Chapter 288: Your Majesty, You Still Care About Me

Killing karma: those who have killed people will subconsciously look at others' shoulders, because any movement starts from the shoulder. When meeting someone, they will first evaluate the risk of this person, whether they will treat them as prey to be hunted. When they look at people, their eyes will subconsciously narrow, and a fierce light will flash.

Those who have killed people look at others as if they are looking at prey.

Mencius said: "Those who are good at fighting should be punished with the highest penalty," because the better one is at fighting, the heavier the killing karma.

Most of the Great Ming Emperor's Red-Helmet Generals were such ruthless characters who killed like hemp, and Zhu Yi himself had beheaded seven people on the day of the Western Mountain ambush.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di were both this type of person. Having experienced war, they were very indifferent to life. On the battlefield, any kindness is a disrespect to one's own life. The cruelty of Taizu and Taizong had a lot to do with their experiences.

Struggle has always been a matter of life and death.

Zhu Yi walked out of the main hall of the Baoqi Division's Guanghan Hall in military uniform. His Grand Wedding required changing clothes three times, and the significance of these three times was completely different.

The Great Ming Emperor's wedding ceremony was very cumbersome.

The first and second items were the "Nacai" (betrothal) and "Dazheng" (gift-giving) ceremonies.

These were the two major ceremonies of engagement and giving betrothal gifts. Empress Wang Yaozhuo's background was bitter; that Lu clan of Shanzhou didn't act like humans and forced Wang Yaozhuo's parents and relatives to their deaths. Logically speaking, Wang Yaozhuo had a foster father, the Assistant County Magistrate Zhao, who was Wang Yaozhuo's only relative. Unfortunately, he was only a foster father, so the betrothal and gift-giving had to be simplified. Simplifying didn't mean not doing it; even if the "betrothal gifts" had already been given, the proper grandeur still had to be there.

Even if Wang Yaozhuo no longer had family, the preparations still had to be made. One couldn't bully an honest person, and that would also lose face for the Royal House.

The palace gates opened slowly amidst the sound of drums. The Minister of Rites, Ma Ziqiang, and the Minister of Personnel, Wan Shihe, appointed by the Great Ming Emperor, brought the Empress Dowager's edict, the Emperor's imperial decree, and the imperial-bestowed staff, carrying a Nine-Dragon Pavilion to the Kunning Palace.

The betrothal ceremony was held at the Kunning Palace. The Imperial Palace was Wang Yaozhuo's only remaining and only home. Zhu Yi and the two Empress Dowagers were also Wang Yaozhuo's only remaining family. This was the greatest support Empress Dowager Li could provide Zhu Yi, ensuring that the Emperor's pillow-companion, this person who would accompany him for a lifetime, was of one heart with the Emperor.

Eunuchs in red robes filed out, lifted the Dragon Pavilion, and then lined up the betrothal gifts on individual tables. The noblewomen who entered the palace waited outside the Kunning Palace until the gifts filled the Kunning Palace before walking past the dazzling mountains of gold and silver to congratulate the Empress. These noblewomen would then enjoy the betrothal banquet in the palace.

Before the banquet began in the early morning, the gift-giving ceremony began. The betrothal gifts from the Great Ming Emperor had arrived.

Eighty-one Dragon Pavilions filled to the brim began to enter the Kunning Palace. These Dragon Pavilions were filled with all kinds of rare treasures, primarily characterized by luxury and extravagance.

Under the surprised gazes of the noblewomen, they watched as the Dragon Pavilions were opened one by one. The brilliance of real gold and silver blinded the noblewomen's eyes.

His Majesty the Emperor was truly too powerful.

The last time a Grand Wedding was held in the Imperial Palace of the Great Ming was for the Jiajing Emperor. The Daoist didn't have Zhang Juzheng, and the Daoist's Grand Wedding wasn't this extravagant. The wealth of over 200,000 taels of silver piled up in the Kunning Palace like this.

When the Daoist had his Grand Wedding, it was characterized by being stifled. The Daoist's Grand Wedding was presided over by Empress Dowager Zhang, who was the Empress Zhang of Emperor Xiaozong, a husband-and-wife couple. The Daoist's own mother couldn't say a word about her son's marriage.

The Daoist launched the "Great Ritual Dispute" in a fit of rage.

If it were Zhu Yi, Zhu Yi would also launch the "Great Ritual Dispute" in a fit of rage.

The Kunning Palace was having a banquet, while over there, Zhu Yi walked out of the Guanghan Hall. Looking forward, the sky was cloudless, and the flags were fluttering and rolling in the spring breeze. Under the flags, the music of drummers and horn players was filled with the sound of killing. The music composed by the Imperial Uncle Zhu Zaiyu was not festive, but rather full of the sounds of killing, fitting the theme of this Grand Wedding. Although Zhu Zaiyu didn't manage state affairs, he also knew how difficult the road the Emperor was walking was.

The magnificent and decisive music wandered between heaven and earth.

Inside the palace walls, there was a sea of people. The Red-Helmet Generals separated the court officials, who stood straight, and bowed respectfully under the leadership of the Grand Secretaries and court officials as soon as the Emperor appeared.

"We bow to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty, long live, long live!"

The sound of the mountain-calling and sea-drinking rushed straight into the clouds.

Zhu Yi stretched his hand out and said: "Rise."

Feng Bao flicked his horsetail whisk, walked forward two steps, and shouted in a high-pitched voice: "Rise."

The little eunuchs passed the Emperor's edict down layer by layer, and the echoes kept resounding within the palace gates.

This ceremony on the third day of the third month of the sixth year of Wanli was called a Grand Wedding, but it was actually Zhu Yi's enthronement ceremony. The scene was magnificent and solemn.

Zhu Yi saw Zhang Juzheng at a glance. Zhang Juzheng was dressed differently from the others, wearing a cloth robe instead of a brocade robe and a buffalo-horn belt instead of the Grand Tutor's jade belt. This was Zhang Juzheng's mourning attire. Logically speaking, such mourning attire appearing at the Emperor's Grand Wedding scene was not in accordance with ritual.

Zhang Juzheng's appearance at the Grand Wedding scene was the result of a compromise. The court officials had been arguing and asking for Zhang Juzheng to appear, and Zhu Yi went with the flow. Zhang Juzheng finally couldn't refuse and had to follow the imperial decree, appearing at the head of the officials.

Zhu Yi smiled as he looked at Zhang Juzheng, and almost laughed out loud when he looked at Wang Chonggu. This Wang Chonggu, now the Junior Grand Secretary of the court, was still very afraid of Zhang Juzheng, who had lost his power. His body subconsciously stayed away from Zhang Juzheng, and he assumed a defensive posture.

Zhang Juzheng was a scholar who couldn't even truss a chicken; he didn't practice martial arts. Wang Chonggu practiced martial arts, so this posture of Wang Chonggu's was very strange and awkward in Zhu Yi's eyes.

How could Wang Chonggu not be afraid? Zhang Juzheng was indeed in mourning, but judging from the court officials' continuous requests, Zhang Juzheng hadn't lost his power at all, because His Majesty refused to let Zhang Juzheng return to his hometown.

It was the court officials who submitted memorials one after another to invite Zhang Juzheng back. This Emperor, who was addicted to killing, could only be restrained by Master Zhang. The Emperor, who had heavy killing karma, was still monitoring executions and killing people the day before his Grand Wedding!

On the day of the Grand Wedding, he was still in military uniform, highlighting his ruthlessness.

"Master is here." Zhu Yi walked down the moon platform and came before Zhang Juzheng, his smile sincere and bright.

Zhang Juzheng was very gratified. He had thousands of words in his heart, and had even prepared a draft, reciting the full text. He had originally prepared a long string of flowery words, but in the end, everything was reduced to one sentence.

"Your Majesty, you have grown up."

When the Longqing Emperor left, the Wanli Emperor, who was then the Crown Prince, was still a little fatty, only reaching Zhang Juzheng's waist. Now, His Majesty was taller and more imposing than Zhang Juzheng, full of spirit. Five years had passed in the blink of an eye, and His Majesty had finally grown into an adult.

Now, Zhu Yi could beat ten Zhang Juzhengs by himself.

"It all relies on Master's careful care." Zhu Yi solemnly expressed his gratitude. During these five years of "the young ruler and the suspicious state," Zhang Juzheng had done everything he could as the Senior Grand Secretary and Grand Tutor.

Even the Zhang Juzheng in history hadn't let the Wanli Emperor down. Starting from the third year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng gave an extra 200,000 taels of gold-flower silver to the palace every year. The palace did have expenses, and this extra 200,000 taels was real money sent into the palace for the Emperor to spend. It was Zhang Juzheng who made the Wanli Emperor frugal, and it was also Zhang Juzheng who gave the Wanli Emperor money to spend.

From the third year of Wanli to the tenth year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng gave a total of 1.4 million taels, which was already a lot.

In the thirty-first year of Jiajing, the Jiajing Emperor asked the national treasury for 2 million taels of silver to repair the Guanghan Hall he lived in, which was dilapidated and broken. After three years of haggling, the Jiajing Emperor only got 200,000 taels. The Western Garden's Guanghan Hall collapsed in the early years of Wanli.

Zhang Juzheng did exhort the Wanli Emperor to be frugal, and he did impose extremely strict constraints on the Wanli Emperor, but Zhang Juzheng still gave an extra 200,000 taels every year. The Wanli Emperor didn't seem to distinguish between "full" and "fuller."

The most ruthless thing Zhang Juzheng did to the Wanli Emperor was to limit the Wanli Emperor's high consumption. He didn't forge edicts, didn't depose him, didn't punch the Emperor three times, didn't call the Wanli Emperor a "dog-legged monarch," didn't kill the Wanli Emperor's Empress, and didn't force the Wanli Emperor to "shatter like jade."

This powerful official, Zhang Juzheng, had a completely different style from the powerful officials of past dynasties. If Zhang Juzheng hadn't accepted bribes, he would probably have gained the reputation of being remembered for ages like Zhuge Liang. But Zhang Juzheng did accept bribes, taking silver from Qi Jiguang, Yin Zhengmao, Liu Xian, and Zhang Yuanxun, and even shielded them.

Zhang Juzheng only had one expectation for the Great Ming Emperor: he just wanted the Emperor to become talented.

"Yesterday, the Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, Li Lai, submitted a memorial. In the evening, I called him over and scolded him. Li Lai said that since ancient times, auspicious and ominous paths shouldn't interfere with each other, and it's not appropriate for Master to preside over the Grand Wedding. This guy completely didn't know that when I returned to the palace yesterday evening, the Holy Mother also personally told me that Master has exhausted his loyalty but couldn't fulfill filial piety. We should take the matter seriously, listen to his advice, and ask about the execution of the rituals. I said Master would definitely come, and only then did the Holy Mother feel at ease." Zhu Yi added a small detail after returning to the palace yesterday.

This guy Li Lai insisted on going against everyone the day before the Grand Wedding, submitting such a memorial opposing Zhang Juzheng coming to the Grand Wedding scene. Zhu Yi called him over and scolded him severely. Li Lai stiffened his neck and argued, insisting that Zhang Juzheng was a powerful official who intimidated the monarch. Zhu Yi counted the various actions of powerful officials throughout history for Li Lai, and only then did Li Lai stop arguing.

Li Lai, like most Great Ming scholars, hadn't read history books because "there is no great righteousness after the Spring and Autumn period." When the Emperor explained the allusion of "punching the Emperor three times," Li Lai was dumbfounded.

Li Lai and the others still submitted memorials on the day of the Grand Wedding, and even when they saw the Emperor, they still argued. This was because they were convinced from the bottom of their hearts that what they were doing was right, at least they were loyal to themselves, not for the sake of gaining fame for a time.

"I am unworthy of Your Majesty and the Holy Mother's favor." Zhang Juzheng really didn't know about this. From the Emperor's description, Zhang Juzheng understood one thing: His Majesty still reviewed memorials after inspecting the troops yesterday. This was diligence, but "too much is as bad as too little."

"I have finally understood. There are still villains harboring evil intentions today. Every time they encounter something, they use words to sow discord. I have already seen it clearly now. I originally wanted to punish him severely, but because the happy event is near, I will record it for now and see his performance in the future." Zhu Yi took three steps forward, keeping Zhang Juzheng within three steps of himself.

Zhang Juzheng submitted a memorial saying he wanted to wear festive clothes. "Auspicious and ominous paths shouldn't interfere with each other." The Emperor was holding a happy event, and he was wearing mourning clothes. What kind of thing was that? It was just changing the cloth robe to a brocade robe and the buffalo-horn belt to a jade belt.

Zhu Yi didn't allow it.

Presiding over the rituals while in mourning was already unfilial. For Zhang Juzheng's reputation, it wasn't a good thing. Changing clothes to festive ones was truly inappropriate.

Zhang Juzheng was presiding over the rituals, meaning he was the chief officiant. And the Emperor, in this military uniform, was going to the outer city of the capital, the Great Sacrifice Hall, which was the Temple of Heaven's Prayer for Good Harvests Hall in later generations. This was the place for sacrificing to Heaven and Earth, enshrining Emperor Taizu Gao and Emperor Chengzu Wen.

This place was one of the places where the Daoist and the court officials fought for power during the Jiajing years. Another main battlefield was the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

The "Great Ritual Dispute," the political discussion on the imperial lineage, in the eyes of later generations, ended in the third year of Jiajing when Yang Tinghe and his son were dismissed and returned to their hometowns. But in the eyes of Zhang Juzheng, a Great Ming person, it continued until the twenty-seventh year of Jiajing, with the struggle surrounding the Great Sacrifice Hall and the Imperial Ancestral Temple, ending with the Emperor Ruizong (the Daoist's biological father) being enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, located in the fourth position on the left, ascending above the Wuzong Emperor.

The Daoist wanted to call his own father his biological father, but the Senior Grand Secretary Yang Tinghe didn't recognize it. Yang Tinghe's son, the top scholar Yang Shen, shouted loudly: "The state has raised scholars for 150 years, and the day to hold fast to integrity and righteousness and die is today!"

"The day to die for righteousness is today." Yang Shen didn't even feel ashamed shouting this slogan. The state raised scholars, and this was the kind of goods they raised.

The location where Yang Shen gathered over two hundred court officials to petition was not outside the Meridian Gate, but at the Left Shun Gate inside the Meridian Gate and the Huangmen. That was already the Imperial Palace.

During the Wanli years, the court officials were afraid of Zhang Juzheng. Even if they petitioned a few times, it was all small trouble. They didn't dare to run into the Imperial Palace to act wildly, only daring to kowtow outside the Meridian Gate. At the slightest sign of trouble, they would disappear without a trace.

Whatever the merits and demerits of Yang Tinghe, the Spring and Autumn period has its own judgment. From Zhu Yi's own perspective, Yang Tinghe was an out-and-out powerful official, or more accurately, he wasn't a thing at all.

Wu Xun personally stepped on the battlefield at Yingzhou to repel the Northern Barbarian Dayan Khan's harassment of the Great Ming's northwest. Yang Tinghe, as the Imperial Tutor, not only didn't recognize it but also scolded Wu Xun severely. Everyone was an Imperial Tutor; why did Zhang Juzheng shout about enriching the country and strengthening the army all day long, while turning a blind eye to the little Emperor practicing martial arts, which was "unprofessional"?

The famous minister of the early Jiajing years, Zhang Cong, also thought so. Zhang Cong once said to those close to him: "How can the son of the Senior Grand Secretary be the top scholar? Can the top scholar be raised at home? He doesn't avoid suspicion, nor does he know shame."

The Great Ming had an "enfeoffment system." Yang Tinghe's son could at least get a third-rank idle official position, not managing affairs or holding power.

But Yang Tinghe's son was the top scholar. Zhang Cong didn't believe it was obtained through ability.

Yang Tinghe, the Senior Grand Secretary of the state, and his son Yang Shen was the top scholar—that would be fine. In the early Jiajing years, Yang Shen was even a lecturer, responsible for lecturing the Emperor. The work Zhang Juzheng did in the Wanli years was held by Yang Shen.

Zhu Yi felt that Yang Tinghe wasn't a thing, and Zhang Cong also thought so. The Daoist dismissing Yang Tinghe and exiling Yang Shen to Yunnan was probably because he also thought the Yang father and son weren't things.

Zhu Yi arrived at the Daoist's battlefield, the Temple of Heaven, the Great Sacrifice Hall.

The reason for coming here was very simple: to tell Heaven that the Emperor was getting married, the Emperor was ruling personally, the country was peaceful, and the world already had signs of revitalization.

Zhu Yi walked into the Great Sacrifice Hall step by step, walked into the Xuanji Treasure Hall. There were only three spirit tablets here: one for the Supreme Heaven God, one for Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, and one for Emperor Chengzu Zhu Di.

In the ninth year of Jiajing, Zhu Di was lifted here with the status of Emperor Taizong by the Daoist. In the tenth year of Jiajing, he was lifted out by the court officials. In the autumn of the seventeenth year of Jiajing, Zhu Di became Chengzu and was lifted in again. Since then, he could never shake off this temple name.

Zhu Di himself would definitely prefer the temple name Taizong, rather than Chengzu.

Because Zhu Di never wanted to admit the four years of the Jianwen Emperor's time in his life, and even launched a "history rewriting," changing the first to the fourth year of Jianwen to the thirty-first to thirty-fifth year of Hongwu. Taizu was followed by Taizong. Zhu Di claimed that this imperial position was passed to him by Zhu Yuanzhang! This was probably Zhu Di's obsession for a lifetime.

Zhu Di definitely didn't like the temple name Chengzu, which meant that all his life's efforts were negated. The temple name Chengzu meant that Zhu Di started a new lineage and was a rebel who ascended the throne.

"Merit is Ancestor, Virtue is Ancestor." Together they are called "Ancestors."

Zhu Yi didn't have the intention of lifting Zhu Di out either. Since it was already done, he offered incense, and Feng Bao followed behind with two little eunuchs, holding a long imperial decree, and walked out of the hall to announce the decree.

The Grand Wedding was the enthronement ceremony. Zhu Yi ran here to sacrifice to Heaven, which was to tell Heaven that he was now truly enthroned, so this imperial decree was the enthronement edict.

The content was generally standard, just the ordinary difficulty of the Great Ming's founding, counting the virtues of the ancestors, Zhu Yi taking over this burden, what kind of predicament he was facing, what he would do, and his expectations for the Great Ming's revitalization.

Zhu Yi looked at the military armor on his body.

The Great Ming's cloth-surface armor had iron plates inside. Whether the iron plates inside were rusted couldn't be seen. In the early years of Wanli, the Minister of War Tan Lun discovered that the Capital Battalion's armor had become cotton armor, and there wasn't a single iron plate inside. This made Tan Lun heartbroken. Cloth-surface armor was a means of "drinking soldiers' blood" in the early years of Wanli. The Capital Battalion was rotten to this extent; how rotten would the border regions be?

Tan Lun submitted a memorial saying that in the future, all armor must be "bright armor" for inspection. The opposition inside and outside the court was very high. Tan Lun coughing at the Sun Altar and being dismissed was the result, not the cause.

The Great Ming army's armor in the early years of Wanli was all "bright armor" to prevent rust and shoddy work.

Zhu Yi walked out of the Great Sacrifice Hall and led the civil and military officials to the Imperial Ancestral Temple of the Imperial Palace.

The Emperor walked to the moon platform in front of the Imperial Ancestral Temple step by step, but didn't go in. Instead, he shook a piece of paper out of his sleeve and handed it to Feng Bao.

The Minister of Personnel Wan Shihe and the Minister of Rites Ma Ziqiang, who had already rushed back from the Kunning Palace, saw this scene and immediately knew it was bad! The Emperor was going to make trouble!

This imperial decree of His Majesty hadn't gone through court discussion!

Feng Bao stepped forward two steps again. A little eunuch had already brought up a table. Feng Bao pasted the paper in his hand onto the brocade. The brocade had a jade axis. Zhu Yi walked to the table, picked up the Wanli Great Seal beside it, and stamped it on the paper. An imperial decree was completed in front of the officials.

The little eunuch opened the imperial decree.

Feng Bao flicked his horsetail whisk and shouted loudly in a high-pitched voice: "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:"

"I ascended the throne at a young age. The country was withered and in great danger of collapse. The Northern Barbarians were rampant beyond the borders, repeatedly invading. The national treasury was in great deficit, the court was dark, and the administration was as muddy as the Great River, with mud and sand flowing together. Rituals and music collapsed, people's hearts were lost, and the poor and suffering common people appealed to heretical evil. The country had no peace, and the state had no plan for stability."

"With supreme virtue, one enjoys great fame; with great achievements, one deserves glorious rewards."

"Grand Secretary of the Central Hall, Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, Grand Tutor, Senior Grand Secretary, Earl of Yicheng, Pillar of the State, Zhang Juzheng of Jiangling, was born with the descent of a white turtle, was intelligent from a young age, and had a virtuous reputation. A Juren at twelve, a Jinshi at fifteen, he sang his name outside the Donghua Gate at twenty-three. He has the supreme virtue of Yi Yin and Yan Yuan. The grain and silver of Taicang can support six years. The accumulated gold in the Zhou Temple reached over 7 million. Under the 'Examination Method,' even thousands of miles away, orders were executed in the evening."

"When I was young and ascended the throne, Master was humble and bright; when the imperial army destroyed the thieves, his merits were outstanding. Using Zhengmao to pacify the Japanese pirates in the two Guangs, using Liu Xian to pacify the southwestern Miao, using the Marquis of Ningyuan to stabilize Liaodong, using the Marquis of Qian'an to roam beyond the borders—the barbarians all submitted. Remembering that I was ten years old, you exhausted your heart to assist me, your body tied to the importance of the state's safety, bowing and scraping, being an Imperial Tutor, and also a teacher for the world."

"Great achievements reside in caution, and abundant grace flows to ten thousand generations. Having yet to bestow a grand title, I feel a deep sense of regret in my heart."

"Respectfully, on the auspicious day of the third day of the third month of the sixth year of Wanli, I report to Heaven, the Ancestral Temple, and the State, Master's supreme virtue and great achievements."

"Alas! Fame overflows, manifesting virtuous deeds as if still present. Virtue is high and respected, satisfying the feelings of the masses and agreeing with them. Proclaim to the world, so that all may hear."

"Respect this."

Zhu Yi's imperial decree was like throwing a heavy bomb into the Imperial Ancestral Temple, directly shattering the court officials!

The little Emperor—no, the Emperor—had truly learned to be bad! He took out the "Great Ritual Dispute" struggle method of Jiajing to intimidate the court officials!

This imperial decree was easy to understand, and the flavor was truly too strong. This was a deterrent. Once the court officials pressed hard, Zhu Yi would do something big, adding the title of "Regent" to Zhang Juzheng, holding the "Great Ming Regent" to fight with the court officials, just like the Jiajing Emperor used his biological father, the Prince of Xingxian's imperial title, to fight with the court officials back then!

It was simply too much. How did this little Emperor not learn the good, but only learn the bad!

This imperial decree first talked about the Great Ming's national situation being as precarious as a pile of eggs. Everyone was a party to this. Don't look at the Great Ming's national treasury having six years of expenditure now; the budget for the Longqing years was only made for three months, and six years ago, the imperial mausoleum was in arrears for a year, and 110,000 taels of silver could torture the Minister of Revenue Wang Guoguang until his hair fell out.

Afterward, the Great Ming Emperor suddenly talked about Zhang Juzheng. "Born with the descent of a white turtle"—this was an auspicious sign, this was mythology, this was creating the atmosphere of Zhang Juzheng being different from ordinary people. Every great person in history had some strange scenes accompanying their birth. This was creating momentum.

Afterward, he counted Zhang Juzheng's civil and military achievements. "With supreme virtue, one enjoys great fame; with great achievements, one deserves glorious rewards." This was indeed Zhang Juzheng's political achievement. You could question Zhang Juzheng's character, but you couldn't question Zhang Juzheng's ability.

The most explosive part was "Without a high honorary title, I feel deeply sorry." The honorary title pointed directly to the three words "Great Ming Regent." Why did the Emperor feel deeply sorry? Because Zhang Juzheng was alive, he couldn't do this; that would be forcing Zhang Juzheng to die.

The reason Zhu Yi did this was for warning—a bright warning. The significance of him personally beheading the Zhixing Zhixing Heyi Zhong and personally monitoring the execution before his Grand Wedding was because the primary assassination target of the Zhixing Zhixing Heyi Zhong was Zhang Juzheng!

He wanted to torment Wang Shizhen, he wanted to monitor the execution of the Zhixing Zhixing Heyi Zhong; he was telling the court officials what the "reverse scale" was. If you mess around, if Zhang Juzheng really died, then let's fight to the death, fight until the heavens collapse and the earth cracks.

Anyway, the Great Ming's blood bar was thick. The Daoist had also fought once, and the effect was very good.

Zhang Juzheng was dumbfounded. He came to attend his disciple's wedding, and the Emperor staged such a big play!

"Your Majesty, I cannot accept the decree." After hearing the imperial decree, Zhang Juzheng's subconscious reaction was to oppose it. He didn't agree. Wasn't this making trouble? Unfortunately, he had already returned the government and didn't have the ability to forcibly stop the Emperor from making trouble.

"Does Master think your achievements are not worthy of the honor of being enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple?" Zhu Yi blinked, his face innocent. This face was truly too deceptive. In his trance, Zhang Juzheng even thought the Emperor was truly innocent.

Innocent? This little guy was very bad. His heart was more than a beehive, and dirtier than graphite!

Whether it was "enshrined" or "honored" depended on the performance of the court officials. If they couldn't protect Zhang Juzheng and he died an unnatural death, then it was "honored"; if they protected him, then it was "enshrined." There was redundancy here, and there was room for advance and retreat.

"I am unworthy of Your Majesty's favor, and I am filled with fear." Zhang Juzheng was also helpless. Who could he blame for what he taught?

He felt that his achievements were indeed worthy of being enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Even if he offended so many people, the Ancestral Temple was the Zhu family's temple. Whoever the Zhu family Emperor wanted to enshrine, he could enshrine.

Any matter that could be used for struggle, His Majesty would use for struggle. As long as he won, he could push forward the new policies. He was indeed carved from the same mold as Zhang Juzheng.

This Emperor, Zhu Yi, was qualified.

Xu Jie, that scoundrel, had done all kinds of evil, but he was extremely shrewd in worldly affairs. When he debated with Zhang Juzheng, he said to Zhang Juzheng: "You strictly restrain the Emperor! The first thing the Emperor will do when he takes personal rule is to settle scores with you, this disobedient official." Emperors were generally like this, feeling that they were sages who were different from ordinary people.

The Wanli Emperor had indeed done as Xu Jie said.

Zhu Yi was different. Zhu Yi even intended to raise Zhang Juzheng to the status of Regent and Great Ming Regent! In this way, it wouldn't be that the official was disobedient; there were no officials, it was clearly a Regent!

After the sacrifice at the Ancestral Temple, Zhu Yi had to change into festive clothes and continue the Grand Wedding rituals. This process was very cumbersome and boring.

When Zhu Yi was changing clothes in the Qianqing Palace, he heard the sound of gongs and drums outside. This time, it wasn't the porters carrying the Dragon Pavilion, but the Empress's trousseau, which was her dowry.

The team carrying the dowry was magnificent, stretching for several miles. The Red-Helmet Generals in the palace, the Grand Wedding envoys Ma Ziqiang and Wan Shihe, would carry the dowry and parade through the streets, exiting from the Donghuamen, circling a large circle, and entering from the West Flower Gate, and then displaying it in the Qianqing Palace. Marrying off a daughter—the more dowry given, the less she would be bullied, and the more importance would be shown.

In this day and age, it was an era of "marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog." Marrying someone meant truly marrying someone.

Zhu Yi waited for nearly an hour after changing into his festive clothes before the dowry arrived at the Qianqing Palace. It was also interesting that the dowry was carried out from the inner treasury, and after walking through the process, it was returned to the inner treasury.

Wang Yaozhuo didn't have any money. Since she entered the palace at ten, her food and clothing were all from the palace. Because her status was special, she wasn't a palace maid, and she only had the rewards given by the Empress Dowager and Zhu Yi, with no other wealth. Wang Yaozhuo had no family, and no one prepared a dowry for her.

Among these dowries, Zhu Yi saw a very dilapidated wooden box at a glance. The wooden box was made of paulownia wood, a type of softwood. The box was very small. The reason he saw it at a glance was that it was out of place with other luxurious items; it was too simple.

Zhu Yi carefully opened the wooden box. The wooden box didn't even have a hinge; it was just buckled. Inside was a silver hairpin that had turned black and was of poor quality. There was also a dark red spot of dried blood on the hairpin.

This was the only relic of Wang Yaozhuo's mother, who died in childbirth. When Wang Yaozhuo's father was at his wit's end, he had thought of selling it, but in the end, he didn't. From the age of seven to ten, when Wang Yaozhuo was sheltered by Assistant County Magistrate Zhao, she had always held this hairpin. Once the situation wasn't right, she would stab it into her own neck.

She didn't have the power to resist, but she had the choice to end her own life. Wang Yaozhuo was weak and easily bullied in front of the Emperor, but in her bones, she was very unyielding, and like wild grass, her vitality was extremely tenacious.

Zhu Yi knew about this hairpin because there was a very obvious scar from a blunt object on Wang Yaozhuo's fair neck. Wang Yaozhuo had chattered about some things from the past, crying as she spoke, and falling asleep as she cried.

"Silly girl." Zhu Yi carefully put the silver hairpin back into the box and said to Zhang Hong: "Find a hardwood box and put this box inside."

Preserving the box together, instead of just preserving the silver hairpin—this was the only object Wang Yaozhuo had on her before entering the palace, and now she had taken it out as a dowry.

Zhu Yi was a person, a living thing. In political activities, he was indeed a ruthless political machine. Outside of political activities, he also had people he cared about. The reason he wanted to appear indifferent was actually because he was afraid that the people he cared about would be hurt.

Even for this stupid younger brother, Prince of Lu Zhu Yiluo, Zhu Yi cared very much.

Emperors have always been lonely people since ancient times.

Luo Rufang was right: if Wang Yaozhuo were killed, the Great Ming Emperor would probably truly become a ruthless stone, just like Zhu Yuanzhang after Empress Ma and Zhu Biao passed away one after another. Luo Rufang was right, because he ended up committing suicide, with his family all safe and sound.

Involvement? Spreading? Collective punishment? Eternal infamy? Would a stone care about these?

Zhu Yi walked out of the Qianqing Palace. After the Empress's trousseau, it was the conferment ceremony—the official announcement that Wang Yaozhuo was the Empress, bestowing the golden seal and ribbon. This conferment was completed by the Minister of Rites, Ma Ziqiang.

After Wang Yaozhuo received the decree, she looked at the golden seal carried by two people with furrowed brows and asked blankly: "Is this... my seal? Did you take the wrong one?"

"No, this is it, made from 999 taels of gold." Ma Ziqiang also held his forehead. His Majesty always had some strange hobbies. For example, he made two seals, one for daily stamping, and this rare item in front of him.

A big gold ingot.

"Your Majesty, you still care about me." Wang Yaozhuo was now a young woman in love, not even calling herself "this palace" anymore, her tone extremely cheerful.

The reason for such a big golden seal was that in the third year of Wanli, Wang Yaozhuo held a thumb-sized seal and wondered why the seal was so small. She thought it should be the kind that could be held in one hand. Zhu Yi explained it, and Wang Yaozhuo felt it was a bit stingy.

This matter had passed for more than two years, but Zhu Yi still remembered it. When the Ministry of Rites presented it to the Seal Bureau to make the seal, Zhu Yi specifically issued a decree to make it big. Wang Yaozhuo liked big ones, and Zhu Yi's was not small either—it couldn't be grasped in one hand.

Wang Yaozhuo was aware of this, otherwise she wouldn't have prepared the shark oil.

Seeking monthly tickets, Aowu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 289 =====

(End of chapter)