swear not to be concubine

Chapter 126

The most direct reason for Zhou Yuanzheng's fall was the jinke examination.

The imperial examination is a way to select talents, and any emperor attaches great importance to it, and no mistakes can be tolerated.It's just that when the results of this subject examination were finally released, someone with a heart discovered that out of the nearly [-] tributes admitted, about one-third of them were disciples who had received Zhou Yuanzheng's favor or were related to his henchmen. people.

Everyone was in an uproar!So this matter must be investigated.

After checking, it was discovered that the subject of this subject's exam had been leaked early in the morning.The instigators were none other than Zhou Yuanzheng, and Sun An, the eunuch in charge of the chief inspector of ceremonies.

The cabinet has the right to draw up votes, the supervisor of ceremonies has the right to approve awards, and the current emperor is lazy, so the government has always been controlled by Zhou Yuanzheng and Sun An.But now, the lion who has been lazy for many years seems to be waking up.

The emperor immediately sent Zhou Yuanzheng and Sun An to prison, and at the same time ordered the Ministry of Punishment and Jin Yiwei to thoroughly investigate all crimes committed by Zhou Yuanzheng and Sun An.

As the saying goes, everyone pushed the wall down, so for a while, there were a lot of accusations about Zhou Yuanzheng's crimes of corruption, perverting his son to commit murder, planting party members, and manipulating the government.

In the end, the emperor was furious, and ordered Zhou Yuanzheng to kill all the remaining party members in the court, put those in prison, dismiss them from their posts, and clean the court almost like a bloody storm.

Then he made another decree, listing Zhou Yuanzheng's ten deadly crimes, and bestowing him with a glass of poisoned wine and a three-foot white silk.

But now Xu Zhongxuan followed the order and took two young eunuchs to the imperial prison.

The cruelty of imperial punishment is well known to all, and all the civil and military officials in the Manchu Dynasty changed their expressions when they talked about imperial punishment.

When Xu Zhongxuan brought two young eunuchs into the imperial prison, he happened to meet the jailer who carried three or four corpses and dragged them out of the door opening.

Even though the corpse was already covered with a straw mat, occasionally hands and feet were hanging outside, and it could still be seen that it was covered with bruises and blood scabs, without a piece of good skin.What's more, you can see the thick white bones with flesh and blood turned inside out.

The two young eunuchs were so frightened that their hearts were beating wildly, their complexions were snow-white, and the hands holding the vermilion lacquer and gold tray were trembling.

They peeked at Xu Zhongxuan who was walking in front of them, but saw that his expression was as usual without any change.

Xu Shilang is just a weak literati.But he was walking in this prison full of miasma, what he saw in his eyes were mutilated limbs and broken arms, bloody and bloody, and what he heard in his ears were the crackling of a leather whip dipped in chili water on the flesh and blood The sound of wailing, the endless wailing, but his face did not change!
The two young eunuchs lowered their heads silently, tried their best to suppress the fear in their hearts and faces, followed Xu Zhongxuan, and walked all the way to the depths of the prison.

Zhou Yuanzheng was sitting cross-legged on the wet straw at this time, watching Xu Zhongxuan getting closer and closer through the thick wooden fence.

At this time, his gray hair was disheveled, his withered and yellow face was haggard, the wrinkles on his hands were withered like old ginger, and the two or three inch long nails on his carefully groomed little finger had long since broken off. It looked as miserable as it could be.

On the other hand, Xu Zhongxuan, in his crimson official uniform, brocade belt and soap boots, has a leisurely and elegant demeanor, and his clear and handsome face is as bright as the moon in the eastern mountain.

The jailer waiting at the side had already put an armchair outside, and bowed to invite Xu Zhongxuan to sit down.

Xu Zhongxuan sat down and looked at Zhou Yuan through the wooden fence.

Even though Zhou Yuanzheng was in a state of embarrassment at this moment, his back was still straight, and he looked at Xu Zhongxuan with an undisguised coldness in his eyes.

Xu Zhongxuan waved his hand to tell the two young eunuchs who were following him to step back and wait aside, then he sat in the armchair in a leisurely posture, with one hand in the armchair and the other slowly stroking the crimson color on his lap. The folds of official robes.

After Zhou Yuanzheng fell, Wu Kaiji, the second assistant, took over the position of chief assistant of the cabinet, and Xu Zhongxuan joined the cabinet as the left servant of the Ministry of Officials, one of the group assistants.

Entering the cabinet at the age of 26, even if it is only one of the group of assistants, it is enough to cause an uproar between the government and the opposition.

So Zhou Yuanzheng said with sarcasm: "Xu Shilang is very proud recently."

"It's okay." Xu Zhongxuan smiled elegantly, "But compared to joining the cabinet, I'm more happy to see Mr. Zhou in such a, um, messed up appearance."

Even though Zhou Yuanzheng's face was bloodless due to being tortured for several days, but after listening to Xu Zhongxuan's teasing words, a few traces of angry blush quickly appeared on Zhou Yuanzheng's face.

"Xu Zhongxuan, don't be too rampant." His voice was full of coldness like a poisonous snake, and he slowly spat out the scarlet and cold letter, "There will be a day when I, Zhou Yuanzheng, will be sent to prison, and there may not be a day when you, Xu Zhongxuan, will go to prison Life. Don’t think that I don’t know. Although I leaked the exam questions, you didn’t get in the way? During these years, you have climbed from a mere Hanlin Academy’s editors to today’s officials. Minister, the seat of one of the cabinet assistants, is your hand clean?"

He thought about the cause and effect in the imperial prison these days, and he already figured it out.Xu Zhongxuan took advantage of his convenient position in the Ministry of Officials to slowly relegate or dismiss about half of his party members, which made him feel deeply that there was no one available to him, so he must only In this meeting, some trusted people will be promoted to power.

Xu Zhongxuan must have guessed early in the morning that he would play tricks in this subject's examination.Or in other words, Xu Zhongxuan simply made this trick early in the morning, just waiting for him to drill it.

"It's not clean." Xu Zhongxuan shook his head with a smile when he heard the words, and then said slowly, "But now you, Mr. Zhou, are in the prison and I am outside the prison. Naturally, I have the capital to run wild in front of you, so why should I How about holding back and not being rampant?"

"You..." Zhou Yuanzheng was only suffocated by his words, and pointed at him tremblingly, but he was so angry that he couldn't say anything.

Xu Zhongxuan looked at him.Although there is a smile on the face, but that smile looks a little cold.

"I said earlier that the revenge of taking a wife is irreconcilable. If you don't have Jian Yan's idea, I can let you stay in the position of the chief minister of the cabinet for a few more years, but now, you will die by yourself. I can only fulfill you."

Zhou Yuanzheng put down his hands in dejection.

Now he really has nothing.

All of Zhou's house was raided, and the gold and silver he had accumulated for half his life, not to mention filling up the national treasury, became one of the reasons for him to set foot on the road to hell.His son, who took several lives on his body, had already been executed.And his other family members were either exiled or sent to the Jiaofang Division...

It's over, it's all over.

"Xu Zhongxuan, you..."

He gritted his teeth angrily, and wanted to curse Xu Zhongxuan, but was interrupted by Xu Zhongxuan.

"Zhou Yuanzheng," Xu Zhongxuan's voice was cold, wrapped in a layer of undisguised ice slag, and he came towards Zhou Yuanzheng incomparably swiftly, "The reason why I came here today must be very clear in your heart."

After all, he raised his head slightly, indicating that Zhou Yuan was looking to the other side.

There were two young eunuchs standing there with their heads down and their breaths held.They all held a red lacquer and gold tray in their hands.

Inside one tray were white porcelain jugs and wine cups, and inside the other tray was a well-folded, white and smooth three-foot white silk.

"This wine is mixed with high-quality heartbroken grass. After Mr. Zhou drank it, he would have symptoms of nausea and vomiting in about a quarter of an hour, and symptoms such as abdominal pain and dizziness in about a quarter of an hour. But not You will die immediately, but you will suffer from abdominal pain slowly, as if a cold sword is constantly stirring in your belly, until your intestines are pierced and your mouth vomits black blood and you die. Naturally, it is not very comfortable. As for the three-foot white silk, Mr. Zhou, don’t look at the softness of the white silk, but don’t worry, the white silk is flexible. After you hang it on your neck, it will definitely be tight strangles your neck, making your breathing exhausted. The more you struggle, the more difficult it is to breathe, until you can't breathe in anything, and then Mr. Zhou, you can only open your mouth, and your eyes It burst out suddenly, until finally passed away, hanging on the beam of the house without a sound."

Xu Zhongxuan leaned back on the back of the chair, stretched out his right hand, and slowly tapped the elm armrest on the side of his hand with the tip of his index finger, while describing his death condition to Zhou Yuanzheng in a leisurely manner.

Zhou Yuanzheng was not afraid of death.In other words, for those who entered the imperial prison, death is a kind of relief.So when he just saw Xu Zhongxuan bringing the two little eunuchs who brought poisoned wine and white silk over, he even had a feeling that he was about to be relieved.

But now, when he heard Xu Zhongxuan slowly describe in such a calm voice how he drank poisoned wine or hanged himself to death with white silk, he suddenly began to feel scared.

Such an indescribable fear suddenly rushed from the depths of his heart to his limbs like crazy, making him tremble all over, and a layer of cold sweat quickly broke out on his back.

He doesn't want to die!He still wants to live well!

But at this time Xu Zhongxuan asked him slowly with his calm voice: "Then, Mr. Zhou, which way of death do you want to choose? Heartbroken grass? Or white silk?"

Zhou Yuanzheng's Adam's apple rolled up and down with difficulty.

He felt flustered and his mouth was dry, he felt his whole body was sweating, and he felt a heart in his chest beating wildly in fear.

Xu Zhongxuan stretched out his hand and slowly fiddled with the Ganan bracelet on his left wrist, while admiring Zhou Yuanzheng's frightened expression on his upper and lower eyes.

This fear of death is often more frightening than death itself.

If possible, he wanted Zhou Yuanzheng to 'enjoy' this fear of death for a while.

But the little eunuch behind him came forward and asked him in a low voice: "Xu Shilang, can you let Zhou Yuanzheng go on the road? You guys have to go back to the emperor to report to him later."

Xu Zhongxuan almost reluctantly withdrew his gaze from the fearful expression on Zhou Yuan's face.

"Master Zhou," Xu Zhongxuan said with a smile in his voice, "Have you thought about which way to die?"

Zhou Yuanzheng's throat seemed to be tightly strangled by an invisible hand. He could only hear the muddy ho-ho sound, but he couldn't hear what he was talking about.

So Xu Zhongxuan said: "Since that's the case, then the subordinate officials will decide on their own and choose a way to die for Mr. Zhou."

After finishing speaking, he looked at the little eunuch who was holding the poisoned wine, slightly tilted his head, and motioned him to go in and feed Zhou Yuanzheng.

The little eunuch took the order, hurriedly poured a cup of wine carefully, and stood in front of Zhou Yuanzheng holding it in both hands.

Generally, if you are an official with backbone, you don't need others to urge you to do this meeting, you just take the wine glass and drink it up.But Zhou Yuanzheng was obviously frightened by what Xu Zhongxuan had just described, so he looked at the pale wine in the wine cup held by the little eunuch, instead of reaching out to take it, on the contrary, he turned his body backwards. backwards.

Seeing this, Xu Zhongxuan smiled and said, "It seems that Mr. Zhou can't be ruthless. If that's the case, anyway, for the sake of Mr. Zhou, you were my mentor at any rate, this student will help you."

After finishing speaking, he signaled the two young eunuchs to get into the prison, and one of them pressed Zhou Yuanzheng's shoulder.And he himself took the wine cup in one hand and the jug containing the poisoned wine in the other, and walked into the prison.

His spotless white boots stepped steadily on the pitch-black ground, and the hem of his crimson official robe slowly slid across the damp straw in the prison.

For such a distance, his steps were steady and firm, but in Zhou Yuanzheng's eyes, his pupils shrank sharply.

Zhou Yuan was about to struggle, but the little eunuchs holding his shoulders reached out and opened their mouths left and right, no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't break free.

So he could only watch helplessly as Xu Zhongxuan poured all the poisoned wine down his throat with a smile on his face.Afraid that the portion would not be enough, Xu Zhongxuan poured him two cups of poisoned wine in succession.

Finally, Xu Zhongxuan slowly let go of his hand in front of him, letting the wine cup and jug in his hand fall to the ground.

The ground was cold and rough, and the moment the wine cup and jug fell, there was only a crisp sound and broken porcelain splashed everywhere.

Zhou Yuan was about to yell and curse him, but Xu Zhongxuan understood his intentions, and ordered two young eunuchs to cut his hands back, tied him up with rope, and stuffed his mouth with straw.In this way, no matter what he has to say, he can't scold him, and he can only whimper in anger.

At this time, Xu Zhongxuan had already walked to the armchair outside the prison and sat down, and the two young eunuchs also came out with their hands down, and waited at a distance with their hands down.

The poison of the Heartbroken Grass did not occur so quickly.So when Xu Zhongxuan sat in the chair and looked at Zhou Yuanzheng, he talked to him at the same time.

"Master Zhou, do you still remember Mei Niang?" Xu Zhongxuan leaned his right arm on the armrest with a smile, leaned forward slightly, and said with a smile, "A few days ago, I asked someone to investigate Mei Niang's affairs. We have found a very important thing, would Master Zhou want to hear about it?"

"I heard that Mei Niang actually had a lover of her own back then. It's just that her lover was not you, Mr. Zhou, but a cousin of her childhood sweetheart. Back then, you met Mei Niang in the temple. The mother just saw that you are so down-and-out and funny, so she flirted with the maid beside her and laughed a few words. It's just that this kind of smile fell into your eyes, Mr. Zhou, because you thought she was interested in you. It was later In fact, those poems and letters are not Meiniang, but Meiniang's concubine sister and aunt bought people around Meiniang with money, and communicated with you in the name of Meiniang. Their purpose, I just want to use this incident to get rid of Mei Niang, an unsightly prostitute."

Looking at the shock and disbelief in Zhou Yuanzheng's eyes, Xu Zhongxuan slowly continued the topic: "You also know what happened later, Meiniang's father knew about it, and only thought that it was Meiniang who was secretly with you. After giving and accepting, they sent people to arrest you, and fined Meiniang to kneel in the ancestral hall for three days and three nights. You escaped alone without a spine, but Meiniang died because of this. I still don't understand the reason. But I guess she must have hated you when she died, because if you hadn't misunderstood why she laughed at that time, I'm afraid she would still be living well in this world now. In this world, she tied the knot with her childhood sweetheart cousin and had children around her knees."

"So look," Xu Zhongxuan leaned back on the back of the chair, spread his hands out, with a regretful expression on his face, "the so-called Mei Niang in your heart is as deep as the ocean with you, and the so-called Mei Niang you have loved all your life The obsession with not forgetting love is actually nothing more than your own imagination. The truth is, Mei Niang can't remember what you look like at all, and she doesn't even know your name from the beginning to the end. To her In other words, she was just a passer-by, and a down-and-out passer-by. Even because of you, Meiniang died so early. So for Meiniang, if there is an afterlife, she will I really wish I could eat your flesh and drink your blood."

Hearing such words in Zhou Yuanzheng's ears made him feel more hopeless than Xu Zhongxuan's description of his death just now.

He wanted to rush over and beat Xu Zhongxuan, but he was wearing heavy shackles on his feet, and his hands were cut behind his back and tied tightly with a rope.He wanted to yell at Xu Zhongxuan, cursing him that he would die badly and go to the eighteenth level of hell even after death, but his mouth was stuffed with straw and he couldn't swear anything.

Only his eyes were bloodshot red, and he kept yelling and rolling towards Xu Zhongxuan at the same time.

From the beginning to the end, Xu Zhongxuan just watched this scene with cold eyes.

There was no elegant smile on his face as he had been painting it just now, and there was only a bone-chilling coldness in his eyes.

"Zhou Yuanzheng, when you forced Jian Yan to commit suicide in the Zuiyue Tower that day, you should have thought of your fate today. The revenge of taking your wife is irreconcilable, and I will definitely make you disappear from this world. As for What happened to Mei Niang is your own fault, so you can’t blame me. I’m just telling you the truth about that year. So you should be prepared. How will Niang accuse you of your crimes in front of Lord Yan of the Ten Palaces?"

Zhou Yuanzheng finally stopped moving slowly.When he was dying, he opened his eyes wide and looked at Xu Zhongxuan viciously and unwillingly.

Xu Zhongxuan was unmoved.

Even if it is death, he still wants Zhou Yuan to die.

Then he ordered the jailer to come over and check to see if Zhou Yuanzheng had really passed away.

After the jailer had passed the inspection, and reported with his hands down that the prisoner had passed away, Xu Zhongxuan stood up while holding the armrests of the armchair with both hands.

He didn't look at Zhou Yuanzheng again, but turned around straight away, and led the two young eunuchs out of the prison.

Outside the prison, the sun is shining, the wind is blowing, and the purple swallows are around the beams, it is the time of spring in the year.

Xu Zhongxuan put his hands in his sleeves, standing in the warm spring sunshine, looking up at the blue sky above his head.

The cabinet era belonging to Zhou Yuanzheng is finally over, and the cabinet era belonging to him is coming slowly.

But before that, he had to marry Jian Yan back home and put it by his side so that he could see her every day.

Thinking of this, a happy smile finally appeared on his face.

Immediately, he lifted his feet and left here, striding forward.

(End of this chapter)