Chapter 9: The Underworld (Part 9)
The notification that the projection had been repaired in the underworld had not yet arrived, but the person everyone was thinking about had arrived first.
Of course, this person is not Zhu Yuhuan.
Zhu Di asked the ghost messenger for some of the popular sorghum wine and snacks. When Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yunwen were bored, he recalled Zhu Yuhuan's childhood, scolding Zhu Zhanji while praising Zhu Yuhuan for being well-behaved and sensible from time to time.
He was watching the projection with great interest when he suddenly heard someone wailing "Dad". He tilted his head curiously and looked over. He saw a disheveled and ragged man holding Zhu Zhanji, crying and cursing.
Zhu Di was stunned at first, but soon realized that this person was Zhu Qizhen.
Zhu Di immediately became furious and raised his hand to smash the wine cup on Zhu Qizhen.
Zhu Zhanji was shocked and wanted to speak for his son, but when he thought of the fact that Zhu Qizhen had brought the Wala army to Datong, he closed his mouth again.
Zhu Qizhen did not expect Zhu Di to suddenly attack him. He looked up and was about to curse, but when he saw Zhu Di's tall and mighty build, he immediately stopped talking and dared not say another word. He didn't even dare to wipe the blood from his forehead that was hit by the wine cup.
Zhu Zhanji quickly said, "This is your great-grandfather. You were born late, so you've never seen him." He couldn't help but whisper, "What are you wearing? Why did you come here dressed like this?"
Zhu Qizhen was still confused and asked, "What kind of clothes are you wearing? The ghost messenger didn't even give me any clothes..."
Zhu Zhanji was slightly stunned, but soon understood that Zhu Qizhen was probably too excited and did not have time to introduce the basic situation to the ghost. That was why Zhu Qizhen appeared in the Ming Palace Garden dressed like this, instead of recovering to his prime like his elders.
Zhu Di, who was standing by, didn't wait for the father and son to reminisce about the past. He immediately walked over, grabbed Zhu Qizhen's collar and asked coldly, "How dare you come?"
Zhu Qizhen vaguely realized that Zhu Di's visit was not a good intention, and immediately knelt on the ground and said, "I know I was wrong, please forgive me, Grandpa Zeng!"
Zhu Di was already angry, and seeing Zhu Qizhen's cowardly look, he was even more furious. He kicked Zhu Qizhen aside, turned back to sit in his seat, and angrily scolded him: "How dare you call me 'great-grandfather'? I don't have a great-grandson like you!"
He was furious when he thought about his mausoleum being disturbed because of Zhu Qizhen's wrong decision. Now that the culprit was in front of him, how could Zhu Di be calm?
Zhu Qizhen first cried and begged Zhu Di, then kowtowed to him and Zhu Zhanji, looking like a filial son and grandson.
Zhu Di felt even more speechless and sneered at Zhu Qizhen.
Why was he trying to please them now? If he had done a good job as an emperor, Zhu Di would not have treated him like this.
However, Zhu Qizhen always looked pitiful, and Zhu Zhanji couldn't help but feel soft-hearted. He asked him to change his clothes first, and helped to plead with Zhu Di. Only then did Zhu Qizhen get a chance to sit down and talk.
Zhu Zhanji remembered that the projection did not show Zhu Qizhen's final fate, so he immediately asked with concern: "What happened after you left Datong? How did you survive?"
At the mention of this, Zhu Qizhen was filled with grievances and immediately said, "Dad, you don't know, it was Zhu Yuhuan who harmed me... In Datong, she clearly knew I was down there, clearly knew I was still alive, yet she had people use bows and arrows and muskets... Wasn't that just an attempt to kill me! Dad, you still don't know, she even had the audacity to imitate the Wu Zhou incident and proclaimed herself emperor as a woman, and those traitors didn't even refute it..."
Zhu Zhanji wanted to interrupt Zhu Qizhen countless times, but because he was too emotional, he could only let Zhu Qizhen complain.
However, Zhu Zhanji couldn't help but glance at Zhu Di. Seeing that he was clenching his fists, he knew that Zhu Qizhen would probably not escape a beating.
As expected, Zhu Di couldn't stand it anymore and picked up the plate on the table and smashed it on Zhu Qizhen's head.
Zhu Qizhen, who was still chattering, fainted with his head covered in soup and vegetable leaves.
Zhu Di took a quick glance, walked to the door, and calmly said to the ghost messenger, "He seems to be dead. Do you want to see if he can come back to life?"
The ghost officer didn't even glance at Zhu Di, and continued in a gentle tone, "If he is dead, we will naturally deal with him."
The implication is that the ghost Zhu Qizhen at this moment has just fainted, not "dead".
Zhu Di was even more amused now. He picked up the wine beside him and splashed it on Zhu Qizhen's face. Seeing him shiver, he knew that Zhu Qizhen was not unconscious, but was just "pretending to be dead".
Thinking of this, Zhu Di raised his foot and touched Zhu Qizhen, saying, "When you were in Wala, you also pretended to be dead like this every day? Why did you take so long to come down? Could it be that Wala wanted you to be someone else's son-in-law?"
Zhu Zhanji felt helpless after hearing this, but he couldn't say anything due to Zhu Di's majesty, so he had to pull Zhu Qizhen up and said, "Wake up! If the great ancestor sees you like this, you will suffer the consequences."
When Zhu Qizhen heard his father say this, he stood up and said, "I didn't... I am the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. How could I marry a woman from the Oirat Mongols and have children with her?"
Zhu Di scoffed at Zhu Qizhen's "chastity" and said, "You're already dead, why are you pretending? If you really think you're an emperor, you should have died for your country at Tumu Fort. Now you come to me and pretend to be the emperor. Do you really think I'm a fool who will let you fool me?"
Even Zhu Zhanji was scolded for this, but he really couldn't refute it.
Zhu Yuhuan's success had long been attributed to Zhu Di as his own credit, while Zhu Qizhen was taught by his own father and could only suffer the consequences.
Zhu Qizhen felt quite aggrieved, but knowing that Zhu Di was not someone to be trifled with, he said politely, "Great-grandfather, I am your great-grandson..."
Zhu Di got angry when this was mentioned. He said, "Who said that? Who said you are my great-grandson? I have never seen you. Don't talk nonsense!"
While they were arguing, Zhu Yuanzhang came back from outside and said, "Old Four, what are you yelling about?"
When Zhu Di saw Zhu Yuanzhang coming back from work with Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Gaochi, he immediately kept silent. After greeting Zhu Yuanzhang, he walked back to the table in a sullen manner and looked at Huisu without saying a word.
Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly, "You're so bored, what's there to see? You might as well go out and plow the fields!" He then turned his gaze to Zhu Qizhen and asked, "You look familiar... Aren't you that unfilial descendant?"
When Zhu Gaochi heard this, he couldn't help but laugh in his heart.
In Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, everyone in this room was an unfilial descendant.
Zhu Di had already said, "Father, from now on these unworthy descendants will also be divided into different levels."
Zhu Yuanzhang laughed in anger and said, "How dare you say that?"
"There should be a clear distinction between those who lose the kingdom and those who keep it, right?"
While Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di were talking, another father and son pair, Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanji, could only remain silent. Normally, only Zhu Yunwen would make sarcastic remarks at this time, but he was also one of those who "lost the country", so he could only keep silent at this moment.
Zhu Yuanzhang was so annoyed by Zhu Di's words that he immediately turned his anger on Zhu Qizhen and shouted, "Get over here!"
Zhu Qizhen was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that the fire would burn himself. He subconsciously looked at Zhu Zhanji next to him, wanting his father to say a few words for him, but he didn't expect that Zhu Zhanji had turned his head away and didn't look at him.
Zhu Qizhen also knew that Zhu Yuanzhang was not someone to be trifled with. After a moment's deliberation, he immediately stepped forward and said, "Grandfather, my great-grandson's unfilial behavior has led me to this point. This was absolutely not my original intention! Even the most unfilial descendants hope for the prosperity of our family business. How could they deliberately do such a thing?"
Zhu Yuanzhang sensed a hidden meaning in his words, and he felt even more disdainful. He simply followed his words and asked with a half-smile, "You do have some truth in what you say."
Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang did not scowl at him, nor did he attack him like Zhu Di did, Zhu Qizhen seized the opportunity and said, "It's all that Zhu Yuhuan who's causing all this trouble!"
Zhu Zhanji could never have imagined that Zhu Qizhen would openly turn the tables on him like this. He stood there in a daze, unable to utter a word for a while.
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't react at all. He just walked to the top seat and sat down. He asked, "Interfering? How did she interfere?"
Zhu Qizhen had already pieced together a story line in his mind and immediately said, "As the eldest sister, she pretended to be kind and loving, deliberately setting a trap for me, coaxing me with the emperor's majesty, and even buying people around me so that she could handle it for her and secretly plot against me!"
Zhu Gaochi, who was standing next to him, couldn't stand it any longer and asked, "Could it be that Wang Zhen is also your sister's man?"
Zhu Qizhen choked and immediately said, "Of course! If she hadn't given Wang Zhen some respect, my grandson would never have easily given up power to Wang Zhen—"
Zhu Di could no longer contain himself and stood up to hit Zhu Qizhen, but Zhu Yuanzhang stopped him and asked, "What else? Is this the only crime your sister is accused of?"
Zhu Qizhen was slightly taken aback by Zhu Yuanzhang's words. He hadn't expected that what he said was just "this little crime" in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes. He was speechless for a moment, hesitating for a long time before continuing: "And... she, she must have colluded with the border generals, and with foreign tribes like the Oirat..."
Seeing that he could no longer speak, Zhu Yuanzhang said coldly, "Even if these people have opportunistic intentions, you, as an emperor, can't suppress those who are causing trouble. Don't you think about why these people would rather support a woman than throw you, the emperor, out? As an emperor, you still have the nerve to cry and scream in front of me! Fourth Brother!"
Zhu Di had been waiting for this sentence for a long time, and he was ready to go and rushed towards Zhu Qizhen.
Zhu Zhanji, who was originally standing next to his son, silently stepped aside without saying a word. It was unknown what he was thinking, as if he had not seen what happened to his most beloved son.
Zhu Yuanzhang had no intention of letting Zhu Qizhen go. Instead, he continued, "You don't want to kill yourself, but after you die, you run to your ancestors to play tricks. You are really brave now!" He looked at Zhu Qizhen's unconvinced look and raised his hand to the ghost messenger, "I heard that there are torture instruments in the underworld. Why not bring them to me? I want the shackles of the Ming Dynasty. I don't mind this unworthy descendant suffering so that he can be a good person in the next life."
Such conditions did not violate the rules of the underworld, so the ghost officers soon brought the torture instruments.
This torture device is a huge shackle that makes it impossible to move easily once put on.
Zhu Qizhen was dragging the torture device, unable to move a step. Zhu Yuanzhang had already handed Zhu Di a whip and said, "Send him out to work hard. This will help to cleanse the evil in his stomach!"
Zhu Qizhen still didn't quite understand what Zhu Yuanzhang meant, but Zhu Di had already whipped him. Under such pain, even Zhu Qizhen suddenly burst out with physical strength, carrying the huge shackles and moving with difficulty to avoid the whipping.
Seeing this, Zhu Gaochi also followed, to prevent Zhu Zhanji from saying anything inappropriate and getting beaten together with Zhu Qizhen.
The place that Zhu Yuanzhang wanted Zhu Di to drive him to was exactly where they would work on weekdays. It was a cultivated field, which looked ordinary at first glance, but next to the cultivated field was a heat wave, like boiling iron in a blast furnace, so hot that it was difficult for people to adapt.
It would be strange to be able to grow food in a place like this.
Zhu Di drove Zhu Qizhen to the edge of a cliff. Seeing his face filled with fear, afraid he might fall, he sneered, "Don't you prefer death to obedience? Aren't you being harmed? Why can't you utter a word at this moment?" Seeing that Zhu Qizhen was still trying to be stubborn, he continued, "I see that you and Wang Zhen were very tactful when punishing Li Shimen. Although I can't dismember you like Liu Qiu, it would be a good thing to let you roast in these shackles. It's a pity that there is no sun in the underworld."
That being said, the temperature of this magma was far higher than the sun in the sky. In just a moment, Zhu Qizhen's face was covered with sweat. Coupled with excessive fear, Zhu Qizhen soon begged for mercy in embarrassment: "Grandpa Zeng, I am your blood, why do you support her, an outsider!"
Zhu Di sneered, "Bloodline? How can the things you two did compare to what I, Emperor Taizong Wen, did? You still have the nerve to accuse me of partiality? I think you are far inferior to Zhu Yuhuan!"
Zhu Qizhen was so angry that he staggered to stand up and retort, but he slipped and fell off the cliff, being swallowed by the rolling lava.
Zhu Di: "...Bad luck! This useless thing has already killed itself before I even start!"
Zhu Gaochi comforted him, "It's okay, it's not the first time."
Of course, you will not die in the underworld. The ghost catcher naturally has a way to restore your soul. You will just have to suffer a little and cause some trouble to the underworld.
If Zhu Di had killed the man, he would inevitably be subject to the rules of the underworld. However, Zhu Qizhen happened to fall down by himself, so Zhu Di's responsibility could not be traced back.
The three of them waited there for a long time, but Zhu Qizhen still did not reappear. They couldn't help but feel a little confused, so they went back to Minggong Garden to ask someone, but they saw an old woman with silver hair looking at Minggong Garden from a distance.
The identity of the woman who can appear here must be extraordinary.
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