Transmigrated into a seven-year-old child, my fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens.

Empress Dowager Ulena trembled, pointing her finger at her son Zhu Ji with a look of utter disappointment: "You good-for-nothing! Everything your mother has done is for you, so that you can sit on this throne. Do you know how much I have done!"

Zhu Ji scoffed, "That's just wishful thinking on your part. I don't care!"

After saying this, Zhu Ji walked up to Zhu Yuanzhang and forced a smile: "Third Brother, this may be the last time I call you that."

"I'm sorry, my mother killed your mother. Now, I'm returning the throne to you, and I'll repay your mother's life with my own. If you become emperor, spare my mother's life, after all, she did it all for me!"

The more Zhu Yuanzhang listened, the more uneasy he felt. Zhu Ji looked calm, as if he were giving his last words, and even said something like, "I will repay your mother with my life."

not good!

What is he going to do?

By the time Zhu Yuanzhang realized what was happening, it was too late. Zhu Ji snatched a sword from a nearby soldier and, without hesitation, slashed his own neck. The next second, blood gushed out, and Zhu Yuanzhang, unable to dodge, was sprayed all over his face.

This happened so fast that everyone in the court was stunned, watching as the emperor, who had been so full of life just moments before, suddenly slit his own throat and committed suicide.

Zhao Lian never expected that this pampered emperor would have the courage to commit suicide.

Zhu Yuanzhang picked him up, his face full of heartache: "Why did you do this?"

No matter what, I never intended to kill him.

"Kiel~ Kiel~"

With bloodshot eyes, the Empress Dowager lunged forward, shoving Zhu Yuanzhang aside and roaring at him, "You murderer, you killed my Ji'er!"

"Mother~"

Zhu Ji was barely breathing; his body twitched, and blood gushed from his neck again.

The Empress Dowager frantically picked up Zhu Ji, shouting in anguish, "Someone come quick! Someone come quick! Call the imperial physician!"

At this point, everyone finally realized what was happening, and Eunuch Li hurriedly scrambled to the Imperial Hospital.

Zhu Ji smiled weakly: "Mother, it's no use!" he said, raising his hand.

Seeing this, the Empress Dowager quickly grasped his hand and wept bitterly: "Ji'er, hold on, Eunuch Li has gone to fetch the imperial physician."

Zhu Ji's face grew paler and paler, his voice grew softer and softer, and his speech became slower and slower: "Mother, you...you don't blame Third Brother, it's all...it's all our fault. I've already begged him to spare your life. Your son will atone for your sins and take his leave first." After saying this, he tilted his head and let his hand holding the Empress Dowager fall to his side.

"Kiel~ Kiel~"

The Empress Dowager screamed in anguish, pressing her head tightly against Zhu Ji's face.

"The imperial physician is here! The imperial physician is here!"

A series of hurried footsteps approached, and everyone made way for him. There came Eunuch Li, covered in sweat, and Physician Wang.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, what's wrong?"

When Imperial Physician Wang, who had his medicine chest ready, saw that the Emperor and Empress Dowager were covered in blood and looked like blood-soaked figures, he was immediately startled.

When he arrived, Eunuch Li had given him a heads-up, explaining the general situation, but he was still taken aback when he saw it.

Upon seeing Physician Wang, the Empress Dowager grasped at a straw.

"Doctor Wang, hurry! You must save Ji'er!"

Imperial Physician Wang dared not hesitate for a moment. He pried open Zhu Ji's eyelids, then checked the carotid artery in his neck. He gasped, then his face filled with shock: "Empress Dowager, the Emperor... the Emperor is dead!"

"what!!!"

The Empress Dowager screamed, "No! Ji'er isn't dead, he's just asleep! He's just asleep!"

After saying that, the Empress Dowager chuckled again: "Hehe~ Ji'er is asleep! Hehehe~"

"Your Majesty—" Imperial Physician Wang was about to speak when the Empress Dowager stopped him with a hand: "Shh, don't speak! Don't wake him!"

"Hehe~ Ji'er, Mommy will sing you 'Sleep well~ Sleep well, my darling~'"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned: "Imperial Physician Wang, how did the Empress Dowager become like this?"

The imperial physician looked terrified: "Third Prince, the Empress Dowager has suffered a shock; she may have gone mad!"

"Third Prince, now that the internal troubles have been eliminated, the Hanjiang Dynasty cannot be without a ruler for even a day. We implore you, Third Prince, to ascend the throne immediately." At this moment, the officials in the court began to come to their senses and all called for the Third Prince to ascend the throne.

"I'm afraid that's not appropriate!" Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head.

Tu Guoqiang bowed and said, "Your Highness, the late Emperor valued you highly when he was alive. You are the most suitable candidate. For the sake of the people, please ascend the throne."

All the civil and military officials knelt down and shouted, "Please, Third Prince, ascend the throne! Please, Third Prince, ascend the throne!"

It seems that the Third Prince's ascension to the throne is what everyone wants.

Amid cheers from his ministers, Zhu Yuanzhang slowly walked to the dragon throne and sat down.

Seeing that Ulena was still holding her son and singing a lullaby, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered his guards, "Take them away and clean this place up!"

"Eldest sister, eldest sister, wake up!" Wu Jingang struggled desperately as he was being taken away, still hoping that his elder sister, the Empress Dowager, could save him.

"Don't touch him, don't touch him! Ji'er is asleep, don't disturb him!" The Empress Dowager held on tightly as others tried to snatch her son from her arms.

After a while, the Empress Dowager and Rong Momo were forcibly taken away, and the other corpses lying scattered in the court were also completely cleared away, as if nothing had happened.

After Zhu Yuanzhang, the Third Prince, ascended the throne, he immediately released Prefect Song. The Hanjiang court began a major reshuffle, removing all members of the Empress Dowager's faction and imprisoning them to prevent their resurgence.

In addition, Song Wenjie replaced Wu Jingang and became the new commander of the Nine Gates.

Because Zhao Lian always appeared in men's clothing in front of Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor had no idea that Zhao Lian was a girl.

Because of her merit in saving the emperor, the emperor wanted to bestow upon Zhao Lian an official position, but she refused.

Finally, the Emperor bestowed upon Zhao Lian a mansion, which was located in the capital.

In the years since Zhu Ji ascended the throne, he has been extravagant and wasteful. At the same time, a severe drought struck the country, and the national treasury was already depleted. There were no extra funds to provide relief to the disaster victims.

Zhao Lian did not hide anything and told the Emperor about the batch of gold and silver jewelry. The Emperor immediately sent Song Wenjie and Zhao Lian to the Emperor and ordered them to find a way to bring the gold and silver jewelry back.

Because this batch of gold and silver jewelry was quite large, and the journey was long, there were too many unknowns along the way.

For safety's sake, just in case, the Emperor ordered Song Wenjie to bring along top imperial guards, and he could choose the exact number of guards.

For long journeys, it's essential to bring a skilled and experienced team, not a large one.

Among the many top experts in the palace, Song Wenjie carefully selected 30 to go together.

These imperial guards were not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also experienced in long journeys and camping in the wild. Having them around was like adding wings to a tiger.

Changting County is thousands of miles away from the capital. This time, everyone had a clear goal: to bring the gold and silver jewelry back as quickly as possible.

Since horse-drawn carriages were not allowed for long journeys, Song Wenjie provided each person with a horse. This posed a challenge for Zhao Lian, as she did not know how to ride a horse.