activa-t Chapter 37 The Truth Behind the Emperor's Death
Chapter 37 The Truth Behind the Emperor's Death
What angered Zhu Houzhao the most was that the Imperial Medical Academy could not kill Zhu Youcheng with one dose of medicine, but they were able to get a second dose to kill him!
To so blatantly poison the emperor and yet escape unscathed—do they even respect the title of Emperor of the Ming Dynasty?!
Zhu Houzhao was furious, and a thousand thoughts flooded his mind, leaving him in a state of utter confusion.
Zhu Houzhao forced himself to calm down and began to deal with these problems one by one.
First and foremost, it is certain that the civil officials of the previous dynasty were eager for Zhu Youcheng to die as soon as possible.
If Zhu Youcheng hadn't died, they would have been the ones to die once he investigated the accounts.
However, for Liu Wentai and others, who were imperial physicians in the Imperial Medical Academy, poisoning the emperor would bring them no benefit whatsoever.
They dared to commit such a heinous act; they must have been instructed by someone.
However, Zhu Houzhao did not believe that it was simply the civil officials who instructed Liu Wentai.
This was a brazen attempt to poison the emperor right inside the imperial palace.
The civil service group has neither the courage nor the ability to do this.
For those capable of doing this, the answer is obvious.
"Cao Zhengchun, I ask you, was the Empress Dowager involved in this matter?!"
Cao Zhengchun shook his head repeatedly, trembling, "Your Majesty, this old servant does not know, but it was indeed the Empress Dowager who instructed the eunuch Zhang Yu to fetch the medicine from the Imperial Hospital."
Upon hearing this news, Zhu Houzhao staggered, his face filled with shock.
No mistake, this is definitely true!
As Zhu Youcheng's only concubine and the head of the harem, Empress Dowager Zhang had the ability to poison the emperor.
Moreover, she also had a reason to target the emperor.
Zhu Youcheng had already begun to target the maternal relatives. If Zhu Youcheng hadn't died, the Zhang brothers, Heling and Yanling, would have been the ones to suffer.
But in history books and TV dramas, aren't they all portrayed as a loving couple?
How could Zhu Youcheng have died at the hands of Empress Dowager Zhang?
Zhu Houzhao felt that some of the things he had always believed in were beginning to crumble.
"Where is Liu Wentai? Liu Wentai and the others were all imprisoned by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, why aren't they dead?"
Cao Zhengchun glanced cautiously at Zhu Houzhao: "Your Majesty, at that time, several of Zhang Heling's relatives were serving in the Embroidered Uniform Guard."
Zhu Houzhao gasped in shock; he had no idea there was such a connection.
In this way, everything can be explained.
The death of the late emperor was not merely a matter of civil officials, nor was it simply a matter of the harem.
It was actually a conspiracy between the imperial harem and civil officials.
Only in this way, with the combined cover-up of the harem and civil officials, could poisoning be disguised as natural death.
Since no one investigated the death of the late emperor, naturally no one will be investigated and executed for poisoning the late emperor!
Zhu Houzhao broke out in a cold sweat. He never imagined that the palace where he lived every day would be so dangerous!
"So, does that mean the person who tried to assassinate me that day was also arranged by the Empress Dowager?"
Zhu Houzhao stared at Cao Zhengchun, his hands clenched so tightly that even his knuckles turned slightly white.
If the late emperor merely revoked the privileges held by Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling, then Empress Dowager Zhang ruthlessly killed them.
Then Empress Dowager Zhang also had a reason to kill him.
Zhu Houzhao not only revoked the privileges held by the two men, but also imprisoned them in the Ministry of Justice prison, ordering the three judicial departments to deliberate on their crimes and sentence them to death.
Would she really kill her own son to protect her two younger brothers?
"Your Majesty, according to what that White Lotus Sect traitor said..."
Cao Zhengchun carefully considered his words before speaking: "He was indeed arranged to enter the palace by the Empress Dowager."
Zhu Houzhao stumbled and fell backward onto the dragon throne.
At this moment, fear and anger intertwined in Zhu Houzhao's heart, and he felt an unbearable chill in his heart.
"Even tigers don't eat their cubs, yet my mother, the Empress Dowager, is plotting to kill me! Hahaha, hahaha..."
"Very well, very well indeed, the imperial family is the most ruthless of all..."
Zhu Houzhao laughed, his expression mocking, his eyes devoid of emotion, filled only with murderous intent.
It turns out that his mother was the enemy who killed his father.
And this enemy is now plotting to kill him.
What a vicious woman! She's capable of anything for power!
Cao Zhengchun hesitated for a moment as he looked at Zhu Houzhao, who was laughing loudly, but then took out another secret letter from his pocket.
"Your Majesty, this old servant has another confidential letter that I wish to present to you."
Cao Zhengchun knelt on the ground and held the secret letter high above his head.
"There's also a secret letter?"
Zhu Houzhao's laughter vanished instantly, his face turning gloomy again. He strode up to Cao Zhengchun and took the secret letter from Cao Zhengchun's hand.
Zhu Houzhao took a deep breath before opening the secret letter and reading it intently.
In the first month of the twenty-third year of the Chenghua reign, Lady Zhang was selected as the Crown Princess. In the ninth month of the same year, Emperor Xianzong died suddenly, and Emperor Xiaozong ascended the throne and succeeded to the throne.
In September of the twenty-third year of the Chenghua reign, the eunuch Guo Yong requested Emperor Xiaozong to select concubines to fill the six palaces. Xie Qian strongly opposed this, but Emperor Xiaozong accepted his advice, and the selection of concubines was abandoned.
In August of the third year of the Hongzhi reign, because the late emperor had been married for four years but still had no heir, Han Ding, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of Rites, submitted a memorial suggesting that Emperor Xiaozong take in more concubines to increase the number of male heirs. Emperor Xiaozong refused.
In September of the third year of the Hongzhi reign, Han Ding once again submitted a memorial requesting Emperor Xiaozong to take concubines to enrich the harem. Emperor Xiaozong agreed, saying that it could be discussed in the long term and planned gradually.
In April of the fourth year of the Hongzhi reign, the Ministry of Rites caught fire. The cabinet impeached the Ministry of Rites, and Minister Geng Yu, Vice Minister Ni Yue, and Zhou Jing were imprisoned and flogged twenty times. Han Ding was transferred to the position of Right Assistant Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and later transferred to the position of Minister of the Imperial Seal of the Southern Court.
In July of the seventeenth year of the Hongzhi reign, Zheng Wang, a military household member of Wucheng Zhongwei, claimed outside the palace that he was the emperor's father-in-law and that the crown prince was the son of his daughter, Zheng, and Emperor Xiaozong. Zheng Wang was arrested by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, imprisoned, and sentenced to death.
In August of the seventeenth year of the Hongzhi reign, Emperor Xiaozong personally intervened in the matter and executed the eunuch Liu Shan, who was aware of the situation, and the Tuo brothers of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who were in charge of the case. Zheng Wang was placed under investigation.
In May of the eighteenth year of the Hongzhi reign, Zheng Wang was released from prison.
Zhu Houzhao looked at the letter in his hand, his hands trembling.
"This...this...this is all real?!"
"Why have I never known about this?!"
Cao Zhengchun remained lying on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.
"Your Majesty, everything recorded in the secret letter is true, not a single word is false."
"We beseech Your Majesty to determine the truth of this matter!"
When it came to matters concerning Zhu Houzhao himself, Cao Zhengchun dared not say a word, much less draw any conclusions on his own.
He simply recorded everything that happened and presented it to Zhu Houzhao for review.
As for what Zhu Houzhao thought, that was Zhu Houzhao's business and had nothing to do with him.
Zhu Houzhao looked at the secret letter in his hand again and again. At this moment, he finally understood many things.
Many things that seemed unbelievable before now have a reasonable explanation.