Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1037 Confession
Zhu Shenzhu looked at Zhu Cilang and smiled. He did not expect that the former prince would take the initiative to stand up and speak for his father, and even bow his head to apologize to him.

It is not easy to have such courage at such a young age. You know, Zhu Youjian and his son are prisoners of Zhu Shencui. It can be said that their life and death are in the hands of Zhu Shencui.

"Your Highness, there is no need to do this. I have no intention of doing anything to the Emperor, otherwise I would not have only dealt with Wang Chengen." Zhu Shenzhui said with a smile. As soon as he said this, Zhu Cilang felt relieved. It seemed that the Emperor had no intention of dealing with them today, but why did he arrest Wang Chengen as soon as he arrived? Could it be that Wang Chengen had really done something? But the problem was that Wang Chengen and them had been staying in Changchun Palace and could not leave the palace. What could he, a eunuch who had lost his power, do?

Although thinking this in his heart, Zhu Cilang did not dare to ask, for fear of causing trouble. But Zhu Youjian did not care about these. He witnessed Wang Chengen, who had been with him for many years, being arrested in front of him. Zhu Youjian's anger can be imagined.

"What did Wang Daban do that you treat him like this? Are you trying to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys? If that's the case, there's no need to bother, just take me. I'm right here!"

Zhu Youjian's tough attitude shocked several princes, and they had no time to stop him. Isn't this adding fuel to the fire? Does his father still think he is the emperor? Now he is the emperor in name but a prisoner in reality! If he uses such words to provoke the emperor, what will happen if Zhu Shenzhu attacks them in anger?

Just when they were feeling uneasy, Zhu Shenzhui spoke slowly, "You are you, and Wang Chengen is Wang Chengen. I know Wang Chengen has been with you for many years, and even if you keep a dog, you will eventually develop feelings for it. But there are some things you don't know. This dog did something it shouldn't have done behind its owner's back. Since the dog has caused trouble for its owner, it must be dealt with."

"As for you and the other princes, you are unaware of this, and as you are the emperor, I will not do anything to you. Please do not ask any more questions about this matter for now. I will come to Changchun Palace to see you when I have some clues. I will then tell you about this matter in detail. How about that?"

After saying this, Zhu Shenzhui stood up and left without waiting for Zhu Youjian to answer, and Crown Prince Zhu Minlan followed closely behind him, and the two left Changchun Palace one after the other.

Looking at their receding figures, Zhu Youjian subconsciously wanted to call out to Zhu Shenzhui to ask for clarion, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he couldn't shout out for some reason and could only watch them leave.

After Zhu Shenzhu and his son left Changchun Palace, Zhu Youjian sat in a chair weakly, frowning and looking solemn, with a hint of doubt and confusion. Until now, he still didn't understand what Wang Chengen had done to cause Zhu Shenzhu to come to Changchun Palace in person and use such means to arrest people.

Could it be that Wang Chengen really did something behind his back? That shouldn't be the case! Changchun Palace is the Forbidden Palace, and Zhu Shenzhu's men are stationed outside. The entire palace is under strict surveillance. To put it bluntly, not even a fly can fly out.

Wang Chengen had been accompanying him in Changchun Palace all along. Right under his nose, what could he do? Could it be that Zhu Shenzhui deliberately found a reason that was not a reason to punish Wang Chengen to hit him? But this shouldn't be the case! With his understanding of Zhu Shenzhui, there was no need to do this, and what was the purpose of doing this? For a moment, Zhu Youjian really couldn't figure it out.

It took only half an hour from entering Changchun Palace to leaving it. After leaving Changchun Palace, Zhu Shenzhu did not return to Qianqing Palace, but went to the nearby Yangxin Palace.

The Hall of Mental Cultivation is a palace courtyard built during the Jiajing period. Initially, this place was used by Jiajing to practice Taoism, so it was named the Hall of Mental Cultivation. After Jiajing, the emperors who succeeded him did not live here, but they still carried out regular repairs and maintenance here, so it still retains its original appearance.

I came here because it's close and it's relatively quiet.

After Zhu Shenzhui entered the capital, he came here several times and was not unfamiliar with it.

After entering the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Zhu Shenzui sat down directly in the room. Crown Prince Zhu Minlan sat beside him. Lu Jiude and some guards were waiting at the door. The scale of the Hall of Mental Cultivation was naturally not as large as that of the Palace of Heavenly Purity. It was much smaller than that of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, but people could stay more casually here. Perhaps this was the reason why, starting from Yongzheng, several emperors of the Qing Dynasty converted the Hall of Mental Cultivation into sleeping palaces and office places to replace the Palace of Heavenly Purity.

Not long after they arrived at the Yangxin Palace, just as Zhu Shencui was talking to the prince, someone came to report that Xu Xiancheng had arrived.

"Let him in!" Zhu Shenzhui said lightly.

As soon as the words fell, Xu Xiancheng responded and entered the Yangxin Palace. Seeing the emperor and the crown prince, he stepped forward and saluted. "Your Majesty, Wang Chengen confessed."

"Confessed?" Zhu Shenzhui was a little surprised. From the time he went to Changchun Palace to capture Wang Chengen, it was only less than an hour. How could Wang Chengen confess in such a short time?
"Wang Chengen is a smart man. He understands why Your Majesty wants him. Besides, he doesn't want the matter to involve the former emperor, so when he saw me, he confessed without any argument." Xu Xiancheng explained.

This makes sense, Zhu Shenzhu nodded and suddenly realized, and at the same time admired Wang Chengen's decisiveness. Wang Chengen's doing this is the best choice at the moment. If he refuses to confess, he will not only suffer, but also provoke Zhu Shenzhu's anger. Once Zhu Shenzhu hates Zhu Youjian and his son because of this matter, then no one can guarantee whether Zhu Youjian and his son will be involved in this matter.

After all, Wang Chengen is Zhu Youjian's best companion and a eunuch who has been with Zhu Youjian for more than 20 years. Wang Chengen has followed Zhu Youjian since Zhu Youjian was a teenager. Over such a long time, the two have a deep relationship. Although they are master and servant, in Wang Chengen's heart they are more like father and son. It can be said that for Zhu Youjian, he, Wang Chengen, is willing to die.

The same was true of Wang Chengen's ending in history. When the capital fell and Zhu Youjian was left with nowhere to go, the one who accompanied him to leave this world was none other than Wang Chengen.

Since Zhu Shencui came to Changchun Palace as the emperor today and went directly to Wang Chengen, Wang Chengen was smart enough to know that Zhu Shencui had known about his secret plan, and he took decisive action.

In this case, Wang Chengen no longer had to hide anything. Moreover, everything he did was for Zhu Youjian. If Zhu Youjian was implicated because of his own reasons, it would go against Wang Chengen's original intention, which was why he confessed so quickly.

"What did he confess?" Zhu Shenzhui asked directly.

Xu Xiancheng took out a transcript and handed it over: "I have written down the contents of Wang Chengen's confession. Please read it, Your Majesty."

The prince helped to take it and handed it to Zhu Shenzhui. Zhu Shenzhui looked through it carefully. It contained Wang Chengen's confession. It not only described the planning and process of the incident, but also named a number of people. Some of these people were there to pass on information to Wang Chengen, and some were his accomplices. The number of people was not large. After all, although Wang Chengen was involved in this incident, he was not the real mastermind. He cooperated with the other party because of the interests involved. As for this interest, it was for Zhu Youjian. As Zhu Youjian's close companion, Wang Chengen had always wanted to let Zhu Youjian rule the world again, instead of being imprisoned in Changchun Palace and suffering. For this reason, Wang Chengen secretly contacted and cooperated with the other party through an intermediary without telling Zhu Youjian.

"Haha, there are still so many flies in my palace. It seems that I am not qualified to be an emperor." Looking at the names on the list and their identities and positions, Zhu Shenzhui couldn't help laughing.

On the side, Lu Jiude was already frightened pale after hearing these words. As the chief eunuch in the palace and the head of the Imperial Household Department, Lu Jiude was in charge of the affairs of the Qianqing Palace and other inner palaces. Now that such a big thing had happened in the inner palace, he could not escape the responsibility no matter what.

"I deserve to die! I deserve to die!" Lu Jiude knelt down with a plop, kowtowed to Zhu Shenzhui, and cursed those bastards in her heart for doing such a thing. Could it be that the current emperor is not good? Although Zhu Shenzhui restricted some of the eunuchs' power after he ascended the throne, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Minister of the Imperial Guards were divided into some powers, Zhu Shenzhui was still a relatively easy emperor to get along with. Even though he was a little strict, he was very reasonable. He was not as moody as Emperor Chongzhen. As long as they did their duties in the palace, the eunuchs' lives were not difficult.

But someone was unwilling to be lonely, and actually colluded with the outer court with the inner palace, and even joined forces with Wang Chengen, the bastard, to do such a thing. This is a crime of treason! Lu Jiude was panicking now. Although he did not participate in this matter, and he didn't know about it, many things happened under his nose.

"You really deserve to die!" Zhu Shenzhui said this bluntly, which frightened Lu Jiude even more. However, the next sentence pulled Lu Jiude back to heaven from hell.

"As the chief eunuch of the Qianqing Palace and the chief eunuch of the Imperial Household, you can't even manage the affairs of the palace. What use is there for me to have you? However, considering that you have always been serious about your work, you are only responsible for not investigating this matter. You can be sentenced to death but not forgiven for your crime. I will punish you with thirty strokes of the cane, remove you from your post as the chief eunuch, and keep you in the Qianqing Palace."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness. Thank you, Your Majesty..." Lu Jiude was so grateful that tears fell down. What was a mere thirty strokes of the board? As for losing the eunuch who held the pen, it was nothing. The key point was that the emperor still kept him in the Qianqing Palace, which meant that the emperor did not really blame him.

"Go! Arrest all the people on these lists for me! Question their accomplices and find out who else is involved. When you have done this, you will be punished. If you fail, don't come back to see me." Zhu Shenzui threw the list in his hand to Lu Jiude and said lightly. Lu Jiude held the list in both hands and agreed hurriedly, then quickly retreated with his butt sticking out. After leaving the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, Lu Jiude took a look at the list in his hand, his face full of ferocious murderous intent. He directly named a few people, plus the palace guards, and left angrily.

(End of this chapter)