The First Prince of the Ming Dynasty

"My mother committed suicide by drowning after the defeat in battle," Zhu Yi said casually.

It was as if this matter had nothing to do with him.

Tang Yin's facial muscles twitched slightly, but he clearly didn't quite believe this claim.

You brat said you were able to escape and live freely for more than ten years before being imprisoned, so why can't your mother live in seclusion?

Moreover, I don't believe that a woman of exceptional talent and beauty would end up like that, just as the phoenix I admire will never shed its feathers.

Zhu Yi said, "Since ancient times, what good end has ever come from those who rebelled against the imperial court and failed? Before my mother threw herself into the water, she did write a poem: 'I lament the old picture of painting tigers and slaying dragons, my blood-written letter was just finished and my phoenix eyes are dry. To this day, the ten-zhang Poyang Lake has emptied all the tears of that year.' It can be considered her last work."

Tang Yin suddenly trembled, frowning as he said, "That's her poetic style. You... really went to the future?"

For the past ten days or so, Tang Yin had been racking his brains trying to figure out where the problem lay.

The only thing that doesn't make sense is why Zhu Yi was able to write three incredibly impressive poems at once.

Although only one more poem has been added, and it is far less talented than the previous three, Zhu Yi explicitly stated that this was Lou Suzhen's posthumous work. Tang Yin happened to be Lou Suzhen's teacher, so this time he was more willing to believe that it was a reflection of Lou Suzhen's helpless state of mind when she was at her wit's end.

"I didn't go to the future; I came back from the future," Zhu Yi said. "I don't know why I came to this place. But since Heaven has given me the identity of the son of the Prince of Ning, I don't want to sit idly by and wait for my death."

Tang Yin's aura is very strong.

Seeing that Zhu Yi was still playing marbles with great interest, he said, "With the Ning family's strength, they are not qualified to fight against the imperial court at all, and they can't even stand on equal footing. Whether you are here or not, the result will be the same."

Zhu Yi laughed and said, "My father was executed in the winter of the fifteenth year of the Zhengde reign. You only lived three years longer than him. Who has the right to laugh at whom?"

"you……"

Tang Yin was speechless for a moment.

I clearly don't think I'm old, and I believe I have the ability to survive. I'm sure I won't be so poor that I can't afford to eat. So how come this kid says my fate is so tragic?

"What have you been through in your life? Don't you want to give it your all before you die?" Zhu Yi said sarcastically.

Tang Yin said, "Rebellion violates benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and law, and is intolerable to the world."

Zhu Yi nodded and said, "So you care a lot about what others think of you, and you want to leave a good name even in death, right? But unfortunately, people in the future will mostly mock you, pity you, and think you were born at the wrong time. Don't you want to surpass that person?"

"Who?" Tang Yin frowned.

Why did you suddenly bring up "that person"? The thing is, I don't have a clear goal in mind, like I absolutely have to surpass him.

Are you going to force me to have another competitor?

"And who else, the one who, four years later, made our Ning family a laughingstock of the world, yet gained a title and fame from it, and was even included in the 'Confucius, Mencius, Zhu Xi, and Wang Yangming' by later generations, becoming a great synthesizer of the philosophy of mind, and a person praised and worshipped by the world..."

Zhu Yi was speechless when he mentioned Wang Shouren.

Living in the same era as Wang Shouren wasn't so bad, but unfortunately... he was a member of the Ning Prince's Mansion, knowing full well that Wang Shouren would become the Ning Prince's Mansion's enemy, which meant he was going to be the enemy of someone historians considered invincible...

This is somewhat like the proverb "Why did Heaven create both Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang?"

"You mean Wang Bo'an?" Tang Yin's brows remained furrowed.

Zhu Yi laughed and said, "You took the imperial examination in the same year as me, but he succeeded, while you failed. Don't you think fate has been unfair to you?"

Tang Yin said, "These are just childish words! Fame and fortune are predetermined and cannot be changed by human power. You have already said it, the Ning family's defeat is already a foregone conclusion."

At this point, Tang Yin completely regarded Zhu Yi as an ordinary persuader.

It seems that one can be arrogant and refuse the recruitment of the Prince of Ning's mansion, thus maintaining one's aloof reputation.

"Tsk tsk." Zhu Yi chuckled and clicked his tongue. "You really think you're something special. Don't you realize that even if you join the Ning family, and you're among the future rebels, how much help can you really be?"

"..."

Tang Yin suddenly felt that he was being mocked.

Unfortunately, it's not easy to refute this statement.

Come to think of it, what abilities do I have that would make Prince Ning and his son treat me differently? Why do they have to recruit me into their camp? Wouldn't it be better to just kill him and be done with it?

"You're probably thinking, since you're insignificant, why did I come here on behalf of the Ning family to try and persuade you to join, right?" Zhu Yi said with a gloating expression. "Actually, it's entirely because my mother cares about our teacher-student relationship and wants to let you off the hook. She asked me to plead for you, and I felt that your reputation could be used to accomplish some unconventional things. That's why I came."

Tang Yin appeared very ashamed and indignant at this moment.

I'm actually worthless and was only saved by a woman? How can you be so malicious and say such nasty things?

"If I, Tang, die in Nanchang, it will bring shame upon your Ning family!" Tang Yin said through gritted teeth.

"Heh. Is that so? Your crazy behavior is clearly visible to the world. Our Prince Ning's Mansion will just throw you into South Lake to drown, and then say that you died because you fell into the water while crazy... Why does this sound so reasonable?" Zhu Yi said, seemingly admiring his own idea.

They will repay them with their own methods.

You got so into pretending to be crazy that you jumped into Nanhu Lake in broad daylight, in the dead of winter.

Let's go with the flow and say next time you jumped into South Lake at night... No one found you and you drowned. Do you think people will suspect that it was done by my Prince Ning's Mansion?

Tang Yin's body trembled even more violently now.

He suddenly realized that not only had his feigned madness been outmaneuvered by the kid in front of him, but his life was also completely in his hands.

Locking him up beforehand seemed like a preparation to drown him.

"I know you never wanted to join the Ning Prince's rebellion, and after hearing that the Ning Prince's army would be defeated, you're even less inclined to join," Zhu Yi said with a smile. "Our Ning Prince's army won't force you. I'm telling you this now: I will definitely find a way to seize power and make the Ning Prince's army the legitimate successor to the Ming Dynasty. It doesn't matter whether you're here or not!"

"Hmph!" Tang Yin could only use this almost guilty snort to maintain the last bit of dignity in his heart.

Zhu Yi smiled and said, "I've finished speaking. Goodbye."

After saying this, Zhu Yi strode away, leaving Tang Yin dumbfounded.

Tang Yin only came to his senses after Zhu Yi walked out of the corner.

He rushed over and looked out the cell door, muttering to himself, "This... they didn't even give me any conditions! They just left like that?"

You threatened to drown me, and you didn't even ask me if I wanted to join your Prince Ning's mansion before leaving like this?

So, what's next... are you going to use me? Or kill me?

You idiot, is this how you negotiate? Do you just walk away halfway through a negotiation?

"Someone come here!"

Tang Yin began to shout.

But then a jailer came over with a whip and said threateningly, "You madman, what else do you want to do?"

Tang Yin suddenly realized what it meant to be troublesome by petty scoundrels, and also understood what it meant to reap what you sow.

The higher-ups in the Prince Ning's mansion knew he was faking madness, but the lower-ranking soldiers didn't!

If I tell them I'm faking madness now, will they listen? Wouldn't they need to be whipped?

"Could you... help me clean the chamber pot?" Tang Yin asked in a more amiable tone.

At that moment, he suddenly felt that he was about to lose control.

I was talking to Zhu Yi and almost forgot that my stomach was churning.

It seems like they were scared off.

But it is currently on the verge of collapse.

"Get out!" the jailer roared, furious. "From now on, whoever wants to discipline you can do it! If you mess with me again, I'll beat you until your skin is torn and bleeding! I've never seen a madman who isn't slovenly."

……

……

"Young Master, you didn't bring him out?"

Gongsun Jin hadn't actually left; he had been waiting outside the whole time.

Seeing Zhu Yi emerge with a relaxed and carefree expression, he couldn't help but step forward and ask, "Is that Tang Yin still so ungrateful? Why don't we just use torture to force him out!"

Zhu Yi laughed and said, "What's the point of letting him out? Let him calm down inside a bit more."

Gongsun Jin said helplessly, "Choosing this person as a front was inappropriate to begin with, since he's not on our side after all. Now that the Prince has already submitted the memorial, if the court inquires later, and Tang Yin still doesn't cooperate..."

"Just say he drowned himself in the lake before his madness was cured. How could the court be unreasonable? They've already said that he only realized the secrets of heaven after he went mad." Zhu Yi wasn't worried at all.

Gongsun Jin asked, "Won't this arouse suspicion from the imperial court?"

"No, that won't happen," Zhu Yi said with a smile. "If we didn't hand Tang Yin over because we were afraid he would reveal things that would be detrimental to us, then why didn't we mention it at all from the beginning? The fact that we dared to bring it up proves that the Ning family is upright and has a clear conscience."

Gongsun Jin thought to himself, it's easy to fool the emperor and those sycophants, but it's not so easy to fool those old foxes in the court.

"Wouldn't that ruin your and the Prince's plans?" Gongsun Jin reminded him again.

Zhu Yi said in a low voice, "We'll just submit something saying it's Tang Yin's last words before he went mad and died, detailing everything that would happen in the next few years. Wouldn't that make the same as keeping his life?"

Gongsun Jin's eyes widened, as if to say, "You can do that?"

You're just using Tang Yin's reputation, you really only care about his reputation, and you don't even care about his life or death, right?

From this perspective, it seems that the deceased Tang Yin was more valuable than the living Tang Yin.

"So, what's next..."

"Give him a slightly better meal, just enough to keep him from starving, since we still have to report to my mother. Go see him later and ask if he'd like to come ashore," Zhu Yi said with a smile.

Gongsun Jin said helplessly, "If he won't go with you, why would he go with me?"

Zhu Yi said, "Just ask him if the medicine I sent him is working, whether his mind has recovered any bit, and whether he needs to recuperate in a different place. He's a smart man, he'll know when to back down."

Gongsun Jin smiled and said, "I understand, it's just giving him a way out. His condition has improved, that's because the young master's medicine is so effective."

"Where's the medicine?" Zhu Yi asked, staring at him.

"Your words are the best medicine. He will get better whether he wants to or not, otherwise he will lose his life. If he can't even see this, then he deserves to die!" Gongsun Jin said. "I will definitely find him a good place to be buried when the time comes."