Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

Chapter 321: Sinner’s Edict

Chen Zhan did not ask about the relics; it was not the right time yet.

Although the old emperor was old, he was not a fool. As soon as he asked about the location of the relics, he would realize that someone was playing tricks and causing trouble.

As soon as he finished speaking, the fingertip that had been hovering between the old emperor's eyebrows moved down slightly and landed precisely on the Tanzhong acupoint on his chest.

Immediately afterwards, a wisp of pure blood essence refined from the Buddha's relic slowly flowed into Zhu Yijun's body through his fingertips.

Although this wisp of essence was only a drop in the ocean compared to Chen Zhan's refined reserves, it was like a life-saving spring for Zhu Yijun, who was already extremely depleted.

In the blink of an eye, that pure life force began to circulate within his body.

His originally deathly pale complexion faded visibly, gradually turning a healthy rosy hue. Even his heavy breathing became much more even, and one could even feel a faint strength slowly growing from his limbs and bones.

Zhu Yijun felt a warm current suddenly rise in his chest, spreading throughout his body along his meridians.

The previous weakness and sluggishness completely disappeared, and I felt much lighter.

As the nightmare vanished, he suddenly opened his eyes.

Looking around the entire palace in bewilderment, it was empty and deserted; there were no gods or immortals there.

Zhu Yijun realized it was all a dream, and felt a pang of disappointment. 'There are no immortals or Taoist priests out there. If they existed, Grandfather wouldn't have died so tragically.'

But the next moment, he suddenly sat up in bed.

He noticed that his body felt different; he felt much lighter than before, his chest felt less heavy, and his eyes were clearer and much more alert than before.

“What’s going on!!!”

He suddenly realized that it wasn't just a dream.

The imperial physician beside him was still fast asleep, while the guards in the distance slowly awoke, feeling as if they had just had a tiring dream. They were afraid that they could fall asleep for so long while on duty.

In a moment of panic, I heard His Majesty calling out from inside the room.

"Someone is coming! Someone is coming!!"

Two guards rushed in and saw the imperial physician taking the emperor's pulse, his fingers resting on the cun, guan, and chi positions on Zhu Yijun's wrist.

At first, it was just a routine pulse diagnosis, but as time went on, his fingertips began to tremble uncontrollably. His expression changed from calm to astonishment, and then to intense shock. Even his white beard trembled.

Zhu Yijun waited for a long time, feeling increasingly comfortable, but the imperial physician remained silent. His heart sank, and with a mixture of impatience and fear, he shouted, "What's wrong? Is this a final burst of energy before my death?"

Upon hearing this, the air in the hall froze instantly, and the two guards who had just woken up dared not breathe, their heads bowed and their eyes fixed on the ground.

Startled by the question, the old imperial physician awoke from his daze. His Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice stammered, filled with disbelief and bewilderment: "Your...Your Majesty..."

"Speak plainly!" Zhu Yijun suddenly raised his voice, revealing his imperial majesty at that moment.

The old imperial physician composed himself and knelt down with a thud: "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Your pulse... is stronger than usual, and your chronic illness has even subsided somewhat!"

"Based on my decades of medical experience, this is by no means a temporary resurgence of health; it is a genuine improvement!"

"But this improvement is too strange. I have searched through all the medical classics in my mind, but I cannot find the reason. No matter how precious the tonic or how rare the pill, it could not possibly produce such an immediate effect."

After he finished speaking, he lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to raise his head, waiting for the emperor to punish him.

After all, failing to diagnose the cause of the illness was already a dereliction of duty for the imperial physicians.

Upon seeing this, the two guards immediately knelt down, silent and trembling, fearing that they would be blamed.

Zhu Yijun sat on the bed, his mind buzzing. The dream of "a god descending to earth" he had just had was intertwined with the changes in his body at this moment, leaving him momentarily at a loss for how to react.

He remained silent for a long time, the sound of the wind outside the hall and the flickering light of the palace lanterns becoming mere embellishments to the stillness.

Before long, light footsteps came from outside the hall, and several elderly eunuchs with graying temples bowed and entered. They were all close attendants who had served him for many years. They had come after hearing the commotion, but seeing the scene in the hall, they all knelt down to the side and dared not speak.

After a moment, Zhu Yijun finally came to his senses, and a bit of his former sharpness rekindled in his eyes. He slowly sat up straight.

"By imperial decree, court shall convene tomorrow!"

As these words were spoken, everyone in the hall was stunned.
Immediately, the old imperial physician and the guards kowtowed and shouted, "Your Majesty is wise!" Several old eunuchs were both surprised and delighted, and hurriedly responded, turning around to deliver the imperial decree.

The last time the Wanli Emperor attended court was when he was establishing his crown prince.
Moreover, it was a brief meeting; after seeing the officials for only a short time, he announced a few matters, pleasing the Empress Dowager and the officials, and then adjourned the court. Twenty years later, he attended court again.
The old eunuchs received the imperial decree and dared not delay for a moment. They immediately led the palace attendants out of the palace to deliver the decree.

The post horses outside the palace gates were awakened one by one, and the sound of their hooves shattered the deep night of the capital. Imperial edicts were delivered from the palace to the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers, the Five Military Commands, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot, and even to the residences of various nobles in the capital.

The entire officialdom of the capital was kept awake all night by this sudden imperial edict.

Inside the Eastern Depot, Xu Long was startled when he suddenly received a report from the imperial eunuch, causing him to drop the documents in his hands.

He stared at the imperial edict that read "Tomorrow at 5:00 AM, the morning court session will be held in the Golden Palace," and remained stunned for a long time before coming back to his senses, his heart filled with surprise and doubt.

Why would an emperor who hasn't held court for decades suddenly want to attend court?
Not only Xu Long, but all the civil and military officials in the capital were both surprised and delighted, but also full of doubts.

No matter what thoughts they had in their minds, no one dared to disobey the imperial edict. Before dawn the next day, the Golden Palace was already filled with officials in court attire, whispering nervously among themselves.

At the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), Zhu Yijun, supported by a group of eunuchs, slowly walked into the Golden Palace and sat on the dragon throne.

His body still showed signs of weakness after his illness, his back was straight, and although his complexion had not fully recovered its rosy hue, he no longer had the dejected air of the past.

As he sat down, he was still silently reciting the "divine dream" from the previous night. He felt that if he could make amends for his past mistakes and revitalize the Ming Dynasty, the old immortal might once again bestow a miracle, allowing him to be completely cured and even extend his life by more than ten years.

The civil and military officials in the hall were all taken aback when they saw that His Majesty had actually come to the court in person and was in good spirits. The whispers that had been going on earlier instantly disappeared, and one by one they bowed their heads.

This silence lasted for a moment, then Zhu Yijun cleared his throat, his gaze sweeping over the assembled officials below, and said, word by word:

"I, the Emperor, wish to issue an edict of self-reproach!"

These words struck like a thunderclap in the Golden Palace.

The entire court was stunned for a moment, then erupted in uproar. Many officials looked up sharply at the old emperor on the dragon throne, their eyes filled with disbelief.

An "edict of self-reproach" is an imperial edict in which the emperor reflects on his mistakes and reassures the people. It is never issued except when the country is in crisis or the emperor has committed a serious error.

This emperor, however, was not the kind of ruler who reflected on his own actions and admitted his mistakes.
If he truly had this intention, he wouldn't have stopped attending court for so many years.

The officials in the hall were even more confused as to what fault the old emperor had in his "edict of self-reproach."
Or rather, what is the fault?

The current regime has made far too many mistakes over the decades, too numerous to count.
As the crowd whispered among themselves, Zhu Yijun announced, "Issue three edicts of self-reproach!"

"First offense: I have wronged Chief Minister Zhang. He assisted me in establishing the revival of the dynasty and made great contributions. However, due to grudges from my early years, I subjected him to cruel methods such as exhuming his body, whipping it, and skinning him alive after his death. This chilled the hearts of all my ministers. This is my fault!"

Upon hearing this, the officials below the steps were horrified, and even the eunuch holding the imperial edict froze on the spot, nearly dropping the bright yellow scroll.

The Zhang Juzheng case was an old case from decades ago. Although it was a regrettable matter that was known to everyone in the court and the public, no one dared to bring it up again in the court, let alone have the emperor admit his mistake.

Before everyone could recover, Zhu Yijun's second statement of self-reproach rang out again:

"Secondly, I have wronged the Qi Family Army! Back then, the Qi Family Army in Jizhou was accused of treason simply because they were in arrears with their pay and were asking for rewards. I ordered Wang Bao to lead his troops to slaughter thousands of loyal and brave soldiers, severing the arm of the Ming Dynasty's coastal defense and chilling the morale of the border troops. This is my grave mistake!"

The Qi Family Army case was a hidden pain in the hearts of many border generals. Back then, countless officials risked their lives to remonstrate with the emperor, but all of them were suppressed by Zhu Yijun.

Now that this long-buried bloody case has been brought to the forefront in person, many of the veteran officials in the audience already had tears in their eyes.

"Three crimes! I have failed the soldiers who have fought in the north and south and lost their lives over the years! In order to consolidate the territory, I insisted on launching the three major campaigns, but I also levied heavy taxes and emptied the national treasury, causing countless soldiers to die on the battlefield without receiving any compensation, and countless people to be displaced and homeless. This is my fault!"

After the old emperor finished recounting his three crimes, the Golden Palace fell into complete silence; you could hear a pin drop.

The eunuch delivering the imperial edict stood there speechless, stunned for a long time. He never imagined that His Majesty would lay bare these three most criticized and untouchable old stories from the past decades in the court.

Over the years, even if the court still harbored dissatisfaction with these three matters, time had passed and they had long since become cold cases.

Bringing it up is not very meaningful.

However, it is now His Majesty himself who has reopened these wounds, causing the way the ministers below look at him to change completely.

His eyes no longer held their usual aloofness, but instead showed surprise and emotion.

After a long silence, Zhu Yijun finally spoke, breaking the deathly stillness in the hall:

"I intend to restore the reputation of Grand Secretary Zhang and exonerate him, and also to clear the name of Qi Jiguang's army, posthumously confer titles and pensions upon them, and give them justice. Do any of you ministers have any objections to this?"

(End of this chapter)