Chapter 34: The Secret Memorial

Before long, Wei Zhongxian came running in from outside. Upon seeing Zhu Youxiao, he threw himself straight to the ground: "Your Majesty!"

"Rise. Speak your piece." Zhu Youxiao didn't even look at Wei Zhongxian, merely listening in silence.

These past two days had frightened Wei Zhongxian half to death.

Originally, Wei Zhongxian had been rather pleased with himself. Now that the case was growing bigger and bigger, once he pried open Li Ruzhen's mouth, he could seize even more people. Once he turned the case into a major affair, he could clear out all of them—and then let's see who would still dare to impeach him.

But things had taken a sharp turn these past two days. His Majesty actually wanted to hand several prisoners over to the Three Judicial Offices for joint trial. What business would be left for him then?

Losing the credit was one thing—but once those men reached the Three Judicial Offices and it came out that every charge was baseless, the product of Old Wei's torture, once the cap of "confession extracted under duress" was put on his head, his neck would likely be forfeit.

Wei Zhongxian naturally had to find a way to protect himself, a way to keep the implicated persons in his own Eastern Depot.

In this world, slandering others is always easier than proving oneself superior—this is also the common trick of what later generations call democratic elections. So the ones elected aren't compared by who is better, but by who is less rotten.

Wei Zhongxian understood this point deeply. He knew that proving to His Majesty how well he could conduct the trial by keeping the case in the Eastern Depot was useless.

The most useful method was to prove how bad and how rotten the other side was. And that was exactly what he had come to do today.

"Your Majesty, a secret memorial from the Eastern Depot." Wei Zhongxian hurriedly produced a memorial and presented it with reverence.

Only then did Zhu Youxiao raise his head. He took the secret memorial that Chen Hong passed up to him, opened it, and glanced at it.

After reading it, Zhu Youxiao looked at Wei Zhongxian with a strange expression, then felt rather astonished. There wasn't much in this secret memorial—it merely recorded a conversation between two men. One was Yang Lian, the imperial commissioner he had just appointed to hear the case; the other was Zou Yuanbiao, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.

The conversation between these two Donglin men was recorded in great detail in the memorial—what Yang Lian said, what Zou Yuanbiao said. At the end of the memorial, Zou Yuanbiao gave his verdict on the case.

Seeing this, Zhu Youxiao let out a helpless sigh.

Sure enough, they were gentlemen of the Donglin Faction. Their words really were spoken with such uprightness. Li Ruzhen sentenced to death; Feng Sanyuan, Wei Yingjia, Zhang Xiude and several others dismissed from office. And at the end, not even a single "never to be employed again." This was just going home to lie low for a while—who knows, one day they might be reinstated.

Reading this secret memorial left Zhu Youxiao with an indescribable feeling in his heart.

Disappointment after confirmation? Or perhaps relief? Looking at the reasons they gave—dealing with the powerful eunuch, the greater situation taking precedence, not being bound by petty details—all of it was what upright gentlemen would do.

But what about the facts?

A case of a frontier general colluding with court ministers to frame a minister guarding the border was just suppressed like this, and the only one dealt with was a mere Li Ruzhen.

Feng Sanyuan, Wei Yingjia, Zhang Xiude and the others would basically just go home and nap for a while. Someone might even see them off with the words, "This journey is most glorious."

"Truly a Donglin Faction that serves the country and the people!" Zhu Youxiao remarked with a smile.

He glanced at Wei Zhongxian, who stood with hands hanging at his sides, and smiled. Then he said, "Alright, I know about this matter. Let it be for now."

Wei Zhongxian was stunned. Let it be for now? How could it be like this? They were already planning to do this—how could Your Majesty still tolerate it?

"Is there something else?" Zhu Youxiao looked at Wei Zhongxian and asked.

Wei Zhongxian was taken aback. Though unwilling to give up, he didn't dare remain any longer, let alone continue asking. He hastily said, "This servant takes his leave!" With that, he bowed and backed out of the room.

After Wei Zhongxian left, Zhu Youxiao let out a soft sigh and slowly sank into thought.

Truly, a mouth has two skins. Was what Zou Yuanbiao said reasonable? Yes, it was reasonable—it was just a matter of different priorities.

In Zou Yuanbiao's view, Li Ruzhen and Xiong Tingbi were trivial matters; toppling Wei Zhongxian was the great matter. Making trade-offs on small matters for the sake of the great matter—that was only natural.

Of course, it was also entirely possible that Zou Yuanbiao had taken money. But the man could still produce reasoning that sounded quite plausible.

"Indeed, in politics there is no right or wrong, only positions." Zhu Youxiao sighed in reflection. When people stand on different ground, anything said is in vain.

Perhaps in the Donglin Faction's view, not collecting taxes and listening to me—that was right; anything else was wrong.

Just like a certain country in later generations—listen to me and you're right, don't listen to me and you're wrong, and if you're wrong you must be struck down.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao suddenly laughed. He recalled a later-generation film called *Heng Kong Chu Shi* (Breaking Out), which had a very famous line in it: qnmd!

"Your Majesty, you may go to Ciqing Palace for the meal." Seeing that Zhu Youxiao's mood seemed much improved, Wei Chao hurriedly said with deference.

Checking the time, he realized it had passed so quickly without his noticing. Zhu Youxiao stood up, stretched his limbs, and said with a smile, "Let's go."

When they arrived at Ciqing Palace, from afar he could see Li Huan standing guard at the palace gate with her maids.

Li Huan was pacing anxiously back and forth. The mealtime had already passed, and she had thought His Majesty wouldn't come tonight. Just as she was thinking this, she saw a bright flash of yellow approaching from afar.

"Your Ladyship, His Majesty has come!" Li Huan ran joyfully into Ciqing Palace.

Consort Dowager Zhuang's heart had already turned from the earlier disappointment to joy. The Emperor had come—what did this mean? It meant the Emperor truly intended to entrust the matter of selecting consorts to her. How could she suppress the excitement in her heart? After this selection, she would be a Grand Empress Dowager without the title. She couldn't help but rise and personally go to the palace gate to welcome His Majesty.

Zhu Youxiao said with a warm smile, "Consort Dowager, be careful not to catch cold." As he spoke, he took a fox-fur cloak from a nearby maid and personally draped it over Consort Dowager Zhuang's shoulders.

"It's no trouble." Consort Dowager Zhuang smiled gently.

Soon they were seated. Li Huan directed the serving of the meal—a typical family banquet in the palace. Consort Dowager Zhuang casually made small talk, and as the conversation went on, it turned to the matter of selecting the Empress. Though it seemed as if she had brought it up unintentionally, both Zhu Youxiao and Consort Dowager Zhuang knew this was deliberately steered to that topic.

"Since the Founding Emperor established the dynasty in the Central Plains, there has been an ancestral instruction: every Emperor must marry at sixteen and establish an Empress. Now Your Majesty is already seventeen—it is fitting to follow the ancestral instruction and establish the harem and the Empress." Having said this, Consort Dowager Zhuang looked quietly at Zhu Youxiao, waiting for his response.

"Indeed." Zhu Youxiao nodded, then said, "Among the people, they say marriages are decided by parents' command and matchmakers' words. I shall leave this matter to the Consort Dowager to handle."

Upon hearing this, Consort Dowager Zhuang broke into an immediate smile and quickly said, "Your Majesty possesses all under heaven—the matter of marriage naturally cannot be handled carelessly. The Directorate of Ceremonial should assist in managing it."

Zhu Youxiao nodded lightly, then said, "In that case, I shall trouble the Consort Dowager to personally handle it. I will have Wang An assist."

And so the matter was settled.