THE UNEXPECTED VISITORS 2

The words uttered in this calm tone sounded like roaring thunder which was so shocking in Zhu Su's ears. He immediately turned to the origin of the voice. And glared at a man in his forties who was bowing to him.

"Good afternoon, Your Highness. My name is Qu You, serving as Zhishi in Kaifeng." Zhishi could be equal to a functional manager in the regional government of a city during the Ming Dynasty. "You may not recognize me, but I know you very well, Your Highness."

Zhu Su's eyes went round. "You are... Kaifeng official?!" He shouted in a half-whisper.

Qu You answered in a respectful manner. "Exactly, Your Highness."

Zhu Su could feel his tense became so fluctuant. His brain thought fast. Thus, he immediately made a decision. He stepped out of the room after previously giving a signal to Qu You to follow him. His hurried step was also followed by Zhu Youdun.

Now the three of them had been in an outdoor courtyard, far away from the crowd.

"It seems that you've been very clear about the Politics of Xuefan. But you are so reckless, you are too valiant by coming here and approaching me. Are you not afraid of losing your life?" Zhu Su asked frankly.

Qu You smirked. "Do you know why the Emperor launches the Politics of Xuefan?"

"Because he hates his uncles, that apostate nephew."

"More than that. The Emperor is afraid of you all, the Fan Wangs."

Zhu Su did not expect, that was evidently what Qu You would say. His eyes widened.

"The Emperor has heard divination saying that his uncles will successfully usurp the Ming throne and overthrow him. The diviner is even incapable to predict his life. The Emperor apparently believes this divination so much, because as Fan Wangs all of you indeed have control of tremendous military power. After all, he is just a freshman compared to all of you. Divination, supported by the possibilities shown in reality, leads him to have the stomach to do cruelty towards all of you."

Now Zhu Su burst out an insulting laugh. "Just because of silly divination then that kid can be such cruel?..."

"In spite of everything, the Emperor is afraid of you. It means that your dignity is still higher than the Emperor's. Although I've never met with him face-to-face, and stay far from him who is in the capital, I can feel the aura of his unconfidence when governing. It then explains why he does so many good things to the people. Abolishing cruel punishments, helping the lower class... because he needs extra protection to suppress the power of his uncles." Qu You's smile widened. "Even the Emperor is afraid of you, so why don't I dare to approach you? Even more, I come to sow the seeds of goodness?"

"To sow the seeds of goodness? What do you mean by that?"

"I want to participate in your medical work, Zhou Wang."

Zhu Su raised his eyebrows. "You are willing to let go of your Zhishi position in Kaifeng to follow the deadlock me?!"

"Who says that your movement is a deadlock? Don't disregard yourself! You'll never know what will happen in the future!"

"But... is that right? I'm not a Fan Wang anymore, I'm just a fugitive!..."

"Your Highness, we believe in you so much, why don't you believe in yourself?!" Qu You's face hardened. He looked angry.

Zhu Su laughed satiely. "Mr. Qu... You must merely want to cheer me up... I don't know why you can respect me to that point and thus come here, but reality is still reality. No matter how good my works are, as long as it's not approved by the Emperor, it will then be useless!"

Unless the effort of Brother Di and I can be successful...

"The Emperor who is incompetent in managing even only Kaifeng?"

"The Emperor is incompetent in managing Kaifeng?... Oh yes, Mr. Qu... How is Kaifeng now? And... how is my son, Youxun?..."

The last question was indeed the question Zhu Su had been eager to ask from the beginning. He was very curious about his apostate second son. He guessed, now Zhu Yunwen must have put him in the position of Zhou Wang, for his help in slandering his father and brother.

"Your second son?"

"He has become the new Zhou Wang, hasn't he?"

"No. He is still at his original position as Runan Jun Wang."

Both Zhu Su and Zhu Youdun were dumbfounded.

"Youxun has helped the Emperor make a false report in order to punish both of us, why doesn't the Emperor reward him with what he wants?" Zhu Youdun asked in confusion.

"Please excuse my ignorance, I can't provide you the answer."

"Does Yunwen plan to abolish the power of the Fan Wangs? So maybe it is his will, abolishing the position of Fan Wang in Kaifeng." Zhu Su guessed.

"But well... after your departure, Runan Jun Wang turns to be very powerful. He doesn't become Fan Wang, but he acts as if he were Fan Wang. He oppresses everyone as he likes. Embellishing the palace on a large scale, partying every day lavishly, what he does is merely emptying regional income. And the Emperor just ignores him. So how can he be called capable of managing Kaifeng?"

"Geez, Youxun likes to party lavishly?! It turns out that all this time he has only suppressed his messy manner to ingratiate himself with Fu Wang!" Zhu Youdun grumbled.

"But... perhaps Yunwen is a cunning person. He learns that Youxun is very ambitious and possibly targets his throne, so he doesn't create Youxun as Fan Wang and only spoils him with luxury, so that his throne is safe from Youxun's target. After all, he doesn't dare to get rid of him, as because of Youxun's help in slandering me then his Politics of Xuefan towards me can be successfully implemented," Zhu Su smiled sarcastically. "Well... that's what is going to happen if bad people are allied with each other. The results won't be okay."

"But I am furious, Fu Wang! Youxun is so apostate and offhanded, but he gets such a very good life! Heaven is really unfair!" Zhu Youdun grumbled again.

Condemning Heaven? Yes, even from earlier Zhu Su had also been urged to condemn Heaven. The flames of hatred flared again in his heart. For a second, he fully supported Zhu Di who had the heart to do the cruelty just for the sake of winning the war and deposing them from the throne of pleasure.

"So, Your Highness? Do you know the reason why I want to follow you? I really can't stand seeing that mess in Kaifeng government. The mayor and other government officials only try to lick Runan Jun Wang's ass by sending prostitute girls every night and they even join in that immoral activity with those girls. Virtuous officials begin to resign one by one, although there are lots of messy officials who still remain there. And I, choose to follow you." Qu You bowed to Zhu Su. "Your Highness, please permit me to be your follower!"

"So do we, Your Highness. Let us be your followers!"

About nine to ten men of various ages came to pay their respects to Zhu Su, who looked at all of them in great surprise. Qu You himself shouted, "You... finally you come, too?!"

"We are all the former officials in Kaifeng who see eye to eye with Qu You. We are all fed up with the chaos of Kaifeng government yet are powerless to change it. Your Highness! Let us follow you. We promise to help you with great earnestness, to help people and improve their standard of living!"

Zhu Su kept staring at them. His eyes wandered, from Qu You, to the person next to him, and another one, and so on. Slowly, immense tension filled his chest. He was so touched, those Kaifeng officials were willing to follow him even though they knew he was a fugitive. If he were a woman, he would have cried because of this touching emotion.

"Yes..." Zhu Su said hoarsely. "I accept all of you... and... thank you very much... Thank you very much, for your trust in me. I promise, I will not disappoint you! I will definitely be a good leader, for the sake of all people!"