Chapter 191: Two Scapegoats

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects." Empress Zhang came before Zhu Youxiao and curtsied gracefully.

Zhu Youxiao stood up directly, walked over to Empress Zhang with a smile, reached out to help her up, and said gently, "Rise quickly—between us, there's no need for all this."

Empress Zhang smiled sweetly, stood up, and said softly, "The proper formalities still ought to be observed."

"You!" Zhu Youxiao reached out and tapped Empress Zhang's small nose, then took her hand and led her to sit down beside him.

Zhu Youxiao's gaze at Empress Zhang carried a hint of inquiry and amusement. "Baozhu, is there something you've come here for today? We only parted this morning—could it be you missed me?"

Hearing this, Empress Zhang glanced at Zhu Youxiao and said with shyness, "I would wish to be with Your Majesty every moment, but Your Majesty is the sovereign and must attend to the people of the realm. I dare not delay Your Majesty's important affairs—so long as Your Majesty does not forget me in ordinary times, that is enough."

"How could that ever happen? I will come see you often." Zhu Youxiao said with a smile, "Now then, tell me—what brings you here today?" In his heart, Zhu Youxiao actually knew what Empress Zhang had come for; he simply didn't want to say it. Some things, even when known, must be pretended not to be.

Empress Zhang glanced at Zhu Youxiao, an entreating look on her face as she said, "Your Majesty, my father entered the palace today, wishing to resign his post at the Imperial Household Department. The affairs of that department are simply too many and too vast—my father truly cannot manage them."

"These years he has done nothing—he spends his days at home reading, has never held any office, and has never even done business. Now Your Majesty has him managing such a great matter—how could he possibly handle it?"

Although Taikang Earl had not asked Empress Zhang to say these things, she still felt that doing so herself was more appropriate.

If her father resigned his post, then even if something happened, he would not be implicated.

With herself as the Empress of this Great Ming, her family would never lack for food or clothing and would enjoy boundless wealth and honor—there was no need for her father to wade into the muddy waters of the court.

So Empress Zhang still decided to decline this matter on her father's behalf.

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Empress Zhang, a somewhat strange expression on his face.

Zhu Youxiao hadn't expected Empress Zhang to say this. Hadn't she already agreed with her father? How could she change her tune when she came to him? How could that be allowed?

Reaching out to hold Empress Zhang in his arms, Zhu Youxiao looked at the lovely woman before him with a trace of probing and asked, "This is a good thing—why do you speak of it as if it were something bad? Have you encountered some trouble? Tell me about it. What problem is there that can't be solved? Am I not still here?"

Empress Zhang sighed helplessly. She didn't know why His Majesty was so insistent.

Though she didn't know in her heart why His Majesty was so insistent, Empress Zhang still felt that something was off about this matter—that was precisely why she was determined to help her old father decline the Imperial Household Department post.

But judging by His Majesty's current manner, it seemed the refusal wouldn't succeed, so she could only settle for the next best thing.

So Empress Zhang recounted from beginning to end, exactly as it happened, how the civil officials and the nobles and imperial relatives had threatened her father.

After hearing Empress Zhang's words, and hearing the slight grievance in her tone, Zhu Youxiao flew into a rage. He stood up and barked, "These people truly have no regard for law or heaven—they dare to reach their hands even into these places! That is my Imperial Household Department!"

With that, Zhu Youxiao turned to look at Empress Zhang and said soothingly, "Go back and tell the State Father not to be afraid. In this matter, I will see justice done for him."

As if remembering something, he took Empress Zhang's hand again and reassured her, "You needn't worry too much—nothing will come of it."

Looking at her sovereign, whose brows and eyes brimmed with warmth, Empress Zhang nodded gently and said with a light smile, "I thank Your Majesty."

Zhu Youxiao waved his hand dismissively, raised an eyebrow, and said, "This is done for my sake—if anything goes wrong, naturally I will resolve it. You needn't overthink anything. Go back and wait in peace—good news will come soon."

Hearing Zhu Youxiao's words, Empress Zhang nodded. "Then I shall take my leave."

With that, she stood and walked out.

Watching Empress Zhang leave, the tenderness on Zhu Youxiao's face turned icy the instant he turned back around. Expressionless, he said, "Tell me, then—what exactly happened?"

Chen Hong, standing behind Zhu Youxiao, stepped forward and said deferentially, "Reporting to Your Majesty, this is how it was…"

Then Chen Hong recounted the whole affair to Zhu Youxiao, emphasizing the matter of Empress Zhang and Wang An.

Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao laughed to himself.

Wasn't this just someone delivering a pillow just as he was dozing off?

The Empress really had done a fine thing.

So Zhu Youxiao said to Chen Hong, "Handle this matter yourself—don't let anything go wrong. Personally pick out a few households, go over and give them a dressing-down. Then have the Grand Secretariat draft an imperial edict to be circulated among all officials at court, explaining this matter and telling them that whoever dares to do such a thing will be severely punished without exception."

"When selecting households, pick a few from the civil officials and a few from the nobles and imperial relatives. As for the punishment… let it be a year's salary."

This matter wasn't about money—it was about losing face.

The households Chen Hong sought out were all people of standing. Especially among the civil officials—some things people could do, and this business of inserting people into positions wasn't a rare sight in officialdom. It could be said to be extremely common.

But these were all things done in private; no one would bring them out into the open. If they truly were brought into the open, then face could not be preserved—in a word, a tremendous loss of face.

Now, by doing this, Zhu Youxiao was certainly making these people lose face—especially the civil officials, who would surely find it impossible to save face.

As for the nobles and imperial relatives, they were thick-skinned and shameless—they probably wouldn't feel much shame, though it depended on how things were manipulated.

Zhu Youxiao continued, "At the same time, have people spread word that the Taikang Earl had no choice but to enter the palace to seek help, and that the Empress then asked Wang An. It was Wang An who gave the Empress the idea to tell me everything and have me come forward to rebuke them—so naturally no one would trouble the Taikang Earl again."

Once this was truly done, the shit-basin would be dumped squarely on Wang An's head.

Whether it was the civil officials who came to plead or the nobles and imperial relatives, Wang An's reputation would stink to high heaven—at the very least, no one would collude with him in anything, and they would absolutely keep their distance from him.

Most importantly, no one would harbor any resentment toward Empress Zhang or Zhu Youxiao over this matter—at most, they would go to the Taikang Earl, Zhang Guoji.

In truth, Zhu Youxiao had thought this through long ago. The establishment of a brand-new office would inevitably entangle countless interests, draw countless people into it, and offend countless others along the way.

Those who did such work basically came to no good end, so Zhu Youxiao had chosen these two people.

Wang An was a born scapegoat; as for Empress Zhang's father, his role was even greater.

Most crucially, Wang An and Zhang Guoji were both relatively well-liked among many people, so using the two of them made it easier for others to accept.

This time, events proved that Zhu Youxiao's choice was correct—Wang An and the other had already proven useful so quickly.

As for his master's methods, Chen Hong dared not say anything.

His master had done this sort of thing more than once. Never mind cases like this—in the past, when Wang An knew nothing at all, his master had dumped no small number of shit-basins on him. Let alone this time, when Wang An had waded in of his own accord—so he had no one else to blame.

"This servant will go at once." Chen Hong acknowledged the order, then bowed and withdrew.

After Chen Hong left, Zhu Youxiao began pondering what sort of person he should choose for the Imperial Household Department.

Whether it was Wang An or Empress Zhang's father Zhang Guoji, Zhu Youxiao had no intention of letting either truly take charge of the Imperial Household Department.

Wang An the eunuch's loyalty, Zhu Youxiao trusted. But Wang An's ability, Zhu Youxiao did not trust.

Wang An was a man who believed in the Donglin Faction—which showed just how poor his judgment was. Such a man could never be allowed to truly manage the Imperial Household Department. What if he ran it into the ground on my watch?

That was absolutely unacceptable.

As for Empress Zhang's father Zhang Guoji, there was one thing the Empress hadn't gotten wrong—her father truly had no talent.

If Wang An and Zhang Guoji were really allowed to run things, then the Imperial Household Department would be utterly finished. So Zhu Youxiao needed a truly capable person to manage the Imperial Household Department.

Wang An and Zhang Guoji were only there to hold up the facade, existing solely to take the blame—existing to be the scapegoats.

Once the affairs of the Imperial Household Department were on the right track, Zhu Youxiao could not possibly allow Wang An and Zhang Guoji to continue staying there.

So the person who would truly take charge of the Imperial Household Department needed to have talent, and he had to be planted there now, so that when the time came, he could smoothly take over the department.

This person could not offend too many people at the very start, so Zhu Youxiao could not let him come out into the open right away.

But as for who this candidate would be, Zhu Youxiao had not yet decided.

Relatively speaking, Zhu Youxiao still leaned toward having a eunuch manage the Imperial Household Department. But which eunuch should it be?

This required careful consideration. This person had to have no connection to Wei Zhongxian or Chen Hong, and also could not be too close to Wang An. He had to belong to an independent faction within the palace — preferably a minor eunuch.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao actually recalled such a person.

This person was called Fang Zhenghua, a minor eunuch in the palace, in his twenties.

Fang Zhenghua had originally been under Wei Chao, but Wei Chao was not in favor now and had already run off to Liaodong himself, so the people under him went without saying.

Fang Zhenghua had no connection to Wei Zhongxian or Chen Hong, which meant he would not collude with them.

At the same time, Fang Zhenghua's relationship with Wang An was not very good either.

The key point was that Fang Zhenghua's abilities were decent, and Zhu Youxiao could put him to the test.

Moreover, Fang Zhenghua was highly skilled in martial arts, which was very rare among eunuchs. One must understand that this was not a wuxia novel — there was no eunuch who possessed formidable martial arts skill.

But this Fang Zhenghua was an exception. He was very fond of martial arts and had been practicing continuously both before and after entering the palace, which was why he had such a fine set of skills.

It was precisely because of this that Fang Zhenghua attracted Zhu Youxiao's attention.

Originally, Zhu Youxiao had wanted Fang Zhenghua to serve as his personal bodyguard.