Chapter 120 Re-establishing the Original Intention
"Brother, I came to see you this time because my mother arranged for me to leave the palace!

My mother is worried that my father will use me to restrain you!"

When Zhu Xiumin said this, his expression and words were like a completely different person.

From the previous naughty elf, she instantly transformed into the current cool and aloof lady.

Although she said she was an ostrich, Zhu Xiumin didn't really want to be an ostrich.

Those were just Zhu Xiumin's words of relaxation in front of her elder brother Zhu Chengwu.

Naturally, Zhu Chengwu was crowned queen after leaving the palace. This was the first time that Zhu Xiumin saw her elder brother who had been "telling stories" to her since she was a child.

For some reason, even though they hadn't seen each other for a long time, Zhu Xiumin didn't feel any sense of strangeness when she saw Zhu Chengwu again.

On the contrary, in front of Zhu Chengwu, Zhu Xiumin would feel relaxed and have an indescribable sense of security.

This sense of security and relaxation will make Zhu Xiumin unconsciously reveal another side of her that she never shows in front of others.

But Zhu Xiumin had been taught by the royal etiquette teacher and Queen Zhao for more than ten years in total.

The etiquette of a princess and the manners of a noble lady have long been ingrained in her bones.

So after relaxing for a moment, Zhu Xiumin naturally returned to her usual dignified appearance.

Looking at Zhu Xiumin who had returned to "normal", Zhu Chengwu smiled.

“Before I was banned, I had the best relationship with you!
I'm not surprised that my father would have such an idea!
I am not surprised that my mother could think of this!
But my mother actually thought of this before my father, and she acted quickly and sent you out of the palace safely...

This has to surprise me?"

Zhu Chengwu looked at Zhu Xiumin with a smile on his face.

There was temptation in the words.

Before Zhu Chengwu was conferred the title, he indeed had the best relationship with Zhu Xiumin!
Therefore, Zhu Chengwu has a deep understanding of Zhu Xiumin.

With the genes of King Ming and Queen Zhao, Zhu Xiumin is extremely intelligent, and Zhu Chengwu often "confides"...

Zhu Xiumin is much smarter and more mature than she appears.

Zhu Xiumin is a princess, and she has her prince brother Zhu Chengwu to attract attention. It is much easier for her to hide than Zhu Chengwu!
Apart from Zhu Chengwu, few people in the Ming Palace knew the true background of Zhu Xiumin, the legitimate daughter of the king who was once ignored by her father and mother.

Zhu Chengwu didn't even quite believe the coquettish, naughty and playful attitude that Zhu Xiumin displayed at the beginning.

That might not be what Zhu Xiumin intended.

Plus, after a few words, he suddenly stopped and returned to "normal"...

Zhu Chengwu felt that all this might not be intentional and designed by Zhu Xiumin, using this contrast to show how special Zhu Chengwu, the elder brother, is in her heart.

This is to help her and Zhu Chengwu get closer to each other, which has become distant as they haven't seen each other for ten years!

All we can say is that once a person puts on tinted glasses and adopts a preconceived attitude of suspicion, everything he sees will be worthy of suspicion.

Just like Zhu Chengwu at this moment.

"Brother, don't underestimate our mother!

As the ancients said, when a man has been away for three days, he should be looked at with new eyes!
What's more, you haven't seen your mother for nearly ten years!

Your mother is a smart woman, and she was crowned queen when you were young. Your grandfather is old, and your uncle is useless.

Over the years, most of the decisions made by the Zhao faction were made by the Queen Mother.

During these years of competing wits and wisdom with my father, my mother's methods have improved a lot.

This time, in order to allow me to escape the palace successfully, my mother even found a way to avoid the tracking of the Grandmaster's 'Thousand Mile Soul Locking'!"

Zhu Xiumin looked at Zhu Chengwu, with a smile and pride on her dignified and beautiful face.

Queen Zhao's mother's methods have indeed improved a lot. She can even think of a way to circumvent the master's characteristic of "Thousand Miles Soul Locking".

Queen Zhao does not have the ability to deduce from the "Jade Book".

But, Zhu Xiumin actually said in front of Zhu Chengwu that his grandfather, who was a master, was old and that his uncle was useless...

This is really just pure straightforwardness. Do you really trust Zhu Chengwu, the big brother you haven't seen for nearly ten years?
Or has Zhu Xiumin already seen the differences between Zhu Chengwu and Zhao, and is hinting to Zhu Chengwu that her relationship with Zhao is not as close as that between her and Zhu Chengwu?

With so many thoughts in his mind, Zhu Chengwu could no longer see clearly the person he had watched grow up as a "confinee".

While thinking about it, Zhu Chengwu seemed to have thought of something and suddenly laughed at himself.

The royal family really has no family affection!

No one can trust each other, between father and son, mother and daughter, brothers and sisters. Everyone is calculating against each other and everyone is on guard against each other...

Is this really what you want?

Zhu Chengwu couldn't help but ask himself.

Is power really what you initially pursue and what you desire most?

Zhu Chengwu began to reflect.

Zhu Xiumin watched from the side as Zhu Chengwu first looked at her meaningfully, then withdrew his gaze and thought deeply, and finally looked up at the sky with empty eyes...

Zhu Xiumin was stunned!

I have absolutely no idea what Brother Zhu Chengwu is doing.

Forehead…

It couldn't be said that she didn't understand at all. At least from the meaningful look Zhu Chengwu gave her at the beginning, Zhu Xiumin guessed about 70% of it.

Zhu Xiumin could guess about 30 to 40 percent of the reason why Zhu Chengwu withdrew his gaze and thought deeply, and what Zhu Chengwu was thinking after he withdrew his gaze.

But in the end, Zhu Xiumin couldn't understand why Zhu Chengwu looked up at the sky with empty eyes!
"After my eldest brother left the capital, he has changed a lot in the past ten years!
Even though I simulated every detail of my encounter with Big Brother countless times based on his previous words and deeds and his true character that he only revealed in front of me when he lived in the palace, in the end, a scene that was beyond my expectations soon occurred!

I still can't fully see through Big Brother!"

Zhu Xiumin looked at Zhu Chengwu, who was looking up at the sky with empty eyes, and sighed with failure in her heart.

But Zhu Xiumin did not show any frustration in these sighs.

After all, he is my biological elder brother.

The more unpredictable Zhu Chengwu is, the more scheming he is, and the greater his chances of winning in the struggle with the crown prince of Ming...

This is beneficial to Zhu Xiumin.

Because when he escaped from the Ming Palace, Zhu Xiumin had already decided to do his best to assist his elder brother Zhu Chengwu in competing with his father and the prince.

The stronger the "master", the greater Zhu Xiumin's chance of victory.

"But will this 'master' still give me 100% trust?" Zhu Xiumin looked at Zhu Chengwu in front of him and fell into deep thought.

"Do not!

This is not what I want most!
My goal has never been power!

My initial goals and what I desire most are always just two things: reaching the pinnacle of martial arts and immortality!
Power is just a means to achieve my ultimate goal, not my ultimate goal!
The position of the Ming Wang is a helpless struggle for me after I found myself in the center of the vortex, with no right to choose and room to retreat!

I must keep my original intention!

Never confuse means and ends!

I must also figure out where my strengths lie, and never beg for food while holding a golden bowl..."

Just as Zhu Xiumin was lost in thought, Zhu Chengwu finally figured out why he felt uncomfortable when talking with Zhao Xinghan and Zhu Xiumin after he came out of seclusion this time.

This was the warning from Zhu Chengwu's spiritual sense after he began to fall into the "trap" of power struggle! Fortunately, Zhu Chengwu had been in seclusion for more than a month, concentrating on martial arts practice and thinking, and his mind was cleansed, so he could feel uncomfortable in the conversation with Zhao Xinghan and Zhu Xiumin.

After I started to unconsciously guard against Zhu Xiumin, my closest relative, I began to reflect!
If not for this, Zhu Chengwu might have fallen deeper and deeper into this inadvertently created "trap" of political intrigue, until he was unable to extricate himself.

“Original intention! It is indeed the easiest and the most difficult!” Zhu Chengwu sighed.

"Let my mother, a lady from a noble family when she was young and a queen who has never left the palace since she got married, decide the decisions of the Zhao family, a major faction in the Ming Dynasty court! No wonder the Ming Dynasty has been in decline in recent years!" After figuring everything out, Zhu Chengwu's tone became more blunt and impolite.

Zhu Xiumin was stunned after hearing what Zhu Chengwu said.

Does Big Brother know who is on his side?

This way we can’t distinguish between friend and foe, okay?
Judging from Big Brother’s past performance, he shouldn’t have said such things!

This is not just a lack of political wisdom; it is unfilial and stupid.

"Brother, you..."

Zhu Xiumin stopped talking this time, not because she was interrupted by someone, but because she realized she had nothing to say after she got to this point.

Zhu Xiumin was uneasy and confused, but Zhu Chengwu just looked at her and smiled.

"Min'an, if you want to influence the court affairs like my mother did, then you need to see more and experience more. Don't rule the country from the palace like my mother did!
It is true that the common people were ignorant enough to say that the king used a hoe made of gold to plow the fields, but wasn't it also ignorant enough for the royal officials to ask why not eat meat porridge?
Min'an, you have been a smart girl since you were young, you should understand what I mean! "

Zhu Chengwu looked at his sister Zhu Xiumin and spoke in a flat tone.

The people speculated that the king used a hoe made of gold to plow the fields.

The noble family asked the people why they didn't eat meat porridge?

These are the stories that Zhu Chengwu once "confided" to Zhu Xiumin.

“Brother…

Min An only wants to help his elder brother ascend the throne!

Min An doesn’t dare to think about other things, nor will he think about them! "

Hearing Zhu Chengwu's words, Zhu Xiumin was stunned at first, and then assured Zhu Chengwu in an excited tone.

Before this, Zhu Xiumin had heard the temptation from her elder brother Zhu Chengwu.

After not seeing each other for nearly ten years, Zhu Xiumin and Zhu Chengwu have become much more unfamiliar with each other, and a gap has arisen unknowingly.

Zhu Xiumin thought this was another round of test by Zhu Chengwu!

“You didn’t dare to think about it before, but now you can start thinking about it!

Min'an, we brothers and sisters should stop playing guessing games with each other, it's meaningless, very meaningless..."

Zhu Chengwu said to his sister Zhu Xiumin with a sincere tone.

This time, Zhu Chengwu was not really testing his sister Zhu Xiumin.

Instead, Zhu Chengwu figured out some things and began to care less about power.

If his sister Zhu Xiumin likes him, Zhu Chengwu doesn't mind giving up power.

"Brother..."

This was the second time Zhu Xiumin was speechless.

When they met again ten years later, Zhu Chengwu, this elder brother, really exceeded Zhu Xiumin's expectations in every way!
Especially after Zhu Chengwu came back to his senses after looking up at the sky, every word he said made Zhu Xiumin at a loss.

"Is there a script in heaven targeting me?" Zhu Xiumin was speechless after being hit so hard that he even started to have wild thoughts.

“You can think about the things I said later!

Think clearly about what you want and what is your original intention?
Don't do things that you will regret in the future!

Now, tell me what happened in the palace and how you escaped from it!"

Zhu Chengwu's words this time finally stopped Zhu Xiumin from sweating profusely and feeling at a loss.

"Brother, you and the Queen Mother are indeed mother and son!
Even though you haven’t seen each other for nearly ten years, the things you say are so similar!
My mother said that intelligence is knowing others, and wisdom is knowing oneself. Let me and my third sister know ourselves as soon as possible, figure out what we really want, and how much we are willing to pay for it!
Now you make me think clearly about what I want and what my original intention is!
really…"

Having said that, Zhu Xiumin chuckled and then continued.

"Brother, ever since you were crowned Queen, the relationship between Father and Mother has apparently eased.

At least it's no longer like the time when you were sealed, with people on the verge of war over the position of crown prince!

The confrontations between the Queen Mother and the King Father mostly took place in secret, but the palace maintained peace on the surface.

However, after the news of your successful victory over the Grandmaster and your words in public reached the palace, it can be foreseen that the relationship between father and mother will face a new round of tests..."

Having said that, Zhu Xiumin paused for a moment longer during the breath break, and paid close attention to the changes in Zhu Chengwu's expression.

However, Zhu Chengwu's reaction was extremely calm, as if he had no self-blame or guilt for being the fuse for the deterioration of the relationship between his father, the king, and his mother, the queen.

This reaction made Zhu Xiumin nod secretly in her heart.

But Zhu Xiumin was overthinking!

How could Zhu Chengwu feel self-blame and guilt?

Zhu Chengwu was never the trigger for the deterioration of the relationship between King Ming and Queen Zhao.

Power and position are the ones!
Zhu Chengwu is nothing more than a product of the power struggle between King Ming and Queen Zhao!
It is not fair to say that Zhu Chengwu was a victim of the power struggle between King Ming and Queen Zhao...

But it is no exaggeration to say that Zhu Chengwu was affected by the power struggle between King Ming and Queen Zhao!

“As for how I escaped from the palace?
I have to admire the Queen Mother’s foresight and boldness!

My mother first asked my uncle to enter the palace. Actually, at that time, my uncle had also received the news that you, my brother, had successfully defeated the Grandmaster, and was on his way to the palace...

The Queen Mother and Uncle seem to be discussing the next move after the news of your successful counter-attack against the Grandmaster spreads, how to maximize benefits, how to build momentum for you, and successfully push you to the position of our father!

But in fact, the Queen Mother had another purpose, which was to test the reaction of the King Father!

The final result was just as my mother had expected. After my father got the news that you, my elder brother, had successfully defeated the Grand Master, he sent people to monitor my uncle and all the important figures and masters of the Zhao family, either openly or secretly.

Grandpa is not in the capital, and the Zhao family has no ability to resist!

But the queen mother was quick-witted and summoned my sister-in-law's father and elder brother into the palace...

In the end, it was thanks to Lord Cui and Little Lord Cui that I was able to successfully escape from the palace...

However, after leaving the palace, I did not follow my mother's arrangement to meet up with the people sent by Zhao to escort me. Instead, I threw away the token my mother gave me to meet up with the people sent by Zhao, and chose the most unlikely path...

Instead of going by land, go by sea!
Although this would be a long detour, the Cui family was a wealthy family and a big merchant family, so they were very familiar with the sea route.

Moreover, unlike on land, the influence of the Zhao family and even my father will be greatly reduced...

Lord Cui and I pretended to be merchants, changing boats countless times at various ferry ports and islands on the sea. We never asked about the affairs of the capital or the Ming Palace. We only cared about the prices of goods in various places and were only interested in what we could buy low and sell high to earn a large profit difference...

The result was not beyond the expectations of Mr. Cui and I, and we had a smooth journey.

Arrived safely at Fu'an Marquis Mansion more than ten days ago.

Gao Yao knows Lord Cui, and he also knows me! Lord Cui and I moved into the Marquis' Mansion before you, my brother, came out of seclusion!"

Zhu Xiumin said it easily.

But Zhu Chengwu understood that if he wanted to successfully escape from the pursuit and blockade of the Ming Dynasty court, a violent dynasty institution, even with Cui Zongyan's help, his sister Zhu Xiumin must have suffered a lot along the way.

But now it's all over!
Peace is good enough!

(End of this chapter)