Ming Dynasty: A mere unruly commoner is rebelling against the heaven?

Chapter 96: When Your Majesty is gone, I will kneel down and cannot get up!

In the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Youtang was reading memorials on the couch.

Even Empress Dowager Wang knew that the Wang brothers had been arrested, so Zhu Youtang would have known it earlier than her.

After reading the secret letter presented by Qin Lu, Zhu Youtang was sure that Queen Mother Wang would definitely come to him to plead for mercy, so he issued an order in advance not to see any guests.

After Fu Dahai entered the eastern warm room of the Qianqing Palace, he knelt in front of Zhu Youtang and spoke carefully.

"Your Majesty, Queen Mother Wang she...she..."

"Speak directly."

"Empress Dowager Wang is kneeling at the gate of the Qianqing Palace."

"Empress Dowager Wang also said that if Your Majesty does not see her, she will kneel in front of the Qianqing Palace and never get up."

Zhu Youtang's eyes were still on the memorial, and he didn't even raise his head: "Then let her kneel."

"go out."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Fu Dahai bowed and left the Qianqing Palace, then came before Empress Dowager Wang with a bitter face.

He did not dare to stand directly in front of Queen Mother Wang, but just stood behind her with his body bent, and gave her advice earnestly.

"Empress Dowager, it's so cold, you should go back first. His Majesty really doesn't want to see you today."

Queen Mother Wang looked sad: "Eunuch, there is no need to persuade me. Your Majesty has not seen me, so I will kneel here."

"Ugh……"

Fu Dahai sighed and called the eunuchs around him: "You guys, go to the Xinxinsi and get some more red coals, and make some fires around the queen."

"You guys, go to the Ministry of Construction and get some big umbrellas to protect the queen from the wind and snow."

Afterwards, Fu Dahai said to Runqiu, who was kneeling behind the Empress Dowager, "Master Runqiu, please stop kneeling for now. Hurry up and take a few palace maids back to Ciqing Palace to get some warm cloaks for the Empress Dowager."

Runqiu glanced at Queen Mother Wang first, and seeing that she had no objection, he nodded to Fu Dahai and said, "Yes, thank you for your advice, eunuch."

After saying that, she took people back to Ciqing Palace to get the cloak.

"Ugh."

Fu Dahai finally shook his head and returned to work at the gate of the Qianqing Palace.

Looking at the empress dowager kneeling in the snow, Fu Dahai felt very uncomfortable.

But as the eunuch in charge of the Jingshifang, this was all he could do.

Now the only one who can make Queen Dowager Wang get up from the snow is Zhu Youtang.

In the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Youtang approved a few memorials, and the Shangshenjian brought dinner.

After the meal, Fu Dahai walked in holding a silver tray.

"Your Majesty, it's time to turn over the cards."

Zhu Youtang had no interest in flipping the cards and waved his hand: "Go."

Fu Dahai had a bitter face and was about to cry: "Your Majesty, you haven't turned over the cards for nearly half a month."

Ever since Wang Zhi reported last time that the Western Factory had discovered that the death of the previous emperor was related to the Ciqing Palace, Zhu Youtang has never turned over the sign of the harem again.

"I'm not in the mood right now, please leave."

"promise."

Fu Dahai left the Qianqing Palace and saw Queen Mother Wang kneeling outside the palace. He then thought of Zhu Youtang who was unwilling to turn over the card.

Fu Dahai sighed deeply again.

The royal family had many complicated affairs, and as the eunuch in charge of the Jingshifang, he was caught between the harem and the imperial court, and had to endure the bullying from both sides.

Zhu Youtang continued to review memorials in the Qianqing Palace and deal with the aftermath of the previous emperor's poisoning.

The most important point is the appointment of officials of all sizes in various departments.

That day, Zhu Youtang killed too many people cruelly.

Thousands of Beijing officials were killed in one go, leaving a large number of official vacancies vacant.

There is no shortage of candidates for official positions, and there are a lot of them in the Imperial College and the Hanlin Academy.

But there are too few suitable people.

Zhu Youtang simply eliminated some unimportant or duplicate positions.

It would be fine if it was a low-level official position, and it could be left to the Cabinet and the Ministry of Personnel to handle. Zhu Youtang only needed to take a final look at the list and make the final decision.

However, several second- and third-rank officials were killed, and the appointments to these positions gave Zhu Youtang a headache.

The brunt of this is the appointment of the chief and deputy officers of the three judicial departments.

The Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, the chief official of the Censorate, was of the second rank.

Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Adjutant of the Ministry of Justice, third rank.

Dali Temple Minister, the chief official of Dali Temple, is of the third rank.

Zhu Youtang has been dragging his feet on these three positions and has not yet appointed anyone.

The truth is that Zhu Youtang had been on the throne for too short a time and had no suitable people under him.

However, they did not dare to use the officials recommended by the cabinet at will, so the situation was stuck here.

While Zhu Youtang was reviewing memorials, he asked the eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department to send the reviewed memorials to the cabinet.

The newly drafted memorials from the cabinet must also be sent to the Qianqing Palace in a timely manner.

The eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department who traveled between the Qianqing Palace and the Cabinet were so frightened when they saw Empress Dowager Wang kneeling outside the Qianqing Palace.

They all buried their heads in their chests, stared at the ground, and dared not look around.

Snowflakes began to fall from the sky again. Fu Dahai looked at Queen Mother Wang in the snow, then turned around to look at the Qianqing Palace behind him which was as warm as spring.

He wanted to persuade her again, but after hesitating several times, he couldn't open his mouth.

In this way, Queen Dowager Wang knelt at the gate of Zhu Youtang's Qianqing Palace for a whole night.

At noon the next day, Zhu Youtang dressed neatly and left the Qianqing Palace, ready to go to Fengtian Gate to attend court.

After seeing Zhu Youtang, Queen Mother Wang's eyes lit up: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

Queen Dowager Wang wanted to get up and walk towards Zhu Youtang, but her feet were numb from kneeling in the snow for too long.

She struggled for a moment and then fell into the snow.

There were cries of surprise from all around, and a large number of eunuchs and palace maids came forward to help Queen Mother Wang. But Queen Mother Wang's eyes were always on Zhu Youtang.

But Zhu Youtang didn't even look at Queen Dowager Wang. He walked straight past her, got on the dragon chariot, and headed towards Fengtian Gate.

When Queen Mother Wang saw this, her face turned pale as paper.

Her body swayed and she eventually passed out.

Suddenly, panicked shouts were heard all around.

"Empress! Empress!"

"How is the queen? Send her back to the palace quickly!"

"Pass the imperial doctor, pass the imperial physician quickly!"

……

In Ciqing Palace, Queen Mother Wang, who had been in a coma for a long time, slowly opened her eyes under acupuncture by the new director of the Imperial Medical Bureau.

The imperial physicians of the Imperial Medical Bureau, as long as they were not treating the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, had the most sophisticated medical skills in the world.

After Empress Dowager Wang woke up, the Imperial Physician simply told her to apply hot water to her legs more often in the next few days and not to go out in the wind. After leaving a prescription, the doctor said goodbye and left.

After sending the imperial physician away, Runqiu walked to the bedside of Queen Mother Wang and asked with concern, "My queen, how do you feel?"

"are you better?"

Queen Mother Wang's mind is now entirely occupied by her two younger brothers, so she has no time to care about her own health.

"How to do?"

"Your Majesty is determined not to see me. What should I do with my two poor brothers?"

Thinking of this, Queen Mother Wang began to shed tears.

Suddenly, Queen Mother Wang thought of someone.

Maybe she can make Zhu Youtang change his mind.

"Runqiu, bring me some pen and ink. I want to write a letter."

"Yes, ma'am."

Runqiu brought pen and ink, and Queen Mother Wang wrote a few words on the letter paper.

Afterwards, Queen Mother Wang sealed the letter and handed it to Runqiu.

"Runqiu, take this letter to Renshou Palace."

"Go to Xianfu Palace again and ask Concubine Kang to come over."

"Yes, ma'am."

Runqiu was very efficient. In just two quarters of an hour, the letter from Empress Dowager Wang was safely delivered to Renshou Palace.

Zhang Wan'er also followed Runqiu to Ciqing Palace.

When Zhang Wan'er walked into the main hall of Ciqing Palace and saw Queen Mother Wang lying in bed, the smile on her face froze.

She didn't even bother to pay her respects, but ran to Queen Mother Wang's bedside in a worried look.

"Empress Dowager, what's wrong with you?"

"Why are you sick? Have you called the imperial physician to see you?"

Queen Mother Wang looked at Zhang Wan'er with satisfaction and tried hard to force a smile on her face.

"I'm fine. I've called the imperial physician to see me."

"The imperial physician said that I just caught a cold and will be fine after two days of rest."

Queen Mother Wang reached out and held Zhang Wan'er's left hand.

On Zhang Wan'er's wrist, she was wearing the jade bracelet given to her by Queen Mother Wang.

"I asked you to come here this time because I have something to ask. I hope you can help me."

Zhang Wan'er quickly assured: "Please tell me, Empress Dowager. If I can help you, I will never refuse."

"That's good. I really didn't make a mistake in choosing him."

"Ever since you entered the palace, I have always liked you."

When the atmosphere was almost set, Queen Mother Wang finally got to the point.

"I have two younger brothers, named Wang Yuan and Wang Qing, who were given the titles of Earl of Rui'an and Earl of Chongshan by the late emperor."

"My two younger brothers have always been law-abiding and have never dared to do anything illegal or disorderly."

"But for some reason, I was framed yesterday and thrown into the West Factory Prison."

"I would like to ask you to say a few words in front of the emperor, don't wrongly accuse good people."

Zhang Wan'er opened her mouth in surprise after hearing this. After a long while, she stumbled back, "But...but His Majesty doesn't like the harem to discuss state affairs."

"This is not considered state affairs. They are my younger brothers and the emperor's uncles. This can only be considered a family matter."

"And I'm not asking you to plead for them. I just want Your Majesty not to fall for the villain's tricks and let the three judicial departments jointly try this case and not harm the loyal and honest people."

Queen Mother Wang understood clearly that it was impossible to rescue Wang Yuan and Wang Qing directly.

The most important thing now is to get them out of the Xichang prison first.

As long as we get out of the control of the factory guards first and once it's in the hands of the Three Law Departments, it won't be too late to slowly find a solution.

Zhang Wan'er thought about the preferential treatment that Empress Dowager Wang had shown her since she entered the palace, and she was moved a little.

"But... Her Majesty the Empress Dowager."

Zhang Wan'er said with some embarrassment: "Your Majesty has not summoned me to sleep with you for nearly half a month."

"Even if I wanted to help you, Your Majesty, I can't talk to you about it."

Seeing Zhang Wan'er give in, Empress Dowager Wang felt a little relieved.

"You don't have to worry about this. Just stay in Xianfu Palace and wait for the call. I have my own way."

Seeing this, Zhang Wan'er had no choice but to agree: "Yes, I will obey your majesty's orders."

In fact, Queen Mother Wang was not completely sure that Zhang Wan'er would be summoned by Zhu Youtang to sleep with him.

But now that things have come to this, she can only take a gamble.

In any case, it's better than sitting here and waiting to die.

(End of this chapter)