How to persuade Gao Pragmatic is a problem, but before this problem, Zhu Yijun must first solve another problem: he cannot discuss with Gao Pragmatic in front of all the cabinet ministers how to influence Concubine Zheng, so he must first persuade other people People leave.
Zhu Yijun decided to adopt a good method that even if everyone knew that he was pretending, they could not show doubts - he suddenly covered his mouth with his left hand holding a bloody cloth and coughed, with a very painful expression.
"emperor!"
"Your Majesty!"
All the ministers and several supervisors of rites, Da Jue, were all shocked. However, the ministers from the outer court were not allowed to approach at will. Therefore, only Chen Ju, Wang An and Liu Ping hurriedly rushed to the front of the emperor to greet the emperor.
There was an unexpected surprise this time, which was that he directly blocked the sight of all the ministers.
However, Zhu Yijun did not become careless because of this. Instead, he deliberately took a few deep breaths and said fiercely in a weak but obviously dissatisfied tone: "All cabinet ministers, please step aside first!"
The ministers' hearts trembled, and everyone subconsciously looked towards Wang Jiaping. Wang Jiaping was not intimidated. Although he looked a little bit intolerant, he still raised his hands solemnly and said: "I obey the order, please have a good rest." After a pause, he added: "I will call you at any time."
Zhu Yijun snorted lightly, but did not answer, so the ministers turned around and left. Here is a word of caution: when courtiers in the Qing Dynasty met the emperor, they were not allowed to turn around when exiting the door. Instead, they had to go out backwards to show their disapproval. Dare to "bet" the emperor, but the Ming Dynasty does not have such anti-human behavioral norms.
The ministers walked to the door. Just as Wang Jiaping raised his foot to cross the threshold, he suddenly heard the emperor's voice behind him again: "Wait a minute, Rixin is staying."
Everyone looked at Gao Jiaping again. Gao Jiaping looked thoughtful, but he didn't seem to have any clue. He shook his head back to Wang Jiaping in confusion.
Wang Jiaping didn't know whether he understood it or not, or had other ideas. He just nodded slightly and walked out again. Second Assistant Liang Menglong said nothing and followed Wang Jiaping out of the door.
Gao pragmatic stepped aside to make way for Zhao Zhigao, Shen Yiguan and Zhou Yong who were ranked behind him to file out. After they left, Gao pragmatic returned to the front of Yutai again. At this time, the three big men had actually given up their positions in front of the bed, and Zhu Yijun appeared in Gao Pragmatic's field of vision again, looking no different from before.
Only then did Gao Pragmatic realize that Zhu Yijun just wanted to scare away the others, which meant that he had something to talk to him. But Gao Pingshi didn't say much, he just cupped his hands and said softly: "Your Majesty."
Zhu Yijun nodded, took a deep breath, and said to Chen Ju and the others: "You also go out and wait outside the door. Don't let anyone approach Xinuang Pavilion."
Logically speaking, this move is not very legal, especially not in line with the rules after October 21, the 21st year of Jiajing. A major event happened on that day. Although there was no explicit rule later, it was actually implemented. There was an unspoken rule that Xiang did not have to state explicitly: no one could meet the emperor alone without two or more eunuchs watching.
What happened on October 21, the 21st year of Jiajing, that led to the introduction of such an unspoken rule? Speaking of which, it was truly a rare attempted regicide in history.
That night, the palace was completely silent, everything seemed normal, and the weak lights accompanied the emperor as he fell asleep.
At this moment, sixteen palace maids, led by the palace maid Yang Jinying, quietly came to the imperial bed, holding tightly a thick rope made of multiple silk flower ropes in their hands, planning to kill Jiajing while he was sleeping. Strangulation, this is an assassination that only this group of most special assassins can plan.
Regardless of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Forbidden City had strict security measures. A storyline like Master Xing holding a lantern and arresting four masters on the top of the Forbidden City was simply impossible to happen. It could just be played out in a movie.
For example, the Qianqing Palace, where the emperor lived, had nine rooms, "with twenty-seven beds above and below. The emperor could sleep at any time, and the system was different." So if you want to assassinate at night, you must first know where the emperor slept that day. Not to mention that the emperor may stay in the palace of his concubines at any time. With so many beauties in the harem, not to mention the rain and dew, they must be exposed to as much as possible, right?
But the maids accompanying the emperor knew these secrets. On the night when the palace change occurred, Emperor Jiajing came to sleep in Concubine Duan's palace. Concubine Duan Cao was young and beautiful, and was one of the most favored concubines at that time. She knew nothing about the plans of the palace maids, but she was destined to be implicated in this action.
The crisis was approaching and Emperor Jiajing was still sleeping. Seeing that he was defenseless, Yang Jinying and other palace maids took out a rope and put it around the emperor's neck. Another palace maid covered his face with yellow silk.
Everything was ready, and more than a dozen palace maids who had no strength to tie the chicken swarmed forward. Some pinched Jiajing's neck, while others held down the body and limbs and tightened the noose.
Jiajing woke up from his dream, but was unable to resist and was about to die. However, the palace maids discovered that in their panic, they mistakenly turned the rope's live buckle into a dead buckle, so it could not be tightened anyway. Jiajing did not die as a result, but was strangled unconscious.
Seeing that the plan might be exposed, a palace maid named Zhang Jinlian became a traitor in desperation and secretly ran to inform Queen Fang. The queen was horrified when she learned of this, and hurriedly led the eunuchs and guards to come to the rescue. In the chaos, Queen Fang was even punched by the palace maid, but after all, the Queen had a large number of people and quickly arrested these assassins.
At this time, Emperor Jiajing fell into a severe coma, but there was still a way to save him. This year is the Renyin year of the lunar calendar, so the assassination of the palace maid is called the "Renyin Palace Incident".
Seeing that Jiajing was about to die, everyone in the palace was in a hurry, trying to find a way to save him.
However, treating the emperor has always been a high-risk technical job, especially when Jiajing was already in a severe coma and his life or death was uncertain. If he could not be cured, he would definitely be punished.
Just when everyone was at a loss what to do, an imperial doctor named Xu Shen stepped forward and risked his life to prescribe a medicine for Jiajing. A few hours after Jiajing took the medicine, he vomited several liters of purple blood from his mouth. He was finally able to speak a few words and returned from the hell gate.
Here is another digression that I don’t know how to comment on: When Xu Shen prescribed medicine to Jiajing, he didn’t know what he was doing. He was always worried. He was exhausted physically and mentally at the end of the day, and soon fell ill and died. Before he died, Xu Shen left his last words: "I can't be saved. I had a uterine change before, and I knew that if the medicine I prescribed didn't work, it would definitely lead to death. Therefore, the disease cannot be cured by medicine or stone." ." As a result, he revived the emperor, but he was frightened to death.
Speaking of the emperor, Jiajing was weak after all these hardships and needed to be recuperated. All palace affairs were handed over to Queen Fang, who presided over the trial. Empress Fang ordered the eunuchs and eunuchs to interrogate the sixteen arrested maids. After being tortured, they were forced to question who was the mastermind behind the murder. The maids confessed to Concubine Ning and the Wang family, and unanimously admitted that Concubine Ning had planned the incident.
Since the 10th year of Jiajing, the imperial palace has established nine concubines among the concubines according to the ancient system. Ning concubine is one of them, and she was canonized just two years ago. Unfortunately, as the beauty grew older, she fell out of favor and her position in the palace was no longer guaranteed. If she had a motive to assassinate Jiajing, it could only be because she was dissatisfied with him for being mean and unkind and preferring the new to the old.
After Concubine Ning "confessed", Concubine Cao Duan was also dragged into the water. Ning Bin insisted that although Concubine Duan was not involved, she had already known about the assassination - after all, the scene of the murder was in her palace. Concubine Ning's move was so cruel that the emperor did not die, but she succeeded in dragging Concubine Duan to death with her.
But when things got to this point, it was outrageous, because if Concubine Ning had a motive for committing the crime, it would barely make sense, but if Concubine Duan wanted to assassinate Jiajing, it would be really unbelievable. She was Jiajing's beloved concubine. She was doted on because of her beauty. She often drank and had sex with him, just like a canary in a cage. If Jiajing died, she would lose everything and gain nothing.
When Concubine Duan learned that she was about to be punished, she cried out that she had been wronged. She continued to say that she had been framed until her death. Obviously, she is most likely an innocent person involved in this incident.
But no matter what, as a result, all the "murderers" were arrested in less than ten days, and the palace incident ended.
This incident later implicated many stories, but those are irrelevant to this book and will not be mentioned for now. In short, after such a big event happened, even the maids in the harem could no longer gain the emperor's complete trust, and the regulations on the emperor's personal safety became even stricter, as mentioned before.
Fortunately, this rule is not expressly stipulated, and in the early years when Zhu Yijun was not the emperor, he often spent time alone with Gao Pragmatic. As an old man who served Zhu Yijun at that time, Chen Ju had long been accustomed to this, so that Zhu Yijun later became the emperor. There are also many times when he will send other people away and still discuss things with Gao Pragmatic alone.
Originally, Zhu Yijun, Gao Pragmatic, Chen Ju, and even Liu Ping, the four of them had long been accustomed to this, and no one took that rule seriously. At this time, as soon as the emperor gave the order, Chen Ju and Liu Ping planned to leave. Who knew that something unexpected happened this time.
When Wang An heard this, he immediately stood up and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, the palace has undergone great changes today. As the admiral of Dongchang, I dare not leave your side without permission."
As soon as he said this, the four monarchs and ministers present except him were all stunned. Chen Ju was stunned for a moment and then hurriedly made amends. He scolded: "Wang An! What are you talking about? Are you, the Marquis, an ordinary person? Come and wait outside with me."
It stands to reason that Wang An, the admiral of the East Factory, was recommended by Chen Ju, and Chen Ju should be given some face no matter what. However, as mentioned before, Wang An has a very stubborn temper and is a very principled person. At this moment, he is facing He refused to give in even when Chen Ju tried to stop him. Instead, he cupped his hands and said, "Palmprint, this matter is related to my responsibility. I'm sorry that I don't dare to accept the promise."
Chen Ju couldn't help being furious when he heard Wang An's answer. Although he was always known for his good temper, he could not help but turn pale with anger at this moment, especially when he thought that not long ago, Gao Pragmatic specifically asked him whether Wang An was trustworthy, and he answered that he was trustworthy.
However, compared to the angry Chen Ju, the emperor was actually more impatient at this time. Zhu Yijun was too lazy to talk, and waved his hands as if to shoo away flies: "Go out if I tell you to. Anyone in this world may want to harm me, but pragmatism will never harm me! Get out!"
Now Wang An had nothing to say. He took a deep look at Gao Pangshi, bowed to the emperor, and said, "I obey the decree." Then he turned and left without looking at Chen Ju and Liu Ping.
Chen Ju was so angry that his temples were beating, but he could not lose his composure in front of the emperor and Gao Pingshi. He suppressed his anger and saluted the two of them, saying: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I will leave you."
Zhu Yijun nodded, Gao Pingshi handed them over and watched Chen Ju and Liu Ping leave. After Chen Ju went out, he closed the door very thoughtfully - not just a little bit, but closed it completely, just barely unlocked it.
As soon as they left, Zhu Yijun shook his head and said: "This Wang An is quite courageous, but... he is also a man of rules."
Gao pragmatic knew that the emperor's words were not casual comments. To some extent, he was hinting to him that he did not want to pursue Wang An's "discourtesy" just now.
Although he didn't know why the emperor wanted to protect Wang An, Gao Pragmatic had no intention of pursuing it - he had no need. Even if Wang An did not do well, Chen Ju should first consider how to deal with it. Therefore, Gao Pingshi just nodded lightly, skipped the matter directly, and asked: "The emperor is leaving his ministers here. What orders do you have?"
Zhu Yijun didn't expect Gao Pingshi's question to be so direct, which made it difficult for him to find a suitable entry point, and he couldn't help but feel speechless for a moment. After pondering for a while, Zhu Yijun smiled bitterly and said: "Pragmatically, you must have already guessed about today's matter. Could it be that you can't guess what I think?"
He didn't call Gao Jingshi "Rixin", but instead called him by his first name, which is supposed to be impolite, but Gao Jingshi knew that the habitual name he used to call himself since childhood was actually "pragmatic", and calling him that at this moment was deliberately pulling the strings. Close range.
Gao Pingshi sighed softly and said: "Your Majesty, I would like to ask first: Do you think there is really no problem with Yikun Palace?"
"This... I don't know, and I don't want to know." Zhu Yijun also sighed, shook his head and said with a grimace, "But no matter what, I don't want to see Concubine Zheng suffer because of this."
"Even if Yi Kun Palace might want to harm you?" Gao Pragmatic's expression remained unchanged, but his tone was obviously cold.
"I don't believe that Concubine Zheng wants to harm me." Zhu Yijun answered very firmly, and at the same time he emphasized his tone: "Pragmatically, Concubine Zheng will never harm me. If, I mean if...she really did something, then She must have been deceived and didn't know that doing this would hurt me! Do you believe me or not?"
In a very rare act of "disrespect before the emperor", Gao pragmatic walked to the chair and sat down without waiting for the emperor's instructions. He even stretched out his hand to scratch his head and sighed longly, but did not answer.
"You don't believe it?" Zhu Yijun lifted up the brocade quilt, jumped out of bed, walked up to Gao Pangshi, and said, "If you don't believe it, I will call Concubine Zheng in for confrontation now. Do you think so?"
This is obviously not good. How could Gao Pragmatic be willing to meet a concubine in the harem for no reason? What's more, what Zhu Yijun is talking about is confrontation - who stipulates that he has the right to hold his concubines accountable? Only the emperor had the right to decide how to deal with his concubines, and there was no need for supervision from the outside court.
This is an angry statement.
Gao pragmatic shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, even if I don't say a word, Yuan Fu and all the ministers will definitely not let it go. If such a major matter is not investigated clearly, how can any official in the world sleep peacefully?"
"That's why I left you here to discuss it!" Zhu Yijun pulled up a chair and sat in front of Gao Pangshi. He looked at him with wide eyes and said expectantly: "Over the years, no matter what difficulties are put in front of you, you You can all help me solve it, right?"
Gao Pragmatic also widened his eyes and said quickly: "That's different, those are state affairs."
"Nothing is trivial in the Tian family, and this time it is also a state matter!" Zhu Yijun also widened his eyes: "If Concubine Zheng really... because of this matter, I will be heartbroken. What if..."
"Your Majesty, be careful what you say." Gao pragmatic interrupted.
"Then you are willing to help me?"
Good guy, as an emperor, where did you learn such rogue methods?
Gao Pragmatic was extremely helpless and said angrily: "Yikun Palace is the key to this matter. If we can't even investigate, then the mastermind behind the scenes can rest easy. How can there be any truth in guarding against thieves for a thousand days?
Let me put it this way, if the emperor really wants to protect the imperial concubine, then it is even more important to find out the matter and bring the mastermind behind the scenes to justice. As for the Imperial Concubine... let's just say that the Imperial Concubine was kept in the dark from beginning to end. "
Zhu Yijun hesitated and said, "She really won't be implicated?"
Gao pragmatic rolled his eyes and refused to answer.
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Thanks to book friends "tutte", "Yun Fuyue Yu", "Cao Mianzi", "gjc0516", "keyng", "Altay's Laoxi", "book friend 20200324225429736", "Shenzhou Ranger", "Doubu", "seamche" monthly ticket support, thank you!
ps: mlgb, I owe 5 chapters, so annoying, so annoying.
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