Xie Ming

When the Hongguang Emperor heard the news that the Third Prince Zhu Cijiong had been assassinated, he was instantly consumed by grief and anger.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood in an instant, his body swayed like a candle in the wind, and it was clear that he was about to die.

Suddenly, chaos erupted in the rear courtyard of the imperial palace.

Wang Zhixin, who was in charge of the household affairs, was in a panic when he suddenly came to his senses and did three things in a row.

First, he secretly followed his trusted confidant Qin San'er and rushed to the cabinet to report Ma Shiying.

Second, imperial physicians were sent to the inner palace to ensure the emperor's safety in case of emergency.

Third, avoid getting involved, and also inform the Empress and concubines of this news.

On the night after August 14th, the imperial palace was in complete chaos.

Meanwhile, outside the palace gates in the inner chambers, Ma Shiying and the young eunuch Qin San'er were exchanging words and plans.

"Oh my, isn't this Qin San'er?"

"Look at you, so late at night, you..."

Qin San'er was anxious and worried about the consequences, so he didn't pay attention to his footing and was completely flustered.

He kept falling as he ran.

Finally, as he lifted the curtain and entered the inner chamber, he was inadvertently tripped over a threshold and tumbled inside.

Ma Shiying, who was at his desk reviewing memorials, saw this and, after a closer look, hurriedly offered his reply.

Knowing that he was the king's trusted confidant, Ma Shiying, despite the difference in rank, still rarely smiled and pretended to help him up.

However, it was clear that at this moment, Qin San'er had no time to delve into these matters.

He was anxious and embarrassed. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and shouted something as soon as he looked up.

"Oh dear, Minister Ma, Minister Ma, something terrible has happened!"

After running all the way and suffering such a terrible accident, Qin San'er was panting heavily and fell quite hard.

The man bent his knees and, after a few moments, gritted his teeth and endured the pain, trying to stand up.

Seeing others act this way, Ma Shiying was also taken aback.

In a hurry, someone grabbed a handrail, pulled Qin San'er up, and steadied him.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, His Majesty..."

Qin San'er didn't have time for empty words of thanks. After catching his breath, he got straight to the point.

Seeing that it concerned His Majesty, Ma Shiying was even more worried and quickly interrupted to add to the story.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty?"

"What's wrong with the Emperor? Huh?!"

"Hey, hurry up and tell me!" Ma Shiying said anxiously.

"Oh no! Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"

"He just... he just vomited a large amount of blood. Right now, I'm afraid... I'm afraid he's already..."

Qin San'er was both surprised and afraid when she read the passage to the pass. She was worried about her lord, but also about herself.

With the Emperor's passing and the current situation, what will become of these palace eunuchs?
It is said that a new emperor brings a new court, but this is often even more true for the eunuchs inside the palace walls.

Those who become arrogant and complacent after gaining favor may suddenly become disillusioned, and their fate could be sealed in the blink of an eye by the new emperor.

"you!"

"You, huh?!"

Ma Shiying, who shared the same thoughts, was also filled with fear and trembling upon hearing the devastating news.

He inadvertently took two steps back, and before he knew it, he slumped back into the chair he had just gotten off.

But the sudden fall jolted him awake, and as a conditioned reflex, he straightened up and stood up abruptly.

Thinking of something, I hurriedly asked another question.

"Qin San'er, this is no child's play."

“If you’ve spread a false rumor, then…” Ma Shiying was determined to stick to the story.

"Oh, Minister Ma, even if I had ten thousand lives, I wouldn't dare to talk nonsense about this matter."

"His Majesty is failing."

"I had no pulse before I even left the palace!"

"It just goes in, but there's no way to breathe out."

"Oh dear, this!" Qin San'er cried in distress.

However, upon hearing this, Ma Shiying reacted differently. He stepped forward, grabbed Qin San'er's wrist, and forced him to calm down.

"Qin San'er?"

"I'm here to ask you."

"Who exactly sent you to report this?"

"But what does Eunuch Wang mean?" Ma Shiying realized the crux of the matter.

"Ah, yes, yes!"

Qin San'er was in a state of utter confusion and had no other thoughts, so he spoke his mind completely.

"Then, besides me, has this message been sent out of the palace and sent elsewhere?!" Ma Shiying pressed on, asking again.

"Ah, no, I don't think so."

"Before I came here, I did not see anyone leave the palace to deliver the message," Qin San'er continued.

In fact, the reason why Ma Shiying asked this question at this critical moment was to confirm, at the last minute, whether Wang Zhixin and the eunuchs under his command were on the side of the Southern Party.

After receiving a clear answer, Ma Shiying breathed a slight sigh of relief.

After all, Emperor Hongguang had been ill for a long time, and Ma Shiying had probably already made plans for his affairs after his death.

However, I never expected it to happen so suddenly.

"Uh"

"Qin San'er, this matter is of utmost importance. What exactly happened?"

"Just a couple of days ago, His Majesty was feeling a bit better, managing to wake up for a short while whenever he could. How... how could he..."

Later, Ma Shiying finally got to the real reason.

Upon hearing this, Qin San'er hesitated slightly.

However, with things falling apart, he lost his composure and simply blurted out everything he knew.

"Uh, this, this."

"Uh, I, I dare not speak carelessly, no... but since you, Minister Ma, have asked."

"Actually, just now, a guard outside the palace handed something into the palace."

"Well, no, I don't know the specifics of what happened."

"However, His Majesty vomited blood on the spot after he found out."

"The back hall is in a mess. Right now, most of the imperial physicians have probably gone there too."

"Later, then... then..."

Qin hesitated, but he did give a fairly clear account of everything.

After listening, Ma Shiying quickly calmed himself down.

Although the current situation is somewhat beyond his expectations, it is not yet completely out of control.

So he began to plot and scheme, and once he captured Qin San'er, he planned to make arrangements for what to do next.

"Qin, Qin San'er!"

"Here, here, you take this."

In a panic, he frantically searched his body, his mind racing. He then lifted the hem of his shirt, pulled off a jade pendant, and stuffed it into Qin San'er's hand.

Seeing this, the little eunuch, with his dull mind, misunderstood and thought that he was to be given a gift to keep quiet, so he hurriedly declined with a wry smile.

"Ah? This"

"No, this, this is your personal belongings."

"I... how can I do that?" Qin San'er said comically, trying to deflect the question.

Upon hearing this, Ma Shiying finally realized what was happening.

He was immediately taken aback and cursed inwardly.

"Hey, Qin San'er, what time is it already?"

"Hey, now you better listen carefully."

"The current situation is unclear both internally and externally, and the court has reached a critical moment of turmoil."

"One wrong move and the whole game is lost."

“You and me, ah, and... and your Eunuch Wang, all of these people are hanging by a thread.”

"Do you know?" he asked, deliberately trying to scare the boy.

"So, this situation is urgent, and I don't have time to waste with you."

"Qin San'er, you'd better be careful."

"Here, take this jade pendant from me, and you don't need to go back to the inner court to report."

"The matter at hand is urgent. We must leave the palace now and go to the residence of Grand Secretary Qiu Weizhen."

"Remember, you must, you must, give him the jade pendant in his presence, and tell Grand Secretary Qiu to come to the palace immediately."

“I’ll say it again, there’s an important matter to discuss right now.”

"Do you understand? Huh?!"

Ma Shiying solemnly stated (End of this chapter)