I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 195 Marriage Accomplished! Empress Dowager Li Returns Power to the Emperor; Can the Young Wanli Rule Personally?
Disciple of Huangji.

All the officials agreed that Shen Nian should not be suspended from his post.

Emperor Wanli stood up and said loudly, "The rumors are currently unsubstantiated. Minister Shen need not be suspended from his post. This matter will be handed over to the Censorate for a thorough investigation, and Minister Shen's innocence must be cleared as soon as possible!"

"Your subject obeys!" Chen Zan, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, said, bowing.

At this time.

Shen Nian did not retreat back to the queue, but instead took a big step forward and bowed to Xiao Wanli again.

"Your Majesty, in the past two years, there have been many rumors that slander me and my family. This time, from Jiangnan to the capital, the streets are filled with rumors that 'although I do not have the title of Grand Secretary, I have the power of a Grand Secretary and am in fact a junior Grand Secretary.' Then there was the matter of 'selling the junior Grand Secretary's pen at a high price for profit,' which was intended to kill me."

"I know that catching the mastermind behind spreading slanderous words would require a great deal of manpower and resources from the court, and it would be almost impossible to catch them. Therefore, I have come up with a simpler method."

"Your Majesty, I humbly request that you dispatch a special envoy from the Imperial Guard to personally investigate my Shen family and my father-in-law's family. I am willing to disclose all details of my family's assets and business ledgers to the special envoy so that Your Majesty may know. If there is any deception, I am willing to be punished for the crime of deceiving the emperor. This will also prevent some villains from spreading rumors, secretly plotting against me, and deceiving Your Majesty!"

Hear this.

A smile appeared on the face of the young Wanli Emperor.

His favorite type of official was Shen Nian, who was completely devoted to the emperor.

Nearly 90% of the civil and military officials had expressions on their faces that resembled those of someone suffering from constipation.

Currently, over 90% of officials in the Ming Dynasty cannot withstand investigation.

The more they investigate, the bigger the problem becomes; the more they investigate, the faster they lose their positions; the more they investigate, the more people are implicated.

No one dared to utter a statement like, "Your Majesty, I wish to submit a complete list of all my family's private assets."

Shen Nian has already won by saying those words.

This statement has nothing to do with wealth or poverty; it only shows that Shen Nian is certain that every penny earned by his family is clean.

Yin Zhengmao looked at Shen Nian with envy and murmured: Others are afraid of being investigated, but this kid gets better reputation and higher prestige the more he is investigated!
“Your Majesty, I believe this is unnecessary! Your Majesty’s special envoy’s unwarranted investigation of officials’ private property suggests a lack of trust in your ministers and could affect the stability of the court. What happened to Shen Shijiang is not common; a thorough investigation by the censors would suffice!” an official shouted.

"I second the proposal!"

"I second the proposal!"

"I second the proposal!"

……

Immediately, more than fifty officials stood up.

They are afraid!

It would be terrible if Shen Nian set such a precedent, requiring them to disclose their private assets to prove their innocence.

Shen Nian was confident in proving her family's innocence, while they were confident in sending themselves to prison.

"Cough cough!"

Not far away, Feng Bao couldn't help but cough.

Empress Dowager Li no longer needed to sit behind the curtain and cough to remind the young Wanli Emperor to think twice before acting; Feng Bao took over her duties.

Emperor Wanli paused for a moment and said, "What you all say makes sense. I cannot doubt you all without reason. This matter can be handled by the censor."

Upon hearing this, Shen Nian immediately left the queue.

He knew that if the young Wanli Emperor approved his proposal, within a year, at least half of the officials standing under the Imperial Gate would be gone.

Knowing this situation, the young Wanli Emperor would surely prioritize the overall situation.

This is exactly the effect Shen Nian wanted.

He can even explain his method of "publicly disclosing his family's private assets," which is enough to prove that he is not afraid of being investigated by others.

If this message reaches the ears of those who want to frame him, they will no longer dare to use this method to frame Shen Nian.

……

The morning court session ended quickly.

The contents of the account books that Shen Nian presented at the court and his proposal to "publicly disclose his family's private wealth" were also spread to the people of the capital.

The voices criticizing Shen Nian were instantly drowned out by the voices praising the Shen family. In most cases, public opinion is like a reed bed in a swamp; which way the reeds lean depends not on their will, but on what wind blows that day.

Shen Nian has been both scolded and praised, and has long been used to this feeling of being sometimes in heaven and sometimes on the ground.

……

February 13th, Nanjing.

"boom!"

Zhang Siwei threw the two walnuts in his hand onto the hard stone ground, and the walnuts shattered into pieces instantly.

Moldy walnut kernels, broken into fine pieces, were scattered on the ground.

He didn't expect Shen Nian to be able to produce the account book so easily, and he didn't expect the Shen family to be able to do business in such a way.

Zhang Siwei was very clear about the Shen family's reputation among the people of Qiantang.

This case will be solved soon, and justice will be served.

What angered Zhang Siwei was not that he couldn't suspend Shen Nian from his post, but that this incident would further enhance Shen Nian's reputation and make his position as a drafter even more unshakeable.

It was he who pushed Shen Nian toward the Cabinet.

Furthermore, although the Zhang and Wang families are currently in decline, Zhang Siwei still does not dare to publicly disclose his family's private property like Shen Nian did.

During his tenure as a cabinet minister, he sought personal gain at every turn, engaging in numerous shady dealings.

……

February 15th.

Emperor Wanli dispatched Zhang Rong, Duke of Yingguo, and Lü Diaoyang, the Second Grand Secretary, to the Empress's residence with the imperial edict and seal to read the edict establishing the Empress.

after that.

Empress Wang, surrounded by a retinue of honor, a band, and a group of eunuchs, entered the Forbidden City through the Daming Gate and arrived at her palace, Kunning Palace.

February 16th.

The young Emperor Wanli and the Empress completed their wedding ceremony in the East Warm Pavilion of Kunning Palace.

Once this ceremony was completed, it meant that the young Wanli Emperor had his own empress.

February 17th, early morning.

The young Wanli Emperor, accompanied by Empress Wang, paid homage to the two empress dowagers, performed the ceremony of expressing gratitude, and then announced to the world the establishment of the empress dowager.

February 18th, noon.

Empress Dowager Li issued an imperial edict returning power to the inner court, handing over the duties of serving the young Wanli Emperor to Empress Wang, and ordering the Grand Eunuch Feng Bao of the Directorate of Ceremonial and the Inner Lady (the head maid of the Qianqing Palace) to have an audience with Empress Wang.

This means that from now on, Empress Wang will be in charge of the young Wanli Emperor's daily life, including his food, clothing, housing, and transportation, as well as the inner palace.

Of course, this is just a formality.

At present, Empress Dowager Li still holds the reins of power in the inner court.

While the civil and military officials in the capital were all immersed in the joy of the young Wanli Emperor's wedding and the banquet,

A memorial submitted by Liu Yingqi, a secretary in the Ministry of Rites, caused an uproar throughout the imperial court.

Liu Yingqi said—

The young Wanli Emperor ascended the throne six years ago, and after six years of daily lectures, he reached the age of sixteen and successfully got married.

Over the past six years, the young Wanli Emperor's knowledge, cognition, ability to independently review memorials, and ability to command his ministers have all reached the standard for personal rule.

The former Jiajing Emperor ascended the throne at the age of fifteen and immediately assumed personal rule, while the young Wanli Emperor has been regent for six years. Now that his marriage is complete, he should rightfully assume personal rule.

"He earnestly requested that the young Wanli Emperor immediately assume personal rule!"

Taking personal power meant that the young Wanli Emperor would personally review memorials, the number of daily lectures and imperial edicts would be greatly reduced, the power of the Grand Secretariat would be reduced, the power of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs would be increased, and the imperial power would expand rapidly. Everything would be run according to the will of the young Wanli Emperor throughout the Ming Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)