My aunt is Queen Ma

Chapter 96 Death Intent
Hunger strike?

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted and said, "A hunger strike is fine, let's grant his wish."

“Tell the jailer not to feed him unless he begs for food. Let’s see if he has the guts.”

Empress Ma also learned of this matter, but she thought that Ma Yu was deliberately trying to scare them, which made her even angrier.

I think he needs to be punished properly.

In fact, that's what most people who heard about his hunger strike thought.

After all, everything had been fine until you suddenly mocked the emperor and threatened to go on a hunger strike; nobody would believe that.

Zhu Shuang was the only exception; he controlled a portion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and was extremely well-informed.

Zhu Yuanzhang's decree was effective for others, but it could not be kept from him.

Therefore, he learned about Ma Yu's hunger strike immediately and also learned about his father's handling of the situation.

He was furious and wished he could rush into the prison and rescue him immediately.

Having lived and eaten together for over a year, he is arguably the person who understands Ma Yu best in the world.

They knew that beneath Ma Yu's humorous exterior lay a deep sense of unease.

Now that negative emotions are erupting, he may have truly developed suicidal thoughts.

But he is no longer the same person he was a year ago, and he knows that even if he breaks into jail, he won't solve the fundamental problem.

Impulsive actions will only make things more uncontrollable.

Therefore, we must address the problem from other angles.

He immediately summoned Mao Xiang: "How's the matter I asked you to investigate?"

Mao Xiang also knew what had happened, and had a vague guess in his mind. After hesitating for a moment, he said:

"Second Prince, you know we're all just a bunch of roughnecks..."

With a clang, Zhu Shuang drew his precious sword from his waist, held it to his neck, and said coldly:
"Tomorrow I need all the evidence I've collected. If I can't produce it, your whole family will be executed."

Feeling a stinging pain in his neck, Mao Xiang's heart skipped a beat; he knew Zhu Shuang was serious now.

He quickly said, "Your Highness, please calm down. I will go and urge you immediately to compile the intelligence as soon as possible."

Zhu Shuang was furious. He tightened his grip on the knife slightly, and a bloody gash immediately appeared on Mao Xiang's neck.
"It's not about 'as soon as possible,' it has to be brought up by tomorrow, and the evidence must be conclusive."

Mao Xiang's legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground with a thud: "Second Prince, it will take time to gather intelligence. Give me five days, and I will definitely satisfy you in five days."

Zhu Shuang remained unmoved: "If you can't produce it by the day after tomorrow, then prepare for the funeral of your whole family."

Mao Xiang dared not haggle any longer and hurriedly said:
"Very well, the day after tomorrow. I will definitely compile and present all the intelligence by the day after tomorrow."

Zhu Shuang then sheathed his knife, looked at him with disdain, and said:
"Who do you think you are, to get involved in this and try to advance your career?"

"If you weren't still somewhat useful, I would have killed you right now. Get lost."

"Yes, yes, yes." Mao Xiang scrambled away.

"Pah, you dog." Zhu Shuang cursed contemptuously as he watched him flee in a disheveled state.

Despite the prolonged investigation into the financial and tax issues, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has consistently claimed there are problems, yet has never provided any concrete evidence.

Those people thought he was easy to fool, but in fact he knew everything.

They just want to gather more evidence, solve a bigger case, and achieve greater merit.

He turned a blind eye to this.

Firstly, he also wanted to achieve something, and on this point, everyone's interests were aligned.

Secondly, even if conclusive evidence is presented now, the imperial court will not take any action in the short term.

After all, unifying the world is the most urgent task, and it is not advisable to start a bloodbath before most of the wars are over.

Therefore, checking finances and taxes is important, but not so urgent.

Things are different now; he urgently needs evidence to prove Ma Yu's role.

I just didn't expect Mao Xiang to dare to play dumb at this time.

His purpose was all too clear: he thought Ma Yu was doomed and wanted to kick him while he was down.

If he weren't still needed, Zhu Shuang would have killed him on the spot.

"I'll let you live a few more days for now, and we'll settle the score later."

Mao Xiang ran a long way before he dared to stop and catch his breath. He then touched his neck and saw that his hand was covered in blood.

This startled him so much that he trembled all over again.

I felt incredibly regretful.

As a high-ranking officer in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he naturally knew what had happened.

In his view, insulting the emperor to his face was a capital offense, and even Empress Ma and the Crown Prince were furious.

Ma Yu has absolutely no chance of surviving.

Since that's the case, why not step on the emperor's foot and curry favor with him?

Perhaps this will win the emperor's favor and allow him to take a shortcut to Zhongnan Mountain.

When Zhu Shuang asked him for tax information, he naturally knew what his purpose was.

The first person to suspect there were problems with the finances and taxation was Ma Yu.

If it can be confirmed that there are indeed major problems in this regard, then it can prove Ma Yu's value and give him more leverage.

However, handing the evidence over to Zhu Shuang now not only disrupts their plans to solve a major case, but also indirectly helps Ma Yu.

That's why he kept making excuses and didn't want to give it to me.

What he didn't expect was that this usually jovial second prince was even smarter and more decisive than he had imagined.

Even though he was unwilling, he had to put aside his ulterior motives in the face of the threat of death.

Upon returning to his office, he immediately organized a team to comprehensively compile the intelligence.

Since we're going to report the intelligence, we should make it look good and not lose face.

Try to please the emperor so that you can get a larger share of the tasks when they are assigned later.

On the third day, the Imperial Guards reported that Ma Yu had not eaten or drunk anything for two days.

"He lay there motionless and did not ask the jailers for food."

Zhu Yuanzhang remained unmoved: "Then let him continue to starve. Let's see how long he can hold out."

When Empress Ma heard the news, she finally realized that something was wrong.

Although she rarely went hungry, it was normal to occasionally have a bad meal during times of war.

Most people can manage for one day, but two days would be too much for them.

That kind of hunger can make people lose their minds, and they will subconsciously want to swallow anything edible around them.

Ma Yu hasn't eaten for two days and hasn't moved at all; this is very abnormal.

It has gone beyond the scope of just putting on a show to scare people.

However, her preconceived notions made her somewhat undecided.

My mind was disturbed as a result, and I couldn't turn a single page of the book for a long time.

The eunuch Wu Zhuo was also secretly anxious, but having been in the palace for so long, he knew that some things couldn't be rushed.

Moreover, he was a eunuch, a very sensitive position, and could not speak easily.

I've been looking for opportunities these past two days.

Today he keenly sensed that Empress Ma's attitude had softened.

However, he did not rush to speak, but continued to wait for the right opportunity.

Around noon, Empress Ma, feeling irritable and restless, simply threw the book she was holding onto the table.

He thought the time had come, so he had his men bring over a pastry, and personally presented it to them, saying:

"Your Majesty, you only had a bowl of millet porridge for breakfast. That stuff doesn't keep you full for long."

"This person is like iron, food is like steel; when he's hungry, he really suffers."

"I guessed you must be hungry, so I took the liberty of asking the imperial kitchen to prepare some snacks for you to have something to eat."

Empress Ma looked at the pastries on the table, a thoughtful expression on her face:

"You're really loyal. Yu'er's efforts in pursuing you haven't been in vain."

With just a title, Wu Zhuo sensed the change in Empress Ma's thinking.

However, he did not speak up for Ma Yu, but instead knelt down with a thud, saying in a trembling voice:

"This servant dares not presume; Young Master Ma has indeed been kind to this servant."

"But I am only able to be where I am today because of the grace of His Majesty and the Empress. I would never dare to have any thoughts of betraying my country."

Empress Ma shook her head and said, "Look how frightened you are. I have never doubted your loyalty. Get up and speak."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Wu Zhuo then stood up tremblingly.

Empress Ma sighed, "What do you think Yu'er is really thinking?"

Wu Zhuo said cautiously, "Young Master Ma is a great scholar. This lowly servant can't even read many characters, so how dare I presume to guess his thoughts?" "However, this servant thinks that no matter how learned he is, he is still just a child."

"There's a saying in my hometown: 'A child's face is like the weather in June; it changes in an instant.'"

"Perhaps something happened that we don't know about, which caused him to lose control of his emotions."

Empress Ma said, "That's what I'm wondering about now. Why did he lose control of his emotions?"

Wu Zhuo knew he couldn't say much at this moment; stirring up Empress Ma's memories was enough. Saying more would only have the opposite effect.

So she shook her head and said, "This servant doesn't know either, but ask the people around him, maybe they have some clues."

Empress Ma thought it made sense, so she ordered someone to bring Ma Ye over.

These past two days, Ma Ye has been living in fear and unease. His most favored elder brother was arrested without warning, which taught him what it means to serve a ruler as if he were serving a tiger.

When facing Empress Ma, he became even more timid, always keeping his head down and not daring to look her in the eye.

Seeing Ma Ye looking like a frightened rabbit, Empress Ma naturally knew why, and felt even more irritated.

He inquired in detail about Ma Yu's recent situation.

However, he was still a child and spent most of his time attending classes in the main hall.

After school, they would just discuss their homework and then rest, so they didn't really know much about Ma Yu's recent situation.

However, he also provided a clue: "The housekeeper said that my elder brother goes to bed very late every day, as if he has something on his mind and is having trouble sleeping."

Empress Ma was taken aback, and couldn't help but recall the message that the maid had sent back earlier.

Ma Yu goes to bed very late almost every night, and she is a light sleeper.

They would wake him up if they got up at night, even if their footsteps were very light.

At the time, no one took it seriously. It's perfectly normal for people who have lived through war-torn times to be a little wary.

But looking back now, I realize that things may not be so simple.

He has been a relative of the emperor for over a year, living a very comfortable life, and should gradually let go of his vigilance.

Why hasn't anything changed even now?
At this moment, she recalled again what Ma Yu had said to Song Lian when they first met:
Perhaps after I die, I will be able to see my loved ones in another world.

When he said that, there was no fear of death in his tone; it even seemed to contain a hint of anticipation.

Think back to what he said the day before yesterday.

He's already dead; what do the lives and deaths of the people in this world matter to him...?

In other words, he has actually been immersed in the pain of the past and has never recovered.

His insomnia and vigilance are likely due to this.

If this speculation is true...

Empress Ma felt a pang of sorrow in her heart. This child appeared strong on the surface, but it turned out that he was enduring such immense pain in his heart.

But why didn't he tell me?

Or am I overthinking it, and these things don't even exist?
Empress Ma was also unsure at the moment.

After much deliberation, she told herself to wait just one more day.

If he still refuses to eat or drink, go to his cell to see him and ask him what the reason is.

When Zhu Shuang learned that Ma Yu had been on a hunger strike for two days, he became even more certain that Ma Yu had developed a death wish.

I'm even more anxious now.

But he didn't act impulsively; instead, he became even calmer.

Don't rush. Unless you have a serious illness, you won't die if you don't eat or drink for three days.

You must remain calm and secure enough supplies before entering the palace.

Moreover, after he went on a hunger strike for two days, the palace should have realized that something was wrong and was probably already reconsidering the matter.

But it's not quite ready yet.

People may still have doubts after two days, but three days will be enough to dispel all doubts.

Even if you have a plan in mind, it would be a lie to say you're not worried.

He also suffered from insomnia that night.
-
On the third day, the Imperial Guards came to report early in the morning:

"The wanted criminal has not eaten to this day."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's hand, which was revising the memorial, trembled slightly, and a drop of ink fell onto the memorial.

With a stern face, he used a towel to absorb the ink from the memorial, then set it aside to dry before speaking:
"Did he... ask you for food?"

The Imperial Guard replied, "No, he remained lying there without moving."

Zhu Yuanzhang's heart sank further. He had experienced hunger before and knew what it was like to go without food for several days.

If someone can endure two or three days without begging, it's almost certain that this isn't a protest, but rather a genuine desire to die.

Even though he was furious and had murderous intent, doubts still arose.

why?
He felt he hadn't treated Ma Yu unfairly, and he often tolerated the crickets.

He was also deeply involved in the construction of the imperial court's system of rites and laws.

The Empress's cousin, a leader of the Crown Prince's faction, Chang Yuchun's savior, and the Crown Prince's acknowledged cousin...

Everyone thought he had a bright future.

Everything was so wonderful, so why did he suddenly have the urge to die?

What's more, they had gone on a trip together before, and everything was fine.

The key point is that he didn't think he had done anything wrong this time.

Is it wrong for surplus labor to go to mining? It's better than starving to death, isn't it?
But thinking about these things now is a bit unnecessary.

The ball has been kicked to his feet, what should he do?

Should we just let Ma Yu die? Or save him?

Zhu Yuanzhang was caught in a dilemma.

Emotionally, he wished he could tear Ma Yu to pieces.

But after attending so many classes, he knew better than anyone how much influence Ma Yu's knowledge would have on the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, from the perspective of the country, he did not want Ma Yu to die.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have imprisoned him; they would have executed him directly.

He originally thought he should make Ma Yu suffer a lot.

If Ma Yu shows a good attitude in admitting his mistakes during this period, it's not impossible to release him.

If he doesn't repent, then it's better to end it all.

But no matter how much he planned, he never expected that Ma Yu was actually trying to commit suicide.

He really didn't know what to do.

Asking someone to admit their mistake? And with a sincere attitude?

Don't joke around. If someone really wanted to die, would they really apologize to you?

But should we just let him out like this?

He couldn't accept it emotionally.

After all, Ma Yu had humiliated him mercilessly in front of so many people.

Just as he was struggling with this decision, a palace attendant came to report that the Second Prince, Zhu Shuang, was requesting an audience.

Zhu Yuanzhang assumed he had come to plead for mercy; in the past, he certainly wouldn't have seen him, but now…

"Let him come see us."

The eunuch accepted the order and left, and Zhu Shuang arrived shortly afterward.

Moreover, he was followed by two people carrying a large box.

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but wonder, what is this thing?
Zhu Shuang did not mention Ma Yu's matter, but instead said:

"Father, the tax and financial issues you asked me to investigate have yielded results."

"This is evidence that the Embroidered Uniform Guard has uncovered, and it is truly shocking."

Despite knowing his son's purpose, Zhu Yuanzhang's face remained cold as he said:

“Tell the truth.”

Zhu Shuang took out a summary document and said, "The biggest problem lies in the annual reconciliation between local governments and the Ministry of Revenue."

"For convenience, local officials would bring blank official documents stamped with the seal to the capital, and then fill in the numbers."

Zhu Yuanzhang's heart skipped a beat; he could hardly believe his ears. He knew all too well what this meant.

He couldn't care less about Ma Yu at the moment, and snatched the official document from Zhu Shuang's hand and quickly flipped through it.

His face had turned ashen.

(End of this chapter)