Superstition

Pan Yun blinked in surprise. She paid little attention to history, focusing instead on cultivation, and only knew that the Ming Dynasty had a system of martyrdom sacrifice. She hadn't realized so many people were involved.

Pan Yun: "The Princess Consort is the main wife, she also has to be martyred?"

Xuan Miao lowered her eyes and said, "She has no children. According to regulations, she should be. But now she has an adopted son, and an adopted son is also a son."

Pan Yun instantly understood. No wonder the Princess Consort had been so supportive of enfeoffing Zhu Zijin.

The past mother-son affection was one part of it, and the reason for martyrdom sacrifice was another part, right?

Pan Yun's eyes grew brighter and brighter. Xuan Miao saw it immediately and knew she was hatching some scheme, making her even less willing to leave.

Xuan Miao looked at Tao Ji. "Let's vote. The minority obeys the majority."

Pan Yun also turned her head and stared intently at Tao Ji. "Brother Tao, you asserted that Prince Zhou would recover. If you leave now and something happens to Prince Zhou, won't that ruin your reputation?"

Tao Ji shot her a look. "You are of my junior nephew's generation when you go to Mount Sanqing. Even if you don't take me as your master, you should still call me Uncle-Master."

After speaking, he turned to Xuan Miao and said, "Junior Sister, I'm not afraid of ruining my reputation, but Prince Zhou's lineage owes me a debt in the Pill Dao. Now his descendants are in trouble, and since I've encountered it, I cannot stand by and do nothing."

Prince Zhou, Zhu Su, was one of Zhu Yuanzhang's many sons, a rare good person and a talented individual.

He was a physician and a botanist, and he organized and compiled many medical works. The Daoist Pill Dao benefited greatly from him. Furthermore, Mount Sanqing had also interacted with him and received gifts from him.

Of course, he might not remember it, but Mount Sanqing remembered favors.

It would be one thing if Tao Ji were incapable. Since he had the ability to help Prince Zhou live a little longer, he naturally had to do his best.

Upon hearing this, Xuan Miao nodded in agreement after a moment of thought, then looked at Pan Yun.

Pan Yun leaned back. "Why are you looking at me?"

"Prince Zhou's Mansion is very close to the imperial court and also close to the Imperial Guards. It's best for you to be careful living in Prince Zhou's Mansion."

Pan Yun's lips curved up. She asked, "Will the Imperial Guards believe that a criminal official's daughter would dare to approach Prince Zhou's Mansion? Besides, Pan Hong's daughter is already dead. I am now a Daoist acolyte of Mount Sanqing."

Tao Ji: "Oh, and now you're a Daoist acolyte of Mount Sanqing?"

Pan Yun ignored him and stared at Xuan Miao. "Is there really no way to save the others who are to be martyred?"

Xuan Miao: "You want to find Prince Zhou? As far as I know, ever since Prince Zhou fell ill in the third year of the Zhengtong era, he has been repeatedly petitioning the Emperor to exempt the childless Princess Consorts and ladies in his mansion from martyrdom sacrifice. In the past two years, he has begun to arrange his own funeral, also requesting extreme simplicity, hoping there would be no martyrs and not too many burial objects."

Xuan Miao's gaze was indifferent. She said coldly, "The imperial court offered many words of comfort, but did not agree to his request."

Pan Yun frowned.

Pan Little Black found a fragmented record among the vast sea of information, meowed, and signaled her to look in the Spirit Realm.

"Princess Consort Gong, wife of Zhu Youdun, and her six consorts were martyred..."

Pan Yun snorted, stood up, and said, "Since the Princess Consort can escape calamity, it means other consorts can too. If the Princess Consort and consorts do not have to be martyred, then others do not need to be buried with them. The Heavenly Dao always has a way out. I don't believe it can't be done."

It's just that they hadn't found the right opportunity or the right method yet.

Xuan Miao didn't stop her, letting her go.

Tao Ji, who had been sitting nearby, opened his mouth and quickly turned to look at Xuan Miao. "You're just letting her go? What if she causes trouble..."

"She can just run away again," Xuan Miao said. "Haven't we caused enough trouble already?"

That made so much sense that Tao Ji was speechless.

Pan Yun walked out of the courtyard, pondered for a moment, and still headed towards Prince Zhou's main courtyard.

Prince Zhou's Mansion didn't seem to have many servants. She didn't meet many along the way until she reached the main courtyard, where there was a gatekeeper.

The old woman quickly stopped Pan Yun. "Little Daoist priest, have you lost your way back to the guest courtyard? I'll have someone escort you."

Pan Yun said, "I've come to see Prince Zhou."

The old woman's eyes widened. At Pan Yun's request, she hesitated. Considering that Pan Yun was the young master's benefactor, she went in to report.

Inside the room, there was a young servant attending to Prince Zhou and an attendant who always stayed by Prince Zhou's side.

Ever since Prince Zhou had difficulty getting up, he was attended by male servants, as they needed strength to move him.

However, male servants weren't delicate enough. The Princess Consort had wanted to assign some maids to attend to Prince Zhou, or to attend to him herself.

But Prince Zhou didn't like using maids after he fell seriously ill and often threw tantrums.

The past six months since Zhu Zijin's return had been the most comfortable period of his illness.

The old woman couldn't enter the room and could only relay the message from outside the door.

Through a screen, the servants inside were lounging around carelessly. Across the wide courtyard, Pan Yun could see the scene through the open door.

Her lips curled slightly. It was no wonder the superstitious Prince Zhou hadn't sent Zhu Zijin away after hearing the rumors of father and son being incompatible. It was probably because these servants made him feel the filial piety and importance of his adopted son.

Hearing that a guest had arrived, the servants inside lazily got up. They were a little displeased but still put on a smile and went in to report, "Your Highness, the little Daoist priest who brought the young master back is requesting an audience."

Prince Zhou, lying on the bed, opened his eyes. After a moment, he said faintly, "Please invite her in."

The attendant by his side immediately helped Prince Zhou sit up and lean back against the pillows.

Pan Yun walked around the screen and into the inner room. She met Prince Zhou's gaze, smiled slightly, and stepped forward to bow. "Prince Zhou."

Prince Zhou signaled the attendant to bring a stool, his tone gentle. "Little Daoist priest, please have a seat."

The attendant brought a stool behind Pan Yun, glanced at Prince Zhou, then retreated, taking the servants waiting outside the screen with him.

The room was suddenly left with only an old man and a child.

Prince Zhou chuckled, "Little Daoist priest, just say what you have to say. They've all left."

Pan Yun was purely curious. "Since Your Highness's words still carry weight, why not get rid of those with disloyal hearts?"

Prince Zhou was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected the child to come to him for this, thinking it was about Qie'er. He couldn't help but laugh, "Little Daoist priest, how can you tell they have disloyal hearts?"

"If they weren't disloyal, how could Qie'er have gotten lost, and how could the Prince of Xiangfu have arrived so coincidentally today?"

Prince Zhou's expression darkened, his imposing presence radiating authority. "Little Daoist priest, are you here to sow discord between my brothers and me?"

"No," Pan Yun shook her head. "I'm here to save you, the Princess Consort, and your ladies."

What Pan Yun intended to do was mystical, so she naturally wouldn't beat around the bush. Moreover, her age was a factor; beating around the bush would only complicate things for herself.

So, she looked directly into Prince Zhou's eyes and said, "Having come into this world for a brief moment, does Prince Zhou wish to leave with regret and unwillingness? Among Emperor Taizu's many grandsons, your talent and character are second to none. Yet now, to protect your own Princess Consort and ladies, you can only submit memorials and make indirect requests. Is it because you've been ill for too long, or because you've been biding your time for so long that you've become rusty in court?"

Prince Zhou paused, looked at the child, and couldn't help but chuckle softly. "You child... truly full of youthful spirit, a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger. What do you know?"

"When the former Prince Zhou was alive, father and son turned against each other, and brothers killed each other to vie for the title of Prince. Prince Zhou, you achieved excellence in both literary and martial arts. Did you truly fall into despair and become obsessed with zaju solely because of Zhu Youxian?"

Pan Yun stood up and took a step forward. "Wasn't it a choice made out of necessity because the struggles among the feudal lords remained fierce even after the Jingnan Campaign?"

The smile on Prince Zhou's face gradually faded, and he looked at Pan Yun with a heavy gaze.

He had once been one of Zhu Yuanzhang's favorite grandsons, outstanding in his studies and martial arts as a youth.

While studying in Nanjing, his Imperial Grandfather had sent him and the heirs of other princely mansions to the north for training. They had led troops and fought battles. He had even gone to the Yunnan frontier, where he had also led troops and fought battles.

Unlike his second brother, who only knew how to file false accusations, Prince Zhou had always observed him from a high vantage point.

In his eyes, Zhu Youxian was never a threat, but rather someone he found annoying, someone Prince Zhou detested.

He wasn't afraid of Zhu Youxian framing him for rebellion, because he had always been cautious and circumspect. If investigated thoroughly, no one would find any evidence of rebellion.

What he feared was the Emperor's desire to curb the power of the feudal lords, and the fear that other feudal lords would try to replace him. Thus, he decided to bide his time.

There were many ways to bide one's time: either self-destruct by indulging in drinking, gambling, and womanizing, becoming useless; or find an insignificant hobby and dedicate oneself to it, becoming so engrossed that one would have no interest in court affairs.

He had chosen the second option.

But he seemed to have some lingering unwillingness, so he incorporated some of it into his zaju. Did the person behind this child see through those plays?

Meeting his suspicious gaze, Pan Yun felt a bit disappointed. She was so capable, yet he still doubted her.

She simply took the black cat squatting on her shoulder and let its dark, lustrous eyes meet his. "Prince Zhou, you don't need to suspect that I have someone behind me. I know these things because I can communicate with spirits and see different things."

Prince Zhou looked skeptical.

Pan Yun: ... Wasn't this person superstitious? Why isn't he superstitious now?

Is it only because she's young?

Pan Yun's expression remained unchanged, and she continued, "If it weren't for my Senior Brother, Prince Zhou would be dead by now."

Prince Zhou did not deny this.

Not only had the imperial physician issued a warning, but he himself had also felt it.

He had woken up this morning feeling that his end was near. It was then that he decided to write a will, leaving his title to Zhu Youjue and pleading with the Emperor to have Zhu Zijin registered under his and his wife's names, so that they could care for the Princess Consort until her death.

When he brought Zhu Zijin back, he had intended to leave the title to him, but Zhu Tongqie had gone missing.

He believed that Zhu Tongqie's disappearance was due to the clashing fates of their two lineages, and he also suspected his fourth brother's involvement.

Regardless of which it was, Zhu Zijin was currently in a weak position, and the title of Prince Zhou would not be beneficial to him; he wouldn't be able to protect it. Therefore, he decided to use the princely title to buy his and the Princess Consort's safety.

Zhu Youjue would receive the title and would no longer trouble them, mother and son.

The unexpected part was Zhu Tongqie's return.

At that moment, he felt that death was a little further away, so he still had time to make plans.

Because of Zhu Tongqie's matter, he ultimately didn't trust Zhu Youjue as much. So, when he had a second option, he immediately chose the second path again.

A son under the Princess Consort's name was the only way to avoid being buried alive.

He was also afraid, afraid that Zhu Youjue, after inheriting the title, would not let the Princess Consort go. Zhu Zijin was not the Princess Consort's biological son, after all, and there was too much room for manipulation.

With Zhu Youjue's words, "The jade slips haven't been changed, and following the ancestral system," the Princess Consort could be killed.

The ten lucky numbers for this chapter are numbers ending in 7. The screenshot serves as proof, and the deadline for screenshots is before the next chapter is released.