Chapter Summaries

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.

After Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao confirmed that Zhu Ying was Xiongying, they planned to expose the Lü Family’s crimes and arrange marriages for him. Zhu Biao then confronted Lu clan, who denied abusing Yunteng, and told her she would never leave confinement.

• Zhu Wenxi showed Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao the Huai character jade, confirming that Zhu Ying was their lost Xiongying.
• Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Zhu Biao to tell Lu clan that Xiongying was alive and loosen the Golden Guard’s watch so she might alert Lu Ben, allowing them to uncover the old crime.
• Zhu Yuanzhang decided to announce marriages between Xiongying and Miaojin and Ya’er at court, preparing officials for his eventual restored identity.
• Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao discussed trained bandits attacking merchants in Beiping Prefecture, suspecting Zhu Ying had targeted the Shen Family and possibly the Fourth Prince.
• Zhu Biao visited Lu clan in confinement, rejected her denial of abusing Yunteng, and declared that she and the Lü Family would not escape punishment.

Zhu Biao revealed to Lu clan that Zhu Xiongying was alive and had become Zhu Ying, then used her attempt to alert the Lü Family as a trap. The next day, court proceedings resumed, and Zhu Biao began announcing marriage arrangements for Xu Miaojin and Mu Ya.

• Zhu Biao told Lu clan that Zhu Yunwen would lose his imperial status and revealed that Zhu Ying was his living son, Zhu Xiongying.
• Zhu Biao ordered Luo Yang to loosen surveillance around Lu clan's Cold Palace so the Lü Family could be drawn into making a move.
• Lu clan secretly sent a palace maid to tell Lu Ben that Zhu Ying was Zhu Xiongying and that the Lü Family was in danger; Luo Yang's men watched the exchange.
• Lu Ben received the message and spent the night in alarm before attending court the next day.
• At court, officials reported on soldiers' compensation and upcoming tax revenues, while Zhu Yuanzhang noticed Lu Ben's exhaustion.
• Zhu Biao announced that Xu Miaojin and Mu Ya had reached marriageable age, and Zhu Ying suspected the court intended to arrange their marriages.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao arranged for Xu Miaojin and Mu Ya to marry Zhu Ying, with an elaborate wedding overseen by the court. Zhu Ying accepted the decree, while Lu Ben grew convinced that Zhu Ying was Zhu Xiongying and resolved to strike first; Zhu Ying left Wenyuan Pavilion with a new imperial decree and orders to prepare for the wedding.

• Zhu Biao announced that Zhu Yuanzhang had betrothed Xu Miaojin and Mu Ya to Zhu Ying, and Zhu Ying accepted the imperial marriage decree.
• Zhu Yuanzhang established the rank of equal wife for Xu Miaojin and Mu Ya and ordered a wedding at imperial-prince standards, funded by the treasury.
• Lu Ben concluded that Zhu Ying was Zhu Xiongying and privately resolved to strike first.
• After court, Zhu Yuanzhang summoned Zhu Ying to Wenyuan Pavilion and told him to take an imperial decree, attend court in the future, and prepare for the wedding.
• Zhu Biao said he and Zhu Yuanzhang would preside over the wedding, and Zhu Ying hurried back to his residence after being excused from court until then.

Zhu Ying was promoted to Duke of Wu and received Tier 2 and Tier 3 treasure chests, but an ambush interrupted his journey home. His guards repelled the assassins, and Zhu Ying ordered some captured alive as the Imperial Guards arrived.

• Zhu Yuanzhang worried that Zhu Ying might never recover his childhood memories, while Zhu Biao believed he would once he returned to the palace.
• Zhu Ying left the palace, learned that his promotion made him hereditary Duke of Wu, and received two treasure chests from the system.
• Zhu Ying sensed killing intent and stopped his carriage, prompting Liu Lei and ten guards to prepare for an attack.
• Yuan assassins fired crossbows and charged Zhu Ying's carriage, but his guards killed many attackers and held their ground.
• Zhu Ying sent the Golden Eagle to track the retreating assassins as the Imperial Guards surrounded the area.
• Zhu Ying ordered his guards to capture some assassins alive, and they seized the survivors before the Imperial Guards arrived.

Zhu Ying survived an assassination attempt and ordered his guards to hunt down the attackers, while Zhu Yuanzhang sealed Yingtian and launched a sweeping investigation. As the Shen Family feared Zhu Ying’s retaliation and military leaders gathered at his residence, Zhu Ying said his guards were returning with answers.

• Zhu Ying had the Imperial Guards take five captured assassins to the Ministry of Justice, then sent Liu Lei and a hundred personal guards to destroy the attackers’ hideout and capture their leader.
• After Guo Zhen reported the attack, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Yingtian sealed and commanded the Imperial Guards to hunt down the Northern Yuan remnants and identify everyone involved.
• Lan Yu and Chang Mao set out for Zhu Ying’s residence, while Shen Wansan told Shen Rong to send a gift as a test, keep the bounty secret, and keep the family’s direct descendants inside.
• Lan Yu, Chang Mao, Xu Huizu, Fu Youde, and other generals visited Zhu Ying, who said the attackers might have used Northern Yuan slogans to hide who had sent them.
• Zhu Ying said his personal guards had tracked the fleeing assassins to their hideout, and Xiao Han reported that the commander had returned.