The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 219 Eyes
The twenty-third year of Jiajing, the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month.

New Year’s Eve, early morning.

Forbidden City.

Zhu Zai sat at the table, his fingers slowly stroking the edge of the teacup. The tea in it had already gone cold, but he was unaware.

The great affairs of the country lie in sacrifice and military affairs.

"Sacrifice" and "war", or "ritual" and "violence", are the foundations for the maintenance of a feudal dynasty. The annual ancestor worship on Dashuo is the most important festival among them. There are rules for when, where and by whom it is performed, and they cannot be easily changed.

So when the emperor said he wanted to advance the ancestor worship, there was an uproar, and all the clan members wanted to dissuade him. Some of the old clan members even burst into tears, as if they were ready to die for their advice.

However, all the noise suddenly quieted down under the emperor's cold gaze.

The emperor's overly friendly behavior tonight made the royal family members misunderstand and think that the emperor wanted to use the royal family. If you put yourself in the wrong position, you will naturally do something inappropriate.

The emperor's eyes suddenly woke them up.

Your Majesty has never been an emperor who is willing to accept advice.

He was adopted from the royal family and ascended the throne. He reigned for twenty-three years. Even though he had not been involved in government affairs for many years, he was a powerful emperor who firmly held the power of the entire Dashuo in his hands.

At the beginning of his reign, before he had completely seized control of the entire Dashuo, he beat more than ten officials to death in the "Dali Incident". In the subsequent "Zuo Shunmen Incident", he beat more than a hundred officials in court and beat seventeen of them to death on the spot.

In short, he was an emperor who was not reluctant to kill people and had the power to kill anyone.

After the royal family members were suddenly awakened, they all fell silent.

So the matter was settled.

Afterwards, the eunuchs politely invited the royal family members to stay in several side halls in the palace.

Although the statement was "to prevent villains from harming the royal family", Zhu Zai knew very well that the emperor was penning up the royal family like cattle and sheep to be slaughtered, ready to be slaughtered at any time.

Zhu Zai looked outside the door and saw several figures reflected on the window lattice.

Those were the guards who came to "protect" him.

Zhu Zai knew that there were at least two celestial beings outside his house watching him.

The emperor had become suspicious of him.

However, he was not panicked.

because--

Climb, climb.

Climb.

Three familiar sounds came from the roof, two short and one long.

Li Miao fell from the roof and waved his hand in mid-air, and the tiles on the roof that had been lifted off were put back in place one after another.

"Hey, Commander, you're still awake?"

Li Miao poured himself a cup of tea.

"Don't interrupt. This is not the time to joke."

Zhu Zai said seriously.

"What do you think?"

"How else can I watch it? Just sit and watch."

Li Miao said lightly.

"The Ming Cult is preparing to take action tomorrow, so the emperor will attack them today. Emperor Jianwen is most likely in the imperial mausoleum, and Ji Tianrui and the Yang family are probably also there."

"Everything we thought of before is probably going to be scrapped. All the piecemeal moves, secret probing, and long-term planning are useless. Today will probably decide whether we live or die."

Li Miao dipped some tea and drew a few lines on the table.

"Emperor Jianwen is aiming for the throne. If he wins, all the royal family members will die at his hands."

"As for the emperor, I guess he is going for Emperor Jianwen's method of cultivating both body and soul. If he wins today, the Zhu family will be wiped out."

"No matter who wins, they will eventually attack the royal family, and you are one of them. When he comes to kill you, I will stop him. We will go from the dark to the light, and we will have to face the pursuit of the entire Dashuo court."

Zhu Zai's face turned serious and he nodded. "So, is there any hope?"

"There are two."

Li Miao chuckled and wrote "go" on the table.

"First, let's retreat."

"What a shitty Dashuo Zhu family, just go to hell with it."

"With our wealth and military strength, we can find a scapegoat to escape, change our appearance, and establish our own power in the martial arts world. I dare say that no sect in the martial arts world can stop us."

"We will stay in the dark until a few years later when my martial arts skills are fully developed and I break into the palace and kill the emperor. Then you will be the last member of the Zhu family. You will be the emperor and I will be the commander-in-chief. Da Shuo will still be Da Shuo."

"how?"

To be honest, this path sounds ridiculous, but it is actually quite feasible. And Li Miao really hopes that Zhu Zai will choose this path.

Li Miao has already figured out the obstacles that prevent him from continuing to improve, and has also got some clues about the "eight-hour work system". Within ten years, Li Miao is confident that he will become truly "invincible".

Ten years was enough time for Zhu Zai to develop a huge force in the martial arts world based on the Five Mountains Sword Sect and the wealth he had accumulated over many years as the head of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

As the last member of the Zhu family, Zhu Zai would naturally have the most natural legitimacy. With Li Miao's military guarantee of "a little disobedience", it is possible that he could successfully inherit Dashuo.

The most important point is that this path is risk-free.

But Li Miao also knew very well what Zhu Zai would choose.

Sure enough, Zhu Zai let out a long sigh.

"You know I can't leave."

"I'm different from you, Da Li."

"I can't let it go."

Zhu Zai looked at Li Miao, but then started talking seriously about another matter.

"In fact, from the first day I picked you up, I knew that you were a lawless lunatic who had no king or father."

"Do you know why I believed you when you said you were the reincarnation of Bodhidharma, even though you were obviously joking?"

Li Miao chuckled and did not answer.

"Because you are too crazy."

Zhu Zai said slowly.

"I don't know where you come from. I picked you up from among the beggars, not because I could see your character."

"It's because of your eyes."

Zhu Zai recalled.

"At that time, I had just taken over the Jinyiwei, and I was very proud of myself. All the civil and military officials in the court were very respectful to me. All I saw was flattery and fawning. Although I was disdainful in my heart, I actually enjoyed it very much."

“But that day, I passed by the city wall and noticed a little beggar looking at me.”

"He was examining me, observing me, judging me."

"Finally, he gave a disdainful smile."

"That look was like a bucket of cold water that woke me up from my arrogance. But at the same time, I was also curious."

Zhu Zai looked into Li Miao's eyes.

"What could make a little beggar have such an arrogant mentality? What is his background and what has he seen that makes him feel only 'disdain' when facing the commander of the Jinyiwei?"

"At first, I just thought you might be the descendant of a high-ranking official who fell into trouble. But then one day, you followed me to serve as the emperor's guard."

"I saw you again, showing disdain for the emperor."

Zhu Zai said in a decisive tone.

"You have never taken anyone from Dashuo seriously."

"If you are not the reincarnation of a god, who are you and where did you come from to make you look down on everything in Dashuo so much?"

(End of this chapter)