Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

In Kunning Palace, a ray of sunlight shines through the exquisite window lattice into the warm hall.

The beautiful and dignified Queen Chang is sitting leisurely on a soft couch, with a delicate peony flower handkerchief embroidered in her hand, with fine stitches and smooth lines.

Although there is no shortage of embroidery girls with exquisite craftsmanship in the palace, she, the queen mother, sews the handkerchiefs used by her children herself.

The prince, Zhu Houye, was seven years old. He had delicate features and looked a bit like Chang Yourong. He was standing aside timidly while reciting the lessons he had learned recently.

The content he recited was not the Thousand-Character Classic or the Four Books and Five Classics, but knowledge about world geography, which is now included in enlightenment teaching.

"The world has four oceans: the Pacific Ocean in the east, the Indian Ocean in the west, and the Arctic Ocean in the north. The Atlantic Ocean can be reached east or west, and the Pacific Ocean is the first of the four oceans."

Prince Zhu Houye's little face was full of seriousness, and he recited these basic geographical knowledge points in a formal and formal manner. Although there were delays, I eventually recited it verbatim.

In terms of academic talent, this prince is actually quite good, but the main problem is that he is too timid.

Chang Yourong's work did not stop, and he had very high expectations for this son in his heart: "Your father is an eternal emperor, and he is destined to create great achievements for the Ming Dynasty! Mother does not expect you and your father to be like this. As outstanding as you are, you must not be short-sighted. You must have an eye on the world and at least be a steadfast king!"

"Your Majesty, please obey your mother's teachings!" Zhu Houye responded obediently.

Chang Yourong gently raised his hand to signal the prince to go and study.

Since he was six years old last year, Prince Zhu Houye has been studying in the imperial court. It's just different from the past when he worshiped officials from the Hanlin Academy as his teachers. Now Emperor Hongzhi deliberately downplayed the teacher-student relationship and arranged lessons for the prince to focus more on scientific education and practice.

Eunuch Li Guanghou was in front of the door. When he saw Zhu Houye coming out, he immediately knelt down and waited for the prince to lie on his back, and then hurried towards the chariot waiting outside.

"Sister Royal!"

"Go and study quickly. When you come back, the emperor will take you to Xiyuan to play!" Princess Haixiao came back from outside and met her brother, looking carefree.

Although they are born from the same mother, unlike her younger brother who is quiet by nature, Princess Haixiao appears to be very lively and cute. Nowadays, her life is obviously more free and exciting than that of the prince.

"Qiqi, where did you run to again?" Chang Yourong asked helplessly when he saw his daughter walking in.

Princess Haixiao had an innocent look on her face. She swayed her skirt and jumped up to Queen Chang: "I have arrived at my father's place! My father held an early morning court ceremony at Qianqing Gate today. I sneaked through the crack in the door. Take a look, all the civil and military officials are there, there are so many people!”

"You damn girl, you know that the queen's ears are ticklish, but you still come so close!" Empress Chang suddenly let go of her sewing and rubbed her ears, dissatisfied.

Princess Haixiao's face changed: "My father's ears are also ticklish, but he never talks about me!"

"No one in the entire palace knows that your father is so scared when he holds you in his hands!" Queen Chang rolled her eyes at her daughter, then changed the subject and asked, "Has your father arrived at the Hall of Cultivation of the Heart?"

Princess Haixiao took a sip of the tea brought by the palace maid, and immediately nodded seriously: "Yes! My father just left after breakfast. He said that Song Heitan would be investigating the case in the palace today, which scared me. Just avoid it!”

"Are you afraid?" Queen Chang picked up her sewing again and looked at her daughter.

Princess Haixiao frowned and thought, and replied very honestly: "I don't know if I will be scared, but I want to know how he investigates cases. I heard that he is very good at investigating cases!"

"That Song Cheng's face is indeed dark, but he has been very honest since he became an official. This is a rare good official. If you are afraid, just avoid it, and others will not cause trouble for him when they investigate the case!" Empress Chang was worried about her daughter, so she He warned seriously.

Princess Haixiao nodded seriously, but with a free and easy temper: "Mother, then I will go to the viewing pavilion in the palace garden. I will take a look from a distance to see if Song Heitan is scary!"

She had her own idea. She first went to the highest place in the harem and watched from a distance to take a look at the official with a face as black as coal. If you are not afraid, then we will see how he investigates the case.

"Be careful!"

Empress Chang originally wanted to tie her daughter to be a quiet princess, but the emperor was actually a daughter slave, and she would love this daughter to the heavens, and the emperor had different educational concepts.

It's just that she is a mother after all, and seeing this active and innocent daughter living so happily every day makes her heart feel sweet.

Princess Haixiao jumped up happily and flew out of Kunning Palace like a light bird and went straight to the back garden of the palace.

The smile on Queen Chang's face quickly disappeared, and she suddenly asked in a very scary tone: "How are things going at Qingning Palace?"

"Reporting to the queen, I have already settled the matter. Now I am waiting for who among them will speak first!" The female officer next to her also replied solemnly.

Due to the season, although there is no snow on the ground in Gonghouyuan, the flowers and plants here have long since withered, and the centuries-old locust trees also show their vicissitudes of life.

The treasure of the north and the grass of the south, this royal palace garden is destined to be difficult to maintain spring all year round.

"Princess, wait for me!" The little palace maid behind followed her all the way and shouted anxiously.

Princess Haixiao has strong motor cells and was able to scratch Zhu Youtang's face when she was very young. By this time, she had already reached the viewing pavilion.

Since this place can overlook most of the Forbidden City, it is also her favorite place to stay. At this moment, she only needs to wait quietly, waiting for the official with a face like charcoal to appear, so that she can see if the official with a face like charcoal is scary.

In fact, she just hid behind the Qianqing Gate for a long time. Although she also saw all kinds of officials coming out to report, she did not see a person with a face like charcoal.

Forbidden City, Donghua Gate.

Song Cheng, wearing a crimson official uniform, entered from Donghua Gate. After passing through the towering palace gate of the imperial palace, it seemed as if he had traveled through a tunnel of time and space and stepped into this absolute domain belonging to the imperial power.

The magnificent momentum of the imperial palace came to her face, and the magnificent palace flashed dazzling light under the morning sun, as if telling the glory and majesty of the imperial power.

Even though he was already the high-ranking Minister of the Ministry of Justice and the "Song Qingtian" respected by the people, in this realm of imperial power, he was no different from a small ant.

If he was not careful, he might fall into an irretrievable situation.

Song Cheng saw the Fengtian Hall on the high platform from afar. The golden glazed tiles shone brightly under the setting sun, as if they were a symbol of power, silently announcing the supremacy of imperial power.

"The Qianqing Gate seems to be there, right?"

"Sir Song, just follow me!"

...

Song Cheng saw that the eunuch in front of him was leading him in the wrong direction, and immediately raised doubts, but the answer he got seemed very tough, and he couldn't even resist.

In this palace, not to mention that his every move might bring about a catastrophe, if he went to the wrong place and broke into the harem, it would be a capital crime.

Although he was very glorious as the emperor's official investigating the case, and it was also one of his ways to repay the emperor's grace, only he could know the pressure.

Following the eunuch in front of him and constantly passing through the palace gate, he found that the eunuch led him to the west, and vaguely found that he was getting farther and farther away from the Qianqing Gate, and finally he was brought to the front of Renshou Palace.

Song Cheng's original destination was Qianqing Gate, which was the first scene of the arson case, but he did not expect to be arranged by the eunuch to come to meet Queen Mother Wang.

Originally, Queen Mother Wang had no offspring, and was neglected by the previous emperor, so she had no sense of existence. But in the Hongzhi Dynasty, she became prominent because she stood on the emperor's side early.

The current Wang family not only has Wang Xiang, the commander of the Jinyiwei, but also has Wang Yuan, the Earl of Rui'an, who was marginalized because he stood on the wrong side, but his brother Wang Jun joined Wang Zhi's army early and made great achievements.

That's why Queen Mother Wang is not only respected by the emperor, but also the Wang family behind her should not be underestimated.

"Sir Song, the Queen Mother invites you!" A white-faced eunuch hurriedly came up and said respectfully.

Song Cheng frowned slightly, but it was difficult to disobey the emperor's order, so he had to follow the eunuch through the winding corridor and came to the solemn and solemn main hall of Renshou Palace.

The air in the hall was filled with sandalwood, the bead curtains were hanging low, and Queen Mother Wang sat dignifiedly on the soft couch.

Due to her pampered life, although she was nearly fifty years old, she could only be considered a middle-aged woman. However, she had already looked down on everything and was examining Song Cheng who came in.

Song Cheng did not dare to look at the bead curtains, and he greeted her politely: "I, the Minister of Justice Song Cheng, pay my respects to the Queen Mother!"

"I heard that you are a god at solving cases. Today, I see that you are indeed as powerful as Bao Zheng." Queen Mother Wang's voice was calm and majestic, and she also praised him.

Song Cheng bowed and saluted, but he did not feel complacent because of this compliment: "Queen Mother, you are too kind! I was born with a dark face and offended the Queen Mother. Please forgive me!"

Queen Mother Wang smiled slightly, changed the subject, and asked: "Sir Song, what do you think about the arson case of Qianqing Gate and Qingning Palace?"

As soon as this was said, the eunuchs and palace maids present turned their heads to look at Song Cheng.

This arson case is the most serious incident since the Hongzhi Dynasty. Although only two pillars of the Qianqing Palace were burned, the nature of it is extremely bad.

Now the case has been handed over to Song Cheng, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Song Cheng will become the key figure in solving the case, and his investigation results will affect the pattern of the harem.

"Replying to the Queen Mother, I always pay attention to evidence when handling cases, and I will not suspect anyone out of thin air. If you want to make a conclusion, you must rely on solid evidence." Song Cheng has never been a person who talks nonsense, and he immediately stated his position seriously.

The corners of Queen Mother Wang's mouth rose slightly, but she continued to dwell on this question: "Sir, have you ever suspected that it was the people in Qingning Palace who were crying thief?"

"I dare not make random guesses, but I will not let go of any possibility. Please allow me to investigate first!" Song Cheng's heart moved slightly, but he said very calmly.

In fact, he might not make guesses, but this position could not be said out loud. Everything must be slowly investigated by finding clues at the arson scene.

If there was anyone in the palace who dared to murder the emperor and benefited from his death, then the biggest suspect would naturally be the Grand Empress Dowager of Qingning Palace.

Although the Grand Empress Dowager was the emperor's grandmother and she had personally raised the emperor, the relationship between the two had long since broken down.

In order to seize military power and promote national reforms, the emperor first executed the Grand Empress Dowager's brother Zhou Shou and his entire clan on charges of treason, and then the last brother Zhou Yu was also sent to the guillotine.

After that, the Grand Empress Dowager Zhou's daughter Princess Chongyang and her son-in-law were also executed by the emperor.

For so many years, because of that grudge, the relationship between the emperor and the grand empress dowager has reached a freezing point. The grand empress dowager no longer sees the emperor, and the emperor no longer goes to Qingning Palace to greet him. The two are on the verge of never seeing each other again.

Now the relationship between the six palaces is very harmonious, and Queen Mother Wang's status is also due to Emperor Hongzhi, so Grand Empress Dowager Zhou is the first suspect.

Although the Qingning Palace where she lived was burned down, as Queen Mother Wang guessed, maybe this was a trick of Queen Mother Zhou crying thief.

That's right, even though Song Cheng had other suspects in his mind before entering the palace, he also had doubts about Grand Empress Dowager Zhou.

Queen Mother Wang nodded, with a hint of appreciation in her eyes: "I like your cautious attitude! In the palace, people's hearts are complicated. I hope you can find out the truth, expose those who intend to murder the emperor, and make the palace quiet."

"I will definitely fulfill my mission!" Song Cheng breathed a sigh of relief and solemnly stated immediately.

Queen Mother Wang did not make things difficult for Song Cheng, so she waved her hand and said, "I am tired, you go to investigate the case!"

Song Cheng bowed and left, and he had already made up his mind.

Although Queen Mother Wang pointed out a direction, he could not make too subjective judgments, after all, Queen Mother Wang might also be a suspect. Now everything must be based on the clues at the fire scene, and then the truth of the arson will be revealed.

Coming out of Renshou Palace, Song Cheng followed the eunuch to the east.

He saw the Qianqing Palace in sight, and suddenly found that the eunuch was actually heading north: "This eunuch, Qianqing Gate seems to be there?"

"Sir Song, just follow me!" The eunuch in front gave a familiar answer again.

Song Cheng still could not reach the Qianqing Palace, but obediently followed the eunuch in front of him to the north, and vaguely saw a princess in the viewing pavilion in the back garden of the palace just turned around and left.

Although the number of princes and princesses in the palace has now become a secret in the palace, he has heard of Princess Haixiao who is held in the palm of the emperor's hand.

Originally, he was also curious about the appearance of Princess Haixiao, but he didn't expect that she just left. Due to his status, he also bowed from a distance.

Song Cheng followed the eunuch to the Kunning Palace, but before he stepped into the Kunning Gate, he saw his wife Yun Niang standing there. At this moment, he realized that the water in this palace was much deeper than he had imagined. It was impossible for him to investigate the case as straightforwardly as he did in the past. (End of this chapter)