Chapter 21: Memories of Zhu Yuanzhang and His Son

The Imperial Palace, Kunning Palace!

This palace currently remains sealed. Aside from the daily cleaning by a few palace maids, no one is permitted to approach it, for this place is a taboo for the reigning Emperor.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince." The commander of the Imperial Guard, who was stationed outside, and his soldiers bowed immediately.

"His Majesty is inside, I presume?" Zhu Biao asked with a smile.

"He is," the Imperial Guard commander, Guo Ying, replied respectfully.

"Very well." Zhu Biao nodded. He looked up at the palace, his face clouded with a thousand thoughts, before stepping inside.

Within the palace, Zhu Yuanzhang had already shed his formal court robes, his expression filled with sorrow and longing. His gaze was fixed upon three spirit tablets placed on a table in front of the main hall. The incense burner on the table held the remains of many burnt-out sticks. For years, the incense in this burner had never been allowed to go out.

"Father," Zhu Biao called out softly as he entered.

The sound caused Zhu Yuanzhang, who had been lost in thought while staring at the tablets, to start slightly before returning to reality.

"The eldest is here." Zhu Yuanzhang turned his head and offered a faint smile. "Come, offer incense to your mother and the others."

"Yes." Zhu Biao did not hesitate. He walked to the table, picked up the incense, lit it, and placed it into the burner.

As he paid his respects, the three spirit tablets came clearly into view. The highest one read: *To my wife, the spirit tablet of Ma Xiuying.*

It did not bear Empress Ma’s title, nor any sign of her royal status. This tablet had not been erected by the Emperor, but by Zhu Chongba. On it, she was addressed simply as his wife.

The two tablets beside it read: *To my daughter-in-law, the spirit tablet of Chang Wan'er,* and *To my eldest grandson, the spirit tablet of Zhu Ying.*

Undoubtedly, what was enshrined in Kunning Palace were Zhu Yuanzhang’s most cherished family members—or, to be precise, the most cherished family of Zhu Chongba.

"How many years has it been?" Zhu Yuanzhang gazed at Empress Ma’s tablet, a heavy sigh escaping his aged lips.

"Father," Zhu Biao said gently, "Mother and Ying have been gone from us for six years."

"And Sister Chang has been gone for ten." Zhu Biao stared at the three tablets and spoke slowly.

"Time!" Zhu Yuanzhang sighed. "It truly is a sharp blade. So many years have slipped away before we even realized it."

"The dead are gone," Zhu Biao said softly. "Father, you must take care of your own health."

"Today at court, something happened that reminded me of the old days," Zhu Yuanzhang murmured. "I still remember when we were destroying Chen Youliang, your father-in-law stood before me, vowing to bring me Chen Youliang’s head. In that battle, he was incredibly fierce—killing seventy-eight enemies with his own hands and slaying Chen Youliang’s son. It shook the world. Even after all these years, I can still picture his heroic bearing."

"It is a pity... time passes, and the old friends are gone. Your father-in-law, your Uncle Xu... sigh..." Zhu Yuanzhang sighed, revealing a sorrow he only ever showed in front of Zhu Biao.

"Father, everything is in the past now," Zhu Biao said gently, unsure of how to comfort his father. After all, his father had reached an age where melancholy was inevitable. Of course, even Zhu Biao often missed his son, his wife, and his mother. It was human nature; who could say it was wrong?

"If my Ying were still here, he would be fourteen by now," Zhu Yuanzhang said wistfully, looking at his grandson's tablet.

At that moment, Zhu Biao felt a jolt. His mind drifted back to the days when his mother, his wife, and his son were still with them.

In this very same Kunning Palace, a young boy would be running around in a panic, surrounded by guards, maids, and eunuchs. Behind him, a young man—Zhu Biao himself—would be chasing him with a rattan switch.

"You little brat, skipping your lessons at the Grand Academy again?"

"And dragging your twelfth and seventeenth uncles off to raid bird nests?"

"Today, your old man is going to tan your hide!"

"You little rascal..."

Zhu Biao would scold and chase the boy, while the surrounding servants looked on with amused, cautious expressions. The boy, young Zhu Ying, would dash into Kunning Palace and dive straight into his grandmother's arms.

"Grandmother!" Zhu Ying would cry out, feigning great grievance. "Father is crazy! He wants to beat me to death and force me to memorize books! I'm only a child, why does he bully me?"

"It's alright, it's alright, Grandmother is here," Empress Ma would soothe him, patting his back before turning a stern face toward Zhu Biao. "Eldest, what are you doing? Ying is still so young; is it really necessary to chase him like this? What if he falls?" she would ask with doting concern.

"Mother," Zhu Biao would reply, gritting his teeth at the boy, "the little rascal is too fond of play and refuses to study, and he's leading his uncles astray!"

But with his protector present, Zhu Ying would simply hide behind Empress Ma, looking smug.

"Eldest," Zhu Yuanzhang would appear from the hall.

"Father, you're here too?" Zhu Biao would sigh, defeated. With his parents there, he knew he wouldn't be able to discipline the boy today.

"What of it? Can't I have lunch with your mother?" Zhu Yuanzhang would retort. But the moment he saw Zhu Ying, his expression would melt into a loving smile. He would squat down and say, "Ying, come here to Grandfather."

"Grandfather!" Zhu Ying would run to him, calling out sweetly.

"Haha! My eldest grandson has grown taller and heavier!" Zhu Yuanzhang would hold him, full of warmth, shedding the intimidating aura of a founding emperor and becoming nothing more than a doting grandfather. The bond between generations was on full display.

Returning to the present, Zhu Biao sighed inwardly: *Mother, Ying, Sister Chang, are you well on the other side?*

...

North of Daming's Daning Prefecture, on the northern frontier within the territory of the Jianzhou Tatars, several hundred cavalrymen surrounded a group of fleeing Tatar stragglers and the civilians they were protecting.

The Tatars looked at the Ming cavalry surrounding them with eyes full of hatred.

"Surrender and be spared; resist and be killed," Zhu Ying said, brandishing his blade with a cold command.

"Damn Ming dogs!"

"Our warriors would rather die than surrender!"

"Men, fight them to the end! Our leader will avenge us..."

The lead Tatar soldier shouted, brandishing his sword as he charged toward the Ming cavalry.

Seeing this, Zhu Ying did not hesitate. "Kill!"

With a sharp shout and a flick of his horse's reins, he charged forward.