Di Ming

Chapter 408 "Father, what is honey to you is poison to me."

Emperor Wanli immediately issued an imperial edict, ordering Prince Zhu Changluo to meet with Zhu Yin in the right wing room of the Huangji Gate.

Zhu Yin thanked the emperor for his "great favor," then bowed and left.

After Zhu Yin left the Qianqing Palace, the imperial eunuch Gao Cai said coldly, "Grandfather is truly a benevolent ruler; he still didn't imprison Zhu Yin. If he had been imprisoned..."

Zhang Jing then said, "Grandpa is certainly merciful, but Zhu Yin absolutely cannot be imprisoned and punished. They just won a great victory in Goryeo, recovering Goryeo and annihilating 200,000 Japanese pirates. They returned to the capital and presented 70,000 prisoners, including several Japanese pirate generals. Since the founding of the dynasty by Emperor Taizu, there has never been such a great victory."

"Although the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs deliberately downplayed the great victory over Goryeo, simplified the ceremony of presenting prisoners of war, and lowered the scale of the victory presentation at the Meridian Gate, even omitting the sacrifice at the Imperial Ancestral Temple and the observation by foreign vassals, a great victory is still a great victory. In order to boost morale, the battle reports of several great victories had already been published in the official gazette and announced to the world. Now everyone in the world knows about it."

"He just returned to the capital and was already imprisoned and punished for these crimes. Isn't this damaging to Grandpa's reputation?"

Zong Qin also said, "Before, because of Hai Rui's matter, there was a lot of discussion in the court and among the people, and many scholars had complaints. If Zhu Yin is also imprisoned and punished, those petty people outside the palace will start gossiping and spreading rumors, and I'm afraid many people will slander the government."

Wanli nodded, squinted, and said, "Although Zhu Yin has committed crimes, his merits are greater, as all the officials have witnessed. If I imprison and punish him, many people will criticize me for being cruel and ungrateful, and for discarding him after he has served his purpose."

Gao Cai, knowing the emperor's thoughts, chuckled awkwardly and said, "Grandfather is wise. This servant has another suggestion. It's not enough to just have Chongqing Prefecture keep an eye on Zhu Yin. It would be best to have Qiu Chengyun keep an eye on him as well. It just so happens that Qiu Chengyun's residence is in Chongqing."

Qiu Chengyun was a new-style Sichuan tax supervisor, also known as "the imperial commissioner who supervised taxation and mining affairs in Sichuan and other places".

According to the emperor's decree, the Sichuan Tax Supervisor not only oversaw major affairs such as finance, taxation, mining, and textile manufacturing in Sichuan, but also supervised the military and political affairs of the region. He was also the head of the secret police stationed in Sichuan and was ordered to recruit three thousand tax soldiers. He was responsible for finance, taxation, administration, military affairs, and supervision. His jurisdiction extended west to Chengdu, east to Chongqing, north to Baoning, and south to Xuzhou.

Although nominally a tax supervisor, his power actually surpassed that of the three judicial departments and was even more influential than the governor of Sichuan. The authority of this Sichuan tax supervisor was very close to that of the later Governor-General of Sichuan.

Upon hearing this, Wanli nodded, "Gao Cai, Qiu Chengyun is the person you recommended, right?"

Gao Cai replied, "Reporting to Grandfather, Qiu Chengyun was recommended by this servant. He had a rather leisurely job in the Directorate of Palace Attendants, but he wanted to go out and serve you, so this servant recommended him."

Wanli grunted and said, "Alright, then write a letter to Qiu Chengyun and tell him to keep an eye on Zhu Yin. Make sure to give him proper instructions in the letter."

Emperor Wanli was very pleased with Gao Cai's attentiveness. Indeed, having Qiu Chengyun watch over Zhu Yin gave him more peace of mind. After all, Qiu Chengyun was his household servant.

"This servant obeys the decree!" Gao Cai looked somewhat smug, as if she had won a prize.

Zong Qin cursed Gao Cai in his heart, wishing he could kick the villain to death.

Qiu Chengyun is the tax supervisor of Sichuan, with an imperial seal; even the governor of Sichuan has to give him some leeway. Our lord is just a minor county magistrate; how can he possibly have a good life under Qiu Chengyun's watchful eye?
Qiu Chengyun was greedy and treacherous, which already drew attention to him when he was in the palace, let alone when he went to other places.

We must inform our lord of this matter as soon as possible so that he can prepare to deal with Qiu Chengyun.

Gao Cai smiled slightly, a thought of currying favor with the emperor rising in his mind.

In his letter, he instructed Qiu Chengyun to do everything possible to find fault with Zhu Yin and to rack his brains to fabricate a charge against Zhu Yin, such as confiscating his property.

The Zhu family must be very wealthy. If we confiscate Zhu Yin's property, we can not only make a fortune ourselves, but also offer it as a tribute to the emperor. Why wouldn't we do it?

Zhu Yin, oh Zhu Yin, you'd better pray for good fortune once you've gone to Chongqing.

Oh, by the way, that Hao Yunlai who you don't get along with is now the Prefect of Chongqing, your superior.

Hahaha!
……

"Cicada—Cicada—"

Inside the most secluded Jingyang Palace, the cicadas' chirping was exceptionally loud.

Because Jingyang Palace had the fewest staff and the worst pay, no one was catching the cicadas in the trees. At this time, the setting sun cast its golden glow upon the Forbidden City, making it even more magnificent. However, Jingyang Palace was overgrown with weeds, its walls covered in moss, and its vermilion gates rusted, giving it a desolate feel.

Unlike other palaces that are bustling with people, the corridors and alleys around Jingyang Palace are so quiet that you can hardly see a single person for half a day, with only the cicadas chirping loudly.

Occasionally, a stray cat would suddenly dart out from the weeds in the corner, climb up the palace wall along the vines, and stand on the top of the wall quietly watching the sunset, like an iron sculpture.

Beneath the palace walls, twelve-year-old Zhu Changluo wore a faded blue robe, his two hair buns tied only with worn-out ribbons, and a pair of palace boots with broken embroidery. He looked up at his delicate and handsome face, his eyes reflecting the still wild cat on the wall and the sunset behind it.

He noticed that although the stray cat was still, its back was slightly arched, as if it might leap up at any moment.

Just as he was somewhat lost in thought, he suddenly saw a blur before his eyes, and the wild cat, which had been as hard as iron, let out a "meow" and darted out, pouncing on a cicada on a willow tree with lightning speed.

"Zhi..." The cicada only managed to utter half a chirp before being struck by the wildcat. Immediately afterward, the wildcat's graceful and agile figure disappeared into the vegetation of Jingyang Palace.

Zhu Changluo also smiled serenely, revealing a set of perfectly aligned teeth.

Then, he lowered his head and sat quietly by the pond reading.

"The Dao covers heaven and earth, encompasses the four directions, and reaches the eight extremes; its height is immeasurable, its depth unfathomable; it envelops heaven and earth, and bestows upon the formless..."

He has already finished reading "Zhuangzi" and is now reading "Huainanzi", which was also a book given to him by his teacher.

Zhu Changluo was unknowingly immersed in the magnificent and profound artistic conception of the Huainanzi, as if he were traveling in a dream.

After a long while, Zhu Changluo closed the book and said, "No wonder you asked me to read Zhuangzi and then Huainanzi. It really broadens one's mind and relieves worries."

Zhu Changluo savored the meaning of the book, and with a delighted look, a serene smile involuntarily appeared on his face.

"The master once said that if the body cannot be free, then the mind can be free. Since reading these books, although I am confined to Jingyang Palace every day, my mind is much freer."

"Father, you can confine me in Jingyang Palace, but can you confine my heart? My heart has already flown away, flown out of the Forbidden City, which is like a tomb, flown out of Jingyang Palace, which is like a prison, and is free to roam the world!"

"But Father, you lock yourself in the Qianqing Palace every day, willingly becoming your own prisoner. Father, in order to make my third brother the crown prince, you disregarded the need to break ties with the officials and suppress my mother and me, disregarding ancestral rules and etiquette. But you never imagined that I didn't want to be the crown prince at all! I didn't want to be the emperor either. Father, what is honey to you is poison to me. What you desire is what I hate. What you value is what I despise."

"Father, have you read Zhuangzi? Perhaps you haven't? Even if you have, do you remember the story of the owl catching a rotten rat in the Autumn Floods chapter?"

“There is a bird in the south, called the Yuanchu. It originates from the South Sea and flies to the North Sea. It will not perch except on the parasol tree, and it will not drink except from the sweet spring. Father, although I dare not say that I am that Yuanchu, I am not an owl either, and I do not covet the position of Crown Prince.”

"Today, I heard from the palace servants who brought me food that the Master won a great victory in Goryeo, annihilating hundreds of thousands of Japanese pirates and making a tremendous contribution. I am so happy that the Master has finally returned safely from Goryeo. I don't care whether the Master made a contribution or not, I only care that the Master returned safely."

"Will Father summon you, sir? If so, are you in the palace right now? You must want to see me, but will Father allow it? Would a cold and heartless man like Father easily allow you to see me?"

Zhu Changluo stood up, walked to the palace gate, and looked through the crack in the door, only to see an even higher palace wall.

Before he could look away, he saw a red-robed eunuch leading several firemen leisurely heading towards Jingyang Palace.

"His Majesty's decree! Instruct Wang Changluo to go to the right wing of the Huangji Gate to meet with Marquis Jiangning, Zhu Yin, and his student!"

"Guards, open the palace gates and let Prince Xin out!"

...

P.S.: There's an inspection coming tomorrow, so I'll have to work overtime tonight. I can only update a short chapter tonight, but I'll speed things up tomorrow. Sorry! Thank you for your understanding!
(End of this chapter)