Chapter 33: Zhu Wushi's Compromise, A Mad Conclusion
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The instant this thought arose, Zhu Wushi was seized by a bone-chilling dread.
If the emperor truly intended this...
Then his journey to Jiayu Pass would not be—
But the thought had barely formed when Zhu Wushi came to his senses.
“The emperor’s mind is as unfathomable as the sea. How could a subject dare presume to guess at his intentions?” Zhu Wushi replied solemnly. Though he looked down on his nephew, Zhu Houzhao, he knew the emperor was certainly not so foolish.
Aside from being the Prince of Su of the Great Ming, Zhu Jinzhen was also the youngest Earthbound Sword Immortal.
To deal with someone like him, one had to proceed cautiously and methodically. Let alone rumors designed to frame and slander him—even with conclusive evidence in hand, Zhu Houzhao would never wield the executioner’s blade lightly, not if the stability of the Great Ming was at stake.
Zhu Jinzhen sneered. “Is it that you dare not speculate—or that you dare not speak in my presence?”
Zhu Wushi answered with silence.
He could guess what lay in the emperor’s heart. Otherwise, he would never have secretly come to Jiayu Pass with Wan Sanqian to scheme against the Prince of Su’s residence and make preparations for forcing the palace and seizing the throne in the future.
But he did not dare say so in front of Zhu Jinzhen.
Under Zhu Jinzhen’s gaze, Zhu Wushi steeled himself and tried to turn the matter aside. “The emperor’s mind is as unfathomable as the sea. This prince truly does not know. But since the Prince of Su has gone to such lengths to summon me here, may I ask what this is about?”
“I want to know the purpose of your visit.” Zhu Jinzhen stared fixedly at Zhu Wushi.
The replaced intelligence letter in Zhao Min’s possession had filled Zhu Jinzhen with suspicion and left him unable to eat or sleep. He still had no idea where the emperor was, but Zhu Wushi’s arrival had given him a glimmer of hope.
“This prince was acting under orders—”
“Tianshan. The Ice Pool.”
Before Zhu Wushi could fabricate an excuse, Zhu Jinzhen coldly uttered those few words.
Zhu Wushi’s pupils contracted to pinpoints. His breathing grew heavier, yet he forcibly maintained his composure and said without betraying a trace of emotion, “I do not understand what the Prince of Su means.”
“You do not understand?”
“Ni Chang.”
At Zhu Jinzhen’s sharp call, a graceful figure entered through the door carrying a jade box.
“Your Highness.”
Lian Nishang stood obediently behind Zhu Jinzhen.
When Zhu Wushi saw what lay inside the jade box, his fists clenched instinctively.
“That is...”
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“The Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom! It’s the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom!”
The object he had dreamed of day and night had appeared before him. Zhu Wushi nearly lost control and cried out.
Zhu Jinzhen naturally noticed his change in expression and smiled faintly. “The Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom bears fruit once every thirty years, and each time it produces only one seed. After consuming it, even the gravest wounds will never worsen. However, the person who eats it will fall into eternal slumber. Only after someone finds a second Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom and feeds it to the sleeper will that person awaken.”
“I hear the Divine Marquis has searched for the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom for twenty years. If I do not receive the answer I want, I will crush this one without hesitation and feed it to the dogs.”
“Then a certain someone can forget about ever waking again.”
“You...”
Furious enough to kill Zhu Jinzhen with a single palm strike and seize the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom, Zhu Wushi nevertheless lost all courage when he met Zhu Jinzhen’s cold, faintly mocking gaze.
He could do nothing but remind himself again and again:
Zhu Jinzhen was an Earthbound Sword Immortal, an existence he could never hope to match.
If he lost his composure, he might not only fail to save the woman he loved—he might even sacrifice himself as well.
Zhu Wushi drew a deep breath. “Since the Prince of Su knows that I have searched for the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom for twenty years, you should also know how vital it is to me. Could I ask you to show mercy this once? Whatever your demand, I will agree to it.”
Zhu Jinzhen regarded him impassively, unmoved.
“My first question: what is the purpose of your visit to Shaanxi? I want the truth.”
“It is true that I came under the emperor’s orders to investigate the truth behind the rumors concerning the Prince of Su’s residence in the capital.” Seeing a cold smile appear on Zhu Jinzhen’s face, Zhu Wushi’s heart jolted, and he hurriedly added, “In addition, I was to assess the Prince of Su’s residence and determine its true strength. As for the purpose behind that, I do not know.”
Zhu Wushi certainly did not dare reveal his true intentions. In addition to everything he had admitted, he had come to eliminate Zhu Jinzhen, uproot the Prince of Su’s residence, and ultimately replace it.
If he truly said that aloud, Zhu Wushi was certain he would never see the sun of the following day.
Zhu Jinzhen stared at him for a long while before slowly shaking his head. “You have not told the whole truth.”
Zhu Wushi’s body stiffened, and cold sweat broke out across his back.
Zhu Jinzhen’s presence was too overwhelming. Merely meeting his gaze felt like having one’s heart seen through. The pressure made it difficult for Zhu Wushi to breathe, as though he were an animal confronted by its natural enemy, desperate to turn and flee.
“However, I do not care.”
Zhu Jinzhen gave Zhu Wushi a deep look before continuing, “My second question: what exactly is the secret arrangement between Mongol Yuan and the imperial family—something even I, a prince of the Great Ming, have never known?”
Relief loosened something in Zhu Wushi’s heart. Then bewilderment appeared on his face. He could not understand why Zhu Jinzhen would ask such a question.
“You do not know?” Zhu Jinzhen frowned.
“Could you be more specific?”
Zhu Wushi was utterly baffled. What secret arrangement could there possibly be between the imperial family and Mongol Yuan? Since the reign of the Founding Emperor, the Great Ming and Mongol Yuan had been sworn enemies. A few years earlier, Mongol Yuan had even allied itself with Great Liao, seized the passes, and attempted to conquer the Great Ming.
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If there truly were some hidden collusion, how could such things have happened?
Zhu Jinzhen regarded Zhu Wushi suspiciously. “You truly do not know?”
Zhu Wushi nodded. “Since the Chenghua Emperor swept through the Mongol heartlands and crushed Mongol Yuan and the various tribes of the steppe, the enmity between the Great Ming and Mongol Yuan has only deepened. We have reached the point where neither side can survive while the other lives. I truly cannot imagine what secret arrangement could still exist between the imperial family and Mongol Yuan.”
Upon hearing this, Zhu Jinzhen did not question him further. He frowned and sank into thought.
The Dragon Guard Manor controlled more than half of the Great Ming’s intelligence network. Zhu Wushi could even enter the Imperial Scripture Repository at will, and every sort of vital secret was recorded there. His expression did not resemble that of a liar.
It was merely a celestial phenomenon. No matter how extraordinary Zhu Wushi’s abilities were, he could not conceal anything from the eyes of Zhu Jinzhen, who had already entered the Earthbound Celestial-Human Realm.
But if even Zhu Wushi knew nothing—
Could it be that Zhu Jinzhen would have to question the emperor personally?
“I received an intelligence report.”
Zhu Jinzhen glanced at Lian Nishang beside him. She immediately took out the revised and recopied letter and, at Zhu Jinzhen’s signal, placed it before Zhu Wushi.
The next moment, Zhu Wushi’s breathing quickened, and both his hands began to tremble.
“This... No, that’s impossible.”
“Do you think I would treat my own safety and that of the Great Ming as a joke?” Zhu Jinzhen cast him a glance and snorted coldly. “One of my people paid an enormous price to send this back. There is no falsehood in it.”
“Does the Divine Marquis still believe that I should not speculate about the emperor’s intentions?”
The chill in Zhu Jinzhen’s voice left Zhu Wushi stunned once more.
He knew Zhu Jinzhen would never joke about something like this.
And yet he would rather Zhu Jinzhen were joking.
For although the information in the letter concerned a transaction involving Zhu Jinzhen, the Prince of Su, what it revealed was enough to overturn the entire Great Ming.
The emperor of Mongol Yuan, Temür, intended to join forces with Zhu Houzhao to eliminate Zhu Jinzhen.
In other words...
To eliminate the Prince of Su, the emperor had colluded with a foreign enemy and betrayed the nation?
Zhu Wushi was utterly dumbfounded. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined reaching such a conclusion.
He lowered his head and scrutinized the intelligence report again and again. At last, he understood why Zhu Jinzhen had been certain that the emperor intended to “slaughter the hound once the hare was dead,” and why he had suspected the purpose behind Zhu Wushi’s arrival at Jiayu Pass with the men of the Eastern Depot, the Western Depot, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
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