Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2399: Changes (XVIII) Audience with Your Majesty

The Forbidden City was covered in snow after the snow, and the palace walls looked particularly solemn and majestic against the backdrop of the white snow. Wang Zhizhen, the Grand Commander of the Imperial Guard, was wearing a bright red dragon robe and a black gilded embroidered spring sword on his waist, which symbolized the special status of the Imperial Guard. He stood outside the palace gate with a solemn look, holding a petition in his hand. This petition detailed the progress of the investigation into the sudden death of Prince Ying, and was his "legitimate" reason for entering the palace this time.

The guards in front of the palace gate were still standing straight and alert as usual, but Wang Zhizhen was keenly aware of the unusual atmosphere. In the past, the palace guards seemed to be in a state of discipline, but in fact, most of them were just pretending to be disciplined. They would occasionally talk to each other in low voices, and when the Supreme Official was present, it was normal for them to chat and brag in groups of three or two.

But today was different. They all kept their lips tightly shut, and their eyes seemed to reveal an unprecedented tension, as if they had been warned and dared not make the slightest mistake. The eunuch in charge of checking the identity was also very careful when checking Wang Zhizhen's badge. He checked it repeatedly and also looked at Wang Zhizhen's face several times, as if he was looking for some clues.

How could someone in the Ming Dynasty still dare to impersonate me, the Grand Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard? Wang Zhizhen looked calm, but he was very unhappy in his heart. However, he was just unhappy because he knew the reason very well, if not as clearly as if he were seeing through fire.

"Please forgive me, Marshal Ti. The nobles in the palace have been very demanding these days, and we servants are helpless... Please wait." The eunuch who had finished the inspection bowed slightly, but his tone was not as respectful and casual as before. "You don't know, the palace has strengthened its defenses in recent days, and everything must be done according to the rules." After saying that, he hurried towards the palace gate, probably to report.

Wang Zhizhen nodded slightly, thinking to himself: It seems that Yuanfu's worries are not groundless. The atmosphere in the palace is indeed not right. I just don't know which side is strengthening the defense...

He subconsciously clenched the petition in his hand, waiting for permission to enter the palace. The cold wind blew, and it felt like a knife cutting his face, but Wang Zhizhen, who had just recovered from his illness, seemed to be unaware of it. He was thinking about how to report and what to say when he saw the emperor later.

Not long after, the eunuch hurried back and shouted in a shrill voice: "The emperor has ordered the Jinyiwei Grand Commander Wang Zhizhen to come to the emperor for an audience." Upon hearing this, Wang Zhizhen subconsciously straightened his clothes and walked into the palace with steady steps.

Walking along the palace road, he found that the number of patrolling guards along the way increased significantly, and the intervals between the sentries became smaller. Their eyes were full of vigilance, not letting go of any corner. Every few steps, two teams of guards patrolled crosswise, cooperating tacitly, and their steps were uniform. The heavy footsteps seemed to knock on Wang Zhizhen's heart.

When passing by the Imperial Garden, the palace maids and eunuchs that could be seen occasionally in the past were now few and far between. The few that occasionally appeared were also in a hurry, with nervous expressions, holding objects tightly in their hands, and dared not stop for a moment. Even the scenery in the garden seemed particularly cold in this solemn atmosphere. The originally beautiful flowers were covered with white snow, leaving only dry branches, shivering in the cold wind, as if they were also afraid of this tense situation.

Finally, Wang Zhizhen arrived at the Yikun Palace where the emperor was. Outside the palace, another team of guards stood in an orderly manner, their armors shining coldly under the light of the snow. Their expressions were serious, their eyes were firm, and they stared at the front, as if no movement could escape their eyes. Inside the palace, the stove was burning brightly, but it could not dispel the oppressive atmosphere.

Zhu Yijun sat on the main seat in the main hall, his face looked more sallow than a few days ago, his cheeks slightly sunken, but his eyes were still sharp. Seeing Wang Zhizhen coming in, he raised his hand slightly without waiting for Wang Zhizhen to salute: "No need to be polite, my dear Lord Wang. How is the investigation of Prince Ying going?" The emperor's voice was obviously a little hoarse, but it revealed an unquestionable majesty.

Wang Zhizhen ignored the "oral order" of "no need to be polite" and knelt down obediently to pay his respects. Then he slowly stood up, cleared his throat and said, "Your Majesty, we have already made a preliminary investigation into the death of Prince Ying. Prince Ying indulged in pleasure and was weak. He took a lot of tiger and wolf drugs before his death, which eventually led to his excessive joy and tragedy. It's just..."

Wang Zhizhen paused for a moment and observed the emperor's expression with his peripheral vision. A hint of barely perceptible sadness flashed across the emperor's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure and said in an extremely cold voice, "Go on."

"This case is full of doubts. The medicine used by Prince Ying came from within the palace and was made by himself. The sources of his various medicinal materials were purchased from several medicine shops in the capital. There is nothing unusual about it. We can only infer that he was worried that the outside world would know the purpose of the medicine, so he deliberately dispersed the purchase.

However, the factory supervisor and I dare not easily conclude whether there is someone behind this. I...I dare not deceive your majesty. I think the death of Prince Ying may be related to the recent situation in the court. Since the prime minister fell ill, undercurrents have been surging inside and outside the capital, and many forces seem to be ready to move. "While Wang Zhizhen was speaking, he secretly observed the emperor's expression.

Zhu Yijun seemed to have not heard of this statement. He just glanced at him lightly and said coldly: "General Ti, you can say whatever you want."

Wang Zhizhen felt a chill on his back. He dared not neglect it, took a deep breath, and said carefully: "Recently, Li Wenjin, the seal holder of the Imperial Horse Administration, has frequently contacted foreign officials, and his behavior is quite suspicious. According to the investigation of our guards, he went to the residence of Grand Secretary Shen late at night and had a long secret talk. Because it snowed heavily that night, the carriage that Li Hujun was riding in left deep ruts on the street. He stayed at the Shen residence for about an hour and left in a hurry at nearly four o'clock.

Moreover, according to another group of spies near the Shen Mansion, Li Hujun was in a hurry when he entered the Shen Mansion, and although he looked calm when he came out, his steps were brisk, and there was a hint of pride in his expression. "Although Wang Zhizhen spoke very carefully, he described it in detail, not missing any details.

Zhu Yijun's expression finally changed slightly, a trace of worry flashed in his eyes, and it seemed that he was heartbroken, but he soon regained his composure. Wang Zhizhen waited for a while, and seeing that the emperor just listened quietly but never spoke, he could only muster up the courage to continue speaking.

"In addition, Li Hujun also transferred a large amount of gunpowder from Wanggongchang on the pretext of the emperor's oral order, saying that it was to be transported to the Four Guards of Tengxiang." Wang Zhizhen continued, "Wang Yao, the supervisor of Wanggongchang, was skeptical at first. After all, according to the rules, the allocation of gunpowder must be approved by the Arsenal of the Ministry of War. But Li Hujun insisted that it was the emperor's oral order and his attitude was tough, so Wang Yao did not dare to disobey. In the end, the gunpowder was packed in more than ten carriages and transported to the Four Guards of Tengxiang by a detour, avoiding Zhaohui Jinggongfang where the Jingguo Mansion is located, while there were few pedestrians in the early morning after the snow."

This time, Zhu Yijun's face finally turned ugly, his cheeks twitched slightly, as if he was clenching his teeth, and his hands unconsciously clenched the armrests of the chair, his knuckles turned white because of the force. But even so, the emperor still did not speak, just listened quietly, but his eyes revealed a hint of coldness after anger.

"Also, Ningqian Military Governor Qian Menggao, who was a close disciple of Lord Shen, behaved abnormally while escorting the Second Longjiang Army back to the capital. He should have left his soldiers in Jizhen as per the rules, but for some reason he insisted on taking them to Tongzhou, which was only forty miles away from the capital.

Moreover, when he was in Tongzhou, he had a dispute with Zhang Wanbang, the general of Jizhen. Zhang believed that Qian Menggao's move was not in accordance with the convention, and that stationing foreign troops in Tongzhou might cause trouble. However, Qian Menggao disagreed and was arrogant. He rejected Zhang's advice on the grounds that it would be more convenient to report on his work and return to his post. "Wang Zhizhen described the incident in detail.

At this time, Zhu Yijun's face was as gloomy as the sky before a storm, and anger was burning in his seemingly indifferent eyes, but he still resisted the urge to vent his anger. He just asked in a chilling voice: "My dear Wang, in your opinion, what should we do now?"

Wang Zhizhen quickly knelt on the ground and bowed his head, saying: "Your Majesty is wise and I dare not speak rashly. But the situation is complicated now, and the forces of all parties are intertwined. I hope Your Majesty can make a decision early to prevent accidents. I think that not only Qian Menggao, but also Li Ruzhang and others seem to have ulterior motives. The Second Longjiang Army is now temporarily stationed in the Beijing North Camp. They seem to have some unusual dealings with individual generals of the Imperial Guard. Your Majesty must pay attention to this." Wang Zhizhen added, with beads of sweat already oozing from his forehead.

Zhu Yijun was silent for a moment, then suddenly glanced at him, looked at him for a moment, and slowly asked, "Are there any other unusual movements?" Just such a simple sentence made Wang Zhizhen's back soaked with cold sweat in an instant. The Grand Commander of the Jinyiwei did not dare to hesitate, and immediately said, "There is one more thing. Yuan Fu's half-brother Gao Wuzheng was sent out of the city a few days ago to Jianxinzhai. According to our spies, after he arrived at Jianxinzhai, he gathered 3,000 family servants and distributed all kinds of weapons except armor and flags, and ordered them to guard the key points of Jianxinzhai..."

"Is it just about guarding the key points?" Zhu Yijun suddenly interrupted Wang Zhizhen before he finished speaking.

"According to the news this morning, they are indeed only guarding the key points, but..." Wang Zhizhen quietly observed the emperor's expression before continuing, "The Mentougou Coal Mine dispatched another 500-man mining protection team yesterday, and they also joined the guards of Jianxinzhai."

Zhu Yijun was silent for a long time, then asked: "What's going on in the city?"

Wang Zhizhen's heart tightened, and he quickly organized his words and reported: "Five City Military Command, under the order of Yuanfu, has strengthened the defense of Xishiku and other important storage areas." [Note: Xishiku is "Xishiku". I forgot whether I explained it when I wrote it before, so I'll mention it here.]

Zhu Yijun frowned and asked, "Isn't Rixin too ill to take care of things? Why would the Five Cities Army Command follow his orders to strengthen the defense of Xishiku?"

Wang Zhizhen also looked puzzled and replied, "I was also quite surprised when I heard the news, but then I thought about it and realized that the so-called Prime Minister's inability to attend to affairs might just be because of a sudden illness and physical weakness that made it difficult for him to walk, but it doesn't necessarily mean that he couldn't hear or speak."

Zhu Yijun seemed to be able to accept this explanation, but it was clear that the emperor was not so easily fooled. He quickly discovered the problem and narrowed his eyes, as if talking to himself, or as if talking to Wang Zhizhen: "Rixin still has the energy to mobilize the Five Cities Army to guard Xishiku, but has no energy to pay attention to the Tengxiang Four Guards obtaining gunpowder, and Tongzhou suddenly has several thousand more soldiers and horses?"

Wang Zhizhen felt cold sweat on his back, but he didn't dare to say anything. He could only say: "Perhaps the Prime Minister is still sick and his energy is limited..."

Zhu Yijun chuckled and asked calmly, "Did he respond to Li Rusong's entry into Shanhaiguan?"

This sentence was like a bolt from the blue, shocking Wang Zhizhen so much that he almost couldn't stand still. He said tremblingly, "Your humble servant... I don't know."

Zhu Yijun suddenly slowed down his tone, even as if he was comforting the frightened Wang Zhizhen, and said, "My dear Wang, you continue to monitor the movements of all parties in secret, and do not alert the enemy. Report to me at any time if there is any situation. Pay close attention to the actions of Li Wenjin, Shen Yikuan and others. If you find them..."

Zhu Yijun paused at this point, closed his eyes and thought for a while, finally shook his head gently, opened his eyes and sighed slightly, and said: "Anyway, report immediately if there is anything." While speaking, he took out a jade pendant from his waist, stretched out his hand and handed it to him, saying: "This is my jade pendant, you can take it, you can see the emperor at any time without inspection."

Wang Zhizhen accepted the order: "I obey your order." He quickly climbed forward, knelt down, took the jade pendant with both hands, and carefully put it in his arms. Then he hesitated for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but finally swallowed his words back.

"I'm tired, please leave." Zhu Yijun waved his hand, his eyes looking a little tired.

Wang Zhizhen bowed again and slowly left the palace. When he saw the daylight, he suddenly realized that his underwear was completely soaked with cold sweat, and it was very cold and uncomfortable to wear. But he didn't care about these things at the moment, and hurriedly fled.

When his figure disappeared outside the palace, Zhu Yijun sighed and leaned back on his chair, his eyes revealing deep fatigue. He looked at the top of the palace and muttered to himself: "Rixin, Rixin, your illness has attracted so many evil spirits... I want to see what they want to do!"

The emperor took a deep breath and murmured, "You are also restless. You are leaving so many fires and are unwilling to put them out early. What do you want to do? Do you want me to watch their performance first, and then you can come to protect me in times of danger, or... you are unwilling to dirty your hands again, and you must force me to be the bad guy this time?"

After a long silence, Zhu Yijun finally sat back in his normal position, staring blankly at the snowy scene outside the palace, and said in a very bleak tone: "Why can't we wait a little longer? Can't we finish this wonderful story?"

Suddenly, he started coughing violently, with shortness of breath and pain, which frightened the eunuchs outside and forced them to disobey his instructions before meeting Wang Zhizhen. They all rushed to the palace gate, knelt down and greeted him, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty's health is at stake!"

Inside the palace, the charcoal fire in the gilded dragon stove was still crackling, but it could not dispel the chill in Zhu Yijun's heart. He waved his hands suddenly, forced himself to swallow a mouthful of hot and fishy liquid that was about to spurt out, and roared, "What are you doing here? Are you going to disobey my order?"

The eunuchs were so frightened that they didn't know whether to advance or retreat. They were trembling with fear when they suddenly heard Concubine Zheng's voice approaching from afar: "Your Majesty, why are you angry with these servants? It's not worth it. I have just prepared the medicine. Your Majesty, please drink it while it's hot. Only then will you feel better soon."

At this point, although she was already over 30 years old, Concubine Zheng, who still had a graceful figure, appeared at the palace gate holding a bowl of medicine. She did not even greet him, but walked in with a smile, her hairpins swaying lightly, and her graceful figure.
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