Chapter 1640: Emperor Once Again!

"Your Highness, someone has come from the palace. His Majesty is critically ill and summons you to enter the palace at once. You must hurry—"

Xu Yingyuan came rushing in from outside, and the moment he reached the central hall of the prince's residence, he began shouting before he even had time to salute Zhu Youjian.

But no sooner had he finished yelling than he looked up, saw Zhu Youjian's appearance, and froze.

The prince had long since changed into his court robes and was standing in the central hall, his face full of grief. Yet in his hands he held an account book, and before him were arrayed twenty iron-cornered wooden chests, their lids all thrown open, and inside them were glittering, golden treasures—these were the fifty thousand taels of gold that Xu Yingyuan had extorted from Wei Zhongxian on Zhu Youjian's behalf!

At Zhu Youjian's request, the gold was not in large bricks but in loose nuggets and ingots, heaped up inside the chests—a sight that gladdened the heart just to look upon.

After the gold had been delivered, Zhu Youjian had instructed his trusted eunuchs Shang Mingfu and Zhou Shizhi to stand guard over it separately, each man responsible for ten large chests of gold. Before the gold was handed over to the two of them, it had been counted out in their presence and sealed with paper strips.

And Zhu Youjian had also said that when he entered the palace, he would count it again himself!

If the amount was off—heh heh—then they need not bother entering the palace with him!

No one expected this young master to mean what he said, and today he really was counting the gold. Shang Mingfu and Zhou Shizhi each brought several eunuchs to count the other's share, opening the chests one by one in front of Zhu Youjian and weighing them on the great steelyard.

And Zhu Youjian held the account book and personally recorded everything by their side—he looked nothing like a man about to become emperor, and exactly like a man about to open a trading house and become its shopkeeper!

By the time Xu Yingyuan came in, the last two chests of gold had already been counted, and sure enough, not the slightest fraction was missing.

Zhu Youjian heard Xu Yingyuan's shouting but paid him no mind. Instead, he addressed the eunuchs who had just finished counting the gold: "Well done. Not a fraction off. You are indeed Our trusted right-hand men! The realm is now in turmoil, with rebels stirring in the southwest and northeast alike. This is precisely the time to rouse our spirits and devote ourselves wholeheartedly to the task. Serve Us well, and when the southwest and northeast are both pacified, We shall share the peace with you!"

At these words, the whole band of eunuchs prostrated themselves and roared out "Thousand Years!"—every one of them a fine eunuch brimming with zeal!

A look of satisfaction appeared on Zhu Youjian's face as well—those decades had not been lived in vain; he had learned every last trick from that unfilial son of his!

Only after savoring the moment did he turn to the still-dazed Xu Yingyuan and say, "Companion Xu, bring Wang Zuo, Chen Bingzheng, Qi Benzheng, Zhang Chengqing, and Wang Yongnian—the five of them—to attend Us at all times, ready for orders."

Then he turned to Shang Mingfu and Zhou Shizhi, who were standing guard over the gold with their men, and said, "Each of you take five palace servants to guard and escort the gold. This gold is to enter the palace together with Us. It will be of great use, and nothing must go wrong!"

Shang Mingfu and Zhou Shizhi both listened in utter bafflement—the man was about to possess the whole realm, so why could he not bear to part with a few tens of thousands of taels of gold?

That was what they thought, but they dared not say it aloud. Instead, they answered in unison, "Rest assured, Your Highness. Even if we slaves are ground to dust, we will not permit this gold to come to any harm."

Zhu Youjian let out a breath of relief, then turned back to Xu Yingyuan and said, "Come, let us enter the palace together!"

Enter the palace—to become emperor!

Today was already the twenty-second day of the eighth month of the seventh year of Tianqi, the day the Tianqi Emperor Zhu Youxiao ascended to heaven on the dragon's chariot—and, of course, the day Zhu Youjian took up the realm of the Great Ming!

Though this was not his first time becoming emperor, Zhu Youjian still could not suppress the surge of emotion in his breast—he had waited more than fifty years, and at last this day had come!

Last time he had not been a good emperor, but this time would be different! Zhu Youjian thought to himself: This time I will make sure those treacherous ministers below know Our might. We are a sage sovereign more cunning than the treacherous ministers, fiercer than the Tartars, and more sagely than that unfilial son!

Qianqing Palace, the bedchamber.

The Tianqi Emperor Zhu Youxiao was already breathing out more than he breathed in, yet he still clung to a last thread of breath and refused to let go—he truly could not set his mind at ease!

The Great Ming's burden of ten thousand jun was about to be handed over—handed to the seventeen-year-old Prince of Xin, Zhu Youjian. Though Zhu Youjian looked more like a wise sovereign than he did, Zhu Youxiao, who had been emperor for seven years, knew that the emperor's work was no easy task! Looking the part was not enough; one had to be shrewd and far-sighted, sinister and crafty, and ideally able to lead troops into battle in person—because once the civil officials and military commanders below took the field, there was truly not a single one who could be relied upon!

Besides his worries for the Great Ming realm, Zhu Youxiao also could not set his mind at ease about several people close to him. The beautiful Empress and Wei Zhongxian and the Old Ancestress had fought each other for so many years, each side longing to put the other to death. While he lived, he could soothe both sides and barely hold things together. Once he was gone—how could Fifth Brother manage?

At the thought of all this, Zhu Youxiao weakly swept his gaze across the bedchamber. Empress Zhang, Noble Consort Ren, Consort Wang Liang, Consort Duan Chun, and several other ladies of rank had all arrived. In addition, Wei Zhongxian and the Lady of Fengsheng had long since come as well.

Everyone was weeping in silence, all of them looking utterly heartbroken—though who knew whether, once the grief was over, there would come a slaughter?

Just as the Tianqi Emperor was thinking of slaughter, the faint sound of weeping reached his ears. The sound drew near from afar, and in no time it was at his bedside.

"Waaah—Imperial Brother! Imperial Brother! You must get well! The Great Ming realm, the countless common people, the hundred officials and all the ministers, and your little brother here—we all depend on you to lead us—"

Zhu Youjian came in wailing loudly. He had begun weeping at the Gate of Imperial Supremacy, and by the time he entered the Gate of Heavenly Purity he was nearly faint from crying. The crowd of "loyal ministers" waiting there for the Tianqi Emperor's death saw this scene and inwardly gave him a thumbs-up—this was a good younger brother, a true model of brotherly love and fraternal respect!

Zhu Youjian, weeping and wailing to heaven and earth, entered Qianqing Palace. Seeing that the Tianqi Emperor was indeed failing, he collapsed weeping at the bedside, so grief-stricken he could barely go on!

"Fifth Brother, Fifth Brother—don't cry, don't cry now..." The dying Tianqi Emperor had no choice but to open his mouth and urge his good younger brother to stop weeping—he still had final instructions to give!

Zhu Youjian indeed reined in his sobs and knelt at his elder brother's bedside, merely weeping quietly to himself.

Tianqi sighed, pointed at his wife, Empress Zhang, and said to Zhu Youjian, "Fifth Brother, We are not long for this world. The Great Ming realm is entrusted to you. You are more diligent and hardworking than We were—do well, and We will have little to worry about. Only, We and your sister-in-law have been together all these years and have not left behind a single son or daughter. Once We are gone, what is to become of her?"

Zhu Youjian glanced at his sister-in-law, who was weeping like a pear blossom bathed in rain—truly a fine sister-in-law!

"Imperial Brother," Zhu Youjian withdrew his gaze and continued, still sobbing as he spoke, "your subject-brother cannot allow you and my elder sister-in-law to be left without descendants. Once your subject-brother has his eldest son, he will adopt the boy over to you and sister-in-law, and make him the Imperial Heir-Nephew. In the future, the Great Ming will be passed on to him, and if sister-in-law is still alive by then, she will be the Empress Dowager!"

At these words, several people present were startled, and even the dying Tianqi Emperor lying in bed felt his spirits lift!

So he would have a son—he would have descendants!

The Tianqi Emperor was a man of the Ming, and a feudal emperor at that—of course he wanted a son! Having none of his own, he could only hope to take one from a brother's household. But his brother Zhu Youjian also had no son—and who knew how many he would be able to sire? Yet here he was, generously giving one away—and his eldest son, no less.

There was no better younger brother under heaven than this!

Empress Zhang was moved beyond measure as well. She had originally feared that Zhu Youjian would lean toward Wei Zhongxian, but now he was willing to give her his own unborn eldest son, and even make that eldest son the Imperial Heir-Nephew—it seemed she had not doted on this good younger brother in vain!

Meanwhile, the Lady of Fengsheng, Lady Ke, who stood to one side, was so frightened her face turned white—the Great Ming had no shortage of short-lived emperors! If this Prince of Xin ascended the throne and died within a few years, leaving a son behind for Empress Zhang to become Empress Dowager, would she not be flayed alive by Empress Zhang?

Wei Zhongxian was also terrified. He had assumed that once Zhu Youxiao died, Empress Zhang would be finished—but who could have known she might yet become Empress Dowager Zhang!

If that day truly came, would he, Wei Zhongxian, not have his entire household executed to the last man?

The Tianqi Emperor did not think so far. He merely pointed at Lady Ke and said to Zhu Youjian, "Fifth Brother, the Lady of Fengsheng is Our wet nurse. We were raised by her own hand. It is only that over the years We indulged her somewhat and let her do many wrong things. While We live, We can of course keep her safe. Once We are gone, what is to become of her?"

Zhu Youjian glanced at Lady Ke, then said to Tianqi, "Imperial Brother, set your mind at ease. Imperial Brother's wet nurse is your subject-brother's wet nurse. Imperial Brother indulged her, but your subject-brother will indulge her no longer. Henceforth she shall be kept in the Palace of Lasting Peace, with all her provisions as before, only she shall never again be permitted to go out."

"Good, good—just so..." The Tianqi Emperor was reassured. He let out a long breath, and his eyelids grew heavier and heavier, until at last they closed together and would never open again.

The Tianqi Emperor had finally passed away!

The era of Zhu Youjian had come once more!

(End of Chapter)