Daming: The system rejected my request for salted fish

Zhu Yuanzhang's words sounded like a question, but in fact he had already thought of a possibility in his mind.

It's just that this possibility is something he doesn't want to be true in his lifetime.

However, Wei Wu's next words completely shattered his hope.

"You must have guessed it. There is only one possibility for a bastard to ascend the throne, since the eldest legitimate son is gone."

"Xiong Ying! Xiong Ying, could he..."

Zhu Yuanzhang's face changed drastically, but he quickly shook his head and denied it.

"No, Biao'er will not go against our ancestral teachings. Even if something happens to Xiongying, Yunhuan should be enthroned instead of Yunwen."

"Your Majesty, it was not His Highness Zhu Biao who established Zhu Yunwen, but you, the Hongwu Emperor."

"What!!"

After hearing Wei Wu's words, Zhu Yuanzhang stood up for the first time without caring about his manners.

Seeing this, Wei Wu simply read out the information recorded in historical documents as if he were reciting a book.

"Historical records show that in the 25th year of the Hongwu reign, Crown Prince Zhu Biao died of illness and was buried on the east side of the Xiaoling Mausoleum in August. He was posthumously named 'Crown Prince Yiwen'."

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard that his son only had ten years left to live, he was furious.

He just heard that his grandson died young, and now he heard that his son died young too. How could he accept this?

Even Empress Ma, who had been silent all this time, stood up and looked at Wei Wu with horror.

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes were red as he stared at Wei Wu and asked:

"Why did Biaoer die of illness?"

"Historical records only record his death, but don't describe the illness. Folk rumors say it was a carbuncle on the back, or a severe cold, but..."

Having said this, Wei Wu suddenly stopped, and Zhu Yuanzhang was anxious and grabbed his arm directly.

"But what?"

Wei Wu thought about it and decided to express his guess.

"But the most widely accepted theory is that he suffered from a severe cold coupled with overwork, ultimately dying from exhaustion."

"Ridiculous! Our Biao'er is young and strong, how could he..."

Zhu Yuanzhang shook off Wei Wu's arm and opened his mouth to refute.

But halfway through his speech, he recalled the scene where his father and son worked all night to review memorials in order to train Zhu Biao.

A strong feeling of powerlessness surged in his heart, and Zhu Yuanzhang felt as if he had killed his son.

The abolition of the prime minister and the Secretariat and the concentration of imperial power resulted in a large backlog of affairs on the emperor's shoulders.

Sometimes even he, the emperor on horseback, felt extremely tired, let alone his son.

Wei Wu looked at the silent Zhu Yuanzhang and knew it was time to show his importance.

"Uncle Zhu, you don't have to worry about the illness, whether it's a carbuncle on the back or a cold."

"I happen to have medicine from our time that can treat these two illnesses, but I can't treat fatigue."

Upon hearing these words, Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma's eyes were instantly filled with light.

He couldn't deal with the symptoms, but he could find a way to deal with the fatigue.

If it really doesn't work, find a way to reform it. Compared with that, your own brand is the most important.

"Xiao Wu, you just said that we established Yunwen as the crown prince. What about Xiongying and Yunxun?"

"The emperor's grandson..."

Wei Wu paused again, because in his memory Zhu Xiongying was not far from death.

But it was said after all. If the son said it, the grandson can't escape it, and maybe even the wife will do the same soon.

Thinking of this, Wei Wu simply said it out loud.

"A month later, on the first day of May, the Crown Prince Zhu Xiongying... died of illness. The cause is unknown. He was buried in Zhongshan and given the posthumous title 'Huai'."

"On May 1st, our eldest grandson has less than a month to live?"

First, the son died, and now the grandson died, and he was about to die.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma lost their temper again, and in their panic they even overturned the hot pot on the table.

As the sound of metal falling to the ground was heard, the gate of Wei Wu's courtyard was violently kicked open with a bang.

A group of people dressed in civilian clothes, who looked tough, rushed into the courtyard and pointed their swords at Wei Wu.

But Wei Wu was not at all panicked, knowing that Zhu Yuanzhang would be able to handle this matter.

That's exactly what happened.

When these people drew their swords, Zhu Yuanzhang directly demonstrated what it meant for an emperor to be angry.

"Everyone, get out! Anyone who enters this courtyard will be thrown into the death row. Everyone, stay three feet away from the courtyard."

As soon as he finished speaking, all the people who rushed in retreated, and the courtyard returned to its original tranquility.

Only then did Zhu Yuanzhang ask again.

"Xiao Wu, tell us how rumors spread in your time?"

After Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, Wei Wu spoke again.

"Some say the Crown Prince contracted smallpox, others say he died of a cold, and there's even a more sinister version."

"It is said that the cause of the Crown Prince's death was related to the Crown Prince's current wife, Lady Lu. After the Crown Prince's death, Lady Lu took power in the Eastern Palace, and Zhu Yunhuan was deliberately made useless by her."

"The reason for this kind of talk is mainly because Zhu Yunwen ascended to the throne and they, mother and son, were the biggest beneficiaries."

When Wei Wu described it, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned until he finished speaking and then shook his head and said:

"Impossible. The Lu family doesn't have the courage or the ability to do it right under our noses."

Zhu Yuanzhang had the confidence to say this.

At this time, although the Jinyiwei was still being established, its predecessor, the Yiluansi, was still in operation.

With Zhu Yuanzhang's control, nothing in the palace could hide from his eyes.

However, Lao Zhu still kept a watchful eye on this matter.

The rumors were not without basis. After Lu became the legitimate ruler, Yunhu did undergo some unfavorable changes.

After hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's rebuttal, Wei Wu did not continue to talk about this matter.

Anyway, he had only heard these things, and there was no conclusive evidence to point out that it was Lu who killed Zhu Xiongying.

"Xiao Wu, you said you have medicine to treat colds, but what about smallpox? Is there medicine to treat that?"

Lao Zhu is Lao Zhu. In this situation, the first thing he thinks of is to kill all possibilities.

It’s a pity that when it comes to smallpox, Wei Wu knew how to prevent it, but didn’t have a good way to treat it.

"Uncle Zhu, smallpox could be perfectly prevented in my time, but it was extremely difficult to treat."

"As far as I know, there is only one drug that is effective against smallpox, and I don't have that drug."

Although Zhu Yuanzhang was very disappointed that the disease could not be cured, fortunately there were ways to prevent it.

He had just visited his precious grandson in the East Palace yesterday, and there were no symptoms of smallpox for the time being.

In this case, we should find ways to prevent it in advance so that we won’t be infected with this disease in the future.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Wei Wu with hope in his eyes.

"Xiao Wu, do you know how to prevent smallpox?"

Wei Wu nodded and announced the solution directly.

"Uncle Zhu, you can send people to investigate among the people. In fact, cows can also be infected with smallpox, but they will not die from it."

"Cowpox is a disease in cattle that has the same origin as smallpox, but it is far less dangerous than smallpox."

"People who have recovered from smallpox will not be infected again, so they only need to be vaccinated against cowpox to recover and then they don't need to worry about this terrible disease again."

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately shouted.

"Mao Xiang!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a figure rushed in from outside the door and knelt in front of Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Smallpox in cattle is called cowpox. Send someone to investigate whether this is true. Also, bring someone from the prison to be infected with cowpox."

"Remember, this is of paramount importance. We need to know whether people who have been infected with cowpox will die from the disease or whether they will be infected with smallpox again."