Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 14 Harming the Prince and Stealing the Sun
In order to seize the residence of the Grand Princess Ning'an, Wei Zhongxian even murdered members of the imperial family!
The Li Chengen he murdered was the great-uncle of both the Tianqi and Chongzhen Emperors!

Princess Ning'an was Taichang's great-aunt and Wanli's aunt!
My dear.

Could an emperor tolerate such a thing?

If it were the legitimate Chongzhen Emperor, Zhu Youjian, he would absolutely not tolerate this.

Fortunately, Zhu Jue is not Zhu Youjian.

Although he was getting angry, he was still able to hold back.

This is because he was not Zhu Youjian, and Li Chengen had nothing to do with him.

However, this matter cannot be left unresolved.

Wei Zhongxian dared to harm even imperial relatives; if he wasn't given a stern warning, he might really turn the world upside down.

He thought for a moment, then announced loudly, "Summon Wei Zhongxian to come and pay his respects."

Wei Zhongxian arrived quickly.

Seeing that Wang Chengen was already holding the memorial and ready to read it, this fellow still respectfully performed the court etiquette between ruler and subject, without showing the slightest sign of panic.

The saying goes, "A dead pig isn't afraid of boiling water," meaning he's gotten used to being impeached so many times.

However, when Wang Chengen read the contents of the memorial aloud, he was so frightened that he trembled a little.

Could the young emperor tolerate such a thing?

Zhu Jue said coldly, "Wei Zhongxian, tell me honestly, is this true or not?"

Can I say it's not true?

At this moment, Madam Ke is staying at the residence of the Grand Princess Ning'an!
Wei Zhongxian's eyes darted around for a moment before he said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. When Yinyue heard that the Grand Princess Ning'an's residence was the largest and most luxurious in the capital, she insisted that I get it for her."

"Your humble servant originally intended to buy it at a high price and give it to Yinyue, but Li Chengen absolutely refused to sell. I visited him many times to plead, but he still wouldn't agree. I have no other choice."

Mrs. Ke is probably mentally ill.

Princess Ning'an was Jiajing's most beloved daughter, Longqing's most beloved younger sister, and Wanli's aunt. Naturally, her mansion was the largest and most luxurious in the capital.

This woman is actually jealous of this!
Would Li Chengen dare to sell this mansion?
That was the face of several generations of emperors; even if Li Chengen was so poor he had nothing to eat, he wouldn't dare sell the mansion.

If you have no other choice, throw the father and daughter into the imperial prison and torture them to death!
How can an emperor tolerate something like this?
Where can I put my face now?

Zhu Jue grew angrier the more he thought about it, and he said rather angrily, "Don't you know who Li Chengen is? Even my brother and I have to call him great-uncle!"

He doesn't seem to have lost his temper since he ascended the throne.

Wei Zhongxian trembled with fear and exclaimed, "Your Majesty, please forgive me, I know I was wrong."

Is it enough that you admit you were wrong?

Zhu Jue took a deep breath, then said coldly, "Tell me yourself, what are you going to do?"

So, you're saying you'll let me off the hook?

Wei Zhongxian's eyes darted around for a moment, then he hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I will have Yin Yue move out and return the mansion to Your Majesty. As for the 500,000 mu of farmland, I will have someone return it to the Beijing Garrison immediately."

Fortunately, I am not Zhu Youjian.

Zhu Youjian certainly couldn't tolerate that.

I can tolerate it.

The Donglin Party and the Qi-Chu-Zhe Party want me to deal with you, but I will not do as they wish!

Such an insidious and ruthless person as you is hard to find.

I will use you to deal with the Donglin Party and the Qi-Chu-Zhe Party.

Zhu Jue stared at Wei Zhongxian for a while, until the man couldn't help but tremble, before shaking his head and sighing, "I shouldn't have spared you in this matter, but a ruler's word is law, and considering that you've been obedient, I'll let it go this time."

Remember, from now on, obey orders and do things properly. Also, don't do the matter of returning the farmland to the capital garrison secretly; it's best to let everyone in the capital know about it.

You really have the nerve to forgive me!

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian was moved and said, "Your Majesty, I understand. Thank you for your grace."

You, a petty person who has gained power, have become arrogant and lawless. I don't even know how long I'll have to cover for you.

Zhu Jue said, somewhat weary, "With so many people impeaching you, can't you think of a solution?"

I've thought of a solution.

The problem is that Shi Gongsheng and Qian Yuanque don't seem to have ever done anything corrupt or illegal.

This means they want me to frame them!

Wei Zhongxian's eyes darted around for a moment, then he quickly nodded and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

I am truly exhausted.

Zhu Jue rubbed his forehead, then raised his hand and waved.

Wei Zhongxian quickly bowed and took his leave.

This fellow immediately dispatched men to return the farmland to the capital garrison in a grand and public manner.

The garrison troops in the capital were overjoyed, and the entire capital seemed to be filled with jubilation.

In the Imperial Palace, in a dark corner of the Cabinet office, Gu Bingqian and Feng Quan had gloomy expressions on their faces.

Gu Bingqian couldn't help but sigh, "It's truly unexpected that Your Majesty could tolerate something like this."

Are you still taking your time, or are you courting death?

Feng Quan said sinisterly, "Wei Zhongxian has already ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to secretly frame Shi Gongsheng, Qian Yuanque, and Lu Chengyuan. Tian Ergeng can only try to delay, otherwise Wei Zhongxian will deal with him as well. You'd better figure it out."

Ah!
Upon hearing this, Gu Bingqian reacted as if he had been stung by a poisonous insect, his face turning pale with horror.

Wei Zhongxian was notoriously treacherous and ruthless!
He thought about it carefully, then slowly nodded and said, "It seems that we have no choice but to use this trump card."

The next morning around 7 a.m., just as Zhu Jue arrived at the door of the Imperial Study, Liu Ruoyu bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the Cabinet has sent another memorial."

Why does your complexion look a little off?

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then calmly walked into the imperial study and sat down before taking the memorial and reading it carefully.

Upon closer inspection, his expression also turned somewhat off.

Lu Chengyuan, the chief official of the Ministry of Works, submitted a memorial stating that Wei Zhongxian was imitating Lü Buwei's methods, harming princes, and attempting to steal the throne!

The late emperor's eldest son died in the womb, and his second son died young, which can be disregarded. However, the late emperor's third son died mysteriously in the sixth year of the Tianqi reign, and Wei Zhongxian and Madam Ke are highly suspected.

In addition, Empress Zhang, the wife of Emperor Yi'an, became pregnant in the sixth year of the Tianqi reign, and it is suspected that she was given an abortifacient by Madam Ke, which caused her to miscarry.

Consort Yu, née Zhang, was ten months pregnant and about to give birth when she was falsely accused by Wei Zhongxian and Madam Ke and beaten to death in the Cold Palace, resulting in the deaths of both mother and child!
Furthermore, Duke Ningguo, Wei Liangqing, frequently scouted for palace maids. Whenever he took a liking to one, Wei Zhongxian and Madam Ke would secretly send her to his residence. As a result, eight palace maids became pregnant.

When the late emperor passed away, Wei Zhongxian and Madam Ke secretly brought these eight palace maids back to the palace, intending for them to inherit the throne as the late emperor's posthumous children.

When Empress Yi'an discovered that Wei Zhongxian had kept the death a secret and had not summoned the ministers to read the late emperor's edict, she immediately ordered someone to risk their life to leave the palace and ask Duke Zhang Weixian of Yingguo to uphold justice.

Duke Zhang Weixian of England led his troops into the palace to retrieve the late emperor's edict, thus thwarting Wei Zhongxian and Madam Ke's plot to switch the emperor's documents.

There are currently eight pregnant palace maids still by Madam Ke's side. Your Majesty, please investigate this matter thoroughly!

After reading the memorial, Zhu Jue's face turned so gloomy it seemed like water could drip from it.

Wei Zhongxian plotted to usurp the throne!

No wonder Zhu Youjian (Emperor Zhu Youjian) decided to prosecute the eunuch faction for treason.

How could an emperor tolerate such a thing?
Can he tolerate it?

Is this true or false?

Could this be a fabrication by the Donglin Party and the Qi-Chu-Zhe Party to get him to deal with Wei Zhongxian?

Who would dare fabricate such a thing?
He only needs to arrest those eight palace maids and interrogate Duke Ningguo, Wei Liangqing, to get to the bottom of the matter.

Is Wei Zhongxian still a viable option?

(End of this chapter)