Chapter 142: Cooperation Benefits Both Sides

Xu Guangqi felt deeply grateful and quickly responded with respect, "Your Majesty, I will make arrangements as soon as I return."

Zhu Youxiao smiled and nodded, then said to Chen Hong beside him, "Send someone over to keep the people at the imperial estates from making trouble."

Although the Ming imperial estates were the Emperor's private property, the Emperor rarely concerned himself with them in ordinary times — they were essentially managed by the Directorate of Ceremonial.

The people beneath the imperial estates did not particularly defer to civil officials, because civil officials had no jurisdiction over the imperial estates — those were the Emperor's personal property.

Even if civil officials wanted to deal with the people at the imperial estates, they could not, so the estate staff ordinarily paid little heed to civil officials' words.

Now that he had sent Xu Guangqi over, those people in the imperial estates might very well comply outwardly while sabotaging behind his back.

Zhu Youxiao had no intention of waiting until they stirred up trouble before cleaning them up, because that would waste time — he might as well crush them completely from the start.

They might ignore other people's words, but when it came to the words of a senior eunuch from the palace, the people at the imperial estates would never dare disobey.

Because if they disobeyed a senior eunuch, one slight misstep could get them killed — and killed without a trace. So they did not dare disobey.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Chen Hong quickly acknowledged.

"If Your Majesty has nothing else, your servant shall take his leave." Xu Guangqi bowed respectfully.

"Go on." Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and watched Xu Guangqi depart, his expression softening slightly.

This was the last matter Zhu Youxiao needed to arrange for now — for everything else, he only needed to wait, with no further worries requiring his attention.

All that remained was to prepare peacefully for his grand wedding, which lightened his burden considerably.

Nightfall came quickly, and many places in the capital were brightly lit.

Zhu Youxiao stood at the highest point of the palace, the night breeze brushing against his face, carrying a hint of chill.

He gazed expressionlessly at the flickering, indistinct lights in the distance, his heart in some turmoil.

This Great Ming appeared prosperous and flourishing on the surface, but how much suffering of the common people lay hidden beneath that veneer of prosperity?

He had become the Emperor of the Great Ming and wanted to do something for the people, for this realm — yet he found himself unable to do so.

Letting out a sigh, Zhu Youxiao descended from the tower, resolved to accomplish it no matter what means he had to employ or what reputation he had to bear.

Who knew how many schemes and conspiracies were being born on this night shrouded in darkness...

At this moment, Minister of Rites Sun Shenxing was at his home, while Zhao Nanxing sat on a chair with a grim expression.

The two sat facing each other; the lamplight in the room was somewhat dim, yet no one dared enter to trim the wick.

The tea had already been changed three times, but every time a servant entered, they still moved cautiously to add water, afraid of disturbing the two men.

Looking at Zhao Nanxing sitting stiffly across from him, Sun Shenxing spoke: "I truly never imagined they would set their sights on you. It is rather surprising."

Zhao Nanxing raised his head to look at Sun Shenxing — this was not the answer he had wanted to hear.

In truth, before this he too had not expected the other side to target him, but since the matter had already happened, dwelling on it now was meaningless.

What needed to be done now was to solve the problem; everything else held little significance.

"Then what should be done about this matter?" Zhao Nanxing said in a somewhat hoarse voice.

Zhao Nanxing had not gone to Gao Panlong, because he knew Gao Panlong would absolutely never do anything for him.

Gao Panlong also did not want him to keep making a fuss at the Ministry of Works — having him wait passively was the advice Gao Panlong had given.

But Zhao Nanxing did not want to do that. If he did, he had no idea what would be waiting for him.

Hearing Zhao Nanxing's words, Sun Shenxing's expression also turned grim, because this matter was extremely difficult to handle, and he could not think of any good solution at the moment.

Glancing at Zhao Nanxing, Sun Shenxing spoke: "Do you have any ideas?"

"I have no ideas." Zhao Nanxing said helplessly: "Even if we find some scapegoats, I'm afraid someone won't be satisfied!"

The "someone" Zhao Nanxing referred to naturally meant Liu Yijing.

That old fellow had targeted him so relentlessly — how could he possibly back off so easily?

Once he produced a few scapegoats, the old fellow might pounce on him directly. Then things would become even more troublesome.

"Perhaps we can work from his side." Sun Shenxing spoke.

"What do you mean by that?" Zhao Nanxing suddenly raised his head and asked in surprise.

Could it be that they should do something to Liu Yijing? One had to know that at this sensitive moment, it was truly inconvenient to take any action.

His side had not been idle either — their moves had been quite vicious — but they had already been suppressed. Under such circumstances, there was no good solution for the time being.

More critically, judging from today's situation, the Emperor still trusted Liu Yijing greatly. The man was a Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat — ordinary tricks could not topple him.

"Why must we keep fighting? Cooperation benefits both sides!" Sun Shenxing said with some significance.

Zhao Nanxing was stunned, then said with some hesitation: "Would that work?"

"Why wouldn't it?" Sun Shenxing said with a smile. "Things are not what they used to be. Before, he had Han Kuang; now? Han Kuang has broken with him — this is the perfect opportunity for us to step in. As long as we reach an agreement with Liu Yijing, then everything will be resolved with ease."

"How do we do it?" Zhao Nanxing was now interested as well.

If they could truly accomplish this step, it would naturally be the best outcome for Zhao Nanxing, so how could he not be interested?

"The matter is quite simple. Liu Yijing does not have many options right now — Han Kuang is clearly eyeing his position. If Liu Yijing wants to keep his position, then he needs our support." Sun Shenxing said with a smile.

"So I think we have something to negotiate. We support Liu Yijing in exchange for my entry into the Grand Secretariat — killing two birds with one stone. That way, we will have a seat in the Grand Secretariat and no longer need to rely on anyone." Sun Shenxing said with confidence: "When that time comes, many things will become much easier to handle."

Zhao Nanxing, however, showed a troubled expression and said hesitantly: "Will he agree?"

"It's simply a matter of carrot and stick. Tell him — if he doesn't agree, we'll switch our support to Han Kuang; if he does agree, we can promise him that I won't fight for his position as Chief Grand Secretary." Sun Shenxing continued: "Caught in such a dilemma, he can only choose us."

Looking at Sun Shenxing, Zhao Nanxing felt some hesitation — he felt as though he had been schemed against by Sun Shenxing.

Why did it feel like Sun Shenxing was the one gaining the most benefits?

Sun Shenxing not only suffered no losses but would smoothly enter the Grand Secretariat. No matter how one counted it, his gains were the greatest, while his own side had to fight tooth and nail.

But this was not the time to dwell on such thoughts. Zhao Nanxing asked once more: "Then you truly won't seek the position of Chief Grand Secretary?"

Sun Shenxing let out a helpless sigh and spoke: "Given where things stand today, this is already the best course. I myself am not really that important — this small sacrifice is something I can endure."

Not a trace of reluctance could be seen on Sun Shenxing's face. "We do this for the Great Ming, for His Majesty. As ministers, we must carry such intentions."

"Your Excellency is loyal to the sovereign and devoted to the nation — a true model for all ministers. If every court official possessed Your Excellency's breadth of mind and heart, how could the Great Ming's prosperity be in doubt?" Zhao Nanxing said with some emotion, his tone carrying admiration.

Sun Shenxing waved his hand, then said: "It's getting late. You should head back first. We'll talk again after I've spoken with Liu Yijing."

Zhao Nanxing nodded and took his leave directly.

Sun Shenxing watched Zhao Nanxing's departing figure, then gently picked up his teacup and took a sip.

Though the tea had gone somewhat cold, Sun Shenxing savored it as if it were sweet nectar, and the slightly cool tea settling in his stomach actually gave him a refreshing sensation.

As for what he had just said, Sun Shenxing didn't care in the least.

Who in this world can truly explain the way of things?

Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Today he had indeed agreed not to contend for the position of Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat. But what if, one day in the future, Liu Yijing himself should die? Would he not be able to succeed him? There was no such rule against it.

Or if something happened to Liu Yijing and he was directly cast aside by His Majesty—then would he still not be able to succeed him? There was no such rule against that either.

At that time, he would be assuming responsibility at a critical moment.

In truth, what did the words spoken today matter? By then he would be held in high expectation, and all these trivial details would be cast aside.

So what harm was there in saying a few words?

Moreover, once this matter spread, he would gain the support of even more people, especially the others in the Donglin Faction.

The case had been foisted onto Han Kuang; he himself wouldn't touch it, and in the end, whether good or bad, it would be Han Kuang's problem.

In the eyes of the Donglin Faction, Old Sun here was noble and upright, serving the state and the people and the sovereign, willing to sacrifice himself.

With such sentiments, such conduct—could it not demonstrate his lofty moral character?

With such lofty moral character, why should he not become Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat?

After leaving the Sun family's gate, Zhao Nanxing boarded his carriage directly.

Once seated in the carriage, the expression on Zhao Nanxing's face immediately turned somewhat grim, his smile vanishing without a trace.

He felt that something was amiss with this affair.

Sun Shenxing wanted to ally with Liu Yijing—but the question was, would the other man ally with him? Liu Yijing was no fool; why would he believe Sun Shenxing's promises?

For Liu Yijing, this matter was not a big deal. But for himself, it was a major matter—of grave importance!

In particular, Zhao Nanxing felt that Sun Shenxing had failed to account for one person—and that person was His Majesty.

With such scheming, where did you place His Majesty?

Did you think His Majesty would simply let himself be manipulated by you?

Zhao Nanxing gazed into the distance toward the Forbidden City. The enormous Forbidden City was like a colossal beast crouching there, ready at any moment to spring out and devour men.

How had things come to this point today? What was the reason?

In Zhao Nanxing's view, the reason was simple: His Majesty was angry.

When the Liaodong case first emerged, it was nothing major—merely Wei Zhongxian taking revenge on Yao Zongwen and the others.

But the maneuvers of Gao Panlong and Zou Yuanbiao directly enraged His Majesty, causing him to be determined to deal with them.

That was how factionalism came to be. With officials shielding one another like this, how could His Majesty not be enraged?

Looking at the matter from every angle, His Majesty was forcing those of them to make a move—and to make a ruthless one.

If you didn't strike, then someone would strike at you. There was absolutely no doubt about it, because the matters had already become intertwined.

Thinking of this, Zhao Nanxing's gaze flickered with uncertainty.