Chapter 172: Arrogant Abuse of Power

The Jing Yueyang Wangfu suddenly suffered a calamity: its prince died, the heir vanished, leaving it leaderless.

But the prince's funeral could not be skipped.

Fortunately, the Prince of Jing had three sons; besides the Prince of Tai Ning and the heir, there was a twelve-year-old younger son.

He was now brought forward to preside over the Prince of Tai Ning's funeral.

No wonder the collateral branches were so eager—they seized the opportunity to sort out the Prince of Tai Ning's estates and divide up the spoils.

After all, the Prince of Tai Ning left no heir.

Within the Jing princely city, all wore white mourning garments, with sackcloth and hemp tied around their waists.

At every city gate, imperial clansmen received officials and gentry come to pay respects, speaking softly and exchanging formal bows.

Prince of Fanshan Zhu Zai'an, heir of Fushun Prince Zhu Zai'geng, and other collateral branch members accompanied the late Prince of Jing's third illegitimate son, Zhu Zhu Changsi, standing together before the palace's front hall to greet and comfort guests.

The princely residence had suffered a great fire, but the front hall remained unscathed, making it suitable for housing the coffin.

"Ah, the imperial envoys have been too cruel—otherwise, how could this have happened?"

"Who can deny it? Those envoys act without restraint; the Chu prince Zhu Xianguan was unjustly imprisoned and humiliated, and the Prince of Tai Ning, moved by the same fear, took drastic action."

"I hear Li Li Zaiting has a fondness for young men, which earned him the emperor's favor; now, whenever a high-ranking official is imprisoned, he tortures them repeatedly—who could remain unmoved upon seeing this?"

Several officials from Jingzhou Prefecture had just comforted the deceased's family and now huddled together, whispering.

When they reached a particularly absurd point, they couldn't help but chuckle while stroking their beards.

As they laughed, a commotion suddenly rose from afar.

They turned to look and saw Prince of Fanshan Zhu Zai'an and heir of Fushun Prince Zhu Zai'geng, their faces filled with anger or shock; they both apologized briefly, abandoned the guests where they stood, and hurried away.

The prefect immediately grew alert.

He strode up to Zhu Zhu Changsi, the late Prince of Jing's third illegitimate son, and said: "Young Master Jing, is there some difficulty at your residence? Though our strength is slight, we can still offer some aid."

This Zhu Zhu Changsi was essentially winning by default: his eldest brother was suspicious, his second brother had burned himself alive—most likely, he was already designated heir; addressing him as "Young Master Jing" carried flattery, yet it was perfectly reasonable.

Though only twelve, Zhu Zhu Changsi carried himself with considerable decorum.

Seeing the local prefect approach, he promptly returned the bow, meticulously formal: "Prefect He, there is no difficulty—only an honored guest has arrived, and the servants were unable to handle it, so my uncles and cousins went themselves."

An honored guest… the look of shock and fury just now suggested a hostile intruder more than anything else.

The prefect's eyelid twitched; he instantly understood and asked urgently: "The imperial envoys have arrived!? Who? The Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

After a long silence, Zhu Zhu Changsi nodded.

The prefect bowed, then retreated into the circle of officials; they whispered among themselves, saying something unknown.

Then, as a group, they glanced around, gave no farewell, and vanished quietly, covering their faces.

Zhu Zhu Changsi watched coldly, offering no protest.

In recent days, he had grown accustomed to the coldness of human relations.

He shook his head, banishing them from his thoughts, and turned his gaze, now troubled, toward the entrance of the princely compound.

This morning, Wuchang Prefecture sent word: Liang Liang Menglong had assumed office as Provincial Governor.

Immediately, this governor, responding to unrest in Huguang, began persuading several imperial envoys to restore calm.

After much persuasion, he finally convinced Hai Rui and Li Li Zaiting.

The Zhang Chucheng case was officially closed by the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Du Si, Deputy Commander of the Regional Military Commission Mao Cai Ruxian, and Prefect of Yuezhou Zhong Zhong Chongwen, and filed away.

Upon hearing the news, the entire Huguang bureaucracy rejoiced, praising Liang Liang Menglong as possessing the talent of a grand secretary.

Today he corrects Huguang; tomorrow his benevolence will bless all the people.

The imperial clansmen prepared to celebrate together, when they heard that Zhu Zhu Xizhong, seized by his Embroidered Uniform Guard instincts, disregarded the governor Liang Liang Menglong and the two envoys' pleas, and stormed out in anger.

Liang Liang Menglong, enraged, smashed his cup and cursed: "Seeking merit and reward, acting recklessly in investigations, disregarding imperial kinship, casting aside His Majesty's benevolent virtue!"

Though no one knew his intentions.

But his clear stance—sparring the Huguang bureaucracy while continuing to investigate the imperial clans—was unmistakable.

They had worried about how Zhu Zhu Xizhong would act, yet he had directly marched upon their Jing compound.

Zhu Zhu Changsi withdrew his gaze, silently reflecting: he was only twelve, so he would hardly be implicated; whether he retained a full princely title would depend on luck.

Thinking thus, he once again assumed a sorrowful expression and exchanged formal bows with the mourners.

Meticulously formal.

…

A paved road led from the Jing compound's gate to the front hall.

At this southwestern entrance stood three white marble archways, known as the foremost of the "Ninety-Nine Archways of Qizhou."

The main pillars bore carved clouds entwined with dragons; the horizontal beam bore the four large characters: "Shield of the Imperial House."

Before the six-pillared archway stood a stone stele nearly a zhang tall, inscribed: "All civil and military officials must dismount and walk here."

Both inscriptions were written in the hand of Emperor Renzong, protecting the Jing princely line for over a hundred years.

Yet precisely because of this, certain imperial clansmen had grown arrogant and reckless.

Prince of De'an Zhu Zhu Yiduo, with a violent temper and no patience for pretense, spoke sharply: "Zhu Zhu Xizhong, Wu Wu Jinghe—today is the Jing clan's mourning day; we do not welcome you. Leave!"

The imperial envoys had stirred chaos in Huguang and bullied the imperial clans enough; now that the Prince of Tai Ning had just died, during his funeral, someone dares come to the Jing compound to cause trouble!

They clearly held no regard for these imperial princes and descendants!

Zhu Zhu Xizhong and Wu Wu Jinghe paid no heed to this commandery prince.

The latter, with no decorum, pointed at the group of collateral clansmen and whispered to his companions: "Prince of Fanshan Zhu Zai'an, inherited his title in Emperor Jiajing thirty-six."

"To the left is the heir of Fushun Prince, Zhu Zai'geng; the prince himself is seventy-six and has retired; affairs of the household are handled by the heir."

"To the right is Prince of Yongxin Zhu Zaihao, who inherited his title in Emperor Jiajing forty-one."

"Next to him is Prince of De'an Zhu Zhu Yiduo, the elder brother of Prince of Yongxin."

"Of the Jing clan's commandery princes, most have been stripped of their titles; now only these four remain."

Having finished, Wu Wu Jinghe silently shook his head.

Under current regulations, the eldest sons of commandery princes, no matter how many, are all granted commandery prince titles; the younger sons are made Garrison Generals.

But exceptions abound.

For instance, Prince of Fanshan, Prince of Yongxin, and Prince of Fushun were all three sons of the former Prince of Fanshan Zhu Yougou's concubines.

In other words, if a commandery prince is sufficiently prolific, he can produce a host of commandery princes and Garrison Generals.

A commandery prince's annual stipend is one thousand taels; a Garrison General's is seven hundred.

Prince of Fanshan Zhu Yougou alone fathered eleven sons: three commandery princes, eight Garrison Generals—costing nearly ten thousand taels annually!

This does not even include the five hundred taels per year for each princess, nor the further generations that followed.

Thus, generation begets generation: Huguang now has dozens of commandery princes, hundreds of Garrison and Assistant Generals, over two thousand with titles, and even the lowest rank, the Supporting General, receives five hundred taels annually.

Just the Huguang imperial clans, this gold-devouring beast, consume over a million taels annually; the total for all imperial clans across the realm is incalculable!

The central court haggles over tens of thousands of taels; arrears in stipends are normal—only a god could pay them in full!

As Wu Wu Jinghe pointed and commented carelessly, the commandery princes grew increasingly displeased.

They exchanged glances and instantly understood: Wu Wu Jinghe and Zhu Zhu Xizhong had come with ill intent.

Prince of Fanshan Zhu Zai'an, who commanded great respect, held back the earlier speaker, Prince of De'an Zhu Zhu Yiduo.

Standing atop the ceremonial steps, he looked down upon the uninvited guests with perfect propriety: "Duke of Cheng, this is the hand of Emperor Renzong: all civil and military officials must dismount and walk here."

"If you truly wish to pay respects, kindly abandon your wheeled chair and walk into the hall."

He pointed to the stele—his words implied dismissal: if you ride a wheeled chair, you cannot simply rise and walk.

The remark was courteous yet unmistakably firm.

As soon as he spoke, the commandery princes erupted in agreement.

"Duke of Cheng, if you show no respect even for the deceased, do not blame us for barring you from our gates."

"Zhu Zhu Xizhong! You drove the prince to death—fine. But today is his funeral; we overlook it. Now get down and walk!"

"Duke, you slaughter imperial clansmen, humiliate royal kin—do you not even revere Emperor Renzong?"

The imperial clansmen gathered closer, murmuring louder.

The palace guards exchanged uneasy glances, uncertain what to do.

Seeing the scene escalate, Zhu Zhu Shitai grew anxious and ordered his Embroidered Uniform Guard to stand ready.

"Cough… cough…"

Zhu Zhu Xizhong covered his mouth and coughed twice.

He turned to gaze at the stele left by Emperor Renzong and murmured: "All civil and military officials must dismount and walk here."

Zhu Zhu Shitai, behind him, thought he had grasped the point and quickly spoke: "Disembark and walk—we aren't riding…"

As he spoke, Zhu Zhu Xizhong waved his hand to cut him off.

Zhu Zhu Xizhong raised his head, fixing his gaze on the commandery princes, absorbing each of their expressions: anger, arrogance, anxiety, indifference—each different.

He tucked his handkerchief into his sleeve, pushed himself upright, and said solemnly: "I am, by office, Regional Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Special Promotion of Guanglu Doctor and Pillar of State, hereditary Duke of Cheng, Imperially Commissioned General Who Pacified the Rebellion and Promoted Loyalty, additionally granted the title of Grand Preceptor of the Realm, entrusted by imperial decree to oversee all military and civil affairs in Huguang! Wherever I travel, I act at my discretion!"

"Propriety… cough… the imperial envoy's inspection is the greatest propriety here today in the Jing compound!"

"Prince of De'an, you speak of my slaughter of imperial clansmen and humiliation of royal kin—do you not know what case I am investigating? A treasonous rebellion! How dare you twist facts!"

"Prince of Yongxin, you invoke the story of the Xiang prince to accuse me of driving the Prince of Tai Ning to death—this is the sword dance of Xiang Zhuang, aimed at His Majesty—do you truly not know the meaning of 'death'?"

"Prince of Fanshan, you invoke Emperor Renzong's hand to silence me—have you forgotten what year it is?"

At this, Zhu Zhu Xizhong's gaze swept over them, fierce and commanding, radiating arrogance: "I act as Heaven's envoy; you, mere commandery princes, dare to make an imperial messenger walk before a stone stele?"

"Do you thus disregard His Majesty, seeking to emulate the Li Mountain princely incident of yesterday!?"

As he spoke, his Shenhou Embroidered Uniform Guards suddenly drew their swords, striking the ground with a sharp, metallic ring.

The commandery princes turned pale.

Zhu Zhu Xizhong's arrogance has reached this point!?

Could it be that today's purpose is truly to slaughter the Jing Prefecture clan? Do they not know that those who initiate evil shall have no descendants?

The heir of the Fushun Prince trembled in both legs, shielding several of his princely uncles before him.

The Fenshan Prince cried out in alarm: "Are you going to slaughter all the imperial clan of Huguang?"

"Is this also the Emperor's will!?"

He clung tightly to the Emperor, subtly magnifying the matter beyond measure.

Do they truly disregard the Emperor's holy virtue and act with reckless abandon?

Zhu Zhu Xizhong's expression was icy, his face expressionless: "At this point, the Fenshan Prince still prattles on."

"I have come today for the Jing Prefecture clan—I am authorized to act as I see fit. If you continue to obstruct me, I may kill you now, and that too falls within my authority!"

"Do not say I did not warn you!"

The Fenshan Prince fell silent, momentarily stunned.

The Yongxin Prince tucked his trembling hands into his sleeves and stared at his boots.

The De'an Prince could scarcely believe it, exclaiming: "We are imperial princes, descendants of the Son of Heaven, of princely rank—without our ancestors, how could there be the Great Ming?"

"The Great Ming is our family's domain; you are but a household servant—how dare you speak of killing and violence to those of royal blood!?"

Wu Wu Jinghe most despised such fools.

He glanced at the Commandery Prince standing high above on the imperial steps, and finally could no longer hold back: "We have been commissioned by the Emperor's will—we are as His Majesty himself."

"All under heaven are the Emperor's subjects; are not all members of the imperial clan within our jurisdiction?"

"A mere Commandery Prince dares to act so presumptuous? Before the imperial envoy, you stand aloft, looking down, answering with arrogance!"

Wu Wu Jinghe's expression darkened sharply: "Get down from those steps!"

With that roar, all fell silent.

(End of Chapter)