The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 428 An Old Man's Youthful Passion

"Da Li..."

Zhu Zai stood beside the coffin, looking at Li Miao inside, whose body was mutilated and who was unconscious. He clenched his fist tightly on the edge of the coffin, so tightly that the wood cracked.

He was completely unaware as debris pierced his palm and blood flowed down the edge of the coffin.

After a while, he reached out and straightened Li Miao's clothes. Then he carefully gathered up his loose long hair.

"Look at you, so lazy and listless. I've told you so many times, but you never listen... You should dress properly. You're always lounging around like that. No wonder you're over thirty and still can't find a wife... You're always making me angry. I was thinking you were going to drive me crazy, but how can you be so useless..."

Zhu Zai kept talking incessantly.

Inside the Qianqing Palace, no one dared to utter a sound.

Even those like Ruan Mei and Zhu Shoujing, whose realms far surpassed Zhu Zai's, did not dare to make a sound.

They all sensed that this old man, who seemed to have lost his temper over the past year due to political affairs, was gradually becoming sharper.

Killing intent.

If the killing intent emanating from Li Miao was as intense as the scorching sun in the summer, then Zhu Zai's killing intent was like the damp air in winter, seeping into his joints and penetrating his bones, inescapable and unstoppable.

Zhu Zai, Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The old man, who was old and frail and suspected by the emperor, gradually thought of retiring behind the scenes and handing over the Embroidered Uniform Guard to Li Miao. Little by little, he regained the sharpness and ruthlessness of his youth.

An Ziyang hesitated before speaking.

"Old Commander..." he still addressed him that way, "You don't need to worry. Before he fell into a deep sleep, he said he would wake up in three to five days. Right now, it's just..."

Zhu Zai glanced at him.

An Ziyang swallowed his words.

The emperor spoke after careful consideration.

“Minister Zhu, I have investigated Minister Li’s condition. Although it is strange, his true qi circulation and the circulation of qi through the body are still in operation. He should be fine as he said.”

Zhu Zai slowly shook his head.

"Do not."

"Your Majesty doesn't understand him."

"This guy is extremely arrogant and never wants to show weakness in front of anyone. No matter how difficult or tiring things are, he always appears relaxed in front of his family. If it weren't for the circumstances, if he had other choices, he would never have shown this pathetic side to me..."

"That's just his personality, so awkward."

"It's been like this since I was little."

As Zhu Zai let out his last breath and straightened up, everyone present shuddered.

"It's because I've relied on him too much, always putting the burden on his shoulders. A few days ago, he asked An Ziyang to prepare for the Wanggongchang matter, and I thought it might just be a precautionary measure."

“An Ziyang and I had a fight, which I suppressed... Actually, it shouldn't have been like that. He's shouldering too much, which has made us all feel lazy and complacent…”

His words carried a self-deprecating tone, but his gaze swept over everyone present.

"I was wrong before."

"The mistake was always thinking about the big picture, trying to achieve the best of both worlds, and being hesitant and indecisive, which ultimately led Da Li to his current predicament."

"An Ziyang, Mei Qinghe."

The two took a step forward and clasped their hands in greeting.

"I order you two to lead four guards to search for all martial arts practitioners in the capital. Regardless of sect, origin, or cultivation level, capture them all and escort them to the former site of Wanggongchang. If there is any resistance, kill them without question."

"Yes!"

An Ziyang and Mei Qinghe accepted the order and left.

"Zhu Shoujing, Ruan Mei."

"You two, lead the Xiaoling Guard and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to search the capital. Treat all celestial beings, regardless of their appearance, build, or background, as traitors from Yingzhou and kill them on the spot."

Zhu Shoujing didn't speak, but Ruan Mei suddenly looked up.

When their eyes met, she shivered, lowered her head, and bowed in response.

"Yes!"

He accepted the order and left.

Zhu Zai then turned his gaze to the side.

"Cao Hanyan, Gao Anyu, you two are newly recruited subordinates of Da Li. You have never met me, and I am not familiar with your character. You are not required to take on the following assignment."

Cao Hanyan and Gao Anyu took a step forward and knelt down on one knee.

"Please give your orders, sir."

"Whatever Grandpa Zhu says goes!"

Cao Hanyan suddenly turned her head to look at Gao Anyu, then quickly lowered her head, secretly regretting that she hadn't told Gao Anyu beforehand.

Yes, logically speaking, Gao Anyu has always called Li Miao "uncle," so it's reasonable for him to call Zhu Zai "grandpa" according to seniority... The key is that Li Miao is willing to make this joke, but Zhu Zai may not be!
Fortunately, Zhu Zai did not seem to mind.

He merely glanced at Gao Anyu before continuing.

"You two are to lead the Imperial Guards to execute on the spot any eunuchs and palace maids in the palace, except those who have been inspected by His Majesty and are even slightly suspicious."

Cao Hanyan gritted her teeth. "...Yes."

He understood what Zhu Zai meant.

This is to eliminate all of Liu Jin's hidden agents within the palace.

This is something that should have been done a long time ago.

But that would be too big a move, and would involve too many lives, so Zhu Zai hadn't taken action until now... But now, he didn't care anymore.

This will inevitably affect many innocent people.

Cao Hanyan didn't want to do this, but if he entrusted it to someone else, even more people would die. So he had no choice but to agree; at least if he did it, fewer people would die.

Gao Anyu didn't seem to mind at all; he simply nodded in agreement and pulled Cao Hanyan out the door.

He finished explaining his task in a few words.

The palace was then emptied.

Only the emperor, Zhu Zai, and an old man remained.

Tang Lanzhou, Minister of Justice.

The old man, whose wife was killed when the fake Li Miao came to his door last night, and who was later rescued by Li Miao, is now sitting on a chair to the side, his hands clasped on his knees, his eyes closed, seemingly dozing.

"Lord Tang."

Zhu Zai called out.

Tang Lanzhou opened her eyes and looked at Zhu Zai.

Zhu Zaiyi was delayed.

He initially looked down on this Lord Tang.

Cautious, obsequious, and hesitant, among all the ministers of the six ministries in the entire Da Shuo court, this Lord Tang was the easiest to bully.

But when their eyes met, Zhu Zai almost didn't recognize him.

That weak and timid old man disappeared.

His eyes were as deep as the sea and as black as an abyss, showing no trace of fear, only a deathly stillness and calm.

Tang Lanzhou slowly stood up and bowed to Zhu Zai.

"I understand, Master Zhu."

"The man who killed my wife last night was a江湖人 (jianghu person) who colluded with Yan Song. He killed me to cause turmoil in the court, to reignite the civil officials' dissatisfaction with the imperial family, and to repeat the coup attempt, right?"

Zhu Zai nodded.

Tang Lanzhou said calmly, without any expression.

"I understand."

“In that case, I am willing to do one thing for Lord Zhu.”

Zhu Zai frowned.

"What's the matter?"

"Purge the court, slaughter the civil officials, and eliminate all traces of the enemy."

Tang Lanzhou calmly took out a stack of documents from his pocket.

"These are the dirts on all the officials that I have collected over the decades. I used them before thinking that I might be able to save my life if I fell into trouble one day, but now they are just what I need."

"It would be more convenient for me, a veteran official of two dynasties, the highest-ranking surviving civil official, and the head of the Ministry of Justice, to carry out the massacre of civil officials."

“My former students and officials have never dealt with the imperial family before. I think that even if I kill more people, it won’t implicate the imperial family.”

After he finished speaking, he cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, turned around, and walked outside.

Zhu Zai gritted his teeth and asked.

"After doing all these things, has Mr. Tang thought about how he will get out of this mess?"

Tang Lanzhou waved his hand.

"There is only death."

"Lord Zhu, you may use my head to quell the situation. I will entrust all my former students and officials to you. I hope that after my death, Lord Zhu and His Majesty will take care of me."

"By the way, my old wife's remains need a good coroner to piece them together. I'd like to trouble you, Lord Zhu, to find a capable person from the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Once they're pieced together, let me know so I can prepare to die."

Zhu Zai called out again.

"Lord Tang, I used to think you were a bit pedantic and weak, but now it seems you are a capable man. Why don't we discuss a plan to purge Yan Song's cronies?"

Tang Lanzhou had already gone far away.

His calm voice carried from afar.

"No need, I only wish to die."

"I wanted to kill someone, I couldn't help it, Master Zhu."

(End of this chapter)