Ming Dynasty: A mere unruly commoner is rebelling against the heaven?

Chapter 256: Fire engulfs Xianfu Palace, and Concubine Shu’s life or death is uncertain!

The noise in the harem soon woke Zhu Youtang up.

He opened his eyes and heard the panicked cries of the palace maids and eunuchs.

Chen Yuanyuan had also woken up, and she was equally frightened and at a loss.

"Your Majesty, people outside are shouting that there is a fire. What is going on?"

Zhu Youtang frowned, feeling equally confused.

He reached out and patted Chen Yuanyuan on the shoulder, and said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, I will take care of it."

"Luo Xiang! What happened outside?"

As Zhu Youtang shouted, Luo Xiang, the head eunuch of the Jingshifang, ran in crying, knelt on the ground and said anxiously: "Your Majesty, there is a fire, there is a fire in the harem!!!"

Zhu Youtang stood up, his expression solemn: "Tell me clearly, where did the fire break out?"

"Your Majesty, there is a fire in Xianfu Palace, and the eunuchs in the palace are now busy putting out the fire!"

"Hanfu Palace?"

Knowing the location of the fire in the palace, Zhu Youtang was shocked and became extremely anxious.

Xianfu Palace, that was the bedroom of Concubine Zhang Wan'er. When Xianfu Palace caught fire, Zhang Wan'er was still inside!
Even Chen Yuanyuan, who was standing by, widened her eyes in surprise and covered her mouth.

Zhu Youtang hurriedly asked, "Did Concubine Shu come out safely?"

When this was mentioned, Luo Xiang felt panic in his heart. He was shaking with fear all over and even his voice began to tremble.

"Reply...Reply to Your Majesty...The eunuchs went to Xianfu Palace to put out the fire, but...but they still couldn't...find the Concubine Shu..."

"what?!"

Zhu Youtang frowned, feeling shocked and angry, and extremely anxious.

Shufei was pregnant with a prince, Zhu Youtang's first child.

If there is any mistake, Zhu Youtang will regret it deeply!
Zhu Youtang did not delay any longer, put on his clothes, and hurried out of the Yangxin Palace: "Let's go, follow me to the Xianfu Palace to put out the fire!"

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

Chen Yuanyuan was shocked and quickly chased after him, grabbing Zhu Youtang's hand and saying, "Your Majesty is worth a lot of money, how can you put yourself in danger? What if something bad happens to Your Majesty? What will we do?"

"The firefighting can be left to the eunuchs in the palace. Your Majesty can just stay in the Yangxin Palace and listen to them. Why do you need to go to that dangerous place in person?"

Luo Xiang also advised: "What Concubine Ning said makes sense. Your Majesty is of an extremely noble status. It is not easy for you to put yourself in danger."

"If His Majesty makes the slightest mistake, we servants will have our heads chopped off!"

Chen Yuanyuan and Luo Xiang’s concerns were not unreasonable, as they both put Zhu Youtang’s safety first.

Since the palace where the fire broke out was not in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, there was really no need for Zhu Youtang to go to the burning palace and personally lead the firefighting.

But Zhu Youtang was determined to go. He pulled Chen Yuanyuan's hand away and said resolutely: "No, the concubine is still in Xianfu Palace. She hasn't come out yet. I have to go."

"You can stay in the Yangxin Palace. Don't worry, I will be fine."

After saying this, Zhu Youtang turned around and quickly left the Yangxin Palace.

Luo Xiang had no choice but to jog all the way to catch up with Zhu Youtang.

As soon as he left the Yangxin Palace, Zhu Youtang was surrounded by a large number of the Tengxiang Four Guards stationed outside the Yangxin Palace.

They protected Zhu Youtang in the middle and guarded him closely.

To prevent thieves from taking advantage of the chaos and attacking Zhu Youtang.

After Zhu Youtang walked out of the Yangxin Palace, he didn't even sit on the dragon chariot, but ran quickly to the Xianfu Palace.

From a distance, Zhu Youtang smelled the choking smoke and saw a huge fire burning in the distance.

Along the way, Zhu Youtang saw teams of young eunuchs fetching water from the gates of various places in the palace and rushing to Xianfu Palace.

The so-called Menhai refers to a water tank placed in front of the palace gate, filled with clean water to prevent fire. It is a metaphor that the water in the tank is as abundant as the sea and can put out a fire.

There are more than three hundred gates in the Forbidden City, and there are several in front of each palace, enough to extinguish fires.

But the problem is that most of the buildings in the Forbidden City are wooden, and the fire was fierce. It would take a long time to put out the fire quickly relying solely on manpower.

If the people in the palace were not evacuated in time, there would still be a risk of death.

When Zhu Youtang arrived at the outskirts of Xianfu Palace, he saw thick smoke and raging flames.

The palace maids hid aside in panic, while the eunuchs, carrying wooden buckets, entered the Xianfu Palace in an orderly manner under the command of a eunuch to put out the fire.

The water in the eunuchs' buckets was just a drop in the bucket compared to the fire in Xianfu Palace.

The fire was still out of control, but at least it did not spread to other palaces.

Zhu Youtang noticed the eunuch who organized the disaster relief efforts in an orderly manner, and asked Luo Xiang beside him in a low voice.

"Who is this eunuch who organized the disaster relief?"

Luo Xiang quickly replied respectfully: "Your Majesty, it is Xiao Jing from the Palace Supervisor."

"Xiao Jing?"

Zhu Youtang tried hard to recall the name, and finally had some impression of him in his mind.

Xiao Jing was the eunuch most favored by Emperor Yingzong after his restoration.

He entered the palace to serve during the Zhengtong period. At that time, he was still young, about the same age as Wang Zhi when he entered the palace. Because of his intelligence, he was selected to study in the inner hall of the Silijian in the eleventh year of the Zhengtong period.

During the Jingtai period, all the eunuchs of the Zhengtong period were suppressed, and Xiao Jing also became unknown.

It was not until the Tianshun period that he began to emerge.

The eunuch whom Emperor Yingzong trusted the most was Wang Zhen, but during the Battle of Tumu, Wang Zhen was forced to death by both civil officials and border generals.

After Emperor Yingzong was restored to the throne, there were no trustworthy eunuchs around him.

Later, Emperor Yingzong discovered that Xiao Jing was careful and smart in his work, so he intended to promote him.

In the second year of Tianshun, he was promoted to Fengyu, and soon after, he was promoted to Zuojiancheng of the Imperial Household Department.

Later, Emperor Yingzong discovered that Xiao Jing was not only good at accounting, but also very good at riding and shooting, and his favor for Xiao Jing grew deeper and deeper.

In the fifth year of Tianshun, Yingzong promoted Xiao Jing to the position of Right Junior Supervisor, and then to Eunuch, and then to Assistant Supervisor, and also sent him to Jingzhou, Xiangyang and other places to do work.

At that time, Emperor Yingzong intended to train Xiao Jing to be the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department.

But the good times did not last long. In the eighth year of Tianshun, Yingzong died.

Xiao Jing, who was highly trusted by Emperor Yingzong, was squeezed out by Zhou and Li Xian, Peng Shi and others in the cabinet. From then on, he faded out of the power center of the Ming Dynasty and was sent to the Shengongjian to be in charge of fire.

In the third year of Chenghua, after Emperor Xianzong took power, he transferred Xiao Jing to the Inner Palace Supervisor, in charge of managing the storage of grain and salaries.

At the same time, he was asked to check the accounts and cashier and basically eliminate some of the past malpractices.

Not long after, Xiao Jing was promoted to the position of Assistant Secretary of the Imperial Household Department by Emperor Xianzong, and was ordered to investigate major cases in Wugang, Qizhou and other prefectures.

It was obvious that he was going to use Xiao Jing again.

Later, in the 23rd year of Chenghua, Emperor Xianzong died suddenly, and the cabinet and the harem began to purge Emperor Xianzong's followers.

Xiao Jing was not spared either. This time he was sent to Emperor Yingzong's mausoleum, Yuling, to burn incense.

Until recently, Zhu Youtang purged a group of eunuchs and palace maids in the palace, resulting in a serious shortage of staff in the palace.

Huai'en remembered this old eunuch, and transferred Xiao Jing back from Yuling to serve in the Zhidianjian.

This is just Xiao Jing's performance during the Zhengtong, Jingtai, Tianshun and Chenghua years.

Historically, as an old eunuch who served seven dynasties, Xiao Jing enjoyed more honors than this.

In the third year of Hongzhi, Emperor Xiaozong transferred Xiao Jing back to the Silijian as a secretary.

However, because Emperor Xiaozong had no power, Xiao Jing was never given an important position until the 18th year of Hongzhi, when Zhu Youtang entrusted Zhu Houzhao to Xiao Jing.

In the seventh year of Zhengde, after Liu Jin's death, Emperor Wuzong appointed Xiao Jing as the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department. After enduring for decades, Xiao Jing was finally given an important position.

When Emperor Wuzong left the palace to inspect the border and regain military power, he always let Xiao Jing stay in the capital.

The fact that Xiao Jing was able to stay in the capital as a eunuch shows how much trust Emperor Wuzong had in him.

This is a treatment that eunuchs in any dynasty have never enjoyed. Xiao Jing's importance to Emperor Wuzong is no less than that of Liu Jin.

It is worth noting that Xiao Jing himself was not among the Eight Tigers of Zhengde.

But for some reason, Xiao Jing himself has never been well-known in later generations, and he didn't even leave a bad reputation behind, which is strange.

In the 16th year of Zhengde, Emperor Wuzong died suddenly. Emperor Shizong succeeded to the throne and also wanted to continue to use Xiao Jing.

But over the past few decades, Xiao Jing had become fed up with being impeached by the cabinet and officials, and ultimately served Emperor Shizong for only one year. In the first year of the Jiajing reign, he retired.

After Emperor Sejong's repeated attempts to retain him were rejected, he could only grant him a very generous retirement package and let him live out his retirement in his private residence in the capital.

In the end, Xiao Jing died at the age of ninety, and Emperor Shizong buried Xiao Jing with the highest standards.

Xiao Jing can be regarded as a legend among the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty. He experienced ups and downs several times over decades, but he was always active in the power center of the Ming Dynasty, and he was able to withdraw unscathed and enjoy his old age.

Such a eunuch is definitely very wise.

Even though Zhu Youtang did not know Xiao Jing's life, after thinking about Xiao Jing's experiences in the first half of his life, he had already made up his mind to make use of Xiao Jing.

Zhu Youtang’s principle was that he would definitely use people whom Emperor Yingzong and Emperor Xianzong used.

However, Zhu Qiyu executed all the relatives of the ministers he trusted, but he still felt unsatisfied!
While Zhu Youtang was thinking, he had already arrived outside Xianfu Palace.

When they saw the emperor coming in person, the eunuchs and palace maids around them immediately knelt on the ground.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!"

Xiao Jing also saw Zhu Youtang and quickly knelt down to pay his respects.

Zhu Youtang waved his hand impatiently: "Everyone, get up, don't delay the firefighting."

"promise."

The eunuchs quickly stood up and continued to carry buckets of water to put out the fire.

Zhu Youtang looked at Xiao Jing: "Where is Concubine Shu? Has she come out yet?"

Xiao Jing frowned, tears welling up in his eyes, and he blamed himself: "This servant deserves death, the Concubine Shu...she is still in the palace, the fire is too big, and the servants can't get close at all..."

"Crack!!!"

Before Xiao Jing could finish his words, there was a sudden explosion in Xianfu Palace.

The fierce fire caused half of the roof of Xianfu Palace to collapse!
(End of this chapter)