Chapter 228
In the imperial palace of Yingtian, morning light filtered through the grand hall’s lattice windows as Zhu Yuanzhang furrowed his brows in surprise.
“An envoy from the Zhou Dynasty?”
He cast a sharp, pondering glance at Zhu Di, then turned toward Zhu Biao.
“Take to see it.”
Zhu Biao gave a respectful nod. Monts later, inside the palace reception courtyard, Zhu Yuanzhang stood before a large glass vat. His gaze settled on the strange, squirming contents within—nurous blue and red crayfish swam in circles, their claws twitching in the clear water.
With a hint of curiosity, he muttered, “What is this creature called? Why have I never seen it before?”
The envoy from the Great Zhou stepped forward with a respectful bow. “Reporting to His Majesty, this creature is called a crayfish. It is a rare and exotic species our kingdom retrieved from overseas.
It wears soft armor and wields iron pincers. Her Majesty found it quite peculiar and has sent it to Your Majesty as a gift, hoping you would enjoy it.”
Zhu Yuanzhang listened with a asured nod. A flicker of amusent passed through his eyes before he replied,
“Her Majesty is thoughtful. Convey my gratitude to her. Tell her I am pleased with the gift.”
The envoy bowed again and withdrew from the courtyard.
Once the envoy had left, Zhu Yuanzhang turned toward his sons.
“Now tell —what do you suppose that Empress of the Zhou Dynasty ant by sending us… these crayfish?”
Zhu Biao studied the wriggling creatures in the jar and offered thoughtfully,
“Perhaps the Empress is implying sothing with this gift? After all, they resemble shelled insects. Why call them ‘dragon shrimp’? There might be symbolism.”
Zhu Di blinked, scratching his head. “Wait… I think I get it. Longxia, right? Could it be a pun? ‘Dragon’ and ‘blind’?
“The dragon must represent Father. Maybe the Empress is saying Father is blind?”
The words had barely left Zhu Di’s mouth when Zhu Yuanzhang’s face darkened. His eyes widened with rage, and the hair on his arms seed to bristle with fury.
“So I’m blind now? Blind enough to have raised a son like you!”
He slamd his hand down on the table, voice thundering through the courtyard.
“That little wench from the Zhou court must be mocking —saying I can’t tell right from wrong, allowing a rebellious son to slander the ruler of another nation!”
Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang imdiately associated Wu Zhao’s crayfish gift with the foolish remarks Zhu Di had made about her. Zhu Di shrank back in sha, keeping his head bowed and lips sealed. He knew better than to argue.
Zhu Biao gave a dry chuckle. His father’s logic, while extre, had so truth to it. Still, Zhu Di was his brother, and he couldn’t let him take the bla alone forever.
“Father,” he said carefully, “perhaps the Empress didn’t an anything by it. It might simply be a rare creature she thought worthy of presenting to you. Nothing more.”
Zhu Yuanzhang turned a sharp eye on him.
“Biao’er, don’t try to defend him. Why would she send sothing out of the blue unless it was in response to that foolish boy’s offense? And why now, of all tis?
“She never sent gifts before. It’s obvious—she’s displeased and using this so-called gift to slap in the face in front of the court. This is all that rebellious son’s fault! He’s cost face!”
Zhu Biao gave a helpless smile. In truth, he agreed—Zhu Di’s behavior had crossed a line. Despite the underlying rivalry between the Ming and Zhou dynasties, they were still allies on paper. It was crude and reckless to insult another emperor so brazenly.
No wonder Father felt humiliated.
Zhu Di remained hunched in silence, accepting the scolding.
After a long stretch of shouting, Zhu Yuanzhang finally waved his hand, exhausted.
“Enough. Go back and reflect on your actions.”
He eyed the glass jar one last ti. “As for these troubleso crayfish… put them in the pond in the imperial garden. At least they’re sothing novel.”
Later that night, well past sunset, in the remote countryside beyond Yingtian’s city walls, a group of laborers stood at the edge of a rice field. Moonlight reflected off their wooden cart, piled with sealed buckets.
“Here’s fine. Dump everything in,” one of them said, gripping a bucket’s handle and tilting it over the flooded paddy.
The others followed suit without hesitation.
With loud splashes, the crayfish spilled into the field, water bursting in arcs as the armored creatures scattered into the mud. The laborers worked quickly, pouring out every last bucket before moving on to the next location.
…
Three months passed.
On a humid afternoon in the outskirts of Yingtian Prefecture, a dark-skinned farr stood knee-deep in a flooded rice field. His hands trembled slightly as he raised a clump of flattened seedlings from the waterlogged soil.
“What the hell…?”
He rubbed his eyes in disbelief. He had been tending this paddy for years. It had always produced good harvests. Now, nearly all the seedlings were crushed or uprooted.
His heart sank. These had been his best plants. With the damage this extensive, the year’s harvest would be ruined.
An older man approached along the field’s edge, cane tapping the ground.
“What’s wrong, Second Son?”
The younger farr gave a bitter smile as he held up the limp stalks.
“Father, look at this… the seedlings are just collapsing for no reason. If this keeps up, we’re not going to have anything to harvest this year…”
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