Chapter 131: The Father Who Screwed Over His Son
Chapter 131: The Father Who Screwed Over His Son
The Red Pill and the relocation of the palace…
The Red Pill case was something he couldn’t have made it in time for.
When Yang Xin rode his horse frantically for half a month, galloping from Siping to the Capital City, not only had the Wanli emperor died over a month earlier, but even the new emperor, who had just held his Coronation Ceremony at the beginning of this month, was already on the verge of death. Zhu Changluo had fallen ill around the time Yang Xin set off. His condition quickly worsened due to the medicine prescribed by Cui Wensheng, and he eventually took the first Red Pill.
But this Red Pill had some effect.
It was the second Red Pill that caused his death, and it hadn’t been presented yet.
As for why he didn’t use imperial physicians but sought out these strange things instead…
The Imperial Medical Bureau of the Great Ming was a joke. One of the four useless things in the Capital City was the decoctions from the Imperial Medical Bureau. The others were the writings from the Hanlin Academy, the tea soup from the Court of State Ceremonial, and the weapons from the Armory. The Imperial Medical Bureau had only one principle for treating illnesses: avoid blame, not pursue merit. Also, more than one Ming emperor had died under unclear circumstances. Although people like Cui Wensheng were mediocre, the medicine he prescribed wouldn’t contain anything unclear. Zhu Changluo was an overly cautious person.
He didn’t trust the people from the Imperial Medical Bureau.
Of course, whether this second Red Pill was clean or not was hard to say, and whether Zhu Changluo’s death was truly an accident wasn’t certain either.
Anyway, the waters of the Great Ming Dynasty ran deep.
Of course, this wasn’t Yang Xin’s concern. He only cared about how much benefit he could gain from this chaos.
Fang Village, night.
Little Sister He Xiang walked forward under an umbrella in the continuous autumn rain.
A sudden gust of wind blew past.
She shivered instinctively and looked up ahead. Against the black backdrop of the night, something seemed to be on a roof, but it disappeared amidst the swaying of tree branches. Even though she knew in her heart it was probably just part of the branches, she couldn’t help feeling spooked. She silently complained about her young mistress who insisted on drinking alone late at night and quickened her pace. Soon she reached the tree next to the waterside pavilion. Because of the incident last time, her young mistress was still confined here, but it was mostly talk. Fang Tinglan handled the vast majority of the Fang family’s businesses; she just couldn’t leave the residence, for fear of being seen by outsiders and reminding the idle people of the Capital City about the last incident. But within the residence, Fang Tinglan was still the one in charge.
Little Sister He Xiang walked with her head down. Suddenly, there was a strange sound behind her.
She turned around instinctively.
There was still nothing behind her.
Trembling, she turned back. A dark shadow suddenly blocked her vision, and she opened her mouth in fright, but before she could scream, a hand covered her mouth.
“Shh, it’s me!”
A familiar voice sounded.
The shadow then pulled down the cloth covering its face and released its hand.
“Yang, Young Master Yang?”
Little Sister He Xiang said in astonishment.
“Quick, take me to Tinglan!”
Yang Xin said.
“Young, Young Master Yang, what do you want to do? Our young mistress is in mourning. Anyway, you two are already… an established fact. Even if the Old Madam is angry for now, she can only accept it in the end. You, you again…”
Little Sister He Xiang trailed off.
Yang Xin didn’t hesitate to give her little head a light slap.
“What nonsense are you thinking? I have serious business to discuss with her!”
He said.
Little Sister He Xiang gave him a resentful look, then led this intruder who had sneaked in late at night quietly to the front of the waterside pavilion. She went in first, found an excuse to send the other maids away, then opened the door and waved to Yang Xin in the shadows. Yang Xin looked around cautiously, quickly entered the door she opened, and Little Sister He Xiang pointed towards the inner room. Yang Xin immediately walked over and lifted the curtain.
“He Xiang, you…”
Fang Tinglan, wearing only a gauzy robe and writing while checking account books, looked up.
She immediately froze.
But she was very smart. She immediately looked at Yang Xin with a questioning gaze. Yang Xin took off his outer clothes as fast as he could. Fang Tinglan handed him a towel. Yang Xin wiped his face, reached out, and pulled her close…
“Stop fooling around. First, tell me what happened!”
Fang Tinglan said.
As she spoke, she tried to push him away.
Yang Xin sat comfortably in her previous seat and pulled her onto his lap. Fang Tinglan struggled a little but gave up. Little Sister He Xiang, blushing, walked out and lowered the curtain for them. Yang Xin then kissed the nearest part of Fang Tinglan, and while she was flustered and annoyed, he said, “I rode like mad for half a month, covering almost two thousand li to get back, and it’s for the survival of your Fang family! Tell me, how are you going to thank me?”
“Exaggerating. But I did hear that Wang Huazhen is impeaching you, saying you colluded with western barbarians in Liaodong with ill intentions, and that you privately sold firearms to them. Also, the Ministry of War Secretary, Liu Guojin, is impeaching you for unjustly injuring the Commander of the Dingliao Forward Guard, Zhu Shichang. And Zuo Guangdou has already impeached you eight times. The Tianjin Military Defense Circuit also reported that your Bandit-Suppression Army encroached on the gentry and harassed the local people. You’ve offended quite a lot of people all at once, almost enough to fill a book with your crimes.”
Fang Tinglan said.
“And what did the court decide?”
Yang Xin buried his face in that soft, comforting place and said.
“The court? For the past month, who in the court has had time to deal with these trivial matters? The Late Emperor passed away barely a month ago, and the current His Majesty the Emperor is already critically ill. This past month, the court has been too busy with the change of emperors. The Directorate of Ceremonial is in chaos too, but your old friend Liu Shimin remains as steady as a mountain. And judging by the situation, your half-student might just become the Son of Heaven of Great Ming. The real doers in the Directorate of Ceremonial, people like Liu Shimin, are all shrewd. They’ll definitely wait and see how the situation unfolds first. The impeachment memorials are just being shelved for now. Many have been shelved this past month.”
Fang Tinglan said.
“And then?”
Yang Xin’s hands began to wander restlessly as he spoke.
“What ‘and then’?”
Fang Tinglan asked, puzzled.
“And then, once the emperor dies, your second uncle will be in trouble.
How many Donglin Faction members has the current His Majesty the Emperor appointed this month? Han Kuang can’t really be counted, but Liu Yijing is, right? The currently most favored Yang Lian is, right? Ye Xianggao is still on the road and hasn’t arrived yet. Once he comes, your second uncle will definitely be kicked aside by His Majesty the Emperor. But now His Majesty the Emperor is already in critical condition. He took that Red Pill with your second uncle’s consent, right? The Red Pill is a stimulant, but it’s actually highly toxic. The second one will probably kill him. Once that happens, with the Donglin Faction’s mad dog style of biting anyone they see, your second uncle may not escape suspicion of Regicide. My half-student is useless. His father has turned the Great Ming Dynasty into a court filled with Donglin Faction Scholars in just one short month.
Of the four Grand Secretaries already appointed, two are from the Donglin Faction, including one of its leaders, and one is pro-Donglin. Only your second uncle is the ‘treacherous minister.’ Even if the Crown Prince ascends the throne, he’s not old enough to rule personally. Can he withstand the swarm of Donglin Faction members?
Moreover, Wang An listens to Wang Wenyan, right?
What kind of person is Wang Wenyan?
The Donglin Faction’s secret agent in the Capital City.
You know, our new monarch, in this past month, besides screwing over his son, hasn’t really done anything else. Oh, wait, there’s also the legend of him battling eight women in one night. He thought he had a body like mine!”
Yang Xin said.
Indeed, in this one month, Zhu Changluo did nothing but screw over his son. In that short reign of just one month, he left behind countless poisonous legacies for his two sons.
The Donglin Faction was finished during the Wanli reign.
Ye Xianggao was retired at home. Li Sancai was also retired in Zhangjiawan. Among the core court officials, there wasn’t a single Donglin Faction member. Fang Congzhe wasn’t; he was the ‘treacherous minister’ in the eyes of the Donglin Faction. Huang Kechan wasn’t; he was a neutral, but closer to Fang Congzhe. The rest of the Six Ministries and the Censorate also had no Donglin Faction members. The most important ones were the Minister of War Huang Jiashan, the Minister of Revenue Li Ruhua, and the Minister of Personnel Zhou Jiamo—none were from the Donglin Faction. Only the Vice Minister of Rites, Han Kuang, was close to the Donglin Faction, but he was a man of principle and couldn’t truly be counted as one.
The fierce struggle between the Donglin Faction Scholars and the Nine Thousand Years Old during the Tianqi reign was a landmine planted by Zhu Changluo.
This emperor who reigned for only one month made the Great Ming suddenly brim with upright ministers. Donglin Faction leader Ye Xianggao and Liu Yijing both entered the Grand Secretariat. Along with Han Kuang who was close to the Donglin Faction, the Grand Secretariat became completely dominated by the Donglin Faction.
The same went for the Six Ministries.
In short, most of the scholars who fiercely fought against the Nine Thousand Years Old during the Tianqi reign were appointed in this one month.
Like Zou Yuanbiao.
Like Zhao Nanxing.
Especially the famous Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou were also promoted by him. On his deathbed, he even appointed Yang Lian, a mere Secretary in the Office of Scrutiny for War, as a regent, placing him alongside Fang Congzhe and others. It must be said that in this one month, aside from the legendary battle against eight, his main job was planting landmines for his sons. Eventually, his son had to rely on the Nine Thousand Years Old to spend years digging them out one by one. Truly, the extent to which this father screwed over his son was unprecedented; only the Kangxi Emperor could rival him.
If this guy didn’t die, the Great Ming would have entered the Chongzhen reign early.
Luckily he died.
Well, though he isn’t dead now.
“In that case, we must quickly warn my second uncle. I heard these past few days that His Majesty is again asking him to find Li Kezhuo. A few people around my second uncle are indeed advising him not to let this person see His Majesty again.”
Fang Tinglan said worriedly.
“It’s no use. Even if he doesn’t want to present it, the emperor will force him to.”
Yang Xin said.
“So you want to just sit back and watch?”
Fang Tinglan said, dissatisfied, and pushed him away.
“Why stop someone who deserves to die? I told you, this is a matter of life and death for your Fang family. But if he doesn’t die, I’ll be in trouble. Zuo Guangdou has been after me, saying I harmed many people in Tianjin and forcibly occupied Salt-Boiling Household pastures and Gentry land. Although what he says is true, you wouldn’t want to see my house raided, would you? Wang An is now the Seal-holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial. You know what my relationship with Wang Wenyan is like. Wang An listens to Wang Wenyan almost unquestioningly.
If the emperor doesn’t die, I’m in trouble.
Whether it’s Zuo Guangdou or Wang Wenyan, or those I just offended in Liaodong, they’ll all try to finish me off. If the emperor dies, I’ll be safe. Not only safe, but Wei Jinzhong will also rise to power. With us around, who would dare touch your Fang family?”
Yang Xin said.
“So you are just going to sit back and watch?”
Fang Tinglan said.
“Yep!”
Yang Xin said.
“Then why did you come looking for me?”
Fang Tinglan said resentfully.
“What do you think I came for? Don’t you understand?”
Yang Xin said with a grin.
As he spoke, his hands began to move downward…