Fu followed at his side, watching the Little Emperor walk unsteadily, even felt an impulse to pat his head.
He flexed his fingers, repeatedly warning himself that this was the Emperor and he could not just touch him casually.
After Zhu Ci returned to the room, he took off his furry sable coat, yawned, said, "It is getting late. Huaizhang, you should head back and rest early as well. Mmm, it's dark outside, so it's not easy to travel. You should stay the night here today as well."
Fu Huaizhang thought to himself that with so many people still outside, it would look quite improper if he stayed overnight all by himself.
It was already somewhat inappropriate that he and the Little Emperor had sneaked out midway, if he stayed overnight, he feared that Huang Chunyao and those others would not be able to restrain themselves.
Fu was about to say something when he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye that Lu Zheng was standing outside, making a subtle hand gesture.
This meant that there was news that was relatively important but not urgent.
Fu turned his head, intending to coax the Little Emperor to go to sleep first, but unexpectedly, Zhu Ci had also seen Lu Zheng. He beckoned to Lu Zheng and said, "Has something happened? Come inside and speak."
After Lu Zheng entered, he knelt on one knee to pay his respects and said without hesitation, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the Left Censor just sent people to escort several individuals into the city."
Zhu Ci covered his mouth and let out a small hiccup from the wine, asking nonchalantly, "Who was brought in?"
Hadn't their families all been brought to Nanjing before?
Lu Zheng said, "Former Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, Minister of War and Grand Secretary of the Dongge, Right Vice Censor of the Censorate, Ma Shiying; former Minister of Personnel and Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion, Grand Tutor and Grand Protector to the Crown Prince, Gao Hongtu."
Zhu Ci felt sober at the mere mention of these two names.
He had become somewhat reactive to the name of any court official from the Hongguang Era, these two were the most critical of all.
Zhu Ci let out a cold laugh. "Do Huang Chunyao and the others think life has been too easy lately?"
Is bringing these two back because they want the imperial court to fall apart?
Perhaps Huang Chunyao wants to have Ma Shiying and Gao Hongtu return to suppress Fu.
If Ma Shiying were to return to court, then who would the Grand Secretary be? Fu has indeed made great contributions, but Ma Shiying is a veteran with the background of a Jinshi; how could Fu compete with him?
To drive away tigers and wolves.
But had they not considered that once the tiger returned, whether their little grove could withstand it?
The more Zhu Ci thought about it, the angrier he became, he turned and walked out.
Fu raised his hand as if to stop him but did not dare, so he could only follow behind and say, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Now is not a good time to cause trouble; Censor Huang was merely bringing the person back."
Zhu Ci paused after hearing this. He had already been feeling a surge of anger, but once he stepped outside and was hit by the cold wind, he suddenly felt much more lucid than before.
Of course, the main thing was that it was far too cold.
He looked at the moon, which was being gradually obscured by dark clouds, gave a huff. "Let them have a good New Year first."
Indeed, Huang Chunyao and the others had only just brought the people over; they had not done anything yet.
What if they were simply feeling momentary pity, unable to bear seeing these two living in such destitution?
Zhu Ci turned back into the room, the sudden shift from cold to heat leaving him with a bit of a headache.
Fu Wensheng said, "Your Majesty, do not be anxious. Ma Shiying and Gao Hongtu's followers have dwindled to almost nothing, their influence is no longer what it once was. There is no need to worry about anything."
Zhu Ci narrowed his eyes. "You underestimate these scholars too much; give them a single spark, they can rise from the ashes in a short time."
He thought for a moment and said, "We must find a way to force them to reveal themselves."
These two people, let alone entering the imperial court, as long as they are alive, Zhu Ci feels as if he has a thorn in his throat.
On what grounds?
These people caused factional strife that tore the imperial court apart, resulting in countless casualties; they survived, only to turn around and shamelessly try to occupy high positions again?
Zhu Ci did not dare claim how great he was, but if he had not stepped in to help, countless people in the south would have died by now, even Gao Hongtu and Ma Shiying would be dead.
If the two of them had stayed tucked away and behaved themselves, Zhu Ci would have turned a blind eye and pretended not to notice, but they actually dared to come out and cause trouble.
Zhu Ci narrowed his eyes.
Fu knew at a glance that once the New Year was over, the Little Emperor would be killing people again.
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Actually, I am very gentle, really. *Evil kitty slowly draws sword. jpg*
Next update tomorrow morning at six o'clock~
Chapter 145
Zhu Ci was busy calculating how to make Ma Shiying and Gao Hongtu reveal themselves, while over there, Zhu Ci grumbled indignantly, "How dare Gao Hongtu have the face to come back."
Zhu Ci looked at him and asked, "What? Did he go to find you?"
Zhu Ci said with a face full of mockery, "He wants me to speak on his behalf."
Zhu Ci rubbed his chin and said, "I'll have to find a major imperial assembly to cause some trouble."
Zhu Ci frowned and said, "How about we find some hooligans to beat them to death with clubs?"
Zhu Ci looked at Zhu Ci in shock, feeling that these were not words his cousin would ever say.
What on earth did these people do back then? To make his cousin hate them to this extent?
No, it's normal for Zhu Ci to hate Ma Shiying, but why does he even hate Gao Hongtu?
His heart was filled with anxiety, yet he felt it would be improper to ask. There were certainly many things hidden within this matter; if he spoke, Zhu Ci would definitely answer, but wouldn't that be like rubbing salt in someone's wounds?
In the end, it was Fu who helped him resolve this doubt.
It is nothing much, just a matter of a rare commodity," Fu said. "In Gao Hongtu's eyes, the Prince of Ning at that time was nothing more than a rare commodity for his own rapid rise to power.
Zhu Ci frowned but said nothing. Given the situation at that time.. it seemed normal; when one is under a low eaves, one has no choice but to bow one's head. Zhu Ci had nothing in his hands back then and could only endure it.
If it was just that kind of situation, Zhu Ci shouldn't have come to hate him to this extent.
“What else has Gao Hongtu done?”
Fu's face wore a rare expression of mockery: "Gao Hongtu wants to marry his granddaughter to the Prince of Ning as his wife. Not only that, he has even arranged for concubines, all of whom are daughters from families within the Donglin Party. Furthermore, he is coercing the Prince of Ning to write a secret imperial decree to name his granddaughter's son as the Crown Prince."
Zhu Ci didn't think much of it when he heard the first part, as political marriages were truly commonplace.
If it wasn't for the development of their families, why would they take such risks to help you fight for the throne? As he heard more, he felt something was wrong.
So you Donglin Party want to take over Zhu Ci's harem entirely? Do you plan to have the Donglin Party hold absolute power in the future?
Zhu Ci considered himself to be very fair and could understand Gao Hongtu's thoughts, but he could not understand the other man's actions.
This arrangement felt as if Zhu Ci was being treated like a mere puppet, Zhu Ci, who had been raised in the palm of Chongzhen's hand since childhood, could not tolerate this, no matter how many setbacks he had faced.
Zhu Ci clicked his tongue and said, "Fine, it seems we won't even need to lift a finger; that cousin of mine won't let Gao Hongtu off easy."
As expected, during the first grand court assembly of the first year of Guanglie, after the formalities were completed and before Zhu Ci could announce the end of the session, Zhu Ci stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have a memorial to submit."
Zhu Ci suppressed the urge to look at Huang Chunyao and said with a composed expression, "What business does the Prince of Ning have to report?"
Reporting to Your Majesty, I have recently heard that the Left Censor of the Censorate is harboring a Tartar commander. I request that Your Majesty investigate and question him.
Hmm?
Zhu Ci was slightly taken aback. Was this charge a bit too heavy?
However, Zhu Ci certainly wouldn't make such an accusation without cause, so he looked at Huang Chunyao and asked, "Left Censor, is there any truth to this?"
Huang Chunyao also looked bewildered and hurriedly cupped his hands in response, "Reporting to Your Majesty, there is absolutely no such matter. I do not know why the Prince of Ning would say such things?"
Zhu Ci looked at him coldly and asked, "This King previously sent men to capture the Tartar leader Alna. The last place the opponent appeared was in the Dingyuan area. My subordinates finally managed to find news of him and tracked him down, only to discover that he had already been secretly taken away. Coincidentally, these past two days, I heard that the Left Censor's family took two people from Dingyuan, the group's movements were suspicious as they headed straight for Nanjing. Does the Left Censor have anything to say?"
Huang Chunyao's expression instantly turned solemn. "Prince of Ning, do not make false accusations. It was merely a coincidence. How could I, a Censor, harbor Tartars?"
“Who knows? At the very least, the evidence I have uncovered points directly to the Left Censor. If the Left Censor feels he has been wronged, then he should produce evidence instead of just crying out baseless accusations.”
His Highness the Prince of Ning is simply being unreasonable." Hou Dongzeng could not help but step forward and say, "His Highness's surveillance of the court officials is utterly unscrupulous.
Zhu Ci folded his hands into his sleeves. "Surveillance? If I were truly surveilling, I would have presented the evidence to His Majesty already, rather than standing here in the imperial court letting the Left Censor defend himself."
His Highness the Prince of Ning is simply above the law. Your Majesty, even if you have suspicions regarding the Left Censor, the Prince of Ning should have first submitted a memorial to impeach him, rather than launching a sudden attack during a court session.
Zhu Ci did not even look at the Censor who had stepped forward to draw fire; he simply sneered and said, "Write a memorial first, then give him the chance to hide evidence from the Censorate? Not to mention, it's hard to say whether such a memorial would even reach His Majesty's hands."
Huang Chunyao could no longer stand his ground after hearing this; he exchanged a glance with Hou Dongzeng and sighed inwardly.
Their original plan was to find an opportunity to privately or during a small imperial court session, introduce Ma Shiying and Gao Hongtu to His Majesty.
As a result, no one knew what had happened, but the Prince of Ning had suddenly jumped out, at this stage, they could only deal with each situation as it arose.
Huang Chunyao bowed to Zhu Ci and said, "Your Majesty, I would never dare to deceive your ears."
Zhu Ci believed what he said.
Zhu Ci's claim that the memorials might not even reach him was an exaggeration; memorials generally went to the Grand Secretariat first, after the Grand Secretariat submitted its draft, they would be sent to the Censorate, only then would the Censorate send them to the Emperor.
In fact, the order wasn't originally like this. Originally, the Grand Secretariat would send memorials to the Emperor, after the Emperor had annotated them, they would be handed over to the Censorate. However, because Zhu Ci felt that the current Censorate was quite unreliable, he simply reversed the order, making himself the final decision-maker.
In this situation, there was no possibility of any memorial failing to reach his hands.
Zhu Ci's expression was very gentle at this moment as he said to Huang Chunyao, "I naturally trust the Left Censor, but since the Prince of Ning has submitted a memorial, you should also discern the truth of the matter; I will make my own decision."
Huang Chunyao was not surprised to sense that the Emperor's attitude was subtly leaning toward Zhu Ci; anyone unfamiliar with the situation in the imperial court might have thought that, given Zhu Ci's previous status, there would certainly be friction between him and the Emperor.
In reality, however, the two cousins were on excellent terms; the one who had lost the throne showed no signs of resentment, the one currently on the throne showed no signs of being on guard against him.
In this situation, Huang Chunyao could only bring out Ma Shiying and Gao Hongtu.
He cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, I did indeed bring two people back from Dingyuan, but they are not Tartars; they are former officials from the Hongguang era."
After hearing this, Zhu Ci couldn't help but take a glance at Zhu Ci; he had thought Zhu Ci was just making up an excuse to force Huang Chunyao to reveal the truth, but he hadn't expected it to actually be true.
Fine, that's good. This way, he won't have to find a way to bail out his elder cousin later.
After all, it would be difficult to deal with the counterattacks from the Censorate if he simply made up a random excuse.
Zhu Ci felt much more relieved and asked, "Old officials of the Hongguang Era? Then aren't they acquaintances?"
Huang Chunyao said with full confidence, "These two are Ma Shiying and Gao Hongtu."
Don't even mention official titles. Although the person before them had ascended the throne after the previous emperor's death, the imperial court had essentially fallen apart at that time, making it akin to founding a new nation. Consequently, previous official positions were naturally invalid; otherwise, Ma Shiying and Gao Hongtu wouldn't have been left with no one to turn to, needing him to act as an intermediary.
After Huang Chunyao finished speaking, many people instinctively looked toward Fu.
After all, Fu could be said to have a great grudge against these two; previously, Ma Shiying and Gao Hongtu had placed the entire responsibility for the Emperor's second flight from the Capital onto him.