Chapter 334: Prince Lu, Are You Plotting a Rebellion?

At this moment, Prince Lu's heart was filled with terror, and his gaze toward Zhu Youxiao was full of hesitation. He couldn't quite understand—what exactly did His Majesty intend to say?

Zhu Youxiao looked at Prince Lu, who clearly wasn't catching on, and felt helpless. He decided to eat first. Relationships between people were built at the dinner table—share some food, drink some wine, and naturally the bond would grow closer.

So Zhu Youxiao instructed Chen Hong: "Prince Lu has traveled a long way and must be weary. Bring out the food and wine—I shall host a feast to welcome Prince Lu."

Hearing Zhu Youxiao's words, Chen Hong hurriedly bowed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty. This servant will arrange it at once."

With that, Chen Hong slowly withdrew.

After Chen Hong had left, Zhu Youxiao smiled warmly at Prince Lu and said gently, "I came from the capital this time without bringing any fine gifts. Shandong is currently suffering from disaster, so the food and drink are somewhat lacking."

Prince Lu hastily squeezed a flower of a smile onto his face and said, "Your Majesty is benevolent and cares for the people—this is a blessing for all the people under heaven."

Zhu Youxiao nodded lightly and said with a smile, "Prince Lu having such sentiments makes you a model for all officials under heaven, and even more so a model for the imperial clan of our Great Ming! Excellent!"

Soon, the food and wine were brought up.

Four dishes and one soup—two meat, two vegetable—plus a bowl of jade-white broth.

Seeing these dishes, even with some mental preparation, Prince Lu was still quite shocked.

Wasn't this a bit too meager?

No matter how difficult things were in Shandong, how could they treat His Majesty like this?

But Prince Lu dared not ask, and quickly praised: "Your Majesty is frugal and thrifty—a model for emperors of all dynasties."

Zhu Youxiao waved his hand, looking unconcerned, and said, "I never think about such things, nor do I care about them. As long as the people of Great Ming can eat their fill and dress warmly, that is enough."

"Your Majesty's breadth of vision surpasses all ages—truly worthy of being the restoring emperor of our Great Ming." Prince Lu hurriedly bowed and said.

But although Prince Lu said these words, inwardly he was lamenting, for he was running out of flattering phrases and truly didn't know what to say next. He wished His Majesty would hurry up and change the subject.

Zhu Youxiao smiled and made a gesture of invitation, saying, "Prince Lu, shall we take our seats?"

Prince Lu had never dined on a spread of just four dishes and one soup. But since His Majesty was hosting, even if it were a bowl of poison, he would have to eat it.

So Prince Lu quickly sat down, and only after His Majesty picked up his chopsticks and took the first bite did he pick up his own chopsticks and begin eating.

Prince Lu dared not be careless with this meal, and while eating, he put on a show of "so delicious, I really enjoy it." But inwardly he knew that after this meal, once he returned, there would likely be trouble brewing.

His stomach was probably going to rebel, but he still had to swallow it down. A suspicion even crossed Prince Lu's mind—surely His Majesty didn't intend to eat him to death like this?

In truth, Prince Lu was genuinely terrified, truly and deeply afraid.

After all, it was rare for an emperor to leave the capital, and to summon him for an audience was even more out of the ordinary—especially now, with Shandong in its current state.

Last time, the old Prince Fu had been taken to the capital. Prince Lu certainly didn't think he could fare like the old Prince Fu.

A feudal prince leaving his fief—that was simply impossible. Having left this time, he feared he would find it very hard to ever return. So Prince Lu was genuinely terrified, truly afraid, his whole body tense with anxiety.

Under such emotions, when facing Zhu Youxiao, Prince Lu naturally exercised the utmost caution, terrified of making even the slightest mistake or omission.

If he truly died, what would happen to his forty-eight wives and concubines?

After the banquet was cleared away, Zhu Youxiao and Prince Lu drank tea.

While sipping, Zhu Youxiao said, "Prince Lu, I hear you are quite fond of calligraphy. As it happens, I wrote a piece of calligraphy a few days ago—how about Prince Lu appraises it?"

"Your subject is not well-versed in calligraphy—how would I dare to presumptuously critique Your Majesty's work?" Prince Lu hastily demurred.

He had to be modest—he certainly couldn't say, "My calligraphy is excellent, and Your Majesty's is garbage."

"Prince Lu need not be modest. Today, as sovereign and subject conversing, there is no need for so much formality." With that, Zhu Youxiao stood up and said to Chen Hong, "Bring over that piece of calligraphy of mine."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Chen Hong quickly acknowledged, then went and brought the calligraphy over with both hands.

In fact, Chen Hong had long since prepared this piece of calligraphy. He knew His Majesty had written it for Prince Lu to see, so he dared not be careless. He hurried over holding it with both hands and respectfully unfurled it before Prince Lu and Zhu Youxiao.

Prince Lu quickly looked over, inwardly pondering how to offer praise. After looking at the characters on it, Prince Lu truly didn't know what to say.

Prince Lu did indeed love calligraphy—not only did he collect it, but he himself wrote an excellent hand, especially skilled in running script. Yet looking at His Majesty's calligraphy, Prince Lu truly didn't know how to comment.

It had no structure whatsoever—one could only call it writing, nowhere near calligraphy. But he had to praise it, and praise it in a way that wouldn't make His Majesty think him insincere. Prince Lu's head was about to burst from thinking.

Zhu Youxiao looked at Prince Lu and decided to stop beating around the bush. From the very beginning, the two had been on different wavelengths, as if everything they said was separated by a layer.

Zhu Youxiao couldn't be bothered to wonder what Prince Lu was thinking, and said directly: "This poem—is Prince Lu familiar with it?"

Hearing Zhu Youxiao's question, Prince Lu's body gave a start, and he quickly looked over.

Just now, Prince Lu's attention had been entirely on the calligraphy; only now did he notice His Majesty was referring to the poem. So he softly recited:

"In spring, one grain of millet is sown; in autumn, ten thousand seeds are reaped.

No field lies idle across the four seas—yet farmers still starve to death."

"To answer Your Majesty, this subject is familiar with this poem." Prince Lu quickly said: "This is the 'Poem for the Farmers' by the Tang dynasty poet Li Shen."

Zhu Youxiao nodded and praised with a smile: "Prince Lu truly is learned."

Hearing this, Prince Lu didn't know what to say.

Anyone with even a modicum of learning would know this poem. But Prince Lu also understood that His Majesty hadn't summoned him here to look at some poem at all.

"How does Prince Lu think this poem applies to our Great Ming?" Zhu Youxiao looked at Prince Lu and asked, getting straight to the point.

Hearing these words, Prince Lu's heart trembled, and cold sweat instantly streamed down from his temples. He quickly said: "Your Majesty, our Great Ming is rich across the four seas. Though the people live in hardship, it has not reached such a degree."

"Though Shandong has suffered disaster this time, it is merely a natural calamity, not a man-made one. Now that Your Majesty has come to Shandong in person, bringing countless money and grain, the people will naturally survive."

"This is all Your Majesty's grace and virtue, and a sign of our Great Ming's flourishing fortune. With Your Majesty, the restoration of Great Ming is within reach!"

Automatically ignoring Prince Lu's flattery, Zhu Youxiao said in a deep voice: "Just now, Prince Lu said this matter was a natural calamity, not a man-made one. But I don't see it that way."

"Since arriving in Shandong, I have heard certain things. The land of Shandong is largely not in the hands of the people—the Prince Lu estate holds forty percent of Shandong's land. That is to say, four out of every ten portions of Shandong land belong to the Prince Lu estate. Having operated here for so many years, the Prince Lu estate has certainly managed its affairs well."

"As I recall, the Prince Lu estate's manors weren't this extensive before, were they?"

"These fields seem to have all been annexed by the Prince Lu estate, isn't that so?"

"This time, Shandong suffered a great calamity. The people lost their livelihoods and had to sell their land—I imagine the Prince Lu estate has collected quite a bit as well?"

Hearing these three soul-searching questions, Prince Lu fell to his knees with a thud and hastily said: "Your Majesty, please see clearly—this subject would never dare harbor such thoughts."

Zhu Youxiao sat on the dragon throne and did not tell Prince Lu to rise. He simply reached for his teacup, took a sip, and said: "There's no need for us, sovereign and subject, to beat around the bush. Since I was able to investigate this, naturally I have evidence."

"The feudal princes of Great Ming were originally meant to guard their regions, but now that is no longer the case. Annexing land, embezzling disaster relief funds and grain—it seems there is nothing you dare not do. Is the Prince Lu estate trying to force the people to rebel? Or does the Prince Lu estate have designs on leading the people in rebellion together?"

Upon hearing these words, the Prince of Lu was so frightened that he collapsed directly onto the ground.

He knew that coming here this time would bring nothing good — he was probably never going back!

This time, he truly was never going back!

Zhu Youxiao sat on the dragon throne, watching the dazed Prince of Lu. For a moment, he couldn't quite collect himself, and the expression on his face was rather strange.

What had gotten into the Prince of Lu?

He had only wanted to scare him a little, to get him to contribute some money and grain — how had it come to this?

The man couldn't even speak anymore. He'd better not have scared him senseless.

Having just spoken so harshly, Zhu Youxiao naturally couldn't go down to comfort the Prince of Lu. So he shot a meaningful glance at Chen Hong beside him.

Having served by His Majesty's side for so many years, Chen Hong understood every glance from the sovereign perfectly. He quickly walked over to the Prince of Lu, gently reached out and nudged him, then asked in a low voice: "Your Highness? Is Your Highness feeling unwell? His Majesty is asking you a question."

Hearing Chen Hong's call, the Prince of Lu seemed to snap back to his senses. He hastily scrambled up and knelt on the ground, saying: "Your Majesty, Your subject would never dare harbor such a thought! Please investigate clearly, Your Majesty!"

As the Prince of Lu spoke, tears and mucus streamed down his face, his body trembling — the very picture of terror.

Zhu Youxiao felt somewhat helpless at this sight. He couldn't tell whether the Prince of Lu was putting on an act or reacting genuinely.

If this was an act, the performance was truly beyond reproach; if it was a genuine reaction, then the man's courage was far too small.

In truth, the Prince of Lu had never been particularly brave to begin with, and he had been worrying constantly ever since receiving the imperial edict. All the way here, he had been imagining all sorts of terrible fates for himself — one could say he had been scaring himself the entire journey.

When he had just heard Zhu Youxiao's words, he had truly been frightened out of his wits.

The Prince of Lu was himself a wastrel by nature. He was the fourth son of the previous Prince of Lu, and since no one in the family had ever expected him to inherit the title, no one had bothered to cultivate him properly. From childhood, he had been a man devoted to pleasure and leisure, fond of fine antiques, calligraphy, and paintings, and he had never experienced any real hardship.

Later, his eldest brother died of illness, and his second and third brothers both managed to play themselves to death at a young age. By the time it came to the current Prince of Lu, although he had married forty-eight wives and concubines, he was still relatively restrained.

But the Prince of Lu was not a man suited to bearing great responsibility. His mental fortitude was poor, his courage was small, and he greatly enjoyed his current life. At the thought of his own death and his forty-eight wives and concubines being sent into exile, the Prince of Lu was frightened beyond measure.

"How did it come to this?" Zhu Youxiao said with a wry smile.

Whether the Prince of Lu was faking it or genuinely terrified, he couldn't just let the man carry on like this.

Shooting another glance at Chen Hong, Zhu Youxiao said: "Help the Prince of Lu up and have him seated!"