Wu Shigong felt that the scale of his son's full-moon banquet was even greater than that of his own wedding. Throughout the morning, Wu Shigong kowtowed and kowtowed to numbness. Near noon, Wei Zhongxian made a grand appearance at the last moment, and the banquet officially began. Wu Shigong accompanied him again
He followed his father-in-law Xue Lian and began to toast from the table. But not long after, a young eunuch ran in from outside the door. He whispered something in Wei Zhongxian's ear. Wei Zhongxian's face changed drastically. He also came to Xue Lian's ear and said a few words.
, and left in a hurry.
Although in subsequent banquets, Xue Lian pretended as if nothing had happened and still talked and laughed. However, Wei Zhongxian's strange behavior had already fallen in the eyes of all the guests. Therefore, Xue Chenglin's full moon wine was in a strange way.
It ended in a good atmosphere. As soon as the full moon banquet was over, Xue Lian arranged for a car and hurried to Wei Zhongxian's mansion to find out the news.
The little eunuch was actually here to deliver news. He told Wei Zhongxian: Just now, Emperor Tianqi accidentally fell into the water while taking a boat ride on the lake. When he was fished out, Emperor Tianqi was already unconscious.
Wei Zhongxian was full of anger and rushed to the palace and entered the palace of Emperor Tianqi. As soon as he entered the palace, Wei Zhongxian told his entourage: "Capture all the eunuchs and maids around the emperor today and kill them all."
After hearing Wei Zhongxian's order, all the eunuchs and maids around Emperor Tianqi were so frightened that they knelt on the ground, kowtowed and begged for mercy: "Nine thousand years, please forgive me! Nine thousand years, please forgive me!"
Wei Zhongxian ignored these eunuchs and maids begging for mercy and ran towards Emperor Tianqi's dragon bed. The queen, concubines and imperial doctors surrounding the dragon bed quickly moved out of the way for Wei Zhongxian.
Emperor Tianqi had woken up and was still very weak lying on the dragon bed. When he saw Wei Zhongxian's arrival, a smile appeared on his pale face and he said to Wei Zhongxian: "Wei Banban is here."
Seeing Emperor Tianqi's appearance, Wei Zhongxian burst into tears. He rushed to the dragon bed, grabbed Emperor Tianqi's hand, and asked, "Is the emperor okay?"
Emperor Tianqi smiled at Wei Zhongxian again and said, "I'm fine. I was careless and don't blame them. Wei Banban, please spare them."
"Listen to your Majesty. Death penalty can be avoided, but living crime cannot be escaped." Wei Zhongxian said through gritted teeth. Then he looked at Emperor Tianqi and said: "Old slave. Old slave..." Wei Zhongxian burst into tears and could not speak.
…
That night, Xue Lian came home very late. After breakfast the next morning, Xue Lian said to the family: "Yesterday the emperor fell into the water and was frightened. Now he is fine. Don't think too much." After hearing this, Xue Lian said
If so, Mrs. Zhang and Xue Yufei, who were a little uneasy about what happened yesterday, both looked relaxed, but Wu Shigong's heart "thumped" a little.
Wu Shigong likes to consider the worst aspects and prepare for the worst when doing things. Therefore, after hearing what his father-in-law Xue Lian said, Wu Shigong couldn't help but think about it: Could it be that his judgment was wrong? Will Emperor Tianqi immediately make a decision?
About to die?
Wu Shigong carefully recalled the clues of yesterday and today, and the more he thought about it, the more suspicious he became. If Emperor Tianqi just fell into the water, why should Wei Zhongxian be so nervous? And why did his father-in-law add such a sentence this morning to conceal the truth? There must be something wrong here.
.
Wu Shigong didn't know that among the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, there was already one Emperor Zhengde who died of fright after falling into the water. That's why Wei Zhongxian was so nervous when he received the news. If Wu Shigong knew the reason for Wei Zhongxian's nervousness, he might be able to relax.
Because in modern times, it is almost unheard of to find people who were rescued after falling into the water and later died of fright.
This time, Wu Shigong was paranoid for a moment, but he just got the truth of the matter right.
After Wu Shigong arrived at the Yamen, he quickly called Zhang Kequan alone.
Wu Shigong asked in a low voice: "Mr. Zhang, if the current emperor dies, then who should take the throne?"
"Of course it's King Xin, the emperor's fifth brother." Zhang Kequan was a little confused by Wu Shigong's mysterious expression, but he asked such a common sense question.
But then he seemed to think of something, his expression changed, and he whispered in Wu Shigong's ear, "Is the emperor ill?"
Wu Shigong nodded, Zhang Kequan's expression became more serious, and then reminded: "The proprietor must be careful."
After Zhang Kequan left, Wu Shigong stayed in the room, not letting anyone disturb him, and meditated alone.
First of all, is it possible for me to seek refuge with that King of Letters? It is definitely impossible.
Although I have some small friendship with Eunuch Qin in Prince Xin's palace, and I have helped Eunuch Qin. But will Eunuch Qin help me introduce King Xin for these small friendships and favors? Will King Xin accept me? These are all questions.
is an unknown quantity.
As for whether he could find a chance to meet King Xin alone, Wu Shigong rejected this idea at the first time. After all, the masters in Da Nei around King Xin were not vegetarians. The one who played the role of flying fairy in Da Nei was Ye Gucheng.
It is Stephen Chow who is playing the role of a fairy both inside and outside the world. But it will definitely not be Wu Shigong himself.
Moreover, if he finds a way to find King Xin, Wei Zhongxian's eyes and ears next to King Xin will immediately tell Wei Zhongxian and his father-in-law Xue Lian the news. At that time, his father-in-law Xue Lian will not be interested in a young man like himself.
Behaviors, and even acts of righteousness and annihilation of relatives. Especially now that Emperor Tianqi is still alive.
In addition, his surrender will definitely not be accepted by King Xin. If King Xin comes to power and becomes the new emperor, then Wei Zhongxian and his father-in-law Xue Lian, who are the old emperor's close confidants, will definitely step aside. This is the emperor and his courtiers!
As Xue Lian's son-in-law, his fate of standing aside is also destined.
This is just like in modern times, when Wu Shigong was the boss, Wu Shigong would accept the subordinates of a rival gang boss who sought refuge with him, but he would never accept the boss's son or son-in-law seeking refuge with him, and he might even treat those who came to him.
Let's get rid of the weeds.
Secondly, if King Xin becomes the new emperor, what will be the fate of his father-in-law Xue Lian?
Wu Shigong already knew Wei Zhongxian's fate, and the fate of Xue Lian, Wei Zhongxian's die-hard father-in-law, was also conceivable.
The worst result would be death and annihilation of the whole family. But Wu Shigong thought about it carefully and felt that this possibility was unlikely. Because the Ming Dynasty was also a "law-based society". In the Ming Dynasty, ordinary people might be treated like pigs and dogs.
You can despise their right to exist. However, if there is no evidence of crime, you cannot arbitrarily convict nobles and ministers.
This is just like when Wei Zhongxian attacked the Donglin Party civil servants. Although Wei Zhongxian has already covered the sky with one hand in the court, he still needs to produce evidence of the crimes of these Donglin Party civil servants. In the end, even if he is making up, he must make it up.
.This is also the rule of the courts of all dynasties. In history, the only person who did not abide by such rules was Qin Hui's "unnecessary" execution of Yue Fei. Therefore, Qin Hui was cast aside for thousands of years.
As for Wei Zhongxian killing these Donglin Party civil servants through Dongchang and Chao Prison, that is an unspoken rule. But Wei Zhongxian cannot say openly in front of everyone: I am the one who killed these civil servants in Chao Prison.
dead.
Therefore, as long as his father-in-law Xue Lian did not rebel, he would never be annihilated. Wu Shigong also vaguely knew that although Wei Zhongxian died in the hands of the new emperor, he had not heard of any rebellion.
action. So, there is no need to worry about this.
As long as the outcome is not death and annihilation of the family, then Wu Shigong himself, his wife Xue Yufei, and son Xue Chenglin will save their lives. The worst-case scenario is to be sold into slavery like Li Xin. But even so, as a man, Wu Shigong is confident and has
ability to keep his wife and children safe. Needless to say, Mrs. Zhang has the British Duke Zhang family behind her, and the Gongshun Hou Wu family behind her. Even for the sake of the face of these noble families, they will keep their whole family safe.
of.
Moreover, the ending of his father-in-law Xue Lian may not be as bad as imagined. Xue Lian was just a nobleman in charge of the capital camp, and his position in the court of the Ming Dynasty, which was dominated by civil servants, was not particularly important. In addition, he
In this political storm, Wei Zhongxian's party did not expand the scope of its attack, and indeed saved several civil servants. Therefore, when the civil servants counterattack, the reaction force they suffered will be relatively small. In addition, Xue Lian
The achievements in this disaster relief, the background of Xue Lian's wife's family, and Xue Lian's reputation as an expert in military strategy were all the bargaining chips to save Xue Lian's life.
Of course, Xue Lian's title as Marquis of Yangwu may not be preserved in the end, but as long as he is well, being a commoner is not unacceptable.
Wu Shigong still didn't know that his father-in-law Xue Lian had been beaten to death for believing in the king. If he knew, he might feel more at ease.
Finally, if King Xin becomes the new emperor, what should Wu Shigong do?
The power in Wu Shigong's hands now is actually very small, and his role in the entire court is almost negligible. He has no say at all. The only bright spot may be that the Nancheng Military and Horse Command Department is an armed force in the capital. But this armed force
Power only works when his father-in-law Xue Lian rebels.
Not to mention whether his father-in-law Xue Lian will rebel, the more than a thousand people in the Nancheng Army and Horse Command Department are simply a drop in the ocean among the armed forces of the entire capital. Not to mention, although he seems to have complete control of the Army and Horse Department, he can
If he declares rebellion, these soldiers and horsemen may cut off his head to claim credit. Therefore, the idea of rebellion is absolutely undesirable.
Wu Shigong thought about it and thought that he should not do anything now. He would wait and see how the situation develops. Maybe he was worrying too much, and Emperor Tianqi's body might recover quickly.
In the end, Wu Shigong still felt that he should make some preparations for self-protection to prevent the worst case scenario from happening.
