Heaven Prison.

The most feared place in the Ming Dynasty.

All the prisoners held here are on death row.

Ordinary criminals have no right to be imprisoned here.

The damp, dark, bloody, and rotting straw smelled terrible.

squeak-

The heavy iron gate was opened, and two tall Jinyiwei captains threw in a young man dressed in a magnificent prince's python robe.

His name is Zhu Muying.

A time traveler, fifteen years ago, traveled to the Ming Dynasty and became Zhu Muying, the fifth son of Zhu Yuanzhang and the Prince of Ying.

Obtain the Martial God Sign-in System.

[First year of signing in to reach the Martial God Realm. Also in the same year, the legendary historical general Lü Bu pledged his allegiance.]

[In the second year, 100,000 Snow Dragon Riders were signed in. In the same year, the legendary historical general, Xiang Yu, pledged allegiance.]

[In the third year, he signed in to collect one million shi of grain. In the same year, he gained the loyalty of the legendary general Huo Qubing.]

[In the fourth year, he reached the pinnacle of the Martial God realm and manifested his true form as a Martial Saint. In the same year, he gained the allegiance of the legendary historical general Han Xin.]

[Five years following Xu Da on the battlefield. One of the ten legendary historical generals, following Zhu Muying in the Northern Expedition!]

He went to the battlefield in his teens, fought in the north and south, and made outstanding military achievements.

Not long ago, with an army of 300,000, they penetrated deep into the northern desert, wiped out the enemy's stronghold, and defeated the main force of the Northern Yuan in one fell swoop, achieving the "Fenglangjuxu" feat that countless famous generals of the Central Plains dynasties had dreamed of.

It can be said that the entire northern border of the Ming Dynasty was conquered by him, one sword and one spear.

However, what awaited this triumphant hero was not rewards and glory, but a meticulously planned frame-up.

The day after he returned to the capital, a large number of Imperial Guards stormed into his Prince Ying's residence and arrested him without saying a word.

The charge was that he possessed 500 sets of armor and intended to rebel.

Zhu Muying closed her eyes.

Those Imperial Guards, each one fierce and menacing, dared not meet his gaze.

The leader of the command kept his head down the whole time, and his voice was trembling.

Their guilty conscience proves that this is a complete and utter frame-up.

In the entire Ming Dynasty, there was only one person who could make the Imperial Guards willingly play along in this charade and dare to touch a prince of unparalleled merit.

His father was Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Old man...you're really ruthless."

Zhu Muying leaned against the wall and gave a self-deprecating laugh.

He knew all too well what kind of person Zhu Yuanzhang was.

An emperor who rose from the bottom is suspicious, distrustful, and extremely controlling.

For the sake of consolidating imperial power and for the sake of his "benevolent" crown prince Zhu Biao, he could kill meritorious officials and veteran generals; now, it was his turn to kill his own son.

His achievements overshadowed those of his master.

These four words were like a mountain pressing down on his head.

Zhu Muying's military achievements were so great and his prestige so high that Zhu Yuanzhang felt that the crown prince Zhu Biao would not be able to control him in the future.

Therefore, he must die.

Those five hundred suits of armor were just an excuse.

Even if there was no armor, there would be other things, such as making dragon robes privately, or having affairs with palace maids.

If you want to add a crime, there is nothing wrong with it.

"Three days later, he will be executed at the Meridian Gate..."

The last sentence of the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard as he read out the "evidence" still echoed in his ears.

Three days.

The suspicious old man only gave him three days.

They weren't even giving him a chance to defend himself; they were determined to kill him.

Zhu Muying smiled!

His smile was sinister!

"Fine! Since you, Old Zhu, want a glorious reputation for killing your own son, I'll grant your wish tomorrow in the imperial palace!"