The sky was bright, and the warm sunshine poured into the rippling blue waves of the Taiye Pond. A small boat in the Taiye Pond carried Zhu Ping'an and slowly approached the shore.
After arriving at the shore, Zhu Pingan got off the boat and stood by the Taiye Pool to thank the palace maid and eunuch who was supporting the boat.
After Emperor Jiajing went down to the court, he went to the Guanghan Palace built on a small island in Taiye Pond, where he summoned Zhu Pingan. Because the Guanghan Palace was built on a small island in the middle of the lake, the only way to reach the palace was by punting, so Zhu Ping'an came to pay homage to Emperor Jiajing in this small boat.
There was a little eunuch who had been waiting on the shore of the small island in the middle of the lake where Guanghan Palace was located. This little eunuch was also an acquaintance of Zhu Pingan, Eunuch Feng Baofeng. Eunuch Feng greeted Zhu Pingan with a smile on his face. On the way to lead Zhu Pingan to Guanghan Hall, he also reminded Zhu Pingan in a low voice that his majesty was in a bad mood today and asked Zhu Pingan to be careful when he met the saint.
In fact, there was no need for Feng Bao to remind Zhu Pingan that Emperor Jiajing was in a bad mood today. After all, it was Zhu Pingan who witnessed Emperor Jiajing getting angry with his own eyes.
However, Feng Bao was taking the initiative to show his goodwill, and Zhu Ping'an would not miss this opportunity in vain.
"Thank you, Eunuch Feng, for reminding me."
Zhu Ping'an cupped his hand to express his thanks, and then slipped a small banknote into Feng Bao's sleeve without leaving any trace. Feng Bao declined in a low voice for a moment and then accepted.
Under the guidance of Feng Bao, Zhu Pingan entered the Guanghan Palace. Feng Bao stopped and another young eunuch led Zhu Pingan into the palace where Emperor Jiajing was temporarily resting. Emperor Jiajing was sitting cross-legged on the bed at this time, in a meditating posture, still looking at the memorial presented by Shen Lian in his hand, with an angry expression on his face, and a large section of his large dragon robe hanging on the ground.
"I pay my respects to my emperor, long live my emperor." After Zhu Pingan was led into the hall by the young eunuch, he knelt down and saluted Emperor Jiajing who was sitting on the dragon couch.
"Without courtesy, I love you." Emperor Jiajing nodded and motioned for Zhu Pingan to get up and step forward. The main hall is very large, and the dragon cave where Emperor Jiajing is located is quite far away from where Zhu Ping'an is standing. It is a bit difficult to speak across such a large distance.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Zhu Pingan stood up and thanked him.
Emperor Jiajing's anger has not yet subsided. Shen Lian's letter made Emperor Jiajing very angry. Whenever he thought of the contents of Shen Lian's letter, Emperor Jiajing became furious.
Emperor Jiajing ascended the throne at a young age. You must know that Emperor Jiajing was only the eldest son of a local king at that time. After the death of Emperor Zhengde, the civil and military ministers took control of the government and recruited Emperor Jiajing to inherit the throne in accordance with the principle of "brothers end with younger brothers". The civil and military ministers headed by Yang Tinghe made things difficult for Emperor Jiajing at every turn, but in the end Emperor Jiajing was the superior. He perfectly controlled the affairs of the state and managed the Ming Dynasty in an orderly manner. Therefore, Emperor Jiajing often compared himself to the best in history in terms of civil and military skills and was very proud of himself.
However, he did not expect that Shen Lian would write a letter and compare himself to Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty. In Jiajing's eyes, this memorial was not so much about impeaching Yan Song as it was about humiliating himself. This made Emperor Jiajing how to calm down his anger.
However, Emperor Jiajing’s punishment today. But it was also beyond Zhu Ping'an's expectation.
He was given a royal staff and then thrown into prison to be punished on a day-to-day basis!
What does Mingzhengdian punishment mean? Ming means to express; it means to punish; Dianxing means the law. The four words Mingzheng and Dianxing together mean to impose capital punishment in accordance with the law. This idiom is mostly used in official documents or announcements about the execution of prisoners.
This means that after beating Shen Lian's imperial staff, the court will choose a good and auspicious day to execute Shen Lian!
This is inconsistent with Zhu Ping'an's own understanding of history. In history, Emperor Jiajing just slapped Shen Lian's imperial staff and sent him to the border. Why did he want to kill Shen Lian now?
Regardless of whether Shen Lian is impulsive or irrational, it is undeniable that Shen Lian is a good person. His starting point is good and his purpose is good.
Zhu Pingan couldn't help but watch such a good official die.
It just so happens that I have such an opportunity to meet the Holy Spirit, so I must seize it. Zhu Ping'an thought secretly in his heart.
"My dear, why don't you come closer?" Emperor Jiajing looked at Zhu Ping'an, who was stunned, and couldn't help but put down the memorial and asked in a deep voice.
Only then did Zhu Ping'an realize that Emperor Jiajing had indeed signaled him to come forward and speak, but he was a little distracted because he was thinking about Shen Lian. How to say. What excuse are you using? Emperor Jiajing is a narrow-minded person, especially when he is angry now. If he doesn't answer well, not only will the good impression he made on Emperor Jiajing be gone, but he may also leave a bad impression on Emperor Jiajing. bad impression.
In this era of feudal imperial power, the emperor's likes and dislikes are related to your future, so you must be cautious.
In the midst of this electric light and flint, Zhu Pingan suddenly caught a glimpse of Emperor Jiajing's dragon robe hanging on the ground. A story circulated in unofficial history about the imperial doctor's visit to Jiajing emerged in Zhu Pingan's mind. The imperial doctor saw Emperor Jiajing hanging on the ground. When he was wearing his dragon robe, he said something that made Emperor Jiajing happy. This story happened in the last years of Jiajing and had not happened yet, but the situation was quite similar.
It's hard to say for others, but it is indeed very suitable for someone as fastidious as Jiajing.
Feeling at ease, Zhu Pingan saluted Emperor Jiajing calmly and said: "Your Majesty's dragon robe is on the ground, and I dare not come near."
Your Majesty's dragon robe is on the ground, and I dare not come near. This seemingly simple sentence scratched an itch in Emperor Jiajing's heart.
The dragon robe was hanging on the ground. Zhu Pingan said this, which fully shows his loyalty to me. If I am on the ground, I am a human; if I am underground, then I am a ghost. Emperor Jiajing's anger because of Shen Lian's letter was relieved by Zhu Pingan's words.
The difference between the ground and the underground was a world of difference in Emperor Jiajing's heart.
Emperor Jiajing pulled up the dragon robe hanging on the ground with his hands, placed it on the dragon couch, and motioned for Zhu Pingan to come forward and reply.
After Zhu Pingan saluted, he walked to Emperor Jiajing.
"Take a look, what do you think?"
Emperor Jiajing gently threw the memorial in Zhu Pingan's hand and asked in a calm voice.
Zhu Ping'an took the memorial with both hands, confessed his crime to Emperor Jiajing, and then read it carefully. Of course, he only looked at it carefully on the surface, but in his heart he was thinking about how to reply to Emperor Jiajing. Emperor Jiajing was preoccupied at this moment, and was obviously venting his anger on Shen Lian. If he interceded for Shen Lian, or even spoke for Shen Lian, not only would it not be able to save Shen Lian, but it would accelerate Shen Lian's tragedy, and it would also make Shen Lian's tragedy worse. Emperor Jiajing's anger implicated himself.
"How?" A few minutes later, Emperor Jiajing looked directly at Zhu Pingan and asked.
"I'll be honest, this memorial has nothing to do with its appearance." Zhu Ping'an bowed his hands and reported back.
"Oh?" Emperor Jiajing's eyes flickered as he examined Zhu Ping'an.
"The ten serious crimes are based solely on words, with no physical evidence, no witness, and no supporting evidence. Therefore, I bluntly stated that they are false and false." Zhu Ping'an replied calmly under the scrutiny of Emperor Jiajing.
"Yes." Jiajing nodded when he heard this, with a slight hint of anger on his face, "Such a villain doesn't want to serve the country, but he does these tricks to frame people. He deserves to be damned!"
"What your Majesty said is absolutely true. However, when I read this memorial, there is a hint of death in the words. I guess that a coffin has been prepared at home for a long time. The person who wants to die is seeking fame."
At the end, Zhu Ping'an said something calmly, which extinguished the anger in Emperor Jiajing's heart. Shen Lian wants to die for fame, but I won't satisfy him! (To be continued.)
