Chapter 39
Chapter 39
[The Real and Fake Heiresses – 9]
The Embroidered Uniform Guard’s heart trembled. The guard hastily answered, “Yes!”
With the second Tan brother’s death now scheduled, some of Zhu Yuanzhang’s gloom dispersed. He rubbed his chest and let out a satisfied breath. “That feels much better.”
Liu Che never missed a chance to argue with someone. “How cruel! The second Tan brother is so adorable. Why kill the second Tan brother?”
Ying Zheng: “…”
Emperor Gaozu: “…”
Li Shimin: “…”
Zhu Yuanzhang’s eyes widened. He protested, “Am I not pitiful? I am an old man. My son is unfilial and brain-dead besides. My daughter-in-law is impossible, risking everything to tear down her husband’s house and enrich her natal family. Every time I spend another coin, my heart aches so badly I cannot sleep at night. Yet she takes hundreds of thousands of taels and throws them into the water. The more I say, the sadder I become…”
With that, tears of grief streamed down his face.
“…” Liu Che: “Forget it. Pretend I said nothing.”
Before he had even finished, Zhu Yuanzhang had already wiped away his sorrowful tears.
Liu Che: “…”
“Zhi’er, behave yourself,” Emperor Gaozu said. He was playing a card game with Li Shimin and did not even look up. “Every emperor has a dirty heart. Did you only learn that today?”
Liu Che: “…”
Liu Che chose to be quiet as a chicken.
Zhu Yuanzhang laughed. His gaze swept over the Embroidered Uniform Guard standing respectfully in the room, and his expression became serious again. “Is there anything else to report?”
The guard hesitated, then swept aside the hem of the uniform and dropped to one knee. “Miss Baozhu resents the way you have treated the Commandery Prince and his wife in recent days. She uttered many disrespectful remarks.”
Before the Deposed Heir lost his title, Ma Baozhu had been granted the rank of county princess. Now that her father was no longer Heir Apparent, she naturally no longer enjoyed that distinction. She had become Miss Baozhu once more.
Had the guard not mentioned her, Zhu Yuanzhang would nearly have forgotten that another freeloader lived in his household. His brows shot upward. “What did she say? Tell me every word from beginning to end.”
The guard begged pardon, lowered the voice, and repeated everything Ma Baozhu had said. Then the guard bowed and did not dare look at the King of Wu’s expression.
Zhu Yuanzhang flew into a rage. Fury blazed between his brows. He meant to separate duties within the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so he did not assign this task to the person before him. He dismissed the guard and summoned another, then instructed, “Some gossip has reached my ears these past few days, and it concerns Baozhu. If I remember correctly, Lady Tan gave birth to her at a relay station where people came and went. Investigate what happened that year and see whether there was anything suspicious…”
The Embroidered Uniform Guard accepted the order and left, but Zhu Yuanzhang’s anger did not subside.
At a family banquet the following noon, Ma Baozhu stepped through the door with her left foot first. This enraged the King of Wu, who immediately ordered her slapped fifty times.
Ma Baozhu found it absurd. She was already dissatisfied with her grandfather and now shouted, “Grandfather, have you gone senile? What does it matter whether I step in with my left foot or my right? This is ridiculous!”
“Baozhu!” Before Zhu Yuanzhang could speak, the Deposed Heir barked, “Who taught you to speak to your grandfather that way? Kneel!”
Ma Baozhu’s face burned with anger, and she stubbornly refused. The Deposed Heir seized the back of her neck and forced her to the floor. Father and daughter knelt together to plead guilty. “Father, Baozhu is young and spoke rashly. You are magnanimous. Please do not argue with an ignorant child.”
Lady Tan and Ma Hualiang hurriedly knelt to plead guilty as well.
The Prince of Changshan and his wife were baffled by the old man’s sudden attack on Ma Baozhu. They quietly exchanged a look, but did not speak rashly. Instead, they stood to one side and watched.
Zhu Yuanzhang sat in his chair, smiling pleasantly. “All of you, get up. I invited you to eat. Why the miserable faces? You are ruining everyone’s appetite.”
The Deposed Heir forced a smile. Before he could offer a few more conciliatory words, his father continued, “The old saying goes that even a tiger will not devour its own cubs. You are all my children and grandchildren. Would I deliberately make trouble for you? If I did, would that not make my heart more vicious than a tiger’s?”
The Deposed Heir froze. The words sounded strangely familiar. Then he remembered. His daughter had said them. Because his father had refused to spare Huayao during the campaign against Jiangzhou, she had cursed him for having a heart more vicious than a tiger’s.
Horror surged through him. Every hair on his body stood on end. He shuffled forward on his knees and struck his forehead heavily against the floor tiles. “Father, please see the truth. As your son, I would never dare harbor such treasonous thoughts!”
The tiles were hard and icy. The Deposed Heir kowtowed again and again with all his strength. Before long, blood appeared on his forehead and ran down his cheeks, a terrifying sight.
Lady Tan, Ma Hualiang, and Ma Baozhu realized as well that the King of Wu had learned what their family of four said that day. Fear overwhelmed them. Their legs trembled as they knelt and pressed their foreheads to the floor, not daring to make a sound.
Zhu Yuanzhang watched without expression. Only when the Deposed Heir’s face was covered in blood and the front of his robe was soaked did Zhu raise a hand to stop him. Slowly, he said, “Eldest, what are you doing? Anyone who did not know better might think I was an unloving father trying to drive his own son to death.”
The Deposed Heir bowed his head to the floor. “A father has always been the guiding principle of his son. It is ordained by Heaven and earth. If Father gives an order, how could your son dare disobey? If anyone truly repeated such nonsense, they must be some petty villain intent on sowing discord. Father has a heart vast enough to contain ten thousand rivers. Why pay any attention to such foolish talk?”
“Listen to that.” Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and pointed at him, speaking to the Prince of Changshan and Lady Bai. “Your elder brother certainly deserves his education. He can make a fine speech out of anything.”
The Prince of Changshan and his wife saw the old man’s expression, then the reaction of the Deposed Heir’s family. Clearly, that family had courted death in secret without realizing they had been discovered. The couple was speechless, but winning without lifting a finger felt wonderful.
The Prince of Changshan offered his father a few flattering words, while Lady Bai ordered the servants to bring wine and food. With warm smiles and easy conversation, they heated the chilled atmosphere once more.
The servants entered silently. Some brought cloths and grooming implements to wipe the blood from the Deposed Heir’s face and quickly apply a little medicine. Others seized Ma Baozhu from both sides and took her into the courtyard, where they carried out the King of Wu’s order and slapped her fifty times.
In the past, Ma Baozhu might have escaped with a little coaxing, or Ma Hualiang might have pleaded and had the matter dropped.
But the Deposed Heir’s family knew they had been caught and that the old man disliked them. How could they dare create more trouble now? Trembling with fear, they took their seats, their hearts suspended so high that they scarcely dared breathe aloud.
Maids entered in a line and served the dishes one by one: greens with tofu, crucian carp soup, braised eggplant, Dongpo pork… Nothing rare, only ordinary home cooking.
Zhu Yuanzhang sat in his chair eating his Pearl, Jade, and White Jade Soup, smacking his lips. “This is the flavor I like. Delicious!”
The Prince of Changshan laughingly agreed, and Zhu Yuanzhang smiled back. The Deposed Heir, Lady Tan, and Ma Hualiang sat at their table without tasting a bite. At that moment, the sharp cracks of a bamboo paddle striking flesh traveled into the hall from the courtyard.
At first, Lady Tan managed to endure it. But when Ma Baozhu’s cries came from outside, she began to sob as well. Her lashes lowered, and tears rolled into her bowl of soup.
Lady Bai sat beside her. At the sight, even she felt some pity for her sister-in-law. Whatever the reason for Baozhu’s punishment, what mother could watch her daughter suffer and hold back her tears?
Who could witness such a thing without feeling moved?
Zhu Yuanzhang, apparently.
He turned to Lady Tan with a kindly expression. “Eldest daughter-in-law, why are you crying for no reason? Is the cook’s food not to your liking?”
Lady Tan was terrified, caught between grievance and anxiety. She wanted to plead for her daughter but did not dare. When she lifted her eyes, she met Zhu Yuanzhang’s icy gaze. Her heart quivered, and she hurriedly lowered her head. “Your daughter-in-law is fine. Some grit got into my eye. It will be better in a moment…”
“Good.” Zhu Yuanzhang nodded happily, lifted his cup, and looked around with a smile. “Come. Shall father and sons drink together?”
The Prince of Changshan raised his cup with a smile. The Deposed Heir woodenly followed. The King of Wu’s younger sons quietly exchanged a glance, then lifted their cups with their father and elder brothers. What they truly thought was impossible to know.
At last, the sharp cracks of the paddle in the courtyard stopped. Under the agonized gazes of Lady Tan and the Deposed Heir, a servant entered to report to the King of Wu. “Miss Baozhu has fainted.”
Pain stabbed Lady Tan’s heart. She bit her lip and did not cry aloud.
“Is it serious?” Concern entered Zhu Yuanzhang’s face, along with a trace of displeasure. “How did you handle the punishment? You actually beat Baozhu unconscious?!”
“It is not too serious. She only lost two molars and her face is swollen. She will recover after a month.”
The servant hurriedly added, “It is probably because she has never been beaten before. After a few more times, she may become accustomed to it.”
“…” Lady Tan: “?????”
“…” The Deposed Heir: “?????”
“That makes sense.”
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded approvingly and lifted his cup with pleasure. “Very well. Send her back to recover. Come, do not just sit there. Let us drink another cup to Baozhu, who cannot be with us!”
No one dared embarrass the old man. They lifted their cups and drank with him. No matter how worried the Deposed Heir was about Ma Baozhu, he had to force a smile and remain to the end, though everything tasted like wax.
When his cup was empty, Zhu Yuanzhang set it down and smiled broadly at the younger generation. “All right. We are family. Do not be so restrained. Eat and drink your fill!”
Then he turned to Lady Tan and said cheerfully, “Do not wear such a miserable face on a fine day! Eldest daughter-in-law, smile! Hahahahaha!”