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

Chapter 608: The Prince's Sorrow
After returning to the Qianqing Palace from Concubine Tian's palace, Emperor Chongzhen looked dazed and like a walking corpse.

Arriving at his side hall, Emperor Chongzhen sat in a daze for a long time. Suddenly he stood up and walked to the side, and found a sword from the side of the study. After pulling out the sword and looking at its sharpness, he put the sword directly at his waist. Touching the cold scabbard, Emperor Chongzhen felt a little relieved.

"Wang Chengen!"

"I'm at..." Wang Chengen replied quickly. He had just gone to Concubine Tian's palace with Emperor Chongzhen, and heard the Fifth Prince's words from the side. Wang Chengen was also very frightened at the time, and he understood even more clearly what this sentence meant.

On the way back, Wang Chengen was always worried that Emperor Chongzhen would lose his temper. This matter was too big and simply unbelievable. If Emperor Chongzhen continued to act on his own will, no one could guarantee what would happen next.

"Convey my decree, order the cabinet and the Ministry of Rites to discuss the titles of Empress Dowager Xiaohe, Consort Zhuang, and Consort Yi, and to promote the title of the fifth prince Zhu Cihuan, and have the Empress and Imperial Consorts set up a incense hall in the harem to express my filial piety on my behalf..."

Emperor Chongzhen spoke these few short sentences with almost the last breath in his chest. After he finished speaking, he sat down in the chair weakly, with an extremely ugly look on his face.

When Wang Chengen heard the imperial edict, he finally felt relieved. The fact that Emperor Chongzhen issued an edict was a big concession. He no longer had the idea of ​​continuing to be tough. Perhaps this matter could be resolved safely with Emperor Chongzhen's concession.

However, Wang Chengen reminded Emperor Chongzhen while obeying the order, that is, what should be done next. Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand without saying anything, but Wang Chengen understood what he meant, and Emperor Chongzhen was ready to let this matter go.

Soon the news spread from the palace. Upon learning that Emperor Chongzhen's attitude had changed, the conspirators celebrated and smiled happily.

At this time, someone suggested whether to let the fifth prince go, but this proposal was directly rejected by the long-bearded man. He said seriously that although the matter of borrowing from the fifth prince was resolved, the matter was not completely over. The current Emperor Chongzhen only temporarily stopped it, but did not say that it would not be implemented completely in the future.

And don't forget that although the Fifth Prince is young, he is already somewhat sensible. Although someone was sent to instigate him to say this, once the Fifth Prince recovers from his illness, Emperor Chongzhen will definitely find the Fifth Prince and ask who instigated him. By then, the person who instigated him will not be able to escape.

Even if they were to silence someone, there would be clues to follow. With the ability of Jinyiwei and Dongchang, they might be able to implicate the people behind the scenes. If that were the case, they might be found out one by one. After experiencing this kind of thing, Emperor Chongzhen would definitely take revenge. Could they still directly confront the imperial power?
So this matter should be either not done, or it must be done thoroughly! The Fifth Prince must not be left alive, and it will not be over until the Fifth Prince dies. Because dead people will not speak, and after the Fifth Prince dies, we can use some means to solve the troubles and completely eliminate the clues. By then, even if Emperor Chongzhen suspects someone, who can he suspect? Only then can they be truly safe and sound.

This decision was recognized by everyone, and the situation was just as the bearded man said, if you don't do it, you have to do it thoroughly and not leave any handle, otherwise everyone will be implicated.

On this point, everyone reached a consensus, and soon the news reached the palace, and the people hiding in the palace took action.

On the second night after the so-called "Nine Lotus Bodhisattva" incident, the Fifth Prince Zhu Cihuan's condition suddenly worsened. When Emperor Chongzhen received the news and rushed there, it was too late. When he rushed into the Fifth Prince's room, the Fifth Prince had passed away before a stick of incense burned. His little body had stopped breathing and gradually became cold.

"Your Majesty... Huan'er... my Huan'er... my Huan'er..." Concubine Tian, ​​who had lost her son, cried her heart out. Emperor Chongzhen stood there in a daze with a deathly pale face. He was almost falling to the ground. Fortunately, Wang Chengen came to support him and helped him sit down.

Sitting in the chair, staring blankly at the deceased fifth prince, Emperor Chongzhen was muttering something, two lines of tears fell uncontrollably, and a suppressed whimpering sound came from his throat.

He never imagined that these people could be so cruel. As the emperor, he had already made concessions. He had already made concessions!

But even so, they still did not let go of their beloved fifth prince. How could they kill such a young child? How dare they murder the prince just for the sake of taking advantage of something? Is this still the Ming Dynasty of the Zhu family? Is he still the emperor of the Ming Dynasty?
Anger, regret, powerlessness, fear... countless complex emotions echoed in the heart of Emperor Chongzhen. It was unknown how long it took before Emperor Chongzhen came to his senses. He stood up and looked around, his cold eyes sweeping across all the palace maids and eunuchs, finally falling on the two imperial doctors.

"Wang Chengen!"

"The slave is here!"

"The palace servants here failed to take good care of the Fifth Prince, which led to his death. The imperial physician was incompetent and failed to cure the Fifth Prince. I am very angry! I leave these people to you!" "I obey your order!" Wang Chengen responded hurriedly. After Emperor Chongzhen said this, he turned around and left. As soon as Emperor Chongzhen left, Wang Chengen took people to control the palace maids, eunuchs and the two imperial physicians in Concubine Tian's palace, and did not move them no matter how they cried and shouted for justice.

An hour later, Wang Chengen returned to report that he had dealt with all these people, leaving no one alive. Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen was not happy at all, but just nodded slightly to show that he understood, waved his hand to let Wang Chengen leave, and stayed alone in the side hall, not knowing what he was thinking.

The fifth prince died young. Emperor Chongzhen was furious and punished the palace maids and eunuchs in Concubine Tian's palace. He also killed the two imperial doctors who treated the fifth prince. The news soon spread outside the palace.

After learning of this result, the people who had been somewhat worried were completely relieved. This result was not bad. All these people were dead, which also meant that the clues were completely cut off. Perhaps Emperor Chongzhen himself knew that it was absolutely impossible to dig out the real clues. Instead of doing those useless efforts, it would be better to use such thundering means to express his anger and make those who intended to take similar actions have some reservations.

This can be regarded as a helpless counterattack, or an attitude. Everyone knows that the goal has been achieved. After all, the other party is the emperor, and he has to vent his anger after his son died, right?
After the death of the fifth prince, Emperor Chongzhen was depressed for three days before he cheered up and continued to deal with state affairs.

In order to commemorate his son who died young, Emperor Chongzhen issued an edict to posthumously name him the Daoling King and added the two characters Ruxiao. He originally wanted to give the fifth prince a Taoist name, but the Ministry of Rites strongly opposed it, so Emperor Chongzhen had no choice but to give up.

After this incident, Emperor Chongzhen's life in the harem changed from before. In the past, no matter how busy he was, he would always take time to stay in the palace of the Queen or Concubine Tian for a few nights to enjoy the happiness of husband and wife. But from now on, Emperor Chongzhen rarely stepped into the harem again, and even if he did, he would no longer stay overnight. He would leave in a hurry after finishing his business and only rest in the Qianqing Palace.

Emperor Chongzhen even had Wang Chengen replace almost all the eunuchs and palace maids in the Qianqing Palace. Food and water had to be handed over by Wang Chengen personally, and he would use them after the others had used them.

The sword never left his body and was always hung around his waist. Even when he slept, he would keep the sword within reach. Emperor Chongzhen would wake up immediately at the slightest disturbance, and his first reaction would be to grab the sword, as if he would feel truly safe only with the sword in his hand.

In the eyes of Emperor Chongzhen, there was no absolutely safe place in the palace. There were strange eyes everywhere watching his every move. Only in this way could he feel a little at ease.

Wang Chengen was helpless about the change of Emperor Chongzhen's habits. He could only try his best to do his duty, but he could not give any more advice. As an old man in the palace, he certainly knew that there were many things in the palace that could not be said or discussed. Many times, although he was loyal to Emperor Chongzhen, he could not make his words clear, so he could only take one step at a time.

Half a month later, Emperor Chongzhen's mentality gradually recovered. After everything settled down, although Emperor Chongzhen did not say anything, he was reflecting on the gains and losses of this matter in his heart.

In order to seek help, Emperor Chongzhen paid a huge price. Not only did his life feel threatened, but he also lost his most beloved fifth prince, which was something Emperor Chongzhen could not tolerate.

He was temporarily unable to deal with those behind the scenes, nor could he find out who they were. During the court meeting, looking at the civil and military officials below, as well as the nobles and relatives of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Chongzhen felt more and more unfamiliar, and became extremely defensive.

The civil and military officials in the court were all untrustworthy, and the same was true for the nobles and relatives. He was truly alone, without any support. With these people, could the Ming Dynasty really be saved? Could the world be saved? Emperor Chongzhen was filled with sorrow.

In addition to regretting his decision and being wary and terrified of the mastermind behind it, the person Emperor Chongzhen hated the most was Xue Guoguan, who had given him advice and support.

In his opinion, the cause of this incident was because Xue Guoguan gave him a way to get help, which led to irreversible consequences. If it weren't for Xue Guoguan, nothing would have happened, and his fifth prince would not have died young.

In this way, Xue Guoguan was really wronged. He was forced by Emperor Chongzhen to come up with the idea, and although he came up with the idea, it was not Xue Guoguan but Emperor Chongzhen who implemented it. You can't put the blame on him for forcing Li Guorui to death. Li Guorui was chosen by Emperor Chongzhen himself, and it was Emperor Chongzhen's order to put Li Guorui in prison, and it was Emperor Chongzhen's will to deprive him of his title. Xue Guoguan did nothing!

Now, Emperor Chongzhen is angry with Xue Guoguan because of the fifth prince's affairs, and he actually puts all the blame on Xue Guoguan. This is really unfair!

Before Xue Guoguan could react, Emperor Chongzhen found a reason to kick Xue Guoguan out of the cabinet and then took away his official position. Not long after that, Emperor Chongzhen instructed people to impeach Xue Guoguan for taking bribes and put him in prison. A few days after being in prison, Xue Guoguan died inexplicably. Although it was publicized that Xue Guoguan committed suicide out of fear of punishment, anyone with a little bit of brains knew that Xue Guoguan was killed by Emperor Chongzhen and died extremely unjustly.

(End of this chapter)