Ming: I am fake, walking on thin ice

Chapter 313: The Fake Emperor Finds Out the Undercover: There Are No Good People Around Me

Tick, tick!
It was the sound of blood falling on the floor, echoing in the cold and damp prison. Every drop that fell seemed to hit Zheng Hong's heart directly, stirring up waves of pain and anger. All around him was a suffocating silence, with only Zheng Hong's heavy and angry breathing, which seemed particularly abrupt in this endless darkness, like a beast trapped in a desperate situation, making its last struggle.

His eyes were blazing with fire, but also mixed with deep helplessness and grief, his gaze fell on his son who was being held tightly by two expressionless Jinyiwei. The child, once heroic and extraordinary, was now like a broken puppet, hanging his head helplessly, as if he had fallen into a deep coma, unaware of everything around him. But even so, the blood that continued to seep out of his body, drop by drop, dyed the cold ground red, and also dyed Zheng Hong's eyes red.

Zheng Hong was experiencing an unprecedented pain and entanglement in his heart. The anger was burning, almost devouring his reason. He hated those cold-blooded people who dragged innocent people into the power struggle; he was in pain because he was unable to protect his loved ones from harm.

In this interweaving of anger and pain, there is also a deep entanglement and struggle - to confess, or not to confess?

Confessing might give his son a chance to survive, but it would also mean betraying his companions and bearing a permanent infamy. Not confessing, he would stick to his loyalty and righteousness, but the child in front of him, his only blood, was dying, and every second of delay could mean a farewell forever. This choice was like a heavy burden, weighing him down and making him almost breathless.

Zheng Hong clenched his fists, veins popped out, and all kinds of emotions flashed through his eyes, including anger, pain, and struggle...

Tick, tick!
Each beat beat against his heart, urging him to make a choice.

"Drag it away." Shi Biao waved his hand, "Another corpse."

When Zheng Hong heard the voice, he raised his head suddenly: "I say!"

"Why bother?" Shi Biao spread his hands. "No one can survive in Zhaoyu. If you understand this principle from the beginning, you and your son will not suffer."

Zheng Hong stared at him intently and said, "I don't know if my judgment is correct, because everyone in the Junshan Society is wearing a mask. I guess the one wearing the deer mask is Shang Lu, the president of Shuntian University."

Shi Biao's expression changed drastically: "It turned out to be him...it should be him!"

……

Sunchon University, a small courtyard in the campus area.

Li Ling opened the door and shouted to Shang Lu who was standing in a daze in the corridor: "Master, it's time to eat. Xiyao made a lot of delicious food today."

However, Shang Lu did not move.

He stood facing the wind, his hands clenched into fists, his face sad, as if he was trying his best to hold back something. Tears flowed from his cloudy eyes, and his old face looked even paler.

"Master." Li Ling approached.

Shang Lu came back to his senses, wiped away his tears, and regained his composure. Li Ling stepped forward and took his hand, saying, "Master, it's so cold outside, why are you just standing there in a daze?"

"Oh, Master, wake up." Shang Lu smiled.

"Let's go, it's time to eat. Xiyao has made a lot of delicious food." Li Ling took his arm and walked out.

Shang Lu looked at his apprentice lovingly as he walked, and said softly, "You can't always go to Xiyao's to eat."

"It's okay. Xiyao and I are good sisters." Li Ling closed the door and walked towards the next yard. Her brows slightly frowned, and her pretty face was full of worry. "Master, Li Yanwen told me today that his classmate hasn't come yet, and he confirmed that the classmate didn't go back home for the New Year and stayed in school. Hey, he hasn't shown up for so long, is there anything wrong?"

Shang Lu's eyes flashed with piercing pain, and he whispered, "I can't come."

"Ah? Master, what did you say?" Li Ling asked as he approached.

Shang Lu quickly shook his head: "Nothing, go in, Xiyao must have been waiting for a long time."

The master and the disciple entered the courtyard. Xiyao waved at them from the corridor: "Come quickly, Isabella is eating. She is really hungry."

The three of them entered the room. Isabella, who was eating secretly, was embarrassed and smiled shyly: "The food in Daming is much better than our Spanish food."

Xiyao smiled and asked everyone to sit down and start eating. Shang Lu actually took the initiative to drink, and the three girls naturally couldn't drink with him. He drank one cup after another by himself. Isabella was curious about the wine, so she also picked up a glass and tried it, and her eyes lit up instantly.

"Master, if you drink any more, you'll get drunk." Li Ling was worried.

"Don't worry about it. The master would rather get drunk and never wake up." Shang Lu waved his hand.

The faster and more he drank, the clearer his mind became, and a picture kept flashing through his mind.

Under the deserted well, in a corner on the left, there was a person buried. He was a student from the medical school, the classmate that Li Yanwen had been looking for.

Shang Lu only found out about it not long ago, and it was Xu Bin who told him.

Last winter, a man came down from the well and found them, and recognized the Zhengtong Emperor. They acted decisively at that time, but later they found out that the man was a student from the medical school.

Wu Xingdao asked them to keep the matter secret until they left Huangjing, but Xu Bin couldn't bear it and told Shang Lu the truth. Shang Lu went to see it last night and dug it out.

He cried silently for a long time, thinking that he had killed the student. What made him even more miserable was that they, including the Zhengtong Emperor, had killed innocent people without hesitation.

As a Confucian scholar, he studied in the Hanlin Academy when he was young, and later entered the Ministry of Rites and then the cabinet. Although he experienced ups and downs, he had never faced death so directly.

The death of an innocent disciple suddenly shattered what he held on to.

"Master, are you worried about something?" Li Ling asked.

"No, no." Shang Lu waved his hand.

Xiyao glanced at Isabella, who was already in a daze, and said to Li Ling, "Sister Ling, please send her back to the dormitory. If it's any later, she won't be able to get in and will be checked."

"Yes, yes, yes." Li Ling seemed to react suddenly.

She supported Isabella and walked out of the yard slowly. Only Shang Lu and Xiyao were left in the room. Xiyao picked up the wine pot, poured herself a glass, took a sip, and said, "Sir, you must be prepared to die. The Jinyiwei may come to arrest you soon."

Shang Lu was horrified, looked at Xiyao in horror, and said: "You...you are..."

……

The next day, after the morning court session.

Zhu Qizhen held a small court meeting in the Qianqing Palace as usual. There were several major events to be done this year. Externally, of course, he wanted to destroy the Timurid Empire, and for this, everyone in the court and the public were making preparations.

"There will be no shortage of food and grass." Xu Youzhen reported, "The Chagatai Province has stabilized and is able to supply food and grass to the army at the front. The court only needs to provide support."

Yu Qian nodded: "The focus is on military equipment. The Ministry of War has set up an arsenal in Chagatai Province to produce muskets and cannons, so there is no need to transport them over long distances from Ming."

Zhu Qizhen listened to their report and nodded with satisfaction: "I hope that this year, our Ming Dynasty will have a brand new situation."

"Your Majesty, this is certain." Minister of Finance Chen Xun said, "With the addition of five more Maritime Customs Offices, the commercial tax of the Ming Dynasty will increase again, and more and more caravans will come to the Ming Dynasty. Our territory in the Americas is also constantly expanding. The Inca Empire is eager for us to help them. Zheng Bi is hiding there and has become a local emperor." Minister of Personnel Li Xian continued, "Then you should thank them? Why are you shipping back so much gold?"

"Shouldn't we keep the gold? Your Majesty said that we are on the gold standard, and we must have gold when the people need to exchange it." Chen Xun spread his hands, "The Bank of Ming has opened more than a dozen branches. We will open branches in Southeast Asia this year, and we are also planning to open branches in the West. Didn't Your Majesty say that the Ming treasure notes will become the world currency, so we must have sufficient gold reserves."

Gao Gu, the Minister of Industry, said with a smile: "I think the latest Ming Dynasty treasure notes are good. They are of very good quality. Western merchants say they are gradually becoming circulated in the West. As long as they know they can definitely exchange them for gold, they won't be afraid."

"Lao Gao, don't praise me, I'm scared." Chen Xun waved his hand.

"You are in charge of the money in the Ministry of Revenue, the God of Wealth, so I have to praise you." Gao Gu stretched out his hand, "This year our Ministry of Revenue wants to build a highway, so you can't hold me back on the money, otherwise, I will be angry with you."

Yu Qian immediately said: "The Ministry of War wants money. If you dare to block it, I will send troops to surround your Ministry of Revenue."

The atmosphere of the small court meeting was getting better and better. Zhu Qizhen also liked a harmonious atmosphere rather than everyone attacking each other.

……

After the small court meeting, Jinyiwei commander Shi Biao came in.

After paying respects, Zhu Qizhen looked at him and smiled: "You deliberately waited until after the court meeting before coming in. Is there something you want to avoid them for? Did Zheng Hong confess?"

"Your Majesty, the deer mask of Junshan Society should belong to Shang Lu." Shi Biao continued, "Today, while Shang Lu and his disciple were in class, I searched his yard and found a secret passage."

Zhu Qizhen's eyes flashed coldly: "Mr. Shang, I felt that his return to Beijing was very abrupt. Old man Hu Yi must have had some doubts at the beginning."

"What a pity that Mr. Hu has returned to his hometown." Shi Biao frowned, "Otherwise, I could ask him why Shang Lu suddenly returned to Beijing and didn't want to travel around the world with him."

Zhu Qizhen's eyes lit up and he said, "This year's imperial examination is in need of a chief official. I will order him to be recalled."

"Mr. Hu is over 80 years old." Shi Biao held his forehead with his hand, "He can't stand the hardship."

Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, he still has at least seven or eight years to live. He can come to Beijing slowly and the post stations in various places will entertain him well. He won't be tired."

Shi Biao nodded and continued Shang Lu's topic, asking: "Your Majesty, do you know where the secret passage leads to?"

"Could it be another basement? Hiding the fake emperor?" Zhu Qizhen guessed.

"Your Majesty is wise. It should be the place where the false emperor is hiding." Shi Biao said, "It's not a basement, but a deserted well leading to the back mountain. There is a cave under the deserted well. It is very wide and there is a small house inside. I checked and found that someone lived there. It is probably the false emperor and his companions."

Zhu Qizhen snorted coldly: "Shang Lu, Shang Ge Lao, are you also betraying me?"

Yang Shan, Zheng Hong, and Shang Lu, they were all people he valued and trusted. At this moment, he felt complicated.

After so many years, you still want to be loyal to the Zhu family? I have never let you down.

"Your Majesty, a body was found in the deserted well." Shi Biao's eyes flashed sharply, "I am still investigating the identity of the body. I came to ask for your instructions. Do you want to arrest Shang Lu?"

Zhu Qizhen pondered for a moment and nodded: "Catch him! However, don't torture him once he's in prison. You guys should interrogate him first."

"Yes, sir." Shi Biao accepted the order.

……

In the afternoon, Zhu Qizhen left the palace in disguise.

Although there is still some winter chill in the air, there is also a subtle breath of spring.

On both sides of the street, the bare branches began to show a faint green, and occasionally a few early spring wild flowers bloomed stubbornly in the warm sunshine, adding a touch of vitality to the end of winter. The breeze blew by, and although it was still chilly, it seemed no longer so biting, but instead brought a sense of freshness and hope.

The streets were bustling with people, some busy with their livelihoods, some in groups of two or three enjoying the rare warm sunshine. Zhu Qizhen strolled to the guild hall.

He hadn't been here for a while. When Roujia saw him come in, she was stunned for a moment, then hurried forward and bowed: "Mr. Zhu, I haven't seen you for a long time."

She was wearing a long dress, outlining her proud figure, especially the magnificent front, trembling, really big. Zhu Qizhen smiled and put his arm around her waist, walked towards the private room and said, "You are really ripe."

“When flowers are in bloom, pick them immediately. Don’t wait until there are no flowers left but empty branches.” Rou Jiamei smiled and leaned into his arms.

Zhu Qizhen became furious and picked her up and put her on the table.

Half an hour later.

Roujia's long eyelashes, which were slightly tearful, trembled slightly, her face flushed, she pursed her lips, curled up in embarrassment, and said, "Sir, can you carry me to take a bath?"

"Go by yourself. I'll wait for you here." Zhu Qizhen sat down and said, "Bring me the letter that Mr. Ning sent you recently."

Roujia sat up slowly, rubbing her aching waist, got down from the table, stepped on the still cold floor, went to get the letter, handed it to Zhu Qizhen and said, "Master, please take care of it. I will go and clean myself up."

"Yeah." Zhu Qizhen waved his hand.

Roujia left, and Zhu Qizhen lowered his head to read the letter.

He and Ning Rongrong naturally had correspondence, but when he read Ning Rongrong's memorials recently, he always felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't tell what was wrong.

So, he came to see the letters Ning Rongrong wrote to Roujia. There were seven or eight letters in total, which were normal and had no secrets. In one of the letters, Ning Rongrong was extremely angry about the death of Prince Run and asked Roujia to find out the truth.

Strangely, after that letter, Ning Rongrong never mentioned Prince Run’s death again.

"Young Master~" Roujia came over with hot tea.

She had just finished bathing, her hair was still wet and reached her waist. She knelt in front of Zhu Qizhen, exuding a faint fragrance. She tilted her charming and delicate face and said in a soft and charming voice: "Have a cup of hot tea."

"Prince Run is dead. Does everyone in Ning care a lot?" Zhu Qizhen asked.

"Yes!" Roujia nodded, "After all, our clan followed Emperor Jianwen into exile overseas, and Prince Run is our core."

Zhu Qizhen frowned and said, "Speaking of which, the death of Prince Run is indeed strange. I don't believe it was caused by a fire."

"Didn't the Jinyiwei find any clues?" Roujia asked.

Zhu Qizhen seemed to be thinking about something.

(End of this chapter)