Chapter 29: Father, you are not Emperor Taizong of Tang, and Grandfather is not Emperor Gaozu of Tang.

Near dawn, Zhu Zhanhe and his mother had been waiting in the main hall for nearly the entire night. Suddenly, a palace attendant arrived to report that the Prince of Han had been escorted back from the palace. Upon hearing this, the two rose quickly to meet him.

The Prince of Han no longer possessed the vigor he had displayed when he departed. Supported by several young eunuchs, he returned with a vacant, terrified expression, his spirit utterly shattered.

"Father, are you alright?" Zhu Zhanhe observed his father’s hollow state and guessed that he must have been humiliated or deeply frightened in the palace. He hurried forward to support him.

"My Lord!" Seeing her husband in such a distraught condition, the Princess of Han, Lady Wei, was overcome with panic and heartache. She hesitated for a moment before rushing forward, grabbing her husband’s hands, and staring at him with tear-filled eyes.

"Your Highness, Heir Apparent," the lead eunuch—a young man Zhu Zhanhe did not recognize—spoke with a bow, his face fixed in a respectful, subservient smile. "The Crown Prince fell unconscious, and the Chief Eunuch has personally escorted him back to the Crown Prince’s residence. The Prince of Han was somewhat shaken, and His Majesty commanded us to bring him home."

The Princess of Han, looking at her dazed husband, remained at a loss. Seeing his mother’s distress as she continued to call out to his father, Zhu Zhanhe stepped toward the eunuchs.

"You have worked hard, Eunuch. May I ask your name?" Zhu Zhanhe let go of his father’s arm and walked up to the young, subservient eunuch. He lifted him up kindly, grasped his hand warmly, and surreptitiously slipped a few gold nuggets into his palm.

The young eunuch looked at the towering, enthusiastic Heir of Han in astonishment. Feeling the weight in his hand, he waited for Zhu Zhanhe to release him before quickly clenching his fist and stepping back.

"Your Highness, we are but lowly servants. Our humble names are not worth remembering. We shall not disturb your rest any further; we take our leave." After bowing, the eunuch cast a fleeting glance at Zhu Zhanhe and turned to leave. Zhu Zhanhe, catching the signal, followed him closely.

As the group reached a corner, the young eunuch paused, checked the surroundings, and leaned in to whisper with a sycophantic expression, "Your Highness, the Emperor summoned the Crown Prince in the middle of the night. The Crown Prince once again requested to resign his position, which infuriated the Emperor. When the Prince of Han stepped forward to seize the opportunity, the Emperor rebuked him and even forced the Crown Prince to draw his sword!" Without waiting for a reply, the eunuch led his subordinates away.

Zhu Zhanhe watched them depart, knowing the gold had been well-spent; otherwise, the man would never have shared such critical information. He shook his head, dismissed his idle thoughts, and returned to the house to check on his father once more.

Outside, the young eunuch checked the gold nuggets in his hand with delight. "Lads, I’ll buy you all a drink when we get back. The Heir of Han is generous; he gave us two gold nuggets. Since we are in this together, I won't keep it all for myself." He tucked two nuggets away and showed the others the remaining two, much to the joy of the group.

Back at the Han Palace, under the meticulous care of his wife, the Prince of Han gradually recovered, though he remained slumped on a daybed, exhausted and filled with melancholy.

"Son, the Eldest Brother is definitely plotting against me!" Zhu Gaoxu, the Prince of Han, said, his voice trembling. "Today, your grandfather praised him for his administration and offered to grant him a request. He actually used that to demand he be removed as Crown Prince! It was a trap—a ruse to lure me in! He wanted to frame me! He made your grandfather so angry that he wanted me dead! He ordered the Eldest Brother to kill me! He even handed the sword hilt to him, and the rascal actually took it! Then, your grandfather drew the sword from its scabbard—his own Yongle sword! He truly intended for the Eldest Brother to kill me! The Eldest Brother is setting me up!"

Zhu Gaoxu stood up, pacing back and forth, his face twisted in a mixture of terror and rage. Seeing his father near a breakdown, Zhu Zhanhe felt a sense of foreboding. Lady Wei, clutching her husband’s arm, turned pale.

"My Lord, it is over now. You have returned safely, and that is all that matters! Let us return to our fiefdom. Let us leave at once! I want nothing else—I only want our family to be safe." Having managed the household for years, she understood her husband well and feared he would now take an extreme path.

The Prince of Han did not respond to his wife’s plea. Zhu Zhanhe, sensing his father's dark intent, asked cautiously, "Father, what are you thinking?"

"Hao'er, the Eldest Brother acts with such hypocritical righteousness, currying favor with your grandfather by presenting that painting, talking about 'purity' and 'looking back at every step'! It is all a trap to ruin me! Son, do you know what I must do now?" Though his eyes burned with madness, he still retained enough sense to keep his specific plans unspoken.

"Father, I will say only this: you are not Emperor Taizong, and Grandfather is not Emperor Gaozu. Our entire family’s fate is in his hands. You must think thrice before acting." Zhu Zhanhe spoke with extreme caution, fearing hidden imperial spies. He was clearly warning his father that even if he wished to rebel, he lacked the strength to do so.

The Prince of Han froze, nodded silently, and said no more. After a long silence, he muttered, "Go and rest. It is almost dawn." He turned and left, and Lady Wei, casting one last look at her son, hurried to follow her husband.