Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 127 A Friend Urged Me to Update Journey to the West (Third Update)

"Can't you even find a single tattered garment?"

"My lady..."

"I don't have many clothes for all four seasons, so I don't even know how to cut a tattered garment?"

"Go quickly... no! I'll come myself!"

Empress Dowager Zhang removed her brocade phoenix-patterned robe, and the bronze mirror reflected her appearance after she removed her crown. Her hair fell loose, and after looking at herself from left to right, she finally felt that she did not resemble the old women in the common people who cried out for justice for their families, and could not help but urge her on.

Granny Rong was quick and efficient, and soon brought a piece of clothing to me.

This garment was worn by Empress Dowager Zhang during her mourning period after the late emperor's death. She dared not discard it casually, so she dug it out. It is indeed somewhat damaged.

Empress Dowager Zhang touched it, showing a look of disgust, but also quite satisfied: "Go and prepare some ashes, make the clothes even more worn out, and find a pair of straw sandals, the more worn the better!"

The palace maids obeyed with trepidation.

So when Empress Dowager Zhang changed into this outfit, everyone in the palace was stunned.

The once dignified and elegant Empress Dowager now resembled a poor old woman; she even undid her hair and casually tied it up with only a wooden hairpin.

"Your Majesty, why are you doing this to yourself..."

Some palace servants immediately burst into tears, kneeling on the ground and sobbing uncontrollably.

"Why bother? Some people won't even spare my two younger brothers, seizing on a minor mistake to take their lives and even accuse them of treason! Since that's the case, I have no other choice!"

Empress Dowager Zhang said coldly, "Go tell my Emperor of the Ming Dynasty that his Holy Mother will wear this beggar's clothes and kneel step by step from Renshou Palace to Qianqing Palace! Anyway, my son and I are already a laughing stock of the whole world!"

In the fourth year of the Jiajing reign, the Renshou Palace, where Empress Dowager Zhang lived, caught fire. No one was injured, but the palace was destroyed.

Under normal circumstances, reconstruction would naturally be necessary, but Zhu Houcong said that the people were suffering from disasters and their livelihoods were difficult, and the national treasury didn't have much money. Everyone was struggling, so let's just do it reluctantly!

Empress Dowager Zhang was forced to move to the East Palace for a period of time, and later moved to her current palace. However, she still referred to her current residence as Renshou Palace.

She was the Empress Dowager, the mother of the nation; wherever she lived, that place became the Palace of Benevolence and Longevity!
Similarly, although Zhu Houcong had long been calling her "Auntie" in the palace, a title even the Holy Mother was unwilling to use, in order to completely strip her of her legitimacy, the previous dynasty did not recognize it. Last year, when the Zhang brothers were stripped of their titles, the Grand Secretary Zhang Cong submitted a memorial to plead for their release.

Zhang Cong's petition was not for the sake of the notorious Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling brothers, but because he was worried that Zhu Houcong's harsh treatment of his maternal clan would leave a bad name in history. Therefore, he submitted a memorial requesting leniency.

Therefore, Empress Dowager Zhang firmly believed that if she dressed in tattered clothes, walked step by step to the front of the Qianqing Palace, and then knelt down before that wretched man, no matter how ruthless he was, he would have to release her two precious younger brothers.

Even so, when she finally decided to take this step, Empress Dowager Zhang still felt a sense of desolation. She couldn't help but curse Emperor Xiaozong in her heart for dying so young, and she couldn't help but curse Zhu Houzhao for dying so young as well, leaving her, an old woman, to be bullied and forced into such a situation!

"Let's go!"

"This is the Empress Dowager's palace...who dares to be so insolent...ah!!"

However, before Empress Dowager Zhang could step out of the palace gate, a series of chaotic footsteps came from outside the hall, followed by the panicked screams of palace maids and the reprimands of eunuchs.

Before he could finish speaking, he was coldly interrupted: "By His Majesty's decree, all palace staff of Renshou Palace are suspected of colluding with the Empress Dowager's relatives to plot a rebellion. Arrest them immediately and interrogate them!"

The palace gates were pushed open, and a group of Imperial Guards filed in. The leader was Wang Bao, the current Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, who expressionlessly surveyed the trembling servants in the hall: "Men, take all these unruly slaves away!"

"Wang Bao!"

Empress Dowager Zhang flew into a rage: "Who gave you the audacity to come to my palace and arrest someone?"

The newcomer bowed respectfully, seemingly oblivious to Empress Zhang's tattered clothes, and said in an icy tone, "Your Majesty, please forgive me, this old servant is only acting on the Emperor's orders!"

With that, he waved his hand, and the Imperial Guards immediately stepped forward and dragged all the old nannies, personal maids, and trusted eunuchs who had served the Empress Dowager for many years away.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" "Your Majesty, save me!"

Some cried out and begged for mercy, while others struggled to turn back and look at Empress Dowager Zhang. Only Granny Rong remained motionless.

Seeing this, the old woman's heart sank to the bottom.

The previous power struggle between the two empress dowagers was still within the bounds of propriety.

Empress Zhang lost her son, while Empress Jiang was concerned for her son's sake. Both were hesitant to act rashly, exchanging only sarcastic remarks, unwilling to truly break off relations.

However, the assassination attempt on Empress Dowager Jiang and the subsequent calamity suffered by the princess shocked the court and the public. How could the other side let such an opportunity pass?

So when she found the old clothes, Rong Mama was very quick, but unfortunately she was still a bit slow, and the other party was faster and more ruthless.

They're... finished!
Despite Empress Dowager Zhang's constant crying and screaming, an old woman was no match for those fierce guards. The hall soon emptied out, leaving Empress Dowager Zhang standing alone.

"You...you...how dare you...how dare you..." Her face turned deathly pale, her fingertips digging into her palms, wanting to hurl insults, but her voice grew softer and softer.

Not long after, footsteps could be heard outside the hall again.

The group that entered this time consisted of female officials dressed in palace attire, led by Zhou, the head of the Shanggong Bureau.

She also curtsied to Empress Dowager Zhang with a blank expression: "Your Majesty, from this day forward, the servants will attend to all needs inside and outside Renshou Palace. His Majesty has decreed that, in order to ensure the Empress Dowager's peaceful recuperation, no one may enter or leave at will!"

Empress Dowager Zhang stared at her, forcing out a sentence through gritted teeth: "Good! Very good! Is the Emperor of the Great Ming going to place the Empress Dowager of the Great Ming under house arrest?"

"Help the Empress change her clothes!"

The person in charge, Zhou, did not answer, but simply gave the order.

Soon the female officials behind her went about their duties. Several of the strongest forcibly stripped Empress Zhang of her tattered clothes, while several maids tidied up the messed-up dressing table and changed the incense. Guards stood quietly on both sides of the palace gate, like emotionless stone statues.

After working for an unknown period of time, when the sunlight outside the palace shone through the window again, Empress Zhang looked at the fence-like shadows cast on the ground, slowly sat back on the couch, like a clay or wooden sculpture, and remained motionless.

……

"The law is a public instrument of the world. The emperor does not abandon public law because of personal feelings. He is truly a wise ruler of our Great Ming Dynasty!"

Inside the Imperial Academy, Yan Shifan passionately praised the current emperor's wisdom, surrounded by a group of students, including Lin Daqin, who all agreed.

The charcoal fire in the bronze stove was dying down, and a few wisps of smoke drifted away in the early winter chill. It was colder this year than last year, but everyone's hearts were burning with warmth. They all made a pact to go together to watch the execution of the Zhang brothers in the West Market!
This is truly gratifying! This is truly gratifying!
Only Hai Rui sat alone by the window, the pages of the "Great Ming Code" he had brought from Qiongshan in his hand were curled up, and his finger slowly stopped on the article on treason, the ink as hard as iron.

"What is Shisilang looking at so intently?"

Yan Shifan would not neglect anyone. After speaking passionately in front of his classmates and making a good impression as the junior chief priest, he glanced over and noticed the law book in Yan Shifan's hand, and was taken aback.

Hai Rui looked up at him, a fire seemingly flickering in his eyes: "Brother Donglou, tell me, is the law of the Ming Dynasty the standard for governing the world, or just a decoration for show?"

Yan Shifan's expression changed.

This is actually a question?
Isn't the answer obvious?
But thinking of this, he couldn't help but fall silent for a moment, then sighed softly, "Shisi Lang, I can't answer you!"

Everyone knows that the imprisonment of the Zhang brothers, who are now widely praised by the people, has absolutely nothing to do with the law.

If they were to be punished according to the law, the sins committed by these brothers would be enough to condemn them to ten lifetimes. You must understand that relatives of the emperor do not have the legal immunity that nobles have; they only received honorary titles.

So why were the Zhang brothers so arrogant for three dynasties? It was precisely because their sister became the most honored woman in the world and was the sole favorite in the harem.

The reason they have completely fallen is precisely because their sister is no longer the most honored woman in the world!

Now the retribution has come!

Yan Shifan had always thought that Haiyue's younger brother was hardworking in his studies, but his talent was far inferior to Lin Daqin's. Now he suddenly realized that the other party was not a simple character either: "What are you planning, Shisilang?"

Hai Rui gripped the "Great Ming Code" in his hand, the rough cover digging painfully into his palm. He slowly said, "It doesn't matter now. When I enter officialdom and stand in the Fengtian Hall to advise His Majesty, then it won't be too late to speak!"

Yan Shifan became serious. He had heard his father talk about many boastful people who, when they were studying, would boast that they would clean up the world and sweep away injustices after entering officialdom. However, after a few years in office, they would become just like everyone else, or even join the corrupt and degenerate group faster than anyone else. But now Hai Rui had not uttered a single grand statement. Instead, he exuded a firm and unwavering sense of conviction.

'My society is truly full of talented people!'

Yan Shifan felt both excited and a sense of crisis that he couldn't be left behind. He looked around and asked, "Where's Shisanlang?"

“Lu Sheren came looking for his brother, but he went to the back residence.”

……

"Wenfu, you've come here three times in one day. Is the Embroidered Uniform Guard alright?"

At this moment, Haiyue was indeed in the backyard of the school, looking helplessly at her friend in front of her.

The case of the Hidden Cloud Society is still pending, isn't it?
Why has this person suddenly become so free?
"Thirteen Lang, it's not that I want to come here, but your new Journey to the West has reached the sixtieth chapter. Haven't you finished planning the rest yet?"

Lu Bing was actually very busy, investigating a secret society, but he was assigned here instead. Under that person's hint, he couldn't reveal too much, so he could only rub his hands and say, "I urgently need the following chapters!"

Haiyue looked at him and slowly said, "Is it you who urgently needs the later plot, or do you have a friend who urgently needs the later chapters?"

Lu Bing blinked and said in a low voice, "It is indeed a friend's urgent need. Can you help me, Thirteen Lang?"

Has Yan Shifan finally delivered "Journey to the West" to that emperor's throne?

Compared to her time in Qiongshan when she refused to sell to booksellers for profit, Haiyue now has a clear plan for giving away books. The person urging her now is not someone who likes to keep her in suspense, and besides, only the entire Journey to the West can truly reflect its connotation and philosophy, so it is indeed time to finish the sequel: "I already have a draft, you can come and pick it up in five days!"

(End of this chapter)