Zhu Yuanzhang: My second son is invincible!

On the third day after King Jinpeng was captured and brought back to the capital, Zhu Biao held a family banquet at the Eastern Palace.

It was supposed to be a family dinner, but there were only a few people.

Zhu Yuanzhang, Empress Ma, Zhu Biao and Lady Chang, Zhu Hui, and little Zhu Xiong Ying being held in Lady Chang's arms.

The other brothers were either in their fiefdoms or outside the palace, so they weren't specifically called back.

As evening fell, the warm pavilion in the East Palace was brightly lit.

When Zhu Li came in carrying his birdcage, Zhu Xiong Ying was lying on the floor playing with tangrams. As soon as she saw him, she jumped up and rushed over, shouting, "Second Uncle! Bird!"

Inside the cage, the Golden Roc King buried his head in his wings, pretending to be dead.

"Good boy, Xiong Ying. This bird is fierce. Your second uncle will catch you a pretty one another day." Zhu Yi handed the cage to the palace maid next to him, squatted down and picked up his nephew.

Zhu Xiong Ying wrapped her arms around his neck, her eyes sparkling: "Second Uncle, is it fun up north?"

"It's alright, it's just windy," Zhu Li said honestly.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat in the main seat, watching this scene with a smile in his eyes.

Empress Ma served the dishes, all of them home-style, but each one was exquisite.

"Second son, come and sit down quickly." Zhu Yuanzhang beckoned.

Zhu Hui put down his nephew and sat down to the seat below Zhu Yuanzhang.

He was dressed in an apricot-yellow casual robe today, his hair neatly tied up, giving him a somewhat princely air, if one ignored the fact that he started staring at the plate of braised pork knuckle on the table as soon as he sat down.

"Dad, is this pork knuckle cooked through?" he asked.

"What do you think of Old Chen's cooking skills in the Imperial Kitchen! Look at you, so greedy, like you haven't eaten meat in eight lifetimes," Zhu Yuanzhang said with a laugh.

Zhu Hui grinned and said, "Meat from the mountains doesn't smell this good."

That's very true.

Hunting in the mountains, the only seasoning is salt. Once it's cooked, it's ready to eat. It's nothing like the slow, meticulous stewing of a royal chef, and there are many other seasonings available.

Madam Chang, holding Zhu Xiong Ying, sat down next to Zhu Biao and said with a gentle smile, "If you like it, Second Brother, come to the East Palace often in the future. I'll have the kitchen prepare more."

"Thank you, sister-in-law." Zhu Li's eyes shone even brighter.

Zhu Biao picked up his teacup, took a sip, and glanced out of the warm pavilion.

It was already dark, and the palace maids and eunuchs stood quietly in the corridor, everything as usual.

……

The west wing of the warm pavilion.

Standing by the window, looking at the light shining from the warm chamber, Lady Lü's fingers were tightly clenched around her handkerchief.

She had been confined to her home for a long time because her main clan, the Lü family, had been wiped out—it was the ruthless Zhu family who did it.

If it weren't for the fact that she gave birth to Zhu Yunwen, the Lü family behind her would have been wiped out.

Right now, she's just being held in jail.

Ostensibly, it was to allow her to reflect on her actions, but in reality, it was house arrest.

But today, she asked the old eunuch in charge of the Eastern Palace's internal affairs to send the Crown Princess a hand-embroidered bellyband, as Lady Chang was pregnant again, just over three months along.

After much hesitation, the old eunuch finally let her out.

You are only allowed to stay in the side room for a quarter of an hour.

Fifteen minutes is enough.

Lady Lü took out a small jade box from her sleeve, opened it, and inside was a palm-sized piece of silk, dark yellow in color, with intricate runes drawn on it, and faintly shimmering with light.

This was the last trump card her father, Lü Ben, left her before his death, a deception to conceal his true intentions.

Taoist secrets can distort perception and create illusions.

If this diagram is used in conjunction with drugging food, the person can be poisoned without even realizing it, and no trace can be found afterward.

Lü Benyuan's original words were:

"If things don't go well, you can use this treasure to try your luck."

What they were gambling on was something the father and daughter understood without saying a word.

Lady Lü stared at the true intention for a moment, took a deep breath, bit her fingertip, and dripped blood onto the center of the pattern.

As the blood slowly seeped in, the runes on the silk glowed faintly.

Lady Lü chanted the incantation in a low voice. It was also taught to her by Lü Ben. It only had seven characters, and although it was very difficult to pronounce, she remembered it very clearly.

When the incantation was recited for the third time, the true intention transformed into a wisp of gray smoke, barely visible to the naked eye, and silently drifted out of the window, flying towards the warm pavilion.

Madam Lü was pale and had to hold onto the window frame to steady herself.

Her Confucian and Taoist cultivation was still too low. Although she could activate this treasure, she still paid a heavy price.

It took a lot of mental effort to activate this thing, but her eyes were frighteningly bright.

"Chang Wan...the little thing in your belly can't stay, you can't stay either, and your bastard child can't stay either..." Madam Lü murmured.

If Chang were to give birth to another son, Zhu Xiong Ying's position would be even more secure.

Her son, Zhu Yunwen, is only one year old now. By the time he grows up, it will be too late.

Therefore, we must act now.

The gray mist of true intention drifted into the warm pavilion, circled above everyone's heads, and then slowly sank down, its target being the bowl of bird's nest soup in front of Madam Chang, a tonic she drank every night to help with her pregnancy.

Just as the ash was about to touch the rim of the bowl...

Zhu Liang, who was gnawing on a pork knuckle, suddenly frowned.

He sensed something was wrong.

I can't quite put my finger on what's wrong, but I just feel uneasy, like there's something dirty nearby.

The shield tattoo on his left arm felt slightly warm, a sensation he had never experienced before.

"Second brother, what's wrong?" Zhu Biao noticed his unusual behavior.

"I don't know, it's just... I suddenly feel a little hungry." Zhu Li put down the pork knuckle and scratched his head.

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and scolded, "There's a table full of food in front of you, and you're still hungry..."

"It wasn't that kind of hunger," Zhu Li herself couldn't explain.

The burning sensation in his left arm became more and more pronounced, as if something was about to burst out.

At this moment, the grayish odor had already seeped into the bird's nest soup, and the soup in the bowl turned a very faint gray color, which was about to dissipate in the blink of an eye.

Unaware of what was happening, Chang picked up a spoon, scooped up a spoonful, and was about to put it in her mouth.

The shield tattoo on Zhu Li's left arm suddenly burst into a dark light.

He didn't summon it; the shield moved on its own.

A pitch-black barrier unfolded from his left arm, instantly enveloping the entire warm pavilion.

The barrier was invisible, but everyone felt a sudden heaviness in their hearts, as if something heavy was pressing down on their breath.

The spoon in Chang's hand fell onto the table with a "clink".

Under the dark light, the bird's nest soup in the bowl revealed its original form. It was no longer a crystal clear soup, but a swirling mass of gray-black mist, within which tiny insect shadows could be vaguely seen rolling.

"Ah!" Chang was so frightened that she stepped back, but Zhu Biao helped her up.

Zhu Yuanzhang abruptly stood up, his face ashen.

Empress Ma also stood up, staring intently at the bowl of bird's nest soup.

Zhu Hui stared blankly at his left arm. The shield had materialized and was floating in front of him, emanating a dark light from its surface. The ancient patterns on the shield were now glowing, as if they had come alive.

"This... I didn't call it out," he said, bewildered.

The dark light lasted for three breaths, then slowly receded.

The shield suddenly made a soft "hum" and transformed back into a tattoo.

But the atmosphere inside the warm room had completely changed.

Zhu Yuanzhang walked up to the bowl of bird's nest soup, stared at it for a moment, and then suddenly kicked the table over.

Bowls and plates shattered, and soup splattered everywhere.

"Jiang Huan!" he growled.

The door to the warm chamber was pushed open, and Jiang Huan, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, stepped in and knelt on one knee: "Your Majesty."

"Investigate!" Zhu Yuanzhang uttered only this one word.

Jiang Huan looked up, his gaze sweeping over the patch of grayish-black mist, his eyes turning cold: "Your subject obeys the decree."