The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 315

Jiang Ning never believed that these high-ranking people would have any real compassion for ordinary people.

Perhaps, but not many.

It is difficult for people of one social class to understand and empathize with people of another social class, especially when the two are in a relationship of exploitation and being exploited.

But Jiang Ning could sense Zhu Shou's sorrow at this moment.

"I have been to many places."

Jiang Ning glanced at Zhu Shou, then stepped forward.

Zhu Shou followed after him.

Perhaps Jiang Ning sensed Zhu Shou's feelings at that moment, and he recounted some of his personal experiences and observations, starting with rescuing those courtesans in Xiangyang.

"He deserves to die! He deserves to die!"

Zhu Shou was both shocked and furious upon hearing this, and he kept saying...

His face darkened even more when he heard that grain prices in Taiyuan and Pingyang had soared to an unimaginable level after the devastating famine in Shanxi three years ago.

"How could it be so serious?"

Zhu Shou couldn't help but ask, "I remember the imperial court provided disaster relief for this drought, so how come so many people still starved to death?"

Jiang Ning shook his head: "I haven't heard of any disaster relief from the imperial court."

Zhu Shou remained silent, but his expression grew even more somber.

When Jiang Ning mentioned that merchants in Taiyuan and Pingyang prefectures were hoarding grain and driving up prices, with the highest price reaching over eight taels of silver per shi of rice, Zhu Shou couldn't help but ask, "Don't the government care about these merchants hoarding grain?"

Even though Zhu Shou had grown up in the palace, he knew that losing eight taels of silver to rice was a terrifying thing.

Jiang Ning remained silent.

Among those he killed at the time were not only many unscrupulous merchants who preyed on the people, but also quite a few officials.

Seeing Jiang Ning's expression, Zhu Shou understood.

Jiang Ning went on to recount some of his travel experiences.

The two walked and talked until they reached the lake.

It was already late, and the two had passed the brightly lit and green area. The lakeside was dark, and there was no one around.

At this moment, Zhu Shou said, "Brother Jiang, I admire you for being able to save so many people, but in my opinion, it's all in vain."

Zhu Shou wasn't stupid. He could hear so much from Jiang Ning and was clear about some of the details, so the other party must have experienced it firsthand or had saved him.

Judging from Jiang Ning's clothes and demeanor, he didn't seem like someone who had experienced such things. Considering his skills yesterday, Zhu Shou was certain that Jiang Ning must have saved those people he mentioned. It was precisely because he had saved them that he knew so much about them.

"But your strength is too limited. You can save one, two, or three, but not many. There are tens of millions of people in our Great Ming Dynasty. Who cares about what you've done?"

Zhu Shou couldn't help but shake his head.

Because of his different position, Zhu Shou knew that Jiang Ning's actions wouldn't change anything. He was only one person; he couldn't change the entire Ming Dynasty, he could only save a portion of the people.

Therefore, Zhu Shou believed that what Jiang Ning had done was merely a drop in the ocean.

In his opinion, it would be better to enter the imperial court as an official, because at least with power, one could do more things.

Jiang Ning did not answer Zhu Shou's question or doubt.

He had heard this question many times.

Jiang Ning looked at the lake. At this moment, the calm lake surface seemed to have a few ripples. Looking down from the lake, some small fish were swimming, and occasionally many of them jumped out of the water.

Suddenly, several small fish jumped too far and landed on the open ground on the shore, struggling.

Jiang Ning bent down, picked up one of the small fish, and put it back into the water.

"This little fish cares."

Jiang Ning said.

"what?"

Zhu Shou was taken aback for a moment.

Jiang Ning then picked up other fish.

"I care about this one, and I care about this one too."

Every time Jiang Ning said it, a small fish on the shore would be released back into the water.

Zhu Shou understood.

At this moment, the men who had been following Zhu Shou rushed over.

"Sir, it's getting late, we should head back."

One of them hurriedly spoke to Zhu Shou, looking anxious.

Zhu Shou then realized that it was already dark, and if he didn't go back soon, the palace gates would really close.

The thought that his absence from the palace would cause great trouble if the news got out made Zhu Shou frowned.

"Brother Jiang, it's getting late, so I must take my leave now. I'll come back tomorrow to continue our tour of the capital."

Zhu Shou said to Jiang Ning.

He had already asked Jiang Ning about the location of the inn where he was staying.

The group left in a hurry.

Jiang Ning watched the departing figures of the group, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

He chose to say these things to Zhu Shou because he felt that Zhu Shou was different from other high-ranking officials and nobles. The other party might be a member of the royal family and seemed to have some compassion for the common people. He told Zhu Shou these things not in the expectation that the other party could bring benefits to the people, but only that the other party could treat the people kindly in the future.

Jiang Ning turned and left.

After returning to the inn, Jiang Ning ate his meal and went back to his room to rest. He continued to tour the capital the next day, but Zhu Shou did not come to see him again as he had promised.

Something must have been holding me back.

Jiang Ning didn't care about this; he wouldn't be staying in the capital for long.

Jiang Ning wandered around for the rest of the day, until the third day when there was a knock on his door. It was Zhu Shou.

"Brother Jiang, I'm sorry."

Upon meeting, Zhu Shou immediately expressed his apologies.

"I had something to do at home yesterday, so I couldn't come."

"It doesn't matter."

Jiang Ning smiled.

Zhu Shou then said, "Then let me show Brother Jiang around the capital today."

Jiang Ning had no objection to this, and the two then went out.

……

Zhang Mansion.

"master."

A maidservant carefully carried tea into the main hall.

Lord Zhang was in a bad mood at the moment. He casually waved his hand to dismiss the maid, his face gloomy.

Not long after, a noblewoman walked in; she was none other than Lord Zhang's wife.

"You're back? What did the Empress Dowager say?"

Upon seeing his wife return, Lord Zhang hurriedly inquired.

The lady sat down beside him and, upon hearing her husband's question, said, "I went to the palace today and spoke to the Empress Dowager. She said we are all family and there is no major grudge. She will speak to His Majesty and ask him to lift your confinement."

Upon hearing this, Lord Zhang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The lady asked in bewilderment, "How did His Majesty know about your riding a horse recklessly in the street a few days ago? And why did he specifically mention it during the morning court session?"

"how could I know."

Lord Zhang said something rather irritatingly.

Yesterday was the day for the morning court session, and he went to attend. He originally thought the session would end soon, but unexpectedly, the emperor suddenly asked him why he had ridden his horse in the street a few days ago, which left him completely bewildered.

He didn't know why the emperor knew about this, but the emperor used it to berate him harshly, asking if the Ministry of Justice's prison was his, whether the officials in the Ministry of Justice listened to him, and whether he could let people in whenever he wanted.

The series of questions terrified him. The emperor even threatened to strip him of his title. If some civil officials hadn't pleaded for him, thinking the punishment was too harsh, he probably wouldn't have been able to keep his title. Even so, the emperor fined him three years' salary and confined him to his residence for six months.

In the end, Lord Zhang even forgot how he left the morning court session; he only remembered that his legs were weak when he returned.

Chapter 420: Do you know Zhu Shou?

"It must have been Chen Qingyuan who complained about me to the emperor!"

Lord Zhang gritted his teeth and said.

The lady asked, "Is it that newly appointed Vice Minister of Revenue?"

"it's him!"

Lord Zhang seemed to understand everything and had found his target. He couldn't help but say angrily, "That old bastard, his nephew blocked my horse, and I, being magnanimous, didn't bother with him. Instead, he complained about me to the emperor."

The lady, however, was somewhat worried: "Could there be a mistake?"

"No doubt about it, it's him!"

Lord Zhang said bitterly, "Only Chen Qingyuan knows about my riding a horse on the street a couple of days ago, and only he knows it so clearly."

Lord Zhang became increasingly angry as he spoke.

"I'm not done with him yet!"

Seeing her husband so angry, the wife didn't say anything more.

Lord Zhang cursed for a while, then his expression turned gloomy again.

"The emperor is really something. I am his uncle, how could he be so heartless as to strip me of my title? Doesn't he have any family affection at all?"

Lord Zhang complained.

The lady then said, "When the late emperor was still alive, His Majesty was still the crown prince. At that time, I advised you and your brothers to be on good terms with the crown prince, but you didn't listen. Now that the crown prince has ascended the throne, you two don't have a deep relationship, and he doesn't like you two brothers anymore and is trying to find ways to deal with you."

Lord Zhang looked even more depressed upon hearing this.

"Who knew the late emperor would pass away so early?"

He also had a brother who was also a marquis. Both of them married the late emperor after their sister entered the palace. The late emperor's harem consisted only of his sister, who enjoyed the emperor's exclusive favor, especially after she gave birth to the crown prince, who is now the emperor.

He and his other brother acted recklessly because of their sister's favor. They could get away with anything they did and even received two marquises. Even when the late emperor was still alive, they did even more outrageous things. The late emperor was furious and wanted to punish them, but after their sister pleaded for them, they were still fine.

They originally thought that after the crown prince ascended the throne, they, as the crown prince's uncles, could live a more comfortable life than before. But who knew that after the young emperor took the throne, their lives not only did not improve, but were even less comfortable than before.

Ugh.

Lord Zhang couldn't help but sigh.

Who would have thought that the innocent and clueless little kid from over a decade ago would become the emperor so quickly?

The lady continued, "I think you should keep a low profile for now. The emperor is already dissatisfied with you, and he'll find any excuse to reprimand you. Don't let the emperor find any fault with you and actually strip you two of your titles."

Lord Zhang's eyes widened upon hearing this.

"I don't believe he can really remove my and Yanling's titles. The Empress Dowager is still alive!"

"I am his uncle, after all. If he were really so heartless towards us, he has only been on the throne for a few months and he would turn against his own uncle. Who would dare to work for the Zhu family? What would his uncles and elders think? What would so many princes think? I don't believe he would dare to do such a thing!"

Seeing her husband's still stubbornly unrepentant appearance, the wife couldn't help but frown deeply.

The most ruthless imperial family.

Perhaps the late emperor was too lenient with the three siblings, causing them to fail to see the reality of the situation and believe that the current emperor would continue to let them do as they pleased, which would lead to trouble.

The emperor has only been on the throne for a short time, but he has already shown his disgust for the two brothers. If they continue to act so recklessly and without restraint, the emperor will deal with them sooner or later.

"Alright, the Empress Dowager is my sister after all, and also the young emperor's biological mother. Even if he doesn't like us two uncles, he probably won't really do anything to us. Don't worry."

Lord Zhang stood up and said to his wife, "You must be tired after coming back. Go and rest."