Chapter 89: So I Was Going to Die After All, Deducing My Own Cause of Death

Zhang Yi’s words to Lady Chang, Zhu Biao understood perfectly well.

They concerned Chang Yuchun’s death, Lady Chang’s fate, and the future of her two sons.

Both Zhu Biao and Zhu Yuanzhang had tried to find out exactly what future Zhang Yi had foreseen, but Zhang Yi had brushed them off by saying that the Book from Heaven allowed him to see only fragments.

Lady Chang was deeply moved by what amounted to Zhu Biao’s confession.

She lowered her head, thought for a moment, and in the end told Zhu Biao what Zhang Yi had said.

Liuhe River. The children.

In order to comfort her, Zhang Yi had not even spoken too plainly. Zhu Biao also knew that Zhang Yi probably had no real gift for fortune-telling.

He could only witness the future.

At first Zhu Biao paid little heed to what Lady Chang said, but as he listened, he began to sense that something was wrong.

What Zhang Yi had told him and what he had told Lady Chang were, in fact, one and the same matter.

Yet when he compared Lady Chang’s answer with the answer he himself knew, he discovered that Zhang Yi had revealed matters he had never known.

For instance, his second son. What he had told the Chang girl was that the son would rise with his father’s honor.

But what Zhang Yi had told him was that the child would be confined for life...

If his son was to rise only because of his father, then why would he later be imprisoned?

There was only one possible explanation: his son would no longer have anyone to rely on, because he himself would be dead...

Zhu Biao’s face went deathly pale. What on earth had happened to Great Ming? Why would he, the crown prince of the realm, die?

"Brother Zhu, what’s wrong with you?"

Zhu Biao had been watching the gossip from afar only to find it suddenly turn on himself, and for a moment his mind was in turmoil as well.

Zhang Yi’s predictions had been confirmed over and over again; there was no way he was merely making things up.

Seeing Zhu Biao’s expression darken, the Chang girl hurried over and took hold of him.

Their movement caught Xu Miaoyun’s attention from a distance.

"Your Highness, are you all right?"

"I’m fine!"

In the end, Zhu Biao was still the crown prince. After much effort, he steadied his emotions and managed to appear calmer.

"Miaoyun, go choose some books."

He sent Xu Miaoyun away. She obediently nodded and went off to browse on her own.

"Zhang Yi told you that if you followed his method, you might be able to gain a sliver of hope? Tell me every single thing he said to you!"

After thinking for a moment, Zhu Biao lowered his voice and asked the Chang girl.

Lady Chang nodded and recounted everything that had happened that day.

She looked at Zhu Biao with some concern.

"You need not worry. I’ve heard of that young Taoist from the Zhang family too. Whether he truly learned much of Mount Longhu’s arts is still hard to say. When Zhang Zhenren returns to the capital to report his duties, I’ll have him take your fortune. Just leave me your birth details."

"As for that second son of the Zhang family, take his words with a grain of salt and try following his method if you wish."

"Fate is an elusive thing. That little Taoist said the Mandate of Heaven had changed. If Heaven’s decree can change, then the future can change as well."

"And no matter what happens, even if the sky itself falls, I will bear it for you."

These words were not a love confession, yet they were even more touching than one. Lady Chang felt the panic in her heart settle at once, and her eyes grew tender as water.

"It’s getting late. We only came to accompany Miss Xu here to get some books. It would be improper for us to linger any longer. Another time, when we have the chance, we can speak at length."

Zhu Biao took the initiative to see them off. Rising to his feet, he called out loudly,

"Miss Xu, have you chosen your books?"

"Your Highness, I have. Are these books all right?"

Xu Miaoyun came over carrying several volumes. "I’ll finish reading them as quickly as possible and then return them to Your Highness."

"Then keep them."

Zhu Biao was distracted and did not even notice what books the Xu girl was holding.

"Something Father Emperor ordered me to do suddenly came to mind and I still have not finished it. I’ll have someone escort you back to the Empress Dowager."

After watching the eunuchs send the two women away, Zhu Biao returned to his study.

He dismissed everyone around him and sat alone in the room, taking out a sheet of paper.

Not wanting to summon anyone to grind ink for him, he still had several lead pencils that Old Zhu had had craftsmen copy, and he began listing everything on the page.

He imitated the way Zhang Yi had analyzed problems that day and set down all the factors.

What he knew, and what he had learned from the Chang girl.

"My Zhang brother told me that my eldest son will die of illness, that my second son will be imprisoned for life, and that I, though crown prince, will be unable to protect my own children. Why is that?"

After some thought, Zhu Biao wrote down the possibilities that could lead to such an outcome: his own death, the replacement of the crown prince, the collapse of Great Ming, and so on.

Then he used elimination to rule out the fall of the dynasty first, because Zhang Yi had said that Zhu Yuanzhang was a sovereign of the ages, and it was unlikely that Great Ming would perish after only one or two generations.

Of course, he did not completely dismiss the possibility. After all, Qin had also lasted only two generations.

As for the crown prince being replaced, that might be normal in other dynasties. From ancient times to the present, being crown prince had always been a high-risk profession, and many crown princes never had the fortune to ascend the throne at all.

But in Great Ming, at least with Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao did not believe the future emperor would depose him.

Just as Zhang Yi had said, although his father was emperor, at heart he was still an old peasant.

He still longed for family harmony and prosperity, for wife and children and a warm brick bed.

Old Zhu’s obsession with family meant that as long as he himself was not terribly lacking, Zhu Yuanzhang would never depose him.

Was he terribly lacking?

Zhu Biao shook his head. Humility was not the same as belittling oneself. He believed that even if he could not compare with his father, he would still be worthy of the crown prince’s position in any dynasty.

With the other answers eliminated, only one seemed to remain.

He was silent for a moment, then wrote down line by line what Zhang Yi had said while telling fortunes for Lady Chang.

The eldest would die of illness. That much admitted no dispute.

The second, Zhang Yi had not said directly, only speaking of a son rising with his father’s honor. Those words already foretold his fate: with the father gone, the son would have nowhere to rely on.

But even if he died, why would his child be confined for life?

Using this clue, Zhu Biao came up with two possibilities.

The fall of the dynasty and... a struggle for the throne!

The fall of the dynasty had already been ruled out. Then the remaining reason was that his son would be imprisoned, and that this was the truth behind a great upheaval in the fate of the realm?

Zhu Biao fell silent. He felt it might truly be possible.

Among Zhu Yuanzhang’s sons, Zhu Biao was the unquestioned eldest brother. This was not only because he was older, but also because, under Zhu Yuanzhang’s deliberate cultivation, his authority was high enough as well.

Old Zhu valued the concept of family above all else.

After becoming emperor, he feared even more that the tragedies that had plagued imperial houses throughout the dynasties would be repeated in the Zhu family.

The way Zhu Yuanzhang chose to avoid this was different from that of the emperors of the past. He raised the status of his crown prince to an unprecedented height.

The office of crown prince, though it made one heir apparent, also invited the emperor’s suspicion.

The ruler constantly guarded against the crown prince stripping him of power, while the crown prince worried at all times about being deposed.

The sovereign was not sovereign, the subject not truly subject, the father not fully father, the son not fully son.

Thus, to preserve their own authority, emperors often elevated one prince outside the crown prince’s line to contend for the throne.

There was no real affection in the imperial house. For the sake of a throne, father and son distrusted one another, and brothers turned against each other. That was the norm.

But Zhu Yuanzhang did the opposite. Even before he had ascended the throne, he had endlessly raised Zhu Biao’s standing. After Great Ming was established,

he arranged everything for Zhu Biao in advance. Not to mention that the moment he became emperor he named Zhu Biao crown prince and established the rule of the eldest legitimate son, nor that although he had not yet enfeoffed any princes, he was already discussing the princely system with his ministers.

Once the Eastern Palace had been established, the tutors and civil and military officials Zhu Yuanzhang chose for him were all top officials of the court.

He turned his own foundation into his son’s foundation. Such treatment might not be said to be unprecedented, but at the very least it was unmatched.

Old Zhu was practically announcing to the court and to his other sons: this is the emperor your father chose. Don’t entertain any foolish schemes.

Even at home, when Old Zhu punished his younger brothers, he often allowed Zhu Biao to plead on their behalf.

In every respect, he was building up the prestige of his eldest son.

This was the emperor’s love for him, but also a way of preventing the other sons from ever harboring ambitions for imperial power, preserving Zhu Yuanzhang’s hope of "family harmony and prosperity."

"Man proposes, Heaven disposes."

"If Father Emperor knew that all his efforts to prevent this would still fail, he would probably be heartbroken."

After thinking everything through, Zhu Biao let out a sigh.

If his fate truly was as he suspected, then it would be an unprecedented blow to Old Zhu.

Not only because of the hopes he had placed on him, but because even the succession itself would become a major problem for Great Ming.

When Zhu Yuanzhang had put all his chips on him, it meant the other brothers could not possibly command universal obedience.

"If succession follows order of age, then the most likely one would be Second Brother. So the one imprisoning my descendants... is it really you, Second Brother?"

"Big Brother!"

Just as he was lost in thought, he heard someone calling to him.

Zhu Biao turned and found that the younger brothers he had just been chastising had somehow appeared in the Eastern Palace.

His gaze swept meaningfully over their faces, lingering especially on the second brother, Zhu Shang.

The three of them shivered, and Zhu Shang in particular felt an inexplicable fear.

"How did you get in? No one announced your arrival?"

"As princes, where are your manners?"

The three little ones: ???

Hadn’t they always come and gone this way? And hadn’t he never been angry about it before?

"Today, with Miaoyun’s matter as a warning, this elder brother has realized that you are indeed unruly and lacking in discipline... All of you, kneel!"

An elder brother is like a father. Zhu Biao’s authority before his younger brothers was not something the three little ones could resist. They obediently knelt.

Zhu Biao ordered someone over to give them several hard strokes with a staff, beating Zhu Shang, Zhu Gang, and Zhu Di until they cried out in agony.

"Big Brother, we don’t dare again..."

"Big Brother, please spare us!"

The three of them were close to tears. They had already had rotten luck today, and they had come seeking help from Zhu Biao, only to walk straight into the line of fire.

Looking at their miserable expressions, Zhu Biao’s heart softened again. After all, his thoughts were only speculation.

"The future is unfathomable, and what I have been thinking is only conjecture. Why take out my anger on them?"

He sighed and ordered the beating to stop.

"Have you learned your lesson?"

The three princes nodded hurriedly.

"Speak. What have you come to see this palace for?"

The three looked at one another, but none of them dared speak.

"Go on. I won’t punish you this time."

Even though he knew the three of his younger brothers were never up to any good when they came looking for him, he still wanted to hear what they had to say.