Chapter 31: Old Zhu: If He Doesn’t Attend Court, Can He Overturn The Sky? Seeking Monthly Tickets
After Old Zhu abolished the position of Prime Minister, he had to personally handle almost every matter, big or small, in the imperial court.
He handled over two hundred documents and nearly four hundred affairs daily, so it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him the foremost model worker of the Great Ming Dynasty.
Perhaps it was because Old Zhu worked too hard that his descendants, knowing they couldn’t compare, were too lazy to be like dogs.
Even more so, some had not attended court for twenty-eight years.
At this moment, Old Zhu was handling state affairs in Huagai Hall behind the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
“Your Highness.”
The young eunuch Yun Ming quietly walked in. Seeing Old Zhu at the Dragon desk reviewing memorials, he softly called out.
“Is there news?”
Old Zhu continued to review the memorials, let out a cold snort, and said indifferently, “Speak. How did he spend that fifty taels of silver? Did he hire female servants? Did he squander it wantonly? Did he redeem that Jade Pendant for Censor Shen and buy pig’s head meat?”
Yun Ming forced a few sheepish laughs before truthfully reporting:
“Replying to Your Highness, after Censor Zhang left the Hall of Supreme Harmony, he was surrounded by a group of Capital Officials of Seventh Rank and Eighth Rank. They said many things, but mostly about Your Highness’s boundless grace. He did not hire female servants, nor did he squander the fifty taels. Instead, he gave twenty taels to Censor Shen and treated those Capital Officials of Seventh Rank and Eighth Rank to pig’s head meat.”
“Heh, so that bastard thing is quite loyal?”
Old Zhu gave a cold laugh, then put down his brush. His withered fingers tapped the desk unconsciously, his eyes deep.
Although Zhang Biao sought death with all his heart, it did not mean he was a person without emotion.
And a person with emotion, once they have attachments, might not die easily.
After all, everyone experiences the pain of ‘letting go’.
Thinking of this, Old Zhu clearly replayed every word and every expression of Zhang Biao in the Hall of Supreme Harmony in his mind.
From the sharp and direct warning of national ruin at the beginning, to the righteous indignation of demanding salary and starving censors to death, and then to the lazy demeanor when holding the Emperor-bestowed clear soup noodles at the end.
“The innocence of loyal officials cannot save the Great Ming Dynasty!”
That furious roar still echoed in his ears.
“But a sober censor who dies for a cause, perhaps can!”
Was that statement arrogant? Arrogant!
But as Old Zhu savored it, he tasted a hint of twisted logic.
He, Zhu Yuanzhang, was a formidable figure who clawed his way out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
He understood one principle very well.
A prosperous era needed upright and capable officials, but to break through deep-seated, chronic ailments, sometimes it truly required someone like Zhang Biao, who acted unpredictably, feared no death, and was even a bit of a rogue or a reckless youth!
Those Ministers of the Board of Documents were too ‘clever’.
They knew how to gauge the Emperor’s will, how to weigh pros and cons, and how to protect themselves.
Ask them to stir the hornet’s nest of the salary system? To touch the iron plate of the Princes? To wade into the unfathomably murky waters of the successor position?
They would only cite classics, evade the question, and finally present a pile of well-balanced but utterly useless memorials!
But this boy Zhang Biao was different.
He was like a ‘cone’ that was not sharpened but was exceptionally sharp, without many twists and turns, he would stab directly into the most painful spot.
Low salary? He dared to take out that 《 Give me back my hard-earned money 》 tattered account book in the Hall of Supreme Harmony and settle accounts with the Emperor!
Hidden danger of the Princes? He dared to point at the Emperor’s nose and say, “Your Highness! You are planting the seeds of disaster!”
The successor position is vacant? He dared to do ‘bundle sales + actively offer himself for flaying and stuffing’!
Although the methods were extreme and the words harsh.
Old Zhu had to admit that the wounds made by this ‘cone’ allowed him to see pus and blood, and feel the pain.
It also forced him to re-examine his governance.
“Want to die?”
Old Zhu couldn’t help but pick up the white porcelain tea bowl on his desk, take a sip of the bitter tea, and a cold, almost cruel glint flashed in his turbid old eyes: “It won’t be that easy!”
As he spoke, the corners of his mouth twitched upward, a rare occurrence, forming a cold arc tinged with a hint of anticipation: “I want to see how deep you can poke this abscess of the Great Ming, and how cleanly you can scrape it!”
“Even if you die, you must first let us wring dry your eloquent abilities!”
The study was filled with warmth.
Yun Ming stood by the Dragon desk like a shadow, listening word for word to Old Zhu’s monologue, which was full of imperial coldness and calculation.
He held his breath, not daring to exhale.
Until Old Zhu asked him again, “Anything else?”
Yun Ming immediately replied cautiously, “Also, the matter of Censor Zhang demanding his salary in the Hall of Supreme Harmony has spread widely. The Ministry of Rites feels it is undignified and treasonous, and is planning to impeach Censor Zhang.”
“It doesn’t matter. As long as he doesn’t attend court, he can’t cause much of a stir.”
Old Zhu said dismissively, seemingly not taking the matter to heart, and then casually changed the topic, “Are there any movements from the Ten Princes’ Mansions?”
“Replying to Your Highness, after His Highness Prince Qin returned from the funeral, he made a fuss for a while and then quieted down. Although His Highness Prince Jin is quiet, his subordinates frequently enter and leave his Prince’s Mansion with unclear intentions. As for His Highness Prince Yan, he has been shut in his residence since his return, except for his third son, Zhu Gao Sui, who occasionally goes to the Imperial Guard yamen to hold a position.”
Yun Ming reported the situation of the Ten Princes’ Mansions one by one, and Old Zhu listened very carefully.
Unknowingly, in the entire study of Huagai Hall, only Yun Ming’s voice and Old Zhu’s breathing could be heard.
“The above are the movements of the Ten Princes’ Mansions in the past two days. I ask Your Highness to investigate.”
“En.” Old Zhu responded with a blank expression. He neither issued an order nor gave an opinion. After a moment of silence, he continued, “How is the Eastern Palace?”
“Replying to Your Highness,”
Yun Ming bowed again and said, “Crown Princess Consort Lü, after returning from the funeral, has lost her appetite and often cries in the mourning hall. When she goes to the mourning hall to pay respects to the Crown Prince, she also brings the Crown Prince’s offspring with her.”
“That’s not what I’m asking!”
Old Zhu interrupted with some displeasure.
Yun Ming’s face turned pale, and he quickly corrected himself, “His Highness the Second Imperial Grandson, besides accompanying Crown Princess Consort Lü to pay respects to the Crown Prince, also diligently studies his homework. Every day, he seeks instruction from the Crown Prince’s companion scholar, Huang Zicheng, and has not been slack in the slightest.”
“En.” Old Zhu’s expression softened, and then he asked again, “Anything else?”
“Uh, this…”
Yun Ming hesitated for a moment, then immediately understood: “His Highness the Third Imperial Grandson, although he also accompanied Crown Princess Consort Lü to pay respects to the Crown Prince, he often leaves early, either taking his two elder sisters to eat and drink, or playing with eunuchs and palace maids. As for studying, he also frequently leaves the schoolroom early to eat and drink and play.”
“Enough! Useless things! Get out!!”
“Yes, yes, yes. This servant will get out now, get out now!”
Yun Ming, accustomed to Old Zhu’s capriciousness, immediately scrambled out.
Not long after seeing Yun Ming leave, Old Zhu glanced at the memorials on the Dragon desk. He was no longer in the mood to review them, so he slowly rose from the Dragon desk and, looking at the sky outside the door, frowned: “Summon Jiang Huan. I want to go see my Biao’er!”
