Zhu Yuanzhang was pinched on the ear and scolded by Ma Xiuying, and he also felt that he seemed to be too suspicious.

However, after becoming emperor, he had to think more about any suspicious people. Anyone who had ideas about his kingdom was a target he had to guard against, even his own son.

"You'd better let go of your hand first. If others see that my ears are red, they will know that you must have hit me again. Then how can I, as the emperor, still have dignity?"

Ma Xiuying saw that Zhu Yuanzhang's ear had been twisted by him and was indeed a little red. She couldn't bear it anymore and quickly let go of his hand.

"Don't talk nonsense here. How could others know that this is how we get along in private?"

Zhu Yuanzhang quickly rubbed his ears and watched the sky outside gradually darken.

"The sunset you were looking forward to has passed. The sun has already set, and I believe the prince should have brought people to guard outside the city gate.

When I thought about it, I felt that I was not too partial. I asked His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to go and greet Zhu Kai in person.

No one has ever seen such etiquette. Anyone who dares to say that I am partial is malicious and wants to sow discord among the princes."

Ma Xiuying shook his head helplessly. He had long been accustomed to the director's attitude.

"I have asked the imperial kitchen to prepare food. Even if Zhu Kai returns to the capital today, he has to go back to his mansion. No one has taken care of his mansion for a long time.

Zhu Kai came back in such a hurry that he definitely couldn't prepare anything good in a short time.

Even if you don't let him into the palace, you have to send him some food. When I come back, I'll send someone to deliver the food prepared by the imperial kitchen to them. I remember what this child likes best."

Seeing the motherly love of Empress Ma, Zhu Yuanzhang felt embarrassed to refuse again. Moreover, he knew that the Empress would be angry if he refused.

Let everyone in the court see that he and the queen still care about their son, and others will be more obedient. Since the queen wants to send food to her son, then just let him go.

So Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, smiled and said.

"Empress, even if you have become the empress of the entire Ming Dynasty, you still care about your son like an ordinary mother. If you want to send food, just send it.

But I believe that you are not the only one who wants to send food to Zhu Kai. Don't forget that old guy Xu Da is also thinking about his daughter."

"Don't speak ill of Xu Da here, Xu Miaoyun is Xu Da's only daughter.

Even if he had many sons, he loved his daughter the most. When he agreed to marry Xu Miaoyun to Zhu Kai, Xu Da had thought about it for several sleepless nights before he agreed.

If it weren't for the fact that you have been together since childhood, Xu Da would not agree. Even if you were the emperor and threatened him with imperial power, he would not agree.

But fortunately, they get along very harmoniously after they are together, and this is the most important thing.

As long as the two of them can get along harmoniously, other things don't matter. Gradually, Xu Da let this matter go, and slowly he felt relieved and handed his daughter to us. "

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and nodded. In fact, it was indeed the case.

At the city gate, Crown Prince Zhu Biao was already waiting here with his men. As the sky gradually darkened, a strong wind began to blow.

At this time, Li Wenzhong hurried over to report.

"Your Highness, there are dark clouds coming up from the east and it looks like it might rain heavily."

The prince looked up and found that, as expected, the rain came at a very bad time. It was still sunny when they all came out, but why did it rain so suddenly? It seemed that Zhu Kai's journey back was also full of twists and turns.

"The Royal Guards just came to report that they are about to enter the city. They should not get wet in the rain. If we hurry up, we can pick them up and return to the prepared post station immediately. They won't get wet."

"I heard from the Jinyiwei that Your Highness, they only have one carriage and the princess is sitting in it alone, so the others will probably get wet in the rain."

"Li Wenzhong, what do you think we should do? We are here with so many people to welcome them. We can't ask everyone to hold an umbrella. That would be too unsightly. Anyway, we just need to be patient, even if it rains."

"Your Highness, we don't mean to escape. We just feel inferior to you. You can go back first and leave this to us."

"How can that be possible? No matter how bad the weather is, this prince must be here in person to welcome Zhu Kai, his younger brother. And he is not the only younger brother, there are others as well.

This was all agreed upon in advance. The Jinyiwei should have also told Zhu Kai that I will be here to greet him. If they go back on their word and Zhu Kai comes back without seeing me, he will definitely be very disappointed and sad.

This will affect the relationship between us brothers, so forget it, just wait here for a while, man, will you get sick if you get caught in the rain? This prince is not a porcelain doll. "

Li Wenzhong was a little nervous when he saw that the prince refused to go back. He knew very well how much Zhu Yuanzhang valued the status and position of his son. How could he be caught in the rain here? Li Wenzhong was very nervous.

"Your Highness, I know you care about the brotherhood and want to see your brothers first, but you are the emperor's most beloved son after all."

Before Li Wenzhong could finish his words, Crown Prince Zhu Biao interrupted him.

"Don't be so outrageous. How can you say something like this to sow discord? If Zhu Kai heard this, he would definitely feel uncomfortable.

They have just returned from such a far place. They have suffered a lot in the border area for more than a year. It’s no big deal if I wait here for a while.

Compared to the hardships Zhu Kai and his men had gone through, being drenched by the rain was nothing. Quickly inform everyone over there to stand straight, even if it rains, they must stand straight, and don’t lose the demeanor of the Ming Dynasty. "

Li Wenzhong was indeed stubborn, but as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, he had no choice but to follow the Crown Prince's arrangements. He quickly went to the side to arrange for these people to stand properly so as not to lose the demeanor of the Ming Dynasty and make the Crown Prince uneasy.

The prince was also a little anxious. He was afraid that the mountain road would be difficult to travel after the rain. There was only one carriage, and everyone else would be riding horses and would definitely get wet in the rain.

Zhu Kai and his companions rode on horses and soon arrived at the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Kai couldn't help but sigh when he saw the words "Capital of the Ming Dynasty" engraved on the stone tablet beside the road.

"After more than a year, I am finally back."

Zhu Chong also said excitedly, "The wind in the capital city is very comfortable, much stronger than the wind outside the Great Wall. The wind in the grassland is hard and makes people feel uncomfortable.

When I get back to the capital, I have to take a good rest for a few days and eat some delicious food. I have been away for so long that I almost forgot what the delicious food in the capital tastes like."

"You little brat, you only know how to eat, drink and have fun all day long. Don't say these things in front of the emperor, or he will think that you have made no progress in the past year or so following me."

"Brother, don't worry. I only said this in front of you. I know what to say and what not to say in front of our father. I will definitely be a good son in front of him."

Mao Xiang, who was riding a horse in front, saw that they had already arrived at the capital city. It was not convenient for him to continue to follow Zhu Kai and his team, so he planned to return to the capital city in advance to make some arrangements.

So Mao Xiang turned around and rode his horse from the front of the team to Zhu Kai's side.

"Master Mao, is there something wrong?"

"Your Majesty, I have returned to the capital, which means that you are safe, Your Majesty, and no one is threatening your safety. In this case, I must ride back to the capital to report to the emperor."

“Although we have already reached the capital, people say that you should see the Buddha off to the west, so you can’t go back alone.

You have to follow our team back to the capital at any cost. It would not be appropriate for you to go back alone."

After Zhu Gang said this, Zhu Kai also nodded. He had the same thought in his mind.

The most important thing was that he could not allow this guy to go back and report the situation to Zhu Yuanzhang in advance. If he said something bad about him, he would not even have the chance to refute.

"Mao Xiang, we have already arrived in the capital. It doesn't matter if you go back earlier or later."

"Your Highness, don't worry. Although I'm going back first, the rest of the Jinyiwei will stay here to continue protecting your safety. You and the princess will not be in any danger."

Zhu Kai thought to himself that this guy had once contradicted him in the inn, and acted like a very arrogant person. Today, he could not let him have his wish no matter what. He had to let this guy follow him back to the capital to save face.

"Mao Xiang, did the emperor tell you that after we are escorted to the capital, you can go back alone?"

When Mao Xiang heard Zhu Kai's question, he hesitated for a long time before speaking.

"That... That's not the case. The Emperor didn't say that."

Zhu Kai thought that even if this guy had the guts of heaven, he wouldn't dare to forge the imperial edict. He also wouldn't dare to make up things that the emperor hadn't said.

"That's it. Since the emperor didn't ask you to return to the palace to report ahead of time, you should come with us. Don't leave alone. We have already arrived here. What's the point of you going back alone to report the news?"

"But His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is already waiting at the city gate..."

Mao Xiang still had the urge to go back quickly to inform the police, but Zhu Kai was a naughty man, and he wouldn't let her go back if she wanted to.

“I know that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is already waiting at the city gate. Now that we have arrived at the capital, we must report the situation to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in advance so that they can be mentally prepared.

These are all matters of human nature and social etiquette, and I understand them.

Even though I'm a blood brother to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, I still have to consider His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's face. How about this, call over those guys on horseback next to you.

Pick a smart one and go back to tell His Royal Highness that we have already arrived nearby, so that he can prepare in advance and it won’t be too abrupt.”

Mao Xiang looked at Zhu Kai's attitude and felt it was too firm. He felt embarrassed and did not dare to refuse.

"Well, I originally wanted to go back and report to the Emperor first. The Emperor and the Empress are already anxiously waiting for the return of the princes."

"Mao Xiang, don't think I don't know. Do you think I'm a fool? I've seen you sending people back to give me information along the way.

You have already reported every move we made along the way to father in detail. They should have been mentally prepared, so you don't need to make excuses anymore.

Just follow along here. Go arrange for someone to go to the city gate and tell His Royal Highness the Crown Prince that we are back. Let them prepare in advance, so as not to be abrupt, which would be impolite to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. "

Only then did Mao Xiang realize that Zhu Kai was not an easy guy to deal with.

Not only is he smart, but sometimes he is stubborn and you don't know where to start dealing with such a person. No wonder Zhu Yuanzhang was sometimes so afraid of his son.

Zhu Kai is still young, but he already has so many plans and ambitions.

If he were older, he would have become a shrewd and cunning person. It seems that the Crown Prince's brother is indeed not easy to deal with.

"Well, since the prince has given the order, we have no choice but to follow it. I will ask them to go back and inform them of the news. I will accompany the prince back to the capital. I hope you can finally rest assured."

"Master Mao, if you had done things according to my ideas earlier, it wouldn't have been delayed until now."

Zhu Di watched Zhu Kai arrange everything skillfully, and he admired his brother more and more.

Then, Mao Xiang rode his horse forward and spoke to the two people beside him.

"The prince has ordered you to return to the city gate and explain the situation to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Our large team will arrive later. Let His Royal Highness the Crown Prince be mentally prepared in advance, so as not to offend His Royal Highness and we will not be able to afford the punishment."

"My subordinate understands!"

Mao Xiang arranged everything. He rode his horse and looked back at Zhu Kai, who also nodded with a smile.

Then, Zhu Kai thought to himself that he had finally won back a game. He must not let this guy do whatever he said. He insisted on going against him and wanted to compete with him. This guy was too naive.

Zhu Gang cast an envious look.

"Second brother, you are so amazing that you can play this guy around like a puppet. He is usually the most favored person around the emperor. No one dares to offend him. Only you dare to boss him around." (End of this chapter)