Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

Chapter 74 Lu commits suicide

"Get out! Take your wife and get out of here!"

In Kunning Palace, she didn't know whether it was because her son accidentally told the truth that made her angry and embarrassed, or because of something else.

Emperor Hongwu simply waved his hand and drove them away.

Zhu Chong was a little confused, obviously not understanding why his father suddenly became like this when everything was fine.

He wanted to say something immediately, but Princess Qin hurriedly pulled him hard.

Then he quickly bowed to his father and mother, and said goodbye to Zhu Chong.

Zhu Chong was not given any chance to speak throughout the whole process.

"This bastard!"

After Zhu Chong and Deng Min left, Zhu Yuanzhang finally stopped being so polite and muttered something.

"What do you mean by taking me as an example? Is this all you learned from me?"

"Zhongba, what are you talking about? What's wrong with Chong'er taking you as a role model?"

Empress Ma, standing beside him, looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and asked with a kind expression.

"Haha, it's nothing, it's better for Shu'er to take us as an example.

Girl, are you thirsty? Come, drink some water! "

Just now, he felt that his son was too cowardly and had wronged himself. The great Hongwu Emperor suddenly smiled and very attentively served a cup of tea to Empress Ma...

Although Zhu Yuanzhang was muttering just now, he was actually very happy that his second son had finally resolved his emotional knot and was living a good life with Minmin.

Moreover, after seeing the performance of his second daughter-in-law just now, Zhu Yuanzhang completely put aside the hidden worries in his heart.

Minmin is a sensible, considerate and delicate person.

Now the second son obeys her in everything.

With someone like her by the second brother's side, his life will inevitably undergo a fundamental change in the future.

In this matter, I was not wrong, nor did I misjudge the person!
……

"Minmin, why did father suddenly let us go just now?

I was thinking... I didn't say anything wrong, did I?
I take my father as my role model, shouldn't he be happy?
Also, Minmin, why don’t you let me speak? "

After leaving Kunning Palace, Prince Qin Zhu Chong, who had been holding back for a while, scratched the back of his head and looked at the Princess Qin to ask, with a look of confusion on his face.

Deng Min looked at Zhu Chong's silly look and couldn't help but smile secretly.

I just think my husband is extremely cute.

She gathered her words, then softly and carefully explained the cause of the incident to Zhu Chong...

"So that's it!"

After hearing the detailed explanation given by the Princess of Qin, Zhu Chong finally understood everything after returning to the bedroom of the prince's mansion.

"Hehehe, no wonder father chased me away."

Zhu Chong couldn't help but laugh, feeling a little embarrassed...

……

"Great, this is really great!

Now, Father, Mother, and you, my husband, no longer have to worry about my second brother."

At night, in the East Palace, the Crown Prince's concubine Lu, who was sitting on a low stool and washing the feet of Crown Prince Zhu Biao, changed her usual quiet demeanor and cheered loudly.

Looking at his concubine whose joy was beyond words, the smile on Zhu Biao's face became even more intense.

"Who says it isn't? Now my father, the emperor, and my mother can finally put their minds at ease."

"Father is indeed worthy of being called Father, he is truly wise and powerful!
Looking at my second brother’s previous reaction, I thought that there would be no chance for him and Sister Minmin to reconcile in this life.

I never thought that this extremely difficult matter would be completely resolved by my father like this!"

When Mrs. Lu said this, her face was full of respect and some sighs.

"I almost thought I was dreaming!"

"Father, this move was truly brilliant, and the results were surprisingly good."

Zhu Biao nodded, agreeing with what Lu said.

The more I think about it, the more amazing it becomes.

In his opinion, this was an unsolvable problem, but it was completely solved by his father through this method.

Not only did Concubine Lu seem to be dreaming, even I felt like I was in a dream.

"It's great that my second brother and his wife can live a good life from now on.

It makes one happy for them.

It is a blessing for Minmin to have met my second brother."

Zhu Biao looked at Lu, who looked like a sister-in-law, and his heart was slightly moved. Suddenly, many things came to his mind.

"This is not only a blessing for my second brother's wife, but also a blessing for me to meet her.

Just like me, it is a great blessing for me to meet you two, Concubine Chang."

Hearing Zhu Biao's words, Mrs. Lu was stunned for a moment and quickly shook her head:

"My dear husband, you've got it all wrong. It's a great blessing for me and my sister to have met you. I don't know how great our good fortune is."

Zhu Biao also shook his head, looked at Lu Shi seriously and said, "No, I am not wrong, there are many cases of disharmony between husband and wife.

Especially if there is more than one woman in the family, it is even more difficult to live a stable life.

But you two, Concubine Chang and Concubine Lu, have never had an argument or a blush since you have been by my side.

There has never been any dirty work done in private.

You two are not biological sisters, but you get along better than biological sisters.

I have never had any trouble in this regard.

I was not distracted at all and was able to focus on dealing with external matters wholeheartedly.

You say, how can this not be my blessing? "

Mrs. Lu smiled and waved her hands, saying, "My husband, this is all because my sister is kind and never argues with me.

I know very well what life is like for other people's concubines.

It was because of the good sister that I was born..."

Zhu Biao reached out and pulled Lu up, letting her sit on his lap.

“I know what’s going on.

Your sister Chang is a really nice person. She has a generous personality and is not fussy about details. She has the magnanimity of a military child. She will definitely not make things difficult for you.

But also because of the lack of attention to detail, one may inadvertently behave inappropriately in daily life.

If a person with a bad character gets along with her, he will inevitably be dissatisfied with Concubine Chang.

But you didn't.

Not only that, but he also always takes your sister Chang into consideration.

Life is not lived alone, and the harmony in the Eastern Palace is not achieved by the efforts of one person alone.

It's a joint achievement of both of you."

As Zhu Biao spoke, he took off Lu's shoes and socks one by one, revealing a pair of white little feet.

Under the candlelight, it looks so white and tender that it actually gives people a jade-like feeling.

Zhu Biao gave Lu a chair to sit on and asked her to put her feet in the foot basin and soak them together.

Lu did as she was told and turned sideways, leaning her body into Zhu Biao's arms.

Like a docile and well-behaved cat.

A pair of white and tender feet moved slightly in the basin from time to time, continuing to rub the dust off Zhu Biao.

"My dear husband, meeting you and my sister is the luckiest thing that has ever happened to me in my life."

She spoke softly, with earnestness and heartfelt emotion...

Zhu Biao hugged her gently, and his whole body was wrapped in happiness.

I just feel like I am the happiest and luckiest person in the world.

My father, the emperor, and my mother, the empress, love me, and my brothers and sisters respect me.

The wives and concubines also get along very well, and they always think of me...

……

"Plum blossom cake, water chestnut cake, sweet osmanthus wine small rice dumplings."

"Dumplings! Dumplings! Five big dumplings for one penny!"

"It's a crime to force others to do something, and it's a suspect!"

"You Eryizi, I won't let you down!"

"Rat poison, poisoned rats, catches both big and small rats. The big rats jump three times after eating it, but the small rats won't move after eating it.

Come and see, come and see, the mouse in the west caught a cat.

Come and see, come and see, the mouse in the east weighs nine and a half pounds..."

"Uncle, come and play~"

Entering Yingtian City and walking to the market, you will be greeted by the steam rising from cooking, mixed with the aroma of food, as well as various sounds of hawking, quarreling, crowing of chickens, mooing of cows and neighing of horses...

It fully demonstrates the prosperity and bustle of Yingtian City.

"Go away, go away! I'm already so old, and you're still trying to stop me? Aren't you afraid that I'll have a stroke?"

Luo Guanzhong squinted his chrysanthemum eyes and struggled to break free from the woman's pull.

"Master, you are still as vigorous as a dragon and a tiger, and you can tell at a glance that you are still as sharp as a sword and as powerful as a spear.

How could it happen immediately?

Come and try it, it’s very comfortable!
I will only take 80% of your money, just give me 80 cents."

When he heard about the discount, Luo Guanzhong stopped walking.

The pair of squinting chrysanthemum eyes bloomed a lot.

"real?"

"How can it be false?"

As she spoke, her hands once again wrapped around Luo Guanzhong, and like a spider spirit from the Spider Cave, she pulled Luo Guanzhong into the room.

Luo Guanzhong reluctantly came to the door and suddenly stopped.

"What can't you do with eighty wen? How many bowls of dumplings can you eat? How many words can you write with paper?

You, you, how could you do this! "

While he was reprimanding others bitterly, he suddenly raised his hand and slapped himself twice.

Then he broke free from the spider spirit's pull, walked out of the door with extraordinary determination, and headed straight for the dumpling stall.

The spider spirit was left stunned on the spot.

By the way, with her ability, once the prey reaches the entrance of Pansi Cave, it will not be easy to let it escape no matter what she says.

It was Luo Guanzhong's sudden slapping of himself that really shocked her, and made her seriously suspect that he had something wrong with his brain.

Besides, he was really old, and he was afraid that if he tried to stop him, this mentally ill guy would just lie on the ground and blackmail him.

"Bah! What an old coffin! You're so poor! You're only fit to eat dumplings in this life!"

The spider spirit was stunned for a moment, then spat fiercely at Luo Guanzhong's back and started cursing.

Then he quickly adjusted his mood, put on a smile, and went to take the old man away...

"Would you sell the dumplings for eight cents?"

"Sir, you said it with a smile. I am a small business owner. I earn my hard-earned money. I lost everything."

The shopkeeper had a smile on his face.

"Your dumplings are too small. I ate them in Suzhou, and one dumpling was almost bigger than these two. Dumplings that cost only a penny can make you full."

Luo Guanzhong narrowed his eyes, still unwilling to give in, and continued to bargain.

"Sir, this is the land of the emperor, so everything is expensive? How can Suzhou compare to this place?"

Our dumplings are the most reasonably priced in the entire market."

"Then seven, no less." "Sir, seven is really not enough. So... five dumplings, and I'll let you drink as much dumpling soup as you want."

"Six. If that doesn't work, I'll go buy some bread over there."

Luo Guanzhong responded seriously and made as if he was going to leave immediately.

"Sir, there are always five of these. If I give you six, what about the other guests? Should I give you more?"

Luo Guanzhong said nothing more and turned away.

"Sir, sir, please slow down so we can discuss this!"

A smug smile flashed across Luo Guanzhong's face. She stopped, turned, and walked towards the dumpling stall.

"Six bucks for one cent is really not acceptable..."

Luo Guanzhong's expression changed again after hearing the dumpling seller's words. He wanted to argue out loud, wondering if the dumpling seller was deliberately making fun of him.

"Here's a dumpling with a broken skin. If you don't mind, how about giving it to you as a gift?"

The words that Luo Guanzhong was about to say to argue suddenly changed.

"That's fine, but you still have to let me drink enough dumpling soup."

"Okay, okay, please sit down."

The man selling dumplings probably encountered someone like Luo Guanzhong for the first time. He responded and started serving dumplings.

Luo Guanzhong prepared to sit down and eat.

But at this moment, he suddenly stopped.

The next moment, he suddenly raised his hand and slapped himself twice, neither too hard nor too light.

Full of heartache and indignation.

"We're going to the Marquis Chengyi's house soon. Can't we have a meal there for free?

Wouldn't it be better to use this penny to buy some paper?"

Having said that, he stood up and left.

"Sir, your dumplings!"

"No, I'm going to eat something free!"

The dumpling seller was stunned for a moment, and then became angry.

I almost couldn't help but rush over with a spoon and banged Luo Guanzhong on the head with two spoonfuls.

To eat dumplings, he haggled over the price for a long time, and finally agreed. The dumplings were already served, but you don’t want to eat them anymore?
I have never seen such a person!
"Pooh!"

The dumpling stall owner couldn't help himself after all and bit Luo Guanzhong hard on the back.

Luo Guanzhong didn't take it seriously. After realizing how to save the most money, he hurried to the Chengyi Marquis's residence...

By the way, Luo Guanzhong was not like this originally.

Even at the beginning, he was quite generous.

This is especially true when working with Zhang Shicheng.

Zhang Shicheng occupied the wealthy land of Jiangnan, and he was a generous person, at least when it came to money.

After the success, Zhang Shicheng was extravagant and wasteful and quickly fell into wanton enjoyment.

During this process, Zhang Shicheng was willing to spend money on his soldiers, especially his advisers, and rewarded them at every turn.

Under such circumstances, Luo Guanzhong's life naturally had an easier time.

If you have a lot of money, you will naturally be less stingy.

Zhang Shicheng was defeated by Zhu Yuanzhang many years ago, but there are still many people in Jiangnan who miss him, and there is a reason for that.

But... wasn't Zhang Shicheng destroyed by Zhu Yuanzhang more than ten years ago?
Didn’t Luo Guanzhong’s good days end long ago?

If Luo Guanzhong had surrendered at that time and become a subject to Zhu Yuanzhang, he would not have been so poor.

Even if he didn't work for Zhu Yuanzhang, with the money he had saved, his reputation in Jiangnan, and some connections, he would never be short of money by doing some small business.

Even if I don't do business, I can still live a good life as a teacher for some people.

Even if he did nothing, with the money he had saved, as long as he didn't waste it, he wouldn't be so short of money that he had to be so stingy.

But the reason is that he didn't make any of the choices mentioned above, but chose to write a novel instead?
He could have made a living by relying on his original connections, but he chose to rely on his talent.

Of course, it would be fine if you wrote a serious farce or something like that.

You can also make some money.

But he happened to have a master who insisted on writing about a rebel pretending to be a hero.

It was written when the Ming Dynasty was just beginning to be established and the overall situation was still not very stable.

Not to mention that, the book also secretly alludes to the current founding emperor and the two most capable founding heroes.

They were all given the identity of anti-thief heroes.

He was also influenced by many masters and started writing about the Three Kingdoms, but many of his works were based on events at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.

For example, the burning of Red Cliff was based on the battle between Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang at Poyang Lake.

If it were just these, it would be fine, but his teacher passed away just after he finished writing Water Margin and before he even completed the final proofreading.

When he was dying, he held Luo Guanzhong's hand and said that all his life's efforts were in this book, and begged him to help proofread it, publish it into a book, and pass it on.

She held on until she saw him agree, and then she breathed her last with tears in her eyes.

What else could he do?
The only thing he could do next was to give priority to correcting his teacher's book, and then while writing his own Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he would beg everyone for help and try every possible way to get Water Margin published.

The price of paper at that time was not cheap, and hiring someone to print it would cost even more.

It would be fine if it was a thin booklet, but the Water Margin written by his teacher was a huge tome.

This is even more expensive.

Luo Guanzhong had thought about making some deletions to Water Margin and shortening its length to save money.

But after reading it over and over again, I felt that this book, which was the result of my teacher's painstaking efforts, was so perfect that it could not be deleted at all.

Any deletion would be a huge loss and would be a failure of the teacher's trust.

So, in the end, Luo Guanzhong gritted his teeth, stomped his feet, and made up his mind to take out all his limited family assets and print the book at his own expense.

Give the printed books to some famous friends, let them read them and help promote them.

He believed that with the level of his teacher, Water Margin would definitely become famous.

In the future, some booksellers will see an opportunity and take the initiative to spend money to print books and sell them, and then things will be done.

Later, things turned out just as Luo Guanzhong had expected. Everyone who read his Water Margin praised it and it quickly became famous.

Some booksellers are even preparing to start printing and selling books.

Then, Zhu Yuanzhang's iron fist came.

Zhu Hongwu directly issued a strict order prohibiting the printing, sale and reading of Water Margin.

Violators will be severely punished.

I even had someone collect my books.

Under such circumstances, something that had just started well came to an abrupt end.

Even Luo Guanzhong himself was affected by this, and many of his former friends stopped associating with him.

His life became increasingly difficult and his finances became increasingly tight.

He used to be very generous and willing to help others, but gradually he became like this.

It can be seen that writing novels is really not easy. Even an expert like Luo Guanzhong ended up in poverty.

And it was also because of these reasons that Luo Guanzhong had such a reaction after receiving Liu Bowen's letter.

He also suspected that Liu Bowen, Mr. Qingtian, was planning to trick him into the capital and kill him.

Even until now, he still feels uneasy.

I don’t understand what Zhu Hongwu is up to.

According to his nature, he would not come no matter what.

But who made Zhu Yuanzhang say that he wanted to print the Water Margin for him?
Once this condition was put forward, he had to come even though he knew it was unreliable and could lead to great terror if not handled properly.

Because apart from this, he really couldn't think of any other way to have Water Margin published openly.

Moreover, it was published by the government...

……

"Mr. Qingtian, can you tell me the truth now?
Did the Emperor really ask me to come? Is that really the case? "

At the house of Marquis Chengyi, Luo Guanzhong, whose stomach was bloated after a heavy meal, looked at Liu Bowen and asked.

Although he was concerned about the business, Luo Guanzhong couldn't help but feel fortunate that he didn't eat dumplings before and came to the Chengyi Earl's Mansion with an empty stomach.

This not only saved him a penny, but also made the food taste much better than the dumplings.

"Indeed, this matter is of great importance and concerns the lifelong efforts and pursuits of you and Mr. Naian.

How dare I joke about such things?"

Liu Bowen responded seriously.

However, Liu Bowen's attitude not only failed to reassure Luo Guanzhong, but made him even more confused and uneasy.

"Why would Emperor Hongwu do this?"

Luo Guanzhong narrowed his eyes, moved closer to Liu Bowen, gritted his teeth secretly, and asked in a low voice.

Liu Bowen shook his head and said, "I really don't know about this. It was the higher-ups who suddenly asked me to write to you, offering these conditions and inviting you to come to the capital.

As for what the matter was, the higher-ups did not say anything."

Luo Guanzhong was stunned when he heard this.

Even the top position is called?
It seems that the relationship between Mr. Qingtian and the emperor is now extraordinary!

Luo Guanzhong instinctively did not believe what Liu Bowen said, and felt that Mr. Qingtian did not give him a complete explanation.

This is not only because it was discovered that Mr. Qingtian privately addressed the emperor as "Shangri-La".

Moreover, not many people know that he was writing The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and Mr. Qingtian is one of them.

Not only that, I also sent some of the chapters I had written to Mr. Qingtian and asked him to help me take a look at how they were written.

If Mr. Qingtian had not told the emperor, the emperor would probably not have known that he had written the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

If Zhu Yuanzhang had not seen the chapters of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms written by him from Mr. Qingtian and knew that his writing was very good, even if he had some ulterior motives, he would never have directly said that he wanted to publish his teacher's Water Margin and his own Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Of course, even though he thought so, Luo Guanzhong would definitely not say these things out loud.

I can only pretend not to know.

He's just stingy... no, he's a bit frugal, he's not really stupid...

By the way, Liu Bowen was really wronged in this matter. What he said was all true, but Luo Guanzhong didn't believe him.

Invisibly, he once again took the blame for Zhu Yuanzhang...

Having made up his mind, Luo Guanzhong did not ask any more questions about this matter and began to talk about other things with Liu Bowen.

Anyway, since we are here, there is no point in thinking too much. Let Zhu Yuanzhang do whatever he wants next!
As soon as this dead pig was not afraid of boiling water, Luo Guanzhong suddenly felt that the world was wide open...

About two quarters of an hour later.

"We're going to see the emperor now? This... isn't this too soon?"

Luo Guanzhong lost his composure instantly, and his entire body tensed up at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Originally, according to his guess, based on the emperor's busyness and his own insignificant status.

After Mr. Qingtian sent someone to deliver the news of his arrival to the palace, it would take at least three to five days before he could see the emperor.

It is not impossible that it may take several months.

But who could have thought that someone would come from the palace and ask her to go and see the emperor.

Calculating the time, it means that the emperor made the decision to summon him as soon as he received the news.

This... this is too unbelievable!
Faced with such an emergency, it would be strange if Luo Guanzhong could still maintain the mentality of a dead pig not afraid of boiling water and remain calm.

But the people from the palace were right in front of him, and no matter how panicked he was, it was already too late.

So, he had to try hard to tidy up his clothes, take a deep breath, and follow the people from the palace to the imperial palace.

Along the way, I kept thinking about what it would be like to meet the emperor.

What made him most curious and uneasy was why the emperor was so anxious to see him?
(End of this chapter)