Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 22: Purification

On the way from the West Wing to the South Study, neither Wang An, the leader, nor Wei Jinzhong, the follower, spoke. Wang An didn't know Wei Jinzhong, so there was nothing to say. Wei Jinzhong was itching to go, but he knew how to behave, so he kept quiet until Wang An spoke.

When Wei Jinzhong entered the Southern Study, he discovered that the emperor was sitting on an awkward-looking chair. Apart from the straight legs, everything else on the chair was crooked.

Zhu Youxiao was truly a natural carpenter. He could roughly measure his father's height, three dimensions and the curvature of his spine with just his eyes, and then made a very advanced ergonomic chair for his father out of wood.

The chair features adjustable armrests and a neck support for height and tilt. Zhu Youxiao also carved slots in these two locations, as well as in the lower back, for replaceable soft velvet cushions. The only drawback is that Zhu Youxiao over-imagined his father, the emperor, and the chair itself was a bit too high. But that's okay; just replace it with a table.

So Zhu Changluo was very satisfied and planned to find a time to give Zhu Youxiao a firm hug. He didn't know if the child would be embarrassed. But Zhu Youxiao didn't seem to have a rebellious period.

"Your servant Wang An pays homage to the Emperor, may His Majesty live forever!" Even if the Emperor knew who I was, I still had to announce my name. Since no one else was making the statement, I had to do it myself.

"Your servant Wei Jinzhong pays homage to the emperor, may he live long!" Since the emperor was looking for Wei Jinzhong, he could not call himself Li Jinzhong.

"Wang An, please stand up and sit down." Zhu Changluo did not intend to let Wei Jinzhong stand up.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Wang An stood up and went to his workstation to start working.

"Are you Wei Jinzhong?" Zhu Changluo asked knowingly.

"Your Majesty, I am Wei Jinzhong." The emperor didn't ask him to look up, so he could only rest his head on the floor.

"Wei Jinzhong. This name is not good (not completely loyal), let's change it to Wei Zhongxian. I hope you are both loyal and virtuous." Zhu Changluo said in a flat tone.

"I bow to thank the emperor for his grace!" Wei Zhongxian consciously performed the ritual of five bows and three kowtows.

"I heard from Wei Chao that you have always been very honest. Are you honest?" Zhu Changluo asked.

"This servant is not honest." Wei Zhongxian began to sweat. He knew very well that today's conversation would determine whether he would die or be promoted.

"Tell me, what's wrong with you?" Zhu Changluo put down the memorial in his hand and stared at Wei Zhongxian intently.

"I castrated myself," Wei Zhongxian replied.

"I know, next one." Zhu Changluo tapped the table rhythmically with his knuckles.

"When I was young, I was uneducated and idle. I sold my own daughter to pay off my gambling debts!" ​​Wei Zhongxian was determined to take the risk. He could only gamble that the factory guards had checked his past and that the emperor would not mind this matter.

"Wang An, did you hear that?" Zhu Changluo looked at Wang An.

Wang An was surprised. The emperor was going to reopen the Western Factory, so he wouldn't invite an insignificant person to chat and play at this time. But he really didn't expect that the person the emperor invited would be so shameless. "Your Majesty, I heard it."

"Continue." Zhu Changluo ordered.

Wei Zhongxian was trembling all over. He felt a pair of large hands gripping his neck, with the thumb on his throat, as if ready to crush it at any moment. Wei Zhongxian was about to faint, so he could only bite the tip of his tongue to force himself to wake up. "Your Majesty, this servant has an affair with Keshi."

Keshi, who is this person? Wang An pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized. Ke Yinyue! Isn't this Wei Chao's concubine? Wang An developed a physical aversion to Wei Zhongxian. If the emperor weren't here, he would immediately order Wei Zhongxian to be expelled, and then find any excuse to drive him out of the palace.

"Wang An, find a time to get Keshi out of the palace! The eldest prince doesn't need a wet nurse anymore." Although Zhu Changluo was speaking to Wan An, his eyes were still fixed on Wei Zhongxian. "As for Wei Chao, let's keep it a secret. After all, Wei Dianshan and Wei Chao are good friends. Don't you agree, Wei Dianshan?"

"Your Majesty, yes! I am a shameless villain." Wei Zhongxian's throat moved and he swallowed the blood in his mouth.

Zhu Changluo nodded and said slowly, "You're ambitious, which is good. But you have to understand that anyone who climbs up by stepping on the corpses of others will eventually become a corpse themselves. Perhaps even hanged." "Wang An, you have to be careful of Eunuch Wei. Don't let him take advantage of you." Zhu Changluo sneered, frightening Wei Zhongxian, who was almost lying on the ground.

"I know." Wang An looked at Wei Zhongxian coldly, his eyes full of contempt.

"Wei Jinzhong, Li Jinzhong, Wei Zhongxian, come! Stand up! Look around." Zhu Changluo ordered.

"I obey your order." Wei Zhongxian stood up, but only saw the emperor and the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department.

"I admire your ambition and am pleased that you haven't hidden anything from me, so I'm willing to give you a chance. Now, the only ones who know about your messed-up deeds are me and Wang An. But I intend to maintain your image as an honest person so that you can serve me well. Do you understand?" Zhu Changluo suddenly raised his voice, changing his tapping on the table into a slamming sound: "Don't look away! Look into my eyes!"

Wei Zhongxian knelt on the ground and looked up at the emperor: "This servant will obey the emperor's order."

He felt like he was looking directly into a temperatureless black sun, and those all-seeing eyes seemed to be sucking away his soul.

Tears filled with fear flowed uncontrollably, but he dared not close his eyes and could only let his soul be stretched and torn apart.

"Very good, it's over." Zhu Changluo turned his anger into a smile and quietly put his right hand away. He used a little too much force, it hurt, it must have turned red. "Get up."

"Thank you, Lord!" Wei Zhongxian breathed a sigh of relief. His bet had paid off. The Emperor knew everything about him, but he was still prepared to use him.

All his filth from the past thirty years had been laid bare. He could no longer be the most powerful person in the inner court, but being a good servant of the Emperor under the Emperor's command, Wang Zhangyin, was a wonderful thing. At least he had truly made a name for himself.

"I plan to reopen the Western Investigation Bureau, and you will be the commander of this Western Investigation Bureau." Zhu Changluo's tone was like someone ordering food in a restaurant. "Wang An, please give our commander Wei a pen. Can you read?"

"Your Majesty, I cannot read." Wei Zhongxian answered honestly.

"Then ask a literate person to be your deputy and teach you how to read. What do you think of Wei Chao? You two have the same surname, so I think you can get along well." Zhu Changluo asked Wei Zhongxian for his opinion with a smile.

"I thank Your Majesty for your instruction." Wei Zhongxian knelt down to express his gratitude.

"Wang An, take him away. I'm tired." Zhu Changluo said this, but he still picked up a memorial. "Well, the complaint submitted by the Ministry of Revenue, it seems it will be soon." Zhu Changluo muttered to himself.

"Wei Bingbi, come with me." Wang An snorted coldly.

"Ancestor, where are we going?" Wei Zhongxian had a bad feeling.

"You castrated yourself. There is no such rule in the Forbidden City. Now that I know this, I have to take you for a check-up." Wang An glanced at Wei Zhongxian's lower body.

Finished!

"Yes."

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(End of this chapter)