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

Empress Ma reached out, seemingly to touch Zhu Muying's cheek, but her hand stopped halfway in mid-air before slowly lowering it. Her movement carried a hint of reverence that even she herself was unaware of…

Zhu Muying's gaze lingered for a moment on the hand that was suspended in mid-air, a barely perceptible ripple flashing in her eyes.

She's afraid of me.

This realization made Zhu Muying find it somewhat amusing.

His mother was no ordinary palace woman. She was the woman who accompanied Zhu Yuanzhang from nothing to conquering the entire country. Her courage, her boldness, and her shrewdness were in no way inferior to any man in the court.

Zhu Yuanzhang feared her, Zhu Biao respected her, and all the civil and military officials both respected and feared her.

But now, this woman, who fears nothing and no one, is actually... afraid when facing me.

"Mother..."

Zhu Biao finally regained a voice from his extreme shock and grief. He held the unconscious Zhu Yuanzhang, knelt there, looked up at his mother with an almost pleading look in his eyes.

"Father... Father..."

He wanted to say, "Father is dying, please come and see him."

He wanted to ask, "Mother, why are you doing this? Why did you bring the dragon robe and the imperial seal? What exactly do you want?"

However, Empress Ma didn't even bother to glance at him.

She simply waved her hand dismissively at the eunuch behind her.

"Bring the items up."

The head eunuch trembled, and hurriedly bowed, raising the sandalwood tray he was holding high, and carefully walked step by step to the bedside.

He dared not look up, nor even breathe, and just knelt on the ground, holding the tray above his head.

On the tray, beneath the bright yellow silk, lay the supreme symbol of the empire's power.

"This is a dragon robe."

Empress Ma pointed to the tray and spoke calmly to Zhu Muying.

Then, she pointed to the brocade box being held by the second eunuch.

"This is the Imperial Seal of the State."

Finally, her gaze fell upon the Emperor's Sword.

"This is the sword used by Emperor Taizu Gao when he started his rebellion by slaying the white snake. It is the sword of the Son of Heaven."

With each word she spoke, the hearts of the civil and military officials in the hall clenched painfully.

When she revealed the last item, everyone was pale and drenched in sweat.

Li Shanchang, Liu Sanwu, and other civil officials felt dizzy and disoriented. All the knowledge and beliefs they had learned and upheld throughout their lives regarding the principles of ruler-subject relations and the order of etiquette were trampled to pieces by the Empress in the most brutal and direct way.

After their initial shock, Xu Da and Lan Yu, among other military generals, gradually revealed a complex light in their eyes.

[Your Majesty... what... is this going to do?]

Xu Da's heart was in turmoil. He glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang lying on the ground, then at Empress Ma with her face ashen, and finally, his gaze settled on the still calm Prince Ying.

As a long-time comrade who had fought alongside Zhu Yuanzhang his entire life, his feelings at this moment were incredibly complex.

Reason told him that he should stand up immediately and stop the Queen's treasonous act.

but……

He recalled the miraculous scene from just now, and the terrifying pressure that even he couldn't resist.

It seems this world is truly about to change hands.

The emperor... can no longer control his 'immortal' son.

[Your Majesty, is this... in accordance with Heaven's will and the people's wishes?]

Xu Da's resolve began to waver. He wasn't doing it for himself; he was doing it for the entire Ming Dynasty, for the Huai-Xi military group who had fought alongside Zhu Yuanzhang to establish the empire.

A mad emperor and his unfathomable divine son.

How should we choose between these two?

The answer seems self-evident.

While everyone was preoccupied with their own thoughts and dared not utter a sound.

Empress Ma made an even more shocking move.

She slowly straightened her luxurious robes as she faced Zhu Muying, who was sitting cross-legged on the edge of the bed. Then, under the almost glaring gazes of everyone, she...

His knees buckled, and he knelt down.

"Your Majesty, I am Ma Xiuying..."

Her voice remained calm, but carried an undeniable resolve.

"Your Highness, please... ascend the throne!"

boom!!!!

The five words, "Please ascend the throne, Your Highness," were like a million thunderbolts, exploding simultaneously above the heads of everyone in the palace!

They annihilated their last shred of reason and their last glimmer of hope!

crazy!

They've all gone mad!

The Empress actually... actually asked another prince to ascend the throne in front of the unconscious Emperor, the entire court, and the Crown Prince!

What is this?

This is not a coup!

This is... a direct usurpation!

"Mother! You've gone mad!!"

Zhu Biao could no longer withstand the successive terrifying shocks. He let out a shrill scream and was on the verge of collapse.

"Father is still here! I, the Crown Prince, am still here! How could you... how could you utter such treasonous words!"

He cried out and struggled to stand up to stop his mother.

However, Empress Ma merely glanced back at him coldly.

With just that one glance, Zhu Biao felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over him from head to toe, and he froze on the spot.

What eyes they were!

There is no mother-child affection, no husband-wife bond, not even the slightest bit of human emotion in it.

What exists is only indifference and resoluteness, like ice that has stood for millennia.

"Zhu Biao".

Empress Ma slowly opened her mouth, addressing her son by his full name for the first time.

"You've been the crown prince for so many years, don't you understand yet?"

"This world belongs to the Zhu family."

"As long as it still bears the surname Zhu, does it really matter who becomes emperor?"

Her voice wasn't loud, but it was like a series of sharp knives, piercing Zhu Biao's heart.

"Your father is old and senile; he can no longer bear the weight of this empire."

"And you..."

Empress Ma looked at Zhu Biao, her eyes revealing an undisguised disappointment.

"You are too weak, too kind, and too... naive."

"You can't protect this country."

After saying that, she ignored the prince, who was now ashen-faced and utterly dejected.

She turned her head and looked at Zhu Muying again. A smile appeared on her cold face, a smile that carried a hint of flattery and expectation.

"Mu Ying, my son."

"In this world, only you can sit firmly."

"Only you can ensure that my Zhu family's empire will remain unshaken for ten thousand generations."

She pointed to the dragon robe and jade seal on the tray behind her, to the civil and military officials in the hall who were already terrified, and to the vast land belonging to the Zhu family outside the window.

He spoke slowly, deliberately, in an almost chanting tone:

"This world is yours."

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

Inside the bedchamber, there was a deathly silence.

Empress Ma's words, "This empire is yours," echoed in everyone's ears like a curse from the deepest hell, lingering endlessly.

Everyone stood frozen in place, like puppets whose souls had been taken away.

Their minds were completely unable to process the absurd, crazy, yet incredibly real scene before them.

The empress forced her son to usurp her husband's throne.

This...this is beyond what can be described by the simple palace coups recorded in history books.

This is the collapse of human relations and the destruction of social order!

Zhu Biao knelt on the ground, holding his unconscious father in his arms, tears streaming silently down his face. His heart was dead.

His mother's resolute decision and his brother's indifference shattered all his dignity and faith as a prince, a son, and an elder brother.

He lost.

From the moment his divine younger brother opened his eyes, he had already lost miserably.

At that moment, civil officials like Li Shanchang and Liu Sanwu felt their hands and feet turn ice-cold, as if they had fallen into an ice cave. What did they see? They saw the end of an era. A dynastic order they had personally helped build, based on Confucian rites and laws, was crumbling before their eyes in the most tragic way.

It's all over...it's all over...

Chaos has broken out. The world is about to descend into utter chaos...

In Li Shanchang's mind, the bloody scene of various regional princes rising up in rebellion to "purge the emperor's inner circle" upon hearing of the upheaval in the capital had already begun to emerge.

In stark contrast to their despair were the generals Xu Da, Lan Yu, and others.

After the initial shock, their eyes gradually changed.

From shock, to confusion, and then... a trace of barely suppressed... excitement!

[Your Majesty the Empress... is right!]

Lan Yu was the first to grasp this concept.

This empire was originally carved out by us old brothers, following His Majesty, sword and spear by sword!

Now that His Majesty is old and senile, and the Crown Prince is weak-willed, spending all his time with those pedantic scholars, how can we military generals expect to have a good life in the future?

But His Highness the King is different!

He's a celestial being! Even more powerful than Zhang Sanfeng! If he became emperor, who would dare challenge our military generals?

[To hell with the idea of ​​using civilian control over the military, and cutting military spending!]

[A god becoming emperor? This... what is this if not the will of Heaven?!]

Lan Yu became more and more excited as she thought about it. She felt that the Empress's actions were not a coup, but rather the most correct and wise decision made for the sake of the Ming Dynasty!

He subconsciously glanced at Xu Da beside him.

Xu Da's weathered old face showed a constantly shifting expression, clearly indicating that he was also engaged in a struggle between his inner thoughts and his own.

Lan Yu gritted her teeth, quietly nudged Xu Da's arm, and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "General... this... this is good news..."

Xu Da's body jolted. He turned his head and glared at Lan Yu with an extremely complex look in his eyes. There was reprimand in his eyes, but more than that, it was... acquiescence.

Yes.

good thing.

For these military generals, and for the newly established and unstable Ming Dynasty, having a "divine emperor" might truly be a great blessing.

At least, there's no longer any need to worry about the remnants of the Mongol Yuan dynasty in the north making a comeback.

At least, we no longer have to worry about the endless factionalism and infighting in the imperial court.

Before absolute, godlike power, all conspiracies and schemes, all political struggles, will become meaningless.

Xu Da slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

He knew he had to make a choice.

Inside the bedchamber, everyone's mindset was undergoing subtle yet dramatic changes.

A faint groan, filled with endless exhaustion and a hoarse voice, rang out from Zhu Biao's arms.

"Water...water..."

It was Zhu Yuanzhang.

He woke up.

"Father! You're awake!"

Zhu Biao was both surprised and delighted, and immediately shouted.

This shout was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake.

All eyes immediately turned to the emperor who had just woken up.

With Zhu Biao's support, Zhu Yuanzhang slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes were initially somewhat confused and empty, but soon, as the strange scene in the bedchamber came into view, his pupils suddenly contracted.

What did he see?

He saw his empress kneeling before his rebellious son's bed.

He saw that behind the Empress, eunuchs were holding the dragon robe, the imperial seal, and the emperor's sword.

He saw his crown prince kneeling on the ground, his face streaked with tears, as if he had lost his parents.

He saw his most trusted civil and military officials standing there, their expressions complex and their eyes flickering, but not one of them came forward to show concern for him, the emperor who had just escaped death.

Scenes flooded his mind like a tidal wave.

Everything that happened before he fell into a coma—the lotus flower that was eaten, the words "I don't care about your empire," the heart-wrenching humiliation and despair—was instantly awakened.

Zhu Yuanzhang's body trembled violently once again.

But this time, he didn't roar or go crazy.

There was no anger on his face.

There was only a kind of... utter... calm, like ashes.

He slowly pushed away Zhu Biao, who was supporting him.

Then, under the tense, almost breathless gaze of everyone, he struggled to his feet, little by little, from the ground.

He stood very steadily.

At that moment, that hunched back seemed to straighten up again.

That domineering aura that belonged to the Hongwu Emperor seemed to have returned to him.

He walked slowly, step by step, to Empress Ma's side.

He did not go to see Empress Ma, nor did he go to see Zhu Muying.

His gaze fell on the eunuch holding the Imperial Seal of the State.

He reached out and took the brocade box.

turn on.

A warm, smooth white jade seal, engraved with the words "By the mandate of Heaven, may your life be long and prosperous," lies quietly inside.

Zhu Yuanzhang gently stroked the jade seal with his calloused and scarred hands.

He had seized and taken this imperial seal; for it, he had killed countless people and shed countless drops of blood.

This was the culmination of his life's work, a symbol of his power, and everything he had ever thought he possessed.

He rubbed it for a long time.

So long that everyone thought he was going to pick up the jade seal and reaffirm that he was the sole master of the world.

However, his next move surprised everyone.

He held the jade seal and slowly turned around.

The object of their attention was not Zhu Muying.

Rather, it was all the civil and military officials inside the hall.

His gaze swept across Li Shanchang's face, across Xu Da's face, across Lan Yu's face, across every face he knew or didn't know.

Finally, his hoarse voice, filled with endless weariness, slowly echoed in the silent bedchamber.

"Our Zhu Chongba rose from a beggar who used to beg for food to a monk who chanted sutras for others, and now he has become the emperor."

"In my life, I've killed more people than you've eaten salt."

"We believed that this world belonged to us."

"We believe that our sons are all ours."

"We can make them do whatever we want them to do."

He spoke slowly, as if recalling something, or perhaps... confessing.

"But today, we were wrong."

He slowly shook his head, a smile on his face that was more like a grimace.

"That's completely wrong."

He turned his head and took a deep look at his son, who had remained expressionless throughout.

That look in his eyes was incredibly complex.

There was resentment, unwillingness, and fear, but more than anything, there was a sense of powerlessness, utter resignation... to fate.

"We're getting old."

"It's time for a younger person to rule this country."

He took a deep breath, as if using the last bit of strength in his body.

Then, in front of everyone, he raised the Imperial Seal, which represented supreme imperial power, high in his hand.

He slowly handed it over to Zhu Muying, who was still sitting cross-legged on the edge of the bed.

"Fourth brother."

For the first time, he addressed his son in an almost equal tone.

"We don't want this country anymore."

He paused, and his eyes, which had once been filled with ruthlessness and scheming, were now empty.

"We will abdicate."

"I'm passing the throne to you..."

After saying this, he seemed to have all his energy drained away, and his body swayed violently before falling backward again.

But this time, he did not fall into a coma.

He simply slumped to the ground, staring blankly at the roof beam, unconsciously muttering a single sentence over and over again.

"Our empire... is gone..."

"That's all..."

Zhu Yuanzhang's words, "We abdicate," filled with endless desolation and despair, were like a final judgment, completely announcing the end of an era.

Inside the bedchamber, there was complete silence.

Everyone was stunned speechless by this sudden, yet seemingly destined, ending.

The emperor voluntarily abdicated.

Moreover, the abdication was given to a son who had just angered him to the point of vomiting blood and falling into a coma.

This is an unprecedented and unparalleled phenomenon in the entire history of China.

Zhu Biao knelt there, looking at his father who was slumped on the ground, looking lost and dejected, and then at his younger brother who was still sitting steadily on the edge of the bed, as if everything was a matter of course. He was filled with mixed feelings.

Sadness? Anger? Resentment?

It seems to have both, but more than anything, it's a kind of...relief and liberation.

Perhaps... this is for the best.

A thought suddenly popped into Zhu Biao's mind.

My father's temperament is too rigid and intense; he cannot tolerate anything beyond his control.

[And the fourth brother... he is no longer human, he is a god.]

Sending a mortal to fight a god was a mistake from the very beginning.

Now, Father has come to his senses and let go. For him and for the Ming Dynasty, this is perhaps the best outcome.

Having figured this out, Zhu Biao's previously anxious heart miraculously calmed down.

He slowly stood up, walked to his mother's side, and helped her up from the ground.

"Mother Empress."

He spoke softly, his voice no longer filled with the cries and questions of before, but only with a sense of... calm acceptance.

Empress Ma glanced at him, and a rare hint of warmth and comfort flickered in her usually icy phoenix eyes. She knew that her son, whom she was most proud of and most worried about, had finally grown up.

And right there within the Zhu family, this delicate power transition was about to be completed.

The civil and military officials in the hall finally recovered from their extreme shock.

They exchanged glances, their faces etched with complexity and struggle.

The emperor has already abdicated.

The Empress and the Crown Prince both acquiesced.

So what should those of them who are subjects do?

It's time to cling to the leg of the former master, weep bitterly, and put on a show of loyalty to one master.

Or... should we submit to fate and welcome the new ruler?

This is a choice that could determine their future fate, and even their lives.

All eyes turned to the two people without prior arrangement.

One was Li Shanchang, the head of the civil officials and the current prime minister.

The other was Xu Da, the foremost military general and Duke of Wei.

Their attitudes will directly determine the direction of the entire court.

At this moment, Li Shanchang felt that his back was completely soaked with cold sweat. His brain was working at an unprecedented speed.

[He abdicated... he really abdicated...]

This...this is against etiquette and ancestral rules!

But... what can I do if I don't accept it?

[His Highness the King... no, the new King... he's a god!]

Trying to reason with deities? Trying to explain ancestral rules? That's like lighting a lamp in a latrine—it's suicidal!

Besides, even the emperor himself has accepted it, and the empress and the crown prince have also accepted it. What would I, as a subject, be if I jumped out to oppose it?

[Like a mantis trying to stop a chariot—utterly overestimating one's own strength!]

Li Shanchang made a decision in an instant.

He is a pure politician. For a politician, nothing is more important than "judging the situation."

Meanwhile, Xu Da's mind was far less conflicted than his.

When Zhu Yuanzhang uttered the words "abdication," Xu Da was overjoyed.

[Hahaha! It worked! It really worked!]

[His Highness the King has become Emperor! Our good days as military generals have begun!]

Let's see how those civil officials dare to act arrogantly towards us now!

He had even begun to plan how to propose to the new emperor, after the emperor ascended the throne, to expand the army and increase military spending, so that the Mongols in the north could be driven to the far north to eat ice.

Just when everyone had their own thoughts and were waiting for a game-changer.

Lan Yu, a fierce general known for his bravery and recklessness, was once again the first to step forward.

He glanced at Xu Da, who was still hesitating, and then at the civil officials who were pretending to be dead, feeling a surge of contempt.

[A bunch of cowards! At a time like this, what are you still pretending for!]

Fortune favors the bold! This immense wealth is right before our eyes; whoever seizes it first will gain the upper hand!

In a moment of impulsiveness, Lan Yu no longer cared about rules or regulations.

With a clang, he threw away the sword in his hand, then lifted the hem of his armor and strode to the center of the bedchamber.

Then, under the astonished gazes of everyone...

He knelt down on both knees and performed a perfect prostration to Zhu Muying, who was still sitting cross-legged on the edge of the bed!

Immediately afterwards, his voice, as loud as a bell and filled with fervor and excitement, boomed in the silent bedchamber!

"Your subject is Lan Yu, Marquis of Yongchang!"

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

That earth-shattering "Greetings, Your Majesty!" was like the sounding of a battle horn.

This completely broke the strange stalemate inside the hall.

Seeing that Lan Yu had already taken the lead, Xu Da cursed inwardly, "You little monkey," and quickly knelt down as well.

"Your subject, Xu Da, Duke of Wei, pays his respects to Your Majesty!"