Without money, what is the point of being a traitor?

Chapter 677 Pei Yuan is my person

Empress Zhang, who had just turned forty, had always lived a life of luxury. Although she no longer possessed the radiant beauty that once made her the emperor's sole favorite, time had not failed her, adding to her charm and allure.

Her inherently assertive and harsh nature gave her gaze a sharp, oppressive quality. Her eyes, like icy spring water, made her seem unapproachable and awe-inspiring.

Zhu Houzhao had heard about Zheng Wang's seditious rumors during the Hongzhi era.

At that time, he wanted to know the truth, he was obsessed with it.

No matter what explanation his father gave him, he always felt that he was hiding something else.

However, due to Empress Dowager Zhang's formidable influence, he never dared to personally inquire with her.

Because he had considered a certain possibility and was afraid to bear the consequences.

Lu Yin had just advised him to consider what the Empress Dowager thought, but in reality, he had already considered this issue long ago.

If Empress Dowager Zhang were his biological mother, it would be fine; their blood ties would mean they wouldn't have to be so careful with each other.

But if the rumors are true, what will his adoptive mother think of his relentless pursuit of this matter?
What will happen when that superficial warmth is lost?

He was cowardly in facing the situation, cowardly in changing it.

When Zhu Houzhao became emperor, his sudden maturity made him realize even more.

The truth is that things happened in the past, and what he needs to face now is reality.

Therefore, when Zheng Wang heard that the new emperor had ascended the throne, he ran out fearlessly and once again asked the emperor to acknowledge his birth mother. Zhu Houzhao and Empress Dowager Zhang did not hesitate to force Min Gui, the Minister of Justice and Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince who had been protecting Zheng Wang, to retire, and then promoted Tu Xun, the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, to Minister of Justice.

The name Tu Xun evokes the image of a swift and deadly blade, and indeed, he was incredibly sharp when it came to cutting people down. Thus, Zheng Wang was quickly killed.

From then on, Zhu Houzhao had no way out. Whatever the truth was, he could only be Empress Zhang's biological son.

Otherwise, how would the world view an emperor who ruthlessly killed his own grandfather?
Zhu Houzhao thought everything would be as before, but not long after, the Liu Jin case suddenly broke out, and the Empress Dowager chose to stand on the side of the ministers at the last moment.

The current case of the rumors surrounding the heir apparent of Prince De, and the subtle hints it hinted at, suddenly made Zhu Houzhao realize something.

He can't go back, but the Empress Dowager still has two younger brothers.

If, while their interests are intertwined, the interests of the two marquises of the Zhang family take a much higher priority than his "son's," can he still continue to trust Empress Dowager Zhang?

Even if he can continue to trust Empress Zhang, what if the matter involves the interests of the two marquises of the Zhang family, or what if the two marquises of the Zhang family have been caught red-handed?

It is disloyal for ministers to oppose the emperor, but they can prevent the emperor from being unfilial.

Empress Dowager Zhang, as a factor, had a fatal impact on the balance of power between the emperor and his ministers.

In fact, Zhu Houzhao had already suffered a fatal blow once.

The downfall of Liu Jin was not just the fall of a palace servant, but also the fall of a large number of his cronies and the collapse of Zhu Houzhao's new policies.

Liu Jin's complete discrediting of Zhu Houzhao had a political impact no less severe than that of the Tumu Crisis during the reign of Emperor Yingzong.

Emperor Yingzong lost his military power to the Ministry of War because of the Tumu Crisis. Similarly, Zhu Houzhao lost his political initiative because of the downfall of Liu Jin's reforms.
Now, whenever Zhu Houzhao tries to take any action, he is accused of being a remnant of Liu Jin's influence, and his subordinates can occupy the political high ground and provide soft resistance to Zhu Houzhao's decrees.

Zhu Houzhao was staring at the two marquises of the Zhang family when he heard Empress Dowager Zhang say angrily, "How were Yang Tinghe and the others dealt with?"

Zhu Houzhao snapped out of his daze and echoed with righteous indignation, "Reporting to Your Majesty, I have already sent Wang Chang to Shandong to thoroughly investigate this case. Once those who spread rumors are caught, they will be severely punished."

Empress Dowager Zhang sneered, "One after another they've been sent, but what have they accomplished? In such a short time, this is already the third Right Vice Censor-in-Chief sent to Shandong. Could this Wang Chang also be tainted by corruption?"

Zhu Houzhao's expression darkened slightly as he suppressed the urge to look at the two marquises of the Zhang family.

Empress Dowager Zhang's extensive knowledge of the situation in the outer court must have been due to the two Marquises of Zhang acting as her eyes and ears.

Empress Dowager Zhang said with dissatisfaction, "What use are those civil officials in this kind of thing? They should be arrested by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and taken to the Imperial Prison for thorough interrogation."

Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but think of those ministers during the Hongzhi era who were imprisoned and severely tortured for impeaching the two marquises of the Zhang family.

He paused for a moment before replying, "Your Majesty, this matter involves the Crown Prince of De, and is not comparable to that of ordinary ministers. It must be investigated thoroughly."

His words were neither too soft nor too hard, already revealing a hint of dissatisfaction.

Empress Dowager Zhang, however, was already used to her father Zhu Youcheng's submissive attitude, and directly said to Zhu Houzhao with dissatisfaction, "The emperor can just send the Embroidered Uniform Guard; they have plenty of ways to deal with things."

Seeing that the mother and son were about to argue again, Zhang Heling knew that this rebellious nephew was not as easy to control as his daughter and brother-in-law, so he quickly tried to mediate.

He first addressed the Empress Dowager, saying, "The Prince of De's son has offended not only the Empress Dowager but also His Majesty. But ultimately, whether it's the Empress Dowager's matter or His Majesty's matter, it's all about the Ming Dynasty. His Majesty must have his reasons for doing this."

When Empress Dowager Zhang heard Zhang Heling speak, she looked at Zhang Heling with displeasure, then at Zhu Houzhao, her lips moved, but she was too lazy to say anything.

Seeing that his sister understood his meaning, Zhang Heling quickly said to Zhu Houzhao, "The Empress Dowager has raised Your Majesty with great care and hardship, yet she has been slandered by such villains. It is understandable that she is distressed and indignant."

"Your Majesty should be more understanding."

Unable to sort out his own thoughts, Zhu Houzhao had a sudden inspiration and forced a smile as he said, "It's my fault for not finishing. I have already ordered Pei Yuan, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, to investigate this matter. I think he should be able to give a result that will satisfy the Empress Dowager."

From what Lu Yin said, Zhu Houzhao roughly understood that the court should have reached a consensus on how to deal with the De Fan matter.

De Fan is likely to be severely punished, and this outcome can be used to appease the Empress Dowager's anger.

Pei Yuan happened to be in Shandong as well, and it made no mistake that he was a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"Pei Yuan?" Empress Dowager Zhang frowned slightly, as if she remembered something, then simply nodded and did not ask any further questions.

Seeing that Empress Dowager Zhang was in good spirits, Zhu Houzhao did not say anything more about paying his respects. After chatting for a few more minutes, he got up to leave.

Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling, the brothers, quickly got up to see them off.

After Zhu Houzhao left the Renshou Palace, he did not board the imperial carriage, but instead looked back at the two marquises of the Zhang family.

The two men were filled with trepidation, and quickly asked with forced smiles, "Does Your Majesty have any other instructions?"

Zhu Houzhao looked at the two men coldly and said, "How long are you two imperial brothers-in-law going to stay in my harem?"

Zhang Heling's expression changed slightly, and he quickly pulled Zhang Yanling down to kneel, saying, "Seeing that the Empress Dowager is in good health, I am relieved. I will now bid farewell to the Empress Dowager and leave the palace."

Zhu Houzhao gave a cold snort before boarding the imperial carriage and leaving.

The two men watched Zhu Houzhao walk away respectfully, their expressions shifting between light and dark.

Zhang Yanling grumbled, "I always thought my nephew was better, but no nephew is as close as my brother-in-law."

Zhang Heling didn't speak, but gave Zhang Yanling a cold look.

Zhang Yanling immediately fell silent. After the two returned to Renshou Palace, they heard Empress Dowager Zhang still complaining to them with lingering anger, "Zhao'er is all grown up now, and he's not close to his mother at all."

“He only has two younger brothers, and when he comes, he gives you the cold shoulder. He doesn’t even try to be close to you.”

Zhang Yanling sighed and lamented along with him.

Zhang Heling did not respond to this, but calmly said to the two, "De Fan must not be let off lightly. If we cannot make an example of him, I'm afraid others will try to sow discord between His Majesty and the Empress Dowager, and... the relationship between His Majesty and us as uncle and nephew."

"The consequences would be unimaginable."

Empress Dowager Zhang chuckled softly, a hint of smugness in her eyes, and said confidently, "There's no need to worry about this. Pei Yuan, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard that Zhao'er sent to handle this matter, is one of my men."

Zhang Heling was slightly surprised to hear this.

Zhang Yanling, however, was slightly lost in thought as he stared at the Empress Dowager's suddenly captivating charm.

Zhang Heling asked curiously, "He's just a commander of a thousand households, why would you pay attention to such a person, sister?"

Empress Dowager Zhang was also delighted by this unexpected surprise. "Do you remember what happened to that lowly maid Xia Qing last time? Zhang Rui gave me the idea that we could use the excuse that Xia Qing's palace had witchcraft to get rid of that lowly maid directly."

"Zhang Rui told me that because of the incident involving the sorcerer Li Zilong, the imperial court had a special office called the Zhenxie Qianhu Office. He happened to have some connections with the commander of that Zhenxie Qianhu Office, so he brought the commander, Pei Yuan, to see me."

Zhang Heling was always wary of the Xia family, fearing they would become the next Zhang family. After his son, Zhang Zong, accidentally killed a Xia family daughter, the two sides became irreconcilably at odds.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Heling couldn't help but ask, "Didn't the matter not get accomplished?"

Empress Dowager Zhang said, "That Pei Yuan is only an official in charge of the Zhenxie Thousand-Household Office. If we want to establish a witchcraft case, someone from Nanjing will have to come to convict him. I'm too lazy to waste time, so I had him fabricate another charge to get that lowly maid Xia Qing removed from Kunning Palace."

"I have moved Xia Qing to Zhuofang Garden, so she can slowly keep company with the rats there."

Zhang Heling originally wanted to remind Empress Dowager Zhang to eliminate the root of the problem, but seeing Empress Dowager Zhang's relieved expression, he didn't want to spoil her mood.

He then continued the conversation, saying, "Since Pei Yuan has served the Empress Dowager, he must be sensible. When I return, I will write a letter instructing him to handle this case thoroughly and teach those people a lesson."

Zhang Yanling couldn't help but say, "Since Zhang Rui has also gone to Shandong, why not let this lackey handle things? He's capable enough to bring down Zhang Yong."

Zhang Heling couldn't help but rebuke, "You know he's a lackey! Do you think you can rely on these people from the Eastern and Western Depots to move against a vassal king?"

After reprimanding Zhang Yanling, Zhang Heling turned to Empress Dowager Zhang and said gently, "We still have to let the Embroidered Uniform Guard handle this."

Empress Dowager Zhang praised, "You are so sensible. Tell that commander that if things are done well, he will be rewarded handsomely."

Zhang Heling then had a private discussion with the Empress Dowager about the rumors before leaving with Zhang Yanling.

While the power struggle in the capital was in full swing, Pei Yuan, who claimed to have "gone south to Shandong to cooperate with the investigation, only to be controlled by the border officials," was idly counting down the days in Yongqing Temple.

Initially, Pei Yuan came to Shandong to stand trial as a defendant in the "Yanggu Robbery Case".

As the trial progressed, Bian Xian, the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate who was presiding over the case, became the defendant.

Then, the plaintiffs in the "Yanggu robbery case" were all arrested because they were involved in collusion with bandits.

Pei Yuan's position as the defendant is quite awkward.

The other investigators were unsure of what the future would hold, so they placed Pei Yuan under house arrest at Yongqing Temple.

This approach is quite clever.

It can be said that she was quite like the Third Holy Mother who violated the heavenly rules and was subsequently suppressed under Mount Hua by the impartial Erlang Shen.

After watching the show, the onlookers felt that Erlang Shen was ruthless, cold-blooded, and unreasonable, but they couldn't help but admire his integrity and righteousness.

—If we disregard the fact that the Third Holy Mother is the goddess of Mount Hua.

Pei Yuan was then strictly detained in Yongqing Temple by the investigators.

Upon hearing that the chief of the Zhenxie Qianhu Office had personally arrived, the abbot of Yongqing Temple hurriedly led all the monks of the temple out to greet him.

The abbot of Yongqing Temple was well-informed and knew about the changes that occurred in the capital last month, as well as the trouble that had befallen Master Shi Buyi of Dayongchang Temple.

When the abbot saw that the second-in-command in charge of supervising religious customs had come in person, he thought that Shi Buyi's case had implicated him as well, and he was so frightened that he almost couldn't stand up.

Later, when they heard that Pei Yuan was staying here temporarily, the abbot wished he could move the Buddha statue in the hall to make room for this gentleman.

Thus, Pei Yuan was temporarily placed under house arrest at Yongqing Temple.

Pei Yuan knew that the matter was not something that the people who came to Shandong could decide, so he could only patiently wait for the court to give a further response.

only……

Pei Yuan had just rested at Yongqing Temple for two days when the temple unexpectedly welcomed three people.

He looked at Cao Xing, who was beaming with pride, with a bewildered expression, and asked somewhat helplessly, "No, you really found out where Li Mengyang is?"

Damn it, I'm just being blunt and saying whatever comes to mind.

You fucking put me on this pedestal like this, without even offering me a way out?
Pei Yuan looked at Cheng Leixiang as if he were an idiot. What the hell did you do with the people you're raising?
Cheng Leixiang was also somewhat helpless.

He didn't know why these two were acting so enthusiastically, like they were on steroids.

Besides, this was ordered by Commander Pei himself, so how could he stop him?
Should we tell them not to take it seriously, that Commander Pei was just talking nonsense?
Pei Yuan received several gigabytes of helplessness from Cheng Leixiang's gaze.

Pei Yuan could only deal with it himself, his scalp tingling with dread.

Horse riding.

You have to make amends for your own pretentious act.

Upon further inquiry, it was discovered that Li Mengyang was serving as the Vice Commissioner of Education in Jiangxi.

Helpless, Pei Yuan could only order Xiao Tong and Lu Yong to provide cover, while he took only Cheng Leixiang, Deng Liang and Cao Xing to fight Li Mengyang.

The journey was long and arduous, and they had no other common topics to discuss, so they just talked about Kang Hai and Li Mengyang's affairs. As a result, the four of them became angrier and angrier as they walked.

After traveling for more than ten days, we finally arrived in Nanchang, only to find that the Provincial Education Office was empty.

Upon further inquiry, it was discovered that Li Mengyang had offended the Prince of Huai and was awaiting punishment.

The four of them secretly discussed it and decided to disregard everything else; since they were already here, they might as well fight first.

(End of this chapter)