Chapter 641: What’s Hard About Death? What’s Easy About Life?

The former Ningwang Palace in Danning.

While building the city walls, the craftsmen from the Ministry of Works and a large number of soldiers also repaired the former Ningwang Palace. Though only ruins remained, the original structure had been built with top-quality stone, so many materials could still be reused. Moreover, Zhu Di was an emperor who couldn’t stay in the imperial palace for long, and it was possible he might come here for inspections. Still, compared to its former glory—filled with halls, intricate roof structures, and towering gates—only three courtyards were now usable.

Hundreds of imperial guards from the Imperial Horse Supervision Agency and the Jinyiwei were stationed here. After two fierce battles, everyone bore various injuries, and the easternmost courtyard was the most heavily guarded. This place used to be an adjacent courtyard to the main hall of the Ningwang Palace, but now it housed the most noble person in the world. Yet, this emperor, who had ruled for over twenty years and was always majestic, now lay weakly in bed.

Illness comes suddenly like a collapsing mountain, but recovery is slow as unwinding silk. Although Zhu Di often fell ill in his later years, it was usually due to arthralgia or common colds. Even when sick, he remained energetic and hardly ever relinquished control over the military. But after arriving in Danning and entering this room, he could no longer hold on. Carefully laid on the familiar rosewood bed, he managed to give a few orders before falling into a deep sleep.

Seeing Hai Shou tie a white cotton bandage around his arm and tuck the blankets around Zhu Di, Zhang Fu instructed Zhang Yue, “Since the Emperor has asked you to stay, take good care of him. An and Ningyang Marquises and I have matters to discuss. If anything happens, inform the Jinyiwei outside immediately; they should go to my office—it’s next door.”

After saying this and seeing Zhang Yue nod, he signaled Liu Sheng and Chen Mao. Though anxious, they respected Zhang Fu’s authority and knew it was useless to panic, so they followed Zhang Yue out.

As soon as they left, Hai Shou, who had barely been holding on, collapsed onto a wooden stool nearby, his face pale as death. The journey had been urgent, leaving only a few eunuchs with the army. The previous battle had claimed many lives; aside from two who were critically injured, he was the only one who remained unharmed. Usually, supervising the army as an eunuch was an easy task, but in such deadly battles, unless one had exceptional martial skills, who would risk their life to protect them?

“Lord Zhang, thank you so much today.”
Zhang Yue’s wounds had already been treated by Peng Shisan along the way. Besides that, the long rides and those two battles had worn away his skin, causing intense pain. At this moment, he was leaning against the wall, feeling utterly exhausted. Coupled with the fatigue from traveling all night, his eyelids kept fluttering. Hearing Hai Shou’s words, he didn’t bother to think too much and replied directly, “At a time like this, there’s no need for formalities, Lord Hai.”
“You’re right. At this point… dying on the battlefield is death no matter what; it’s the same here!”
Hai Shou muttered in a barely audible voice, then glanced at Zhu Di, who was still asleep on the bed, before turning to examine the room. As Danning was in the midst of reconstruction, the furnishings here were extremely simple. Fortunately, there was an abundance of wood and stone, and tables, chairs, and stools were all available, though they were only superficially painted, making them a bit rough to sit on. Seeing Zhang Yue with his arms crossed, nodding as if dozing off, Hai Shou grew anxious.
At such a critical moment, Zhang Yue still had the nerve to sleep! If something happened to the emperor, and the soldiers outside caused trouble, what would happen then… Tch, after all, Zhang Yue was from the Zhang family, and Zhang Fu currently commanded the army with absolute authority, so he wasn’t worried. But right now, the whole country was watching this place!
Although he had had a slight acquaintance with Zhang Yue before and had shared life and death with him once, Hai Shou also knew that Zhang Yue got along well with the crown prince. Yet thinking of the expressionless Duke of Ying just now, he became even more uneasy. After all, Zhang Fu had once been on good terms with King Han Zhu Gaoxu. If he really came up with some undesirable idea this time, how could Zhang Yue, as a junior, persuade him? To make matters worse, Chen Mao and Liu Sheng had both been called away by Zhang Fu—didn’t those two realize they should at least leave one person behind to keep an eye on things?
Zhang Yue drifted off into a drowsy sleep, while Hai Shou worried anxiously. Time passed unknowingly until a faint cry came from the bed. Since there was no response, the sound grew louder. Instantly, Hai Shou instinctively jumped up and rushed to the bed, kneeling down abruptly. Seeing the emperor open his eyes, he was so moved that he could hardly speak. Zhang Yue, awakened as well, hurried over and felt relieved upon seeing the emperor fully awake.

Zhu Di tried to sit up, struggling for a long time yet still unable to move his elbow. Seeing this, Hai Shou hurriedly helped him from the side, only to find that the pillows and cushions were all hard. He simply sat slantingly at the head of the bed, carefully supporting himself with his body.

“Where are the others?”

“Your Majesty, Marquis Yuan of the British Public Security and Marquis Ningyang have gone to the government office to discuss defense and communication matters. Outside, the imperial guards and Jinyiwei are on standby,” Zhang Yue quickly explained, then added in a low voice, “When I was summoned by Your Majesty earlier, the messenger to Songting Pass had already set off. He should have arrived by now. Scholar Yang and Scholar Jin should arrive tomorrow.”

“Zhang Fu is cautious by nature; he must have sent someone to report the good news, so that my efforts to reach Danning were not in vain.” After saying this, Zhu Di was drenched in sweat. He took a deep breath beforereluctantly continuing, “Zhang Yue, go get paper and ink.”

Hai Shou was so shocked that his hands trembled, almost failing to support the emperor’s weight, and Zhang Yue was equally stunned. Yet, facing the emperor’s unyielding gaze, he quickly snapped out of it and stood up to prepare everything. Since the emperor had settled here, the imperial edicts, decrees, and seals brought by the eunuchs from the Imperial Treasury Office had all been delivered here. Three large bundles of bright yellow silk were placed on the desk against the west wall of the room, along with the four essential writing tools.

He brought them all over, along with a high table and a chair to the bedside. It was fine to take out the stack of blank documents, but when he was instructed by Zhu Di to find the two imperial seals, he couldn’t help but take a deep breath.

Although they are called jade seals, there are actually seventeen such seals in the Ming Dynasty. For this expedition, Zhu Di commonly used the “Imperial Seal” and the “Imperial Message Seal.” The former was used for issuing edicts, proclaiming ascensions, granting amnesties, and so on; the latter was used for leading troops into battle. All seals were managed by the Imperial Treasury Office, and officials from that office accompanied him on this campaign. Yet last night, Zhu Di had ordered the eunuchs from the Imperial Treasury Office to give these two most important seals to Hai Shou to carry, and now they were being used.

Zhang Yue focused intensely on grinding the ink. When the inkstone was filled with black ink, he spread out the paper, pressed it down with a weight, dipped his brush into the ink, and then turned to look at the emperor. At that moment, Zhu Di was staring at the high ceiling, his brows furrowed, not even glancing at him. After a long while, he finally heard the emperor utter a few short words with great effort.

Although it was expected, hearing the emperor’s words clearly at that moment made Zhang Yue nearly drop the ink on the paper. Hai Shou trembled violently, finding it even difficult to swallow his saliva. Though such a simple piece of writing wasn’t hard to craft, let alone refine, Zhang Yue never imagined he would one day write something so bizarre and didn’t know where to start. After hesitating for a while, he noticed Zhu Di’s gaze suddenly falling on him, so he gritted his teeth and began writing quickly. Once he finished writing every word, he handed the paper to Zhu Di.

“Hai Shou, go and stamp it!”

Although he had done this task before serving in the emperor’s presence, facing it again after so many years made Hai Shou feel as if heavy weights were pressing down on him. Seeing Zhang Yue help him stand, he struggled to get up, took the paper, and finally made his way to a chair. He placed the heavy decree down and picked up the massive seal, stamping it firmly.

“Alright, send for Duke Zhang Fu of Yingguo!”

After giving this order in a deep voice, Zhu Di half-closed his eyes. If he could make it this far from Kuanghe, then surely he could hold on a few more days—no, he must!

Though called the official residence of the Duke of Yingguo, it was merely a simple quadrangle courtyard built with stones and clay. Yet in this city abandoned for over twenty years, such a courtyard was quite rare. At that moment, the three nobles present all held great power, but their brows were tightly furrowed, and the atmosphere was eerily tense.

Liu Sheng, Marquis of Anyuan, who had commanded the army for years, could no longer hold back and suddenly stood up. “The emperor’s illness cannot be delayed. We should send someone to escort him back to Xifengkou, or else send someone quickly to find an imperial physician… If I had known, I would have advised the emperor not to leave the imperial physicians behind in the rear army—even if just one survived! If anything happens, who can bear the responsibility? It’s already difficult enough to keep this a secret along the way; it’s all thanks to the emperor’s perseverance…”

“A physician? The army physician already examined the emperor just now. All he said was that the emperor’s face was ashen—nothing useful else? Besides, what if we encounter the Mongol army again on the way back? I told you before—those spies from the Ministry of War are unreliable. Now look at the mess we’re in…” Chen Mao cursed angrily for a while. Seeing that Zhang Fu remained silent, he remembered their current situation and looked up, asking, “Duke of Yingguo, you make the decision. We’ll all follow your lead!”

“At this moment, we must not act rashly. If the news of sending someone back to summon the imperial physician spreads, the reaction it will provoke will likely be severe.” Zhang Fu’s facial features remained utterly expressionless, as if carved by a knife, and his voice was eerily flat. “The Emperor has held on all the way to Danning precisely to avoid drawing attention to this matter. That’s why I already sent someone on a fast horse to Songting Pass. The Emperor is safe and unharmed—Academician Yang, Academician Jin, and the entire entourage should rush to Danning immediately!”
Hearing that Zhang Fu had already sent someone, Chen Mao and Liu Sheng were both shocked. Chen Mao had just suggested asking Zhang Fu to make the decision, but he was afraid of the heavy responsibilities involved and not willing to take on the blame. His experiences were similar to Zhang Fu’s—his father had died during the Jingnan Campaign, and after Zhu Di ascended the throne, his father was posthumously granted the title of Duke of Jing. Chen Mao’s own title was also earned through military achievements. Knowing that greater power brought greater risks, he valued money more and paid little attention to anything else. At this moment, he could only cough lightly.
“The Duke of Ying has sent messengers in a timely manner, but why bring those two along? Yang Rong and Jin Youzi are just eloquent civil officials. Just because they pleased the Emperor, they’ve held low ranks for years, yet their favor has been almost on par with ours, the nobles. Even at the banquet during the recent northern expedition, they were given top-tier treatment—now they dare to give us orders!”
Liu Sheng was already not very thoughtful, and after tilting his head in thought, he simply stayed silent. Zhang Fu glanced at him and then said calmly, “Marquis of Ningyang, no matter what urgent message the messenger brings back, as long as they know the Emperor is in Danning, how could Yang Rong and Jin Youzi not come? It’s likely the Emperor ordered them to stay behind with Marquis of Yangwu. Since they’re coming anyway, giving them extra instructions won’t make anyone think the Emperor is doing anything improper.”
Since Zhang Fu said so, Liu Sheng and Chen Mao naturally had nothing to say. After discussing further, the two stood up. After the previous two battles, the five thousand elite cavalry they led had been reduced to less than three thousand, but they had acquired a considerable number of warhorses. These spoils needed to be properly distributed. Moreover, although Zhu Di had barely made it to Danning, many had seen his grim expression along the way. To suppress such rumors, they would need to put in a lot of effort.
Just as they were stepping down the stairs, a bodyguard rushed in in a hurry, not even taking the time to speak to Liu Sheng and Chen Mao before rushing straight into the room and shouting, “Duke of Ying, the Emperor summons you!”

In the courtyard, Liu Sheng and Chen Mao heard the last four words and immediately stopped in their tracks. Seeing Zhang Fu rush out of the house, Liu Sheng hesitated for a moment before turning and leaving as well, while Chen Mao immediately chased after him without hesitation.
“Duke of Yingguo, has the Emperor awakened?”
“The Emperor has summoned me; clearly he’s awake. Marquis of Ningyang, you’d better come with me.”
Chen Mao was about to mention Marquis of Anyuan Liu Sheng, but when he turned around, he found that Liu Sheng had already disappeared. Thinking that Liu Sheng had commanded the troops in the capital for nearly a decade and, though he was made a marquis quite late, still enjoyed greater favor than other marquises, he immediately broke into sweat. The words on his lips were quickly replaced with something completely opposite: “It’s good that the Emperor has awakened. Since it’s only the Duke of Yingguo who’s been summoned, I’d better hurry and prepare the troops just in case. Please convey my regards to the Emperor on my behalf.”
Seeing Chen Mao leave in a flash, Zhang Fu knew full well what cunning plans he had in mind, but he had nowhere to shirk responsibility. He took two bodyguards to the former Ningyang Prince’s mansion, left them outside, and entered alone. As soon as he stepped into the room, he spotted a document laid out on a high shelf, and immediately afterward, he felt Zhu Di’s gaze upon him.