Chapter 209: Don’t Be Angry, Old Zhu, Have A Bowl Of Pickled Pepper Beef Noodles? Seeking Monthly Tickets
Inside the Huagai Hall, Old Zhu suppressed his anger, awaiting Zhang Biao’s arrival.
However, as he waited, Zhang Biao had yet to arrive, but the sound of hurried footsteps and suppressed gasps came from outside the hall.
“What’s going on?!”
Old Zhu frowned with displeasure, a bad premonition rising in his heart.
A moment later, an Imperial Guard Ensign, his face deathly pale, practically scrambled in. Forgetting all etiquette, he knelt with a thud, his voice filled with extreme terror:
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! It’s terrible! Zhang Biao… outside the Gate of Heavenly Acceptance… he…”
“He what, he! Speak!”
The bad premonition Old Zhu had just suppressed resurfaced, even stronger than before.
The Ensign swallowed, reporting with difficulty:
“Outside the Gate of Heavenly Acceptance, Zhang Biao… recounted Your Majesty’s early struggles, your resistance against the oppressive Yuan, and your punishment of corrupt officials, stirring the hearts of the common people into a frenzy, earning them your utmost admiration…”
Old Zhu’s brow eased slightly, but his eyes remained sharp: “And then?”
“And then… and then he suddenly changed his tune!”
The Ensign’s voice quivered as he continued:
“In front of all the common people and officials, he sternly questioned Your Majesty… why you are now obstructing the Anti-corruption Bureau’s audit of the Princes? Why you are wary of checking the Imperial Treasury? Why you are suppressing the Anti-corruption Bureau?”
*Swish!*
Old Zhu’s face instantly darkened.
The Ensign trembled again:
“He even used that ‘Pearl Jade White Jade Soup’ as an analogy. He said that Your Majesty could share hardships with the soldiers back then, but now you dare not even let anyone see the account books… and finally… finally he…”
“Finally, what?!”
Old Zhu’s voice was as cold as ice.
“He cried out to the heavens, in front of everyone, and questioned Your Majesty…”
The Ensign was so terrified he almost fainted, but he mustered all his remaining strength to repeat the words that would freeze the air in the entire hall:
“He shouted… ‘Your Majesty! Tell me! Why did you rebel back then?!'”
“‘How is it that now that your dragon throne is stable, you yourself… have become the very thing you hated most in the past?!'”
*Boom—!*
It was as if thousands of thunderclaps exploded in Old Zhu’s mind simultaneously!
He shot up from the dragon throne, his body trembling uncontrollably from extreme anger!
The color drained from his face in an instant, only to be replaced by a terrifying flush!
【 How… how dare he?! 】
【 How dare he ask such a question?! 】
“Why rebel… became the very thing he hated most…”
These words, like the most venomous curse, like a red-hot dagger, pierced precisely into the deepest, most hidden corner of Old Zhu’s heart, a corner even he dared not touch!
He rebelled because he could no longer live, because the Yuan regime was corrupt and unjust, because corrupt officials ran rampant, because he, Zhu Chongba, had suffered all the hardships of the world and seen enough injustice!
He established the Great Ming to sweep away all this filth, to create a clear and bright world!
But now…
Zhang Biao, this madman, this ant, had used his most proud founding history, his deepest pain and original intentions, to question him, to whip him, to say he had become the very thing he hated most?!
This was no longer simple insolence; it was heart-piercing, an attempt to roast Zhu Yuanzhang’s lifelong struggle and beliefs on fire, to fundamentally deny the legitimacy and righteousness of his reign!
*”Pfft—!”*
Overwhelmed by rage, Old Zhu felt a sweetness in his throat, a rush of warmth, but he gritted his teeth, forcing himself to swallow the blood!
He could not show weakness now, especially before Zhang Biao’s arrival!
His eyes were bloodshot, his gaze as terrifying as an Asura from hell. He stared fixedly in the direction from which Zhang Biao would appear outside the hall, and from between his clenched teeth, a hoarse, low voice, filled with world-destroying wrath, emerged:
“Zhang Biao—!”
Those two words seemed to carry phlegm, filled with endless malice and killing intent.
He understood. Zhang Biao, this madman, was not just forcing him to respond, but was also nailing him to the pillar of shame for ‘forgetting his roots and becoming degenerate.’
“Good… very good!”
Old Zhu laughed in extreme anger, his smile twisted and hideous: “Today… I want to see what else your mouth, which can make the dead speak, can utter!”
After saying this, he turned, picked up the precious sword, and roared at the terrified Imperial Guard Ensign who had collapsed on the ground: “Scram! All of you, get out!”
He didn’t want to see anyone now. He wanted to gather all his wrath and killing intent, and the moment that damned madman stepped through the hall door—
He would personally end this disaster that had repeatedly challenged his bottom line and now threatened the very foundation of his rule!
For a moment, the entire Huagai Hall was filled with a palpable killing intent, the air congealing as if solid.
“Your Majesty, Censor Zhang has been brought!”
A moment later, Yun Ming reported cautiously from outside the hall, not daring to even raise his head.
Old Zhu’s only response was: “Let him in!”
“Yes!”
Yun Ming bowed tremblingly, then looked at Zhang Biao with a complex expression.
Zhang Biao grinned, then with a backflip, he leaped into the hall doorway and said casually:
“Eunuch Yun, don’t be afraid, relax, quickly go call the imperial physician.”
Yun Ming trembled, lowering his head even further.
The moment Zhang Biao stepped into the Huagai Hall, a killing intent as condensed as solid matter poured down on him like ice water, making every hair on his body stand on end!
On the dragon throne, Old Zhu was like a volcano on the verge of eruption, his eyes bloodshot, veins bulging on his forehead.
He gripped the precious sword in one hand and rested the other on his desk, staring intently at Zhang Biao.
His gaze was no longer that of an Emperor’s majesty, but the ferocity of a beast fixated on its prey, about to pounce and tear it to shreds.
The entire hall was vast and silent, even the attending eunuchs held their breath, wishing they could shrink into the earth.
For any other person, even a seasoned general, under such imperial wrath, capable of causing a million deaths, they would have likely lost all courage and begged for mercy.
However, Zhang Biao merely paused his steps. Then, as if unaffected by the pressure that could crush him, he continued to walk forward at his characteristic, slightly languid pace, stopping at a subtle distance that was neither too close nor too far for the guards to intervene instantly.
Instead of performing the customary grand bow, he tilted his head slightly, his gaze a mixture of curiosity, scrutiny, and even a hint of ‘why are you so angry,’ as he looked Zhang Biao up and down.
That look was like a needle, gently pricking the overinflated balloon of Old Zhu’s anger.
“Your Majesty.”
Zhang Biao spoke, his voice calm, even carrying a hint of the satisfaction of having just finished ‘Crazy Thursday’:
“Your complexion… doesn’t look good? Did you overwork yourself last night reviewing memorials and not get enough rest?”
Old Zhu was stunned by this completely unexpected opening, his accumulated rage and killing intent momentarily faltering.
He had anticipated all sorts of reactions from Zhang Biao: kneeling to argue, weeping, or even further defiance, but he had never expected this madman to discuss his complexion.
“Or perhaps…”
Zhang Biao, as if not noticing Old Zhu’s darkening face, continued his suggestion, his tone so sincere that it was unimpeachable:
“I know a good physician who specializes in treating excessive liver fire and insomnia. Perhaps… I could introduce him to you?”
“Zhang—Biao—!”
Old Zhu finally roared through his teeth, his voice hoarse like sandpaper: “Tell us, how do you want to die?!”
*Boom!*
The terrifying pressure descended like a tangible force!
Zhang Biao, however, seemed as if a gentle breeze had brushed past him. He even raised a hand to his ear, with an expression that suggested he could hear perfectly well if spoken more softly.
“If Your Majesty wishes to kill me, you can kill me however you please. Skin me alive, slice me into a thousand pieces, grind my bones to dust, as long as you are happy.”
Zhang Biao spread his hands, his expression innocent and sincere: “As the saying goes, if the ruler wants the minister to die, the minister must die. But…”
He changed his tone, his gaze locking onto Old Zhu’s fiery eyes, his voice still steady, but with a strange penetrative quality: “Your Majesty kills me, and then what?”
“And then?”
Old Zhu laughed in extreme anger: “Then the world will be at peace! And there will be no more rebellious individuals like you stirring up trouble!”
“Is that so?”
Zhang Biao also smiled, his smile carrying a hint of pity and mockery: “Your Majesty, do you truly not understand, or are you pretending not to?”
Saying this, he took half a step forward. This subtle movement made the guards in the hall instantly tense, their hands moving to their hilts, but Zhang Biao merely stood there, his voice echoing clearly in the vast hall:
“The words I spoke outside the Gate of Heavenly Acceptance today, are they questions only I wanted to ask?”
“Those common people who listened to my ‘storytelling,’ those officials silently standing outside the palace gate, do they not have the same questions in their hearts?”
“If Your Majesty kills Zhang Biao, can you kill the ‘Zhu Chongba’ in the hearts of all people? Can you kill their hope for the ‘Hongwu Great Emperor’ who hated evil and shared hardships with the common folk?”
With each question, Old Zhu’s face grew more displeased.
“My death is simple.”
Zhang Biao’s tone held a nearly cruel calmness:
“But what I said and did outside the palace gate today will only spread faster throughout the world because of my ‘dying for a cause’! What will people say then?”
He imitated the imagined voice of the common people, his tone dramatically embellished:
‘Look! That Censor Zhang only spoke a few truths, asked a few questions, and was killed by the Emperor!’
‘The Emperor is guilty! The Imperial Treasury must have problems! The Princes must have problems!’
‘The Zhu Chongba of yesteryear is dead! The current Hongwu Great Emperor can no longer hear the truth!’
“Silence—!”
Old Zhu suddenly rose from the dragon throne, sword in hand, and stood before his desk, gritting his teeth: “My actions throughout my life, why should I explain them to others?!”
Zhang Biao: “.”
Old Zhu: “.”
They stared at each other in silence.
After a long pause, Zhang Biao frowned, then jutted out his neck and said:
“Your Majesty, you make decisions alone and are indeed not required to explain to anyone. But you are not killing me, Zhang Biao; you are killing the last shred of hope the people have for the name ‘Hongwu’! You have personally proven my words ‘became the very thing you hated most’!”
“With that sword strike, you might feel satisfied, but what will historians write? What will future generations judge you as? An incompetent ruler who, struck in his weak spot, became enraged and killed a loyal minister?”
“Hahaha!”
Old Zhu suddenly threw his head back and laughed. Then, he walked down the steps, step by step, to a position five paces from Zhang Biao, looking at him with utter disdain:
“You think I truly care about the historian’s pen? Or rather, how future generations will judge me, Zhu Yuanzhang?”
“You don’t care?”
Zhang Biao retorted: “If you didn’t care, why are you so agitated!?”
“You could completely do as you please, kill whoever you want, torment whoever you wish. There were plenty of incompetent and tyrannical rulers during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms and the Sixteen Kingdoms period, you, Zhu Yuanzhang, wouldn’t be an exception.”
“Perhaps people would even defecate and urinate in front of your tomb, since you wouldn’t care. You’d be dead anyway, and your infamy would last for eternity, which is quite normal.”
“Silence! I told you to be silent—!”
Enraged, Old Zhu lunged forward with his sword, the tip pointed directly at Zhang Biao’s brow.
Zhang Biao, however, was completely unfazed. He even smiled slightly, as if he had expected this: “You care, don’t you?”
“.”
Old Zhu did not respond, merely staring intently at Zhang Biao, his chest heaving, his sword-holding hand trembling from excessive force.
He wished he could, immediately, right now, personally dismember this glib, heart-piercing madman!
But… his sword-holding hand felt as if it were entangled by countless invisible threads, too heavy to strike.
Zhang Biao’s words were like a cold mirror, forcing him to confront the most ignominious consequences.
He, Zhu Yuanzhang, could afford to disregard the lives of one or two madmen, but he could not disregard historical judgment, nor his posthumous reputation, and most importantly, not… his ‘Hongwu’ banner, which was the foundation of his state!
That was his fundamental difference from the tyranny of the Mongol Yuan!
Killing Zhang Biao would be admitting he feared those questions, admitting he had changed, and personally shattering the ‘sacred’ image he had built!
The price… he could not afford!
“You… you…”
Old Zhu pointed at Zhang Biao, his finger trembling, his lips quivering. A surge of bile rose in his chest, but he managed to hold it back, unable to spit it out or swallow it, leaving him dizzy.
Looking at Zhang Biao’s indolent expression of “I’ve seen right through you,” he felt an unprecedented blend of powerlessness and fury that threatened to tear him apart!
Finally, the immense killing intent, enough to crush Zhang Biao ten thousand times over, was, through a great display of willpower and a weighing of reality and politics, forcefully suppressed by Old Zhu, bit by bit, into the deepest recesses of his heart.
He could not kill him! At least, not because Zhang Biao asked these questions!
“Scram…”
Old Zhu let out a guttural growl from the depths of his throat, like a wounded beast, his voice hoarse and weary, filled with endless malice and frustration: “Get out… get out for me…”
“Scram? Your grandma!”
Zhang Biao rolled his eyes inwardly.
His goal in this “lifetime” was very clear.
He wanted to use this life to solve the problems he hadn’t solved in his “previous life.”
Although his “previous life’s” dying plea had indeed changed this world, for Zhang Biao, it was far from enough, especially since he had clearly understood Old Zhu’s bottom line.
Relying on Old Zhu to solve all problems was simply unrealistic.
Therefore, he had to rely on himself.
And to rely on himself, he needed power.
So, where did the power come from? That goes without saying.
Thus, instead of fleeing as if granted amnesty, he acted as if he hadn’t understood, scratched his ear, looked around, and then plopped himself down on the cold golden floor tiles of the Huagai Hall!
He even chose a “prime location” that was not too far from Old Zhu and happened to be leaning against a golden pillar carved with a coiled dragon.
“Your Majesty!”
He looked up at the Hongwu Great Emperor on the dragon throne, who was about to explode, his face filled with sincere confusion:
“I just arrived, haven’t said a few words, haven’t even had tea, why are you chasing me away? This is no way to treat a guest.”
Old Zhu was so infuriated by his rogue behavior that his vision went black, and he pointed at him with a trembling finger:
“You… you scoundrel! Get up! Get out!”
“Your Majesty, I am hungry.”
Zhang Biao clutched his stomach, his expression aggrieved: “I haven’t eaten or slept well for three days and three nights writing that memorial, and I spoke so much outside the palace gate just now, my front is sticking to my back.”
“This Huagai Hall, it can’t be worse than the Hall of Supreme Harmony, can it? Do they not serve food here?”
After speaking, he turned to Yun Ming, who was cowering in the corner, before Old Zhu could respond:
“Eunuch Yun! Please trouble yourself to go to the imperial kitchen and get two bowls of clear soup noodles! Quickly! Remember to add plenty of vegetables!”
Yun Ming was almost in tears, thinking this man was truly a handful. He then looked pleadingly at Old Zhu.
Old Zhu’s chest heaved, and the veins on his temples throbbed.
This dog!
Last time he ordered takeout in the Hall of Supreme Harmony! This time he’s ordering takeout in the Huagai Hall!
And ordering two bowls?!
Does he really think this is his cafeteria?
He instinctively wanted to roar “Scram” again, but Zhang Biao’s insightful, heart-piercing words were like an invisible chain, tightly binding his imminent killing intent.
He knew that while Zhang Biao appeared unruly on the surface, he was actually meticulous in his thinking.
If he were to chop Zhang Biao to death now over two bowls of noodles, what would the rumors be… the scene was unimaginable.
In the end, Old Zhu squeezed out through his teeth:
“Yun Ming! Go! Get him a bowl of clear soup noodles! After he eats, he’s to get out immediately!”
As he said this, he felt his imperial dignity being dragged on the ground and ground into the dirt.
“Yes, yes, yes…”
Yun Ming, as if granted amnesty, ran out fearfully.
Zhang Biao nodded with satisfaction, and added to Yun Ming’s retreating back:
“Eunuch Yun, remember to tell the cook to cook it soft. My teeth aren’t good, I like to eat soft food!”
Old Zhu: “…”
He felt his blood pressure rise another notch.
While waiting for the noodles, Zhang Biao was not idle.
Like a curious child, he examined the furnishings in the Huagai Hall, making appreciative sounds:
“Oh, Your Majesty, these pillars are gilded with real gold, aren’t they? These floor tiles are so bright, they can reflect people’s shadows… though they are a bit cold on the backside.”
“Living in such a big house alone, are you scared at night? At your age, do you still have people serving you?”
Old Zhu closed his eyes, forcing himself not to look at the scoundrel wriggling and commenting on the floor, inwardly chanting:
【 I am the Emperor, I will not stoop to the level of a madman… when he finishes his noodles, I’ll make him leave… 】
Finally, Yun Ming carefully entered with two steaming bowls of clear soup noodles.
Zhang Biao’s eyes lit up at the sight, and he scrambled up to take a bowl.
The broth was watery, with a few strands of noodles and scattered green onions, indeed the ‘meticulously’ prepared clear soup noodles from the imperial kitchen.
“Your Majesty, the noodles are here! Do you want a bowl too?”
Zhang Biao eagerly invited.
“I won’t eat! You eat quickly! Eat and then get out!”
Old Zhu couldn’t even be bothered to look.
“Then I won’t be polite!”
Zhang Biao sat cross-legged, placing the bowl of noodles on the floor.
Then, to the astonishment of Yun Ming and Old Zhu, he rummaged in the sleeves of his faded official robe and pulled out two packets of instant noodle seasoning!
“Heh heh, luckily I brought my treasures.”
Zhang Biao chuckled, then poured the powder and oil from the seasoning packets into his own bowl of clear soup noodles.
Instantly, a rich and potent aroma began to spread, forming a stark contrast with the bland broth from the imperial kitchen.
Old Zhu’s nose twitched involuntarily.
Zhang Biao stirred the noodles a few times, then frowned at the lidless bowl.
Immediately, his gaze swept over the imperial desk, his eyes lit up, and he got up and walked over. Under Old Zhu’s murderous gaze, he very naturally picked up two unimportant memorial scrolls and, with a ‘clack,’ placed them on top of the noodle bowl!
“This way, it will be more flavorful when steamed!”
Zhang Biao even explained with a serious expression.
“Zhang—Biao—!”
Old Zhu finally exploded completely, grabbing the precious sword he had just put down, its cold gleam sharp, pointing directly at Zhang Biao: “You dare use memorials… Today I will surely kill you!”
Using memorials to cover instant noodles?!
This was an extreme insult to imperial authority, to his lifelong endeavors, Zhu Yuanzhang!
Zhang Biao looked at the sword tip only a few inches from his nose, but instead of fear, he sighed, his tone “See, you’re getting agitated again,”
“Your Majesty, calm down, calm down!”
“These two are just greeting memorials from Jiangxi and Huguang, the content is all the same, other than wasting your time reviewing them, what use do they have? Using them to cover my noodles, making the best of their utility, letting them exert their residual heat, isn’t that wonderful?”
He paused, and just before Old Zhu’s sword tip trembled and was about to strike, he suddenly lowered his voice, his tone becoming exceptionally serious:
“Your Majesty, compared to these two useless greeting memorials, wouldn’t you like to know… some new clues about the death of the Imperial Eldest Grandson?”
“Don’t try that! You don’t know the truth!”
Old Zhu directly exposed Zhang Biao’s words, but his anger was involuntarily somewhat diffused.
Zhang Biao then chuckled: “Although I don’t know the truth, we can investigate together! Don’t you trust my brain?”
Old Zhu frowned deeply. He naturally trusted Zhang Biao’s intellect; this fellow was like a monkey, no, not even a monkey was as cunning as him! So he endured and asked: “What do you want to know?”
“Your Majesty really isn’t eating? This bowl is spicy beef flavor, my favorite!” Zhang Biao blinked.
“I said! I won’t eat!”
Old Zhu’s face was ashen, he emphasized coldly.
Zhang Biao shrugged, and said helplessly: “Alright then, tell me first, what have you investigated?”
Old Zhu gave Zhang Biao a deep look and uttered two words: “Consort Lü.”
“It really is related to her!”
Zhang Biao interjected, not surprised in the least.
Old Zhu’s pupils contracted sharply, and even the sword in his hand dropped to the ground with a *clang*.
“You… you know what?!”
Seeking monthly tickets~
