Chapter 392: The Old Man’s Pride Is Useless Now

The room with the burning brazier was warm, yet outside, just behind a thick cotton curtain, one could still hear the howling wind and the shouts of the patrolling soldiers. Zhang Yue didn’t look at Wang Yu; instead, he quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more headaches he felt—things were happening too fast and suddenly!
He certainly knew Meng Xian was ambitious and eager for fame and fortune. But wanting to help the Prince of Zhao seize the throne was one thing; using it as a pretext to stage a rebellion was another. With the forged will right here, the charge of treason was practically nailed to the Meng family. Even if the emperor, out of gratitude for Meng Shan’s past contributions, spared Meng Ying and his family, Meng Xian’s entire family would surely die! Moreover, if the Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi ascended the throne the next day, Meng Ying would also face punishment—this was simply one person causing the death of many!
Putting these worries aside for now, he asked in a grave voice, “Since you’ve brought this forged will, where’s your uncle?”
“After getting drunk, my uncle took out the will. When I saw it, I was terrified. I begged him repeatedly to think of our family and not do such a thing that would destroy our entire clan, to not throw eggs at a boulder. But he refused to listen at all.” Remembering how his uncle, Gao Zheng, had his face red with anger, pointing at his own nose and cursing, Wang Yu couldn’t help but shudder. “He grabbed a chair and tried to hit me, saying that as a man, I had no ambition at all and he had raised me for nothing all these years… I thought he was just angry for the moment, but when I dodged, he smashed it hard on my arm without any mercy, as if he really wanted to kill me!”
At that moment, Wang Yu felt as if that terrifying scene appeared before his eyes again, even his voice trembling involuntarily. “Su Er came in to stop him after hearing the commotion, but my uncle pushed her away. He overturned the table and pointed at my nose, saying that no matter what I did, it was already irreversible. Either I followed his lead and worked hard under Lord Meng, or I would die along with Su Er… I saw Su Er turn pale and tremble with fear. I don’t know where I found the courage, but I suddenly got up and knocked my uncle out… That was my uncle, the one who had always loved and cared for me since I was young. How could I ever dare touch him? But rebellion is a grave crime. The emperor is wise and powerful—how could they possibly succeed? I didn’t want to risk losing my entire family!”

At these words, Wang Yu suddenly covered his head with his hands. “Su Er is pregnant—I can’t let her lose her life in ignorance without even having a mother!”
The flame from the brazier illuminated his face and body, casting a deeply sorrowful glow. Seeing his desperate expression, Zhang Yue understood clearly—although Wang Yu had merited credit for exposing the treason, his uncle Gao Zheng was doomed, and his wife and children would surely suffer as well. But if he didn’t expose them, Wang Yu’s entire family might die as well!
Though he didn’t know what caused the explosion, he still held three official seals issued by the Imperial Secretariat—seals that, according to Wang Yu, only needed to be stamped to allow entry into the palace. With everything already exposed, even if he stayed indifferent, others would expose them, and the situation would become even more uncontrollable!
Gathering his courage, he stood up and rushed to the door, lifting the heavy cotton curtain. Instantly, the bitter cold wind hit him like knives, mixed with snowflakes. The extreme cold made his mind clearer. He called over Zhao Hu and conveyed everything in the shortest possible words, then said in a low voice, “Report all this to Lord Yuan immediately. I can only wait here for half an hour. If you haven’t returned by then, I’ll take Wang Yu to the palace to see the emperor right away. If you can’t find Lord Yuan at the yamen, go to the site of the explosion. Remember, be thorough and careful.”
“Don’t worry, sir!”
After watching Zhao Hu leave at full speed, Zhang Yue still didn’t lower the curtain. If such a massive explosion hadn’t been caused by the Armory or the Powder Bureau, it must have involved gunpowder. If it was gunpowder, where did it come from? Why did it explode? Was it a coincidence or intentional? What was the purpose…
He didn’t know how long he stood there until his once warm body turned numb from the cold. Then, stiffly, he released his hands and let the curtain fall heavily. Turning around, he realized Wang Yu hadn’t moved at all, still in the same position as before. He walked over slowly and sat down in his previous seat. He didn’t say anything about sacrificing family for righteousness—under such chaos, every decision had to be made instantly, especially since Wang Yu had already tried his best to persuade him.
“I’ll take you to the palace to see the emperor in half an hour.”

Wang Yu, whose mind was in chaos, didn’t react much upon hearing these words. However, after a long while, he suddenly realized what was being said and raised his head in shock to look at Zhang Yue. Seeing that Zhang Yue had no intention of joking, he immediately understood the implication and was filled with fear: “I have never met the emperor before. I’m afraid I’ll not know what to do in such a situation. Wouldn’t it be better if you spoke on my behalf?”
He had never felt worthy of being a relative of the Zhang family, so instinctively he used the most appropriate title. Seeing Zhang Yue staring at him, he felt a bit reticent, but then mustered the courage to look back: “Although I had no choice but to come forward and accuse, it is already extremely unfilial for a younger person to sue an elder, let alone in front of the emperor…”
“If you go, perhaps you can save your aunt and cousins. If you don’t, I can only report the truth; I can’t do anything else. Do you understand? Although reasoning might not work in front of the emperor, appealing to emotions might work. Besides, if the emperor asks where this forged will came from, I still have to reveal your name. By then, if the emperor is enraged and orders you to be summoned, you won’t have such an easy time.”
Although he had been in a good mood after seeing Zhang Yue send Zhu Ning away in the morning and even explored the palace enthusiastically in the afternoon, the heavy snow ruined his spirits, and Zhu Di’s face became as gloomy as the sky. When a loud explosion was heard in the evening, he immediately ordered people to investigate after being startled. When Zhang Qian came to report, he without hesitation ordered all four gates of the palace to be closed. By the time Zhu Ning rushed over, he was on the verge of exploding in anger. It took her a lot of persuasion to calm him down.
With this inexplicable matter weighing on his mind, Zhu Di didn’t even feel like having dinner. It was only after Zhu Ning persuaded him again that he reluctantly sat down. It was currently the mourning period for the Zhao King’s heir, so no alcohol was served. There were six hot dishes: stir-fried bean sprouts, stewed tofu, braised eggplants, and Jinxiu Soup, along with two desserts: red bean steamed buns and sesame oil pancakes. Several young eunuchs in gauze masks carefully arranged the imperial dishes on the table one by one, then glanced at Zhu Ning.
Zhu Di was usually frugal with food but insisted on having meat at every meal, consuming quite a lot of pork and mutton. Seeing that all these dishes were vegetarian, he thought of his own biological grandson’s death and immediately put down his chopsticks. Seeing this, Zhu Ning signaled with her eyes to move Jinxiu Soup to the front and personally brought over the plate of red bean steamed buns.

“Fourth Uncle, these red bean steamed buns are made using a recipe I personally modified—neither sweet nor greasy. How about you give them a try? As for the Splendid Soup, it’s not only beautifully named but also good for nourishing the body.”
Since it was Zhu Ning who spoke, even though Zhu Di had no appetite at all, he had no choice but to eat a little out of courtesy. It wasn’t until Zhu Ning directed several eunuchs in charge of the kitchen to bring in more dishes one by one and chatted casually about matters outside that he finally relaxed a bit, then ordered more meat dishes to be brought in. Although Zhu Di had to observe mourning for his legitimate grandson for a year, even the emperor observed mourning for his predecessor on a daily basis rather than monthly, let alone for his own grandson, so no one dared question his food choices. Yet just as the eunuchs rushed outside, a sharp and loud voice suddenly came from outside.
“Your Majesty, I, Huang Yan, an eunuch from the Court Protocol Bureau, seek an audience!”
“Why has this old fool come at this time? Let him in.”
If it were anyone else asking for an audience during dinner, Zhu Di would have immediately ordered them thrown out without hesitation. But Huang Yan had served him faithfully since he first established his residence in Beiping, and after Zhu Di ascended the throne, he managed the Court Protocol Bureau efficiently, ensuring smooth missions to Korea. Since Zhu Di couldn’t call in his meritorious generals and soldiers at every moment, Huang Yan was the only one who could keep him company and chat casually. Yet when Huang Yan entered and fell to his knees, kowtowing repeatedly, Zhu Di still frowned.
“What are you doing?”
“Your Majesty, Jiang Bao has been taken away by the Eastern Depot. I truly don’t understand—first they investigated me for selling contraband in Korea, and now they’ve taken Jiang Bao away too. How dare that little wretch Lu Feng act so boldly!”
No one else dared to act presumptuously in front of Zhu Di, but Huang Yan was an exception. Back during the Jingnan Campaign, when Zhu Gaochi was left in Beiping, Huang Yan even dared to slander him behind his back—let alone face the trivial provocation from Lu Feng. He crawled forward a few steps and exaggerated the atrocities committed by the Eastern Depot men who had forcibly taken Jiang Bao away, then kowtowed repeatedly.
“Your Majesty, please see clearly—Lu Feng relies on his favoritism and disdains me. Jiang Bao’s adopted son committed a crime, but he has served Your Majesty for years. Surely Your Majesty knows whether he is loyal or treacherous! What is Lu Feng anyway? If it weren’t for someone backing him, how would he dare act so arrogantly and ignore hierarchy?”

Zhu Ning beside him found the old man’s appearance extremely disgusting and could hardly resist saying something harsh. Just then, a loud announcement came from outside. “Your Majesty, Hai Shou, the deputy head of the Imperial Horse Supervision Bureau, requests an audience.” “Why are they all gathered here?” Annoyed, Zhu Di instinctively frowned before shouting, “Get in!” Although Hai Shou was a sycophantic man, he certainly wouldn’t obediently roll in just at such a command. After entering quickly and bowing, he glanced at Huang Yan ahead and then said respectfully, “Your Majesty, after that explosion, someone shot something into the palace walls. The guards have gone to investigate. Since the four gates of the inner palace are tightly closed, Lord Lu from the Eastern Depot sent someone to report that Jiang Bao, the deputy head of the Ritual Supervision Bureau, pretended to be an eunuch to infiltrate the inner palace. He was caught on the spot by Lord Zhang and sent to the Eastern Depot. It is said that treasonous items were found on him…” Hearing this, Huang Yan felt his head spin. Jiang Bao was his right-hand man, and he had sent him out these days to spread rumors that the emperor disliked the crown prince and favored Prince Zhao instead, and that the crown prince was seriously ill and the Eastern Palace might change hands. Though these were indeed treasonous statements, what exactly could be considered treasonous items? This was the perfect opportunity—he had asked Meng Xian to help create momentum, aiming to deceive the emperor into changing the heir before the crown prince arrived in the capital. Could it be that Meng Xian had done something behind his back? Oh right, that explosion at the beginning… Could it have been gunpowder? A myriad of deadly thoughts flashed through his mind. Huang Yan felt his vision darken. His plan to lodge a complaint when entering the Qianqing Palace had long vanished, replaced by an indescribable fear. Zhu Ning, observing this, realized that some people were plotting something inappropriate. Seeing Zhu Di’s face turn ashen and his fists clenched tightly, he understood that the emperor was about to explode in anger. Sure enough, the next moment, Zhu Di slammed his fist hard on the table and roared, “First there was an explosion, and now someone is shooting things into the palace walls! How bold! Where is Zhang Yue? What are those guards doing? Have him lead people to investigate and capture them—execute anyone caught! And those treasonous items… Good, truly excellent! I want to see what kind of treasonous items they are! Issue an order—have Lu Feng come to Qianqing Palace immediately, along with Jiang Bao and that so-called adopted son!”

Seeing Hai Shou nod in agreement and hurry away, Zhu Di glanced at the leftovers in front of him and waved his hand impatiently. Noticing this, Zhu Ning quickly summoned a young eunuch and instructed him to go to the Food Administration to convey that there was no need to prepare those high-end meats for now. When she turned around, she found Zhu Di standing up, glaring fiercely at Huang Yan, which made her sneer inwardly.
The old man’s pride was useless this time too!
Zhu Di stepped forward in a few strides toward Huang Yan, wishing he could kick the old fellow to death, but ultimately held back out of years of old affection. Seeing Huang Yan cowering on the ground, too afraid to lift his head, he took a deep breath and finally snapped coldly, “Scram over there. I’ll deal with you once I figure things out.”
“Your humble servant thanks Your Majesty, thanks Your Majesty!”
Though he only received those words, after kowtowing repeatedly, Huang Yan didn’t dare to get up and instead crawled to the side as if granted a great pardon. It wasn’t until he caught a glimpse of Zhu Di returning to his seat with a cup of tea offered by Zhu Ning that he dismissed the pain in his knees and head, with only one thought in his mind:
God, please don’t let Meng Xian be plotting rebellion—please don’t let Jiang Chong and Meng Xian be involved together!