Volume One, Chapter 15: The Illness and Passing of Liu Bowen

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“Father! What gives you the right to hit me again?!”

“I refuse to accept this!!”

The moment Zhu Shuang entered the Imperial Study, a cloth shoe came flying from across the room, heading straight for his forehead.

“And you still have the nerve to say that! You unfilial wretch—what do you mean, giving the silver to your mother and your elder brother? Where is your father’s share?” Zhu Yuanzhang demanded furiously the instant he saw him.

“Oh, that? Sorry, there’s nothing left. I divided it all between Mother and Big Brother. Why don’t you ask them for some? Don’t tell me Father is too stingy to give them money?”

For such a trivial matter, the old man wanted to beat him again. Had he entered menopause or something? Zhu Shuang secretly cursed his father.

“Uh…”

One sentence left Zhu Yuanzhang speechless. As for Empress Ma’s money, he did not dare touch it; otherwise, he would never be allowed into the Palace of Earthly Tranquility again. As for Zhu Biao—his beloved eldest son—there simply was no excuse.

“You brat, don’t try to wriggle out of this. You extorted more than a million taels of silver from the Shen family. Whatever you gave your mother and elder brother is nowhere near enough. Hand over the rest honestly, or I’ll beat it out of you!”

“There’s nothing I can do. It’s all been spent. I gave two hundred thousand taels to my two guards so Qin Er could intensify their training. That way, they can accompany Third Brother onto the battlefield when the time comes. As for the Embroidered Uniform Guard, you didn’t allocate them a single coin when they were first established, so I had to give them three hundred thousand taels to help them take shape quickly and establish branches throughout the Ming realm—even inside the government offices.”

“Another two hundred thousand went to the craftsmen to manufacture firearms. Those things are useful. We can form a Divine Engine Battalion with them later. And I gave fifty thousand taels to improve the firearms. Whoever makes the best improvements gets a reward.”

“So there’s nothing left for you.” Zhu Shuang spread his hands and began feigning innocence, saying nothing about the remaining one hundred and fifty thousand taels that had gone into his own pockets.

“You little bastard, just how much silver did you extort? The numbers don’t add up. You couldn’t possibly have kept none of it for yourself, could you?”

After calculating for a moment, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly realized that he had forgotten what kind of person this son of his was. He reached over, took the decorative sword sheath from the wall, and began weighing it in his hand.

Watching him do so, Zhu Shuang felt a chill run through his heart. To him, that object was the equivalent of a feather duster.

Could it be that some of the people who had collected the silver were his father’s men? No, that couldn’t be right.

Afraid that Zhu Yuanzhang would start eyeing his private treasury, Zhu Shuang hurriedly said, “Father, I was only joking. In truth, I gave Mother three hundred thousand taels, including the one hundred thousand that belongs to you. I was mainly worried that you would spend it on some other woman. I don’t trust you. You’ll have to ask Mother for it yourself.”

“What do you mean, ‘some other woman’? Those are your aunts! You insolent brat, show some respect!”

Zhu Yuanzhang was instantly dumbfounded. This little bastard was always setting traps for him. How could he possibly bring himself to ask the Empress for money?

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“Give me a break. Apart from Aunt Guo, I don’t acknowledge any of them as my aunts. Like that Fourth Miss Liu from the so-called wealthy landowner’s family?”

Zhu Shuang could not be bothered to indulge his father on this subject. He curled his lip and began teasing the old man.

“I’ll beat you! You little bas—”

Zhu Yuanzhang had been struck where it hurt. He raised the sword sheath and was about to bring it down when—

At that moment, Crown Prince Zhu Biao hurried into the Imperial Study, a memorial in his hand and grief written across his face.

“Father! The magistrate of Qingtian County has sent an urgent report. My teacher, Liu Bowen, passed away from illness the day before yesterday.”

The Imperial Study fell utterly silent. Zhu Yuanzhang’s raised arm remained suspended, as though he had forgotten to lower it.

The grief on Zhu Biao’s face deepened, while even Zhu Shuang stood frozen in place.

Liu Bowen and Song Lian had been the mentors of both Zhu Biao and Zhu Shuang. Back then, it was Zhu Biao who had pleaded for his troublesome younger brother to study alongside him. Of the two teachers, Zhu Shuang had been especially fond of Liu Bowen, admiring his carefree spirit and his broad, varied learning.

“Biao’er, are you saying Liu Bowen truly died of illness?” Zhu Yuanzhang asked Zhu Biao, his face filled with suspicion.

After all, the “love and hatred” between Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Bowen had been extraordinarily complicated. Once the old man became emperor, his wariness and suspicion toward Liu Bowen had only grown worse.

“Father! He was the teacher of both Second Brother and me. Whatever unpleasantness exists between you and him, you should not slander him like this!” Zhu Yuanzhang’s words had nearly driven Zhu Biao into a fury.

“Old man, if you keep talking like that, I’ll tell Mother later. You can forget about getting your share of the silver.”

Zhu Shuang struck straight at his father’s sore spot without the slightest hesitation.

“The same goes for my share. I had originally thought the Eastern Palace would not need so much silver, and I was even planning to send half of it to your private treasury. But now you can forget it. We’ll discuss it after you admit your mistake.”

Zhu Biao immediately joined in, kicking his father while he was down.

“No, no, Father was wrong! I only spoke in a moment of anger. How about this? I’ll issue an edict posthumously honoring Liu Bowen as Grand Preceptor and granting him the posthumous name Wencheng. The two of you can go and see him off.”

Hearing his two sons speak one after the other, Zhu Yuanzhang’s heart ached so badly he nearly wept.

“Very well. I’ll go to Mother first, and then we can leave.”

Having obtained the decree he wanted, Zhu Biao did not linger. He turned and walked away.

…

Inside the Palace of Earthly Tranquility.

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When Empress Ma learned the news, she was overcome with grief, and tears slipped down her cheeks.

Zhu Shuang stepped forward, patted her back, and comforted her softly. “Mother, none of this is your fault. Father was simply far too suspicious. At least he knows he was wrong now. Posthumously honoring Teacher as Grand Preceptor and granting him the name Wencheng is not a bad outcome.”

“Shuang’er, you and your elder brother are going to offer condolences this time. Your brother is the Crown Prince and cannot conveniently make the journey. You, however, were Bowen’s student. On behalf of me—and on behalf of the entire Zhu family—go and bow before him and burn incense for him, all right?”

Empress Ma spoke to Zhu Shuang through her sobs.

“I was the one who wronged him. I should never have invited him out of retirement to help your father. And now look at how he met his end…”

Zhu Biao consoled her. “Mother, this was Father’s fault. Why burden yourself with the blame?”

“Mother, it’s all right. The two of you should go and make your preparations. I need a little time alone.”

As she spoke, Empress Ma wiped away her tears with a handkerchief.

Then, as though remembering something, she added, “By the way, this is your first journey far from home. Be careful on the road. Second Son, bring some of your Embroidered Uniform Guards along to protect the two of you.”

“I understand, Mother. You take care of yourself too, and don’t grieve too deeply. We still have to carry on living, don’t we? If you’re angry, take it out on Father. That way, you can also vent some of the anger you feel on Teacher’s behalf.”

Zhu Shuang nodded, then smoothly found Empress Ma a target for her anger so that grief would not harm her health.

As for Father? They were not close. His mother came first.

Zhu Biao had been immersed in sorrow, but Zhu Shuang’s antics abruptly broke his train of thought.

Father, you’re on your own now.

Over the years, Zhu Shuang had corrupted Zhu Biao as well. Rather than stopping him, the Crown Prince silently lit a candle for his soon-to-be-miserable father.

Indeed, Zhu Yuanzhang’s beloved eldest son was quite the fine Biao’er.