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

Chapter 93 Your Majesty! Please, please don't see Imperial Censor Zhang again! [Requesting monthly votes]

Audit Department VI?

Did they empty out the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War, causing the Ministry of Personnel to suffer social death?
Drive Fu Youwen and Ru Chang crazy?

They ransacked Li Jinglong's house? They forced him to have dinner with them?
This frightened Guo Ying so much that he sat up in shock while on his deathbed and was forced to donate three thousand taels of silver.

They're now marching on the Ministry of Works?!

This series of abstract and absurd messages, each word revealing a bloody reality, were like countless heavy hammers, one after another, slamming into Old Zhu's understanding.

He has been in power for nearly thirty years. What storms and waves hasn't he seen?

Amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and treacherous conspiracies, he believed his heart had long since hardened to stone!

But at this moment.
He felt as if a crazy spinning top had been stuffed into his brain, spinning and collapsing violently at a speed and in a way that he could not comprehend at all.

this.
What the hell is all this garbage?!
The censor didn't write any memorials; instead, he went to confiscate property with an abacus!
The nobility weren't impeached, but forced to donate money through an 'audit'?!

What about the imperial court's decorum? What about the laws? What about the established order?!
Were they all fed to the dogs?!
An extremely strong emotion, a mixture of shock, absurdity, rage, and a trace of bewilderment that even he himself was unwilling to admit, surged forth like a burst dam, instantly shattering all his composure.

His withered body trembled violently and uncontrollably, his sallow face turned bright red, and his chest heaved violently like a bellows.

He wanted to kill insanely, to kill without regard for anything else!
He wanted to tear this absurdity to shreds!
But it felt like an invisible hand was tightly gripping my throat, and I couldn't make a sound!
Under this immense, uncontrollable emotional shock and physical spasms
"puff--!"

It's not spurting blood.

It was that ginseng soup he had swallowed not long ago, mixed with nausea and extreme emotional turmoil, that suddenly gushed out of his mouth like a small, long-suppressed fountain.

Precise, unreserved, and overwhelming
It sprayed all over Zhu Yunwen's face, who was slumped on the ground, head tilted back, his face full of terror and despair!
"?????!"

Zhu Yunwen was completely dumbfounded.

The pungent stomach acid and the warm ginseng soup with its strong medicinal smell dripped down his smooth forehead, straight nose, and astonished lips.

The winged crown that symbolized his status on his head was knocked askew, his carefully styled hair was wet, and a few strands of hair stuck messily to his cheeks.

The front of the prince's casual robe, embroidered with gold thread, was soaked through, dark water stains spreading rapidly, with a few undissolved ginseng slices and goji berries still clinging to it.
boom!
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

He remained slumped with his head tilted back, his eyes wide open.

His pupils reflected Old Zhu's face, contorted by violent coughing and emotional agitation, as well as his own unprecedented disheveled state.

The sticky, warm feeling on his face, along with the strong smell of ginseng and sour odor, served as a stark reminder of what he was going through.

who am I?
where am I?
what happened?
Overwhelmed by immense humiliation, bewilderment, and a deep-seated fear, he was instantly engulfed.

He even forgot to wipe his face, as if he had been frozen in place.

Jiang Huan and Yun Ming, who were standing nearby, were also stunned.

They watched helplessly as the Emperor sprayed Prince Yunwen's face with ginseng soup.

this.
This is absolutely unprecedented!

Even Jiang Huan, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who had killed countless people, momentarily lost his mind and had no idea how to react.

Should we immediately rush forward to protect him? Or should we first hand Prince Yunwen a handkerchief?!
Wait, wasn't it Yunming who handed over the handkerchief?

He subconsciously looked at Yunming, only to see Yunming suppressing a laugh and quickly turning his head to the side.

He's professionally trained; he won't laugh no matter how funny something is.

But the speed at which his shoulders trembled betrayed him.

As for Old Zhu, after spitting out that mouthful of ginseng soup, he coughed violently again, coughing so hard it was heart-wrenching.

But after coughing for a while, his breathing seemed to be much easier than before.

He coughed as he raised a trembling hand, pointing outside the hall, his voice hoarse yet filled with a desperate roar:
"They've rebelled! They've all rebelled!"

"Jiang Huan! Jiang Huan!!"

"What are you still standing there for?!"

"Cough cough. Arrest him! Arrest him! Bring that madman Zhang Biao back to us!!"

"Alive! We need them alive!"

"We need to ask him ourselves! What exactly is he trying to do?!"

He practically shouted the last few sentences.

Accompanied by violent coughing, his eyes were bloodshot from extreme anger and agitation.

Spit mixed with the remaining ginseng soup splattered onto Zhu Yunwen's face, who was slumped on the ground, once again.

Zhu Yunwen shuddered from the shout and finally snapped out of his petrified state.

Seeing Old Zhu's expression, as if he wanted to devour Zhang Biao's flesh and blood, he was terrified. Ignoring his disheveled appearance, he scrambled back two steps, screaming in a wailing voice:
"Your Majesty, please calm down! Your Majesty, please take care of your health!"

Jiang Huan also came to her senses at this moment, realizing that now was not the time to be daydreaming.

He immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I obey! I will personally lead men to arrest Zhang Biao!"

After saying this, he didn't dare to look at the grandmother and grandson again and turned to rush out of the bedroom.

However, Yunming, who was standing to the side, suddenly knelt down and crawled to Old Zhu's legs, crying and shouting:
"Your Majesty! Please don't see Imperial Censor Zhang again! I'm terrified! I'm so afraid!"

"Go away-!"

Old Zhu kicked Yunming away and struggled to sit up straight.

But he lost his balance and almost fell to the ground.

He quickly stretched out his withered hand and gripped the edge of the bed tightly, his nails almost digging into the wood:
"We need to see Zhang Biao!! We need to see him right now!"

"Quick! Bring him here! We need to ask him ourselves! What exactly is he trying to do?! Is he really going to wipe out the Zhu family?!"

Once this thought arose, it spread like wildfire, instantly occupying Old Zhu's entire mind. Countless emotions of anger, humiliation, fear, and even a faint curiosity that he himself was unwilling to admit, mixed together into a powerful obsession.

He had to see that madman immediately!

I must figure all of this out myself!
However, this crazy order terrified everyone present.

Because it wasn't just Yunming who realized it; everyone else did too.

Given Old Zhu's current condition, seeing Zhang Biao would likely be disastrous.

"Your Majesty! No! Absolutely not!"

At this moment, the imperial physician, who had just returned from preparing the medicine, also knelt down at the door with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly.

"Your Majesty, your health is poor. You are suffering from a sudden attack of anger, causing your blood and qi to become disordered. You urgently need to rest! You must not be subjected to any further stimulation! That Imperial Censor Zhang's words are alarming; what if..."

He paused, then said carefully, "If the Emperor's health were to suffer any further mishap, we, his subjects, would be condemned to death!"

"Yes, Your Majesty! Taking care of your health is of utmost importance!"

Several eunuchs also cried and begged.

Seeing this, Jiang Huan also hesitated for a moment and couldn't help but advise Old Zhu:
"Your Majesty, Zhang Biao is an eccentric and unrestrained man, and he seems to have little respect for imperial authority."

"If I summon him now, I fear he may utter wild and unfounded words, further alarming Your Majesty. Perhaps we should wait until Your Majesty's health has improved somewhat?"

"fart!"

Old Zhu slammed his fist on the bed in anger, then coughed violently again: "We're not dead yet! We want to see him right now!"

"Jiang Huan, are you also afraid of that madman?! You can't even handle something this simple?!"

"I deserve to die ten thousand times!"

Jiang Huan quickly bowed his head and apologized, "It was only for Your Majesty's health."

"you!"

Just as Old Zhu was about to explode with rage, a series of hurried footsteps and announcements came from outside the room.

"Hanlin Academician Liu Sanwu requests an audience!"

"Imperial Son-in-Law Mei Yin requests an audience!"

Clearly, news from outside the palace had reached these key figures very quickly, and they rushed over immediately.

"Let them get in here!"

Old Zhu was in a bad mood and shouted angrily.

Liu Sanwu and Mei Yin hurriedly entered the bedroom, and upon seeing the mess inside, they both knelt down on the ground.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty—!"

"Your Majesty, we humbly beseech you to take care of your health!"

Old Zhu interrupted them impatiently:
"Stop with the nonsense! You've come at the perfect time! If Jiang Huan isn't going, you are!"

"Go and tie that bastard Zhang Biao up to us! We're going to see if he has three heads and six arms today!"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned pale.

Liu Sanwu, who valued etiquette and rules above all else, disregarded everything else at this moment and said in a trembling voice:

"Your Majesty! This is absolutely unacceptable!"

"That Zhang Biao acts like a street thug, completely lacking in manners!"

"Your Majesty, how can you, with your invaluable person, confront such a madman before the palace? Wouldn't that disgrace Your Majesty's ears and damage the Emperor's authority? If this gets out, what will the people of the world think of our Great Ming Dynasty? Your Majesty, please reconsider!"

Mei Yin was more direct, kowtowing and saying:
"Your Majesty! Zhang Biao has angered you three times; his heart is wicked! His words are like swords! Summoning him now is tantamount to offering yourself to a tiger!"

"What if he spouts another load of nonsense? What will become of His Highness Yunwen? What will become of the Ming Dynasty? Your Majesty, for the sake of the nation, you cannot take this risk!"

The two of them spoke back and forth, their sobs rising and falling, every word of which contained the cryptic message that "Zhang Biao is poisonous and anyone who sees him will die."

They practically portrayed Zhang Biao as a sorcerer who could curse emperors to death with mere words.

Upon hearing this, Old Zhu frowned even more deeply.

He knew perfectly well what the two men were afraid of.

They were afraid that Zhang Biao's sharp tongue would make him faint again, and if he really didn't wake up, their contribution to his ascension would be in vain, and they might even be purged.

But her dramatic, wailing display really annoyed him.

"okay!"

Old Zhu impatiently interrupted them, his voice weak from illness but still authoritative: "What kind of behavior is this, crying and wailing! We're not dead yet!"

Liu Sanwu and Mei Yin's crying stopped abruptly, but they remained kneeling on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably, wiping away their seemingly endless tears with their sleeves.

Looking at their appearance, and recalling Zhang Biao's unruly and arrogant manner, daring to point at the entire court of nobles and curse them to his nose, Old Zhu felt inexplicably disgusted.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his surging emotions, and said as calmly as possible, "We know about your loyalty. But what about Zhang Biao?"

“Grandfather, I believe that although Censor Zhang has acted arrogantly and rebelliously, his incitement of lower-ranking officials to rebel may have ulterior motives, or perhaps he was secretly instructed by someone to disrupt the court. His intentions are despicable.”

Before Old Zhu could finish speaking, Zhu Yunwen's voice suddenly rang out.

"What did you say!?"

Old Zhu glanced at them coldly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)