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

Chapter 148 Old Zhu: You did it, you big idiot! [Seeking monthly votes]

Imperial Prison, interrogation room.

The air here is always mixed with the stench of blood and decay, and a sense of desperate fear.

Unlike the cold, deathly silence of the Hall of Literary Glory, this place echoed with suppressed groans and the metallic clanging of instruments of torture.

Zhou Ji was stripped of his fine clothes and bound tightly to the rack like a pig or sheep awaiting slaughter.

After being splashed with cold water to wake him up, he saw the terrifying torture instruments around him, each with a dark red sheen and a variety of shapes, as well as Jiang Huan's expressionless face. He was so frightened that he almost lost control of his bladder again, and his cries were heart-wrenching.

"Lord Jiang! Grandpa Jiang! Spare me! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"

Zhou Ji stammered, trying to downplay the seriousness of the matter: "I got that drug for fun... just to liven things up... I didn't mean to harm anyone..."

Jiang Huan remained silent, but gave a wink to the executioner beside him.

One of the imperial guards picked up a small but exceptionally sharp hook knife, heated it over the brazier, and then slowly walked toward Zhou Ji.

"No...no! I'll tell you! I really will!"

Zhou Ji was terrified and screamed, "That prescription...that prescription isn't mine! It...it's something I got from someone else!"

"Who?"

Jiang Huan's voice rang out coldly, containing only one word.

"Yes Yes……"

Zhou Ji's eyes flickered, as if he was still weighing the pros and cons, or perhaps he had a deeper fear of revealing the source.

"what--!"

A scream so shrill that it didn't sound like a human voice suddenly rang out!
The red-hot hook knife did not pierce his body, but instead gently and skillfully made a shallow but extremely painful cut on the softest part of his inner thigh.

This skill of precisely controlling pain is a specialty of the Imperial Prison.

"I said! It's from the Lu Prince's Mansion! It came from the mansion of the deceased Lu Huang Prince!"

The intense pain and fear instantly shattered all of Zhou Ji's mental defenses, and he howled out like spilled beans: "King Lu Huang was fond of alchemy in his lifetime in pursuit of immortality, and this is a formula made by the alchemist in his mansion!"

"It is said to be made by mixing the menstrual blood of virgin girls with cinnabar, musk and other substances, and is called 'Red Lead Elixir'. Its original purpose was to enhance male virility and prolong life... but the medicine is so potent that ordinary people cannot withstand it..."

Jiang Huan frowned.

Prince Lu, Zhu Tan, the emperor's tenth son, was indeed famous for his love of alchemy. He died last year from poisoning after consuming a golden elixir. The emperor, disgusted by his absurdity, posthumously named him "Huang" (meaning "absurd").

Unexpectedly, after his death, this lewd and evil prescription was circulated.

"Keep talking! How did it end up in your hands?!" Jiang Huan demanded sharply.

"After King Luhuang died, many of his belongings were scattered..."

Zhou Ji's voice was broken and intermittent due to pain and fear: "This prescription... it was the first... the first to reach Xi'an Prefecture..."

"Xi'an Prefecture?"

Jiang Huan's heart sank.

Xi'an Prefecture was the fiefdom of Zhu Shuang, the Prince of Qin.

Could the old case in Xi'an Prefecture be related to Prince Zhu Shuang of Qin?
Thinking of this, even the ruthless Jiang Huan couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.

But then Zhou Ji, panting heavily and with fear in his eyes, said, "It was...it was a favorite concubine of His Highness Prince Qin. I don't know how she obtained this recipe, but she secretly prepared and used it, and the effects...the effects were amazing."

"Later, it quietly spread among the sons of noble families...and then...and then..."

"And then what?!"

Jiang Huan shouted.

Zhou Ji shuddered and said tremblingly, "Later, when we arrived in Kaifeng Prefecture, His Highness Prince Zhou... he was skilled in medicine and somehow obtained this prescription."

"It is said that he found the formula too potent and insidious, so he modified it, reducing the amount of metal and mineral poisons and increasing the effects of intoxication and deception. The medicinal properties became... more subtle and prolonged, and more difficult to detect..."

"I...I spent a fortune to get the improved formula from His Highness Prince Zhou..."

After Zhou Ji finished speaking, he collapsed onto the rack as if he had lost all his strength, only unconscious twitching and sobbing remaining.

Jiang Huan stood there, feeling a chill run from the soles of her feet to the top of her head, her limbs icy cold.

The poison left behind by Zhu Tan, the King of Lu, from his alchemy practice!

Rumors circulated privately about the favored concubine of Qin King Zhu Shuang!

King Zhu Su of Zhou's reforms spread!

This connection actually involves three feudal lords!

Although Qin King Zhu Shuang and Zhou King Zhu Su may not have directly instructed or used it in the palace, the actions of their concubines, favorite concubines, or themselves objectively became the source of the spread of this aphrodisiac!
If this news were reported... how would the Emperor react?!
Jiang Huan could almost imagine the earth-shattering rage of thunder!
This is no longer just a scandal in the imperial harem, but a scandal for the entire imperial family!
It was the absurdity and depravity of the princes and grandsons that ultimately bore the poisonous fruit that backfired on the emperor himself!
"Make it recorded! Make him sign it!"

Jiang Huan's voice was extremely dry as he gave instructions to the clerk.

Looking at Zhou Ji, whose face was ashen and who had pressed his fingerprint on the confession, he felt no relief, only boundless heaviness and fear.

He knew that this confession was a death warrant, which would not only take the lives of Zhou Ji and Zhou Dexing, but could also trigger a huge earthquake that would affect several vassal kings.

Your Majesty... can you bear such a truth?

Jiang Huan dared not think too much. He picked up the confession, which was still wet with ink but weighed more than a thousand pounds, and walked heavily back to the Huagai Hall, which resembled a volcano.

He knew that yet another storm was about to be ignited by the confession in his hand.

However, before that, he felt it was necessary for him to meet Zhang Biao.

Ask Zhang Biao if he already knew about these things.

……

Before long, Jiang Huan arrived at room number three of the Jiazi building where Zhang Biao was located.

"Bang!"

The prison door was opened by a member of the Imperial Guard.

Zhang Biao was still sitting on the bed, leisurely swirling his wine glass, seemingly having anticipated Jiang Huan's arrival. A faint, almost imperceptible, sneer played on his lips.

"Commander Jiang, why do you look so pale?"

Zhang Biao spoke lazily, as if it were just a casual question: "Is it something that spineless Zhou Ji spat out? It's too hot to handle?"

Jiang Huan was shocked and stared intently at Zhang Biao: "How do you know Zhou Ji? How do you know he vomited something?"

He clearly blocked all information.

Zhang Biao smiled faintly, pointed to his ear, and said:

"This imperial prison is a giant echo chamber. Screams, pleas for mercy, and the hurried footsteps of your Embroidered Uniform Guards... After listening to them enough, you can always piece together a story."

"Moreover, Zhou Ji was screaming so pitifully that it was hard not to hear him."

After saying this, he paused, his gaze turning deep as he looked at the paper with faint ink stains in Jiang Huan's hand: "Judging from your distraught appearance, what he vomited up must have been more than just some aphrodisiac drugs, right?"

"Could it be... that some princes are involved? Let me guess... from Xi'an? Or Kaifeng? Or... both?"

"you!"

Jiang Huan's pupils suddenly contracted, his breathing became rapid, and his hand holding the confession trembled slightly.

Zhang Biao's guess was terrifyingly accurate!
He was almost certain that Zhang Biao knew far more than he had shown!

"You knew all along! Didn't you?!"

Jiang Huan couldn't help but take a step forward, his voice low and suppressed as he growled, "You knew all along that this medicine would involve the vassal king! That's why you deliberately let Li Mo and the others leak the news, wasn't it?!"

"From the very beginning, your target wasn't just Fu Youwen; you wanted to cause a major upheaval! You wanted to drag the vassal kings down with you!"

Zhang Biao didn't answer directly, but instead shifted to a more comfortable position and said leisurely, "Jiang Huan, you're a smart person, but sometimes you're too smart, and you overthink things."

“I’m just a death row inmate, what could I possibly know? I’ve only made some reasonable inferences based on some scattered clues.”

"The Ministry of Revenue's bad accounts, the deficit in Shaanxi, the Crown Prince's serious illness after his inspection tour... these seemingly unrelated things become quite interesting when connected by the word 'profit'."

"Who could simultaneously interfere in the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and local government affairs, and even influence the Crown Prince's travel arrangements without being detected?"

"Who needs massive amounts of money but cannot openly withdraw it from the national treasury?"

Zhang Biao's gaze was like a cold probe, piercing Jiang Huan: "The Prince of Qin has been enfeoffed in Xi'an for many years, with deep roots. His greed and tyranny are well known."

"Then, is it possible that he might have done something underhanded in Shaanxi to amass wealth? If the Crown Prince discovered something during his inspection tour, would that have threatened his interests?"

"King Zhou was a master of medicine, a fact known throughout the land. Is it possible that he might have been interested in certain 'unorthodox remedies' or 'secret medicines'? Or even 'improved' them?"

"And what if these improved features are used by some people as tools to curry favor with superiors and build networks of connections?"

"The poisonous residue left by King Lu's alchemy is a well-known fact."

Zhang Biao shrugged, his tone carrying a chilling indifference: "Look, by putting these known pieces of information together like jigsaw puzzle pieces, without needing concrete evidence, we can piece together a rough, unsettling outline."

"I simply... presented this outline to Old Zhu in a rather provocative way."

As he spoke, Zhang Biao smiled and raised an eyebrow, saying, "As for how much Old Zhu will choose to believe and how far he will investigate, that's not something I can decide."

"..." Jiang Huan felt a chill run down her spine as she listened to Zhang Biao's 'reasonable' yet thrilling reasoning.

Zhang Biao did not provide any direct evidence, but the 'mind map' he provided was more lethal than any other evidence.

It precisely exploited the emperor's suspicions and distrust of powerful ministers and his sons.

"You...you are truly a monster!"

Jiang Huan squeezed out these words through gritted teeth.

He now understands completely.

Zhang Biao's 'audit' was never intended to combat corruption from the very beginning.

He intended to use his own life and his unbridled tongue as the biggest bait and bomb, to detonate all the suspicion and fear in the emperor's heart, and drag the entire Ming Dynasty's high-ranking officials into a self-purification purgatory!

"evildoer?"

Zhang Biao scoffed: "Compared to the methods your Embroidered Uniform Guard uses to fabricate charges and frame loyal officials, my speculation based on facts is as pure as a blank sheet of paper."

After saying that, he stopped smiling and his eyes became sharp: "Jiang Huan, you will die one day while investigating a case. But die with value, just like me."

Boom!

Upon hearing this, Jiang Huan was struck dumb.

If the previous 'mind map' showed him Zhang Biao's extraordinary talent...

But his last sentence revealed his true feelings.

He simply didn't dare stay any longer.

This Zhang Biao is terrifying.

In the end, Jiang Huan said nothing, turned around abruptly, clutched the confession tightly, and staggered out of the cell.

……

When Jiang Huan returned to the Huagai Hall, the hall remained deathly silent.

"emperor!"

Jiang Huan called out cautiously.

Old Zhu sat motionless on the dragon throne, uttering only a single word in a calm and indifferent tone: "Speak!"

"promise!"

Jiang Huan lowered his body, almost touching his forehead to the ground, and repeated Zhou Ji's confession word for word in a voice that was as steady as possible but still had a slight, imperceptible tremor.

He went on to discuss the poisonous residue left by Zhu Tan, the Prince of Lu, who practiced alchemy, and the rumors spread by Zhu Shuang, the Prince of Qin, who was favored by his concubine. He then mentioned Zhu Su, the Prince of Zhou, who was "proficient in medicine" and "improved his skills"...

Finally, even Zhang Biao's remarks were spoken, including the statement that he would die, but he would die with value.

With each word he uttered, one could feel the pressure emanating from the dragon throne grow heavier, and the air in the hall seemed to stagnate.

When he spoke of "dying with purpose," he could no longer continue and bowed deeply.
"Your Majesty, I...I deserve to die ten thousand times! This is only the one-sided statement of the wanted criminal Zhou Ji, but his signature is here. I beg Your Majesty for your judgment!"

He held the confession high as if it were a bolt of lightning capable of burning everything.

The anticipated landslide and tsunami did not occur immediately.

On the dragon throne, there was an even longer, suffocating silence.

Jiang Huan could even hear the sound of her own blood flowing.

After a long while, a very faint sigh came from above, as if the person had aged ten years in an instant, or a broken sob that had been forcibly suppressed.

"Hehehe...good...truly our good son...good subject..."

Old Zhu's voice was so hoarse it was almost unrecognizable; it was no longer an angry roar, but a deep-seated weariness, sorrow, and a profound sense of absurdity after being betrayed by his closest relatives one after another.

"Someone seeking immortality poisoned himself to death, yet still left behind such filth to harm humanity..."

"A man guarding the frontier can't even control his own household, allowing such lewd and immoral things to spread..."

"A man well-read in poetry and literature, skilled in medicine, instead of practicing medicine to save lives, used his knowledge to improve this potent aphrodisiac..."

Old Zhu's voice was very soft, as if he were talking to himself, but every word was like a bloody hook.

"Our Zhu Chongba... has traversed the world in his lifetime, driving out the Tartars and restoring China... but who would have thought that in his old age, his own family would fall into such a state... his sons are not like sons, and his subjects are not like subjects..."

The deep disappointment and sorrow in his voice caused even the hard-hearted leader of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Jiang Huan, to feel a strange pang of bitterness and fear.

Suddenly, Old Zhu started coughing violently, the violent coughing breaking the deathly silence in the hall, as if he were coughing up his internal organs.

Startled, Yunming rushed forward to help him up, but Old Zhu pushed him away.

He covered his mouth with his hand, coughed violently, and then opened his palm, revealing a glaring pool of bright red blood.

"Your Majesty!"

Yunming gasped in shock.

Old Zhu seemed not to see the blood, but instead gripped the armrest of the dragon throne tightly with his other hand, his knuckles turning white, supporting his slightly trembling body.

His gaze fell once more on the confession in Jiang Huan's hand. The weariness and sorrow in his eyes quickly faded, replaced by a near-mad, all-encompassing resolve.

The emperor's ruthlessness completely overwhelmed the father's grief at this moment.

"Jiang Huan".

The voice returned to its icy tone, even colder than before, devoid of any human emotion.

"Chen is here!"

"This confession, along with all the evidence seized from the Jiangxia Marquis's residence, is to be sealed and classified as top secret! Anyone who dares to divulge a single word will be executed by slow slicing and their entire family will be exterminated!"

"Yes!"

Jiang Huan felt a chill run down his spine, knowing that this was an attempt to completely cover up the scandal of the imperial family.

"Zhou Dexing failed in his duty to educate his son, allowing him to commit crimes and associate with the court, a crime akin to treason! He is hereby sentenced to death by hanging! His son, Zhou Ji, defiled the court, a heinous crime, and is to be executed by slow slicing! The entire Zhou family... shall be exterminated! Their property shall be confiscated!"

The cold verdict came out of Old Zhu's mouth without the slightest hesitation.

The meritorious officials of the past suffered the fate of having their entire families wiped out in the blink of an eye.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Jiang Huan was not surprised at all; the Zhou family was destined to be the first sacrifice crushed in this storm.

"As for the rest..."

Old Zhu paused here, then slowly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, it was as if he had made some kind of decision:
"Leave it alone for now, don't alert them. Continue the investigation and see if those rebellious sons are related to our Biao'er!"

"I...obey the order!"

Jiang Huan kowtowed again, his heart pounding.

The Emperor's suspicions about the Crown Prince were indeed the most important thing, and he was willing to do anything for it.

"Go do it."

Old Zhu waved his hand, as if he had exhausted all his strength, and slumped back on the dragon throne, closing his eyes and no longer looking at anyone.

"Yes!"

Jiang Huan felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He carefully placed the fatal confession on a corner of the imperial desk, bowed, and quickly withdrew from the hall.

Once again, only Old Zhu remained in the empty Huagai Hall.

The last rays of the setting sun shone through the window lattice onto his aged and weary face, but brought no warmth whatsoever.

He stared blankly at the intricate coffered ceiling of the palace. His once all-seeing and incomparably sharp eyes were now filled with endless sorrow and a deathly desolation.

The sons' folly, the ministers' betrayal, the corruption of the harem, the suspicion surrounding the crown prince...

All of this felt like towering mountains, suffocating him.

Biao'er... if your death is truly related to these dirty deeds... if it's really because we didn't manage this family well, didn't manage these brothers and nephews well...

The thought that "he killed Biao'er" popped into Lao Zhu's mind.

This time, it was with even deeper pain and self-blame.

But then, this pain was overwhelmed by an even stronger anger and murderous intent.

No! It's their fault! It's the fault of these parasites! These unfilial sons! These despicable people!

His fists clenched tightly once again.

Zhang Biao's mocking face seemed to reappear before my eyes.

[You bastard, are you satisfied now? Is this what you wanted us to see?!]

[To die with meaning? Ha! You did it! You big idiot!]

Asking for a monthly ticket~
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(End of this chapter)