Chapter 36: Filial Piety Requires No Pretense

Shortly after Zhu Yunxu’s departure, an imperial edict was issued. Lan Yu was spared the death penalty, but his title as Duke of Liang was revoked; he retained the position of Grand General. The decree did not specify when he would be released. As for whether Zhu Yunxu was left with nothing, the edict remained silent. In other words, Zhu Yunxu was still the imperial grandson, the legitimate son of the crown prince, which made Lady Lü cry out in protest.

“Your imperial grandfather is being unfair again,” she bit her lip and said.

Zhu Yunwen had just escaped a perilous ordeal, but recalling how Lan Yu had nearly killed him left him shaken, his voice trembling slightly as he said, “Mother, must we keep fighting?”

He was truly afraid that Lan Yu would kill him.

“Why shouldn’t you fight? If you don’t fight now, do you think when Zhu Yunxu ascends the throne, he will spare you?” Lady Lü was frustrated by Zhu Yunwen’s timidity.

She knew full well that Zhu Yunwen had narrowly escaped Lan Yu’s attempt on his life, but to give up after just being frightened was impossible. She did not have such a weak son.

Zhu Yunwen replied, “Mother, you’re right, but... he... has everything better than I do right now.”

“Then you must do better,” Lady Lü urged.

She believed that following Zhu Yunxu’s pace was no longer viable; their rhythm was disrupted by Zhu Yunxu himself.

“You will remain as you always have been,” Lady Lü reminded him. “In your imperial grandfather’s eyes, you are benevolent, filial, kind, intelligent, and eager to learn, but most importantly, you must be filial. Above all, be filial.”

“All right!” Zhu Yunwen’s heart was still uneasy.

Given his current state, he thought he might not win the contest, but no matter what, he would still fight.

At the same time, he truly felt that the old emperor was biased.

He used to be the favored one, now he was cast aside like a servant’s son.

How could he bear such a huge fall from grace?

When the court officials learned of this, they remained silent. With Emperor Zhu’s overwhelming authority and decision, none had the power to alter the decree, nor dared to submit a memorial to oppose it; they tacitly accepted the result.

After Feng Sheng and the others returned, they did nothing but simply waited.

—

Zhu Yunxu returned to his residence and lay weakly on the soft couch.

During the interrogation, he had to keep his nerves taut; now he could finally relax.

“My third brother!”

At that moment, a sweet voice came from outside.

—

Zhu Yunxu went out to see Zhu Lingxiu running towards him first, followed by Zhu Lingyue and the others.

They must have heard about Lan Yu’s incident and came to show their concern.

“You’ve come,” Zhu Yunxu smiled. “It’s all over now; you don’t need to worry.”

“All right!” Zhu Lingyue and Zhu Lingyu said together.

Hearing Zhu Yunxu’s words, they believed everything was indeed fine.

“How’s it over at Grandma Guo’s?” Zhu Yunxu asked.

“Good!” Zhu Linghua nodded gently. “Grandma Guo treats us very well, much better than here. Third brother, why don’t you come with us to see Grandma Guo?”

She was adorable and innocent, not understanding much—she just didn’t want Zhu Yunxu to suffer here.

Zhu Yunxu ruffled her little head and smiled, “I’m not suited for that. As long as you’re well, that’s enough. You all need to gain some weight.”

After spending some time with them, he sent someone to find Xu Xingzu and prepared a feast to treat them.

The next morning,

Zhu Yunxu got up and went to pay respects to the old emperor as usual.

This show of filial piety was something he could not neglect.

Just as he stepped out, he saw Zhu Yunwen, pale with dark circles under his eyes, also coming out.

Zhu Yunwen had stayed up late again last night to study, trying to surpass Zhu Yunxu’s academic achievements, the dark circles under his eyes were very obvious.

His resentment towards Zhu Yunxu was no longer hidden; he turned away coldly and left.

They had torn apart their facade of civility; there was no need to pretend any longer.

Zhu Yunxu shrugged and followed him to the Palace of Heavenly Purity.

The old emperor, having risen early, saw the two grandsons come to pay respect and nodded slightly, dismissing them after their greetings.

Zhu Yunwen left swiftly, while Zhu Yunxu shamelessly lingered, snagging two buns before saying, “Grandfather, I won’t come tomorrow. Filial piety is something you keep in your heart. Coming every day to pay respects seems too deliberate, too fake.”

“You don’t even enjoy coming to pay respects?” the old emperor blew his beard, snorting lightly.

In truth, he agreed with Zhu Yunxu.

True filial piety was about heartfelt devotion, expressed in daily details.

Coming deliberately every day was too contrived.

He used to think Zhu Yunwen was very filial, but after listening to Zhu Yunxu, he realized it was all superficial.

“I don’t enjoy it!” Zhu Yunwen said.

—

Zhu Yunxu was straightforward, “Isn’t it better to sleep an extra hour? I don’t have morning court. Running over early just to put on a show makes you uncomfortable too.”

“Go away, go away! If you don’t want to come, then don’t,” Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand as it was almost time for court, starting to usher them out.

Zhu Yunxu cooperated and left, but did not hurry to the main hall.

Looking at his own frail body, he realized he was too weak and too thin.

He was young, giving an impression of unreliability; since he couldn’t grow up quickly, he decided to strengthen his physique first to improve his own abilities, so those old men wouldn’t look down on him.

Martial men respected strength above all else.

Returning to the Eastern Palace, he began running laps along the grounds.

But after just a few steps, he was already gasping for breath, exclaiming that he couldn’t continue.

“Could my body really be this bad?” Zhu Yunxu frowned, wiping the sweat dripping from his forehead.

Even someone who stayed home all the time and rarely exercised wouldn’t be drenched in sweat and so weak after so little exertion.

“Maybe there’s something wrong with my body,” Zhu Yunxu thought to himself, but now was not the time for medical examinations.

After hesitating a while, he ended his exercise for the day and rested a long time before recovering.

He changed clothes and went out to the main hall to check in, then sought out Feng Sheng to deal with the captured sworn sons.

“Take the Embroidered Uniform Guard to retrieve them,” Zhu Yunxu thought as he soon arrived at the main hall.

When Fang Xiaoru saw him come, his face immediately turned cold, giving no warmth.

This great strategist, Zhu Yunxu did not take seriously.

After sitting a while, he took the old emperor’s token and left court early, going out to find Jiang Yuan.

He summoned the Embroidered Uniform Guard to fetch the men, then found Feng Sheng to take charge of those sworn sons and private soldiers.

“Your Highness, how do you intend to deal with them?” Feng Sheng asked.

Emperor Zhu’s edict spared Lan Yu’s life but said nothing about Tang Da and the others.

The aim was to place the blame for their deaths on Zhu Yunxu himself.

It would be Zhu Yunxu who personally executed them to establish his authority.

Zhu Yunxu also wanted to see for himself how the executions were carried out.

Having traveled back to ancient times as a Ming imperial grandson, the butcher’s own grandson, it was impossible he had never seen or performed an execution.

Unlike Zhu Yunwen, who was too weak and could not control others.