STEPPING TO THE TRUTH 1

Zhu Su was hobbling along the deserted corridor. The beauty of the garden beside the corridor could not make his mood better even for the slightest. As he stepped forward, that scenery always crossed his mind; how Team of Wellbeing's new members was so vicious against him, and how harsh the accusations Rui, Xue Mei, and especially, Fa Ha, shouted towards him.

"Your Highness! Is it proper for you to call yourself a leader since you can only rule with violence?!?"

"Ming government is even worse than Yuan, exclaiming that all for sake of the people, but what Hongwu Emperor has done is actually murdering thousands of people arbitrarily! Especially towards us, Yunnan people! You look down on us, treat us no more than animals, and you ravage people's lives during the War of Yunnan! Looting people's property, castrating the boys, and raping the girls!"

"And you too, as his son, you're the same as your father! You are all the same, a bunch of inhuman, megalomaniac madmen!"

Word by word the old farmer said stabbed straight to his deepest heart. That accusation really made him angry and heart-wounded. What he actually wanted to do was solely for the welfare of Yunnan people. His wish was to help Yunnan people to get out of the suffering caused by illness. He did not expect any retribution for that, in fact, he did not chase for more power which every prince always tried to get to. He sincerely wanted to devote himself to the happiness of human beings, otherwise, for what reason should he form Team of Wellbeing without imperial sponsors? If he was a power freak, then all he would do was simply flattering and licking his father's arse so that his father would be happy with him and gave him the title of the crown prince, and as the result, he would become the next emperor. Nevertheless, he instead struggled to heal sick people here, and must rack his brains and energy because of that. But what did he get? Did he get an award? Did he get more power? No, it was worse than his simple wish. He was even accused of being a cruel leader!

It hurt. Really hurt!

Did he deserve to be angry? Because after all, he was still a human, not a god. He was an ordinary human being who could be angry, sad, and frustrated. A human who was sustainable of rising his temper and urged to vent his anger.

But it was precisely those accusations that prevented him from punishing them severely, as the government laws had actually legalized.

He did not want to be labeled as a cruel leader, and above all, he did not want Ming got marked as a despotic nation.

Thence, even though he was very furious, and he knew he could legally punish all of them... in the end, he did not do it. He could not do it, otherwise, the Ming government would become more infamous as a tyrant government which could only strangle their people with the violence of the sword, further making Ming's prestige slump in the eyes of the people. Even though the new members had carried out the offhand assault and broke the law, all he could do now was merely stopping his steps on one of the pillars in the corridor, then punched the pillar violently to vent his anger.

"Daaammnnn!!!" What he could do now was just yelling in frustration. Shouting in despair when he was alone, with a breeze as the only audience which could hear it. Then, he bowed his head in agony accompanied by merely the silence, letting all the turmoil he felt be blown away by the breeze.

A gentle breeze came and whispered to him, "Come to the lakeside in Mount Laojun, and calm your mind there."

Zhu Su raised his head. The voice whispered so fast, and went as fast as the blowing wind. But the reverberations still rang clearly in Zhu Su's mind.

It's true. Why didn't I remember that? Contemplating is precisely what I must do right now. Yes, my mind is so tangled, I really don't have idea of what to do and how to get the way for it... I should do contemplation.

From a distance, Hu Nayin watched Zhu Su hurriedly walked out of the government office. Very worried about Zhu Su's condition, Hu Nayin decided to follow the prince secretly to Mount Laojun.

***

The atmosphere of the lake in Mount Laojun was still the same as before - calm, peaceful, and seemingly able to lead us to mystical solemnity. The scenery was so bewitching it drove Zhu Su to be lulled to forget all complexities in life he had to endure.

Zhu Su walked fast to the largest rock beside the lake, then sat cross-legged on it. He put his hands on his knees, closed his eyes, then began to calm his mind.

At first, it was very difficult to contemplate. Flash of unpleasant memories began to disturb his mind. Xie Wang's incitement... He was humiliated by Xie Wang in public... Yunnan people who preferred to follow Xie Wang due to fear of threats... He trusted ten new members so much, he stood up for them to the extent that he argued with Li Heng, but now they turned to stab him... How annoying those memories were! His breathing became so stertorous, his head was aching, and he soon failed to contemplate.

Panting, he opened his eyes. He looked at his surroundings. The flowers of peony, as well as datura that were yet to bloom, stared back at him.

My mind is so chaotic... Hopefully, Heaven will help me to be able to clear my chaotic mind...

Zhu Su closed his eyes again, and back to focus on calming his mind.

The sun that was shining brightly over his head, had now painted the skyline with bluish red. Whether his contemplation made progress or not, Zhu Su himself was not sure of it. He did not feel that his mind had become completely calm. But he could not stay overnight in this remote mountain. He must return to his residence.

Zhu Su weakly got to his feet, and was about to walk down the mountain, when his gaze met with the datura. The flowers were starting to bloom.

"This Manduoluohua is beautiful, apparently..." Zhu Su muttered as he approached those trumpet-shaped flowers. But the shape of datura was indeed stunningly beautiful. More precisely to say, unique. Different from the flowers that he usually viewed in the Central Plain. "So lovely, I'll make them as decorative flowers in my residence."

Zhu Su picked some datura flowers. After that, he immediately went home.

From behind, Hu Nayin continued to follow Zhu Su in silence, until finally, the prince returned to his residence.