Chapter 43: The Script Wasn’t Supposed To Be Like This! Seeking Monthly Tickets
“Your Imperial Majesty! The undergarment beneath my official robe has not been changed in three years, and it has eighteen patches! When I stand in court, I fear that any sudden movement might tear a thread and expose my backside, thus disgracing myself and my reputation!”
“I ask Your Majesty, can the dignity of the imperial court be maintained with tattered clothes?!”
“I second that! The mice in my home are so skinny they’re skin and bones; the night before last, they even gnawed on the Analects I’ve treasured for years to satisfy their hunger!”
“This is a sign of utter barbarism and the collapse of ritual and music, Your Majesty! If even the mice in my home cannot survive, how can I endure this!”
“Your Imperial Majesty! Please take pity on your humble servant and bestow upon me two taels of silver. After court, I can go buy some pig’s head meat; the pig’s head meat today is incredibly fresh!!”
Hearing these outrageous admonishments, Old Zhu’s face turned the color of liver.
Anger? Earth-shattering wrath!
These scoundrels have completely rebelled!
They’ve turned his court deliberation on establishing the crown prince into a salary demand session?!
Humiliation? As a dignified Emperor, he’s been cornered in the Hall of Supreme Harmony by his officials demanding their salaries, and they’re collectively demanding their debts be paid?!
Absurd? Dozens of officials, holding account books, shouting about pig’s head meat—what kind of imperial court is this?!
“Rebellion! All of you have rebelled!!”
Old Zhu finally found a sliver of voice amidst the overwhelming absurdity and anger, striking the table with furious rage, his beard and hair bristling, pointing at the ‘salary-demanding entourage’ below, his fingers trembling like a sieve:
“Jiang Huan! Jiang Huan!! Bring these! Disrespectful of the sovereign! Raucous court scoundrels!”
“Reporting to Your Imperial Majesty!”
Before Old Zhu could finish speaking, Shen Lang stepped forward again:
“Your humble servants dare to offer this admonishment today, not for personal gain, but to awaken your Sacred Hearing and remind you of past hardships!”
“May I ask Your Majesty, do you still remember your time in Huang Jue Temple, by the dim lamp and ancient Buddha, with insufficient clothing, barely enough to eat, begging for alms?!”
Rumble—!
Like pouring a ladle of cold water into boiling oil.
The entire Hall of Supreme Harmony instantly erupted.
All the officials gasped.
Huang Jue Temple? Begging for alms?
This is the Emperor’s most sensitive scar, the one he least wants mentioned!
Is this Shen Lang… has he gone mad?! Is he truly not afraid of death?!
Old Zhu’s face changed dramatically, a chilling coldness swept over him, mixed with the furious rage of being utterly humiliated.
His emaciated hand tightly gripped the armrest of the dragon throne, his knuckles turning white, his eyes filled with a killing intent like solid ice shards, piercing Shen Lang.
But Shen Lang seemed not to notice the deadly gaze, instead straightening his back, his voice growing louder, with a tone of pity for the world:
“Back then, the common people still had scraps and leftovers to give to beggars, helping them to survive. But what about now?”
Saying this, his tone suddenly shifted, like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath, directly piercing the Emperor’s visage:
“Your Majesty sits in possession of the Four Seas, rich beyond compare, yet you are unwilling to open your eyes and see the censors and pure stream officials under your command!”
“They are not even as fortunate as that little monk who begged for alms back then!”
“Presumptuous!!”
Old Zhu could no longer contain himself, his face contorted with furious rage, his voice hoarse and distorted, filled with overwhelming killing intent: “Shen Lang! You are courting death!!!”
“Your Imperial Majesty, please calm your anger!”
Zhao Fengman, the Censor from Henan Province, shot out like an arrow from a bow, his voice equally resonant and full, his face oily, but his eyes held a sincerity that seemed to say, ‘I am helping you recall those glorious times’:
“Censor Shen’s words may be extreme, but his earnest intentions are clear to heaven and earth!”
“Your Imperial Majesty! Your humble servant also dares to ask: Do you still remember the Battle of Poyang Lake, when Chen Youliang besieged us with six hundred thousand troops, arrows rained down like rain, supplies were cut off, soldiers ate horses for food, drank blood for thirst, and faced death together?!”
“You!”
Old Zhu’s pupils constricted.
Zhao Fengman, not waiting for him to react, immediately pointed to his ruddy face and the equally oily account book in his arms:
“In that desperate situation, the soldiers could still share horse meat and drink hot blood together! Emperor and ministers united, facing the national crisis together! But what about now?”
With that, his voice suddenly rose, filled with grief-stricken accusation:
“We cannot even afford horse meat anymore, Your Imperial Majesty!”
“Salaries are in arrears, rice jars are empty, and even pickles and thin gruel are hard to come by! How can we stand tall and assist Your Majesty?! How can we, like the soldiers at Poyang Lake, be willing to die for you, Your Majesty?!”
“The delayed salaries do not chill our stomachs! They chill the hearts of scholars throughout the land who wish to serve the court! They chill the camaraderie of emperor and ministers that existed at Poyang Lake all those years ago, Your Imperial Majesty!”
“You… you…”
Old Zhu trembled with anger, pointing at Zhao Fengman, his fingers shaking violently, his lips quivering, but unable to form a complete sentence.
Poyang Lake!
That was the most glorious and the most brutal battle of his life!
These scoundrels! How dare they compare this to their situation?!
“I second that!”
Another censor leaped forward: “Your Imperial Majesty! When you wielded your sword to overthrow the corrupt Yuan dynasty and relieve the suffering of the people, what heroic spirit did you possess!?”
“You hated corrupt officials the most, hated how they exploited the people, sucking them dry! Therefore, you established severe punishments, flaying them and stuffing their hides as a warning against future offenses!”
“But!”
This censor’s tone shifted, pointing directly to the painful issue:
“Now, those who are in arrears with our salaries are the clerks in the Ministry of Revenue’s granaries. Their actions are no different from those corrupt officials you flayed and stuffed!”
“They are also exploiting! They are also sucking the marrow dry! Except they are sucking the blood of the court officials! The blood of your loyal subjects!”
“Your Imperial Majesty! You flayed corrupt officials, but are you going to stand by and watch these worms that are draining the foundation of the court get away with it?!”
“Withholding salaries and deducting grain rations is a crime punishable by death!”
“Please, Your Majesty, emulate your past actions and punish them severely without leniency! Grant us justice, and also grant yourself… a clean reputation!”
He emphasized the last two words, “clean reputation,” heavily.
“I second that! Your Imperial Majesty! Do you still remember the Empty Seal Case? The Guo Huan Case? You executed so many people, their blood staining the Qin Huai River! What was it all for?! Wasn’t it to purify the administration and eradicate corruption?!”
“But what about now? One of the root causes of corruption is the meager official salary, and the system of arrears is right before your eyes, yet you turn a blind eye! No matter how many corrupt officials you execute, can that plug the holes in this systemic loophole that continuously breeds new worms?!”
“Has the sword you used to kill corrupt officials back then dulled!? Or are you swinging it in the wrong place?!”
“I second that! Your Imperial Majesty! You often say, ‘The people are water, the ruler is the boat,’ but look around, the water is almost dry!”
“We on your leaky boat are about to run aground and drown. How can we row for you?! How can we supervise the officials for you?! How can we scold those corrupt officials for you?!”
“We go to impeach others for corruption on an empty stomach, yet we can’t even get a full meal ourselves. Isn’t this a colossal joke?!”
“If this gets out, what will the common people think of the court? How will the historians write about it, Your Majesty?!”
One after another!
Like a string of immensely powerful firecrackers ignited.
The Censorate, Hanlin Academy, the Six Ministries… dozens of well-fed, strong-voiced low-ranking capital officials took turns.
They spoke eloquently, each sentence referencing Old Zhu’s glorious past:
Begging at Huang Jue Temple, gnawing horse bones at Poyang Lake, executing meritorious officials, the Empty Seal Case, the Guo Huan Case with heads rolling, flaying and stuffing…
Every past event was cleverly and precisely used to argue the same core point:
You, Zhu Yuanzhang, suffered in the past!
You hate corrupt officials!
You established severe punishments!
But now you are withholding our salaries!
And harboring the worms that suck our blood!
You are the greatest incompetent ruler!
Worse than the corrupt officials you executed!
Old Zhu was utterly stunned by their words.
His meticulously planned script for establishing the crown prince, reaching the climactic ‘democratic inquiry’ segment, had been shattered by these glib scoundrels.
He sat on the dragon throne, his head buzzing, facing dozens of oily, spittle-flecked faces, the overwhelming cacophony reverberating in his ears.
Extreme shock, absurdity, shame, and anger filled the entire Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Liu Sanwu and Mei Yin froze in place, their expressions of tragic loyalty and devotion shattered, leaving only bewilderment and disbelief.
No, the script wasn’t supposed to be like this!
