Ming Dynasty: At the beginning, the house was ransacked and the ancestral temple was burned down.

Chapter 244 Wanli: I am a waste, are you satisfied?
When Zhang Chonghui stepped into the imperial city, it was already the end of the Xu hour and approaching the Hai hour.

At the Meridian Gate, he saw Zhu Changluo, who had just come out of the palace and was in a daze.

The two men looked at each other, and Zhang Chonghui saw the guilty look in Zhu Changluo's eyes. He immediately knew that this cowardly and domineering prince had indeed sold him out.

……

Qianqing Palace.

I recalled the wooden Ruyi in my grandson's mouth, its unique and rare shape, and the familiar landscape painting carved on the top of the Ruyi.

Zhu Yijun just felt dizzy, his body was hot and cold, and his chest was stuffy and blocked.

He has been ill for more than a year, and he has had these uncomfortable symptoms almost all the time. He has almost gotten used to it.

But today, especially after seeing the wood, he felt particularly suffocated and... anxious.

He once owned a Ruyi like this. Not only was the shape exactly the same, but even the patterns carved on it were exactly the same.

But his was carved from the finest jade, not cheap and ordinary pepperwood.

"Your Majesty, Zhang Chonghui is here."

Chen Ju's voice rang out, and Zhu Yijun heard it, but he did not summon him immediately. He just sat there quietly for a long while, as if he was making some mental preparations.

A quarter of an hour later, he sat up straight, with a dignified look, and straightened his red dragon robe. After exhaling, he said:
"Let him in."

……

"I pay my respects to Your Majesty. May your Majesty be well and healthy."

"Get up."

Zhang Chonghui was a little surprised. He thought the emperor would let him kneel down all the time, but he didn't expect that he would let him stand up.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Zhang Chonghui stood up calmly, with his hands in his sleeves, looking like he was ready to do whatever Your Majesty wanted.

"I left Baidi in the morning amidst the colorful clouds, and returned to Jiangling a thousand miles away in one day." Zhu Yijun suddenly recited a poem. He looked straight at Zhang Chonghui and asked:

"You are from Jiangling. Have you ever seen the line in Li Bai's poem, 'The monkeys on both sides of the river are crying incessantly, and the light boat has already passed through thousands of mountains'?"

Zhang Chonghui answered truthfully: "Your Majesty, I have never seen it."

"Ha..." Zhu Yijun laughed, "You haven't seen it? Then why did you specifically ask the grandson to bring the wood with the Jiangling landscape carved on it to show me?"

Zhang Chonghui was silent for a moment before he replied, "Your Majesty, I just think it's easy for children to adapt to a new environment..."

"That's enough." Zhu Yijun interrupted impatiently, saying, "The prince has confessed everything you have done."

Zhang Chonghui said nothing because he had nothing to say.

"You never thought about helping me from the beginning to the end. You just wanted to help the eldest son ascend to the throne." Zhu Yijun said coldly.

Zhang Chonghui still said nothing, just lowered his head. The scent of flowers on his cuffs occasionally penetrated his nostrils, making him feel a little dizzy.

"You have been lying to me from the beginning to the end. You have been deceiving me from the beginning to the end! From the very beginning!"

Zhu Yijun was still talking. Perhaps it was the headache and chest tightness that made him irritable, or perhaps it was Zhang Chonghui's lack of explanation that made him irritable. He slammed the table in anger and said angrily:

"say!"

Zhang Chonghui slowly raised his head. It was the first time he looked directly at the emperor since he came in. He had not seen him for almost a year. He did not expect that this emperor, who was nearly forty years old, would be so weak.

"That's right." Zhang Chonghui also looked straight at Zhu Yijun and said word by word:

"From the very beginning, I have been lying to you. From the very beginning, I only wanted to support the eldest son of the emperor to become the crown prince!

Your Majesty, please forgive me for speaking frankly, but Prince Fu is not fit to be the ruler of a country. I am doing this for the sake of the Ming Dynasty, for our ancestors, and for you..."

"Shut up!" Zhu Yijun interrupted angrily:
"What do you mean for the Ming Dynasty? What do you mean for our ancestors' country? Are you trying to say it's for my own good?
I heard that when I was a ten-year-old kid! But I'm not a ten-year-old kid anymore!

Don't think I don't know that you are testing my bottom line step by step! Do you really think I dare not kill you? "

Looking at the emperor who suddenly became furious, Zhang Chonghui gritted his teeth, raised his head, and said with full confidence:
"Yes, you wouldn't."

Zhu Yijun was stunned for a moment: "What did you...say?"

Zhang Chonghui still held his head high and said confidently: "I say, you dare not kill me."

Seeing that the emperor was so angry that his eyes turned red and he was about to get ruthless, Zhang Chonghui calmed down and took a step forward. He said:

"Your Majesty, I dare to ask you a question. What day is June 20th?"

This sudden question and this extremely sensitive day were like an invisible knife placed on Zhu Yijun's neck, blocking his anger that was about to explode and leaving him speechless with his eyes wide open.

No one knew better than Zhu Yijun what day June 20 was. He subconsciously wanted to play dumb and say he didn't know, but he saw Zhang Chonghui take another step towards him, looking at him with sharp eyes and said:

"June 20th was the second day when the three main halls were burned to ashes. Your Majesty, could you forget such an unfortunate day?"

Zhu Yijun realized that he had been fooled, but it was too late because Zhang Chonghui took another step forward and threw another day that made him shudder.

"Your Majesty, I have another question for you. What day is the fifth day of May?"

Zhu Yijun's throat seemed to be blocked by something. His mouth was open and his lips were trembling, but he couldn't utter a word.

Zhang Chonghui took another step forward. At this time, he had already stepped onto the stairs. After a few more steps, he would reach the emperor's throne.

"May 5th is the Dragon Boat Festival." Zhang Chonghui said as he stepped onto the steps and walked towards Zhu Yijun who was in a daze on the dragon throne, and said in a cold voice:
"The fifth day of the fifth month of the twelfth year of the Wanli reign was the first day that the imperial court raided the Zhang family. On that day, seventeen members of the Zhang family had already starved to death. Your Majesty, do you remember what day the fifth day of the fifth month is now?"

Zhu Yijun certainly remembered that on May 5th of every year from the first year of the Wanli reign to the tenth year of the Wanli reign, he would instruct the Ministry of Rites to send a birthday gift to Zhang Juzheng.

But Zhu Yijun didn't know until this moment that the first day of the search of Zhang's house was actually Zhang Juzheng's birthday...

For a moment, the invisible sharp knife against Zhu Yijun's throat suddenly turned into an invisible wrist, strangling his throat and making it difficult for him to breathe.

He coughed madly until his face turned red, and then he shook off the invisible feeling of suffocation.

When Zhu Yijun looked up again, Zhang Chonghui had already walked up the steps and was standing in front of his dragon throne, about two or three steps away.

"Your Majesty, I have another question for you." Zhang Chonghui looked at Zhu Yijun expressionlessly:
"May 26th, what day is it?"

"That's enough!" Zhu Yijun finally couldn't stand it anymore and cursed like crazy:
"What kind of shitty day is this! I don't know!"

Zhu Yijun thought Zhang Chonghui would mention another date related to Zhang Juzheng, but Zhang Chonghui's next answer left him dumbfounded...

"Your Majesty." Zhang Chonghui smiled maliciously and said word by word: "May 26th is the anniversary of the death of the late emperor."

Zhu Yijun was completely speechless. A strong sense of guilt hit him like a flood, crushing him to pieces...

"No, I remember..." Zhu Yijun hurriedly said, "I know the anniversary of the late emperor's death! I know!"

Zhang Chonghui said nothing, but just looked at Zhu Yijun quietly, like an adult watching a child lying.

Zhu Yijun already felt guilty, guilty that he had even forgotten his biological father's death anniversary...

Seeing Zhang Chonghui's mocking eyes again, he became furious and mentally unstable to begin with. Finally, he couldn't control his rage. He stood up and pinched Zhang Chonghui who was only two or three steps away from him!
Zhu Yijun easily grabbed Zhang Chonghui's neck, but Zhang Chonghui did not resist at all. He still had that determined look. He looked into Zhu Yijun's eyes and said in a broken but still clear voice:
"Your Majesty...you want to strangle me to death, right? Haha, cough, cough... Your Majesty, I told you that you dare not cough, cough...

You don’t dare to strangle me to death because you are afraid. You are afraid that I am Zhang Juzheng. You are afraid that he… cough cough cough…”

Zhang Chonghui's face had turned red from being pinched, but he did not resist at all and let Zhu Yijun pinch him like a madman.

Gradually, Zhang Chonghui's body softened, and he slowly slid to his knees on the ground, like a swan that had been drained of blood. Although his body had fallen, his neck was still tilted upward.

As Zhang Chonghui knelt down, Zhu Yijun, who was pinching his neck, also knelt down. However, the strength in his hands became weaker and weaker, and in the end, he was just supporting his neck...

Zhang Chonghui was right. Zhu Yijun did not dare to kill him after all, even though Zhang Chonghui did not resist at all.

Zhang Chonghui, who was released, was coughing and breathing wildly, but Zhu Yijun in front of him seemed to have lost his soul. His eyes were red and he knelt on the ground in a daze, leaning against the dragon throne and gasping for breath.

If someone who is not aware of the situation sees this scene, they would think that the person being strangled is him, the emperor.

Zhang Chonghui finally calmed down and looked up to see Zhu Yijun staring at him expressionlessly with a resentful and complicated look.

"Your Majesty." Zhang Chonghui took the initiative to speak, and said with a wry smile:

"In fact, just now, I wished you had strangled me to death, that would at least prove that you have grown up. But you didn't, you still compromised, just like you did many times before, you compromised again."

Zhang Chonghui regarded this ordinary sarcasm as just a foreplay to irritate Emperor Wanli.

However, it was this sarcasm that could not be more ordinary that once again verified Zhang Chonghui's original guess -

——'He' didn't know Zhu Yijun that well.

……

Zhu Yijun reached out to Zhang Chonghui again, but this time he didn't strangle him, but grabbed Zhang Chonghui's collar angrily!
"I compromise? Do you think I want to compromise?" Zhu Yijun hysterically roared at Zhang Chonghui:

"Do you think you know me well? Do you think it's easy to be an emperor?

Do you think that I am a useless person who can't accomplish anything without you?"

Zhang Chonghui stared at the almost insane Zhu Yijun in amazement. He was about to pull his hand away and persuade him to calm down, but the next moment, Zhu Yijun took the initiative to let go of his hand.

"Yes..." Zhu Yijun's voice suddenly faded, and he slumped down on the dragon chair behind him like a puddle of mud, and said weakly:
"I am a waste, a waste who can't even keep my legs without you...

I am a waste, a waste who was almost burned to death several times without you...

I am a waste, a waste who can't accomplish anything without you...

Without you, I am a waste, are you satisfied?"

As if there was something interesting on the beam, Zhu Yijun tilted his head straight up. Despite this, Zhang Chonghui still saw a few lines of water drops falling along his cheeks.

"Your Majesty..." Zhang Chonghui tried to say something, for example, that he was really not Zhang Juzheng.

"Mr. Zhang..." Zhu Yijun gently interrupted Zhang Chonghui. He still looked up, as if he was just talking to the beam:

"I can't remember the last time I left the palace. I only remember that time, it seemed like I went to see my mausoleum, to see my eternal grave... It's ridiculous that I, the emperor who controls the whole country, have to be pointed at by my ministers even when I leave the palace. I can only stay in this palm-sized Forbidden City all day long...

I am the Son of Heaven of the Ming Dynasty, I am the father of all people, I am the emperor, but am I not also a prisoner in the Forbidden City?
Mr. Zhang... Do you know how I have been living these years? Sometimes I always wonder if the reason why I am living such a miserable life today is retribution...

You don't let me practice calligraphy, Mr. Shen doesn't let me practice military training, I know you want me to become a wise ruler, you wish I could become another you...

But I am not you, I am not a child prodigy... I am just a cripple who had ideals and aspirations, wanted to train soldiers but failed, wanted to personally influence God, but ended up with a broken leg...

I originally thought that without you, I would be able to realize my ambitions, but in the end I found that without you, the whole court is filled with you...

I originally thought that you had gone too far, but later I discovered that they went much further than you...

They burned my house, they wanted to burn to death me, the emperor with inconvenient legs and feet, and they also wanted to burn to death my son...

Maybe what my mother said was right. You should have assisted me until I was thirty, but you died... I even raided your house on your birthday...

Mr. Zhang… I didn’t mean to do that. In fact, I didn’t want to raid your house, but they kept telling me that you’re even greedier than Feng Bao…”

Zhu Yijun kept talking on and on, as if he was confiding, as if he was confessing, as if he was apologizing.

Tears flowed down both sides of his temples, some flowed into his ears, some flowed into the white hair behind his ears, and some dripped down.

He kept his head raised, as if Zhang Juzheng's soul was floating on the beams of the hall.

Looking at Zhu Yijun crying with his head raised, Zhang Chonghui suddenly thought of his four-year-old son Zhang Tongchang.

When his son cried and admitted his mistake to him, he also held his neck stiff, as if he would die if he lowered his head.

Zhang Chonghui subconsciously stretched out his hand, wanting to pat the other person on the back to comfort him.

However, his hands froze because of the faint fragrance that wafted into his nose...

The feeling of sadness over the passing of time was soon replaced by rationality.

Zhang Chonghui took a deep breath, then tentatively touched Zhu Yijun. Seeing that the other party did not resist, he gently patted the other party's back.

Then, like an old father comforting his son, he wiped Zhu Yijun's tears and snot with his brand new sleeves without any disdain, and whispered to him:
"Your Majesty...it's okay...everything will be fine..."

Zhu Yijun did not refuse the consolation from this "young" man, he even smelled a pleasant scent from Zhang Chonghui's sleeves.

The fragrance comforted him and made him feel dazed during the dizzy moment when his brain was deprived of oxygen due to crying.

……

The fifth year of Wanli.

The fourteen-year-old Emperor Wanli was no longer a child. The Ministry of Rites had already found a candidate for the queen for him, and he would get married soon.

For Wanli, getting married was a happy event, as it meant that he could finally get rid of the constant surveillance of his old mother, Empress Dowager Li, and live in a palace of his own.

However, he was always in a bad mood these days, and even during the lectures on the imperial lecture days supervised by Zhang Juzheng, he was often distracted.

Zhang Juzheng still gave the young emperor some face. Even if he wanted to discipline the emperor, he would wait until the outsiders left before admonishing him in private.

"Your Majesty, why have you been distracted for the past two days?"

In front of the young emperor, with only three of them present, Zhang Juzheng questioned Feng Bao.

Feng Bao shook his head and smiled helplessly, "Zhang Yuanfu, you don't know that two days ago, His Majesty lost a treasure that had been with him for many years. His Majesty is sentimental, so naturally he is sad."

Upon hearing that the emperor's distraction was not caused by his approaching wedding date, Zhang Juzheng breathed a sigh of relief. Then he smiled and looked at the "loyal" little emperor.

"Your Majesty, what treasure makes you so sad?"

Wanli, who was originally worried about being scolded, felt relieved when he saw that Mr. Zhang not only did not scold him for not paying attention in class, but also smiled at him.

Before he had the chance to answer Zhang Juzheng, his close companion Feng Baoxian answered for him.

"It's a jade ruyi." Feng Bao said as he took out three things from his sleeve. They were jadeite ruyi that had been broken into three pieces.

"This was carved by the late emperor himself the year his emperor was crowned as the crown prince. The emperor loved it so much that he even slept with it in his arms."

Feng Bao's words had some connotations of an adult teasing a child. The fourteen-year-old Wanli blushed, and when he looked at Zhang Juzheng, he actually smiled slightly.

"So these are the treasures left by the late emperor. It's normal for a son to miss his father and feel reluctant to let go." Zhang Juzheng took the three pieces of jade from Feng Bao and examined them carefully. He then said to the little emperor:

"Your Majesty, it is common for jade to break easily. We can find a skilled craftsman to repair it to its original state."

Wanli shook his head and said sadly, "Even if it is repaired, it will not be the original piece."

Zhang Juzheng noticed the little emperor's thoughts and asked tentatively, "How about doing it again?"

Who would have thought that after this question, Wanli, who was originally depressed, suddenly brightened up his eyes and nodded repeatedly:

"Mr. Zhang's words make sense. I'll make another one. To prevent it from breaking again, I want to make it out of pure gold..."

Wanli did not continue speaking because he noticed that Mr. Zhang, who was originally smiling, had changed his expression.

Wanli was actually very confused. Why did Mr. Zhang, who was always gentle in the past, become more moody?

He was smiling just a moment ago, but in the blink of an eye he became very serious.

He would rather Zhang Juzheng always have a stern face than have him suddenly become cold and serious in the middle of a gentle smile. This made him nervous, fearing that he would accidentally anger Mr. Zhang.

"Golden utensils are extravagant. Your Majesty, as the emperor, should set an example of frugality. In my opinion, why not make a wooden one? Wooden ones won't break when dropped."

Wanli didn't like Zhang Juzheng's suggestion. He didn't like wood. He liked gold and jade. The more luxurious the better. After all, he was the emperor!
The whole world belongs to him, so what if he is a little extravagant!
Although Wanli thought so in his heart, he did not dare to say it out loud. If he dared to say it out loud, Feng Bao would definitely report him to Empress Dowager Li.

Then there was another round of kneeling as punishment, and a scolding: "Son, how could you not listen to Mr. Zhang's teachings?"

In the end, Wanli could only force a smile and accept Mr. Zhang's "good suggestion".

Mr. Zhang was even more considerate. He was so thoughtful that he said he would personally find a skilled craftsman to carve an identical Ruyi out of wood for the little emperor.

Wanli was disgusted in his heart, but he could only decline politely: "Mr. Zhang, there is no need to bother."

Zhang Juzheng was probably afraid that the young emperor would be blinded by luxury and secretly go to buy a gold Ruyi, so he said directly: "Don't bother, it's the duty of a minister to share the emperor's worries."

Wanli added: "But... the landscape painting carved on it was specially drawn by a famous painter hired by the late emperor. The painter has passed away, and there is no blueprint..."

Zhang Juzheng said, "It's okay. I have already written down the landscape painting on the jade ruyi, as well as the shape of the ruyi. I will draw it myself and then find a skilled craftsman to carve it myself."

"This... you wrote it down right away?" Zhu Yijun was shocked. After all, Zhang Juzheng only took a glance or two.

"Yes, I have a good memory." Zhang Juzheng nodded, and a smile appeared on his serious face again. He said:
"Besides, this landscape painting depicts the Yangtze River in Jiangling, my hometown, which is also the Yangtze River in Li Bai's 'A Thousand Miles to Jiangling, Return in One Day'."

……

Little Wanli actually disliked Mr. Zhang's gift, but it was useless because he didn't receive it at all.

Not long after that, Zhang Juzheng's father died, and the "love affair" incident broke out completely.

Zhang Juzheng, who was already busy with state affairs, was scolded by all the civil servants in the court. He seemed to have forgotten about this trivial matter long ago.

Little Wanli was not upset about not receiving any gifts, after all, he didn't like wood anyway.

……

When Zhu Yijun came to his senses, Zhang Chonghui had already knelt several steps away from him. It seemed that he had not comforted him or wiped his tears.

The fragrance that brought him a brief sense of peace seemed as if it had never existed.

Zhu Yijun stood up by the side of the dragon throne and limped towards Zhang Chonghui, asking as he walked:

"Are you Zhang Juzheng?"

Zhang Chonghui lowered his head and replied: "Your Majesty, I have said it many times, I am not Zhang Juzheng, he has died long ago."

"Really?" Zhu Yijun walked up to Zhang Chonghui. He looked at Zhang Chonghui, who was kneeling on the ground but still standing straight, and said coldly:

"I will give you a chance. Tell me that you are Zhang Juzheng, and I will spare your life."

Zhang Chonghui hesitated for a moment, and after some thought, he gritted his teeth and said:

"Your Majesty, I dare not deceive you. I am not him."

"You are."

"I am not."

"That's it."

Zhu Yijun finally stopped being obsessed. Even though he was certain that the person in front of him was Zhang Juzheng, he was no longer obsessed.

He half-knelt down, pressed Zhang Chonghui's shoulder, looked at the crane patch on his chest, and said lightly:

"Okay, you are not Zhang Juzheng."

"You are Zhang Chonghui."

"Chonghui, you have committed a serious crime. Only I can save your life."

"Are you willing to help me do one last thing sincerely?"

Zhang Chonghui knew that the emperor wanted him to take the initiative to come forward and reveal the many crimes committed by the crown prince over the years in order to achieve his goal of deposing the crown prince.

"Your Majesty." Zhang Chonghui closed his eyes tightly and bet:
"Please forgive me for my incompetence. I cannot do this. The prince cannot be deposed."

"Can't do it?" Zhu Yijun smiled as expected:

"Well, I can't do that."

"Since you can't do it, don't blame me for being cruel."

(End of this chapter)