Chapter 603: Magnanimous? Magnanimous my foot

This article by Luo Lu Yuren, published in the *Half-Month Miscellany*, described Empress Dowager Li as a demonic empress, Feng Bao as a castrated slave, and Zhang Zhang Juzheng as a treacherous sycophant. It had a political agenda and was premeditated; it had been written long ago, waiting for the moment of the "heavenly collapse" to be launched immediately, and it certainly had follow-up plans.

Its purpose was also self-evident: the Emperor was dead, and the Empress Dowager, Feng Bao, and Zhang Zhang Juzheng were villains. Then, regardless of whether it was the younger brother, Prince Lu, ascending the throne, or the eldest son Zhu Zhu Changzhi, the center of power would become a vacuum, which could then be exploited to seize control.

At this critical juncture, launching such a storm of public opinion was a gamble on the Emperor's death. Moreover, it couldn't wait until the Emperor was truly dead, because of the existence of information asymmetry.

After an emperor dies, the news is kept secret until the new monarch ascends the throne and the obituary is issued; this is a necessary measure during power transitions, such as when Qin Shi Huang collapsed.

Therefore, they had to launch it the moment they received news that the Emperor was critically ill! Otherwise, the opportunity would have slipped away.

If the Emperor had an accident, Luo Lu Yuren would have been fine; the brutal infighting in the imperial court would have left no one to pay attention to him. If the Emperor was fine, then Luo Lu Yuren would inevitably be in trouble.

Zhu Zhu Yijun ordered Zhao Zhao Mengyou to continue the investigation, but Luo Lu Yuren appeared to be acting only out of indignation for Gao Gong, with no other figures pushing from behind. The trail was cut very cleanly, and the Embroidered Uniform Guards did not obtain evidence to implicate others.

Zhu Zhu Yijun had a clear understanding of the cruelty of political struggle. After all, he had been assassinated as soon as he ascended the throne, his home had been set on fire, and he had been ambushed. He could fully understand Luo Lu Yuren's motivation to seize power at this time. Understanding was one thing, but the man still had to be executed.

If Zhu Zhu Yijun's younger brother, Prince Lu, knew about this, he would certainly be extremely relieved! The Emperor was indeed fishing, and he had actually caught a big fish! Of course, Prince Lu would also be relieved that the fish wasn't him!

The Emperor was critically ill, and all parties reacted differently. Zhu Zhu Zaiyu paced back and forth in anxiety but could do nothing. Human strength has its limits, and Zhu Zhu Zaiyu hated himself for not being able to advance the Dao of Investigation of Things two steps further to help the Emperor.

"Seeing that the Emperor's complexion is so good, I am relieved. Heaven bless the Great Ming," Zhu Zhu Zaiyu said extremely solemnly after observing the Emperor.

"Imperial Uncle, you brought such a stone; does it have any special properties?" Zhu Zhu Yijun asked, feeling extremely puzzled as he looked at the stone before him.

"This is a stone for pressing pickles. It has been pressing pickle jars since the Emperor Hongwu reign, for over two hundred years," Zhu Zhu Zaiyu said very solemnly.

Zhu Zhu Yijun spread his hands and asked, "I can already smell it, but what are you trying to tell me by bringing it here, Uncle?"

"It is salty," Zhu Zhu Zaiyu said, pointing at the stone, "and it is black."

"I have tasted it myself; it is indeed salty. I also took a few small mice that hadn't been fed salt for three days, and they licked this stone to supplement their salt intake. These dark brown marks are what the soy sauce left behind."

"So? Does it have any problems?" Zhang Zhang Juzheng looked at Zhu Zhu Zaiyu. Every household in the north had such stones for pickling vegetables, whether cabbage or radish strips. Zhang Zhang Juzheng still didn't understand what Zhu Zhu Zaiyu was trying to express.

"I have already washed it clean, scrubbed the surface over a dozen times, and even ground it down twice. It is still salty, and it is still black. Grand Secretary, is there no problem with this?" Zhu Zhu Zaiyu countered.

"Er..." Zhang Zhang Juzheng frowned. Every profession has its own master. Zhang Zhang Juzheng's talent in politics was beyond doubt, but his talent in the Dao of Investigation of Things was not very high, and he still failed to detect the problem.

Zhu Zhu Zaiyu bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the basic particles of salt and soy sauce—what Your Majesty calls molecules—moved toward the stone during the pickling process. The stone has no cracks, but the molecules still moved into it. Grinding it down reveals it is black and salty, which proves the previous theory correct: molecules have gaps, and the higher the heat, the more frequent the movement. Molecules are in constant, random motion."

"I understand now. Amazing!" Zhu Zhu Yijun said sincerely. Perhaps geniuses are just like this; common phenomena in life appear completely different in their eyes.

"Your Majesty, I have been thinking: the higher the heat, the more violent the movement. What kind of manifestations would there be? For example, melting ice and snow, boiling water, or emitting light—all are caused by heat. And I have found a stone that emits light by itself—the legendary Night-Shining Pearl," Zhu Zhu Zaiyu said, taking out a lead box. He did not open it, but pointed to the box in his hand.

"There are two types of Night-Shining Pearls: one is self-luminous, meaning it glows without any light source, and the other is phosphorescent, meaning it glows for several hours after being exposed to light for a quarter of an hour. What we found is the former type."

"This came from a geomancer in Yizhou, Shanxi. It is a strange stone, neither gold nor stone. Anyone who held it for a few months would feel nauseous and vomit. After a long time, one to three years, they would start losing hair and falling ill frequently. This was the geomancer's magical artifact. Later, the geomancer's grandson used it to swindle people, and after being caught, it was treated as a Night-Shining Pearl and sent to the capital."

"It can be used for breeding and also for inducing mutations in bacterial strains."

Zhu Zhu Zaiyu wanted to tell the Emperor about his discovery. He introduced the origin of the Night-Shining Pearl and then directly introduced its uses: breeding and inducing mutations in bacterial strains, saving thousands of experimental processes.

Using a lead box to store this terrifying stone was also a result of experimentation; using lead plates for isolation could effectively block the strange stone's influence on the bacterial strains.

Discovering the influence on bacterial strains was not accidental, but intentional. In order to make the strains mutate, all kinds of deadly poisons had been used.

"We used this self-luminous Night-Shining Pearl to irradiate *Penicillium* strains and successfully induced a strain that is high-yielding and undemanding, which can increase the production of Great Ming's *Penicillium* broth from 4,000 units to 40,000 units, or even higher." Zhu Zhu Zaiyu took out a glass bottle containing the *Penicillium* strains he had specially selected.

The strains would not make people sick and could be shown to the Emperor.

Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at the small bottle of transparent, colorless liquid. Although he couldn't see anything with the naked eye, he believed that the *Penicillium* was indeed inside.

Although Zhu Zhu Zaiyu had no idea what the stone was composed of, in his cognition, glowing meant energy, and energy meant it could induce mutations, eventually leading to the emergence of new strains.

"Your Majesty, this process sounds a bit complicated, but it is actually the same as brewing wine. The yeast used for brewing and this broth are based on the same principle; both require grain as raw material. The yeast is *Aspergillus*, and this uses *Penicillium*. Both are made using small 'bugs.' What the Investigation Institute did was improve the *Penicillium*," Zhu Zhu Zaiyu explained to the Emperor that the principle was very similar to brewing wine.

Brewing wine was extremely common, and the yeast used by every family was different. Zhu Zhu Zaiyu used a simple example to explain the principle to the Emperor.

Zhu Zhu Yijun could naturally understand, and Zhang Zhang Juzheng also understood. He wanted to see the small stone sealed in the lead box, but Zhu Zhu Zaiyu refused to open it, believing the stone was pathogenic and should only be taken out when needed.

"Reward the Royal Investigation Institute with fifty taels of silver, and the Five Classics Doctors with one hundred taels. I am very gratified," Zhu Zhu Yijun said, looking at the small bottle of *Penicillium* strains with a smile. "When I first established the Investigation Institute, I never imagined it would have so many rewards."

Zhu Zhu Yijun really hadn't expected that establishing the Investigation Institute and the Five Classics Doctors would yield such high returns. Of all the industries he had invested in over the years, the Investigation Institute had the most generous returns, bar none.

"Your subject thanks Your Majesty for the imperial grace." Zhu Zhu Zaiyu wanted to say more but stopped. He eventually withdrew. Zhu Zhu Zaiyu was actually not very good at expressing his feelings; sharing his latest achievements with the Emperor was his way of sharing joy. Unable to help much, this was his way of expressing his concern.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng and Zhu Zhu Zaiyu left together.

Zhu Zhu Yijun thought Luo Lu Yuren would not cause any more waves. When even Zhang Zhang Juzheng wasn't stopping him, what other tricks could there be? But Zhu Zhu Yijun soon realized he was wrong—very wrong.

Luo Lu Yuren was a *Ming Jinshi* from the eleventh year of the Emperor Wanli reign. He was not alone; the Hanlin Academy compiler Shen Zibi was his teacher, and all 350 *Ming Jinshi* from the eleventh year of Emperor Wanli were his classmates. Moreover, Luo Lu Yuren was a censor, and he attended court in the Censorate. After Luo Lu Yuren was imprisoned, it immediately caused a huge uproar.

Soon, the questioning grew from small to large, and within a single day, it became turbulent. First, memorials pleading for Luo Lu Yuren came one after another.

The reasons for pleading were nothing more than: the imperial court should allow critical voices; Luo Lu Yuren was only speaking up for Gao Gong out of teacher-student friendship and filial duty—Luo Lu Yuren's father was Gao Gong's student, which was permitted by the Great Ming law of "concealing for relatives."

Nothing more than: the Emperor's actions were blocking the path of remonstrance; if the censors were so harshly punished, no one would dare to speak out righteously in the future, and there would be no more backbone or upright spirit in the court.

Nothing more than: a gentleman does not hold a grudge against the petty actions of others. Zhang Zhang Juzheng's achievements were obvious to all; why treat such critical questioning so seriously? It seemed like making a mountain out of a molehill, making others think the court was guilty of a guilty conscience.

After Emperor Xiaozong died and Emperor Wu Sect ascended the throne, someone even impersonated Emperor Wu Sect's maternal grandfather, claiming Empress Zhang was not Wu Sect's biological mother. This matter caused a huge uproar, but in the end, Zheng Wang, who impersonated the Emperor's grandfather, was not punished. After the Zheng Wang "demon-speech" case, when Zheng Wang returned home, people called him "Imperial Relative Zheng."

Hence Hai Rui even said things like "During the Emperor Jiajing reign, every family was clean," yet Emperor Shizong did not kill Hence Hai Rui.

"A gentleman does not hold a grudge against the petty actions of others" is benevolent governance. As an emperor, one must be magnanimous.

These memorials did not mention the time Luo Lu Yuren's article was published, nor did they mention the content of the article. They purely cast aside the facts and demanded Zhu Zhu Yijun be magnanimous.

Magnanimous? Magnanimous my foot.

Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at these memorials, took out the "I have noted it" seal, and stamped them one by one. While stamping, he said, "Feng, go and see who is related to this Luo Lu Yuren. Make a list, prepare to arrest them, and throw them into the Northern Depot prison to await sentencing. Zhao Zhao Mengyou doesn't have enough evidence for collective punishment, but they are delivering themselves to our door."

"Perfect."

"Your subject obeys the imperial order." Feng Bao shuddered. Zhang Zhang Juzheng's stance on this matter was that the Emperor was too soft-hearted. Even if it meant collective punishment, Zhang Zhang Juzheng probably wouldn't submit a memorial to oppose it, so collective punishment would become a foregone conclusion.

In the Songjiang Qu clan case, Zhang Zhang Juzheng had explicitly stated that he would not allow the Emperor to engage in collective punishment, stopping at the account books, because that was for the implementation of the Single Whip Law. It was a contradiction between the imperial court and the local areas that had existed for nearly two thousand years since the establishment of the commandery-county system. Collective punishment would only make the opposition more united and push those who could have been united to the opposite side.

But in this case, Zhang Zhang Juzheng supported the Emperor in taking heavy action because Luo Lu Yuren was plotting rebellion. His premeditated "demon-speech," released at the time of the Emperor's illness, was rebellion.

The current situation was that Luo Lu Yuren and his accomplices didn't seem to intend to accept their defeat and were preparing to use all sorts of flowery language to deny it.

"What does Mother say?" Zhu Zhu Yijun asked about Empress Dowager Li's opinion on this matter while holding a pile of memorials.

"The Empress Dowager said she would not interfere in the affairs of the outer court. The Empress Dowager also said that taking care of the imperial heirs is the priority," Feng Bao replied. Empress Dowager Li's attitude toward the outer court was to not interfere and let the Emperor handle it. Since moving out of the Qianqing Palace, Empress Dowager Li had not interfered in anything other than urging the Emperor to take in concubines.

In Empress Dowager Li's view, the more imperial princes and princesses, the better; fifty was not too many, and one hundred would be just right.

"Then prepare to make arrests." Zhu Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and decided to arrest them once the investigation was clear.

Before Zhu Zhu Yijun could order the arrests, the censors came to his door. First, Luo Lu Yuren's teacher, Hanlin Academy compiler Shen Zibi, came to kneel outside the Investigation Institute to plead for mercy. The Emperor refused to see him, so he knelt and refused to rise. Later, more and more people came, from over fifty people to over sixty, and finally, over fifty people gathered in front of the Investigation Institute gate.

"I am only ill, not dead yet. Look at the faces of these dogs!" Zhu Zhu Yijun stood by the window. What he saw was clean; there was no one kneeling, but just outside the wall, over fifty people were kneeling, forcing the Emperor to submit.

"Your Majesty, aren't civil officials all like this? When Emperor Wu Sect fell into the water, Yang Yang Tinghe wouldn't even let him change doctors. Is this the way of a minister? Even after Yang Yang Tinghe was demoted, many people still ran around for him, and Yang Yang Tinghe even received the posthumous title of 'Duke Wen Zhong' (Cultured and Loyal)," Feng Bao said, taking the opportunity to slander the civil officials.

This was the difficult part about Feng Bao; he loved to tell the truth. His slanders were all based on facts.

In the first month of the sixteenth year of the During Zhengde reign, Emperor Wu Sect's illness worsened. He issued an edict for famous doctors from all over to examine him, but Yang Yang Tinghe blocked it, saying:

"I humbly believe that all the famous doctors in the world are gathered in the Imperial Hospital, and the best among them have been selected for the Imperial Pharmacy. One should trust and use them exclusively to achieve a perfect cure; why wait for people from the wilderness who have not been tested? Moreover, the art of healing relies on regulation and rest as the priority, and medicine as secondary. If regulation is slightly neglected, medicine will have no quick effect. I humbly hope Your Majesty will be cautious and not allow the loss of rest, and regulate your diet, not allowing excessive flavors."

Yang Yang Tinghe stubbornly blocked the change of doctors, saying that the Imperial Hospital was where the famous doctors of the world were gathered, and that trusting the Imperial Pharmacy was enough. There was no need to worry excessively, just prevent overexertion.

Translating that: stop changing doctors, just wait for death.

When the illness worsened, the doctor who had been treating him for so long hadn't cured him. Wasn't it normal to change a doctor and seek medicine? But Yang Yang Tinghe just blocked it.

Chen Chen Shigong's surgical technique was fine, but an accident occurred. He didn't even dare to take the pulse, leaving it all to Li Li Shizhen to handle the follow-up treatment.

"Your Majesty, these petty scholars are the same as Yang Yang Tinghe. They all think Your Majesty is ill, which is why they dare to be so bold," Feng Bao believed that Yang Yang Tinghe taking advantage of Emperor Wu Sect's critical illness to block even a change of doctors was the same logic as the civil officials now pushing their luck.

The Emperor was ill.

Under authoritarian politics, the critical illness of an authoritarian figure is the best opportunity. When you are ill, they want your life.

"Don't panic. Let's play with them." Zhu Zhu Yijun smiled. He had intended to set a trap, and the fish in the Emperor Wanli reign were indeed shockingly numerous. Zhu Zhu Yijun hadn't wanted to fish, but the fish had jumped out themselves!

Zhu Zhu Yijun planned to go along with the plan and see, from this sickroom in the Investigation Institute, just how many ambitious people there were in the Great Ming capital.

Zhu Zhu Yijun went to the Quanchu Guild Hall on the 23rd of every month to mooch a meal. Of course, the meal money—the reward given—was exceptionally generous. It was just an excuse to reward Zhang Zhang Juzheng. Once, Zhang Zhang Juzheng said: "The situation has changed several times recently. Those with vulgar views see the court and the wild as peaceful and call it a scene of peace, not knowing that hidden dangers and dormant disasters are deep and worrisome."

The court and the wild seemed peaceful, but the calmer it looked, the more dangerous it actually was. Hidden crises and dormant disasters had to be considered.

The last court disturbance involving the capital had been the major event of Zhang Zhang Juzheng's mourning period. Since then, there had been no major cases in the capital.

Zhu Zhu Yijun waited. He waited for another two days. The number of people kneeling at the gate grew from over fifty to over sixty. Just as Zhu Zhu Yijun was about to close the net, another storm of public opinion arose.

This time, the spearhead pointed directly at the Xishan Coal Bureau, and Wang Wang Chonggu was scolded again and again.

A newspaper discovered that the proportion of yellow soil in the honeycomb coal at the Coal Market was not 10%, but 30%. 10% could help the coal dust take shape and help the coal burn fully, but if the proportion of yellow soil exceeded 30%, it wasn't honeycomb coal anymore; it burned extremely fast, was not durable at all, and increased the burden on the common people.

Moreover, honeycomb coal with 30% yellow soil could not burn fully and would definitely produce more coal gas, making it easy to get poisoned while heating in winter.

The editors of the newspapers took the lead, believing that the honeycomb coal sold by the Xishan Coal Bureau was problematic and was a typical case of competing with the people for profit. Wang Wang Chonggu was quickly labeled with the charge of "hoarding wealth" and was denounced by everyone, creating the illusion that Wang Wang Chonggu was a minister who would destroy the country and that the Great Ming would breathe its last tomorrow.

The meat-eaters in the Great Ming capital had long held resentment toward the Xishan Coal Bureau, as it was the Xishan Coal Bureau that had ruined the high-quality air, making coal smoke everywhere. This resentment, under the pretext of shoddy work and adding too much yellow soil, was immediately ignited.

The number of officials kneeling in front of the Investigation Institute increased from over sixty to over one hundred and thirty.

"Haha! Wang, every time there's bad luck, it's you!" Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Wang Chonggu, who had run over to plead guilty, and laughed extremely happily. As long as there was trouble in the court, Wang Wang Chonggu would definitely be impeached.

Wang Wang Chonggu said angrily, "Your Majesty, the Xishan Coal Bureau is only responsible for selling coal; it is a seller. The buyers are the merchants at the Coal Market. Does the Xishan Coal Bureau have to manage where the coal is sold, how it is transported, where it is transported to, and what is done with it? Your subject can guarantee to Your Majesty, with heaven and earth as my witness, that when the coal left the Xishan Coal Bureau, there was absolutely no extra yellow soil added! If there is a problem, I, Wang Wang Chonggu, am willing to have my head cut off!"

"If you say I am bad, I admit it. If you say I am incompetent, I do not."

The three official factories in the capital were Wang Wang Chonggu's foundation. He managed them extremely strictly. He would even personally inspect any goods leaving the factory. To supervise the official factories, Wang Wang Chonggu used some strange but effective methods. Like the peddler in front of the factory gate, Wang Wang Chonggu's method of supervising the official factories was to use them personally!

To avoid special treatment, Wang Wang Chonggu even changed hands several times, so that even the people who bought them didn't know who was behind it.

"It's urgent, it's urgent, Wang is urgent." Zhu Zhu Yijun laughed even more brightly. Wang Wang Chonggu had even bet his life. If you say he is a treacherous minister, he doesn't deny it, because he really has done it, but if you say he is incompetent, he doesn't accept it.

"The official factories compete mainly for power, not profit. The people in the official factories, from the managers to the directors, are officials, not merchants," Wang Wang Chonggu expressed the difference very solemnly. The official factories didn't seek profit at all. Adding two more catties of yellow soil to the coal sold to the public—could that make any money?

"I know, I know. In the Xishan Coal Bureau, coal dust is everywhere, but yellow soil has to be bought. I know." Zhu Zhu Yijun laughed from the beginning. Even if he ignored Wang Wang Chonggu's visible hand, looking at the invisible hand, coal dust in the official factories wasn't worth much, but yellow soil had to be bought from outside. Adding more soil really didn't make money.

As soon as the matter was exposed, Zhu Zhu Yijun sent the Embroidered Uniform Guards to investigate, and they quickly found out that it was the merchants at the Coal Market who had added the extra yellow soil. They weren't doing it to make money from the yellow soil, but to make the honeycomb coal burn less durably so they could sell more coal balls.

Didn't the editors know? They knew perfectly well, but their goal was the official factories, not really caring about the suffering of the people. Burning a few more pieces of coal didn't need to be concerned by these meat-eaters at all. Their goal was to topple the Xishan Coal Bureau and then seize the massive coal market for themselves.

It really is "whose rice you eat, you are whose dog." If you don't bark a few times, where will you get dog food?

"Your Majesty, I have no objection to making the Coal Market a monopoly," Wang Wang Chonggu said immediately.

Zhu Zhu Yijun immediately said, "That's a good idea! Wang, make the Coal Market a monopoly. I will get this done before I leave the hospital."

"Your Majesty, Grand Censor Hai and Minister Shen have arrived. They didn't ask for an audience, but are scolding people at the gate," a small eunuch ran into the sickroom in a hurry.

Zhu Zhu Yijun was stunned and said, "Could it be that Grand Censor Hai also thinks Wang added yellow soil to the coal for the sake of a few pennies?"

"No, Grand Censor Hai is scolding the petty scholars who are kneeling," the small eunuch hurriedly said.

"Prepare the carriage. Let's go take a look." Zhu Zhu Yijun didn't expect that he could see a show while recovering from an illness, and a show that came to his door at that.

Hence Hai Rui and Shen Li, the only two upright officials in the Great Ming, stood in front of the Investigation Institute gate, looking at the sea of kneeling heads, standing silently in the scorching sun of early summer.

"You are all spineless cowards! You all deserve to die!" Hence Hai Rui's words were shocking. As soon as he opened his mouth, he said that everyone kneeling was spineless and should all be dragged to the vegetable market to be beheaded.

Shen Li said angrily, "Some are stupid, some are bad, and some are both stupid and bad!"

Some really believed the storm of public opinion, some took money, and some both believed the storm of public opinion and took money.

Hence Hai Rui shouted angrily, "The day before yesterday, at dusk, the Censorate suddenly received the Emperor's vermilion rescript. Everything presented had been dealt with. The Emperor had just turned from danger to safety and was still recuperating in the Investigation Institute, not yet fully recovered, and you all ran to the Investigation Institute to make trouble! Disturbing the Emperor's peace!"

"Everyone says I, Hence Hai Rui, have no ruler or father, but looking at you, you are the ones with no ruler or father!"

Hence Hai Rui was truly angry. It was hard to describe Hence Hai Rui's mood during this period. When he learned that the Emperor was critically ill, he felt the sky had collapsed. He even blamed heaven for being so harsh to the Great Ming. How could they take back such a brilliant ruler who had finally appeared?

The Emperor was truly diligent. Having just escaped danger, he began to review memorials. This was the brilliant ruler Hence Hai Rui had been longing for.

The Emperor was still recuperating in the Investigation Institute, and now these petty scholars had run to the Investigation Institute to make trouble. If Hence Hai Rui didn't come over to scold them, he wouldn't be able to sleep or eat.

"Where is Zhao Zhao Mengyou! The Emperor treats you like his own heart and liver, and these petty scholars are making such a racket here. Why haven't you arrested them?! You are usually so capable and talented, where is that ability now?!" Hence Hai Rui looked left and right but didn't see Zhao Zhao Mengyou, so he asked loudly.

Zhao Zhao Mengyou, inside the gate, was a bit dazed. He was watching the show, and now the show was on him! He was inside the gate, listening to the noise outside with the Emperor. Heaven knows! The Emperor wanted to set a trap and wouldn't let him move, so what could he do!

Zhu Zhu Yijun took a step back and signaled Zhao Zhao Mengyou to open the gate.

"Grand Censor Hai, I didn't let the Embroidered Uniform Guards make arrests. You have wronged them," Zhu Zhu Yijun naturally had to explain for Zhao Zhao Mengyou, otherwise, if Hence Hai Rui submitted a memorial accusing him of dereliction of duty, Zhao Zhao Mengyou would have to endure countless scoldings.

"Your subjects pay respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty," Hence Hai Rui, seeing it was the Emperor who had come out, hurriedly led Shen Li to pay respects. The officials who had come to kneel were immediately panicked.

They had come to kneel because they were certain the Emperor was critically ill and had not yet escaped danger. Even though the Grand Secretaries and court officials all said the Emperor was out of danger, the petty scholars all thought it was just a means to pacify people.

If the Emperor was really fine, why didn't he go to inspect the troops? Why was the Emperor, who used to be very active, hiding in the Investigation Institute?

"No need for formalities." Zhu Zhu Yijun walked forward two steps, looked at the kneeling crowd, and said with a smile, "Aren't you all just wanting to see if I am dead or not? I am sorry to disappoint you all; I am still alive and well."

"However, since I am alive and well, the people on this list are going to be in trouble. They are going to be dragged to the vegetable market with Luo Lu Yuren to be beheaded."

"Don't panic. Of the 132 people kneeling, I am only arresting thirteen."

There were only thirteen accomplices of Luo Lu Yuren, no more than that. Most of the rest were here for the Xishan Coal Bureau.

"Then who should we start with? Let's start with Luo Lu Yuren's teacher, Shen Zibi," Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Shen Zibi, who was shrinking back, and said with a smile, "Shen Zibi, what are you hiding for? Come forward."

"You wrote the article, didn't you?"

Zhu Zhu Yijun sat majestically on the dragon chair that had been brought out, looked at the files in his hand, and began to interrogate Shen Zibi in public.

"You wrote the article, didn't you?"

Zhu Zhu Yijun sat on the dragon chair that had been brought in, looking at the case file in his hand, and began to interrogate Shen Shen Zibin in public.