Recaps

The narrator took a day off because unbearable pain from recurring cervical spondylosis and period symptoms had flared up again. The chapter left the narrator resting from work.

• The narrator said the pain had become unbearable.
• The narrator explained that the condition flared up two or three times a month and had become an occupational hazard.
• The narrator used a leave slip to take the day off.

Zhu Yuanzhang summoned Zhu Ying to the palace, privately convinced that the Marquis of Victory was his long-lost eldest grandson, Zhu Xiongying. He urged Zhu Ying to remain in Yingtian and stop charging at the front in battle, while Zhu Ying agreed without revealing his own confidence that he could live for centuries.

• Zhu Yuanzhang arranged to summon Zhu Ying near noon so they could share a meal, and spent the night excited at the thought of seeing his grandson.
• Zhu Ying practiced archery at his residence, promised his personal guards a hunting trip, and allowed most of them to take turns visiting their families.
• A palace eunuch delivered Zhu Yuanzhang’s summons, and Zhu Ying traveled to Wenyuan Pavilion expecting that the matter might involve a war.
• Zhu Yuanzhang welcomed Zhu Ying warmly and said he would wait for the Crown Prince before discussing the supposed matter.
• Zhu Ying said he hoped to return to Daning to train the troops, but Zhu Yuanzhang urged him to stay in Yingtian and lectured him for repeatedly leading attacks from the front.
• Zhu Ying promised not to personally charge into battle again, and Zhu Yuanzhang told him he wanted him to live to a hundred.

Zhu Ying advised Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao on recognizing Yi Seong-gye’s new regime in Goryeo, and the court decided to grant it the name Joseon. Zhu Yuanzhang also arranged for Yi Seong-gye’s princess to become Zhu Ying’s concubine, then discussed the fractured Northern Yuan and the relative calm ahead on the frontier.

• Zhu Biao arrived and read a memorial reporting that Yi Seong-gye had seized power in Goryeo and sought Ming recognition, a state name, and a marriage alliance.
• Zhu Ying explained that Yi Seong-gye wanted legitimacy and argued that Ming should recognize his rule for now, since the dynasty lacked just cause to conquer Goryeo.
• Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao agreed to grant Yi Seong-gye a state name and make his country a Ming tributary state, while deciding that the princess would become Zhu Ying’s concubine.
• Zhu Yuanzhang chose the name Joseon, issued an imperial edict, and ordered Zhu Ying to lead elite troops to intimidate the new state and bring the princess back.
• Zhu Yuanzhang showed Zhu Ying intelligence about the Northern Yuan’s division into the Tatars, Oirats, and Uriankhai, and Zhu Ying predicted years of conflict among them and less danger to Ming’s northern frontier.

Zhu Ying returned from the Northern Expedition after securing a period of peace for the Northern Frontier, while Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao separately suspected he might be Zhu Xiongying. Xu Miaojin and Mu Ya stopped Zhu Ying’s carriage and confirmed a bite mark on his arm, leaving him puzzled about why it mattered.

• Zhu Ying said the Northern Yuan defeat would give the Northern Frontier several years of peace, and Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao warned him not to charge recklessly into battle.
• Zhu Yuanzhang asked about Lan Yu’s apology, then reminded Zhu Ying to attend court and settle the names and garrisons of his units.
• After Zhu Ying left, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao each privately considered telling the other that Zhu Ying might be Zhu Xiongying, but decided to wait for confirmation.
• Guo Zhen reported that Xu Miaojin and Mu Ya had entered the palace and gone toward Zhu Ying, and the two women soon blocked his carriage.
• Xu Miaojin and Mu Ya pulled back Zhu Ying’s sleeve, saw a healed bite mark on his arm, and reacted with excitement before apologizing.
• Zhu Ying departed and wondered whether the women had stopped him specifically to inspect the bite mark.

Zhu Ying wondered whether he had grown up in Yingtian and Xu Miaojin and Mu Ya recognized him, while the two women resolved to help him recover his memories and pursue him. Zhu Yunteng returned to the Eastern Palace with Lan Yu’s guards, newly confident and prepared to challenge the Lu clan’s influence.

• Zhu Ying suspected that Yingtian might be his ancestral home after Xu Miaojin and Mu Ya recognized the bite mark on his hand.
• Xu Miaojin and Mu Ya agreed to help Zhu Ying regain his memories, and both refused to give up on marrying him despite his wife and children.
• Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao realized that Xu Miaojin and Mu Ya had feelings for Zhu Ying and approved of their potential marriages to him.
• Lan Yu assigned twenty guards to Zhu Yunteng, who returned to the Eastern Palace standing tall and determined to assert himself.
• Li Li announced that he would serve as Zhu Yunteng’s chief guard, while the Golden Guard marveled at Zhu Yunteng’s transformation.

After returning to the Eastern Palace transformed by his time with Lan Yu, Zhu Yunteng asserted his status by punishing Lu Dong and the palace maids who had oppressed him. He sent their bodies to Lu clan’s palace and waited in his chambers for her response, while the palace servants feared that the Eastern Palace was about to change.

• Zhu Yunteng entered the Eastern Palace with Li Li and twenty guards, who surrendered their weapons but brought clubs instead.
• Lu Dong ordered Zhu Yunteng to pay his respects to Lu clan and threatened him when he refused.
• Zhu Yunteng asked Li Li to explain the palace rules, then ordered the guards to break the other maids’ limbs and beat Lu Dong to death.
• Zhu Yunteng told the eunuchs to carry Lu Dong’s corpse and the injured maids to Lu clan’s palace and say that he awaited her explanation in his chambers.
• The eunuchs discussed Zhu Yunteng’s changed temperament and warned one another not to provoke him.

After killing Lu Dong, Zhu Yunteng confronted Lu clan and used palace law and his status as a Legitimate Son to force her to back down. He pretended to let the matter end, then decided to secretly report Lu clan’s past abuses to Imperial Grandfather and had Li Li propose watching her closely.

• Lu clan learned that Zhu Yunteng’s guards had beaten Lu Dong to death and went to his palace to confront him.
• Zhu Yunteng rejected Lu clan’s claim to be his adoptive mother and reminded her that a concubine could not adopt a Legitimate Son.
• When Lu clan’s servants failed to bow, Zhu Yunteng ordered his guards to enforce palace law, and the servants knelt before him.
• Zhu Yunteng threatened to tell Zhu Biao and Imperial Grandfather about Lu clan’s past deeds, frightening her into asking that the dispute end.
• After Lu clan left, Zhu Yunteng revealed that he planned to report her to Imperial Grandfather and agreed to consider Li Li’s proposal to keep her under watch.

Zhu Yunteng launched his first counterattack against the Lu clan, securing her palace and going to the imperial palace to seek an audience with Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao. He left the chapter kneeling before them and begging for justice.

• Li Li advised Zhu Yunteng to act decisively, and Zhu Yunteng ordered him to seal the Lu clan's palace while he sought an audience with Zhu Yuanzhang.
• Zhu Yunteng told Yun Yu to stay with Li Li, then went to the imperial palace with ten guards and ordered the Golden Guard to restrict movement in the Eastern Palace.
• The Lu clan discussed Zhu Yunteng's threat with her nanny and planned to summon her father, but Li Li arrived and confined her to her palace.
• Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao summoned Zhu Yunteng into Wenyuan Pavilion and praised his newfound confidence.
• Zhu Yunteng knelt before Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao and begged them to uphold justice for him.

Zhu Yunteng accused the Lu clan of abusing and suppressing him for years, and Zhu Yuanzhang believed him while Zhu Biao recognized his own failure to notice. Zhu Yuanzhang sent Jiang Yan and a hundred Imperial Guards to investigate the Eastern Palace, leaving Zhu Biao’s trust in the Lu clan broken and the possibility of her involvement in past deaths under scrutiny.

• Zhu Yunteng told Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao that the Lu clan had beaten and berated him, kept him from the Imperial Academy, and made him appear unworthy.
• Zhu Biao recalled dismissing Zhu Yunteng’s earlier complaints, while Zhu Yuanzhang concluded that the Lu clan had suppressed him to promote Zhu Yunwen.
• Zhu Biao tried to confront the Lu clan, but Zhu Yuanzhang stopped him and explained that her control of the Eastern Palace had kept reports from reaching him.
• Zhu Yuanzhang summoned Jiang Yan and ordered him to send a hundred Imperial Guards into the Eastern Palace to investigate the Lu clan’s treatment of Zhu Yunteng.
• Zhu Yunteng revealed that he had stationed ten guards outside the Lu clan’s hall to prevent her from leaving, and Zhu Yuanzhang praised and pardoned him.

After Zhu Yuanzhang ordered an investigation, Jiang Yan led the Imperial Guard into the Eastern Palace to search its residences and question Zhu Biao’s consorts. Lu clan was confined, her attendants were taken away, and Zhu Yunwen was left panicked as the investigation spread through the palace.

• Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Jiang Yan to investigate the Eastern Palace and told Zhu Yunteng and Zhu Biao to wait with him.
• Jiang Yan presented Zhu Yuanzhang’s command plaque at the Eastern Palace gates, and Chen Qing ordered the Golden Guards to stand aside.
• The Imperial Guard entered the Eastern Palace and reached Lu clan’s residence, where Li Li and his guards had kept her confined.
• Jiang Yan told Lu clan that the Emperor and Crown Prince had authorized the operation, confined her to her bedchamber, and ordered her attendants taken away.
• Matron Lin tried to kill herself, but Jiang Yan ordered the Imperial Guard to save her and take her into custody.
• Jiang Yan sealed Lu clan’s doors and sent the Imperial Guard to question the other consorts, while Zhu Yunwen panicked outside her chambers.

After Zhu Yunteng accused Lu clan of years of oppression, Zhu Yuanzhang and the Crown Prince ordered the Imperial Guard to investigate the Eastern Palace. As Jiang Yan brought its consorts, daughters, and servants to Wenyuan Pavilion, the inquiry began, while Lan Yu and Chang Mao celebrated and Lu Ben feared the exposure of his family's crimes.

• Zhu Yunling and Consort Chen learned that Zhu Yunteng had accused Lu clan, and Imperial Guards escorted them to the palace to answer questions.
• Lan Yu and Chang Mao heard that Zhu Yunteng had acted against Lu clan and celebrated the Imperial Guard's investigation.
• Lu Ben received word that Lu clan had been confined and her servants detained, then learned Zhu Yunteng had made the accusation.
• Jiang Yan reported to Zhu Yuanzhang and the Crown Prince that he had brought the Eastern Palace's consorts, daughters, and servants to Wenyuan Pavilion.
• Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the consorts and daughters to enter first so he could investigate the matter and seek justice for Zhu Yunteng.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao learned from Consort Chen, Zhu Yunling, and the palace servants’ confessions that Zhu Yunteng had been abused and deprived for years. Zhu Biao apologized to his son and demanded Lu clan’s death, but Zhu Yuanzhang ordered a deeper investigation and forbade the matter from spreading.

• Zhu Yuanzhang summoned Zhu Biao’s Consorts and County Princesses and questioned Consort Chen about Zhu Yunteng’s treatment.
• Consort Chen and Zhu Yunling described years of neglect and mistreatment, and Zhu Biao’s other two Consorts confirmed their accounts.
• Zhu Yunling revealed that Zhu Biao had once dismissed her warning and that Lu clan had retaliated by stopping their household’s stipends.
• Zhu Biao apologized to Zhu Yunteng, who wept, and promised to seek justice for him.
• An Imperial Guard reported that Lu clan’s servants confessed to targeting Zhu Yunteng, though they blamed the head nanny, who had tried to kill herself.
• Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the witnesses to keep silent, refused to let Zhu Biao kill Lu clan yet, and said he needed to investigate his suspicions.

Zhu Yunteng accused Lu clan of involvement in Chang clan’s difficult labor and the Smallpox deaths, prompting Zhu Yuanzhang to order investigations and send Lu clan to the Cold Palace. Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao resolved to uncover the Lü Family’s role and eliminate the threat they believed it posed.

• Zhu Yunteng told Zhu Yuanzhang that he suspected Lu clan had caused Chang clan’s death and was connected to the Smallpox outbreak that killed his elder brother and Imperial Grandmother.
• Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Jiang Yan to investigate both cases, while Zhu Biao sent Lu clan to the Cold Palace under strict guard.
• Zhu Yunteng asked Zhu Yuanzhang to purge Lu clan’s influence from the Eastern Palace, and Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Jiang Yan to investigate its servants and execute those Lu clan had placed there.
• Zhu Biao admitted that his neglect had allowed Lu clan to oppress Zhu Yunteng, and Zhu Yuanzhang comforted him before discussing the suspicions surrounding Chang clan and the Smallpox deaths.
• Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the Imperial Guard to watch the Lü Family and search for evidence, and he and Zhu Biao vowed that Lu clan and the Lü Family would not remain.

Zhu Biao accepted the Imperial Guard’s role after realizing how long Zhu Yunteng had suffered under the Lü clan’s schemes. As Zhu Yunteng returned to the Eastern Palace, Jiang Yan announced that every palace servant arranged by the Lü clan would be executed.

• Zhu Yuanzhang told Zhu Biao that the Imperial Guard would investigate whether the Lü clan had caused Zhu Yunteng’s suffering and Sister Chang’s death, and Zhu Biao acknowledged he had underestimated human nature.
• Lu Ben arrived at the Eastern Palace to see Consort Lü, but Chen Qing refused him entry because the palace was sealed.
• Lan Yu and Chang Mao taunted Lu Ben and told him that the Imperial Guard had exposed Consort Lü’s actions and that the Lu Family was in danger.
• Consort Chen and Zhu Yunling arrived, and Zhu Yunling told Lan Yu and Chang Mao that Zhu Yunteng was with Zhu Yuanzhang after his report had been confirmed.
• Zhu Yunteng returned to the Eastern Palace and told Lu Ben that Consort Lü would be sent to the Cold Palace.
• Jiang Yan announced that, by the joint decree of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao, the Eastern Palace would be thoroughly investigated and all palace servants arranged by the Lü clan would be executed.

Zhu Yunteng oversaw the purge of Lu clan’s palace servants and confronted her after she was stripped of her rank and confined to the Cold Palace. He revealed that his elder brother Zhu Xiongying was still alive, leaving Lu clan terrified and determined to find a way to defend herself.

• Zhu Yunteng vowed to pursue the Lü Family next and ordered the Imperial Guards to execute palace servants admitted to the Eastern Palace with Lu clan’s approval.
• Jiang Yan arrested the eunuch in charge of the palace registers and began gathering the Eastern Palace’s servants for the purge.
• Zhu Yunteng visited Lu clan, told her that she had lost her rank and would be sent to the Cold Palace, and warned that Zhu Yunwen would lose his father’s recognition.
• Zhu Yunteng accused Lu clan of being connected to his elder brother’s smallpox, then revealed that Zhu Xiongying was still alive.
• Lu clan collapsed in fear and resolved to seek an audience with Zhu Biao, while Zhu Yunteng told Li Li that the revelation was meant to provoke her into making a mistake.

Zhu Yunteng purged Lu clan’s network from the Eastern Palace after she was detained and sent to the Cold Palace, while Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao dealt with the aftermath. At the Marquis of Victory’s Residence, Zhu Ying was stunned to hear that events had sharply diverged from historical records.

• Zhu Yunteng thanked Li Li for advising him to have Lu clan detained before she could prepare to defend herself.
• Jiang Yan separated the Eastern Palace’s original servants from Lu clan’s appointees, then arrested nearly five hundred servants and sent them to the Imperial Guard’s prison.
• Zhu Yunteng reflected on the servants’ past oppression and reassured Yun Yu that his elder brother’s confidence in him had not been misplaced.
• Jiang Yan reported the arrests to Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao, who arranged new servants for the Eastern Palace and agreed that Imperial Guard agents should monitor it.
• Zhu Biao accepted the Imperial Guard’s necessity, and Yun Qi and Jiang Yan discussed how the incident had changed the Crown Prince’s attitude toward it.
• Liu Lei told Zhu Ying that Lu clan had been stripped of her rank and sent to the Cold Palace, leaving Zhu Ying shocked because it contradicted historical records.

Zhu Ying learned that the Eastern Palace had been purged and the Lu clan sent to the Cold Palace, but he chose not to intervene. Xu Miaojin and Mu Ya asked to marry him, and after Shen Yu'er welcomed the possibility if their clans and the Emperor agreed, she revealed she was pregnant again; Zhu Ying remained convinced the marriage would never be approved.

• Liu Lei told Zhu Ying that Zhu Yunteng had reported the Lu clan, leading to the Lu clan's banishment to the Cold Palace and a purge of the Eastern Palace; Zhu Ying decided to simply monitor developments.
• When Xu Miaojin and Mu Ya arrived seeking Zhu Ying, he avoided meeting them and asked Shen Yu'er to receive them instead.
• Xu Miaojin and Mu Ya told Shen Yu'er they wished to see the Marquis of Victory, and Shen Yu'er said she would welcome them as wives if their families and the Emperor consented.
• After the two women left, Shen Yu'er began retching, and an elderly maid confirmed that she was pregnant again.
• Shen Yu'er told Zhu Ying that Xu Miaojin and Mu Ya wanted to marry him and that she had agreed on the condition of family and imperial approval; Zhu Ying assumed those approvals would never come.

Xu Miaojin and Mu Ya persuaded their families that Zhu Ying was the living Imperial Eldest Grandson, prompting them to seek Zhu Yuanzhang’s judgment on the matter and the proposed marriages. In the Eastern Palace, Zhu Biao rejected Zhu Yunwen’s pleas and barred him from returning, while Xu Huizu and Mu Ying arrived at the palace with their daughters.

• Xu Miaojin told Xu Huizu she wanted to marry Zhu Ying and revealed that she believed he was her brother Xiongying, the Imperial Eldest Grandson; Xu Huizu agreed to bring her to see Zhu Yuanzhang.
• Mu Ya persuaded Mu Ying that Zhu Ying was Xiongying, and Mu Ying agreed to take her into the palace and support her wish to marry him.
• Zhu Yunteng asked Zhu Biao to bring his elder brother back to the Eastern Palace, and Zhu Biao promised it would happen soon.
• Zhu Yunwen pleaded with Zhu Biao to explain why Lu clan had been confined, but Zhu Biao condemned Lu clan and Zhu Yunwen and ordered him barred from the Eastern Palace hall.
• Luo Yang and the Golden Guards dragged Zhu Yunwen out of the hall.
• Yun Qi reported that Xu Huizu and Xu Miaojin, along with Mu Ying and Mu Ya, had arrived at the palace requesting an audience with Zhu Yuanzhang.

Mu Ying and Xu Huizu reported their suspicions that Zhu Ying was the supposedly dead Imperial Eldest Grandson, Zhu Xiongying. Zhu Yuanzhang revealed that he had already confirmed Zhu Ying’s identity but ordered everyone to keep it secret until he uncovered the truth behind Xiongying’s disappearance and the smallpox outbreak.

• Mu Ying and Xu Huizu told Zhu Yuanzhang about Zhu Ying’s bite mark, eyes, and son, which matched clues connecting him to Zhu Xiongying.
• Zhu Yuanzhang revealed that he had recognized Zhu Ying and sent the Imperial Guard to the Filial Mausoleum, where they found no body in the coffin and the burial objects untouched.
• Zhu Yuanzhang warned the four visitors not to tell the Crown Prince or anyone else about Xiongying’s identity until he investigated his disappearance and the suspicious smallpox outbreak.
• Xu Miaojin and Mu Ya asked to marry Xiongying, and Zhu Yuanzhang agreed to arrange their marriages once he restored Xiongying to the clan registry.
• Zhu Yuanzhang told the two women that Xiongying was also expected to marry Joseon’s princess, and they said they did not mind.

After Zhu Yuanzhang confirmed Zhu Ying was Zhu Xiongying, Zhu Ying attended his first court session as Marquis of Victory and drew warm attention from several military factions. The new-year court opened with discussion of northern defenses, while Lu Ben feared what might happen to him after the purge of the Eastern Palace.

• Zhu Yuanzhang confirmed Zhu Ying's identity as Zhu Xiongying, and Xu Miaojin, Mu Ying, and Xu Huizu welcomed the news.
• Five days later, Zhu Ying attended court in official robes, where Lan Yu, Chang Mao, Xu Huizu, and Mu Ying greeted him warmly and wondered whether the others knew his true identity.
• Lu Ben grew increasingly anxious about the Eastern Palace purge and feared the Imperial Guard might seize him when court resumed.
• Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao watched Zhu Ying enter Fengtian Hall, while Zhu Ying wished the session would end quickly.
• Tang Duo reported that the northern frontier defenses had been divided into three border armies and that Liaodong's Great Wall needed repairs.
• Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Yuan Army prisoners to repair the Great Wall in Liaodong.

Zhu Yuanzhang approved Zhu Ying’s proposal to resettle landless people in the Northern Frontier and arranged a Joseon mission, then announced that the Joseon princess would marry Zhu Ying as a concubine. The court summoned Liu Jing over his family’s missing daughter, and Zhu Yuanzhang revealed that he had already found her.

• Zhu Ying proposed reducing taxes in the war-stricken Northern Frontier and relocating refugees and other landless people there; Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the Ministry of Revenue to arrange the resettlement.
• Zhu Yuanzhang approved Zheng Yi’s mission to Joseon and appointed Zhang Wu to escort the envoy with five thousand cavalry.
• Zhu Yuanzhang announced that the Joseon princess would be bestowed on Zhu Ying as a concubine, shocking the court before Zhu Ying accepted the marriage.
• Chen Jing reported that Liu Jing was waiting outside, and Zhu Yuanzhang summoned him into court.
• Zhu Yuanzhang asked Liu Jing about the daughter lost among the common folk, then told him that he had already found her.

Zhu Yuanzhang revealed that Shen Yu'er was Liu Bowen's granddaughter, arranged for her to return to the Liu family, and promoted Liu Jing. After Mu Ying came to bid farewell before returning to Yunnan, he mentioned Xiongying's return, exposing that Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao had each secretly learned Xiongying was alive; neither knew how the other found out.

• Zhu Yuanzhang revealed that Shen Yu'er was Liu Bowen's granddaughter after Zhu Ying identified the keepsake she carried.
• Liu Jing agreed to restore Shen Yu'er to her ancestral family, and Zhu Yuanzhang appointed him Minister of Rites.
• Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao discussed Lu Ben and the ongoing investigation into the Eastern Palace incident.
• Mu Ying came to bid farewell before returning to Yunnan, asked to leave Ya'er in Yingtian, and hoped to attend Xiongying and Ya'er's wedding.
• Mu Ying's mention of Xiongying startled Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao, who each admitted they already knew Xiongying was alive.
• Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao questioned each other about who had revealed the secret, while Mu Ying realized neither had known the other's suspicions.

Zhu Biao and Zhu Yuanzhang discovered that they had independently confirmed Zhu Ying was Zhu Xiongying and agreed to uncover what happened to him before restoring his identity. In Beiping, Zhu Di learned that the Lu clan had been punished and that Lan Yu had made peace with Zhu Ying, and he feared Zhu Xiongying’s identity was already under investigation.

• Zhu Biao told Zhu Yuanzhang that Lan Yu had opened Xiongying's tomb and found it empty, while Zhu Yuanzhang revealed that his own investigators had found the same result.
• Zhu Yuanzhang said he would investigate Xiongying's disappearance, keep Lu Ben in office through the imperial examinations, and leave the Lü Family's fate to Xiongying once the truth was known.
• Zhu Neng reported that bandits were devastating merchant caravans in Beiping, driving merchants away and raising prices, while Zhu Di remained unable to stop them.
• Yao Guangxiao urged Zhu Di to eliminate evidence connected to Zhu Ying, warning that Zhu Di could face imprisonment if Zhu Ying were restored to his identity.
• A eunuch reported that the Lu clan had been sent to the Cold Palace, the Eastern Palace had been purged, and Lan Yu and Chang Mao had apologized to the Marquis of Victory.
• Zhu Di and Yao Guangxiao concluded that Lan Yu had recognized Zhu Xiongying and feared he would tell Zhu Biao, prompting an investigation into Zhu Xiongying's identity.

Zhu Di confined Yao Guangxiao and sent gifts and a letter to Zhu Xiongying’s residence, hoping to show weakness as the Imperial Guard’s investigation advanced. In Goryeo, Ming envoys arrived with an imperial investiture decree for Yi Seong-gye, and the gathered court knelt as Zheng Yi began to proclaim it.

• Zhu Di ordered Yao Guangxiao to remain in the secret chamber and said he would kill him if the Imperial Guard came for him.
• Zhu Di instructed Ma He to prepare gifts and a letter for the Marquis of Victory’s residence in Yingtian.
• Yi Seong-gye and Goryeo’s officials gathered at the royal palace to await the Ming Dynasty’s investiture decree.
• Zheng Yi and Zhang Wu entered the palace with five thousand Daning Border Army cavalrymen, whose presence frightened the Goryeo court.
• Yi Seong-gye welcomed Zheng Yi, while Zheng Yi challenged the puppet King of Goryeo for not kneeling.
• Zheng Yi opened the Hongwu Emperor’s edict, and Yi Seong-gye and the Goryeo people knelt to receive it.

Yi Seong-gye accepted Ming recognition as Joseon’s king and agreed to his daughter Gyeongsin’s marriage to Zhu Ying. Back in Yingtian, Zhu Ying prepared to receive Zhu Di’s envoy and pursue the Shen Family, while Zhu Yuanzhang’s discovery of Zhu Wenxi’s Huai character jade further confirmed the boy’s identity.

• Zheng Yi invested Yi Seong-gye as Joseon’s king, renamed Goryeo, and presented him with royal robes and a seal.
• Zheng Yi told Yi Seong-gye that Gyeongsin would marry Zhu Ying, and Yi Seong-gye enthusiastically accepted the match.
• Xu Miaojin and Mu Ya continued pursuing Zhu Ying and doting on Zhu Wenxi, who said Zhu Yuanzhang had asked him to visit the palace daily.
• Liu Lei informed Zhu Ying that Zhu Di had sent gifts to Yingtian seeking to end hostilities, and Zhu Ying ordered the Black Guard to watch Beiping and target Shen Family caravans.
• Zhu Ying agreed to meet Zhu Di’s envoy and wondered what Zhu Di was planning.
• Zhu Yuanzhang told Zhu Biao to protect Zhu Wenxi after discovering the boy wore the Huai character jade once buried with Zhu Yuanzhang’s eldest grandson.