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

Chapter 1042: Prince Benevolence
As the three judicial organs began to intervene in the case, the facts of the case gradually became clear.

Soon, this matter was gradually known to the outside world. When they learned that someone was secretly planning a rebellion and even intended to help the abdicated Zhu Youjian to restore the throne, most of the subjects could not imagine that such a thing would happen.

What was the Ming Dynasty like before and what is the situation of the Ming Dynasty now? Everyone has eyes, especially ordinary people, who can feel the difference.

The Ming Dynasty finally had a leader who could revive the country, but someone wanted to rebel and make the Ming Dynasty return to the previous era. Thinking about the dire situation of the Ming Dynasty and the miserable lives of the people in the local areas during the reign of Emperor Chongzhen, who would want to go back to such a life instead of a good one?

For a time, the public was excited and there were countless people cursing the rebels. Of course, there were also many people who made excuses for the case, especially those who spoke for the old friends who were implicated. They just said some clichés, but these remarks had no effect in the overall situation and were even hated by many people.

The case was very clear, and the Jinyiwei acted very quickly, almost catching all the people involved in the case. Besides, most of these people were able to do such a thing, except for a very small number of people who had been brainwashed and had gone into the devil's way. They didn't have much integrity, and they confessed everything they did without being tortured, crying and repenting, hoping to save their lives and spare their families.

But how could this be possible? Such a serious crime of treason would never be easily let off in all dynasties. The dozens of people who led it would definitely be sentenced to death. Among these people were officials of the court, gentry and even nobles. No matter what their purpose was, since they had done such a thing, their fate was doomed.

Even if the three judicial officials intended to control the course of the case and implicate as few people as possible, they all had the same view on these main culprits. In this situation, no one dared to say that they would be sentenced leniently. Once such a suggestion was made, wouldn't it be equivalent to equating themselves with these traitors? Everyone has a self-protection mentality. With irrefutable evidence, these people would definitely have no way out.

However, among the other people involved in the case, not only the three judicial officials, but also the cabinet asked whether they could be given a light sentence. After all, many people did not know the truth and were merely used or participated in the case for other reasons. Although they were guilty, their crimes did not deserve the death penalty. They hoped that the emperor would show mercy and spare their lives.

Zhu Shenzhui had long anticipated such a situation. At first, he firmly disagreed, believing that since he was an accomplice in the crime of treason, regardless of whether he was directly involved or did not know the truth, he had to bear the consequences of his actions.

Not to mention these people, Zhu Shenzhu also planned to kill a group of students who participated in the riot. After all, according to the Ming Dynasty law, it was legally okay to kill these people. Zhu Yuanzhang had killed so many people in several major cases. Could it be that all those who were beheaded were criminals? In fact, most of them were just implicated. But if they were killed, what would happen?

Not only did Zhu Shencui have such a tough attitude, but many officials in the court also expressed that they must make an example of him. Among these people were Zhu Shencui's team, as well as ministers who later defected to Zhu Shencui. In addition, there were some speculators who intended to use this case to show their loyalty to the emperor and to use this opportunity to rise to prominence. These people were resolute in their attitude and encouraged the emperor to severely punish all prisoners, saying that only in this way could future troubles be prevented and the world be deterred.

At this time, no one expected that the crown prince Zhu Minlan would stand against the emperor, expressing his attitude of only executing the main culprit. He thought that it would be too much to kill all of them, and God has the virtue of loving life. Although these people were implicated in the case, they were not the main culprits. Most of them were just implicated and deceived. It is said that knowing one's mistakes can improve one's behavior. A monarch should rule the world with benevolence. He begged the emperor not to punish too many people to show his grace.

It is said that the prince and the emperor quarreled endlessly because of this. The emperor was so angry that he wanted to beat the prince and scolded him for being too soft-hearted. How could a monarch be so soft-hearted? If they did not make a decision, they would suffer the consequences. Since they had done such a thing, they had to bear the consequences.

But the prince refused to give in and argued with the emperor, and even went on a hunger strike in the palace to force the emperor to give in. Under such circumstances, the emperor was furious and was said to have planned to depose the prince. Fortunately, the queen came to persuade him after hearing the news, and several important ministers who heard the news persuaded him, and finally the emperor did not do it.

In this way, the emperor and the prince confronted each other for several days, but the prince refused to give in. In addition, the emperor had no choice because of the queen's dissuasion. In desperation, the emperor could only call in the cabinet elders and the officials of the three judicial departments to discuss, and finally made some concessions. In addition to the execution of the main culprit, his family members barely spared their lives. The men were exiled, and the women were sent to the Jiaofangsi. As for the other implicated people, according to the severity of the crime, in addition to convicting and killing a few people, the rest were sentenced to confiscation of property and exile. As for the students and students who made trouble, their official titles were revoked and they were not allowed to take the imperial examinations again. However, because the prince pleaded for mercy, their family members were not implicated, which means that their children and relatives were not included in the list and were not implicated.

Although this result was not the best, it was not the worst either, and was eventually accepted by the vast majority of people. Moreover, after the news spread that the prince had argued with the emperor over this matter and even threatened the emperor with his own life to force him to make concessions, the people became more and more favorable to the prince. Even after this matter gradually spread from the capital to other provinces of the Ming Dynasty, the prince's reputation and prestige continued to rise. Countless people praised the prince's benevolence and believed that the Ming Dynasty was lucky to have such a crown prince. The Ming Dynasty would not only be able to revive, but also create an unprecedented situation in the future and reproduce the prosperity of the past.

Under such circumstances, Crown Prince Zhu Minlan became famous and became the most popular person at the time.

Zhu Shenzui and his son, the instigators of the incident, were celebrating in the Qianqing Palace. They looked at each other and smiled, as proud as mice who had just stolen sesame oil.

Compared with Zhu Shenzhu and his son, there was a cloud of sorrow in Changchun Palace. As the case became clear, Zhu Youjian finally knew what Wang Chengen had done behind his back. After learning the truth, Zhu Youjian was stunned. He never thought that Wang Chengen had such courage that he could contact people outside the palace while in Changchun Palace and even do such a big thing.

After knowing this, Zhu Youjian was stunned and felt a little unwell.

Although he had fantasized about restoring the throne to become emperor, it was just a dream. Zhu Youjian was not a fool. He knew very well that the possibility of his restoration was very slim. Moreover, Zhu Shenzhu was not Emperor Jingtai, let alone Emperor Yingzong. How could he ascend the throne again?

In addition, Zhu Youjian had also figured out over the years that he was not fit to be an emperor. What was the Ming Dynasty like during the more than ten years he was emperor? What was it like now? How could Zhu Youjian not tell the difference?

Moreover, he became the emperor because Tianqi had no son. If Tianqi had a son alive, Zhu Youjian would never have been able to sit on the throne. Moreover, being an emperor is not that easy. In the past ten years, he has personally experienced how hard it is to work diligently every day and how much he worries about state affairs. Although Zhu Youjian was angry and unwilling to lose power at first, he also felt relieved. Finally, this burden was lifted from his shoulders. Although he lost a lot of things, he also gained unprecedented relaxation.

As he lived in Changchun Palace for a long time, Zhu Youjian gradually got used to such a dull life and no longer had the slightest idea of ​​restoring the throne. In his opinion, such a life was not bad. Except for the lack of freedom, everything was much better than before. Of course, sometimes he would think about what he would do if time went back to when he just became emperor, and whether he would make those mistakes again, but this was just a normal thought as a person, and he had no other extravagant hopes.

But now Wang Chengen actually did such a thing, and this case has become a top-ranking case. If Zhu Youjian were still the emperor, he would never let go of anyone involved in this case, and it would definitely cause a bloody storm.

Although Wang Chengen did it behind his back and Zhu Youjian knew nothing about it, the key point was that this case was under his name. It is easy to imagine how Zhu Shenzhui would deal with him.

Zhu Youjian thought about it but couldn't think of any reason why Zhu Shenzhu would let him go. If it was him, he would definitely kill him directly. Only in this way would there be no future troubles. After understanding this, Zhu Youjian felt despair and powerlessness in his heart. At the same time, he also regretted why he didn't notice Wang Chengen's actions earlier. If he had known about this earlier and stopped it in advance, he would not be facing the current situation.

Zhu Youjian had trouble eating and sleeping these days, not because he was afraid of death, but because he was worried that Zhu Shenchui would not only attack him, but also his children. In despair, he could not think of a solution to the problem, and as a former emperor, he could not bring himself to write a letter of apology to Zhu Shenchui and ask for his forgiveness.

In just a few days, Zhu Youjian, who had gained a lot of weight, became thinner. His ruddy face turned pale, and even the white hair on his head increased. He sat there every day, quietly waiting for the arrival of the last moment.

When Zhu Shenzhui once again stepped into Changchun Palace and saw Zhu Youjian, he was even a little hesitant at first glance. Was this the same Zhu Youjian he had just seen a few days ago? How did he become like this?

Before Zhu Shenzhui could speak, Zhu Youjian gave a wry smile and said to him without even standing up: "You're finally here!"

"I'm here..." Zhu Shenzhui answered casually, but he felt something was wrong as soon as the words came out, and looked at the other person with a puzzled look.

"Tell me, is it the wine? Or the white silk? I am ready, but I have a request. I will die, but can you spare my children for the sake of the royal family?"

As he spoke, Zhu Youjian put on a calm attitude, but there was a hint of expectation in his eyes. Seeing him like this, Zhu Shenzhui didn't know whether to laugh or cry. After all this fuss, this guy actually thought that someone was here to take his life. No wonder he looked so ready to die.

(End of this chapter)