My father, during the Jiajing era, ensured that every household was clean and tidy.

Chapter 15 Thank you, Butterfly

The room was packed with people. Some had their hair tied up, some were bald, and some were dressed in tattered clothes. But no matter what they were dressed up, they all held sharp weapons and stared intently at Zhu Zaizhen.

It could be ferocious or excited.

Or perhaps their murderous intent has been fully revealed!

The thick killing intent in the air seemed to freeze into ice, making it hard to breathe. The two maids of the Zhang family huddled together, trembling. Madam Gu held onto her servant, her face pale. Zhang Juzheng sat at the table, his face expressionless, neither sad nor happy.

In this atmosphere, two people were already seated at the head of the table, conversing in a strange tone.

Qiu Fu, a portly and slightly overweight man, said with great respect, "To be honest, Your Highness, we weren't originally this bold, but we really had no choice but to suffer in silence."

He sighed and first pointed to the young servant that Madam Gu was protecting, "We threatened his master's life before, so this servant went to lure the prince inside. No wonder he did this."

Zhu Zaizhen nodded repeatedly: "I originally thought this kid was a bully only to his own kind, but I didn't expect him to be so loyal."

Qiu Fu then pointed to Zhang Juzheng, "If we hadn't bound his limbs and mouth, he would have fought to the death when the prince came earlier, and almost ruined everything."

Zhu Zaizhen looked at the calm Zhang Juzheng and said affirmatively, "I do know this one; he has always been very loyal!"

The two seemed to be master and servant.

One person introduces, and the other provides commentary.

Qiu Fu then pointed to the group of fierce-looking men in the room, "One of our sisters was begging for alms before and got a piece of steamed rice cake from that little maid. I have some knowledge and recognized that it was a royal pastry. So I came to the mansion to take a look. I was lucky enough to meet the prince. Today I brought people to pay my respects."

Zhu Zaizhen was stunned. He looked at the young servant cowering beside Madam Gu. The servant was terrified and his voice was trembling with tears: "I...I gave alms to an old monk because I felt sorry for him..."

Zhu Zaizhen realized his mistake.

Then a question arose in his mind, "Monk, sisters?"

Qiu Fu wore a sorrowful expression. "Your Highness, you may not know this, but we in the Holy Sect address each other as sisters. Unfortunately, the sister who received the pastries was killed by the Embroidered Uniform Guard last night."

"Broken? That means he's dead?" Zhu Zaizhen asked with regret. "He even lied to a child. He really deserves to die."

clang!

As soon as he finished speaking, a bald, burly man on the left slammed his long stick into the ground, his eyes wide with rage. At the same time, the murderous intent of everyone in the room surged, and their fierce eyes shone brightly!

In that instant of frozen silence, Qiu Fu stared intently at the boy before him, only to see the boy's face remain unchanged, his hand steady, and he even tapped his folding fan with an air of importance, asking him suspiciously, "What are you doing?"

Qiu Fu narrowed his eyes, paused for a few moments, and looked at the bald man holding the stick angrily: "Zhi Ren, don't be rude."

With just a few words, the monk, whose Dharma name was Zhiren, trembled all over. The anger and ferocity on his face vanished instantly, and he bowed his head obediently like a child: "Yes, Zhiren was wrong."

Qiu Fu bowed slightly to show his apology and continued to report to his young master: "To be honest, even though we noticed that the prince came here every day, we didn't initially intend to do anything."

"I saw it, that's all."

"Just like when the emperor goes on an inspection tour, ordinary people see the imperial carriage, and even if they have ulterior motives, they won't do anything. People aren't irrational madmen, why would they be like moths to a flame? It's the same with the prince. Although it seems like he's traveling incognito, how could he not have guards in secret? To mess with the prince is no different from courting death."

"That's very true." Zhu Zaizhen asked curiously, "Then why are you moving again now?"

"Ugh!"

Qiu Fu sighed heavily: "This year has been unlucky. Yesterday, near the Daming Gate, I don't know what went wrong with the Embroidered Uniform Guard. They went there and set up a tight defense. The sisters in the sect were caught red-handed. After that, it was a chase. We had nowhere to run and were forced by the Embroidered Uniform Guard to come here to fight to the death! It's really bad luck."

As he spoke, he turned his head to show Prince Jing his neck, "Your Highness, look, I was almost shot through the throat here. If it had been just a fraction of a second off, I wouldn't be here today."

Qiu Fu glanced at Zhu Zaizhen with a relaxed smile. "Fortunately, all of this is over. The Prince has arrived, and we have justice now. It's truly thanks to the Buddha's blessing."

Zhu Zaizhen...

He raised an eyebrow halfway through the conversation, and by the end, he had even raised his chin, as if he were also glancing at the other person sideways. "Buddha Mother? What Buddha Mother? She was just a butterfly that flapped its wings a few times, and through a series of coincidences, she became who she is today. If you really want to thank someone... you might as well thank that butterfly."

Qiu Fu was taken aback. "Your Highness's words contain a Zen-like meaning!"

Zhu Zaizhen said smugly, "Right? It's much more sophisticated than your pretentious tricks!"

This statement came out.

The room seemed to freeze for a moment.

The next moment, Qiu Fu's expression slowly faded. In no time, he was no longer the simple and honest servant he had been before. He straightened up, picked up the teacup on the table, and said indifferently as he took a sip, "Why does Your Highness need to point it out? Breaking that barrier will not benefit anyone."

Zhu Zaizhen rested his left hand on the table, held a paper fan in his right hand, stirred the tea in his nearby cup, and casually asked, "What do you mean?"

"He wanted to appease the prince."

The one who answered this question was not Qiu Fu, the young master of the White Lotus Sect, but Zhang Juzheng, the Hanlin compiler who remained silent throughout.

"If I'm not mistaken, they're waiting for nightfall to kidnap the prince. That way, they'll have a chance to escape. Before that, the prince should cooperate as much as possible. If they alert the guards outside, or if something happens to the prince first, everything will be for naught."

"Great minds think alike." Zhu Zaizhen nodded repeatedly: "That's what I think too!"

"Your Highness is right," Qiu Fu interjected in a cold voice. "Then please do us another favor, Your Highness, and escort us for a while. I think... Your Highness shouldn't have any difficulty with that."

After he finished speaking, he raised his finger, and the monk Zhiren standing beside him immediately looked in the direction he pointed. Then, his eyes immediately burst forth with an uncontrollable light!

Gu, who was being stared at, was immediately terrified and shrank back. Zhang Juzheng stood up first and stood directly in front of his wife, followed by a folding fan with water stains.

Swish.

Zhu Zaizhen stood up, unfolded his folding fan, and blocked the monk's path. Prince Jing ignored the monk's murderous gaze and didn't even look at the swarm of blades that were suddenly brought forward.

He stood between the blades, lightly waving his paper fan to shake off a few wisps of tea foam. He stared at Qiu Fu and said calmly, as if describing what to eat for lunch, "If you dare to be insolent again, I'll slit my throat. I'll die first, and then you'll be hacked to death."

Qiu Fu slowly raised his head.

Staring into the boy's eyes, he saw no bluster or cowardice, but Qiu Fu still didn't believe him. "You dare?"

Zhu Zaizhen seemed to have heard a joke, or as if a mental dam that had been held for a long time had suddenly collapsed. The tension, anger, and even cowardice, the desire to live a life of ignominy, and the belief that "if a man dies, he will live forever" that had been blocking him were all stirred up by this and surged down!

When the torrent of emotions surged into his heart, it was no longer the same as before; they had all coalesced into one, leaving only one, which drove Zhu Zaizhen to reveal a slight smile.

A sinister smile appeared on his face.

He pushed aside the blade beside him, walked up to Qiu Fu who was still sitting high up, and slapped the young master of the White Lotus Sect across the face under the other's questioning gaze.

Zhu Zaizhen, his fat face contorted, looked closer at the sudden surge of anger in the other man's eyes, and whispered, "Do you think I wouldn't dare? It's clearly you, you dog being chased like a stray dog, running around everywhere, that you wouldn't dare!"