Ming: I am fake, walking on thin ice

Chapter 90 All officials urge Your Majesty to take charge of the government!

Huichang Marquis Mansion.

Shi Biao led the Jinyiwei to surround the Marquis's mansion. Just as he was about to lead them to break in, he suddenly saw the Prince of Qin, Zhu Qiyu, rushing in. He hurriedly stepped forward and saluted: "I pay my respects to the prince."

"No need to be polite!" Zhu Qiyu raised his hand to signal, and sighed softly, "I am here on the orders of the Queen Mother. However, you do not have to worry about me, search as you want, and arrest as you want."

"Does the Queen Mother have any instructions?" Shi Biao asked tentatively.

Zhu Qiyu shook his head: "She just asked me to see the Marquis of Huichang off. After all, he is the Queen Mother's eldest brother."

Shi Biao secretly thought in his heart, what is the intention of the King of Qing appearing at this time? However, the arrow is on the string now, and there is no time to ask His Majesty for instructions. It is better to capture the Marquis of Huichang first.

"Everyone, follow me in." Shi Biao waved to the Jinyiwei, "Everyone, behave properly. Huichang Marquis is a royal relative, so you must not be rude."

"Yes!" All the Jinyiwei responded in unison.

Afterwards, Shi Biao led more than a hundred Jinyiwei into the Huichang Marquis's mansion. Prince Zhu Qiyu of Qin followed closely behind. After entering the mansion, Shi Biao immediately ordered: "Gather all the people in the mansion to the West Garden."

The Jinyiwei acted quickly, and soon, there were cries and shouts one after another, including the voices of women, the elderly, and children. Shi Biao and Prince Qing came to the study of Marquis Huichang.

Sun Lian was standing at the door and quickly stepped forward to salute the two men: "Your Majesty, Lord Shi, my uncle is inside."

Shi Biao's eyes fell on him and said, "You are Sun Lian, right? His Majesty has decreed that you have nothing to do with this case and are not guilty. Now the Huichang Marquis' Mansion is left to you to manage."

Sun Lian knelt down hurriedly: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"

King Qing glanced at Sun Lian, his eyes full of sarcasm. He patted Shi Biao on the shoulder and said, "I will go see the Marquis of Huichang first. When you report to His Majesty, you must tell the truth."

"Your Highness, please." Shi Biao smiled slightly.

……

Zhu Qiyu walked into the study and saw Huichang Marquis Sun Jizhong sitting there sipping tea, looking very calm. He even waved at Zhu Qiyu: "Your Majesty, I didn't expect you to come and see me off. Please."

"You remain calm even when Mount Tai collapses in front of you." Zhu Qiyu sat down opposite the Marquis of Huichang. "My Lord, I admire you. I heard from the Queen Mother that you were planning to return home soon."

Huichang Hou smiled bitterly and pointed to the letter on the table, saying, "I have already written the letter of resignation, but I didn't expect that the truth would be revealed. I probably won't have the chance to return home. I guess I won't even be able to be buried there after I die."

Zhu Qiyu shook his head: "It shouldn't happen. Even if that day comes, don't worry, my lord. I will ask His Majesty for mercy and let you be buried in your hometown."

"Thank you very much, Your Highness." Marquis Huichang stood up and bowed.

"I am here to escort you, my Lord, on the orders of the Queen Mother." Zhu Qiyu motioned him to sit down and said, "My Lord, do you have anything else to tell me? I will do my best to help you."

Marquis Huichang sighed deeply, his eyes moist:

"Over the years, I have been strict with myself, and I have been cautious with every step. As a relative of the emperor, I am in charge of the rear army governor's office and concurrently in charge of the twelve battalions. Haha, everyone says it's because I am virtuous. Hahaha, virtuous? What's the use of being virtuous? It's useless! What about people's hearts, what about moral prestige? In the end, they are all worthless."

"Now I really admire your Majesty after he returned from Tumubao. He is becoming more and more like Taizu, so ruthless. King Qing, I have no other intentions, but I have realized in my old age how people should fight for their lives!"

"Your Highness, you are still not mature enough. If I were you, I would definitely ask His Majesty for permission to execute my entire family! Only in this way can you establish your prestige in the court."

The King of Qing was shocked and could not figure out whether the Marquis of Huichang was being sarcastic or just expressing his feelings. The Marquis of Huichang shook his head and sighed, walked up to the King of Qing, took out a folded paper from his sleeve, handed it to the King of Qing and said, "Since the Queen Mother asked you to see me off, I believe you have already reached an agreement. On this paper is a list of my allies in the court over the years, many of whom hold important positions. Take it, you will need it in the future."

Zhu Qiyu was startled, reached out to take it, glanced at the list, and there was an obvious flash of surprise in his eyes.

……

The case of Marquis Huichang soon spread throughout the capital.

What the Embroidered Uniform Guards found out was that Marquis Huichang was secretly contacting Mobei for smuggling. This was already earth-shattering. The Marquis of the Ming Dynasty, the Empress Dowager's elder brother, was actually smuggling with the enemy country.

There are even rumors that Huichang Hou sold the Ming Dynasty's artillery to Mobei. How can this be tolerated? When the war breaks out, it will be the Ming Dynasty's soldiers who will die.

Even worse, there were rumors that the Marquis of Huichang had rebellious intentions and contacted Yesen in Mobei in order to jointly seize the Ming Dynasty. Rumors, once spread, became distorted, and finally the spearhead was directed at the Queen Mother.

If there was no Queen Mother, would Marquis Huichang dare to be so bold?
Queen Dowager, are you trying to be the Wu Zetian of our dynasty?

The rumors among the people are becoming more and more outrageous, but the government and the opposition are also not at peace, and there are all kinds of speculations.

At this moment, Wenhua Hall.

The cabinet chief, Wang Zhi, called together the cabinet ministers to urgently discuss what to do. Shang Lu, who was always straightforward, spoke first: "No matter what, it is not appropriate for the queen mother to continue to rule the country from behind the curtain."

Some people immediately objected, saying that this matter had nothing to do with the Queen Mother, but more people agreed. They said that even if this matter had nothing to do with the Queen Mother, Huichang Hou was the Queen Mother's elder brother and had always been trusted by the Queen Mother. How many things did the Queen Mother give to Huichang Hou to handle?

"It is true that the Queen Mother cannot rule the country from behind the curtain any longer." The Cabinet Chief Wang Zhi said, "Also, it is time to return the power to Your Majesty."

Yang Guifang, who had been silent the whole time, said, "In that case, let's jointly submit a petition to ask His Majesty to take charge of the government."

Wang Zhi nodded in agreement: "Yang Guifang, you write it and we will sign it together."

Yang Guifang was overjoyed and clasped her fists: "As you wish."

With the cabinet chief minister Wang Zhi speaking up, even though there were still a few people who disagreed in their hearts, they all agreed on the surface.

……

The next day, morning.

Wang Zhi led the cabinet ministers to submit a memorial, requesting Your Majesty to formally take power.

Duke Chengguo stood up and expressed his objection: "Your Majesty, attending court and hearing government affairs is a blessing for Your Majesty and a labor for ministers. Your Majesty, attending court and ruling the country is a labor for Your Majesty and a blessing for ministers. How can a minister only care about his own happiness?"

After hearing this, Zhu Qizhen wanted to hit him, but he didn't say anything.

At this time, Yu Qian, who was in charge of military affairs, stood up and said: "Your Majesty will eventually have to personally manage the government. This is not only your Majesty's responsibility, but also the blessing of being a minister. If there are people who do not want to hand over power and hinder your Majesty from ruling the country, then I would like to ask, what is the way of monarch and minister? Do you want to make decisions for your Majesty for the rest of your life? Your humble servant Yu Qian, I beg your Majesty to rule the country yourself."

His words were so heartbreaking that most of the ministers in the court immediately expressed their support for His Majesty to rule the country personally.

Zhu Qizhen smiled and glanced at the empress dowager behind the curtain. The empress dowager didn't say a word today.

(End of this chapter)