Chapter 111: Old Zhu: Consort Lü? She’s Starting To Get Restless! Monthly Ticket Bonus Chapter 12
The young eunuch who delivered the message conveyed Consort Lü’s ‘favor’ to Zhu Yunteng and his siblings without omitting a single word.
When they heard that Consort Lü not only readily agreed but even thoughtfully arranged for ceremonial escorts, sacrificial offerings, and permitted them to ‘linger briefly at the Chang Family Old Residence to remember their mother,’ the three siblings were first stunned. Afterward, their faces showed not surprise, but undisguised disbelief and an increasingly heavy sense of fear.
Zhu Mingyue’s face suddenly turned deathly pale, her fingers instinctively clenching the robe she wore, her voice trembling noticeably:
“How could she agree so readily? And arrange everything so perfectly? This, this isn’t right.”
“Hmph!”
Zhu Mingyu let out a cold snort, displaying her fiery personality: “She definitely has ulterior motives! This isn’t a favor at all, it’s a trap!”
“Mingyu, don’t talk nonsense! Be mindful of your words! Walls have ears!”
Zhu Mingyue quickly grabbed her sister, who was speaking without restraint.
Zhu Mingyu, however, seemed a little unconvinced: “What are you afraid of! Does she dare to harm us? With Imperial Grandfather here, I’d like to see who dares to touch us!”
“But Imperial Grandfather won’t always be here.”
Zhu Yunteng, who had been silent all this time, interjected unexpectedly.
Zhu Mingyue and Zhu Mingyu were simultaneously startled and looked at their younger brother with surprise.
Whether it was an illusion or not, they suddenly felt that the younger brother before them seemed to have changed entirely.
He was so much better than the previously clueless Zhu Yunteng.
Then, Zhu Mingyue cautiously asked, “Then, in Yunteng’s opinion, what should we do?”
Zhu Yunteng heard this, thought for a moment, and said, “The message has already been sent, and Imperial Consort has granted her approval. If we go back on it now, wouldn’t that make us seem like we have something to hide?”
“But she doesn’t have good intentions at all!”
Zhu Mingyu pouted: “What ceremonial escort? It’s just to make sure everyone knows our siblings are making a big show of contacting our maternal clan! What about lingering to remember? That’s to give others an excuse to accuse us of ‘plotting’!”
“Mingyu!”
“That’s exactly right!”
Zhu Mingyue ignored her sister’s reminder and continued on her own: “Imperial Grandfather is currently furious. If he sees us associating with the old Chang clan, combined with our previous contact with Zhang Biao, we won’t be able to explain ourselves even if we had mouths all over our bodies!”
“Then maybe we shouldn’t go.”
“Not going would further solidify the suspicion of ‘plotting rebellion.’ She will have ten thousand ways to twist our hesitation into a greater crime.”
As these words were spoken, the air seemed to congeal.
Only the suppressed breathing and endless fear of the three siblings remained.
The small flame of hope, seeking solace through commemorating their mother, had not yet ignited before it was completely extinguished by this sudden, motherly kindness, leaving only a bone-chilling cold and the premonition of an inescapable misfortune about to descend.
They felt like moths on a spider web, whether they struggled or not, they could not escape the poisoned hand of the predator hidden in the dark, smiling as they watched their despair.
“We… what should we do?”
Zhu Yunteng lifted his pale little face, his eyes once again filled with confusion and fear.
He was still somewhat at a loss when it came to such schemes.
Zhu Mingyue was silent for a moment, trying to make her voice sound calmer, and said:
“Since it has come to this… we can only take it one step at a time. During the memorial service, we must be extremely cautious, speak and act prudently, and not talk to anyone more than necessary. We must return immediately after the service and absolutely not linger.”
But she knew that these cautious actions would likely be in vain before the already woven net.
A deep sense of powerlessness and sorrow enveloped the three siblings.
They merely wanted to pay respects to their deceased mother, yet it felt as if they had committed an unforgivable heavenly crime.
Outside the window, the cold wind howled, rustling the worn window frames, making a mournful sound, like their mother’s suppressed weeping, or like fate’s cold mockery.
On the other side, in the bedroom of Huagai Hall.
Old Zhu leaned on the dragon couch, his face looking increasingly inscrutable in the candlelight. The calming soup he had just taken seemed ineffective, and his brows were furrowed with unresolvable wrath and fatigue.
Jiang Huan entered the room silently and knelt on the ground, his voice steady but with a barely perceptible dryness: “Your Majesty, I have returned.”
Old Zhu did not even lift his eyelids, only letting out a vaguely meaningful snort from his nose: “Mm. How many account books of the Ministry of Revenue did that mad dog gnaw on today? What nonsense did he spew?”
Jiang Huan lowered his head and recounted his observations at the Ministry of Revenue in detail, including Zhang Biao’s plan to visit the Ministry of War’s Armory Department tomorrow.
Finally, he presented the ‘work log’ that meticulously recorded Zhang Biao’s every word and action.
Old Zhu’s face darkened as he looked at the ‘work log,’ his teeth grinding audibly.
However, when he saw that Zhang Biao hadn’t uncovered anything substantial and was merely blustering, his tense expression eased slightly. But immediately, greater anger replaced it.
This madman was playing with him.
“Bastard things!”
Old Zhu, enraged, threw the ‘work log’ in his hand aside and said furiously, “Is this all he’s capable of? Just blustering and disgusting us?!”
Jiang Huan was silent for a moment, then added, “Your Majesty, although nothing has been confirmed, his actions have caused great panic in various government departments, and rumors are spreading.”
“I know!”
Old Zhu interrupted him impatiently, “That is his goal! To stir up trouble! To force our hand!”
“Either kill him, or start cleaning up! But that’s not what I want! I want more! More vermin to reveal themselves!”
“If he is killed, or if those he discovers are purged, there will be no such opportunities in the future! They will hide even deeper, making it even harder for us to act!”
Saying this, he took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to immediately send someone to chop Zhang Biao to pieces, and said darkly, “Keep watching him closely! Make arrangements with the Ministry of War too. Whatever he wants to see, let him see, as long as it doesn’t involve core military secrets!”
“I want to see what tricks he can pull!”
“But!”
As he spoke, his tone shifted, and he said heavily, “Remember this: I’m having you watch and record, not do nothing! If he dares to overstep even slightly, or attempts to get involved with military secrets, arrest him immediately!”
“I understand!”
Jiang Huan kowtowed heavily.
After reporting on Zhang Biao, Jiang Huan did not immediately withdraw. He hesitated for a moment, then bowed and said, “Your Majesty, there are two more matters that require your report.”
“Speak.”
Old Zhu rubbed his aching temples.
“Reporting to Your Majesty, one is about the historian who trespassed into the bedroom and was dealt with by me.”
Jiang Huan lowered his voice slightly: “Before he died, he shouted, ‘Wang De wronged me.’ I have already sent people to confirm that there is indeed an eunuch named Wang De in the palace who previously served in the Eastern Palace and is a favored individual by Consort Lü.”
“But the strange thing is, that evening, this eunuch named Wang De was found dead with another eunuch, Zhang Yi, in a secluded palace alley in the Western Six Palaces. Both died from having their throats slit by a sharp blade.”
“Mm?”
Old Zhu’s eyes snapped open, a sharp glint flashing in them: “Someone from the Eastern Palace? Dead? Or silenced? What is their connection to that historian?”
“I haven’t figured that out yet, but someone saw that eunuch named Wang De visit the Hanlin Academy.”
“And the historian I killed was not the one on duty.”
Hearing this, Old Zhu’s face instantly darkened, his voice becoming chillingly cold: “Investigate! Investigate to the end! Find out what demons and monsters are hiding behind all this!”
Consort Lü
Yunwen
Old Zhu’s mood became incredibly complex, a deeper, colder emotion enveloping him.
“Yes! I have already dispatched more personnel for a secret investigation.”
Jiang Huan replied immediately.
“What about the second matter?”
Old Zhu pressed, his tone growing more displeased.
Jiang Huan nervously said, “The second matter is about Shen Lang and the others causing a scene at the court session in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and what I saw in a small alley outside the palace when you sent me to arrest Zhang Biao.”
He described in detail how he saw Zhu Yunteng and his siblings with Zhang Biao, how Zhu Yunteng looked like a beggar in distress and had an emotional breakdown, how Zhang Biao kicked Zhu Yunteng, and the strange words he spoke like ‘no choice but success’ and ‘don’t bully a young man for being poor.’
“Finally, when Zhang Biao was taken away by my subordinates, he also shouted loudly, asking His Highness Yunteng and the two Princesses to go to Wang Mazi’s butcher shop and deliver five pig’s head meats to his home, saying… if he died, then Shen Lang and the others should eat and drink well and celebrate for him.”
“Bang!”
Old Zhu slammed his fist hard onto the armrest of the dragon couch, trembling with rage:
“Pig’s head meat! Pig’s head meat again! Does that bastard have anything else in his head besides pig’s head meat?! He’s still thinking about eating as he’s dying!”
As the words fell, he asked coldly, “Why didn’t you report this to me earlier!?”
“Thump!”
Jiang Huan immediately knelt down and quickly explained, “Your Majesty, please forgive me. I’ve been so dizzy from Zhang Biao’s antics lately, and on top of that, Your Majesty was so angered by that fellow…”
He didn’t dare to continue the rest of his words, but the meaning was clear.
I wanted to report, but you didn’t give me a chance!
One moment I’m dizzy, the next I’m awake, awake then dizzy again. Either you’re furious, or scheming all over the place.
The other is never quiet, today he does this stunt, tomorrow he does that stunt, he’s either seeking death or on the path to seeking death.
When the hell am I supposed to have time to report!
I’m running around for you all day…
Despite the internal complaints, Jiang Huan’s forehead, covered in cold sweat, was pressed against the floor tiles, and he didn’t dare to breathe.
Old Zhu, however, looked deeply at the top of his head, the light in his eyes flickering.
Unconsciously, he suddenly recalled Zhu Yunteng’s appearance that night, and combined with his own attitude towards him, he figured that Zhu Yunteng’s escape from the palace, becoming a ‘destitute beggar,’ experiencing an ’emotional breakdown,’ and ‘claiming to be the sinful child who caused his mother’s death,’ was not unrelated to him.
A complex emotion surged through him, a mix of anger at his lack of progress, disappointment, and a trace of unnoticeable guilt and worry.
The death of Consort Chang had always been a festering wound in the Eastern Palace, and even more so, the inner demon for the child Yunteng.
Consort Lü…
Had she done anything to Yunteng? Said anything?
And Zhang Biao, that madman…
Did he know Yunteng’s identity?
Although his words were crude and his reasoning flawed, the phrases ‘don’t bully a young man for being poor’ and ‘don’t let your sorrow become the sorrow of the Great Ming’ seemed to be a stark awakening in an extreme way.
Old Zhu remained silent for a long time, the only sounds in the hall being his heavy breathing and the crackling of the candlelight.
Finally, he slowly spoke, his voice hoarse and weary, but with an undeniable decisiveness: “Jiang Huan.”
“I am here.”
“Regarding the contact between Yunteng’s siblings and Zhang Biao, seal the news. It must not be leaked.”
“As for Yunteng…”
A complex light flashed in Old Zhu’s eyes: “Have someone secretly watch him, see what he does next. Also, investigate whether any of the nannies in the Eastern Palace from that time… especially Consort Lü, have said or done anything to Yunteng recently.”
“Yes!”
Jiang Huan was greatly shaken. Is Your Majesty suspecting the Eastern Palace? He dared not think further and quickly took his orders.
“You may go.”
Old Zhu waved his hand, as if he had exhausted all his strength, and slowly closed his eyes.
Jiang Huan bowed and withdrew. The bedroom once again fell into suffocating silence.
Old Zhu lay alone on the dragon couch, his thoughts a chaotic mess.
Zhang Biao’s mad pursuit of death, the chaos at the Ministry of Revenue, the impending turmoil at the Ministry of War, the suspected eunuch silencing in the Eastern Palace, the unexpected contact between Yunteng’s siblings and Zhang Biao…
All of this, like countless tangled threads, intertwined, disturbing his peace of mind.
“Why is the Eastern Palace also becoming restless? Do you know, Biao’er?”
Last day for monthly ticket requests, requesting the guaranteed monthly ticket for the beginning of the month. There will be extra updates.
Today, I’ll add one more chapter. My tendinitis flared up while writing. I’ll rest for a bit. Today will still be ten thousand characters.
Also, please give me your guaranteed monthly ticket. I’ll continue to write ten thousand characters tomorrow.
