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

Zhu Biao, clad in full armor, should have been a valiant and extraordinary crown prince, but at this moment he was constantly sobbing, his broad shoulder armor heaving up and down.

He rested his hands on the Chengji Sword, a symbol of the Crown Prince's authority, which was stuck in the gold brick.

If the person who killed his fifth brother was someone else, he could draw his sword.

But that person was her father.

His body was trembling, so much so that his heavy armor made a soft rustling sound.

Large tears rolled down his bloodshot eyes, hitting the cold hilt of the sword, splashing, and then sliding down the blade, mingling with the dark red bloodstains on the ground.

He looked at his fifth brother, who was being held in his mother's arms. His face, which used to always have a sunny smile, was now just ashen.

Zhu Biao's heart was twisted and clenched, the pain making it hard for him to breathe.

My fifth brother is dead.

He died right in front of him.

He was forced to his death by his father, the emperor, with a golden knife.

What did he, as the eldest brother, do?

He knelt on the ground to beg for mercy, he stood in front of his fifth brother, he roared, he cried out.

What's the use of it?

He couldn't change anything.

He watched helplessly as his fifth brother, in order not to implicate him or cause trouble for their father, ran headlong into the knife.

What a failure he was as the crown prince!

He couldn't even protect his own younger brother!

Zhu Shuang, Zhu Gang, Zhu Di, and Zhu Su, his younger brothers, all knelt behind Zhu Biao.

They watched their mother's heartbroken figure and their eldest brother's trembling shoulders, and felt deeply for her.

In their hearts, besides sadness, there was an even deeper chill.

Today it was Fifth Brother who died, but what about tomorrow?

Will it be one of their turn?

In the eyes of their father, what were they, his sons, really?

Are they family, or just pawns he can discard at any time on his path to imperial power?

No one dared to think about it further.

Zhu Biao had already developed a death wish.

He felt he had no face to live anymore.

My fifth brother died because of him.

If he hadn't been a poor crown prince and failed to gain his father's complete trust, why would his father have suspected his fifth brother?

If he hadn't been so resolute and brave just now, why would Fifth Brother have chosen to end everything in this way?

His younger brother is dead; he can't live on alone!

He wanted to go down and keep him company!

"Mother..."

Zhu Biao's voice was terribly hoarse, each word seeming to be forced out of his throat, "It's my fault...it's my fault for not protecting my brother!"

"Your Majesty...I have no words to face you!"

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly raised his head, a resolute glint in his eyes.

He gripped the hilt of Chengji Sword with both hands, spun it sharply, and aimed it at his own neck.

"Biao'er!"

Zhu Yuanzhang had been paying close attention to his son, and upon seeing his actions, he was immediately alarmed and shouted without thinking.

Whether Zhu Muying lives or dies is irrelevant, but Biao'er cannot be harmed in any way!

But he was too far away.

In the blink of an eye, Empress Ma, who had been holding Zhu Muying's body like a stone statue, moved.

Almost instinctively, she reached out and grabbed the incredibly sharp blade of the Chengji Sword!

"Swoosh—" The sound of a sharp blade cutting through flesh was exceptionally clear in the deathly silent hall.

Empress Ma's hand was slashed by the blade of Chengji Sword, leaving a deep, bone-revealing gash from the base of her thumb to her palm.

Blood gushed out instantly.

However, Empress Ma held the sword firmly in her grasp, preventing it from advancing an inch.

Crimson, warm blood dripped from between her fingers, landing on Zhu Muying's cold face, then sliding down her cheeks and dripping into her blood-soaked royal robes.

"Biao'er, I won't let you die."

Empress Ma's voice was soft and calm.

The injury on my hand is nothing compared to the pain of losing my child.

Zhu Biao stared in horror at his mother's blood-soaked hand and at her eyes, which were still dull but incredibly resolute.

"Mother... quickly summon the imperial physician! Mother, I deserve to die! I deserve to die!"

Zhu Biao grasped Ma Xiuying's hand, tears streaming down his face.

All the officials and civil and military officers were deeply shaken by this scene.

They watched as the Empress, in an attempt to stop the Crown Prince from committing suicide, reached for the sharp sword with her bare hands.

The blood didn't drip onto the ground, but onto the hearts of each and every one of them.

Did Zhu Yuanzhang really want to force the country to fall apart and its land to be destroyed?

When Zhu Yuanzhang saw the blood flowing from Empress Ma's hands, his mind went blank and he was completely stunned.

The anger, the imperial majesty, and the murderous aura of "don't mess with me" all vanished the moment they saw that splash of crimson.

The string in his heart finally snapped.

He could accept his son's death, even if he had driven him to it himself.

In his heart, the stability of the empire and the consolidation of imperial power were more important than his son's life.

But he couldn't accept Ma Xiuying being injured!

The woman who accompanied him as he crawled out of piles of corpses, ate grass roots with him, and fought alongside him to conquer the world was Zhu Yuanzhang's only weakness in his life!

He threw down the golden knife in his hand, the murder weapon that had just drunk the blood of his own child, which fell to the ground with a clatter.

The emperor's majesty was gone from his face; only a man's most instinctive fear and heartache for his wife remained.

He scrambled down the steps and rushed to Empress Ma's side.

"Girl! Girl, what's wrong?!"

His voice trembled, choked with sobs: "Girl, don't scare me! Your hand! Your hand is bleeding so much!"

He wanted to touch Empress Ma's hand, but dared not, and was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

"Imperial physician! Summon the imperial physician at once! Are they all dead?! Get over here right now!"

He roared hysterically at the outside of the hall.

However, Empress Ma only gave him a cold look.

That glance held no anger, no resentment, only a deathly, icy stillness.

She released Zhu Biao's sword, letting it fall to the ground.

Then, she reached back and grabbed the Chengji sword, which was still stained with her blood.

She slowly stood up from the ground.

In her arms, she was still holding her already cold son.

She held Zhu Muying's body with her uninjured hand.

The other hand, a bloody mess, gripped the Chengji Sword!

The sword's edge was aimed directly at Zhu Yuanzhang.

Empress Ma pointed her sword at Zhu Yuanzhang: "Zhu Chongba! Give me back my son's life!"