Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 484: Heartbreak and Heartbreak
The small training ground in front of the Inner East Depot's prison was already filled with people of all heights. Two chairs were placed on the platform for selecting generals. The left one was occupied by Wang An, the eunuch holding the seal of the Imperial Household Department, a favorite of the Emperor. The right one was surprisingly empty. If Cui Wensheng, the head of the East Depot and its commander, wasn't present, then the empty chair wouldn't be surprising. But Cui Wensheng was clearly standing on the platform.

This clearly meant that someone higher in rank than Cui Wensheng, but not higher than Wang An, had yet to arrive. If one only counted the palace, there were very few such people, and it wasn't hard to guess that some shrewd minds had already anticipated this.

Another half-minute passed before the mystery was solved. A clatter of horses and people echoed past, and Han Benyong, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Stables, appeared before the crowd, wearing the same dragon-draped robe as Wang An. He was accompanied by fifty attendants. After greeting Wang An and Cui Wensheng, Han Benyong took the seat next to Wang An as expected.

All the people who should have come had arrived. The military officers of the East Factory, led by the four captains He Mengzhun, Wang Pingjing, Wen Gongyin, and Zhang Chongzhao, all bowed and paid their respects to the eunuchs.

This scene reminded the military officers of the grand ceremony that morning. But that was a major happy event, while they were probably gathered here to attend someone's funeral.

The order to summon the military officers of the East Factory was brought by Wang An, and Han Benyong was also invited by Wang An. Han Benyong could roughly guess that Wang An invited him to the East Factory because of that damning rumor, but Han Benyong did not know the specific content of the order, so at this moment, like everyone else, he looked at Wang An silently.

Wang An took a deep breath and slowly stood up: "There is an order!"

It was indeed an imperial decree! With a clatter, the military officers, who had just stood up, knelt down again. Unlike when they had just paid their respects, this time they lay on the ground in a gesture of submission and attentive listening.

Soon, Wang An was the only person standing in the entire training ground.

"East Factory Admiral Cui Wensheng heard it!"

Cui Wensheng was stunned. He hadn't expected that the first sentence of this decree would be addressed to him alone. Cui Wensheng quickly kowtowed. "Your servant respectfully awaits the decree."

"Since its establishment by Emperor Chengzu Wen, the East Factory has served as the emperor's eyes and ears, its primary mission being to investigate and uncover rebellious acts and report them to the sovereign. How dare you, Cui Wensheng, learn of false prophecies that defame the emperor's mercy and slander me without reporting them to me?"

Cui Wensheng was stunned. Of course he had signed up, but he hadn't performed in person.

"Your selfishness is nothing more than 'not touching the enemy's skin, being prudent and protecting yourself'! According to our ancestral family rules, you should be dismissed from your post, questioned, and severely punished. However, considering your contribution to the Tanggu case, I will reduce your punishment according to family rules as a warning. I order Han Benyong, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Horses, to lead the strong men of the department to beat this servant with twenty lashes of the cane! I will also order Wang An, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, to oversee the punishment."

Han Benyong responded in a loud voice: "I obey your order!"

Cui Wensheng was completely dumbfounded. What was this? Just give him twenty strokes of the cane! How could his old ass survive another beating?
"Grandfather! This..." Cui Wensheng quickly crawled to Wang An's feet. He instinctively wanted to tell Wang An what he had told him, but he was not so anxious that he would lose his mind and accuse the Imperial Household Department in front of so many people. So he just said, "You must save me!"

"Kneel down!" Wang An didn't look at him. "The master's order hasn't been announced yet."

"Yes!" Cui Wensheng lay down again with a sense of panic.

"Although you, Cui Wensheng, may have harbored some petty selfishness, your loyalty remains undiminished. Although I am deeply saddened by the false prophecy, I also consider your frail health and injuries. If you cannot endure and succumb to the caning, I will also be slightly wounded. This caning will be a temporary punishment. If you can make meritorious contributions while serving your sentence, lead the East Factory to solve this case, and apprehend this disrespectful traitor, I will spare you the punishment of your family. I decree this!"

Cui Wensheng let out a long breath. "I thank you, my master, for your grace! I will repay my crime with merit and apprehend the traitor!"

"Imperial decree!" There was another order. "East Factory Admiral Cui Wensheng has heard it!"

"I await your imperial edict." Cui Wensheng's slightly relaxed nerves tensed up again.

"Immediately dispatch personnel to arrest Wuqing Marquis Li Mingcheng, Yangwu Marquis Xue Lian, Pingjiang Earl Chen Qisi, Boping Earl Guo Zhenming, and their descendants. Besiege and lock their homes, and forbid anyone from entering or leaving! This is my order!"

"Your servant Cui Wensheng will obey the imperial edict!" Cui Wensheng felt relieved and immediately kowtowed to the leader.

"Master Han, let's go." Wang An obviously had no intention of staying.

"Are we still going to the Western Factory?" Han Benyong's political sense was quite sharp, and he guessed what the emperor meant at once.

"Yes." Wang An nodded, adding something unnecessary. "Wei Zhongxian has no job, and he's definitely going to get the beating."

"Since there's an order, let's fight." Han Benyong shrugged and waved to the head of the entourage. "Mount your horses, let's go!"

"Yes!"

The two seals rode away on horseback, and Cui Wensheng resumed his position as the top man in the East Depot.

"He Mengzhun, the Eastern Captain!" Cui Wensheng called out loudly.

"I'm here!" He Mengzhun clasped his fists and waited for orders.

"Gather your troops, march out of the city, surround Tsinghua Garden, and capture the traitors! Don't let a single dog escape! If my old ass gets spanked by Old Ancestor Han, I'll spank yours!" Cui Wensheng was in a good mood, even in the mood for a joke. The phrase "Considering your frail body and injuries" in the decree still touched Cui Wensheng deeply. Even if those injuries were inflicted by the Western Factory under the Emperor's command.

"Yes!" He Mengzhun shouted in response, turning around and giving an order. "Everyone from the East Thousand Households Unit, follow me!"

"Yes!" Dozens of military officers turned around at the same time and rushed out of the training ground like a gust of wind.

Behind them, Cui Wensheng's order was passed on to Wang Pingjing, the Southern Captain.

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At dusk, the government offices were disbanding, and the palace gates were about to close.

At the gate of Yongshou Palace, the foreman Sun Dian was waiting quietly with a number of palace servants on duty. Concubine Shen, Empress Mi, was about to return, and they had come out to greet her.

A steady stream of footsteps approached from afar. As the sedan chair turned into the alley, the palace servants, led by Sun Dianzheng, bowed their bodies and assumed a waiting posture.

"May Empress Mi be well." When the sedan chair landed, the palace maids bowed respectfully in unison.

The bearer lowered the sedan chair pole, and Mi Mengshang gently jumped down from the sedan chair. "Hey, stand up straight."

Mi Mengshang disliked this exclusive pomp and ceremony, which made her feel like an outlier within the Yongshou Palace. Yet, she had to accept it, otherwise she would be considered an outlier among the concubines. Even if Mi Mengshang accepted the ceremonial reception and guards of honor, she would still be an outlier, for the freedom of travel and treatment granted to her by the emperor far surpassed those of ordinary concubines and even imperial consorts. In terms of sheer pomp and ceremony, only Imperial Consorts Kang and Zhuang surpassed her by a slight margin. Adding to this the "salary" that transcended the ranks of concubines, Mi Mengshang's treatment within the palace rivaled even that of Imperial Consort Zheng.

"Your Majesty," Mi Mengshang had just stepped over the front rail of the sedan chair when Sun Dianzheng came up to greet her, smiling, "The Emperor has commanded you to go to the Qianqing Palace upon your return." To Sun Dianzheng, this meant he was about to visit Mi Mengshang. But Mi Mengshang saw it differently. She was stunned for a moment, but soon her eyes and voice trembled, "Okay, I'll go right away. Go and get Sister Gu as well." Sister Gu's full name was Gu Pan, and she was the one of the eight maids in Yongshou Palace who was most capable of pleasing the Emperor in bed.

Sun Dianzheng shook his head and said with a smile, "Eunuch Shi made it clear when he came to deliver the message. The Emperor only wants you to go alone."

Mi Mengshang's face gradually turned pale. She was keenly aware that the emperor probably didn't want to favor her alone.

Inside the eastern warm room of the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Zhu Changluo had shed his imperial formal attire and, dressed in comfortable, plain casual attire, sat on a bed by the window. To his left lay a square cushion, allowing him to lean back and relax at any time. To his right was a small wooden coffee table. On it lay a stack of unbound book pages, two plates of freshly baked cakes, a steaming cup of tea, and a silk handkerchief.

In the corner of the warm room stood a small charcoal stove, a kettle of hot water warming on it. Next to the stove, on the open space, stood a small wooden table, upon which sat several pots of water of varying temperatures. The painted pottery kettle, the small stove, and the two eunuchs guarding the stove were all there to serve the steaming cup of tea.

If the emperor did not give any special instructions, the two eunuchs would replace the emperor's tea with a new one every once in a while to ensure that the emperor would not have to drink cold old tea and could still drink warm water in time when he wanted.

"Master," Shi Fuming's cautious voice drifted in from the crack of the door at the entrance to the warm room. "Empress Mi from Yongshou Palace has arrived."

"Let her in." Zhu Changluo did not put down the book in his hand because of Mi Mengshang's arrival.

"Yes." When Shi Fuming heard the call, he immediately instructed the eunuch on duty to open the door a crack just enough for one person to enter. After Mi Mengshang stepped over the threshold and walked through the crack into the east warm room, Shi Fuming immediately closed the door again.

"I, Mi Mengshang, pay my respects to the emperor." Mi Mengshang came to the emperor, lifted up her clothes, knelt down and kowtowed to the ground.

Zhu Changluo ignored her and let her kneel like that.

The two eunuchs serving tea didn't initially think anything was wrong, waiting for the emperor to call Mi Niangniang to his feet and order tea. But when the emperor put down the page he had finished reading and picked up a new one, without calling Mi Niangniang to her feet, they realized something was amiss. The two eunuchs exchanged glances, each seeing a look of bewilderment in the other's eyes. They wanted to leave, but without the emperor's permission, they couldn't.

Even the eunuch, standing by the sidelines, could sense the gradually growing oppressive atmosphere. How could Mi Mengshang, crouching at the emperor's feet, not sense it? Mi Mengshang began to tremble, her heartbeat accelerating, and her pale face began to turn red, a blush of extreme nervousness.

Half a minute later, Zhu Changluo heard soft sobbing.

Zhu Changluo's heart softened slightly, but he still didn't wake Mi Mengshang. He glanced at the clock inconspicuously and turned to read a new page.

The two eunuchs' teeth began to chatter, because in a short while it would be time to change the emperor's tea. If the emperor used this as an opportunity to attack his favorite concubine, or if they used this as a warning to the monkey, they might even lose their lives.

When the time came, the eunuch who was changing the teacup finally stood up. He wanted to slap himself to calm himself down, at least to stop his hands from shaking. If the teacup fell over, it would be all over.

The eunuch came to the emperor with his head lowered and carefully picked up the cup of tea that was still warm.

"Change to this one and get out. Let Shi Fuming get out of the palace as well." Zhu Changluo put down the page of the book in his hand and finally did not pick up a new one.

"Yes." The eunuch felt relieved, as if he had been pardoned, and felt that his soul was about to float up to the sky.

Another eunuch quickly brought a cup of new tea, and then he and his companions fled from the warm room with the kettle and stove.

"You're here." Zhu Changluo raised his head and looked down at Mi Mengshang.

The emperor's cold tone added a lot of sadness to Mi Mengshang's panic. "I, Mi Mengshang, pay my respects to the emperor." With a choked voice, Mi Mengshang kowtowed heavily to the emperor.

Mi Mengshang was young after all, and her forehead hadn't yet developed the calluses that an old eunuch might have. When she bumped into him, his forehead immediately turned red. If it weren't for the hat that matched her Feiyu suit, it would have bled.

This pain that went straight to the depths of her mind triggered Mi Mengshang's tears to burst out completely, and she couldn't stop crying.

"Look up." Zhu Changluo ordered.

"Yes." Mi Mengshang bit her lip and looked up, immediately meeting the emperor's scrutinizing gaze. Fortunately, she wasn't wearing glasses, and her eyes were blurred by tears, otherwise she would have been frightened by the fierce gleam in the emperor's eyes.

But even though Mi Mengshang could only see the outline of distrust, the panic and grievance in his heart still deepened. "Your Majesty, why do you look at me like this?"

"Why, huh? Is there anything in this world that you, Mi Juzheng, don't know?" Zhu Changluo hardened his heart and spoke harshly. "I ask you, why did you come to the Qianqing Palace the day before yesterday?"

"." Mi Mengshang was heartbroken. She shook her head sadly and didn't want to explain.

"Speak!" Zhu Changluo said firmly.

"If I tell you, will the emperor believe it?" Mi Mengshang asked sadly.

"Not necessarily." Zhu Changluo suddenly became honest.

"Then what else does the emperor ask?" There is no greater sorrow than a dead heart. Mi Mengshang felt extremely aggrieved, and her answer actually sounded quite self-destructive and like she had given up on herself.

"Okay." Zhu Changluo actually smiled. "If you don't want to talk about it, forget it. I won't listen. Someone come!"

"Master!" Although Shi Fuming had already left the Qianqing Palace, he was still waiting nearby. As soon as he heard the call, he immediately took his men and broke through the two doors and rushed in.

"I'll tell you! I'll tell you!" Mi Mengshang hurriedly knelt down and took two steps forward. She realized that if she really lost her temper, she would probably never see this heartless man again. "I'll tell you everything!"

Shi Fuming was bewildered by the current situation and could only smile awkwardly and ask, "May I ask what your orders are, Master?"

"Get out." Zhu Changluo waved at Shi Fuming.

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)