At this moment, Lu Fang's face was filled with hesitation as he looked at the Qianqing Palace so close in front of him.
"Oh, I don't know what His Majesty will do with me, will he..."
Just when Lu Fang was still envisioning his possible fate in his mind, at some point, the guiding eunuch came to him and whispered.
"Eunuch Lu, Your Majesty wants you to come over!"
Although his thoughts were interrupted, Lu Fang did not show any anger on his face. He took a deep breath, tried to calm himself down, and immediately responded.
"Well, I understand."
"Um."
In this way, under the watchful eye of the guiding eunuch, Lu Fang stepped onto the stairs of Qianqing Palace.
However, compared to the past, Lu Fang now lacks the calmness of the past.
When he stepped onto the stairs, he stumbled and almost fell to the ground. If Lu Fang hadn't had quick eyesight and quick hands to hold on to the railing on the side, it would have been a disaster.
When the guiding eunuch on the side saw this, he wanted to step forward to help, but Lu Fang shook his head and stopped him.
The guiding eunuch had no choice but to stand there and watch Lu Fang reluctantly straighten her body and step up the stairs of Qianqing Palace.
It wasn't until Lu Fang could no longer be seen that the guiding eunuch turned around and left.
In the Qianqing Palace, at this moment, Jiajing had already ordered someone to set up the chessboard. Seeing Lu Fang's arrival, Jiajing immediately waved his hand and said hello.
"Lu Fang, you're here just in time, come and play a game of chess with me!"
After Lu Fang heard Jiajing's words, she was stunned for a long time before she came back to her senses and responded respectfully.
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
Immediately, Lu Fang came straight to Jiajing and sat down opposite him.
Seeing this, Jiajing withdrew his gaze from Lu Fang, and immediately picked up a black chess piece from the chess basket on the side. With a 'snap' sound, the black chess piece fell onto the chessboard.
After Jiajing dropped the chess piece in his hand, he turned his gaze to Lu Fang and said slowly.
"It's your turn!"
When Lu Fang heard this, her face was full of confusion, and the white chess piece in her hand could not fall onto the chessboard.
"But Your Majesty, slave..."
Before Lu Fang could finish her words, she was coldly interrupted by Jiajing.
"Let's play chess first. If you have any questions, we'll talk about it after we finish playing chess!"
Seeing this, Lu Fang had no choice but to calm down and concentrate on playing chess with Jiajing.
During the whole process, neither party meant to speak, and the room was unusually quiet, with the only sound of the chess pieces falling on the chessboard.
I don’t know how much time has passed, but I saw Lu Fang holding the white chess piece in his hand, but he couldn’t place it down. He had no choice but to admit defeat, turned his eyes to Jiajing, and said respectfully.
"Your Majesty, this slave has lost!"
Seeing that Lu Fang surrendered, Jiajing also put the chess pieces in his hands back into the chess basket and immediately commented.
"This is natural, because your mind is not on this game at all!"
When Lu Fang heard this, a look of shame suddenly appeared on her face. After hesitating for a long time, she mustered up the courage to ask Jiajing.
"Your Majesty, Chen Hong must have come to see your Majesty before this!"
When Jiajing heard this, he nodded and immediately spoke.
"Well, yes, this Chen Hongda came to me at night and said he had something important to report, but I was not feeling well at the time, so I didn't listen to him carefully. What, what happened?"
Hearing this, Lu Fang couldn't help but feel a warm feeling in her heart after noticing Jiajing's intention to protect him. Others didn't know it, but he, Lu Fang, didn't know it either?
Now His Majesty has already accomplished Taoism, so how can he be ill?
Your Majesty may live longer than your two sons!
After a long battle between heaven and man, Lu Fang finally made up his mind to show his cards to Jiajing. After sorting out the words in his mind, he spoke carefully.
"Your Majesty, this servant is guilty. The account books of the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau have actually been..."
As Lu Fang was talking, she suddenly realized that Jiajing didn't seem to care about it. At this moment, Jiajing was supporting his chin with one hand, and his whole body was already in a daze.
Seeing this situation, Lu Fang had no choice but to temporarily stop narrating.
Not long after this, Jiajing also came to his senses, turned his gaze to Lu Fang, and gave instructions.
"Are you done? If so, let's leave. After all, it's not too early now!"
When Lu Fang heard this, her whole body felt like it was struck by lightning, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably. Immediately, there was a "plop" sound, and Lu Fang knelt down straight on the ground, with a look of gratitude on her face. .
"Your Majesty, slave, slave..."
Lu Fang choked with sobs and could not speak a complete sentence.
Seeing Lu Fang's appearance, Jiajing shook his head and immediately helped Lu Fang up from the ground.
"Okay, get up. What happened in the past is in the past, and I don't want to pursue it anymore!"
When Lu Fang heard this, her face was full of disbelief. After hesitating for a long time, she finally spoke.
"But Your Majesty, this servant is indeed..."
When Jiajing heard this, he sneered and impatiently interrupted what Lu Fang wanted to say: "Humph, at least Lu Fang knows how to serve me wholeheartedly. For this reason alone, others cannot catch up!"
"I don't know how many people are holding my bowl and smashing my pot in this world!"
When Jiajing said this, his expression suddenly turned cold. After a long while, he clenched his fists and said to himself.
"How can we govern the country well with this group of insects? Sooner or later, I will kill all these insects one by one!"
Seeing this situation, Lu Fang immediately asked Jiajing: "Your Majesty, I am an eunuch, and I am not burdened by family members. If Your Majesty is willing, I am willing to be the sharpest knife in your hand!"
When Jiajing heard this, after looking Lu Fang up and down, he spoke calmly.
"No need, Lu Fang, the current situation in the court is far from deteriorating to that point."
When Jiajing said this, he changed the subject, looked away from Lu Fang, and continued.
"Besides, you have been with me for so many years, and I can't bear to let you do such a thing. I want you to live well and take a good look at how I brought the step-by-step Ming Dynasty back to glory!"
Jiajing said, then slowly stood up, put his hands behind his back, and looked at the night outside Qianqing Palace.
"Speaking of Lu Fang, do you remember what I said before, that I will make the people of Ming Dynasty live a good life?"
As soon as Jiajing finished speaking, Lu Fang responded without thinking: "Your Majesty, I remember this!"
"At that time, after the fleet I sent earlier comes back, or after the naval construction of the imperial court is completed, the plan can be officially implemented!"
"By then, the people of my Ming Dynasty will no longer have to go hungry, and with enough silver as support, I can also launch a more drastic change on this basis!"
"The Ming Dynasty will become great again in my hands!"
In an instant, Lu Fang was shocked by the indomitable momentum emanating from Jiajing, and immediately said in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, your Majesty, long live my emperor!"
Jiajing did not comment on this, but turned around and gave instructions to Lu Fang.
"Okay, it's getting late, you should go back and rest early!"
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Fang immediately bowed to Jiajing.
Before Lu Fang had taken a few steps, Jiajing's voice came from behind: "By the way, don't forget to take those things on the desk with you. You can do whatever you want with them!"
When Lu Fang heard this, she immediately stopped, turned around, and said respectfully: "As you command, Your Majesty!"
When Lu Fang came out of the Qianqing Palace with the evidence submitted by Chen Hong, there was a bright moon hanging in the sky. Apart from that, there was nothing else. Occasionally, the cold moonlight peeked out of the clouds and fell. On the ground.
Although the time from the moment Lu Fang entered the Qianqing Palace was not too long, Lu Fang felt like she was in another world.
At this moment, he felt as if he had been reborn, and all his original shackles had disappeared at this moment.
After a while, Lu Fang came back to her senses, looked at the pile of evidence handed over by Chen Hong in her hand, and said gloomily: "Humph, Chen Hong, this time, you lost the bet!"
After that, Lu Fang put away the evidence and immediately walked towards the direction of the Supervisor of Ceremonies.
…
Although the night was already very late, the room of the Supervisor of Ceremonies was still brightly lit. At this moment, the atmosphere in the room was quite dull, and no one spoke.
After Feng Bao, everyone else in the Supervisory Bureau of Ceremonies also learned that Chen Hong secretly ran to Qianqing Palace to complain to the emperor under the cover of night.
Regarding this, their emotions are very complicated. Some are happy, some are angry, and more people are secretly worried that the matter will involve them.
Therefore, even though the night was very late, they were still not sleepy at all. They were all waiting for the final result!
If Lu Fang comes back from the Qianqing Palace, it means that the whole matter has been successfully passed, and His Majesty will not pursue it for the time being. If Lu Fang does not come back from the Qianqing Palace, it means that Chen Honglai will be in charge of the Supervisor of Ceremonies next. .
The power struggle between eunuchs is much more tragic than that between officials. The loser has only death. Other than that, there is no other choice!
At this moment, the chief eunuch Huang Jin sighed helplessly, turned his gaze to Chen Hong, and said slowly.
"Chen Hong, why are you doing this?"
"If you do this, you will put all of us on the fire. I believe everyone can see how our ancestors treat you in normal times, but now you don't miss the old relationship and go to His Majesty..."
Before Huang Jin finished speaking, he was interrupted impatiently by Chen Hong: "Huh, Huang Jin, thank you for having the nerve to say this, and you are not afraid of flashing your tongue!"
"Who doesn't know that you, Huang Jin, are usually the only one who follows Lu Fang's lead? To put it bluntly, you are just a dog raised by Lu Fang!"
Huang Jin was furious when he heard this. He looked at Chen Hong with eyes full of resentment and said word by word: "Chen Hong, what did you just say?"
Chen Hong turned a blind eye to the hateful look Huang Jin looked at him. He chuckled and repeated, "I, Chen Hong, said that you, Huang Jin, are Lu Fang's dog!"
"It's really unreasonable. I've rebelled against you and dared to talk to me like that!"
As Huang Jin spoke, he wanted to get up from his seat and teach Chen Hong a lesson, but unexpectedly, he was held down by Feng Baozhu on the side.
"Eunuch Huang, calm down, wait until your godfather comes back!"
Under Feng Bao's advice, Huang Jin quickly calmed down. After that, he snorted coldly, turned away, and said nothing.
At this time, seeing Chen Hong's confident appearance, everyone's minds became more active, especially those eunuchs who had been excluded by Lu Fang in the past. At this moment, they stood clearly behind Chen Hong. .
The current scene has naturally caused many centrists to waver. For them, it doesn't matter much whether they maintain the status quo or whether Chen Hong takes over.
After all, they did not get much benefit when Lu Fang served as the eunuch and eunuch, and they were also among the marginalized people on weekdays.
At this moment, they have some unrealistic expectations in their hearts. After Chen Hong takes over, their position may move up!
Although these people thought so, out of caution, they did not rush to take sides. After all, there was no news from Lu Fang at the moment. What if Lu Fang saved the day?
By then, not only will they not get what they want, but they will also lose what they currently have.
Just as the atmosphere at the scene became increasingly dull, Chen Hong coughed twice and extended an olive branch to Feng Bao.
"Feng Bao, you should have a bright future, why do you need to follow Lu Fang and go all the way to the dark side?"
"To tell you the truth, Lu Fang can't stand up anymore. The evidence is conclusive. Even if he has extraordinary abilities, he can't escape!"
When Chen Hong said this, he paused for a moment, looked at Huang Jin, and then spoke.
"How about this, when I take over, you will be the chief eunuch, how about that?"
It has to be said that Chen Hong's proposal has a fatal attraction for Feng Bao. According to the current situation, Chen Hong must have evidence that can kill Lu Fang.
Now, as long as he agrees to Chen Hong's conditions, he can not only escape the liquidation smoothly, but also become the chief eunuch of the Bureau of Ceremony.
In this way, Feng Bao fell into endless entanglements. When Chen Hong saw this, he was not in a hurry and just waited quietly for Feng Bao's decision, because he knew very well that Feng Bao would agree.
After a long time, Feng Bao came back to his senses. After looking around, he made a decisive decision.
"I'm sorry, my godfather has been very kind to me, Feng Bao. Over the years, if I hadn't been protected by my godfather, I, Feng Bao, would have died a long time ago!"
"Right now, my godfather is in trouble. As his godson, how can I abandon him?"
"Also, Chen Hong, you are just a villain who relied on despicable means to get into power by luck. If you can hide it from His Majesty for a while, how can you hide it from His Majesty for a lifetime?
"You, Chen Hong, will never get the approval of me, Feng Bao!"
(End of chapter)
