The sky was bright and the warm sunshine poured down on the rippling Taiye Lake. A small boat carrying Zhu Pingan slowly approached the shore.
After reaching the shore, Zhu Ping'an got off the boat, stood beside the Taiye Lake and bowed to thank the palace maids and eunuchs who were rowing the boat.
After the court session, Emperor Jiajing went to Guanghan Hall, which was built on a small island in the middle of Taiye Lake, and it was here that he summoned Zhu Ping'an. Because Guanghan Hall was built on a small island in the middle of the lake, it was only accessible by boat, so Zhu Ping'an came to meet Emperor Jiajing in this small boat.
There was a young eunuch waiting on the shore of the small island in the middle of the lake where Guanghan Palace was located. This young eunuch was also an acquaintance of Zhu Ping'an, Feng Bao Feng Gonggong. Eunuch Feng greeted Zhu Ping'an with a smile on his face. On the way to Guanghan Palace, he quietly reminded Zhu Ping'an that His Majesty was in a bad mood today and asked Zhu Ping'an to be careful when meeting the emperor.
In fact, Zhu Ping'an knew that Emperor Jiajing was in a bad mood today without Feng Bao's reminder. After all, Zhu Ping'an witnessed Emperor Jiajing's rage with his own eyes.
However, Feng Bao was taking the initiative to show goodwill, and Zhu Ping'an would not miss this opportunity in vain.
"Thank you, Eunuch Feng, for reminding me."
Zhu Pingan thanked him and then slipped a small banknote into Feng Bao's sleeve without leaving any trace. Feng Bao declined for a moment and then accepted it.
Under Feng Bao's guidance, Zhu Ping'an entered Guanghan Palace. Feng Bao stopped and another young eunuch led Zhu Ping'an into the palace where Emperor Jiajing was resting. Emperor Jiajing was sitting cross-legged on the bed in a meditation posture, still reading the memorial presented by Shen Lian, with a slight anger on his face, and a large part of his wide dragon robe hung on the ground.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to the Emperor. Long live the Emperor." After being led into the hall by the young eunuch, Zhu Ping'an knelt down and saluted Emperor Jiajing who was sitting on the dragon couch.
"No need to be polite, my dear minister, please stand up." Emperor Jiajing nodded and motioned Zhu Ping'an to stand up and come forward. The hall was very large, and the dragon bed where Emperor Jiajing was standing was quite far away from where Zhu Ping'an was standing. It was a bit difficult to talk at such a long distance.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Zhu Ping'an stood up and thanked him.
The anger of Emperor Jiajing has not yet subsided. Shen Lian's letter made Emperor Jiajing angry. Whenever he thought of the content of Shen Lian's letter, Emperor Jiajing would be furious.
Emperor Jiajing ascended the throne at the age of 20. It should be noted that Emperor Jiajing was only the son of a local king at that time. After the death of Emperor Zhengde, the civil and military ministers controlled the government. According to the principle of "brother succeeds brother", Emperor Jiajing was recruited to inherit the throne. The civil and military ministers headed by Yang Tinghe made things difficult for Emperor Jiajing, but in the end Emperor Jiajing was the better. He perfectly controlled the government and governed the Ming Dynasty in an orderly manner. Therefore, Emperor Jiajing often compared himself to the best in history in terms of civil and military achievements, and was complacent.
Unexpectedly, Shen Lian compared himself to Emperor Xian of Han in his memorial. In Jiajing's eyes, this memorial was more of a humiliation to himself than an impeachment of Yan Song. How could Emperor Jiajing calm down
However, the punishment that Emperor Jiajing gave today was beyond Zhu Ping'an's expectations.
He was beaten with a stick in the court, then thrown into prison and executed on another day!
What does "明正典刑" mean? "明" means to show; "正" means to punish; "典刑" means law. The four words "明正典刑" together mean to impose the death penalty in accordance with the law. This idiom is mostly used in official documents or notices about the execution of criminals.
This means that after the court beat Shen Lian with a stick, they would choose an auspicious day to execute Shen Lian!
This is inconsistent with the history that Zhu Ping'an himself knows. In history, Emperor Jiajing only beat Shen Lian with a stick in the court and sent him to exile. Why does he want to kill Shen Lian now
Regardless of whether Shen Lian was impulsive or irrational, it is undeniable that Shen Lian is a good person. His starting point is good and his purpose is also good.
Zhu Ping'an couldn't bear to watch such a good official die.
I just happened to have such an opportunity to meet the emperor, I must seize it well, Zhu Pingan thought secretly.
"My dear minister, why don't you come closer?" Emperor Jiajing looked at Zhu Ping'an standing there in a daze, put down the memorial and asked in a deep voice.
At this time, Zhu Pingan realized that the Emperor Jiajing had indeed signaled him to come forward and speak, but because he was thinking about Shen Lian, he was a little distracted. How to say it. What excuse should he use? The Emperor Jiajing was a petty person, especially now that he was angry. If he didn't answer well, not only would the good impression he had made on the Emperor Jiajing be gone, but he might also leave a bad impression on Jiajing.
In this feudal imperial era, the emperor's likes and dislikes are related to your future, so you must be cautious.
In this split second, Zhu Ping'an suddenly caught a glimpse of the dragon robe of Emperor Jiajing hanging on the ground. A story about the imperial physician's audience with Jiajing, which was circulated in unofficial history, came to Zhu Ping'an's mind. When the imperial physician saw the dragon robe of Emperor Jiajing hanging on the ground, he said something that made Emperor Jiajing very happy. This story happened in the last years of the Jiajing period and had not yet happened at this time, but the circumstances were quite similar.
It’s hard to say about others, but it is indeed very suitable for someone as meticulous as Jiajing.
With a calm mind, Zhu Ping'an saluted to Emperor Jiajing calmly and said, "Your Majesty's dragon robe is on the ground. I dare not approach you."
Your Majesty's dragon robe was on the ground, and I dared not approach. This seemingly simple sentence scratched the itch in Emperor Jiajing's heart.
The dragon robe hung on the ground. Zhu Ping'an's words showed his loyalty to me. On the ground, I am a human being; if I were underground, I would be a ghost. The anger of Emperor Jiajing due to Shen Lian's letter was reduced by Zhu Ping'an's words.
Above ground and underground, there is only one word difference, but in the heart of Emperor Jiajing, there is a world of difference.
Emperor Jiajing lifted up the dragon robe that was hanging on the ground, placed it on the dragon couch, and motioned Zhu Ping'an to come forward and answer.
After paying his respects, Zhu Ping'an walked up to Emperor Jiajing.
"Take a look, what do you think?"
Emperor Jiajing gently threw the memorial in his hand to Zhu Ping'an and asked in a calm voice.
Zhu Pingan took the memorial with both hands, apologized to Emperor Jiajing, and then read it carefully. Of course, he was only reading it carefully on the surface, but in his heart he was thinking about how to reply to Emperor Jiajing. Emperor Jiajing had a preconceived idea at this moment, and it was obvious that he was angry with Shen Lian. If he pleaded for Shen Lian or even spoke for Shen Lian, it would not only fail to save Shen Lian, but would accelerate Shen Lian's tragedy, and would also implicate himself in Emperor Jiajing's anger.
"How is it?" A few minutes later, Emperor Jiajing looked Zhu Ping'an in the eye and asked.
"Forgive me for being frank, but this memorial is just for show." Zhu Ping'an bowed and replied.
"Oh?" Emperor Jiajing looked at Zhu Ping'an with flickering eyes.
"The ten serious crimes are based on words only, without any physical evidence, human witnesses or supporting evidence. Therefore, I bluntly say that they are just false." Zhu Ping'an calmly reported under the scrutiny of Emperor Jiajing.
"Yeah." Jiajing nodded after hearing this, with a slight look of anger on his face. "This villain doesn't think about serving the country, but instead does these tricks to frame people. He deserves to die!"
"Your Majesty is right, but I see the meaning of death between the lines. I guess his family probably already prepared a coffin, and he is just trying to gain fame by dying."
Finally, Zhu Pingan said something calmly, which extinguished the anger in the heart of Emperor Jiajing. Shen Lian wanted to die for fame, but I just won't satisfy him! (To be continued.)