Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 344 A Single Word Decides the Fate of the Nation
A sudden downpour enveloped the palace. Zhu Houcong stood outside the hall, oblivious to the fact that his Taoist robe was soaked by the rain.

The狰狞 ​​(zhengning, meaning ferocious or hideous) face looked particularly terrifying in the lightning flash, and the rosary beads in his hand were almost crushed.

"Your Majesty, the rain is getting heavier. Please return to the palace and wait..."

The eunuch Mai Fu carefully opened the umbrella, but it was pushed away.

"How long have those imperial physicians been inside?"

Why haven't we heard anything yet?

Zhu Houcong's voice sounded like it was being squeezed out of his throat.

"Your Majesty, it has been an hour."

McFee answered cautiously.

This man, a famous eunuch during the Jiajing reign, comparable to Huang Jin, pioneered the system of having the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial concurrently serve as the Director of the Eastern Depot. He was one of the prototypes for Lü Fang in the Ming Dynasty.

Now, however, he was pale and spoke in an extremely soft voice, as if afraid of disturbing those inside.

"Trash! They're all trash!"

"If anything happens to Yuan'er, no one in the Imperial Hospital will survive!"

Zhu Houcong suddenly slammed the prayer beads to the ground, and the beads scattered in all directions.

As the surroundings fell silent, Ma Fu sighed inwardly.

Yuan'er?

When did Your Majesty address the Third Prince so intimately?

Yes.

The eldest prince died, the second prince went mad, and the fourth and fifth princes were recently pulled out of the water, their two small bodies huddled together.

It is said that the fourth prince tried to save his younger brother, but the fifth prince, who was not familiar with swimming and instinctively cried for help, dragged him down, and both children died.

Now only one prince remains—

Inside the palace, the stench of blood mingled with the aroma of medicine, creating a suffocating atmosphere.

More than ten imperial physicians surrounded the bed, but none of them dared to make a move.

The third prince lay on the brocade bedding, half of his face wrapped in gauze soaked with blood, his exposed left cheek as white as paper, constantly groaning, "It hurts...it hurts so much..."

"Professor Xu, what should we do?"

The young imperial physician's voice trembled.

The chief imperial physician, over seventy years old, had a forehead covered in cold sweat, and his fingers trembled slightly on the third prince's wrist.

Other injuries are relatively easy to treat, but the key issues are with the face and eyes.

The scars on her face were from a hairpin.

Finally, it pierced his left eye.

My eyes are gone.

Half-disfigured?

Another glance?
"Dean Xu, is my son in mortal danger?"

Consort Li held her son's hand, her face still pale, but her tone had regained its composure.

Perhaps it was the palace coup she experienced years ago that made her more composed; at this moment, she couldn't care less about anything else, only concerned with her own safety.

The old imperial physician slowly said, "Your Majesty, His Highness's pulse has stabilized after taking the medicine. If there is no high fever, his life is not in danger..."

This is actually to prevent the wound from becoming infected and inflamed.

In this day and age, once an infection develops, that's what's truly deadly.

Fortunately, the Third Prince was in good health and was relatively robust among the princes, which saved him from being pushed into the water. Later, in his struggle, he prevented the insane Consort Yan from causing him further harm.

"That's good...that's good..."

Upon hearing this, Consort Li let out a soft sigh. Looking at her son's pained expression, she revealed a deep sorrow: "It's good that he's still alive... I ask for nothing more... I only pray that Heaven will not separate me and my son..."

As soon as the words were spoken, a figure who could no longer contain himself rushed in.

"How is my Yuan'er?"

Zhu Houcong rushed to the bedside and grasped his son's hand: "Father is here, you will surely be alright..."

Consort Li remained unmoved, her gaze fixed straight ahead.

Although the Third Prince's hand wouldn't break free, it remained icy cold and was even trembling slightly.

"I won't listen to excuses! If anything happens to Yuan'er, you will all be buried with him!"

Zhu Houcong turned around and angrily rebuked the imperial physician.

The imperial physician could only kowtow.

Consort Li finally spoke: "Your Majesty, may the imperial physicians be allowed to treat the patient first? Whether or not there will be punishment can be discussed later."

Zhu Houcong's expression changed instantly, but after staring at the cold-faced concubine, he finally looked away, let go of her hand, and slowly walked out.

Mai Fu cautiously approached, only to hear his master say in a low voice, "Return...return to the alchemy room..."

When they returned to the alchemy room, the heavy rain had stopped.

But it was still dark.

The dark clouds above the Forbidden City seemed to freeze, lingering for a long time.

On the prayer mat, Zhu Houcong stared at the dark red pill in his hand.

In a daze, five innocent faces seemed to appear on the surface of the pill—

His five sons.

"My son... my son..."

When he first heard the bad news, he felt a sense of unreality before realizing that it was all real.

In dealing with his offspring, Zhu Houcong was indeed not as cruel as Li Longji.

Li Longji killed three of his sons in one day without batting an eye, and executed them outside the city.

Of course, it also has to do with the fact that he had a lot of sons; it didn't matter if three died.

But Jiajing never intended to kill his son.

He simply wanted to suppress the crown prince so that he could no longer pose a threat to his throne;

Then he deposed his three sons, preventing them from coveting the position of crown prince;

As for the youngest, the fifth child, luckily he's the youngest, so he'll have a good time when he grows up.

Of course, unintentionally, he also extinguished the Crown Prince's chances of survival. For example, when the Crown Prince was seriously ill, he only questioned the imperial physicians, demanding that they treat him, but never thought of letting Consort Yan come out of the Cold Palace to accompany his son, hoping that there might be a chance for a turnaround.

The fact that the mother and son did not get to see each other one last time drove Yan Shi completely insane.

Ironically, a group of palace maids and eunuchs believed her and assisted in carrying out this cruel revenge.

The process was heartbreaking.

If the fourth prince hadn't gone to save his brother, he wouldn't have drowned.

If the Third Prince hadn't turned back, he might have been able to escape unscathed.

Of course, the most crucial point is that if the three princes had been surrounded by eunuchs with almost no guards, even if Consort Yan had bewitched the servants, it would have been impossible for them to get close.

Just as the guards arrived, Consort Yan burst into laughter and leaped into the lake, never to resurface.

The emperor took away all her hopes.

She also wanted to make the emperor taste the bitterness of despair.

"Dan!"

"Bring me the elixir!"

The Taoist priests and eunuchs inside the hall were silent as cicadas in winter, with only the crackling of charcoal fire in the alchemy furnace audible.

It wasn't until Zhu Houcong felt itchy all over and suddenly cried out that the young Taoist boy cautiously brought over the jade bowl.

Zhu Houcong snatched the pill, tilted his head back, and swallowed it. Suddenly, a fishy, ​​sweet taste rose in his throat.

"puff!"

The splattered blood stained the crane pattern on his Taoist robe, and amidst the gasps of the crowd, he collapsed heavily to the ground.

"Quickly! Summon the imperial physician!!"

As the exclamations around him receded into the distance, Zhu Houcong, in a daze, seemed to have arrived at the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

This place enshrines the former emperors of the Ming Dynasty, with candles burning eternally, creating a solemn and dignified atmosphere.

His gaze first fell on the portrait of Emperor Taizu, then paused briefly at the memorial tablet of Emperor Chengzu, and continued down to the memorial tablet of Emperor Mingruizong.

The father in the portrait has piercing eyes that seem to see right through people's hearts.

In fact, Zhu Houcong could no longer remember what his father looked like, but at this moment, facing that gaze, he knelt down and slammed his forehead heavily against the gold brick.

"It is my fault... I have been harsh and unkind to the princes... I have been obsessed with alchemy... and neglected their upbringing..."

"Why must Heaven punish me like this? Why must it leave me without an heir?"

"Emperor Wuzong! Emperor Wuzong! I will never follow in your footsteps!"

Thunder roared outside the hall, and a bolt of lightning illuminated the portraits of past emperors in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Right next to Emperor Ruizong of Ming was the portrait of Emperor Wuzong of Ming, Zhu Houzhao, whose expression was ambiguous, with an indescribable mockery in his eyes.

Meanwhile, the regional princes were sharpening their swords, preparing to emulate this ruler and once again reside in the Forbidden City as the ruler of all people.

You also have no princes who can inherit the throne...

Hand over the throne!
"no no!!"

"Both the Prince of Tang and the Prince of Jin have ties to the traitors. Our secret guards have evidence. We should start by targeting them..."

"Kill! Kill all those vassal kings!"

"My throne must be passed on to my son!"

"Bring troops back from the border to suppress the rebellion! Suppress the rebellion of the vassal kings!!"

Clear murmurs came from inside the room.

Separated by a curtain.

The high-ranking officials kneeling outside turned pale upon hearing this.

The tragic news of the princes' deaths was enough to shake the court and the public.

The emperor's fall at this moment is like a storm brewing.

The key lies in the selection of the heir apparent.

The crown prince died of illness, and Prince De went mad.

The fourth and fifth princes met with tragic ends.

Only the disabled third prince remained...

The succession system of a hereditary monarchy placed more emphasis on bloodline than physical health. Disability may affect one's image, but it is not an absolute obstacle. For example, Emperor Renzong of Ming, Zhu Gaochi, still succeeded to the throne despite having a leg ailment.

The Third Prince is now disfigured and has lost an eye, which is far too serious. It is unknown what he will look like after recovery.

Under normal circumstances, they would have already lost their right to inheritance.

But if we disregard the mentally unstable second prince, he is the last remaining prince. If he is not made crown prince, then the fate of Emperor Wuzong will truly repeat itself.

The ministers were in a state of turmoil, and none of them, including Yan Song, dared to say anything.

After all, just listen to the crazy talk of that guy inside, who wants to kill all the vassal kings in the world, and he's afraid that his throne will be passed on to someone else.

Under such circumstances, who would dare to speak out, lest they be implicated and their entire clan implicated?

"My esteemed ministers, do you have any suggestions?"

Empress Wang slowly walked out, her yearning gaze falling on the group of veteran officials at the front.

She was met with either unconsciousness or blank silence; no one dared to look up.

Until a young face came into view, with bright and unwavering eyes.

Empress Wang revealed her last hope: "Haiqing?"

"Your Majesty, please do not panic!"

Hai Yue stepped forward: "The most urgent task is to administer medicine to His Majesty. Once His Majesty's health has improved somewhat, we will then request His Majesty to issue a decree establishing the Third Prince as the Crown Prince, in order to rectify the foundation of the nation and stabilize both domestic and foreign affairs!"

These words shocked everyone, both inside and outside the country.

No one expected that this person would stand up for the Third Prince at this very moment.

Hai Rui was not qualified to be among the hall members because of his low rank; otherwise, he would have understood his brother's choice.

the reason is simple.

The Ming Dynasty court could not withstand another upheaval caused by a vassal king taking over the throne. Even without the debate over the proper etiquette between the biological father and the emperor, there would be countless twists and turns that would abruptly interrupt the original period of revival.

Therefore, even though the Third Prince was disabled, he was still the only choice to become the Crown Prince.

Consort Li trembled slightly inside the tent. Empress Wang was both surprised and delighted, and quickly asked, "However, Your Majesty is worried about the troubles of the vassal states. If the vassal kings do something rebellious, do you have any good solutions?"

Haiyue solemnly cupped her hands, her voice like the clinking of gold and jade, her words decisive: "Establishing an heir to rectify the foundation of the nation, to succeed to the throne and to inherit the mandate of heaven, is an immutable principle for all ages. If any vassal king plots rebellion, falsely claims to have a mandate, and disrupts the court, they shall be punished together!"

(End of this chapter)