Chapter 182: Old Zhu: I’ve Been “five-hit Emperor-ed” By That Bastard! 【happy National Day】
The moment Old Zhu’s gaze fell upon the first line of text, his pupils suddenly contracted, and the hand holding the paper tightened sharply.
【Ah! It hurts so much to be beheaded, so painful! 】
This bastard!
You dare to jest like this when death is upon you!?
Old Zhu’s rage was instantly reignited, almost crushing the thin sheets of paper.
However, when he saw the second line of text, all his rage seemed to be doused by a basin of ice water, freezing instantly.
A chill rushed from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, making all the blood in his body seem to congeal.
【Old Zhu, do you know how Zhu Xiongying died? 】
Zhu Xiongying!
His legitimate eldest grandson! Biao’er’s legitimate eldest son!
That intelligent and lively imperial eldest grandson, in whom he placed great hope, yet who died prematurely!
This name, like the sharpest awl, pierced deeply into Old Zhu’s softest and most forbidden scar.
Zhu Xiongying’s death had always been an unspeakable pain for him, Zhu Biao, and even the entire Great Ming Dynasty.
The official record stated ‘died young,’ but whispers within the palace suggested various causes like colds or acute illnesses.
Not without suspicion among them.
But at that time, the Crown Prince was still alive, and he did not want to delve deeper, fearing it would cause unnecessary unrest and suspicion.
After all, the Great Ming had only recently been founded, and anything that could affect its rule had to be set aside.
Therefore, he forcefully suppressed this grief.
He suppressed it for over a decade, so long that he almost forgot about it himself.
Now, Zhang Biao, that ‘dead man,’ was directly pointing to Zhu Xiongying’s death in his will?
Old Zhu felt as if he had been pulled back to the year Zhu Xiongying died prematurely.
But he was still very confused.
How would that madman know?
How could he possibly know?!
At that time… Zhang Biao was still scrambling for food in some forgotten corner!
Could it be… could Zhu Xiongying’s death also have been no accident?!
This thought, like a viper, instantly coiled around Old Zhu’s heart, making his breathing catch.
Because the truth of Zhu Biao’s death was right there.
Although the truth was still one step away, meaning the mastermind had not been caught, Zhu Biao’s death completely overturned the previously determined cause of death.
What did this mean? It meant Zhang Biao was not lying; he truly knew some unknown secrets.
The immense shock, disbelief, fear, and the pain of having an old wound reopened, all intertwined, caused the iron-blooded emperor’s body to tremble uncontrollably.
He held his breath, his fingers trembling uncontrollably, and forcefully turned the paper over.
He wanted to see what that monster, Zhang Biao, had to say…
The writing on the back was still messy, but it seemed to carry blood and mockery:
【Hahaha! You actually dare to read it, Old Zhu!? 】
【I bet you’re furious, enraged, and want to tear me to shreds, to grind my bones and scatter my ashes, right?! 】
【You… you’re only capable of this much… 】
【Tsk tsk, but I won’t tell you! 】
【You’re surely going to ask why? Because you are not worthy of knowing more truth! 】
【After all the effort, the facts are laid out before you, and you’re still hesitating. I really don’t know if Zhu Yuanzhang is also dead!? 】
【Come! Take a look! Look at the good deeds your sons have done! 】
【Prince Qin Zhu Shuang, abducted and castrated young boys; used torture, cut tongues, buried alive, and burned alive; encroached on civilian land; abused palace servants; favored concubines over his wife, and wore clothing exceeding his rank. 】
【Prince Jin Zhu Gang, bound people with galloping horses and dismembered them. 】
【Prince Zhou Zhu Su, shot and killed an officer of his mansion’s Guard Department. 】
【Prince Qi Zhu Fu, believed slander and killed commanding officers, captains, officers, and their entire families, totaling 482 people. 】
【Prince Lu Zhu Tan, obsessed with alchemy, castrated ninety-nine young boys to obtain medicinal ingredients. 】
【Prince Dai Zhu Gui, arbitrarily killed civilians in the street; bludgeoned people’s heads with a hammer; built a princely mansion exceeding regulations. 】
【Prince Min Zhu Piao, usurped seals of various departments, and slaughtered officials and commoners. 】
【Prince Gu Zhu Jiong, seized civilian land, embezzled public taxes, and killed innocent people; his Chief Clerk repeatedly advised him, but was falsely accused and dismembered. 】
One by one, article by article, they were shocking!
Old Zhu’s breathing became heavier, his hand clutching the paper trembling violently, his knuckles turning pale from the excessive force.
These… these bastards!
How dare they?!
He enfeoffed the princes to guard the borders and protect the imperial family, not to lord it over their fiefs and harm the people!
Especially Second Prince Zhu Shuang!
The heinous crimes alone made him feel sick to his stomach, and a surge of anger rushed to his head!
Are these Zhu Yuanzhang’s sons?! What’s the difference from beasts?!
And Third Prince! Old Seven…
Each name was like a heavy hammer, striking his heart.
He could almost see, in places he couldn’t see, how his sons, under the banner of princes, trampled on the Imperial Ming Ancestral Teachings he personally established, and how they treated his most cherished people like dust!
“Beasts… a bunch of beasts—!”
Old Zhu let out a suppressed roar from the depths of his throat, his voice hoarse, filled with the pain of betrayal and immense anger.
However, mixed with this anger was a hint of fear he himself was unwilling to admit.
How did Zhang Biao know so much detail?
Some things, even the patrolling censors he sent might not have investigated so clearly!
Could it be… he had informants in every princely mansion? How was that possible?!
Who was this Zhang Biao?! Man or ghost?!
And when his gaze fell on the last few lines, all his anger, pain, and fear turned into a bone-chilling cold and a trace of shame from having his disguise completely torn away.
【This is only a part of it, due to time constraints, I haven’t finished writing! 】
【And yet, you’re still hesitating about whether to ‘depose the feudal lords’ salary system’!? 】
【As the saying goes, to be born without nurturing, and nurtured without teaching, is the father’s fault. 】
【To tolerate children’s wrongdoing is no different from being a beast. 】
【What is without father and without sovereign? Lack of paternal virtue and lack of sovereign integrity. To view the common people as father and sovereign is a great shame in life. 】
【Looking through all the dynasties, rulers like this are rare in ancient times. 】
【The glorious Great Ming, continuing the Han dynasty’s empire, should be an unparalleled achievement. However, the sovereign of Ming is no longer Han. The common people of Ming are worse off than Han. 】
【Alas! 】
【—Your subject, Zhang Biao, offers a dying plea in tears, hoping Your Majesty will reform and confess his sins to the world, to secure the nation’s destiny. 】
“Boom—!”
Old Zhu felt as if something in his head had exploded.
“Without father and without sovereign… a great shame in life…”
“The sovereign of Ming is no longer Han… the common people of Ming are worse off than Han…”
“Reform… confess sins to the world…”
Each word was like a red-hot branding iron, searing his face, searing his heart.
Especially the scene where he vehemently denounced Zhang Biao in the Imperial Prison as ‘disloyal and unfilial, deserving death,’ as if it were yesterday.
He, Zhu Yuanzhang, rose from humble beginnings, expelled the barbarians, restored China, and founded this glorious Great Ming. He considered himself diligent in governance and caring for the people, striving for excellence, all to establish an era far surpassing Han and Tang.
But now, a ‘monster’ and ‘traitor’ whom he personally ordered executed, was using the most heart-piercing words in his will to trample his life’s achievements, his dignity as emperor and father, into worthlessness.
He even nailed Zhu Yuanzhang to the pillory of ‘disloyalty and unfilial conduct,’ ‘tolerating sons’ misdeeds,’ and ‘inferior to the Han Dynasty.’
“Pfft—!”
Overwhelmed by rage and anger, Old Zhu felt a sweet sensation in his throat, and a mouthful of blood spurted out, splashing onto the Public Order Memorial, creating a dazzling crimson stain.
“Your Majesty!”
Yun Ming was so terrified he scrambled forward.
But Old Zhu shoved him away, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. His eyes were terrifyingly bloodshot, staring fixedly at the blood-stained will, his chest heaving violently.
However, deeper than the anger was an inexpressible fear.
This fear stemmed not only from Zhang Biao’s precisely prophetic and venomous accusations but also from the deliberately ignited, yet unresolved, question about Zhu Xiongying’s death.
Zhang Biao mentioned Xiongying!
He used the most malicious way to pique my curiosity, yet lightly skirted around it at the end, focusing all his firepower on the feudal lords and himself as emperor.
But this was precisely the most terrifying part!
【He knows the truth of Xiongying’s death! He must know something! 】
【He deliberately didn’t mention it because… because the truth might be even more unbearable for him than the misdeeds of these feudal lords? 】
【Or because the people involved made it difficult for him to speak of?! 】
Was it the harem? Other sons?
Or… someone closest to Biao?!
Countless speculations, like venomous insects, crawled into Old Zhu’s heart, gnawing at his remaining sanity.
He suddenly raised his head, his gaze like that of a vengeful spirit, sweeping over the Imperial Guard Ensign who had collapsed on the ground. His voice was hoarse and distorted, carrying a killing intent on the verge of madness:
“Speak! Zhang Biao… is Zhang Biao dead?! Where is his head?! His body?!”
He had to confirm!
Confirm if this monster was truly dead!
If he wasn’t dead… if this was another of his schemes…
“Reply… Reply to Your Majesty…”
The Imperial Guard Ensign stammered in fear, “The bell… the bell has rung, Lord Liu… Lord Liu should have received the decree… his head, I presume…”
“Presume?!”
Old Zhu roared like a wounded beast, “Where is Jiang Huan?! Have him come see me immediately! I want to see Zhang Biao alive or dead! I want to see Zhang Biao’s head with my own eyes!”
Amidst this extreme chaos and fury, the memories of Zhu Xiongying uncontrollably flooded his mind.
That intelligent grandson, holding his sleeve, reciting the Hundred Family Surnames in a childish voice…
That robust child, sitting obediently nearby, practicing calligraphy while he reviewed memorials…
That descendant of the Great Ming, who sat on his lap, in whom he placed great hope…
【Xiongying… my good grandson… how did you really die? 】
【Could it be… could it really not have been an accident?! 】
This question, which he had forcibly suppressed for years, was now reawakened by Zhang Biao in the most cruel way, tearing at his heart with bloody hooks.
The anger towards Zhang Biao, the disappointment in his sons, the doubt about his grandson’s premature death, the shame and fear of his reign being completely negated…
Various extreme emotions churned and collided within him like lava, almost tearing him apart!
He suddenly crumpled the blood-stained Public Order Memorial into a ball, clutching it tightly as if to crush it, yet unwilling to let go as if it were a last straw.
“Get out! All of you get out—!”
He let out a roar like a dying beast at Yun Ming and the young eunuch.
The two fled out of the Main Hall, scrambling.
In the empty Huagai Hall, only Old Zhu remained, with the ‘will’ that felt heavier than a thousand pounds in his hand.
His back hunched, he stood amidst the mess, his shadow stretching long in the candlelight, filled with the emperor’s rage, the father’s sorrow, and a deep, bottomless fear.
The entire Huagai Hall was deathly silent, with only Old Zhu’s heavy, bellows-like breaths echoing.
He stood hunched by the imperial desk, tightly clutching the crumpled, blood-stained Public Order Memorial, his knuckles cracking from the excessive force.
The thin paper felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, making it hard for him to breathe.
Rage! Immense rage!
That monster Zhang Biao, even in death, had to humiliate him in such a venomous way, exposing his sons’ ugliness nakedly, and devaluing his life’s achievements into nothing!
Even more hateful, he dared to mention Xiongying!
With such a flippant and meaningful tone, he dug a knife into the deepest scar of his heart!
Despair! Bottomless despair!
If Zhang Biao’s words were true, then what was Zhu Yuanzhang?
An incompetent ruler who failed to raise his children and tolerated their misdeeds?
A coward who couldn’t even find out, or dared not find out, the true cause of his grandson’s death?
The glorious Great Ming he pursued his entire life was, in Zhang Biao’s writing, a disgrace worse than the Han Dynasty! How could he accept this?!
And the lingering, now infinitely magnified fear and suspicion.
The cause of Zhu Biao’s death was not yet fully resolved, and regarding Zhu Xiongying, and perhaps even darker, more chilling truths hidden within this deep palace, gradually emerged…
Several extreme emotions churned and collided within him like lava, almost washing away the dam of his sanity.
“Stomp stomp stomp…”
A series of hurried yet restrained footsteps approached, breaking the suffocating silence of the hall.
Jiang Huan’s figure appeared at the Hall Door. He had obviously learned of the outcome at the execution ground; his expression was grim, but his steps were still steady.
He quickly entered the hall, ignored the mess on the floor, knelt on one knee, and reported in a low, clear voice:
“Reporting to Your Majesty, the convict Zhang Biao was identified and executed at Fengtian Gate at three quarters past noon.”
He paused slightly, as if choosing his words, and finally added truthfully:
“His body… is temporarily under the custody of the Imperial Guard, awaiting Your Majesty’s disposal.”
Here it comes.
The final confirmation had arrived.
Old Zhu’s body trembled almost imperceptibly.
He slowly, extremely slowly, turned around, his bloodshot, crazed eyes fixed on Jiang Huan.
“Dead…?”
Old Zhu’s voice was hoarse like sandpaper, with a terrifying calmness, but beneath this calmness lay a destructive energy about to erupt.
“Yes.”
Jiang Huan lowered his head and replied affirmatively.
“Heh heh… hahaha… Hahahaha!”
Old Zhu suddenly let out a suppressed, then frenzied laugh.
The laughter echoed in the vast hall, filled with endless sorrow and self-mockery.
“Dead… Good! It’s good that he’s dead!!”
As he laughed, he slammed his hand on the imperial desk, acting like a madman:
“This scourge! This monster! He’s finally dead!”
“No one can point at my nose and call me ‘disloyal and unfilial’ anymore! No one can expose my sons’ shortcomings anymore! Hahahaha—!”
As he laughed, his voice suddenly became choked with tears, the laughter sounding worse than crying:
“But he’s dead… he’s dead… Xiongying’s matter… Biao’er’s matter… who can I ask?! Huh?! Tell me, who can I ask—?!”
He suddenly threw the crumpled Public Order Memorial he was tightly holding at Jiang Huan. The paper ball scattered in the air and fell to the ground, the crimson bloodstains on it horrifying.
“Look! Look at what he wrote?!”
“He knew everything! He knew everything! But why didn’t he finish?!
“Why did he leave this hook to bait us until his death?! Why—?!”
Old Zhu’s emotions completely broke down.
Like a wounded beast trapped in a cage, he waved his arms, roaring hoarsely, questioning, as if Jiang Huan were the embodiment of Zhang Biao.
Jiang Huan knelt on the ground, letting the emperor’s fury rain down on him, lowering his head even further, remaining silent.
He knew that any words at this moment were superfluous.
After roaring for a while, Old Zhu’s strength seemed to drain away. He staggered back two steps, leaning against the cold armrest of the dragon throne, gasping for breath.
His gaze inadvertently swept outside the hall, as if he saw again a small, lively figure from many years ago.
【Imperial Grandfather! Imperial Grandfather! Look at the characters I wrote! 】
【Imperial Grandfather, when I grow up, I want to be a great hero like you! 】
【Xiongying… my good grandson… 】
Zhu Xiongying’s childish and clear voice seemed to ring in his ears, his small face, so much like Biao’s and Madam Chang’s, with a pure smile, clearly appeared before his eyes.
He was his first legitimate grandson, his and the Great Ming’s hope for the future!
But this child died at the age of eight.
Eight years old!
He was only eight years old!
Who was so vicious?! Who killed our legitimate grandson?!
【Do you know how Zhu Xiongying died? 】
This sentence, like a curse, echoed repeatedly in his mind.
Guilt!
Like a surging tide, guilt instantly drowned out his anger and despair.
He had let down Xiongying! He had let down Biao! He had let down Madam Chang who died young!
If he had been resolute in investigating back then, could he have avoided the subsequent tragedy? Would Biao not have…
This thought, like a viper, fiercely bit at his soul.
“It’s my… it’s my fault they suffered…”
“I’m useless… I couldn’t even protect my own grandson… couldn’t even figure out how he died…”
Old Zhu muttered to himself, tears streaming down his face.
At this moment, he was not the decisive Hongwu Great Emperor, but merely a grandfather and father filled with regret and powerlessness.
He suddenly raised his head, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Jiang Huan, his voice filled with a near-mad obsession and a final flicker of hope:
“Jiang Huan! Tell me! Is Zhang Biao… is Zhang Biao lying to us?!”
“Is he deliberately talking nonsense to disrupt our minds?! Xiongying died of illness! Right?! Tell us—!”
He was seeking a denial, an answer that would allow him to continue deceiving himself.
Jiang Huan looked up, seeing the emperor’s near mental breakdown, pleading eyes, and felt a mixture of emotions.
But he did not directly answer Old Zhu’s question; instead, he recounted what happened at the execution ground.
“Your Majesty, at the execution ground… after Zhang Biao submitted to the law, the common people did not disperse, but were instead indignant!”
“Some shouted ‘Censor Zhang,’ some wept profusely, and others even began to storm the execution platform, cursing Lord Liu Sanwu and the scholars present as ‘traitors’ and ‘pedantic scholars’!”
He paused, his voice growing deeper:
“The scene was almost out of control. The Five City Patrols could not suppress it, and I had to deploy some Imperial Guard officers to barely maintain order.”
“However, public grievances are boiling, and it is unlikely that force alone can quell them! Lord Liu Sanwu… was excessively frightened and has collapsed, unable to move!”
Old Zhu heard this evasive report, his facial muscles twitching violently.
The anger just stirred by Zhang Biao’s Public Order Memorial had not subsided, and now ‘public unrest’ added to the shock and anger.
“Rebellious! All rebellious!”
He roared, his fists clenching with a crackling sound: “A bunch of ungrateful peasants! Incited by that monster, they dare to storm the execution ground! Liu Sanwu, you useless fool!”
Jiang Huan looked up and cautiously added the most crucial and fatal piece of information:
“Your Majesty… there is one more thing… an anomaly… at the execution ground, the sky… the sky suddenly began to snow…”
“Snow?”
Old Zhu blinked. It had been so many years since it snowed in Yingtian Prefecture, why would it suddenly snow?
Jiang Huan gritted his teeth, his voice trembling with disbelief:
“It is absolutely true, Your Majesty! Not long after Zhang Biao’s head fell, fine snowflakes began to drift from the sky above the execution ground without any warning!”
“And now outside… it is already the ‘phenomenon of snow in June’!”
“Snow in June… snow in June…”
Old Zhu muttered these six words, the rage on his face instantly froze, turning into extreme shock and panic.
He was an emperor who marched on horseback; he did not believe in ghosts and spirits, but he was an emperor and knew well the theory of ‘heaven-man correspondence’!
He knew very well what this ‘snow in June’ phenomenon meant in the eyes of the world!
It meant—an immense injustice!
It meant that he, Zhu Yuanzhang, the Emperor of Great Ming, had wrongfully executed loyal officials, causing heaven to send an anomalous sign as a warning!
Zhang Biao’s ‘for the country and the people’ act before his death, that heart-piercing Public Order Memorial, coupled with the ‘heaven’s will’ of ‘snow in June’s phenomenon’…
He could almost imagine how Yingtian Prefecture, and soon the entire world, would discuss him, Zhu Yuanzhang!
Tyrant! Incompetent ruler!
Believing slander, wrongly executing upright officials, leading to an anomalous celestial sign!
All his lifelong efforts, all his achievements, all his authority, would be shattered by this ‘snow in June’ phenomenon!
His reputation… was ruined!
Completely ruined!
And his Great Ming, the Hongwu era name, would be nailed to the pillory of history, alongside those foolish and tyrannical fallen rulers!
“Ugh…”
Old Zhu felt a surge of blood rush to his head, his vision blurred, his chest felt crushed by a huge stone, and a suffocating pain spread throughout him.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but could only make a guttural sound.
“Your Majesty—!”
Yun Ming was terrified and rushed forward to support him.
But Old Zhu pushed him away again.
“Pfft—!”
Immediately after, a mouthful of hot blood, like an arrow of blood, gushed violently from Old Zhu’s mouth, more and more than before!
It splashed directly onto the imperial desk and his front!
The blood, in the flickering candlelight, appeared particularly glaring and sinister.
Old Zhu’s body shook violently.
He pointed a finger towards the direction of the snow falling outside the hall, his eyes wide open, filled with unwillingness, rage, and the despair of an inevitable downfall.
【Bastard… I… was… you… struck down five times… 】
His eyes rolled back, his massive body could no longer support itself, and he fell backward stiffly.
“Your… Your Majesty—!!”
Jiang Huan’s face changed drastically. Disregarding the decorum before the court, he sprang up from the ground and lunged forward.
Just as Old Zhu’s tall but already tottering body was about to fall, he managed to catch him.
Old Zhu’s body leaned heavily on Jiang Huan, his eyes closed, his face like pale gold paper, his breath weak, having completely lost consciousness.
“Summon the Imperial Physician! Quickly summon the Imperial Physician—!”
Jiang Huan let out a desperate roar towards the hall, his voice filled with unprecedented panic.
The Huagai Hall instantly descended into chaos.
And the crumpled Public Order Memorial, stained with old and new blood, lay quietly on the floor.
Like a silent mockery, it witnessed the rage, despair, guilt, and final breakdown of an emperor.
………
Happy National Day, please give me double monthly tickets~!
