Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 421 The Deep Talk in Prison: Another Purpose!
"He's already in prison, yet he still indulges in such pleasures. What kind of behavior is this?"

The man in black spoke in an icy tone, his words filled with displeasure, his gaze sweeping across the room like a knife: "Is this how officials in Yingtian Prefecture conduct their duties?"

"Get down there now!"

“If the court holds you accountable, you maids will also be punished.”

The voice was extremely eerie, as if the speaker was deliberately pinching their nose and speaking in a low voice.

He was determined to disguise his voice so that no one could detect anything amiss.

The two maids who were massaging Gu Yanxiu's shoulders and back were terrified when they heard this.

Their movements came to an abrupt halt. They looked tense and helpless, glancing timidly at the man in black. Then, they bowed respectfully to both the man in black and Gu Yanxiu, before retreating in a flustered manner.

Seeing this, Gu Yanxiu was immediately displeased and shouted loudly, "Don't go! Keep massaging me! This is just the beginning, I haven't had enough yet!"

However, the two maids seemed not to hear them, and hurried away from the cell without looking back.

Gu Yanxiu was furious, his facial muscles contorted with rage. He hurled the half-eaten chicken leg at the corner of the wall. The chicken leg hit the wall with a dull thud, sending crumbs flying.

Then, he glared fiercely at the man in black and roared, "Who are you? How dare you come to the Yingtian Prefecture prison to lecture your grandpa, and even drive away the maids who serve me. If you have the guts, take off your mask and let grandpa see what you look like. When grandpa gets out, see how I deal with you, you ignorant fool!"

The man in black remained unmoved, his voice still carrying an eerie and cold undertone, as he asked, "Oh? So how do you plan to deal with me?"

Gu Yanxiu gritted his teeth, a twisted smile appearing on his face, and said fiercely, "I'm going to drag you to my house, throw you into the doghouse, and lock you up with my dogs. From now on, you'll eat dog food, crawl on the ground like a dog every day, hahaha!"

Laughter echoed in the cell, sounding particularly arrogant.

"Do you think you can still get out of here?" the man in black asked calmly, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Besides," he added, "do you even know who I am?"

"I don't care who you are!" Gu Yanxiu said nonchalantly, his nostrils flaring. "My sister is the current Empress, the most beloved woman in His Majesty's heart."

“I am her own brother. How could she just stand by and watch me suffer here? She will definitely do everything she can to get me out.”

"Your reckless behavior will likely drag your sister down with you into the abyss. Have you considered the consequences?" The man in black was ruthless, each word seemingly carrying shards of ice, aimed directly at Gu Yanxiu.

"No, no!"

Gu Yanxiu's response was resolute, but his slightly trembling tone still betrayed a hint of barely perceptible worry deep in his heart.

"His Majesty fell in love with my sister at first sight and doted on her. He cherishes her like a precious gem, so how could he possibly take his anger out on her because of me?"

Even so, his gaze unconsciously began to wander.

Suddenly, Gu Yanxiu seemed to remember something extremely important. The gloom on his face instantly disappeared, and the corners of his mouth turned up, revealing a smug smile: "Hmph, don't think that just because I'm imprisoned here, His Majesty will neglect my sister. Let me tell you the truth, all of this is a 'grand show' meticulously planned by His Majesty."

"It was my sister who told me to oppose the new school and new policies with all my might."

“My sister is by His Majesty’s side day and night, and she must know His Majesty’s thoughts perfectly.”

"His Majesty is extremely dissatisfied with the new learning and new policies, but he has not yet expressed it."

At this point, he became even more excited, and his voice rose a few decibels: "Hahaha, you guys are all wrong!"

"His Majesty is now putting on a show of strongly supporting the new learning and new policies, but this is just a trap to lure out those who support the new policies and new learning, and then wipe them all out in one fell swoop."

"His Majesty imprisoned me only to make this play more realistic and to deceive everyone."

"Hahaha!"

After saying that, he threw his head back and laughed loudly, the arrogant laughter echoing through the dark and damp prison.

"Who exactly told you that His Majesty does not support the new policies and new learning?"

The man in black's voice suddenly changed, no longer as deliberately suppressed and disguised as before.

In an instant, the ghostly voice that had been low, hoarse, and indistinguishable in gender transformed into a clear, melodious, yet angry female voice.

Even with anger in her voice, it was still as melodious as a nightingale singing in a valley.

Gu Yanxiu's laughter seemed to be abruptly stopped by an invisible hand.

His eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief, as he stared intently at the man in black: "You...you..."

The man in black raised his hand and gently removed the mask from his face.

"That's right, brother, it's me, your own sister."

What came into Gu Yanxiu's view was the face of the current Empress Gu Panjun, a face that was both familiar and somewhat unfamiliar.

Gu Yanxiu stared blankly at his younger sister before him. After a long while, he seemed to snap out of a dream and knelt down with a thud: "Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress!"

"Stop kneeling, get up." Gu Panjun sat down in the chair, then waved her hand, signaling Gu Yanxiu to get up.

With his usual playful grin on his face, Gu Yanxiu nimbly got up from the ground, his eyes full of curiosity, and said, "Little sister, what brings you here to visit your brother in this prison today?"

"It's being said that His Majesty reprimanded you and ordered you to stay in Kunning Palace to reflect on your mistakes."

"I was thinking that you might be trapped in the palace and unable to get out for the time being."

As Gu Yanxiu spoke, he shook his head, seemingly quite moved by the rumors: "It seems that rumors are indeed not to be believed. Look, my sister is standing right in front of me, perfectly fine."

“The rumors outside are not wrong.” Gu Panjun spoke calmly and steadily: “It is only because I failed to manage my family well that His Majesty ordered me to reflect on my actions in seclusion in the palace.”

Upon hearing this, Gu Yanxiu was slightly taken aback, a look of confusion on his face. He asked, "Why is that? Isn't His Majesty opposed to the new learning and new policies?"

"Everything I did was in accordance with His Majesty's wishes."

“Sister, you were the one who told me to oppose the new learning and new policies in the first place, so you should know His Majesty’s thoughts best.”

He paused, and before Gu Panjun could respond, he continued rambling on: "Those new learning and new policies were not good things at all. They even clamored for the common good of the world, and actually wanted the rich to give up their own land to the poor. It was utterly absurd and ridiculous!"

“Those thousands of acres of land that our family owns were all bought with a lot of hard-earned money. Why should they be given away to those people for no reason?”

Gu Yanxiu became more and more agitated as he spoke, and the indignation on his face became increasingly evident.

Gu Panjun's face instantly darkened, and she questioned, "Didn't I warn you long ago not to buy any land? Why didn't you listen to me?"

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Gu Yanxiu's face. He scratched his head and said with a forced smile, "Little sister, I can listen to you on other things, but we are, after all, relatives of the royal family. We should have some businesses to maintain appearances."

"The money His Majesty bestowed upon me has been kept in the Great Ming Bank, but I always feel uneasy about it."

"After much thought, I think it's more secure to acquire land. With these thousands of acres of land, my descendants will have something to rely on in the future, and that gives me peace of mind."

Gu Panjun stared intently at Gu Yanxiu for a long time. After a while, she sighed softly, her voice tinged with helplessness: "So be it. Now that you are in prison, let's donate the land in your home to the court as public property."

Upon hearing this, Gu Yanxiu's eyes widened instantly, his face filled with disbelief, and he loudly questioned, "Why? That's the property our family has worked so hard to accumulate!"

"Do you still want to get out of this prison?" Gu Panjun asked instead of answering. Gu Yanxiu looked puzzled, his brows furrowing into a deep frown. He said, "What do these two things have to do with each other? Sister, can you really bear to see your brother trapped in this dark and hopeless place?"

"Brother, I only ended up in this state because I listened to you and was determined to oppose the new policies and new schools."

"I came here today to rescue you." Gu Panjun rolled her eyes at him, her tone tinged with disappointment: "I told you to oppose the new policies and new schools, but did I tell you to order your servants to beat up others?"

"Now that you have committed such a crime, if you wish to regain your freedom, the only way is to donate your property to the court to atone for your sins."

Gu Yanxiu looked reluctant and muttered, "Those people are really too arrogant and domineering, they have no respect for anyone. I was so angry that I sent Zhao San to teach them a lesson."

"Besides, it's just a servant hitting someone, what's the big deal? Is it worth making such a fuss?"

He clearly hasn't realized the seriousness of the situation.

"No matter what, we can't just give away the land we worked so hard to acquire. I still have tens of thousands of taels of silver in the bank; can't we donate that to the imperial court?"

Gu Yanxiu tried to bargain, his eyes filled with reluctance.

After saying that, he lowered his voice and muttered, "In the end, isn't all this money a gift from the emperor? Is it really necessary to go through all this trouble, just transferring it from one hand to the other?"

"No!" Gu Yanxiu's words hadn't even faded when Gu Panjun coldly interrupted him: "The land must be donated to the imperial court. There is no room for negotiation on this matter."

"His Majesty is determined to promote new learning and new policies in the Ming Dynasty. As members of the imperial family, how can our Gu family, who own a large amount of land, openly go against His Majesty's will?"

Gu Yanxiu was stunned, as if struck by lightning, and asked, "Didn't you say before that His Majesty opposed the new learning and new policies? What exactly is going on?"

"When did I say that His Majesty opposes the new learning and new policies?" Gu Panjun's expression was calm, and his tone was as calm as a bottomless lake: "I only asked you to come forward and oppose the new learning and new policies."

Gu Yanxiu was completely bewildered and increasingly confused. He stamped his feet in frustration and said, "Since His Majesty doesn't object, why are you asking me to go against the grain? Sister, aren't you... aren't you pushing your brother into a fire pit? What is the reason for this?"

"It's all so that His Majesty will punish you and imprison you, and at the same time, His Majesty will also punish me."

Upon hearing this answer, Gu Yanxiu stood there dumbfounded, speechless for a long time before muttering, "Little sister, you have to explain this to your brother clearly, what exactly is going on here?"

Gu Panjun glanced at Gu Yanxiu, took a deep breath, took out a scroll of paper from her wide sleeve, handed it to Gu Yanxiu, and said coldly, "Take a look for yourself. Are all the things recorded here things that you did?"

Gu Yanxiu looked on with suspicion, reached out and took it, then slowly unfolded it.

The paper was covered with dense writing.

"On the seventeenth day of the third month, the emperor's brother-in-law was having a banquet at his residence when a maid accidentally knocked over a porcelain bowl. The emperor's brother-in-law was furious and ordered the maid to be flogged forty times and then expelled from the residence, disregarding her life or death."

"On March 19th, the emperor's brother-in-law went out on horseback and rampaged through the bustling city streets, knocking down three innocent pedestrians in succession, but he showed no remorse and drove away."

"On March 25th, the emperor's brother-in-law was passing through the market when he overheard people talking about him behind his back. He was furious and immediately ordered his men to drag the person who was talking out of the crowd and beat him half to death with fists and kicks."

"On April 1st, the emperor's brother-in-law passed by Nanji Steamed Bun Shop and saw that the owner's daughter was beautiful. He had evil intentions and tried to forcibly take her as his own. When the woman refused, the emperor's brother-in-law became furious and smashed the steamed bun shop to pieces on the spot."

……

"On August 6th, the emperor's brother-in-law attempted to seize over 500 mu of fertile land with a mere fifty taels of silver. The market value of this land was at least fifteen taels of silver per mu."

……

The records on the paper detail all the outrageous and wicked things Gu Yanxiu did in his daily life.

They either beat and scolded the maids and servants at home, or bullied others in the market, acting recklessly and without restraint, or bullied the weak, extorted money, and forced sales...

His various evil deeds are too numerous to list.

Gu Panjun's gaze was like a knife as she coldly asked, "Is all of this true? You haven't misremembered a single thing, have you? Every single one of these things is your doing!"

Her voice trembled slightly with anger: "Do you know that the maid you drove out of the manor almost hanged herself!"

"And then there's your horse-riding ramming, abducting women, and seizing fertile land. If I hadn't been secretly keeping an eye on you, constantly cleaning up your messes, compensating the victims, arranging for the father and daughter of the steamed bun shop to move out overnight, and making up for the farmers' money to buy land... based on all the evil deeds you've done, someone would have filed a lawsuit with the Censorate long ago, or even with His Majesty. How could you have waited until today to go to jail?"

Reprimanded so harshly by Gu Panjun, Gu Yanxiu lowered his head slightly, his lips moving as he muttered in a voice barely audible to himself, "I am the emperor's brother-in-law. Aren't these things just trivial matters?"

Although Gu Panjun couldn't hear his mutterings clearly, she could tell from his nonchalant expression that her brother was still unrepentant.

With a heavy heart and her eyes slightly reddening, she sighed and said earnestly, "Brother, our parents passed away early, and I grew up under the care of you and your sister-in-law. I will never forget this kindness of raising me and I always want to repay you."

"Now that I am fortunate enough to become the Empress, and you, my brother, have become the Emperor's brother-in-law, it does not mean that our Gu family can rise to the top overnight and act recklessly from now on."

"Don't forget, we were once ordinary people too. How can we turn around and oppress those who were once just like us just because we have gained power?"

As she finished speaking, she sighed softly again. Her stunningly beautiful face was now filled with exhaustion, as if she were being weighed down by a heavy burden.

"There are two reasons why I arranged for you to be imprisoned."

Gu Panjun stared intently at Gu Yanxiu with a deep gaze, and slowly spoke.

"Firstly, you acted recklessly outside the mansion, causing one disaster after another."

"If this continues, it will inevitably lead to a great disaster. At that time, we will probably not be able to escape the calamity of having our property confiscated and being executed."

"I might as well take this opportunity to send you to this prison first."

"Although this prison is harsh, it can temper your character. When you have turned over a new leaf and learned to restrain yourself, we will release you."

"Secondly, our family has suddenly become rich and powerful. This overwhelming blessing is too heavy for us to bear."

"His Majesty currently favors me greatly, but the will of Heaven is unpredictable. Who can guarantee that he won't change his mind tomorrow?"

Her eyes were full of worry: "If we want to maintain this honor for a long time, we must follow the example of Empress Ma of that time, walk hand in hand with His Majesty, share joys and sorrows, and never abandon each other through thick and thin."

"Only in this way can my position in His Majesty's heart be as firm as a rock and as stable as Mount Tai."

“Serving a king with beauty may temporarily captivate him, but it is ultimately unsustainable.”

"Your Majesty is not the founding emperor who established the dynasty, so there is no need for me to stand shoulder to shoulder with you during the difficult times of starting the dynasty."

"But I know that His Majesty is determined to promote the new learning and new policies, but faces great resistance from the court and the public. So I deliberately asked you to come forward to oppose it, and pushed our Gu family out, willingly becoming the target of His Majesty's 'killing the chicken to scare the monkey'."

Gu Panjun's expression was solemn as he spoke slowly: "This approach is intended to deter the stubborn forces in the court who oppose the new learning and new policies, to remove obstacles for His Majesty in implementing them, and to lend him a helping hand."

"The more sins our family suffers today, the more bitterness we swallow, the deeper His Majesty's guilt towards us will be."

"In this way, in His Majesty's heart, I will be the one who is willing to share hardships with him."

"Even if I grow old and lose my beauty in the future, His Majesty will remember what happened today and cherish the bond we shared through thick and thin. He will certainly not treat me or our Gu family unfairly."

……

(End of this chapter)