Gradually, Wang Cheng'en stopped doing everything for Zhu Youjian.
Zhu Youjian had no choice but to turn to Mi Qingli. However, Mi Qingli's change happened at the same time as Wang Cheng'en's. After attending one ideological class after another, both of them increasingly understood what "equality for all" meant, and what "feudal remnants" were.
They began to realize that loyalty had limits.
Being loyal to the country or to one's superior did not mean doing absolutely everything for them. That kind of loyalty was toxic.
Zhu Youjian's daily life now had to be handled by himself.
He quickly discovered that he really did not know how to do anything.
When fastening buttons, he would misalign them. When trimming his nails, he would cut into his own skin. When his clothes tore, he struggled with needle and thread for a long time and still failed to mend them properly.
In the workshop, Wang Cheng'en and Mi Qingli no longer helped him either. He had to work on his own.
Today's task was to assemble paper boxes. Glue had to be spread on cardboard, then the box folded and stuck together.
Zhu Youjian worked until he was drenched in sweat, yet he only managed to finish fifty crooked, misshapen boxes.
When he turned his head, Wang Cheng'en had already completed two hundred and thirty. Mi Qingli had also finished two hundred.
Zhu Youjian wished they would give him a few of theirs.
But he knew that was no longer possible.
Neither of them would help him anymore. If he begged, he would only lose face.
Holding back tears, he gritted his teeth and continued working.
"I cannot lose. I cannot let my former ministers laugh at me."
That evening, the guards came to check the results.
Wang Cheng'en and Mi Qingli were praised as "advanced workers" and "model reform prisoners."
Zhu Youjian, on the other hand, was criticized across the entire workshop for failing to meet the required workload.
For quite some time afterward, his days were nothing short of a nightmare.
He found that he could never do things well.
His clothes never came out properly washed. His hair was always messy. When sticking labels onto bottles, they were uneven, full of wrinkles and air bubbles. Sometimes he even stuck them on upside down and got scolded harshly by the team leader.
Every time the labor camp held a "work competition," Zhu Youjian ranked last.
No matter how hard he tried, he could not catch up.
He was truly trying his best.
But he simply could not catch up.
Only then did he begin to realize something.
He lacked ability. Effort alone was not enough. Doing things required proper methods and techniques.
For example, when sticking labels onto bottles, the harder he pressed, the easier it was to make them crooked or full of bubbles.
So he began to study even harder.
Not just cultural knowledge, but also labor skills.
His body grew stronger. He no longer suffered from sleepless nights. His appetite increased, and his digestion improved.
Gradually, he began to keep up with the group.
From that point on, he truly understood the meaning of labor.
What he liked most was the evening broadcast in the labor camp square. Gao Family News.
It was also everyone's favorite program.
He would always arrive early and sit in the center. At those times, Mi Qingli and Wang Cheng'en would stand on either side of him.
They no longer helped him with tasks, but in crowded places, they still acted as his guards, ensuring no one harmed him.
Zhu Youjian understood.
They were truly loyal ministers.
Only the way they expressed their loyalty had changed. Their sincerity toward him had not.
Today's broadcast unexpectedly showed a documentary from the early Chongzhen years.
When Zhu Youjian saw the great droughts in Shaanxi and the suffering of the people, tears welled up in his eyes.
When he saw Wu Shen taking the one hundred thousand taels of silver he had given, and speaking to Dao Xuan Tianzun, who was disguised as Ji Gong, saying, "One tael can only save one person,"
Zhu Youjian broke down and cried loudly.
"I wanted to save them. I truly wanted to save the people. I tried. I really tried. I was just too foolish back then. I did not know how to save them…"
…
New Ming Calendar, Year Five.
Gao Yiye, the Saintess who had ascended to the immortal realm under Dao Xuan Tianzun's favor, suddenly descended from the sky on a multicolored auspicious cloud.
She returned to the mortal world and brought with her many new and wondrous things. All kinds of food, all kinds of entertainment.
After leaving behind a decree, "Be lenient to others," she ascended once more.
After this event, the leadership convened and made a decision.
A general amnesty.
Of course, it was not the kind of indiscriminate release from the past. Instead, it was selective, granting freedom to those who had shown genuine reform.
Soon, Mi Qingli and Wang Cheng'en were rated "excellent" and qualified for early release.
But neither of them wanted to leave.
They both looked toward Zhu Youjian.
Zhu Youjian froze, then let out a long sigh.
"If I leave… will the people curse me?"
"After these years of learning, I now understand how great my mistakes were. I am afraid. If I step outside… will the people point at me and say I brought them suffering?"
But what one fears often comes true.
On December 4th, Year Five of the New Ming Calendar, when the amnesty committee read out the name "Zhu Youjian" from the stage, he could no longer remain.
He had to leave the labor camp where he had lived for five years.
Here, he had learned how to open doors, dress himself, wash his clothes, mend them, and perform all kinds of labor.
As he stepped out of the gates, he could not help but look back.
Then came the fear of the unknown.
He did not know whether he could survive in this world.
He did not know what kind of life awaited him.
The curses he had imagined never came.
The people outside the camp barely even looked at him.
Once, he had been emperor.
Now, he was just an ordinary man.
Someone was waiting for him.
His Empress Zhou, several consorts, his sons, his daughters.
All of them looked at him with hopeful eyes.
"Husband."
"Father."
Different voices called out.
Zhu Youjian swallowed and asked with difficulty, "These past years… have you been well?"
Empress Zhou nodded slightly.
"We have been well. Dao Xuan Tianzun spared our lives and ensured no one harassed us. The Shen Shield Bureau also arranged for us. Over the years, we learned handicrafts. Our household has managed."
His sons smiled as well.
"We are educated, so we work as clerks in offices. The income is decent. Father, there is a library nearby hiring administrators. You are literate and knowledgeable. You should be able to get the job."
Zhu Youjian was overjoyed.
"No one made things difficult for you?"
"No. We earn our living through our own labor now. Just like everyone else. Why would anyone make things difficult for us?"
Zhu Youjian said, "I… I will do the same."
Only then did he realize.
He had said "I."
Not "We."
When had that changed?
He could not remember.
New Ming Calendar, Year Six.
Zhu Youjian became a librarian in the capital. He was literate and skilled in calligraphy, earning the appreciation of the head librarian.
Year Ten.
The old director passed away. Zhu Youjian was promoted to head librarian.
Year Fourteen.
He was named a model worker.
Year Sixteen.
He voluntarily applied to be transferred to the Forbidden City Museum as its director. His former home had become a museum. Walking through it, memories flooded back, and tears filled his eyes.
Year Eighteen.
He was elected as a representative of the people.
Year Nineteen.
At the nineteenth People's Congress, Zhu Youjian cast his first sacred and solemn vote.