Ming: I am fake, walking on thin ice

Chapter 89: Finally able to control the Queen Mother!
These words came like a bolt from the blue, shocking everyone.

All the ministers were stunned, and the whole hall fell into silence. Zhu Qizhen stood up suddenly and shouted angrily: "How dare you! She is the empress dowager of the Ming Dynasty and the mother of the emperor. How could she secretly communicate with the enemy country?"

Zhu Qiyu knelt in the hall and kowtowed, saying, "I cannot believe this either. I have always respected the Queen Mother. However... However, the facts are clear and before me, I have no choice but to report her against my will. This is truly an act of unfilial piety."

"What evidence do you have?" Zhu Qizhen asked coldly.

Some officials in the palace felt something was wrong when they saw the two brothers singing the same tune. However, if the King of Qing did not have some real evidence, he would never stand up.

"Your Majesty, for more than a year, the Queen Mother has been secretly communicating with Mobei." Zhu Qiyu bowed, "There is a special communication team that goes directly to Mobei. I finally captured them recently. The person in charge of the dispatch is outside the palace."

what?
Did they catch someone?
The ministers in the palace were shocked and suspicious, and all looked behind the curtain. The Queen Mother behind the curtain did not say a word, she was also in shock. The secret communication team had always been secretly controlled by Huichang Hou.

Marquis Huichang had been distracted by his son's affairs these past two days and was even planning to retire and return home. Perhaps because of this, King Qing seized the opportunity and arrested the secret communications team.

At this moment, the Queen Mother was also panicked.

"Bring the people up!" Zhu Qizhen shouted.

Soon, a middle-aged man was brought up. He looked weathered and calm. He knelt down before the emperor and bowed to the empress dowager behind the curtain.

"He Qizhi, now that you are in the Golden Palace, why don't you confess the truth?" Zhu Qiyu shouted coldly.

The middle-aged man was called He Qizhi, and he slowly raised his head.

……

"I was ordered by the Marquis of Huichang to secretly communicate with Mobei for the purpose of smuggling." He Qi bowed and said earnestly, "Your Majesty, this matter has nothing to do with the Queen Mother. Please investigate and punish me."

Zhu Qizhen asked coldly: "Smuggling?"

He Qizhi nodded again and said, "That's right. Selling tea, silk and other goods in Mobei can make a profit of one million taels of silver each time. The reason why Huichang Hou did not embezzle or seize the people's land and property but was still rich was all because of this smuggling."

"Is it just smuggling?" Zhu Qiyu asked angrily, "Then why did you swallow the letter when I arrested you? What was written in the letter?"

He Qizhi helplessly spread his hands: "It's just a list of goods."

Zhu Qizhen, sitting on the dragon throne, frowned. He thought to himself that the Queen Mother must have communicated with Mobei for her disappointing son. Fortunately, He Qizhi and others swallowed the letter, otherwise the true and false emperors would have been made public.

"Prince Qing, there is no conclusive evidence that the Queen Mother had any communication with Mobei." Zhu Qizhen said coldly.

"Your Majesty, they had indeed destroyed the letter when they arrested us," Zhu Qiyu said in a bow. "We only got one page of the letter with six words on it: From the Empress Dowager of the Ming Dynasty."

After saying this, he took out the page of letter and presented it with both hands.

The eunuch chief Jin Ying walked down the steps, carefully took the page of the letter, and held it high in front of Zhu Qizhen with both hands.

Zhu Qizhen glanced at the letter, and after a long silence, he slowly said: "Just one page of paper cannot explain anything. I still don't believe that my mother would have any correspondence with Mobei."

He sighed, glanced behind the curtain, and then waved to the ministers: "Let's stop here today. I am tired. He Qizhi and others will all be imprisoned in the imperial prison. The Jinyiwei will conduct an in-depth investigation into this case and will definitely clear the Queen Mother's name."

……

After court, Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Qizhen immediately summoned Shi Biao, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and ordered: "Arrest the Huichang Marquis' family immediately. Don't arrest Sun Lian, and don't seal the mansion." "Yes, sir." Shi Biao took the order and left.

Zhu Qizhen sat on the throne, secretly happy.

He did not expect to have an unexpected gain. Zhu Qiyu helped a lot this time. This time he could definitely punish the Marquis of Huichang and then use him to control the Queen Mother.

"Your Majesty, Prince Qing requests to see you." Eunuch Jin Ying came to report.

"Please come in." Zhu Qizhen waved his hand, "All of you leave."

The palace maids and eunuchs in the palace all withdrew. Soon, Zhu Qiyu, the Prince of Qin, walked into the hall and bowed respectfully, saying, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."

Zhu Qizhen raised his hand and signaled, "Hurry up and get up. Second brother, I still can't recover from your performance at the morning court today."

Zhu Qiyu hesitated as if he was a little hesitant: "Brother, why...why don't you take this opportunity..."

Zhu Qizhen stood up, sighed, and looked a little melancholy: "Second brother, she is my mother after all. Even if the emperor's mother is guilty, she cannot be charged with a crime like colluding with an enemy country."

Zhu Qiyu looked puzzled: "Brother, what do you think? This is a great opportunity for you to rule the country."

Zhu Qizhen's eyes flashed with a gleam of brilliance, and he nodded: "I do want to rule the country myself, but I also have to protect the dignity of the Queen Mother. Please let me think about it, but no matter what, I have to thank you."

Zhu Qiyu bowed sincerely and said, "It is my duty to be loyal to Your Majesty. We are brothers, so why should I thank you?"

Zhu Qizhen complained in his heart, they are all good actors.

……

Zhu Qiyu left the Qianqing Palace and hurriedly walked on the Imperial Road. He was anxious to return to the palace to discuss with Tung Xingdao what to do next. His Majesty's reaction was somewhat beyond his expectations.

"Your Highness Prince Qing, the Queen Mother invites you." A palace maid blocked the imperial road and bowed.

Zhu Qiyu pondered for a moment, and followed the maid to Kunning Palace. As soon as he entered the hall, he knelt down in front of the empress dowager who was sitting there, and kowtowed: "Your son pays homage to the empress dowager, please punish me."

The Queen Mother looked cold and raised her hand: "Get up, there is no need to act in front of me."

Zhu Qiyu stood up, hunched over, looking very scared, and said, "Queen Dowager, I am also... I have no choice... As for my brother..."

"No need to explain. I don't believe a word you say." The Queen Mother chuckled. "I asked you to come here to tell me the truth. We should stop hiding things."

"Every word I say is true." Zhu Qiyu bowed again.

"You want to be the emperor, right? It's not wrong to have ambition." The Queen Mother stood up slowly, "But you have no chance! Unless you have my help. Today, if you want to talk, just say it openly. If you still want to act, then get out now."

Her unquestionable tone sent a chill down Zhu Qiyu's spine. Facing the Queen Mother, Zhu Qiyu found that he was too young and was no match for her.

"Please give your orders, Your Majesty." Zhu Qiyu hesitated for a moment and bowed respectfully.

The Queen Mother waved her hand, and all the eunuchs and palace maids in the hall retreated, leaving only the two of them.

……

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(End of this chapter)