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

cabinet.

Chen Xunqi, who had gone to the palace early to seek an audience with Empress Dowager Sun, finally returned, but he was somewhat exasperated, and his expression was not very pleasant.

Seeing Chen Xun's grave expression, Wang Zhi asked, "Minister Chen, what has happened?"

Chen Xun sighed and said, "The edict regarding the Prince of Cheng's regency requires a 'revision of the document,' according to the Directorate of Ceremonial. I argued against it with reason but to no avail, so I have no choice but to withdraw it for the time being!"

Upon hearing this, the ministers were immediately enraged, and Wang Zhi's lips twitched slightly.

When an imperial edict was issued, it had to be drafted by the Grand Secretariat and sent to the Directorate of Ceremonial. The Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial would then approve it according to the emperor's will, and the Grand Eunuch would affix the imperial seal before sending it to the Six Ministries for verification and approval.

"Revising the draft" is because the emperor is not satisfied with some parts of the content drafted by the cabinet. If the draft is sent back for minor modifications, it can be sent back for "approval in red." If the emperor is completely dissatisfied, the draft will simply be left unissued.

But the key problem is that the emperor is in the enemy camp!

"How dare these eunuchs do this?"

Chen Yi's temper hasn't changed at all; perhaps due to lack of sleep, he can't stand it for even a moment longer.

While it was said that they were scolding the eunuchs, they were actually scolding Empress Dowager Sun, albeit in a roundabout way.

The officials all knew perfectly well that this was Empress Dowager Sun's decree. Even Jin Ying and others from the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs did not dare to object to this matter, unless they were like Wang Zhen, who could persuade Zhu Qizhen to act according to his wishes.

Wang Zhi suppressed his anger and spoke first, asking, "Could you explain how it could be changed?"

Chen Xun said helplessly, "Change 'Regent' to 'Regent and Assistant to the King,' 'Overseeing the State and Managing State Affairs' to 'Acting as Overseeing the State and Managing State Affairs,' and 'Acting on the King's Orders' to 'Acting on the King's Orders Temporarily.'"

The implication is clear: during this period, Empress Dowager Sun could still intervene in some political affairs in the name of the Crown Prince and the Empress Dowager.

Zhu Qiyu was acting as regent, but he was also a proxy. Once it came to matters concerning Zhu Qizhen, he could not act on his own and could not bypass Empress Dowager Sun.

From Empress Dowager Sun's perspective, if Zhu Qiyu wielded too much power and harbored ulterior motives, colluding with court officials, her son would never return.

"Smack!" Chen Yi slammed his hand on the table, the sound echoing as he angrily said, "With the situation so dire, you're still preoccupied with this? Truly a woman's view, utterly unwise. Do you think the Oirats wouldn't dare invade southward?"

"Imperial Censor Chen, please calm down," Wang Zhi suppressed his anger and looked at Chen Xun. "Has the edict appointing the Crown Prince been submitted for approval?"

Chen Xun looked at Wang Zhi with admiration in his eyes and said, "Minister Wang's consideration in this matter is indeed thorough. I had a backup plan. When the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs inquired about this matter, I mentioned that I was drafting it. If it had been submitted, it would probably have been approved long ago. Gentlemen, I am worried that if the Empress Dowager insists on this, we will have no choice but to compromise. We need to think of a solution urgently."

"Compromise my foot! What does this mean? If His Majesty returns safely, this is fine. But if His Majesty is held captive in the north by the Oirats for a long time, are we going to support a young emperor to ascend the throne again? Or are we going to protect the capital while the Empress Dowager discards us after we've served our purpose? Gentlemen, the empress dowager must not interfere in politics. If that's the case, then we might as well not appoint a crown prince at all, and everyone should flee for their lives!"

Chen Yi couldn't understand how the emperor, who had been captured and whose imperial family had lost all face, could still have the nerve to dwell on this matter.

The most urgent task is to quickly and decisively appoint a leader, unite against external threats, and defend the capital.

Hu Ying, the kind-hearted man, could only try to smooth things over by saying, "Imperial Censor Chen, this is a time of national crisis, and we must not act so impulsively. Even if you agree, it is fine. The regency is a temporary measure to exercise imperial power, and it is understandable."

"No!"

As soon as Hu Ying said this, several people present immediately objected.

"We agreed last night, but you're going back on your word today. If you keep changing your mind like this, we will not obey or disobey if you change your orders privately in the future. We cannot back down this time!" Wang Zhi was extremely angry at this moment.

Hu Ying nodded, realizing he had spoken out of turn and was unable to refute it for the moment.

If this matter had been brought up last night, we could have discussed it further and made a decision afterward. However, it is absolutely unacceptable to unilaterally change things after reaching a consensus.

Wang Zhi even suspected that Empress Dowager Sun had malicious intentions and was deliberately pretending not to see through her, focusing solely on finalizing the appointment of the crown prince. Once the crown prince was appointed, the ministers would have no bargaining chips left, and the edict of regency would be entirely up to Empress Dowager Sun herself.

Without the emperor's presence and without Empress Dowager Sun issuing an edict, the decree would be ineffective.

Wang Zhi's guess was correct; even Zhu Qiyu had misjudged the situation.

Empress Dowager Sun was incredibly shrewd. She had made up her mind last night that the ministers would submit both edicts at the same time. She would then directly approve the edict appointing the Crown Prince and reject the edict appointing the Regent, thus killing two birds with one stone and ensuring that her power would not be usurped during this period.

However, Wang Zhi was also a cunning old fox, and he made Chen Xun keep a plan in mind: he insisted that the edict of regency be issued first, and then the edict of establishing the crown prince be issued; otherwise, he would not agree.

If the two sides cannot reach an agreement, Empress Dowager Sun will have no choice but to secretly appoint a crown prince, and the crown prince's position may not be secure.

Just when everyone was at a loss, Yu Qian returned, looking travel-worn.

The ministers broke their silence, and Wang Zhi looked at Yu Qian, asking, "Minister Yu, how is the capital?"

"Chaos is rampant. The families of nobles are leading the southward flight, causing unrest among the people. I've heard many civilians have died outside the city during this exodus. We need to devise a strategy as soon as possible to appease the people. If this continues unchecked, the capital may descend into chaos before Esen even reaches the south." Yu Qian sighed helplessly, then asked, "Has the edict of regency been issued?"

Chen Xun shook his head and said, "The ticket needs to be changed!"

"But why is that?"

Yu Qian was greatly alarmed and changed his mind at the last minute. What was his intention?

Wang Zhi stood up, having made his decision, and waved his hand to indicate that there was no need to discuss the matter further. Instead, he reached out and looked at Chen Xun.

"Minister Chen, please give me the two imperial edicts. I will go to the palace to request an audience with the Empress Dowager."

Chen Xun asked somewhat uncertainly, "Minister Wang, shall we accompany you?"

Wang Zhi shook his head and said, "We must not act rashly. If we go together, it will be seen as a coup d'état!"

Chen Xun was startled and hurriedly handed the imperial edict to Wang Zhi.

The others' desire to go together vanished instantly, and even Chen Yi, with his fiery temper, fell silent.

Given Empress Dowager Sun's personality, if she didn't take full advantage of the situation, rumors might soon spread that the officials were bullying a young widow, which would be a major taboo.

The king directly took the imperial edict and prepared to go straight there, while Hu Ying, who was standing to the side, could not sit still either.

He stood up and said, "Minister Wang, I will go with you."

"That's excellent!"

Wang Zhi did not refuse Hu Ying's good intentions, and hoped that Hu Ying could be more assertive. After all, the Minister of Rites was of greater importance at this time, and Wang Zhi did not want Hu Ying to keep trying to smooth things over.

The two can be considered the two most senior officials in the Ming Dynasty. Wang Zhi was a veteran of four reigns, while Hu Ying was even more senior, having entered the service during the reign of Emperor Jianwen, making him a veteran of five reigns.

The officials breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that the two had gone.

In the inner palace, Empress Dowager Sun heard that Wang Zhi and Hu Ying were requesting an audience, so she had no choice but to move to the Wenhua Hall to deal with the two.

I thought it would be a heated debate, but these two seasoned veterans turned out to be quite experienced.

Wang Zhi said, "Empress Dowager, this is truly a time of life and death. I hope you will consider the overall situation. If the Ming Dynasty falls, we will have no face to meet the late Emperor."

Empress Dowager Sun was speechless after hearing this remark; Wang Zhi was clearly making a veiled attack.

If the empire is truly lost, who will be ashamed to face the late emperor? The answer is obvious.

Wang Zhi deliberately avoided mentioning the ancestral temples of past dynasties, focusing only on the late emperor, thus directly hitting Empress Dowager Sun's weak spot.

Seeing that Empress Dowager Sun's face was extremely grim, Hu Ying knew the time was right, so he spoke gently, "Empress Dowager, the late Emperor entrusted His Majesty to me on his deathbed, and I dare not forget that!"

Empress Dowager Sun was taken aback. The late emperor had entrusted his son to five men on his deathbed: Zhang Fu, Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, Yang Pu, and Hu Ying. Now, four of them were dead, leaving only Hu Ying.

Hu Ying will never forget!

That was enough; otherwise, she alone would never have been able to save Zhu Qizhen.

Although the extorted money had been sent to the Oirat Mongols early on, she didn't have much hope that it would succeed.

Empress Dowager Sun relented, sighing, "Very well, we shall follow the advice of the two tutors, but we must always consider the Emperor's wishes!"

"I obey your decree!"

The two breathed a sigh of relief.