Chapter 277: You Ask Me Who I Am? My Name Cannot Be Inquired

When the Shaanxi Viceroy Shi Maohua came to the capital for an audience, he once told the Emperor about something: in the Northwest, where Hu and Han lived together, there were many believers. In the early days of the dynasty, when repairing official roads and post stations, those leaders would bring a bunch of people to work. When repairing roads in the Northwest, those leaders would tell the workers that repairing the roads would disturb the Mountain God, so they shouldn't repair them properly.

The court initially issued money, calculated by person, ten coins a day. These coins were issued to the craftsmen, but those leaders would confiscate them, saying that accepting the money would anger the gods and be an act of betrayal. Later, the court stopped issuing money and changed to issuing rice, flour, grain, and oil. Those leaders could no longer confiscate the craftsmen's things, and no matter how they instigated, they could no longer make the villagers believe them.

Zhu Yijun specifically sought out Wang Guoguang to ask, only to learn that in the early dynasty, during the Hongwu and Yongle periods, the Ming court provided two meals and ten coins a day for repairing official roads and post stations. Later, they stopped giving it. This system was never given again after the last time the post road to the Nurgan Regional Military Commission was repaired during the Yongle period.

Embarking on large-scale construction is a cause for national ruin. During the Yongle period, five northern expeditions, six voyages to the Western Ocean, compiling the Yongle Encyclopedia, and leveling the Jiulong post road—such labor-intensive and wealth-wasting things did not cause the world to boil over, nor did they lead to national ruin like Emperor Yang of Sui. There was a reason for this.

To this day, the Ming court will allocate money for dredging waterways.

As for corvée labor, the Single Whip Law is currently converting corvée labor into silver and spreading it into the land tax, collecting it as one. The name of the Single Whip Law is the "Single Compilation Law," which is the integrated collection of poll tax and land tax. Collecting silver is actually secondary.

And this incident happens to illustrate a truth: on this land of the Central Plains, whether one believes in a religion mainly depends on whether one is given an egg.

Zhang Juzheng believed that Wang Xiangu's "Zhixing Zhixing Heyi" group was just a mob. If the Emperor wanted to deal with them, he could do so directly, without waiting for the Qi Commander to return to the capital. Among the hundred thousand believers, those who would truly follow Wang Xiangu to cause a rebellion were less than one in a hundred. Zhu Yijun, however, was deeply wary of such bizarre religious groups and would rather wait for the Qi Commander to return in triumph before taking action.

But now, the Sujing Ascetic had run to the capital, saw the Emperor's wedding, and was planning to do something big, not letting the Emperor have peace. Then Zhu Yijun could not let him continue to live.

"It's strange to say. I hate Zhang Juzheng because he punished my Taizhou School too severely, because of court infighting, and because I oppose his New Deal. Why do you hate the Emperor?" Luo Rufang was a bit strange. Where did this Sujing Ascetic's hatred come from, and was it worth taking such a big risk to enter the capital?

Relocating wealthy households to enrich the capital region was done to keep them under watch. The Ming's control over the capital region continued until the sixteenth year of Chongzhen. That year, a large-scale plague broke out in the capital, and it was no exaggeration to say that nine out of ten houses were empty. If not for this, the "Dashing King" (Li Zicheng) might not have been able to take the capital even if he reached it.

The establishment of the Ming was to expel the Tatars and restore China. This was extremely legitimate in terms of nation-building and cohesion. How could it be so easy for the Ming to perish? Before the Dashing King Li Zicheng, there was also the Dashing Wang Gao Yingxiang. Gao Yingxiang was beheaded at the Meridian Gate by the Chongzhen Emperor in the ninth year of Chongzhen.

If not for the consecutive defeats in the Battle of Songjin outside the pass at the end of the Chongzhen period, the loss of all elite troops, the great plague in the capital, and several consecutive years of severe drought in the three border regions, it would be hard to say whether the Ming would have perished.

Luo Rufang knew deeply that the current capital was a dragon's pool and a tiger's den. Recently, another incident had occurred: Wang Chonggu had simply stopped acting like a human and had actually stirred up trouble in the middle, setting a trap for the remonstrating officials. If not for Hai Rui coming out to persuade and Zhang Juzheng submitting a memorial requesting leniency, it would have been another case of heads rolling.

In this situation, wanting to cause trouble during the Emperor's wedding was simply courting death!

Luo Rufang couldn't understand where this Sujing Ascetic got such a temper, wanting to enter the capital and not let the Emperor have a good time.

"The Emperor favors sycophants, the court has no upright officials, and there are treacherous villains inside! A wise man always worries about trouble before it sprouts, and a bright man can see feelings in the deepest hidden places! A person with aspirations naturally wants to correct mistakes and clear the side of the monarch!" The Sujing Ascetic said sternly.

"If you talk nonsense, I'm leaving." Luo Rufang was a proper Jinshi graduate and was now a high-ranking official of the third rank. How could he believe such ghost talk? It was fine for them to say it themselves, but they were trying to fool him? He was a scholar; this was simply quoting the manifesto of the Ming Chengzu's Jingnan campaign. Who in the court nowadays didn't read history books?

"I am the illegitimate son of Wang Xijue. The hatred of killing my father is irreconcilable!" Seeing Luo Rufang about to leave, the Sujing Ascetic chose to tell the truth.

Zhu Yijun, with walls having ears, whispered to Feng Bao: "That's not right, is it? Isn't this Sujing Ascetic a guest of Wang Xiangu? If the Sujing Ascetic is Wang Xijue's illegitimate son, then Wang Xiangu is Wang Xijue's daughter. That's not right, is it?"

Feng Bao added a small detail for the very gossipy Emperor, whispering: "Your Majesty, before Wang Xiangu was an 'Ascetic' and was just a young girl, she was betrothed to someone, Xu Jingshao of the Xu family in Kunshan. Before she could marry him, this Xu Jingshao died mysteriously. Later, Wang Xiangu announced that she would observe chastity for her 'Xu-lang' and would not marry again."

There was something going on here. Feng Bao didn't have evidence, so he wouldn't say exactly what. Xu Jingshao's death was mysterious, and Wang Xiangu's observance of chastity was also mysterious. Most people in the Ming observed chastity for the sake of their children, to protect the family property that the children should have inherited. This Wang Xiangu didn't even have children, so this matter was strange in every way.

"Hatred of killing a father is irreconcilable? Even if you really are an illegitimate son, do you have to risk entering the capital again for the hatred of killing your father? I'm afraid you were paid quite a bit, and you couldn't explain yourself because you achieved nothing." Luo Rufang thought it over and reached a conclusion.

Whether this Sujing Ascetic was Wang Xijue's illegitimate son was one thing, but being able to force him to risk entering the capital clearly meant that the financier behind him was applying pressure, and the pressure was great. Maintaining the faith of a hundred thousand believers was a profitable business, but it also required someone behind the scenes to provide strong support. The financiers of this era were none of them kind-hearted.

The Sujing Ascetic had to enter the capital because if he didn't, he would be killed by the financier. Death was certain either way, so he risked going to the capital.

Taking the Ming Emperor Zhu Yijun's investment in Captain Antonio as an example, Antonio would only be impatient to pay back the money to reduce the interest, rather than running away with the money, because the Ming Emperor would truly use physical means to collect debts. Antonio had written a document and mortgaged all his plantations in the "Ten Thousand Mile Sea Pond" to obtain the investment.

"You might as well go back directly and let those masters see your power. After all, you have a hundred thousand believers. That's a hundred thousand believers; the masters can't do anything to you." Luo Rufang didn't want to cause more trouble at this time and used a tactic of diverting the disaster. If the little Emperor found out, it would be a dead end, and it would implicate his clansmen.

Doing bad things also depends on the timing and the situation. Now that the Emperor was powerful, one should be stable.

Most importantly, the Emperor was truly not to be trifled with.

This Sujing Ascetic was already very cunning, but he still hadn't accomplished anything. Where was there an assassin who was killed by the Emperor himself and fed to the dogs? And the Emperor hadn't just killed one with his own hands; he had beheaded seven in battle. He could definitely be counted as a valiant warrior.

The number one expert among the youth under Heaven—how could that be an empty reputation?

The Ming Emperor could not be killed by assassination. The Daoist master had been strangled by so many palace maids and stabbed with hairpins, yet he was still alive and well. To a certain extent, it did conform to the saying of being protected by "Dragon Qi."

Assassination truly didn't work. The Ming's military spirit was abundant; it was better to fall into the water.

"The court fears a hundred thousand believers, but the powerful and wealthy don't fear them," the Sujing Ascetic said a truth in a low voice. The court cared, but the powerful and wealthy didn't. The powerful and wealthy had plenty of ways to deal with these believers. The slow way was to create a new "Zhixing Zhixing Heyi" group and trick the believers over; the fast way was to directly let Wang Xiangu ascend to immortality and replace her with someone else.

Luo Rufang thought seriously for a moment, sighed heavily, and said helplessly: "That's true, the court cares."

"What do you intend to do?" Luo Rufang asked what the Sujing Ascetic intended to do after entering the capital.

The Sujing Ascetic looked left and right. Seeing that only the maid was by his side—and this was his own maid—he still said in a low voice: "Kill the master of the Central Palace, Empress Wang."

"Empress Wang? Are you crazy!" When Luo Rufang heard this, he shouted out!

This guy knew the little Emperor was hard to deal with, yet he actually wanted to attack Empress Wang. This was the Emperor's reverse scale. If the Empress was killed during the wedding, it would indeed make the Emperor unhappy. But this time it was the Son of Heaven's own kin. When the time came, whatever shocking and outrageous things that murderous little Emperor did would become reasonable.

One must read the "Biography of Huo Guang." Huo Guang's wife killed Emperor Xuan of Han's Empress. While Huo Guang was alive, Emperor Xuan of Han remained calm. Once Huo Guang was gone, his wife talked about this matter everywhere, and the Huo family was directly exterminated.

Luo Rufang had always known that the Sujing Ascetic was bold, but he never expected him to be bold to this extent!

"What do you intend to do? Empress Wang lives deep in the nine-fold palace. How could you possibly succeed?" Luo Rufang asked in a daze.

"The mountain man has his own wonderful plan." The Sujing Ascetic instead played a riddle, not revealing everything, but choosing to hide it.

Luo Rufang waved his hands repeatedly and said: "No, no, no. The great victories at Huining Guard and Yingchang—the Emperor finally looks like a human. You want to make him a lonely man? Then no one will be able to sleep peacefully."

"No, no, no."

"What I want you to do is simple. Before the wedding, just send this letter into the palace." The Sujing Ascetic pulled out a letter and handed it to Luo Rufang, completely ignoring his refusal. He had ambushed people, but the palace guards were strict, and he was completely unable to send the letter in.

"Bang!" The door was suddenly kicked open. Zhu Yijun, who had kicked the door, put away his foot, walked in step by step, and asked with great curiosity: "Sujing Ascetic, Luo Rufang, who are you planning to send this to?"

"Who are you people! Report your names quickly!" The Sujing Ascetic looked at Luo Rufang with suspicion and then shouted at the newcomers.

"You ask me what my name is? Since I ascended the throne, no one has ever called it. My name cannot be inquired." Zhu Yijun answered the question directly.

"See the Emperor. Long live the Emperor, long live, long live." Luo Rufang knelt directly. He recognized the little Emperor and also recognized the Commander Zhao Mengyou.

"You are...?" The Sujing Ascetic thought it was bad and wanted to jump out the window to escape. He was fast, but others were faster. Two Embroidered Uniform Guards jumped in directly from the window, kicked the Sujing Ascetic to the ground, pressed him down, stripped off all his clothes as fast as they could, tied him up, pressed him to the ground, and even checked between his teeth to make sure he wasn't hiding any poison needles or the like.

Hair, ears, toes—they checked very carefully, and then used the Sujing Ascetic's socks to plug his mouth.

Wang Jinglong spitting on Ge Shouli's shoes was still fresh in the memory of the Embroidered Uniform Guards.

Within a few breaths, the Sujing Ascetic had been processed cleanly and was lying on the ground, twisting and struggling non-stop.

"Come, now show me an immortal technique. Come, everyone says you are Wang Xiangu's chief disciple. Did you get any true teachings?" Zhu Yijun looked at the Sujing Ascetic happily. He was very curious whether the Ming Embroidered Uniform Guards' binding technique was stronger or his escape technique was stronger.

The Sujing Ascetic struggled twice and was directly pulled into a bow shape by the ropes. Clearly, his escape technique was no match for the Embroidered Uniform Guards' binding technique.

Having obtained the definitive answer, Zhu Yijun looked left and right, circled the Sujing Ascetic, and asked with great curiosity: "Didn't you raise five ghosts? Let them come out to untie you and send you away. Didn't you want to kill me? I am right in front of you now. You can do it; you don't have to wait until March."

"Come!"

Zhu Yijun let the Sujing Ascetic make a move. The completely bound Sujing Ascetic clearly couldn't perform any immortal techniques—perhaps there were no immortal techniques to speak of in the first place.

"Boring." Zhu Yijun waved his hand, stood with his hands behind his back, looked at Luo Rufang, and said in a low voice: "Luo Rufang."

"This servant, this servant, this servant is here!" Luo Rufang had already peed his pants—physically peed his pants. A fishy stench permeated the air. Under extreme fear, people lose control of their muscles, leading to the uncontrollable release of the "five grains cycle." Luo Rufang truly didn't expect to run into the Emperor at such a time.

"Servant? Are you my official? Or the Ming's official? You are the official of those powerful and wealthy people, right?" Zhu Yijun sat on a round stool, holding a teacup. He didn't look at Luo Rufang, but was instead very interested in the teacup. The Yanxing Pavilion was worthy of being the number one pavilion in the capital; it actually used Xuande blue-and-white porcelain. This stuff was truly very expensive.

Luo Rufang couldn't care about anyone else. He kowtowed forcefully until his head was broken, chanting: "This servant deserves to die ten thousand times. Your Majesty, spare my life. This servant was just confused for a moment. Your Majesty, spare my life!"

Zhu Yijun put down the teacup, sighed, and said: "Last April, you returned to the capital from Yunnan. It was the Teacher, your mentor Zhang Juzheng, who recommended you, because you did well in Yunnan—at least the mining of Yunnan copper can be considered a merit. But what about you?"

"After entering the capital, you began to defy the clear decree, gathering crowds to lecture at Guanghui Temple. The Teacher detested you and wanted to dismiss you from office and send you home to await orders. If not for the Teacher's father passing away and the mourning period storm rising again, you would have gone home by now."

"Luo Rufang! Did the Teacher's father's death have anything to do with you?!"

"How could this servant have the guts? No! It really isn't!" Luo Rufang was scared silly and waved his hands repeatedly: "Your Majesty, this servant has no strength to truss a chicken, and my heart is poisonous, but this servant couldn't do it. The Teacher's home is impenetrable; how could I do evil? I beg Your Majesty to investigate clearly."

Zhu Yijun also nodded. One could indeed doubt Zhang Juzheng's character—whether he missed his original wife on the surface while secretly liking to take potent medicine to pick beauties; whether he was submissive on the surface while secretly planning to usurp the throne.

But! One absolutely did not need to doubt Zhang Juzheng's ability. How strong Zhang Juzheng was, Gao Gong, Yang Bo, Wang Chonggu, and Zhang Siwei all understood and knew very well.

If Zhang Juzheng couldn't even protect his own father, then what New Deal was he pushing? The little Emperor Wanli grew up under Zhang Juzheng's wings.

The chief physician of the Dissection Institute also made a diagnosis: at over seventy years old, it was a "happy funeral," not an unnatural death.

Zhu Yijun now truly looked like a monarch, questioning everything. Because this Luo Rufang surfaced, and because the time he was impeached by Zhang Juzheng was close to Zhang Juzheng's mourning period storm, he was suspected by Zhu Yijun of being related to both.

"Your Majesty, please see clearly!" Luo Rufang was truly like "yellow mud smeared on his pants"—he couldn't explain himself even if he had a mouth. Did he say no? The Emperor said yes!

"Why did you fabricate the demon book 'Memorial Impeaching Zhang Juzheng'? I have already said that those who speak of the Teacher's faults shall be beheaded. Did you not hear?" Zhu Yijun looked at Luo Rufang and sneered: "Also, you like to defy decrees. Gathering crowds to lecture was a clear decree, and you defied it. My clear decree, you also defied."

"The guilty servant deserves to die." Luo Rufang didn't dare to contradict a single word. Whether his crime was being beheaded for defying the imperial decree or being exterminated for rebellion depended entirely on his attitude. If he loudly said to the Emperor: "Dog Emperor, don't be arrogant; in eighteen years, I will still be a hero!"—he would be cool, but his nine generations would thank him for his great kindness.

"Take them all away." Zhu Yijun let the Commander take the two to the Northern Suppressing Fief office, go through the back door, don't delay the business of the Yanxing Pavilion, take them away quietly, investigate the case thoroughly, and let the Southern Yamen Commander Luo Bingliang keep an eye on Wang Xiangu and Wang Shizhen and others.

This time, no one came out to persuade them to stop. Even Zhang Juzheng couldn't, because sympathizing with rebels was a crime that couldn't be touched, and they were caught red-handed by the Emperor. There was no way to argue.

As for whether Luo Rufang dies by his own hand or by the execution of his entire clan, it depends entirely on the extent of his involvement. Dealing with matters as they stand and seeking truth from facts is the advocacy of the "theory of contradictions" that Zhu Yijun has always upheld. In any case, Luo Rufang is certain to die.

"Is this the attendant bought off by Censor Wang?" Zhu Yijun looked at the maid kneeling on the ground, trembling, and asked Wang Qian.

"Did you buy firecrackers?" Wang Qian looked at the maid and asked.

"Three cannons fire together, the world is at peace!" The maid immediately said without any hesitation.

Wang Qian bowed and said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, it is her, the maid I bought off."

The nickname the maid recited made Zhu Yijun somewhat surprised. It was actually "World at Peace."

"Hmm, I forgive you. Censor Wang, fulfill the conditions you promised her." Zhu Yijun looked at the maid, acknowledged her contribution in this case of capturing the Sujing Ascetic, and confirmed that he would not hold her accountable, and all promises would be fulfilled in full.

"This servant obeys the decree."

"Censor Wang, where did you promise to settle her?" Zhu Yijun asked with some curiosity.

Wang Qian didn't hide anything and gave a very clear answer: "Send her to the Yongsheng Woolen Mill to be a weaver, change her identity, and no one will know her background."

"Is she willing? Being a weaver is very hard." Zhu Yijun wasn't someone who didn't work. According to the classification of the Dissection Institute, weavers also belonged to the category of moderate laborers, and it was also a very tiring job. That spinning wheel wasn't so easy to pedal.

Wang Qian bowed and said: "That is still easier than serving people. The money I gave her, even if it were a golden mountain, would be eaten away one day. Giving a person a fish is not as good as teaching them to fish. With a livelihood, at least she can live as she wishes."

"You are truly a sensible person." Zhu Yijun nodded and said: "All expenses for the Sujing Ascetic case should be reimbursed from the Inner Treasury. Reimburse in full, report the actual expenses, don't deliberately cut them, and don't make it difficult for the eunuchs in the palace who are auditing the accounts."

The eunuchs in the palace also had to audit the accounts. If Wang Qian reported too much, the palace accounts wouldn't balance; if he reported too little, reporting the accounts would be meaningless.

"Ah?" This time it was Wang Qian's turn to be dumbfounded. The Emperor's stingy nature was no longer a secret. Trying to get a bit of silver from the stingy Emperor was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

For this operation, Wang Qian had spent at least seventy thousand taels of silver. The Emperor was actually going to reimburse him!

A miracle of the world!

"Are you unwilling?" Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Qian and asked as if he didn't care.

"Willing, willing!" Wang Qian nodded repeatedly, shook his sleeves, knelt on the ground, and shouted loudly: "This servant kowtows to thank Your Majesty for your imperial grace!"

"A child can be taught. You may rise; I am returning to the palace." Zhu Yijun left the Yanxing Pavilion, went through the back door, passed through the residential buildings leading to the Imperial Road, got into an inconspicuous carriage, and returned to the Imperial Palace.

When Wang Qian returned home, he was still marveling. He told Wang Chonggu everything that had happened today.

"Father, did I do the right thing by taking this money?" Wang Qian asked, full of doubts. Subconsciously, he felt he should take it, and felt he should take it when he got home, but he hadn't fully figured out why he should take it. He just felt he should, so he did.

"You should," Wang Chonggu said very firmly. "Son, remember, being a superior is actually not difficult. It's just four words: reward and punishment must be clear. Those who make the Emperor reward and punish unclearly are all treacherous officials, and treacherous officials should be executed."

"Reward and punishment must be clear—isn't that six words?" Wang Qian counted on his fingers. It was clearly six words!

"Bring the ring-headed saber! Today I must clean up the family!" Wang Chonggu felt his head buzzing when he heard this. This rebellious beast! He had just performed a great merit and come home, and now he was starting to anger his old father!

"Father, father, father! Four words, four words!" Wang Qian immediately chose to admit defeat.

"What were you thinking at the time?" Wang Chonggu asked with some curiosity.

His own son wasn't greedy for money, because their family had too much money. It wasn't just enough to spend; it was too much to spend anywhere. Wang Qian could withdraw seven thousand taels of silver from the mansion without even Wang Chonggu's consent, because Wang Qian's annual expenditure exceeded one hundred thousand taels.

"This child just felt that taking the Emperor's money meant working for the court, working for the Emperor. Not taking the Emperor's money meant working for oneself. The nature is completely different. What I did was not fit to be seen. If not for the Emperor's protection, I would have been in the Heavenly Prison. Let alone being an official, whether I could live was another matter." Wang Qian elaborated on his thoughts in detail.

Wang Qian thought seriously and added: "The silver doesn't matter. The key is having that proof, which can prove that it is a subject serving the Emperor with all his heart. This is written proof. That's what I thought."

"The Emperor was right. A child can be taught. Our family's ancestral grave is truly smoking with good fortune. You thought correctly." Wang Chonggu sat up straight, looked at Wang Qian, and said very seriously: "Son, remember this. Carve these words into your heart. When you do things in the future, keep four words in your heart: a submissive heart can protect you for a lifetime of peace."

"We are treacherous, isolated, and independent officials who amass wealth and profit. The only thing we can rely on is the Emperor."

"No matter when, don't forget this sentence, do you understand? Look, this Sujing Ascetic is someone who has been cheating people for so long that he cheated himself. He even performed a calculation. It's simply ignorant."

Cheating people until you cheat yourself, and thinking you really have some ghost-defying power, when in fact you have nothing—it's all a fake act.

If there truly were ghosts and gods, would a chance that even the most authoritative Emperor in the world couldn't get be the turn of a petty person?

After Zhu Yijun returned to the palace, he waited for the interrogation by Commander Zhao Mengyou. Zhao Mengyou's speed was very fast. By the next morning, he had given the Emperor a complete report. Everything the Emperor wanted to know and didn't want to know was in it.

The Sujing Ascetic was just an ordinary person, with nothing evil about him. When he arrived at the Northern Suppressing Fief office, he wasn't even as good as the spies they had caught. Spies would at least be tough for a few moments. When the Sujing Ascetic saw the torture instruments, he was scared silly. After being carried to the Dissection Institute, he was carried out lying down. After all, the human body dissection of Wang Jinglong into over a thousand pieces was simply too terrifying!

The Sujing Ascetic found it hard to imagine what kind of human hell it was where a person could be cut into over a thousand pieces as teaching material.

"According to the 'Blue Immortal's' theory, the Son of Heaven is protected by Dragon Qi, so the Sujing Ascetic's immortal techniques couldn't work. But in the prison, he still couldn't perform any immortal techniques. It seems he truly had none. He even said he would burn them to his grandfather so his grandfather could fulfill his wish. What a pity; he was also a fake immortal." Zhu Yijun finished reading the file and said helplessly. He wanted to show filial piety, but this Sujing Ascetic didn't give him the chance.

The Sujing Ascetic's real name was Su Quan, not Wang, but he was indeed Wang Xijue's illegitimate son. Speaking of which, it was another old story: Wang Xijue abandoned his wife and son.

Originally, Wang Xijue and a woman surnamed Su had made a private vow for life and she became pregnant. Zhu Bangchen of the Zhu family in Retainer suddenly came to propose marriage, so Wang Xijue married the daughter of the Zhu family. Later, he passed the Juren examination and then the Jinshi examination, becoming successful. By the time he returned home in glory, he learned of this matter and brought the child home.

Su Quan had indeed killed Xu Jingshao of the Xu family in Kunshan, whom Wang Xiangu was betrothed to. He claimed it was immortal technique killing, but it was actually poisoning. However, it was a poison from the sea, similar to pufferfish—a poison powder ground from a flower crab. The poison used to kill Wang Yaozhuo was a similar poison.

The reason Su Quan wanted to kill Xu Jingshao was because of an unspeakable matter that the world could not tolerate.

According to the Sujing Ascetic's confession, he and Wang Xiangu had successively given birth to two sons. One died before birth, and one was deformed at birth. Inbreeding is indeed like this. This was also why their "Zhixing Zhixing Heyi" group liked to use the umbilical cord blood of infants to seek immortality—the more they lacked something, the more they wanted it.

And the person Su Quan wanted to hand the letter to in the palace had long ago been thrown into a well by Feng Bao, and there was no one left to find. Even if Su Quan had brought the letter into the palace, it would have been of no use.

After Zhang Juzheng's mourning period, Feng Bao conducted a large-scale cleaning of the palace, clearing out the spies that had been deliberately left behind.

Su Quan had no ability to kill Wang Yaozhuo at all, which was why he found Luo Rufang.

Sending people into the palace was simple for court officials and high-ranking officials, but for a petty person like Su Quan, it was as difficult as ascending to heaven, because they had no power in their hands. Su Quan's name had "power" (Quan), but he had no power.

Silver wasn't necessarily completely useful either. Feng Bao wasn't the great eunuch Wang Zhen under Ming Yingzong, who would eat with anyone who gave him a thousand taels of silver.

What was more interesting was the role Wang Shizhen played in this. Wang Shizhen and Su Quan were rivals in love. Because she couldn't give birth to a child for a long time, Wang Xiangu had also become somewhat obsessed. Taking advantage of Su Quan's departure from Taicang, she directly found Wang Shizhen, who had just been dismissed and was extremely depressed. The two hit it off, and now Wang Xiangu was already seven months pregnant.

All the puzzle pieces had been filled in.

"No, Wang Qian spent over seventy thousand taels of silver to buy information?! Seventy thousand taels!" Zhu Yijun looked at the accounts and slammed the table!

It was simply unbelievable. He had actually spent over seventy thousand taels of silver!

After an ancient emperor ascended the throne, he would leave two spaces blank in official documents. This was a Ming tradition. Generally, it was only when the Veritable Records of the Ming were compiled that the personal name would be mentioned. For example, because the name of the Longqing Emperor was not recorded in the Veritable Records of Ming Muzong, it was a point of controversy. When the Emperor was mentioned, it would be written on a new line, starting at the top, just like the character for "Heaven," which was also on a separate line. Please vote for me! Awoo!!!!!!!!!!!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 278 =====