Ming Dynasty 1627

Chapter 12 Heaven's justice is just, and though it is sparse, it does not miss anything.

Outside the Cining Palace gate, Zhu Youjian helped Zhou Yu down from the sedan chair.

He looked up and saw that the palace, which once belonged to the crown prince and now belonged to the former emperor's sister-in-law, appeared exceptionally quiet, even somewhat deathly, in the afterglow of the setting sun.

The red walls remain, and the glazed tiles shimmer with a dim light, but the palace gates are tightly closed, as if isolating the inner and outer worlds.

Zhu Youjian stepped forward and, following proper etiquette, said solemnly, "Your subject, Emperor Jian, inquires about your well-being."

The eunuch dared not delay and quickly bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, please wait a moment. This servant will go in and inform them."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a series of hurried footsteps came from inside the palace gates. A eunuch who looked like a steward quickly came out to greet him, with a humble smile on his face.

"Your Majesty, Her Majesty has decreed that you and Her Majesty may go in directly without waiting."

Zhu Youjian nodded without saying anything more, and took Zhou Yu's hand as they walked into Cining Palace.

The palace was fairly well-furnished, but there was a faint scent of incense in the air, as well as a subtle sense of oppression.

Passing through the courtyard, we arrived at the main hall, where Zhang Yan, dressed in plain clothes, sat regally in the main seat.

She was still thin, her face was pale, and her eyes were swollen and red, clearly from a recent bout of crying.

Upon seeing Zhu Youjian and Zhou Yu enter, she forced a smile and put on her best.

"Uncle, sister-in-law, you've arrived."

Zhu Youjian noticed the subtle difference in the way the titles were used, and a thought flickered in his mind.

Zhou Yu was somewhat reserved, but still respectfully bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I greet you."

Zhang Yan took her hand and made her sit down next to her. After looking her over carefully for a few moments, she praised, "She's a good child. Your uncle is so lucky."

After Zhu Youjian sat down, he looked calmly at Zhang Yan. He knew that any extra comfort at this moment would be futile and would only reopen old wounds.

He chose the most direct and effective method.

“Sister-in-law,” Zhu Youjian’s voice was not loud, but it was particularly clear in the quiet hall, “I have come here today to tell you something.”

Zhang Yan turned her gaze over, with a hint of inquiry.

Zhu Youjian paused, then said, word by word, "Wei Zhongxian... because he missed the late emperor too much, hanged himself in the Qianqing Palace and followed the late emperor to the afterlife."

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire hall fell into a deathly silence.

Zhang Yan's expression froze. She stared blankly at Zhu Youjian, as if she hadn't understood the meaning of his words.

After a long while, her lips trembled slightly.

"You...what did you say?"

"Wei Ni is dead," Zhu Youjian repeated, his tone still calm.

died……

These two words, like two thunderclaps, exploded in Zhang Yan's mind!
At first, she stared wide-eyed in disbelief, then a surge of immense joy welled up from the bottom of her heart, instantly shattering all her reason and pretense!
"Dead? He's dead?"

Her voice began to tremble, and tears welled up unexpectedly, streaming down her pale cheeks.

But these tears were not tears of sadness, but tears of hatred and pleasure that had been suppressed for too long!
"Haha...hahahaha!"

Zhang Yan suddenly burst into laughter, a laugh that was both shrill and exhilarating, echoing throughout the hall.

As she laughed, her tears flowed even more fiercely.

"Good! Good! Good! Heaven's justice is just, and though its net is wide, none escapes it! You rebellious eunuch! You've finally met your match!"

She slammed her hand on the table, gritting her teeth, each word seemingly squeezed out from between her teeth, filled with deep-seated hatred.

Suddenly, her laughter stopped abruptly, and she abruptly raised her head, her bloodshot eyes fixed on Zhu Youjian.

"Then...what about Madam Ke?"

This name, more than Wei Zhongxian, stirred her emotions; it was the direct cause of her losing her child!

Zhu Youjian looked at her and said slowly, "Madam Ke is still in Xian'an Palace. How to deal with her is a matter for you, my sister-in-law, to decide."

He had already planned to hand over the disposal rights to Zhang Yan.

Firstly, this is Zhang Yan's right to revenge.

Secondly, he hoped to gain not only support in terms of "etiquette and law," but also more thorough power support from his sister-in-law.

Upon hearing this, a terrifying light flashed in Zhang Yan's eyes, a flame that was a mixture of ecstasy and cruelty.

"Good! Good! Good!"

She said "good" three times in a row, then suddenly stood up and shouted loudly towards the outside of the hall, "Someone come here!"

A personal eunuch scrambled in.

Zhang Yan pointed at him and screamed shrilly, "Issue my imperial decree! Lady Ke, the Holy Consort, has defiled the palace and her crime is unforgivable! She is hereby... given a white silk ribbon and ordered to commit suicide in Xian'an Palace! Immediately! Right now!"

"The slaves obey the orders!"

The eunuch received the order and, without the slightest delay, turned and ran off.

The moment the order was given, Zhang Yan felt as if all her strength had been drained away; her body went limp, and she slumped back into her chair.

She sat there blankly, staring ahead. The great revenge… was complete.

The wicked woman who killed her child is finally going to die.

The boulder that had been weighing on my heart for years finally collapsed at this moment.

What followed was not the relief one had imagined, but an overwhelming wave of grief.

"Wow--"

Zhang Yan suddenly covered her face with her hands and burst into tears.

The cries were heart-wrenching, filled with endless sorrow and grievance, like a wounded mother animal mourning her lost cub.

Seeing this, Zhu Youjian stood up, gave Zhou Yu a wink, and the two quietly left the main hall and stood in the courtyard.

Inside the hall, Zhang Yan's sorrowful cries continued unabated, breaking the hearts of all who heard them.

Upon hearing this voice, both Zhu Youjian and Zhou Yu felt a pang of sorrow in their hearts.

But he knew that this was an emotional release that Zhang Yan had to go through; only by crying out all her pain could she truly be reborn.

After a long while, the sorrowful cries gradually subsided, turning into low sobs.

After a while, a slightly hoarse voice called out from inside the hall.

"come in."

Zhu Youjian and Zhou Yu then re-entered the main hall.

At this moment, although Zhang Yan's eyes were red and swollen like peaches and her hair was a little messy, her eyes were clearer than ever before, and she seemed to have unloaded a heavy burden, feeling refreshed and invigorated.

"My child, I am filled with hatred for these two traitors who have caused me harm. I lost my composure for a moment and made you, my uncle and sister-in-law, laugh at me." She looked at the two of them, her voice tinged with apology.

Zhu Youjian and Zhou Yu rushed forward and offered words of comfort.

"Please accept my deepest condolences, Your Majesty."

"Yes, Your Majesty, now that we have avenged our great enemy, you must take care of your health."

After saying a few more words of comfort, Zhu Youjian saw that her emotions had stabilized, so he got up to take his leave.

After leaving Cining Palace and boarding the sedan chair to return to Qianqing Palace, Zhu Youjian closed his eyes.

His heart was far from as calm as it appeared.

This time, he swiftly eliminated Wei Zhongxian and Madam Ke, seemingly cleanly and decisively eliminating a major threat in one fell swoop.

But he knew very well that this was just the beginning.

His biggest problem is his prestige.

How can a seventeen-year-old new emperor, who hastily ascended the throne from a vassal king, control the civil and military officials of the court?
Killing Wei Zhongxian would indeed bring him great prestige, but that's far from enough.

He clearly remembered that in another time and space, Liu Hongxun, the new Grand Secretary whom he had personally selected, even dared to say to his face without any politeness, "The emperor is, after all, a capricious one."

"Chongzhu" means "young emperor".

In the eyes of those scholars and officials who fought their way up through the narrow bridge of the imperial examinations, what was the emperor?
It's nothing more than a moral symbol that needs to be taught and corrected by them.

They despised the emperor from the bottom of their hearts, hoping that the emperor could rule by doing nothing and that they, the so-called upright and virtuous officials, could govern the country peacefully and prosperously with just a wave of their hands and a few words.

ridiculous!

Zhu Youjian sneered inwardly.

He knew better than anyone how dangerous the Ming Dynasty, this dilapidated ship riddled with holes, had become.

Entrusting the task to a group of ministers who are mostly empty talkers and prone to factionalism will only hasten the downfall of the dynasty.

Only he, this soul from later generations, could possibly turn the tide and find a glimmer of hope for the world and for the Han people!
If the name is not correct, the words will not go well, and if the words are not good, then things will not happen.

Killing Wei Zhongxian was the first step in his "rectification of his name"; he wanted the world to know who the true master of the Ming Dynasty was.

But this is not enough, far from it.

He has no time to waste.

At this thought, Zhu Youjian's thoughts were interrupted as the sedan chair had stopped.

He opened his eyes and glanced back in the direction of Cining Palace, which had become blurred in the twilight.

My dear sister-in-law, I have already given you a peach; I hope you will repay me with a plum in the future.

He turned around and called Wang Wenzheng over, "Call Wang Tiqian and Si Zhili here, and have Si Zhili bring the Inner Transport Treasury account books."

　[Historical Materials in this Chapter]

　　1. The incident of Zhang Yan's unborn child being harmed is recorded in "Zhuozhong Zhi": "In the third year of Tianqi, Zhang Yan discovered that she was pregnant. Madam Ke and Ni Xian then expelled those in the palace who were against her. So they entrusted an inexperienced palace maid and a concubine to do it. One day, Zhang Yan had a backache and was beaten too much, which resulted in the loss of her unborn child, Rui.

　　2. The phrase "The emperor is ultimately a capricious ruler" appears in "A Brief Account of the Chongzhen Cabinet": "In the past, when Changshan (Liu Hongxun) was in the government, he would often say during discussions that something was not right: 'The emperor is ultimately a capricious ruler.' The emperor would swallow his words. Now, the emperor was determined to punish him severely, but fortunately, the court officials intervened and he was exiled to Daizhou, where he eventually died.

　　Frankly speaking, the impact of this statement is comparable to Gao Gong's "How can a ten-year-old emperor govern the world?"

　　3. Tomorrow, I'll be discussing the Imperial Treasury in two parts. I'll show you how these civil officials bully children. Even the Tianqi Emperor was bullied before.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)