Chapter 191

"Do you have any unfulfilled wishes?" Chen Guanlou asked again.

Wang Shuner had a dazed and foolish look; after a long while, his eyes regained a little bit of the appearance of a living person, "Thank you. I have no unfulfilled wishes."

"Your family and friends, don't you want to know about their situation?"

"The extermination of three clans—it was I who implicated them." A look of pain flashed across Wang Shuner's eyes, and he barely regained some human vitality. He had never thought that he would be captured by government soldiers. Once he truly fell into the hands of the government soldiers, and his martial veins were locked, he knew very well that he could not escape this time and was doomed to die. It was just that he had implicated his innocent family.

Chen Guanlou was silent for a moment, then continued, "If you have any needs, feel free to bring them up, and I will try my best to satisfy them."

Wang Shuner shook his head; he had no requests, only wishing to die as soon as possible. He did not want to live anymore!

Seeing that he was determined to die, Chen Guanlou was truly worried that he would not last until the execution: "With your strength, you could have completely escaped on your own. You were captured because you value promises, talk about loyalty, are a true man, and have done right by everyone. Hero Wang, you should think more openly; it is that group of people around the Great Ming Prince who have done you wrong, and you should tell the truth."

"It is I who am a failure as a person; I do not blame anyone," Wang Shuner said slowly. Since his heart was already dead, what the truth was no longer mattered. He only sought a quick death.

Chen Guanlou disagreed; a Buddha fights for a stick of incense, and a person fights for a breath of air.

He said solemnly, "That is not so. You joined midway, your strength was powerful, crushing those local brothers of the Great Ming Prince, so encountering exclusion was inevitable. You were captured; it was clearly those people colluding to frame you on purpose, which has nothing to do with whether you are a good person or not. Even if you were a saint, you would still be excluded. This matter has nothing to do with character; it is entirely a struggle for interests."

"The Great Ming Prince had just gained some influence, and internal power struggles had already begun, leaving no room for outsiders who joined midway. Yet the Great Ming Prince refused to take harsh measures to suppress this crooked trend, leading to Hero Wang being plotted against by villains and falling to today's state. In this matter, the Great Ming Prince bears the greatest responsibility, followed by his group of xenophobic local brothers. Hero Wang, from beginning to end, you were not wrong. If there is any fault, the fault lies in the fact that you trusted the Great Ming Prince wrongly and joined the Great Ming Prince's team wrongly."

"Is the Great Ming Prince doing something wrong?" Wang Shuner suddenly became agitated, "You have never been to Jinzhou; you do not know how the people of Jinzhou are struggling to survive in the midst of deep water and scorching fire. The Great Ming Prince is seeking a way of life for the people; even if his private morals are flawed, even if his ability is limited, even if he has done me wrong, he has done right by the people of Jinzhou and the poor people of Jinzhou. I only hate that after several years of effort, everything was lost in one morning, and the people of Jinzhou are going to suffer again."

Although the Great Ming Prince betrayed their brotherhood at the last moment and acted like a villain, Wang Shuner had never hated the Great Ming Prince from beginning to end.

As long as the Great Ming Prince did right by the people, what did it matter if he wanted his life? He was willing.

This was a sacrificial faith.

Chen Guanlou did not understand, but he admired it!

Because he could not do it. Whoever dared to backstab him, whoever dared to plot against him in the shadows, he would surely retaliate tenfold.

He could not be as persistent and fearless as Wang Shuner.

In order to stir up Wang Shuner's will to live, he said something that struck at the heart, "If the Great Ming Prince has changed, becoming the kind of person you hate the most—someone who only cares about private interests and ignores the lives of others. If one day the Great Ming Prince surrenders to the imperial court, what then?"

"Shut up!" Wang Shuner stood up abruptly, the iron chains on his body rattling, and the two prison guards guarding the cell door were as if facing a great enemy.

Chen Guanlou waved his hand, signaling the prison guards not to be nervous.

"I am just discussing a possibility. Human hearts are easily changed," he said softly. Just like the old Emperor; ten years ago, everyone praised the old Emperor as wise and martial. Ten years later, today, the ministers are all cursing him as a muddled ruler in their hearts.

"Impossible! The Great Ming Prince is definitely not the kind of person you say. This world has already rotted through; bullies run rampant, land is annexed, officials protect each other, offices and titles are sold, people are exploited and squeezed, children are sold, people are driven as slaves, and the people cannot live. This world has long been terminally ill; this world cannot do without the Great Ming Prince, and the world needs countless Great Ming Princes. Even if one day the Great Ming Prince is gone, the sparks he sowed will surely illuminate the world. I will not allow you to slander the Great Ming Prince."

Wang Shuner gritted his teeth, his face ferocious and terrifying. They could slander him, they could exterminate his three clans, they could slice him into a thousand pieces and grind his bones to dust, but he would never allow anyone to slander or defame the Great Ming Prince. That was his spiritual sustenance. The flesh could be destroyed, but the spirit would live forever.

If even the spirit were denied and tarnished, then what had his efforts over these years, and the price of his three clans being exterminated, become?

Wouldn't it have become a joke?

Chen Guanlou was both admiring and shaking his head in a sigh; Wang Shuner was a pure person, a person worthy of respect.

He said, "If you want to know the outcome of the Great Ming Prince, then you must live well and strive to live a little longer. Before you die, at least learn more about the Great Ming Prince's situation."

Wang Shuner's expression moved slightly, "Rest assured, even if I seek a quick death, I will persist in living until the day of execution. I will let the whole world know that the Great Ming Prince's brothers are not cowards; even if sliced into a thousand pieces, I will never change the ambition in my heart!"

"Good ambition!"

Chen Guanlou instructed the prison guards, "Take good care of Hero Wang; do not wrong him. Satisfy any requests he has as much as possible."

The prison guards also admired Wang Shuner's spirit of not fearing death and agreed readily.

Stimulated by Chen Guanlou, Wang Shuner actually gained a bit more human vitality; at least his eyes were no longer dazed and foolish. He fell into deep thought for long periods and still did not say a word all day, but anyone could see that his spirit was full.

Chen Guanlou sent him the Four Treasures of the Study and told him, "You can write down your thoughts. If there is someone you want to entrust something to, just say the word; this little matter is nothing."

Wang Shuner hesitated.

Chen Guanlou knew what he was worried about, "Your case has already been closed by the authorities, and we are just waiting for the final execution. As for the content you write, as long as it doesn't violate any taboos, the authorities won't ask about it."

Wang Shuner was half-believing, "They really won't ask?"

"Are you going to write the secrets of the Great Ming Prince?"

"Of course not."

"So, as long as you don't write about the Great Ming Prince, no one cares."

Chen Guanlou gave him a reassurance.

The authorities' position was just one thing: listen to the instructions from the palace and execute Wang Shuner according to the law. During this period, just don't cause any trouble. If Wang Shuner wanted to write something, such as writing down his own faith and thoughts, no one would ask at all.

And so, Wang Shuner began to pick up his pen to write his last testament. Calling it a last testament was actually inaccurate. He was writing his life story, making a summary of his short life.

The content written every day would be handed over to Chen Guanlou by the prison guards.

After Chen Guanlou read it, he locked it in a drawer.

Company Commander Wu teased him, "Chen Tou is worthy of being a scholar; to a prisoner about to be sliced into a thousand pieces, you are still so humane."

"Why does Wu Tou have to mock me? If it were you, you would do the same. The man is about to die; what is wrong with giving him a little sweetness before he dies?"

"That may be so, but he is, after all, a great rebel."

Chen Guanlou chuckled, "What rebel? Here, I only have prisoners, and I treat them all equally."

Company Commander Wu was stunned, then burst into laughter, "You scholars really have a way with words. That's right, that's right, they are all prisoners, treated equally."