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

Just when everyone thought the situation was settled and Zhu Muying was doomed.

Empress Ma walked up to Zhu Muying and took her hand.

"Zhu Chongba, if you're going to kill someone, kill me first!"

……

On the walls of Jinling.

"This Zhu Muying is a wolf in sheep's clothing! He actually used such a despicable trick of substitution to deceive His Majesty and mislead the people! His intentions are wicked! His crime deserves to be executed!"

"That's right!" Another censor jumped up, pointing righteously at Zhu Muying below the city walls, "Such sorcery must have been taught by those remnants of the Northern Yuan! Prince Ying is nominally a prince of our Great Ming, but in reality, he has already sided with the Tartars, attempting to overthrow our Great Ming!"

"Your Majesty, please immediately issue an order to arrest these traitors and their accomplices, and to punish them severely as a warning to others!"

For a time, the crowd on the city wall was filled with indignation.

Those civil officials who were just moments ago trembling like quails have now transformed into loyal and devoted ministers who protect the country.

They saw it very clearly.

Now, Zhu Yuanzhang commands an army of 500,000, giving him an absolute advantage.

And what about Zhu Muying?

Although his resurrection caused quite a stir, in the end, he was just a figurehead. The so-called "Northern Frontier Army" was nowhere to be seen.

More importantly, the double in the coffin is irrefutable evidence of his treacherous schemes!

Is this still a choice?

Even a fool knows which side to stand on!

They all knelt before Zhu Yuanzhang, shouting "Long live the Emperor!" and singing his praises. They lauded Zhu Yuanzhang as the greatest sage ruler of all time, while condemning Zhu Muying as an unpardonable traitor.

As Zhu Yuanzhang listened to these flattering words and looked at the crowd below the city, who were becoming somewhat agitated and confused because of the "stand-in," his confidence returned once again.

He looked at Zhu Muying with a cold smile, his eyes filled with the air of a victor.

"Do you see that? That's human nature!"

"Do you think you can fool the world with your tricks and deception? Faced with irrefutable facts, all your pretense will be exposed!"

"Now that we have both witnesses and physical evidence, what else do you have to say?!"

His voice was filled with a condescending, judgmental tone.

However, just when everyone thought Zhu Muying would panic or be unable to defend herself.

Xu Da, the silent military genius of the Ming Dynasty, suddenly spoke up.

His gaze was not on Zhu Muying, nor on Zhu Yuanzhang on the city wall, but fixed on the "corpse" in the coffin.

He looked at the face that was exactly the same as Zhu Muying's, and at the familiar python robe. A detail that he had overlooked for a long time suddenly came to mind.

His pupils contracted sharply, and his face showed unprecedented shock.

He remembered.

Three months ago, His Majesty summoned him to the palace under the pretext of discussing the marriage between Xu Miaoyun and the Prince of Ying.

At that time, he saw from afar that the King of England, wearing a brand-new python robe, was being "invited" into the direction of the prison by a group of eunuchs.

The style of that python robe was exactly the same as the one worn by the corpse in the coffin!

A terrifying thought, one that sent chills down his spine, exploded in his mind in an instant.

Could it be that……

From the moment the King was recalled to the capital three months ago, was he switched at birth?

The one imprisoned in the dungeon from the very beginning was this stand-in?!

As soon as the thought crossed Xu Da's mind, he felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

If so...

So where exactly did Zhu Muying go during those three months?

What is he doing?

He suddenly raised his head and looked at the boy who still had a calm expression.

Lan Yu, Chang Yuchun, and the others had clearly thought of this as well. Looking at Xu Da's horrified face, and then at the double in the coffin, they all gasped in shock.

They finally understood why the King of England had come back to life.

Because the one who died wasn't him at all!

They finally understood why the emperor would go to such lengths and set up such a scheme.

I'm afraid Zhu Muying has long harbored rebellious intentions!

The real Zhu Muying, who was the instigator of all this, completely disappeared from everyone's sight during these three months.

He was like a master chess player who used a substitute as a piece to attract everyone's attention, while he himself had already stepped out of the game and secretly set up an even bigger scheme!

Thinking of this, Xu Da, Lan Yu, and the others felt a chill run down their spines.

The way they looked at Zhu Muying had completely changed.

It was no longer about looking at a junior, but at a brave and skilled general.

Instead, they were looking at someone who was as unfathomable as their emperor, or even more so!

They realized that the power struggle between Zhu Muying and Zhu Yuanzhang had probably started as early as three months ago, or even earlier.

Thinking about it this way, Your Highness, these past three months, you might have been preparing... a rebellion!

rebellion!

When this thought popped into the minds of Xu Da, Lan Yu, and the others, they were all startled.

They glanced instinctively at the furious emperor on the city wall, then at the calm prince below, and felt a chill creep up their spines.

This father and son are practically identical!

Equally ruthless! Equally patient! Equally capable of treating people's hearts and the world as a chessboard!

Zhu Yuanzhang used a scheme involving the "killing of his son" to lure out these disgruntled nobles and military generals, intending to eliminate them all in one fell swoop.

And what about Zhu Muying?

He was even more skilled! He used the life of a double to not only see through Zhu Yuanzhang's trap, but also turned the tables on Zhu Yuanzhang!

He used this "funeral" to expose Zhu Yuanzhang's cold-blooded ruthlessness, Empress Ma's grief, the anger of the people of the city, and the righteous indignation of his old brothers.

He caused Zhu Yuanzhang to lose all popular support in a single day!

What a terrifying scheme! What ruthless methods!

Looking at Zhu Muying's young yet profound face, Xu Da felt a sense of powerlessness for the first time.

He realized that he had never truly understood this young man.

He thought he was just a war god who was braver than the rest of the army, but he never expected that his strategies were so profound and terrifying.

Uncle Xu.

Just as Xu Da was in shock, Zhu Muying's voice suddenly rang in his ears.

Xu Da suddenly came to his senses and saw that Zhu Muying had walked up to him at some point and was looking at him with a calm gaze.

"Did you notice it too?" Zhu Muying asked.

Xu Da's lips moved, but in the end, it only turned into a long sigh.

What could he say?

You say Your Highness is so shrewd and far-sighted that even we old folks have been outsmarted by you?

Or is Your Highness so audacious that you dare to play this game of exterminating nine generations of your family with His Majesty?

"Your Highness... what exactly... happened?" Xu Da's voice was somewhat hoarse.

Are you really not afraid of having your entire family executed?