Chapter 132: Let The Storm Come More Fiercely!
Was he just dying of illness?
What does that mean?!
What is he hinting at?!
What does he know?!
Countless questions and immense shock made Jiang Huan, a seasoned and ruthless Imperial Guard Commander who had seen it all, involuntarily take half a step back.
He stared at Zhang Biao’s harmless face, his breathing suddenly becoming heavy, his fingers trembling uncontrollably.
He glared at Zhang Biao, as if truly seeing the madman for the first time.
“You… what nonsense are you talking about?!”
Jiang Huan’s voice trembled and cracked for the first time, tinged with a fear he himself didn’t notice: “His Highness the Crown Prince died of overwork at a young age, as everyone in the country knows! You…”
He pointed at Zhang Biao, his face contorting as he said, “How dare you slander the Crown Prince here, curse the royal family?! You…”
At this point, he found he could say no more.
Because this explanation was the universally acknowledged ‘fact’ in the Great Ming.
With Old Zhu’s suspicious nature, how could he not have investigated the cause of Zhu Biao’s death? Even if he had to turn the world upside down, he would have investigated it thoroughly!
Therefore, there were only two reasons why Old Zhu did not launch a massacre after Zhu Biao’s death.
One was that Zhu Biao’s death was natural, and the other was that he could not find any evidence that Zhu Biao had died from other causes.
Jiang Huan naturally knew this well, as he was the one responsible for the investigation.
But Zhang Biao’s words had undoubtedly pushed him to the brink of a precipice.
Even if Old Zhu had the slightest suspicion because of these words, it would lead to his utter annihilation.
After all, Zhang Biao’s strangeness, and the secret information he divulged so easily, had already shocked everyone.
You can question whether rice is rice, but you absolutely cannot question Zhang Biao’s information.
Even if he said something baseless offhand, people would ponder it for a long time.
Let alone the highly suspicious Old Zhu.
“Oh my, oh my, look at you, what’s the hurry?”
Zhang Biao immediately returned to his flippant demeanor, as if his earth-shattering statement was just a casual joke: “I was just having a dream, just asking. Commander Jiang, why are you reacting so strongly? Could there really be some hidden truth we don’t know about?!”
He emphasized the words ‘hidden truth’ particularly, like two poisoned daggers piercing Jiang Huan’s heart.
Jiang Huan felt a chill surge from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head, his entire body turning cold.
He dared not listen any further!
Not another word!
He didn’t know if Zhang Biao genuinely knew something or was merely probing and blackmailing him madly.
But either way, this topic absolutely could not continue.
Not a single word of this could leave the Imperial Prison.
“Shut up—!”
Jiang Huan let out a suppressed roar, interrupting Zhang Biao, his face terrifyingly contorted: “I think you’ve gone mad! Talking complete rubbish!”
With that, he abruptly turned around and nearly stumbled as he roared at his subordinates: “Let’s go! Leave immediately!”
He didn’t even dare to look at Zhang Biao again, as if another second would cause the madman to utter more terrible words that could doom him and countless others.
Before long, Jiang Huan, with his men, fled the Imperial Prison Death Row Area as if escaping a plague, their steps hurried and panicked, their clothes soaked through with cold sweat.
He had to deliver this news to Old Zhu, even if it meant facing a storm, he dared not conceal it from Old Zhu.
…
Zhang Biao, watching him leave, his flippant and irreverent expression rapidly receded like a tide, replaced by an extreme calmness and depth.
He slowly rose from the bed and walked directly to the dry wall, touching the stone surface, confirming it was indeed not as cold and damp as his previous cell.
However, no sound from the outside could be heard here, as if it were a solitary confinement chamber.
What seemed like an immense ‘favor’ was merely a psychological prison designed to increase mental burden.
“Heh!”
Zhang Biao couldn’t help but laugh, muttering to himself, “It seems some tactics from later generations were already in use in the Great Ming 600 years ago. I can no longer say that the ancients were inferior to later generations…”
As his voice faded, his gaze turned back to the narrow ventilation opening, as if he could see through the faint light to the tempest that his words had already stirred outside.
The reaction was even bigger than expected… it seems this stone was thrown in the right place and at the right time.
His heart, like an undercurrent beneath ice, calculated calmly and surge.
The traditional approaches were no longer viable.
Zhang Biao coldly reviewed in his mind.
Dying to admonish the accumulated malpractices of the Great Ming, binding those destined to die to seek death, inciting others to demand salary, scolding Old Zhu, even scolding him into unconsciousness four times, scolding the nobles, not hesitating to call for the Great Ming to die, auditing the Six Ministries, even provoking imperial power…
These mad actions, at first, could indeed enrage Old Zhu and bring about a swift death.
But after so many times, Old Zhu seemed to have developed ‘resistance,’ and even began to ponder how to use him, this ‘mad blade,’ to strike at others.
In other words, ‘dying for a cause’ not only changed Old Zhu but also increased the difficulty of ‘dying for a cause.’
Therefore, Zhang Biao had to change his strategy and present an admonishment that Old Zhu absolutely could not tolerate and must kill him for.
For example, ‘Dismissal of Confucianism.’
The result also proved his strategy was correct.
Old Zhu indeed harbored murderous intent towards him.
But that was all.
Because ‘execution in autumn’ was not immediate ‘lingchi,’ it indicated that Old Zhu had not completely given up on him.
And Old Zhu imprisoning him in the Imperial Prison without immediate execution was the best proof.
Old Zhu wanted to extract his last bit of value and uncover all the secrets he knew.
“Alas!”
Zhang Biao sighed with a sense of helplessness.
You want to use me as a tool? Old Zhu, you’ve miscalculated.
I, Zhang Biao, did not come to this Great Ming to be your anti-corruption weapon.
You are merely a ‘key’ for me to traverse two realms.
As for the cause of Zhu Biao’s death…
Zhang Biao’s gaze grew increasingly profound.
He had indeed found some things, not fabricated at random.
While frantically auditing the archives of the Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of War, and Ministry of Personnel, and even casually flipping through some old records, scattered, seemingly unrelated entries had caught his attention.
The timing of several large expenditures with unclear destinations coincided with the period when Crown Prince Zhu Biao was critically ill.
The names of one or two eunuchs who served the Eastern Palace at the time and later died unexpectedly or disappeared.
And the hometown of a certain imperial physician who had taken the Crown Prince’s pulse back then, but later resolutely resigned and retired, inexplicably suffered a great fire.
These fragmented pieces of information, taken individually, proved nothing.
But when connected, they pointed to a chilling possibility.
Coupled with some materials from later generations…
I don’t need concrete evidence, I just need to plant a seed of doubt.
Zhang Biao knew Old Zhu’s personality well.
For someone like Old Zhu, in the late stages of suspicion, a mere ambiguous hint was enough to grow a towering tree in his heart, a tree of suspicion that could devour everyone.
Moreover, once this secret gets out, I will become the target of everyone’s wrath.
Zhang Biao’s gaze swept over the clearly increased guard shadows outside the cell.
Those who want me to shut up are definitely more than just Old Zhu.
Those who might be implicated will spare no expense to make me ‘commit suicide’ or have an ‘accident.’
The Imperial Prison is actually the safest place right now.
He calmly assessed.
This is Jiang Huan’s territory, and the place Old Zhu is watching most closely right now.
Here, only Old Zhu can decide his fate.
Those who want to silence him cannot reach him yet.
Zhang Biao calmly analyzed his every step.
I must ensure that the one who ultimately kills me is Old Zhu; only then can I ‘go home.’
As for Shen Lang and the others…
Thinking of the five ‘little wolf cubs’ who were suspended and facing encirclement, a flicker of imperceptible emotion crossed Zhang Biao’s eyes.
By throwing out this stone, all of Old Zhu’s attention will be diverted.
If Fu Youwen’s group tries to deal with them through underhanded means, they will have to first consider if they will run into Old Zhu’s gun.
Before Old Zhu clarifies the Crown Prince’s past, the entire Yingtian Prefecture will be in a state of high-pressure ‘silence,’ which is actually an opportunity for them to catch their breath and work in secret.
Moreover, with Old Zhu’s nature of killing ten by mistake rather than letting one go, the thorough investigation of the Crown Prince’s past will inevitably involve a wide range of people. Fu Youwen, Ru Chang, and the like, every single one of them will not be able to escape cleanly!
Perhaps… it will even save some effort for my subordinates.
Finally…
A flicker of almost frantic inquisitiveness flashed in Zhang Biao’s eyes.
I also want to see what Old Zhu’s bottom line is.
How far can this suspicion surrounding his beloved son push him?
Will it drive him to complete madness, to bloodbath the court regardless of the cost? Or… will it reveal a sliver of human vulnerability?
This play is becoming more and more interesting.
Thinking of this, Zhang Biao felt an inexplicable excitement.
He was like a madman standing at the edge of a cliff, personally lighting the fuse of explosives at his feet, calmly awaiting the final, brilliant explosion.
He lay back down on the small bed, as if the tempest raging outside because of him was irrelevant.
But his ears keenly captured every sound from outside.
The more frequent sound of patrolling footsteps, the suppressed and tense whispers between prison guards, and the dead silence that permeated the entire Imperial Prison, like the calm before a storm.
He knew the storm was about to descend.
And he, the instigator, was at the center of this storm.
Now, he just had to wait.
Wait for Old Zhu to react.
Wait for the butcher knife that would finally send him ‘home’ to fall.
Wait for this storm to turn the entire Great Ming upside down.
Old Zhu, oh Old Zhu, please don’t disappoint me!
Zhang Biao’s lips curved into a smile, and he slowly closed his eyes.
Seeking monthly tickets~
I have to keep watch tonight. I can’t add more updates, please forgive me.
