Zhu Yuanzhang, who commanded the wind and rain, lived a long and arduous life.

Fifty years ago, he climbed out of his coffin and was taken back by the Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain to heal his wounds.

He didn't remember anything at that time, so the Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain named him Zhang Changye.

The Zhang surname is the dominant surname in Longhu Mountain.

The long night is because he crawled out of the darkness.

Zhang Changye, that would have become his new name.

But at that time, he held the jade pendant with the character "Zhu" tightly and told the Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain that the jade pendant was very important to him, extremely important.

The Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain saw the character "Zhu" on the jade pendant and subsequently named him Zhu Changye.

"Let it stay with you in my place."

Zhu Changye placed the jade pendant with the character "Zhu" in the middle of the coffin. In an instant, a golden aura surged out, as if wrapping the coffin in gold. The jade pendant, however, passed through the thick sandalwood of the coffin and landed steadily inside.

The golden aura vanished the moment the jade pendant seeped into it.

The jade pendant with the character "Zhu" is placed here, while he himself keeps the jade pendant with the character "Chen".

Zhu Changye glanced at the coffin again, then turned and walked outside.

Just then, a gust of wind blew, causing Zhu Changye to take a step back.

Zhu Changye's eyes flickered.

Turning around, his eyes widened in surprise for a moment.

In a hazy vision, he seemed to see his wife, who had toiled her whole life, dressed as a peasant girl, with the same youthful face she had when they got married, smiling as she looked at him.

She waved at him, her lips parting slightly.

This scene seemed to transport us back to the days before Chongba and the others were born, when he went out to farm day after day.

Before leaving home, his wife would stand at the door and say something to him.

"Shizhen, be careful on the road."

The message left in his youth overlapped with one left in his old age. The young Zhu Changye and the current Zhu Changye both turned around in the same way and softly said "Mmm".

He turned and left again, but this time he was in a better mood.

Everything was thanks to his deceased wife, Chen Changle.

But is that really the case?

There is no such thing as the dead coming back to life in this world; it's just a fantasy of the living.

Perhaps Zhu Changye is still fantasizing that the fool from the past, the wife from the past, is still... still by his side.

Their shared past and the entrustment of each other in death made their bond deeper than anything else.

He seemed unwilling to acknowledge that person's passing.

….….….….….…

After spending an hour at Chang Le Tomb, Zhu Changye did not return to Yingtian Prefecture after leaving.

Having finally returned to his old haunts, he decided to visit Zhu Family Village while it was still early.

Zhujia Village.

The streets were somewhat deserted, but some vendors were still calling out their wares.

Zhu Changye walked into the village.

Here, apart from the location, everything is quite different from what I remember.

However, it is more prosperous than before.

"Shopkeeper, I'd like a sesame seed cake."

Zhu Changye approached the peddler and called out.

"okay!"

The vendor responded with a smile.

After preparing the sesame seed cakes, I handed them to Zhu Changye.

After paying, Zhu Changye asked with a smile, "Shopkeeper, may I ask you something? Where is the ancestral hall of Zhu Family Village?"

He wanted to visit the ancestral hall in Zhujia Village.

Because at his age, most of the people he used to know are now lying in the ancestral hall.

"Zhu Family Village?"

The vendor paused for a moment, then couldn't help but ask, "Sir, what is Zhu Family Village? You've come to the wrong place. This is Qin Family Village."

Qin Family Village?

Zhu Changye was taken aback.

Before he could react, an older man walked over and asked, "Are you a relative of a former resident of Zhujia Village?"

Zhu Changye remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

Seeing this, the old man sighed and said, "The villagers of Zhujia Village are all dead, all of them were killed by the Yuan Dynasty soldiers."

"This land was originally going to be abandoned, but for some reason, it is highly valued by the imperial court. The court even sent high-ranking officials to relocate some people to live here."

"This place began to prosper, but it had nothing to do with the old Zhu Family Village. The people living here now are all from the Qin family."

"You're looking for the Zhu Family Ancestral Hall to pay respects to your great-grandfathers, right? Well, there's no way around it. Back then, the Zhu Family Village was massacred by Yuan soldiers, and none of them were left with intact bodies. I heard that some of them were even used as rations by the Yuan soldiers."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Changye's earlier joy at revisiting the place faded again: "I see, thank you for clearing up my doubts."

The old man waved his hand dismissively, saying, "It's nothing. I'm just an old man who knows about this. The young people in Qin Family Village don't even know that there used to be a Zhu Family Village here."

"You look about the same age as me. I'm an old man who's almost in my grave. If you had come later, there might not have been anyone to answer your questions."

"By the way, how old are you this year... um?!"

The old man was still talking non-stop when he realized that the spot where Zhu Changye had been standing was now empty.

"What about others?"

The old man asked suspiciously.

The vendor scratched his head: "I don't know, it was just here a moment ago."

"What a weird thing."

.

…….….….….….

Ying Tianfu.

Imperial City, Kunning Palace.

Empress Ma had not yet woken up, while Zhu Yuanzhang was with her, sitting in a chair with his head resting on her blanket, fast asleep.

He was asleep, but he was sweating slightly, and his eyes twitched occasionally before closing tightly, as if he were having some kind of nightmare.

"Hmm? Where is this?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was slightly taken aback.

One second he was with Empress Ma, seemingly asleep, how did he suddenly end up in an unfamiliar environment?

It was pitch black all around, and wisps of smoke were flashing past beneath my feet.

"Who on earth is playing tricks on us again!"

"Come out, we're not afraid of you!"

Zhu Yuanzhang said coldly.

And the next moment.

A bright light flickered in the distance.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked closely and saw that someone was carrying a lantern.

"Who are you? Who turned this hellhole into our place? Do you know this is a capital offense?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said angrily.

The person on the other end didn't speak, but as they approached, their voices came through intermittently.

"Chongba, Chongba, Chongba..."

He kept repeating those two words to himself.

Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes, but quickly became stunned, because the voice sounded very much like someone he had longed for day and night.

Once the man got close enough to see his face clearly, Zhu Yuanzhang could no longer contain himself.

"Mother, Mother! It's you!!"

He widened his eyes and ran over.

The newcomer, carrying a lantern, laughed and said, "Zhongba, it's been so many years! You've grown so much!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes welled up with tears: "Mother... your son misses you."

The visitor gently stroked Zhu Yuanzhang's white hair: "Your mother misses you too, and she misses your father too."

"Your father has arrived in Yingtian Prefecture, did you know?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned.

The visitor continued, "Your father looks so lonely and sad."

"I'm worried about him, but I can't go see him. Your father is mentally challenged and can't take care of himself. Remember to help me take care of him."