Chapter 127: Hold On, No Need to Rush to the Harem!

While Zhu Youjian was momentarily distracted, he suddenly realized something.

"Hmm? Where did my 'living father' go?"

Emperor Chenghua, Zhu Jianshen, looked around in confusion and reported truthfully, "Great Ancestor, it seems someone is missing."

"Who!" Zhu Yuanzhang asked instinctively. He glanced around the group, frowned, and asked, "Zhanji, where is your eldest son?"

"He went to the inner palace," Emperor Xuande, Zhu Zhanji, replied honestly.

"The inner palace?" Zhu Jianshen was taken aback, unable to process this for a moment. "What is he doing in the inner palace?"

*He’s going to 'take care' of your mother, obviously.* What else would he be doing?

Zhu Zhanji pondered for a moment before saying, "It has been so long; perhaps he went to catch up with the Lady Zhou."

*My Imperial Father had such deep feelings for my mother?* Zhu Jianshen thought, his expression turning strange. *I always heard he was very close with Empress Qian.*

"Great-grandson, what is he doing in the inner palace?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked with a frown of disapproval. Regardless of the circumstances, this was the inner palace of the Chenghua era. To barge in without permission was utterly improper and lacked all decorum. If this kid weren't such a reckless character, he would have already had his great-grandson call down lightning to strike the brat.

"What is he doing?" Zhu Youjian snapped back to reality, blinked, and said hesitantly, "It seems... it seems he finished off Empress Dowager Zhou?"

???

What was that supposed to mean!

"Great-grandson, let's head over there," Zhu Yuanzhang said, patting his backside as he stood up. Zhu Qiyu immediately assumed the role of a lead eunuch, respectfully guiding the Great Ancestor toward the inner palace. After all, everyone present, save for Zhu Yuanzhang, was intimately familiar with the Forbidden City.

Following behind, an incredulous Zhu Jianshen intercepted Zhu Youjian. "He... he actually did that to my mother?" Although there was little affection between mother and son, she was still his birth mother. In an age that placed such a high value on filial piety, having one's birth mother beaten to death by one's own father was a grave matter.

"Seems so. At the very least, Empress Dowager Zhou isn't moving anymore," Zhu Youjian said with a nod, sounding uncertain.

"How could he do such a thing!" Furious, Emperor Chenghua quickened his pace, though he dared not walk ahead of the Great Ancestor.

*Look at him, getting all worked up again!*

"I know this is urgent, but don't panic yet. Let me have a word with you," Zhu Youjian said, draping an arm over his shoulder.

"What is there to talk about now!" Zhu Jianshen looked as if he were on the verge of tears.

"Let's talk about how you died," Zhu Youjian said. Seeing that had no effect, he added, "And how Noble Consort Wan died!"

Hmm?

Zhu Jianshen instinctively slowed his pace, blinked, and said, "Now that I think about it... perhaps it isn't quite as urgent as I thought..."

In the twenty-first year of the Chenghua era, Emperor Xianzong had attempted to depose the Crown Prince, Zhu Youtang, who had held the position for ten years, but was blocked by the Grand Secretariat. During this period, Xianzong used favored officials to control the Secretariat, eunuchs to control the military, and relied on his in-laws to control the capital and the inner palace.

His trust in Noble Consort Wan had reached an unfathomable level; her brothers, Wan Xi and Wan Da, were appointed to the high rank of Commander-in-Chief. Even the two-year-old son of her deceased brother, Wan Tong—named Wan Congshan—was elevated to the rank of Second-Rank Commander-in-Chief, a level equivalent to the heads of the Six Ministries. A two-year-old of such high rank was unprecedented anywhere in the world.

With both the court and the palace under his thumb, Xianzong sought to replace the Crown Prince. Having been raised by the Empress Dowager and the Empress, Zhu Youtang had been kept away from Xianzong, who felt no affection for the boy. Thus, he and Noble Consort Wan scouted a new candidate: Zhu Youyuan, the son of Consort Shao. At the time, neither the Empress nor Noble Consort Wan had sons, so they each adopted children to vie for the title.

In the twenty-first year of Chenghua, Zhu Youtang turned sixteen. By Ming tradition, a crown prince should be married upon reaching adulthood. But once married, the world would know his position was solidified, making it difficult for Xianzong to depose him. Thus, Xianzong delayed finding a consort for him. Instead, he conspired with Noble Consort Wan and Liang Fang, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Horse Bureau, to depose him. With Xianzong’s power, this should have been easy.

But the timing was unfortunate. A series of earthquakes hit Mount Tai in Shandong. As Mount Tai was a symbol of the nation, the earthquakes were considered an ill omen. The Grand Secretariat used this to their advantage, linking the Crown Prince to the mountain: if the Emperor deposed the foundation of the state, would Mount Tai not tremble?

That was how the Secretariat operated. If something benefited them, the mountain would tremble; if they supported Zhu Youyuan, they would likely dismiss it as "pure superstition" or suppress the news entirely.

Even in modern times, such occurrences would cause people to murmur. Xianzong had no choice but to temporarily abandon his plan. The scholars of the Secretariat were full of devious ideas. They claimed that since Mount Tai was called "Eastern Dai," the Crown Prince the "Eastern Palace," and the Imperial Palace the "Eastern Court," they were all linked. If the Emperor held a joyous event in the palace, perhaps the mountain would stop trembling.

The Secretariat suggested this in the first half of the year, but Xianzong’s birthday was at the end of the year. He couldn't move his birthday forward by six months; that would be too shameless. He dragged it out until summer, eventually issuing a decree to select a consort for the Crown Prince. Yet, he still delayed. When the Secretariat pressed him, Xianzong smiled and said, "I said I would select a consort for the Crown Prince, but note this: I never said *when* I would actually choose one."

The Secretariat was speechless.

Xianzong agreed to the selection in the summer of the twenty-first year of Chenghua, but the consort was not finally chosen until the twenty-third year. He had stalled for two full years. During those two years, he never gave up on his desire to depose Zhu Youtang.

In the twenty-third year, Xianzong finally gave up. The chosen consort was the daughter of Zhang Luan, a student at the Imperial Academy—a candidate carefully selected by the Grand Secretariat. With the consort chosen, Zhu Youtang’s position was secure. According to Ming customs, once the Crown Prince is confirmed, the Emperor is essentially ready to step down.

In the first month when the consort was chosen, Xianzong went to the southern suburbs to perform rituals. He was away for one day. When he returned the next day, he was informed that Noble Consort Wan had passed away! She had died suddenly, for unknown reasons. Xianzong had only been gone for a day; she had been in good health and had even told him to take care of himself while she managed the inner palace.

It turned out the Secretariat’s target wasn't Xianzong—they had outmaneuvered him at home!

Seven months after her sudden death, in the eighth month of the twenty-third year of Chenghua, with no one left to hold the palace, Xianzong was isolated and helpless. He fell ill, and after eight months of suffering, he was nearly recovered. But on the very day he was set to fully recover, the "miracle doctor" Liu Wentai administered a bowl of medicine that successfully sent the Emperor to his grave. This event is explicitly recorded in the *Veritable Records of the Ming*, a brazen case of regicide without the slightest controversy.

"Wait, there's no rush to the inner palace! My Imperial Father has suffered so many grievances over the years..." Zhu Jianshen suddenly stopped, his expression turning solemn. He flashed a pure, innocent smile and said, "Great Ancestor, let's go to the Western Depot prison first to watch Liu Wentai being executed. Let the Imperial Father and Mother catch up; they haven't seen each other in so long."

In the inner palace, who else could have killed Noble Consort Wan?

Lady Zhou!

*Enjoy the love and affection your Imperial Father has brought you!*