Volume One, Chapter One: The Father Sees, the Son Not Yet Cold—Drawing Out the 'Seven Wolves'

Eighth year of the Hongwu era, Yingtian Prefecture.

"My lord, run! His Majesty has sent the Imperial Guards to arrest you!"

"What? Has that old geezer lost his mind? I only pawned that worn-out inkstone for a bit of pocket money. Is that really worth all this?"

"Looks like I'll have to appreciate the arts another time. Sigh..."

Before he could finish grumbling, the young man cast a lingering, regretful glance at the Pleasure District and prepared to bolt.

"Your Highness, I just saw the Imperial Guards on the street. If you don't run faster, you'll be dragged back to the palace and won't be able to get out of bed for days!" a merchant teased, laughing as he watched the youth.

"You dare mock me? Just wait until I have time—I'll settle this with you!" The young man bared his teeth in a fierce grimace, though he didn't stop to argue and hurried away.

"My lord, you’d better focus on escaping His Majesty’s clutches first! Hahahaha!"

As for the revenge the youth spoke of, the merchant didn't take it seriously. In fact, everyone in Yingtian Prefecture knew of this young man. He was Zhu Shuang, Prince of Qin and the legitimate second son of the current Ming Emperor, Hongwu. Though he frequently provoked the Emperor’s fury, he treated the common people with great kindness, inheriting the benevolence of Empress Ma.

But the current Zhu Shuang was no longer the cruel and absurd Prince of Qin described in history books; he was a corporate slave from the 21st century who had been reborn into this life. Since his transmigration, Zhu Shuang had felt a deep sense of insecurity. He only possessed a superficial knowledge of history and understood nothing of technology. For years, he had desperately sought the "essential" system every transmigrator should have—he had dripped blood on antique jade pendants, fallen off horses, tumbled into lakes, feigned illness, and tormented Zhu Yuanzhang.

These bizarre behaviors only made the Zhu family dote on him even more—for there was no other explanation: to the ancients, these antics looked exactly like a fit of madness. Commonly known as: a big fool.

Fortunately, Zhu Shuang gave up after a few years of tossing and turning. Apart from the natural talent for warfare inherited from the Zhu bloodline, all he had left was a handsome face, slightly more refined than Pan An and a notch above the legendary Yan Zu.

***

"Mother, save me! The old man is going to beat me! All I did was snatch one of his inkstones! You really need to keep your man in check—if he doesn't listen to you, don't let him into your chambers!"

As soon as Zhu Shuang reached the gates of the Kunning Palace, he began to shout, failing to notice that someone besides Empress Ma was in the hall: Zhu Yuanzhang.

Hearing his wayward second son’s insolent remarks, the rage that Empress Ma had just managed to suppress surged back up. Skillfully slipping off his shoe and brandishing it, the Emperor gritted his teeth and roared:

"You rebellious son! Kneel before me!"

Empress Ma, who also felt a headache coming on because of this foolish son, couldn't be bothered to restrain the Emperor anymore.

Zhu Shuang was instantly stunned. He truly wished he could go back and slap himself for his loose tongue. *'Why did you have to run your mouth? Now you've delivered yourself right to the doorstep. Sigh.'*

He looked at his mother with a resentful expression, wondering why she hadn't stopped him. Muttering to himself, he knelt down, still hoping to swindle—er, save—himself. He put on a serious face and said, "Father, I was wrong, but there was a reason for it."

"I just wanted to show my filial piety to you and Mother, but the estate is low on funds, so I had to resort to this desperate measure. Look, I bought these pastries for Mother and these sesame cakes for you—they’re your favorites."

As he spoke, he handed over his "filial" gifts, blinking his eyes and offering a sheepish, fawning grin, hoping to avoid a sound thrashing.

However, the Emperor stared blankly at the "sesame cake" in his hand.

*Hm?*

*Very good.*

*Very good indeed!*

*Damn it, this is just a piece of scrap that a dog chewed on!* One might think he’d snatched it out of a dog’s mouth. Then, he looked at the offering for the Empress—it was a high-quality pastry, and indeed, one of her favorites.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. With a dark face, he gritted his teeth and asked:

"So? A high-quality inkstone can only trade for this? A sesame cake that a dog has already nibbled on?"

"Father, I told you, prices in the capital have gone up. And that cake was already like that; I didn't eat it—I mean, a dog didn't eat it! Do you believe me?" Zhu Shuang said nervously, glancing at the Emperor’s face while inching toward the door.

"Heh. Do I look like a fool to you? Easy to swindle?"

"Not at all—" Zhu Shuang replied reflexively, only realizing his mistake afterward. "Father, it was just a slip of the tongue! Why don't you believe me? This time it's definitely real! I swear!"

"Ha! You little brat, take this!" Zhu Yuanzhang charged forward with his shoe in hand, ready to wallop his rebellious son.

"Mother! Stop watching and save me!" Seeing that he was about to be beaten, he scrambled to his feet and bolted for the exit.

"Chongba, you..."

"Still trying to run? Sister, stay out of this today! I must discipline this rebellious son! Guards! Stop him!"

Empress Ma rolled her eyes at the father and son, turned around, and headed to the side hall to fetch some ointment for the "little brat," deciding to ignore the rest. Seeing the eunuchs and palace maids blocking the doors, and the Empress departing, Zhu Shuang realized he was done for. He blamed it on the fortune teller's calendar being wrong today.

*Great luck? My foot! You just wanted to swindle me!*

He turned to look at the approaching Zhu Yuanzhang, who wore a half-smiling, half-menacing expression. Zhu Shuang immediately crouched down and curled into a ball, whimpering:

"Father, please, not the face!"

"Why aren't you running? Huh?"

"Trying to run my harem now, are you?"

"How many times have you stolen your father's things? And you dare try to swindle me with a half-eaten cake?"

"And you dare go to the Pleasure District?"

"Damn you, why don't you just fly to the heavens while you're at it?"

As the Emperor spoke, the beating began. The victim immediately started howling, though the sound was so comical it made one want to laugh.

"Mother! I heard Father cursing you just now!"

"Ah—ah—"

"Father, you've gone too far! Didn't you say you wouldn't hit my face?"

"Ugh—"

Zhu Shuang’s face turned deathly pale as he muttered, "Your shoe smells so bad, how can Mother stand you?"

...

In an instant, the hall fell silent. Moments later, the sounds of physical exercise and the "heroic" singing of the victim formed a beautiful symphony.

"Zhu Chongba! If you dare hit my son that hard again, just try it! Two hits are enough, are you ever going to stop?" Empress Ma rushed back from the side hall, and hearing her precious son’s screams, she turned her fury on the Emperor.

"Sister, you didn't hear—this brat has no respect for his father, and he even dared to look down on me!" The Emperor, hearing the roar, dared not continue and complained indignantly to the Empress.

"That doesn't matter. He’s my son. If you want to hit someone, go hit your other sons."

"Father, stop hitting him. Second Brother didn't mean it!" The Crown Prince ran in, panting. Having heard that his second brother had provoked their father again, Zhu Biao had hurried over from the Eastern Palace, hoping to put a stop to the beating.

"If you're out of money, come to your elder brother! Why steal Father's things? You, oh you... you're just looking for a beating." Zhu Biao sighed as he helped the sprawled-out Zhu Shuang to his feet.

"Heh, I didn't want to add to your troubles, Big Brother. Besides, I'm thick-skinned; it’s no big deal," Zhu Shuang said with a cheeky grin, seeing his brother. "Besides, the old man wouldn't actually beat me to death, so what's there to fear?" he muttered under his breath.

Zhu Biao was helpless. His second brother had been causing trouble since he was a child, and he always seemed to love walking straight into their father’s line of fire. It was only thanks to their mother and himself that he hadn't been beaten to a pulp a thousand times over.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his wife’s angry phoenix eyes, then at his "good son" Biao, who had only shown concern for his brother upon entering, completely ignoring how much his own father had been infuriated. The Emperor was so angry he felt like vomiting blood, but he dared not act out, so he could only glare at the brat through gritted teeth.

"Mother, Big Brother, the old man is looking at me like he wants to beat me again!" Seeing the Emperor's murderous glare, Zhu Shuang had a flash of inspiration and shouted loudly.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt like he was going to explode in frustration, glaring bitterly at the rebellious son. He found it truly baffling: this son was incredibly kind to his mother and siblings, yet he could make his own father’s teeth itch with rage every few days.

"Zhu Chongba!"

"Father!"