Chapter 51 You Can Support a Good-for-Nothing

Eastern Palace.

Looking at the empty and desolate surroundings, Lady Lü felt momentarily unsettled and asked, "Where are the things?"

Dongqing replied, "Everything has been cast into the well."

Indeed, the moment they received word that Zhu Yunsong was heading to the Imperial Hospital, sensing that something was amiss, they immediately arranged to destroy all evidence.

Everyone around Zhu Yunsong had originally been placed there by Lady Lü, so whatever they did left no trace, and no one could discover it. Moreover, given the severity of the situation, the old Emperor would surely execute them.

From this moment on, there were no surviving witnesses to confront.

"Do not drink the well water," Lady Lü cautioned with extreme wariness.

Dongqing nodded slightly. The well water had been tampered with; she certainly wouldn't dare drink it.

"The personnel in the Eastern Palace will likely be arranged by Grand Eunuch Jixiang. What should we do?" Dongqing asked with deep concern.

If they were no longer their people, it would be extremely inconvenient to do anything hereafter.

"For now, do nothing at all."

Lady Lü's courage had almost deserted her today, and her heart was still pounding. Only now did she calm down slightly. She continued, "We will deal with future matters when they arise. Keep your mouth shut and never breathe a word about what we did."

"Understood!"

Dongqing was sensible and enjoyed Lady Lü's full trust.

Without further ado, Dongqing withdrew first.

Lady Lü collected her thoughts and took a deep breath. Today's events had terrified her; she knew that if any wrongdoing were uncovered, even ten lives wouldn't be enough to save her.

Fortunately, her reaction had been prompt.

However, her hatred for Zhu Yunsong deepened further. How was it possible that she still couldn't kill him, and had even nearly suffered a backlash?

Eliminating Zhu Yunsong quietly from now on would be even more difficult. How could she possibly help Zhu Yunwen seize the throne?

"Mother Consort!"

Zhu Yunwen walked in from outside, his voice still trembling slightly. He lowered his head and asked, "What should we do?"

"Nothing, everything is fine."

Lady Lü instructed him, "Starting tomorrow, carry on with everything as usual. Remember, nothing ever happened."

"Alright!" Zhu Yunwen nodded, hoping he could steady himself as soon as possible.

"Don't be afraid!" Lady Lü said. "You're simply too timid, afraid of everything."

Zhu Yunwen wished he had a bolder heart, but he simply couldn't manage it. Whenever he faced major events, panic overwhelmed him. What others called benevolence was, in reality, sheer cowardice.

Especially today, when they had come dangerously close to exposure.

---

Inside the Prince of Yan's Mansion.

Zhu Di brewed a pot of tea and sat beside the lamplight, unhurriedly recounting the events of the day.

"I was just about to get a response from Imperial Father, but Yunsong was poisoned, and Imperial Father had to go check on his condition," Zhu Di said with a helpless sigh.

"This poisoning is rather intriguing."

Such petty tricks were completely transparent to Yao Guangxiao, and there was no need for physical proof. He remarked, "The Eastern Palace is even more anxious than we anticipated."

"They have every reason to be anxious!"

Zhu Di replied, "If the Eastern Palace doesn't act now, that position will be snatched away by Yunsong. After all the years Lady Lü has spent preparing, wouldn't all her efforts be in vain?"

Yao Guangxiao continued, "I suspect that after Your Highness raised the question, the Emperor intends to temper the Imperial Grandsons. His attitude toward you feudal princes is quite clear: you will still have to return to your fiefs."

Zhu Di said with reluctance, "I suspect the same."

With the Eldest Prince gone, succession should naturally have passed from brother to brother.

Yet, the old Emperor insisted on appointing an Imperial Grandson.

Zhu Di didn't even have a chance to compete.

If the princes were allowed to vie for the succession, he was confident that, with Yao Guangxiao's assistance, neither Zhu Shuang nor Zhu Gang would be his match.

"Your Highness should instead focus on considering how to drill your troops upon returning."

Yao Guangxiao had already mapped out the future steps for Zhu Di to raise troops in rebellion.

Rebellion was Zhu Di's only chance.

Unless the two Imperial Grandsons engaged in a bitter internal struggle and destroyed each other, leaving neither of them capable of securing the throne. However, judging by the current situation, Yao Guangxiao believed Zhu Yunwen was far from being a match for Zhu Yunsong.

"Yet Zhu Yunsong has all the military generals standing behind him," Zhu Di said with deep worry.

Those generals, no longer facing imminent execution, would undoubtedly throw their weight behind Zhu Yunsong.

Yao Guangxiao narrowed his eyes and said, "Then we must ensure the Third Imperial Grandson fails to sit on that throne. Instead, we shall secretly and quietly support the Second Imperial Grandson. If Your Highness trusts me, I can act on your behalf to contact the Second Imperial Grandson."

Hearing this, Zhu Di's eyes lit up.

That was an excellent idea.

As long as Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne, those military generals would certainly not survive.

Even if they did survive, they would ultimately be suppressed by Zhu Yunwen.

As for whether Zhu Yunwen would eventually move against their feudal domains, Zhu Di had no worries whatsoever—they were already preparing to rebel anyway.

Raising troops to deal with a good-for-nothing like Zhu Yunwen would be vastly easier than dealing with Zhu Yunsong.

It was as if a brand-new door had swung open before Zhu Di.

---

Upon returning to the Eastern Palace, Zhu Yunsong saw Liu Liu come running over hurriedly and drop to his knees to kowtow.

"Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Your Highness!"

Liu Liu knew that all the other servants in the Eastern Palace had been executed.

It was solely because Zhu Yunsong had spoken up that he was able to retain his life.

Not only had Zhu Yunsong preserved his dignity, but he had also saved his life. Filled with boundless gratitude, Liu Liu kowtowed repeatedly, vowing in his heart never to betray Zhu Yunsong again and to repay this profound kindness with utmost loyalty.

"Alright, get up!" Zhu Yunsong said helplessly. "As long as you remember who your master is, that's enough."

"This servant's master will forever be Your Highness! Thank you, Your Highness!"

After kowtowing a few more times, Liu Liu finally climbed to his feet and stood respectfully before Zhu Yunsong.

"Withdraw for now. I wish to be quiet for a while." Zhu Yunsong waved his hand.

If he were to eventually move out of the palace, what could he accomplish?

As Zhu Yunsong pondered these matters, he realized that while seizing the throne was important, he also needed to bring about changes that would impact the entire Great Ming Empire.

In truth, the Ming Dynasty presented the finest opportunity for transformation—it had witnessed the sprouts of capitalism, maritime exploration, and the application of firearms. It was a great pity that subsequent rulers failed to cherish these advantages, leading to the nation's eventual decline.

Take maritime exploration, for instance: later, when Zhu Gaozhi became emperor, he halted the voyages under the pretext of excessive expenditures.

Such a magnificent opportunity was squandered just like that.

In reality, they simply lacked the understanding of how to leverage oceanic exploration.

Westerners were different; their maritime expeditions were driven by wealth, profit, and the quest for gold.

"The two approaches are fundamentally different." Zhu Yunsong's mind was filled with numerous visions.

Merely seizing the throne was not his ultimate goal.

He also wanted to reform the Ming Dynasty, alter future history, and avert that era of humiliation.

"It seems... it won't be quite that easy, either," Zhu Yunsong muttered to himself.

"Your Highness!"

Liu Liu, who had just departed shortly before, hurried back inside and announced, "Grand Preceptor Xu Shu of the Imperial Hospital has arrived."

"Let him in!"

At the mere mention of Xu Shu, Zhu Yunsong instinctively recalled those foul-smelling, intensely bitter medicines.

Xu Shu had come to deliver medicine once more.

The Imperial Hospital dared not take Zhu Yunsong's poisoning lightly.

The second dose of medicine was delivered to Zhu Yunsong without a moment's delay.

"Your Highness, it is time for your medicine," Xu Shu said the moment he stepped inside.

Zhu Yunsong protested, "Again? I only just finished the last bowl not long ago!"

Yet there was no escaping it. Since Xu Shu had already brought it in, he had no choice but to drink it for the sake of his health and to purge the remaining toxins from his body.