Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 30 The more you oppose me, the more it proves that I am right!
Time flies, and seven days have passed since County Magistrate Zhao was buried. During these seven days, not only Beijing, but the entire Ming Dynasty was in a state of turmoil.

Five days ago, Feng Qi, editor of the Hanlin Academy, together with his classmate Zhao Wen and Wang Yong, the head of the Ministry of Works, wrote a letter requesting severe punishment for the criminals.

Emperor Wanli kept the memorial and did not send it out, so the three men submitted another memorial.

At the same time, he knelt in front of the Meridian Gate of the Imperial City to make a petition.

The emperor sent people to disperse them several times, but the three men refused to give him an explanation. The emperor got angry and beat each of them with 50 strokes of the cane, until they were bloody.

A bloody smell wafted over the Meridian Gate and lingered for a long time.

This move not only did not scare these young people, but made them extremely excited.

For several days in a row, people came to the Meridian Gate to kneel and make suggestions.

Just after noon that day, Emperor Wanli heard the shouting and came to the Wufeng Tower on the Meridian Gate with a frown.

Looking down through the window, I saw five or six officials kneeling there, crying and shouting for their parents.

Emperor Wanli was so annoyed by the crying that he could not help but curse, "Humph, you poor scholars, you have no respect for your father and your ruler. I have already ordered the three courts to try this case, why are you still bothering me?"

"These people are just doing it for fame." Wei Qing on the side said in a low voice.

"For the sake of fame, can you threaten the Lord?"

Wei Qing had always been at odds with these officials, and after hearing the emperor's dissatisfaction, he fanned the flames and said, "These poor scholars like to think they are the emperor's teachers, and they take pleasure in finding faults with the emperor everywhere."

"Your Majesty, it would be better if you ignore these guys, lest they take advantage of you."

Emperor Wanli seemed to be thinking about something. Suddenly he looked up at Wei Qing and asked, "So Zhao Lin was really weak and sickly, so he took the poison and killed himself?"

"I'm not sure." Wei Qing shook his head and said, "However, there was a gap of half a month between Feng Bangning's beating and the death of County Magistrate Zhao. It would be a bit far-fetched to say that he did it."

Emperor Wanli did not speak. He crossed his hands behind his back and paced to the other side. After a few seconds of silence, he gritted his teeth and said, "Even if he was not the one who killed the person, Feng Bangning's opposition to the new policy and assault of an imperial official is also a serious crime!"

He originally intended to severely punish Feng Bangning, but under the pressure of these civil servants, he decided to do the opposite.

You want me to punish you severely? Wouldn't that make me lose face?
Thinking of this, he asked again: "By the way, Wei Qing, where has Daban been these days? I haven't seen him for several days."

"Eunuch Feng was so angry at his nephew that he fell ill in bed. He is now recuperating at home." Wei Qing replied in a low voice.

"Ah?! Daban is sick?" Wanli exclaimed, and asked excitedly, "Is he seriously ill? Why didn't you tell me so that I could send a few doctors to take a good look at him."

That look showed three parts of concern mixed with seven parts of secret joy.

Wei Qing knew that Feng Bao was suffering from a heart disease, so he said, "It's not serious." The emperor said "Oh" and stopped asking about the matter.

The two watched for a while. The sun rose over the Meridian Square, forming patches of light on the white marble floor.

Emperor Wanli felt bored and ran towards the Qianqing Palace.

Arrived at the Qianqing Palace and sat down.

When Emperor Wanli thought of Feng Bao's absence, he began to think about leaving the palace again.

"By the way, where is Zhang Yunxiu? Why haven't I seen him these days?"

"Your Majesty, Zhang Sicheng is also ill and is recuperating at home." Wei Qing hurriedly replied softly.

"Great! I saw him alive and well a few days ago, how come he is sick now?!" Emperor Wanli slammed the table and shouted, "Hurry up and send someone to pass on the order. He must be carried to the Qianqing Palace."

"This..." Wei Qing looked hesitant.

"What are you still standing there for? Go quickly. Do you want me to carry him myself?" Emperor Wanli urged, waving his hand.

"Yes." Wei Qing did not dare to disobey the order, and led a few eunuchs out of the Qianqing Palace.

Wu Qingbo's mansion is located in Yangliu Hutong, Fugui Street. It was originally the residence of the powerful traitor Yan Song.

After Emperor Longqing ascended the throne, he rewarded Yan Song's luxurious mansion to his father-in-law.

Yan Song has been in power for more than 20 years. Looking around the entire capital, except for the imperial palace, there is probably no other house as beautiful as this one.

This also shows that Wu Qingbo's family was extremely wealthy.

At the turn of morning and afternoon, Wuqingbo Li Wei slowly sat up from the bed.

He was about 58 or 59 years old, with messy hair like a chicken coop, dark skin, and wrinkles on his forehead like ravines, which were shocking to the eye.

He shouted outside, and several maids pushed the door open and came in, putting on a dragon robe and jade belt for their master.

Soon after, the maid brought the food.

It’s not a luxury, just two bowls of millet porridge, two pancakes, and a small plate of pickled mustard tuber.

Wuqingbo Li Wei ate with relish. He was born a bricklayer and was used to being poor. Even after becoming the emperor's uncle, he did not change his peasant habits.

He squatted on a chair with his feet on it, slurping the rice porridge from the bowl, making a sizzling sound.

The maidservant beside her wanted to laugh but didn't dare to, so she could only turn her face away.

At this time, the housekeeper Qian Yu strode in. Li Wei looked up, wiped his mouth, and asked, "What do you want?" Qian Yu bowed and said excitedly, "Master, the son of the Prime Minister wants to see you. He said he has a fortune to give you."

"Who?" Li Wei thought he had heard wrongly.

"The fifth son of Lord Zhang, Zhang Yunxiu." Qian Yu said again.

Now Li Wei heard it clearly. He remembered that Zhang Juzheng had repeatedly made things difficult for him and robbed him of his money. That was like digging up his ancestral grave. Naturally, he was not in a good mood towards his son.

"No, just tell them that I'm sick and I won't see anyone!" Li Wei shook his head and waved his hands repeatedly as if he was shooing away a fly.

Qian Yu had received benefits from Zhang Yunxiu, so how could he not work hard? He thought for a moment and said in a low voice: "Master, I think you should meet him. After all, he is the Prime Minister, and he is very sincere."

"How many gifts did you bring?" Li Wei asked, straining his neck.

"You'll know when you see it." Qian Yu smiled and shook his head, holding up five fingers, and said, "Anyway, it's at least not less than this number."

"Okay, then let's meet him. You take him to the living room and wait for us." Upon hearing that there was a benefit, Li Wei's attitude made a 180-degree turn.

Soon, Zhang Yunxiu was taken to a living room and sat down.

He rolled his eyes and glanced around. In such a large living room, there were almost no decorations except for a few simple tea sets, tables, chairs and benches.

If he hadn't confirmed it again and again, he would have thought he had come to the wrong place.

Just as I was thinking about it, a hearty laugh came into my ears: "Sorry, sorry, I kept you waiting for a long time."

Before the people arrive, the sound comes first.

Zhang Yunxiu looked in the direction of the voice and saw an old man walking out with a smile.

The man was wearing a dragon robe and a jade belt, but he could not hide his earthy look, especially his graying beard, which was covered with a sticky substance.

It was Wu Qingbo, Li Wei.

The two looked at each other and sat down with the etiquette of host and guest.

Wu Qingbo squatted on a chair and said straight to the point: "I heard from Qian Yu that you want to give us a great opportunity?"

"Exactly."

"The Queen Mother is our daughter. What can't we get if we want? Do we need you to deliver it to us?" Wu Qingbo curled his lips, looked at Zhang Yunxiu's young face, and shook his head repeatedly.

"You are still an uncle now, right? Don't you want to move up?"

"You can?!" Li Wei jumped off the stool.

Zhang Yunxiu did not answer directly, but asked with a smile: "Can I not tell you for now, and see if you want to."

"Yes, of course I don't. I dream of turning this baron into a marquis, if it weren't for that old man..." At this point he suddenly remembered that Zhang Yunxiu was that man's son, so he changed his words and said, "The imperial court stipulates that relatives by marriage can only be granted the title of baron at most."

"I am the father-in-law of the emperor, and my daughter is the queen mother, but we don't have the final say in this world."

"Then didn't the Marquis of Shouning also get a title of Marquis?"

"This rule was established by Emperor Jiajing." Wuqingbo Li Wei muttered.

The two brothers later had a bad ending.

"Empress Dowager Li can be crowned as Empress Dowager together with Empress Chen. Isn't this also breaking the rules?" Zhang Yunxiu moved closer to him and said in a low voice, "Some rules are meant to be broken."

"Yes, our grandson is the emperor, our daughter is the empress dowager, so what's wrong with us being a marquis?!" Li Wei's eyes lit up and he shouted loudly.

After saying this, his gaze towards Zhang Yunxiu softened a little.

This kid is better than me.

Zhang Yunxiu continued, "You should go and ask the Queen Mother for help now."

"How to ask?" Li Wei asked.

"It's a miserable sale."

"Playing the victim?" Li Wei was stunned.

Zhang Yunxiu smiled and explained, "Go and tell the Queen Mother first. You are old and you don't have two years left to live. I'm afraid you will never see your daughter and grandson again. Talk about your feelings. Remember, don't mention the title of nobility."

Li Wei was full of doubts and was about to ask a question when Zhang Yunxiu smiled and said, "It's better for someone else to tell you about this."

"Who?"

"Lord Shen, as long as the Queen Mother has the intention, he will go along with it and do a favor."

"That's good, but."

"Don't worry, this can be done." Zhang Yunxiu assured, patting his chest.

(End of this chapter)