The Dumb Prince of the Ming Dynasty

Li Jinglong rolled his eyes: "Your Majesty, I must say something to you. How did Yuan spies manage to infiltrate your harem? What kind of emperor are you?"

"Are you teaching me how to do things?" Zhu Yuanzhang glared.

Li Jinglong quickly shook his head: "No, no, what I mean is, this shouldn't be happening. The harem only has palace maids and eunuchs, and the selection process is very rigorous. How could a spy have infiltrated?"

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted: "The selection of palace maids is indeed extremely strict. They need to go through multiple rounds of screening for appearance, demeanor, character and health, and be selected from thousands of girls from the common people."

"Then why did you choose a Yuan spy?" Li Jinglong shrugged.

Zhu Yuanzhang's gaze was deep and somber: "Back when the Empress was in charge of selecting palace maids, the country had just finished a war, the land was devastated, and people were displaced. How many eligible young girls were there? And of those who survived, how many were literate?"

"Therefore, many daughters of former Yuan officials were selected. They were well-educated and knowledgeable from a young age, easy to teach, and easy to use."

Li Jinglong blinked: "Were there Yuan spies among those palace maids?"

"There should be spies trained by the scouts," Zhu Yuanzhang said.

"It's been so long, why hasn't His Majesty dealt with it yet?" Li Jinglong asked, puzzled.

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted: "The Empress does not agree with our approach."

Li Jinglong asked, "What method?"

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted, "Kill them all and replace them with new ones."

Li Jinglong: "..."

As expected of Zhu Yuanzhang, his way of solving problems is always so simple and brutal.

"Isn't that simple?" Zhu Yuanzhang said.

Li Jinglong sighed, "Your great-aunt is gone now, and you haven't done anything about it."

Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a while, then sighed softly: "Before she died, she was still talking about this. She told us not to kill the imperial physicians, not to kill the palace maids."

Li Jinglong sighed silently.

You'll just have to listen to Empress Ma.

It's a pity that Cifeng perished beneath Purple Mountain, and her gentle voice will never again call for Chongba.

"Not only might there be scouts among the palace maids, but there might also be among the eunuchs," Zhu Yuanzhang said.

Li Jinglong was shocked: "Aren't eunuchs also screened? What did their ancestors do? Did they commit any crimes? Shouldn't all of that be thoroughly investigated?"

"We like to select handsome and intelligent young men from among the prisoners, castrate them, and bring them into the palace as eunuchs," Zhu Yuanzhang said.

"Oh, Your Majesty, you actually have this kind of fetish?" Li Jinglong said with disdain.

Zhu Yuanzhang blushed and said, "What nonsense are you thinking? Such a young man is easy to train and can handle palace duties."

Li Jinglong frowned.

That's true. Excellent eunuchs like Wang Jinghong and Zheng He were both prisoners of war before.

"So you chose the scouts from the military intelligence agency, huh?" He said with a speechless expression.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned: "When the Empress was alive, we didn't have to worry about these things. Now that she's gone, this matter needs to be resolved."

"So, you're leaving this to me?" Li Jinglong pointed to himself.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded: "Yes, neither we nor the Crown Prince have the energy for that."

"Your Majesty, what do you see in me? I'll change, okay?" Li Jinglong pleaded pitifully.

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand: "Stop talking nonsense. This task is assigned to you. Find Wang Jinghong and Hai Li to cooperate with."

Li Jinglong's eyes darted around: "It's settled, you'll reward me with a manor."

"I'm the emperor, would I lie to you?" Zhu Yuanzhang said angrily.

"Alright!" Li Jinglong bowed. "Your subject takes his leave. Just a reminder, there's a master in the harem, the kind who can snap someone's neck. Be careful."

Zhu Yuanzhang scoffed, "Even when I'm lying on my couch, assassins wouldn't dare approach."

……

As Li Jinglong walked out of the main hall, he looked up and saw Wang Jinghong rushing towards him.

"Brave eunuch Wang, we were just looking for you," he called out.

"Young Duke," Wang Jinghong said gravely, "I just went to deal with the bodies of Consort Zhuang and Xiao Huan, and I made a new discovery."

Li Jinglong pressed further, "What did you find?"

Wang Jinghong showed the paper in his hand.

The snow-white paper was slightly wrinkled, with three neat and elegant characters for "ink" written on it.

Li Jinglong looked down and his face fell: "Eunuch Wang, are you deliberately trying to anger me? Isn't this Consort Zhuang's last words before she died? Even in death, she's trying to trick me."

"Take a closer look." Wang Jinghong handed the paper forward.

Li Jinglong stared at those three words again and again: "I'm sick of looking at them. They're just three words, aren't they? Sigh, it's all because of my perfect face that Consort Zhuang fell in love with me at first sight and hated me upon seeing me again."

"This isn't Consort Zhuang's handwriting," Wang Jinghong said speechlessly. "This is Xiao Huan's handwriting."

"Huh?" Li Jinglong snatched the paper away. "Was it written by Xiao Huan, the palace maid whose neck was broken? Not by Consort Zhuang?"

"Yes, we just compared the calligraphy and paintings left by Consort Zhuang with the account books left by Xiao Huan at Zhiluo Palace. This calligraphy was written by Xiao Huan, not Consort Zhuang. Young Duke, didn't you already go to the scene? Didn't you notice this?"

"Uh... negligence, negligence."

Li Jinglong looked embarrassed.

Wang Jinghong, that eunuch, was indeed capable. Old Zhu's tactic of selecting people from among the prisoners to enter the palace was not without reason.

Neither the Prince of Xiang nor I noticed the handwriting, but he did.

Actually, Xiao Huan was murdered, and it was the Prince of Xiang who discovered it.

And me? I was too busy admiring Consort Zhuang's figure.

Sigh, I really am a useless person.

When will Your Majesty finally come to terms with this fact?

"Young Duke," Wang Jinghong said solemnly, "this case must begin with Xiao Huan. Why did she write your name, and who killed her?"

Li Jinglong wholeheartedly agreed: "Yes, yes, yes, it's all up to you now!"

Wang Jinghong: "..."

"Who does Xiao Huan usually associate with?" Li Jinglong asked.

Wang Jinghong thought for a moment: "They're just a few sisters who share a room with us. We work shifts together, eat together, and do needlework together. We've already sent someone to interrogate them."

"I trust my father-in-law to handle things well," Li Jinglong praised.

No wonder he was chosen by Zhu Yuanzhang.

This level of competence is at the level of a chairman's assistant.

"Speaking of people who have dealings with Xiao Huan, there's one more person," Wang Jinghong said somewhat hesitantly.

"Who is it?" Li Jinglong glared. "Why do you look like you're constipated? Is there something you're having trouble saying?"

Wang Jinghong spread his hands: "It's Eunuch Liu from the Crown Prince's Palace. People below are saying that our family doesn't get along with him."

It contains the Eight Trigrams.

It's much more interesting than a murder case.

Li Jinglong immediately became interested: "What's wrong? Are you fighting over a woman?"

Wang Jinghong rolled his eyes: "Does our family even need a woman?"

"Is that stealing a man?"

Wang Jinghong stumbled: "The palace is short of a chief eunuch, and His Majesty intends to choose between me and Eunuch Liu."

Li Jinglong raised an eyebrow: "Explain in more detail."

"Young Duke, shouldn't we be investigating the case now? I'll take you to the Eastern Palace to find Eunuch Liu."

"As we walk and talk, I'm particularly interested in the daily lives of you eunuchs and palace maids."

Wang Jinghong followed behind him, looking utterly dejected.

"Eunuch Wang, let me ask you a question. When you wake up in the morning, do you still have an erection?"

"I will go and beg His Majesty right now to find someone else to cooperate with the Young Duke."

"No, no, no!"

"Eunuch Wang, when you pee, are you standing or squatting?"

"We're lying down!"