Ming Dynasty: Abandoned baby at the beginning, Zhu let me be the emperor

"Mother."

Meihua just raised her head, looked at her with watery eyes, and called out softly.

When Zhaodi was looked at like this, she was moved and couldn't help sobbing again.

Although they are not biological children, they are better than biological children.

"You're crying all the time. It's so annoying."

As soon as she started crying, an impatient voice came from the cell next to her.

It was not until he spoke that Zhu Ming and Zhaodi realized that there was someone imprisoned nearby.

With the dim firelight, Zhu Ming saw a figure sitting in the dark corner of the cell.

"Why are you imprisoned here?"

Zhu Ming smiled and asked the man.

Although I couldn't see clearly, I could tell from the somewhat childish voice that this person was not much older than me.

At this age, there are probably not many people who are locked up in jail, except for those who are causing trouble in the government office like this.

"Nothing, I just took some jewelry from Magistrate Gou in exchange for some food."

The man waved his hand and answered quite casually.

Zhu Ming laughed out loud. Stealing is stealing, why bother talking about taking it?

But considering that this is a year of great disaster, it is understandable.

"You are strange. You were thrown into jail but not beaten."

The man looked at Zhu Ming and Liu Jin in the shadows and spoke with some confusion.

Anyone caught by the yamen runners would inevitably be beaten with a stick before being thrown into jail.

Zhu Ming and the other four were exceptions. They were just locked up, and no one beat them. Not to mention beating them, they didn't even put handcuffs on them.

"Maybe, I forgot."

Zhu Ming scratched his nose and casually passed it off.

These yamen runners didn't care about me, probably because they took their status into consideration.

It is difficult to tell whether it is real or fake. If you fight, it will be more trouble than gain.

The man did not investigate further. After all, he did not want to interfere too much in the affairs of the yamen runners.

"time to eat."

While several people were talking, the door of the cell was already opened.

Several yamen runners came in carrying a few bowls of porridge, placed them in front of the cells one by one, and then retreated without saying anything else.

"If you hadn't seen so many people outside starving, and only looked at the food, how would you have known there was a food shortage here?"

Zhu Ming looked down at the meal in front of his and Zhaodi's door. Although it was not very sumptuous, it contained meat and vegetables.

Zhaodi and her daughter obviously didn't know how long it had been since they had a full meal. They took the bowls and started to wolf down the food.

However, their meals were obviously specially ordered.

The person who had just chatted with Zhu Ming and the others had only thin porridge mixed with sand in his bowl, just like the relief porridge received from a porridge stall.

The man didn't say anything, as if he had gotten used to it. He sneered, "I'm afraid this isn't your last meal before execution."

After saying that, there was a clanking sound of iron chains. The man crawled on the ground, relied on his hands and feet, moved out little by little, picked up the bowl of porridge and started drinking.

Zhu Ming didn't say much, but reached out and pushed his share over.

"What do you mean?"

The man was obviously stunned for a moment and looked at Zhu Ming in confusion.

"Try the poison for me."

Zhu Ming smiled.

The man didn't say anything more. He finished his own porridge, then picked up Zhu Ming's portion and stuffed it directly into his mouth.

It is impossible to feel full after drinking this kind of porridge, so he can eat a few more bowls.

"Is that enough? There's more here."

After watching the three people finish eating, Zhu Ming picked up Liu Jin's bowl, looked at them, and asked with a smile.

Liu Jin watched from the side and could only smile helplessly.

"how about you?"

The man's expression finally changed and he looked at Zhu Ming.

This kind of food is not available every day here.

"I, I have a way."

Zhu Ming didn't care at all and had no plan to be locked up here for long.

This bowl of rice was also shared by Zhaodi and the other three.

When they finished eating and the bailiffs took away the bowls and chopsticks, the man looked at his hands again and slowly moved back to the dark corner.

"What's wrong with your legs?"

Seeing that the man seemed to have great difficulty with his legs and feet, Zhu Ming could not help but ask.

How could someone with legs and feet like that steal things from the magistrate?

"I escaped three times, stole three times, and was caught three times, and they broke my legs."

The man answered quite casually, as if he didn't take his short legs seriously.

"Where's the stolen money?"

When Zhu Ming heard the man's answer, he became serious and asked.

"Change it into food and divide it up."

The man responded.

"poor child."

Because of the wall, Zhaodi couldn't see the man's situation like Zhu Ming, but she couldn't help but feel pity when she heard what he said.

Now that she had plum blossoms, she couldn't bear to see people suffer like this.

"I'm not pitiful."

Meihua's voice was very soft, but the man still heard it clearly and immediately opened his mouth to refute.

Although his legs were broken and he was imprisoned, his attitude was quite casual, even a little free and easy.

"Where are your parents?"

Zhu Ming was still asking questions.

The more carefree the young man was, the more indignant he felt.

It was the government's fault that a man of such age was reduced to stealing for a living and ended up in prison. Even the officials far away in the capital, and even the emperor's grandson himself, would be held responsible for this.

"starving."

The man responded without even thinking.

"Then what will you do next?"

"The worst that can happen is death."

The young man's answer shocked Zhu Ming again.

I wonder how many times he thought about it in this prison before he could say the word death so easily.

"Others will die, and I will die too, and life is worthless."

As the man spoke, he turned over, looked up at the ceiling of the cell where he had lost his fortune, and answered in a trance.

"Don't worry, you won't die."

Zhu Ming nodded. This young man was worthy of being saved.

"Who knows."

After the boy finished speaking, he closed his eyes and stopped talking.

Seeing this, Zhu Ming also tactfully quieted down and waited quietly.

"Pretending to be a young master?"

In the magistrate's office, the bailiff who had taken Zhu Ming and others to jail was standing respectfully behind the middle-aged man, without any trace of his previous arrogance.

The magistrate was also a little surprised when he heard the report from the yamen runner.

"Yes, he made a scene in the government office and was very arrogant. I am unsure, so I have to put him in jail temporarily and wait for you to come back before making a decision."

The bailiff stood behind the magistrate, smiling fawningly, his tone quite smug.

I just had them locked up and didn't treat them unfairly. Even if he was a real young master, it would just be a matter of apology.

For the sake of the magistrate, they will not do anything to them.

If it is a fake, it will not be too late to punish him then.