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

Chapter 90 My fate is in my own hands, not yours! [Bonus Chapter 1 for Monthly Tickets]

"Dang-dang-dang-!"

The sound of the Jingyang Bell not only echoed outside the palace, but also brought silence to the entire Yingtian Prefecture.

Even within the palace, the news of Zhu Yuanzhang's awakening spread.

And those who heard this news.

Some wept with joy.

Some breathed a sigh of relief.

Others clenched their fists, their thoughts unclear.

In short, Old Zhu finally pulled through; some were happy, some were sad.

Meanwhile, back in the palace, Zhu Yunwen was curled up on the edge of his bed, having not slept all night.

It was as if everything that happened yesterday had not yet been processed in his mind or in his heart.

"Yun Tong! Yun Tong!"

"Open the door! Don't scare us!"

Outside the door were the two sisters, Zhu Mingyue and Zhu Mingyu, who had come upon hearing the news.

When they heard that Zhu Yunwen hadn't come out all night and hadn't eaten, they were extremely anxious.

However, no matter how much they called out and cried, there was no response from inside the door.

Until a familiar figure appeared beside them.

But then they heard the person say in a calm and gentle tone, "Mingyue, Mingyu, hasn't Tong'er come out yet?"

"Mother!?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Mingyue and Zhu Mingyu were both surprised, then quickly turned around and bowed to the person who had come: "Greetings, Mother Consort!"

"No need for formalities, we're all family."

Lady Lü smiled faintly, then glanced at the tightly closed door to Zhu Yunwen's room and sighed:
"Teng'er is usually an obedient child. I'm afraid she was frightened when she left the palace this time. It really worries your mother!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Mingyue and Zhu Mingyu exchanged a glance, then lowered their heads as if they were children who had done something wrong.

Madam Lü was quite satisfied with their reaction. A slight smile appeared on her lips, but it vanished in an instant. She then slowly stepped forward and said in a steady and unquestionable voice:
"Teng'er, can you hear me? I am your mother. Your grandfather has woken up. How heartbroken he would be if he knew you were behaving like this! If you don't think of yourself, you should think of your mother, your brother, and your two sisters!"

After he finished speaking, there was still no sound from inside the door.

Madam Lü frowned slightly, then looked at the two sisters, Zhu Mingyue and Zhu Mingyu, and noticed that the moment they saw her, they quickly lowered their heads to avoid eye contact.

It was obvious that they were afraid of being asked about matters outside the palace.

Lady Lü understood the situation but didn't expose them. She acted as if nothing had happened, her voice maintaining its usual gentle tone:
"Teng'er! Didn't you say that the pig's head meat in the palace wasn't good? Your mother specially had someone bring back some pig's head meat from outside the palace, from Wang Mazi's butcher shop!"

"Why aren't you washing up and changing? If you leave it out too long, the pig's head won't taste good."

Puff-!
Before Madam Lü could finish speaking, a muffled sound came from inside the door.

Immediately afterward, to the astonishment of the Zhu Mingyue and Zhu Mingyu sisters, Zhu Yunwen opened the door and his first words were: "Where's the pig's head meat?!"

"Hehe, I've got some pig's head meat on hand."

Madam Lü smiled gently, as if everything was still under control, and smugly urged Zhu Yunwen, "Yunwen, be good, go wash up!"

However, Zhu Yunwen gripped the door frame tightly, repeating almost in a low growl, "Where's the pig's head meat?!"

"This"

Madam Lü's heart sank, and she cursed inwardly, "What's wrong with this good-for-nothing? What's gotten into him?!"
However, while she inwardly felt disgust and anger at Zhu Yunwen's disrespect, she outwardly wore a sympathetic smile and indulged him, saying:

"Tong'er must be starving. Someone, quickly bring over the pig's head meat!"

"Yes!"

A young eunuch immediately obeyed the order.

Soon, he came over with a plate of fragrant, glistening Wang Mazi pig's head meat, bowed and handed it to Zhu Yunwen, saying, "Your Highness, Third Prince, please enjoy."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen's eyes widened as he looked at the pig's head meat on the plate.

The harrowing scene at Fengtian Hall Square uncontrollably flashed through my mind—

Zhang Biao pointed at the assembled nobles and officials, his arrogant and furious words like knives, splattering blood everywhere.

Wrapped in a tattered straw mat, Shen Lang roared in the cold wind, "I beg the Ming Dynasty to die!"

Sun Gui held the chamber pot lamp, which emitted a strange smell, a resolute expression on his face, a mixture of shame and tragic determination.

And then there were the low-ranking officials of the capital lying all over the ground, shivering from the cold but with burning eyes.
Finally, there was Zhang Biao's arrogant yet all-knowing shout as he was being escorted away by the Imperial Guards:

'If I die! Let the brothers have a good meal and drinks tonight! Consider it a celebration for me!!'

celebrate
To celebrate his death?

Then compare this to the 'compassion' of the pig's head meat in front of me.
An extremely strong, nauseating sense of absurdity and a chilling clarity overwhelmed Zhu Yunwen instantly, like an avalanche.

He slowly raised his head, for the first time not avoiding Lu's gaze.

Those eyes, which usually held timidity, confusion, or drunkenness, were now churning with an extremely complex emotion that Ms. Lü had never seen before.

It was shock, confusion, fear, and a sharp, forced sting and doubt.

He didn't show the usual respect and affection for Lady Lü, nor did he express gratitude for her indulgence. He just stared intently at her, his lips trembling slightly, as if he had used a great deal of strength to squeeze out a few dry words from his throat: "Mother...have you eaten?"

His voice was soft, yet carried an eerie calm, as if he were repeating an extremely ridiculous and terrifying riddle.

Lady Lü felt a sudden unease at his unusual reaction and gaze, and her smile almost faltered.

She forced herself to remain calm, and her tone became even gentler:

"Mother has been chanting Buddhist scriptures and abstaining from meat lately. If you want to eat, then eat. Don't worry about Mother."

"hehe."

Zhu Yunwen suddenly chuckled softly, his laughter hoarse, carrying a strong sense of self-mockery and a hint of barely perceptible sorrow.

“Yesterday, someone treated me to meat outside,” he muttered to himself, as if he could see the greasy paper package again, and the ‘kind older brother’ who called him a piece of trash but then stuffed the last of his food into his hands.

"That man," he said.

Zhu Yunwen's voice gradually became clearer, carrying an imitative yet extremely earnest tone: "Never underestimate a young man's potential."

"What!?"

Lu's pupils suddenly contracted.

He also said

Zhu Yunwen's gaze suddenly refocused, piercing straight at Lady Lü, with an almost cruel naiveté and questioning tone: "Don't let your sorrow become the sorrow of the Ming Dynasty!"

"Mother."

He staggered forward, staring intently at Madam Lü, whose expression had slightly changed, and his voice suddenly rose:

"Tell me, am I really that pathetic?! What can I do besides eat?! Am I really just a useless piece of trash who only knows how to wait to be fed?!"

He practically roared out the last two words, carrying with him more than a decade of pent-up humiliation and self-loathing, as well as the raw, bloody pain of having his facade forcibly torn away by Zhang Biao.

boom!
These words were like a thunderclap, shattering the gentle mask on Madam Lü's face instantly.

She meticulously constructed a cage woven from luxurious living and indulgent pampering.

At this moment, Zhu Yunwen used the most direct and tragic method to violently break open a crack from the inside.

Lu's face instantly turned extremely pale, alternating between ashen and ashen.

She never imagined that a simple outing would allow Zhang Biao, who was like a plague god, to inject such a terrifying clarity into the son she had raised to ruin.

Her fingers clenched tightly in her sleeve, her nails almost digging into her flesh.

But years of palace life allowed her to quickly suppress her surging emotions, and she forced a hurt and aggrieved expression back onto her face:
"Teng'er! How could you think like that? How could you speak to your mother like that? Your mother loves you and cares for you, what's wrong with that? It must be those scoundrels outside who have bewitched you and instigated you."

However, this time, her performance seemed to have failed.

Zhu Yunwen was no longer easily manipulated by her, nor was he swayed by her words as before.

He just stared at her intently, the former confusion in his eyes replaced by intense pain and struggle, as if two souls were tearing at his body.

One is a piece of trash who has been domesticated for more than ten years and is used to numbing himself with food and indulgence.

One is a prince who has just been forcibly awakened by external forces and is filled with great panic and doubt about his own fate.

He neither refuted Lady Lü nor admitted his mistake; he simply turned around abruptly and uttered three words:

"I'm not hungry!"

These three words, spoken in a deep, muffled voice, carried an unprecedented sense of resolve.

With a loud bang, he slammed the door to the inner room shut from the inside, shutting out Madam Lü's instantly cold and resentful gaze.

Zhu Mingyue and Zhu Mingyu took in their brother's unusual behavior, and both of them were deeply shocked.

Zhu Mingyue covered her mouth, her eyes filled with disbelief and lingering fear.

Looking at the tightly closed door, and recalling the horrifying scene in front of the Fengtian Hall, she felt a chill rise from the soles of her feet.

That Zhang Biao
How could he have brought about such a dramatic change in Yun-hu?!
For the first time, she felt a subtle but undeniable wavering and fear regarding Ms. Lü's "gentle and indulgent" educational approach.

Zhu Mingyu, on the other hand, is in a completely different state.

She crossed her arms, and although she still dared not be presumptuous in front of Madam Lü, her eyes shone with an astonishing light.

"Never underestimate a young man's potential; let your sorrow become the sorrow of the Ming Dynasty."

She unconsciously repeated those two sentences, feeling a surge of heat rushing through her chest, making her scalp tingle with pleasure!

That's fucking right!

She cheered with delight in her heart.

This is real human language! A million times better than all the roundabout nonsense from the palace!

That Zhang Biao not only dared to curse his grandfather the Emperor and confront the entire court of nobles, but he even managed to make her useless younger brother start reflecting on his life?!
This is simply amazing!
Zhu Mingyu felt that her worldview had been impacted and reshaped like never before.

She suddenly felt that all the things she had worried about before—the etiquette of a princess, the marriage alliance with nobles, and vying for favor with Lady Lü and Yunwen—were utterly meaningless and laughably insignificant.

Look how exciting Zhang Biao's life is! That's what you call living life to the fullest! That's what you call a life well-lived!

Although she would never admit it, a seed yearning for the 'abstract' and the 'crazy' had already been quietly planted in her heart and had begun to take root and sprout wildly.

Standing there, looking at the closed door and then glancing at the different expressions on her two daughters' faces, Madam Lü felt her anger, shock, and sense of crisis reach their peak.

Zhang Biao!

It's Zhang Biao again!

He not only ruined the establishment of the heir apparent and made the emperor faint three times, but he also reached into the Eastern Palace, trying to awaken this useless person whom she had carefully nurtured for more than ten years!

We absolutely cannot let him stay!
He must be made to disappear completely as soon as possible!

A chilling killing intent flashed in Lu's eyes.

Meanwhile, Zhu Yunwen, who was inside the room, leaned against the cold door panel and slowly slid down to sit on the floor.

The hustle and bustle of the outside world, the aroma of food and the insincere care inside the palace, all seemed to have drifted away from him.

He curled up again, burying his head deep in his knees, his body trembling uncontrollably.

The shouts in front of Fengtian Hall, Zhang Biao's angry rebuke, and the heart-wrenching words "Never underestimate a young man's potential" echoed repeatedly in my ears.

"I'm not useless, I'm not."

He muttered to himself, his voice choked with emotion, filled with immense confusion and a faint yet stubbornly growing sense of resentment.

The pungent, spicy, sour, and savory aroma of the cold pig's trotters wrapped in oil paper still seems to linger on the tip of my nose.

A silent storm was brewing fiercely in the heart of this legitimate grandson of the Ming emperor.

"My fate is in my own hands, not yours."

(End of this chapter)