Top Scholar

Chapter 556 The Punishment of Impulsiveness

Liu Jin, shirtless, carrying a bundle of thorns on his back, and with his buttocks sticking out, lay prone on the square brick ground outside Tengxi Palace.

This prostrate posture, compared to the officials kneeling upright, is much less physically demanding and appears exceptionally humble... yet it is still difficult to endure the torment of the scorching sun and the passage of time.

The sun was setting from overhead to the west, its scorching rays turning his back bright red, and sweat dripped onto the ground, leaving a dark ring of stains.

His knees pressed against the hard floor tiles, his forearms slightly bent and supporting him in front of him. The initial soreness slowly turned into a sharp, stabbing pain. Eventually, only an endless numbness remained, spreading from his knees and arms throughout his entire body.

But Liu Jin remained clenched in his teeth, his limbs tense, his buttocks raised high, without the slightest sign of relaxation. He knelt like this from noon until dusk, and then from dusk until nightfall…

As dusk settled, he finally heard light footsteps behind him, accompanied by the young emperor's teasing voice: "Oh, who is this? Kneeling here in the dark, aren't you afraid of tripping someone?"

Liu Jin's heart tightened, and he hurriedly replied in a hoarse voice, "It is this old servant, Xiao Jinzi, who has come to apologize to Your Majesty!"

"Oh my, it's my lord!" Zhu Houzhao exclaimed in surprise as he walked up to him and asked with great interest, "Why are you dressed like this, my lord? Would you like to sing 'The General and the Minister' for me?"

"I'm not here to perform for Your Majesty today, but to truly apologize!" Liu Jin used his iron head technique again, kowtowing repeatedly, and said, "Your Majesty, the anonymous letter I received today was full of accusations against this old servant, listing seventeen charges against me! I was terrified after reading it, and I have come here to await Your Majesty's judgment!"

Zhu Houzhao raised an eyebrow, still nonchalant, and said, "So, you're somewhat involved in these crimes? Otherwise, why don't you just charge me with something trivial?"

Liu Jin trembled, and kowtowed even harder, as if he wanted to smash his skull open: "Your Majesty, although most of it is unfounded and exaggerated, it cannot be said that it is completely unfounded."

He paused for a moment, then said 'frankly': "Seeing the chaos in the world, this old servant was anxious and only wanted to restore order as soon as possible. Inevitably, I acted hastily and offended many people. I did indeed misuse a few petty villains and accepted some bribes... I dare not completely deny these crimes, and I beg Your Majesty to punish them severely!"

Eunuch Liu has now developed the skill of avoiding the important and focusing on the trivial, which shows that people can improve no matter what position they are in.

Zhu Houzhao said "Oh," and then suddenly changed the subject: "My lord, I heard on my way back that you made all the civil and military officials kneel outside Fengtian Gate today and stand in the sun for a long time. Some of them even fainted from the heat?"

"Your Majesty, this is indeed true. But this old servant is not trying to show off. This old servant is simply thinking that we must not let this trend of anonymous impeachments take hold, otherwise in the future, I'm afraid everyone will dare to fabricate rumors and make false accusations!" Liu Jin quickly explained:

"Of course, this old servant acted rashly and went a bit too far. Later, seeing that the officials could not bear it, I released them early."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but slap himself repeatedly, saying, "This old servant is truly useless, making one mistake after another."

"My dear Liu Jin, this matter cannot be entirely blamed on you. If anyone is to blame, it is me for being young and ignorant in the past, placing too many burdens on your shoulders." Zhu Houzhao sighed, comforting Liu Jin:

“In this world, it’s always been true that doing nothing makes no mistakes, doing less makes fewer mistakes, and doing more makes more mistakes. You’ve taken on so many burdens for me and worried so much, yet others not only don’t appreciate it, but instead accuse you of being autocratic and domineering, calling you some kind of ‘emperor who’s just standing on the sidelines.’ You’ve been unfairly burdened with so much infamy… How can I bear to do this to you!”

Upon hearing the emperor's gentle words of comfort, Liu Jin felt a surge of emotion well up in his eyes, and he burst into tears, sobbing, "Waaah... Your Majesty is so understanding of this old servant! Rest assured, Your Majesty, this old servant is not afraid of being condemned by thousands. As long as Your Majesty understands my loyalty, this old servant would be willing to die a thousand deaths!"

Zhu Houzhao, however, did not look at his tearful appearance. Instead, he looked up at the rising crescent moon, its cold light gleaming as sharp as a blade...

He was secretly annoyed. This old eunuch was truly obsessed with power! I've already made myself clear, yet he's still pretending not to understand, showing no intention of relinquishing power at all!
Even now, do you still think you can get away with this? Do you still regard me as a child?!

"Alas, that is true, but I cannot stand by and watch my Grand Eunuch become universally disliked." His brows sharpened, and his voice turned colder: "How about this, you should take on some of your duties. The less work you do, the fewer people will criticize you!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Jin froze, his tears instantly ceasing, and a layer of white sweat broke out on his back. He understood immediately: the Emperor was about to strip him of his power!
The bitter wine I brewed in the past must finally be drunk on this cool night in early July...

He dared not harbor any more illusions and could only obediently prostrate himself on the ground, saying in a weak and hoarse voice, "This old servant thanks Your Majesty for your understanding and will follow Your Majesty's arrangements."

Zhu Houzhao nodded in satisfaction and offered the arrangement he had already planned: "Well then... you don't need to worry about the Inner Court Factory anymore, leave it to Zhang Yong to manage. As for you, just focus on managing the Directorate of Ceremonial and handling government affairs for me."

After a pause, the emperor said, word by word, "Don't let trivial matters distract you."

Upon hearing this, Liu Jin felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his head buzzing!

It felt like a knife had been plunged into his heart, the pain making it hard for him to breathe.

The Emperor actually wants to seize the Imperial Workshop! He painstakingly established it!

In order to check and balance the secret police, which were not under his control, Liu Jin went to great lengths to grant the secret police supreme power—from imperial relatives and officials to palace maids, eunuchs, and peddlers, all were subject to his supervision!
Even the three major secret service agencies, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Eastern Depot, and the Western Depot, were under the supervision of the Inner Depot!

This was the sharpest knife he owned, and now, brand new, practically brand new, it's been confiscated...

What he found even more unacceptable was that he was being asked to hand over this sharp blade to his mortal enemy, Zhang Yong!
Moreover, Zhang Yong held more than ten positions, wasn't he much busier than him? So the emperor said it was out of consideration for his heavy workload, but then he handed over the Inner Court to someone even busier—this is not consideration at all, it is clearly a naked punishment!
If not for that, why give the factory to Zhang Yong of all people?
Liu Jin lay prostrate on the ground, his fingernails digging deep into the cracks in the bricks, his heart bleeding as if drop by drop... But he dared not show the slightest dissatisfaction, and had to tremble as he kowtowed to express his gratitude: "Yes, this old servant obeys the decree... This old servant thanks Your Majesty for your great favor."

"Get up, don't overthink it. I'm really just doing this for your own good." Zhu Houzhao kicked his butt when he didn't move. "What, you're not happy about it?"

"This old servant wouldn't dare, this old servant's knees are just numb from kneeling, I can't move..." Liu Jin hurriedly explained. "Didn't you hear? Your godfather's knees are numb!" Zhu Houzhao then ordered Li Bin, "Hurry up and help the old man up, take him home."

"Hey, hey." Li Bin quickly led his men forward, wrapped a cloak around Liu Jin, and carried her out.

"This old servant takes his leave, long live the Emperor!" Liu Jin's voice echoed in the night sky.

~~
Only after they were far away from Tengxi Palace did Li Bin dare to whisper comforting words: "Godfather, calm down. The Emperor is actually very satisfied with your performance today."

"Satisfied?" Liu Jin, lying on his back, was taken aback.

“That’s right.” Li Bin nodded: “After the court session today, the Emperor took us straight to the military camp in the western suburbs. Not long after we arrived, Zhang Yong sent someone to report that my godfather had punished all the officials by making them kneel.”

"What was the Emperor's reaction?" Liu Jin hurriedly asked.

"The Emperor didn't react much, only telling the messenger to wait," Li Bin replied. "In the afternoon, someone else came with news, saying that my godfather had released all the officials and had come to the Leopard Chamber to apologize. The Emperor happily said, 'My Grand Eunuch is indeed still my Grand Eunuch...'"

"But the Emperor didn't return immediately either, did he?" Liu Jin said quietly.

"Yes, the Emperor didn't send the second messenger back either. He didn't return to the Leopard House until it was almost dark and the city gates were closed," Li Bin said in a low voice.

"I see..." Liu Jin nodded slowly. It seemed that Zhang Cai was right. Today's events were indeed the Emperor settling scores after the fact.

Once he realized this, he felt nothing but relief.

He should indeed be thankful that the Emperor did not kill him outright and kept him in his position as the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial. Otherwise, Zhang Yongding would have immediately taken advantage of his misfortune and put him to death!

As for the future, once Zhang Yong has his own factory, he will definitely hinder him in every way... Liu Jin is perfectly aware of this.

But now he understood. What the Emperor wanted was precisely this situation of mutual restraint!

Therefore, Zhang Yong had no chance of killing him.

Having figured this out, Liu Jin finally felt relieved, but was also deeply shocked by the emperor's innate mastery of the art of rulership!
"Godfather, do you think Zhang Yong was behind all this today?" Li Bin asked in a low voice. If Zhang Yong were to bare his fangs, even he, the deputy steward of the Leopard House, would have to be careful.

"It's not him, it's that the Emperor has grown up..." Liu Jin replied with mixed emotions.

The voice contained a mixture of relief, regret, and a hint of fear...

~~
Tengxi Hall.

When Zhang Yong was serving the emperor his meal, Zhu Houzhao casually informed him, "Second attendant, starting tomorrow, the Imperial Workshop will be under your management."

"Huh?!" Zhang Yong exclaimed in surprise, "Why did they suddenly stop letting Liu Jin manage things?"

“It wasn’t for no reason,” Zhu Houzhao said calmly. “This is his punishment.”

He said in a deep voice, "No matter what the circumstances, you should stand unconditionally on my side. There should be no exceptions!"

"Yes, this old servant will remember!" Zhang Yong knew this was also meant for him, so he quickly and respectfully replied.

"Good, the eldest brother is bolder than the second brother, and the second brother is more cautious than the eldest brother. I have high hopes for you," Zhu Houzhao said with a smile.

"However, this old servant is simply too busy, and besides, this old servant is not cut out to manage the Imperial Guard." Having learned his lesson from Liu Jin, how could he dare to covet power? "I beg Your Majesty to appoint someone else."

"Let me finish speaking first." Zhu Houzhao raised his hand, brooking no argument, and said, "You can just hold the title and leave the actual work to that... Qian Ning, is that his name?"

"Yes." Zhang Yong nodded hurriedly. "Qian Qian is now under the jurisdiction of the Western Depot."

"Well, his official position is just right. Let's transfer him to the Imperial Workshop, and you can send one of your godson to work with him. One will be in charge of internal affairs, and the other will be in charge of external affairs. Wouldn't that solve the problem?" Zhu Houzhao said slowly.

"Remember, your factory also has another sign: the Investigation Bureau of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices..."

P.S. I'll try my best to write the next chapter.

(End of this chapter)