Chapter 190: Don’t Want To Improve? I’m Not Dead Yet! 【 Requesting Double Monthly Tickets 】
“The sky is blue, waiting for the rain, and I am waiting for you.”
The next morning, Zhang Biao, holding an oil-paper umbrella and humming a tune, appeared at the doorway of the Loyal Earl’s Mansion.
At this time, the Loyal Earl’s Mansion was no longer as grand as the Duke Cao’s Mansion once was.
The entrance was deserted, the stone lions were wet from the rain, looking particularly desolate.
“Kindly announce, the old friend Zhang Biao requests to see the Loyal Earl!”
Walking to the mansion gate, seeing it shut, with only two listless gatekeepers huddled in the doorway to avoid the rain, Zhang Biao said with a smile, his tone as casual as if he were visiting an old friend.
When the two gatekeepers heard the name ‘Zhang Biao’, they were so startled they almost jumped out of the doorway, their faces turning pale.
This gentleman was a notorious madman, a bringer of bad luck, and a jinx in the capital city!
Their master had been ruined by him, demoted from Duke to Earl, and was now confined to his mansion to reflect on his mistakes!
“Mr. Zhang, Sir, we heard you were released, congratulations, congratulations!”
One gatekeeper mustered his courage and said with a forced smile, cupping his hands.
The other gatekeeper echoed with a mournful face:
“Yes, Censor Zhang, please be merciful. My master is in seclusion reflecting on his mistakes and is not seeing guests!”
“Reflecting on mistakes? What mistakes?”
Zhang Biao raised an eyebrow: “I’ve come precisely to help him ‘reflect on his mistakes’!”
After saying that, his voice suddenly rose an octave:
“Hurry and announce! Tell them Zhang Biao has brought a method that can restore him to his original position, or even advance him further! If you delay any longer and ruin your master’s future, can you bear the consequences?!”
His words were half true and half false, carrying an undeniable madness.
The gatekeepers looked at each other, and finally, one who was a bit sharper gritted his teeth and turned to go announce him.
After a good while, the small gate creaked open a crack, revealing the anxious and peculiar face of the butler:
“Mr. Zhang, Sir, please return. My master said he is currently devoted to Buddhist practice and is not concerned with external affairs, nor… nor does he wish for advancement. He appreciates your kind intentions.”
Zhang Biao pouted. Far from being annoyed, he actually laughed.
【 Not wishing for advancement? That’s a lie! If you could truly devote yourself to Buddhist practice, I’d write my name backward! 】
He cleared his throat, not only did he not leave, but he took a few steps back, standing in the very center of the street outside the mansion gate.
Although this place was not a bustling market, there were still scattered pedestrians.
Zhang Biao took a deep breath and suddenly yelled at the top of his lungs, in a tone of utter grief and lament, as if mourning the dead, towards the gate of the Loyal Earl’s Mansion:
“Brother Li! Brother Li of Jiujiang! Open the door! I know you’re home!”
“You mustn’t be dejected and defeated!”
“Have you forgotten how we… uh, you know, discussed the realm and vowed to eliminate traitors for the country and share the king’s worries in the Imperial Prison?!”
“Now, the court is in a time of turmoil, and His Majesty is eager for talent. This is the time for us to step forward! How can you hide at home chanting scriptures?!”
“Are your vast talents and skills going to be buried between these dim lamps and ancient Buddhas?! What a waste of heaven’s gifts! Our Great Ming has lost a pillar!”
His voice boomed, filled with emotion, as if Li Jinglong were a close friend he hadn’t seen in years who had now renounced the world. The passing pedestrians couldn’t help but glance over and point.
Inside the mansion gate, Li Jinglong was hiding behind the screen wall, eavesdropping, trembling with rage, his face turning green.
“Shameless! Utterly shameless!”
He gritted his teeth and cursed, “This madman! Is he not satisfied until he has utterly ruined me?!”
Zhang Biao’s howling, while seemingly encouraging him, was actually putting him on the spot.
If words like ‘discussed the realm’ and ‘eliminate traitors for the country’ reached the Emperor’s ears, would Li Jinglong have any good days left?
However, Zhang Biao’s lament continued:
“Brother Jiujiang! Don’t you remember? Don’t you remember the seven-colored glazed wine set? Don’t you remember the vows we made?”
“You said I was a hero and a good man! You said you were destined to be the Great Ming’s God of War!”
“Pfft—!”
Li Jinglong almost choked to death on his own water:
“Damn you, Zhang Biao! When did I ever say I was destined to be the Great Ming’s God of War?!”
Although he wished he could rush out and strangle Zhang Biao, he absolutely could not let Zhang Biao continue his wailing.
Sure enough, after only a few more cries, the small door was once again violently opened. The butler from before rushed out, his face ashen, almost pleading:
“Mr. Zhang! Grandpa Zhang! Please stop shouting! The Earl… the Earl invites you in for a talk!”
Zhang Biao immediately stopped speaking, the mournful expression on his face vanishing instantly, replaced by a ‘it was about time’ smile. He patted the butler’s shoulder:
“That’s more like it. Brother Jiujiang and I are as close as sworn brothers, why be so formal.”
With that, he straightened his robes and swaggered through the small gate into the Loyal Earl’s Mansion.
In the living room, Li Jinglong, with a dark expression, sat in the main seat. Without even looking at Zhang Biao, he spat out a few words from between his teeth:
“Zhang Biao! What exactly do you want?! Aren’t you done ruining me yet?!”
Zhang Biao found a chair for himself, sat down, crossed his legs, and said with a smile:
“Brother Jiujiang, that’s where you’re mistaken. I was helping you face reality, to cut the bone and heal the poison!”
“Look, aren’t you living well now? Although your title is a bit lower, at least your life is saved!”
Li Jinglong was so angry he almost fainted.
Zhang Biao stopped beating around the bush. He leaned forward slightly, lowered his voice, but with a voice that held a captivating power:
“Brother Jiujiang, would you like to… make a comeback?”
“Make a comeback, my ass! If it weren’t for you, how would I have ended up like this?! You still want to harm me?!”
“I say, Li Jiujiang, you can’t say that. Back in the Imperial Prison, if I hadn’t shown mercy, could you have come out whole? Could you have kept your earldom?”
“You…”
Li Jinglong was stunned. He remembered that Zhang Biao hadn’t troubled him much in the Imperial Prison. His momentum weakened slightly, but he remained wary: “What exactly do you want?”
“I don’t want anything.”
Zhang Biao leaned closer, lowering his voice, his eyes gleaming with a seductive light: “I just want to invite you to join me in doing something big!”
“Something big?”
Li Jinglong felt a sense of foreboding.
“Audit the Imperial Treasury!”
Zhang Biao said word by word.
“What?!”
Li Jinglong jumped up from his chair in shock, his voice changing tune:
“Are you crazy?! Audit the Imperial Treasury?! That’s His Majesty’s private coffer! If you want to die, don’t drag me with you!”
“Hey, you can’t say that.”
Zhang Biao waved his hand, looking as if it were the most natural thing in the world:
“Under the heavens, all land belongs to the king. All shores belong to the king’s subjects. The money in the Imperial Treasury is also the Great Ming’s money, and more importantly, His Majesty’s money! Auditing it, helping His Majesty manage finances, and eliminating vermin, isn’t that what a loyal minister should do?”
He paused, looking at Li Jinglong’s terrified expression, and added fuel to the fire, his tone becoming sinister:
“Moreover, the truth of the Crown Prince’s death is still not clear, and now there’s the mystery of the Imperial Eldest Grandson’s death. Aren’t you curious if it might be related to the Imperial Treasury? After all, matters within the palace are rarely unrelated to the Imperial Treasury.”
Li Jinglong’s scalp tingled, and cold sweat instantly broke out: “You… what nonsense are you talking about! That’s a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of a family! I won’t do it! I’d rather die than do it!”
“Tsk, look at your timidness!”
Zhang Biao glanced at him with disdain: “I mentioned auditing the Imperial Treasury before, and although it didn’t succeed, the seed has been planted.”
“Now I’m coming to you because I know you have connections. You can embezzle tribute without being discovered, so you must know some secret methods related to the Imperial Treasury, and… you’re unlucky enough, and desperate enough for merit to turn things around!”
He paused again, his tone becoming threatening:
“Besides, Brother Jiujiang, if I come to your mansion today, won’t the Imperial Guard dogs know about it? If I walk out now and tell everyone that I, Zhang Biao, came to find Loyal Earl Li Jinglong to audit the Imperial Treasury together and serve His Majesty!”
“Tell me… will His Majesty believe you, or will he think you’ve gotten mixed up with this ‘madman’ again and are plotting something nefarious?”
These words were like ice water dousing him, chilling Li Jinglong from head to toe.
He knew Old Zhu’s suspicious and ruthless nature too well!
Zhang Biao was right. He was in deep trouble now, with no way to escape.
Getting involved with Zhang Biao was something he could never clear himself of!
“You… you’ve ruined me!”
Li Jinglong, almost weeping, collapsed onto the ground.
“Don’t panic!”
Zhang Biao, like a magician, pulled out a few sweet potatoes from his embrace and placed them on the desk: “Come, come, try these to calm your nerves.”
Li Jinglong looked at the few dirty lumps of earth with disgust: “What are these?”
“Good stuff!”
Zhang Biao smiled mysteriously, and without waiting for Li Jinglong’s consent, picked one up and threw it into the charcoal stove in front of Li Jinglong.
A few minutes later, a strange, rich aroma, with the fragrance of earth mixed with the charred scent of starch, filled the study.
Li Jinglong was both surprised and frightened, his stomach empty. Smelling this unprecedented, powerful aroma, his stomach rumbled uncontrollably, and he almost drooled.
“What… what is this?”
He couldn’t help but ask, “Why does it smell so good?”
“This is called ‘sweet potato’, an auspicious omen from the Overseas Immortal Mountains!”
Zhang Biao skillfully turned it over with a knife, casually fabricating:
“Eating it can strengthen the body, prolong life, and also… improve luck!”
“I see that Lord Li’s complexion has been dark lately, and his luck is low. You really need this to change your fortune!”
As he spoke, the sweet potato’s skin was roasted crispy, and its inside was golden and soft.
Zhang Biao picked it up with his knife, blew on it, and broke half of it open, steaming hot, handing it to Li Jinglong: “Try?”
Li Jinglong was skeptical, but the aroma was too tempting.
He carefully took it, blew on it, and took a small bite.
Instantly, the unique texture, dense, sweet, and with the aroma of charcoal, conquered his taste buds!
He had never eaten anything so… simple yet delicious!
“Delicious! So fragrant!”
Li Jinglong, ignoring the heat, quickly swallowed half of the roasted sweet potato, looking at the remaining ones on the table with longing.
Zhang Biao watched him with a smile, like a hunter looking at prey caught in a trap:
“How about it? Did I lie to you? This thing yields a thousand catties per mu and can save countless starving people.”
“If you work with me, after we succeed, you’ll get a share of the credit for promoting this sweet potato.”
“At that time, wouldn’t regaining your title, or even advancing further, be just around the corner? It’s better than living here in fear and chanting scriptures, isn’t it?”
Li Jinglong licked his lips, looking at the remaining sweet potatoes, then at Zhang Biao’s seemingly sincere but calculating smile, his heart in turmoil.
On one side was the immense risk of ‘auditing the Imperial Treasury’, punishable by death, and his fear and resentment towards Zhang Biao.
On the other side was the delicious sweet potato yielding a thousand catties per mu, the temptation of regaining his position, and the cruel reality that he was already dragged into this by Zhang Biao, and not cooperating might lead to an even worse fate.
He wiped the black ash from his mouth, his face contorted in grief, and let out a long, despairing sigh:
“I must have owed you in my past life! Speak, how exactly do you want me to help you…”
A fleeting, triumphant smile appeared on Zhang Biao’s face.
Meanwhile.
In Huagai Hall, Old Zhu was reviewing memorials. Jiang Huan entered silently like a shadow and reported in a low voice:
“Your Majesty, Zhang Biao… an hour ago, went to the Loyal Earl’s Mansion.”
Old Zhu’s hand holding the brush paused slightly, leaving a small ink dot on the memorial.
He raised his eyes, his gaze as sharp as a knife: “Li Jinglong? What did he go to see Jiujiang for?”
“According to the surveillance report, Zhang Biao was outside the mansion gate… shouting loudly, and his words seemed to be ‘encouraging advancement’. Afterwards, he was invited into the mansion by Li Jinglong’s butler, and they had a private conversation for about two quarters of an hour.”
Jiang Huan chose his words carefully: “When Zhang Biao left, his expression was normal. Li Jinglong… seemed quite dejected, but also held a hint of determination.”
“Encouraging advancement? Determination?”
Old Zhu’s brow furrowed tightly, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the imperial desk.
【 What good could come of this madman Zhang Biao visiting Li Jinglong? ‘Encouraging advancement’? What was he encouraging? Encouraging him to rebel? Does Li Jinglong have the guts for that?! 】
He instinctively felt that this was no ordinary visit.
Zhang Biao was like a catfish thrown into a pond; every movement he made was bound to stir up mud.
【 What does he want to do? Win over the nobles? Li Jinglong is just a figurehead now, what’s the use of winning him over? 】
【 Or is he… planning some other crazy scheme against us? 】
A shadow fell over Old Zhu’s heart.
Zhang Biao’s unpredictability made him, the emperor who controlled everything, feel extremely uneasy and vaguely apprehensive.
“Keep a close eye on both of them!”
Old Zhu’s voice was stern:
“Especially Li Jinglong! See what his next move will be! Report immediately if there’s anything unusual!”
“Yes!”
Jiang Huan took the order and was about to withdraw.
Just then, an attendant hurried into the hall, carrying an urgent military dispatch with a feather attached:
“Your Majesty, an urgent dispatch from Sichuan, eight hundred li in haste! A military report from Duke Lan of Liang!”
Old Zhu temporarily put aside his suspicions about Zhang Biao, took the dispatch, and quickly unrolled it.
As he read, his expression gradually became somber, and finally, his face was like a dark pool, his eyes flashing with cold light.
The dispatch reported that after Duke Lan of Liang had defeated the main rebel force in Jianchang, he heard that residual rebel forces were still rampant in Sichuan. To avoid delaying his military operations, he led his elite light cavalry to reinforce Sichuan without awaiting orders. There, he joined forces with the local garrisons to defeat several more rebel factions, beheading thousands and capturing countless others.
To deter troublemakers, all captured rebel leaders and key figures were buried alive.
【 Awaiting orders?! Buried alive?! 】
Old Zhu’s chest heaved slightly, a mixture of rage and deep worry surging into his heart.
He never doubted Lan Yu’s combat effectiveness.
These continuous battles, swiftly pacifying rebellions in two regions, indeed demonstrated the ferocity of the Great Ming’s top general.
But it was precisely this ferocity and lack of control that sent a chill down Old Zhu’s spine.
【 I’m not dead yet! And he dares to execute first and report later, initiate conflict without permission, and slaughter surrendering prisoners! What if I die?! 】
His gaze involuntarily drifted to the memorial concerning the establishment of the Crown Prince, and the image of Zhu Yunwen, with his gentle and even somewhat timid demeanor, appeared in his mind.
【 Yunwen… can he control proud generals like Lan Yu? 】
【 At that time, will the ruler command the subject, or will the general’s orders originate from the marshal’s headquarters? 】
Lan Yu was the maternal uncle of the Crown Princess Chang Shi, and also Zhu Biao’s maternal uncle. Theoretically, he had some familial ties with Zhu Yunwen.
But Old Zhu knew well that in the face of absolute military power and a arrogant personality, this familial relationship was as fragile as a dry twig.
Lan Yu dared to disregard the orders of him, the founding emperor, to a certain extent. How could he possibly respect a young, benevolent, and weak Imperial Grandson?
Once Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne, Lan Yu and the Huai Xi military clique behind him would undoubtedly become a sharp sword hanging over the imperial power!
At this moment, Old Zhu’s resolve to establish Zhu Yunwen as Crown Prince wavered as never before.
His previous inclination towards Zhu Yunwen was due to his “benevolence,” hoping to maintain stability in the court through relatively gentle means and avoid fratricide.
But now, Lan Yu’s military report was like a basin of ice water, waking him up.
Troubled times require strict laws, and perilous situations demand strong rulers.
Zhu Yunwen’s “benevolence,” when faced with arrogant officials and external enemies, could very likely turn into “weakness.”
And Zhu Yunteng… that child’s inherent fortitude and ruthlessness might be the only option to deal with this situation? At least, he wouldn’t be easily manipulated by powerful officials and generals like Yunwen.
However, if Yunteng ascended the throne, it would likely spell a bloodbath for the imperial clan uncles…
On one side was a benevolent and weak grandson who might be overshadowed by powerful officials, and on the other side was a fierce grandson who might trigger infighting within the imperial clan.
Old Zhu was caught in the most difficult and painful decision he had faced since his enthronement.
He closed his eyes wearily, leaning back on the dragon throne, his fingers pressing hard on his throbbing brow.
Zhang Biao’s strange actions, Lan Yu’s insubordination, the difficult choice of establishing the Crown Prince… all these matters intertwined, like a vast and ever-tightening net, trapping him firmly in the center.
“Draft an imperial edict…”
After a long time, Old Zhu finally spoke, his voice hoarse and carrying an indescribable weight:
“Commend Duke Lan of Liang for his merits in quelling the rebellion, promote him to Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, and bestow gold and silk. Also… reprimand him for his unauthorized actions, order him to hand over his military authority, and immediately return to the capital… to report for duty.”
He ultimately decided to stabilize Lan Yu first, bring him back to the capital under his watchful eye, and then plan further.
“Jiang Huan!”
When Old Zhu opened his eyes again, his gaze was cold and sharp.
“Your servant is here!”
Jiang Huan quickly took the order.
He heard Old Zhu say calmly and indifferently:
“I recall you have some acquaintance with Marquis Dingyuan, Wang Bi. I intend to send him to Shanxi to persuade and recruit soldiers, responsible for Linfen, Xiangling, and Pu County. Go and ask him his thoughts.”
Marquis Dingyuan, Wang Bi?
Wasn’t he an associate of Lan Yu’s confidant?
Could it be that His Majesty intends to… deal with Duke Lan?
Thinking this, Jiang Huan dared not think further and quickly bowed, accepting the order: “Your servant obeys!”
Requesting double monthly tickets, there’s an event in the bonus chapter~
