Chapter 1651: Turning Over a New Leaf to Become Loyal and Good

Zhu Youjian had already returned to the Hall of Literary Splendor. The moment he entered, he saw the three women — Lady Zhou, Lady Tian, and Lady Yuan, who had not yet been formally installed as empress and consorts — come out from the center of the great hall to greet him and offer congratulations.

To have become Emperor and to have beheaded the traitor Wei Zhongxian — that was indeed cause for celebration!

Since it was still the mourning period, these three young beauties all wore no makeup and were dressed in white mourning robes, which lent them a charm all their own.

They had just come over from the Prince of Xin's mansion — because Zhu Youjian had long prepared to fight inside the Forbidden City, and for the safety of the three women, he had not let them enter the palace immediately after the enthronement ceremony. Instead, he had them return to the Prince of Xin's mansion first to pack up, and wait for Zhu Youjian's summons.

After the situation inside the Forbidden City had largely stabilized, Zhu Youjian sent several old retainers from the Xin mansion to the Prince of Xin's mansion to summon his three wives and concubines into the Forbidden City.

At the sight of these three women, Zhu Youjian could not help but break into a smile. He waved a hand at them and said, "Rise, rise. Come, let us go inside and talk!"

Inside the great hall of the Hall of Literary Splendor, a table had already been laid with several cold dishes and wine.

Princess Consort Zhou said to Zhu Youjian, "Your Majesty, these were all brought by this consort and our two sisters from the Prince of Xin's mansion."

"You are the thoughtful one. From now on, the cooks who prepare our meals must all be old hands from the Prince of Xin's mansion. And when we get the chance, we must also set the Imperial Academy of Medicine in order! We can no longer let that pack of quacks attend to our health."

Truly, there were still many things to set in order! Not only the eunuchs, the Imperial Horse Directorate's palace guard, and the imperial estates and shops — even the Imperial Academy of Medicine had to be set in order!

Compared with the Imperial Academy of Medicine that that unfilial son had set up in Nanjing, the present Beijing Imperial Academy of Medicine was nothing short of an office for murdering princes and assassinating emperors!

Relying on that pack of quacks, Zhu Youjian had no confidence he would live to ninety.

Truly a thousand threads and ten thousand strands!

As he spoke, Zhu Youjian beckoned, and a young eunuch came over to help him remove his armor. Lady Tian and Lady Yuan also came up to help, and the three of them together lifted the heavy long-body armor off Zhu Youjian.

Freed of the armor, Zhu Youjian felt much lighter all over, and his stomach began to rumble. From last night until now, he had eaten nothing solid, and he was rather hungry, so he invited his three wives and concubines to share the meal.

Princess Consort Zhou, seeing that Zhu Youjian's face looked somewhat weary, said with concern, "Your Majesty, you have truly toiled these past few days. You have grown thin from exhaustion."

Lady Tian, the chosen attendant, who was more pleasing to the eye than Princess Consort Zhou, also blinked her large, watery eyes. "Yes, Your Highness — no, His Majesty — has not kept us company at all!"

Princess Consort Zhou and Lady Tian had never gotten along. Hearing this, she immediately pulled a long face. "Sister, an emperor is not the same as a prince. An emperor manages ten thousand affairs a day and must govern all under heaven. How could he spend all day keeping us sisters company?"

Lady Tian did not dare talk back to the princess consort, but she was not convinced either. She simply pouted her little mouth and sulked, looking especially adorable.

Lady Yuan, the chosen attendant, was the plainest-looking of Zhu Youjian's three wives and concubines, but she was still a rare beauty. She had a very good temper and got along well with both Princess Consort Zhou and Lady Tian. Now she hurried to smooth things over: "Once His Majesty has gotten through this busy stretch, he should be able to find some leisure. His Majesty, what do you say?"

Zhu Youjian nodded and said, "That is only natural. Being emperor is not a post where diligence can make up for ineptitude. If you have not found the knack, you can work yourself to death for nothing! Once you find the knack, it becomes much easier!"

"Has His Majesty already found the knack?" Princess Consort Zhou asked, blinking.

"Of course!" Zhu Youjian laughed. "If We had not found the knack, how could We have dealt with Wei Zhongxian by thunderous means?"

Empress Zhou nodded and said with a smile, "His Majesty is sagacious. Root out the treacherous and employ the loyal, and all under heaven will naturally be at peace. His Majesty will then be able to rule with hands folded!"

Zhu Youjian waved a hand and laughed. "Whether a man is treacherous or loyal — the key lies in how the sovereign uses him! A sage ruler is one who can put even the treacherous to use as loyal ministers!"

There was such a way of using people?

Not to mention Lady Zhou, who did not believe it — even Lady Tian and Lady Yuan, hearing these words, wore expressions of half-belief, half-doubt.

Just then, a eunuch came in to report: "Your Majesty, Wang Tigan requests an audience."

Zhu Youjian said with a smile to the three women, "Here comes the treacherous one — come to turn from evil and return to the path of righteousness!" He waved a hand. "Tell him to wait. He can see Us after We have finished Our meal."

While Zhu Youjian ate with the three women, Wang Tigan waited outside the main gate of the Hall of Literary Splendor, his heart in his throat, clutching a confession memorial in his bosom. He was guilty! He had been Wei Zhongxian's accomplice. Wei Zhongxian was a complete illiterate who could not read, utterly incapable of serving as brush-holder. These past few years, everything had depended on him and Li Wenzhong and Liu Ruoyu to prop things up.

Wei Zhongxian had already had his head chopped off! And that Madame Ke had fallen into Empress Zhang's hands — word was she was about to be executed by slow slicing!

Could an accomplice like Wang Tigan possibly meet a good end? If he submitted this confession memorial, would he be throwing his life away?

Just as he was in this state of anxious uncertainty, a young eunuch from the Prince of Xin's mansion came out and led Wang Tigan into the Hall of Literary Splendor, which had nearly become a hall of the King of Hell.

"Your Majesty, this old slave is guilty, this old slave deserves death—"

Hearing Wang Tigan's plea, and accepting the confession memorial he handed over, Zhu Youjian looked at this nominal head of the Directorate of Ceremonial and asked with a smile, "Wang Tigan, what crimes have you committed? Did you collude with Wei Zhongxian in plotting rebellion?"

"No, no! This old slave has been wronged—" Wang Tigan was so frightened he could barely speak coherently.

Zhu Youjian laughed. "Have you come to confess your crimes, or to cry injustice?"

"Of course I have come to confess my crimes — but this old slave truly never plotted rebellion!"

"Oh? Then what crimes are you confessing to?"

"This old slave helped Wei Zhongxian frame loyal and upright men!"

"Loyal and upright men?" Zhu Youjian asked. "Who were they?"

"Zuo Guangdou, Yang Lian, Gu Dazhang, Wei Dazhong, Yuan Huazhong, Zhou Chaorui, and the others — all loyal and upright men—"

Zhu Youjian asked, "The Six Gentlemen of Donglin — loyal to whom?"

"Loyal... loyal to the Great Ming?"

Zhu Youjian gave a cold laugh. "The sovereign of the Six Gentlemen of Donglin was the late Emperor! Were they truly loyal to the late Emperor? They merely thought themselves loyal, when in fact they wanted the late Emperor to obey them. Had they truly been loyal, they should have exerted themselves to exterminate the eastern barbarians. Their opposition to Wei Zhongxian was nothing but factional struggle — loyalty and treachery had nothing to do with it!

Wang Tigan, the charge of framing loyal and upright men does not stand!"

If it did not stand, then he had to keep searching for his own crimes! Wang Tigan, still kneeling on the ground, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and stammered, "This old slave, this old slave also knew but did not report..."

"Knew what?"

"Knew... knew of the matter of Wei Zhongxian and Madame Ke abducting pregnant women into the palace—"

Zhu Youjian nodded, and his tone had already turned grave. "That is indeed a great crime! Your helping Wei Zhongxian in his struggle against the Donglin Faction is nothing much — it was just officialdom infighting! No right or wrong to speak of! But pregnant women entering the palace touches on usurping the state! Wang Tigan, you are the seal-holder of the Directorate of Ceremonial. Having discovered a crime of usurping the state, you did not report it to the Son of Heaven. What were you trying to do?"

The old man hastily kowtowed. "This old slave is guilty. This old slave feared the traitor Wei..."

"Feared?" Zhu Youjian snorted. "Was it merely fear? With your seniority in the palace, had you not gone along with Wei Zhongxian, the worst would have been retiring and living out your days. Why did you not retire?"

"This old, this old slave—"

Zhu Youjian gave another cold snort. "Your going along with Wei Zhongxian could only have had one of two purposes: either you wished to overturn our Great Ming's realm, or you wished to line your pockets! Wang Tigan, did you intend rebellion, or did you intend graft?"

Graft? How had rebellion suddenly turned into graft?

"Of course it was graft—" Wang Tigan was no fool; how would he dare admit to the crime of rebellion?

"Then... how much did you embezzle?"

"It, it was not much... all told, only a hundred and some tens of thousands of taels..."

Zhu Youjian's face darkened. "Only a hundred and some tens of thousands of taels? Is that in gold or in silver?"

"Silver, of course it is silver!" How would Wang Tigan dare say gold? The more he had embezzled, the greater the crime!

"Is that all?" Zhu Youjian was far from satisfied. "You were in that post for so many years, and this is all you embezzled?"

You didn't even put any effort into your corruption!

Wang Tigan said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, this old slave is advanced in years and truly cannot remember the exact figures."

"You were so greedy you lost count," Zhu Youjian snorted. "You're really something! Go back and think it over carefully, then tally up your family assets, draw up an itemized list, and come back to confess your crimes — there's no hurry!"

Seeing that Wang Tigan was on the verge of tears, he consoled him, "You needn't be afraid. We will not confiscate your household. We will only fine you a sum of silver and take back a portion of your land!"

(End of Chapter)