Chapter 44: The Ominous Tune of Great Ming—Old Zhu Cries Out: My Empress, Biao, My Eldest Grandson!

Meeting his father's murderous gaze, Prince of Yan, Zhu Di, felt his legs go weak and he dropped straight to his knees.

He clutched Zhu Biao's legs and refused to let go!

"Eldest Brother... You have to believe me, your younger brother would never dare to rebel against you!"

"You must believe me, Brother!"

Nearby, Zhu Shuang and Zhu Gang exchanged glances and couldn't help breathing sighs of relief. A moment ago, they had been terrified, thinking that the ones plotting treason were themselves. Now, the two of them fully embraced the spectator's spirit of enjoying a grand spectacle without fearing how big it might get.

Zhu Shuang: "Fourth Brother, you're quite something! Daring to rebel? Big Brother admires you."

He truly admired him; he himself only ever dared to entertain such thoughts within his own fiefdom, but if he were actually asked to do it, he might not have had the guts.

Zhu Gang also sneered, "Hmph, just now this prince heard someone say they wanted to nip this person in the bud!"

"Fourth Brother, do you know who that was?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di was furious inside, yet dared not vent it. With a mournful expression, he said, "Second Brother, Third Brother, stop teasing me! Where would I get the nerve? Someone must be framing me!"

Looking at Zhu Di, who was crying tears and snot alike, Zhu Biao sighed helplessly and turned his head away.

Though he fundamentally refused to believe that his good fourth brother would dare to rebel against him, the facts were right before his eyes, leaving him no room for disbelief!

Old Zhu, his face dark, strode step by step toward Zhu Di.

"Someone come! Bring me the family rules! Bring me the horse whip!"

Seeing Old Zhu approaching step by step, Zhu Di turned pale with fright and desperately scrambled behind Zhu Biao, shouting, "Father, your son is wronged! This damned heavenly screen is framing me!"

The family rules were brought out in no time. Old Zhu snatched the horse whip, raised it high, and flicked it, producing a sharp sonic boom.

"Let go of your eldest brother's legs, I said let go!"

Seeing the gleaming whip, Zhu Biao felt a pang of pity and just opened his mouth to speak when he was cut short by Old Zhu's roar.

"Second, Third, pull this rebellious son away from your eldest brother's legs and pin him down for me!"

Zhu Shuang and Zhu Gang stepped forward. "Fourth Brother, don't make it hard for your brothers. You know His Majesty's temper!" With that, each of them grabbed an arm and hauled Zhu Di right in front of Old Zhu.

Zhu Di was truly panicking now. "Eldest Brother... Eldest Brother... Save me! Your brother could never rebel against you, there must be some mistake in this!"

Old Zhu saw Zhu Biao's soft-heartedness. His Biao'er was good at everything, except for being far too merciful.

"Lie properly, lie flat! Fourth Brother, if you dare to twitch even once, you know what the consequences will be!"

At that moment, Zhu Di really wanted to commit murder... Dammit, Emperor Yongle, you've completely ruined me!

Even so, he dared not disobey Old Zhu's command. With both hands gripping a pillar, he presented his size-twelve buttocks squarely to Old Zhu.

"Father... It really wasn't me! Hit me lightly..."

"Crack!"

"Ah..."

The first whip-lash made Zhu Di gasp sharply in pain!

It burned with a fiery agony.

"Crack..." Another lash...

"Ah, ah..."

After just a few lashes, his skin was already torn open.

It terrified Zhu Shuang and Zhu Gang, instantly recalling the terror of being dominated by Old Zhu during their childhoods!

Unable to bear watching, Zhu Biao slowly closed his eyes...

Old Zhu struck and scolded at the same time, "Good lad, thinking of rebelling, are you?"

"Crack! Crack..."

"Ming Chengzu, is it? Daring to style yourself an Ancestor now, has your wings hardened?"

"Crack..."

"Not taking me seriously anymore, are you?" Just as Old Zhu's next whip was about to fall, Zhu Biao couldn't bear it any longer.

"Father... Stop hitting him... If you hit him any more, Fourth Brother won't survive. Best wait until we finish watching the heavenly screen before passing judgment!"

Zhu Di's teeth were practically clenched to pieces from the pain, and cold sweat covered his entire body as he trembled uncontrollably.

By now, Old Zhu had vented much of his anger. Looking at Zhu Di's pathetic state, his heart softened a fraction.

After all, no matter what, the boy was still his own son; he couldn't actually beat him to death!

Yet the mere thought of his Biao'er sent another wave of intense fury surging through Old Zhu.

Throughout history, rebels had been countless in number; which of the overthrown emperors and crown princes had ever met a good end?

Biao'er must surely have been harmed by this wretched bastard in the future...

Old Zhu tossed the horse whip onto the ground and roared with fierce exasperation, "Kneel right there and watch... watch how you go about rebelling against your eldest brother!"

Trembling, Zhu Di knelt on the ground, his backside a bloody mess.

At that moment, above in the heavenly screen, the narrator's voice rang out!

"Speaking of Emperor Yongle, one cannot separate him from his campaign of 'Fengtian Jingnan'—pacifying the realm and capturing the dragon in the south. This video will take you through the entire process of Emperor Chengzu Zhu Di's Jingnan campaign in one go."

Immediately following this, the scene shifted and the background music swelled.

"Half a lifetime spent on this road is all too desolate, falling blossoms stir a heartbreak so profound!"

"Flowers bloom then wither across the boundless sky, yet it is you who flash and fade from sight~"

"Morning after morning, dusk following dusk within the passing days, yet it remains so hard to capture your likeness..."

Beneath the heavenly screen, listening to the melody, Old Zhu felt an inexplicable and profound sorrow swell up inside his heart for reasons unknown.

Half a lifetime of desolation...

He stood there in a daze, rooted to the spot... feeling a sudden, inexplicable urge to cry.

Zhu Biao, listening to it, felt a sensation as though his life was slipping away, and he grew somewhat panicked!

Zhu Di, however, felt this was simply the most enchanting music in the entire world, and instantly his backside didn't even hurt as much anymore!

It was strangely intoxicating...

As the background music played on, the imagery on the heavenly screen slowly materialized: an elderly man with graying hair, a wrinkled face, and a slightly stooped back was holding the hand of a child, walking unsteadily forward. Then the scene shifted once more!

The gray-haired elder looked at the son lying before him, stepped forward, and took his hand, feeling only an icy chill.

At that moment, his eyes held not a single ripple of emotion... like a hollow shell devoid of a soul.

He simply sat there, speaking in a low, slow murmur!

"Cold, cold, everything has grown so cold..."

"Biao'er... why did you too, just like your mother, leave me behind?"

Personally keeping vigil over his son's spirit, this time he shed no tears, nor showed any reaction at all, just staring numbly... watching... and watching...

When a person reaches the depths of sorrow, there are no tears left to shed...

Beneath the sky, Old Zhu gazed at the scene unfolding on the heavenly screen and listened to those words, his footing faltering as his eyes dilated wide.

His face was a mask of sheer disbelief...

"My wife is dead... My wife is dead?"

"And Biao'er is dead too?"

At this thought, Old Zhu acted as if driven mad, roaring up at the heavenly screen: "My wife, my Biao'er, my eldest grandson—they are all doing fine! They are perfectly fine!"

"Someone come! Seal this sky for me, seal it at once!"

The background music on the heavenly screen swelled to its ultimate climax...

"I lightly sigh for the floating world, sigh for the crimson beauties, coming and going through how many passing years~"

"Who is there to write the regrets of half a lifetime, leaving only passing travelers in this mortal realm..."

...

Hearing it now, Old Zhu could truly hold back no longer... His body staggered, and he collapsed heavily onto the ground, two lines of tears streaming from his bloodshot eyes.

"My wife... My Biao'er... My eldest grandson..."

With a sudden retch, a mouthful of fresh blood spewed forth... He sat there utterly bereft of his soul!

Still murmuring faintly under his breath, "My wife, my Biao'er, my eldest grandson..."