Chapter 15: Passing Two Levels in a Row

Zhu Gaoxu kidnapped the son of the postmaster and easily seized a post horse, then fled north.

It was only a hundred miles from Zhuozhou to Beiping, and before noon, Zhu Gaoxu saw the city wall of Beiping. He rode fast and had good luck, so he did not encounter any pursuers.

Beiping was also a strange city for Zhu Gaoxu at that time.

The city of later times was, of course, very different. There was no city wall at that time. The Ming Dynasty Beijing city that is often seen in movies and TV dramas is also different. Because it is neither Dadu nor Beijing, but Beiping.

But it is indeed a big city. After all, it was the Yuan Dynasty capital in the past. Even the city walls on the east and west sides are still largely from the Yuan Dynasty.

There are only remnants of memory, to contrast with them. Those memories are like pictures, just pictures without any feeling.

Zhu Gaoxu was filthy and led his horse into the Lizheng Gate. He saw a group of soldiers coming to meet him. The man in front said, "We have been waiting for the prince for a long time by order of the prince of Yan. Please come in!"

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at him and seemed to have this person in his memory, or at least he looked familiar.

The Prince of Yan was stationed in Beiping and was known to be very powerful, but he could not even control the city of Beiping because there were three officials in Beiping, all of whom were appointed by the court to manage the military, political and criminal affairs of the entire Beiping area. This team of people waited at the city gate in time, perhaps to meet the princes and avoid any complications.

After entering the city, most of the houses you see are low-rise, hard-topped houses. At that time, there was no imperial city in Beiping. The Yuan Dynasty palace had been demolished long ago... After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, their palace was demolished to "get rid of the royal aura." There were many pedestrians on the road, but it was not very prosperous.

Walking in this place, Zhu Gaoxu had a strange feeling as if he was traveling through the time of the Yuan and Ming dynasties.

Several soldiers took Zhu Gaoxu and went straight to the Prince of Yan's Palace.

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu gradually became nervous!

He expected that he would definitely meet his father first... Zhu Di! Zhu Di was already very famous at this time, but his fame in people's eyes was obviously far inferior to the position of him in Zhu Gaoxu's heart.

Throughout thousands of years of history, there have been countless emperors and princes, most of whom are hard for ordinary people to remember. But the name Zhu Di is hard for people in later generations to be unaware of.

It was not a long journey, but Zhu Gaoxu felt very nervous and had complicated feelings.

There is no father-son relationship now, and the things in his memory do not have a sense of substitution for him. But there is still a sincere gratitude! Coming from a loser background, Zhu Gaoxu understands more deeply than all the princes how important it is to have a great father. Now he can have so many things in the Ming Dynasty for only one reason: he is Zhu Di's son!

Because of the importance attached to it, I was actually a little more nervous at this moment. Will someone find out what I am doing during the meeting? How should I perform?

Zhu Gaoxu hadn't slept the whole night and looked exhausted. He was also a little distracted because of something on his mind. He entered the Prince of Yan's Mansion in a daze and had to force himself to stay awake.

After entering the palace, the first large building is the main hall of the Prince of Yan's Palace. Zhu Gaoxu walked up the stone steps and when he stepped through the threshold, he saw two people, one standing and one sitting inside.

Sitting there was a tall and burly middle-aged man, wearing a black gauze hat on his head and a red round-collared robe embroidered with a four-clawed dragon. This man was Zhu Gaoxu's adoptive father: Zhu Di!

Zhu Di's three sons looked different, some fat, some strong, and some thin, while Zhu Di himself was tall and strong with strong bones. No wonder people remember that Zhu Di said that Zhu Gaoxu was "similar to himself".

As soon as Zhu Gaoxu entered the room, Zhu Di, who was sitting, stood up.

The person standing next to him looked very strange at first glance. He was wearing a monk's robe. Of course, he must be Yao Guangxiao!

As soon as Zhu Di stood up, Yao Guangxiao glanced sideways.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't say anything, but knelt down and said, "Your Highness, I pay my respects to you, father."

Prince of Yan Zhu Di's lower body was steady but his steps were quick. He strode up to Zhu Gaoxu, placed his two big hands firmly on Zhu Gaoxu's forearms and suddenly lifted him up.

The strength in the Prince of Yan's hands was not just a light response, but a strong emotion. Even this one action made Zhu Gaoxu feel deeply.

Zhu Gaoxu followed the force and stood up. When he looked up, the two were close to each other. What caught his eyes was the Prince of Yan's sharp eyes, thick lips, and rough skin. Zhu Gaoxu saw fatigue and melancholy in the Prince of Yan's eyes, but at this moment, there was also a brief joy.

"Good! Good! Good!" The Prince of Yan's voice was full of energy and momentum. While he was speaking, he slapped Zhu Gaoxu's arm with his palm, still holding on to it.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't dare to say much, but he couldn't help but speak, so he immediately responded to the Prince of Yan, "I am sorry that I have made you worry."

Prince Yan snorted and looked at Zhu Gaoxu from head to toe with a sharp and sharp gaze. Just from that look, Zhu Gaoxu felt as if he was stripped naked. It was very penetrating.

"Looking at your appearance, you must have suffered a lot on the way." The King of Yan smiled, but soon stopped. "Gao Chi and Gao Sui came back first. Gao Chi said that your horses broke on the way, and you gave them to your brothers. It's a good thing for brothers to do this!"

Zhu Gaoxu said, "If I had given up my horse, I would have returned now. If my elder brother had given up his horse, I don't know if I would have been able to return. I think it would be best if the three brothers returned together."

The Prince of Yan nodded slightly. Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu felt that his previous answer, which did not seek credit and was not overly modest, seemed to be a passable one.

At this time, Yao Guangxiao's voice said, "The prince's actions in the capital are truly admirable. The prince killed a minor official in the capital, which must be a test of his power, right?"

After the monk finished speaking, he stared at Zhu Gaoxu's face very rudely. The Prince of Yan, however, remained silent. The Prince of Yan's initial joy soon disappeared. This father's emotions were unpredictable and could be felt the moment they met.

Prince Yan didn't say anything, but Zhu Gaoxu felt a little pressure coming. Zhu Gaoxu didn't sleep well, so his thinking was a little slow. He couldn't think too long before answering, so he was suddenly nervous.

As far as Yao Guangxiao is concerned, I can assure you that Zhu Gaoxu really didn't mean it! If he knew that he could beat someone to death with one punch with his bare hands, he would definitely not use his full strength...

In any case, Ambassador Xu admitted to torturing Du Qianrui, but this was not a capital crime; and there was no evidence of the previous bad deeds, so how could it be confirmed? But the guy came to retaliate the second time, and he asked for it, but Zhu Gaoxu didn't have to beat him to death.

Now that Yao Guangxiao was praising him so much, Zhu Gaoxu had a gut feeling that it was a trap. He didn't dare to be smart and climb up the ladder, lying and taking credit for it.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't have time to think about it, so he quickly said honestly, "No."

Yao Guangxiao paused for a moment and asked, "Why did the prince beat someone to death?"

Zhu Gaoxu said, "I didn't have much hatred against him, but he kept asking for trouble, and I got angry and didn't use much force. It wasn't that I wanted to kill him from the beginning."

After he finished speaking, he bowed to the King of Yan and said, "I know I was reckless, but my elder brother has already scolded me. Father, please forgive me!"

"Ha!" King Yan laughed dryly, very briefly, and immediately returned to his seriousness and said, "I know your temper. You need to change!"

"Yes, yes." Zhu Gaoxu replied quickly.

The Prince of Yan turned around and walked to the upper seat and sat down. Zhu Gaoxu stepped forward and bowed, "I didn't sleep last night. I went to see my mother first, and I want to go to bed. Please allow me, father."

"Go!" King Yan waved his hand.

"Your son will take his leave," said Zhu Gaoxu.

Coming out of the main hall, Zhu Gaoxu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It was strange that his son was so nervous when he saw his father, especially since he had just escaped from danger! Perhaps it was because Zhu Gaoxu was no longer the same person, and he felt guilty.

However, thinking of the last dry laugh of Prince Yan, Zhu Gaoxu knew that he had passed the test for the second time. Although he was not in a good mood today, he seemed to be able to cope with it well.

Carefully recalling the scene just now, Zhu Gaoxu still felt a little scared. Fortunately, he did not rush to show off and follow Yao Guangxiao's words to brag about how great he was ... Not to mention that it would easily arouse the suspicion of Prince Yan and others. If he gradually left the Prince Yan with the impression that he was scheming, would that really be a good thing?

At this moment, a voice that seemed to lack strength said, "This servant greets the Prince of Gaoyang. You are back."

Zhu Gaoxu took a closer look and saw that the man was a burly man in his thirties with a big face and no hair on his mouth. He knew this man from memory. His name was Ma He, and he was a eunuch who often served the Prince of Yan.

"I'm just about to go and report to my mother." Zhu Gaoxu said, "Ma He, take me with you."

"Yes, Prince Gaoyang, please come this way." Ma He said.

Zhu Gaoxu was not familiar with this person. In fact, to him after traveling through time, Ma He was just a stranger. However, during the walk, Ma He would not let Zhu Gaoxu take the initiative to find a topic. Ma He took the initiative to say, "After Prince Gaoyang and others went to the capital, the prince often thought of you. Don't mention how much he missed you."

Zhu Gaoxu determined that this person was the eunuch trusted by the Prince of Yan, and said, "Father must still be worried that we can't come back."

Ma He did not comment, and continued, "The princess is the most worried, she often sheds tears and sighs, alas, we servants are also worried and sad. It's good that the princes come back, it's good that they come back."

The two of them passed through two hallways and walked down several corridors, and came to a moon-shaped door. Ma He said, "The princess is inside. Should I find someone to inform her first?"

Zhu Gaoxu nodded, "Mother may not know that I am here to pay my respects."

In my memory, the mother of the three brothers loved the prince and Gao Sui more. Especially the prince, because of his mobility problems, he almost always stayed in Beiping City; Qiaqia Princess was a noble lady who would not go out easily, so the prince spent more time with the princess.

Zhu Gaoxu was different. He was granted the title of Prince during the reign of Emperor Taizu. He was not a man who could stay idle before. He was not seen all day. He often followed the Prince of Yan to fight in battles, practiced martial arts, and taught soldiers. He had no time to care about his mother.

But no matter what, as soon as Zhu Gaoxu came back and saw his father, he immediately came to pay his respects to his mother and fulfilled all the etiquette.