Chapter 23: A Palace Rife with Danger

Accompanying Chen Yan was also a sturdy-built man with a fair face.

Upon seeing this man, Xue Fengxiang, the Minister of Works, cupped his hands and smiled:

"How has Commander Luo been lately?"

It turned out this man was Luo Yangxing, the Regional Military Commissioner of the Embroidered Uniform Guard before the Chongzhen Emperor appointed Li Ruolian. After entering, he found a relatively secluded corner to sit in and smiled self-deprecatingly:

"Sir, please do not address me as Commander anymore. His Majesty does not trust me; I am nothing more than a commoner now."

"Not at all, not at all! Commander Luo is far too modest! The Luo family has inherited their position for three generations, all rising to the high office of Regional Military Commissioner of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Your illustrious reputation has long been renowned throughout Hunan — how could that upstart Li Ruolian, who has no background whatsoever, compare to you?"

Hearing Xue Fengxiang's words, Luo Yangxing felt a surge of pride and no longer bothered with humility. In a sarcastic tone, he said:

"That man surnamed Li merely had luck on his side — heaven's favor fell upon him by chance. I am a man of magnanimity; let us speak no more of this matter."

Chen Yan walked to the door while the others exchanged pleasantries, took out a silver ingot from his bosom, and handed it to the shopkeeper, saying with a grave expression:

"Receive guests as usual, but do not let anyone approach this place. This silver is yours."

The shopkeeper was overjoyed. Chen Yan was generous with his spending — casually tossing out ten taels of silver, more than his small establishment, Liuquan Residence, could earn in a month. Clearly this was no ordinary man.

If he guessed correctly, the men behind him were all powerful and influential lords. As for why they had come here, that was beyond his concern.

This capital was a mix of dragons and snakes, all sorts of people — hardly any of them were people he could afford to offend. The shopkeeper hastily took the silver, his face wreathed in smiles, and said while closing the door:

"Rest assured, my lord. Talk as long as you wish."

The Chongzhen Emperor had summarily confiscated his father-in-law's household, and Empress Zhou always carried a knot of guilt in her heart over it, so last night he had made a special trip to Kunning Palace.

Originally, the Chongzhen Emperor had been pondering on the way how to explain this matter to Empress Zhou, but unexpectedly she already knew — and moreover, she was the one consoling him, telling him to calm his anger and not take it to heart.

Regarding Zhou Kui's affair, the Chongzhen Emperor's predominant feeling was helplessness; anger was secondary.

Empress Zhou was well-educated and sensible. In fact, she had already thought things through that day after court when Zhou Kui addressed himself as 'this lord' before her. In her words: since she had married into the imperial family, everything must be done with the imperial family's interests foremost.

Besides, Empress Zhou also knew that the Chongzhen Emperor had given plenty of face-saving outs in court that day, but her father simply played clever tricks and refused to yield — he had even embezzled the silver she had earned from selling her jewelry. His current outcome was entirely of his own making.

It seemed that no matter what, the scenes of harem intrigue and favor-seeking in those later queue-wearing dramas need never be worried about here. Having such a woman of great righteousness as his Empress, the Chongzhen Emperor truly saved himself much trouble — he cherished Empress Zhou as if he had found a treasure.

The Chongzhen Emperor felt guilty toward Empress Zhou in his heart. Last night, feigning sleep, he had sighed beside her pillow, saying that having a woman of the Zhou clan as Empress was both his fortune and the fortune of the Great Ming.

What Empress Zhou thought upon hearing these words was unknown; the Chongzhen Emperor only knew that she had very gently tucked the blanket over him and finally fallen asleep lying on his chest.

Chongzhen did not wish to endure the kind of anger he had felt yesterday, so he held no morning court. When he rose in the morning, Empress Zhou was still fast asleep, so Chongzhen quietly slipped out of Kunning Palace and said softly to Xiumei, the female official standing outside the door:

"The Empress is still sleeping. Pass the order down — let nothing disturb the Empress."

"This servant obeys the decree."

Xiumei naturally heard the deep affection in the Emperor's tone just now. Seeing the Chongzhen Emperor clasp his hands behind his back and stroll leisurely toward the Warm Pavilion after speaking, she happily thought to herself that the Empress was truly blessed.

There was some distance from Kunning Palace to the Warm Pavilion. On ordinary days, there should have been Embroidered Uniform Guard officers, Grand Han generals, or young eunuchs standing at attention on either side from time to time — how was it that not a single one was seen today?

The Chongzhen Emperor looked at the clear weather, shook his head with a smile, and thought to himself: with such bright sunshine, how could any trouble arise? He must be overthinking things.

This was the heavily guarded imperial palace — could thieves possibly sneak in to assassinate him?

Just as he thought this, reality slapped the Chongzhen Emperor across the face with a resounding sound. From somewhere emerged a strange man with disheveled hair, looking utterly deranged.

This man charged over wielding a butcher's knife, shouting as he ran:

"Despot! You who favor the depots and guards, who trust in eunuchs — despot! Chongzhen! Three hundred years of the Great Ming's rule — today it shall surely perish at the hands of you, the despot! I shall execute heaven's will and slay you, the despot, to atone to the world!"

Seeing such a scene, Chongzhen instinctively felt at his waist, only to find nothing there. He hastily looked around in panic, shouting 'Protect the Emperor!' repeatedly, yet found his surroundings as silent as a dead land.

"How the hell did this fellow get in?"

The Chongzhen Emperor had a hundred questions he wanted answered, but he would not stand here like a fool waiting to die. He immediately turned and ran.

After running a few steps, he suddenly remembered — wasn't this the direction toward Kunning Palace? He couldn't implicate the Empress. He quickly changed direction.

The scene looked somewhat comical — the Chongzhen Emperor, fleeing in panic, was being chased all over his own palace by a madman, shouting 'Protect the Emperor!' the whole while, yet not a single one of the eunuchs and guards who usually followed behind him could be seen.

The Chongzhen Emperor's frail body simply wasn't up to it. After running a few steps he was already panting with exhaustion, and in the end could only circle around pillars like the King of Qin to buy time. The nameless madman caught up and swung his blade without the slightest hesitation.

"Rip—"

The Chongzhen Emperor knew he could no longer dodge, so he could only raise his right hand to block. The blade carved a deep, bone-deep gash across his hand, blood pouring out freely.

"Despot! Today I shall execute heaven's will!"

The madman's strike had failed to land; he shouted loudly and was about to strike again when a thunderous roar came from behind:

"Your Majesty!"

It turned out to be Fang Zhenghua, the seal-holder of the Directorate of the Imperial Horses, leading a group of young eunuchs to protect the Emperor. Fang Zhenghua was quite agile — he kicked the madman down in one move, and several young eunuchs swarmed forward to completely subdue him.

The butcher's knife in the madman's hand was seized by Fang Zhenghua, yet he still flailed about, jumping and kicking, cursing Chongzhen between breaths as a despot who trusted the depots and guards and believed in eunuchs.

The Chongzhen Emperor had left Kunning Palace some time ago, but had not arrived at the Warm Pavilion for a long while. Fang Zhenghua had originally come to report a matter; after waiting some time without seeing him, he went to ask Li Chun, who stood guard outside the door.

Li Chun was also puzzled — by all accounts, His Majesty should have arrived at the Warm Pavilion long ago.

Fang Zhenghua connected this with what Chongzhen had said in court yesterday and immediately felt something was wrong. He hastily dispatched eunuchs from the Directorate of the Imperial Horses to search the palace everywhere.

"Go... go to Kunning Palace..."

The Chongzhen Emperor's lips were pale as he spoke these words, extremely weak. Fang Zhenghua was deeply worried, his heart nearly leaping out of his chest. He furiously berated some nameless young eunuch and shouted:

"Take this wretch away! Quickly, escort His Majesty to Kunning Palace! Summon the imperial physicians! Summon the imperial physicians!"