My father, Zhu Di, was granted a second life by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Chapter 87 The Old Emperor Asks About the Jingnan Campaign

at night.

Zhu Gaoxi cast aside his selfish thoughts and drifted off to sleep.

In a daze, a young woman walked towards him with light steps, her clothes fluttering, making her indistinct.

That familiar, delicate fragrance must undoubtedly belong to my cheap mother, Prince He.

Zhu Gaoxi threw himself into her arms, his pent-up grievances turning into countless unrestrained tears that soaked her clothes.

In the early morning, a ray of sunlight shone in, gently falling on my face, and a feeling of warmth rose within me.

Zhu Gaoxi lazily opened his eyes and found a woman lying next to him. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was Yunfei.

She snuggled into Yunfei's arms and slept through the night!

This is so embarrassing!

This has severely damaged the authoritative image that has been carefully maintained.

Yunfei, with his usual gentle smile, quickly got out of bed and helped Zhu Gaoxi get dressed and wash up.

Just as I sat down to eat breakfast with Zhu Youdun, I saw Yishiha running back. "Your Highness, Old Madam Geng has gone."

Yishiha went to the horse farm every morning to feed Zhu Gaoxi's foals. Upon hearing this on the way, he hurriedly returned to the vegetable garden.

Zhu Gaoxi gently stirred the wontons in the bowl with a long spoon, secretly pondering a solution.

Regarding the Geng family's affairs, Zhu Jingyi might not want him to get ahead of the Crown Prince. Zhu Gaoxi didn't want to make a fool of himself, so he ate his meal and changed his clothes at his usual pace.

Upon arriving at the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Yunwen was indeed already there, discussing the matter of paying respects at the Changxing Marquis's residence.

Zhu Yunwen proposed to go to the Geng residence in person.

After a moment's thought, the old emperor nodded in agreement, "Let Youdun and Jixi go with you, while Zhu Gaoxi will stay in the palace."

"Grandfather, since Prince Ning discovered traces of the Hu people during his border patrol, let Ji Xi return to his fiefdom as soon as possible to assist Third Uncle in training troops and preparing for the border," Zhu Yunwen said grandly, urging Ji Xi to leave.

"He hasn't been back to the capital for a long time, and he's not in a hurry to go back. Your third and fourth uncles are in charge of the border defense."

Generally speaking, princes would stay in the capital for more than half a month after returning. Although the old emperor did not like Zhu Jixi's flamboyant and high-profile behavior, he did not want to go too far and hurt his grandson's feelings.

To be fair, Zhu Jixi was one of the best among the imperial grandsons. If the old emperor hadn't intentionally protected him, Zhu Yunwen would have had a hard time outcompeting him.

Unfortunately, Zhu Jixi was too fond of showing off and too outward-looking. He did not know how to be cautious and self-disciplined, and thus failed to win the favor of the old emperor.

Zhu Gaoxi sent Sanbao to the Changxing Marquis's residence on his behalf, and then focused on handling the memorials.

"Xi'er, don't rush to look at those things, come and talk to your grandfather for a while," the old emperor said, sitting on the daybed and beckoning to Zhu Gaoxi.

Upon hearing the sound, Zhu Gaoxi stood up, walked to the old emperor, and sat down, saying, "Grandpa."

"Xi'er, after your twelfth uncle was forced to commit suicide, which other vassal king was stripped of his title?"

After hesitating for many days, the old emperor finally decided to face reality.

"In April of the first year of Jianwen's reign, my seventh and thirteenth uncles were stripped of their titles one after another. My seventh uncle was imprisoned in the capital, and my thirteenth uncle was confined to his fiefdom of Datong. In June, my eighteenth uncle was stripped of his title and exiled to Zhangzhou," Zhu Gaoxi replied calmly.

The old emperor's seventh, thirteenth, and eighteenth sons were Zhu Fu, the Prince of Qi; Zhu Gui, the Prince of Dai; and Zhu Pian, the Prince of Min, respectively.

"That's not right, is it? He didn't harm your father?" The old emperor looked at Zhu Gaoxi with a scrutinizing gaze.

Grandson, don't try to fool us. We're not that easy to fool.

If Yunwen wanted to reduce the power of the princes, the first one he would want to target would be the Prince of Yan.

"In early July of the first year of the Jianwen reign, Zhang Bing, the Provincial Governor of Beiping, and Xie Gui, the Commander-in-Chief, received a secret edict and led troops to surround the Prince of Yan's residence."

Zhu Gaoxi didn't dare to continue speaking. Instead, he picked up a piece of cheese and put it in his mouth to hide his nervousness.

If the old emperor knew that Zhu Di had started a rebellion, would he be furious?

With no one around to help or offer advice, it's best to be cautious.

"Go on," the old emperor urged impatiently.

"My father was forced to lead eight hundred guards to raise an army to quell the rebellion," Zhu Gaoxi said succinctly, forcing himself to speak.

"How could there only be eight hundred guards? They must be lying to Grandpa."

The eldest grandson was too cunning, and the old emperor was extremely wary.

"Most of the elite guards of the Prince of Yan's mansion have been taken away by Song Zhong and stationed in Kaiping," Zhu Gaoxi replied as briefly as possible, trying to buy time and hoping that You Dun would return soon to save him from his predicament.

"Nonsense, Song Zhong is the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, how could he go to Kaiping?" The old emperor curled his lip in disbelief and raised a question.

"At the beginning of the first year of Jianwen's reign, Song Zhong was ordered to take command of 30,000 troops and stationed in Kaiping. At the same time, Commander Xu Kai was in Linqing, and Geng Huan was in Shanhaiguan. They formed a defensive triangle to guard against any unrest by the Prince of Yan. The Yongqing Left Guard in Beiping was transferred to Zhangde, and the Yongqing Right Guard was transferred to Shunde," Zhu Gaoxi explained calmly, quickly searching his memory.

The old emperor nodded slightly, his eyes gleaming, leaning forward slightly, his gaze slightly flustered: "What was the result?"

"The Prince of Yan has won with great difficulty," Zhu Gaoxi said nervously, swallowing hard.

"Your father won?" the old emperor asked incredulously.

"We have taken control of the nine gates of Beiping," Zhu Gaoxi deliberately only mentioned the partial results, trying his best to postpone the old emperor's thunderous rage.

When the city gate catches fire, the innocent bystanders suffer the consequences. He was truly worried that he would die from the old emperor's wrath.

"That's not what we're asking."

But the old emperor was not so easily fooled; he was eager to know the final outcome.

"The Prince of Yan".

Seeing that he could no longer deceive them, Zhu Gaoxi had no choice but to tell the truth.

"What about Yunwen?" the old emperor asked with concern.

"Huh?" Zhu Gaoxi pretended to be stupid, acting as if he didn't understand.

"There can't be two suns in the sky. Your father has won. What about Yunwen?" the old emperor asked impatiently.

"He's gone."

In any case, the whereabouts of Emperor Jianwen in history are a mystery, and Zhu Gaoxi felt that he was not lying.

As for the fire that broke out in the palace on the day Zhu Di led his troops into the capital, since the old emperor did not ask about it, Zhu Gaoxi omitted it.

"Where did they go?" the old emperor asked anxiously.

Zhu Gaoxi shook his head blankly with an innocent look on his face, "I don't know either."

The old emperor glared at him irritably, pondered for a moment, then looked up and asked, "How many years has it been?"

Zhu Gaoxi pretended not to hear. He dared not speak, fearing that the old emperor might get sick from anger and he would be held responsible.

"I'm asking you a question!" The old emperor raised his voice, his tone stern.

"Four years".

After Zhu Gaoxi finished speaking, his body went limp and he leaned against the old emperor.

The four-year Jingnan Campaign depleted the old emperor's accumulated wealth over many years.

Zhu Gaoxi could sense that the old emperor's heart was surging violently.

"Where is your third uncle? Can he just sit idly by and do nothing?"

The old emperor suddenly asked.

Zhu Gaoxi did not want to mention the untimely death of Prince Jin, Zhu Gang, but now that the old emperor had asked, he had no choice but to answer.

"Grandpa, Uncle San is gone," Zhu Gaoxi said sadly.

Upon hearing this, the old emperor trembled violently and nearly fell to the ground.

Zhu Gaoxi hurriedly grabbed the old emperor's arm, "Grandpa, be careful."

The old emperor rested his hands on the bed, composed himself, and slowly asked, "When did this happen?"

In March of the thirty-first year, Zhu Gaoxi, with tears streaming down his face, choked out, "Grandpa, your health is the most important thing."