Ming Dynasty: Is a mere unruly commoner rebelling against heaven?

Suddenly, a Wang family servant, fleeing within the Wang family mansion, seized an opportunity amidst the West Factory agents' fierce fighting and darted towards the main gate.

Upon seeing this, the West Factory agent was about to give chase, but the fleeing servant was struck down by a stone.

The farmer who had first cried out injustice to Qin Lu pounced from the side and straddled the servant.

He raised a stone in his hand, smashing it down relentlessly while roaring with heart-wrenching fury.

"Wang Dahu, you bastard!"

"You became the Wang family's lackey and made my life miserable!"

"I'll teach you to hit me!"

"I'll teach you to hit my son!"

"I'll teach you to snatch my daughter!"

"I'll teach you to steal my land!"

"I'll teach you to steal my grain!"

"I'll smash you to death! I'll smash you to death!"

"Smash you, you bastard! Smash you, you bastard!"

"…"

Each sentence accompanied by a blow!

Each sentence accompanied by a blow!

When the farmer's arms grew sore and he gradually regained his senses, he realized that the head of the person beneath him had been smashed to pieces.

"Ah?!"

Coming back to his senses, the farmer was startled by his own actions and quickly retreated.

But more farmers, with eyes reddened, had already stormed into the Wang family mansion, seeking revenge on the servants and slaves who had once oppressed them.

After enduring seven or eight years of hatred, they could finally personally avenge themselves on their enemies.

After the initial shock, the farmer felt an overwhelming sense of relief!

It was as if his entire being had been cleansed, and even his body felt lighter!

The farmer suddenly turned and knelt towards the sun, kowtowing repeatedly.

While kowtowing, he cried out with a sob, "The Emperor is wise!"

"Thank you, Emperor, for helping this humble man avenge himself!"

"Thank you, Emperor, for helping this humble man avenge himself!!!"

Qin Lu watched the rushing farmers with an indifferent expression.

He did not have any emotional fluctuations because of their help.

Because Qin Lu knew that these farmers would help whoever won.

After eliminating all the resisting guards in the Wang family mansion, Qin Lu ordered, "Enough, let them calm down."

"Yes!"

The farmers, who were blinded by rage, wanted to continue, but when the West Factory placed their blades on their necks, they immediately calmed down.

They knelt on the ground, feeling terrified in their hearts: "Spare me, Your Excellency, spare me!"

Qin Lu waved his hand: "Search and bring the Wang brothers to me."

"Yes!"

The West Factory agents stopped making things difficult for the farmers and began thoroughly searching the residence.

The West Factory agents quickly found Wang Yuan and Wang Qing trembling with fear in the study's secret room.

Soon, Wang Yuan and Wang Qing, as limp as two dead dogs, were dragged before Qin Lu by the West Factory agents.

Wang Yuan and Wang Qing looked at the tragic scene inside the mansion, their faces ashen and lips blue, showing signs of fainting at any moment.

At this moment, they regretted it to the core!

Had they known that this would be the outcome, they should have listened to their third brother, Wang Jun, and returned the land to the farmers long ago.

No!

It should have been even earlier!

In the sixteenth year of Chenghua, they should have honestly and sincerely returned the land to the people, instead of registering the land under the names of their own servants.

They regretted it, they really regretted it!

Now that the knife was about to fall on them, they were no longer greedy, no longer foolish, and began to repent.

Wang Yuan and Wang Qing were dragged before Qin Lu, and they immediately knelt down, kowtowing repeatedly.

While kowtowing, they loudly repented and begged for mercy.

"Your Excellency! I was wrong! I was really wrong!"

"Your Excellency, give me a chance, I will return all the land to the people! Return all the land to the people! I won't keep a single acre!"

"I won't keep a single acre, will that do? Can you give me a chance to reform?"

"I promise never to encroach on their land again! I really promise!"

"I was really wrong, Your Excellency! I really regret it, Your Excellency!"

"Your Excellency, please give me a chance to reform!"

Qin Lu looked at the incessant Wang Yuan and Wang Qing, his expression solemn, looking down at them and shaking his head gently.

"You don't really regret it, you just know that you are really going to die."

Qin Lu's words were like the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Wang Yuan and Wang Qing immediately lost the strength to kowtow and collapsed on the ground, crying bitterly.

Qin Lu frowned: "Why are only Wang Yuan and Wang Qing here? Where is Wang Jun?"

At that moment, a team of West Factory agents dragged three corpses forward.

"Second Chief, Wang Jun's family committed suicide by taking poison out of fear of punishment!"

"What?! He actually managed to die!"

Qin Lu frowned deeply, very dissatisfied with this result.

But since things had come to this, he could only report the truth to His Majesty.

"Someone, send the Wang brothers to the West Factory Prison, even the dead ones must be sent."

"Also send Zhang Hai, the Governor of Shuntian Prefecture."

"Immediately confiscate all the Wang family's property in Jinghai, including land, as well as the estates of the Earl of Ruian and the Earl of Chongshan."

"All confiscated property shall be sent to the Imperial Treasury!"

"Yes, Second Chief!"

After receiving the order, the West Factory agents immediately began confiscating the property.

Qin Lu returned to his room to write a secret letter, personally pleading guilty to Zhu You樘.

The West Factory's actions were very swift.

That afternoon, the prison carts carrying Wang Yuan, Wang Qing, and Zhang Hai, as well as the ox cart dragging Wang Jun's corpse, entered the capital and paraded through the streets towards the East Factory Prison.

The people of the capital along the way stopped to watch.

Some who did not recognize Wang Yuan and Wang Qing were inquiring about which corrupt officials had been arrested by His Majesty.

When they learned that these two were the current Empress Dowager's younger brothers, the people were first amazed, then cheered that resounded through the streets.

"The Emperor is wise! The Emperor is wise!"

"Great! Great! Two more detestable imperial relatives have been arrested!"

"The current Emperor is truly a wise Emperor, truly a wise Emperor!"

"…"

The relatives of the emperor during the mid and late Ming Dynasty were more detestable than many officials in the court.

Relying on being relatives of the emperor, these people committed crimes that deserved to be beheaded and have their families exterminated.

At this moment, whether they were persecuted by them or not, the people felt genuinely happy about their arrest.

The news of the arrest of the Earl of Ruian, Wang Yuan, and the Earl of Chongshan, Wang Qing, quickly spread throughout the capital.

Even the eunuchs and maids in the depths of the harem heard the news from the little eunuchs who went out to make purchases.

Runqiu, the head palace maid of the Cining Palace, returned to the Cining Palace in a panic and came to Empress Dowager Wang's palace.

"Your Majesty, something bad has happened, something terrible has happened."

Runqiu knelt before Empress Dowager Wang as soon as she entered the door.

Empress Dowager Wang was eating afternoon tea and snacks. Seeing Ruqiu's panicked appearance, she smiled helplessly: "Runqiu, you have been with me for more than twenty years, why are you still so impetuous?"

Empress Dowager Wang had been in a good mood recently. Zhang Wan'er, whom she favored, was the most favored by Zhu You樘, and Zhang Wan'er often came to her Cining Palace to drink tea and chat.

It is said that a mother is honored by her son. Empress Dowager Wang had never had a son or daughter in her life.

Now, she wanted to recognize Zhang Wan'er as her goddaughter and help her ascend to the position of Empress.

In this way, she would have someone to rely on for the rest of her life.

Runqiu quickly pleaded guilty: "Your Majesty's reprimand is correct, please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Empress Dowager Wang picked up the teacup in her hand and asked while drinking tea: "Tell me, what happened that made you so panicked?"

"The Earl of Ruian and the Earl of Chongshan have been arrested and imprisoned by the West Factory!"

"What?!"

Empress Dowager Wang's hands went limp, the cup fell to the ground and shattered, and tea leaves and tea stained her gorgeous clothes.

"Where did you hear the news? Is it accurate?!"

Empress Dowager Wang ignored the dirt on her body, stood up, held the table, and walked two steps towards Ruqiu, her expression panicked and her voice trembling.

Runqiu nodded eagerly: "It's absolutely true. This servant heard it from the little eunuch who buys charcoal from the Xixin Division."

"It is said that the West Factory escorted the First Master and Second Master through the streets, and everyone in the capital saw it!"

Empress Dowager Wang was at a loss and her body went limp, about to fall to the ground.

Fortunately, the accompanying palace maid supported Empress Dowager Wang in time and helped her to the soft couch next to her.

"How could this happen? How could this happen?"

Empress Dowager Wang muttered to herself, completely losing her composure.

The imprisonment of her two younger brothers by Zhu You樘's order threw her into chaos, not knowing what to do.

With the precedent of the Zhou family's destruction, if His Majesty could exterminate the three clans of the Zhou family, he could naturally do the same to the Wang family.

It was just as well that Empress Dowager Wang didn't know that Wang Jun had already committed suicide out of fear of punishment, otherwise she would have fainted from anxiety.

"Emperor, I want to see the Emperor."

Suddenly, Empress Dowager Wang got up in a hurry, wanting to go to the Qianqing Palace to find Zhu You樘.

"Your Majesty, your clothes are dirty, please change your clothes first," a maid reminded her.

Empress Dowager Wang then realized that her clothes had been stained by tea.

"Yes, yes, I have to change my clothes, change my clothes."

Empress Dowager Wang was a little dazed. The sudden blow made her mind a little confused.

But the only thing she understood was that the only person who could save the Wang brothers now was Zhu You樘.

She had to see Zhu You樘, and she had to be quick.

The West Factory Prison was a place where delaying the rescue by one second meant one more second of risk of death.

If the rescue was too slow, the person might not be able to come out alive.

Empress Dowager Wang changed her clothes as quickly as possible, took a palanquin to the outside of the Qianqing Palace, and prepared to enter and meet Zhu You樘.

But outside the Qianqing Palace, she was stopped by Fu Dahai, the chief eunuch of the Directorate of Palace Attendants.

"This servant has seen Empress Dowager."

"Get out of the way, I want to see the Emperor."

Fu Dahai had a smile on his face, but his attitude was very firm.

"Empress Dowager, His Majesty has ordered that he will not see anyone. Please go back."

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty…"

Empress Dowager Wang was in a state of confusion. Seeing that Zhu You樘 was determined not to see her, she knelt at the gate of the Qianqing Palace.

"Please inform His Majesty, Eunuch, if His Majesty does not see me, I will kneel here forever."

With Empress Dowager Wang kneeling, all the palace maids and eunuchs of the Cining Palace knelt behind Empress Dowager Wang.

"Ah?!"

"This…this…Alas!"

Fu Dahai was dumbfounded. The Empress Dowager kneeling before the Emperor's palace was unprecedented in ancient and modern times!

This was a major event, and Fu Dahai did not dare to make a decision. He had to rush back to the Qianqing Palace.