Da Ming: I told you to die for your cause, why are you actually going to die?

Chapter 111 Old Zhu: The Lü family? They're all starting to get restless! [Bonus Chapter 12 for Monthly Tickets]

The young eunuch who delivered the message relayed Lü's "favor" to Zhu Yunwen and his sister without missing a single word.

When they heard that Madam Lü not only readily agreed, but also thoughtfully arranged ceremonial guards and sacrificial offerings for them, and allowed them to "stay briefly at the Chang family's old residence to reminisce about their mother," the three siblings were first stunned. Then, instead of showing surprise, their faces revealed undisguised astonishment and increasingly intense fear.

Zhu Mingyue's face turned deathly pale in an instant, her fingers unconsciously clenching her robes, her voice trembling noticeably:
"How could she agree so readily? And arrange everything so well? This isn't right."

"Humph!"

Zhu Mingyu snorted coldly, displaying her fiery personality: "She definitely has ill intentions! This is not a favor, it's a trap!"

"Mingyu, don't talk nonsense! Watch your words! The walls have ears!"

Zhu Mingyue quickly pulled her outspoken sister back.

Zhu Mingyu, however, was somewhat unconvinced: "What are you afraid of! Does she dare to harm us? With Grandfather Emperor here, let's see who dares to touch us!"

"But Grandfather won't be here forever."

Zhu Yunwen, who had been silent all along, suddenly interjected.

Zhu Mingyue and Zhu Mingyu were both startled and looked at their younger brother with surprise.

Whether it was their imagination or not, they suddenly felt that the younger brother in front of them was like a completely different person.

He's so much better than the clueless Zhu Yunwen he used to be.

But then Zhu Mingyue tentatively asked, "Then, according to Yun Tong's opinion, what should we do?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen thought for a moment and said, "The message has already been delivered, and Mother Consort has given her permission. If we go back on our word now, wouldn't it make us look like we have something to hide?"

"But she had no good intentions at all!"

Zhu Mingyu pouted and said, "What ceremonial procession? That's just to make sure others don't know that my siblings and I are making a big show of contacting our maternal clan! What 'stopping to reminisce'? That's just to give others an excuse to frame us for 'conspiring'!"

"Mingyu!"

"That's what it is!"

Zhu Mingyue ignored her sister's reminder and continued, "Grandfather is in a great rage. If he sees us associating with the old Chang family, and considering our previous contact with Zhang Biao, we won't be able to explain ourselves no matter how hard we try!"

"Then let's not go."

“If we don’t further confirm her ‘ulterior motives,’ she will have a thousand ways to twist our retreat into an even greater sin.”

The moment these words were spoken, the air seemed to freeze.

All that remained were the suppressed breathing of the three siblings and endless fear.

The tiny spark of hope that could find solace in commemorating his mother was extinguished before it could even ignite, completely extinguished by this sudden, maternal kindness, leaving only a chilling cold and a premonition of impending, inescapable doom.

They were like moths caught in a spider's web, unable to escape the clutches of the predator lurking in the shadows, smiling as it watched their despair, no matter how much they struggled.

"What should we do?"

Zhu Yuntong raised her pale face, her eyes regaining their previous blankness and fear.

He was still somewhat at a loss when faced with this kind of scheme.

Zhu Mingyue paused for a moment, trying to make her voice sound calm, and said:
"Now that things have come to this, we can only take it one step at a time. During the worship, we must be extremely careful, cautious in our words and actions, and absolutely not talk to anyone. After the worship, we must return immediately without lingering."

But she knew that these careful actions would probably be in vain in the face of the well-woven trap.

A deep sense of powerlessness and sorrow enveloped the three siblings.

They only wanted to pay tribute to their deceased mother, but it seemed as if they had committed an unforgivable sin.

Outside the window, the cold wind howled past, rattling the dilapidated window frame and making a mournful sound, like a mother's low weeping, or like the cold mockery of fate.

On the other side, in the Huagai Hall, inside the bedroom.

Old Zhu leaned against the dragon bed, his face appearing even more obscure in the candlelight. The calming soup he had just taken seemed to have no effect, and his brows were filled with an unyielding rage and exhaustion.

Jiang Huan entered the room silently, knelt down, and said in a steady voice with a hint of dryness: "Your Majesty, I have returned."

Old Zhu didn't even lift his eyelids, only letting out a cold, ambiguous snort from his nose: "Hmm. How many ledgers did that mad dog chew up today? How much nonsense did he spout?"

Jiang Huan lowered his head and recounted in detail what he had seen and heard at the Ministry of Revenue that day, including Zhang Biao's plan to visit the Armory Department of the Ministry of War the next day.

Finally, he presented the 'work log' that meticulously recorded Zhang Biao's every word and action.

As Old Zhu looked at the 'work log,' his face grew increasingly dark, and his teeth clenched so tightly they made a 'crunching' sound.

But when he saw that Zhang Biao hadn't found anything substantial and was just bluffing, his tense expression eased slightly, only to be replaced by even greater anger.

This madman is playing him for a fool.

"Bastard thing!"

Old Zhu angrily threw the 'work log' aside and said furiously, "Is that all he's capable of? All he does is bluff and annoy us?!"

Jiang Huan paused for a moment, then added, "Your Majesty, although it has not been verified, his actions have already caused great panic in various government departments, and rumors are rampant."

"We know!"

Old Zhu interrupted him impatiently: "That's exactly his goal! To muddy the waters and force us to take action!"

"Either kill him, or start cleaning up! But that's not all we want! We want more! More parasites jumping out!"

"If we kill him, or the people he uncovers, we won't have another chance like this! They'll hide even deeper, making it even harder for us to take action!"

At this point, he took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to immediately send someone to chop Zhang Biao up, and said grimly, "Keep a close watch on him! Also, make arrangements with the Ministry of War. As long as it doesn't involve core military secrets, let him see whatever he wants!"

"Let's see what tricks he has up his sleeve!"

"but!"

Then, he changed the subject and said in a deep voice, "You better remember this: we're letting you watch and record, not just doing nothing! If he dares to overstep his bounds in the slightest, or tries to meddle with military secrets, take him down immediately!"

"Your subject understands!" Jiang Huan kowtowed heavily.

After reporting Zhang Biao's matter, Jiang Huan did not immediately leave. He hesitated for a moment, then bowed and said, "Your Majesty, there are two more things I need to report to you."

"speak."

Old Zhu rubbed his throbbing temples.

"Your Majesty, one matter concerns the official in charge of recording daily life who trespassed into the imperial bedchamber and was punished by me."

Jiang Huan lowered his voice slightly: "Before he died, he cried out, 'Wang De has ruined me.' I have sent people to investigate and found that there is indeed a eunuch in the palace named Wang De who once served in the Eastern Palace and was one of Consort Lü's more trusted men."

"But strangely, that evening, this eunuch named Wang De was found dead along with another eunuch, Zhang Yi, in a secluded alley in the Western Six Palaces. Both had their throats slit with a sharp blade."

"Ok?"

Old Zhu suddenly opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing in them: "The people from the Eastern Palace? Dead? Or were they silenced? What does this have to do with that historian who records the daily events?"

"I haven't found out yet, but someone saw that eunuch named Wang De go to the Hanlin Academy."

"And the historian who recorded the daily events that I killed was not the historian on duty."

Upon hearing this, Old Zhu's face instantly darkened, and his voice turned icy cold: "Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! Find out what kind of demons and monsters are hiding behind this!"

吕氏
允炆
Old Zhu's feelings became incredibly complicated, and a deeper, colder emotion enveloped him.

"Yes! I have already dispatched more people to conduct a secret investigation."

Jiang Huan immediately responded.

"What about the second thing?"

Old Zhu pressed on, his tone becoming even more unfriendly.

Jiang Huan forced a smile and said, "The second thing is about what I saw in a small alley outside the palace when you sent me to arrest Zhang Biao after Shen Lang and his gang caused a ruckus at the Fengtian Hall court assembly."

He described in detail how he saw Zhu Yunwen and his sister with Zhang Biao, how Zhu Yunwen was destitute like a beggar and emotionally broken, how Zhang Biao kicked Zhu Yunwen, and how he said those strange words like "There is no choice but to succeed" and "Don't underestimate a young man's potential".

"Finally, as Zhang Biao was being escorted away by us, he shouted loudly, ordering His Highness Yunhu and the two princesses to go to Wang Mazi's butcher shop and fetch five pig heads to deliver to his house, saying that if he died, Shen Lang and the others should eat and drink well to celebrate for him."

"Oh!"

Old Zhu slammed his fist hard on the armrest of the dragon bed, trembling with rage.
"Pig's head meat! Pig's head meat again! Is pig's head meat all that's on this bastard's mind?! Even on his deathbed, he's still thinking about eating it!"

After saying that, he coldly asked, "Why didn't you report this to us sooner?!"

"Pfft!"

Jiang Huan immediately knelt down and hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I've been completely bewildered by Zhang Biao lately, and on top of that, Your Majesty has been so angered by that fellow..."

He didn't dare say the rest, but his meaning was already clear.

I wanted to report it, but you didn't give me the chance at all!

One person is constantly dizzy and then wakes up, then dizzy again; they either fly into a rage or are scheming and plotting.

One who is always restless, trying this trick today and that trick tomorrow, is either courting death or on the road to courting death.

I don't have time to report this!
I spend all my time revolving around you guys.
Although she was full of complaints, Jiang Huan's head was still covered in cold sweat as she pressed it against the floor tiles, not daring to breathe.

Old Zhu stared intently at the top of his head, his eyes flashing with a deep light.

Without realizing it, he suddenly remembered the way he saw Zhu Yunwen that night. Combined with his own attitude towards him, he guessed that Zhu Yunwen's escape from the palace, becoming a "down-and-out beggar," "emotionally broken," and "claiming that he was the bastard who killed his own mother" was also related to him.

A complex mix of emotions welled up inside me: anger at their lack of ambition, disappointment, and a barely perceptible sense of guilt and worry.

The death of Lady Chang has always been a wound that the Crown Prince's palace has never healed, and it is also a demon in the heart of the child Yunhu.

Lady Lü.
Did you do anything to Yoon-hyuk? What did you say to him?
And Zhang Biao, that madman
Did he know Yunhu's identity?

Although the words are crude and the reasoning is flawed, the phrases "Don't underestimate a young man's potential" and "Don't let your sorrow become the sorrow of the Ming Dynasty" seem to be reminding us of something in an extreme way.

Old Zhu remained silent for a long time, the only sounds in the hall being his heavy breathing and the soft crackling of the candlelight.
Finally, he spoke slowly, his voice hoarse and weary, yet carrying an undeniable resolve: "Jiang Huan."

"The minister is here."

"The matter of Yun Tong and her brother's contact with Zhang Biao is to be kept secret and not to be spread."

As for Yunwen…

A complex glint flashed in Old Zhu's eyes: "Send someone to keep a close eye on him and see what he does next. Also, investigate the old maids from the Eastern Palace back then, especially Lady Lü, to see if they have said or done anything to Yun Tong recently."

"promise!"

Jiang Huan was greatly shocked. Did the Emperor become suspicious of the Crown Prince? He dared not think too much about it and quickly accepted the order.

"Go down."

Old Zhu waved his hand, as if he had exhausted all his strength, and slowly closed his eyes.

Jiang Huan bowed and withdrew, and the bedroom fell into a suffocating silence once again.

Old Zhu lay alone on the dragon bed, his mind a jumble of thoughts.

Zhang Biao's reckless actions, the chaos within the Ministry of Revenue, the impending turmoil in the Ministry of War, the eunuch in the Crown Prince's palace suspected of silencing witnesses, and the unexpected encounter between Yunwen and her siblings and Zhang Biao.
All of this, like countless tangled threads, was intertwined, making him uneasy.

"Why is the Crown Prince starting to act up? Biao'er, do you know that?"

Last day, please vote for me! Also, please vote for me at the beginning of the month (guaranteed minimum monthly votes). There will be an extra chapter.

　I'll add an extra chapter today. My tenosynovitis flared up while I was writing, so I'll take a break. I still have 10,000 words to write today.

　　Also, please give me a minimum monthly vote; I'll continue with 10,000 votes per day tomorrow.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)