Chapter 1: Returning Home with the Coffin

A swift horse galloped into Yingtian Prefecture, its rider hunched low over the saddle, looking exhausted and covered in the dust of the road.

The commoners hurried to step aside; over these past few years, they had grown accustomed to such sights.

Last year, the Emperor had founded the dynasty, declaring the state name "Great Ming" and the era name "Hongwu."

The year before that, the Great General of the Northern Expedition, Xu Da, and the Deputy General, Chang Yuchun, had led an army of 250,000 to march north. After nearly a year of fierce fighting, the army had fully reclaimed the regions of Qi, Lu, He, Luo, Yan, Ji, Qin, and Jin.

The Yuan Emperor had fled north in a panic, and the Han people had finally recovered the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, which had been lost for over four hundred years.

Even now, the Northern Expeditionary forces were still locked in intense combat with the remnants of the Yuan court. Although the Yuan Dynasty had withdrawn from the Central Plains, it still maintained a government structure. After the Ming army occupied Shanxi, the Yuan forces still held over one hundred thousand troops in Shaanxi and Gansu.

The world was not yet at peace; the remnants of the Yuan court in the north remained a grave threat. Ming Yuzhen and his son Ming Sheng held Sichuan, while the Yuan Prince of Liang, Basalawarmi, and the Duan clan of Dali occupied Yunnan.

War still raged, but the people of the realm generally understood that the Hongwu Emperor had claimed the Middle Kingdom, and this empire now belonged to the Zhu family.

As dusk began to settle, forty-two-year-old Zhu Yuanzhang was still attending to state affairs in the Wuying Hall. Having won the empire, he did not become complacent; if anything, he was even more diligent than before.

"Light the lamps."

Zhu Yuanzhang finished reviewing a memorial without lifting his head, then suddenly looked up, sensing something.

He quickly set down his brush and said with a smile, "Meizi, why have you come?"

Ma Xiuying said with a hint of feigned reproach, "The empire would surely collapse without you, Emperor Zhu. All those officials—Li Shanchang, Wang Guangyang, Yang Xian, Liu Bowen—they are just for show. I think you should dismiss them; they do nothing, leaving everything to the Emperor. You are so busy you cannot even eat. Are they not just occupying positions and consuming salaries?"

The maidservant hid a smile as she opened the food box; she was accustomed to the Empress teasing the Emperor.

Zhu Yuanzhang craned his neck to take a look. "Freshly baked flatbreads? This is exactly what I was craving! You truly understand me, Meizi!"

As Zhu Yuanzhang ate the flatbreads heartily, Ma Xiuying picked up a memorial and read it carefully.

Zhu Yuanzhang took a sip of soup and looked at his wife, hesitant to speak.

Ma Xiuying looked at him and said, "The inner palace must not interfere in state affairs; I know that!"

"How could that be!" Zhu Yuanzhang quickly moved from the dragon throne and pulled Ma Xiuying to sit down. "Meizi, I wanted your advice. Two heads are better than one, and I wanted my 'female Zhuge' to help me!"

Ma Xiuying was very pleased by Zhu Yuanzhang's blunt flattery. "I am but a woman of the inner chambers; I should be tending to a vegetable garden in the palace. What skill do I have to offer advice to Emperor Zhu?"

"Meizi, I don't like it when you say that!" Zhu Yuanzhang said, affectionately massaging her shoulders. "When I was herding cattle, you were reading poetry. When I was begging for food, you were studying the classics. You have more insight than I do."

Ma Xiuying rolled her eyes at him. "Enough, eat your meal properly. No matter how many things there are, you cannot forget to eat. There is no end to the affairs of the world; if you work yourself into a state where you neglect sleep and food, what will happen if your health fails?"

Enjoying his wife’s hands massaging his temples, Zhu Yuanzhang continued to eat his favorite flatbread. "Meizi, the dynasty has just been established, and there is so much to do. I must handle every matter I can."

Married for eighteen years, the couple remained deeply devoted.

Whether Zhu Yuanzhang was the rising Red Turban general of the past, or the Emperor who now commanded the realm, some things had not changed.

In Ma Xiuying’s eyes, whether he was Marshal Zhu, the Prince of Wu, or the current Hongwu Emperor, he was always Chongba.

And in Zhu Yuanzhang’s eyes, the only person who truly knew his heart was his Meizi. She had never despised him for being poor; when he was suspected, she had hidden bread to save him. Through all the years of war, she had followed her husband’s lead and held down the home front.

Zhu Yuanzhang chatted about state affairs with Ma Xiuying while eating. The rule that the inner palace should not interfere in politics was only for outsiders; this was a family matter, not state policy, and as the Empress had not gone to the imperial court, it did not count as interference.

Suddenly, a eunuch hurried in to report, "Your Majesty, Mao Xiang requests an audience."

Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying were immediately filled with concern. At this hour, why would Mao Xiang come to seek an audience?

"Summon him!"

The head of the secret service, Mao Xiang, trotted into the Wuying Hall. Seeing Ma Xiuying, his heart skipped a beat. He immediately knelt, holding a secret letter high above his head with both hands.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, yesterday afternoon, a young man led a donkey and carried a coffin into Xinfengli, Suzhou, with the intention of burying his ancestor in the tomb of the Prince of Xu."

Zhu Yuanzhang flew into a rage. "Scoundrel!"

The Prince of Xu was the noble title he had posthumously bestowed upon his father-in-law, Elder Ma!

Ma Xiuying immediately pressed, "Speak, what exactly happened?"

Zhu Yuanzhang had reason to be furious. Some unknown brat wanting to bury his own ancestor in the tomb of the Prince of Xu—this was absolutely intolerable!

Mao Xiang’s voice trembled as he said, "Your Majesty, the man claims to be Ma Xun, originally from Guide Prefecture."

Ma Xiuying seemed to sense something, her voice shaking. "The coffin he is bringing back... is it my father?"

Mao Xiang’s voice trembled even more. "Replying to Her Majesty the Empress, I dare not speak the name of the young man’s late father. However, the relatives of the Empress all say that Ma Xun bears a striking resemblance to the late Prince of Xu in his youth."

Ma Xiuying could no longer stand; Zhu Yuanzhang quickly steadied her. "Meizi, I will go to Xinfengli immediately! Mao Xiang, tell me everything clearly!"

Old Zhu had heard many stories about his wife’s family background.

Her ancestors had passed the imperial examinations during the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Northern Song, and moved to Suzhou in Guide Prefecture during the Jingkang catastrophe. By the time his wife was born, her father had little wealth left due to his charitable nature and sense of justice.

Her father had killed a man and fled, taking Ma Xiuying to Dingyuan. He had entrusted her to his life-and-death friend Guo Zixing, and then fled again, likely dying in a foreign land.

Ma Xiuying had never blamed her parents; her mother had died in childbirth. She had always been the apple of her father’s eye, talented in poetry, painting, and history—all taught by him.

When she first fled to Dingyuan to join Guo Zixing, Ma Xiuying was already over ten years old. She was stubborn and hard to please, which was why she remained unmarried into her twenties, until she met the one person who caught her eye: Zhu Chongba.

Such behavior in that era could be considered extremely willful; if she hadn't been doted upon by her father since childhood, how could she have been so headstrong?

Zhu Yuanzhang hurriedly opened the letter. The Jinyiwei in Xinfengli had described in detail the young man named Ma Xun returning with the coffin, and had also recorded the perspectives of some of Ma Xiuying’s relatives.

"Meizi, I am leaving for Xinfengli at once!" Zhu Yuanzhang said decisively. "You wait in Yingtian for my word. If that man is truly my brother, I will bring him back. If he dares to impersonate a royal relative, I will make him wish he were dead!"

He then roared, "Why are you still standing there? Call the Crown Prince at once!"

"It’s my father! It must be my father!" Ma Xiuying looked at the letter and the portrait. "It must be my father coming back! This is my brother! Chongba, I want to go back!"

Zhu Yuanzhang knew he could not stop her, so he said immediately, "Meizi, I will go first. I will send word within two or three days."

Fifteen-year-old Zhu Biao hurried into the Wuying Hall. Seeing Ma Xiuying crying, he ran over. "Mother, what happened?"

Seeing that she was still crying, he grew even more anxious. "Mother, has someone upset you? Tell your son, and I will go reason with them!"

Although Zhu Yuanzhang was concerned for his wife, he was also quite annoyed by his son. Who was he talking to with that tone?

"Biao’er, someone claims to have brought your grandfather’s remains back home," Zhu Yuanzhang said, not holding back. "This matter is of great importance. I am leaving tonight. You will attend the morning court tomorrow; you will act as regent for these few days."

Zhu Biao paused. "Father, let me go instead."

"I am going. You are too young to know how to handle this," Zhu Yuanzhang replied immediately. "Take care of your mother, and wait for my word."

Ma Xiuying wiped her tears, barely able to form a complete sentence. "Chongba, wait until tomorrow morning to leave. Travel slowly, do not rush."

Even though it concerned her late father, Ma Xiuying still cared for her husband. Her affairs were of the utmost importance in Chongba’s eyes, but in Ma Xiuying’s eyes, Zhu Chongba’s affairs were her own as well!