Zhu Mo simply let Wang Sheng continue to stay at Yunzhong Academy. At the same time, he had the two write a confession, explaining their relationship with the Prince of Raoyang, and then delivered it to the Censorate’s yamen, handing it to Yu Zhen.
Yu Zhen was a bit of a coward, and after being promoted, he became even more so, always avoiding speaking with Zhu Mo.
But at this moment, seeing Zhu Mo personally going out of his way just to save two young scholars, he couldn’t help but sigh with emotion, saying, "Young Master Zhu, you truly are a good person. If these two cannot clarify their situation, their lives will be ruined. How could they possibly pursue a career? They would even lose their status as juren…"
Didn't Zhu Mo understand this?
What was wrong with this Great Ming? It seemed as if everything was shrouded in mist, with no objective rules to follow. No matter who you were, as long as you were not at the top of the food chain, you would inevitably be trapped by this invisible net. One day, you would inexplicably suffer great misfortune and never be able to recover.
And this was the norm in a world without objective rules… Everything was about unspoken rules and hidden forces. By the time you understood how it operated, you were often exhausted and had no opportunity left.
Thinking of this,
He also shook his head and sighed. He then remembered the matter of the Princess of Dai, and directly asked,
"Old Yu, tell me the truth, do you know anything about the Princess of Dai?"
Yu Zhen was stunned for a moment. A flicker of fear flashed in his eyes, and then he said calmly, "I do not know…"
"Old Yu, don't hide it from me. Can you wash your hands of this matter? She was detained by you at Guanyin Monastery…"
Yu Zhen sighed, then pondered for a while. He dipped his finger in tea and quickly wrote a "six" on the table, then promptly erased it. However, his face remained cheerful as he said, "I told you I don't know, and I don't know. Who can say for sure? Young Master Zhu, wouldn't you agree?"
Mm-hmm,
When Zhu Mo saw the "six," he guessed it was "Lu Liu," which meant Lu Bing.
So,
Lu Bing, seeing Zhang Er crippled, also couldn't sit still and was now in a hurry to silence witnesses? This implied that Zhang Er, Lu Liu, and the Prince of Raoyang, Yan Shifan, and Anda also had some connection.
He patted Yu Zhen's shoulder and chuckled, "Alright… Old Yu, that prisoner needs to be escorted away quickly. The road from here to Fengyang is not short, don't let any more mishaps occur."
Yu Zhen stood up and pulled Zhu Mo's left arm, escorting him all the way to the door. He said earnestly, "Young Master Zhu, we have known each other for over a month. Your actions are upright and honorable; you are a true man, and I admire you greatly… You can see my character clearly… My teacher was right, remembering my lord’s grace, I have only this to say to you, do you… do you understand?"
Zhu Mo thought to himself: You knew Lu Bing and the others were killing witnesses, yet you didn't stop them, just like last time, so indecisive, so hesitant, so wavering. What's the point? You always thought you could walk a tightrope? I scoff, you'll capsize sooner or later…
However, he was quite displeased with the man's character. He had wanted to bring out the poem the Princess of Dai had hidden, but thinking better of it, he cupped his hands in farewell.
…
Returning to the Governor's yamen.
Ma Lu, Ma Fang, Li Wenjin, and Wang Chonggu were all present. Zhu Mo produced the Princess of Dai's jade clasp and the poem.
Wang Chonggu, who had spent the most time in Datong, examined them carefully. He seemed to recall something but couldn't quite articulate it. He only said, "This poem has a touch of wealth and nobility, yet it is also quite dissolute. It seems to be addressed to a maidservant or a prostitute…"
Seeing him looking so serious and speaking such pompous words, Zhu Mo chuckled and said, "Mm-hmm, yes, yes, I think so too. This poem looks elegant, but it's quite brazen at its core…"
Everyone burst into laughter.
And at that moment, a gatekeeper ran in, shouting,
"The Prince of Dai requests an audience!"
Oh?
Everyone suddenly became serious, all wondering: this old prince, who had been made a cuckold of epic proportions, hearing that the harlot was dead, would he be happy or sad?
The Prince of Dai walked in slowly, cupping his hands to greet everyone. He seemed to have changed quite a bit, appearing frail and old, but his spirits seemed quite good.
No one dared to mention the Princess of Dai, creating a rather awkward atmosphere. The Prince of Dai shook his head and smiled, saying,
"Young Master Zhu, I originally intended to find Governor Yang to submit a memorial to the Imperial Clan Court, to remove Song Yin'er's title of wife… But as soon as I reached the yamen gate, I remembered that Yang Xuan and the others had already been dismissed from office and were awaiting impeachment. Heh, so I'll have to ask Young Master Zhu to do it for me?"
Oh…
Everyone now understood: this prince had seen through it all, grasped the situation, and didn't want to investigate the cause of death. He simply wanted to clear his name… Alas, it seems that the downfall of the family began with this harlot entering the household. Fortunately, the prince was usually kind and gentle, otherwise, it would be hard to say…
Zhu Mo said solemnly, "Your Highness, rest assured, I will draft a memorial and ask Elder Xu to specifically look into this matter. Come, fetch brush and ink!"
As he spoke, he reached out, and at that moment, the jade clasp in his hand landed on the desk with a soft thud.
The Prince of Dai's eyes darted, and after staring intently for a while, he blurted out,
"Young Master Zhu! Whose item is this?"
"Oh, this, this is the Princess of Dai's遗物…"
"Hers? How could he…?"
Zhu Mo's heart suddenly tightened: Did he know?
"Your Highness, you know the origin of this item? Right, there is also something else…"
He immediately showed the poem to the Prince of Dai.
The Prince of Dai pondered for a moment and sighed, "A karmic debt, a karmic debt… Young Master Zhu does not know, this character 'Jing,' is the mark of the Prince of Jing's mansion…"
The Prince of Jing?
Everyone was stunned!
Wasn't the Prince of Jing in Anlu Prefecture, Hubei? How could he be involved with the Princess of Dai? It seemed like they had an affair long ago?
This was a royal secret, so everyone naturally dared not speak. Furthermore, it involved the reputation of the Prince of Dai, so they dared not even glance at him, all of them either looking down or to the side.
Zhu Mo immediately grasped the crucial point—
The Prince of Jing, Zhu Zaizhen, was Emperor Jiajing's fourth son! If he was involved with the Princess of Dai, what then? Wouldn't Jiajing go mad? Even more terrifying was: wasn't there a succession struggle lurking behind this?
He immediately put it away and chuckled,
"Your Highness is overthinking it. There are many inscriptions and signatures in the world that are repeated; it doesn't necessarily mean it's the person you mentioned… Uh, Your Highness, let us deal with the Princess of Dai's funeral arrangements, cough, cough."
Everyone reacted: Who knew who would be unlucky in these matters, so they all returned to their seats, chattering and laughing as if nothing had happened.
…
That afternoon,
Zhu Mo and Lü Kun were discussing the flaws of Neo-Confucianism in the yamen. When they spoke of the hypocrisy of "reason preceding qi," Lü Kun became very agitated, nearly slamming the table as he said,
"Young Master Zhu, that statement is simply wrong! Think about it, in the creation of all things, is there any reason that precedes all things? Isn't that nonsensical? Creation has its own reason; one only needs to ponder what it is. There is no absolute reason preceding it. It's like when someone gets sick, you diagnose it. Could it be said that before I got sick, there was a reason that I absolutely had to get sick? If I paid great attention to health and rest, and drank some medicinal food, and as a result did not get sick, wouldn't that break the reason?
It's utterly absurd… Young Master Zhu, this is no small matter. Those Neo-Confucian scholars even say that before Confucius and Mencius, the principles of Confucius and Mencius already existed, claiming they were immutable and unchangeable for eternity. This is truly frightening, Young Master Zhu, what they imply is: poverty and wealth, nobility and inferiority, honor and disgrace, and male and female are also unchangeable for eternity…"
Mm-hmm,
Zhu Mo listened for quite a while, feeling that this person was indeed materialistic, and the reasoning he spoke was very similar to a great master on a certain forum. That master said that during Wang Mang's usurpation of the throne, Liu Xiang and Liu Xin's father and son's forged book "Zhou Guan" was a fraudulent fabrication based on this rigid, static metaphysical thinking.
Moreover, he himself had mentioned this in his "Yun Chao Shu" (Memorial on the Dynasty's Fortune). This whole system was deceptive and provided no benefit to the world or people's hearts.
One should know,
In the more than ten years he had been in the Great Ming, where had he ever seen any reputable Neo-Confucian scholars? They were all tricks used to deceive and oppress others. Those with genuine substance were, conversely, the few disciples of Wang Yangming.
As the two chatted,
Suddenly, a gatekeeper entered and announced, "Young Master Zhu, an imperial edict has arrived!"