The Dumb Prince of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 111 Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry he wanted to kill Li Jiujiang

Inside the hall, Li Jinglong and Zhu Bai were sitting cross-legged on the ground, with a roasting oven between them.

Zhu Bai held a skewer of meat in one hand and a bowl of wine in the other, his mouth glistening with oil.

Li Jinglong was talking animatedly, with half a mouthful of meat still in his mouth.

The two turned their heads at the same time and saw Zhu Yuanzhang standing at the door.

"Father, please calm down."

"Your Majesty, listen to my excuses."

Zhu Yuanzhang casually picked up a whisk from beside the door: "Am I a traitor like Cao Cao? Am I afraid of my wife?"

Li Jinglong took off running, and Zhu Bai took the opportunity to try to slip away to the door.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang's tall stature blocked their way.

"Father! Father! It was Li Jiujiang who said it; it has nothing to do with me."

"You stole the wine, and you still say I'm henpecked like your fourth brother? If your fourth brother heard that, he'd skin you alive."

Li Jinglong peeked half his head out from behind the screen and shouted, "Your Majesty, I was praising you. Cao Cao is a man of great talent and strategy."

"Come here!"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please continue to listen to my sophistry. Cao Cao was a warlord in a chaotic era, while you are a sage ruler who founded the nation."

Zhu Yuanzhang blocked Li Jinglong's path with a murderous aura: "You brat, this time you called us Cao Cao, next time are you going to call us King Zhou?"

"No way! Your Majesty, King Zhou is nowhere near as wise and powerful as you, oh dear!"

The whisk fell, followed by a scream.

Zhu Yuanzhang reacted quickly and grabbed Li Jinglong by the back of the neck.

Li Jinglong was pulled and stumbled, like a chick caught in the jaws of an eagle.

"Kid," Zhu Yuanzhang said in a low voice, "we're in a bad mood today, so let's put on a show."

Li Jinglong was taken aback and looked up at Zhu Yuanzhang's old face.

At this moment, a shrewd and calculating smile appeared on his lips.

"Your Majesty, what kind of play are we doing?" He had a bad feeling. "My acting skills will definitely not disappoint you."

Zhu Yuanzhang said with satisfaction, "You don't need to act."

"Your Majesty, what do you want to do?" Li Jinglong was dumbfounded.

"I'll give you twenty lashes, enough to make your buttocks splatter." Zhu Yuanzhang raised an eyebrow.

"No, please! Can we not do this show?" Li Jinglong said with a mournful face.

Zhu Yuanzhang analyzed earnestly: "If we punish you with a beating today, word will spread that we look down on you, and you will hold a grudge. In that case, it will make sense for you to continue your corrupt and lawless ways as Li Chongliu, right? People hiding in the shadows will be more likely to believe you."

What you said makes a lot of sense, but you're not the one getting beaten up.

"Doesn't it need to be so realistic?" Li Jinglong was ready to run at any moment.

Zhu Yuanzhang chuckled: "The guards know their limits; they won't break any bones."

"No!" Li Jinglong was almost in tears.

Twenty strokes of the cane, even if the bones are fine, the buttocks will definitely be bruised and battered.

Zhu Yuanzhang was instantly enraged.

With acting skills like Lao Zhu's, it's a waste that he's not a leading actor in a theatrical troupe.

"Li Jiujiang, you've gone too far! How dare you insult us! Men, drag him out and give him twenty lashes!" Zhu Yuanzhang kicked Li Jinglong away.

The guards outside the palace gates had been waiting for a long time. Upon hearing the imperial edict, they rushed in and grabbed Li Jinglong's arm.

Li Jinglong knew he couldn't avoid it today.

Since there's no way to avoid it, we can only be more professional.

"You tyrant! You despot!" he yelled.

The old eunuch kneeling outside the door almost fell over.

Zhu Bai, who was not far away, was completely numb.

"Drag him out and beat him!" Zhu Yuanzhang roared. "You disgrace to your father, you piece of trash!"

"You tyrant!" Li Jinglong was dragged out by the guards, unleashing a torrent of abuse. "You indiscriminately kill innocent people! Do you even know how to govern a country? You're a foolish ruler!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's face turned pale.

This kid added words, is he trying to sneak in his own agenda?

Enraged, he rolled up his sleeves again: "Give you a good beating! Someone like you can forget about inheriting the title of Duke of Cao!"

"You tyrant! You incompetent ruler!" Li Jinglong was dragged to the palace gate.

An hour later, at the Duke of Cao's residence.

Li Jinglong was carried back.

He was lying face down on the door, his buttocks up, his pants covered in blood.

From the Qianqing Palace to the Cao Guogong Mansion, Li Jinglong's heroic figure, lying on the door panel, was seen by many people as they walked through the streets and alleys.

Some people recognized him as the young Duke of Cao's mansion and whispered among themselves, guessing that he must have offended the emperor.

Li Jinglong buried his face in the door panel, thinking that this was perfect. Old Zhu had achieved all the desired effect. Not only did the court know about it, but even the old lady selling pancakes on the street witnessed it.

As soon as he entered the mansion, the servants swarmed around him and hurriedly moved him from the door panel to the bed.

After entering the room, he lay on the bed, still cursing: "Zhu Chongba, you tyrant, you incompetent ruler."

The servants outside the door knelt down in unison, looking at each other in dismay, their backs drenched in cold sweat.

Just as things were in chaos, Li Zengzhi rushed in with an old man.

He glanced at the servants kneeling in the courtyard and coldly ordered, "Everyone, get out of the backyard! Anyone who dares to utter a single word about what happened today, I'll skin you alive!"

The servants, as if granted a pardon, rose and retreated.

Zhao Qing didn't leave, tears streaming down her face: "I'll go and serve the eldest young master."

"No need," Li Zengzhi said coldly. "No one is allowed in the backyard, so you can leave too."

Li Zengzhi led the old man into the room and closed the door behind him.

"Brother, I've brought Physician Dai here." He stepped forward.

The old man was Dai Sigong, the imperial physician most trusted by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Dai Sigong remained calm. Having worked in the Imperial Hospital for most of his life, he had seen all kinds of injuries.

The King of Yan was beaten far worse than this back then.

"These are all superficial wounds. They will heal completely after applying the wound medicine," he said, glancing at them.

Li Zengzhi breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Jinglong lay face down on the pillow and asked, "Imperial Physician, will it leave a scar?"

"A scar on your buttocks won't be visible to anyone," Li Zengzhi said.

"My future wife can see it," Li Jinglong said, looking worried.

Li Zengzhi shrugged: "Then you're really bragging. Just say you insulted His Majesty and got beaten up."

Li Jinglong blurted out: "Tyrant, incompetent ruler."

Dai Sigong's hand, which was applying wound medicine, suddenly trembled, and the powder almost spilled all over the ground.

He treated at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, nobles, and not a single patient cursed the emperor while receiving his medicine.

"Shut up, brother, let me put some medicine on you." Li Zengzhi wished he could find a piece of cloth to stuff his brother's mouth shut.

Dai Sigong composed himself and continued with his work.

As expected of an experienced physician, his technique was quick and steady; he cleaned, applied medicine, and bandaged the wound all in one smooth motion.

The moment the powder was applied, Li Jinglong felt a cool sensation spreading from his wound.

After treating his wounds, Dai Sigong took a small celadon bottle from his medicine box and handed it to Li Zengzhi: "This is wound medicine. You can keep it and apply it yourselves. I should leave now, so as not to trouble me."

Li Zengzhi quickly stepped forward: "I'll see you off."

"No need, you can look after your older brother." Dai Sigong waved his hand.

Li Jinglong watched Dai Sigong flee as if running away, and snorted, "All I did was criticize the emperor as a tyrant, and I got a beating for it. Can't I even criticize him anymore?"