Could he possibly fly back

The moment he saw Xu Miaoyun, Zhu Di was instantly stunned.

“You are… Fourth Brother?”

Xu Miaoyun was also startled, then she quickly realized who she was looking at, gazing at the Yongle Emperor before her.

Last night, she had learned about this from Xu Wanning—that Qin Ning had visited the Yongle reign with her father-in-law, the Emperor, and her mother-in-law, the Empress.

And this Zhu Di before her looked much older than her husband, the Prince of Yan.

She understood at once.

“Yes… it’s me.”

Zhu Di’s voice trembled slightly, tears welling up in his eyes.

In the Yongle court, Empress Xu had passed away from illness in the fifth year of Yongle.

After that, Zhu Di never appointed another empress, entrusting the management of his harem to his daughter-in-law, the heir’s consort, née Zhang.

“Grandmother?”

Zhu Zhanji, standing nearby, also caught on.

It wasn’t that he failed to recognize Xu Miaoyun immediately.

After all, the Xu Miaoyun before him was far too young, quite different from the grandmother he remembered.

And more importantly, he had only been a few years old back then.

Zhu Di longed to embrace the Xu Miaoyun before him, but he held himself back in the end.

Because he knew full well that this was the wife of Zhu Di from the Hongwu reign, not the empress of his own Yongle era.

Just being able to see her once more in his lifetime was enough to satisfy him.

“You are…”

Xu Miaoyun looked at Zhu Zhanji, her face showing some confusion.

Being called “Grandmother” by someone around her own age naturally felt a bit strange.

But remembering that he was from a later era, she quickly let it go.

“Grandmother, I am Zhu Zhanji. My father is Zhu Gaochi.”

Zhu Zhanji walked up to Xu Miaoyun, then knelt down directly and kowtowed to pay his respects.

“Gaochi’s child—I never imagined you’d have grown so big.” Xu Miaoyun was pleased and helped him to his feet.

“Grandmother, my father misses you deeply. In our time, you passed away in the fifth year of Yongle. Grandfather and I were about to return. If it’s possible, could you come with us? Let my father see you too,” Zhu Zhanji said.

“This…”

Hearing this, Xu Miaoyun paused for a moment, then looked at Qin Ning.

“It’s fine. If you want to go, I’ll take you,” Qin Ning said.

“Alright, then I’ll go along and have a look,” Xu Miaoyun nodded.

Zhu Di said excitedly, “Good, good. If Gaochi sees you, he will surely be overjoyed.”

“Master, why don’t you take me along too? Let me go see the children as well,” Empress Ma stood up and said.

Zhu Yuanzhang added, “If Sister wants to go, then I’m going too.”

By this time, the morning court had already ended, and for the rest of the day, Zhu Yuanzhang had nothing much to do anyway.

Though Zhu Biao was studying in a later era, with the help of the Grand Secretariat in handling state affairs, Zhu Yuanzhang didn’t need to keep a constant watch.

“Fine,” Qin Ning agreed.

Soon, under his lead, the group vanished from Kunning Palace.

In the Yongle reign.

At Yumu River.

Inside a military tent, Grand Secretary Yang Rong, who had accompanied the campaign, paced back and forth in a panic.

“They said His Majesty was resting—how did he suddenly disappear? And the Crown Prince’s grandson is missing too? What on earth happened?”

Yang Rong felt as though the sky had fallen. When he had come last night, he had been baffled to find that not only had His Majesty’s health improved, but he had also grown much younger.

He had been elated all night, only falling asleep as dawn approached, believing that Heaven had truly blessed Great Ming.

But then, when he woke up late this morning and came back—not only had His Majesty vanished without a trace, but the Crown Prince’s grandson was also nowhere to be found.

“Whoosh!”

Just as he was pacing frantically, like an ant on a hot pan, the space inside the tent seemed to shimmer slightly.

Then, five figures appeared out of thin air before Yang Rong.

They were none other than Qin Ning, Xu Miaoyun, Zhu Yuanzhang, Empress Ma, Zhu Di, and Zhu Zhanji.

Their sudden, inexplicable appearance nearly scared Yang Rong to death on the spot.

Once he regained his wits, he hurried over to Zhu Di. “Your humble servant, Yang Rong, pays homage to His Majesty.”

Zhu Di nodded, then turned to Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma. “Father, Mother, this is Yang Rong, the Chief Grand Secretary of my Yongle court.”

Father?

Mother?

What is going on?

Yang Rong was stunned. His Majesty’s father and mother?

That would be Emperor Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang, and Empress Xiao Ci, née Ma?

Both of them had passed away countless years ago, hadn’t they?

As Yang Rong was reeling in shock and confusion, he couldn’t help but sneak a glance upward.

He saw that Zhu Yuanzhang was wearing a dragon robe, and he was greatly alarmed.

Even more astonishing was that this middle-aged man in a dragon robe looked remarkably similar to the Hongwu Emperor in his memory.

Although Yang Rong was a jinshi from the second year of the Jianwen era and had never served in the Hongwu court, he was born in the fourth year of Hongwu. By the time Zhu Yuanzhang passed away in the thirty-first year of Hongwu, Yang Rong was already twenty-six. During that time, he had once seen Zhu Yuanzhang in person and had viewed his portraits many times.

“Impressive, impressive. A Chief Grand Secretary—truly a man of talent,” Zhu Yuanzhang remarked, nodding.

“You… you are truly the Hongwu Emperor?” Yang Rong asked, utterly incredulous.

Zhu Di spoke up. “No need to doubt. This is my father, our Great Ming’s Hongwu Emperor, from the eleventh year of the Hongwu reign.”

He then briefly recounted the events of last night and today to Yang Rong.

“Traveling across time is possible?” Yang Rong was even more astonished, his face full of disbelief.

He never imagined that at his age, he would encounter such an unheard-of phenomenon.

“Yang Rong, I will accompany my father and the others back to the capital first. I order you to lead the army on its return march and take charge of all military affairs. Any issues?” Zhu Di said.

Yang Rong immediately knelt and replied, “Your Majesty, your humble servant accepts your command.”

“Let’s go,” Qin Ning said.

With that, he waved his hand and led Zhu Yuanzhang and the others away, vanishing on the spot.

…

Above Shuntian Prefecture.

Over the Forbidden City.

Qin Ning brought Zhu Yuanzhang and the others here.

“So this is the later Beiping?” Zhu Yuanzhang remarked.

“Yes, Father,” Zhu Di replied.

Looking down from high above, the entire Forbidden City and Shuntian Prefecture lay spread out before them. Zhu Di couldn’t help but sigh. “I never imagined my Shuntian would turn out like this—far grander and more magnificent than I had envisioned.”

“So, shall we go straight to Zhu Gaochi?” Qin Ning asked.

Zhu Di said, “No, Master. First, take us to the Imperial Study. I’ll have someone summon Gaochi.”

“Fine.”

Qin Ning nodded. Without further ado, he waved his hand, and the group disappeared from midair.

Before long, at the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace.

“Your Highness, His Majesty has summoned you to the Imperial Study immediately,” someone reported.

Zhu Gaochi, who was busying himself with state affairs, frowned upon hearing this. “According to the latest reports from our scouts, the army is withdrawing. By the schedule, they should only be near Yumu River now, still a thousand li from the capital. How could His Majesty suddenly summon me from the Imperial Study? Did he fly back?”