The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the Somersault Cloud, Old Zhu was so envious he cried!

As the group was eating, Empress Ma suddenly put down her chopsticks and asked, "Ming'er, what do you plan to do with that Li woman?"

With his mouth stuffed with roasted meat and his cheeks bulging, Zhu Ming looked up from his rice bowl at the Empress Ma, staring blankly ahead.

"The Li family?"

He blinked, thought for a long time, but still couldn't remember who this person was!

"Who is the Li family?"

Empress Ma: "..."

Looking at her son's carefree attitude, she didn't know what to say for a moment.

This brat, he's always fighting and killing on the streets during the day, all high and mighty, but he doesn't even remember people's names.

Xu Miaoyun, unable to bear watching any longer, covered her mouth and laughed, "Your Highness, have you forgotten? Li Shi is Qian Youde's wife, and also the daughter of the Li family head from earlier."

"oh--"

Zhu Ming slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing what was going on.

"Oh, it's her. I wondered who it was."

With food in his mouth, he mumbled, "That old man's face was so swollen, who could recognize his daughter?"

Empress Ma: "..."

She took a deep breath and resisted the urge to flick Zhu Ming's forehead.

After a pause, Empress Ma spoke again:

"Then tell me, what do you plan to do with this Li woman?"

"The head of the Li family said he was willing to offer 100,000 catties of grain in exchange for his daughter's life."

"So, tell me, are you going to switch this deal or not?"

Without even thinking, Zhu Ming blurted out:

"Of course I won't change it!"

Upon hearing this, the entire table fell silent.

Wang Defa, who was sitting to the side, trembled slightly as he held the bowl.

That's 100,000 jin of grain!

Your Highness actually said you wouldn't change it?

He secretly glanced at Zhu Ming, and a sense of unease began to creep into his mind.

You must know that this place had just suffered a severe drought, the fields yielded no harvest, the people were displaced, and the dead lay everywhere.

If we had those 100,000 jin of grain, I wonder how many lives we could have saved!

This is clearly a sure-fire way to make money.

If it were Wang Defa making this decision, he probably would have agreed on the spot.

How can Your Highness not change it?

Xu Miaoyun glanced at Zhu Ming thoughtfully and said softly, "Does Your Highness hate evil so much that you disdain making such a deal with the Li family head?"

Empress Ma remained silent, but judging from her expression, she clearly shared the same thought.

She spoke slowly and gently, guiding him:

"Ming'er, do you know what those 100,000 catties of grain mean?"

"This place has just suffered a severe drought, and the crops have failed. The people are starving and desperate for food."

"If you obtain this batch of grain, you will not only be able to provide relief to the disaster victims and win over the hearts of the people, but you will also be able to present your father, the Emperor, with a truly substantial achievement."

"This deal is neither a loss for the public nor a loss for the private sector."

"Think about it some more, there's no rush to give an answer!"

Zhu Ming put down his chopsticks, looked at Empress Ma, and said seriously, "Mother, I know all that you're saying, but I still won't change it."

Empress Ma's expression froze: "Why?"

Zhu Ming retorted confidently, "Why should I agree?"

"Is the grain belonging to the Li family really theirs?"

"That was money his son-in-law, Qian Youde, embezzled from the government's grain rations, squeezing it out of the people's mouths!"

"To put it bluntly, this batch of grain originally belonged to the Zhu family!"

"He took my food to save his daughter's life?"

"No matter how I look at it, I'm the one who's at a disadvantage!"

Zhu Ming grew angrier as he spoke, and slammed his hand on the table, saying:

"He's got the nerve to try and do business with me using the things in my pocket, acting like he's been ripped off?"

"You think you can get anything out of here? Not a chance!"

Empress Ma: "..."

Xu Miaoyun: "..."

Wang Defa: "..."

The table was completely silent.

The three men looked at the indignant Sixth Prince and were at a loss for words.

They thought that Zhu Ming disagreed because he hated evil and was unwilling to compromise with others.

The result was good.

They didn't think that far ahead at all.

They simply felt that this deal was a loss.

Empress Ma rubbed her forehead, about to speak.

at this time,

Suddenly, footsteps came from outside the door.

A servant hurried in, bowed, and reported:

"Your Highness, Huang Zi'an, the head of the Huang family, requests an audience."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Ming frowned, his face full of impatience, and said, "Huang Zi'an? Didn't I tell them all to go home? Why are there still some who are stubbornly refusing to leave?"

He grew increasingly impatient and slammed his chopsticks down on the table.

"Go and tell him that I need to rest, and we can talk about it tomorrow."

"Get out of here! Get out of here!"

The servant responded and was about to leave.

at this time,

"Cough cough."

Suddenly, Empress Ma coughed from the side.

Zhu Ming's body stiffened abruptly.

Next second,

He quickly sat up straight, cleared his throat, and solemnly corrected himself:

"Ahem, um... wait a minute."

"Let him in."

The voice just fell,

A series of hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

Immediately afterwards, a figure stumbled in.

"Your Highness! Your Highness!"

As soon as Huang Zi'an entered the room, before he could even stand up straight, he fell heavily to his knees with a "thud".

He prostrated himself on the ground, his voice trembling with sobs: "This humble subject, Huang Zi'an, pays his respects to Your Highness the Sixth Prince!"

"This humble subject is guilty! This humble subject deserves to die! I beg Your Highness to have mercy!"

Zhu Ming: "..."

He held his chopsticks, frozen in mid-air.

What's going on?

He hadn't even done anything yet, so why did this guy turn around and kneel down begging for mercy?

That's not how the script was written!

Xu Miaoyun and Empress Ma also looked over, both with a hint of surprise on their faces.

Immediately afterwards, the three of them turned their heads in unison to look at Wang Defa, who was sitting at the lower end of the table.

Wang Defa felt as if the three gazes were three sharp blades, piercing straight into his chest.

Cold sweat poured down my forehead in an instant.

He swallowed hard and gave a dry laugh:

"Your Highness... Your Highness, please allow me to report."

"These four heads of the family... I introduced them to Your Highness before the banquet began."

"In my humble observation, the Zhao family in the west of the city is shrewd and worldly, the Huang family in the south of the city... is the most resolute, the Hu family in the north of the city is low-key, and as for the Li family..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhu Ming interrupted him.

"Wait, you're saying the Huang family has the toughest backbone?"

Zhu Ming raised an eyebrow, looking at Huang Zi'an, who was kneeling on the ground, trembling.

"You call this the hardest bone?"

Wang Defa: "..."

He turned his head to look at Huang Zi'an kneeling on the ground, cursing inwardly.

Huang Zi'an! You old bastard!

You're always so tough in front of me!

I asked you to do something, but you wouldn't do it!

Why do you become so weak and submissive when you're in His Highness's presence?

Are you trying to undermine me?

Now that's settled, what will Your Highness think of me?

This is a crime of deceiving the emperor!

Wang Defa became increasingly panicked, cold sweat pouring down his back, yet he still forced a smile onto his face.

"This...this...perhaps it was because Patriarch Huang was overwhelmed by His Highness's divine might today, and for a moment...for a moment he couldn't control his emotions..."

Zhu Ming, too lazy to listen to his nonsense, gestured with his chin towards the man on the ground:

"Alright, stop howling."

"Raise your head."

Upon hearing this, Huang Zian carefully raised his head.

He first glanced at Zhu Ming, who was sitting in the main seat—

and many more.

Something's not right.

Huang Zian blinked and looked at the positions of the group again carefully.

The next second, he was completely stunned.

When Han Chinese sit at a table, they pay great attention to the hierarchy of people.

It is absolutely crucial to determine who sits in the main seat and who sits in the secondary seat.

The head seat is reserved for the person of the highest status.

And at this moment—

In the main seat sat a woman!

The woman had a gentle face and an elegant demeanor. She was slowly holding her teacup without even lifting her eyelids.

Beside her sat a young woman, equally beautiful and charming.

As for the most favored sixth prince of the Ming Dynasty, he was an imperial envoy with the power to execute first and report later—

He actually got to sit in the second seat!

Huang Zi'an: "!!!"

He opened his mouth wide, his eyes almost popping out.

Who exactly is this woman sitting in the main seat?

How could someone so dignified as the Sixth Prince relinquish his primary position and willingly take a secondary one?

Huang Zian felt a sudden dizziness.

He had been preparing a whole speech outside, but now he couldn't utter a single word.