The Dumb Prince of the Ming Dynasty

The weather is starting to get warmer.

Li Jinglong and Li Zengzhi, brothers, lay on bamboo chairs under the eaves, with a maidservant standing behind each of them massaging their shoulders.

"Brother, why are you abandoning your post again? Are you not going to do your job at the Ministry of Justice?" Li Zengzhi asked, squinting.

"The Ministry of Justice will be sentencing everyone involved in the Marquis of Linchuan case in the next couple of days, so I'm staying out of the limelight," Li Jinglong said lazily. "And you? Why are you lounging at home too?"

Li Zengzhi sighed, "The Imperial Academy is holding another exam, I'll have to hide from it too."

"Aren't you going to take the imperial examination next year? Aren't you going to work harder?" Li Jinglong asked.

Li Zengzhi spread his hands: "Brother, with my background, do I still need to take the imperial examination? That would be beneath our father's dignity."

"That's true." Li Jinglong nodded. "You shouldn't take up a spot in the imperial examinations. Leave it for those who need it. There will be many people taking the exams next year, won't there?"

Li Zengzhi nodded and said, "Almost all the students at the Imperial Academy, except for us second-generation nobles, are participating. They're all starting to predict who will be the top scholar in the palace examination. It's quite a lively scene."

Li Jinglong became interested: "The exam hasn't even started yet, and someone dares to predict the top scorer? Who's that amazing?"

"Of course, it's Qi De, Minister Lü's disciple, and Huang Zicheng and the others," Li Zengzhi said. "They are universally acknowledged in the Imperial Academy as the top contenders for next year's championship."

Li Jinglong's expression was strange.

Qi De and Huang Zicheng, aren't those two of the three idiots from Jianwen?

The Jianwen Emperor's sleeping dragon and phoenix chick.

"Imperial edict has arrived." A familiar voice called out, and Wang Jinghong entered carrying the imperial edict.

The two brothers were startled and immediately knelt down to greet him.

"Li Jinglong has recently made great contributions to the investigation, which pleases me greatly. I hereby grant you a banquet at Qianqing Palace. Please come to the palace immediately." Wang Jinghong closed the imperial edict and said with a smile, "Young Duke, let's go. His Majesty is waiting for you to dine."

Li Jinglong looked suspicious: "Eunuch Wang, it's just a meal, why does it require another imperial edict?"

"Young Duke, hurry up!" Wang Jinghong urged.

……

Qianqing Palace.

When Li Jinglong entered, Zhu Yuanzhang was already sitting at the table, smiling broadly.

No, this scene is wrong.

The emperor hasn't smiled like that in a long time; it's most likely a trap.

"Stop bowing, sit down," Zhu Yuanzhang beckoned.

Li Jinglong looked wary: "Your Majesty, I dare not accept such a small contribution. Perhaps we should cancel the banquet?"

"We're in a good mood today, let's have something simple to eat." Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand.

A palace maid brought up a tray and placed a bowl in front of each of them.

Li Jinglong looked down.

Tofu pudding, topped with a few chopped scallions and a pinch of pickled mustard greens.

It wobbles back and forth, like a brain.

"Uh, Your Majesty," Li Jinglong chuckled, "It's really that simple."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled knowingly: "Eat it. Don't let its simplicity fool you, it tastes absolutely delicious."

Li Jinglong took a bite.

Smooth, delicate, and with a strong bean flavor, it's really quite good.

Slurp, slurp.

The bowl was quickly emptied.

"Ah, it smells delicious!" He looked up and asked, "Your Majesty, is there any more?"

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand: "Give him two more bowls."

The palace maid brought over two more bowls.

Li Jinglong didn't stand on ceremony and quickly finished his meal.

After finishing two more bowls, I patted my stomach; it was so full it felt like it was about to burst.

"Are you full? Would you like another bowl?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

"I'm so full, I'll throw up if I eat any more."

"Alright." Zhu Yuanzhang shrugged. "Now that we've finished eating, it's time to get down to business."

Li Jinglong had a bad feeling: "Get something done? What is it?"

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed: "The verdict in the Hu Mei case is in. Hu Mei and his son will be torn apart by chariots, and the others will be beheaded. You will accompany the Crown Prince to oversee the execution."

Dismemberment by chariot?

It's the kind of torture where a person's head and limbs are tied to five different carriages, and the person is torn into several pieces.

Wouldn't that mean blood would spray everywhere and everything would be spilled on the ground?

The thought of this made the three bowls of tofu pudding in his stomach churn.

"I will not go!" Li Jinglong shook his head.

Zhu Yuanzhang glared: "You have to go, whether you like it or not!"

"Your Majesty!" Li Jinglong cried, "Please spare me! I've never even seen a chicken being killed, and you want me to oversee its execution by dismemberment? I can't bear to see that scene!"

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted: "When your father was your age, he was already on the battlefield with us. Swords and spears, blood and flesh flying everywhere, what kind of scene hasn't he seen? We just want to train you, let you see blood, and strengthen your courage."

Images kept flashing through Li Jinglong's mind.

Tofu pudding, white and trembling.

Torn apart, red, shattered, and sticky.

"Your Majesty, did you deliberately invite me to eat tofu pudding?" He was speechless.

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed heartily: "Watch closely later."

"My stomach hurts!" Li Jinglong clutched his stomach with both hands. "Your Majesty, my stomach really hurts, I can't go."

Zhu Yuanzhang's face darkened: "You're scared already? Are you even a man?"

"I am a woman," Li Jinglong replied crisply.

Zhu Yuanzhang: "..."

"Very good, very good, Mao Xiang!"

Mao Xiang, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, entered in response to the call, followed by two strongmen of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"Tie him up."

Two Imperial Guards strode forward, one pressing down on Li Jinglong's shoulder while the other untied the hemp rope.

Before Li Jinglong could struggle, he felt a tightness around his body.

In the blink of an eye, he was bound hand and foot and tightly tied to a chair.

"Your Majesty, my father would be heartbroken in the afterlife. How could you treat his son like this?" Li Jinglong said, drooping his head.

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed heartily: "Your father is overjoyed; we're helping him train his son."

Li Jinglong was unable to refute.

"Carry him to the execution ground!" Zhu Yuanzhang laughed wildly. "Li Jiujiang, Li Jiujiang, you've finally met your match! Hahahaha!"

Mao Xiang, standing to the side, was secretly alarmed.

Your Majesty, it has been a very, very long time since you have laughed like this.

……

execution ground.

When Li Jinglong was carried in, everyone was shocked.

"Isn't that the Young Duke? He was also beheaded today?"

"What did the young duke do wrong? He just visited a brothel; it's not a capital offense."

An old woman nearby chimed in, "Going to a brothel means being beheaded? My husband should have been beheaded eight hundred times over by now."

As Li Jinglong listened to these discussions, he felt a mouthful of blood stuck in his throat.

I'm here to oversee the execution! Not to be executed myself!

"Put it down," Mao Xiang waved his hand.

Li Jinglong was placed next to Crown Prince Zhu Biao on the execution platform.

Zhu Biao looked him up and down and couldn't help but laugh: "Jiujiang, this is the first time I've seen an executioner brought in bound. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were going to accompany Hu Mei on your way."

"Your Highness, please don't make fun of me." Li Jinglong was speechless. "Hurry up and carry out the execution. I can't bear to see that scene later."

Zhu Biao blinked: "That won't do. Father Emperor specifically instructed that he must witness the execution properly. Mao Xiang, we can't let him close his eyes."

"Yes." Mao Xiang nodded.

Two Imperial Guards immediately stepped forward, standing on either side of Li Jinglong behind him, and pried open his eyes.

He saw that everything was ready at the execution ground. Hu Mei and his son were pressed down in front of the execution platform, where five strong horses were already harnessed, with one end of thick hemp rope tied to the prisoner's limbs and neck.

"Execute."

Zhu Biao raised his hand and slammed it down, causing the order to fall to the ground.

Five strong horses neighed in unison, followed by screams of agony.

collapse.

Splash!

Li Jinglong's eyes widened, and his stomach churned.

"vomit-"