Chaos of Ming 1628

The sedan bearers behind her immediately stepped forward and whispered in Madam Ke's ear, "Madam, you mustn't. I'm afraid he might do something rash to you when he's cornered."

Mrs. Ke's eyes flickered with confusion for a moment.

"I'll stay," Shen Junru said at the opportune moment, her tone low but her words carrying a strong sense of authority.

The sedan bearers wanted to say something more, but Madam Ke looked at Shen Junru with tender eyes and even revealed a hint of girlish shyness: "Little Jun, please stay."

"Don't worry, Xiao Jun is highly skilled in martial arts. With him around, no one can get close to me."

The sedan bearers hurriedly said, "Madam, is that boy alright? He's so skinny."

"Enough with the nonsense, get out." Madam Ke said with a cold snort, clearly displeased.

The sedan bearers dared not say anything more and walked ahead. The others obeyed this man's every command and followed closely behind, guarding outside the door.

Zhou Ji and the other officials in the government office breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly ran out.

Only three people remained in the hall.

"What is it? You can tell me now." Mrs. Ke raised her hand slightly, adopting the posture of a victor.

Sun Qing sneered and shouted, "Ms. Ke, I've given you some face in front of others, and you're already acting like a bully."

"Now you're nothing but a down-on-her-luck woman banished from the palace, yet you dare to point fingers and act so arrogantly, even coveting the stolen money?!"

"I have reminded you many times and repeatedly asked you to consider the Emperor's feelings. Yet you are still digging your own grave. It would be a disservice to your own self-destructive behavior not to send you on your way."

These matters were known only to Wei Zhongxian, who deliberately concealed them, and to everyone outside the palace. He was certain that even Wei's confidants would not have known such details.

Having lived in Gaoyang for a long time, even if the Sun family had heard some things about what was happening in the capital, they would not dare to make such a statement.

Madam Ke's face turned pale, and she gritted her teeth: "Hmph, how dare you slander Lady Fengsheng?"

Sun Qing, confident of victory, a faint, cold smile playing on his lips, slowly read aloud with his hands behind his back: "Emperor Xizong has passed away. According to ancestral rules, wet nurses should not remain in the inner palace for long. Lady Fengsheng, Madam Ke, shall immediately move out of the palace and return to her private residence, and shall never again enter the inner palace."

Each pause in the sentence made Madam Ke feel even colder. Gradually, the way Madam Ke looked at Sun Qing changed, from doubt to panic.

She trembled and asked, shaking, "How did you know?"

These words were spoken by the current emperor. Besides Wei Zhongxian, only Zhu Youjian was present.

Shen Junru, who hadn't paid any attention before, suddenly stood up straight after Madam Ke confirmed these words, her eyes filled with astonishment as she looked at Sun Qing.

"Yes, it is." Sun Qing's smile was clear, showing no sign of lying.

But this sight sent a chill down Ke Shi's spine. She suddenly grabbed Shen Junru's hand and stared intently at Sun Qing.

His breathing quickened: "Who exactly are you?"

"The Sun family of Gaoyang!"

"No!" Madam Ke almost roared, "If the Sun family had someone like you, why would Sun Chengzong have returned to Gaoyang?"

As she spoke, speculating, she suddenly pointed at Sun Qing, a terrible thought forming in her mind.

This made her tremble even more: "You, you're one of the Emperor's men, aren't you?!"

Sun Qing did not give a direct answer, his inscrutable demeanor leaving Madam Ke completely baffled.

His breathing quickened, and he said in a deep voice, "What exactly do you want to do?"

"I'll save you." Sun Qing said calmly. "Didn't you want money? Come with me!"

Sun Qing walked ahead, with Madam Ke following closely behind. A powerful sense of fear gripped her; she didn't dare have anyone accompany her until Sun Qing nodded, leaving only Shen Junru by her side.

Actually, Sun Qing hadn't expected that Madam Ke would directly link him to Emperor Chongzhen. He had originally only intended to use divination to deceive her.

Let her think whatever she wants!

Sun Qing preferred people who had ideas and liked to take things personally. The more they liked to use their brains, the easier it was for them to walk into her trap.

Botou.

A group of workers were repairing the damaged shoal, but Sun Qing changed the original blueprints, replacing the wooden sheds to something else.

Countless boats were moored along the shore, and merchants came and went in an endless stream. Without Wei Zhongxian's longevity tablet, everyone's face was filled with joy.

Sun Qing stood on the shore, his hands behind his back, pointing to the ruins: "That used to be a Dragon King Temple, later replaced by a shrine. When the divine punishment arrived, did you go to see it?"

"No," Mrs. Ke said guiltily. The person in front of her was clearly only a sixteen-year-old boy, but she had to deliberately lower her voice when she spoke: "Xiao Jun was too active at night, I really didn't have the energy."

As she spoke, she rubbed her forehead, her expression genuine: "I don't know why, but I've had a terrible headache these past few days."

"My memories are also fragmented and confused; I can't quite recall what happened."

Sun Qing wasn't there to listen to her complaints: "Do you know that the money you're talking about is now being used to rebuild Botou?"

When money was mentioned, Ms. Ke's expression changed.

With many concerns in his mind, and considering that Sun Qing might be one of the current emperor's men, he could only awkwardly ask, "Did you spend it all?"

"Of course," Sun Qing said matter-of-factly, "Once it's gone, it's gone."

Her fear fueled his arrogance, filling her with resentment and a burning desire to rebel.

"Speaking of which, what is this little bit of money to you? You shouldn't be short of money, should you?" Sun Qing said, leaning slightly forward to look down at her.

This appearance reminded Madam Ke of the way Zhu Youjian looked at her, the hatred in his eyes being suppressed again and again.

According to the "Chronicle of Ming History", two points are clear: the Ke family and Wei Zhongxian's family jointly pursued the stolen goods, sold off their fields, houses and shops, and estimated the proceeds to be 45,000 taels.

This does not include a large amount of jewelry, as well as the imperial artifacts lost from the inner treasury.

Sun Qing snorted coldly, feigning mystery: "Madam Ke, if I'm not mistaken, your household has 300,000 taels of silver, gold, silver, jade, brocade, and antiques, probably enough to fill a dozen large carts. And then there are your estates and shops in and around the capital."

"Do you need me to list them one by one?"

History is only a rough outline, but these attacks were enough to send chills down Mr. Ke's spine.

Her eyes widened, and she gritted her teeth. Had Chongzhen investigated her in such detail?

"In short, if you want money, it's right there. If you're dissatisfied, you can go back and ask anyone else."

"You can even say something to Wei Zhongxian."

As soon as he finished speaking, Sun Qing straightened his clothes and hair, which had been ruffled by the river wind, scoffed, and said disdainfully, "I'm very busy, I don't have time to stroll around with you."

"Goodbye!"

He bowed slightly and left with a nonchalant air.

The so-called "saving her" means letting others ride roughshod over her, and even having to endure the money she gets being spent by others.

We're spending embezzled funds now, but what about later?

These refugees are a bottomless pit; will they end up spending all their money in her household in the future?

Madam Ke swayed slightly, then grabbed Shen Junru's hand, barely managing to stand up.

But he also leaned most of his body against Shen Junru: "Junru, he... he is definitely not just a member of the Sun family. He... he is definitely Zhu Youjian's man."

"Zhu Youjian is investigating me; he really isn't going to let me go!"

Shen Junru was terrified as she listened, and she understood all of this information perfectly.

The sound of Mrs. Ke's rambling still lingered in my ears, nothing more than, "Would you be willing to stay with me until the end?" and "I have plenty of money; at worst, you can accompany me on a life of exile." "But this is all the king's land; where can I go?"

As Madam Ke was still rambling on, an old woman strode in from the front.

His eyes were fierce: "Where are those pregnant women? That second wife dares to compete with my first wife? My wife's baby must be a boy."

"Come on, I'll go choose one myself."

Mrs. Ke's crying stopped instantly.

As the old woman looked over, she saw the girl emerge from a small, delicate house and hurriedly turn into the alley.

Ke's eyes rolled away, and a look of joy gradually appeared on her face. She quietly followed him.

Through the broken windows, one could see countless women inside the room, their bellies varying in size. The women's faces were sallow, ashen, and their eyes lifeless, as the old woman chose them at her mercy.

Ms. Ke hurriedly asked, "Who are they?"

"These pregnant women!" Shen Junru said nonchalantly, as if she were used to it. "The number of refugees is increasing year by year. These pregnant women have no other way to make a living, so they come here to find something to do."

"As long as you give them some small change, their lives and the lives of their unborn children will belong to the employer."

"To be honest, they're all pitiful..."

However, Ms. Ke did not hear what was said after that.

She took a gold hairpin from her hair and placed it in Shen Junru's hand, her voice seductive: "Junru, do me a favor."

"If you handle this matter well, you can work for me from now on, and I'll give you an official position and a noble title."