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

Chapter 908 Doubts from all sides
Sun Chengzong acted quickly. There was no other way. Although he saw through Zhu Shenzhui's conspiracy, the matter was too serious. If he did not act quickly, what would happen if Zhu Shenzhui changed his attitude?
Moreover, the situation is now different from what was initially thought. Zhu Shenzhui holds solid evidence in his hands. With this evidence alone, he can wipe out the entire Jiangnan officialdom, and even some people in the capital will inevitably be implicated.

Sun Chengzong finally convinced Zhu Shencui that he was only targeting some people in the Donglin Party, which was a great favor from the emperor. In Sun Chengzong's view, Zhu Shencui not only gave the Donglin Party a rare opportunity, but also limited the case to the minimum extent, only investigating the main culprit and letting go of those who were not deeply implicated. This was very lucky for the Donglin Party.

If this opportunity is not seized, the Donglin Party will be completely doomed, and Sun Chengzong does not want to see such an outcome.

So after leaving the palace, Sun Chengzong went straight back to his mansion, and then asked the housekeeper to secretly send a letter to Qian Qianyi. In the evening of that day, Qian Qianyi went to visit Sun Chengzong's mansion. It was unknown what they talked about privately behind closed doors. At midnight, Qian Qianyi left Sun Chengzong's mansion with a very ugly face. After getting on the sedan chair, he didn't say a word. When he returned home, he didn't even see his family and locked himself in the study for the whole night.

On the second day, the imperial court issued an order for Qian Qianyi to go to Nanjing on official business as the Minister of Rites. The reason was simple. Wasn't Qian Qianyi the Minister of Rites? After Zhu Shenzhu ascended the throne, he specially opened an imperial examination, and the Ministry of Rites was responsible for the imperial examination. It was very reasonable for Qian Qianyi to go to Nanjing for inspection for this matter. So Qian Qianyi received the order and left Beijing.

In addition, the emperor suddenly gave Sun Chengzong the title of Zuodu Yushi, although this title was just an additional title and was nothing compared to Sun Chengzong's original official position. But after all, Sun Chengzong was a retired official. This time he returned to Beijing to serve as the chief teacher of the teaching hall, and also resumed his position as a university scholar.

However, Sun Chengzong did not join the cabinet, and his title of Grand Secretary was also increased. However, the two titles were added together, and it was also an imperial decree issued explicitly. This made some sensitive people in the court seem to sense something, especially the chief minister of the cabinet, Wen Tihen, who was more alert and thoughtful after hearing the news.

Although Wen Tiren's position as the Prime Minister was secure, and it was much easier for him to be an official under Zhu Shenzhu than under Emperor Chongzhen. After all, Zhu Shenzhu was not Emperor Chongzhen, and he did not have the neurotic and fickle nature of Emperor Chongzhen. He was neither stubborn nor self-righteous, but was good at listening to opinions, kind to his subjects, and able to delegate power. He was more comfortable than ever as the Prime Minister. In addition, the internal troubles of the Ming Dynasty were quelled and the war situation in Liaodong was stabilized, and the pressure on Wen Tiren was also much lighter.

But even so, Wen Tihen did not relax himself. He knew very well that the main reason why Zhu Shenzui made him the prime minister was because he was a "lone minister" who never formed factions in the court and worked wholeheartedly for the emperor.

It was for this reason that Zhu Shenzui was confident in placing Wen Tihen in the position of Prime Minister and entrusted him with important tasks. However, the problem was that Wen Tihen was now old. Although he was not as old as Sun Chengzong, he was already 66 years old.

It is said that it is rare to live to be seventy. The medical care and living conditions of this era are far inferior to those of the 21st century. The average age of the Ming Dynasty is only in its thirties. Of course, this refers to ordinary people. Officials and family members are naturally not included. But even so, most people do not live long. A trivial illness in later generations may take a life. Even the average life expectancy of the Ming emperor did not exceed 42 years old, let alone ordinary people?
In the original history, Wen Tihen, who was 66 years old, did not live to this age. He died at the age of 65. The reason for his death was that Emperor Chongzhen had removed Wen Tihen from his position as prime minister and ordered him to return to his hometown to retire.

Wen Tiren was a man who was extremely keen on status and power. Once he lost these, it would be worse than death for him. After being driven out of the capital, Wen Tiren, who was originally in good health, quickly collapsed and died of mental trauma not long after.

And now, Wen Tiren is still active in the position of Prime Minister. Judging from his appearance, he can still work for several more years at least.

"Brother!" Wen Huang returned to the Wen Mansion and went straight to Wen Tiren.

"How is it?" Wen Tiren asked hurriedly when he saw Wen Huang coming back.

Wen Huang shook his head and said, "I have been asking around for a long time but have not been able to find out any news. The rumors are just what you said."

"Could it be that I guessed wrong?" Wen Tiren frowned and thought to himself. As the Prime Minister, he was naturally very clear about the situation in the court, but this time he felt that something was different. However, Wen Tiren couldn't figure out what was different no matter how hard he tried.

After Qian Qianyi went to Nanjing, the emperor suddenly gave Sun Chengzong the title of Zuodu Yushi. The politically sensitive Wen Tiren felt that there might be something unknown behind these things. Thinking of Zhang Xijun who had been in Jiangnan and had not returned, Wen Tiren felt that the emperor seemed to be preparing for something, but he could not guess what it was.

Although he was a lone minister, Wen Tiren was not without his subordinates, but they were of no use in this matter. He was worried that if he made a big move, he would be noticed. If someone impeached him, even if Zhu Shenzhui could explain it, it would not be a good thing.

The reason why he could be the prime minister was because of Zhu Shenzhu's trust. Wen Tiren knew very well that he was just a tool, and his status and power all came from Zhu Shenzhu. Since Zhu Shenzhu didn't tell him something, it meant that he didn't intend to let him know. If he sent someone to check, what did it mean? Wen Tiren knew it. If he lost the emperor's favor, how would Wen Tiren deal with it? So although Wen Tiren felt something was wrong, he didn't dare to check. But Wen Tiren was always uncomfortable if he didn't figure this out. After thinking about it, Wen Tiren finally thought of his cousin, Wen Huang, who came to Beijing and lived in his house not long ago.

Wen Huang is eleven years younger than Wen Tiren, and is now fifty-four years old. But compared to Wen Tiren, who passed the imperial examination at the age of twenty-four, Wen Huang's luck is a little worse. Over the years, Wen Huang has participated in the imperial examination countless times, but he has never passed, and he is still only a juren.

This time, the imperial court held an imperial examination, and Wen Huang came to the capital early to fulfill his brother's wish to pass the imperial examination, and lived in Wen Tiren's house to prepare for the examination. Wen Tiren also took good care of his cousin, and the two had a good relationship. In addition, Wen Huang was a candidate for the imperial examination this time. Since he came to the capital, he often went out on weekdays, including traveling with other students who came to take the examination, discussing essays, drinking wine and tea, etc. These were all ordinary social interactions.

However, many of the students he interacted with had family backgrounds or were children of officials. Since it was not convenient for Wen Tiren to inquire about the news, it would be fine for Wen Huang to take this opportunity to inquire about it. However, Wen Huang also had no results in the past few days, which made Wen Tiren a little helpless.

"Forget it, there is no need to inquire about this matter. Don't go out these days. Stay in the mansion and study hard to prepare for the exam. I can't help you with the imperial examination. You can only rely on your own ability. This special examination is an opportunity, you must seize it."

"I understand. Thank you for your teachings, brother. I will prepare well for the exam and live up to your expectations." Wen Huang replied respectfully.

Wen Tiren nodded and waved his hand to let him go back to the backyard to read and prepare for the exam. After Wen Huang left, Wen Tiren twisted his beard and thought carefully. After thinking for a long time, he shook his head and suddenly chuckled. He felt that he seemed to be stuck in a dead end. Since the emperor didn't tell him, and the emperor's attitude towards him had not changed recently, he seemed to be a little worried. Why bother himself with something that has nothing to do with him? As long as he is still in the position of the prime minister and the emperor trusts him, what else does it have to do with him?
While Wen Tiren was puzzled, some other people had similar feelings, as if the peaceful capital was secretly surging, and the clear sky was hiding the wind and clouds.

In the mansion of the bearded man, he was also thinking about this matter, but the information he collected from all sides did not show any abnormality. Even though Qian Qianyi met with him before he left, he asked Qian Qianyi privately at that time, but Qian Qianyi smiled and told him that everything was normal. Although this trip to Nanjing was official business, it was actually his request to the emperor. Don't forget that Qian Qianyi had stayed in Nanjing for many years and was particularly famous in Jiangnan. He was recalled to the capital and entrusted with important tasks. Not long after, he was promoted to Minister of Rites. However, Qian Qianyi left Nanjing in a hurry and failed to arrange many things.

Qian Qianyi smiled and told the bearded man that he didn't need to go to Nanjing in person, but because he had something to do in Nanjing, he asked the emperor for help and got the job. Official business is one thing, and private affairs are another. When talking about private affairs, Qian Qianyi's old face actually showed a little shyness. The bearded man thought about it carefully, and thought of the rumors about Qian Qianyi's romantic affairs in Qinhuai River, and suddenly realized it, and then he laughed.

Although the bearded man agreed with Qian Qianyi's statement on the surface, he always felt something was wrong in private. Even so, the bearded man did not notice anything wrong. It was just a subtle feeling.

Moreover, these past few days, the bearded man has always been feeling uneasy, as if he felt that something big was going to happen.

Time flew by and more than a month had passed. According to calculations, Qian Qianyi should have arrived in Nanjing. After Qian Qianyi left Beijing, the bearded man sent a letter to Nanjing, asking people to pay attention to the actions in the south and report back at any time.

On this day, a bearded man was reading in the study. There was a pot of tea on the table. The refreshing tea fragrance filled the room, and the sunlight coming in from the windowsill created a leisurely picture.

Just when he was absorbed in reading, a servant came to report that someone was visiting. After the long-bearded man learned who the visitor was, he asked the servant to bring the visitor directly to the study. After the visitor entered the study, the servant left and closed the door. The long-bearded man asked, "Why are you here at this time?"

"Brother, I don't know why, but my eyelids have been twitching these past few days. I always feel like something is wrong."

"Something's wrong?" The bearded man put down the book in his hand and looked at him carefully. The slightly fat man smiled bitterly and said, "Brother, you and I have known each other for many years. I don't believe that you don't have any feelings these days. Don't you think the atmosphere in the court is a little weird recently?"

(End of this chapter)