Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

Kunning Palace, main hall.

The sunlight coming in through the window lattice shrunk to a small piece, and there was something strange in the air. The middle-aged official wearing a crimson official uniform had a shocked expression on his face.

Before entering the palace, he had thought about the deep water in the palace, and he also knew that it would not be easy to investigate the fire case this time. But he never expected that the case would have been solved by the queen before he arrived at the scene of the crime.

If the official was cheating and cheating, he would have followed the script given by the Queen, but he, Song Cheng, could not be a puppet.

But he was vaguely aware that this was not a frame-up, but that the empress with a virtuous reputation in front of him was not simple. At least she could indeed control everything in the harem.

After the maid in charge of the Shenjie Division finished her report, she scolded the kneeling woman: "He Shanggong, the emperor is a great lord of a generation, and the queen treats you very well. You don't even want to thank God for your kindness, but you behave like this." Burning the Qing palace is really not as good as a pig or a dog!"

He Shanggong is a female official in her late fifties who has no reaction when faced with accusations.

For so many years, she has been following the Empress Dowager Zhou. Since the Empress Dowager Zhou took power in the harem, she has become a spokesperson for the Empress Dowager Zhou, especially in the Chenghua Dynasty.

She was just an emperor and a courtier. Although Emperor Hongzhi never directly suppressed her, her personal honor and disgrace were actually tied to the Empress Dowager Zhou.

As Empress Dowager Zhou lost power, she, the female official who often accompanied Empress Dowager Zhou, also lost power. Only she herself knew the psychological gap.

Although she was tortured in the Shenjie Department and confessed her crime, she still had no regrets at this moment, especially since she had never been loyal and trustworthy to the emperor and empress.

Queen Chang glanced at the scarred He Shang Palace indifferently, then looked at Song Cheng through the bead curtain and explained: "Sir Song, there are so many female relatives in this palace, it is really inconvenient for you to walk in the palace! I have been in charge of the harem for many years. , we can roughly know where the problem lies. Now that He Shangshu has been recruited, are you satisfied?"

The implication of these words is already obvious. This is to let Song Cheng close the case and identify the He Shanggong in front of him as the culprit of the arson case.

Yun Niang knew that the water in the palace was very deep. Seeing that Empress Chang rarely took the initiative to speak, she also hoped through her eyes that Song Cheng would stand by the empress and end the case immediately.

Song Cheng had his own principles for being an official, but he looked at He Shangshu seriously and said seriously: "Is it really you who planned this burning of Qianqing Palace?"

this……

As soon as these words came out, the maids present silently exchanged glances, but they knew that things were about to change.

Yun Niang couldn't help but feel nervous, and immediately looked at the queen inside worriedly.

Queen Chang reached out to pick up the tea cup next to her. She looked very calm and elegant, as if nothing had happened.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the hall seemed very depressed, and most people's eyes fell on He Shanggong, the protagonist of the arson incident.

"Is it still useful if I say it has nothing to do with me now?" Seeing the opportunity to retract the confession, He Shanggong immediately looked at the famous Song Qingtian with a half-smile.

The girl in charge of Shenjie Division was afraid that the other party would retract her confession, so she immediately explained the facts and said: "Not to mention that you have already signed a confession! If it is handed over to Dongchang or Beizhen Fusi, their methods will only become more ruthless. Do you think you can still Can’t you quibble?”

He Shanggong, who had just gained hope, could not help but frown, and had to consider such a bad situation.

If Empress Dowager Zhou was still in power, she would certainly have no scruples. But now that the Empress Dowager has lost power, and now that the Emperor is hiding and the Queen is hiding, who can stand up and protect her?

"He Shanggong, why did you burn down Qianqing Palace this time?" Song Cheng quickly caught the subtle changes in He Shanggong's expression and immediately asked seriously.

He Shangguan knew that sophistry would only lead to more severe torture, so he immediately uttered four words expressionlessly: "No comment!"

The maids present could not help but breath a sigh of relief when they saw that she did not retract her confession, but they also couldn't help but think that the matter might involve someone from Qingning Palace.

cough! cough!

Queen Chang was drinking tea and coughed twice.

In fact, it's not that she doesn't want to get to the bottom of it, but if she really digs out the person in Qingning Palace, not to mention that she can't make the decision at all, even the emperor will be very embarrassed.

Yun Niang did not have such a deep political consciousness, she just thought that Queen Chang was not feeling well.

Song Cheng had his own judgment and immediately said tentatively: "If I am not wrong, you are not planning to burn down the Qianqing Palace to assassinate the emperor this time, and you also know that you cannot burn down the Qianqing Palace. Your real purpose is to bring health to the harem." Is it chaotic?”

Although I only took a look at it from a distance this morning, a fire of this magnitude could not threaten Qianqing Palace at all.

Not to mention that the harem is now controlled by the queen, and there are dozens of palace residents living in the Qianqing Palace, it is impossible for the fire set at the door to spread.

This can be seen from the fire damage to the Qianqing Gate. Neither of the pillars were burned. Many places were just smokey and looked terrible, but the damage to this gate was not serious.

It can be seen that this fire is not like burning the emperor, but more like burning down the harem where the whole family is harmonious.

"What's the benefit to me if there is chaos in the harem?" He Shanggong is an old man in the palace after all, but he said without revealing any flaws.

Song Cheng looked at He Shanggong's reaction and strengthened his judgment: "The queen is now virtuous, and the eldest son of the emperor has the appearance of your majesty. If there is no chaos in the harem, Empress Dowager Zhou will always be trapped in Qingning Palace, and you It’s hard to regain authority!”

Regardless of whether it is Taizu or Taizong, they actually implement the hereditary principle of establishing the eldest son and the young, and the eldest son of the emperor is almost certain to be the next generation emperor.

Now the emperor and the empress are very affectionate, and although the prince Zhu Houye is not as evil as Zhu Youtang, he is still a decent prince, so no concubine dares to have unrealistic illusions about the throne.

If this development continues, the entire harem will be dominated by the empress, concubines and nine concubines, and the empress dowager who is close to the emperor will also get the status she deserves. Only empress dowager Zhou's position will become more and more marginal, and the palace people who follow her will Naturally, life will get worse and worse.

That's why the people who most want chaos in the harem now are not the Queen Mother and her concubines, but the Queen Mother, who is increasingly losing power, and the female officials and eunuchs of the Qingning Palace. This can be regarded as their real motive for setting fire to the Qing Dynasty.

"This is all your guess!" He Shanggong closed his eyes slightly and said without any emotion.

Song Cheng has been pursuing the justice of heaven and earth for these years, and his eyes have become more and more sophisticated: "In that case, let me make another guess! This fire started first in Qianqing Sect, and then in Qingning Palace's turn, but is that so? "

"Who told you this?" He Shanggong opened his eyes, obviously a little panicked at this moment.

Huh?

Yun Niang has been listening beside her, her eyes filled with confusion at this moment.

But she was not curious about how her husband knew about it. After all, there must be a place in Qianqing Gate and Qingning Palace that was burned first, but what is the necessary connection between the two?

Empress Chang understood the mystery and said calmly: "Master Song was intercepted by the Queen Mother and this palace. Others have not yet arrived at Qianqing Gate and Qingning Palace. Naturally, he deduced it!"

"I should have thought that the emperor would arrange for you to investigate. Song Qingtian's name is indeed well-deserved!" He Shanggong wiped the wound at the corner of his eye and said very bitterly.

Although she knew that the Ming Dynasty was full of talents, and Song Qingtian was known as the Ming Dynasty's No. 1 Divine Judgment, she always thought that her plan was flawless.

It's just that the development of the matter shocked her. Not to mention that her crime could escape Song Cheng's vicious eyes, even Xiao Jiujiu in her heart had already been clearly seen.

Looking at the other party's reaction, Song Cheng further confirmed his inner conclusion: "Are you admitting it?"

"She was the one who planned the matter, how could she not do it?" the maid in charge of the Shenjie Division standing nearby said sarcastically.

With sufficient internal funds and their monthly income continuing to rise, their lives have never been better. Although you cannot contact anyone outside the palace casually, there is a complete system for going out.

Now it's not just the queen and concubines who don't want to cause chaos, but the maids also want to live a stable life, where they don't have to worry about food and clothing every day, and they can also receive considerable monthly money at the end of each month.

Dare to burn down the Qianqing Palace now, not only is it an act of regicide that they cannot tolerate, but it has also seriously violated their interests.

"After the fire burned down the Qing dynasty, I was worried that the emperor would be suspicious of Qingning Palace, so I decided to set a fire in Qingning Palace to divert the emperor's attention." He Shanggong knew that the matter had already happened. There was no way to quibble, his face was full of bitterness.

As He Shanggong faced Song Cheng's confession, everyone's hearts dropped.

Seeing that the other party had confessed in disguise, Song Cheng gently shook his head and said: "Actually, if you do this, you will attract more attention! If what I expected is true, it will be your self-burning of Qingning Palace. On the contrary, Aroused the Queen's suspicion!"

"That's right! If the Qingning Palace had not been burned down, I would have relied on Mr. Song to investigate, but the fire in the Qingning Palace made me know that the Qingning Palace was closely related to this arson case!" The Queen took a sip of tea. , also nodded in acknowledgement.

"It seems that I made a mistake indeed! I thought I could burn down Qingning Palace to clear away the suspicion of Qingning Palace, but unexpectedly my cleverness was mistaken." He Shanggong's eyes filled with regret. typical.

Her plan did not originally involve burning down the Qingning Palace, but during the actual execution, she learned that the goddaughter she sent had actually burned down the Qianqing Palace. In a panic, she decided to burn down the Qingning Palace herself. Stupid decision.

In fact, there are two accidents here. One is that her self-burning behavior not only failed to clear Qingning Palace, but aroused the queen's suspicion; the other was that she overestimated the fire-extinguishing ability of Qingning Palace, thus making the entire Qingning Palace All in ruins.

It was these two accidents that led to her defeat.

Song Cheng's eyes were very sharp, as if he could see through people's hearts: "Is it your decision to burn down the Qingning Palace gate, or is it the order of the Empress Dowager?"

As soon as these words came out, the entire Kunning Palace instantly became quiet, and it seemed like a pin drop could be heard.

The so-called truth about the arson may be important to Song Cheng, who pursues justice, but everyone knows that the Empress Dowager has a detached status, which actually poses a problem for the emperor.

Queen Chang was about to put down the tea cup, but she was also shocked at this moment.

Originally, she had no old grudges with Empress Dowager Zhou, and there was no substantial conflict of interest. It was just that the Empress Dowager Zhou wanted to oust the emperor, and even hoped to support Prince Xing, so she was also hostile to this old woman.

Although it is difficult to really endanger the emperor by setting fire to the Qing Dynasty this time, it has already touched her reverse scale.

If she were not the emperor, how could she aspire to the throne of queen with her humble status as a descendant of a declining family. If she were not the emperor, how could she be as valuable as her son? If she were not the emperor, how could she enjoy the happiness of a woman...

It's just that the emperor arranged for Song Cheng to investigate the arson case, but Song Cheng dared to point the finger directly at the Empress Dowager, which would make things develop in an uncontrollable direction.

"All this was done by the lower officials! The Empress Dowager didn't know anything about it, and it had nothing to do with the Empress Dowager!" He Shanggong closed his eyes slightly and said as if he was dead.

When the surrounding palace people heard He Shanggong's answer, they felt slightly disappointed and secretly relieved.

Song Cheng didn't have so many complicated emotions, and what he always wanted to pursue in his heart was the truth.

Although the arsonist He Shanggong has been identified, the case involving the mastermind behind the scenes is the most difficult to investigate. After all, the two people usually gave verbal orders, not to mention He Shanggong's refusal to testify against the Queen Mother. Even if He Shanggong testified against the Queen Mother in person, it would be empty talk.

Although he is very good at reading people, this cannot be used as evidence, and now it is impossible to tell whether it is true or false from He Shanggong's face.

Although there is a high possibility that the Empress Dowager Zhou was the mastermind behind the incident, it cannot be ruled out that He Shanggong acted alone. After all, He Shanggong's honor is indeed tied to the Empress Dowager.

That's why the current case is at a deadlock, and he is not a person who likes to use severe punishment.

"Master Song, the Empress Dowager is the royal grandmother of this palace and your Majesty. This time, your Majesty only asked you to be responsible for investigating the fire case. Please be careful what you say!" Empress Chang put down the tea cup and warned her very solemnly.

Although Yun Niang also guessed that the person behind the scenes was the Empress Dowager, guessing in her heart was one thing, and asking directly was another. At this moment, she also understood why the queen called her into the palace, so she tugged hard on her husband's official uniform.

Song Cheng felt the power of the emperor and explained: "To express my gratitude to the Queen, I have no other intentions! Since Your Majesty asked me to investigate this case thoroughly, I should trace the source and give Your Majesty a complete truth!"

"Sir Song, the truth is of course very important, but look at what you asked just now. Do you want His Majesty to be accused of being unfilial?" Queen Chang always defended Zhu Youtang in her heart and immediately pointed out the harm involved. (End of chapter)