Ming Dynasty: Empress Ma and I swapped clothes!

Chapter 98 Zhu Gang: Second brother, I saw Mother.

"Visit this palace more often in the future to take good care of my health, and hopefully live to be a hundred years old."

Ma Xiuying looked at him, her tone carrying a deeper meaning, "Only in this way can you, young man Wen, remain safe and sound, and live longer."

Ma Xiuying had seen through Ma Wenxiang's intentions on the very first day after the body swap, but she simply didn't point it out.

Now that the two sides have met, there's no harm in speaking frankly.

Upon hearing this, Ma Wenxiang gave an awkward smile.

Su Qing'er and Sun Miaoran glared at him fiercely.

Ma Wenxiang had a meal at Kunning Palace.

It seems even more interesting to enjoy this feast in the body of a teenager.

It was getting late.

Ma Wenxiang could not linger in the back courtyard, so he had to leave first.

Just as he was about to leave, several figures arrived at Kunning Palace in a flash.

Upon seeing this, Ma Wenxiang did not linger. He simply nodded with a friendly smile and then quickly left, disappearing from sight in no time.

"Second brother, why did you suddenly stop?"

Zhu Gang bumped into Zhu Shuang from behind and immediately began to complain.

"Just now, I think I saw Mother..."

Zhu Shuang's voice carried a hint of hesitation.

"Second Brother is just playing tricks on Xiao San again. Mother is clearly in Kunning Palace, how could she suddenly appear outside? Second Brother, this is no fun at all."

Zhu Gang pursed his lips, naturally assuming that Zhu Shuang was changing the subject, and then ignored him, walking past him and continuing towards the direction of Kunning Palace.

This time.

He will definitely go in first, and when his mother sees his gift, she will surely praise him highly.

Soon, a lively sound rang out from inside Kunning Palace.

"Mother. Mother. Look what gift the mistress brought you."

"It's the little white rabbit that Mother specifically mentioned before. The merchants outside the palace are quite conscientious; they even prepared some rabbit feed, so we don't need to buy any more."

"Mom, look how cute this little white rabbit is!"

Zhu Gang, a grown boy, was acting cute here, which was quite comical.

Zhu Shuang, in particular, found it "shameful".

Although his gift wasn't a white rabbit, he was still a little annoyed that Zhu Gang had gotten there first.

"Mother, this is a gift from your son."

Zhu Shuang stepped forward and handed over the object in his hand. "It's a long spear. Back in the village, when you were chasing away wild dogs, Mother, you said that if you replaced your rolling pin with a long spear, you would definitely look more impressive."

Look, this spear even has a red tassel; it suits you perfectly.

Looking at Zhu Shuang and Zhu Gang in front of her, Ma Xiuying realized that these gifts were not actually for her, but rather specially requested by Ma Wenxiang.

But she still smiled and accepted both gifts: "Alright, alright, put them away. By the way, you two boys, where are you planning to cause trouble again tonight?"

Hearing Ma Xiuying suddenly change the subject, Zhu Gang became a little anxious and was about to speak when Zhu Shuang stopped him.

Zhu Shuang shook his head and said respectfully to Ma Xiuying, "Mother, I have nothing else to do with Xiao San. I just came to give you a thank-you gift."

Ma Xiuying didn't suspect much.

The two were quickly made to perform proper courtesies, and they were seen off as they left Kunning Palace.

But as soon as he stepped out of the gate of Kunning Palace, even Zhu Gang, who was usually a bit slow-witted, realized that something was wrong.

He tugged at Zhu Shuang's sleeve and asked in bewilderment, "Second brother, why is Mother like this? She clearly said that once this little white rabbit is raised, we'll make braised rabbit heads, and then sprinkle it with Mother's special seasoning. It'll be so fragrant and delicious!"

As Zhu Gang spoke, the aroma of braised rabbit heads seemed to already be wafting through his little head. He couldn't help but smack his lips and chew on the air with relish, showing that this kid's imagination was truly extraordinary.

Zhu Shuang showed no mercy, raising her hand to give him a sharp rap on the head: "Idiot. All you know is eating."

He paused for a moment.

He lowered his voice and suddenly dropped a bombshell: "I think the one in the palace might not be the real mother, but an imposter who has been switched out."

These words startled Zhu Gang, who jumped in surprise: "Huh?"

"Didn't you notice something was wrong?"

Zhu Shuang frowned and analyzed seriously, "Sometimes Mother is right, sometimes she's not. Sometimes she's the Mother we remember, but sometimes she's completely different. And have you forgotten?"

My mother used to be quite distant from my elder brother, the Crown Prince, but lately she's become much closer to him. There's definitely something fishy about this.

As the two were whispering to each other, a figure slowly emerged from the Qianqing Palace in the dead of night.

"Second Brother, do you mean that the mother in the palace is an imposter, someone else in disguise?"

Zhu Di's voice suddenly rang out, startling Zhu Shuang and Zhu Gang, who were huddled together.

Only when they saw that the person who came was Zhu Di did the two brothers silently breathe a sigh of relief.

Zhu Shuang snapped out of his daze. Far from being afraid, he straightened his chest and said loudly, "Little Fourth, don't you feel something's wrong? Mother's condition is fluctuating; there's definitely something fishy going on. Don't tell me you, as her younger brother, can't even notice this?"

It's one thing if the mistress is slow-witted, but you can't be even more confused than her, can you?

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gang was displeased. He glared at Zhu Shuang and retorted loudly, "Second Brother, I'm not stupid. I'm not stupid at all."

"Yes, yes, you're not stupid."

Zhu Shuang gave a perfunctory reply.

At this moment, he had no time to argue with Zhu Gang about whether he was stupid or not; the real issue was whether his mother in the palace was genuine or not.

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Shuang recounted to Zhu Di all the details of what had just happened in the Kunning Palace.

"Should we tell our elder brother, the Crown Prince, about this?"

Zhu Gang remained the same as always; whenever something happened, his first thought was to seek help from Crown Prince Zhu Biao.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Shuang's face immediately fell in disappointment: "If I've already told my elder brother, the Crown Prince, is there any point in this between us?"

"But this matter is of great importance, and I cannot keep it from being discussed."

Zhu Di frowned and asked in a deep voice, "What if Mother is really in danger right now? Are we really going to disregard her safety for the sake of this selfish desire?"

This question left Zhu Shuang speechless.

There was a long silence.

His face showed reluctance, yet he seemed to have made up his mind, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, I'll do as you say."

"Let's go! We'll go to the Wenhua Hall together to find our elder brother, the Crown Prince. We must rescue Mother. Anyone who dares to oppose Mother is our enemy."

Yes, that's right.

Zhu Gang immediately echoed loudly, finally finding an opportunity to make his presence known.

Inside the Wenhua Hall.

Zhu Biao, who was about to go to bed, saw his younger brothers break in late at night and had no choice but to fasten his clothes again.