Chapter 35 - 2#
How could someone as high and mighty as the Empress Dowager issue such an order herself? Naturally, those below would understand her intentions.
But what major event had occurred to make the Empress Dowager so furious?
Jiang Jinming: “The Huang family has been impeached.”
These few words stunned Jingzhe.
His rare stiffness made Jiang Jinming look over. Jingzhe didn’t rush to hide his expression; instead, he took the opportunity to show a look of horror, lowering his voice: “How, how could this be?”
Jiang Jinming was only the director of the Directorate of Palace Maintenance, not the chief eunuch of the Directorate, so it was good enough that he knew a little about the court’s turmoil. How could he know so much?
However, he had heard some snippets of information.
“I heard it’s an old case,” Jiang Jinming said, shaking his head. “The Empress Dowager has been to Qianming Palace several times, but His Majesty refuses to see her.”
The Empress Dowager’s ability to enter the central palace back then had a lot to do with her being from the Huang family, and after becoming Empress, she protected the Huang family.
This was a mutually beneficial relationship.
How could the Empress Dowager be willing if Emperor Jingyuan wanted to move against the Huang family?
But Emperor Jingyuan wouldn’t see the Empress Dowager…
Did that mean that this impeachment was actually instigated by Emperor Jingyuan?
The Emperor had moved against the Huang family.
Inside Shoukang Palace, the Empress Dowager, who had returned defeated again, was so angry that she smashed everything in the hall, her face contorted with rage.
Ever since Emperor Jingyuan killed Consort Zhang in Shoukang Palace, the Empress Dowager had this vague premonition.
In the past, although the Emperor was reckless, he and the Empress Dowager had always maintained a twisted peace, like well water not interfering with river water.
At that time, Emperor Jingyuan was violent and bloodthirsty, and the entire harem was shrouded in a repressive atmosphere. Despite this, the Empress Dowager missed that period immensely.
Because, at that time, Emperor Jingyuan exuded an old, decaying aura, as if he could collapse from a stone statue into rubble at any moment. It was an unspoken understanding between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor that the Emperor might die.
Although Emperor Jingyuan’s reign was brutal, he was barely considered diligent in governance. He handled what needed to be handled and did what needed to be done. As an emperor, he might not have been benevolent enough, but there were no major mistakes in his administration.
If he were to die without any descendants, it would undoubtedly be a major problem.
And given that it was almost impossible for Emperor Jingyuan to have descendants, the succession of a brother upon the death of an elder brother seemed to become an inevitable choice.
Perhaps because of this, Emperor Jingyuan was still somewhat lenient with his siblings.
Though not much.
But at some point, the Empress Dowager realized that this drowsy, uninterested, and uncaring beast had suddenly opened its eyes.
Not only did he open his eyes, but he also revealed a ferocious and cruel inner self, even more insane and frenzied than before.
The Empress Dowager should have been happy.
The more reckless Emperor Jingyuan became, the less of his precarious reputation would remain.
The dissatisfaction of the entire court with Emperor Jingyuan was not a matter of a day or two. His act of slaughtering officials at the beginning of his reign had already angered them. Just like a dry haystack, it only needed a spark to completely engulf everything—
But strangely, the Empress Dowager noticed something unusual.
Emperor Jingyuan had awakened.
Or rather, he was willing to reopen his eyes and gaze upon the entire imperial city.
She could smell unsettling changes.
The Son of Heaven, who should have held the scepter and decayed on the throne, had somehow been infused with a vibrant aura, as if he had come back to life.
Emperor Jingyuan summoned the Imperial Physician Zong from the Imperial Academy of Medicine.
The Empress Dowager couldn’t get news from Qianming Palace, but she could still intervene a little in the Imperial Academy of Medicine.
The Empress Dowager naturally investigated this Imperial Physician Zong thoroughly, as he had entered the Imperial Academy of Medicine through the Emperor’s hands.
How could such a person not be thoroughly investigated?
He was in his forties, with a somewhat eccentric personality. He rarely stayed in the Imperial Academy of Medicine, instead practicing medicine in various places in the capital, providing free medical treatment to the poor.
Moreover, he particularly enjoyed treating difficult and complicated diseases.
If he saw a patient on the road that piqued his interest, he would immediately go up and inquire. If the patient was willing to be treated by him, everyone would be happy; but if he encountered someone unwilling, he would knock them out and take them away.
He was a very unique and formidable doctor.
Such a highly skilled doctor had lingered in the Imperial Academy of Medicine for so long, yet was reluctant to leave… combined with his eccentricities, the Empress Dowager could naturally guess the reason.
The only reason Zong Yuanxin would be stationed in the Imperial Academy of Medicine could only be because of the poison in Emperor Jingyuan.
And now, Emperor Jingyuan had summoned Zong Yuanxin.
In the past few years, he had never once allowed any imperial physician to set foot in Qianming Palace!
Emperor Jingyuan didn’t want to die.
The Empress Dowager gripped the corner of the table, her expression extremely sinister: “Saying you don’t want to die and then not dying, where in this world is there such an easy thing!”
She swept her gaze towards the female official beside her, her tone chilling.
“Go and call the Noble Consort for me.”
When the news reached Zhongcui Palace, Huang Yijie was drawing her eyebrows. The Noble Consort in the bronze mirror looked to be in the prime of her youth.
Yushi stood behind her, carefully placing a jade hairpin, wanting to speak but hesitating.
Huang Yijie looked at Yushi in the mirror and said with a smile, “If you have something to say, just say it. Do we need to hide like this with our relationship?”
Yushi: “Your Highness, the Huang family has been impeached. If something really happens, then…”
Huang Yijie said calmly: “The Huang family will be fine.”
Yushi didn’t breathe a sigh of relief, because the summons from Shoukang Palace was like a death warrant, making her look anxious.
“But Your Highness, this time, the Huang family is being investigated because of old matters, and I don’t know where that damned censor found the crucial evidence…”
As the Noble Consort’s confidante, Yushi naturally knew more than others.
The Huang family was impeached more than half a month ago.
At first, the censor’s memorial only mentioned some minor matters, such as encroaching on good land, forcing good people into slavery, and so on. These were not big troubles in the eyes of aristocratic families.
Which family didn’t subtly annex good land? How those hundreds or thousands of acres of clan land came into being, no one knew better than them. With land, naturally, there needed to be enough serfs to work, so purchasing them also appeared.
Huang Qingtian was also like this, crying a few times, defending a few times, and the matter would pass.
For many years, it had always been so.
But this time, the censor, no one knew where he got the evidence, clung to him like a mad dog.
Even though the Huang family was the Empress Dowager’s maternal family, once the censor gained the upper hand, those opportunistic remonstrance officials would follow suit.
Even a sage could not withstand meticulous scrutiny, let alone Huang Qingtian. In the previous few days, he was indeed overwhelmed.
However, things would always be settled.
Nothing more than power, money, and reputation.
However, just when Huang Qingtian thought the matter was over and had been at ease for less than two days, the Vice Minister of Revenue suddenly exposed in court, in front of everyone, that Huang Qingtian, the Minister of Revenue, had pushed all the blame onto his subordinates in a corruption case thirteen years ago, concealing that he was the real corrupt person, among other crimes!
As soon as this matter came out, the entire court was in an uproar.
Thirteen years ago, Huang Qingtian was still a Vice Minister of Revenue, sitting in the position of the original Vice Minister.
When a corruption case occurred in the Ministry of Revenue, even if the verdict had nothing to do with Huang Qingtian, he was still sent out for a few years before returning.
After several rotations in officialdom, he once again became an official of the Ministry of Revenue, but already in a high position like the Minister of Revenue.
Many people still remembered that corruption case from back then.
It was precisely because Huang Qingtian handled that incident impartially and decisively that he left a distinct impression.
Now, the Vice Minister of Revenue stood up to expose that the entire incident back then was Huang Qingtian’s doing. How could this not shock people!
And this Vice Minister actually had evidence in his hand.
A very, very crucial piece of evidence.
Thinking of this, even Huang Yijie couldn’t help but show a faint worry in her eyes.
Yushi was very familiar with her emotions and whispered, “Your Highness, the Empress Dowager… perhaps, you should refuse.”
They both knew why the Empress Dowager had summoned the Noble Consort this time.
Ever since the Huang family’s incident, the Empress Dowager had tried to meet Emperor Jingyuan several times, but Qianming Palace was closed, seeing no one.
Even the Empress Dowager could only stand guard outside the palace gate.
The Empress Dowager’s temper grew more irritable by the day.
Huang Yijie smiled faintly and shook her head, saying softly, “Yushi, we made a choice back then, chose to enter the palace, and thus survived. Now, there’s no turning back.”
She changed her clothes with Yushi’s assistance, then looked up with a smile, sighing a little.
“I just didn’t expect it to come so quickly.”
…
Summer weather changes very quickly. In the morning, it was still bright sunshine, but in the blink of an eye, it was pouring rain. The rain was astonishingly heavy, and whatever plans there were for the afternoon had to be put on hold by this downpour.
Jingzhe stood on the top step, a little worried. With such heavy rain, he probably wouldn’t see Rong Jiu today.
Today was the fifteenth.
In the rumbling rain, someone rushed over in the heavy rain.
Jingzhe casually glanced and found it was Yunkui.
He grabbed an umbrella and rushed into the rain, holding the umbrella over Yunkui and himself, shouting in the rain: “Are you crazy? With such heavy rain, what are you doing here?”
Yunkui also shouted: “Something happened!”
He was strong, snatched the umbrella from Jingzhe’s hand, and like carrying a chick, quickly pulled Jingzhe back under the eaves.
“No need for an umbrella for me.” Yunkui was soaked, wringing his hem, and said to Jingzhe, who was equally wet, “You don’t look much better than me.”
Jingzhe looked at the umbrella of terrible quality. If it hadn’t suddenly broken a hole just now, it wouldn’t have been so miserable.
“What happened?”
Jingzhe wiped his face, straightened his precarious crown, and looked up at Yunkui.
Yunkui looked at the furious sky and the almost pouring rain, and said gloomily: “You didn’t see it, the water outside the palace road is densely packed with insects.”
“Insects, what kind of insects?”
Jingzhe’s nerves were sharply tugged, and he instinctively asked.
Yunkui was originally going to see Jiang Jinming, but he had no choice but to take Jingzhe with him.
He was a little surprised.
Jingzhe was not such a curious person.
Jingzhe thought his curiosity was not that strong, but what Yunkui said just now instinctively felt wrong to him.
On the way, Yunkui briefly explained the situation to Jingzhe.
The palace grounds were densely overgrown with vegetation, and in summer, mosquito bites were common. But this year, even before summer, people were often bitten uncomfortably.
Jingzhe also remembered this.
“I don’t know what’s going on this year. There’s a lot of rain and a lot of mosquitoes. It’s raining today, and it turns out that outside the courtyard wall of the miscellaneous procurement office, somehow a lot of black little insects crawled out and scattered with the water.” Yunkui shivered at the thought of that terrifying scene. “The miscellaneous procurement office and the Directorate of Palace Maintenance are close, so I rushed back to check.”
And to tell Jiang Jinming about this as soon as possible.
Jingzhe’s heart inexplicably sank. Seeing Jiang Jinming’s door right in front of him, he stopped. “Yunkui, you go ahead, I’ll go back and inform the others.”
Yunkui nodded, watching Jingzhe turn and run.
Jingzhe ran very fast, rushing into his room, rummaging through everything, startling Huiping.
“Jingzhe, why are you so wet? What are you looking for?”
Jingzhe didn’t bother to answer. After rummaging for a while, he finally found a box of incense.
Opening it, there were still sixteen sticks left inside.
Jingzhe quickly lit the incense, then, not afraid of the heat at all, twisted the ashes and smeared them all over himself. Then he took out one stick and handed the rest to Huiping.
“Light them up, and have everyone stay in this room. Don’t go out, and keep the doors and windows tightly closed.” Jingzhe quickly instructed, “If you hear any strange movements outside, it’s best not to open the door.”
Huiping didn’t know why, and watched Jingzhe take out an oilcloth coat, put it on, and rush out again.
The oilcloth coat was coated with tung oil, making it very waterproof.
It was a gift from Jingzhe’s friend.
Yunkui and Jiang Jinming were still talking in the room when they heard a click outside. Jingzhe pushed open the door very rashly, without even an announcement.
Before Jiang Jinming could frown, he saw Yunkui suddenly stand up.
He could see the anxiety on Jingzhe’s face.
Jingzhe: “Yunkui, this is for you.”
He pulled out the unlit incense stick from his bosom.
“This incense can repel insects. You can light it first. If it’s not enough, when there’s only a little left, take the Director to my room. Huiping has some more.”
Jingzhe spoke quickly.
Yunkui frowned, taking a step forward: “What are you going to do? I’ll go with you.”
Jingzhe took a step back, shaking his head: “I don’t know yet… I just have a very bad premonition. I need to go out and see. Anyway, if you hear any unusual movements, remember to keep the doors and windows tightly closed.”
After he finished speaking, he turned and rushed into the rain.
Yunkui wanted to stop him but couldn’t.
How could Jingzhe be so agile!
Jiang Jinming stopped Yunkui, who was about to follow him out, and frowned: “What’s wrong with you two? So reckless.”
Yunkui had only said half of what he wanted to tell Jiang Jinming, so he had no choice but to quickly finish telling the rest to his master.
Jiang Jinming’s expression changed slightly: “Crawling insects?”
Yunkui nodded: “They’re everywhere.”
This terrifying and creepy scene was why Yunkui had to come back. After all, those terrifying waves disappeared in a blink of an eye, and Yunkui was afraid they would flow into the Directorate of Palace Maintenance with the water.
Although Jiang Jinming was very moved, he was also very daring.
He slapped Yunkui on the back and said sternly: “You rush out without knowing anything. You are, and Jingzhe is too, neither of you cares about your own safety.”
Yunkui felt wronged. He hadn’t even had time to stop Jingzhe!
…
The rain poured down on his head, constantly taking away his body heat, making his hands and feet cold and his breathing very rapid.
Jingzhe exhaled, and on the way out of the Directorate of Palace Maintenance, he indeed saw many densely packed small black dots floating on the water, passing by in a flash, very strange.
However, whenever those small black dots approached Jingzhe, they would suddenly flee frantically, as if he were something terrifying.
…It was probably the incense.
Jingzhe roughly smeared himself with incense ash and used the tung oil coat to block the rain, trying his best to preserve the smell.
He had already walked to the fork in the road, and those strange signs had not receded. In this pouring rain, they twisted into a terrifying sense of hell opening up.
Jingzhe had a premonition of bad luck.