The cards were still the same-play them slowly

Zhu Yunwen received Xu Huizu's secret memorial and burned it to ashes without betraying a flicker of emotion.

The Zhu Yunwen of history had been an utter fool. Though he possessed the "benevolence" the civil officials praised to the skies, when it came to military strategy, he had neither brains, judgment, nor ability.

Less than three months after ascending the throne, he disposed of Zhu Di's younger brother, Zhu Su, Prince of Zhou, and even told his other uncles, "Watch closely. The Prince of Zhou is guilty, and I'm going to finish him off."

Killing a chicken to frighten the tigers-what an idiotic stunt.

Once you had drawn your blade and torn away all pretense, you should have kept going. But this imbecile stayed his hand, rested for more than half a year, then began sharpening his rusty blade again, dealing in succession with the Princes of Xiang, Qi, Dai, and Min.

Day after day, he deployed troops and assigned commanders, pointing here and there around a map of Beiping, yet never actually struck. Only when Zhu Di had nearly finished his secret preparations under the guise of madness did he send men to arrest him.

In the end, Zhu Di threw down a melon as the signal, and the Jingnan campaign began...

When Zhu Yunwen first ascended the throne, he had swung his axe boldly, striking like a raging storm. In four years, he had ruined himself.

But that was history!

Now, I was Zhu Yunwen!

There was still time. Things could still be salvaged.

After all, Qi Tai had not yet become Minister of War, Huang Zicheng had not yet become Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and Fang Xiaoru had not yet become a lecturer at the Hanlin Academy.

The Prince of Zhou was still alive, and he had not yet begun stripping the princes of their power.

The cards were still the same. The joker bomb and all four twos were in my hand, and I controlled the deal as well. As long as I didn't play recklessly, surely I could handle Zhu Di.

The rain had passed, and the sky cleared.

That day, Zhu Yunwen neither went to the Hall of Martial Valor to review memorials nor boarded his imperial carriage for a sightseeing tour. He simply walked through the palace, accompanied by Ma Enhui and several eunuchs.

The Ming Imperial Palace of later generations could only be called a ruin. It could not begin to convey the prosperity and splendor of the Ming Empire's capital.

Zhu Yunwen entered Chang'an Palace. He had barely stepped through the entrance when he heard a light, lilting female voice.

Ma Enhui said, "Your Majesty, Miaojin must have come to see Wenkui..."

"Miaojin?"

Zhu Yunwen thought for a moment.

He remembered. She was Xu Miaojin, the fourth daughter of Xu Da, one of the dynasty's founding heroes.

She was the foremost remarkable woman of the Ming dynasty. Rumor had it that, for her sake, after his empress died, Zhu Di "actually left the central palace vacant and never appointed another empress."

At this time, Xu Miaojin was only eighteen, just three years younger than Zhu Yunwen.

"My imperial big brother is here."

Zhu Yunwen looked up and saw a young woman approaching gracefully, dressed in a willow-green cross-collared blouse and a long apricot-yellow skirt.

Willow brows, almond eyes, and beauty beyond compare.

Her bright, dewy eyes darted about. She carried an air of cool nobility, alongside a seemingly contradictory innocence and exuberance.

Xu Miaojin bent her knees slightly, counting that as her greeting, then looked at Zhu Yunwen and asked bluntly, "What happened to your head? Haven't these eunuchs been taking proper care of you?"

The eunuchs behind Zhu Yunwen shuddered and hurriedly dropped to their knees, protesting their innocence and begging Xu Miaojin to spare them with her words.

Zhu Yunwen could not help smiling and did not take offense at Xu Miaojin's girlish temperament. At this time, Xu Miaojin was only eighteen, just three years younger than Zhu Yunwen. Though they were close in age, and Xu Miaojin even jokingly called Zhu Yunwen "big brother," she actually belonged to the generation above his.

After all, Xu Miaojin's eldest sister, Xu Yihua, had married Zhu Di, Prince of Yan.

He changed the subject. "What has the Duke of Wei been busy with today?"

When Xu Miaojin heard the emperor ask about Xu Huizu, she grew a little more serious. "He spends all day at the Central Army Commandery. I don't know where all those military affairs come from. He doesn't even have time to go shopping with me."

Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly. Xu Huizu was a capable, loyal man. In the later years of the Hongwu reign, he had handled much of the court's military strategy and affairs.

"Father." A childish voice rang out.

A little boy of about two came toddling toward Zhu Yunwen from a short distance away, while a maid held his chubby hand and followed nervously beside him.

Zhu Yunwen crouched, reached out with both hands, and lifted the child into his arms. Smiling, he asked, "Wenkui, did you miss your father?"

"Yes."

Zhu Wenkui reached for Zhu Yunwen's forehead, but Ma Enhui hastily stopped him. "Your father is hurt. You mustn't touch that. Your Majesty, let me take him."

Zhu Yunwen handed Zhu Wenkui to Ma Enhui, then let her and Xu Miaojin chat while he sat down, picked up a book, and leafed through it, quietly savoring this rare moment of warmth.

To cross into another world, become emperor, and have a wife and child who loved him-there could be no greater happiness.

"Your Majesty, Xu Huizu, Duke of Wei, requests an audience."

Before long, a eunuch slipped quietly inside and made his report.

Zhu Yunwen drew himself out of his thoughts and chuckled. "It seems the excitement at the drill ground is over. Have him go to the Hall of Martial Valor."