Chapter 81: The Fall

Empress Zhang was furious—truly furious. She had known before that Zhu Xu was doing some out-of-bounds things outside the palace, but at least he had always shown some restraint.

But this time, Empress Zhang felt she could no longer indulge him. Zhu Xu was still young; there was still time to discipline him. If he developed unnecessary ambitions later, it would be too late.

Empress Zhang's face darkened as she said coldly, "Speak! If you can't explain yourself properly, don't even think about leaving Jinghuan Palace from now on!"

Zhu Xu rubbed his ears, wearing a fawning smile, and said, "Sister-in-law, don't be so angry—it's not good for my big nephew..."

Empress Zhang slammed the table and said with a frosty face, "Talk!"

Zhu Xu's smile didn't fade as he lazily sprawled over the table, looking troubled as he said, "Sister-in-law, at first I just wanted to teach that Zhang Heming a lesson. You didn't see how arrogant he was—he saw I was young and bullied me relentlessly..."

Empress Zhang frowned and said, "Don't try to fool me. Keep spinning your story."

Zhu Xu shook his head, looking helpless, and said, "Sister-in-law, I really didn't intend anything serious. It's just that later I discovered the amount of wealth they'd gotten their hands on was truly too much. I didn't want to let those corrupt officials have it easy, so I had it all shipped back to the palace. The Duke was watching the whole time—I'm really not lying to you..."

Empress Zhang already knew the general situation. Zhu Xu's single move had brought the court twenty years' worth of tax revenue. As a member of the imperial family, it was hard to justify punishing him for that.

But Empress Zhang was determined to control Zhu Xu's activities and not let him stray onto the wrong path. So her expression remained grim as she raged with the look of one disappointed in a promising child: "Don't you dare try to fool me. I will speak to the Emperor about this. From today on, you are not allowed to leave the palace without my permission. And as for those matters outside the palace—cut them all off as best you can. If you cause any more trouble, I'll have someone escort you to your fief and keep you under watch!"

Zhu Xu winced as he listened. This time Empress Zhang was truly angry—that was a naked threat.

"Sister-in-law, give me a chance to turn over a new leaf..." Zhu Xu struggled desperately.

But Empress Zhang ignored him, snorting coldly, "Go back and reflect honestly. If you still won't behave, I'll replace everyone in Jinghuan Palace."

Although Zhu Xu had guessed the consequences would be severe, he hadn't expected them to be this severe. Even his ultimate tricks of acting cute and throwing tantrums were useless now.

"Sister-in-law, I'm hungry..."

"Hmph, at least you know you're hungry. This matter isn't over yet, I'm telling you. Huan'er, prepare some food—I'm hungry."

Zhu Youxiao had been listening outside for a while. A smile curled at the corner of his mouth, and he turned to walk back.

As he walked, Zhu Youxiao said in a casual, chatty tone, "Minister Liu, what do you think—how should I deal with Prince Hui?"

Liu Shimin walked behind Zhu Youxiao with a bowed posture, speaking neither obsequiously nor arrogantly: "Reporting to Your Majesty, Prince Hui is of the imperial clan and acted on Your Majesty's orders. Though he overstepped somewhat this time, it can hardly be counted as a crime. How to handle it—Your Majesty should decide with sole authority."

Zhu Youxiao's steps paused slightly. He turned his head toward Liu Shimin with a hint of surprise and said with a strange smile, "You're rather talkative today."

Liu Shimin bowed slightly and said, "This servant was merely speaking the truth."

Zhu Youxiao glanced at him again, smiled, and turned to continue walking forward. He strolled along slowly, in an exceptionally good mood.

His good mood wasn't because the treasury was now wealthy. It was because this time, he stood on the moral high ground.

Since the founding of the Great Ming, literati had held an extraordinarily high status, constantly pressing the emperor with grand principles in an attempt to restrict imperial power—to make the emperor a moral saint while hollowing out his authority. Every emperor in the dynasty had waged battles of wits with court officials, using every means to seize back power.

Especially since the Wanli era, court officials had become unprecedentedly united. The Donglin Faction in particular made Zhu Youxiao feel as if he were sitting on a bed of needles, unable to find a moment's peace. He had tried to use the eunuch faction rallied by Wei Zhongxian to restrain the purists, but it had died an inexplicable premature death.

Afterwards, he had hoped to split the court, supporting Gu Bingqian and others to counterbalance the Donglin Faction, but so far there had been no results.

But this time, Zhu Youxiao saw hope—because he stood on the moral high ground, holding evidence of crimes by the court's high officials. Though he couldn't conduct a large-scale purge, some things he had long wanted to do but couldn't find a way to start could now be carried out openly and without attracting attention, using this matter as cover.

"Ah..." Zhu Youxiao suddenly cried out, pitching backward and falling to the ground.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" Liu Shimin was startled out of his wits and hurried over to help Zhu Youxiao up.

"Your Majesty? Your Majesty?"

Liu Shimin turned Zhu Youxiao over, saw blood on his head, his eyes blinking as if he had lost consciousness, and cried out in panic.

"Imperial Physician! Imperial Physician! Summon the Imperial Physician quickly!"

Liu Shimin supported Zhu Youxiao and shouted at the top of his lungs.

Zhu Xu had just returned to Jinghuan Palace when news of Zhu Youxiao's collapse arrived.

Zhu Xu's expression turned alarmed. He took a step and asked, "What happened? Is it serious?" This was a critical moment—if anything happened to Zhu Youxiao, there would truly be a catastrophe.

Cao Huachun also wore a worried expression and said, "There's no detailed news. No one can come out of Jingyang Palace, and Her Majesty the Empress has been by his side the whole time."

"Let's go, we'll go see." Zhu Xu stood up and said.

Cao Huachun quickly grabbed him and said, "Your Highness, have you forgotten? You've been confined to quarters—you can't even leave Jinghuan Palace."

Zhu Xu frowned deeply, thought for a moment, and said urgently, "You—go keep watch at Jingyang Palace. If there's any news, send someone to tell me immediately."

Cao Huachun naturally understood the gravity of the situation. He acknowledged the order and hurried out.

"Your Highness, His Majesty is in the palace—nothing will happen to him. Have a cup of tea to calm your nerves."

Yao Qingqing walked out from inside, carrying a cup of tea for Zhu Xu, and said in a gentle voice.

Zhu Xu took the cup, held it in his arms, and sat down in the reclining chair, his expression still grave.

In history, Zhu Youxiao had fallen ill and died after falling into water. Thinking of phrases like "different approaches, same result" and "all roads lead to the same end" filled Zhu Xu with anxiety.

Much of what he did was done with Zhu Youxiao's tacit approval or right under his nose. Some things he didn't know about; the ones he did know about, he turned a blind eye to. Now his sister-in-law had not yet given birth to an imperial prince. If his fifth brother were to ascend the throne instead, the consequences would be truly unimaginable.

Time passed agonizingly slowly, bit by bit, until the sky had grown dark before Cao Huachun finally came rushing back.

"Your Highness, I've found out." Cao Huachun was panting heavily, clearly having run the whole way.

"Speak." Zhu Xu had been waiting all along and asked impatiently.

Cao Huachun caught his breath and said, "His Majesty accidentally slipped and fell, cut his head, and broke his leg. Nothing else is seriously wrong. He's already woken up. The Imperial Physician said that after resting for a while, he'll be fine."

The great stone in Zhu Xu's heart crashed to the ground. He said, "Alright, you may go." After saying this, he lay back on the reclining chair. Only when he lay down did he realize that at some point, his back had become completely soaked through.

Yao Qingqing walked over, leaned in to look at Zhu Xu, and said with a soft laugh, "Your Highness, will you still eat dinner?"

Zhu Xu lay there, looking up at Yao Qingqing with his eyes open. He rolled his eyes and said, "No dinner. Make some pastries—I'll eat them when I wake up tonight."

Yao Qingqing nodded and turned to walk away.