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

Chapter 53 Full Power Unleashed, Every Word Piercing the Heart! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

The philological work from the Three Kingdoms period, *Guangya* (广雅), in its section on "Explanation of Relatives" (释亲), records: "妈 (mā) means mother."

"Damn it!"

The name Zhang Biao was truly earth-shattering.

Like a thunderclap carrying the rawness and extreme grief of the lowest rungs of society, it crashed heavily into the deathly silence of the bedroom in the Huagai Palace.

The sound carried a brute force that tore apart all pretense and etiquette, causing dust to fall from the roof beams.

"you!"

Old Zhu felt his head buzz and go completely white.

His eyes were filled with disbelief and shock, and an indescribable, overwhelming rage.

His throat bobbed, emitting a hoarse sound like a broken bellows, and his chest heaved violently, as if it were about to explode at any moment.

"Madman!!"

Liu Sanwu was the first to stand up and angrily criticize Zhang Biao.

His hair and beard bristled, his old face turned a deep liver color, and he trembled violently. Pointing at Zhang Biao, his voice was so shrill it was almost splitting:

"You scoundrel! You are utterly rebellious and heinous! You deserve to be torn to pieces!!"

His lifelong cultivation of knowledge and refinement, built up through countless references to classical texts, crumbled completely in the face of such blatant vulgarity.

Mei Yin's eyes were bloodshot with rage. His dignity as a prince consort and general in charge of troops had vanished, leaving only a fierce rage from being thoroughly enraged.

He roared, "Give me your life—!"

Immediately afterwards, he rushed forward with his bare hands, ready to kill Zhang Biao on the spot.

"stop--!"

Jiang Huan, who was guarding the door, moved even faster than Mei Yin.

In the instant Mei Yin suddenly attacked and killed, his embroidered spring knife moved like a swift wind cutting through grass, striking first despite being behind.

It wasn't aimed at Zhang Biao, but rather at Mei Yin with perfect precision.

"Shh!"

Mei Yin's arm was cut off by Jiang Huan with a single stroke, just 0.01 centimeters away from being severed.

Fortunately, he instinctively withdrew his hand in time.

"Jiang Huan! You dare to stop me?!"

Mei Yin was both shocked and furious. She staggered back a step, glaring at Jiang Huan, who had almost severed her arm.

"Prince Consort Mei! How dare you be so insolent before the Emperor!"

Jiang Huan's voice was icy cold, carrying an unquestionable tone.

Although he also wanted to kill Zhang Biao, that madman, he had to stop Mei Yin from killing someone in front of the emperor.

Especially since Old Zhu had not yet recovered from the shock.

He added, "Your Majesty's health is of utmost importance!"

"You scoundrel! You are a wolf in sheep's clothing! A beast disguised as a monkey!"

Seeing that Mei Yin's attempt to kill had failed, Liu Sanwu couldn't help but angrily berate Zhang Biao: "The principles of the Spring and Autumn Annals prioritize honoring the king and repelling the barbarians! How dare you use such vulgar and obscene language to offend the emperor and the father of the nation!"

"This is an act that destroys moral order, corrupts human relationships, and extinguishes the very spirit of heaven and earth! Everyone has the right to kill him!"

"You shall suffer the torture of being branded with hot irons, the calamity of being torn apart by chariots, and have your head hung at the gate of the nation as a warning to others!"

He quoted extensively from classical texts, every word and phrase seemingly intent on nailing Zhang Biao to the pillar of historical shame and scattering his ashes to the winds.

Mei Yin, who had been prevented from venting her anger, immediately turned her hand to her mouth and cursed out:

"Zhang Biao! You vile scoundrel! Do you even know that when the ruler is distressed, the subject is disgraced, and when the ruler is disgraced, the subject dies?! How dare you insult His Majesty with such filthy words!"

"If I don't tear you, this arrogant and ignorant beast, to pieces and chop you into mincemeat to feed the dogs today, I swear I'm not human!!"

"Hahaha!"

Faced with this barrage of vicious curses, Zhang Biao was not afraid at all; instead, he burst into wild laughter.

The laughter was filled with extreme mockery and indignation, suppressing Liu Sanwu's quotations and Mei Yin's murderous intent.

"What a profound principle of the Spring and Autumn Annals! What a profound statement about the ruler's sorrow and the minister's disgrace, and the minister's death for the ruler's shame!"

Zhang Biao stopped laughing, his brows furrowing as he glared at Liu Sanwu: "Liu Sanwu! Put away your hypocritical, pedantic doctrines! Open your old, dim-witted eyes and take a look!" With that, he abruptly flipped the book, *The Blood and Tears of Demanding Unpaid Wages*, to the page where Wang Zhong starved to death, and shoved it fiercely in front of Liu Sanwu's face.
"Look! Look at what this painting depicts! An old censor who served the Ming Dynasty like a slave for twenty years!"

"He starved to death on the cold earthen bed!"

"He was also clutching three IOUs for grain in his pocket!"

"His five-year-old grandson is licking soot from the pot!"

"Is this the benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness you spout? This is the Ming Dynasty of self-discipline and restoration of propriety?! This is the lofty righteousness you, Scholar Liu, constantly preach?! A scholar can be killed but not humiliated?!"

"I think it's better to starve than to disturb your peaceful dreams!"

"you!"

Liu Sanwu was speechless.

But Zhang Biao's attacks did not stop.

He then said with a mocking expression, "You and your five brothers served as officials in the Yuan court back then. As Han Chinese, you became traitors! In the end, two of you were killed by bandits. When you were hiding in Guangxi, eating chaff and wild vegetables and barely surviving, why didn't you recite your 'Spring and Autumn Annals' of righteousness?"

"Now that you're wearing this Ming Dynasty official robe, have you forgotten that you were once a lackey of the Yuan Dynasty? Have you forgotten that you once ate shit? No wonder you spew filth from your mouth!"

"You've wasted your time studying the classics!!"

"You...you're spouting nonsense! How dare you slander me, an old man!!"

Liu Sanwu was so angry that his old wounds were touched upon that he trembled with rage.

His old face turned from red to white. He pointed at Zhang Biao, his lips trembling, but he could no longer utter a single word of wisdom, leaving only pale and powerless slander.

Zhang Biao ignored him and turned his blade to strike Mei Yin directly: "And you too! Prince Consort Mei!"

"What a display of power! What a murderous aura!"

"What do you mean, 'a subject dies for his lord's disgrace'? I spit on you!!"

His spittle almost landed on Mei Yin's face, and his voice boomed like thunder:
"Who insulted His Majesty? Was it because I, Zhang Biao, drew a pig's head on him? Or was it because of this undeniable fact?!"

"Or perhaps, they were humiliated by the corrupt officials he controlled, who starved to death on the supposedly glorious and prosperous Ming Dynasty territory?!"

"You, Mei Yin, are in charge of the Rear Army Commandery, and you hold military power in the capital region. The soldiers are hoping for a wise ruler and for peace!"

"But are your soldiers paid their full pay? Are their armors still sharp? Do they have warm winter clothes for winter?"

"The fertile fields you've seized in the backyard of the Mei family mansion, the military households you've annexed, the servants you've employed, and the silver you've amassed by colluding with salt smugglers to illegally trade salt and iron—they're practically overflowing, aren't they?"

"Our soldiers are eating stale rice mixed with sand and wearing rusty, worn-out armor, while you, Prince Consort Mei, are spouting nonsense here, 'A subject who insults his sovereign shall die!'"

"Hahaha!"

He laughed wildly again, his eyes full of disdain: "I think you're a well-fed man who doesn't know the hunger of an starving man, talking without understanding the pain!"

"In my opinion, you are the biggest parasite clinging to the Emperor, sucking the blood and marrow of the nation!"

"How dare you boss me around like that? You should chop off your dog paws and feed them to the maggots first!"

Boom!

These words were like peeling away skin and bones, tearing Mei Yin's glamorous facade of loyalty to shreds.

Every word was piercing, every sentence cut to the bone!

Mei Yin's face turned purple from the scolding, and the veins on her forehead bulged like earthworms.

He prided himself on his loyalty and hated being accused of embezzlement.

Zhang Biao's words were like a venomous snake slithering into his ears, piercing the deepest, most hidden filth in his heart.

Shame, anger, and a hint of panic at being exposed in public caused him to completely lose his mind.

"Ah—! You little beast! I'll kill you!!"

He roared, no longer caring about imperial etiquette, clenched his fists, and with a mad urge to die together, smashed them down on Zhang Biao's head.

This punch, imbued with his life's martial arts skills and countless grievances, was determined to smash the head of this madman who exposed his past.

"enough!!"

Old Zhu finally snapped out of his shock and let out a furious roar.

The roar was like that of an enraged lion, filled with boundless fury and murderous intent.

(End of this chapter)