Chapter 46: Prince Han Falls Ill (6)

Looking at Liu Erniu, who looked as if he had been pumped full of adrenaline, Zhu Zhanhe realized he might have said the wrong thing. He immediately stood up, walked over to Liu Erniu, and helped him to his feet.

"The safety of the Prince's Mansion is now in your hands. Do not disappoint me," Zhu Zhanhe said warmly after helping Liu Erniu up, giving him a pat on the shoulder. This was a trick he had learned from a video about the People's Liberation Army during the Sino-Vietnamese War.

Being personally pulled up and patted on the shoulder by Zhu Zhanhe, Liu Erniu felt his eyes redden with overwhelming emotion. He was speechless, his entire body trembling slightly. As a humble man of low status, he had never been treated with such courtesy and appreciation by a noble!

"Your Highness, rest assured! Erniu will gladly give his life!" Liu Erniu said with a generous and somewhat tragic air, as if he were heading to his execution, before striding out the door.

Zhu Zhanhe looked somewhat bewildered at the passionate Liu Erniu, thinking to himself: *Is he really that easy to motivate?*

Afterward, he turned around, intending to comfort his mother to prevent her from worrying too much.

To his surprise, when he turned around, he saw his mother staring at him in a daze, and Aunt Xiuer behind her looking equally astonished.

Even Steward Hu, Yun'er, Jian'er, and the other maidservants waiting on the side wore dumbfounded expressions, leaving Zhu Zhanhe quite puzzled. *What is going on here?* he muttered inwardly.

"Mother, what is wrong? Do not worry, our home is very safe, everything is fine." Zhu Zhanhe thought his mother was frightened because of Grand Prince Han's rebellion, so he began to comfort her.

"My Zhanhe is truly grown up!" Princess Consort Wei looked at the tall and sturdy son before her, growing more and more pleased. Not only was he handsome, well-read, and skilled in martial arts, but now he even knew how to pacify soldiers and boost morale. He had truly grown up. The Princess Consort of Han could not help but feel overflowing pride in the son she had given birth to.

Steward Hu thought to himself: *His Highness the Heir has brilliant methods. These soldiers will likely be willing to die for him.*

The two little maidservants were filled with utter adoration.

...

Meanwhile, the Yongle Emperor was also unable to sleep. His two precious sons were causing trouble again, which was truly vexing. Being a parent was certainly not easy! The Yongle Emperor muttered a silent complaint to himself.

At this moment, the Yongle Emperor sat upright on a chair atop the city wall, letting out a long sigh, as if trying to expel all the turbid air and bitterness from his heart. Then, he began stroking his beard while braving the cold wind—or rather, enjoying the unique night scenery—while waiting to deal with his two disobedient sons.

Having started his rise through rebellion, how could he possibly be lax regarding the Ministry of War? Not the slightest ripple could escape his eyes!

Coupled with the secret agents he had planted in the various princes' mansions, he had known about this matter from the very moment it first showed signs!

The reason he hadn't nipped it in the bud earlier was, first, because there was no legitimate justification, and second, because he still harbored a shred of fantasy—the illusion that his sons would not rebel against him. But now, he was disappointed, utterly and completely disappointed!

During the day, the eldest's brat had come to see him again, and he knew very well that this fool was being used once more. The one preparing to rebel simply wanted to use this foolish boy to test when he would return to the palace!

However, the person preparing to rebellion never expected that the moment the eldest's brat left, he would return to the palace right on his heels. He was going to personally catch these two disobedient sons!

Therefore, he was well aware of everything! He knew everything, which was why he felt even more pain and sorrow! That was why his face remained bitter, and why deep wrinkles had formed between his brows!

He knew that the eldest's brat was drinking alcohol right now because he was terrified of the task he had been assigned and was drinking to gather courage!

The Yongle Emperor casually flipped through the intelligence reports submitted by the secret agents within the Han Prince's Mansion. The more he read, the more dissatisfied he became, and the more deeply furrowed his brow grew, though there was also a trace of gratification.

*"He's not even as good as a child."* This was the Yongle Emperor's evaluation of his own son, judging that Prince Han was inferior to the Heir of Han!

*"What a fine child,"* the Yongle Emperor muttered with emotion.

Suddenly, his eyes caught a familiar phrase: *majestic and imposing!* Majestic and imposing again? Perhaps he should find time to let the old monk take a proper look at him! The Yongle Emperor thought to himself, feeling that since this phrase kept appearing, there must be something to it.

Furthermore, based on the information in his hands, the Yongle Emperor compared his two eldest grandsons (Zhu Zhanhe and Zhu Zhanji).

To his surprise, whether in physique, appearance, scholarly and martial studies, or character and conduct, it was actually the second branch's eldest boy who surpassed the first branch's eldest boy! This was the very reason the Yongle Emperor wanted both children to see the old monk.

Yet he could not send only these two children, as that would be too conspicuous; he needed to find a suitable reason!

The third branch's Zhanfa was also twelve years old; he should go along too (Zhu Gaoxu's son Zhu Zhanfa was actually more than a decade younger than Zhu Zhanji, but we are borrowing the name and aging him up here). It could be framed as praying for the next military campaign, or as praying for the soldiers who had fallen in the previous campaign against Arutai! The Yongle Emperor's mind raced, and in a split second, he had prepared a complete set of justifications.

At that moment, a eunuch suddenly approached little Niti, and the two began whispering to each other, which was spotted by the Yongle Emperor.

"What are you whispering about?!" The Yongle Emperor's deep, resonant voice rang out, and instantly, rows of young eunuchs behind him dropped to their knees in a domino effect.

Little Niti stepped forward to report.

"Replying to His Majesty, Prince Zhao has returned." Little Niti's words were brief, consisting of just these few phrases, but often, the fewer the words, the greater the matter and the more severe the consequences.

"Ha! Prince Zhao has returned?! You don't need to worry about covering for them on my account! I know my sons; I know what kind of men they are!" Upon hearing little Niti's words, the Yongle Emperor wore a dark expression, stroking the beard at the corner of his mouth.

Seeing this, little Niti, who had served the Yongle Emperor for decades, knew that His Majesty was about to fly into a rage.

"The third one went to the gunpowder depot?" The Yongle Emperor shifted his body back and forth on the wooden chair to make himself more comfortable, and continued to ask.

"Yes," little Niti replied in a low voice.

The Yongle Emperor paused his hand from stroking his beard, then resumed smoothing it with his fingertips.

"Did he see the imperial edict?" the Yongle Emperor asked nonchalantly.

"Yes," little Niti answered again, keeping his head lowered.

"Ha, I truly am the most incompetent man in the world. For the sake of this throne, my son actually forced his way into the gunpowder depot. Does he want to die with me?" The Yongle Emperor let out a cold, mocking laugh while slapping the wooden chair he sat on. Yet the surrounding eunuchs remained kneeling on the ground, shivering, scared out of their minds.

At that moment, another young eunuch suddenly walked over. Seeing this, little Niti hurriedly waved his hand to dismiss him, but it was already too late—the Yongle Emperor had seen him.

"Come, speak. What is it?" the Yongle Emperor asked with a smile, but his smile made all the eunuchs tremble violently.

"Prince Han has brought men to take over the garrison shifts," the young eunuch said, not daring to elaborate, simply reporting a shift change and not daring to utter the word "rebellion"!

"Ha! Here comes another one!" The Yongle Emperor's heart trembled to its absolute limit!