Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 209 Zhu Houcong: How dare a palace maid harbor rebellious intentions?
Ciren Palace.

Empress Dowager Jiang and Zhu Houcong sat high up, looking at the row of people kneeling on the ground.

This included Granny Rong.

But she was not kneeling in the middle.

In the center was a young palace maid, plump and graceful. Although not particularly beautiful, she had a dignified air about her and was clearly someone who usually acted arrogantly.

This person is Qingheng, a palace maid in Consort Yan's palace.

The palace maids of the Ming Dynasty were modeled after those of the Tang and Song Dynasties, and were organized into six bureaus and one department, such as the Shanggong Bureau and the Shangyi Bureau. Each bureau was staffed with female officials, but these bureaus quickly became nominal, and their functions were replaced by the Twenty-Four Offices.

This does not mean that there were no powerful women among the palace maids; it simply means that these women's power came entirely from their masters.

For example, Rong, who used to serve Empress Zhang, and Lü, who now serves Empress Jiang, are both highly respected eunuchs in the Directorate of Ceremonial, and they dare not disobey in the slightest when these eunuchs speak.

The same is true of the green purslane.

She was favored by the Yan family. When the Yan family lived in Zhongcui Palace in the Eastern Six Palaces, she became the steward of Zhongcui Palace, in charge of all matters, both internal and external.

Now that Lady Yan is pregnant with the emperor's child, Qingheng's status has risen accordingly, making her a prominent figure in the harem. Even the nannies treat her with great respect. This woman is also quite shrewd and has connections with various parties.

But precisely because of this, the female officials and nannies who usually had close ties with him all knelt down on the ground, their faces pale and trembling.

Just as everyone fell silent and the atmosphere became extremely tense, Lu Bing strode in, followed by the Imperial Guards carrying boxes of miscellaneous items. They reported, "The room has been thoroughly searched, and there is nothing unusual!"

"call……"

A sigh of relief rang out, and Qingheng straightened her kneeling back, quickly saying, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! This servant has been wronged. This servant has always been loyal to my mistress, how could I be a spy for some villain?"

Empress Dowager Jiang looked calmly at the others: "Were you also wronged?"

Everyone nodded in unison, hurriedly responding, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! This servant would never dare, never dare!"

Looking at the group of palace maids who had come back to life, Empress Dowager Jiang said leisurely: "Do you know that Lu Wenfu entered the palace to report the night before last, while Princess Li began the formal search this morning? Why was there a one-day gap?"

While the others were still stunned, Qingheng's expression changed instantly.

Empress Dowager Jiang looked around, her tone filled with emotion: "The walls of the palace are slippery, there are too many eyes watching. That night, I dismissed everyone, intentionally letting this slip, waiting for those with ulterior motives to make their move! Wenfu!"

"Yes!"

Lu Bing clapped his hands, and another group of people were brought up: "Let's get to know them!"

One of the eunuchs glanced over and immediately landed on Qingheng, exclaiming repeatedly, "It's her! It's definitely her!"

Empress Dowager Jiang said calmly, "Explain yourselves carefully, so as not to wrong the innocent."

The young eunuch hurriedly said, "I spent the whole day yesterday squatting down and saw her burning a lot of things in the corner of the east courtyard. Nobody ever goes there!"

Empress Dowager Jiang asked, "What are you burning?"

The young eunuch honestly replied, "I didn't dare to approach her at the time. After she had gone far away, I went up to look again, but I couldn't recognize her anymore. However, she was definitely not a good person. She came in sneakily, constantly looking around!"

Zhu Houcong suddenly spoke up: "You're not mistaken?"

The young eunuch was incredibly excited, and his already shrill voice changed tone: "Your Majesty, I come from the Imperial Household Department and am used to running around every corner of the palace. I would never be mistaken!"

This was truly a hard-won opportunity to shine, and they were determined to seize it, at least hoping to use it to escape that drudgery cage.

As he detailed the process of burning the object, Qingheng swayed slightly and slowly closed her eyes.

She realized she had been tricked.

Compared to meticulous investigation and step-by-step tracing, Empress Dowager Jiang used a simple and effective method.

They deliberately spread rumors to alert the suspects and force those with guilty consciences to destroy evidence.

Since the inner court was a closed space, these palace servants had very few choices, and they inevitably ended up in those corners that no one went to on ordinary days.

Instead of showing themselves, the Embroidered Uniform Guards had their servants from the Imperial Household Department keep watch in the corners and observe the comings and goings.

In this way, what appears to be an act of destroying evidence actually becomes evidence itself.

Even Rong Mama was selected in this way. The large-scale search that led to Li Yuying, Shen Jinghong, and Xia Qingwu entering the palace was actually a diversionary tactic.

Empress Dowager Jiang said, "The handwriting, the paper, the ink—every detail was done perfectly, so that even the Embroidered Uniform Guard couldn't find a single piece of evidence. But a guilty conscience will inevitably be exposed. Now what excuses do you have?"

Qingheng pursed her lips and remained silent.

Empress Dowager Jiang said, "If you want to live, I can give you a chance. Confess everything about how you were lured by the thieves and what you did in the palace. I will decide whether to let you leave the palace afterwards!" Qingheng smiled bitterly, "Thank you for your magnanimity, Your Majesty, but I will have no way to survive outside the palace. I can only disappoint Your Majesty's kindness..."

Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Jiang sighed softly and waved her hand, "Take him away!"

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! I am innocent! I am innocent!"

Lu Bing clasped his hands in a fist salute, and amidst the desperate cries of the other palace maids, he dragged the entire group away.

Once the palace had quieted down, Empress Dowager Jiang turned to Zhu Houcong, who was sitting with her, and patted her son's hand: "Go and visit Lady Yan more often these next few days, and comfort her properly, so that she is not frightened!"

"Mother! I never imagined the palace had deteriorated to this extent!"

When his mother, Empress Dowager Jiang, was in charge of the overall situation, Zhu Houcong always listened attentively, only occasionally interjecting with a question or two. It wasn't until the mastermind was truly identified that he revealed his intense emotions.

Anger, fear, and lingering dread.

To be honest, when Lu Bing entered the palace to report the matter that day, Empress Dowager Jiang attached unprecedented importance to it. After informing Zhu Houcong of the matter, his first reaction was that there was something fishy going on among the palace officials.

After all, the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty were literate and could assist in government affairs. They were also there to check and balance the civil officials of the outer court, gradually transforming from household servants into inner ministers.

Once people acquire knowledge and participate in power struggles, their minds become active, and they may indeed be tempted to betray their masters.

But Zhu Houcong never actually considered palace maids.

He looked down on these women from the bottom of his heart, but he never expected that Li Yuanshe would focus his efforts on them.

On March 2nd of last year, following ancient rites, he selected nine concubines, including Fang, Zheng, Wang, Yan, Wei, Shen, Lu, Shen, and Du, and conferred upon them the titles of Concubine De, Concubine Xian, Concubine Zhuang, Concubine Li, Concubine Hui, Concubine An, Concubine He, Concubine Xi, and Concubine Kang.

What has been discovered now is not only the palace of Consort Li Yan, who is already pregnant, but also several other palaces, all of which are young palace maids and older nannies.

"They're always around the concubines, they have so many opportunities to do things secretly!"

"My child has no children yet, it must be because of these vile people!"

"How hateful! How hateful!"

Zhu Houcong was already suspicious, and at this moment he was even more reminded of the empress who had miscarried and several other concubines.

In fact, the infant mortality rate was already extremely high these days. A child has to overcome countless obstacles from conception to birth and then to growing up safely.

This applies to ordinary people, high-ranking officials and nobles, and even members of the imperial family. This is why the descendants of the Ming emperors have been so few over the past few generations.

As for the miscarriage of Jiajing's first empress, it was definitely related to his harshness, but when he saw the thief lurking, he subconsciously shifted the blame to him.

This matter is indeed difficult to explain, but Empress Dowager Jiang did not dwell on the past. Instead, she gently patted her son's hand and said softly, "Peace and tranquility in the home are the true signs of a ruler's benevolence. My son, do not be upset by this matter. Instead, show kindness and compassion to your family and your subordinates!"

Zhu Houcong frowned, utterly puzzled: "Mother, are you suggesting I treat these treacherous scoundrels with leniency?"

Empress Dowager Jiang said softly, "Excessive oppression will breed rebellious thoughts. There are tens of thousands of servants in the inner court. Are we supposed to search them all the time?"

The size of the Ming Dynasty's inner court fluctuated between 30,000 and 120,000.

During normal times, the palace consisted of 10,000 to 30,000 eunuchs and 3,000 to 9,000 palace maids. At its peak, it consisted of more than 50,000 eunuchs and nearly 20,000 palace maids.

The early Jiajing reign was not the most prosperous period, but the number of people in the inner court was still around 30,000 to 40,000, and new people entered the palace every year. With such a huge scale, if a thief were to infiltrate the palace, it would be impossible to prevent.

If we are constantly on guard and allow the Embroidered Uniform Guard to continuously infiltrate the palace, everyone in the inner court will live in fear, and no one will be able to live a normal life...

Therefore, Empress Dowager Jiang made this suggestion: "The palace servants, whether they were sold into servitude due to poverty or were confiscated by the families of criminals, are all Your Majesty's servants. You can be lenient with their minor transgressions and strict with their major crimes. Then the servants will be grateful for Your Majesty's grace and will do their utmost to serve you to the death. If there are any thieves secretly colluding with you, you can also let them expose them to serve as a warning to others!"

Zhu Houcong understood. Although he was somewhat unwilling, he was still willing to listen to his mother's words. He nodded slightly and said, "Mother is absolutely right. I should emulate the benevolence of Emperor Taizu in providing relief and forgive others as I forgive myself..."

"Good! Good!"

Empress Dowager Jiang softened her expression and glanced at the time: "The scholars for the palace examination have probably finished. Your Majesty, please do not delay. Go to the capital to gather talent for the country!"

Zhu Houcong was so preoccupied with the safety of the inner court and the continuation of his lineage that he almost forgot about the other matter. He rose and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Mother. I take my leave!"

Watching her son's figure disappear into Ciren Palace, Empress Dowager Jiang also showed lingering fear. Composing herself, she instructed Lu Bing, who had returned to her, "Interrogate him carefully and make sure to clean up the traitors around Yan, but do not implicate too many people, lest it cause panic and affect the birth of the imperial heir!"

"Yes!"

Lu Bing readily agreed.

Having witnessed firsthand the cunning and resistance of the Li Yuanshe rebels, Empress Dowager Jiang pondered for a moment before continuing, "As for the Shen and Xia families outside the palace, although they have made mistakes, they have been able to repent in time. Considering it is their first offense, I will grant them leniency for now..."

At this point, her expression softened, and she finally said gently, "Summon Yuying here. I want to have a good talk with her, a mother and daughter!"

(End of this chapter)