Ming: I am fake, walking on thin ice

Chapter 305: The first emperor of the Zhu family to be killed?
early morning.

After paying respects, Li Dongyang, who had just entered the Censorate, stood up and questioned Yang Shan, the Minister of Rites, in court. The reason was that the envoys from the Malacca Kingdom in Southeast Asia came to the Ming Dynasty, but the Ministry of Rites did not receive them, causing the envoys to stay in an inn for a month.

Zhu Qizhen was furious: "The Ming Dynasty is a country of etiquette, how could such a thing happen?"

Yang Shan, the Minister of Rites, was a little confused. He remembered that there were indeed envoys from Southeast Asia who came to pay tribute, but he just handed the matter over and didn't care about it. Nowadays, there are many envoys coming to Ming Dynasty, and he, the Minister of Rites, only cares about the envoys from some big countries.

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Rites reported this to the Cabinet a month ago." Yang Shan bowed and said, "I guess the Cabinet has not approved it. The Ministry of Rites also needs approval before it can do anything."

The cabinet chief Xu Youzhen stood up and said: "The cabinet has never received any report on the Malacca delegation."

"The Ministry of Rites will report every matter to the Cabinet, and the Ministry of Rites keeps a record of memorials, so we can find out with a simple check." Yang Shan said.

Xu Youzhen snorted coldly:
"The Cabinet assists His Majesty in handling government affairs, but the Cabinet is not the former Secretariat. The Cabinet reports to the Emperor, and it does not manage the ministries, courts, and provincial governments. Even if you do not get the Cabinet's approval, you can report it directly to His Majesty."

"The Ministry of Rites is responsible for receiving foreign envoys. If the Ministry of Rites has indeed reported this matter, then even if it has not received a reply from the Cabinet, it should have sent someone to urge them and find out when the Malacca envoy will arrive in Beijing and report it in writing. This is the minimum duty of a minister of a ministry or a department. Why would they let the envoy stay in an inn? This is a dereliction of duty by the Ministry of Rites!"

They started arguing.

The other ministers looked strange because today's impeachment came very suddenly. Yang Shan, the Minister of Rites, had actually done a good job over the years and had been praised by His Majesty many times.

Li Dongyang, this young man, was also transferred from the Imperial Academy to the Censorate by His Majesty not long ago. It is easy to understand that young people want to make achievements, but why did he take action against Yang Shan?
Yang Shan's reaction was even more bizarre. Why did he blame the cabinet? The Ministry of Rites had the power to decide the matter directly, and then report it to His Majesty.

In recent years, many diplomatic envoys have come to Ming Dynasty, and a fixed reception procedure has long been established.

"enough!"

Zhu Qizhen's majestic voice fell, he glanced over and said coldly:

"The Malacca envoys came from afar, full of enthusiasm, and presented tribute, but we ignored them and let them live in an inn. This is a loss of national dignity!"

"As the Minister of Rites, you should have performed your duties conscientiously, but you openly shirked your responsibilities and even turned the tables and blamed the cabinet! You are showing the moral demeanor of a minister of state. I order you to take Yang Shan to the imperial prison and punish him severely after the matter is investigated!"

All the ministers were horrified.

No one expected that the emperor would order Yang Shan to be imprisoned. The Malacca incident was not a big deal, at most a salary deduction would suffice, so why was he imprisoned?
Some people have seen some clues. Could it be that His Majesty wants to deal with Yang Shan? Because Li Dongyang is a newcomer promoted by His Majesty, and he impeached Yang Shan.

After the court session, the ministers walked on the imperial road.

"What's going on here? Yang Shan was the Minister of Rites before he came to court, but after he left court, he became a prisoner in the imperial prison."

"Yes, this matter won't lead to imprisonment, let alone the imperial prison."

"It's obvious that there's something else going on behind Yang Shan's back, and we need the Royal Guards to investigate."

……

Qianqing Palace.

After the court session, Zhu Qizhen summoned several trusted ministers including Xu Youzhen, Li Xian, Li Bing, Shi Biao, etc. for a small court meeting.

"Yang Shan has been in the central government for a long time. When he heard Li Dongyang impeached him, he immediately implicated the cabinet." Xu Youzhen said, "I usually underestimated him."

Zhu Qizhen sighed softly: "Speaking of which, he is quite capable in handling affairs, and he is not a corrupt official."

"Your Majesty, he is more despicable than corrupt officials!" Xu Youzhen said, "Loyalty to the emperor comes first. If he is a member of the Junshan Society, then he is tantamount to treason."

Shi Biao bowed to Xu Youzhen, and then bowed to the emperor: "It is my incompetence that I need the help of Your Majesty and the cabinet."

It turned out that the arrest of Yang Shan today was planned by them. The Jinyiwei found out about Malacca from the Ministry of Rites, which became a breakthrough.

"Master Shi, we all understand that your Jinyiwei has been impeached in various ways in recent years, so you are restricted in what you can do." Xu Youzhen spread his hands and smiled, "Even our cabinet sometimes impeaches you. There is nothing we can do about it. If we don't weaken your Jinyiwei, the history books will throw all kinds of dirty water on your majesty in the future."

Li Xian nodded in agreement: "Yes, the Confucian set of requirements for a sage monarch does not include the use of inspectors to monitor the officials. But how do they know your majesty's intentions? Your majesty has so many things to do, what will he do without the Jinyiwei?"

Zhu Qizhen smiled slightly.

He has been suppressing the Jinyiwei openly over the years because of this. In fact, he also knows that even the ministers in the cabinet have quite a few opinions about the Jinyiwei.

After all, no one wants to be spied on.

At that time, Emperor Taizu also abolished the Jinyiwei under pressure. Later, Emperor Taizong re-employed them, and Zhu Qizhen understood Emperor Taizong's intention very well.

If you want to do big things, you have to use the Jinyiwei.

……

Jinyiwei, imperial prison.

Shi Biao came to an independent cell and waved his hand: "Open it!"

A jailer opened the cell door, and he walked in, clasping his fists towards Yang Shan who was lying there: "Master Yang, I am sorry for wronging you."

Yang Shan sat up slowly, his eyes sharp as a knife: "I guess it's not because of that envoy that he went to the imperial prison? Shi Biao, be more direct."

"Okay! Lord Yang is straightforward, so we should be straightforward too, to save you from the pain of the flesh." Shi Biao spread his hands, "Just tell me about the Junshan Society."

Yang Shan's eyes flashed with fear, but he quickly calmed down and sneered, "Then I have nothing to say. Your imperial prison is lawless and you don't care about not punishing doctors. What do you have to say? Come on."

Shi Biao's face turned cold: "Master Yang, why bother?"

"There are some things that people like you will never understand in your entire life." Yang Shan's eyes were full of sarcasm.

Shi Biao shrugged, his face full of sarcasm: "Isn't it just about loyalty to the emperor? I don't understand what kind of world you so-called scholars want. Today, the Ming Dynasty is strong, families are well-fed, and the people are well-off. Your Majesty has done what Taizong couldn't do. The Ming Dynasty will usher in a prosperous era that will surpass the Zhenguan Reign. Haha, you want to destroy it! Lord Yang, tell me, what is the reason?"

Yang Shan's face immediately turned red with anger, and he was about to refute, but Shi Biao did not give him a chance and continued to taunt him:
"Normally, you all go in and out of the government wearing tall hats and wide belts, and you all pride yourself on being noble men. But you... do you have any noble demeanor? What is a noble man? It is a pillar that shoulders the fate of the world! What are you doing? You are causing chaos in the world."

"Humph! You all know very well in your hearts that His Majesty is wise, and he may even surpass the Tang and Song emperors. You are just doing this for selfish loyalty, you are really cowardly! If you really want to express your loyalty and leave your name in the history, you should learn from Long Feng and Bigan, and go to the Fengtian Palace and bump your head into a bloody mess, and then die to make a protest!"

"You set up a Junshan Society behind the scenes, and you even wore a mask. To put it bluntly, aren't you afraid of death? You also took advantage of your majesty's kindness and love for talent. You are so mean, selfish, and shameless! You also read books about saints and talk about saints all the time. Have you read so many books that you have lost your mind?"

Shi Biao finished his rant and turned away, leaving Yang Shan with a red face, almost spitting out blood. Shi Biao was not in a hurry to torture Yang Shan, the Jinyiwei also had a mature process, and the first priority was to attack Yang Shan's heart. ...

In a house in the west of the city.

In the secret room, Fox Mask came late. She entered and saw Deer Mask, Tiger Mask and Wolf Mask had already arrived. Deer Mask saw that everyone was already there, and said in a deep voice: "Ox Mask has been imprisoned. Rat Boss ordered me to gather everyone. Don't take any action recently."

The fox mask chuckled and said, "Ox mask, it turns out to be Yang Shan."

"How did Lao Yang get discovered?" Tiger Mask asked worriedly.

Deer Mask spread his hands: "Although we are very careful every time, the Royal Guards are omnipresent. I guess it was the Royal Guards who noticed the Bull Mask when he went to see Marquis Huichang last time."

"Didn't this happen a while ago?" Tiger Mask wondered.

The fox mask said calmly, "It's obvious that the Royal Guards have been following him for a while, but they didn't find anything unusual. They couldn't wait any longer, so they put him in prison. Now, it depends on whether Brother Niu can withstand the punishment of the Royal Guards."

The other three were terrified. Fortunately, they had not gathered together during this period. Otherwise, they might have been arrested by the Royal Guards. The Deer Mask sighed, "I hope he will suffer less."

The fox mask actually laughed: "Aren't you afraid? Recently, many people have been arrested. The Jinyiwei will follow the clues and dig you out sooner or later."

"Aren't you afraid?" Wolf Mask asked back.

The fox mask didn't seem to care at all and said, "Everyone here, how much do you know about me? Only Boss Rat knows me."

When the other three heard this, they were secretly shocked. They knew nothing about this fox.

The fox mask's beautiful eyes were filled with sneers: "You guys really disappoint me. Haha, if you keep going like this, I think the legitimate emperor will be found soon. Then he will be the first unlucky emperor of the Zhu family to be killed."

"How outrageous!" Deer Mask said angrily.

Fox Mask didn't care at all and shrugged: "Nothing specific, I'll leave. It's a waste of time to stay here with you guys. I might as well go back and cook a dish."

After saying that, she strode away.

Tiger Mask smiled bitterly, shook his head, and left. Deer Mask and Wolf Mask looked at each other, and Wolf Mask said, "Old Yang doesn't know much, right?"

"Old Yang helped a lot in transporting goods to the northwest." Deer Mask frowned, "Hey, although Old Yang is a Confucian scholar, he is very tough and won't say anything."

Wolf Mask also sighed: "In fact, Lao Yang is a good official. If he is killed, it would be too... Your Majesty, uh, will the false emperor kill him?"

……

As the year draws to a close, the weather is getting colder.

After the court session, Zhu Qizhen still insisted on walking to exercise himself and hurried back to the Qianqing Palace. Xiyao had already prepared hot tea and handed it to him, saying, "Your Majesty, you'd better take a sedan chair. If you catch a cold, it will be difficult to recover quickly in the winter, which is very torturous."

She was in the hall, wearing thin clothes. Because of the underground heating, this place and the outside were two different worlds, and it was very warm. Today she was wearing a light pink dress, youthful and bright, with perfect and delicate cheeks rosy, and her dark and smart eyes seemed to be able to speak.

"Do you still need to go to university? It should be holiday time there," Zhu Qizhen asked.

"Yes, we'll go after the New Year." Xiyao nodded.

Zhu Qizhen stretched out his hand and pinched her cheek, saying, "Don't stand outside, it's cold outside."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Xiyao lowered her head shyly.

Zhu Qizhen sat down on the dragon chair and began to review memorials. In between, ministers would come in to report, and he was so busy that the whole morning passed quickly.

At noon, meals were delivered from the imperial kitchen. Zhu Qizhen requested a simple lunch, just two dishes. In his opinion, dozens of dishes were unnecessary and a sheer waste.

After lunch, he took a nap in the warm room nearby. That was a habit he had in his previous life. If he didn't take a nap at noon, his head would be confused in the afternoon.

He lazily rested his head on Xiyao's legs. Xiyao stretched out her slender hands and massaged him gently.

It is said that when one is well fed and warm, one will think about sex. In this warm room, enjoying the massage and smelling the faint fragrance, Zhu Qizhen pulled Xiyao into his arms.

Xiyao cried out softly and raised her exquisite face. Her clothes were thin to begin with, and when she struggled, two white spots were revealed, revealing the purity and innocence unique to a young girl, as well as the charm and coquettishness of a mature woman. It was all so beautiful and natural, and it was breathtaking that it was impossible to look away.

"Your Majesty, let me go." She whispered with a red face.

Snapped!
Zhu Qizhen slapped her buttocks, the sound was crisp and the touch was excellent. He smiled and said, "You should be able to give birth to a son! Isn't there an old saying that if you have a perky butt, you will give birth to a son?"

Xiyao felt pain, her delicate and beautiful eyebrows slightly frowned, her cheeks unconsciously swelled slightly, her beautiful eyes widened, staring at Zhu Qizhen angrily, as if she would explode if he didn't give her an explanation. The coquettish anger that was about to explode was so cute.

"How dare you stare at me?" Zhu Qizhen slapped him again in anger, "Believe it or not, I will throw you into the laundry department."

"The slaves dare not."

Xiyao pursed her red lips and quietly suppressed the annoyance in her heart. In an instant, her expression softened miraculously, as if a rebellious little wild cat had transformed into a docile pet cat. She snuggled up to his chest, her voice as soft as a mosquito, and she murmured with a bit of coquettishness, "Your Majesty, I am just a palace maid. If you want to favor a concubine, just go and flip the card."

Zhu Qizhen stretched out his hand and pinched her face. Her skin was delicate and smooth. He smiled and said, "All the women in the harem belong to me."

"I only want to be a palace maid. I don't want to become those poor concubines." Xiyao hummed in a low voice.

Zhu Qizhen was stunned, then laughed angrily: "My concubines are pitiful? They are all noble women of the Ming Dynasty."

"Noble is noble, and that's all that's left." Xiyao curled her lips.

Zhu Qizhen was very upset: "You have no interest in becoming a concubine."

"Yes, Your Majesty, you know that when you first saw me, didn't I try to avoid being chosen?" Xiyao blinked her beautiful eyes, "I would have succeeded, but I was unlucky and was caught by you, Your Majesty."

"That's great luck." Zhu Qizhen glared, "Okay, I won't talk to you anymore. I want to lie down for a while."

After that, he hugged her and lay down, saying, "Don't move, sleep next to each other, it's warm."

(End of this chapter)