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Chapter 460: Counterattack (I)

Emperor Taihe sighed: "Do you think I haven't thought about it? Between the two of them, who can really take on the responsibility of Prime Minister?"

"Minister Li doesn't want to offend anyone, and he likes to smooth things over. He has no powerful means, nor does he have any trusted confidants. If you make him the prime minister, the other five ministers will not accept it."

"Minister Ji is upright and stubborn. When he gets angry, he will slap me in the face. He is not popular in the court and is not qualified to be the prime minister."

The prime minister of Daliang had to withstand the pressure from the emperor, suppress the civil and military officials, be familiar with all the officials of Daliang, and be proficient in handling government affairs. If he could just find someone to replace Prime Minister Wang, how could he have tolerated Prime Minister Wang's arrogance?

Thinking of this, Emperor Taihe sighed again and said in a low voice: "It's a pity, Zixian, you are still young and have only been in the officialdom for two years. After you have been tempered for twenty or thirty years and have gained qualifications and connections, I will be able to entrust the position of Prime Minister to you."

Prime Minister Wang became Prime Minister of Daliang when he was 40 years old. According to his age, Zheng Chen would have to endure for at least another ten or twenty years.

He simply doesn't have the patience to endure that long!

The current Daliang is like a giant tree with rotten roots and branches. The rotten parts should be cut off with a drastic blow, such as Prime Minister Wang's party. Unfortunately, the young Emperor Taihe does not have such courage and vision. He gradually behaves like the former Emperor Taikang...

Zheng Chen had a series of thoughts flashing through his mind, but he didn't show them on his face. He replied in a low voice, "Your Majesty has high hopes for me, and I understand that. Please rest assured, I will work hard to learn how to handle government affairs and strive to help your Majesty as soon as possible."

Emperor Taihe relaxed his brows and smiled. Just as he was about to speak, Eunuch Ge suddenly came in with a strange look on his face and reported: "Your Majesty, something happened in Jingyang Palace!"

Emperor Taihe was startled and stood up suddenly: "What happened to the Imperial Grandmother?"

Zheng Chen's heart sank and he quickly looked at Eunuch Ge.

The real foundation of the Zheng family lies in the Jingyang Palace and in the Empress Dowager Zheng. This is the most critical time to deal with Prime Minister Wang and his party, and the Empress Dowager Zheng must not make any mistakes.

Eunuch Ge, who was usually very efficient, looked strange today and spoke hesitantly: "The Empress Dowager is fine, but Eunuch Lan and Little Eunuch Yuan are in trouble."

Zheng Chen's heart sank again.

Eunuch Lan was recommended by the Zheng family to enter the palace several years ago, and Eunuch Yuan entered the palace the year before last. They were both beautiful young men secretly selected by the Zheng family to enter the palace specifically to serve the Empress Dowager...Others may not know the secrets, but he certainly knows it best.

Emperor Taihe's brows were almost twisted into knots, and his tone became stern: "What is it? Don't hesitate, tell the truth."

Eunuch Ge didn't look at Zheng Chen's expression, but lowered his head and reported: "Your Majesty, the cleansing room was inspected this year and found that Eunuch Lan was not castrated cleanly, and the same is true for Eunuch Yuan."

Emperor Taihe: "..."

As we all know, eunuchs have to be circumcised before entering the palace. Eunuchs who have been circumcised are half male and half female and will not pollute the harem.

Empress Dowager Zheng had been a widow for ten years, and had been surrounded by several young and handsome eunuchs. No one dared to gossip about such a harmless hobby. Emperor Taihe, the eldest grandson, knew the truth but never said it out loud.

Now that such an indecent incident has suddenly been exposed in the cleansing room, the finger of blame is pointed directly at the Empress Dowager of Jingyang Palace. No wonder Emperor Taihe looks so unhappy.

"Eunuch Yuan has only been in the palace for a short time, but Eunuch Lan has been in the palace for several years." Emperor Taihe's eyes were full of anger, but his voice was very low: "The cleansing room must be inspected every year, why was it discovered only this year?"

Eunuch Ge lowered his head to his chest: "The eunuch in charge of the cleansing room suddenly fell ill two days ago and was removed from the palace to recuperate. Deputy chief eunuch Wei temporarily took over the cleansing room. Eunuch Wei was careful and careful in his duties. This year, he personally checked all the eunuchs. Unexpectedly, he found a problem during the inspection." The original chief eunuch of the cleansing room was promoted by Empress Dowager Zheng and had a good relationship with the Zheng family. Therefore, Eunuch Lan and Eunuch Xiao Yuan had always been "no problem".

Now suddenly it was Eunuch Wei who was replaced, and Eunuch Lan and Eunuch Yuan were immediately found to have had incomplete castration. This was a heavy slap in the face of the Empress Dowager Zheng and the Zheng family father and son.

Zheng Chen suppressed his anger and embarrassment and said, "Your Majesty, I will go to Jingyang Palace now."

Emperor Taihe did not stop him: "Okay, you go see the Imperial Grandmother on my behalf and tell her not to be angry. I will deal with this matter as soon as possible."

Zheng Chen bowed and retreated.

As soon as Zheng Chen left, Emperor Taihe's face suddenly became gloomy.

He hated Prime Minister Wang, who was extremely domineering and monopolized power, and was also deeply wary of the Zheng family, his maternal relatives. The Zheng family relied on the power of the Empress Dowager to win over the hearts of the people in the court and even reached into the palace...

At this moment, the words "be careful of the people around you", which my cousin Jiang Shaohua often reminded me of in her letters, came to my mind.

Eunuch Ge hesitated for a moment and whispered, "Your Majesty, please forgive me for being so nosy. Eunuch Wei has already had Eunuch Lan and Eunuch Yuan castrated again. There were dozens of people present at the time. It will be difficult to completely cover up this matter."

Emperor Taihe's eyes flashed with gloom, and he snorted, "Go and check carefully to see who this Eunuch Wei belongs to."

When it suddenly pops up at this time, it is hard not to have some unpleasant associations.

Eunuch Ge responded in a low voice.

……

Inside Jingyang Palace, Empress Dowager Zheng was furious.

When Zheng Chen rushed to Jingyang Palace, Eunuch Wei in the cleansing room had been beaten half to death and was only breathing his last breath.

Zheng Chen's eyebrows jumped, and he hurried forward to comfort and stop her: "Please calm down, Empress Dowager. There must be someone behind this, and we must find out the truth first."

Empress Dowager Zheng said angrily, "We must investigate thoroughly, but this worthless slave cannot be kept. I will beat him to death and let everyone in the palace see what happens to a slave who betrays his master."

"Don't stop! Keep fighting!"

At the command of Empress Dowager Zheng, the eunuchs carrying out the beating immediately obeyed the order and continued to swing the thick wooden sticks. After a few blows, Eunuch Wei was silent.

Zheng Chen was also very annoyed. Before the matter was fully investigated, Eunuch Wei was beaten to death. If this was spread together with the news that Eunuch Lan and Eunuch Yuan were castrated, who knows how many rumors would spread.

Women are women, impulsive and reckless, and never calm down when faced with things. Empress Dowager Zheng is already old, but she still makes such childish mistakes.

Of course, Zheng Chen could only silently complain about these words in his heart and could not say a word. He had to follow the words of Empress Dowager Zheng and scold Eunuch Wei.

The corpse of Eunuch Wei was dragged away. Empress Dowager Zheng was still furious and said coldly, "I have asked Zhao Chunming to investigate. I want to see who is so bold as to do this behind the scenes!"