Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 51 Intention!

The moonlight lingers and the candlelight flickers.

The night was getting darker and colder.

Although there were charcoal fires burning all around the pavilion, the temperature inevitably dropped because it was outside.

Old Zhu, wearing a thick sweater, coughed lightly twice.

The eunuch who was serving beside him hurried forward and said, "Your Majesty, it's late at night and it's cold outside. You should go back to your room and rest."

Old Zhu did not respond, but slowly turned his head and looked at him deeply.

The eunuch's expression suddenly changed, and he knelt down and said, "It was my fault for talking too much, I deserve to die!"

Old Zhu ignored him, stood up, walked to the edge of the pavilion, looked up at the full moon in the sky, and said, "The moon tonight is really round!"

As he spoke, the note in his hand floated down silently and fell into the brazier next to him.

"The person who went to deliver the imperial edict should be back by now."

After looking up at the moon for a while, Lao Zhu suddenly asked.

As soon as he finished speaking, the eunuch who had just gone to convey the imperial edict to Zhu Yunhuan walked into the yard.

"Your Majesty, I'm back!"

"Hmm!" Old Zhu responded and asked, "You delivered the imperial decree and gave us the reward. What is Yun Hu's reaction?"

"In reply to your majesty, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu is very happy!" said the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict.

After a long silence, Lao Zhu asked, "Is it gone?"

The sound was very light, but it was as loud as thunder.

The eunuch who delivered the imperial edict was stunned for a moment, then he knelt down quickly and said, "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the King of Wu specially rewarded this servant with a stack of precious banknotes!"

He respectfully took out the precious banknotes given to him by Zhu Yunhuan from his pocket, and held them above his head with trembling hands.

"Since it is a reward from Yunxun, then you should accept it." Old Zhu said calmly.

"I thank Your Majesty for his grace." The eunuch who delivered the imperial edict thought that he had to hand over the treasure banknotes he had just obtained.

Unexpectedly, it was not needed. I was overjoyed.

"As the saying goes: A man who eats someone's food will be soft-hearted, and a man who takes someone's money will be short-handed. You took so much money from Yun Hun, but didn't you tell him any news from the palace?"

The eunuch who delivered the imperial edict turned pale in an instant, and he kept kowtowing and said:

"Your Majesty, I only said that Your Majesty was in a bad mood today and lost his temper, and asked His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu to be careful when he came to court tomorrow. Other than that, I didn't say anything more."

"Who said I'm in a bad mood today!" Lao Zhu's originally flat voice suddenly rose several degrees.

"We are very happy today!"

"I was wrong, I was wrong, I will never dare to say nonsense again, Your Majesty, please spare my life!"

The eunuch who delivered the imperial edict kowtowed as hard as pounding garlic, making a loud bang.

Soon, his forehead was covered with blood.

"Do you know why Yunxun gave you the reward?"

Old Zhu glanced at him and asked calmly.

The eunuch who delivered the imperial edict was stunned for a moment, then raised his head and looked at the Emperor with a face full of shock.

"I don't know!"

"No, you know!" Lao Zhu said, "You think you know! But you don't know that you are completely wrong!"

He paced back and forth, took a few slow steps, and said, "Although the three judicial officials have the duty to investigate illegal activities and try cases, they will not take the initiative to intervene if no one files a complaint."

"What's more, on one side is His Royal Highness the Prince, and on the other side is the powerful Duke of Liang."

"The three judges didn't even have time to hide, so why would they interfere for no reason?"

"Not to mention, he was so impatient that he couldn't even wait for one night."

"They even went so far as to mobilize soldiers and prepare to force their way into the Prince's mansion."

"That only means that the person who reported to the Three Law Courts has a very special status."

Old Zhu spoke slowly and calmly. When he got to this point, he suddenly stopped, turned around, and said, "Yuan Tai, Yang Jing, and Zhou Zhiqing alone cannot break into the Prince of Wu's Palace even if they bring soldiers from the Ministry of Justice."

"There must be someone following them."

"This person was about to come out, but you happened to show up and passed the order to Yunhuan, thus successfully preventing that person from showing up."

"Are we right?"

boom!
The eunuch who delivered the imperial edict kowtowed to the ground even harder than before. He cried, "Your Majesty, spare my life. I will die a thousand times!"

"Don't be impatient, listen to me first." Old Zhu seemed to be still in high spirits, and said, "Yun Hun has long seen through everything you have done."

"You think he's giving you a reward to curry favor with you."

"Because you are someone close to us."

"Yunxun is giving you the reward because he hopes to find out about our situation from you."

“Little did I know that I was totally wrong.”

"Yunxun gave you the reward for the sake of the master behind you."

"It is also to pass a message to us through you."

"Tell me, someone around us has been bribed."

"But you are so self-righteous that you think he is trying to please you. After receiving the money, you even told him about the things happening in the palace. It's ridiculous."

The eunuch who was delivering the imperial edict suddenly stopped kowtowing, with only horror on his face.

Old Zhu stood with his hands behind his back and looked up at the bright moon in the sky again.

The surroundings also became quiet.

Only the occasional night breeze made a slight trembling sound as it passed through the branches outside the pavilion.

"Is the person who asked you to do this the King?"

After a long time, Lao Zhu finally asked.

The tone was calm, just like the gentle night breeze.

"Yes!" The eunuch who delivered the imperial edict responded with tears, his tone full of fear.

He continued in a low voice: "His Royal Highness Prince Xian is very kind to me and never puts on airs in front of me."

"Even my family in the capital is taken care of by His Royal Highness Prince Xian."

"Your Highness Prince Xian has never asked me to do anything for you."

"But I am a grateful person, and I always want to repay His Majesty the King."

"That's why today, I deliberately delivered the order before His Royal Highness Prince Xian showed up."

"Every word of these words is true. I hope Your Majesty will understand them."

Old Zhu slowly turned his head, looked at him, and said with a smile: "Didn't he ask you to do anything? This evening, when he came to the palace to ask to see me, didn't he ask you whether the palace had passed on the decree to King Wu, ordering King Wu to arrest Lan Yu?"

The eunuch who delivered the imperial edict changed his expression greatly and cried, "Your Majesty!"

"I would rather die than live. I only ask Your Majesty to reward me with a quick death for my service over the years."

When he heard that the emperor already knew that King Xian had asked him for information, he no longer dared to beg for mercy.

It is a blessing to avoid being tortured to death or cut into pieces.

"That's enough!" Lao Zhu's tone was extremely cold.

"We won't kill you!"

"Since King Xian is so good to you, you are so grateful to him."

"Then from today on, you will go to work at Prince Xian's mansion."

The eunuch who delivered the imperial edict suddenly looked up and stood there in a daze.

I never expected that His Majesty would forgive me.

After all, given His Majesty's usual style of doing things, beating someone to death on the spot would be considered a light punishment for making such a mistake.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

He couldn't help but feel happy after escaping death.

Old Zhu waved his hand, and he quickly rolled and crawled away, running for his life.

"Yun Wen's mother, the Crown Princess, came to the palace tonight. Did she go to Concubine Hu's place?"

After the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict disappeared, Old Zhu asked indifferently.

"Yes!" the eunuch serving nearby replied in a low voice.

"Go tell Concubine Hu that it's rare for the Crown Princess to come to the palace, so you should keep her well and let her stay in the palace for a few more days."

(End of this chapter)