Chapter 1437: Poisoned Mutton Soup Is Truly Delicious! (Begging for Monthly Tickets)

Everyone knew perfectly well what "east wind" meant!

To launch a punitive campaign against the two Protector-Generals Oboi and Yolo, a pretext was naturally still needed. Oboi and Yolo had not yet completely torn off all pretense with the court, so this pretext had to be manufactured by Zhu Cilang. And to make that pretext look at least somewhat plausible, there naturally had to be an arrangement for someone to "die by suicide out of fear of punishment"!

"No need!" Zhu Cilang waved a hand. "This matter does not require the Embroidered Uniform Guard to act. We have Our own arrangements!" He glanced at the sky outside and smiled. "It is getting late. The Crown Prince, the Crown Princess, and all you ministers may withdraw. We are somewhat tired as well."

"Zhu Hexing, Ding Yuying, Wei Zaode, Yan Yingyuan, Li Yan, Zhu Chunjie!"

Ajige was now under "house arrest at the Palace of Yan Mountain," conveniently completing the handover with Fan A'nu. Before long, she would replace Fan A'nu as Zhu Cilang's personal attendant. She was no Fan A'nu — Fan A'nu did not share his bed, whereas she had been Zhu Cilang's favored consort since her teens.

So Fan A'nu's position was, for her, a demotion in name but a promotion in fact. Henceforth her standing in the palace might well be as great as that of the four Noble Consorts!

The edict granting Fan A'nu the surname Zhu had already been drafted, and all the preparations for sending her to Anxi to marry Galdan were nearly complete. Even the escort envoy had been chosen: Gao Jie's second son, named Gao Qifeng. He had been Galdan's classmate in elementary and middle school, and after middle school had entered the Military Academy. It was said he was on very good terms with Galdan, which was why he had been given the assignment of escort envoy.

After the escort mission was over, he would remain in Galdan's army to serve — from then on Fan A'nu would be Galdan's khatun.

"Ajige," Zhu Cilang said in a low voice on the way to the Palace of Yan Mountain, "go and settle that false Shunzhi!"

"This concubine... go?" Ajige started. "How am I to settle him?"

Zhu Cilang laughed. "Give him a bowl of poisoned mutton soup! This fellow impersonated you?"

Ajige pouted slightly, seeming a little afraid. "His Majesty's arrangement is very good, but this concubine is useless — I dare not poison anyone."

"It does not matter," Zhu Cilang said with a smile. "We will arrange for the factory official Pan Yuchen to go with you. He will arrange everything."

Zhu Cilang was in fact testing Ajige. This was the final test. In a few more days, she would be attending him personally! If she were the sort of ruthless woman who dared poison people, the Zhu Emperor would have to think very carefully!

Of course, the reason the Zhu Emperor would bring Ajige to his side was that he fully understood and trusted her. Ajige had entered the palace very early — at twelve or thirteen she had been sent by Shunzhi to Zhu Cilang's side, and from then on had always followed the Zhu Emperor, until she grew up and formally entered the palace as a consort. After nearly twenty years together, how could Zhu Cilang not understand her?

Although this woman was Hong Taiji's daughter, she was not the least bit fierce; her temperament presumably took after her mother. Moreover, she worshipped the strong, and so she worshipped Zhu Cilang, that mighty lord and sage ruler, enormously. Although she sometimes liked to throw little tantrums, even deliberately provoking Zhu Cilang, she was very easy to "bully" — a little straightening out and she was perfectly obedient.

Furthermore, Zhu Cilang had arranged things very well for the two sons Ajige had borne him. The elder, Zhu Hegong, had already been enfeoffed as Prince of Jin and held the distant post of Protector-General of Andong, with fifteen estates (cities) under his name and more than fifteen thousand military and civilian households.

The younger, Zhu Helong, also held a duchy in Malacca and would in the future be enfeoffed as a Prince.

Moreover, Zhu Cilang had permitted Ajige to collect tribute from the Heilongjiang and Andong regions, and over the past dozen or so years she had already received more than a million taels. Ajige could not spend this silver, so Zhu Cilang personally managed it, buying shares in the Jiale Market Company and investing in property in Tianjin and Temasek, which had now appreciated to more than two million!

So Ajige was now thoroughly content. Both in feeling and in interest, she would side with Zhu Cilang. And since her temperament was good, Zhu Cilang had therefore chosen her to replace Fan A'nu, who had grown up in the palace, as his constant companion.

"Sixth Brother, I am your fourteenth sister, Ajige! I have come to visit you, and I had someone stew mutton soup for you."

Although she did not have to do it herself, when Ajige met the false Shunzhi the next day at the Marquis of Yan'en's residence, she was still somewhat flustered. Her usually smiling face was taut, and her gaze kept flickering, not daring to look directly at the false Shunzhi, who would very soon be poisoned to death by the Eastern Depot's Superintendent Pan Yuchen.

Pan Yuchen was carrying a food box containing a large basin of frozen water-basin mutton, stewed from Ningxia Tan sheep.

"Eunuch Pan, go... go for me!" Ajige ordered in a low voice.

Eunuch Pan acknowledged and, carrying the food box, went to the kitchen of the Marquis of Yan'en's residence — besides reheating the water-basin mutton, he also had to add a little something! Namely, the top-grade arsenic specially supplied to the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot!

This stuff was far more effective than the palace's secret reserve of top-grade red-crested crane poison that Kong Yinzhi had once enjoyed. It was very pure, and after clinical trials by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot, it had been proven to have excellent efficacy, specifically treating longevity. But even if it failed to poison the false Shunzhi to death, it would not matter — Pan Yuchen had also brought two Eastern Depot experts, who would then kill the false Shunzhi with four flintlock pistols.

In short, the false Shunzhi would not live past today!

But the false Shunzhi himself had not the slightest awareness of this. While others were preparing his poisoned mutton soup, he was still making inquiries of Ajige.

"Fourteenth Sister, let me ask you something — will my crimes have to go before a three-court joint trial?"

Ajige answered, "There is no three-court joint trial now. Except for military cases, trials are the work of the Court of Judicature and Revision and the tribunals under it. Sixth Brother, your crimes are great, so there will be a preliminary trial at the Pukou Tribunal, then a review by the Court of Judicature and Revision, and finally the Emperor will decide the sentence."

"How... how heavy a sentence will it be?" the false Shunzhi asked.

Ji Kun had long assured him that he could keep his corpse intact! But he was still somewhat uneasy.

"That I do not know," Ajige said. "But the final decision on punishment rests with His Majesty, and His Majesty is rather lenient, rarely approving the death penalty."

"Really?" The false Shunzhi suddenly felt that life had hope again.

"Really," Ajige said. "Last year, the death sentences approved by His Majesty numbered only one hundred cases."

One hundred cases? That seemed like a lot!

The false Shunzhi was somewhat disappointed again. Then he asked further, "Generally speaking, if someone has done murder, arson, highway robbery, and rape all in one go, what would the sentence be?"

"That..." Ajige thought to herself: that depends on how many people you killed. If you killed between one and ten people, even if you were not beheaded you would be exiled to the malaria islands of the Southern Seas — a true near-certain death! If you killed more than ten, you would still die very ugly. If you killed thousands upon thousands... then perhaps it would be a case of murder and arson followed by amnesty and recruitment!

"Ama, the mutton soup is heated, and it smells wonderful!"

At that moment, Xuanye came in carrying a large bowl of fragrant poisoned mutton soup, and with a face full of filial devotion set the mutton soup before the false Shunzhi.

These days he had been with the false Shunzhi day and night, acting like a truly filial son, and had even picked up a little Shaanxi dialect.

The false Shunzhi was wearing shackles and found it inconvenient, so Xuanye said with a smile, "Ama, let me feed you! This was personally stewed for you by Fourteenth Aunt. It is made with the immortal sheep of the palace. Back when you were emperor, you drank this every day."

"Good, good, let me drink more of what the emperor drank — this is good stuff!" The false Shunzhi had long been hungry — to ensure he would drink enough poisoned mutton soup, Pan Yuchen had deliberately arrived right at mealtime, and had also had Ajige stall for half an hour, leaving the false Shunzhi famished.

Seeing the false Shunzhi gulping down great mouthfuls of poisoned mutton soup, Ajige no longer dared to watch. She hastily stood up and slipped out of the room into the courtyard, where she took a few breaths of air still faintly mixed with the aroma of the poisoned mutton soup.

At that moment, from inside the room suddenly came the sound of porcelain smashing on the ground, followed by the false Shunzhi's roar: "Poison! The mutton soup is poisoned!"

(End of Chapter)