Ming Dynasty Simulator: I will be the greatest emperor of all time!

Looking at Song Zhong, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who had run over to deliver the message—a favorite of his father—Zhu Di took out some silver, intending to give it to him, and asked with a smile:

"Commander Song, do you know why my father summoned me over?"

Song Zhong politely declined Zhu Di's money, replying with a smile:

"Your Highness, I do not know, but His Majesty was initially very angry, but when he summoned you to the palace, he suddenly became quite happy."

"Moreover, His Majesty only summoned you to the palace."

Song Zhong also wanted to cultivate a good relationship with Zhu Di, the leader of this vassal king, so he would tell Zhu Di what needed to be said.

Zhu Di nodded, pondering why his father, who wouldn't let him return to his fiefdom, had suddenly summoned him to the palace.

He originally thought his father had listened to his nephew Zhu Yunwen's slander and wanted to reduce his Yan territory, but Song Zhong said that his father was quite happy to mention him.

Could it be... that the old man has come to his senses? He wants to make me the crown prince?

Zhu Di's eyes lit up.

On the way to the palace, Zhu Di also brought Zhu Gaoxi along.

Zhu Gaoxi was taking a nap when Zhu Di woke him up by slapping his butt, which brought out Zhu Gaoxi's morning grumpiness.

Zhu Gaoxi glared fiercely at his father, Zhu Di. Zhu Di showed no remorse for waking Zhu Gaoxi; on the contrary, he found the young boy's angry expression truly adorable.

"Hahaha... Little Gao Xi... Come on, your father will take you to the palace to play with your grandfather."

Without saying a word, Zhu Di picked up Zhu Gaoxi with one hand and tossed him into the air, whereupon Zhu Gaoxi landed steadily on the back of Zhu Di's neck.

However, this startled Zhu Gaoxi quite a bit. He first punched Zhu Di on the head with his little fist, then cursed loudly in a cute voice:

"Judy! You scared me to death!"

Judy was Zhu Di's Western name. Zhu Gaoxi didn't know if his father, Zhu Di, had this name before he became emperor, but that's what he called him. His father, Zhu Di, also liked this Western name.

Faced with Zhu Gaoxi's anger, Zhu Di chuckled.

The old master likes Zhu Gaoxi, as can be seen from the fact that he always held Zhu Gaoxi's hand last time. If anything happens when I go to the palace this time, the old master will not blame me too much for the sake of Zhu Gaoxi.

I am truly clever!

The father and son then went to the palace and arrived at the Jinshen Hall where Zhu Yuanzhang was staying.

"Daddy (Yay!)!"

The emperors of the Ming Dynasty were of peasant origin, and in private, there was no difference in how the emperors were addressed between the common people and the general populace.

"Hmm," Zhu Yuanzhang's expression had been calm until he saw Zhu Gaoxi's neck on Zhu Di's head, at which point he burst into laughter.

"Little Gao Xi came along too?"

"Come here! Come to Grandpa's side, Grandpa has some good food here."

Zhu Di lifted Zhu Gaoxi with both hands and gently placed him on the ground. Zhu Gaoxi then scurried off to Zhu Yuanzhang's imperial table.

Then he tried to lie down next to the imperial table and reach out to take the meat on the table to eat.

Seeing the child's innocent appearance, Zhu Yuanzhang first took away the plate of meat in front of Zhu Gaoxi:

"Little Gao Xi, this is venison, a very nutritious food. You are still too young to eat it yet."

Then Zhu Yuanzhang placed another plate of meat in front of Zhu Gaoxi, and also handed him a chicken leg:

"Look! This is a chicken leg, and that's beef. Little Gao Xi can eat these."

"I want it all... I want it all..."

Zhu Gaoxi pointed to the whole plate of chicken legs.

The culinary skills of the Ming Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Da Ming were naturally inferior to those of later generations because they lacked the MSG, chicken essence, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, chili peppers, and other ingredients found in later periods.

However, the food Zhu Gaoxi ate in Beiping was nothing short of "coarse food" compared to the imperial banquets of Zhu Yuanzhang.

Now that he could finally enjoy a delicious meal, Zhu Gaoxi naturally wanted to eat to his heart's content.

Zhu Yuanzhang piled all the meat in front of Zhu Gaoxi, who tried to climb onto a chair to eat it standing up, leaving Zhu Di completely bewildered.

After climbing for a long time, Zhu Gaoxi was too small to climb onto the chair, while Zhu Yuanzhang watched from the side for a long time.

Then Zhu Gaoxi looked at Zhu Yuanzhang pitifully.

"Hahaha...okay...Yay, I'll carry you up..."

Zhu Yuanzhang grabbed Zhu Gaoxi and stood up. He then carried Zhu Gaoxi to the chair he had just been sitting on, and made him stand on the chair to eat the meat on the imperial table.

The chair that Zhu Yuanzhang just sat on... is the dragon throne.

Zhu Di initially wanted to stop him, but seeing that the old man was quite happy, he felt a chill run down his spine, thinking to himself that his fourth son was really bold.

I don't know why, even though there are so many royal grandsons, the old man just seems to favor his fourth son the most.

Could it be... that the old man really intends to pass the throne to me?

Zhu Di started daydreaming again.

Zhu Gaoxi grabbed a chicken leg and started gnawing on it, not caring whether he was standing on a dragon throne or not.

"So delicious...so delicious..."

Although the taste couldn't compare to that of later generations, it was still many times better than what was available in Beiping (Beijing).

Leaving Zhu Gaoxi aside, Zhu Yuanzhang began to ponder the question of why his simulator hadn't finished.

Zhu Yuanzhang cleared his throat, first gesturing for Zhu Di to sit down, and then asked:

"Fourth brother, don't be nervous. Let's just chat about everyday things today."

Zhu Di forced a smile; he had a bad feeling about this.

"Fourth brother, we're just saying, hypothetically, just hypothetically..."

Zhu Di: Oh no, this ominous feeling is getting stronger and stronger...

"Fourth Prince, if Yunwen ascends the throne and tries to harm you, will you surrender or rebel?"

"Thump!" Zhu Di slid down and immediately knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face as he wailed:

"Father! You don't trust your son anymore! You actually think I would rebel?"

"Since you don't trust me, why did you send me to guard the frontier?"

"Father! Guarding the frontier is so tiring! I only see you a few times a year! I have to be on guard against those barbarians every night when I sleep. I haven't had a single good night's sleep in Beiping!"

"Father! I never wanted to be some powerful Prince of Yan. I just wanted to stay in Yingtian Prefecture, drinking with my brothers and with you. It was you who said the threat from the Northern Yuan was too great, and for the sake of the Ming Dynasty and for the sake of us Han people, you insisted that I go to guard the frontier!"

As he spoke, Zhu Di ripped off his royal robe, threw it to the ground, and then threw it away.

"Father! Since you don't trust me, I won't become a king anymore! Just let me stay in Yingtian Prefecture and keep you company!"

Zhu Di shed tears and snot, which made Zhu Yuanzhang feel guilty.

Zhu Gaoxi was still eating a chicken leg when he saw his father's appearance and words and was stunned.

Knowing full well that his father was bound to rebel, he was now finding it hard to tell whether his father's words were heartfelt or fabricated.

Zhu Yuanzhang was very embarrassed:

"Fourth brother! We're not doubting you, we're just saying, hypothetically! Hypothetically, you understand? It means 'if,' you know?"

Zhu Di wiped his nose and snorted:

"Dad! Even hypotheticals won't work!"

"I, Zhu Di, will tell you right here today! And also tell His Highness the Crown Prince!"

"I, Zhu Di, will never rebel! Never!"