Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 53: Disappointed Cabinet Ministers
At dawn on October 28, the eighteenth year of the Hongzhi reign, the morning light was dim.

A squeak!
The gate of the Cining Palace suddenly opened.

Zhu Houzhao, the Zhengde Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, walked out from inside.

At this time, Liu Jin, the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, and other eunuchs had already been prostrating themselves on the ground, waiting respectfully outside the palace.

Zhu Houzhao did not smile, but walked towards Fengtian Gate against the morning glow. Today was the day to perform the mourning ceremony, and it was also the first day for him to take off his mourning clothes.

But for Zhu Houzhao, what was more important was that from today on, the inner court was full of his own people, and he began to truly control the power of the court.

Although Zhu Houzhao is only fifteen years old now and is still a teenager, he still exudes the aura of an emperor when he wears the black-winged crown, light-colored clothes and a black rhinoceros horn belt, looking solemn, mighty and domineering.

Zhu Houzhao pursed his lips, folded his sleeves in front of his abdomen, and walked forward with light steps, neither hurried nor slow.

At this moment, he just felt extremely excited. He knew that he would shock all the civil servants and make the entire Ming Dynasty truly begin to realize the existence of his imperial dignity.

Liu Jin and other new eunuchs in the inner court were also equally excited and felt fresh. This was the first time they became the top eunuchs in the empire. Like the previous emperor Zhu Houzhao, they were full of energy and vitality in their eyes.

Liu Jin shouted, "Your Majesty, please come to court!"

Soon, drums and music sounded and whips cracked.

……

And at this time.

All the officials also wore light-colored clothes, black gauze hats, and black horn belts, and came to Fengtian Gate.

Today's court was mainly for the purpose of performing a ceremony of consolation, so everyone gathered at Fengtian Gate to mark the official end of the mourning period for Emperor Hongzhi.

The three cabinet elders woke up very early this day. They all knew last night that a large number of troops had entered the palace, so they began to discuss it early in the morning.

Before entering the palace, the cabinet chief Liu Jian sneered and asked Li Dongyang and Xie Qian: "Tell me, when we enter the palace later, will the white curtains in the palace be removed or not?"

According to the rules, starting from today, the funeral of Emperor Xiaozong is over, and the white curtains and other funeral items must be removed. Liu Jian asked this because he naturally thought that Zhu Houzhao might have been killed, so he asked this question.

Li Dongyang also laughed: "I'm afraid it has been withdrawn, otherwise we would have received the news of Zhu Houzhao's death last night!"

Liu Jian nodded.

Xie Qian sighed somewhat unsatisfiedly: "It's a good thing for Zhu Houzhao. Thinking back to yesterday when he slapped the old man and forced me to eat filthy things, it's really hard to bear this!"

Liu Jian felt the same way when he heard Xie Qian's words. He gritted his teeth and said, "If the late emperor had only one son, I would have wanted him to die at the age of fifteen!"

"Prime Minister and Yu Qiao should just bear with it. Zhu Houzhao is still the king after all. However, as long as Liu Jin and other eunuchs are eliminated, Zhu Houzhao will be powerless. Together with Wang Yue, we can naturally control him. At that time, we will still have the final say in the court. At worst, we can let Zhu Houzhao apologize and make amends to the two elders. This can be regarded as sympathy for the old ministers!"

Li Dongyang also started talking at this time, with a smug smile on his face, and began to imagine the scene where Zhu Houzhao would let himself and other civil servants manipulate him. At this time, Liu Jian also agreed with Li Dongyang's words: "Bin Zhi's words make sense. It would be best if Zhu Houzhao could issue an edict of guilt. This would also be good for him!"

The three cabinet elders all nodded in agreement and walked towards Fengtian Gate with confidence.

But when the three cabinet elders and a group of civil servants entered the Fengtian Gate, they saw that the person standing outside the Fengtian Gate was Liu Jin!

The chief minister of the cabinet, Liu Jian, was dumbfounded on the spot. He felt as if he had been hit by a club. He stood there in a daze, muttering to himself, wondering why Liu Jin was standing on Danxi. Shouldn't he have been executed?
The ivory tablet in the hand of Li Dongyang, the second minister of the cabinet, fell directly to the ground with a plop. His lips trembled and he was very surprised.

How is this possible? What is going on? This is impossible!

Shouldn't Wang Yue, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, have killed Liu Jin? Even if it hadn't ended like this, Zhu Houzhao would have died suddenly or been seriously ill!

Even if that was the case, Liu Jin should not be alive. At least Liu Jin should bear the blame for Zhu Houzhao's sudden death. In short, it is impossible for Liu Jin to stand in front of him at this moment!

Xie Qian, the third assistant of the cabinet, also looked at Li Dongyang and Liu Jian in disbelief, and his heart was secretly beating, thinking that Liu Jin was not dead! This shows that there is a reason! For a moment, Xie Qian couldn't help but ask excitedly:

"Why is Liu Jin standing here? How can a eunuch like him, who works for the Bell and Drum Department, be qualified to stand here? Where is the eunuch Wang, the Minister of Internal Affairs?"

Zhu Houzhao had not yet appeared, and the ceremony had not yet officially begun. Liu Jin, who had arrived earlier, personally walked down and came to Xie Qian:

"Let Master Xie know that my family is now the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department and the chief official of the inner court. Naturally, it is necessary for me to listen to the announcement in front of the emperor. As for the traitor Wang Yue, he attempted to seize power and usurp the throne, and he has been detained! Did I disappoint Master Xie?"

Liu Jin walked down, smiled slightly and returned to Fengtian Gate.

Zhu Houzhao also appeared in the hall at this time. After Guo Rong shouted, "Your Majesty has arrived," the ministers began to salute.

Zhu Houzhao glanced at the civil and military officials below, especially the group of civil servants standing on the left.

Although these civil servants are still the same civil servants as before and there is basically no major change, Zhu Houzhao now has enough confidence to fight against them because he has already taken control of the inner court and has also won the hearts of the military officers and nobles.

Now, Zhu Houzhao can look down upon the world with a gaze that contemptuously surveys the literati and officials who are crawling before him!

"Everyone is safe!"

Zhu Houzhao shouted seriously, and then when the civil officials stood up to express their gratitude, he deliberately glanced at the three cabinet elders.

Zhu Houzhao noticed that the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, Liu Jian, had his eyes downwards with a look of disappointment, and he stood there woodenly, dazed. Zhu Houzhao could guess that the Prime Minister of the Cabinet had probably realized that his ambition to control him as the emperor had been shattered!

The Cabinet's Deputy Minister Li Dongyang sighed softly, and was even still in a daze, shaking his head from time to time.

Zhu Houzhao smiled lightly, feeling genuinely refreshed, thinking to himself that these old foxes would never have thought that he would lose his composure like this.

Xie Qian, one of the three ministers in the cabinet, still looked unconvinced, but he soon sighed and only glanced at the other civil servants. It was obvious that he still wanted to rely on other officials to turn around the situation in which his civil servant group was bound to lose.

(End of this chapter)