Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 108: It’s broken, I’m a substitute!

As the incident escalated, the atmosphere in the Qianqing Palace became increasingly weird.

These arrogant eunuchs in the past tucked their buttocks in and tightened their necks, fearing that they would displease their master.

Just after noon that day, Emperor Wanli walked into the palace angrily from outside.

As soon as he sat on the dragon throne, he began to grunt like two buffaloes, spewing out two streams of white air.

After taking several deep breaths, he held his forehead with one hand and pointed at Wei Qing with the other, shouting, "Go, call Zhang Yunxiu here for me. I want to ask him who gave him the courage to go into the temple to investigate the case."

Just now, his mother called him to the Cining Palace and scolded him.

He was sitting in the palace, and the pot came from the sky.

Upon inquiry, it turned out that the Jinyiwei rushed to Zhaoning Temple and turned the temple upside down. The most infuriating thing was that these guys said they were following their orders. This was a false imperial decree!
Emperor Wanli was sulking for a long time, and Wei Qing finally brought Zhang Yunxiu to the Qianqing Palace.

As Zhang Yunxiu was about to pay his respects, Emperor Wanli's face flushed red, and he pointed at Zhang Yunxiu and asked, "Zhang Yunxiu, when did I ever let you go to the Zhaoning Temple to investigate a case?

Tell me, if you don't explain clearly, don't blame me for beating you!"

After exchanging a glance with Wei Qing, Zhang Yunxiu said calmly, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten that I submitted a memorial to you three days ago?"

"Yes, that's true." Emperor Wanli nodded, and then said, "But that was to discuss how many ships you would build and how many soldiers you would need to go out to sea to make money for me next year. When did I agree that you could go to Zhaoning Temple and use force against those monks?"

"Your Majesty, this is what happened." Zhang Yunxiu explained in detail with a thick face, "That day, I asked for a certain number of warships, a certain number of boats, a certain number of soldiers, and a certain number of civilians. You were impatient to listen, and before I could even finish reading the rest, you agreed to everything."

"You are such a sly fellow! How dare you trick me into climbing into the chimney?"

Emperor Wanli clapped his hands and smiled, and the anger on his face mostly disappeared.

"Your Majesty, this is the only choice. Besides, the emperor's words are golden and he cannot take them back once he has spoken." Zhang Yunxiu smiled awkwardly and took the opportunity to take two steps towards the emperor's seat.

"Alright, alright, you've already gone in, can I still ask you to leave?" Emperor Wanli waved his hand and leaned forward to ask, "Does that Flower Monk really deserve to die?"

"I have found a witness, and this is his testimony." Zhang Yunxiu said, taking out a confession from his arms.

Emperor Wanli waved his hand, and Wei Qing sat down on the steps, took it from Zhang Yunxiu, and handed it to Emperor Wanli.

Emperor Wanli snatched it away, took a quick look at it, and suddenly felt a surge of anger.

He frowned and cursed with gritted teeth: "What a bald monk, saying 'Amitabha' on the lips, but secretly doing all kinds of things like theft and prostitution!"

"Your Majesty, as long as we find that woman, we can close the case and clear Zhao Yong's name." Zhang Yunxiu struck while the iron was hot and continued, "There are idiots in the Zhaoning Temple alone. The world is so big that there must be many idiots. I ask Your Majesty to examine all the monks in the world and force all those who fail to meet the requirements to return to secular life."

Now, Emperor Wanli hesitated.

If he only punished one person, he might be somewhat confident. But if he punished all the monks in the world, wouldn't that be going against his mother?
"emperor."

Zhang Yunxiu was about to say something, but the Wanli Emperor waved his hand as if to shoo away a fly, urging him, "Alright, go down first and find that woman. Once you find her, I will definitely clear Zhao Yong's name."

"I obey your order." Zhang Yunxiu said solemnly and stepped out of the palace.

The sky cleared up a little, and warm sunlight poured down from the dome, sprinkling on the snow, forming a series of staggered spots of light.

Zhang Yunxiu walked out of the palace gate quickly with brisk steps.

Half a month passed in a flash. Most of the Jinyiwei were mobilized and searched around the capital for half a month, but they couldn't find the woman.

Zhang Yunxiu was in trouble.

Unable to find the victim, the testimony in his hand became useless.

At noon that day, the two brothers went to the official hall of Jinyiwei and sat down with the etiquette of host and guest.

Zhang Jianxiu frowned and said with emotion: "This is really weird. It's like this woman disappeared out of thin air."

"We checked the latest files of Shuntian Prefecture, and no women have gone missing recently."

"Is it possible that he is not from Shuntian Prefecture?" Zhang Yunxiu suddenly asked.

"That's possible." Zhang Jianxiu nodded, then smiled bitterly and said, "If she is not from Shuntian Prefecture, then the area is very wide. We can run around and still not be able to find that woman."

"Then can Huixin's testimony alone prove that Zhao Yong had a reason for his actions?"

"The victim is not here, it's terrible."

"But it can also save his life, right?" Zhang Yunxiu asked.

"His life can probably be saved, and I heard from the eunuch in charge of the Cining Palace that the Empress Dowager Li has softened her tone a lot. It seems that the testimony of our monk Huixin has also had a significant impact on the Empress Dowager Li." Zhang Jianxiu nodded.

"That's good. Save your life first. We still have two months left anyway."

Zhang Yunxiu breathed a sigh of relief, and his tense spirit relaxed a lot. Zhang Jianxiu nodded and suggested, "That's right, then you should go back and have a rest. We can talk about it tomorrow if there is anything."

The two discussed the case for a while and then went their separate ways.

After Zhang Yunxiu arrived at the Northern Pacification Office, he did not return to the Grand Secretary's residence, but went directly to Zheng Xier's residence.

When he arrived, Zheng Xier had changed into a snow-white velvet cotton robe and was standing at the door with a smile on her face.

"Son."

"Ask the kitchen to prepare two hot dishes, and have a good rest today." Zhang Yunxiu said, and walked straight to their bedroom without stopping. Zheng Xier gave a few instructions and followed closely behind him.

Entering the bedroom, Zheng Xier skillfully took off Zhang Yunxiu's clothes and brought him household clothes.

After taking the clothes and changing them, Zhang Yunxiu sat down on the dark wooden table. Zheng Xier blinked her almond-shaped eyes and said with a smile, "Young Master, you haven't come to see Xier for some time." "I've been too busy lately." Rubbing the wings of his nose, Zhang Yunxiu replied tiredly.

Zheng Xier stopped acting like a spoiled child and walked gently behind her lover, massaging his shoulders with her delicate hands.

Zhang Yunxiu closed his eyes tightly, his face full of enjoyment.

"Sir, if you have any troubles recently, can you talk to Xier about it?" Zheng Xier glanced at Zhang Yunxiu's profile and asked softly.

"Forget it, I'm tired." Zhang Yunxiu shook his head.

"Okay, since you don't want to say it, Xier won't ask." Zheng Xier smiled brightly and took the opportunity to press her body against Zhang Yunxiu's back. Now, Zhang Yunxiu felt a warm and soft feeling on his back.

Even the woman's fragrant breath sprayed on his neck.

In an instant, Zhang Yunxiu's face turned red.

Zheng Xier curled her lips, and began to caress Zhang Yunxiu's back with her hands, and a seductive voice came from her lips: "Sir, Xier's massage is quite comfortable."

"Okay, come on, sit back down and let's talk."

"it is good."

Zheng Xier sat opposite Zhang Yunxiu, and their eyes met. Zhang Yunxiu felt as if there was a fire in Zheng Xier's eyes shooting towards him.

Unable to bear the woman's gaze, Zhang Yunxiu changed the subject and said, "By the way, Xier, I heard from Zhang Fu that our business has been better recently than last month. You have made an indispensable contribution to this."

"It's all thanks to the young master's good teaching. Xier doesn't dare to take credit for it." Zheng Xier shook her head.

"How are your father and brother? They have been here for a while, I haven't met them yet, how about we meet them some other day?"

"Thank you for your concern, sir. They are all fine. Xier arranged for them to work in a cloth shop."

Afterwards, the two of them asked and answered more than ten questions in a row. Zhang Yunxiu was at a loss for words and laughed at himself, "I thought I was a good talker, but I didn't expect you to be so talkative, so smooth and quick."

"Does the young master like it?"

Zheng Xier asked.

Zhang Yunxiu smiled, hesitated for a long time, and finally told him about the troubles he had encountered recently.

In fact, Zheng Xier had known about it for a long time, but since Zhang Yunxiu didn't say anything, she didn't want to dwell on it too much.

As soon as the voice fell, Zheng Xier lowered her head to think for a moment, then suddenly raised her head and said, "Sir, Xier has thought of a solution."

"Tell me?"

"Xi'er can say that, but Xi'er has helped you so much, you have to reward her well."

"Okay, stop keeping me in suspense and tell me now."

Zhang Yunxiu smiled and nodded. Zheng Xier stood up, looked directly at Zhang Yunxiu, and said, "Since we haven't found the woman after searching for a long time, it means that she must have been hidden by someone."

"Hide it in a place where you can't find it."

"Aren't you talking nonsense?"

Zhang Yunxiu glared and muttered.

"Since we can't find it, why don't we just let you decide who it is?" Zheng Xier smiled and directly stated the solution.

hiss.
Yup!

He could easily find a substitute for that woman. Since that woman was hidden by someone, the woman in his hand was the "real person".

If the person who hid the woman wants to expose himself, he must hand over the woman.

If he can't take it out, hehe, then the person in his hand is the real one.

After thinking about this, Zhang Yunxiu suddenly understood.

"Xier, you are really our female Zhuge Liang!" Smilingly holding the beauty in his arms, Zhang Yunxiu gave her a big kiss on her pink cheek.

Zheng Xier raised her eyebrows, took the opportunity to hook her delicate hands around Zhang Yunxiu's neck, and said with a sweet breath, "Xier doesn't want to be your female Zhuge Liang. Xier wants to be your little woman."

"Don't worry, you can't run away tonight." Zhang Yunxiu smiled.

"Yeah." Zheng Xier blushed and nodded.

"Go and wash up first. We need to talk to Han San about something later. After you finish washing up, wait for us here." Zhang Yunxiu gave a few instructions and quickly walked out of the bedroom.

After being summoned by Zhang Fu, Han San came in the wind and snow.

Before he could even salute, Zhang Yunxiu waved his hand and ordered, "Starting tomorrow, you will take people to secretly search Hebei and find a reliable woman, and bring her back to the capital."

"Yes, sir." Han Sanyi clasped his fists and responded respectfully.

"Be secretive. Once you find a suitable woman, don't linger and come back quickly. This woman must be smart and try not to let anyone see any flaws."

"Sir, are you trying to pass off the fake as the real thing?"

"Yes, we are going to make the fake look real." Zhang Yunxiu clapped his hands, stared at Han San, and said in a calm voice: "No matter whether that woman has run to the ends of the earth or is hidden by someone, our trick is to force her out."

Han San also thought that this plan was feasible, so he took the mission and left.

(End of this chapter)