Emperor Ming: Your Majesty, you have caused me so much suffering.

Chapter 103: Soldiers besiege Renshou Palace and arrest people face to face.

Empress Dowager Sun was pacing anxiously back and forth in the palace, and Li Yongchang was also extremely shocked.

Sun Jizong is in jail!

He had just offered to act as an envoy to the Oirat Mongols when Zhu Qizhen "led" the Oirat army to him. Now he was in a situation where he couldn't clear his name no matter what, and it looked like a scheme of collusion between inside and outside.

Neither of them expected Esen to launch an attack at this time, nor did they expect Zhu Qizhen to come in person. They were also worried that the eunuchs would be too eager for quick success and ruin the whole plan.

Li Yongchang instructed some of his inner court officials to find a way to meet with Zhu Qizhen, obtain his decree, and ascertain the current situation.

Now that Zhu Qizhen has come in person, it would be a terrible thing if these eunuchs tried to seize it. Moreover, based on Li Yongchang's understanding of these people, such an action is highly likely to occur.

This worry didn't last long, as commotion was heard outside Renshou Palace.

A palace servant rushed in, panicked, to report: "Your Majesty, Renshou Palace is surrounded by thieves from the Imperial Horse Stables!"

Empress Dowager Sun was shocked. Li Yongchang's face was completely pale; something had truly happened!

"Take them all down, and kill them on the spot if they resist!" Zhu Qiyu issued the decree directly.

Hao Yi led the Imperial Horse Administration personnel into the palace in single file, scattering to every corner of Renshou Palace to arrest palace servants. When Empress Dowager Sun heard that it was Zhu Qiyu's voice, she couldn't sit still and hurried out. As soon as she reached the palace gate, she saw Zhu Qiyu coming towards her, holding the ancestral tablet of Emperor Xuanzong in front of him.

This action startled Empress Dowager Sun, who staggered two steps and fell to the ground.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing?"

Zhu Qiyu searched for Li Yongchang and coldly ordered, "Seize all the traitors who have colluded with the enemy and sold out the country!"

Hao Yi was seething with anger; these people had almost killed him, and now his chance for revenge had arrived.

He stepped forward personally and kicked Li Yongchang. Li Yongchang was old after all, and in his shock, he instantly lost the ability to resist, allowing Hao Yi to hold him tightly and make him unable to move.

When Empress Dowager Sun saw these maids committing violence in front of her, she roared, "You damned maids, how dare you do this?"

Hao Yi remained unmoved and, in front of Empress Dowager Sun, pushed Li Yongchang towards the door. The other Imperial Horse Administration personnel immediately seized palace servants and went straight out.

Empress Dowager Sun glanced coldly at Zhu Qiyu from inside the hall.

"Emperor, are you planning a rebellion?"

"Holy Mother, I am the Emperor! How can you say I am rebelling? It is my elder brother who is rebelling! He colluded with the Oirat army, and today at Zhangyi Gate, he conspired with court officials to slaughter thousands of my Ming warriors. Our commander was struck by more than a dozen arrows and died in battle. If it weren't for the help of the people outside the southern city, the Oirats would have breached the gates of my capital today, and I would have died for my country. Tell me, who is plotting this rebellion?"

"Your Majesty, fortunately, Sun Jizong did not leave the city in time, which prevented you from communicating effectively. Otherwise, this coordinated attack from the outside would have truly succeeded! Your Majesty, before the spirit tablet of our late father, I wish to ask you, are you involved in this matter?"

Empress Dowager Sun nearly fainted from anger, pointing at Zhu Qiyu and trembling as she said, "Zhu Qiyu, you are unfilial! You dare to touch the divine tablet of your late father! Heaven and earth will not tolerate this!"

Zhu Qizhen hugged the spirit tablet even tighter and said, "Holy Mother, it is out of filial piety that I have kept my late father's spirit tablet by my side. Do you know that the three mausoleums on Tianshou Mountain have been destroyed? I do not even know if the underground palace has been looted. If my late father's remains are nowhere to be found, Holy Mother, you and my brother will be sinners for all eternity!"

"The Oirat were let in by my own brother! I am unfilial, but I think the Holy Mother and my brother are even more unfilial. The world will judge this matter, and the Holy Mother cannot be allowed to bark and howl here!"

"I held the spirit tablet of my late father, and on the day the city fell, I committed suicide in front of him to prove to him that he had given birth to a son of exceptional talent, not a traitorous beast who betrayed the country."

Empress Dowager Sun rolled her eyes, almost unable to breathe, and looked at Zhu Qiyu with fear, taking two steps back while supporting herself on her heels.

"Your Majesty, what exactly do you want?"

"Holy Mother, I only ask you: are you involved in the defeat and collusion with foreign enemies? Answer my late father before his spirit tablet, and his spirit in heaven will discern the truth for me!"

Zhu Qiyu suddenly knelt down on both knees, and walked on his knees, carrying the ancestral tablet, step by step approaching Empress Dowager Sun, as if worried that she would not be able to see her husband's ancestral tablet clearly.

"You, you, you—don't come any closer!" Empress Dowager Sun kicked even harder with her heels and took two more steps back.

"Holy Mother, the Emperor wants to hear the truth! How can you face him in the future if you deceive him?"

Empress Dowager Sun was driven to the brink of collapse by Zhu Qiyu's aggressive behavior. Zhu Zhanji was Empress Dowager Sun's lifelong weakness, and she dared not face her husband directly.

She hated him, hated that Zhu Qizhen was so useless!

"No, I only wanted my inner minister to find an opportunity to go to the Oirat camp, see Zhen Ge'er, and ask him in person if he could return. Zhen Ge'er is just outside the city, and as a mother, I am extremely anxious because he hasn't come back! I know nothing else!"

"That eunuch was sent by the Holy Mother!"

"It was Li Yongchang who acted on his own initiative!"

Zhu Qiyu smiled and said, "Holy Mother, do you think the late Emperor would believe that?"

Zhu Qiyu judged in his heart that Empress Dowager Sun might be telling the truth, but he, Zhu Qiyu, would not show mercy to his political enemies. The mother and son were bound to bear the crime of treason!

Zhu Qiyu got up and walked towards the inner palace of Renshou Palace, where Xing'an was already holding the Crown Prince's hand.

At Xing'an's prompting, Zhu Jianshen quietly stepped forward. Not knowing how to address Zhu Qiyu, and probably not saying much, he simply called him "Uncle".

Zhu Qiyu rarely showed a smile, and holding Zhu Jianshen's little hand, he went straight to the main hall.

Seeing this, Empress Dowager Sun went mad and rushed forward to snatch the crown prince away.

Zhu Qiyu glanced at Empress Dowager Sun, his tone leaving no room for argument, and said, "Crown Prince, I will take him away to raise! Holy Mother, you cannot raise a good emperor; you will only raise traitors, sycophants, and cowards who betray their country! You have already corrupted one son; I cannot allow you to corrupt another imperial grandson!"

Empress Dowager Sun was on the verge of collapse. Zhu Jianshen was her lifeline and her hope.

"Your Majesty, you cannot take the Crown Prince away!"

"As the emperor, it is my duty to educate the crown prince. Why should the women in the palace interfere? You may choose the crown prince. I will give you two options: either I will take him away to raise and educate him, or you can depose him and let Jian Shen keep you company in the palace. That way, I won't have to put in the effort to educate him."

Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Sun froze on the spot.

Zhu Qizhen was raised and educated by the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager from a young age because he ascended the throne at a young age and Zhu Zhanji had passed away. Now the situation is different. Zhu Qiyu is the emperor, and it is the emperor's right to educate the crown prince, not the empress dowager's right. The crown prince will inherit the throne in the future, not the empress dowager's position.

She looked at Zhu Qiyu, believing that his words were true. Now that the emperor's power was firmly established, it was possible that he could forcibly depose the crown prince when his son had made a mistake.

Empress Dowager Sun panicked and dared not gamble!

"I beg you, please don't harm the Crown Prince!"

Empress Dowager Sun lost her mind and prepared to use her last resort: kneeling down!

Zhu Qiyu coldly said, "Holy Mother, please don't force me like this. Some things, if done, will backfire!"

Empress Dowager Sun was startled and stunned, her body seemingly frozen in place.

"I will not harm the Crown Prince. I am not your elder brother, who treats the people of the Great Ming Dynasty like dirt. Let go!"

Empress Dowager Sun slowly released Zhu Jianshen's hand, looking somewhat dejected, unable to resist for a moment.

"Holy Mother, for the sake of the nation, I will arrange for people to come and serve you. Renshou Palace is under martial law; unless it is a major event, you need not go in or out."

"You will suffer—" Before Empress Dowager Sun could finish speaking, she looked at the crown prince in Zhu Qiyu's hands and swallowed her words.

When the court officials heard of the incident in the palace, Wang Zhi and other ministers were unable to see Zhu Qiyu and could only communicate with the palace servants to request an audience with Empress Dowager Wu. When Empress Dowager Wu heard that the emperor had led the Imperial Horse Administration to Renshou Palace, she was terrified.

Led by Empress Dowager Wu, the court officials who broke through the curfew witnessed the most shocking scene of their lives.

With Zhu Qiyu holding Zhu Zhanji's spirit tablet in one arm and Zhu Jianshen, who was not yet three years old, in the other, tears still in his eyes, he calmly stepped out of the palace gate.

"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager, she—"

"Effective immediately, the Crown Prince will be temporarily confined to Renshou Palace. I will personally raise him!"

Upon hearing this, the court officials were filled with doubt and uncertainty. All these changes had happened too quickly, and the officials could not react in time. What shocked everyone even more was that Zhu Qiyu still had the spirit tablet of Emperor Xuanzong in his possession. The fact that this spirit tablet had been moved to Renshou Palace was truly astonishing.

Hu Dan, forcing a smile, asked, "Your Majesty, may I be told the truth?"

"You really want to ask?" Zhu Qiyu sneered.

Hu Dan felt a chill run down his spine. He didn't know what had happened, but for Zhu Qiyu to be confined to Renshou Palace, the matter must be serious.

If he were to find out what kind of treasonous act it was, then everything would be beyond redemption. Hu Dan would rather stab Empress Dowager Sun in the back.

Hu Dan decided to hold off for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I am terrified; I have misspoke!"

Zhu Qiyu glanced at the assembled officials and said, "What do you intend to do by trespassing into the palace? Do you also intend to commit treason?"

The officials were in a panic; trespassing into the palace meant they could be killed.

"Your Majesty, we have acted improperly; please forgive us!"

"Your Majesty, it was I who allowed the court officials to enter!" Empress Dowager Wu hurriedly explained, worried that Zhu Qiyu would have a falling out with the court officials.

"A one-month salary deduction!"

After saying that, Zhu Qiyu picked up Zhu Jianshen and left.

The officials stood frozen in place, wanting to go in and see Empress Dowager Sun, but their feet wouldn't budge.