Great Ming: The Eight-Year-Old Crown Prince, Begged by Old Zhu to Rule the Realm

Dying young, an empty throne, and factional strife after his death?

Zhu Biao looked at the image of a young crown prince in the bronze mirror and curled his lip. A science and engineering guy from the twenty-first century had ended up in the Hongwu era as the eldest legitimate son. Who wanted to follow the old path of dying young?

He'd thought that being a crown prince meant treading carefully at every turn. But when he recalled the bloody strife among his younger brothers after his early death in history, it suddenly clicked: if he couldn't escape the script of an early death, he might as well enjoy himself first.

Lessons in the Eastern Palace? He'd smuggle in storybooks and sit among the princes, doodling in the margins while the Grand Tutor lectured on the Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government. Court intrigues?

He'd use reviewing his lessons as an excuse to slip away and tease the new peacocks in the imperial garden. Even when Empress Ma told him to spend more time with his younger brothers, he'd turn around and drag Zhu Shuang to the imperial kitchen to sneak some pastries, much to the steward eunuch's fury.

Why worry about the responsibility of being crown prince or the fate of the realm? With his father, Zhu Yuanzhang, holding down the court, this "crown prince-in-training" might as well act like a mischievous kid.

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.