When Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Cixiang arrived at Kunning Palace, Zhou Jing was arranging defense arrangements outside the palace.
After seeing Zhu Yuanzhang, although his face was a little cold, he still bowed respectfully.
Zhu Yuanzhang saw that Zhou Jing's attitude towards him was indeed much better than before, and he recognized Zhu Cixiang more in his heart, and at the same time, his original worries were alleviated.
After he motioned to Zhu Cixiang to stay, he walked straight in.
"Father!"
As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang entered the Kunning Palace, he was spotted by the sharp-eyed Princess Zhaoren, who ran over screaming.
Zhu Yuanzhang was already a little tired, but when he saw the innocent and lively Princess Zhaoren, he immediately became energetic.
Seeing that Princess Zhaoren was staggering because she was running too fast, he hurriedly stepped forward to hug her and pretended to be angry: "You are such a naughty little naughty girl. What if you fall and break her?"
Although Princess Zhaoren was young, she was also very smart and knew that Zhu Yuanzhang was deliberately scaring her.
So while wiping the wrinkles on Zhu Yuanzhang's forehead with her chubby little hands, she said with a playful smile: "My son is not afraid. With my father here, how can my father hurt my son!"
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he couldn't help but trembled in his heart.
Then he looked at the innocent Princess Zhaoren and said with deep emotion: "Zhaoren is right. As long as my father is here, Zhaoren will not suffer!"
Upon hearing this, Princess Zhaoren showed a proud smile, and then she hugged Zhu Yuanzhang's neck and acted coquettishly.
At this time, Zhou Hou and others also came to pick him up after hearing the news.
When Zhu Yuanzhang saw Zhou Hou and Concubine Yuan coming hand in hand, looking like sisters, he nodded secretly in his heart.
Then he saw two brothers, Ding Wang Zhu Cijiong and Yong Wang Zhu Cijiong, standing next to each other. They were obviously very close friends.
Especially since the two of them were only in their teens, they were both handsome, well-behaved, and their style was comparable to that of Prince Zhu Cixiang.
Although the princess of Kunxing, Zhu Ainao, is a bit thin, she does not look weak, but makes people feel more slim.
Coupled with her fair complexion and beautiful face that is comparable to Zhou Hou, as well as the faint bookish air emanating from her eyebrows, the beauty of the moon is not enough to describe her beauty.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the people surrounding him, and the long-lost family affection came to his heart again, and he was a little confused for a moment.
"Little naughty boy, come down quickly, don't tire your father!"
At this time, Zhou Hou's crisp voice woke up Zhu Yuanzhang.
Then Zhu Yuanzhang felt Princess Zhaoren hug his neck harder and muttered: "My father hasn't come to see my son for a long time, so I won't come down!"
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he couldn't help but feel sad.
Then he hugged Princess Zhaoren tightly, laughed and said, "Okay, father, I will keep holding our good daughter today!"
After that, he strode forward.
Empress Zhou saw that Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to be in a particularly good mood today, and she was secretly happy.
After she and Concubine Yuan looked at each other, she hurriedly followed.
When Zhu Yuanzhang came to the hall, he suddenly remembered that he had not seen Queen Yi'an Zhang Yan, so he asked Empress Zhou: "Is Queen Yi'an not frightened this time?"
After hearing this, Empress Zhou respectfully said: "Your Majesty, don't worry. Queen Yi'an has been waiting in Kunning Palace with her concubine. She just learned that the rebellion was over and returned to Ci'an Palace. She was not intimidated by the rebels."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, subconsciously caressed Princess Zhaoren's pink face with his right hand, and started chatting with Empress Zhou, Concubine Yuan and others.
After a while, Zhu Cixiang came in with Zhou Jing.
When Empress Zhou saw the two of them coming, she knew that Zhu Yuanzhang had something to give him, so he gave Princess Kunxing a wink.
Seeing this, Zhu Aao deliberately stepped forward to tease Princess Zhaoren.
Princess Zhaoren is at a lawless age and will cause trouble no matter what.
At this moment, being teased by Zhu Yu'ao, he was not willing to give in, so he immediately jumped out of Zhu Yuanzhang's arms to fight back.
After a while, the two princesses ran out of the hall with smiles on their faces.
Concubine Yuan Guifei and others were also smart people and took the opportunity to leave one after another.
"Father, I have already told the captain of the guard that he is willing to inquire about Lord Li Jing."
After everyone had left, Zhu Cihong bowed and said to Zhu Yuanzhang.
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he looked at Zhou Jing and said in a deep voice: "Servant...Uncle Guo, we know that you have some resentment towards us in your heart."
"But we have no choice but to protect our father-in-law..."
Zhou Jing was surprised and guilty when he saw that Zhu Yuanzhang had changed from his normal behavior and actually put down the emperor's airs to talk to him about his daily life.
In fact, after he learned about Zhou Kui's murder from Zhou Hou that day, he went back and asked his servants carefully.
Knowing that Li Ruolian did intend to protect Zhou Kui at that time, Zhou Kui drank alcohol and not only took out the prince's handwriting in an arrogant manner, but also followed Tian Hongyu and others to Chengtianmen in a daze, which led to the disaster of death.
At this moment, seeing Zhu Yuanzhang as the emperor, he apologized politely and hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, I understand. I asked my servants later and they all told me. If I want to blame it, I blame my father for being too greedy... ..”
"If he hadn't drank so much that day, maybe he wouldn't have..."
As soon as Zhou Jing's words came out, it also brought back Zhou Hou's sadness, and her eyes immediately filled with tears.
Seeing that Zhou Jing had been moved, Zhu Yuanzhang hurriedly stepped forward to help him up and said, "Uncle Guo, if you can understand our difficulties, we can rest assured."
"The world is in chaos now, and the courtiers have their own thoughts. We are also troubled day and night. Now that I can say some thoughtful words to you and the Queen, I feel much more comfortable..."
Zhou Jing was originally an upright man. When he heard Zhu Yuanzhang's sensational words, he burst into tears and expressed his sincerity to Zhu Yuanzhang again and again.
Zhu Yuanzhang chatted with Zhou Jing for a while before he turned the conversation to Li Jing and said with a sad face: "This Li Jing is also a hard-working man. He was hunted down by the southern nobles because of his petition."
"Later, when he joined us, he worked for us day and night. Many things that were inconvenient for us to say and do were solved by him, which offended many people."
"His disappearance this time was also due to the trouble he caused for us, so we must not ignore it. It's just that there are many people in the palace now. In order to avoid harming him, we can only trouble my uncle..."
Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang was so affectionate and loyal, Zhou Jing was very moved and hurriedly declared that he would rescue Li Jing.
After Zhu Yuanzhang expressed his gratitude to Zhou Jing, he took the opportunity to lead him to the palace's eyes and ears.
The Queen of Zhou had already wanted to rectify the palace, but she did not take action because the eunuchs were previously powerful and Chongzhen lacked courage.
Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang had this intention at this moment, he tentatively stated some plans.
Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed when he heard this and immediately ordered Zhou Hou to get started.
After a secret discussion among several people, Zhu Yuanzhang left Kunning Palace.
Soon afterwards, it was reported in Kunning Palace that Zhou Jing had been beaten with fifty imperial sticks for leaving his post without permission, which angered Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhou Hou was also reprimanded by Zhu Yuanzhang for interceding for Zhou Jing and leaking palace news, and ordered him to rectify the palace.
Zhou Hou also seemed to feel threatened and took action that night.
He inspected more than a dozen palaces in a row, killed dozens of people with sticks, and drove hundreds of people out of the palace.
At the same time, Prince Zhu Cixiang was also furious. That night, he inspected the two eunuchs, the Chief of Ceremonies and the Royal Horse, and killed ten eunuchs with sticks, and dismissed or expelled more than fifty eunuchs.
When the news spread outside the palace, there was an immediate panic in Beijing and China.
When Shen Zhanran, who had been up all night, heard the news, a smile appeared on his face.
Then he straightened his clothes and walked slowly towards Dongnuang Pavilion.
