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

In the afternoon, the sun was warm, and a few sparrows perched on the branches; everything was so peaceful and serene.

However, everyone knows that beneath the seemingly peaceful surface, undercurrents are surging.

Fu Youwen walked out of Tianyun Temple and looked back. At this moment, the Taoist temple seemed just as awe-inspiring as the imperial palace in his eyes!

He swallowed hard and pulled his hands further into his sleeves.

Just now, a current suddenly surged through his mind.

Especially seeing the abbot's contented appearance, as if he were treating Zhu Xiong Ying like a grandson.

He had seen this kind of scene before.

This only happened when Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Xiong Ying were together.

Furthermore, the statue of the City God is almost identical to the portrait of the retired emperor.

The retired emperor…

That's incredible.

He actually survived, and even became an immortal.

Fu Youwen didn't know why people could come back to life.

But what he was certain of was that the old man could be so good to someone that he even exiled his own son to Lingnan because of that person. Who else in the world could do that besides the old man's father and mother?

Everything makes sense now!

"With an immortal presiding over the Ming Dynasty, perhaps it can truly forge a different path from that of previous dynasties."

Fu Youwen's eyes were filled with excitement.

Throughout history,

Every dynasty will eventually fall; that's a foregone conclusion.

But perhaps, the Ming Dynasty would not.

….….….….….…

East Palace.

Lady Lü and Zhu Yunwen looked at each other in bewilderment.

Zhu Yunwen's face was pale, his frail face ashen, and his eyes burned with venomous anger.

Lady Lü's complexion was not much better.

After a long silence, Madam Lü finally spoke: "Old man, you're really ruthless!"

He could tolerate Lan Yu and others' wrongdoings, so why did he have to be so ruthless towards the Zhou family?

Marquis Jiang Xia is indeed good at running gambling dens, but he and the old man are from the same hometown. They are people who have gone through thick and thin together and made great contributions to the Ming Dynasty!

The old man really showed no mercy, almost wiping out the entire family, leaving only the Zhou family with their sole heir!

Thinking about it now, Madam Lü is still extremely frightened.

What frightened her most was that the old man sent someone to deliver a message to her yesterday.

From now on, keep a close eye on Yunwen. As for your involvement with the Zhou family, we'll pretend it never happened.

The old man knows!

I know she contacted the Zhou family!

The old man didn't say what he knew specifically or to what extent.

This made Ms. Lü keep wondering about the extent to which the old man knew.

Did the old man know about the Golden Seal of the State framing the Abbot of Tianyun Temple? Did he also know about her plan to have the Zhou family eliminate Zhu Xiong Ying's supporters?

These are all questions.

But Ms. Lü believed that the old man knew.

She knew the old man too well; in this deep palace, nothing could be hidden from him.

If the old man knew about all the embarrassing things I had done, it would be a capital offense for anyone.

How could the Lü family not panic?

Fortunately, she herself had the status of Crown Princess. However, she didn't know how long this status could stop the old man's murderous knife, and she no longer wanted to test it.

She was afraid.

Really scared!

the other side.

Zhu Yunwen looked somewhat dazed, his eyes bloodshot.

He hates it!

It wasn't because the Marquis of Jiangxia's clan was exterminated.

It was not that they hated Zhu Yuanzhang!

That night, he pleaded with Zhu Yuanzhang all night, but Zhu Yuanzhang refused to see him!

He resented Zhu Yuanzhang's injustice.

He resented Zhu Yuanzhang's alienation from him!

He felt that his influence in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart had become negligible!

With the downfall of Marquis Zhou Dexing of Jiangxia, Zhu Yunwen felt a sense of impending doom.

He knew that Zhou Dexing's matter was far from over, and there were still many things for Zhu Yuanzhang to deal with.

However, he knew nothing about anything, not even the smallest details.

The person who knew the most about the Zhou family case was Zhou Dexing, whom he told him during a visit to Zhou Dexing in prison.

It is said that the entire Zhou family was imprisoned, which was closely related to the abbot of Tianyun Temple.

Zhu Yunwen always remembered this matter.

He couldn't understand who the abbot of Tianyun Temple was, that Zhu Yuanzhang valued him so much? Was it just because he saved his eldest son and Empress Ma?

"Son."

At this moment, Madam Lü's voice trembled slightly: "Let's not think about those things anymore, and let's not do anything unnecessary."

“This time, to tell you the truth, it was us two who harmed the Zhou family. If we hadn’t let Zhou Dexing deal with Tianyun Temple, none of those things would have happened.”

"But we didn't know anything back then. We didn't know what was going on at Tianyun Temple. What does that mean? It means that my daughter and I lived deep inside the palace and knew nothing about anything."

"We are completely in the dark about the outside world, so... when we go to ask someone for help, it only makes things worse, and we'll even be afraid of the people who help us."

"I've decided that from now on, neither of us will say a word, and we won't get involved in anything. We'll wait for the opportunity! Do you remember when I saw you not long ago?"

Zhu Yunwen nodded: "I remember. Time is the most unpredictable thing. Today's leader may have the upper hand, but tomorrow's leader may step down from his position because of certain things. These things are unpredictable."

Lady Lü smiled with satisfaction: "Not bad, son. For now, let's just be like Hu Hai of the Great Qin Dynasty, waiting for our opportunity! Waiting for the eldest son to make a mistake on his own."

Zhu Yunwen took a deep breath: "Mother, I understand."

"During this period, I didn't get involved in anything else. I just focused on studying, learning knowledge, enriching myself, and making myself wiser and more confident."

Madam Lü laughed and said, "Good, good, this is my good eldest son."

Looking at her remarkable child, for some reason, her initial fear of death subsided considerably.

.

…….….….….….

The next day.

Early in the morning.

Zhu Changye got up early as usual, went for a walk, and came back to have some breakfast.

His life was very dull.

Aside from cultivation, he basically just wanders around.

It's not that he doesn't want to play anything; it's mainly because at his age, he's already experienced everything that life should offer.

In the end, it all comes back to the same routine.

Just after breakfast, a childish voice came from outside the yard.

"Abbot, I've come to find you! Are you awake yet?"

Upon hearing this voice, Zhu Changye couldn't help but smile.

This is Bai Miaomiao, one of Chen Yuntian's two little followers, from the shelter next door.

This child has a hard life. Her parents were businessmen, quite wealthy, and they both doted on Bai Miaomiao.

However, when Bai Miaomiao was three years old, they were killed by bandits on their way to trade.

After the two died, since they only had one daughter, Bai Miaomiao, who was only three years old, their family's wealth was basically looted by the relatives and friends they had promoted.

Finally, an old housekeeper came out to live with Bai Miaomiao.

However, this happy time did not last long. When Bai Miaomiao was six years old, the old steward passed away, leaving Bai Miaomiao all alone.

The old housekeeper was poor when he died and left nothing for Bai Miaomiao.

At Bai Miaomiao's age, unable to find work to support herself, she became a homeless child.

Afterwards, because her parents had taught her so well, she dared not steal anything. So she found a dilapidated temple and planned to starve herself to death so that she could join her parents.

Chen Yuntian saw this and gave her a pancake he had stolen that day. When Bai Miaomiao refused to eat it, Chen Yuntian ate it right in front of her, enjoying it immensely.

at last,

Hunger overcame her suicidal urges, and she ate the pancake.

And so... he survived.

From then on, she followed Chen Yuntian around like a shadow.

Chen Yuntian survives by robbing, but she doesn't dare to rob, so Chen Yuntian robs an extra item each time and gives it to Bai Miaomiao.

This kind of life lasted for half a year, because after half a year, they came to Tianyun Temple.

"Why is this girl here?"

Zhu Changye chuckled, somewhat curious.

Upon hearing that voice, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up in a smile.

do not know why.

Zhu Changye now particularly enjoys spending time with the children at the shelter; they are all quite adorable.

Zhu Changye wasn't like this before; his personality changed as he got older.

Of course, he felt it wasn't his fault; this kind of love for children from the older generation is common among almost every elderly person.

It's as if it's etched into my very bones.

Just like when people are hungry they want to eat, when people get old they want to dote on children, even if they don't really care, they won't give them a bad attitude.

"Get up, I'm coming."

Zhu Changye hurriedly got up and went to bring Bai Miaomiao into the courtyard.

Today, Bai Miaomiao is holding many torn pages of books in her hands.

Zhu Changye knew why the little guy had come here at just one glance.

“Master, when I went out to buy candied hawthorns today, I saw two scholars arguing on the street. Then, they even started fighting and broke their respective trunks.”

"Many of the books were torn to shreds. After they finished fighting and left, I secretly picked up the torn pages."

"There are many words on the torn page, but I can't understand them. Brother Yuntian and the others can't understand them either. Then Brother Yuntian told me to come and find you."

"Hehe, Abbot, what do these mean? I'm so curious."

Zhu Changye took the tattered page; judging from its contents, it was a copy of the Book of Songs.

"Girl, these are eight characters."

"My fair lady, a gentleman likes to be brave."

Zhu Changye couldn't help but feel curious.

Given the current situation in the Ming Dynasty, not many people own books.

These two scholars, who could even tear up books while fighting, must both be scholars of some standing.

"Wow, the observer is the master, so what does that mean?"

Bai Miaomiao was extremely curious.

Zhu Changye thought for a moment and smiled, "This sentence depicts the image of a beautiful and dignified woman, expressing praise for the noble virtues of women and the gentleman's pursuit of a good match."

"The lines 'A fair maiden is a gentleman's ideal' are often used to describe the passionate pursuit of love by young men and women."

Upon hearing this, Bai Miaomiao rested her chin on her hands, revealing a longing expression.

"Those scholars are so lucky, they still have so much time to pursue love, unlike us orphans, who have to worry about finding work."

Zhu Changye could see that Xiaoyuzi's eyes held a longing for the upper class.

It's like the poor envying the rich, and the rich envying the powerful.

"Master, do you pursue that kind of love?"

Bai Miaomiao asked again.

In her little mind, she didn't know what love was; she only knew that love must be wonderful to be worthy of so many scholars' admiration.

"I?"

Zhu Changye thought for a moment and said, "Yes, it was a wonderful experience."

"Wow!" Bai Miaomiao rested her chin on her hands, becoming even more interested: "Master, is love really that wonderful?"