Chapter 84

"Who are your accomplices?!"

"Who are your accomplices?! Do not tell me that just the few of you dared to harm my Zhu family to such an extent!"

83, The Great Purge!

Atop Xingshan, the several officials from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works wore faces ashen as iron.

Is there anyone else behind this matter?

According to the unspoken rules beneath the surface of the Great Ming.

There are none.

Even if handed over to the Three Judicial Offices for a joint trial, at most it would only involve these few scoundrels.

But what about according to the Great Ming Code?

For anything you do, must you not grease palms both above and below!

In the officialdom of the Great Ming, such matters have long become normalized.

The officials they bribed might not even know themselves which specific matter the silver they received was meant to grease!

At this moment, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian seemed like a different person; with a ferocious expression, he pressed close to their ears and whispered softly:

"Name your accomplices."

"I will grant you a whole corpse."

Liu Liu Zunxian, the Minister of Works, gritted his teeth with an ashen face, looked at Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian, and bowed his head to say:

"Your subject has failed Your Majesty's grace; this matter was truly done by us alone, there are no accomplices!"

Hearing Liu Liu Zunxian's words.

The expression on Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian's face became increasingly twisted.

"Good, good!"

"Wang Wang Wang Chengen, Luo Luo Yangxing!"

The moment the words fell.

Wang Wang Wang Chengen and Luo Luo Yangxing, who had long been prepared, stepped forward on their own.

"This slave is present."

"This subject is present."

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian pointed at the several people behind him and said:

"Did they not say that your Factory and Guard are ruthless and cruel?!"

"Interrogate them for me!"

"Interrogate them right here!"

"Before the eyes of my Zhu family, interrogate them for me!"

Wang Wang Wang Chengen and Luo Luo Yangxing's bodies trembled.

Immediately they cupped their fists and said:

"This slave receives the decree!"

"This subject receives the decree!"

Having spoken, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian sat down on the dragon throne to the side.

His bloodshot eyes stared unblinkingly at Liu Liu Zunxian and the others kneeling prostrate before him.

Wang Wang Wang Chengen and Luo Luo Yangxing exchanged a glance and smiled.

When the two looked again at the hundred officials.

All the civil and military officials in the court involuntarily shivered.

They knew.

Since Wei Wei Zhongxian's fall, all their methods of suppressing the Factory and Guard had, at this moment, vanished into smoke.

Wang Wang Wang Chengen glanced at the several Eastern Depot agents behind him.

Immediately, someone familiar with the routine fetched several wooden stakes from the side.

On the spot, they began hand-crafting large torture instruments such as the tiger bench.

Wang Wang Wang Chengen looked at Liu Liu Zunxian, who was slumped on the snowy ground, and smiled:

"Minister Liu, please trouble yourself to wait a moment; this old one will be ready shortly."

Liu Liu Zunxian slumped on the snowy ground.

In panic and helplessness, he looked at Wang Wang Wang Chengen before him, then looked back at his various "colleagues" behind him.

At this moment, the group of colleagues behind him also involuntarily closed their eyes.

Seeing the expressions of these "colleagues," Liu Liu Zunxian finally recognized the reality before him.

Just as Liu Liu Zunxian, with a face full of despair, prepared to bite off his tongue to end his life.

An old eunuch from the Eastern Depot behind him rushed forward in a single leap to stand before Liu Liu Zunxian.

Before Liu Liu Zunxian could react.

A crisp "crack" sounded.

Liu Liu Zunxian's jaw was forcibly dislocated by the old eunuch's pinch.

Seeing that Liu Liu Zunxian could no longer move his mouth, the old eunuch, whose form was as withered as dried wood, finally smiled and said:

"Minister Liu, do not be so hasty with your mouth."

"This old slave has spent his entire life doing this; save yourself these little tricks, and save yourself from suffering while alive."

"If you try to bite off your tongue again, this old slave will have no choice but to first remove all your teeth."

Looking at the state of his old superior, Liu Liu Zunxian.

Several Vice Ministers from the Ministry of Works were so terrified that they collapsed to the ground, paralyzed.

Kneeling on the floor, they repeatedly begged for mercy, crying out,

"Eunuch Wang, we confess, we confess!"

The moment these words were spoken,

the entire court of civil and military officials standing behind them instantly turned pale with fear.

Wang Wang Wang Chengen stared fixedly at the Vice Minister and demanded harshly,

"Who approved the transfer orders for the Five Military Commissions?!"

"It was the Duke of Chengguo! The Duke of Chengguo approved them!"

As soon as the words left their lips,

Zhu Zhu Chunchen, standing in the crowd, immediately turned deathly pale with fright.

Agitatedly pointing at the several Vice Ministers kneeling on the ground, he roared,

"How can you slander my integrity out of thin air?!"

"Your Lordship, on the eighth night of last month, this humble official brought ten thousand taels of silver to you to have the order approved; how could you have forgotten?!"

Zhu Zhu Chunchen looked at that man with agitation and roared,

"Nonsense! When have I ever accepted ten thousand taels of silver from you?!"

Wang Wang Wang Chengen helplessly let his hands hang before him, gazing quietly at Zhu Zhu Chunchen with a smile as he said,

"Your Lordship..."

Zhu Zhu Chunchen ran agitatedly before Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian, wailing,

"Your Majesty, your subject is a descendant of the Prince of Dongping and the Prince of Pingyin; your subject bears the surname Zhu, and Your Majesty also bears the surname Zhu—one brush cannot write two different characters for 'Zhu'!"

Throughout the entire Ming dynasty, among the hereditary nobility, only the lineage of the Duke of Chengguo had three princes conferred in succession.

Moreover, aside from Zhu Neng's title of 'Commandery Prince,' which he earned through his own battles, the merits leading to the other two princely titles were utterly baffling.

Zhu Yong, the Prince of Pingyin, personally delivered Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Qizhen to the Oirat for 'studies,' and was posthumously titled Prince of Pingyin after the Restoration.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Xizhong, the Prince of Dingxiang, was even more absurd; during the twentieth year of the Seeing Seeing Jiajing reign when the Emperor did not hold court, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Xizhong performed the sacrifice to Heaven on behalf of the Seeing Seeing Jiajing Emperor over twenty times, earning the title of Prince of Dingxiang simply by attending gravesites.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian stared fixedly at Zhu Zhu Chunchen and said with a cold smile,

"Are you even worthy of bearing the surname Zhu?!"

"Drag him away and continue the interrogation!"

"Yes!"

Just at that moment,

torture devices such as the tiger bench from the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were gradually brought out.