Chapter 119: Purge

After finishing state affairs, the Chongzhen Emperor saw that it was getting late, so he headed to Kunning Palace.

To be honest, among the many consorts in the harem, only Noble Consort Yuan had some beauty. Historically, the Chongzhen Emperor had considerable respect for Empress Yi'an of Renshou Hall, personally going to pay his respects every few days.

Since the current Chongzhen Emperor had crossed over, at first he was too pressed for survival to bother with it, and now that he had time, he simply couldn't muster any interest in the old woman — he even skipped the formal visits entirely.

By now even the servants in the palace knew that the Chongzhen Emperor doted exclusively on Empress Zhou. If anyone saw the Emperor heading toward the harem, there was no question — he was surely bound for Kunning Palace.

After a bout of passion, the Chongzhen Emperor looked at Empress Zhou lying on his chest, lost in thought, when he suddenly heard a stretch of melodious, graceful qin music. Frowning, he asked:

"Empress, in all my previous visits to Kunning Palace, why have I never heard such beautiful qin music?"

"Your subject noticed that a criminal's daughter had a delicate appearance, and thought it a pity to let her go to waste, so I kept her in the harem as a qin girl. Does Your Majesty not like it?"

Hearing this, the Chongzhen Emperor didn't think much of it, merely smiled slightly, and said:

"That's fine too. Since the Empress is bored in the palace, having a palace maid of excellent qin skill to keep you company puts my mind at ease."

In the third watch of the night, the Chongzhen Emperor was sound asleep holding Empress Zhou when suddenly a cold gust of wind swept in. He sneezed and sat up on the soft couch — and there, directly in front of him, a figure stood still.

"You tyrant, die!"

Seeing that her plot was exposed, the palace maid ahead let out a sharp cry and, scissors in hand, charged recklessly at the Chongzhen Emperor, as if seeking a fight to the death.

Quick as thought, the Chongzhen Emperor — having been assassinated several times before — was well prepared for such things. After all, he was a man who had been on battlefields and seen real combat; without any panic, he kicked out fiercely, then grabbed some unknown object nearby and hurled it hard at her.

That kick landed square on the palace maid's abdomen. The Chongzhen Emperor had put every ounce of his strength into it to save his own life. Struck twice and wracked with pain, the maid's scissors fell to the ground with a 'clang'.

The sounds of struggle in the bedchamber alarmed the young eunuchs of the Directorate of the Imperial Horses standing guard outside, who rushed in with the imperial guards of the Tengxiang Four Guards and subdued the emperor-assassinating maid in short order.

Once the lamps were lit, the Chongzhen Emperor finally got a clear look at the face of the palace maid who had tried to kill him. But to his surprise, he asked three times — and even Fang Zhenghua, the eunuch director of the inner depot who had rushed over upon hearing the news, had no idea who this palace maid was.

Since crossing over, the Chongzhen Emperor had been subjected to assassination attempts almost every single month. Back when he first began confiscating estates in the capital, the Donglin Faction had stopped at nothing — they had even killed Imperial Physician Weng.

Even if he hadn't had heart disease in his later life, he'd nearly gotten one now. But in his momentary agitation, the Chongzhen Emperor couldn't figure it out — the palace had already been thoroughly reformed by him, and yet a palace maid of unknown name could still appear.

He immediately flew into a rage and bellowed:

"Who is this woman? Find out at once! When you do, not only will she be executed by slow slicing, her entire ten clans will be wiped out to vent my fury!"

Every assassination incident was invariably accompanied by a thorough investigation by the Three Depots and One Guard, and before long, the capital and various regions would once again run with blood.

"Your Majesty, calm your anger... Your Majesty, calm your anger..."

Fang Zhenghua's heart was bitter indeed — every single palace maid and eunuch had truly been carefully investigated by the inner depot before being permitted into the palace to serve the Emperor and the various consorts.

How this woman had managed to slip into the palace, he hadn't the slightest idea.

At this moment, Empress Zhou, having changed into proper attire, hurried over. Seeing that the one who had tried to assassinate the Emperor was none other than Gu Mei — the qin girl she had only summoned into the palace today — she was instantly stricken with terror and filled with regret.

"Your Majesty, this woman is named Gu Mei, and she is... she is the qin girl your subject spoke of with Your Majesty today."

"Empress, you... you foolish woman!" The Chongzhen Emperor's eyes went wide, and for the first time there was displeasure in his words toward Empress Zhou. "Gong Dingzi and Zheng Sanjun conspired to assassinate me — how could this woman not know of it? Even if she didn't know, how could she not resent me? Why did you spare her life? This is truly the mercy of a woman!"

After firing off this barrage of words, the Chongzhen Emperor fell momentarily silent. Looking at the trembling consorts, eunuchs, and guards around him, he cast one deep glance at Empress Zhou, then waved his hand and said:

"Throw this woman into the great prison. Execute her at Caishikou at noon tomorrow."

Having said this, the Chongzhen Emperor coldly looked at Fang Zhenghua and said:

"Fang Zhenghua, I'll give you one more chance. Investigate the backgrounds of every single person in this palace, inside and out. Even at Empress Yi'an's place, anyone of unclear origin must be replaced. Otherwise, this position of inner depot director will be changing hands!"

Fang Zhenghua was drenched in sweat, thinking this was truly a disaster sent from heaven. Hearing the Chongzhen Emperor finish, he hastily bowed and cried:

"This slave thanks Your Majesty for sparing his life. This matter will certainly be handled with complete clarity!"

Finally, the Chongzhen Emperor gave a faint glance at Empress Zhou kneeling on the ground, shook his head, and said without looking back: "Prepare the carriage — the Winter Warm Pavilion!"

The Chongzhen Emperor did not sleep again that night. Looking at the military reports from the northwest on the table, combined with what had just happened in the palace, he was both angry and helpless.

No one knew how long passed, but at last the sky gradually began to show the pale light of dawn, and the next day arrived right on schedule. Suddenly, Li Chun, the attendant eunuch outside the door, entered and said respectfully:

"Your Majesty, Shi Kefa, Minister of War of Nanjing, has arrived."

Upon hearing this, the Chongzhen Emperor let out a chuckle — a rather sardonic smile — and suddenly asked:

"Li Chun, you've served me for quite a few years now, haven't you?"

Li Chun's whole body trembled. Bowing his head, he said with utmost reverence:

"Reporting to Your Majesty, nearly three years and eight months."

"Mm, you may not have great merit, but you have your share of toil." The Chongzhen Emperor nodded and said seriously:

"Wang Hua, the seal-holding eunuch of the Directorate of Palace Maintenance, has been incompetent in his duties, and keeping him serves little purpose. How about this — from today onward, you shall be the seal-holder of the Directorate of Palace Maintenance, and you will continue to stay by my side."

"If you handle matters well, I will grant you further promotions in the future. Go out and call him in — don't keep Minister Shi from Nanjing waiting."

"This slave thanks Your Majesty for his boundless grace! Thanks Your Majesty for his boundless grace!"

Li Chun had finally seen the spring of his life. He could hardly believe his own ears. The Directorate of Palace Maintenance was one of the Twelve Inner Directorates, in charge of sweeping and cleaning the various halls and corridors — to put it bluntly, it was essentially the position of head janitor.

But even so, in terms of status, it was still a proper seal-holding eunuch position.

For Li Chun, although the Directorate of Palace Maintenance held less authority than the Directorate of Ceremonial or the Directorate of the Imperial Horses — even less than the cooks of the Directorate of Imperial Meals — this position was especially important, one that had to be held by someone extremely trusted by the Emperor.

Li Chun spent every day attending the Emperor, and after being promoted to seal-holder of the Directorate of Palace Maintenance, he actually spent even more time alone with the Chongzhen Emperor than Wang Cheng'en, Fang Zhenghua, and Cao Huachun — the three depot commanders.

The Chongzhen Emperor removing Wang Hua and replacing him with Li Chun was precisely proof that Li Chun had gained the Emperor's trust. If he handled matters well in the future, he would be worth far more than just a seal-holder of the Directorate of Palace Maintenance.

Watching Li Chun kowtow three times with every step as he left the warm pavilion, the Chongzhen Emperor gave a cold snort and muttered to himself:

"This Shi Kefa traveled north from Nanjing to defend the capital for over half a year, lingered so long in the Qi-Lu region, and only now — just barely before this year is over — has he shuffled a few steps forward to reach the capital. Truly loyal and devoted to me."