Chapter 51: I, Zhang, Live My Life Seeking Monthly Tickets
Zhang Biao was escorted away by Jiang Huan and the Imperial Guards, still shouting ‘Gently!’ and giving instructions about ‘five portions of pig’s head meat’.
Zhu Yunteng and his sister stared blankly as they disappeared at the street corner.
“Yunteng?”
Zhu Mingyue was the first to regain her senses. She glanced at the oily paper bag in her brother’s arms, which emitted a rich aroma, and softly called out.
Although Zhang Biao’s appearance was unexpected, Zhu Yunteng’s current state seemed much better than before.
“Huh?” Zhu Yunteng looked at Zhu Mingyue with confusion, “What’s wrong, Big Sister?”
“You”
Zhu Mingyue looked at the direction Zhang Biao had disappeared with a complex expression, then turned to Zhu Yunteng and said, “Do you know this Censor Zhang?”
“No.”
Zhu Yunteng shook his head, then immediately nodded, “Yes! He’s a good person, Brother!”
“What good person! He’s just a crazy, vulgar, and… and shameless scoundrel!” Zhu Mingyu interjected angrily.
Especially when Zhang Biao said her legs were fair and long, it made her very annoyed. She thought, what kind of person is this! She was wearing a long skirt, how did he know?! It was as if she had shown herself to him, how shameless!
Zhu Mingyue ignored Zhu Mingyu’s complaints and softly asked Zhu Yunteng again, “What kind of person is he? And, is this oily paper bag in your hand from him?”
“Mm,” Zhu Yunteng nodded heavily, “It’s from the good person, Brother! His cold-mixed pig’s trotters are delicious, do you want to try, Big Sister? They’re really delicious!”
“Shut up! Big Sister, let’s go back quickly! Who knows what a mess the palace is in right now!”
Zhu Mingyu stamped her foot impatiently and reached out to Zhu Yunteng, “Give me that bag in your hand! It’s filthy, throw it away quickly!”
“No!”
Zhu Yunteng hugged the oily paper bag tightly in fear, like a drowning person’s only piece of driftwood.
Zhang Biao’s last words were like a red-hot branding iron, searing his confused and desperate heart.
‘Do not bully the poor when they are young,’ ‘Do not let your sorrow become the sorrow of the Great Ming Dynasty,’ these words were rough and direct, yet carried a power he had never felt before, almost overbearing.
He looked down at the oily paper bag, the rich aroma of pig’s trotters, mixed with the spiciness of cornelian cherry, strangely dispelled a sliver of the cold and deathly stillness in his heart.
“Big Sister, Second Sister”
Zhu Yunteng said in a hoarse voice, with less despair and more struggle, “Good person, Brother… asked us to help him take pig’s head meat to Censor Shen.”
“At a time like this, you’re still thinking about pig’s head meat!” Zhu Mingyu was furious and was about to imitate Zhang Biao and kick Zhu Yunteng.
“Mingyu!”
Zhu Mingyue quickly grabbed her sister at this moment, then looked at the stubbornness flashing in Zhu Yunteng’s eyes, and the light that had never been there before. She couldn’t help but take a deep breath and nod, “Alright, Yunteng, we’ll go get it for him!”
“Big Sister!”
“That’s enough!”
Zhu Mingyue mustered a hint of elder sister’s authority and sternly cut off the angry Zhu Mingyu.
Because she keenly felt that this might be a turning point for her younger brother?
That ‘crazy’ censor named Zhang Biao seemed to possess the power to break this deadlock!
On the other side, the Imperial Palace.
Old Zhu’s bedroom behind Huagai Hall.
The smell of medicine was strong, and even ambergris couldn’t mask the heavy stillness.
Old Zhu lay on the dragon bed, his eyes vacant, his sallow face tinged with a deathly pallor, his chest rising and falling weakly.
Several old imperial physicians with white beards and hair knelt before the bed, cold sweat dripping from their foreheads, seemingly discussing the pulse diagnosis in hushed tones.
The atmosphere in the entire room was as heavy as lead.
Liu Sanwu and Mei Yin, two trusted ministers of Old Zhu, stood anxiously not far away, craning their necks and looking worried.
Huang Zicheng, who had come to visit Old Zhu, was pacing outside the door, extremely anxious, not even allowed inside.
As for Zhang Biao? He was still on the long palace road leading to Huagai Hall.
At this moment, Zhang Biao was firmly held by the arms on either side by two Imperial Guards, almost carried forward with his feet not touching the ground.
Jiang Huan led the way, his sword at his side, his face so grim it looked like water could drip from it, each step making a muffled sound on the golden bricks.
“Ouch, Commander Jiang, gently, gently! These slender arms and legs of mine can’t withstand your subordinates’ iron pincers!”
Zhang Biao bared his teeth, but continued speaking:
“I say, has His Majesty woken up yet? He’s over sixty, still so short-tempered?
He just drew a pig’s head, it looks quite lifelike, doesn’t it? What do you say, Commander Jiang?”
The veins on Jiang Huan’s forehead bulged, and he suddenly turned back, his eyes like knives:
“Zhang Biao! Shut your mouth! If you say another word, I’ll cut out your tongue right now!”
“No, no, no! Commander Jiang, please calm your anger!”
Zhang Biao immediately put on a frightened expression, then grinned cheekily again:
“Cutting out my tongue would be too boring! I’m still hoping you’ll chop off my head with one blow! Besides, aren’t I doing this for the good of the court?
Unpaid salaries, unstable military morale, public unease, the country is not a country! This is honest advice that is unpleasant to hear, unpleasant to hear, do you understand?”
He shouted all the way, his voice echoing far in the vast and solemn palace road, attracting the sideways glances of the guards on duty and the passing palace servants, their faces filled with astonishment and a hint of unconcealed curiosity.
Is this the ‘crazy’ censor who angered His Majesty to the point of fainting and incited a group of low-ranking capital officials to turn the Hall of Supreme Harmony court session upside down?
As he passed near Chunhe Hall, Zhang Biao’s voice suddenly rose, with a deliberate, off-key tone, and he began to sing:
“Pig’s head meat, oh so fragrant, the Emperor angered, groaning and huffing, officials demanding salary for the state, how did it become my sin~”
The sound pierced the closed window lattice of Chunhe Hall like a magic spell.
In the warm pavilion, Zhu Yunwen, who was suppressing his humiliation and copying the Book of Documents, his hand suddenly trembled, and a large drop of ink fell onto the clean xuan paper, instantly spreading into a large patch of black.
His body trembled violently, his face turned from white to green, the deliberately maintained facade of calmness instantly shattered, his eyes bursting with ingrained malice and humiliation.
Zhang Biao! It was Zhang Biao again!
This damned fellow who wouldn’t leave him alone!
How dare he… how dare he be so presumptuous within the palace walls, singing and humiliating Imperial Grandfather! Humiliating him!!
Consort Lü sat motionless, but the brush in her hand hovered in mid-air, and a drop of ink silently dripped from the tip.
Her face showed no expression, only in the depths of her eyes, the icy pool suddenly churned with even more intense killing intent.
Arrogant! Presumptuous!
If this scoundrel is not removed, he will surely become a great threat!
“Take him away quickly!”
Jiang Huan gritted his teeth, wishing he could cut Zhang Biao into a thousand pieces on the spot.
The group finally arrived at Old Zhu’s bedroom, where the atmosphere was extremely oppressive.
Jiang Huan roughly pushed Zhang Biao into the room, then stood by the door with his sword drawn, like an evil god.
In the bedroom, Old Zhu had gotten up, but had not yet gotten out of bed.
He stared intently at Zhang Biao, his eyes burning with wrath, and in his hand was the open, saliva-stained, tattered-edged, Q-version cartoon-illustrated Blood and Tears Salary Demand Record.
“Zhang Biao…”
Old Zhu’s voice was like sandpaper rubbing, carrying a heavy smell of blood and enormous hatred, each word seemed to be squeezed from between his teeth: “Zhang Biao, what exactly do you want to do?”
“I…”
As Zhang Biao was about to speak, his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of Liu Sanwu and Mei Yin, and he immediately stood up proudly, “I, Zhang, have lived my life without needing to explain myself to others! Your Majesty can kill or flog me as you please!”
Old Zhu: “.”
Liu Sanwu and Mei Yin: “.”
This madman, still talking tough even when facing death!
