Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 211 Loyalty and Filial Piety
The teacup on the coffee table was knocked down by Zhu Changluo, and the tea splashed onto his sleeves, but it seemed to splash onto Zhang Shirui's face. The unusual red on Zhang Shirui's face faded and turned pale. She collapsed as if she had lost her soul. She kept muttering: "How could it be, how could it be?"

Zhang Shirui's worldview was greatly impacted. In her impression, her father and grandfather had always been ascetic and selfless, like otherworldly masters.

"How is it impossible? Did all those Taoist temples and fairy palaces in Longhu Mountain grow out of the soil? Miss Zhang is very generous. She would not accept things given to you for free. She took out twenty taels of silver without blinking an eye, and gave Miss Ding a hundred taels as a reward. Where did all this money come from? Have you ever thought about it?" Zhu Changluo asked expressionlessly.

"The Zhang family has land under their name." Zhang Shirui said.

"Hidden fields that don't pay taxes?" Zhu Changluo asked back.

The Zhang family was the largest landowner in Yingtan, Jiangxi. If a thorough land survey were conducted, who knows how much hidden land would be revealed. However, without rectifying the civil service in the south, the imperial decree to survey the land would only be met with lip service and a perfunctory response.

"I don't know. My family never told me about this." Zhang Shirui had been out on her own for so long, and she was actually aware of it. She just hadn't thought about it too much. And when Ding Baiying was explaining to Zhu Youxiao how valuable silver was, she didn't just stand there in a daze.

"Forget it." At this time, Zhu Changluo's attitude towards Zhang Shirui was more suspicious: "Do you know Lu Xian'an?"

"." Zhang Shirui was still stuck in the quagmire of chaotic thinking, so she didn't hear his question clearly.

Wang An did not allow anyone to fail to answer the emperor's questions, but just as he was about to scold him, Zhu Changluo stopped him.

Zhu Changluo repeated the question: "Do you know the eunuch Lu Xian'an, the garrison eunuch in Nanjing?"

"I know him." Zhang Shirui took a few deep breaths. "He's been here many times, almost every year."

The Nanjing Garrison Eunuch and the Associate Garrison Military Honoree were considered the Zhang family's most important guests. Unlike the Nanjing Minister of War and Counselor of the Imperial Guard, these two positions held not only great power but also long tenures, thus maintaining close ties with the Zhang family.

"What kind of dealings does he have with your Zhang family?" Zhu Changluo asked.

"I, a sinner, don't know." Zhang Shirui knelt down and shook her head. "Women are rarely allowed to handle household affairs. The most I do is help out during the altar and prayers. The Dharma protectors won't allow me to do that."

Most of the time, Zhang Shirui doesn't see guests. Even if distinguished guests come, she will at most greet them as a Taoist nun out of courtesy. Even if her father is out, she won't have much contact with the guests. This is not because of the rules of strict separation of men and women, but because when her father is out, there are still male Taoist priests of her uncle's generation to negotiate and communicate with the guests. "Hereditary inheritance of the teachings" includes more than just the Taoist tradition of passing on the teachings to males but not females. To put it bluntly, unless Zhang Shirui betrays her master and ancestors and converts from Zhengyi Dao to Quanzhen Dao, and remains unmarried for life, she will definitely be married off. And how can a daughter who is destined to be married off to another family get in touch with the core business of the Zhang family?

Under the subtle influence, when she came to greet the guest "Mr. Zhu", she did not even think about sitting in the main seat facing south. Instead, she naturally sat in the seat opposite to "Mr. Zhu".

Zhu Changluo's tone softened slightly. "Before the Western Depot surrounded the Tianfei Palace, Lü Xian'an remained silent. Instead, officials from various government offices in Nanjing were constantly making insinuations, praising Zhang Xianyong's integrity and your family's loyalty. After the change of guard, these officials fell silent, but Lü Xian'an suddenly emerged with a memorial impeaching your father. You should have read the memorial, right?"

"Replying to the envoy, I have already seen it." Zhang Shirui had completely regarded the man in front of her as a special envoy sent by the emperor.

"What do you think?" Zhu Changluo asked again.

"To reply to the envoy, I wanted to commit suicide to atone my sins so as to give an explanation to the emperor. But now, but now, I..." Zhang Shirui's voice trembled, but she tried her best to maintain a calm tone. However, with every word she uttered, a tear as big as a bean welled up in the corner of her eye.

"Huh? Confess? You're not going to confess!" Zhu Changluo was so angry that he laughed. "Foolish woman, if you really commit suicide, you'll be causing trouble for the Emperor and yourself." Zhu Changluo was still kind to women. If it was Cui Wensheng, Zhu Changluo would have rushed over and kicked him down.

The impact of Zhang Shirui's suicide needs to be viewed at different time points.

If Zhang Shirui had hanged herself early, even the effectiveness of the "killing a chicken to scare the monkeys" strategy would have been greatly diminished. The southern part of the country, which hadn't yet abandoned the Zhang family, would undoubtedly use this as an opportunity to foment public opinion, portraying Zhang Shirui as a paragon of loyalty and filial piety, perhaps even erecting a memorial archway for her. Zhu Changluo, then, presumably, would step back out of sympathy, rescinding his "protection" for the Zhang father and son and granting Zhang Shirui some posthumous honors.

In other words, if Zhang Shirui had used her own life to settle the matter before Wei Zhongxian's men arrived in Nanjing, the Zhang family's affairs would not have been discovered so early.

But this was not necessarily a good thing for Zhang Shirui herself. Because Zhu Changluo would sooner or later overhaul the administration, but it was not the time to stab the south yet. By then, Zhang Shirui, who was already dead, would not even have the opportunity to argue. As long as the Zhang family's affairs were exposed, the public opinion in the south would collapse, and Zhang Shirui's death would be interpreted by the court as an act of deceiving the emperor in order to keep the Zhang family's secrets. But cruelly speaking, there was one good thing about Zhang Shirui's early suicide. That was that Zhu Changluo would not have to worry about Zhu Youxiao's emotions.

If Zhang Shirui had committed suicide before yesterday during the Tianfei Palace rotation, the South would still have moved. However, they would have directed their attack at Zhang Xianyong, accusing him of driving their daughter to death through his disobedience. But at this moment, Zhu Changluo would not change his established course and would continue to drag things out. At this point, Zhang Shirui remained a mere symbol to Zhu Changluo, no need to dwell on her.

As for what happens next, he is here to prevent this kind of thing from happening.

"Sinner, sinner, I didn't mean that." But Zhang Shirui couldn't even understand what the envoy was saying. She just kept shaking her head in denial.

"Help her sit up. Let her calm down. And wipe the tears and snot from her face." Zhu Changluo said to Ding Baiying, "She's in such a state of mind that she can't speak."

Ding Baiying nodded silently, then gently picked up Zhang Shirui and placed her on a chair.

After a few breaths, seeing that Zhang Shirui had calmed down, Zhu Changluo spoke again: "Do you think your death can save the Zhang family? It can't."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Shirui's red eyes became sparkling again.

Zhu Changluo ignored the question and continued, "We know you went to the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Rites to submit a petition on my behalf, but it didn't go through. It was a foolish move. Fortunately, they didn't do it for you, otherwise the Zhang family would be doomed." "Could the envoy explain more clearly?" Although Zhang Shirui faced direct pressure from the emperor in Beijing, she possessed very little intelligence. She was the type of person who didn't even have enough material to analyze the current situation.

"Just now I said to drop the official rhetoric, but this is something we're discussing behind closed doors." Zhu Changluo pointed toward the main entrance and said, "Once the door is opened, the rhetoric must be upheld. This is very important. Officially, whether it's the Northern or Southern Jinyiwei or the Western Investigation Bureau, the actions taken against you, Zhang Xianyong, and Zhang Yingjing are all called 'protection,' not house arrest. Although you have the obligation to accept this 'protection,' you don't have the right to refuse. The word 'protection' itself is very important. Even if you go to the Jinyiwei Experience Office to check the documents on file, it will only say 'protection.'"

"So what if I want to protect you?" Ding Baiying recalled what her senior brother had said when he "invited" Zhang Shirui to return to Beijing. At that time, she had thought it was just a hypocritical and high-sounding statement.

"This shows that the court is reluctant to make a definitive judgment on the Zhang family's affairs for the time being. The emperor knows what's going on, the Zhang family knows, the Jinyiwei who handled the matter know, and those officials who have been veiled in obedience or are preparing to do so also know. But the public at large doesn't know." Zhu Changluo paused, then said, "But Miss Zhang, if your memorial were to become public, it would confirm the Zhang family's deception of the emperor."

The sudden realization that Zhu Changluo had imagined did not appear on Zhang Shirui's face.

"This is the truth. Let it be revealed to the public." Zhang Shirui took the half-wet handkerchief from Ding Baiying's hand and used it to wipe away the fresh tears.

"Aren't you seeking death just to protect Zhang Xianyong and Zhang Yingjing?" Zhu Changluo said in surprise.

Zhang Shirui clenched her fists and pursed her lips, trying her best to suppress her turbulent emotions. She spoke in the calmest tone possible, "I have always protected people, not mistakes. I wonder if the envoy has read the petition I submitted to the emperor. I wrote 'taking the blame on my father's behalf.' My father feigned illness and stayed away from court, earning the emperor's salary but remaining unfaithful to his duties. This was wrong in the first place. The Zhang family is what it is today thanks to the favor of our great-grandfather and successive emperors. If my father did something wrong, he should be brought to light. What I have asked for is never to cover up these sins, but rather to ask the emperor to let me atone for them."

Zhu Changluo couldn't help but sit up straight. "I think I misjudged you. You are not only asking for filial piety, but also loyalty."

"Since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety have been difficult to achieve. If I can achieve both at the cost of my life, I will gladly accept it." Zhang Shirui had no idea what the envoy meant by "misjudgment." Her heart had never changed. She had originally intended to return to Nanjing to persuade her father to come to Beijing for the pilgrimage. Even after being imprisoned, she had not entertained any fanciful thoughts; her sole concern, from beginning to end, was to atone for her father's sins. She had requested an audience with the emperor to clarify this sentiment, but the emperor deemed it unnecessary and refused to see her.

"I have to say, I'm beginning to admire you." Zhu Changluo nodded appreciatively. If Zhang Shirui were a man or a eunuch, he would be planning to promote her. "But now the nature of the matter has changed. I can't protect your life. And I don't have to."

"Your Majesty, is the Emperor going to have surgery?" Zhang Shirui sighed deeply and knelt down again.

"It's not the time yet." Zhu Changluo replied.

"I don't understand," Zhang Shirui pleaded, prostrating herself on the ground. "Please, Your Excellency, explain it more clearly."

"It's useless to say it. Knowing too much is not good for you." Zhu Changluo shook his head.

"The Master said, 'If I hear the truth in the morning, I can die in the evening.' If I, a sinner, do not shy away from death, why should I fear any evil? I beg the Lord to enlighten me." Zhang Shirui knocked her head heavily. A bruise immediately appeared on her fair forehead. If she had knocked harder, she would have been bleeding.

Wang An sneered inwardly: "A Taoist nun reciting Confucian classics. Ha, the principle of hearing the truth in the morning and dying in the evening is not the way you apply it."

"Is there only one string in your head? You're not afraid of death, but I'm afraid of you dying!" Zhu Changluo sighed. The problem Zhu Youxiao had given him was difficult to analyze, but the solution was not difficult. Just let Zhang Shirui survive and isolate the two of them. No matter what the root cause is, just treat the symptoms. But now it seems that getting this woman to give up her self-destructive thoughts may be a bit difficult.

Zhang Shirui was stunned. After a while, she thought of the gift list, and then her thoughts went astray.

"Your Excellency, I am a sinner, unworthy of your painstaking efforts. If this is a confidential matter and cannot be shared with this guilty woman, then please do not speak." Zhang Shirui kowtowed again, this time scraping the slightly swollen skin on her forehead, stretched by the bruises. Blood oozed into the corners of her eyes, mingling with the tears she tried to suppress but could not. The blood, diluted, immediately lost its cohesion, sliding along the contour of her nose to the tip of her lips, finally dripping onto her gray-black Taoist robe.

Zhu Changluo's heart softened. He shook his head and sighed, "You can listen if you want, but you have to agree to one condition first."

Zhang Shirui bit her lower lip and said, "Your Excellency, please speak."

"Go back and sit down. Don't kneel or kowtow." Zhu Changluo gestured to Wang An and said, "Find her something to wipe it off."

"Yes." Wang An took out a fine silk handkerchief from his pocket, walked to Zhang Shirui, squatted down and handed it to her. "It's unused, I'm giving it to you."

"Thank you, Your Excellency." Zhang Shirui felt a lump in her throat and wanted to cry again.

"I'll remind you one last time. Knowing too much is not a good thing for you. If you listen, don't even think about leaving Beijing until this is over. This may take many years," said Zhu Changluo.

"The guilty girl has already been under house arrest by the emperor." Zhang Shirui said.

"I can let you go. As long as you promise not to commit suicide." Zhu Changluo said.

"Is the envoy going to show favoritism to me, a sinner whom he only met once?" Zhang Shirui lowered her head slightly and looked away.

"It's not partiality. I have the power. You are..." Zhu Changluo wanted to say "it doesn't matter", but when the words came to the point, he still said tactfully: "You shouldn't be involved in this. You are a good person."

"Where else can I go after leaving Beijing?" Zhang Shirui smiled miserably and said, "Your Excellency, please speak."

(End of this chapter)