I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 183 Cleaning the Forbidden City

"Lady Jiang from Yuqiong Pavilion?"

"Yes, Your Highness. Jiang was selected from the people to serve as a palace maid at the beginning of the year. She is originally from Yangzhou. She was appointed as a concubine in April, promoted to a talented woman in June, and promoted to a beauty last month."

"Who chose her to enter the palace?"

"Eunuch Yang Kai, Meng Chong's adopted son."

Zhu Yijun sneered twice, "This girl is really both cunning and courageous. In just a few months, she dared to coax the emperor to grant her 10,000 taels of silver as capital for her father and brother to do business.

Lady Jiang? Feng Bao,

"The slave is here!"

"You can go to the Coordination Bureau and ask. In a petition submitted the other day, there was a father and son surnamed Jiang who said that their daughter was a noble lady in the palace and actually asked the Coordination Bureau to issue them a maritime merchant license and a customs merchant license.

Check to see if they are Lady Jiang's father or brother."

"Yes."

"Chen Ju, go and do your work first. Wait until Feng Bao finishes his investigation."

"Yes."

After a while, Huang Jin came over with Zhang Siwei's memorial.

"Your Highness, how do you approve this memorial from Zhang Siwei, which is fully prepared for the Eastern Palace?"

Zhu Yijun had already made a plan. "Li Chunfang, the Minister of Personnel and the Grand Secretary of Zhongji Palace, was promoted to the position of Junior Tutor of the Crown Prince. Hu Zongxian, the Minister of War, was promoted to the position of Junior Protector of the Crown Prince. Zhang Juzheng, the Vice Minister of War and the Grand Secretary of Wuying Palace, was promoted to the position of Zhanshi of the Zhanshi Palace.

Zhang Siwei, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, was appointed as the prince's guest. He was in charge of the lectures on the classics in the Eastern Palace, and he was also asked to select the lecturers for the lectures.

Huang Jin's long eyebrows twitched slightly, and he immediately responded, "Yes."

After a while, Feng Bao came back.

"Your Highness, the father and son of the Jiang family who openly went to the Coordination Bureau to ask for a license are the father and brother of Lady Jiang of Yuqiong Pavilion. I also found out that they followed Yang Kai from Yangzhou to the capital at the beginning of the year. Since Jiang was appointed as a concubine in April, they have become increasingly arrogant.

Your Highness, the East Factory has found out that the Jiangs have unclear relationships with several big salt merchants in Yangzhou."

"Big salt merchants? The ones that have close ties with the Duke's and Marquis' mansions in Nanjing?"

"Your Highness is wise."

"Feng Bao, tell the East Factory guards to arrest the Jiang father and son first and wait for punishment."

"Yes."

"Ask Lu Yong to come over."

"Yes."

The eunuch Lu Yong, the writing eunuch of the Imperial Household Department, came over and said, "Your Highness, I am here."

Zhu Yijun pointed to the imperial edict of Lady Jiang on the table and the report from the Coordination Bureau regarding the request of the Jiang father and son for the license, "Put these away, and let's go into the Forbidden City."

"Yes."

Zhu Yijun got on the sedan chair, and Lu Yong followed beside him. They entered the Forbidden City from the Xihua Gate and soon arrived at the Qianning Palace.

Empress Chen waited for Zhu Yijun to finish his ceremony and asked in surprise, "Jun'er, how come you have time to come to the palace at this time today?"

"Mother, I have a copy of the imperial edict that was transferred to the Imperial Household Department. I need your review."

Lu Yong immediately presented the imperial edict to Chen for review.

After reading it, her face turned gloomy.

"Here is also a report from the Coordination Bureau. Please have a look at it, Mother."

After reading the report submitted by Lu Yong, Chen's face became even gloomier.

"The Jiang family father and son are Miss Jiang's father and brother?"

"Yes, mother."

"How dare you!" Chen was furious and stood up and cursed, "How can the palace tolerate such a foxy emperor and a wanton bitch!"

Zhu Yijun said slowly: "Mother, please calm down and invite Wanfu here."

Chen calmed down her anger and sat down slowly. "My son is right. This matter involves the emperor, so we must be cautious. Go and invite Wanfu."

"Yes."

Soon, Wanfu was invited.

"I greet the Queen and the Crown Prince."

Chen raised her hand amiably, "Wanfu, you are an old man who serves the emperor and me, no need to be polite, stand up."

"Yes."

"Show these to Wanfu." Chen pointed to the pile of documents and said to Lu Yong.

Wanfu took it and read it, his face solemn, "Your Highness, this matter cannot be set as a precedent."

Zhu Yijun and Chen looked at each other. Wanfu had made his attitude clear and was willing to stand on their side. The next things would be easy to handle.

"Wanfu, how many nights has your father stayed in Yuqiong Pavilion in the past few months?"

"I rested for seven nights in April, five nights in May, four nights in June, two nights last month, and only one night last night this month."

That's right.

His father was like a little bee, who liked to work hard to collect honey from the flowers. But there were too many flowers, and he couldn't stay with each flower for long.

The fact that my father was able to stay with Lady Jiang for a few nights in the past few months shows that he really doted on her. But in these two months, love will eventually fade.

After Wanfu said this, Zhu Yijun and Chen understood.

"Jun'er, what do you think?" Zhu Yijun calmed down and continued to ask, "Wanfu, what does Lady Jiang like to do in Yuqiong Pavilion on weekdays?"

"Lady Jiang has always wanted to give birth to a prince for the emperor. It is said that she even asked her father and brother to bring Dou Mu Yuanjun's child-granting talisman from Mount Tai."

"Give birth to a prince." Zhu Yijun sneered, "Mother, Jiang has just become a beauty, and she dares to ask for 10,000 taels of silver and the sea and customs merchant licenses. If she gets pregnant and gives birth to a prince, will she ask for your position as queen and my position as crown prince?"

Wanfu and Lu Yong were so frightened that they lowered their heads, shrank their necks, and dared not breathe.

Chen's face turned pale, and she said angrily: "The Forbidden City is so big, and if the fence is not tied tightly, these dirty and smelly people dare to get in. It's okay to seduce the emperor, but you dare to reach out to him!

It's all my fault. I didn't set up the palace rules for these people. As a result, one by one they all lost their ways.

Jun'er, you can handle matters outside the palace. I will handle matters inside the palace."

"I will follow your mother's instructions."

"Alas, the emperor is not diligent in his duties and has left all military and national affairs to you. I heard that you get up at five in the morning every day? Do you get up even earlier during the morning court sessions on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month?"

"If you want to wear the imperial crown, you must bear its weight. As the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, if I want to inherit the country and kingdom passed down by my ancestors, I must exercise self-discipline.

In my opinion, being a crown prince, being the emperor, is a responsibility, not a pleasure."

Chen sighed, waved her hand, and told Zhu Yijun to come forward. She held his hand and said with a sad heart, "We will deal with those troublesome things later. Let's talk about it, mother and son."

"Good. I have made great progress in horseback archery recently. I used to hit four out of ten arrows in fifty steps, but now I can hit six."

Zhu Yijun talked to Chen for half an hour and then stood up to say goodbye.

Lu Yong did not leave the palace and stayed in Qianning Palace.

"Okay, it's time to deal with the trouble. Hail, Lu Yong, follow me."

"Yes."

The group quickly arrived at Yuqiong Pavilion. Guarded by Wanfu, Lu Yong and more than twenty eunuchs, Chen walked straight into the main hall of Yuqiong Pavilion.

Lady Jiang hurried out from the backyard and greeted Chen in front of the hall.

"Your humble servant Jiang pays respects to Her Majesty the Queen."

Chen took a look at her and said, "She is indeed charming. Lu Yong, search her."

"Yes."

Lady Jiang was shocked and looked up and asked, "Madam, what do you mean?"

Chen said grimly, "As the master of the six palaces, do I need permission to search your Yuqiong Pavilion?"

Lady Jiang knew something was wrong and wanted to ask the people around her to quietly go out and report the news, but she found that the entire Yuqiong Pavilion was surrounded and no one could escape.

After a while, Lu Yong presented several pieces of talisman paper: "Madam, I found three pieces of talisman paper. I wonder which lewd temple they came from."

Lady Jiang quickly argued, "Your Majesty, this is the immortal talisman for granting a child that I obtained from the Jade Emperor Temple on Mount Tai. I only want to give birth to a prince for the emperor and continue his lineage."

Chen said angrily: "Do you know where this is? It's the Forbidden City, where the emperor lives. You are so brave that you dare to bring any talisman paper into the palace. Don't you know the rules of the palace?
Anyone who uses the art of exorcism in the palace will be guilty of a serious crime!"

Lady Jiang panicked and cried repeatedly, "I really just want to give birth to a prince for the emperor."

Chen cut the Gordian knot quickly, waved his hand, and asked Lu Yong: "According to our ancestral family rules, how do we deal with the art of defeating evil?"

"Give Bai Ling."

Chen stood up and said, "Then give Jiang a piece of white silk."

"Yes!"

Lady Jiang was completely panicked and wanted to pounce on Chen, but was stopped by the eunuch.

"Your Majesty, I am innocent. I want to see the Emperor."

Chen left the main hall without looking back.

Lü Yong waved his hands to his left and right, and said calmly: "In compliance with the Queen's order, I will send Jiang to heaven."

"Yes!"

The six eunuchs ignored Jiang's desperate struggle and dragged her into the inner room, where they soon stopped moving.

Chen and Wanfu were waiting outside the Yuqiong Pavilion. After a while, Lu Yong came out.

"Madam, Jiang has hanged herself."

"Well, bury him properly. And all the people in Yuqiong Pavilion will be dismissed and are not allowed to appear in front of the emperor in the future."

"Yes."

Chen continued, "What if the emperor asks about Jiang?"

Wanfu, who was standing beside him, lowered his head and replied, "I just reported an emergency illness, that's all."

"Well, a bunch of people in the outer court are playing tricks on Jun'er, and now they have extended their hands into the palace. They don't know what's good for them."

Chen cursed angrily, not knowing whether she was cursing Jiang or the person behind the scenes who had reached into the palace.

Zhu Yijun listened to Lü Yong's report in the Western Garden, nodded, and said to Feng Bao: "The East Factory guards have dealt with Jiang's father and son properly."

"Yes."

Zhu Yijun knew that Jiang father and son and Concubine Jiang were wronged, but you were driven by greed. If you dared to fish in the whirlpool, you would have to bear the risk of drowning.

These guys hiding under the water are now beginning to reach their hands into the harem.

Haha, if you dare to stretch out your hands, I will chop them off! Let's see how many hands you have!

Even if you are the Thousand-Armed Guanyin, I will chop you into Venus.

(End of this chapter)