15: Chapter 15 Zhu Yunwen: I almost ran away!

The towering roof of Fengtian Hall shimmered with golden light in the morning sun. On the white marble plaza, the Imperial Guards had discarded their weapons and knelt trembling on the ground, not daring to look up at the figure standing in the midst of the sea of blood and corpses.

"Your Highness, it's taken!"

General Lan Yu strode over, his armor notched from battle, his face smeared with blood and sweat, brimming with excitement.

"Now, we just need to charge into the inner palace and capture Lady Lu and that brat, Imperial Grandson Zhu Yunwen..."

"They are not in the inner palace." Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong interrupted him, his voice calm.

General Lan Yu was stunned: "Then where could they have gone?"

Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong did not answer; instead, he closed his eyes, and the faces of Imperial Grandson Zhu Yunwen and Lady Lu appeared in his mind.

One was a hypocrite who prided himself on benevolence but was actually indecisive.

The other was a venomous woman with deep schemes who would stop at nothing to achieve her goals.

What would two such people do after learning that the front line had collapsed and General Chen Heng had been killed in battle?

Hold their ground and wait for reinforcements? Wait for The Emperor at Xiaoling Mausoleum to return and save them?

No.

They did not have the guts.

They would only run.

Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong opened his eyes sharply, his gaze like lightning, instantly locking onto the direction of the east side of the Imperial City.

"Uncle, in the art of strategy, survival comes first. If you were Lady Lu, the moment the commander of the Imperial Guards died and the inner court fell, which path would you choose?"

Before General Lan Yu could speak, Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong analyzed it himself: "The Meridian Gate is the main entrance of the Imperial City and our main axis of attack, she wouldn't dare go there; the West Flowery Gate is adjacent to the Armory and the outer court offices, where troop movements are most frequent, she would fear the chaotic army; as for the Xuanwu Gate in the north..." He chuckled, "She knows we broke in from the north, so she would dare even less to run into the blade's edge."

"Only the East Flowery Gate." Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong's finger pointed vaguely toward the east, "It is closest to Wenhua Hall, and exiting the city from the East Flowery Gate leads directly to the main road to Xiaoling Mausoleum."

General Lan Yu nodded repeatedly, just about to say let's go to the East Flowery Gate, but saw that Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong had already mounted his horse and was ordering General Lan Yu and the group of death soldiers behind him who had already turned bloodthirsty.

"Uncle, you take men to immediately control Fengtian Hall, Jinshen Hall, and Huagai Hall, and seal off the vital passages of the inner palace! Remember, without my command, no one is allowed to break into the inner palace or disturb the imperial concubines."

"The most important point," Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong's eyes became extremely sharp, "keep an eye on those eunuchs and palace maids, don't let them start fires in the chaos, or destroy anything in the palace. These are all the family assets of our Zhu family; it would be a pity to burn them."

General Lan Yu was stunned. At a time like this, His Highness was still worried about this?

But he didn't ask further, just nodded heavily and replied: "Yes! Your Highness, rest assured!"

Watching General Lan Yu lead the main force aggressively toward the inner palace, Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong turned his horse's head and, taking only a dozen personal guards, galloped toward the East Flowery Gate.

...

The East Flowery Gate, the palace gate where civil and military officials entered and exited for court, was now in chaos.

"Quick! Open the gate quickly!"

Imperial Grandson Zhu Yunwen was wearing an outer robe haphazardly, his hair disheveled, no longer possessing even half the demeanor of a Grand Imperial Heir.

Lady Lu was supported by several palace maids, her face deathly pale, but she still maintained that high and mighty posture. She stared fixedly at the guard commander, her voice sharp: "The Grand Imperial Heir is here! There are rebels causing chaos in the capital, you must open the gate immediately and escort His Highness out of the city!"

Guard commander Zhao Zhong was shocked when he saw this and hurried forward with several lieutenants: "Your Highness, My Lady? This... what exactly happened? This subordinate just heard sounds of fighting near Fengtian Hall..."

"Stop talking nonsense!" Lady Lu interrupted sharply, speaking very quickly, "General Lan Yu has rebelled and invaded the inner court! If you delay any further and something happens to the Grand Imperial Heir, your whole family will be buried with him!"

Zhao Zhong was intimidated by Lady Lu's majesty, and seeing Imperial Grandson Zhu Yunwen's terrified appearance, although he had doubts in his heart, how dared he block them? He gritted his teeth and waved his hand, shouting: "Quick! Open the city gate and escort My Lady and His Highness out of the city!"

Everyone scrambled, and the heavy East Flowery Gate slowly opened. The cold wind from outside the gate poured in, carrying a hint of the scent of freedom.

Imperial Grandson Zhu Yunwen looked at the widening gap in the gate, a flash of wild joy appearing in his eyes: "Mother, it's open! It's open! We can live!"

Lady Lu also let out a long sigh of relief. As long as they got through this gate and found The Emperor at Xiaoling Mausoleum or summoned the loyalist army, that evil spawn Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong would be dead for sure!

However, just as the doors were completely thrown open and the two were about to step out of the city gate.

Clack, clack, clack...

A crisp sound of horse hooves approached from afar, unhurriedly. Everyone involuntarily stopped their actions and looked toward the sound.

At the end of the palace road, under the morning light, a dozen armored riders in black slowly approached.

The leader was clad in battle armor, holding a long blade that was still dripping blood, sitting calmly on horseback.

The morning light stretched his shadow long, also leaving his handsome face half in the light and half in the shadows.

He just looked at them quietly, saying nothing, yet that invisible pressure made everyone present feel suffocated.

"Third... Third Brother..."

Imperial Grandson Zhu Yunwen's lips trembled, his teeth chattering, making a "clacking" sound. He subconsciously backed away as if he had seen a ghost, his legs went soft, and he actually fell to the ground on his backside.

He had come! It was just one step away!

Although Lady Lu was also panicked, she reacted quickly and hurriedly shouted at Zhao Zhong: "Protect The Emperor! Protect The Emperor! Quick, kill him for this palace! Kill this treacherous rebel!"

The hundred or so Imperial Guards guarding the East Flowery Gate were stunned by this sudden change. They looked at the Grand Imperial Heir sitting on the ground, then at the blood-drenched, imposing Third Imperial Grandson, and for a moment, didn't know what to do.

Zhao Zhong's mind buzzed, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword covered in cold sweat. He instinctively protected Imperial Grandson Zhu Yunwen and Lady Lu behind him, and shouted sternly at the figure at the end of the palace road: "Who goes there! Quickly dismount..."

He couldn't finish his sentence. Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong moved, and a cold light left his hand.

"Whoosh!"

"Pfft!"

Zhao Zhong's questioning shout came to an abrupt halt. He didn't even see what it was, only feeling something pierce through him. The huge inertia carried his body backward, nailing him firmly to the vermilion palace gate.

Blood dripped down the hilt of the blade.

The whole scene was dead silent.

Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong slowly urged his warhorse forward. The hooves stepped on the blood-stained stone slabs, making a dull, rhythmic "clack, clack" sound, like the death knell of the Grim Reaper. He walked to the front of the Imperial Guards who were already completely terrified, used the tip of his blade to gently lift the chin of a lieutenant, his cold gaze sweeping over everyone, his voice not loud, but chilling to the bone: "Kneel, or, die!"

"Thump! Thump!"

Don't know who started it, but the sound of weapons hitting the ground echoed one after another.

All the gate-guarding soldiers sensibly threw away the weapons in their hands and knelt down in unison, their heads buried low, fearing that they might be looked at one more time by the demon god on horseback.

Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong ignored them further. He rode his horse slowly up to Imperial Grandson Zhu Yunwen and Lady Lu, looking down at these two people who, not long ago, had been high and mighty, holding his life and death in their hands.

Imperial Grandson Zhu Yunwen was already scared pale, his whole body shaking like chaff, unable to even say words of begging for mercy.

On the contrary, Lady Lu, after the initial fear, actually forced herself to calm down.

She raised her head and stared fixedly at Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong, her well-maintained face filled with madness.

"Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong! You evil spawn! You won't die well!"

"Do you think you've won? This is treason! The Emperor won't let you off! Everyone in the world will revile you!"

"I am waiting, I am waiting to see the day you are sliced into a thousand pieces and your bones ground to dust!"

Facing her curses, Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong just watched quietly, a faint smile even appearing on his face.

He waited until Lady Lu finished cursing before speaking slowly.

"Mother," he called out softly, but these two words made Lady Lu's body tremble violently.

"You are right."

The smile on Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong's face grew brighter. He leaned down, his voice as soft as a lover's whisper, but the words he spoke made Lady Lu feel as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.

"However, I am afraid you will not live to see it."

He straightened up, no longer looking at this mother and son who were pale as death, and just said indifferently to the personal guards behind him.

"Tie these two up for me."

"We should go to Xiaoling Mausoleum to pay our respects to The Emperor."

"Tie... tie them up?" The personal guards behind him were a little puzzled, "Aren't we going to kill them directly?"

Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong rolled his eyes at them, a bit speechless. What was the use of killing them? Zhu Yuanzhang was not Li Yuan, and he was not Li Shimin. With Zhu Yuanzhang, who was extremely protective of his own, having so many sons and grandsons, why would he choose a disloyal and unfilial person who killed his brother and mother to ascend the throne?

Them being alive is the capital for me to negotiate with The Emperor...

"Do it!"

"Yes!"