Dad, I'm Back

“What? You don’t actually still want to be emperor, do you?”

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly, seeing right through what Zhu Yunwen was thinking.

“Yunwen, you cannot remain emperor any longer.”

Zhu Biao also spoke up, “Just by using those brutal methods to reduce the power of the princes and causing the death of your own uncle, you have forfeited your right to sit on the throne.”

Hearing this, Zhu Yunwen’s expression changed.

He thought of Zhu Bo’s death and immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

Twelfth Uncle’s entire family had burned themselves alive, and he had even posthumously given him the unflattering title of “Li.”

“Imperial Grandfather, in history… did I die like this today?” He took a deep breath and asked.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not answer but instead looked at Qin Ning.

Qin Ning nodded, “Yes.”

“According to the records, even without our appearance, the Jianwen court would have become history after tonight. The Prince of Yan would enter the capital, ascend the throne, and reign under the era name Yongle.”

“Then my Fourth Uncle…”

Zhu Yunwen glanced at Yongle Zhu Di and continued asking, “After Fourth Uncle became emperor, did the realm become stable? How did he perform as an emperor?”

No matter what, the throne still belonged to the Zhu family.

For Zhu Yunwen, at least that was something to take comfort in—he hadn’t truly lost the ancestral empire.

“After Yongle ascended the throne, he personally led five campaigns into the Mongol steppes, ordered six voyages to the Western Seas, and compiled the Yongle Encyclopedia. This work consisted of 22,877 volumes and contained approximately 370 million characters, making it the largest encyclopedia in the world at that time.”

“Furthermore, he was the only emperor in history to achieve the feat of ‘Feng Lang Ju Xu’—a symbolic victory sealed by sacrifices at Mount Langjuxu.”

As he listened to Qin Ning’s words, Zhu Yunwen was utterly stunned.

Especially that last part—the only emperor to accomplish Feng Lang Ju Xu.

He fell silent for a long time, then finally took a deep breath, as if a great weight had been lifted from his heart.

“I… truly am inferior to Fourth Uncle, far below him,” Zhu Yunwen said.

“Enough, let’s put that aside for now. Since we’re here, we’ll spare your life. But don’t think that just because you survived, you’re going to enjoy an easy life.”

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted again, “Xiao Shi’er and the debts owed to your other uncles—you’ll need a lifetime to repay them. We’ll discuss that later. Your Fourth Uncle should be arriving soon. First, hide with us—we’ll give him a big surprise when he gets here.”

No sooner had he spoken than Qin Ning waved his hand, and everyone present vanished from sight.

They hadn’t actually left; Qin Ning had used magic to make them all invisible.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the hall.

A middle-aged man in battle armor entered, carrying a sword in his left hand. He walked to the portrait of Zhu Yuanzhang and knelt before it. This was none other than Zhu Di, Prince of Yan.

After standing still for a moment, Zhu Di knelt before the portrait. His eyes were sharp, but his face was filled with exhaustion. Taking a deep breath, he said, “Father, I have returned.”

After he spoke, a long silence filled the hall.

Zhu Di’s expression was complicated—a mix of pride and fear.

From now on, he would be branded as the eternal traitor. He didn’t know how he would face his father in the afterlife.

His pride came from the success of the Jingnan Campaign.

Everyone said he was the most like his father.

Yet his father had passed the throne to that illegitimate son, Zhu Yunwen.

Now, by storming the capital, returning to this place, and bowing before his father’s portrait, how could Zhu Di not feel proud?

“The fourth son…”

From her invisible state, the Empress Mother couldn’t help but weep, her eyes red.

She saw in her son all the hardships he had endured.

That exhaustion told of the four grueling years of the Jingnan Campaign, of the countless nightmares that had tormented him.

Yongle Zhu Di remained silent and sighed.

He knew better than anyone present the terror and tension of those years.

And even before that, he had pretended to be mad, living and eating with pigs.

“Who’s there?”

Zhu Di seemed to sense something, suddenly staring in the direction of the group.

But aside from himself, the hall held no sign of anyone.

“Weng!”

Qin Ning waved his hand, and everyone instantly became visible again.

The sudden appearance of so many people nearly scared Zhu Di unconscious.

“F-Father? Empress Mother? Elder Brother!”

After the initial shock, Zhu Di quickly recognized these familiar faces—along with Zhu Yunwen, and a man who looked almost exactly like him!

What was going on? Had he stumbled upon ghosts?

“The fourth son,”

Zhu Yuanzhang stepped forward, sighed, and patted his shoulder, “This empire was meant to be yours.”

“Father, you’re not dead?” Zhu Di asked, his face filled with terror. He could feel his father’s strong grip—this was no specter, but a living person.

“You brat, I was just getting emotional, and you ruined it with one sentence,” Zhu Yuanzhang said with a laugh.

“Fourth Brother,”

Zhu Biao stepped forward and briefly explained what had happened.

Upon learning that such things as time travel existed, Zhu Di, Prince of Yan, was left utterly dumbfounded.

He looked at Yongle Zhu Di, “Is this… the me from the future?”

“Yes,”

Yongle Zhu Di nodded, “I am the future you, from the twenty-second year of Yongle.”

Hearing this, Zhu Di, Prince of Yan, blinked, “Yongle? So that’s… uh… my future era name?”

“Wait, if it’s already the twenty-second year of Yongle, why don’t you look any older?”

At this, Yongle Zhu Di sighed, “According to the original history, I was supposed to die in the twenty-second year. Thanks to the master’s gift of an elixir, my life was extended another lifetime.”

Just then, a young man in full armor ran into the hall.

It was Zhu Gaoxi.

Seeing the room full of people, he paused. Then, noticing his father, Zhu Di of Yan, at the center, he drew his sword and shouted, “Who are you, and how dare you seize my father King? Surrender at once…”

“It’s fine, Gaoxi! Put down your sword!” the Prince of Yan quickly said, worried that the reckless young man might offend the former emperor and empress.

Hearing this, Zhu Gaoxi looked puzzled, “Father King, them… wait, why are there two Father Kings?”

“Old Zhu, why don’t you explain things to your… casserole chicken,” Li Shimin said.

“Casserole chicken? What casserole chicken?”

Both the Prince of Yan and Zhu Gaoxi looked confused. Zhu Di asked, “By the way, Father, I still don’t know who these two gentlemen are. Who are they?”

Li Shimin puffed out his chest, looking proud as he began, “I am the Grand Commandant of the Great Tang, Director of the Department of State Affairs, Chief of the Central Secretariat, Chief of the Shandong Circuit Chief’s Office, Chief of the Yizhou Circuit Chief’s Office…”

“Enough, Old Li, stop reciting that long list every time. No one can remember it—only you,”

First Emperor of Qin interrupted, then continued, "He is Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin. As for me, I am the one who, sixteen hundred years ago, carried forward the ambitions of six generations, wielded the long whip to drive the realm, swallowed up the two Zhou and annexed the feudal lords, ascended the supreme position to rule the Six Directions, and unified the world..."

Hearing his words, the crowd couldn't help but fall silent, especially Li Shimin.

Zhu Yuanzhang interrupted, "Brother Zheng, why do you have to go on with such a long string too?"

Turning to the Prince of Yan and Zhu Gaoxi, he added, "This is the First Emperor of Qin, Ying Zheng."