Chapter 145: Zhou Jianzong Is Imprisoned Once More

As for the Xiong Tingbi affair, Zhu Xu had actually not participated much—apart from passing word to Wei Zhongxian and writing a letter to Sun Chengzong.

There was certainly no problem on Wei Zhongxian's side, so that left Sun Chengzong.

Zhu Xu looked thoughtful, and inwardly mused, "It seems factional strife hasn't completely stripped this Lord Sun of his loyalty to the sovereign—he still has enough sense left."

Although the letter might fall into Zhu Youxiao's hands, there was nothing taboo in it, so he wasn't worried. Still, this matter had exposed one of his great weaknesses—his lack of understanding of court officials and his insufficient grasp of factional strife. Once involved in court affairs, every move he made could easily reveal flaws.

Empress Zhang was probably worried that Zhu Xu might do something out of line, and hoped that someone by his side could guide him properly.

Zhu Xu thought for a long while, then raised his head and said seriously, "I will follow whatever arrangements Sister-in-Law makes."

Only then did Empress Zhang smile with satisfaction and say, "Mm, stay out of trouble for me before the new year. Whatever happens outside, if you're in difficulty, come to me. Don't act rashly."

Zhu Xu recovered his composure and agreed with a grin.

After staying for nearly half an hour, Zhu Xu came out and let out a long sigh.

In this late Ming era, truly no one was at peace—not Zhu Youxiao, not the Empress, and not even this worthless prince of his.

At the same time, a memorial from Hengzhou Prefecture arrived in the capital by eight-hundred-li express relay, entering the Office of Transmission.

This memorial was an impeachment from Hengzhou Prefecture, enumerating the crimes of the mining supervisors. It also reported that recently, because the mining supervisors had been excessively harsh, popular unrest had broken out—two county offices had already been seized by rebels and traitors, and the situation was still spreading.

The Office of Transmission, seeing this, dared not delay a moment and sent it to the Grand Secretariat. The Grand Secretariat likewise hastily drafted a rescript and sent it to the Directorate of Ceremonial, and before long it reached Zhu Youxiao's desk.

This memorial naturally gave Zhu Youxiao a headache, but the headache was only just beginning.

Inside the Censorate, Censor Wang Si looked at Zhou Jianzong with fury and nearly shouted, "Lord Zhou, the mining supervisors are truly oppressive governance! We must strive with all our might to stop them, to beg His Majesty to change his mind and recall these eunuchs!"

Likewise, Censor Fang Daren also said angrily, "Indeed! These eunuchs invent pretexts, extort with abandon, and defy all law and discipline. Local officials cannot control them, to the point that popular unrest has erupted—can we simply sit by and do nothing?!"

Zhou Jianzong's face was ashen as he said in a low voice, "Gentlemen, the root culprit is not the eunuchs—it is truly that eunuch Wei. Ever since he became Director of the Eastern Depot, mining taxes have more than doubled, and the eunuchs grow ever more arrogant with none able to restrain them! If we wish to uproot the evil, we must first remove Wei Zhongxian!"

"Correct, Brother Zhou! Why don't we take this opportunity to submit another memorial impeaching Wei Zhongxian? We must make His Majesty throw him in prison and punish him—we absolutely cannot allow him to keep disrupting governance!"

"Furthermore, we should contact court officials and argue our case forcefully at the court conference!"

Zhou Jianzong agreed deeply, and immediately wrote a joint memorial, submitting it to the Office of Transmission.

Naturally, these three were not the only ones burning with indignation. Wei Zhongxian was already a powder keg, the mining supervisors were thorns in the eyes of the pure-stream faction, and now popular unrest had broken out on top of it all—within a single hour, the number of memorials at the Office of Transmission increased by over a hundred.

Inside the Directorate of Ceremonial, Wei Zhongxian looked at the memorials one by one, his face cold, cold glints dancing in his eyes.

Especially Zhou Jianzong's memorial—reading it sent him into a towering rage.

In his memorial, Zhou Jianzong compared him to the former dynasty's eunuch Liu Jin, saying he brought disaster to the state and harm to the people, demanding his immediate dismissal, and further accusing him of being the source of the popular unrest—the root of ten thousand calamities.

Censor Guo Gong, watching Wei Zhongxian's expression, echoed coldly, "Your Excellency, Zhou Jianzong and his lot shielded and recommended Xiong Tingbi—they are truly treacherous villains who mislead the state and harm the people. I'll go back right now to contact my colleagues and submit memorials of impeachment, arguing on your behalf!"

The other partisans and a crowd of eunuchs all clamored in agreement. With their previous victory and the emperor's trust gradually returning, they had gained a certain confidence.

But Wei Zhongxian's face turned cold, a sinister look surfacing as he said in a low voice, "Impeach Zhou Jianzong and argue on our behalf—but you must not touch on Xiong Tingbi!"

Guo Gong and the others were all taken aback—why couldn't they touch on Xiong Tingbi? Still, this didn't affect their counterattack. They all acknowledged the order and began pondering their own means of retaliation.

After these people left, Wei Zhongxian headed straight for Jingyang Palace.

Wei Zhongxian knelt prostrate on the ground and wailed loudly to Zhu Youxiao, "Your Majesty, the localities are rich as oil—men worth a million are beyond counting. Yet the moment Your Majesty adds the slightest tax, popular unrest erupts one after another, and the localities demand pacification funds. Round and round it goes, and they never tire of it! But what's being drained is not the state treasury—it is Your Majesty's own privy purse!"

Zhu Youxiao sat on the dragon throne, his face dark and terrible.

Popular unrest could no longer make Zhu Youxiao feel tense or angry, but the localities using such methods to deceive him and drain his privy purse—that he could not tolerate!

"Issue the decree: Zhou Jianzong, Fang Daren, and Wang Si are to be thrown in prison and strictly interrogated!" Zhu Youxiao shouted coldly.

Wei Zhongxian knelt on the ground, a venomous glint flashing in his eyes as he kowtowed and said, "This slave receives the decree!"

Soon, the inner eunuch Sun Jin led men of the Eastern Depot and charged straight into Zhou Jianzong's home, forcibly dragging him out.

Zhou Jianzong was upright and unyielding, showing not the slightest fear. Standing before his gate, he roared in rebuke, "The eunuch faction fears the righteous and brings disaster to the state and harm to the people! I hold myself upright and just, with righteousness filling my breast—how could I fear petty villains!"

Sun Jin stood there with his hands tucked in his sleeves. Behind him stood a man in his thirties holding the rank of Embroidered Uniform Guard Chiliarch, who stared coldly at Zhou Jianzong with bloodthirsty eyes and said, "Heh, I like men like you!"

Once the Zhou residence had been thoroughly searched and sealed, Sun Jin raised a hand and said, "Chiliarch Tian, this eunuch still has two more households to visit. I'll trouble you to escort this man to the Northern Bastille Prison."

Tian Ergeng smiled brilliantly, yet with a hint of ferocity, and said, "Go slowly, Eunuch Sun. This Chiliarch guarantees you—within three days, even how many times he climbed on top of which concubine last night, I can get it out of him in perfect detail!"

Sun Jin laughed heartily and said, "Good. This eunuch will pass word to Eunuch Wei when I return—Chiliarch Tian's merits will not be forgotten."

Tian Ergeng hurriedly expressed his thanks, then escorted Zhou Jianzong straight to the Northern Bastille Prison.

At this moment, the Luo residence.

Luo Yangxing knelt respectfully before Luo Sigong's bed, his expression mournful, head bowed.

Luo Sigong's face was aged, covered in age spots, his eyes cloudy—clearly gravely ill and at death's door.

Luo Yangxing raised his head to look at Luo Sigong's face and said softly, "Father, is there anything else you wish to instruct? Your son is listening for your commands."

Luo Sigong's breath was faint as a thread, yet he still forced himself to say, "Three things. First: be loyal to His Majesty, and listen to Prince Hui. Second: fulfill your duties faithfully. Third: stay out of it all."

Luo Yangxing listened to Luo Sigong's words—the last two instructions were strange—yet still kowtowed and said, "Your son will heed your words. Please rest assured, Father."

Luo Sigong nodded slightly and slowly closed his eyes.

Luo Yangxing knelt on the ground for a long time before rising. He gently pulled the bedding up over Luo Sigong, turned with a desolate expression, and stood before the door. Even as a man past forty, he could not hold back his tears.