An ordinary night for ordinary people passed. However, a major change occurred in the Jingren Palace where Empress Dowager Zhang lived in the early morning. Empress Dowager Zhang's personal maids Hongyu and Xiuzhu fed to death two tiger skins that the Empress Dowager had raised for several years.
The parrot hanged himself in horror.
Moreover, in the pond in the back garden of Jingren Palace, the body of Xiao Dengzi, the eunuch who succeeded Zhang Zhong in serving the Queen Mother Zhang, was found. There was also a pot of drunk wine beside the pond. According to the people who salvaged it, it was drunk.
He slipped and fell into a pond and drowned.
Queen Mother Zhang originally fainted from shock after seeing two palace maids hang themselves. When she woke up and heard the news that Xiao Dengzi had drowned, she widened her eyes and fainted again.
Overnight, such a major change occurred in Jingren Palace. When the news came out, everyone who knew about it was stunned and at a loss.
Zhu Houzhao got the news early in the morning and came to visit his mother. In fact, Queen Mother Zhang was not seriously ill, but she was frightened. She was lying on the bed to rest and recuperate. When the emperor came to visit, he was about to get up to greet him, but Zhu Houzhao stopped her and told her
Rest peacefully and take good rest.
When Zhu Houzhao came out of Jingren Palace, he was in a bad mood. After all, someone had died. He walked silently to Qianqing Palace.
Zhang Yong, who was following him, said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, this servant feels very strange."
Zhu Houzhao frowned and said, "What?"
Zhang Yongdao: "The Queen Mother is waiting for mercy. How could it be possible that because of the death of two parrots, these two palace ladies were so frightened that they hanged themselves? And that little Dengzi, who was drunk and drowned for no reason. This is also very strange."
Zhu Houzhao frowned and said, "What do you want to say?"
Zhang Yongdao: "What I mean is that there is something strange in Jingren Palace. When Concubine Hui lived here, something strange happened. Concubine Hui stayed in bed for many years and died in Jingren Palace. Before she died, she served
Two palace maids and eunuchs also died, all of them inexplicably. Although I don’t believe this, I’m afraid the feng shui of Jingren Palace is indeed not very good. I suggest that the Queen Mother move to another palace.”
Zhu Houzhao thought for a while and said: "That's fine. In any case, people have died here and it is not suitable for living. How about Yanxi Palace? Although the place is smaller."
Zhang Yong nodded and said: "I think it's okay. With a little renovation, it will be a good place to live. The key is that it is close to Kunning Palace. People come and go, and it is lively. Even if there are some dirty things, I don't dare to approach it."
Zhu Houzhao frowned and said: "Where did the dirty things come from? Don't be suspicious. I don't really believe this. It's just that it might be better for the Queen Mother to live in another place."
Zhang Yong said hurriedly: "What the emperor said is absolutely true. That servant set about to do it."
Zhu Houzhao nodded and raised his feet to continue walking. Zhang Yong said again: "Your Majesty, I have another idea."
Zhu Houzhao said: "What's the matter? Tell me."
Zhang Yongdao: "I feel that the Queen Mother is too lenient with the people below, so these slaves are acting a bit outrageously. That little Dengzi drank secretly in the middle of the night, and the wine in the jug was found to be hidden in the inner treasury.
Qiu Lubai. The wine must have been stolen. And the two female officials, no matter why they committed suicide, just because their suicide notes admitted that they had fed two precious budgies to death,
It shows how careless they are in doing things on weekdays. These three are still in charge. Xiao Dengzi is the chief steward of Jingren Palace, and the two palace maids are in charge of all the palace maids. They are all so loose, and even steal the house in the middle of the night.
Drinking wine shows how undisciplined this group of people have always been. I feel that the people around the emperor need to be replaced. A group of people who are cautious in doing things will be replaced, and this group will all be sent down to work as handymen."
Zhu Houzhao frowned and nodded slowly: "That's right."
Zhang Yongdao: "Your Majesty, do you want to report this matter to the Queen Mother for final decision?"
Zhu Houzhao waved his hand and said: "No need. I make the decision for the Queen Mother."
Zhang Yong bowed and said: "I obey your orders. Your Majesty, I think that if there is such a trend in Jingren Palace, I am afraid that it will be the same in the entire palace. This time I will take advantage of this opportunity to straighten things out. Those who are unorganized will be stolen." Those who drink alcohol and have unclean hands and feet will be found out, and things in the inner palace should be sorted out."
Zhu Houzhao said: "That's fine."
Zhang Yong bowed and said: "Then I will put things in order so that nothing that will make the emperor unhappy will happen again. I will also put things in order in the palace. Now people from outside enter the palace too casually, and some even go in and out of the harem. This is not good. I want to make some new rules. This is all for the sake of the peace of the inner palace and the safety of the emperor."
Zhu Houzhao was a little tired of it. Hearing Zhang Yong's long-winded annoyance, he waved his hand and said: "You are the manager of the inner court. You can do whatever you want. Do you want to ask me about this kind of thing? What do I want you to do?"
Zhang Yong hurriedly bowed and said: "Yes, yes, this slave deserves to die. Your Majesty, calm down, I can just do these things. Your Majesty, please get up and drive."
…
Yang Tinghe heard the news from the palace at noon. He originally thought of going into the palace to visit the Queen Mother, but he thought that the Queen Mother's palace would be in a mess at this time, and it would be very inconvenient for many people to see. So he went there He waited until the end of the hour before leaving the cabinet room and entering the palace.
As he walked, he murmured in his mind, how could something like this happen? He knew those two female officers, and they were always there to look after him when he went in and out. They were very close people and extremely trusting female officers. How could it happen because of that? Two parrots hanged themselves?
I'm afraid there's something fishy here.
Yang Tinghe was not a fool. He had something in his heart, so he was naturally a little more wary. At this moment, he could not help but think about the matter between himself and the Queen Mother.
Thinking about it, he did deliberately sneak in to seduce the Queen Mother. It cannot be said to be seduction. Yang Tinghe had enough confidence to believe that he could make the Queen Mother throw herself into her arms.
Yang Tinghe is a man who is well-read in poetry and literature. It is not that he does not understand that doing this is a despicable act and a treasonable scandal. Once exposed, his reputation will be ruined. But on the one hand, he did so because of the situation and on the other hand, because his belief has long been Collapse, I no longer believe in everything taught in the books of sages.
When Liu Jin came to power, the entire outer court was forced to have no way out and was struggling to survive. His mentor Li Dongyang could only obey and endure many things. Yang Tinghe was angry. He wanted to fight and be a hero, but he had no choice.
At this time, he thought of the Queen Mother. Starting from the Queen Mother, he might find another way.
This thought once made him slap himself in shame, but in the end reality defeated reason. He did it anyway.
Because he saw clearly that in the Ming Dynasty, power was everything. If you wanted to avoid being swayed, you had to seize power at all costs. You had to use all available power and means, including some despicable things that went against the teachings of the sages.
Speaking of which, his mentor Li Dongyang was indispensable for his change of mentality.
After the failure to impeach the Eight Tigers, his mentor Li Dongyang took him to find Zhang Yanling, seeking to unite his relatives to fight against Liu Jin, keep the flames of the outer court, and send him to the cabinet.
Yang Tinghe witnessed and heard the bargaining between his mentor and Zhang Yanling. Using the important events of the court as a bargaining chip, his mentor and Zhang Yanling reached a private agreement. In exchange for purchasing fifty taels of first-aid powder per year, they reached a joint recommendation.
An agreement to join the cabinet and maintain the vote advantage.
Yang Tinghe felt disgusted, but his mentor's words shocked him greatly.
"Tinghe, I don't want to do this, but I have to do this. You have to know that we call ourselves gentlemen, but the opponents we face are not gentlemen. We must use upright means to fight them, and they use all
Despicable and cunning villain
How can we defeat them? I also want to use upright means, but it will definitely fail. I understand that if you want to see the light, you must first go through the darkness. Walk through the mire of darkness and walk to
Wherever the sun shines, there is a winner
.The darkness you have walked through is just a means to the light. So, Tinghe, you have to get used to the darkness, get used to being covered in dirt and blood, get used to being with the devil. You just need to hide the light in your heart,
Any means are available. The demons are in chaos
In the world of dance, if you don't become a devil, you will be torn to pieces by their sharp claws, and no residue will be left after being eaten by their wolf kisses. You have to become a person with sharper claws and more vicious methods than they do.
Defeat them. Tinghe, do you understand what I mean?"
Li Dongyang was very calm when he said this, which overturned Yang Tinghe's impression of his mentor and made him seriously think about how to establish himself and how to act in the court.
The conclusion is: if you want to gain light, enter darkness first. If you want to achieve great things, do whatever it takes.
Inspired by the words and deeds of his mentor, he took the first step towards becoming the Queen Mother.
Once you take the first step, there is no turning back.
He couldn't talk about love for the Queen Mother. The women around him were all gentle, pleasant, and well-educated. The Queen Mother was nothing more than a Queen Mother. Compared with them, apart from being older, the Queen Mother did not surpass them in any way.
However, that was the Queen Mother. Her son was the emperor. Besides, conquering the emperor's mother gave Yang Tinghe a vicious pleasure. Although he did not like the carefree temperament of Queen Mother Zhang, as long as he could coax her around, he would be happy for her.
Just listen to what you are told. All this is for the sake of being rewarded.
Yang Tinghe admitted his depravity, but he convinced himself that his depravity at this moment was a kind of self-sacrifice for the sake of the future.
Yang Tinghe walked from the path to the palace gate of the inner palace. From a distance, he saw several people standing at the palace gate.
There is usually someone on duty here, but he is the chief minister of the cabinet and will not be stopped. No one dares to stop him. But today, the familiar eunuchs and guards guarding the door have become strangers.
"Yang Shoufu stays," said a eunuch.
"Eunuch Xiao, don't you know me?" Yang Tinghe frowned.
"Of course I know you. Yang Shoufu, who doesn't know you? But if you want to enter the inner palace, you need to register here. Who you want to see, which palace you go to, and how long you want to stay must be registered. Please register Yang Shoufu in the registration book."
The father-in-law smiled.
"Registration? Why is there such a rule?"
"It has just been decided. It is an order issued by Eunuch Zhang of the Inner Court. The Emperor nodded. Strengthen the management of the Inner Palace. The palace is being purged. Please cooperate with me, the Chief Assistant."
Yang Tinghe frowned and thought for a while, he keenly felt something was wrong. He turned around and wanted to leave.
"Yang Shoufu, please stay." A voice sounded from the bushes nearby. Zhang Zhong, the eunuch and eunuch of the ceremony, and the governor of the East Factory, Zhang Zhong, walked out slowly.
"What? Is there something wrong with Eunuch Zhang?" Yang Tinghe frowned.
Zhang Zhong approached with a smile, reached out and took out a long box from his arms and handed it to Yang Tinghe, saying in a low voice: "Someone asked me to give this to Yang Shoufu. At the same time, tell Yang Shoufu something. God's evil deeds can still be forgiven.
, it is your own fault and you will not survive. Please cherish your status and reputation, Yang Shoufu, and cherish this great time."
Yang Tinghe was stunned for a moment, and his expression changed drastically. Zhang Zhong chuckled, turned around and left.
Yang Tinghe opened the box, and inside was a folding fan. There were signs of tearing on it, and there were four big characters written on it, "Togetherness and Empathy".
Cold sweat broke out on the back of Yang Tinghe's spine.