The struggle for the throne during the Jiajing reign

Chapter 155 Confinement

The next day, Zhu Zaizhen was listening to Zhang Juzheng's lecture when he soon received a message from Zhongcui Palace.

The two exchanged a glance, their faces showing neither joy nor sorrow.

Zhu Zaizhen slowly placed the pen back on the pen holder, thought for a moment, and said, "It shouldn't be like this. If the emperor were truly furious, he should have punished me long ago. Now that things have already escalated, why bother? Could it be because of that Three Elements Great Elixir?"

Zhang Juzheng did not speak, but frowned and pondered for a moment before nodding: "Some pills can make people moody and unpredictable after taking them."

9

This is a very dangerous sign. A wise ruler can still be discerned, but a capricious ruler is far too difficult to please.

Zhu Zaizhen walked around twice and then stopped: "That Hu Dashun can't be kept around."

"I will find an opportunity to visit the Yan residence in the next few days."

It's always better for the Grand Secretary to intervene than for His Highness to do so. Zhang Juzheng's first thought was to protect His Highness. It was too taboo for a prince to interfere with His Majesty's alchemy and pursuit of immortality.

His visit was only permitted under reasonable circumstances. Fortunately, Yan Shifan loved to host banquets and would invite him every few days.

Such heretical Taoist priests who corrupt the emperor's mind are likely intolerable to both the Yan faction and the Qingliu faction.

"The clouds rise over the stream as the sun sets behind the pavilion; a mountain rain is imminent, and the wind fills the tower."

Zhu Zaizhen's expression was somewhat solemn. His father's move had completely disrupted the balance of power, and if he wanted to maintain balance in the future, the measures would only be more drastic.

"You can't stay in the capital anymore. This time, when you see Grand Secretary Yan, ask him to arrange for you to be a county magistrate in a local area. Xu Wei should also go back to his hometown to pick up his children and come back in half a year."

After Qi Jiguang finishes his exams, I will arrange for him to go south to fight against the Japanese pirates. I will leave none of my trusted confidants in Beijing alive.

Zhang Juzheng nodded. What he admired most about His Highness was his decisiveness and firmness; he was ruthless to others, but even more ruthless to himself.

"Yes."

Zhang Xingjin reported: "His Highness Prince Yu has gone to the West Garden."

"Should I apologize or plead for mercy?" Zhang Juzheng immediately pressed.

Zhang Xing shook his head: "This servant does not know. I only heard that as soon as Prince Yu heard that Consort Kang had been demoted, he went straight to the West Garden."

"He's probably going to plead for leniency."

Zhu Zaizhen sighed. If it was a plea for forgiveness, there would still be room for negotiation; pleading for mercy would only add fuel to the fire.

"I have to go too."

Zhang Xing immediately helped her put on her outdoor clothes.

"Your Highness—" Ma Dezhao hesitated. Going now might implicate him, since the two princes going together could be seen as a coup.

"Going will bring no benefit, but not going would be a lack of brotherly affection. If an elder brother cannot be fraternal, how can he be considered filial? He will only invite suspicion."

0

Upon hearing this, Ma Dezhao stopped stopping him and helped him tidy up. Soon, Zhu Zaizhen also headed straight for the West Garden and saw the Prince Yu who had been stopped at the palace gate.

"I must go and report to the Emperor again. My mother is in poor health and can hardly bear it."

"Brother Wang!"

With tears in his eyes, Prince Yu turned around and saw his younger brother rushing over.

"Zaizhen, please beg for me—"

"We've come to apologize! We're here to apologize!" Zhu Zaizhen's tone was resolute.

Pleading for mercy is to show favoritism to protect one's mother who is unrepentant and to blackmail one's ruler and father; apologizing is to admit one's mistakes and want to correct them, asking one's ruler and father to leave some room for maneuver.

Prince Yu was taken aback, but he felt that Zaizhen would not harm him, so he changed his words and said, "I hereby submit another report to Father Emperor to apologize."

As Huang Jin instructed, the eunuch guarding the place immediately turned around and went to report.

After a long while, no one came out. Prince Yu knelt down, and Zhu Zaizhen had no choice but to kneel down as well. At first, it was fine, but as time went on, the biting cold of the ground seeped up through their robes.

Prince Yu's eyes were a little red, all because of him. His mother was demoted to the rank of concubine and moved to another palace to reflect on her actions. She lost all her dignity, and he felt both pain and shame in his heart.

Upon seeing this, someone immediately went in to report, but still there was no news.

"Zaizhen, don't kneel, I'll do it myself."

Zhu Zaizhen said in a low voice, "Don't talk nonsense. If Father Emperor calls us in later, remember to only apologize and never mention your mother, otherwise all our efforts will be in vain."

Before long, Yan Song arrived with his civil and military officials. Those of lower rank and less informed were all shocked to see the two princes kneeling there.

It is surprising that Prince Jing did not remain uninvolved, but instead accompanied Prince Yu here; this is truly commendable.

Yan Song was the first to kneel down: "It is freezing cold, and the blue stone is bone-chilling. We humbly request Your Majesty's permission for the two princes to rise. We are willing to kneel and await your decree."

As soon as he finished speaking, the assembled officials behind him all bent their knees, forming a dense, dark mass of kneeling figures outside the gates of the West Garden Palace.

"The ministers are begging for mercy?" Upon receiving the news, Jiajing sneered in the palace: "Look, they've all come to force me to abdicate. Are they begging for mercy on behalf of Prince Yu, or are they trying to force me to abdicate?"

Huang Jin, who had been standing to one side for a long time, said, "Your Majesty, the two princes are in poor health and have been kneeling for too long—"

"Shut up!" Jiajing suddenly turned to look at him, his gaze icy, which made Huang Jin kneel down and dare not speak again.

Then Mai Fu, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, spoke up, "Should I go and disperse them?"

"Send Gao Zhong!" Jiajing stood up and paced around twice. "Only let Yan Song, Xu Jie, and those two in!"

"promise."

Emperor Jiajing sat cross-legged on the prayer mat: "If you say another word, you're out of luck serving me here!"

"Yes, I was too talkative. I'll go and collect the punishment myself later."

Huang Jin slowly rose, his face still showing a gentle and honest demeanor, but in his heart he was thinking that Tao Zhongwen's prescription was still the best; it seemed he had a disciple who could refine pills—

A moment later, the four entered the hall and paid their respects. Jiajing leaned forward unconsciously, his tone as stiff as metal: "What business do you have to disturb my meditation!"

Prince Yu's shoulders trembled slightly, and he subconsciously wanted to speak, but Zhu Zaizhen gently touched his shoulder. He bit his lip and remained silent.

Yan Song knelt at the front, his forehead pressed against the back of his hand, and said in a calm and unhurried tone: "Your Majesty, we dare not disturb Your Majesty's meditation, but we heard that Your Highnesses are kneeling outside the palace gates, and we are filled with fear. We have come here to confess our sins."

"What crime have you committed?"

"As the chief minister, I have failed to assist Your Majesty in securing internal stability and defending against external threats; I am guilty in every way."

Jiajing did not speak, but shifted his gaze from him to Xu Jie, whose back tensed slightly and whose head drooped even lower.

"Xu Jie, are you guilty too?"

Xu Jie bowed his head and said, "As the Minister of Personnel and the lecturer to His Highness Prince Yu, I failed to carefully select virtuous and capable officials, which led to His Highness's failure to be properly instructed. I cannot shirk my responsibility."

Jiajing's expression softened somewhat, and his gaze fell on Zhu Zaizhen: "And you?"

Zhu Zaizhen said solemnly, "Yesterday, I left the palace without permission and used my power to intimidate others, and I protected my subordinates who bullied the Jinshi (successful candidates in the imperial examinations). I have come here to apologize."

"You certainly know how to pick your timing. What happened yesterday, and you're here today to apologize? What, are you trying to help out of this mess?"

"I dare not, but when I apologized yesterday, Father was refining elixirs, and I dared not disturb him."

Before his father could ask any questions, Prince Yu kowtowed heavily and, following Zhu Zaizhen's previous instructions, gritted his teeth and said, "Your subject has failed in his self-cultivation and has let down your teachings, Father. Please punish me."

Jiajing showed him no mercy: "Your mother secretly arranged for palace maids to be near you. As a prince, you knew this was against the rules, yet you didn't restrain yourself. Upon hearing that your birth mother had been demoted, instead of reflecting on your actions behind closed doors, you rushed to the West Garden palace gates to cry and beg. Your mind is filled only with personal feelings, completely disregarding ancestral rules. Now, what punishment do you want me to inflict on you!"

Prince Yu was speechless, so Xu Jie could only plead for him: "Your Highness is young and inexperienced, please forgive him."

"Isn't Prince Jing even younger? Why doesn't he behave so rudely?"

A single, seemingly casual remark struck Xu Jie, leaving him speechless and unable to refute it. These words were the most insidious, for the difference in age between the princes had ironically become evidence of Prince Yu's despicable character.

Yan Song had no intention of protecting Prince Yu, but he knew that if Prince Yu fell, they would be in danger.

If the Grand Secretary supports the Crown Prince, then isn't he Xia Yan?

Although His Majesty's health is not good, he has not yet fallen ill. In fact, the fiercer the tiger, the more dangerous it is, and it will actively tear apart any threats around it.

"Your Majesty, although Consort Kang has overstepped the bounds, she has a good heart. She only has two princes, and the royal bloodline is thin. If she could have children as soon as possible, it would be a joyous occasion."

Upon hearing this, Prince Yu glanced gratefully at Grand Secretary Yan.

Jiajing sneered, "From what you're saying, they, mother and son, are innocent, while I am the one who is wrong?"

Yan Song and Xu Jie kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I have spoken out of turn! You deserve to die ten thousand times!"

"Alright." Jiajing regained his sense of control from them, and as the effects of the pills wore off, his irritability subsided, leaving him with a hollow and weak feeling.

He looked at Prince Yu and said, "Considering that you still have some filial piety, this matter will be dropped. Your mother does not need to move elsewhere, but if she wants to regain her title as a concubine, she should behave herself."

Prince Yu was moved to tears: "Your son kowtows to thank Your Majesty for Your Majesty's grace. I will certainly advise my mother and restrain myself so that Your Majesty will never have to worry again."

"Your Majesty is benevolent." Yan Song and Xu Jie bowed again.

"Go down." Jiajing slowly closed his eyes.

"We take our leave."

Zhu Zaizhen, who was about to step down beside Prince Yu, was about to leave when the emperor suddenly said, "As a prince, you have shielded your subordinates from bullying the Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations). You shall be fined one year's salary, immediately shut yourself in to reflect on your actions, and copy the 'Imperial Ancestral Instructions of the Ming Dynasty' thirty times."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I obey your command."

Prince Yu felt somewhat guilty, while Zhu Zaizhen remained calm.

After leaving the West Garden, Zhu Zaizhen told Prince Yu to go back and comfort Consort Kang, while he returned to his palace and began to obediently copy the rules set by the founding emperor.

Everything was calm until the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month. Only Princess Chang'an came to visit him. The rest of the time he either copied books or played around with Jin Yanshenxing.

"Your Highness, they've all left."

"So fast!"

As Zhu Zaizhen instructed, Zhang Juzheng was transferred to a poor area in Shanxi as an official. Xu Wei took his mother back to his hometown to visit relatives and see if he could bring his eldest son back.

Qi Jiguang buried himself in his studies, Wan Quan was repairing his medical books, and Lu Bai and Lü Jin were working hard to improve their studies. Some of the children from both families followed Zhang Juzheng, while others followed Qi Jiguang to practice martial arts.

The once-powerful prince and his followers, whose property had been confiscated, suddenly vanished as if from thin air. On the contrary, Xu Jie, the Minister of Personnel, was rumored to be promoted to the cabinet for his meritorious service in presenting memorials to the emperor.

Logically speaking, it is easy for the Minister of Rites to enter the cabinet, but there are also precedents for the Minister of Personnel to enter the cabinet, which are all signs of being deeply trusted.

Although the mother of Prince Yu was demoted, her tutors were repeatedly promoted. In particular, after prominent figures in the literary world such as Li Panlong and Wang Shizhen began to claim to be under Prince Yu's tutelage, their influence grew even stronger.