Zhu Yuanzhang: My second son is invincible!

Three days later, before dawn, the village dogs started barking.

It wasn't just one dog, it was the whole village barking wildly, the kind of barking that comes out when there's a big commotion.

Zheng Dazhu pulled up his trousers and came out of the house, looking out over the fence.

Dust billowed up on the mountain road as eight swift horses galloped toward the village. They were fine horses, jet black, and the sound of their hooves flying could be heard from a great distance.

The riders were all dressed in flying fish robes, with embroidered spring knives at their waists and small flags stuck on their backs.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Zheng Dazhu's legs went weak, and he almost sat down on the ground.

The highest-ranking official he had ever met in his life was a county clerk; he had only ever heard of legendary figures like the Embroidered Uniform Guard in casual conversations.

Apart from His Highness the Crown Prince, whom I met just a few days ago.

"My...my mother! Someone's here!"

Zheng Huangshi came out of the kitchen wearing an apron and holding a spoon for stirring porridge.

Upon seeing the group of people in the distance, the spoon clattered to the ground.

The commotion alerted the side room.

Zhu Biao pushed open the door and came out, already dressed in a brocade robe and jade belt, his hair neatly combed.

He glanced at the mountain road, his face expressionless, and simply said, "They're here."

In the west room, Zhu Hui rubbed his eyes and came out, shirtless, the axe and shield tattoo on his left arm glowing dark red in the morning light.

"Brother, what's wrong?" He wasn't fully awake yet.

"The imperial edict has arrived," Zhu Biao said.

No sooner had he finished speaking than the eight riders arrived outside the courtyard gate.

The leader was a middle-aged eunuch with a fair complexion and no beard, who dismounted his horse with clean and swift movements.

He glanced around the courtyard, his gaze lingering on Zhu Biao for a moment, then unfolded the yellow silk in his hand and sang in a shrill voice:

"His Majesty has decreed that Prince Zhu Hui be summoned back to the capital immediately!"

The sound was high-pitched and sharp, startling the birds in the trees into flight.

Mr. and Mrs. Zheng knelt down immediately, their heads bowed low.

Zheng Daya poked her head out of the house, but Zheng Huangshi grabbed her and pulled her back to the ground.

Only Zhu Biao and Zhu Li remained standing in the courtyard.

Zhu Li scratched his head, looked at the yellow silk in the eunuch's hand, then at Zhu Biao, and asked, "Brother, what did he say?"

He actually understood the words "return to Beijing," but he didn't quite understand the long string of literary phrases that preceded them.

Zhu Biao translated: "Father wants you to go home, now, immediately."

"Oh! What about the cured meat I hung up to dry? I just hung it up yesterday," Zhu Liang replied unconsciously.

The eunuch's lips twitched.

For twenty years, he issued imperial edicts. Among those who received them, some cried, some laughed, and some fainted from fright, but none of them cared about the cured meat.

"Your Highness...you can bring the cured meat with you," the eunuch said with difficulty.

"Alright, I'll go get some cured pork and my pickled vegetables. They smell so good, I'll take some to my parents." Zhu Li turned and ran towards the kitchen.

Zhu Biao watched his younger brother's retreating figure with a smile in his eyes.

He turned to the eunuch, his tone gentle but authoritative: "Eunuch Wang, you must be tired from your journey. Now that the imperial decree has been delivered, please wait a moment while my brother packs his belongings."

"No, no, this servant will wait." Eunuch Wang bowed, his attitude unusually respectful.

He was an old hand in the palace and knew that although this Crown Prince looked gentle and refined, if he really got down to business, he was no less ruthless than Emperor Hongwu.

Last year, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was found out by the Crown Prince for tampering with disaster relief funds. On the surface, the Crown Prince advised His Majesty to exile him, but in the end, he sent the entire family of 76 people, young and old, to Liaodong to cultivate land, under the guise of "atone for his crime by performing good deeds."

Zhu Biao walked up to Zheng Dazhu and his wife, and personally helped them up, saying, "Uncle, Aunt, don't kneel, the ground is cold."

Zheng Dazhu's legs were still weak: "Your...Your Highness, this imperial edict..."

"It's nothing, just picking up my brother from his hometown. You two should also pack up. In a few days, I'll send someone to pick you up and take you to Yingtian," Zhu Biao said with a smile.

Zheng Dazhu opened his mouth, but didn't dare to refuse again.

He suddenly felt that the Crown Prince's smile was more unsettling than his smile when he wasn't smiling.

……

Half an hour later, Zhu Li came out carrying a large bundle on his back.

The bundle was bulging, containing not only cured meat and pickled vegetables, but also pancakes that Zheng Huangshi had baked overnight, several pairs of straw sandals made by Zheng Dazhu, and a bag of wild fruit stuffed in by Zheng Daya.

"Brother, let's go!" Zhu Hui grinned, revealing a set of white teeth.

Zhu Biao felt a mix of sadness and amusement as he watched him act as if he were about to visit relatives.

"Is that all?" Zhu Biao asked.

"Ah! That's enough. I still left some cured meat for Dad and the others!" Zhu Li weighed the bundle in his hand; it must have weighed at least a hundred or eighty pounds, but he carried it as if it were nothing.

Zhu Biao said nothing more, then turned to Eunuch Wang and said, "Let's set off."

"Yes, ma'am."

Eight imperial guards led the way, with Zhu Biao and Zhu Hui sharing a carriage. The carriage was temporarily transferred from the county government office; it wasn't luxurious, but it was spacious enough.

The Zheng family of three stood at the gate of their courtyard, watching the convoy leave.

Zheng Daya suddenly broke free from her mother's hand and chased after the carriage, shouting, "Brother! Remember to come back and see me!"

Zhu Hui leaned out of the car window and waved vigorously, saying, "Hey! Once I've established myself in the capital, I'll take you out for a delicious meal!"

The carriage gradually disappeared into the distance.

Zheng Huangshi's tears finally fell, and Zheng Dazhu hugged his wife and daughter, remaining silent for a long time.

……

The mountain road winds its way through the mountains.

Inside the carriage, Zhu Biao took out paper and pen and laid them out on a small table.

"Brother, since you have some free time now, I'll teach you to read," Zhu Biao said with a smile, seeing his younger brother so bored.

Zhu Li leaned closer to look; three characters were written on the paper.

Zhu, Biao, Li...

"This is our surname, this is my brother's given name, and this is your given name," Zhu Biao said, pointing to each character and reading them aloud to Zhu Hui.

Zhu Li stared at the character "樳" (liu), his brows furrowed, and said, "This... how many strokes does it have!"

In fact, Zhu Li could roughly recognize some of the characters, even though they were in traditional characters. After all, he was a high-achieving student who had completed nine years of compulsory education.

However, if he suddenly became familiar with these characters, it would certainly not be in line with his status, so he still had to pretend to know them.

Zhu Biao smiled and said, "Take your time, no rush."

Zhu Li said with a pained expression, "Brother, can we learn something simple first, like... characters with fewer strokes..."

He genuinely felt those words were more useful.

Zhu Biao chuckled: "Alright, then let's start with '一,' '已,' '丁'..."

He wrote a few words on the paper, but there were indeed far fewer strokes.

Zhu Hui immediately pretended to be very interested, leaned closer to look, and even gestured with her fingers.

He has big hands and thick fingers, and his pen-holding posture is awkward, like he's holding an axe, but he studies diligently.

The carriage jolted, and the writing became crooked and messy. After all, it was calligraphy, and I really didn't know how to use it properly.

After studying for a while, Zhu Hui suddenly looked up and asked, "Brother, is Father fierce...? I heard that the emperor beheads people."

Zhu Biao paused, his pen poised.

He recalled the Vice Minister of Rites who was skinned alive last year, the corrupt official from Zhejiang who was executed by slow slicing the year before last, and the year before that... His father had indeed beheaded many people, so many that even the historians couldn't remember them all.

"Dad is very good to his family, but he never shows mercy to bad people," Zhu Biao finally said.

He put down his pen, looked into Zhu Hui's eyes, and said seriously, "Brother Hui, you must remember that from now on you will be a prince, the Prince of Wu of the Ming Dynasty. In this world, some people will respect you, some people will hate you, some people will want to curry favor with you, and some people will want to harm you."

Those who harm you should be dealt with decisively; there should be no soft-heartedness.

Zhu Hui nodded, seemingly understanding, and said, "Just like those monsters in the mountains that plague the village, can we also kill the bad guys who separated us...?"

"Yes, the same." Zhu Biao was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then smiled and nodded.

"I really hope to see them soon..." Zhu Li was already itching to go.

The carriage continued on its way.

Zhu Hui was tired from studying and took a nap against the carriage.

Zhu Biao put away his paper and pen, lifted the carriage curtain, and looked outside.

The autumn colors are in full bloom along both sides of the mountain road.

He recalled the secret report he received last night: the Embroidered Uniform Guard had discovered that Chen Youliang's former subordinates were behind the chaos in Taiping Prefecture twenty-two years ago.

Those people failed to assassinate the emperor, so they kidnapped the newborn second prince, intending to use him as a bargaining chip, but later somehow lost him.

Those people haven't been idle over the years either.

A cold glint flashed in Zhu Biao's eyes.

Some accounts need to be settled.