Da Ming: I told you to die for your cause, why are you actually going to die?

Chapter 95 A Frenzied Memorial! Zhang Biao, courting death by submitting a memorial! [Bonus Chapter 4 for Monthly Tickets]

"Zhan Hui?"

Old Zhu frowned: "What kind of memorial did he send?"

Since Zhan Hui wasn't a close advisor like Liu Sanwu or Mei Yin, Zhu Yuanzhang naturally wouldn't allow him to enter directly.

However, before the eunuch could answer, Jiang Huan spoke first:

"Your Majesty, those were a memorial sent by Zhang Biao through Chief Censor Zhan, along with a congratulatory gift, said to celebrate Your Majesty's recovery."

"The memorial forwarded by Zhang Biao?"

Old Zhu was stunned for a moment, as if he didn't understand what kind of strange move this was, and couldn't help but say, "What is that bastard trying to do now? Submitting a memorial and sending congratulatory gifts?"

"Uh, this."

Jiang Huan's lips twitched, and she didn't know how to answer for a moment.

Old Zhu's eyes narrowed slightly: "Are you hiding something from us?"

Boom!

Upon hearing this, Jiang Huan was struck dumb.

Without any hesitation, he immediately knelt down with a thud and hurriedly explained:
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. Zhang Biao was simply too lawless. As soon as he heard the Jingyang Bell ring, he led a group of people to cause trouble for you. I was worried that you, still recovering from your illness, would be aggravated by his disturbance, so I stopped him outside the palace gates."

"Humph!"

Old Zhu snorted coldly, his tone filled with murderous intent: "Jiang Huan, do you know how Mao Xiang died?"

"minister"

Jiang Huan's face turned completely pale in an instant.

Of course he knew how Mao Xiang died.

Even on the day he became the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he knew he would be the next Mao Xiang.

But he didn't care much, because his life belonged to Old Zhu.

But Mao Xiang died because of the Hu Weiyong case, so how could I die so inexplicably?!

Just as Jiang Huan was feeling resentful, he heard Old Zhu say in a deep voice, "This time, we'll let you off the hook, but if there's a next time..."

"Your Majesty, rest assured, this will not happen again. I know what to do."

Jiang Huan quickly replied, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

Old Zhu gave him a deep look, then turned to Yunming and said, "Go and bring in the medicine so that Zhan Hui can have an audience!"

He wanted to see what that bastard Zhang Biao was really up to.

Can I surprise myself again?

"promise!"

Yunming agreed and quickly brought in the medicine, handing it to Old Zhu.

Immediately afterward, Zhan Hui also walked in with his head down, back hunched, and steps faltering.

Then, with a 'thud,' he knelt down on the ground, raising his hands high—

That glistening Jinhua ham, bound with a memorial tablet.

"Your subject, Zhan Hui, hereby presents to Zhang Biao, Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, a congratulatory gift and a memorial wishing His Majesty good health and long life."

His voice grew softer and softer until it was almost inaudible. His forehead was pressed firmly against the cold floor tiles, and he didn't dare to look up at the emperor's face.

The entire dormitory fell into an eerie silence the moment he finished speaking.

All the eunuchs and palace maids stared wide-eyed in disbelief at the ham held high above their heads, and the memorial tied to it with a red rope.

Old Zhu's hand, holding the bowl of medicine, began to tremble uncontrollably.

His gaze slowly moved from Zhan Hui's trembling body to the ham he held high above his head, and then to the memorial.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

After a few breaths.

Yes, he was once again shocked, just as he had hoped.

Σ(っ°Д°;)っ

"Bang!"

The medicine bowl slipped from Old Zhu's hands and shattered, splattering brown medicine all over the ground.

An indescribable emotion, a mixture of shock, absurdity, and rage, swelled within him like a volcano.

His face changed from yellow to red, from red to green, and finally turned completely black.

Inside the bedroom, the Hongwu Emperor's low growl, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth, filled with overwhelming killing intent, echoed: "Zhang! Biao—!"

boom!
In an instant, the air in the entire dormitory seemed to freeze into ice.

Old Zhu's low growl, filled with murderous intent, echoed in the hall, frightening all the eunuchs and palace maids, including Jiang Huan, Yun Ming, and the imperial physicians, into kneeling down with a thud, not daring to even raise their heads.

Zhan Hui wished he could shrink into the cracks between the floor tiles. The damned ham in his hand became scalding hot, as if the emperor would order him and the ham to be dragged out and chopped up at any moment.

Old Zhu's chest heaved violently, his withered hands gripping the edge of the dragon bed tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force.

He stared intently at the ham and the memorial tied to it, his eyes seeming to spit fire.

He naturally knew that Zhang Biao's purpose in doing this was to seek death.

But what Zhang Biao did was exactly what he wanted to do.

Why didn't he kill Zhang Biao? Wasn't it because he wanted Zhang Biao to be his 'knife'?

And now, this 'knife' is exerting its power, beginning to puncture the festering sore of the Ming Dynasty.

"You're something else, Zhang Biao."

Old Zhu's voice was hoarse and distorted with extreme anger: "What a good subject of ours! What a magnificent congratulatory gift!" He suddenly waved his hand, his voice rising abruptly like the roar of a wounded beast:
"Take that memorial down! We want to see what other nonsense this bastard can spout!"

A eunuch scrambled forward, trembling as he untied the red rope and carefully presented the crumpled memorial, still stained with a little oil, to the emperor.

Old Zhu snatched it away and roughly unfolded it.

The paper was rough, the handwriting was wild and unrestrained, and it exuded an aura of madness and recklessness.

[Hahahaha! Zhu Chongba! I knew you wouldn't die so easily! The Yuan Dynasty couldn't kill you! Chen Youliang couldn't kill you! The entire court of wolves and tigers couldn't kill you!]

[Even Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't kill you! Hahahaha—!]

Upon seeing these two extremely arrogant statements, Old Zhu's eyes widened instantly.

An uncontrollable rage surged up instantly.

Immediately following was another extremely arrogant declaration of suicidal intent:

You don't actually think that I'm leading this group of brothers to audit and investigate the accounts just to be your weapon, do you? To help you illuminate the eternal darkness of the Ming Dynasty?

"Pah! All I've done is cause trouble for you for so long, and I haven't gotten anything out of it! I just want to have some fun with my brothers before we die!"

Oh, and by the way, let me show you just how awful your Ming Dynasty is!

The following is a detailed expense report:

Today, a preliminary and amicable financial audit and integrity assessment was conducted at the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Personnel, the residence of the Duke of Cao, the residence of the Marquis of Wuding, and other government offices and noble residences.

The interim results are as follows:

[I. A total of 87,654.3 taels of silver were recovered, including various embezzled funds, unpaid wages, and illegal gains.]

The cash has been deposited into our temporary warehouse. The supplies have been registered and cataloged.

[II. A total of 103 woodworms of various sizes have been discovered and preliminarily verified. A list is attached; you are responsible for handling them as needed.]

[III. Additional Findings: Several suspected instances of unspoken rules and networks of bribery within officialdom.]

[For example: A secret letter between a prince and a concubine in the harem has been temporarily seized; an illustrated edition of *Jin Ping Mei*, privately owned by the Duke of Cao, has been confiscated to prevent him from becoming addicted to women and neglecting his duties.]

[IV. This audit has incurred labor costs, transportation expenses, meal expenses, work injury compensation, and compensation for mental distress, totaling 5,000 taels of silver to be paid to us.]

In conclusion, you still owe us five thousand taels.

[In addition, the commission of 87,654.3 taels × 1% means you'll still owe us 3,765.43 taels.]

"For the sake of our past relationship as ruler and subject, we'll round it down to three thousand taels. We're generous."

Haha, just kidding. I know you definitely won't give it to me. But it doesn't matter, as long as we have fun.

[A friendly reminder: The gift of a ham, sourced from the Cao State Duke's kitchen, is of superior quality. We recommend the imperial kitchen slice and steam it, served with minced garlic for an even better flavor. Only when everyone is well-fed and well-treated can we better manage state affairs and root out more corrupt officials!]

[Zhang Biao, you're courting death! I ask for nothing more than a swift death!]

silence!

Deathly silence!

The entire dormitory room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Only Old Zhu's heavy, bellows-like breathing could be heard.

His face shifted between rage, murderous intent, and a sense of absurdity, changing rapidly.

Ultimately, all emotions transformed into an extremely complex and indescribable distortion.

He stared intently at the flamboyant, oil-stained handwriting on the memorial, as if he wanted to devour every single word.

a long time.

a long time.

"Hehehehahaha."

Old Zhu suddenly let out a low, hoarse, and ambiguous laugh.

The laughter grew louder and more manic, shaking the dust off the palace beams.

Zhan Hui, kneeling on the ground, was terrified, thinking that the emperor had gone completely insane.

Jiang Huan and the others also felt their scalps tingle and their backs were soaked with cold sweat.

Suddenly, the laughter stopped abruptly.

"Bam—!"

Old Zhu's vision went black, and he fell straight down.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty—!!"

The imperial physician was terrified. He scrambled forward, his fingers trembling as he checked her breath, then frantically pinched her philtrum, his voice trembling with tears: "Quick! Ginseng soup! Hurry!"

Yunming and the other eunuchs scrambled to their feet and stumbled as they went to fetch the ginseng soup, knocking over the incense burner and scattering incense ash all over the ground.

The room was immediately filled with a strange, chaotic smell, a mixture of medicine, oil, and dust.

Jiang Huan knelt on the spot, her scalp tingling, her mind blank.

That scoundrel Zhang Biao actually made the Emperor faint four times!

And in this damn way?!

He could almost see himself being skinned alive by the enraged Old Zhu.

Zhan Hui collapsed to the ground, the Jinhua ham rolling to the side, its shiny surface covered in dust.

His face was ashen, his body trembled like a withered leaf in the wind, and only one thought occupied his mind.

It’s over! It's all over!

That Zhang Biao is courting death, why did he have to drag me, Zhan Hui, down with him?!
If anything happens to the Emperor, I will surely be torn to pieces.
He was beginning to regret why he had coveted that tiny chance of 'Jian being favored by the emperor' and agreed to forward this deadly thing to Zhang Biao.

(End of this chapter)