Chapter 1637: Nothing in the World Beats a Eunuch

"This slave truly is not lying. This slave's sons and grandsons were listening outside the wall of Prince Xin's bedchamber — there can be no mistake... Prince Xin really did say in his dream: 'Ancestors, give me one more chance, and I will surely be a good emperor...'"

In the quiet Qianqing Palace, a middle-aged man's voice could be heard, speaking in a strange, mocking tone as he tattled on Zhu Youjian. A young man with a pale, grayish face and slightly swollen features sat on the bed, leaning to one side, looking every bit like someone on the verge of death.

This young man who looked as though he would not last much longer was none other than the foremost carpenter of the Great Ming and its emperor — Zhu Youxiao, whose reign era was Tianqi.

Zhu Youxiao was only twenty-three this year, an age when a man should be in the prime of youth, full of vigor and ambition. Yet the state he was in now clearly showed he had reached the final stage of illness and was about to breathe his last. What had reduced him to this condition were two accidents and one case of medicinal poisoning.

In the fifth month of the sixth year of Tianqi, a strange and catastrophic disaster had occurred in the area of Wanggongchang in Beijing — a tremendous explosion. No one knew whether a gunpowder factory near Wanggongchang had detonated or whether there had been an earthquake. In any case, it caused enormous property damage and loss of life. The tremors from the explosion even reached inside the Forbidden City, and at the time Zhu Youxiao's only surviving son, Zhu Cijiong, died of fright from the shock. This event dealt a heavy blow to Tianqi himself, and he fell gravely ill as a result.

The second accident happened not long ago, when he was boating on the West Garden lake in the company of Madam Ke, Wei Zhongxian, and others. The boat capsized and he fell into the water, nearly drowning. Although he was pulled out, his lungs may have suffered damage, perhaps some inflammation; in any case, he never recovered, running a fever every day, and by now the fever had left him somewhat delirious.

Yet however delirious the Tianqi Emperor might be, he still retained his most basic judgment.

"What do you mean, 'give me one more chance'?" Zhu Youxiao said weakly. "Shouldn't those words be spoken by Us? If We had one more chance, We would surely be a good emperor..."

"Your Majesty, you have merely caught a chill..." The man who was bent over reporting to the Tianqi Emperor heard the emperor's words and tears nearly fell. Wiping his eyes, he said to Tianqi, "Your Majesty, what this slave has reported contains not the slightest falsehood. This slave bears no grudge against His Highness Prince Xin..."

Zhu Youxiao raised a hand. "We know... We are already like this. Zhongxian, if you had any sense, you would go curry favor with Prince Xin. Why would you come and report him to Us?"

So the one tattling on Zhu Youjian was Wei Zhongxian! The infamous powerful eunuch, the "Nine Thousand Nine Hundred Years" of the Great Ming — just one hundred years short of the emperor's "Ten Thousand Years"! In addition, he was the brush-holding eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, Superintendent of the Baohe, Zhongji, and Jianji Halls, Imperial Commissioner and Superintendent of the Eastern Depot, holder of the seals of the Office of Firewood and the Imperial Household Supply Depot and the Directorate of Imperial Cuisine, Governor-General of the Southern Park, with his deeds recorded in the Historiography Institute... and so on and so forth. His official titles ran to more than two hundred characters, and he concurrently held a great pile of posts. There was nothing in the affairs of the inner court or the outer court that he could not manage.

As for how well he managed them... one had only to look at this Tianqi Emperor on his deathbed! Tianqi was his very lifeline! If he could not even manage that properly, then how had he earned those two hundred characters of titles?

Still, the fellow was not entirely without merit!

Wei Zhongxian was not afraid of offending people. Whoever provoked him was certain to be tormented to death. He was indeed a vicious dog!

It was just that he acted recklessly, arrogant and domineering to the point of disregarding all consequences. The pomp of his every outing could have met the standard for usurping the throne! The entire Wei family, as well as the family of his paramour Madam Ke, were constantly being promoted in rank and title. His nephew Wei Liangqing had even been enfeoffed as Duke of Ningguo!

Moreover, he had widely built up a faction. Not only did he form cliques in the inner court, he also overstepped his bounds to recruit people in the outer court, creating what were called the "Ten Dogs," the "Ten Children," and the "Forty Grandsons." For a time, his trusted followers were densely planted and his claws and teeth spread everywhere, making it truly look as though he meant to usurp the throne. But in reality, he was just a reckless fool. Anyone who took him for a scheming, crafty treacherous minister would be greatly mistaken.

If he had truly been a deep and calculating schemer, he would certainly have protected Tianqi at all costs, not allowed him to come to any mishap, and he would not have piled such lofty titles upon himself.

Tianqi glanced at Wei Zhongxian and smiled bitterly. "We have no son, and Our time is short. The throne was always going to be his. Perhaps the ancestors know it too, and came to him in a dream at night to teach him how to be an emperor!"

"Your Majesty..." Wei Zhongxian was quite frightened, tears nearly falling. "Please do not say such things. Rest well for a few days and recover your health — nothing is more important than that!"

Zhu Youxiao merely waved his hand. "You need not worry. We will make arrangements... Shortly, We will summon Prince Xin and the Grand Secretariat ministers and the censorial officials to Qianqing Palace, and announce that you and Wang Tigan are loyal and devoted, and may be consulted on matters of state. We will also enfeoff your nephew Wei Liangdong as Marquis of Dong'an."

Wei Zhongxian just stood there dumbly. It never even occurred to him to wonder whether his behavior over the years looked anything like loyalty and devotion.

No matter who came to the throne, they would have to use him as a sacrifice to establish their authority! Unless he truly had the ability to usurp the throne... but that was absolutely impossible.

So Wei Zhongxian now occupied a position of certain death!

Although the Tianqi Emperor was somewhat delirious, he still knew that his good brother would not let Wei Zhongxian off... To let him off, a new emperor would still need to establish his authority! If he did not use Wei Zhongxian to make an example, then who would he use?

Besides, given Wei Zhongxian's current power and the number of his followers, if he were truly allowed to keep stirring things up, he might well become too big to be cut down.

But Tianqi still had to steady Wei Zhongxian for his brother's sake. Wei Zhongxian could not usurp the throne, but he could still plot against Zhu Youjian, the Prince of Xin.

If this reckless fool were truly provoked into a fight to the death, Tianqi would not be able to face his ancestors.

Zhu Youjian also knew that his sleep-talking would certainly be reported to his elder brother by that blockhead Wei Zhongxian... He naturally knew that Wei Zhongxian had people around him!

This was not his first time being emperor!

Last time, after he had done away with Wei Zhongxian, he had carried out a great purge of the people around him and arrested quite a few of the Wei faction's running dogs!

But he was not afraid of anything. Because his elder brother had no son and was on the verge of death. If the throne did not go to him, who else could it go to?

If that unfilial son had already been born, then the throne could be passed to him — but that unfilial son had not even been conceived yet!

As for Wei Zhongxian... Zhu Youjian had not said he wanted to have Wei Zhongxian killed. His wanting to be emperor was no problem for this "Nine Thousand Nine Hundred Years."

So when Prince Xin Zhu Youjian entered the palace, everything was as usual... When he met a group of Grand Secretariat ministers and censorial officials outside the Gate of Imperial Supremacy, he merely exchanged greetings with them politely — these people, for the most part, were treacherous ministers and corrupt officials!

Seeing these treacherous ministers and corrupt officials, Zhu Youjian naturally showed no emotion, thinking to himself: You are all bad people! But it does not matter, because you have encountered this sage sovereign, and in the future most of you may well go down in history with lasting fame...

The Tianqi Emperor was no longer able to come to the Gate of Imperial Supremacy to hold court, so he sent eunuchs out to summon Zhu Youjian and the Grand Secretariat ministers and censorial officials to go together to Qianqing Palace for an audience.

Qianqing Palace was a bedchamber, and with the Tianqi Emperor ill, formalities were naturally relaxed. The emperor wore casual robes and reclined against a soft couch. Wei Zhongxian attended at his side, and other senior eunuchs such as Li Yongzhen, Wang Tigan, Tu Wenfu, and Liu Ruoyu were also at the emperor's side — this was the governing model of the mid-to-late Ming: a group of great eunuchs from the Directorate of Ceremonial and the Directorate of the Imperial Horses formed the inner court, while the outer court was composed of the Grand Secretariat and the censorial officials, the two checking and cooperating with each other, jointly assisting the sovereign.

In an ideal situation, the leader of the inner court and the Chief Grand Secretary of the outer court could cooperate, but must not be of the same faction.

And of the four Grand Secretariat ministers who appeared in Qianqing Palace today — Huang Liji, Shi Fenglai, Zhang Ruitu, and Li Guopu — all except Li Guopu were Wei Zhongxian's men, or at least attached to Wei Zhongxian.

The group of Grand Secretariat ministers, censorial officials, and Prince Xin Zhu Youjian paid their respects to the sickly emperor, then stood in separate ranks, each stealing glances at Tianqi's gray, failing complexion.

Zhu Youjian, who had not seen his brother for more than seventy years, could not hold back his tears when he beheld the Tianqi Emperor!

Truly, the brotherly affection ran deep!

Seeing his younger brother weep, Zhu Youxiao felt rather sorrowful too. This fine realm, it seemed, was going to be handed cheaply to this lad!