Emperor Ming: Your Majesty, you have caused me so much suffering.

After leaving Wenhua Hall, Zhu Qiyu did not leave the palace, but headed towards Changle Palace.

It was time to pay respects to his mother, Consort Wu. News traveled very fast in the palace, and with the eunuch Xing'an accompanying Zhu Qiyu, Empress Dowager Sun's previous arrangements were rendered ineffective.

Zhu Qiyu traveled to Changle Palace without any obstacles.

When Consort Wu heard from the palace servants that Zhu Qiyu had arrived, she was overjoyed. She hurriedly put down her work and, without waiting for Zhu Qiyu to enter the palace to pay his respects, headed towards the palace gate.

"Brother Yu!"

Zhu Qiyu heard her voice before he saw her, knowing that his mother was coming out to greet him, and he dared not be negligent.

He hurriedly instructed Xing'an, "Xing'an, you don't need to follow me. There are a few things you urgently need to do!"

Xing'an nodded. With Prince Cheng safely arrived at Chang Le Palace, he had no further concerns and said, "I hope Your Highness will give instructions; this servant will act immediately!"

"First, quickly take control of the Directorate of Ceremonial and the Eastern Depot, and force Jin Ying to relinquish his power over the palace. The palace gates must be under your control. As for the process, I will not interfere."

"Secondly, to assist Lu Zhong in taking control of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"Thirdly, regarding the twelve palace administration offices, find out which palace servants are usable and which are not, and submit a list."

Fourthly, inform Lu Zhong that those convicted officials must be interrogated thoroughly and slowly! If they survive until a general amnesty is granted, then those few are considered lucky to survive!

"This servant will certainly not fail in my duty!"

Xing'an hurriedly accepted the order and left; Zhu Qiyu's subtext was quite clear.

If a general amnesty is granted, wouldn't that mean the Prince of Cheng will ascend the throne, and my bet will be a resounding success?

Empress Dowager Sun had already softened her stance and tacitly agreed that Prince Cheng could act as he saw fit, so Xing'an no longer had any reservations.

Upon seeing Consort Wu at the palace gate, Zhu Qiyu hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your unfilial son greets Your Majesty. How has Your Majesty been lately?"

"Yu-ge'er, what are you doing? Get up, get up!" Consort Wu carefully examined her son, her smile undisguised.

Zhu Qiyu helped Consort Wu into the hall, and the two sat down and dismissed the palace servants.

Consort Wu Xian asked, "Is Xing'an one of your people?"

In fact, after witnessing Zhu Qiyu instructing Xing'an, she was already 100% certain.

"Exactly!"

"But the outcome is already decided?"

Consort Wu had been in the palace for decades, and her insight was unmatched by ordinary people. Xing'an's blatant following was undoubtedly a betrayal of Empress Dowager Sun, given his status as a favored minister of the late emperor. If he had no backing, he would dare to act so arrogantly unless he was insane.

Zhu Qiyu glanced at his mother in surprise, nodded, and then recounted the events of the past few days to Consort Wu.

"I never imagined so many dangerous things would happen. Are you prepared?" Consort Wu listened to the details, and while she was amazed, she was still somewhat shaken.

"From the moment I accepted the responsibility of overseeing the country, there was no turning back!"

Consort Wu glanced at her son with a sense of relief. This choice felt somewhat unfamiliar to her, but as a mother, how could she not be happy that Zhu Qiyu had grown up to this point?

"You needn't worry about palace affairs. I've been in the inner palace for decades and won't cause you any trouble!" Consort Wu paused, then said, "I heard it was you who requested an immediate audience with Shen as Crown Prince?"

Zhu Qiyu nodded slightly and said, "That night, due to the urgency of the situation, I had no choice but to take expedient measures to seize the power of regent. Was this move inappropriate?"

"No, there's nothing wrong with it," Consort Wu shook her head. "If you hadn't done that back then, I'm afraid the Empress Dowager wouldn't have given in now. When pushed to the limit, she can be ruthless. She was able to force Empress Hu to step down from the throne back then, which shows how determined she was. As the Crown Prince, she still has leverage and won't fight you to the death."

Zhu Qiyu glanced at Consort Wu, and now they were truly on the same page. Just moments ago, in the Wenhua Hall, Zhu Qiyu had been pondering why Empress Dowager Sun had yielded so quickly, and the root cause must lie here.

Perhaps Empress Dowager Sun had other plans, namely to try every means to bring Zhu Qizhen back, otherwise all her schemes would be in vain.

"In your opinion, Mother, how should I act?"

At this moment, Zhu Qiyu sincerely sought advice, after all, Consort Wu was the least likely person to harm him.

"Could you discuss this with a senior official?"

Zhu Qiyu shook his head and said, "Not yet, but Yiming and Xing'an have already investigated and found that the court officials have such intentions. I have already instructed Xing'an to handle the palace affairs, and I believe the court officials will soon receive the news and will not remain indifferent."

If the court officials don't react to such an obvious move, then everyone should just disperse and wait to die together!

"This matter can be left unsaid; you can only passively accept it and repeatedly decline," Consort Wu advised. "Being too hasty will invite accusations of usurpation."

"Here you go!"

Consort Wu suddenly remembered something and said, "If a court official petitions, you must send someone urgently south to seek help from the Prince of Min and ask for his opinion. You must make sure he nods. Even if he doesn't nod, you must still make the gesture as if he agrees! Then you can treat the Prince of Min well afterward."

Zhu Qiyu was startled and looked at his mother, realizing he had almost forgotten about this.

Prince Min, Zhu Pian, was the eighteenth son of Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang. According to seniority, he was Zhu Qiyu's great-uncle. Although this great-uncle lived a miserable and unremarkable life, he lived a long and tough life, becoming a living fossil of the imperial clan and the head of the clan.

While the most prestigious figure was Prince Xiang, Zhu Zhanxian, for him to truly ascend the throne, Prince Min, Zhu Pian, needed to represent the imperial clan and endorse him; even Prince Xiang wasn't qualified. There was no way around it; the ancestral precepts and rituals were established by Prince Min's father.

"I know!"

Zhu Qiyu became extremely respectful at this moment, proving that having an elder in the family is indeed a treasure.

"There is one more thing. If it comes to that point, you will grant a general amnesty. You must make good use of this opportunity and not just listen to your ministers."

Zhu Qiyu pondered for a moment and said, "I have a plan. Mother, you may consider it for me."

"I'd like to hear more details!"

Zhu Qiyu then stated his thoughts: "I ordered the officials to quickly eliminate Wang Zhen's faction in order to avoid a general amnesty and reduce their punishment. Secondly, I intend to take advantage of the amnesty to release the civil and military officials involved in the Tumu Crisis and those who committed crimes today, and to posthumously honor the deceased civil and military officials, thereby showing them kindness."

Consort Wu nodded repeatedly, quite satisfied with Zhu Qiyu's actions. Seeing that Consort Wu did not object, Zhu Qiyu continued, "I also wish to emulate Emperor Taizong's actions, using a general amnesty to release palace women, or to bestow palace women upon the princes as a reward for supporting me."

"Alright, I have no worries now, no worries at all!"

Consort Wu's eyes were full of smiles, and she was completely relieved.

By releasing the palace servants, Zhu Qiyu effectively cleansed the palace to some extent, dismantling the power left by Empress Dowager Sun and Zhu Qizhen. He could then use the palace servants from the Prince's Mansion and recruit new people into the palace. This was a radical and legitimate strategy.

After all, Emperor Taizong had done this before, so it was only natural for his descendants to follow suit.

"There is one more thing I wish to ask my mother."

Consort Wu seemed to see through Zhu Qiyu's thoughts and slowly asked, "Are you asking how the Crown Prince should handle this?"

Zhu Qiyu's eyes lit up, and he said with great admiration, "No one is more wise than my mother! That's exactly right!"

"You cannot depose him for now. Not only should you not depose him, I suggest you keep Jian Shen by your side and raise him. Before you have real power, you must not have any thoughts of deposing or establishing a new crown prince. You are only in your twenties, and you have a long future ahead of you. You can learn from the case of Crown Prince Yiwen (Zhu Biao). Even your grandfather's case was very mysterious."

Zhu Qiyu was filled with regret. He should have come to see his mother first, instead of wasting so much brainpower. Now he had another idea.

Consort Wu offered another perspective: what if she outlived the Crown Prince? After all, Zhu Biao died earlier than Zhu Yuanzhang, and Zhu Gaochi reigned for less than a year. If Zhu Di had lived longer, it would have been hard to say whether the throne would have gone to Prince Han, Zhu Gaoxu, or Zhu Zhanji.

If Zhu Jianshen could be outlived, this would be the most ideal and uncontroversial way to change the heir apparent.

More importantly, keeping Zhu Jianshen by her side made Empress Dowager Sun hesitant to act rashly.

"Your Majesty is wise. I have the same concerns. I fear the Empress Dowager is unwilling to let go, and if she obstructs me repeatedly, I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to succeed!"

Consort Wu disagreed, saying, "Don't worry too much. If you become emperor in the future, educating the crown prince will be one of your responsibilities. You are in the right in this matter. Jian Shen is not the empress's son. If you want to get close to Jian Shen, even the empress dowager can't stop you. You can let Ling Shu raise Jian Shen. As for the officials in the Eastern Palace, you can send trusted senior officials to take up the positions."

Zhu Qiyu was taken aback upon hearing this. He realized he had misjudged the situation and had to admit that his mother's words made sense.

Historically, when Zhu Qiyu deposed Zhu Jianshen from his position as crown prince, even Empress Dowager Sun couldn't stop him. So what about custody? This problem that had been giving him a headache for days turned out to be no big deal. Who could he complain to?

"Mother, what do you think if I abolish the practice of funerary sacrifice?"

Consort Wu was startled. After pondering for a long time, she slowly said, "I cannot make a decision for you on this matter. If necessary, go and ask Hu Ying; he can give you the answer. This matter should be delayed, or even not done at all. If it succeeds, it will greatly benefit your reputation, but if it fails, you will become an unfilial descendant who changes ancestral rules. You are to be an emperor, not a saint. Think carefully about everything!"

"I understand, I have already made up my mind!"