Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

Qingning Palace, which had been burned to ruins by a fire.

Empress Dowager Zhou chose to temporarily live in the almost deserted Guanju Palace next door. Guansui Palace was originally the residence of several grand concubines, but those people died a few years ago.

Although she was not liked by Emperor Yingzong, she was the real winner in the harem.

Originally, she was just a concubine, and Emperor Yingzong's wife was Empress Qian. But later, as the biological mother of Emperor Xianzong, she was naturally canonized as the empress dowager in the Chenghua Dynasty because of her son's status.

Now Empress Dowager Qian has long passed away, including several concubines left by Emperor Yingzong, and she has not only become a grand empress dowager with a high status, but she is also about to celebrate her 70th birthday.

In Guanju Palace, a ray of bright sunlight shines through the exquisite window lattice and falls on a screen.

Empress Dowager Zhou is used to a pampered life. With a golden ring on her little finger, she holds the steaming Biluochun and tastes the tea very elegantly.

Biluochun has the effect of calming the mind, which is probably the secret of her longevity.

Although the scale and environment of Guansui Palace cannot be compared with Qingning Palace, she is the high and mighty Empress Dowager after all, and she is still surrounded by dozens of palace servants who take turns to serve her.

Empress Dowager Zhou felt the fragrance of the tea, but her face suddenly turned cold: "What's going on? Didn't I order Song Cheng to be brought to Guansui Palace earlier? Wu Shen went out and didn't see anyone, so why did He Shanggong also disappear?"

After learning that the emperor was going to send Song Cheng, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, to investigate the arson cases of Qianqing Gate and Qingning Palace, she also planned to give Song Cheng some eye drops, so she sent someone to intercept Song Cheng to her side first.

However, the confidant she sent out has not returned yet, and He Shanggong, who she relies on the most, has not been seen for a long time. Things are developing in a direction that is beyond her control.

"Reporting to the Empress Dowager, I don't know, should I send someone to look for him?" An old palace maid stepped forward cautiously, looking very nervous.

Empress Dowager Zhou held a teacup in her hand. Due to the experience of court struggles accumulated in the early years, an uneasy premonition surged in her heart.

Although she was the Empress Dowager, she was helpless.

Over the years, the emperor had never set foot in Qingning Palace, and her family was almost killed. In fact, she had become a real lonely person.

Since the prince was not allowed to enter the capital, even if her son, Prince Chong, wanted to meet him, it was impossible.

Emperor Hongzhi was no longer the Confucian man who hid in the closet after being frightened by her. Although she once wanted to put pressure on the emperor through public opinion, the effect was not satisfactory.

But I don’t know what kind of magic potion Zhu Youtang gave to the civil and military officials and the people of the world. Although he never came to Qingning Palace to greet him once, there was no voice from the outside world to accuse this emperor who didn’t understand filial piety.

Looking back at her life as the Empress Dowager, although there are not a few eunuchs and palace maids around her now, it is not the same as the peak.

Even though she was also in the palace, the news became increasingly blocked, at least she rarely heard the latest situation of the emperor.

Now the people she sent out intercepted Song Cheng. As the highest-ranking grand empress dowager, her words were final. It was just that the people she sent out lost contact, which made her realize that this harem was no longer her world.

It would be fine if the emperor came forward to stop it this time. After all, no matter how arrogant the emperor was, she, the grandmother, could easily suppress him.

What made her feel uneasy now was that the person who was playing against her this time might not be the high and mighty emperor, but Queen Dowager Wang or Queen Chang.

The former was the pawn she had abandoned back then. After all, she was chosen to enter the palace in order to jointly control the emperor, but her son ignored the new queen who was well-educated and well-mannered, but was obsessed with the Wan Guifei who was not under his control.

The latter was born in the Chang family, a founding hero. The queen's rise to the throne had nothing to do with her, and she was even a stumbling block to her rise to the throne.

Once Queen Mother Wang or Queen Chang were to play against her, her status as a grandmother would be greatly reduced, and the emperor who was watching the fight from the mountain might give her a sharp blow at any time.

Just at this moment, a burst of hurried footsteps broke the tranquility of the main hall, and a eunuch stumbled in with a bit of panic on his face.

Ah?

The several palace maids present were so surprised to see Wu Shen with a bruised face that they couldn't close their mouths.

This eunuch who was the most favored in Qingning Palace had just gone out for a trip, but ended up in such a mess.

Wu Shen had just opened his mouth, but found that two of his front teeth had fallen out, and he was speaking out of turn: "Grand Empress Dowager, I am incompetent and failed to bring Song Cheng here!"

"What's going on?" Grand Empress Dowager Zhou's face immediately darkened, and her voice suddenly rose a few degrees.

Wu Shen immediately told the whole story with exaggeration. He originally went to Donghua Gate to intercept Song Cheng, the Minister of Justice, but Eunuch Li, who had received the same imperial decree, took advantage of his large number of people and directly dragged him to the small dark room next to the palace gate and beat him up.

Although he had long realized that his status in the palace had declined, he had never expected that it would decline so seriously. He was beaten like this when he tried to intercept someone.

Fortunately, just now, he took advantage of the slackness of several guards and had the opportunity to run back.

With a "bang", the teacup in the hand of Empress Dowager Zhou suddenly broke on the floor, and tea and tea leaves splashed everywhere.

Her face turned livid in an instant, and her eyes flashed with anger and unwillingness: "You have to look at the owner when beating a dog! She doesn't know how to respect the elderly. Doesn't she want to be the empress dowager anymore?"

This...

As soon as these words came out, Wu Shen lowered his head silently.

Since ancient times, we have heard of the dethronement of the queen, but we have never heard of the dethronement of the empress dowager.

Besides, the decision-making power of this matter also belongs to the emperor, and the conflict between her and the grand empress dowager can only be regarded as the bad relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

"Damn it! Damn it!"

The voice of the grand empress dowager Zhou revealed a kind of almost crazy stubbornness, as if a giant dragon whose reverse scales were touched, and the whole person became ferocious.

At this time, the atmosphere in Guanju Palace suddenly became oppressive, and all the palace people were silent, fearing that they would accidentally anger the empress dowager who was in a rage.

The grand empress dowager Zhou glared at Wu Shen who was kneeling on the ground, and immediately ordered: "Go, call the emperor here immediately, I want to see what he says!"

But after the voice fell, Wu Shen did not move.

Before Empress Dowager Zhou could get angry, Wu Shen explained with a bitter face: "Your Highness, I am not allowed to enter the inner palace, let alone the West Garden!"

In fact, Empress Dowager Zhou lived a life of luxury, but she didn't know that the world in the harem had changed.

The status of the palace servants in Qingning Palace had already dropped sharply. If they were to stay in the eastern district of the outer court, it would be fine. Once they had a conflict with the Empress Dowager and the Queen, they would have trouble moving forward.

Now there are fewer and fewer people who are truly loyal to the Empress Dowager. On the contrary, the Empress Dowager and the Queen have been spying on Qingning Palace, and their every move has been mastered.

Wu Shen may still have some power in Qingning Palace, but when he went to other places, he was bullied everywhere, and his life became more and more miserable.

"Damn it, I should have killed him and his mother together!" Empress Dowager Zhou fell to the seat in a daze, her hands clenched tightly.

Originally thought, as long as she insisted on fasting and chanting Buddha every day, the gods would stand on her side, but now she realized that her situation was far worse than she imagined.

Beijing City, Jintaifang.

A group of Jinyiwei dressed in bright Feiyu suits and embroidered spring swords on their waists appeared on the street like wolves and tigers. The group walked hurriedly and looked serious.

"What happened?"

"The Northern Zhenfu has been dispatched. It seems that someone is going to be in trouble!"

"It's been a long time since I saw Jinyiwei doing business during the day. This matter is very serious!"

...

The people on both sides of the street saw this team and avoided them one after another, not daring to be negligent. But they knew that where Jinyiwei appeared, something important must have happened.

For a while, the originally lively streets became silent, and only the footsteps of Jinyiwei echoed in the air.

Just as the people around were speculating, this Jinyiwei team ran straight to the He family, which was a well-known family in Jintaifang.

"What are you doing? Do you know whose mansion this is?"

"Get out of here!"

The doorman still looked very arrogant in front of the Jinyiwei who came to the door, but the Jinyiwei Baihu in front of him didn't waste any words with him. He stepped forward and kicked the doorman to the ground.

He Yunfeng, the head of the He family, rushed over after hearing the news. Looking at the doorman who was kicked to the ground, his face suddenly became gloomy: "Under the feet of the emperor, even the Jinyiwei can't force their way into the mansion like this, right?"

"The Northern Pacification Division is ordered to do its job. Even if it is the royal palace, it will not be missed. What are you, the He family?" Jinyiwei Tongzhi Mou Bin said in a Qilin costume with sharp eyes like an eagle.

He Yunfeng's face became even gloomier, so he threatened with a smile: "Aren't you afraid that this matter will be reported to the Empress Dowager?"

Pa!

Mou Bin stepped forward and slapped him hard.

He Yunfeng's white and fat face was slapped particularly loudly, a bloody tooth flew out of his mouth, and the whole person fell to the ground after spinning around.

"Are you stupid or dumb? I am the emperor's personal soldier, and you are talking to me about the Empress Dowager. You really can't tell the difference between the big and small kings!" Mou Bin lectured him before he could speak, and then waved his hand: "Search!"

Since the demotion incident, the emperor has been his heaven, and the so-called Empress Dowager is nothing but a chicken and a dog.

The Jinyiwei seemed to be well-trained to control the He family, and then listed He Yunfeng's study and master bedroom as key search areas, and soon found a secret compartment.

"Sir He, how do you explain these letters?" Mou Bin asked with a smile after receiving the letters.

He Yunfeng took a deep breath and tried to stay calm: "Lord Mou, these are just some ordinary correspondence, what can they prove?"

"Ordinary letters? I want to see if you can still be so stubborn when you get to the Northern Pacification Office." Mou Bin put the letter away, then waved his hand and turned away.

Originally, he was not a person who liked to use torture, but as he handled more and more cases, even the most righteous gentleman actually did some shady things.

Now that the evidence is conclusive, he wants to see how long this person can hold on, whether he will be beaten to death or confess honestly.

Forbidden City, Kunning Palace.

Song Cheng, the Minister of Justice, knew that his wife was close to the queen, and now seeing his wife appear in front of the Kunning Gate, he knew that this was the result of the queen's deliberate arrangement.

However, he was handling the case this time by order, so it was naturally impossible for him to be partial to each other and corrupt, and he had no idea what the queen was up to.

"Sir Song, Madam Song, please follow me to see the Empress!" An elderly eunuch appeared here and spoke very gently.

Song Cheng followed Yun Niang into the magnificent Kunning Palace. In fact, this was his first time here, and he didn't dare to look around.

When Queen Chang saw Song Cheng and Yun Niang coming in to greet them, she smiled slightly: "Sir Song, your face is so dark and Yun Niang is so pretty. I didn't expect that you two would look like a couple when standing together!"

"Thank you Queen for your compliment!" Song Cheng was stunned for a moment, and then said seriously.

Yun Niang's relationship with Chang Yourong is deeper than the outside world guessed. She said with resentment: "Queen, if you knew that you summoned me to the palace with such bad intentions, I would find a reason to refuse no matter what you said!"

Cough!

When Song Cheng heard his wife's remarks, he coughed to remind her.

"Yun Niang, you misunderstood me! I really wanted to reminisce when I asked you to come in, but you two do look like a couple when standing together. How dare you say this to His Majesty!" Queen Chang and Yun Niang were like sisters, but she explained patiently.

The old maid standing next to her also chimed in, "Madam Song, I think you two look like a couple, it's not just something the Queen made up!"

"Thank you Queen for your praise!" Yun Niang felt sweet in her heart and thanked her.

Song Cheng did not forget his mission, so he took the initiative to say, "Queen, I am here to investigate the Qianqing Gate and Qingning Gate arson cases under the order of His Majesty. If you have nothing else to do, I beg you to come to the scene immediately to investigate!"

Yun Niang looked at her husband so anxious, and immediately reached out and tugged at Song Cheng's clothes.

Song Cheng was unmoved. Now he just wanted to get to the scene of the crime as soon as possible to investigate, instead of dragging the boring topic of whether he and his wife looked like a couple here.

Although he could see that his wife had a good relationship with the Queen, if the case involved the Queen, he would definitely report the matter to the Emperor truthfully.

"Yun Niang said you have no sense of humor, but now it seems that you are not wronged!" Empress Chang said lightly, and clapped her hands: "Since Lord Song is eager to solve the case, then bring the person in!"

As the applause sounded, a woman who had been tortured was brought in.

The head maid of the Shenjie Division was a capable middle-aged woman, who reported expressionlessly: "Empress, this woman has confessed that the fire at Qianqing Gate was planned by her."

Ah?

Song Cheng's mouth opened slightly. He had not yet arrived at the crime scene on his orders to investigate the case, but he did not expect that the arson case had been solved. (End of this chapter)