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

Chen Wu's face turned deathly pale instantly.

He knew that what His Highness said was true.

The current emperor, the one who crawled out of a pile of corpses on horseback, hates nothing more than anyone who opposes him.

"Then... what should we do?"

Chen Wu's voice was filled with despair.

To go is to die.

Not going means certain death.

This is a complete dead end!

Zhu Muying did not answer him, but walked to the map and her gaze fell on the huge map of the Ming Dynasty's territory.

His fingers slowly traced the path from the northern frontier, across the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, finally stopping at the city encircled in vermilion.

Jinling.

His gaze pierced through mountains and rivers, reaching the majestic imperial city, the high and mighty dragon throne, and his father, who sat on the throne, both familiar and unfamiliar.

After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice eerily calm.

"Since he wants me to go back, then I'll go back."

"Since he wants to watch a show, then I'll... play along and give him a proper performance."

A cold smile curved his lips.

"Chen Wu".

"Your subordinate is here!"

"I hereby issue my order: Commander Wu Liang of Yanshan Guard and Commander Geng Bingwen of Shanhai Guard shall immediately enter a state of combat readiness and be ready for battle at any time."

"I order my eighteen riders to immediately prepare and return to the capital with me."

"in addition……"

He paused, a complex and unfathomable light flashing in his eyes. "Go to the imperial prison and bring out that death row inmate named 'Zhu Wu' for me."

Chen Wu was suddenly stunned.

Zhu Wu?

The death row inmate who was imprisoned in the imperial prison because he looked seven or eight parts like His Highness?

What does Your Highness want him to do?

A terrifying thought flashed through Chen Wu's mind in an instant.

He suddenly raised his head and looked at Zhu Muying in disbelief.

"Your Highness, you...you mean to..."

Zhu Muying turned around and looked at him with an extremely calm gaze.

"Didn't he just want to watch the show?"

"Then I'll give him a huge surprise."

The day I left the northern frontier, the sky was overcast and the north wind was biting.

Zhu Muying solemnly handed the military tally of the Northern Frontier Army to his deputy, Xiang Yu.

The deputy general, Xiang Yu, had red eyes and his hand holding the military tally was trembling.

"Your Highness, please...please take care!"

All those words ultimately boil down to this one sentence.

Zhu Muying patted his shoulder, said nothing, mounted his horse, and led his eighteen white-horse guards on their journey south without looking back.

The army lined up behind them to see them off, and countless eyes watched them silently until their figures completely disappeared into the end of the sandstorm.

The procession was not moving very fast.

The imperial edict required him to "return to the capital immediately," but Zhu Muying was instead sightseeing.

He didn't take the main road, but instead chose those secluded paths.

They traveled during the day and rested in dilapidated temples or caves in the wilderness at night.

Chen Wu followed beside him, his heart burning with anxiety, yet he dared not ask any more questions.

He knew that His Highness must have had a deeper meaning in doing this.

On this day, the group arrived at a dense forest, and it was already late.

Zhu Muying ordered them to set up camp on the spot.

The campfire was lit, dispelling the chill in the forest.

The guards sat in twos and threes, wiping their weapons, the atmosphere somewhat somber.

Everyone knew that this return to Beijing was fraught with uncertainty.

Zhu Muying sat alone on a rock a little further away, holding a twig in her hand, unconsciously scratching at the ground.

His mind was racing with calculations.

The Emperor's move, though seemingly simple, was in fact extremely ruthless.

He summoned me back to the capital, and then tricked a tiger out of the mountains and forests into a courtyard surrounded by high walls.

In this courtyard, I am a tiger, and he is a tiger too.

But he was the host, and I was the guest.

He can use all the resources in the yard to deal with me.

As for me, I have nothing but my own minions.

What's even more terrifying is that he not only wants my life, but also wants to use it to make an example of me.

Uncle Xu, Uncle Chang, Brother-in-law Lan Yu...

These old brothers who fought alongside him to build the empire have now become thorns in his side.

He needed a reason, a reason sufficient to justify his actions against these meritorious officials.

And I am the best reason.

As soon as I return to the capital, whatever I do or say will be interpreted by him as "having ulterior motives".

If I have any contact with Uncle Xu or his group, he will accuse me of "forming cliques for personal gain".

Then, he can rightfully raise his butcher's knife and eliminate us, whom he sees as "threats," one by one.

What a brilliant scheme, a truly brilliant scheme.

Zhu Muying's gaze grew colder and colder.

He knew he couldn't just sit and wait to die.

He must find enough helpers and prepare enough weapons before returning to that courtyard.

"Your Highness."

Chen Wu's voice interrupted his thoughts.

He held a roasted rabbit, golden brown in his hand, and handed it to me.

"Have something to eat."

Zhu Muying took the rabbit but didn't eat it. Instead, she looked at the campfire and asked, "Have things been arranged for 'Zhu Wu'?"

Chen Wu nodded. "It's all arranged. My subordinates have already sent someone to take him to the designated location. As long as we proceed according to plan, we should be there the day after tomorrow."

"Um."

Zhu Muying responded and then asked, "Is there any news from the capital?"

Chen Wu's expression darkened. "Yes. Our people planted in the palace have sent word out."

He took a letter out of his pocket and handed it to Zhu Muying.

The envelope was an ordinary envelope, with the inscription "To my son Muying" and the signature "Mother".

Zhu Muying felt a warmth in her heart.

In this cold palace, the only one who truly cared for him was probably Empress Ma, who was not his biological mother but was more like one than his own.

He opened the letter, and inside were just some everyday words of concern and care.

"My son, you have been fighting on the frontier for three years, enduring wind and rain, and you must have lost a lot of weight. As your mother in the palace, I pray for you day and night, hoping for your safe return soon. I heard that His Majesty has bestowed a marriage upon you, and I am overjoyed. The Xu family girl is a good girl. After you return to the capital, you must not act like you did on the battlefield, and you must treat her well..."

He wrote a long and detailed piece, filling an entire page.

Chen Wu watched from the side, somewhat puzzled.

"Your Highness, Her Majesty the Empress's letter... didn't mention anything important?"

Zhu Muying did not answer, but instead held the letter up to the firelight and looked at it carefully.

His gaze slowly swept over every word and every stroke of the letter.

As he looked at it, his brows gradually furrowed.

"wrong."

He said softly.

"What's wrong?"

Chen Wu quickly asked.

"I recognize my mother's handwriting. Her handwriting has always been gentle and graceful, with even strength. But this letter..."

Zhu Muying pointed to a few words on the letter and said, "Look here, the last stroke of the character '安' (peace) is noticeably heavier than the other strokes."

"And here, the stroke of the character '待' in '好生待人家' is written with extra force."

"And this line, 'Never again display your battlefield temper,' the transition between the two words 'temper' and 'battle temper' is a bit hesitant. I hesitated a lot when I wrote it."

Chen Wu leaned closer, stared wide-eyed, and looked for a long time, but couldn't figure it out.

In his opinion, all these characters were written quite well, so there was no difference between them.

"Your Highness, perhaps you are overthinking it? Maybe Her Majesty's hand just trembled a little while she was writing?"

"impossible."

Zhu Muying flatly denied it.

He knew Empress Ma too well.

Empress Ma came from a humble background, but she was well-educated and had excellent handwriting, which she had learned from a master calligrapher.

It is absolutely impossible for such a situation, where the intensity fluctuates and the pressure remains inconsistent, to occur.

unless……

She's trying to convey some kind of message to me in this way!

Zhu Muying's mind raced.

Heavy strokes, stagnant...

What does this mean?

Safety……

treat……

temper……

He pondered those words repeatedly in his mind.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him!

He suddenly stood up and quickly scorched the letter over the fire.

The edges of the letter were instantly charred yellow by the heat.

Then he laid the letter flat on the ground and poured some water from his water bag onto it.

A miraculous scene unfolded.

After the letter was soaked in water, some very faint, almost invisible words slowly emerged next to the original writing!

Those words were written with a special solution that only becomes visible when heated with fire and then exposed to water.

This is a "secret message" that the brothers invented when they were young in order to avoid their father checking their homework!

Later, when his elder brother became the crown prince, he went to the army and was never used again.

Unexpectedly, today, his mother sent him the real message in this way!

Chen Wu stood to the side, dumbfounded.

"This...this is..."

Zhu Muying ignored him, staring intently at the words that slowly appeared on the letter.

It contains only a few words, just a few lines.

"The emperor's heart is unfathomable; murderous intent has already been revealed."

"The Xu family has been imprisoned, and the Crown Prince has been silenced."

"The Beijing garrison was rotated, and the Imperial Guards were densely packed with soldiers."

"Coming here means certain death, not rebirth."

"Don't return! Escape immediately!"

These twenty short words, each one like a heavy hammer, struck Zhu Muying's heart hard!

Your heart is unfathomable; murderous intent has already been revealed!

Father, you really want to kill me!

The Xu family is under surveillance, and the eldest brother has been silenced!

He's trying to completely isolate me and cut off all my escape routes!

The Beijing garrison is being rotated out, and the Imperial Guards are now densely deployed!

The entire city of Jinling has become a net, just waiting for me to walk right into it!

Don't come back!

Run!

This was the final warning that the Empress Dowager had sent him after exhausting all means!

Your Majesty, I am an unfilial son.

My child, you must not run away.

Zhu Muying looks back at Jinling!

Zhu Yuanzhang!

Do you think that a single imperial edict from you can disarm my million-strong army?