The rise of the poor

As time slowly passed, Zhu Ping'an's hope grew stronger and stronger.

Just as hope was about to grow into a towering tree, a series of hurried and chaotic footsteps and a commotion came from outside.

"It's terrible! Something terribly wrong! Master has been arrested by the Imperial Guards brought by the angel! Quickly, go and inform Madam!"

"Why? Didn't our master just lead the army to a great victory at Wangjiangjing? Why doesn't the angel reward our master, but instead arrests our teacher?"

"The angel read a rather long passage, and I didn't remember it all, except for one sentence: 'Zhang Jing is deceitful and disloyal, and is hereby ordered to enter the capital to be punished!'"

"What?! You say our master is deceitful and disloyal?! Heavens, are you blind? Our master clearly won the battle, how can he be 'deceitful and disloyal'?! Is there anyone more loyal than our master?"

"Oh no! Madam fainted upon hearing that Master had been arrested by the Embroidered Uniform Guard! What should we do?"

"What do we do? Go get a doctor!"

Outside the room, chaos reigned. People were filled with fear, wailing, crying, and shouting; it was utter turmoil.

Hearing the commotion outside, Zhu Pingan froze in place, stunned. The tree of hope that was almost towering collapsed with a crash!

History continued its relentless march forward, and Zhang Jing was still arrested and brought to the capital for trial; nothing changed.

Zhu Pingan couldn't help but sigh, slowly walking out of the room. Looking at the chaotic scene outside, he felt speechless and stifled.

Steward Wang was pale, sweat poured down his forehead, and his eyes were filled with fear and panic. He frantically directed the servants in the mansion, speaking incoherently, his voice trembling as much as his legs.

However, the servants and maids in the mansion were even worse off than him; the group of people were running around in circles like headless flies.

When Steward Wang saw Zhu Ping'an, he immediately recalled how Zhu Ping'an had repeatedly requested to see Zhang Jing late last night, saying that it concerned Zhang Jing's life. At the time, he had been somewhat skeptical, as had his wife and master. But after what happened today, he realized that Zhu Ping'an wasn't deliberately trying to sensationalize things to gain attention, but had genuinely witnessed his master's life-threatening situation and had come specifically to save his master's life.

Thinking of this, Manager Wang felt as if he had seen a savior and hurriedly ran towards Zhu Ping'an.

"Lord Zhu, Lord Zhu, last night you said it concerned my master's life. It's all our fault for being blind and not listening to the young master's words. Now we regret it. You came to save my master yesterday, and you can definitely save him now. Please, Lord Zhu, save my master."

Manager Wang ran over, knelt down with a thud, and kowtowed repeatedly, begging Zhu Ping'an to save Zhang Jing.

"It's too late. The angels have arrived, the imperial decree has been proclaimed. There's no way to turn the tide." Zhu Ping'an shook his head and sighed.

"Lord Zhu, we were blind! Please, Lord Zhu, forgive our petty offenses and save my master! My master just commanded the great victory at Wangjiangjing, how could he be accused of deceit and disloyalty?! My master is innocent."

Steward Wang crawled two steps on his knees, grabbed Zhu Ping'an's leg, and pleaded desperately.

Zhu Pingan squatted down, helped him up, shook his head and sighed, "I'm sorry, the imperial decree has been issued, it's too late. If it were last night, before the angels arrived, there would still be a glimmer of hope, but now, it's too late."

Indeed, if it had happened last night, there was still a chance; there was still a glimmer of hope before the imperial edict arrived.

But now that the imperial edict has been issued, it's too late to say anything!

If Zhang Jing is rescued, then there is only one possibility: the imperial edict was wrong, and Emperor Jiajing was wrong! Because it was Emperor Jiajing who issued the edict accusing Zhang Jing of deceit and disloyalty!

How difficult that is!

Moreover, this was indeed the case in history. After Zhang Jing was arrested, two people pleaded for him, using rather tactful language, but the outcome was tragic.

Censor Li Yongjing and Wen Wangyun submitted a memorial stating that the imperial army had achieved a great victory, the morale of the Japanese pirates had been broken, and it was not easy to replace their commander. They requested that Zhang Jing be pardoned.

That was tactful enough, but under the instigation of the Yan faction, Emperor Jiajing believed that Li Yongjing, Wen Wangyun, and Zhang Jing had formed a clique to protect each other. Enraged, Emperor Jiajing ordered the two to be flogged in court. Not satisfied with that, he also stripped them of their official positions and reduced them to commoners.

Zhang Jing was imprisoned just like everyone else, and was also beheaded and his head displayed to the public.

Upon hearing Zhu Ping'an say that it was too late and there was no way to reverse the situation, Steward Wang immediately collapsed to the ground, as if he had lost his parents. "What should we do? My master is innocent."

“I know Lord Zhang is innocent, which is why I requested an audience last night. I just didn’t expect the angel to arrive so quickly. It’s too late to say anything now. For the time being, we should help Madam stabilize the rear, so that Lord Zhang can focus on saving himself without any worries. I’ll go to the front yard to check on the situation and ask the angel to take care of Lord Zhang a little during the escort.” Zhu Ping’an said slowly.

As Zhu Ping'an spoke, he helped Steward Wang up and, in his capacity as the Governor of Zhejiang, quelled the chaos, helping to calm the servants and men in the mansion who were bewildered like headless flies.

Steward Wang went to the backyard to help Madam Zhang stabilize the situation, while Zhu Ping'an took his leave and went to the front yard.

As mentioned earlier, Zhu Ping'an went to check on the situation and asked the angel to take some care of Zhang Jing on the way to escort Lord Zhang to the capital.

Zhu Pingan arrived at the front yard, which had been taken over by the Imperial Guards. They stood there with swords at their sides, creating an extremely oppressive atmosphere.

Zhu Pingan was only allowed in after he showed his token.

Two eunuchs were directing the imperial guards to search Zhang Jing and verify his identity. They were taking notes as they searched him, preparing for his transport.

"Alas, I regret not heeding Zihou's advice, which has led to this disaster." Zhang Jing saw Zhu Ping'an and couldn't help but sigh deeply, regretting his past actions.

He regrets it now, but he also knows it's too late. The imperial decree has been issued, and it's as difficult as ascending to heaven to overturn the verdict.

"My death, Zhang Jing, is nothing to regret, but it's a pity for the people of Jiangnan. The great cause of suppressing the Japanese pirates had just begun to make progress. Alas."

As Zhang Jing spoke, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh, his face full of regret.

"Gentlemen, I am Zhu Ping'an, the Governor of Zhejiang. May I speak with you in private?" Zhu Ping'an stepped forward and introduced himself.

"Lord Zhu, please say what you have to say right now. There's nothing to hide. Lord Zhu wouldn't speak of anything involving favoritism or bending the law, would he?" The two eunuchs waved their hands with forced smiles.

Seeing this, Zhu Ping'an realized that the request would probably be difficult to fulfill.

Sure enough, as soon as Zhu Ping'an bowed and made his request, the two eunuchs chuckled and said with a forced smile, "Don't worry, Lord Zhu. Of course we will take good care of the criminals that His Majesty has specifically named."

Then, Zhu Ping'an was politely asked to leave by the two men, citing the confidentiality of the imperial mission. (End of Chapter)