Ming: I am fake, walking on thin ice

Chapter 129 Queen Mother: Redeem the Fake Emperor of Mobei to Clear Your Majesty's Innocent Heart

A gratified smile flashed across Zhu Qizhen's lips.

Yu Qian, oh Yu Qian, at the critical moment, it was you who stood up and supported. With your support, half of the situation was stable.

"Your Majesty, I second the motion." The cabinet chief, Wang Zhi, reported, "The thieves want to disrupt our Ming Dynasty, and they deserve to be killed!"

Then all the ministers seconded the motion, without even any hesitation.

Zhu Qizhen was indeed a little surprised. He glanced at them and smiled calmly, "Of course I will not be affected by such false accusations. The Jinyiwei has already arrested the crazy student named Zeng Yong. He will be brought to the capital in a few days. Then the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple can interrogate him. Haha, it will also clear my name."

"We obey your order." Everyone bowed.

After seeing off these ministers, Zhu Qizhen sat on a chair and rubbed his eyebrows.

He knew that this matter would not end so easily, and there would definitely be people in the government and the public who would take advantage of this to stir up trouble.

How will King Qing react?

How will the Queen Mother react?
"Your Majesty, the Queen requests an audience." Cao Jixiang came in to report.

"Please let her in." Zhu Qizhen waved his hand.

After a while, the queen came in wearing a lavender dress, her figure swaying, the dress wrapped around her plump and graceful body. She smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I made some cakes and brought them to you to taste."

Zhu Qizhen smiled slightly, thinking that the queen knew he was a fake, so he showed her the memorial first. He took the cake in one hand and handed her the memorial with the other, sighing, "I'm in trouble, take a look."

"Your Majesty, the harem is not allowed to interfere in government affairs." The queen shook her head.

"I'll let you see." Zhu Qizhen glared.

The Queen then opened it and glanced at it. She was not surprised at all. She threw it away casually and said, "Your Majesty, I thought it was a big deal? Just this?"

Zhu Qizhen was a little confused by her and asked, "Isn't this a big deal?"

"I dare to conclude that this must have been done by the gentlemen in Jiangnan." The Queen smiled slightly and lowered her voice, "Your Majesty, don't you think the timing of this thing's appearance is very wrong? This means that it was not deliberately done by the big shots in the capital. It may be a good thing for Your Majesty if it is exposed in Jiangnan."

Zhu Qizhen took a deep breath and looked at the queen with a new respect.

The queen poured him a cup of hot tea and continued:
"Your Majesty, first of all, you are the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. At least most of the civil and military officials in the court would think so. From the defense of the capital, to disaster relief, to the new policy, those ministers who are truly dedicated to the court have seen it all. In their hearts, they actually understand it better than anyone else. Just like the concubines in the harem, who doesn't understand it?"

"Also, Queen Mother, you won't believe such false accusations at this time."

She stressed this time.

Zhu Qizhen understood that branding him as a fake emperor at this time would not benefit the empress dowager at all, because her son was still far away in Mobei and would not be able to gain any benefits.

So, the only one who would benefit from making this mess worse would be King Qing.

"It seems that I have to go see the Queen Mother." Zhu Qizhen stood up.

……

Kunning Palace.

The Queen Mother was watering the flowers. She had a beautiful and gentle face, and her smooth black hair fell to her slender waist. Her graceful figure, set off by her long dress, was indescribably beautiful and elegant.

"Greetings, mother." Zhu Qizhen bowed.

The Queen Mother was startled, and turned around, her beautiful eyes full of confusion: "Why are you here at this time? Have you finished reviewing the memorials?"

Zhu Qizhen smiled and shook his head, spreading his hands: "I suddenly miss my mother."

The Queen Mother paused, bit her red lips lightly, and glared, "Don't bother me! Don't try to make me happy. If something happened, just tell me."

Zhu Qizhen blinked, took out the memorial and handed it over.

The Queen Mother took the letter, stretched out her delicate hand, gently stroked her drooping bangs, then slowly opened the letter. Her beautiful eyes swept over it, and a chill instantly enveloped it.

The coldness in her eyes was clear. After reading it, she was silent for a while, then raised her eyes and asked, "Is that all? Can't you handle the nonsense of a madman?"

Zhu Qizhen: “…”

Queen Mother, is this what you really mean? You said this, you are just talking nonsense.

"I will take care of it." Zhu Qizhen smiled calmly, "I just want you, the Queen Mother, to know it, so that you won't be prepared when it gets to your ears."

The Queen Mother's beautiful face was as cold as frost: "Why? You want to spread these nonsense into the palace? As an emperor, you must be decisive. Arrest those who should be arrested and kill those who should be killed. Is it necessary to put Zeng Yong on trial? Lingchi will be executed, and the three clans will be exterminated. As for the people behind the scenes, let the Jinyiwei investigate. Some of them don't need to be escorted to the capital, just kill them on the spot."

Queen Mother, you are the one who knows how to be an emperor.

Zhu Qizhen was impressed and bowed: "I accept your advice."

He turned around and was about to leave when the Queen Mother stopped him and said, "Tell Shuangxi what you want to eat tonight, so that Shuangxi won't have to say that I prepared it for you every time."

Shuangxi: “!!!”

Zhu Qizhen went up to her and pinched her cheek, saying, "Whatever the Queen Mother eats, I eat."

……

Prince Qing's Palace.

Zhu Qiyu hurried to the backyard with a copy of the imperial report in his hand, found Tung Xingdao, and laughed: "Mr. Tung, there is a big commotion in Jiangnan, and your majesty is in big trouble."

He handed the court report to Tung Xingdao, who was horrified after reading it: "This thing has spread all over Jiangnan?"

"Yes." Zhu Qiyu was excited. "Mr. Tung, you told me not to underestimate those gentry in Jiangnan. I didn't care about them before. Now I look at them with new eyes. Who made this happen? Your Majesty can't take care of the new policy now, right?"

Tung Xingdao immediately asked, "His Majesty must have known about this. Has he summoned the ministers to announce this?"

"He was summoned, but I was not summoned." Zhu Qiyu said unconcernedly, "The cabinet, the six ministries, and the Five Military Commands' Office, all of them know about it. Your Majesty showed them Xu Youzhen's memorial."

"What was the ministers' reaction?" Tung Xingdao asked.

Zhu Qiyu began to come to his senses and said, "The news I received is that Yu Qian and Wang Zhi were the first to support the emperor, saying that those were just wild words and I would not believe a single word of them. The rest of the ministers, at least on the surface, expressed their belief in the emperor."

Tung Xingdao sat down slowly and said in a deep voice: "It seems that your Majesty's actions in the past two years have been recognized by a group of ministers."

"What do you mean? With such a good opportunity, are we not going to do anything?" Zhu Qiyu was instantly anxious, "This is a good opportunity to pull him down."

Tung Xingdao frowned, "Yu Qian controls the military power; Wang Zhi is the head of all officials. They both support the emperor. If we want to accomplish something, we have to think carefully. Either we don't do it, or we will succeed in one strike."

King Qing nodded thoughtfully.

……

Kunning Palace.

Prince Qing came to pay his respects to the Queen Mother, who dismissed all the palace maids and eunuchs.

"Did you arrange that Zeng Yong?" the Queen Mother asked coldly.

"No!" Zhu Qiyu remained calm and sincere, "Even if I wanted to expose Your Majesty, I would not choose such a time. I was caught off guard and had no preparation. I thought it was you, the Queen Mother... who arranged it."

The Queen Mother's eyes were cold and her tone was filled with anger: "What do those gentlemen from Jiangnan want to do? How do they know that Your Majesty..."

She suddenly stopped and looked at King Qing, who shook his head in confusion: "Queen Mother, although the timing is not good right now. However, since this matter has been exposed, let's take the opportunity to do something."

"Don't mess around!" The Queen Mother's voice suddenly rose. "Now is the critical moment for the implementation of the new policy. I will support Your Majesty to continue to implement it."

Prince Qing said quickly, "Queen Mother, I also support His Majesty in implementing the new policy. I don't want to stop him. What I mean is that since the news has been exposed, we can take this opportunity to redeem His Majesty... in Mobei. To the outside world, we can say that we redeemed the fake emperor to clear His Majesty's name."

The Queen Mother stood up suddenly.

Yes, we can redeem the person first, which is better than leaving him in Mobei. As long as the person comes back, everything will be easy to handle later.

"Your Majesty, you won't agree, right?" She frowned.

"Your Majesty will have to agree." Prince Qing spread his hands. "Tomorrow morning, I will petition as a prince to redeem the fake emperor in order to prove your Majesty's innocence. If he disagrees, then isn't that a cover-up?"

The Queen Mother nodded slowly, her eyes sharp: "Okay, then go do it!"

"Yes, Queen Mother." Zhu Qiyu bowed his head, a triumphant smile flashing in his eyes.

…The next day, early morning court.

After the court session, Prince Zhu Qiyu of Qin requested to report:

"Your Majesty, I learned yesterday that the shameless Zeng Yong had framed Your Majesty. I wish I could kill him. Your Majesty, you are my elder brother. Outsiders may not know this, but I may not know this. Would I mistake my elder brother? Would the ladies in the harem mistake their husbands? Would the Queen Mother mistake her son?"

"Your Majesty, I don't think there is any need to put Zeng Yong to trial. Just kill him and exterminate his entire clan. This fellow actually dared to bark at the royal family. This is intolerable!"

Zhu Qizhen smiled slightly and watched his performance.

Damn, my good brother? You are so kind? So supportive of me? I would rather believe that there are ghosts in the world than believe your lousy mouth.

"Prince Qing, I am not the kind of person who likes to kill." Zhu Qizhen smiled, "Since Zeng Yong wrote that, let the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice conduct the trial and clear my name."

King Qing bowed again and continued, "Your Majesty, people's words are scary. I dare to suggest redeeming the fake emperor of Mobei. Didn't Zeng Yong say that he was the real one? Let the fake emperor say that he is a fake and clear your name."

When he said this, all the ministers thought it made sense and expressed their agreement.

Zhu Qizhen was numb.

Shit, if I really get that back, how can that clear my name? It's like killing all my clan members.

"Yesen wants five million taels for a fake emperor, this..." He pretended to hesitate.

"Your Majesty, Yesen wanted five million taels at that time, but it's not certain now." Prince Qing continued to bow, "It's useless for him to hold the fake emperor now. If there is any benefit, he will probably let him go."

Cabinet minister Shang Lu stepped forward and said, "I second the proposal. It won't cost much money, so redeem it. It concerns your majesty's reputation, so we should spend the money if necessary."

Zhu Qizhen: “!!!”

Do you want me to talk too much at this time? I'm screwed. All the civil and military officials in the court agree to redeem Zhu Qizhen of Mobei. I can't refuse. If I refuse and my attitude is ambiguous, doesn't it mean that there is something wrong with me?

"Okay!" Zhu Qizhen said loudly, "Then let Prince Qing handle this matter."

King Yin was overjoyed: "I obey the decree."

……

After returning to the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Qizhen felt his toes were numb.

What should I do? If the real emperor comes back, I, the fake emperor, will definitely be exposed. I can’t let him come back, I can’t let him come back alive. Let him die violently in Mobei.

"Call for Shi Biao." he shouted.

Not long after, Shi Biao came to the palace and bowed respectfully: "Your Majesty, when Zeng Yong comes, you can let me go to the trial. I promise to find out the man behind the scenes and bring him to justice. How dare he slander Your Majesty."

"What is true cannot be false, and what is false cannot be true." Zhu Qizhen was very relaxed. "I have a letter here. Send someone to deliver it to Datong immediately at an expedited speed of 800 miles. The Wala envoy who came to the capital last time, Bolai, is waiting for my letter in Datong. Give it to him."

"Yes!" Shi Biao nodded, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will send my trusted aides to go."

Zhu Qizhen was very satisfied with Shi Biao's reaction. He patted him on the shoulder and asked with a smile, "Have you never doubted me?"

Shi Biao knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I followed you and crawled out of the pile of dead bodies. There is no need to say more. In my heart, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is you, Your Majesty."

"Okay!" Zhu Qizhen waved his hand, "Go ahead, I won't let you down, I am who I am!"

Shi Biao bowed again and walked out.

Zhu Qizhen sat in a chair with his eyes closed, when he suddenly made a horrifying discovery: he did not have any real confidants. All of his confidants were developed by taking advantage of his status as emperor.

If he was just an ordinary person, Zhu Qizhen, who would follow whom?
Who else would Xu Youzhen, Shi Biao, and Li Xian follow? Would Yu Qian and Wang Zhi still trust me?
……

Yangzhou.

In the backyard of the Shen family mansion, Shen Yihuan was leisurely drinking tea. Sitting opposite him was the governor Ren Changan. After taking a swig of tea, Ren Changan said with admiration: "Fourth Master, if you don't make a move, it's fine. But once you make a move, the sky will be poked with a hole. Hahahaha, I think Xu Youzhen is like an ant on a hot pot right now, very panicked, and no longer has the energy to implement the new policy."

"Don't be too happy yet. We have to wait and see." Shen Yihuan snorted, "When Xu Youzhen is gone, and those Mongols and Jinyiwei are gone, then we will be truly safe."

A few days ago, he wanted to transfer some assets and leave Yangzhou, but he found that he had been targeted by the Jinyiwei, so he gave up decisively.

"Fourth Master, how do you know so much about the fake emperor?" Ren Changan asked curiously.

Shen Yihuan's eyes suddenly turned cold: "What fake emperor? I don't know, I don't know anything. I have been recuperating at home recently."

Ren Changan was stunned for a moment, then smiled and nodded: "Yes, yes, we don't know anything."

The two chatted for a while about how to deal with Xu Youzhen before Ren Changan left.

After Ren Changan left, a middle-aged man walked out of a room in the backyard. His skin was rough, and it was obvious that he had been exposed to wind and rain.

"Thank you, Fourth Master." The middle-aged man bowed. "I finally have hope of avenging my son."

Shen Yihuan smiled faintly: "Only if you meet someone as bold as me will I help you."

The middle-aged man shook his head: "The one who was really daring was the fake emperor. My son Wang Dong was killed by him. Who would have thought that a vagrant from Huailai would become the emperor."

It turned out that this middle-aged man was once the squad leader of Huailai City and Wang Dong’s father.

……

Beijing.

Zhu Qizhen went to court as usual, showing no signs of uneasiness. Wang Zhi, the cabinet minister, and Yu Qian, the general manager of military affairs, reported to the emperor as usual.

In this atmosphere, the ministers did not have any major fluctuations. No matter who the emperor was, the one sitting on the dragon throne in the Golden Palace was the real emperor.

Zhu Qizhen was panicking inside, but he had to pretend on the surface.

At dusk, he still came to Kunning Palace to have dinner with the empress dowager. The empress dowager was dressed in simple and elegant clothes, and she looked elegant, with black hair like a waterfall, hanging down to her slender waist.

The two sat opposite each other and ate. Zhu Qizhen asked as they ate, "Did you agree to redeem the fake emperor of Mobei?"

The Queen Mother paused and nodded: "Yes."

Zhu Qizhen continued to lower his head, took a few bites, and said, "Well, I don't owe you anything."

The Queen Mother suddenly stopped, staring at Zhu Qizhen with her cold and beautiful eyes, and said, "Could it be that I owe you something? Well, if you think so, then I will repay you with my life."

Zhu Qizhen finally raised his head and looked at the empress dowager's plain face, which seemed to be filled with extreme fatigue. He suddenly smiled and said, "Who wants your life? Live well. If you want to die, it's not your turn."

"This palace..." The Queen Mother's eyes were stubborn yet tender.

She wanted to say, at worst, I'll die with you.

"I..." Zhu Qizhen recalled some past events and sighed, "I... didn't come here for these things. I just wanted to stay alive."

He put down his bowl and chopsticks, stood up and left. When he got outside the hall, he rubbed his face hard.

Am I being emotional? Isn't that taking advantage of me? I've put myself in this situation?

……

As the sun sets, the afterglow falls on the palace, covering this magnificent palace with a soft and sad golden veil. The vermilion walls look particularly heavy under the reflection of the setting sun. The glazed tiles under the palace eaves sparkle with a warm yet cold light.

Zhu Qizhen walked alone on the long imperial road, his footsteps echoing in the empty palace, seeming particularly lonely. His shadow was elongated by the setting sun, projected on the smooth stone road, that shadow was deep and lonely, just like his mood at the moment. All around him were silent palaces, closed palace gates and silent stone statues.

The wind blew gently, bringing a hint of coolness, through the empty courtyard, as if whispering. Zhu Qizhen, as the monarch of this huge empire, felt unprecedented loneliness at this moment, as if he was the only traveler in this vast world, a real "lonely man".

The setting sun finally sank into the horizon, the sky gradually darkened, and the lights in the palace were lit one by one, but they could not illuminate the loneliness in his heart.

"Where should I go?" He looked around in confusion.

He did not go to Changchun Palace or Yonghe Palace, nor did he choose any concubine, but returned to his own Qianqing Palace. Lying on the chair, various thoughts flashed through his mind.

"Your Majesty, the virtuous concubine requests an audience." Cao Jixiang came to report.

Zhu Qizhen frowned.

Is it her? Well, have a heart-to-heart talk with her.

(End of this chapter)