The ruthless emperor at the end of Ming Dynasty forced Chongzhen to abdicate at the beginning Chapter 108 I would rather die than be a shameless emperor
Chapter 108 I would rather die than be a shameless emperor
Chapter 108 I would rather die than be a shameless emperor (please subscribe)
"So, except for Jiangnan, the north is basically stable now?"
"Yes, Jiangnan has been reluctant to go public only because of rumors. Now that the overall situation has been decided, Xun'er only needs to send a person with enough reputation to go to Nanjing to clarify the rumors and pardon his crimes. It is estimated that things will soon settle down.
.”
In the huge palace, it was deserted and deserted. Chongzhen was lying on the couch. After listening to Zhang Yan's introduction to the current situation, the expression on his face was extremely complicated and contradictory.
Now only Zhang Yan can answer his questions.
Likewise, Zhang Yan is the only one who comes to accompany him from dawn to dusk every day and takes the trouble to talk to him.
Chongzhen was silent for a long time, and then asked without giving up: "Sister-in-law, is that boy short of money or food?"
"There should be no shortage of money for the time being, and there are still nearly ten million taels left. There is a shortage of food, but we can still hold on until the food from Jiangnan arrives."
After hearing this, Chongzhen lay down like a frustrated ball.
Then he sat up suddenly, grabbed Zhang Yan's hand, and asked excitedly: "Sister-in-law, I have been frugal, diligent, conscientious, and worked hard to govern for seventeen years. In the end, the world was in turmoil, the mountains and rivers were broken, bandits were rampant, and slaves were built wantonly.
Entering customs…
But as for the traitor, it only took half a year to bring peace to the world. Could it be that... am I really so incompetent and stupid?"
At the end of the sentence, his eyes were red, obviously unable to accept this fact. His crazy look frightened Zhang Yan, and she hurriedly comforted her.
"Fifth brother, please calm down. It's not that you are incompetent or that you don't work hard, but... it's because of Xun'er, he is so, so powerful.
You should be happy that Ming Dynasty has such a monarch and such a son!"
"Hmph! I admit that I am not as good as him as an emperor, but I will never imitate his shameless deeds."
Chongzhen's face turned red from suppressing it, and his face twitched for a while. Finally, he snorted coldly, lay down again, and turned his head away, not looking at Zhang Yan.
Apparently she was a little dissatisfied with Zhang Yan's praise of her son.
"Fifth brother, it's getting late. The emperor's sister-in-law is going back. Please rest in peace and recuperate. Don't think too much. The emperor's sister-in-law will come to see you tomorrow."
Seeing his appearance, Zhang Yan lamented and was about to stand up to leave, but Chongzhen turned around again and grabbed her hand.
"Sister-in-law, please talk to me."
"But...but the palace gate is about to close. If you don't go back, sister Wan'er will misunderstand you. How about the emperor's sister-in-law come to see you early tomorrow?"
"Alas! Now that I have truly become a loner, I am afraid that the only one in the world who really cares about me is the emperor's sister-in-law, who cares about my life and death."
Chongzhen let go of his hand, his expression particularly desolate.
"Fifth brother, don't talk nonsense. Sister Wan'er has a deep affection for you, and they also respect and care about you as their father. Even Xinger doesn't say it on his lips, but he definitely cares about you in his heart.
, why are you all alone?"
Zhang Yan's heart softened and she sat back again.
"Hmph! Forget about the two of them, all she sees now is her precious son, does she still remember my life and death in her heart?
When that traitor was able to enter Kunning Palace directly, she must have had something to do with it.
As for that traitor, I'm afraid he wishes I would die soon.
Nao'er and the others must also look down on my incompetent father!"
Chongzhen suddenly became angry.
Obviously, he also figured out that there must be an insider in Kunning Palace, and it was most likely Empress Zhou.
Then he looked at Zhang Yan and asked nervously: "Sister-in-law, do you also look down on me in your heart?"
"That's enough, fifth brother!"
"You have gone too far. If you are thinking and talking nonsense like this, the emperor's wife will not come to see you anymore."
Seeing that he was out of touch, Zhang Yan angrily flicked her sleeves, stood up and prepared to leave, not wanting to talk to him anymore.
This time Chongzhen did not try to persuade him to stay.
Instead, he looked up with absent-minded eyes and murmured to himself: "Even the emperor's sister-in-law is leaving me..."
"Fifth brother, the emperor's sister-in-law is begging you, please rest in peace and recuperate, and stop blaming yourself and thinking about it, okay..."
When Zhang Yan heard what he said, she turned around and looked at his haggard and pale face. Her heart was as sharp as a knife, and she knelt down by the couch and begged. At the end of the sentence, she burst into tears.
"I have known my fate for a long time, but it's a pity that I woke up too late. Over the years, I have only been busy with government affairs but failed to take good care of the emperor's sister-in-law, leaving the emperor's wife to live alone in the palace, and suffered a lot of grievances..."
"Fifth brother, there is a problem in the state affairs now. As long as you are willing to let go of your worries and recuperate with peace of mind, you will definitely get better. The emperor's sister-in-law has not worried about food and clothing over the years. You are the one who has not been wronged..."
Zhang Yan touched his gray hair on the temples, feeling even more sad in her heart.
"I have grown old, but the emperor's sister-in-law remains the same as before."
"How can the fifth brother grow old when he is in his prime? On the contrary, the emperor's sister-in-law looks old and her youth is gone..."
The two of them had such a constant recollection of self-blame and constant comfort, and the sky turned dark unconsciously.
It wasn't until a loud singing came from outside the door that they woke up.
"Your Majesty is here!"
Zhang Yan stood up in shock. When she saw that the sky outside had turned completely dark, her pretty face turned pale.
Chongzhen was also a little flustered.
When Zhu Cixiang walked in, although Zhang Yan calmed down a lot, she was still in a hurry. She stood aside and didn't know where to put her hands.
Chongzhen, on the other hand, forced himself to sit up and said angrily: "Treason, what are you doing?"
"The child is naturally here to visit the emperor, and he is also visiting the emperor's mother-in-law."
Seeing that his tone was not kind, Zhu Cixiang's voice became colder.
Sure enough, when she heard that Xinger was here to find her, Zhang Yan trembled all over, her face turned as pale as paper, and she was so ashamed that she wished she could commit suicide immediately.
It is inappropriate for a man and a woman to be alone in a room like this. They stayed there until dark and forgot to return to the palace. Even if they were innocent, they would not be able to wash themselves away even if they jumped into the Yellow River.
"I don't need you to visit me."
Chongzhen also lacked confidence.
Obviously both of them are very thin-skinned people.
"Father, to this day, haven't you realized your fault?"
Zhu Cixiang ignored Zhang Yan and took a step forward to stare at Chongzhen.
"What qualifications do you have to accuse me?"
"I am incompetent, but I would rather die than be as shameless as you. You canonize a widow as a noble concubine, use a woman to lead the army, and bring shame to the Zhu family of my royal family."
Although Chongzhen realized his mistake in his heart, he still felt ashamed to admit it in front of his son, especially at this time, so he took advantage of Zhu Cixiang's flaws and taught him a lesson.
"In this case, we father and son have nothing to talk about. I will leave my son and go to pamper my widowed concubine. Father, please rest in peace and recuperate!"
"Auntie, let's go!" She said and turned to leave.
Zhang Yan hurriedly lowered her head and followed her like a little daughter-in-law who had made a mistake.
"stop!"
"Sir, where are you taking your mother-in-law?"
Chongzhen shouted, obviously worried that he would put Zhang Yan under house arrest.
"Of course I'm going back to Cining Palace. Why does my father have any objections?"
"Perhaps the father wants to keep my aunt and imitate his children? Do something that will disgrace the old Zhu family?"
Zhu Cixiang turned around and stared at him with burning eyes.
Zhang Yan also paused and turned back to look straight at Chongzhen.
"You... don't talk nonsense, I am a traitor. I and your imperial concubine are innocent. How could I act so shamelessly like you?" Chongzhen's face turned red.
"Really?"
Zhu Cixiang waited for a long time, but when he saw that he still dared not say anything, he lost his patience, turned around, and strode away.
Zhang Yan also looked disappointed and turned around to follow.
When he arrived at the pavilion by the lake, Zhu Cixi stopped and waved his hand, and the surrounding palace maids and guards retreated one after another.
"Auntie, you've also seen it. It's not that the child wants to beat the mandarin ducks, but that the father has no responsibility. He clearly thinks in his heart, but he doesn't dare to say it or do it. Does he still want Auntie to take the initiative to say it?
"
Zhu Cixi put his hands behind his back and looked at the lake and said.
He had been eavesdropping outside for a while just now. Zhang Yan's submissive demeanor and tone were not what an imperial wife should have at all.
But Chongzhen acted like a fool. He didn't know whether he was really stupid or just pretending to be stupid. He just felt guilty and wanted others to accompany him every day.
As a bystander, he was so anxious that he wanted to rush in and beat him up, so he wanted to force Chongzhen to do it.
Pierce the window paper, as long as Chongzhen dares to speak, he will not take Zhang Yan away, and will even block the news and let the two of them spend the rest of their lives on the peninsula.
"Hong'er, it's none of your father's business. It was my mother-in-law who took the initiative to stay with your father. Your father has been a bit stubborn since he was a child, with a cowardly yet strong personality...
But no matter how he is not, he is still your father. Auntie hopes that you can tolerate him more in the future..."
Zhang Yan looked at the lake absentmindedly and was silent for a long time before speaking softly. She did not explain or deny it, but took all the responsibility. After speaking, she made a splash and jumped directly into the lake.
"aunt…"
Zhu Cixiang was startled. He obviously didn't expect that she would jump into the lake and commit suicide, so he jumped in immediately.
The female soldiers also heard the noise here and rushed over quickly.
Fortunately, Zhu Cixiang had good water skills in his previous life, and the female soldier arrived in time, and he was able to rescue Zhang Yan.
However, when he fished out the same big living person wearing cumbersome clothes from the water, he also laid Zhu Cixiang down on the ground exhausted and panting.
"Uncle...aunt, you...you misunderstood. The child is not here to catch...you. Besides, it is not a big deal to delay the return to the palace. I just call the door. The child really has something important to discuss with you..."
Zhu Cixiang looked at Zhang Yan lying on the ground, closing her eyes tightly and motionless, pretending to be dead, and had to quickly explain to her what happened in Jiangnan.
I also felt scared for a while.
These are all really shameless masters!
Sure enough, after Zhu Cixiang finished speaking, Zhang Yan slowly opened her eyes and realized that she had misunderstood him. A trace of embarrassment appeared on her pale face.
"Auntie, what do you think?"
"Xun... If Xun'er can trust my aunt and can do her best for the Ming Dynasty, it will be her duty to do so... ahem."
Zhang Yan spoke slowly and coughed at the end. Apparently she had choked on some water just now.
"Auntie, it's cold at night. Let's go back to the palace first and talk in detail. Just forget about what happened just now. Father, he doesn't deserve what you do!"
Zhu Cixiang quickly lifted her up and patted her back until she could breathe again, then asked the female soldiers to wrap her in a cloak and carry her to a soft sedan.