Chapter 64: Starving... Lord Liu, Why Are You Here Too?

"According to Tian Youde's confession..."

"Oh! Lord Liu, why are you here too?"

The newcomer truthfully reported everything that had been extracted from the interrogation.

Whether he was doing it on purpose or had genuinely just noticed him, he turned around, his face cold, and grinned at Liu Sanwu.

Liu Sanwu felt his vision go dark for a moment, his body swaying as he almost tumbled straight to the ground.

Although he did not know who this fellow in front of him was, he knew for certain that this man was absolute bad news.

How could someone as large as himself be missed unless the man was completely blind?

Clearly seeing him standing right here, the man had deliberately pretended not to notice, and had gone ahead and spilled every single detail about his "father-in-law" right in front of him.

He was showing him not an ounce of respect!

"Ha, haha! My lord, you jest. May I ask who you are?" Forcing down the intense discomfort in his chest, Liu Sanwu managed to squeeze out a smile.

"Brocade Guard, newly appointed Commander of the Southern Pacification Office, Ji Gang. If Lord Liu has any prisoners in the future who refuse to talk, just hand them over to me, Ji. I guarantee they'll confess even what they wet the bed with by age three within a single day."

"Alright! Ji Gang, stop provoking Lord Liu." Zhu Yunsong spoke up at the opportune moment.

Although it sounded somewhat like a reprimand, the corners of his mouth were actually slightly upturned.

Ji Gang closed his mouth and said no more, the sinister aura about him surfacing once again.

It gave one the illusion that he had just walked out of the underworld.

"Lord Liu, take a look for yourself! Your convenient father-in-law has confessed to quite a few matters." Ignoring Ji Gang, Zhu Yunsong raised a hand and tossed the confession directly in front of Liu Sanwu.

Panicking, Liu Sanwu picked the confession up from the ground and hurriedly began to read through it.

Yet the more he read, the more alarmed he became, until he finally let out a deep breath of relief at the very end.

Good, good!

Fortunately, that fool Tian Youde was not stupid to the bone; he hadn't implicated him as well.

Otherwise, he really would be finished...

Even so, Liu Sanwu felt utterly wretched inside.

Just as Zhu Yunsong was proposing the establishment of the Cabinet, an incident like this breaking out meant he would probably have to completely kiss goodbye to any chance of becoming a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet.

If it were someone else, they might be able to grit their teeth and wait a few years for the next Cabinet reshuffle.

But he was already sixty-five; five years from now, he would be seventy.

Ah! So be it, so be it! It was time, it was fate...

"Your Highness! Your humble servant... your humble servant has been lax in the discipline of his family, truly failing the trust placed in him by Your Highness and the late Emperor. Your humble servant earnestly begs Your Highness to grant him permission to resign from his official post and retire into seclusion."

Liu Sanwu had no idea how he had managed to speak those words aloud.

Decades of striving, of scheming and plotting against one another.

Having finally climbed to the position of head of one of the Six Ministries, he had even been poised to advance further.

Having survived the bloodthirsty reign of Zhu Yuanzhang, he had thought the young new emperor would surely lean heavily on him, but instead...

"What does Lord Liu mean by this?" Zhu Yunsong asked, feigning puzzlement.

Yet deep down inside, he was laughing fit to burst.

Old fellows like Liu Sanwu and the rest were stubbornly ossified in their ways, yet they stubbornly occupied high positions and commanded vast followings of disciples.

Even Zhu Yunsong had to consider what kind of reaction might ripple through the ranks if the Cabinet excluded these old guard officials.

He had never expected that a simple routine inspection would prompt Liu Sanwu to voluntarily resign—it was quite literally an unexpected windfall.

As the old saying goes, an old man is crafty and an old horse is wily; how could Liu Sanwu not see right through what Zhu Yunsong was thinking?

Lifting his head to glance at the emperor, another inner sigh escaped him: every emperor brings his own courtiers.

"Your Highness! Your humble servant has felt of late that his health is not what it used to be, and is truly no longer capable of bearing the heavy burdens of state affairs. Therefore, I implore Your Highness to take pity on your servant..."

"Ah! Since Lord Liu has put it this way, it would be improper for Us to insist on keeping Lord Liu here. Otherwise, others might think Us a cold and ungrateful master." Zhu Yunsong let out a theatrical, prolonged sigh, though the smile at the edge of his lips was utterly impossible to suppress.

With that, he glanced over toward Ma Sanbao.

"Sanbao! Go to Our treasury and fetch a tri-color glazed *ruyi* scepter."

"Understood, Your Highness." Ma Sanbao departed with his shoulders visibly trembling.

Oh, Your Highness, Your Highness!

You really are stingy. The man has voluntarily resigned, and you're fobbing him off with something made of ordinary sand.

Hahaha!

Before long, Ma Sanbao returned holding a tri-color *ruyi*.

Without even glancing at it, Zhu Yunsong waved his hand magnanimously and said, "Lord Liu! Since you insist on retiring, We cannot stop you. However, considering Lord Liu's many years of service and great contributions to the Imperial Grandfather and the Great Ming dynasty, We specially bestow upon you this *ruyi*..."

"Thank... Thank Your Highness for this gracious favor!" Liu Sanwu bowed deeply, his tone growing much lighter.

He had heard whispers about the morning auction, and was well aware of the astronomical price fetched by tri-color glazed wares.

The scepter in his hand alone was worth at least over ten thousand taels of silver.

"Hahaha! As long as Lord Liu likes it."

"Sanbao, personally escort Lord Liu out."

"Understood!"

Ma Sanbao supported Liu Sanwu as they walked away, leaving the former minister no opportunity whatsoever to retract his resignation.

Not until their retreating figures had vanished from sight did the smile on Zhu Yunsong's face instantly vanish completely.

"Ji Gang!"

"This subject is here!" Ji Gang dropped immediately to one knee.

Zhu Yunsong gave him a deep, searching look and issued his command: "I give you two days. Before We ascend the throne the day after tomorrow, dig up every single dirt on the rest of these old ministers. Can you do it?"

Ji Gang trembled all over, a look of fierce excitement instantly flooding his face.

"Your Highness, rest assured. If this subject fails, I am willing to offer my head to atone for it."

"Good! Go." Zhu Yunsong waved a hand and said, "Remember not to be too violent. Do a good job, and there will be a heavy reward."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Ji Gang rose, burning with excitement, and strode swiftly away.

Shortly after, Ma Sanbao returned.

Approaching Zhu Yunsong, he smiled and reported in a soft voice, "Your Highness, Lord Liu has been seen off. At the palace gates, he performed the three-kneel-and-nine-prostration ritual toward the inner palace..."

"Alright! We know." Unconcerned, Zhu Yunsong issued another instruction: "Go and summon Chen Jing to Us."

***

Heaven and Earth Joy, Third Floor.

Old Zhu lay upon the soft and comfortable sofa, his eyes half-closed as he slowly lowered his teacup.

"You're certain that after leaving the palace, that old fellow Liu Sanwu went straight back to his estate and even had his family start packing up?"

"Your Majesty, this subject witnessed it with his own eyes. Lord Liu was personally escorted out by Eunuch Sanbao, and after performing the three-kneel-and-nine-prostration ritual right at the palace gates, he removed his official cap with his own hands." Chen Eryu replied with a smile.

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly, stroking his beard as he fell into deep contemplation.

"Your Majesty, that would mean Liu Sanwu must have stepped down of his own accord," Tang He chimed in.

Fu Youde laughed and said, "Heh! Doesn't this old fellow usually have a pretty thick skin? How is it that just as he's about to enter the Cabinet, he chooses to retire?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was frowning as well. When it came to familiarity with those veteran ministers, truly no one in the entire Great Ming could compare to him.

Yet try as he might, Zhu Yuanzhang simply could not fathom what on earth had driven Liu Sanwu to voluntarily retire at a time like this.