Chapter 11: Simply Too Brutal!
“Third Prince! Hurry back with me! Father is angry!”
Zhu Gaochi had just emerged from the Imperial Guard headquarters when he ran into Zhu Gaoxu, who was looking for him.
“Second Brother?”
Zhu Gaochi was startled for a moment, then walked up with a fawning smile: “Second Brother! Let me tell you, I met a very interesting person in the Imperial Prison today, he…”
“Imperial Prison? Why did you go to the Imperial Prison?!”
Zhu Gaoxu was shocked and quickly interrupted him: “What’s going on?!”
“Hey! Look how nervous you are! I just went in to gain some experience, and I really encountered something interesting!”
“Nonsense! Don’t you know what kind of place the Imperial Prison is?! Be careful Father punishes you!”
“Don’t try to scare me with Father! Imperial Grandfather told me to gain experience with the Imperial Guard! Besides, it’s not the first time Father has been angry, and with Eldest Brother taking the brunt, what are you afraid of?” Zhu Gaochi said with some indifference.
“You!”
Zhu Gaoxu was momentarily speechless, then angrily said: “I can’t be bothered to manage you! Father told me to find you anyway! Just wait to be beaten when you get back!”
“Ah? Father sent you?”
Zhu Gaochi became a little flustered: “Did something happen? I heard that Imperial Grandfather was furious in the Imperial Court today, and several people were imprisoned, even Vice Minister of War Lord Qi and Minister of Revenue Minister Zhao were imprisoned!”
“These things have nothing to do with us! Father probably has other matters to attend to.”
“Oh, let’s go quickly! Don’t make Father too angry!”
“Weren’t you not afraid?”
“I’m scared to death!”
Thus, the two brothers bickered as they left.
However, the gaze that watched them leave retracted from a nearby alley, and then the figure quickly disappeared into the shadows of the alley.
At the same time, Prince Qin’s Mansion.
Zhu Shuang sat in his study, his mind replaying what Zhu Gang and Zhu Di had said that day, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong.
Because, since ancient times, establishing a Crown Prince has always been a major event for the princes.
Internal strife and struggle were perfectly normal.
But judging by the attitudes of Zhu Gang and Zhu Di, it was as if it had nothing to do with them.
Of course, with me, the second son, it indeed had nothing to do with them.
But the key was, their attitudes were too abnormal!
“Could it be… Father really intends to establish Eldest Brother’s son, and not me?”
Thinking of this, Zhu Shuang’s eyes suddenly flashed with a ferocious glare, and his hands involuntarily clenched.
Although he was well aware of Old Zhu’s love for Zhu Biao, Zhu Biao was already dead, so why should that love be passed on to Zhu Biao’s son?!
Zhu Shuang found it incomprehensible and extremely infuriating.
Just then, a report came from outside the door: “Your Highness, Liu Wu requests an audience!”
“What is it?! Didn’t I say not to disturb me?! Do you want to die!”
Zhu Shuang roared in fury.
Immediately, the sound of knees hitting the ground echoed from outside, followed by a trembling voice: “To Your Highness… it’s about the matter you asked me to inquire about…”
Hearing this, Zhu Shuang suddenly remembered such a thing, then calmed his emotions and said coldly: “Get in!”
“Yes.”
Soon, the eunuch named Liu Wu cautiously entered, bowed, and said: “Reporting to Your Highness, this is what happened in the Imperial Court today, please review it!”
Having said that, he handed over a memorial.
Zhu Shuang squinted his eyes, said nothing more, picked up the memorial, and began to read.
“This Censor Zhang should be killed! How dare he contradict the Emperor!”
“And this Lu Ping… hmm? Surname Lu?”
Zhu Shuang looked at the memorial, paused slightly, and then frowned: “What is Lu Ping’s relationship with Crown Princess Consort Lü?”
“Replying to Your Highness, according to my investigation, Lu Ping has no direct relationship with Consort Lü, but in terms of clan, he should be considered a distant cousin…”
“Is Lu Ping’s proposal to establish the Crown Prince related to Consort Lü?”
“This…”
Liu Wu hesitated for a moment, then shook his head: “I don’t know about this. If there were a connection, the Imperial Guard would surely have found out, but there has been no movement from Consort Lü’s side…”
“Hmph! A mere woman daring to meddle in state affairs is simply seeking death!”
Zhu Shuang snorted dismissively, then squinted again: “Then tell me, does the Emperor intend to establish Zhu Yunwen as Imperial Grandson?”
“Your Highness! How dare I speculate on the Emperor’s intentions!”
Liu Wu knelt down with a thud: “Please… please let me go…”
“Waste! What use do I have for you?!”
Zhu Shuang was furious: “Guards! Drag him out and slap him!!”
“My lord, spare my life!”
On the other side.
After a round of interrogation, Lu Ping, Qi Tai, and Zhao Qian finally returned to the prison cell.
But now, they were far from the appearance of imperial officials; each of them was a horrific sight.
“Your Excellencies, how do you like the taste of the Imperial Prison? Is it more intense than the additional 30% taxes levied in Jiangnan?”
Zhang Biao’s eyes shone in the dim light, his face devoid of any sympathy, instead filled with excitement and schadenfreude.
“Zhang Biao! You beast!! It’s all your fault! I won’t let you go even as a ghost — Ah!!”
As if the shout had reopened his wounds, Zhao Qian let out a scream and stopped, gasping for breath.
But how could Zhang Biao let others curse him without retaliating?
He dug his ear and said casually, as if chatting: “Minister Zhao, you can eat whatever you want, but you can’t say whatever you want!”
“The vengeful spirits of the Jiangnan commoners haven’t settled their score with you yet, and you’re blaming me first? You were the one who proposed the additional taxes, weren’t you? ‘Urgent matter for the nation’… tsk tsk, how nice that sounds! Do you know what an urgent matter is now? I think your eyebrows are about to burn off!”
“Zhang Biao! You… you…”
Qi Tai seemed to want to curse too, but the severe pain left him only able to gasp.
“Lord Qi, save your strength!”
Zhang Biao rolled his eyes and then said mockingly: “I heard that before you changed your name, you never made a mistake for nine years. What happened? The Crown Prince died not long ago, and you’ve already made a mistake?”
“Oh, what’s the hurry! The Emperor still has a few years to live, you don’t need to rush for merit from the dragon just yet!”
“Worrying that the Emperor is tired, I just want to laugh! It’s fine now, you don’t need to worry, just focus on enjoying Commander Jiang’s hospitality! Your dedication to the nation is truly touching! I just don’t know if it’s touching Commander Jiang’s weapon?”
“Heh heh heh.”
Lu Ping could only let out meaningless gasps.
“Vice Minister Lü? Lord Lü?”
Zhang Biao deliberately raised his voice: “Why aren’t you speaking? When you proposed establishing the Crown Prince in the Imperial Court that day, your voice was quite loud, wasn’t it? Ah! Emperor! The nation cannot be without a Crown Prince for a day!”
“Hahaha! You are so right!”
“Now, your sincere concern for the nation and its people must have been felt by the Emperor! Commander Jiang must have felt it too! Look, he’s reciprocating your efforts double-fold!”
Every word Zhang Biao spoke was like a poisoned dagger, precisely piercing the three men’s most painful spots, inflicting mental torture while they suffered physical torment.
It was simply too cruel.
