Chapter 158: Zhang Biao: I Can Finally Go Home! For Alliance Leader Ayesire7’s Bonus Update 4
Old Zhu did not yet know that a movement was brewing in Yingtian Prefecture that would ignite his immense killing intent.
At this moment, although he possessed a complete chain of evidence, there was one crucial point he still did not fully grasp or understand.
The evidence in the iron box indicated that there was indeed corruption, factionalism, interference in local affairs, and even dark dealings involving the Eastern Palace in Shaanxi.
This was not entirely unexpected by Old Zhu.
After all, Zhu Biao’s trip to Shaanxi was a covert investigation into these matters.
Furthermore, the evidence in the iron box pointed to Prince Qin Zhu Shuang, Prince Jin Zhu Gang, or individuals associated with them.
But Zhu Biao’s cause of death remained a mystery.
Even with the account book from the iron box detailing ‘abnormal expenses in the Eastern Palace,’ it did not explain the direct cause of Zhu Biao’s death.
After all, Old Zhu was well aware of Zhu Biao’s condition at the time.
He desperately wanted to know what method or means the perpetrator had used to kill his most beloved son right under his nose.
Therefore, shortly after Tang He, Chang Sheng, and Jiang Huan departed, Old Zhu summoned Liu Chun, the Hospital Administrator of the Imperial Hospital.
“Your… Your Highness… Liu Chun, pays his respects… pays his respects to Your Majesty…”
Liu Chun’s voice trembled so much it was almost unrecognizable.
Old Zhu did not immediately tell him to rise. Instead, he fixed his gaze on Liu Chun with eyes so cold they could freeze a soul.
He stared for a good ten seconds, until Liu Chun was almost collapsing, before he slowly spoke, his voice eerily calm:
“Liu Chun, I have a question for you.”
“In Hongwu 25th year, during the Crown Prince’s serious illness, were there any anomalies in the spices and medicinal materials used in the Eastern Palace, particularly in Consort Lü’s palace?”
Liu Chun flinched violently, his forehead instantly covered in cold sweat. He remained prostrate on the ground, not daring to look up:
“Replying to Your Majesty… it has been a long time… I… I would need to consult the hospital archives…”
“Archives?”
Old Zhu scoffed, then picked up the transcribed copy of the Eastern Palace expenses from his desk and threw it forcefully at Liu Chun.
“Look at what is recorded here! Think! Think carefully! If you utter a single false word or conceal anything, I will make your entire Liu family wish they were dead but unable to die!”
That cold paper hit Liu Chun’s face like a branding iron. He picked it up trembling, and after only a few glances, his face instantly turned ashen.
The names of spices, quantities, and dates recorded there… like a set of keys, instantly unlocked the deliberately sealed and terrifying past in his memory.
“Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me!”
Liu Chun completely broke down, kowtowing furiously, his voice hoarse with despair: “I remember now… there were some anomalies… Consort Lü’s palace at that time… did indeed receive large quantities of storax and styrax benzoin…”
“There were also some medicinal materials not in the official prescriptions of the Imperial Pharmacy… it was said that His Highness the Crown Prince disliked the taste of medicine, so they were used to mask it… and the Consort suffered from insomnia, requiring some calming spices…”
“Calming spices?”
Old Zhu’s voice suddenly rose, like a thunderclap: “What kind of calming spices require ‘red lead’?! What kind of masking the taste of medicine requires ‘musk’ that clashes with the properties of the Crown Prince’s decoction?!”
“Liu Chun! How did you serve as the Hospital Administrator of the Imperial Hospital?! Why didn’t you report it then?!”
The words ‘red lead’ struck Liu Chun like lightning, shattering his soul.
He hadn’t expected His Majesty to know this, he thought it wasn’t in the account book.
“I… I am guilty! I am guilty, Your Majesty!”
Liu Chun wept profusely, almost incoherently:
“At that time… at that time, Consort Lü was deeply favored by His Highness the Crown Prince… her palace expenses… I dared not question them too much…”
“And those things… did indeed have a calming effect… I never imagined… I deserve a thousand deaths! A thousand deaths!”
His defense was weak and pale, filled with fear and an attempt to shift blame, but it indirectly confirmed the truthfulness of the account books.
Consort Lü’s palace had indeed heavily used these ambiguous, even dangerous, substances during the Crown Prince’s critical illness.
Old Zhu’s chest heaved violently after listening, a storm raging in his eyes, yet he forcefully suppressed the urge to erupt immediately.
Liu Chun’s fear was genuine, his dereliction of duty was also true, but his explanation…
‘Dared not question,’ ‘deeply favored,’ ‘did have a calming effect’… seemed to obscure Consort Lü’s actions within the realm of well-intentioned concern or even ignorance, not directly pointing to ‘murder.’
Was this the truth, or a more sophisticated disguise?
Old Zhu’s suspicion worked at its peak at this moment.
He did not punish Liu Chun immediately. Instead, he softly called out into the empty Main Hall: “Yun Ming!”
“Your Majesty!”
Yun Ming immediately approached.
“Go to the Eastern Palace!”
Old Zhu’s voice was low and filled with undeniable authority: “Take the transcribed paper concerning the Eastern Palace expenses that I just gave you, and ‘bestow’ it upon Consort Lü.”
He deliberately emphasized the word ‘bestow.’
“Tell her that I have been restless lately, unable to sleep, and I keep dreaming of Biao’er. Ask her to see if the items on this paper can be made into a ‘calming’ sachet to help me sleep.”
These words, though seemingly ordinary, were incredibly malicious!
To ask the wife of his son to make a ‘calming’ sachet using clues related to his son’s suspected death?
What a profound irony and psychological torture! It was also the most direct warning and test!
Yun Ming’s scalp tingled, but he dared not show any reaction. He quickly bowed: “Your servant obeys the decree!”
“And also!”
Old Zhu added, his eyes ice-cold:
“Observe her every expression after receiving the decree, and listen carefully to every word she speaks. Return and report to me every detail without omission.”
“Yes!”
Yun Ming carefully took the paper, which felt like a death warrant, and quickly withdrew.
Old Zhu sat alone on the Dragon throne, slowly closing his eyes.
Consort Lü?
Logically, as a woman, her current status was due to Biao’er and Yunwen!
If Biao’er were alive, she would be the incomparably honored Crown Princess, the future Empress!
If Biao’er died, she and Yunwen would be like rootless duckweed!
What reason would she have to destroy her own support system? It made no sense!
Yet, these records pointing to the Eastern Palace compelled him to suspect her!
After all…
At this thought, Old Zhu frowned, then dismissed all his previous suspicions.
Something was wrong!
These records pointing to the Eastern Palace did not prove Consort Lü’s guilt; on the contrary, they seemed like an extremely insidious misdirection, a smoke bomb intended to divert his attention!
Was the real culprit trying to use his hand to eliminate Consort Lü and Yunwen, further destabilizing the state?
Or were they trying to use his suspicion of the Eastern Palace to cover up their own true crimes?
Old Zhu’s mind raced, and all the doubts rearranged themselves in an instant.
Shaanxi! The word ‘Shaanxi’ appearing repeatedly in the account book!
And the word ‘Prince’ that Fu Youwen and others almost blurted out when accusing!
And… the Second Prince was enfeoffed in Xi’an and had been operating in Shaanxi for many years, with deeply rooted influence!
The Third Prince had also repeatedly interfered in Shaanxi affairs!
That’s it! Only them!
These princes, also surnamed Zhu, holding significant military power and harboring ambitions for the throne, had the motive and the capability to weave such a colossal conspiracy!
To kill Biao’er, disrupt the court, and ideally, use his hand to eliminate Zhu Yunwen, the almost ‘pre-destined’ heir, they would have a chance to contend for the throne!
An ice-cold killing intent, as if tangible, emanated from Old Zhu, a hundred times more potent than when he suspected Consort Lü!
Being schemed against by his own sons, and possibly indirectly causing the death of his most beloved son, this betrayal and anger almost consumed him!
But he still forcefully controlled himself.
He knew that the more intense the situation, the more important it was to remain calm.
After a moment, Old Zhu opened his eyes again, glanced at the transcribed paper on his desk, tossed it aside, and said calmly and indifferently:
“Liu Chun, look at this. Think carefully for me. In Hongwu 25th year, who purchased these items? Who recommended them? Through whose hands did they enter the Eastern Palace? I want names, channels, and details of every person involved!”
He had changed his questioning strategy.
His questions were precise and ruthless.
He completely bypassed ‘why Consort Lü used them’ and went straight to the source of the supply chain.
Liu Chun’s hand trembled as he picked up the paper. With just one glance, he felt all his strength drain away, and cold sweat poured down his face.
He knew he could no longer evade this.
His Majesty was not asking about efficacy or responsibility this time, but about the origin.
This was digging to the root.
Moreover, the contents of the paper were already very detailed.
He could no longer shift the blame.
“I… I will report to Your Majesty…”
Liu Chun’s teeth chattered, his mind frantically recalling under extreme fear: “The procurement… was mostly handled by the Imperial Household Department and the Ministry of Revenue… but some special items… seemed to be… seemed to be tribute or festival gifts from various princes and nobles…”
“Names!”
Old Zhu slammed the table, his voice like thunder.
He didn’t want to hear this pointless talk; he wanted the crucial information directly.
After all the previous turmoil, he had completely lost his patience.
Liu Chun trembled all over from fear and blurted out:
“I remember… His Highness Prince Qin once presented high-grade musk and storax from Longxi… His Highness Prince Jin also sent purple ginseng and kynam from Shanxi… and…”
He paused, then continued:
“And Duke of Liang back then… also sent some rare medicinal materials from beyond the passes…”
He listed all the givers he could recall who might be relevant.
Both princes and nobles, attempting to divert attention and lessen his guilt.
“Prince Qin… Prince Jin…”
Old Zhu’s eyes gleamed with cold light, thinking, ‘As expected, they were involved!’
Especially the Second Prince! Musk from Shaanxi!
However, Lan Yu wouldn’t harm Biao’er!
“Anything else?!”
He pressed again, each word laden with intense killing intent:
“Who was the eunuch in charge of procuring daily expenses for the Eastern Palace? Who was responsible for receiving and inspecting them? Did Consort Lü have any palace maids or eunuchs with a particular fondness for such things?”
Liu Chun was now thoroughly intimidated by Old Zhu’s killing intent and dared not conceal anything further:
“Replying to Your Majesty, I remember that the supervisor in charge of procuring Eastern Palace expenses was the Deputy Director of the Imperial Household Department, Sun Yue… The one responsible for receiving and inspecting was Eunuch Li from the Eastern Palace Bureau of Medicine…”
“Around Consort Lü… her most trusted head palace maid was named Lan Xin… whenever incense or medicine was needed, Lan Xin was in charge…”
“But these people… many of them were later sent to the Imperial Laundry Bureau for some offense, or died of illness…”
Died of illness? Sent away?
Old Zhu sneered inwardly. This was a typical method of silencing witnesses and cutting off leads.
The earlier incident where two young eunuchs in Consort Lü’s palace killed each other was a case of no witnesses.
However, this was not a major issue for Old Zhu, and he did not delve deeper.
After all, he was not ignorant of the sordid affairs within the palace.
As long as it didn’t cross his bottom line, he would turn a blind eye.
“Wang Yue, Eunuch Zhang, Lan Xin…”
Old Zhu murmured these names, like a hungry wolf memorizing the scent of its prey.
“Song Zhong!”
“Your servant is here!”
“Immediately ascertain the whereabouts of these three individuals! If they are alive, bring them to me; if they are dead, I want to know how they died!”
“All individuals who had contact with them are to be arrested and interrogated!”
“Also.”
He paused, his gaze sinking deeply towards Liu Chun, and said coldly:
“Take Hospital Administrator Liu away. Make him write down everything he just said, and all the handlers and sources related to Eastern Palace medication that he can recall! If he misses a single one, I will flay him!”
“Yes!”
Song Zhong did not delay, dragging the now-limp Liu Chun away.
The clues were surfacing one by one, albeit vaguely, but Zhu Biao’s cause of death now clearly pointed to the princes and possibly bribed eunuchs.
Silence returned to the Main Hall, but the storm in Old Zhu’s heart intensified.
He was almost certain that one, or even several, vast dark forces had, through donations and bribing eunuchs, continuously sent poisonous and harmful substances into the Eastern Palace, systematically poisoning his Biao’er.
Yes, he even suspected that Zhu Biao’s death was not sudden, but a slow poisoning.
Just then, Yun Ming returned.
His complexion was even paler than when he left, with a hint of daze.
“Your Majesty…”
Yun Ming knelt on the ground, his voice weak:
“Your servant… has already delivered Your Majesty’s ‘decree’ and that paper to Consort Lü…”
“What was her reaction?”
Old Zhu’s voice was cold and expressionless.
Yun Ming swallowed, and replied with difficulty:
“Initially, the Consort did not understand. When she took the paper and looked closely… as she read, her face instantly turned pale… her hands trembled violently…”
“Then, she suddenly looked up at your servant, her eyes full of terror and a sense of injustice…”
“She immediately knelt down, kowtowed repeatedly towards Huagai Hall, saying… saying…”
“What are you saying?!”
“Say: ‘Your Majesty, I am wronged! My heart towards His Highness the Crown Prince is as clear as the heavens! I would never dare use such a venomous item in front of His Highness!'”
“Also say: ‘Someone must be framing me, framing the Eastern Palace! I beg His Majesty to investigate!’… After saying this, she fainted… The Eastern Palace is now in chaos…”
After Yun Ming finished speaking, he prostrated himself on the ground, not daring to look up.
After hearing this, Old Zhu’s last trace of suspicion towards Consort Lü completely vanished.
Consort Lü’s reaction was one of extreme fear and injustice after being suddenly accused of the heinous crime of patricide; it was utterly genuine.
If she were truly the murderer, she could never have displayed such a violent and almost collapsed reaction without any psychological preparation.
【 As expected… she is also a pawn, or even a target. 】
Old Zhu’s heart grew colder.
The mastermind not only harmed his son but also intended for him to personally destroy his daughter-in-law and grandson!
Their intentions deserve death!
“Summon the imperial physicians to check on her.”
Old Zhu ordered indifferently, without a hint of emotion: “Let her rest well, and someone else will temporarily manage affairs in the Eastern Palace.”
“Yes.”
Yun Ming breathed a sigh of relief and quickly withdrew.
At this moment, clues began to connect in Old Zhu’s mind, forming a coherent picture:
【 Source: Tribute from princes / offerings from nobles.
【 Channel: Corrupted Imperial Household Department and imperial physicians’ bureau eunuchs.
【 Receiver/User: Personnel within the Eastern Palace, possibly deceived or utilized.
【 Target: Crown Prince Zhu Biao.
Simultaneously, the other party was also directing the investigation towards Consort Lü and Yunwen, killing two birds with one stone.
What a meticulous net! What a vicious heart!
His gaze fell again on the bloodstained iron box, his eyes becoming incredibly sharp and resolute.
【 Although the Second Prince has the greatest suspicion, he lacks the intellect to orchestrate such a meticulous net… 】
【 As for the Third Prince, he has the intellect, but how did his hand reach into the Eastern Palace? 】
【 And the Fifth Prince, what role did he play in this? How did Zhou Ji obtain the improved medicine from him? And how did he connect with the inner palace? Or rather… 】
【 This matter wasn’t just involving the Second, Third, and Fifth Princes… 】
Thinking of this, an unprecedented chill spread through Old Zhu’s heart.
Why would his most beloved son be subjected to such malice? Weren’t their brothers very harmonious?
Why? Why did it come to this?!
These beasts!!
“Pfft—!”
Old Zhu’s anger surged, and he desperately wanted to vomit blood, but he forcefully swallowed it back down.
No matter how large the net was woven, no matter who was involved, he would tear it to shreds.
【 Second Prince, Third Prince, Fifth Prince, I hope it’s not you… 】
【 Otherwise, don’t blame me for being ruthless and merciless… 】
…….
On the other side.
Imperial Prison, Room Jia Zi San.
Zhang Biao was lounging with his legs crossed, using the set of glass wine cups to refract the faint light from the ventilation shaft, humming an off-key tune:
“We common people are truly happy today…”
The next moment, footsteps approached.
Heavy, oppressive, and carrying a ferocity that had just emerged from a whirlpool of bloodshed.
Soon, Jiang Huan stood outside the prison door.
His face was blacker than the bottom of a pot, yet his eyes complexly regarded the culprit leisurely inside.
“Oh? Isn’t this our Commander Jiang?”
“The wind today is quite boisterous, isn’t it?”
Zhang Biao spoke lazily, without turning his head:
“Looking at your face, were you just scolded by Old Zhu? Or did you fall into a latrine while walking? Tsk, I can smell it even through the bars, how unlucky!”
Jiang Huan’s jaw twitched. He suppressed the urge to draw his saber, his voice dry and cold:
“Zhang Biao, the Emperor has an oral decree.”
“Oh? What instructions does Old Zhu have now?”
Zhang Biao finally turned around slowly, swirling his yellow wine cup: “Is he planning to give me an early farewell meal, or does he have some new trick to torment me?”
“The Emperor asks you!”
Jiang Huan stared at him, enunciating each word: “The last confession, will you write it, or not?”
“Write it! Of course, I’ll write it!”
Zhang Biao answered with unusual promptness, then put on a troubled expression: “But you see, I need inspiration and material to write. It’s dark and lightless in this imperial prison, how would I know what’s happening outside?”
“Oh, right, have they released any new products at Wang Mazi’s place for pig’s head meat? And Zui Xian Lou’s roast chicken, is it still being roasted?”
“Zhang Biao!”
Jiang Huan suppressed his anger and whispered, interrupting Zhang Biao’s rambling.
Zhang Biao shrugged nonchalantly and said:
“Alright, I’ll tell you the truth, without fresh and stimulating events, what I write will be dry and uninspired. Old Zhu will surely be dissatisfied again, and you might have to make another trip, how troublesome?”
Saying this, he blinked his eyes, wearing an innocent expression as if he were entirely considering their convenience, and looked at Jiang Huan.
“You!”
Jiang Huan was so angry he almost couldn’t breathe.
He knew this madman was playing tricks again, but with the Emperor’s command, he could only brace himself and grudgingly, as concisely as possible, recount the earth-shattering events of the day.
From the ringing of the Drum of Hearing Petitions, to the old litigator carrying a package and pointing directly at the imperial palace, to Fu Youwen and his three companions implicating the princes, to Zhu Yunteng’s blood splashing in Huagai Hall as he struck down a eunuch and presented an iron box while crying injustice, then to Prince Yan’s Mansion ‘coincidentally’ submitting another iron box, the two iron boxes forming a complete chain of evidence…
Jiang Huan spoke concisely, trying to avoid any emotional color, but the twists, the brutality, and the sheer incredulity of the entire process involuntarily lent his tone a hint of fluctuation.
He didn’t know that Zhang Biao had already gleaned some of this information through his subordinates, but after he finished speaking, a strange silence fell over the prison cell.
Zhang Biao, holding his wine cup, froze, the cynical expression on his face gradually disappearing. His mouth was slightly open, his eyes vacant, as if he had heard something utterly preposterous.
Seeing this, Jiang Huan sneered inwardly.
【 Humph, scared silly, aren’t you? Now you know you’ve gone too far? 】
However, the next second—
“Pfft—Hahaha! Hiccup hahaha—!”
Zhang Biao erupted in earth-shattering laughter.
He laughed so hard he doubled over, unable to hold his glass wine cup steady. He didn’t care that wine spilled all over him. He even laughed until he was breathless, rolling onto the bed and pounding the bed board with force.
“Oh my! You’re killing me! Hahaha! Such talents! They are all such talents!”
“Zhao Fengman! Li Mo! Wu Nai Da! You are all such great actors! Awards! Must give awards!”
“The Great Ming’s Best Actor award must go to you!”
Jiang Huan: “???”
Zhang Biao, while pounding the bed, cursed with laughter:
“I only gave them a little bait and direction, and you staged such an annual courtly ethical revenge drama for me?!”
“Blood splashing in Huagai Hall? Striking down an old eunuch? Two boxes combined? Good heavens!”
“I wouldn’t dare write such a plot in my novels! It’s a hundred times more explosive than a storyteller in a teahouse!”
As he finished speaking, he suddenly sat up, wiping the tears from his eyes, and looked at the stunned Jiang Huan, excitedly asking:
“What happened next? What happened next? What was Old Zhu’s reaction? Was he so angry he blew up on the spot?”
“Or did he draw his sword to attack his son, or grandson? Tell me, tell me!”
“……”
Jiang Huan’s face turned completely dark.
He felt like he wasn’t there to interrogate, but to tell stories and amuse this madman!
“Shut up!”
Jiang Huan forcefully interrupted Zhang Biao’s wild laughter, his face as gloomy as dripping water: “Zhang Biao! The Emperor doesn’t have time to listen to your nonsense! The confession! Write it immediately!”
He paused, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes, and decided to increase the pressure: “The Emperor also told this commander to tell you that Shen Lang, Sun Gui, Li Mo, Wu Nai Da, and Zhao Fengman are all deserving of death!”
“If you don’t confess honestly, their lives will be in danger!”
He thought this would scare Zhang Biao.
Who knew that the smile on Zhang Biao’s face instantly vanished, replaced by an extremely peculiar expression of mockery and pity.
“Jiang Huan!”
Zhang Biao’s voice was very soft, yet it carried a strange power as he changed the subject:
“Do you think, why does a dynasty that has only been established for a few decades become rotten?”
“Is it because of a few corrupt officials that it becomes rotten?”
“Will killing a few Fu Youwens, Ru Changs, or Zhou Dexings make it better?”
“Or, by initiating a few cases like the Hu Weiyong case, the Guo Huan case, the Empty Seal case, or even the Zhang Biao case, can it last for ten thousand years?”
“This…”
Jiang Huan was stunned by these soul-stirring questions.
It was easier for him to kill people or investigate cases; asking him to discuss such profound issues was indeed a bit difficult.
However, Zhang Biao didn’t expect him to answer.
Zhang Biao leaned forward slightly, his gaze like two quenched daggers, piercing straight into the depths of Jiang Huan’s soul.
“I’ll tell you, it’s impossible, never impossible!”
“Because the roots are rotten, Jiang Huan!”
“It’s rotten from the top!”
“I suspect my sons, my sons scheme against me, brothers fight each other, uncles and nephews are suspicious!”
“The princes are lawless in their fiefdoms, treating the people like grass, indulging in pleasure, and competing with each other!”
“Today you refine elixirs, tomorrow he concocts secret potions, vying to see who is more absurd, who plays harder!”
“What is above is imitated below! When the princes above are playing these games, how can the noble sons and powerful officials below not follow suit? How can they not extort the people’s wealth and resources to satisfy these extravagant desires?!”
Zhang Biao’s tone grew colder and sharper: “I audit accounts? What I find is merely the tip of the iceberg!”
“They are just a few poisonous tumors and rotten fruits inevitably borne by this decaying tree!”
“The corruption in Shaanxi, the funds for river management, the resale of military equipment… which one does not have the shadow of a prince’s mansion behind it? Which one is not with the tacit approval or even participation of those imperial relatives?!”
“Why did the Crown Prince die? He might have genuinely been sick, or he might have died of exhaustion! But what he faced was such a mess that had begun to rot from the roots!”
“He couldn’t fix it! He couldn’t fix it! Because his father was the biggest one…”
“Shut up—!”
Jiang Huan interrupted sharply, cold sweat soaking through his Flying Fish Robe. He dared not listen further.
Zhang Biao, however, began to laugh, his laughter filled with endless sorrow and mockery:
“What? Scared? Jiang Huan, the Emperor’s fierce dog, you’re scared too?”
“Didn’t you deliver Old Zhu’s oral decree? Didn’t he tell me to write the last confession? This is my confession!”
“I tell you, I know! I’ve known from the beginning that this would be the result of the investigation!”
“But I still want to investigate!”
“I want to expose it! I want Zhu Chongba to see clearly! What kind of character is inside the imperial dynasty he personally enfeoffed, these princes he is so proud of!”
“He likes to kill, doesn’t he? Let him kill! Let him see, who his good sons! And good brothers are first to kill!”
Boom!
Jiang Huan was struck as if by lightning, frozen in place, his body ice-cold.
He looked at the prisoner who appeared deranged before him and felt a shudder from the depths of his soul for the first time.
“Madman… you are truly a madman…” Jiang Huan muttered, involuntarily taking a step back.
“Now!”
Zhang Biao ignored him, resuming his cynical demeanor, and said with a faint smile: “Go back. Go back and report to Old Zhu, and tell him that his sons have prepared a great gift for him.”
“Let’s see if he chooses to keep covering it up, pretending everything is peaceful…”
“Or chooses… to uphold righteousness and eliminate family traitors, to clean house and leave his Zhu family a slightly cleaner empire?”
“As for my five brothers…”
He paused, slowly stood up, walked to the bars, nearly pressing his face against Jiang Huan’s, and lowered his voice, speaking slowly in a tone as if chatting about daily life:
“Commander Jiang, please go back and tell Old Zhu.”
“If he dares to touch a single hair on their heads.”
“I, Zhang Biao, guarantee to compile eight hundred different versions of his Zhu family’s affairs: brothers killing each other, father and son suspicion, and descendants being beasts.”
“For example, 《 Emperor Hongwu Kills His Nephew at Night 》, 《 The Secret History of Prince Qin’s Favored Concubine Murdering His Wife 》, 《 Prince Lu’s Elixir Murder Case 》, and so on. Each one will be absolutely brilliant, with thrilling plot twists and vivid details.”
“And then!”
Zhang Biao smiled like a fox that had stolen fish:
“I will make these stories, in a way you, Commander Jiang, absolutely cannot imagine and absolutely cannot stop, fly to every corner of the Great Ming Dynasty, to fields and villages, teahouses and taverns. Even three-year-old children will be able to hum a few lines.”
“Guess what people will think then? How will the historians record it?”
“Guess again!”
Zhang Biao’s smile turned cold: “Is it more important for Old Zhu to kill my five brothers for revenge, or is it more important for his Zhu family’s reputation, the facade of ‘filial piety and paternal love’, ‘brotherly affection and righteousness’ that he worked so hard to maintain?”
Jiang Huan broke out in a cold sweat, his scalp tingling.
This utterly madman!
This is simply a naked, heart-piercing threat!
And this threat… precisely targets the Emperor’s greatest weakness—
his reputation and the Imperial Family’s honor.
He had no doubt that this lunatic was absolutely capable of doing it!
And he absolutely had a way to do it!
“You… you dare!?”
Jiang Huan’s voice trembled slightly.
“See if I dare?”
Zhang Biao raised an eyebrow, took a step back, and resumed his lazy demeanor:
“Anyway, I’m a dead man walking. Dragging down Old Zhu’s family name to be my burial companion is a sure win! Oh right, remember to tell Old Zhu my exact words, verbatim.”
Jiang Huan stared fixedly at Zhang Biao, as if trying to cut him into a thousand pieces with his gaze.
But in the end, he found himself utterly helpless against this rogue.
He stomped his foot hard, gritting his teeth, and forced out three words: “You wait!”
Then he turned and, as if fleeing a plague, strode out of the Imperial Prison.
He had to deliver this deadly ‘message’ to the Emperor immediately.
In the prison cell, Zhang Biao watched Jiang Huan’s flustered retreating figure, a cold curve forming on his lips.
【Zhu Chongba, your family matters are also national matters.】
【Don’t think about a family dynasty; with me here, the world is for everyone.】
He lay back on the bed, hands behind his head, staring at the dark ceiling, and murmured to himself:
【It seems I can finally go home.】
He knew that Old Zhu had genuinely developed a killing intent towards him this time.
【The truth has surfaced. Old Zhu, now it depends on how ruthless you can be.】
…
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Alright! The alliance leader’s bonus chapter is done! Phew~ Phew~ Writing these long chapters these past few days has really tired me out! So many plot points needed to be explained, including foreshadowing for the next volume. Afterwards, depending on subscription numbers, I’ll decide whether to continue with long chapters or the standard 4000-word chapters.
