The old Daoist, having thought that Prince Jing might already be in trouble that day, found himself unable to move from the capital and was restless. He urged Li San to come and check.
Zhu Mo had intended to leave after the case was concluded and inform the old Daoist, and he felt that some matters might require the Immortal Lan to give Jiajing a heads-up. Coincidentally, the two friends who were years apart in age had arrived first. He truly found it to be a coincidence, as if they had known each other that day, by sheer chance. He immediately smiled and said:
"Sit for a while, you two. I haven't cooked in a long time..."
As he spoke, he placed the letter in his hand on the table and went to the kitchen to busy himself. Soon, he boiled water and sent it out with the old servant.
Li San poured tea for the old Daoist, then stood respectfully by his side, quietly observing his expression. He felt that the old Daoist had become much more gaunt these past two days, clearly troubled by Prince Jing's affairs.
The old Daoist was in low spirits. Seeing that Zhu Mo had now regained his spirits, but with a few more traces of hardship on his face, he remembered that the last time he visited, he had advised Zhu Mo to give up. A pang of sorrow struck him, and he sighed deeply.
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Li San said, "Daoist, you've come out to relax, so don't think about troubling matters..."
The old Daoist sighed, "This kid has certainly been through the fire..."
Mm-hmm,
Li San also felt a pang of sorrow and said, "Isn't that true? To suffer such hardship at such a young age..."
As he glanced at the paper on the table, he seemed to see the words "Prince Jing" written on it. He picked it up and read it, nearly dropping his jaw in shock. Trembling, he handed the letter back to the old Daoist.
The old Daoist, however, remained very calm. He read it over several times, but showed no emotion. He carefully placed the letter back in its original spot. Seeing no one in the kitchen, he said, "You've seen it all clearly. Memorize every word..."
Li San recited it several times, feeling that it was word-for-word accurate. Only then did he say, with a trembling voice:
"This? How is this possible..."
The old Daoist understood everything in his heart.
As he had suspected, the real Prince Jing, who was the noble young master mentioned in the letter, had been harmed by Yan Shifan and his ilk. The one who was enfeoffed was merely a puppet. These villains had impersonated Prince Jing and, fearing exposure, reported to the Imperial Clan Court that Prince Jing had gone mad. And who could investigate a madman? Naturally, there would be no issue.
This line of reasoning was smooth and easy to understand, and Li San naturally understood it clearly. However, what he didn't understand was the purpose of doing this. Was it to replace Prince Yu? Wasn't this treason?
Thinking of this,
He felt he couldn't conceal his thoughts and said in a low voice, "What exactly are Yan Shifan and his followers doing? Why do they hate Prince Jing so much..."
Hmph!
The old Daoist was now extremely angry, yet he became very calm. He said grimly, "Prince Yu is a pure official, they don't like that. And Prince Jing is a capable one..."
Li San rarely saw his grim expression and knew that he was already harboring murderous intent. Thinking that those people had already harbored wicked thoughts towards the imperial family seven or eight years ago, his hair stood on end. He said in a low voice, "Your servant requests an imperial decree to investigate thoroughly and arrest all these people...?"
The old Daoist had been very depressed, waiting for news from Xu Jiu. But now, seeing the letter, a large stone in his heart finally fell. There was no more panic in his heart, only endless anger surging from the depths of his soul. He smiled faintly on his face and said:
"What's the hurry? They can spend seven or eight years, and you can't wait even a moment...?"
At this very moment,
He had completely overturned his previous thoughts.
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When he had listened to Zhu Mo's profound ideas before, although he was greatly shocked, he didn't think there was such a great conflict between the emperor and the officials. He had read history books since childhood. Throughout history, although many emperors were killed by treacherous ministers, it was mostly a struggle for power. He didn't grasp the meaning that Zhu Mo spoke of.
Since the reforms, he had slowly begun to waver, feeling that the hatred of the officials and gentry towards Zhu Mo was truly bizarre and incomprehensible. It was as if only dismemberment could appease their hatred, which was very strange. He had also thought that the two sides were in a life-and-death opposition, but even if it were a life-and-death opposition, it wouldn't be to this extent of hatred and fear.
And at this very moment, he truly felt their hatred towards Zhu Mo! Zhu Mo was right, "the emperor and the people die." This was inevitable. If they dared to oppress the people, they would also dare to oppress the emperor! Looking at their actions against Prince Jing, where was the slightest respect for the emperor? Has such a thing ever happened since ancient times?
Thinking of this,
The old Daoist's heart was in turmoil. He never imagined that the deepest rift in history would occur within himself. His sons, one by one, became sacrifices? He was not lamenting Prince Jing's death at this moment, but he vaguely saw that all the Zhu family members were destined to die, just like his dreams over the past year...
And he did not know that,
The Great Ming was originally the last stop of ancient China. The officials and gentry of the Great Ming were different from those in the past. What they wanted was the "rule of the sages," not the rule of the emperor. To achieve this goal, they would inevitably attack the royalty from above and the common people from below. In their view, it would be best if there were no emperor, and the prime minister would lead the world, or the emperor would simply be fake and empty, always enshrined above, taking the blame for everything they did...
Because,
History had already taken a fork in the road. Everyone had made a choice, and this choice was extremely cruel. One side would eventually be eliminated, and the eliminated would become fertilizer. Since the gentry had chosen the rule of the sages, the emperor was a tumor to be cut, destined to die sooner or later.
Zhu Mo's reforms merely accelerated this confrontation.
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...
The two remained silent, both lost in thought.
Zhu Mo then brought the food and served them, smiling and saying, "Old Daoist, try this. It's dried meat brought by Zhang Han and Xu Shi, which I marinated again..."
The old Daoist didn't want to move, just chuckled. Li San ate a piece, his mouth watering. It was spicy, fragrant, and numbing. He couldn't help but praise, "Delicious!"
Zhu Mo then noticed the letter still on the table and quickly put it into his怀. He thought: It doesn't matter if they peeked at it. They are all people from Chaotian Temple, they wouldn't tell anyone...
As he ate the dried meat from Datong, he couldn't help but think of Prince Raoyang, along with Prince Dai and Prince Jing, all of whom had been relentlessly persecuted by the Yan family. Not to mention the ordinary princes throughout the land. Those Yan family cronies would find any excuse to deal with them at any time, which was truly endless trouble. Perhaps many princes had already been dealt with? What if two factions joined forces to fight me then? That would be unbearable...
Thinking of this,
He simply said:
"Old Daoist, and Master Li San, I mentioned it last time, I might have to touch the imperial farms this time when I go south to Jiangnan... This must definitely be known to the Emperor. You two brothers should tell Immortal Lan, lest they say I'm messing with the imperial family again."
The old Daoist and Li San exchanged glances.
This?
Touching the imperial farms so soon?
The old Daoist remembered that the imperial court's memorial had also mentioned imperial farm reforms, and he thought it was the final step. But now it seemed it was going to be done first?
What kind of person he was, and recalling the matter of Prince Jing, he couldn't help but sigh and say slowly:
"Yes, Old Daoist remembers that Young Master Zhu said last time that the royal family occupied too much land, and it's time to do something about it... In my opinion, the Emperor will not blame you. Immortal Lan also said that if the royal family isn't reformed, it will suffer the consequences, and those are the Emperor's words..."
Mm-hmm,
Zhu Mo agreed wholeheartedly.