Zhengming Gate was a side gate of the Royal Palace. Unlike its name, it was not very bright. It was dark, quiet, and somewhat frightening.
The young Emperor looked at the dark and long passageway in front of him and thought of the words the palace servant had passed on earlier. His face paled slightly.
Given his temperament, he wanted nothing more than to turn and leave at this moment and return to Hejian Manor to be his own heir. But five years ago, his mother had told him that if he went to Jingdou, nothing else mattered except for two things — to be filial to the empress and not to offend Elder He.
He didn't understand what was so frightening about that eunuch and why the entire state of Zhao was as silent as a cicada in front of him. He also didn't understand why he had to be subservient to a eunuch if he became Emperor. It didn't matter if he didn't understand. His mother used an extreme method to make him remember this matter and never forget it.
Not long after she said those words five years ago, his mother died of illness.
Everyone knew that it was because she had to die.
A country could not have two masters, and an Emperor could not have two mothers.
Thinking of these things, the youth's face paled even more. He took a deep breath and walked through the palace gate.
Seeing this scene, the officials finally relaxed.
The history books recorded that during the process of the new Emperor's ascension, Eunuch He Zhan only said one thing. Of course, this was not true.
But no one else could hear what he said other than the young Emperor.
The light in the side hall of the Wenhua Palace was dim. He Zhan's face was hidden in the shadows. The young Emperor became even more nervous and unconsciously looked outside the hall.
The old people from Hejian Manor who had followed him into the Palace were waiting outside. They had not been driven away or replaced.
This fact did not comfort him at all. It only showed that the people in the Palace had absolute confidence in controlling him.
He Zhan said, "Back then, Your Majesty should have entered the Palace as the Crown Prince to learn government affairs, but you were stopped. The rumors said it was me, but it was not me."
Hearing these words, the little Emperor had the misconception that Eunuch He was afraid and wanted to express his loyalty to him. His expression became a bit strange.
Fortunately, Elder He's next words came very quickly, avoiding a misunderstanding. The new Emperor only treated it as a one-day farce.
"I'm not afraid, nor am I trying to explain. I just want to tell Your Majesty that I know you were the one who didn't want to enter the palace five years ago."
He Zhan said, "But in the end, it has come to this. I can't not think about it, so I'll just live in the Palace."
His tone was very calm and unhurried, but the words and attitude in his words made the little Emperor feel extreme anger and then extreme fear.
Anger stemmed from helplessness. Naturally, fear grew in one's heart. The little Emperor's lips trembled. He wanted to say a few words, but in the end, nothing came out.
"The people who were secretly sent to the capital by Hejian Prefecture in the past five years have been caught in the early hours of this morning. I believe they are all dead by now."
He Zhan's tone was still very calm as he said, "Your Majesty will not be harassed by those ill-intentioned rebels in the future."
The little Emperor's face became abnormally pale.
The Hejian Prefecture had made a lot of preparations. In the past five years, no one knew how much gold and silver, as well as Men of Sacrifice and counselors, had been sent to the capital, just to ensure that he could sit firmly on the throne.
Who would have thought that all these things had been under the control of the Intelligence Bureau the whole time? It only took one night to wipe them all out.
"These people I brought into the Palace … are they all going to be killed?"
The little Emperor could no longer control his emotions. He stared into He Zhan's eyes and said angrily, "Eunuch, don't you want to save some face for the royal family?!"
He Zhan said, "Of course not. You should know that from now on, you are the son of the late Emperor and the ruler of Zhao State. I will give you full respect."
The order of the narration was very important.
You have to remember that you are the son of the late Emperor and have nothing to do with Hejian Prefecture anymore.
If you can't remember this, many more people will die, and you might not even be the new Emperor of Zhao State.
The little Emperor was silent for a long time. Then he asked with frustration and mockery, "How should I address you from now on, Eunuch?"
He Zhan said, "In private, I allow you to call me Uncle."
Having said that, he walked toward the outside of the Hall of Wenhua.
Looking at the back of the dark figure, the little Emperor's face was full of shock and absurdity. Eventually, it turned into fear.
…
…
The Yuan Palace was the bedroom of the Empress.
Today, the Empress had become the Empress Dowager, but she still lived here.
The Empress Dowager and the late Emperor had a good relationship. Since the Empress Dowager had been supporting the Empress Dowager for five years, her relationship with Elder He was naturally not good.
He Zhan walked into the hall. He looked a bit tired. Seeing him like this, the Empress Dowager felt less sorrow and sneered silently.
"I have finished talking with His Majesty. It went well."
He Zhan said, "As we have discussed before, Your Majesty, you will stay behind the curtain, and I won't show up."
"You know very well whether it is inconvenient to show up or not."
The Empress Dowager said, "A eunuch can't show up in the open after all. I don't understand why you are still holding on. I can kill you with a decree."
"Your Majesty, you should call yourself Aijia."
He Zhan's expression didn't change. "There is no longer a person like Duke Mo in the world. The Imperial Court is in my hands. No one in the world can kill me. Even if they can, Your Majesty, you shouldn't do it."
The Empress Dowager slightly raised her chin and proudly said, "Without Aijia, you can't do anything."
He Zhan said, "Likewise. Relying on those idiotic Imperial Uncles of Your Majesty's, the court will change hands in less than ten years. Your Majesty, you will be invited to the Cold Palace, and your family will be slaughtered."
The chestnut tree was still in the Imperial Palace. They were still using each other.
The Empress Dowager was silent for a while. "The matter this time will not be settled so easily."
Everyone knew the difference between the Zhengming School and the Xihua School, and the relationship between the young Emperor and Elder He. How could those courageous officials in the court who were good at opportunism miss this opportunity? Led by the Censorate, the Imperial Censorate began to launch a tentative attack. The students of the Imperial College and the scholars of the Wansong Academy reacted even more violently. According to the investigation of the Intelligence Bureau, the shadow of the Qi Kingdom's Academy was vaguely behind all these incidents. All the clues pointed to the scholar named Yun Qi.
Dozens of days later, the attacks on He Zhan entered a new stage. Neither the chancellors in the court nor the Empress Dowager in the Imperial Palace showed any reaction, even though they were also the ones being attacked by the scholars.
As long as He Zhan personally suppressed the matter, his reputation would become worse and more loopholes would be exposed no matter what the final result was.
He Zhan didn't pay attention to this matter, nor did he show up. He waited until the Intelligence Bureau got those things and then entered the Imperial Palace late at night to seek an audience with the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager wanted to stall for time by saying that she didn't want to see Elder He since it was late, but how could the palace guards stop him?
Looking at He Zhan who still appeared in front of her, the Empress Dowager tightened her clothes. She was extremely furious and shouted, "What on earth do you want to do?"
He Zhan didn't say anything. He placed the files in front of her.
The Empress Dowager glanced at them and became even more furious. "Are you trying to frame me?" she demanded.
"This is the matter of Your Majesty's family. Your Majesty doesn't know anything about it, and it's not a plot."
He Zhan said, "Seizing the fertile land by force, forcing the magistrate to commit suicide, and oppressing men and women are all trivial matters, but it's a big deal to unite Qi. If the people knew that Your Majesty's family has been supported by the merchants of the Qi Kingdom all these years, how would they react?"
Having said that, he left the Royal Palace, not even taking the files with him.
The Empress Dowager looked at the files in silence for the whole night. She finally made a decision the next morning. She summoned several ministers to the Royal Palace and issued several edicts. The ministers accepted the edicts. The Censorate was purged. Those who should be imprisoned were imprisoned and those who should be exiled were exiled. The Wansong Academy was sealed. The classes of the Imperial College were temporarily suspended because of the reconstruction of the Ming Hall …
All these things were thrilling. The most thrilling was, of course, the sound of caning outside the Royal Palace.
Some officials shouldered the burden of Taoist Heart, and some were unyielding, but their butts were soft. How could their official robes not be stained red after being caned more than ten times?
The situation gradually calmed down. Though the secret agents of the Intelligence Bureau and the officials in Elder He's faction didn't do anything during the whole process, it still couldn't stop the people from blaming him for the crimes, just like they had done in the past years.
Elder He's reputation was even worse. He seemed to have become a real devil. For the naughty children who cried at night, his deterrence was even greater than that of the terrible White Emperor of the Qin Kingdom.
The new Emperor of the State of Zhao was still young, and the Royal Dowager presided over the state affairs from behind the curtains.
The whole world was aware that Elder He, who stood in the shadows, was the real ruler of the State; people called him Nine Thousand Years.
…
…
Though there were few chancellors like He Zhan who could control the imperial court and play the Emperor in the palm of his hand, they would usually die soon. Few of them could control the state affairs for so many years like He Zhan.
In the world of the Green Sky Mirror, He Zhan was not the only one. He had another colleague, who was the Grand Secretary Zhang of the Chu Kingdom, who was called Mr. Shaoyue by the people.
The Chu Emperor had been in the Cold Palace for ten years, and had almost disappeared from the memory of the people.
For many children, they only knew the Grand Scholar, but they didn't know the Emperor.
The Grand Secretary Zhang was still unparalleled in governing the state affairs, but his temperament became more and more peculiar, and his methods became more and more forceful. Even though nobody dared oppose him, their resentment toward him grew more and more.
One evening, after the Grand Scholar had finished reading the memorials to the throne, he felt his vision blurred. He stood up and walked to the window. Looking at the setting sun, he realized something.
The previous Qin Emperor had been dead for almost twenty years; the Qin Emperor of Beihai County had been dead for ten years; and the young Zhao Huang had been dead for five years.
The Grand Scholar had gone to the Royal Palace.
The news shocked the whole of the capital, and it had even spread to Zhao and the Qin Kingdom.
The eunuchs and palace servant girls knelt not far from the grand hall. Seeing the scene in front of them, they felt bewildered, not knowing what to do.
The tightly closed palace gate was as mottled as a painting, and the iron lock was rusty. The eaves on the other side of the wall were full of traces of disrepair.
Seeing this palace hall that had been abandoned for many years, the Grand Secretary Zhang had a complicated feeling. He tidied his clothes and bowed to the ground slowly.
"This official asks for an audience, Your Majesty."
A chilly voice came out from the palace hall, "As I said, don't disturb me for no reason."
For many eunuchs and palace servant girls, this was the first time they had heard the voice of the Emperor; their expressions were complicated.
"This official has something to say," said the Grand Secretary Zhang.
"What's the matter?" asked the chilly voice.
The Grand Secretary Zhang bowed to the palace gate solemnly, saying, "This official is old and dying."
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