Chapter 26: Consort Dowager Li Zhuang

"Your Majesty, this servant has investigated it thoroughly." After seeing Zhu Youxiao, Wei Zhongxian hurriedly prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed, putting on the appearance of a man devoted to his duties.

Zhu Youxiao sat in his wheelchair, watching Wei Zhongxian with an expressionless face, then spoke: "Let me see it."

Hearing this, Wei Zhongxian quickly scrambled up from the ground, then handed the confession up with both hands before hastily retreating a few small steps, standing obediently to the side, waiting for Zhu Youxiao to read the confession.

This confession was very simple; Zhu Youxiao understood it after scanning it a few times.

According to Zhang Xiude's testimony, this matter was a collusion—Li Ruzhen of Liaodong had conspired with certain ministers at court. To put it plainly, it was Li Ruzhen colluding with the Donglin Faction at court.

Li Ruzhen relied on the Donglin Faction for self-protection, guaranteeing the Li family's position and power in Liaodong.

The Donglin Faction, in turn, used Li Ruzhen to embezzle military funds from Liaodong.

Both sides benefited each other, so naturally men like Xiong Tingbi had to be pushed aside, had to be suppressed.

Anyone unwilling to wallow in the mire with the Donglin Faction, anyone who delayed their money-making, all had to be driven away.

Zhu Youxiao gave a cold snort and set the confession down. Truly gentlemen of Donglin, indeed!

A man flashed through Zhu Youxiao's mind—a man named Yue Buqun, who had the nickname Gentleman Sword. But in reality? That man was a thoroughgoing hypocrite.

Understanding the Donglin Faction's members as hypocrites actually fit perfectly; everything became coherent, without the slightest obstacle.

A hypocrite is one skilled at confounding right and wrong, draping their immoral conduct in a cloak of morality; one who appears proper and magnanimous on the surface, noble, yielding at every turn, able to endure what others cannot while maintaining composure—but in truth is a base, contemptible villain who is false, goes back on his word, is utterly shameless, and stops at nothing to achieve his ends.

Fit the template of a hypocrite onto the Donglin Faction, and it matches seamlessly, without a single wobble.

Especially in confounding right and wrong and draping their immoral conduct in a cloak of morality—in this regard, the Donglin Faction is absolutely expert.

Glancing at Wei Zhongxian, Zhu Youxiao said expressionlessly: "This is all you managed to extract?"

As he spoke, Zhu Youxiao shot Wei Zhongxian a dissatisfied look: "Li Ruzhen is already in prison. Take him to the Eastern Depot for a thorough interrogation. I want to know who he colluded with and who he had dealings with. Get on with this matter promptly!"

As for Li Ruzhen, Zhu Youxiao had not the slightest intention of keeping him. Everything before had been small-scale skirmishing; now that Li Ruzhen had been dragged in, this matter had finally stepped fully onto the proper track.

In one phrase: it had blown up big.

In truth, Liaodong had been playing this game since Li Chengliang's time—nurturing bandits as a menace in Liaodong to elevate one's own standing, while forging ties with high officials at court and scheming to grow powerful in Liaodong.

The court had also recognized the problem of the Li family of Liaodong, so Li Chengliang was stripped of his office and detained in the capital. But still they dared not kill him—first, because there were those at court protecting him; second, because the situation in Liaodong was far from optimistic.

In the few years after Li Chengliang left office, the Liaodong situation spiraled completely out of control, and it was impossible that the Li family of Liaodong bore no responsibility for allowing it.

Liaodong had only lost one Li Chengliang rather than collapsing entirely—but once Li Chengliang was gone, Liaodong's collapse came at avalanche speed. Finally, nurturing bandits to bolster one's importance had turned into raising a tiger to become a disaster.

The court sent Li Chengliang back to Liaodong, and there was no longer any way to salvage the mess.

The court dispatched a great army to suppress the rebels, but they used Yang Gao, which produced a Sarhu—and Liaodong was completely beyond recovery.

Under such circumstances, Liaodong utterly became the Great Ming's most grievous internal affliction.

After Li Chengliang was gone, Li Ruzhen continued playing the bandit-nurturing game. He sat by and watched Tieling fall without sending relief, colluded with the Donglin Faction to embezzle Liaodong's military funds, and drove away Xiong Tingbi—this whole series of maneuvers thoroughly wrecked Liaodong.

At this moment, joy immediately appeared on Wei Zhongxian's face. He hurriedly prostrated himself and said: "Rest assured, Your Majesty, this servant will surely handle the task well."

After Wei Zhongxian left, Zhu Youxiao sank into contemplation.

Li Ruzhen absolutely had to be dealt with, and this matter could also drag out quite a number of Donglin Faction members.

Zhu Youxiao believed Wei Zhongxian would certainly not let this opportunity slip. After all, the reason Wei Zhongxian had been able to become Nine Thousand Years was precisely because he had tremendous talent in this regard.

"The Great Ming needs to rely on a eunuch who castrated himself to enter the palace—those literati and scholar-officials really are a disgrace!" Zhu Youxiao could not help but sigh.

Glancing at Chen Hong beside him, Zhu Youxiao thought for a moment, then turned and said to him: "Go to Consort Dowager Li's residence and deliver the edict—confer upon Consort Dowager Li the title of Consort Dowager Zhuang. From this day forth, she shall move into Ciqing Palace."

Hearing Zhu Youxiao's words, Chen Hong was slightly taken aback, but he was a man who understood things, and promptly bowed: "Yes, this servant obeys the edict."

Ciqing Palace—there was no one in the palace who did not know it; it was the residence of the Empress Dowager. That His Majesty would actually let Consort Dowager Zhuang reside in Ciqing Palace—what this signified, everyone knew—it signified that although Consort Dowager Zhuang lacked the title of Empress Dowager, she now held the substance of one.

The reason Zhu Youxiao did this was naturally also because he wanted a stable harem. This was also why, after transmigrating, Zhu Youxiao's first act had been to do away with Madam Ke.

Within the harem, it had to be a place under his own control; absolutely no one could be allowed to meddle there. The greatest mistake the Tianqi Emperor had committed was letting Madam Ke stir things up inside the palace.

Outside, one could raise a powerful eunuch, but inside the palace there must be tranquility, and also someone to keep order. No news could be allowed to leak out, and in this way the safety of the harem could also be guaranteed.

Consort Dowager Zhuang—this was the result of Zhu Youxiao's careful deliberation. Speaking of it, this Consort Dowager Zhuang's original fate had not been good.

Consort Dowager Zhuang was the "Eastern Li" of history—Li Zhuangfei. She was benevolent by nature, quiet and reticent. She was not as favored as Consort Dowager Li Kang. Later, when the Tianqi Emperor ascended the throne, "Eastern Li" was persecuted to death by Wei Zhongxian and Madam Ke, at the age of thirty-seven.

In fact, the Chongzhen Emperor's hatred of Wei Zhongxian was also greatly connected to Li Zhuangfei's death.

After the Tianqi Emperor succeeded to the throne, he immediately had his younger brother, five years his junior, placed in Li Zhuangfei's care, and the following year enfeoffed his younger brother as Prince Xin.

And so Zhu Youjian, following his stepmother "Eastern Li," moved back into Ciqing Palace, the place of his birth.

After Li Zhuangfei died, Zhu Youjian would first worship Heaven every morning, then pay his respects to his stepmother.

Only, the Chongzhen Emperor was watched by Wei Zhongxian and monitored by Madam Ke, and dared not actually go out to perform sacrifices.

When he missed his birth mother, he would evade the surveillance of the powerful eunuch Wei Zhongxian, secretly take some silver and dispatch trusted eunuchs to the graves at the Western Hills to offer sacrifices on his behalf, repeatedly instructing them: "You must pray clearly and plainly, just as if I had gone in person to pay reverent homage."

This was also why the Chongzhen Emperor feared Wei Zhongxian when he succeeded to the throne—Wei Zhongxian's surveillance of him was pervasive, and it was also the reason the Chongzhen Emperor was determined to kill Wei Zhongxian.

Zhu Youxiao let out a light sigh, his gaze somewhat distant: "In this life, I will live well—and let those who deserve to die go die."

Who were the ones Zhu Youxiao said deserved to die? The answer was simple—that person was the other Consort Li, the "Western Li."