The people in the collapsing iron gave the immortal ship a small shock from the Holy Lord.

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"Reporting to the Immortal, it is now the 31st year of Hongwu."

“In the 31st year of Hongwu, you still took my medicine. How come you look like you’re seventy or eighty years old now? This shouldn’t be the case.”

Bai Zhi was a bit hard to understand. According to the timeline of when Lao Zhu took the medicine, by the 31st year of Hongwu, he should have been a middle-aged man.

This is about being an emperor, not a programmer. You're so young and already so old.

Old Zhu gave a bitter laugh, "Because my wife and child passed away one after another... sigh..."

Bai Zhi raised an eyebrow. "I remember I cured your son last time, so how did he die? And didn't your wife and you also take the anti-aging drug? How could you have died?"

"My Biao'er, he drowned while inspecting the various prefectures. My wife, overwhelmed with grief, passed away long ago..."

When Old Zhu talked about this, he couldn't help but feel sad. In his original world, as the emperor, he had to be strong, but here, he could finally release his emotions.

"Oh, he drowned. That's alright then. That's how it was with Ming Dynasty emperors; they dissolved when they came into contact with water."

Upon hearing what Old Zhu said, Bai Zhi felt relieved. The most famous way for Ming Dynasty emperors to die was by drowning. Water was practically the nemesis of the Zhu family.

"Immortal, what do you mean by that?"

Old Zhu was stunned. He felt that Bai Zhi had suddenly revealed some incredible information.

What does it mean that Ming Dynasty emperors were so easily dissolved by water? Is it because the Ming Dynasty was associated with the element of fire?

"Literally, Ming Dynasty emperors were generally easily soluble in water, and your Zhu family had an emperor who was soluble in water."

Bai Zhi didn't mind giving Old Zhu some spoilers. She had already given him the antidote to rejuvenate, so what was a little spoiler?

Old Zhu remained silent for a long time before cautiously asking, "Is this information you obtained by seeing into the future?"

Since this Bai Zhi Immortal is the Lord of the Stars, he must be a very capable and renowned immortal. Predicting the next few hundred years would be a piece of cake for him, wouldn't it?

This person must have seen the future of his Ming Dynasty in these words.

Bai Zhi blinked. "Pretty much. Your Zhu family has had quite a few eccentric emperors in the past: one who killed his uncle, one who took his nephew as a disciple, one who was a carpenter, one who studied abroad, and one who hanged himself from a tree in the southeast."

Old Zhu broke out in a cold sweat. This sounded ominous. Being a carpenter was fine, it was just a hobby, but what did "killing an uncle" and "adopted nephew" mean? And "studying abroad" sounded like neutral terms, but they gave him a very bad feeling.

"I must have left behind an ancestral precept that forbids fratricide..."

Old Zhu said in a low voice, even he himself felt a little unsure of his own words.

"Hey, that kind of thing is only useful when it's a family motto; when it's no longer useful, it's too hard to even wipe your butt."

"If these rules were valid, would you still rebel? Did your family's ancestral precepts instruct you to rebel?"

Bai Zhi shrugged and said speechlessly.

"Uh……"

Old Zhu was speechless. That was indeed the logic; how come he hadn't thought of it?

Expecting ancestral precepts, such an ethereal and abstract concept, to guide future generations is utterly absurd.

Perhaps I'm really getting senile; I've been clever my whole life, yet I've come up with such a foolish idea.

After Lao Zhu explained, Bai Zhi roughly understood why the other person, who was only in the 31st year of Hongwu's reign and had taken her medicine, had also become so old.

With his son and wife dying one after another, and his grandson likely being an incompetent fool, yet still managing a vast empire, it's no wonder he's worn out from overwork and his hair has turned white overnight. It's understandable that he's now in this state of nearing death.

However, this water truly had a grudge against the emperor of the Ming Dynasty; it was a natural enemy.

"So the successor you're choosing now is Zhu Yunwen, right?"

Bai Zhi asked with some curiosity, as her appearance had changed much of the original history, and she was also a little unsure whether she was the original successor.

"Reporting to the Immortal, it is indeed my son Yunwen. That child is well-versed in Confucian classics. In our opinion, although he is not a great ruler who expands the territory, he is a ruler who can maintain the status quo. We do not expect him to be ambitious. As long as he can keep everything we have now, that is enough."

When talking about his grandson, Old Zhu couldn't help but sigh. He really couldn't stand the boy's somewhat timid appearance, but there was nothing he could do. This child was the successor of his eldest son, and he had no other choice.

He didn't have many expectations; he just wanted his grandson to be a good transitional monarch, and then let more capable descendants carry on the great Ming Dynasty.

"Immortal...is there something wrong with my Yunwen? You seem to have something to say?"

Old Zhu keenly noticed Bai Zhi's hesitant expression and asked with some concern.

Immortal Bai Zhi must have known about the future of the Ming Dynasty. When she said that Zhu Yunwen would be the next emperor, the other party seemed to have a slightly amused expression.

Could it be... that something terrible has happened to my grandson?

"Are you sure you want to listen? Even though I'm here, you won't be so angry you'll die, but you'll definitely feel uncomfortable."

Bai Zhi casually used the power of imaginary numbers to summon water, which condensed into a chair. She sat on it and also made a chair for Old Zhu to prevent him from getting so angry that he vomited blood and collapsed.

Old Zhu felt even more uneasy. To be praised so highly by an immortal, and even to be given a seat, meant that his grandson must have done something extraordinary.

Moreover, this major event is probably not a good thing.

He took a deep breath and looked at Bai Zhi nervously, "Immortal, please tell me, I can bear it."

"Actually, it wasn't a big deal. It just forced his uncle's whole family to commit suicide by burning themselves to death. Within a year of ascending the throne, at the instigation of the ministers and his own wishes, he successively deposed five of his uncles."

"What??"

Upon hearing Bai Zhi's words, Old Zhu's vision went black instantly.

He had repeatedly warned his grandson against fratricide, but after only a year of his absence, he had stripped five of his uncles of their positions.

It even drove one uncle and his entire family to commit suicide by self-immolation.

Old Zhu's entire face was now flushed red.

"That unfilial grandson!!"

Old Zhu let out a low growl, then felt a sharp pain in his heart, and his entire body went blank, his consciousness instantly plunging into darkness.

"Oh dear, I asked you before if you wanted to listen, and look, now you can't handle it."

"Huh...ha..."

Old Zhu took a deep breath, looking as if he had just floated up from the water.

Just as he was plunged into darkness, he felt a light that pulled him back from the endless abyss.

Moreover, his body, which had previously felt extremely heavy, now surprisingly experienced a strange sense of ease.

He wasn't stupid; he naturally knew that he had most likely been saved by the immortal in front of him.

"Immortal...thank you!"

Old Zhu cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

Chapter 588 Old Zhu: What? 60 can't beat 10?

After thanking Bai Zhi, Old Zhu still felt extremely warm and flushed.

He originally thought that his grandson, although he usually seemed timid and lacked his own opinions, was alright.

However, he had been taught many principles by various Confucian scholars, and his basic love for his family and sense of social order and ethics were still intact, so he would not lay a hand on his relatives.

He just never expected that, according to the immortal's prophecy, this guy would rush to get back at his uncles as soon as he died.

It's only been a year, and his own body hasn't even cooled down yet, and he's already done such a big job.

They really do treat what they say as nothing.

That's a really great grandson!

"Immortal, what else did this grandson... do?"

Old Zhu gritted his teeth, wishing he could go back to his own world right now and tear that unlucky kid to pieces.

"Cough... Do you really want to continue? Actually, you can just go back and change people after the banquet. Listening to too much is not good for your health."

Bai Zhi said earnestly.

Old Zhu took a deep breath. To be praised like that by an immortal, that unlucky kid must have done something even more earth-shattering and awe-inspiring.

However, since it was so difficult to learn some information about the future from the immortal, even if I were to die of anger here today, I still had to listen first.

I'd rather die knowing the truth!

"Actually, it's nothing much. It's just that because of the reduction of the power of the princes, your fourth son was forced to pretend to be crazy. He ran wildly in the city, shouting and talking nonsense, and robbing people for food and drink, all to deceive the spies into thinking that he had gone mad."

"The fourth brother, sigh, he's had a tough time."

Old Zhu sighed. The dignified Prince of Yan had actually gone to such lengths, feigning madness, for the sake of his unfortunate grandson's mess.

Those were his children. Apart from his eldest son, Zhu Biao, his fourth son was the one he felt most like his own. To think that he had been forced to this point made him feel a pang of desolation.

My entire family has fallen apart like this after my death.

"If I were the fourth son, I probably would have already risen up in rebellion..."

Old Zhu said in a low voice.

Congratulations, you got it right!

Bai Zhi laughed.

"what?"

Old Zhu looked at Bai Zhi in disbelief. He had just said it casually, but it turned out to be true.

"Your fourth son's feigned madness couldn't lower your grandson's guard. They were even preparing to send someone to take him down, so with no other option, your fourth son naturally rebelled."

Old Zhu: ……

He is in a complicated emotional state. His "good" grandson has treated his uncles this way, even wanting to kill them. It is only natural that he would rebel.

If he were in that position, he might make the same choice.

But this also means that the last vestiges of kinship among their descendants have been completely shattered, leaving only endless power struggles.

This is something that Old Zhu, who has always valued family ties, cannot accept.

"Did the fourth brother... die on the battlefield?"

Old Zhu closed his eyes, and after a long while, asked in a trembling voice.

In his view, even though he had killed many of the court's military officers, there were still many elite troops and generals. Although his fourth son had excellent command skills, he had no chance of winning against the court's soldiers.

Therefore, he guessed that his fourth son, Zhu Di, might have died on the battlefield.

This way of dying was not a disgrace to his status, and it was in line with his character.

"Oh, not really."

"He was captured?"

Old Zhu was taken aback and quickly asked.

Bai Zhi shook her head. "No, not exactly."

"Neither died on the battlefield, nor was he captured..."

Old Zhu's expression turned strange. "Surely he can't possibly defeat the imperial army?"

He then shook his head firmly, finding his own far-fetched idea laughable.

He knew exactly how many soldiers his fourth son could support in the harsh northern lands. He could easily be a border king, but to outmaneuver the imperial army, which was supported by the whole country and comprised a significant number of battle-hardened soldiers, was basically wishful thinking.

The imperial army isn't made of pigs.

Even if they were pigs, hundreds of thousands of pigs could have killed Lao Si and his gang!

"Could it be that they went overseas?"

"How could that be? Do you think your four sons would do nothing and just travel all the way overseas?"

Bai Zhi countered with a question.

Old Zhu shook his head. He knew Zhu Di's personality all too well; he would rather die standing than live kneeling.

"So why can't it be that your fourth son wins the war, then directly raises an army to quell the rebellion, and captures Nanjing?"

Old Zhu instinctively retorted, "Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

“You went from being a beggar with only one bowl to becoming an emperor who drove out the Tartars and rebuilt China. Your fourth son has so many soldiers in the north, and his starting point is much higher than yours. Why can’t he do the same?”

Bai Zhi shrugged. Although the war-torn period at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the unified Ming Dynasty at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty were not the same situation, Zhu Di's starting capital was indeed much stronger than that of the old Zhu, and he also had a rich family education.

Upon hearing Bai Zhi's words, Old Zhu was speechless for a moment.

That's true. No matter how difficult things are for his fourth child, it's still much better than him starting from scratch with just a bowl of rice.