Zhu Yuanzhang, who commanded the wind and rain, lived a long and arduous life.

Zhu Yuanzhang was rendered speechless by what he was being said.

He was persuaded by Zhu Biao.

He wasn't completely ignorant about Taoism; in fact, quite the opposite, he knew more about it than Zhu Biao!

In the early years, shortly after he ascended to the throne, in order to gain the support of Taoism and consolidate his imperial power, he made a special trip to Longhu Mountain and personally wrote the words "To be in charge of all Taoist affairs under heaven" on a huge stone tablet.

And that stone tablet

It still exists in the 21st century.

Anyone who goes up Longhu Mountain can see this stone tablet.

Zhu Yuanzhang was knowledgeable about Taoism.

He also witnessed Taoism rise and fall.

Before the resistance against the Yuan dynasty, Taoist temples were bustling with activity.

When he went there a few years ago, however… the talent pool had dwindled.

There are many tourists.

However, there are very few Taoist priests living in the mountains.

Having sorted out these matters, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was originally like an angry lion, calmed down.

Zhu Yuanzhang exhaled a breath of stale air: "Then, Biao'er, what do you suggest we do about this?"

Zhu Biao bowed and said, "Give Yang Jianzheng a proper burial. His entire family will be protected by the court and given a pension."

"We will publicly declare that Supervisor Yang's death was due to a normal cause!"

The words fell.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly.

Zhu Biao noticed this and immediately said, "Father, do you still feel this is inappropriate?"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded: "A perfectly healthy person, just by chance, died at Tianyun Temple? No, we still want to investigate this Taoist temple."

Zhu Biao thought for a moment and then said, "Father, how about this?"

"The immortal is about to take office as the director of the Imperial Observatory, and the deputy director, Lü Ben, originally thought that it would be his turn after Director Yang stepped down. Now that the immortal has taken his position, he must be dissatisfied."

"Given his personality, he'll definitely take some action against the immortal. Should we... just wait and see what he finds out about the immortal?"

"Let Lu Ben, the deputy director of the Imperial Observatory, scout ahead. If he finds that the immortal is not right, we will also thoroughly investigate Tianyun Temple. If he finds nothing, we don't need to take any action."

Lü Ben was Lü's father, and ethically speaking, he was Zhu Biao's father-in-law.

His scheme against Lü Ben is utterly despicable.

But this is the imperial family, and those who belong to the imperial family must learn the art of managing people.

Sometimes even relatives can be manipulated, which is why later generations say, "The most ruthless are those in the imperial family."

In fact, Zhu Biao initially respected Lü Ben and was very filial, but Zhu Yuanzhang only considered the Zhu family members as his relatives. So over the years, he taught Zhu Biao the way of managing people, and taught Zhu Biao to only consider the Zhu family members as his relatives.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to be deep in thought.

Soon, his furrowed brows began to relax.

He had long disliked Lü Ben. Lü Ben was uneducated and arrogant because he was the father of the Crown Princess Lü. He was a man who relied on connections, and he had wanted to take action against him for a long time.

But if you take action, people will easily gossip about you.

Zhu Yuanzhang wasn't afraid of being gossiped about in other matters, but Lü Ben was, after all, Zhu Biao's father-in-law and also his in-law.

It is related to filial piety.

The Ming Dynasty governed the country with filial piety.

So Zhu Yuanzhang didn't punish him, but simply removed him from his original post and assigned him a sinecure as the deputy director of the Imperial Observatory.

The imperial court rarely needed the Imperial Observatory for anything, and when it did, they would usually consult the Director, not him, the Deputy Director. It was a truly sinecure.

"Okay, we'll do it your way."

Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a moment and continued, "You, Biao'er, are in charge of giving Yang Jianzheng a grand funeral. Make it look good so that all the officials can see that you are a successor who cares about your subordinates."

Zhu Biao cupped his hands and said, "Father, I understand."

After he finished speaking, he saw Zhu Yuanzhang walk swiftly outside.

"Father, where are you going?"

"We haven't finished discussing the disaster situation yet."

Zhu Biao couldn't help but ask.

Zhu Yuanzhang turned and walked away without looking back, saying impatiently, "Someone died, and I'm annoyed. I'm going out for a walk to get some fresh air."

.

….…….….….….

Yingtian Prefecture, Zhuque Street.

The street was bustling with people, and Zhu Changye brought Zhu Xiong Ying, who had just arrived, to the area.

Zhu Changye was not particularly affected by Yang Ruchang's death.

He's so old; he's seen far too much death.

Everyone he knew in Zhu Family Village was dead, and he himself had a brush with death. Add to that the decades of self-cultivation he'd cultivated, and now the City God's job of dealing with life and death so frequently…

All his experiences combined made death seem like an ordinary thing to Zhu Changye, as common as eating and drinking, and it didn't cause him any ripples.

Zhu Xiong Ying was brought out at lunchtime.

Tianyun Temple has food, and he can eat whatever he wants, but today he wants to eat something from outside.

At a noodle stall, Zhu Xiong Ying quickly walked up, wiped the stool, and said with a smile, "Master, please sit down."

Zhu Changye chuckled, "You're so thoughtful, kid."

The master and disciple sat down.

I ordered two bowls of Dan Dan noodles.

While waiting for their noodles, a beggar noticed that the two were dressed in fine clothes and approached them.

"Sir, please have mercy and give me some food."

The beggar held out his bowl to Zhu Changye.

Seeing this, Zhu Xiong Ying quickly said, "I'll take it, I'll give it to you!"

He took out a few coins from his pocket, threw them into the bowl, and then shouted for the beggar to hurry up and leave.

The beggar thanked him a few times and staggered away, leaning on his cane.

After the beggar left, Zhu Xiong Ying breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhu Changye glanced at him, his eyes flickering, and calmly said, "Xiong Ying, you think he's dirty?"

“Yes, he smells terrible…” Zhu Xiong Ying blurted out subconsciously, but then quickly waved her hand and said, “No, no, Master, I didn’t.”

Zhu Changye chuckled: "You silly child, what's so hard about talking to your teacher?"

"Besides, cultivators have always valued honesty and openness. If they dislike something, they simply do so. There's no need to lie to gain a good impression from their master."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xiong Ying took a deep breath and said seriously, "That Master... I actually do find him dirty. I've never smelled such a stench on him before. He's even more smelly than the toilet in the palace."

Zhu Changye sighed, "Indeed, it stinks."

“You were born into the royal palace and have been pampered since childhood, so you are not used to this smell. But your master… used to smell it often back then. Even your grandfather was a beggar for a period of time.”

"U.A., you can dislike his smell, but you must never look down on him, understand?"

"Everyone has unlimited potential within them. Everyone is equal. It's just that some people discover it while others don't, which creates class differences."

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded: "Master, I understand!"

He respects and is grateful to his teacher.

Because his master not only saved him, but also his grandmother, and was himself a cultivator.

Listening to Master's words can never be wrong.

Zhu Xiong Ying looked at the beggar again.

The beggar was now using the few coins he had begged to buy steamed buns. Zhu Xiong Ying looked at him, at the beggar who was grinning from ear to ear because he had the steamed buns, and no longer felt any disgust.

As Master said, coercion means looking at him with an equal eye.

It's called coercion because his pampered upbringing from a young age instilled in him an instinct to look down on these people, which he is trying to overcome.

He may not be able to overcome it now, but he believes he can overcome this aversion if he perseveres.

To become what Master said, able to look at anyone with equal eyes, even a beggar.