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

Chapter 382 Xiyuan
Both of them knew that it would be extremely difficult to defeat Wei Zhongxian. It was no exaggeration to describe Wei Zhongxian's power as overwhelming. Most of the people in the court had joined the eunuch party, and the Donglin Party was defeated by the eunuch party. With the resignation of several Donglin Party bosses and the imprisonment of its core members, the Donglin Party was in a state of panic. If this continued, the Donglin Party, which had controlled the government and was powerful for many years, would become history.

Once the Donglin Party was gone, where would these people go? More importantly, with Wei Zhongxian's viciousness, could he let them go? The thought of this was chilling, how could the eggs remain intact when the nest was destroyed? Their end would probably be extremely tragic.

No! We must find a way to deal with Wei Zhongxian as soon as possible, otherwise everyone will be finished. But it is impossible to bring down Wei Zhongxian, because the Emperor Tianqi is standing behind Wei Zhongxian, and because the Wanggongchang explosion frightened the prince to death, the current Emperor Tianqi is extremely disgusted with the Donglin Party. Wei Zhongxian is now suppressing the Donglin Party unscrupulously, which is at the instruction of the Emperor Tianqi. As long as the Emperor Tianqi is there, the destruction of the Donglin Party is doomed.

It can be seen from this that normal political means are no longer useful, and only abnormal means can break the deadlock.

The bearded man suddenly thought of something, and he hurriedly asked the slightly plump man what the news from the palace he had just mentioned was about. Could it be that he had some connection with the palace?
The slightly plump man told the bearded man that he had no direct contact with the palace, but was acquainted with Earl Taikang, and it was Earl Taikang who told him the news.

"Mr. Taikang? Zhang Guoji?" The long-bearded man asked in surprise, "How could a relative of the emperor be so close to you?"

"Haha, it's not that we are close friends. Although Taikang Bo is from a military family, he is a scholar who likes to show off his knowledge and studies. Although he failed the imperial examination, he agrees with the political views of our Donglin Party. Many of his friends are from our Donglin Party."

"A few years ago, Taikang Bo came to my house several times to ask for advice on poetry. I originally didn't plan to meet him, but I couldn't resist his repeated visits, so I reluctantly met him. But unexpectedly, after meeting and talking, I found that Taikang Bo was a fellow traveler, quite loyal and upright, and had his own opinions on the political affairs of the court. Not only was he close to my Donglin Party, he was also dissatisfied with Wei Yan's rampant behavior. He even criticized the fact that the emperor usually favored Wei Yan."

"Before, Taikang Bo told me that he had said something similar to the Empress when he went to the palace to see Her Majesty, hoping that Her Majesty could advise the Emperor to be close to gentlemen and stay away from villains, and not to be too fond of Wei Zhongxian. Her Majesty was sensible and did so in the palace. She never had a good face towards Wei Zhongxian and reprimanded him in front of the Emperor several times, making him lose face."

"Unfortunately, even so, the emperor still refused to listen to the advice and continued to favor Wei Zhongxian. In order to avoid conflicts between the queen and Wei Zhongxian, the emperor even deliberately reduced the chances for the queen to meet with Wei Zhongxian. This was also said by Earl Taikang."

Hearing this, the bearded man immediately became very interested in Taikangbo Zhang Guoji. He asked the slightly plump man about Zhang Guoji, not only his usual political stance, but also Zhang Guoji's personality and character.

Seeing the long-bearded man asking this question so eagerly, the slightly plump man did not think much about it while he was confused. He recalled and told Taikangbo about his situation in detail. When he talked about the situation of Queen Zhang Yan, the long-bearded man could not wait to ask about it again. The slightly plump man did not know much about this. After all, as an outsider, it was difficult for him to meet and deal with the Queen. What he knew about Zhang Yan's situation was only relayed by her father, Taikangbo.

"Well, you go find Earl Taikang and tell him that I want to see him, and bring him to my house quietly. Remember, you must be careful in this matter and don't let anyone know that Earl Taikang has come to my house." The long-bearded man was silent for a moment, then spoke to the slightly plump man.

The slightly fat man looked at the bearded man with a slightly strange look, nodded in agreement and couldn't help asking: "Brother, why do you want to see Tai Kangbo?"

"We'll talk about this after we meet. I just have some ideas now. We'll discuss it in detail after we meet Lord Taikang."

"In that case... that's fine..." Seeing that the bearded man was unwilling to say it in advance, the chubby man could only nod. And seeing the bearded man's anxious expression, the chubby man agreed to wait until tomorrow to give a message to Earl Taikang, and he would make the arrangements then.

After the slightly fat man left, the bearded man looked hesitant and uncertain. But when he thought that if Wei Zhongxian continued like this, the Donglin Party would be completely destroyed by the Eunuch Party, and they, the Donglin Party members, would also be swept into dust.

He could not tolerate this result no matter what. The only way to solve the problem now was the idea that had just flashed in his mind. Although this method was not what a gentleman would do, let alone a subject could do it, once it was leaked, not to mention himself, even the entire Donglin Party would never have a chance to turn things around, and he would be infamous in future history books.

But now, he has no other choice. And this trick has been used before, didn't Yang Tinghe do the same? Although Yang Tinghe later shot himself in the foot, after all, the civil service group was still retained, and Yang Tinghe himself was still called a "virtuous prime minister."

Now, the Ming Dynasty needs another person like Yang Tinghe, but he has no one else to help him. He can only stand up by himself. Once he succeeds, the situation will be reversed and Wei Yan will inevitably be defeated. At that time, even if he dies, it will be worth it, just as Yu Shaobao said in his poem that year, "I am not afraid of being torn to pieces, I just want to leave my innocence in the world!"

The next day, the slightly fat man brought Taikangbo Zhang Guoji quietly into the mansion. The long-bearded man secretly met Taikangbo Zhang Guoji in the study. The two chatted for a long time behind closed doors. The slightly fat man stood outside the door and did not participate in the conversation. He did not know what they talked about in the study. It was not until more than two hours later, when the long-bearded man sent Taikangbo Zhang Guoji out of the study, that he saw a flush and excitement on Taikangbo Zhang Guoji's face, as well as a sense of determination. After the meeting, the long-bearded man and the slightly fat man conspired behind closed doors and discussed for several days. At this time, Taikangbo Zhang Guoji also entered the palace many times in the name of visiting the queen, met with Queen Zhang Yan privately in the palace several times, and talked several times.

As for what the father and daughter talked about, outsiders had no idea, because there was no one else around them when they were talking. Even the palace maids who usually served the queen were sent far away and could not hear what they were talking about at all.

In a flash, more than a month has passed and everything seems to be no different from usual.

As the weather gradually warms up, we have entered early summer. With the arrival of early summer, hundreds of flowers in the West Garden are in full bloom, creating a splendid scene.

On this day, Empress Zhang Yan asked the people around her to pass a message to Emperor Tianqi, saying that she was bored staying in the harem and planned to go to the Western Garden to enjoy the flowers while the weather was good. Emperor Tianqi had been in a bad mood recently because of the successive deaths of his three princes, so it would be better for them to go together to relax.

Emperor Tianqi still respected his queen very much. Although Queen Zhang Yan could no longer give birth after giving birth to a stillborn baby, Emperor Tianqi did not neglect Zhang Yan in the past two years and would often stay overnight in her palace.

You should know that Zhang Yan was a beauty, and was one of the five most beautiful queens in history. Her beauty was incomparable to others. Moreover, Zhang Yan, as the queen, had never made any mistakes. She managed the harem in an orderly manner. She often advised the Emperor Tianqi to stay close to gentlemen and stay away from villains. She was also harsh to Wei Zhongxian and often scolded him. Although the Emperor Tianqi always protected Wei Zhongxian, he also respected his queen and rarely rejected her opinions.

Since Empress Zhang Yan was interested in going to the Western Garden to enjoy the flowers, Emperor Tianqi would naturally not refuse. What's more, it was spring and flowers were blooming. It was indeed a good season to enjoy the flowers. The sorrow over the death of his princes due to fright had gradually faded these days, and Emperor Tianqi slowly came to terms with it. Although he had bad luck and three princes had died in succession, he was still young as an emperor after all. He was only in his early twenties and in his prime. He would have plenty of opportunities after giving birth to a prince. It would be nice to take advantage of the Empress's interest in enjoying the flowers and go for a trip together to relax.

In this way, Emperor Tianqi agreed to Queen Zhang Yan's suggestion and agreed to go to the Western Garden to appreciate the flowers together the next day.

On the second day, Emperor Tianqi, along with Empress Zhang Yan, eunuchs and palace maids, went to the Western Garden. When they arrived at the Western Garden, they saw that the flowers were in full bloom, a beautiful scene. It was rare for Emperor Tianqi to have such a good mood, so he walked around the Western Garden with the Empress, looking at the flowers, pointing at the flowers and chatting.

Seeing that the emperor was in such a good mood, the people accompanying him were also very happy, and the emperor and the empress were very affectionate. This was also a good thing for the Ming Dynasty and something that everyone was happy to see.

Walking, stopping and chatting, Emperor Tianqi was in high spirits. Empress Zhang Yan also seemed to be in a good mood. It was rare that she did not put on airs as usual, which made Emperor Tianqi very happy.

In his opinion, Queen Zhang Yan was beautiful but she didn't like to smile very much. After all, this beauty lacked some color without a smile. Now it was a rare sight to see her smiling, with flowers blooming around her, which made Emperor Tianqi stunned.

"Your Majesty, what are you looking at?" Queen Zhang Yan couldn't help but ask when she noticed that Emperor Tianqi's gaze was on her face.

"Of course I'm looking at you." Emperor Tianqi said with a smile, "An ancient poem says, 'When she looks back and smiles, she becomes charming, and all the beauties in the palace pale in comparison.' This sentence is true. Seeing that the queen is so gorgeous, even the flowers in this courtyard cannot compare to her. I can't help but be fascinated by her."

"Your Majesty, you are overreacting." Empress Zhang Yan stopped smiling and said sternly, "Your Majesty is referring to the Song of Everlasting Sorrow by Bai Juyi. This line describes Yang Guifei, who deceived the king and caused chaos in the harem. Could it be that Your Majesty thinks that I am Yang Yuhuan? Please be careful with your words."

"Hehe... this... hehe..." Emperor Tianqi's smile froze, and he subconsciously raised his hand to touch his nose. This was just a good quote from a poem, how did it get to Yang Guifei? The queen, who was smiling just now, lost her smile in the blink of an eye, and turned into a cold beauty with a stern face, which was really a bit disappointing.

(End of this chapter)