Da Ming: I told you to die for your cause, why are you actually going to die?

Chapter 128 Old Zhu: The speed, the mark, it's so similar! [Seeking monthly votes]

The heavy, cold iron gates of the imperial prison opened again, accompanied by hurried and chaotic footsteps.

Under Jiang Huan's indifferent gaze, Shen Lang, Li Mo, Sun Gui, Wu Naida, and Zhao Fengman practically rushed into this gloomy place.

"Brother Biao!"

"Zhang Qianxian!"

"we are coming!"

The five men immediately spotted Zhang Biao in the opposite cell, lounging with his legs crossed, leisurely sipping wine.

Although he was on death row, he acted as if he were on vacation in his own backyard, not in prison.

Seeing his brothers enter, Zhang Biao's eyes lit up. He immediately got up from the ground, smiled, and raised an eyebrow, saying:
"Hey? What brings you guys here? Did something funny happen outside again? Tell me about it!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he couldn't help but burst into laughter again:
"Hahaha! Even you guys got sent in, this is going to be quite a show!"

"Uh"

The five men's lips twitched, and they couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment.

Seeing Zhang Biao's nonchalant attitude, Shen Lang felt a lump in his throat, his voice trembling with emotion.

"Brother Biao! I'm so glad you're alright! You don't know, something terrible has happened outside!"

"Oh? Something really big has happened? Tell me about it!" Zhang Biao's face immediately lit up with interest.

Li Mo glanced at him with a complicated expression, then quickly recounted the entire story of the conflict that broke out between students of the Imperial Academy, civil officials, and veterans and civilians outside Chengtian Gate, how they struggled to dissuade them, and how Jiang Huan finally delivered the emperor's edict.

"His Majesty said that as long as you are willing to admit your mistakes and reform your ways, you will be pardoned!"

Shen Lang eagerly added, his eyes gleaming with hope: "Brother Biao! This is fantastic news! Please say yes! Let's go out together!"

"Yeah, Brother Biao!"

Sun Gui nodded vigorously: "As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood! Let's go out first and talk about it later!"

Wu Naida's eyes were firm as he whispered:
"Brother Biao, a gentleman takes his revenge even after ten years. Let's discuss this further once we get out of here!"

"Zhang Qianxian!" Zhao Fengman exclaimed even more excitedly, "After we get out, we'll continue the audit! We'll find all those bastards who harmed you!"

However, the smile on Zhang Biao's face gradually disappeared.

As he listened to his brothers' cacophony of advice, especially when he heard that the wounded veterans had risked storming the palace and confronting the civil officials for his sake, his brow furrowed deeply.

Suddenly, he slammed his fist on the cell bars, his voice rising sharply with unprecedented rage:

"Are you all a bunch of fucking idiots? Are your asses made of brains?!"

"what?"

This outburst of angry curses startled Shen Lang and the other four, leaving them frozen in place.

Zhang Biao paced back and forth in the cramped cell, like a firecracker that had been lit:

"Who gave you permission to try and persuade them?! Who gave you permission to stop them?!"

"Wouldn't it be better if they fought? It'd be more exciting if they fought!"

"If Old Zhu orders their arrest, an even bigger storm will follow!"

"Your actions have actually made things worse! Don't you know that a single spark can start a prairie fire?!"

As he spoke, he angrily pointed at the five men and cursed, "I finally got the fire going, and it was almost blazing, and you guys just poured a bucket of water on it and put it out! And it was cold water, you bastards!"

"This"

Shen Lang and his four companions were stunned by the scolding and couldn't understand Zhang Biao's logic at all.

They came to rescue him and to deliver good news!
"Brother Biao, we..."

Shen Lang protested, feeling wronged: "We don't want you to be accused of 'inciting riots and bewitching the people'."

"Bullshit charges!"

Zhang Biao abruptly interrupted him, his face revealing for the first time not a mocking or crazed expression, but a mixture of sorrow and anger:

"What am I afraid of when I'm about to die?! What I want is chaos! Without chaos, how can that high and mighty emperor see how much gunpowder is buried beneath this land?!"

"If things don't get chaotic, how will those parasites jump out on their own?!"

"What do you think I'm auditing for? Just for that little bit of money? For those few pieces of junk?!"

He became more and more agitated as he spoke, his voice echoing through the prison: "I'm going to shatter this heaven! I'm going to sacrifice myself to awaken the world!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around abruptly, his back to Shen Lang and the other four, facing the cold stone wall, his shoulders seeming to sway slightly.

The entire prison fell into a deathly silence.

Shen Lang and his group of five were completely stunned. They stared at Zhang Biao's back as if they were seeing him for the first time.

So, all his madness, all his cynicism, all his 'desire to die' actually concealed such a heavy and almost desperate purpose?

Li Mo was the first to react. He took a deep breath, stepped forward, and spoke in a low but firm voice:
"Brother Biao, I understand. But that's precisely why you need to go out!"

"Only by escaping this prison can we have a tomorrow! Only then will we have the opportunity to do what you want to do!"

Zhang Biao didn't turn around, but instead let out a very soft, seemingly distant sneer:

"Tomorrow? Ha. Let tomorrow's problems be left to tomorrow's people."

"But Brother Biao," Shen Lang wanted to persuade him again.

Zhang Biao suddenly raised his hand, stopping him from saying anything more.

"I appreciate your kindness, brothers."

His voice became unusually calm, yet carried an undeniable resolve: "You...go."

This calm rejection caused the five people more heartache and helplessness than the previous angry outbursts.

"Go my ass!" Sun Gui was the first to explode.

His eyes were bloodshot as he slammed his fist against the cell bars with a loud crash: "We agreed to die together, to go crazy together! Now you want to be the hero all by yourself? No way!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he added earnestly, "Brother Biao! Just you wait! Once we've wiped out all those parasites, we'll take them with us!"

"Not bad!"

Wu Naida also abandoned his usual scheming ways, a ruthless glint in his eyes: "I'll drag them down with me even if it means my death! This court is rotten to the core, might as well overthrow it!"

"Zhang Qianxian!"

Zhao Fengman was like a fanatical believer whose mind had been set ablaze, his eyes flashing with a crazed light:
"Wait for us! We're coming right now! Even if we die, we'll make a hole in the sky!"

After uttering these words, which sounded like both a vow and a farewell, the five men stopped looking at Zhang Biao, resolutely turned around, and rushed out of the prison with a determined air of mutual destruction.

They were going to continue Zhang Biao's unfinished "cause," and in their own way, even if it was like throwing an egg against a rock, they would tear off more of the fig leaf covering this corrupt dynasty.

"return--!"

Zhang Biao whirled around, his previously composed expression of concern for the country and its people instantly shattering, replaced by genuine panic. He lunged at the cell door, shouting furiously at the five men's rapidly disappearing figures:

"All of you, get back here! Who wants you to be buried with me?!"

"Don't stop me from dying! Bastards! You sons of bitches! You're repaying kindness with enmity!"

"I just want to die a peaceful and quick death! Why is that so hard?!"

His roar echoed through the empty prison corridor, filled with despair and grievance.

Li Jinglong, in the opposite cell, was already dumbfounded, his mouth agape enough to fit an egg.

Looking at the furious Zhang Biao, and then thinking about his earlier outrageous remarks and his current reaction, his mind was completely in turmoil.

What kind of person is this?!

Zhu Gaosui, who was eavesdropping in the shadows, was trembling with excitement, his eyes shining, and only one voice was screaming in his mind:

[See that?! That's my brother Biao!]

[Fearless in the face of death! Concerned for his country and its people! Even his cursing is so cool!]

[He even chose to die alone so as not to implicate his brothers! He even accused them of repaying kindness with enmity to distance himself from them!]

What noble sentiments! I, Zhu Gaosui, am steadfast in my loyalty to you for life!

Zhang Biao shouted in vain for a long time, but the only response he received was the faint sound of Shen Lang and his four companions' resolute footsteps in the distance and the clanging of the jailer locking the door.

He slumped helplessly against the cell door, his face filled with despair, muttering to himself, "What a tragedy. How could this happen? Damn it!" "I've already been thrown into death row, destined for execution in the autumn, and now this happens. What if Old Zhu thinks I'm still useful and doesn't kill me?"

"My crazy Thursday, my air-conditioned room, my waaaaah!"

His worries and his cries were clearly incomprehensible to Zhu Gaosui and Li Jinglong.

But the imperial prison fell silent again, accompanied only by his cries.

A more frenzied and unpredictable storm seemed to have been carried by those five young figures who rushed out to every corner of Yingtian Prefecture.

On the other side, inside the Huagai Hall.

It was as silent as a graveyard.

Jiang Huan stood with his head bowed, like a statue.

Yunming held his breath, wishing he could shrink into a shadow.

Old Zhu's face was expressionless, but a storm seemed to be brewing in his deep-set eyes.

His fingers tapped the armrest of the dragon throne unconsciously and extremely slowly. The soft 'tap-tap' sound was particularly clear and unsettling in the silent hall.

Is the reason for dissuading a conflict to avoid implicating Zhang Biao?

Instead of being grateful, Zhang Biao berated them for preventing him from seeking death.
Leave tomorrow's problems to tomorrow's people. Should we sacrifice ourselves to awaken the world?

Those five boys, in the end, actually shouted that they would "turn the sky upside down" and "take people down with them," and then resolutely left?

This series of information rapidly sifted through, analyzed, disassembled, and reassembled in Lao Zhu's mind.

His first feeling was one of utter absurdity and a furious sense of being provoked.

A bunch of ants, how dare they boast about 'turning the world upside down'?!

That Zhang Biao, even as he's about to die, is still putting on airs and manipulating people's hearts?!
And those five reckless brats, do they really think they can cause any trouble?!

The murderous intent, like a poisonous vine, grew wildly again, almost breaking through the dam of reason.

But the next moment, something deeper was touched.

Zhang Biao's obsessive, ruthless, and even self-destructive drive to achieve a seemingly impossible goal.
Then there were Shen Lang and his four companions, who, despite being terrified, were swayed by some belief and dared to attempt a futile act of trying to stop a chariot.
This combination, this seemingly absurd yet subtly captivating behavioral pattern,
As he pondered, Old Zhu's thoughts drifted away involuntarily.

It drifted back to many years ago.

It drifted to his son, who was always gentle and humble, yet unusually stubborn on certain issues, and even prone to arguing with him.

That son was kind and gentle, unlike this cruel one.

But sometimes, in order to uphold those so-called benevolent policies, principles, and rationale, in order to protect an official he believes should not be killed, or in order to refuse to perform the rituals he deems unreasonable, he will also display an extraordinary stubbornness and courage.

They might even kneel before the Fengtian Hall and argue their case, even knowing that it would anger their father.

That kind of stubbornness, that almost naive persistence for the 'Tao' he believed in, that attitude of refusing to back down despite the obvious disparity in strength.
Although their expressions are completely different—one gentle and the other violent, one constructive and the other destructive—at their core, they both seem to share a foolishness and unwavering determination to disregard themselves, ignore the consequences, and stubbornly insist on crashing into the wall.

An absurd yet incredibly clear thought struck Old Zhu like lightning.

Almost unconsciously, his lips moved slightly, and a very low, dreamlike murmur slipped from his lips:
"Biao'er, this kid, in some ways he really does look a bit like you."

These words were spoken very softly, as softly as a breeze.

But in the deathly silent hall, it sounded like a thunderclap in Jiang Huan and Yun Ming's ears.

Jiang Huan's body stiffened almost imperceptibly, and her head drooped even lower, as if she hadn't heard anything.

Yunming, who was standing to the side, suddenly trembled, his eyes widened instantly, and all the color drained from his face. As if he had seen a ghost, he looked up at Old Zhu's back and then immediately lowered his head in great fear. His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of his throat!

What did Your Majesty just say?
Biao'er? Is he calling for the Crown Prince?
To say Zhang Biao is like a prince?

He's gone mad! The Emperor must be furious! He's probably gone mad from missing the Crown Prince too much!

Who is Zhang Biao? He's a madman who's completely insane and wants to die!

Yunming felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head, scaring him so much that he forgot to breathe.

He kept his head bowed tightly, not daring to let the emperor see the undisguised horror and absurdity on his face.

Old Zhu seemed to realize his slip of the tongue instantly.

His fingers, which were tapping the armrest, suddenly stopped.

The air in the entire hall seemed to freeze completely.

He didn't turn around, nor did he offer any explanation.

But that already straight back seemed to have become even more stiff, as if cast in iron.

silence.

A suffocatingly long silence.

It felt like an eternity before Old Zhu finally broke the terrifying silence with a slow, emotionless voice: "Yunming."

"Your servant is here!"

Yunming was so frightened that his voice trembled.

"Go tell the Imperial Medical Bureau that I'm feeling a bit dizzy and ask them to prescribe some calming remedies."

Old Zhu's voice was calm and even, as if his earth-shattering words had never been spoken.

"Yes, yes! This servant will go right away!"

Yunming felt as if he had been granted a pardon, and he scrambled out of the main hall, his back completely soaked with cold sweat.

Only after Yunming's footsteps disappeared did Old Zhu slowly turn around.

His face remained expressionless, but his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's, staring directly at Jiang Huan, who still stood with his head bowed.

Jiang Huan felt that gaze and her body tensed up even more.

"Jiang Huan".

"The minister is here."

"What did you just hear?"

Old Zhu's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an invisible pressure that could crush the soul.

Jiang Huan didn't even raise her head, her voice remaining completely flat:
"Your Majesty, I was just contemplating the dangers posed by the traitor Zhang Biao and his cronies, and I did not hear Your Majesty's conversation with Eunuch Yun."

Old Zhu stared at him for a long time, his gaze seemingly trying to pierce through his skull.

After a long while, he slowly shifted his gaze, looking again at the invisible distance outside the window, and gave a cold snort with an ambiguous meaning.

"Since Zhang Biao is so eager to die and so good at causing trouble..."

Old Zhu's tone became extremely deep and unpredictable, as if he were talking to himself, or giving some kind of instruction:
"Let's see just how hard his supposedly all-powerful knife really is, and how many tough bones it can pry open for us."

"Keep a close eye on him. Also, keep a close eye on those five arrogant brats outside."

"If they want to play with fire, we'll give them some fuel."

"Let's see who ends up burning to death."

Jiang Huan felt a chill run down his spine, realizing the emperor's intentions.

He knew that the previous tests had shown Lao Zhu Zhang Biao's determination, even his willingness to risk his life, which made Lao Zhu no longer hesitate or have any concerns.

This is a scheme to turn the tables, or even fan the flames, using the chaos caused by Zhang Biao to carry out a more thorough and dangerous purge.

"Your Majesty, I understand!" Jiang Huan replied in a deep voice.

Old Zhu waved his hand.

Jiang Huan bowed and quietly withdrew from the Huagai Hall.

Once again, only Old Zhu remained in the empty hall.

He stood alone by the window, the last rays of the setting sun casting a dim and indistinct glow on half of his face through the windowpane.

After a long while, a very soft sound, almost lost in the wind, faintly rang out:

"Does it look like her? Maybe. There was someone who looked just like our sister."

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(End of this chapter)