Chapter Forty-Five: The Greatest Scapegoat of the Ming Dynasty: Chongzhen! (Extra Chapter—Please Support with Data!)

As he was pondering, the eunuch spoke up:
“Your Highness, in the past two days, Marquis Zhou Kui of Jiading has been trying to enter the palace to see Her Majesty the Empress.”
“But following your earlier orders, this servant has been declining on behalf of Her Majesty.”
“However, he came again this morning and is still waiting at the palace gate!”
“This servant thought that if I kept refusing, it might cause trouble for Your Highness, so I hurried to ask how you wish to proceed.”

Hearing this, Zhu Cilang immediately furrowed his brows.
He hadn’t expected the troublemaker to be Zhou Kui, not Chongzhen.
But on reflection, this matter did indeed require urgent resolution.
After all, Zhou Kui was Chongzhen’s father-in-law and the biological father of Empress Zhou.
Previously, Zhu Cilang had used an imperial edict issued by Chongzhen to confiscate Zhou Kui’s household, so it was natural for Zhou Kui to come to his daughter to complain.
Refusing to see him once or twice was understandable, but continuous rejection might arouse suspicion.
Moreover, Zhou Kui seemed to have connections with the Donglin faction.
If this continued, the Donglin faction would surely suspect something amiss within the palace...

Considering this, Zhu Cilang nodded.
“I understand. I shall pay a visit to the Palace of Earthly Tranquility immediately.”

Zhu Cilang ultimately decided to allow Zhou Kui to meet Empress Zhou.
However, before that, he needed to inform the Empress.
Otherwise, if anything went wrong, it would be difficult to manage.

When Zhu Cilang appeared again at the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, Empress Zhou was already dressed and made up, but Chongzhen was still lying in bed, either genuinely asleep or pretending to be.

“Cilang, why have you come so early today?”
Empress Zhou was somewhat surprised to see him.

Ignoring Chongzhen, Zhu Cilang looked at Empress Zhou and said,
“Mother, my grandfather has been wanting to see you these past few days, but I have been turning him away, as it’s best that fewer people know of my actions.”
“But he came again today and is still waiting at the palace gate.”
“I think this can’t go on. You need to see him, or outsiders will surely notice something strange in the palace.”
“If that happens, who knows what trouble might arise.”

Empress Zhou was momentarily stunned but quickly understood.
No doubt her father had come to complain about the previous confiscation of his household...

She then asked,
“But if grandfather asks about His Majesty, what should I say?”

This was her greatest concern—she feared exposing the secret!
After all, this was rebellion!

Zhu Cilang smiled,
“It’s simple. Just say that His Majesty is seriously ill, and you have been busy caring for him, so you haven’t had time to meet him.”
“No need to go into details—it’s a royal matter, and grandfather wouldn’t dare ask further.”

Before Empress Zhou could respond, Chongzhen, still pretending to sleep on the bed, suddenly sat up with disheveled hair and a face full of indignation:
“Ungrateful son! I am not ill! I am imprisoned by you!”

Zhu Cilang found his expression amusing and said,
“So Father was just pretending to sleep?”

Chongzhen was speechless—he was indeed feigning sleep!
But how could he admit that?
He could only sit silently, sulking.

Ignoring Chongzhen, Zhu Cilang continued,
“Mother, everything I am doing is to restore the Ming dynasty’s glory, so no mistakes can be allowed!”
“Grandfather has connections with the court officials; it’s possible those Donglin faction members have influenced him to come see you.”

“Therefore, you must never reveal the truth to grandfather!”

Empress Zhou nodded hastily,
“Cilang, rest assured! I understand everything you said!”
“No matter what, I won’t say anything that harms you!”

By now, Empress Zhou’s mind was clear.
Between her husband and her son—
If her husband was emperor, she was Empress.
If her son was emperor, she would be Empress Dowager.
No matter who ruled, her status would largely remain unchanged.

But if her son’s rebellion became known, her position as Empress would be in jeopardy.
At worst, her son would be imprisoned behind the high walls of Fengyang, a lifetime captive.
Even her Zhou family could be destroyed and disgraced.

She knew well which weighed more heavily.

Seeing this, Zhu Cilang felt reassured.
Of course, when Zhou Kui arrived, Zhu Cilang would still assign people to closely monitor his every move.
If Zhou Kui sensed anything amiss, Zhu Cilang would have to take harsh action...

Compared to the future of the Ming dynasty, a grandfather who once betrayed him was nothing.

After exchanging a few more words with Empress Zhou, Zhu Cilang prepared to leave.

Just then, Chongzhen suddenly spoke,
“Ungrateful son! Do you have no words for me?”

Zhu Cilang glanced at him with some exasperation.
He really had nothing to say to Chongzhen.

But finally, he decided to reveal a little:
“Since you ask, I’ll share some news.”
“I have already issued an edict to reestablish the Eastern and Western Depots to supervise the officials.”

What?

Upon hearing this, Chongzhen immediately flew into a rage!
Pointing at Zhu Cilang, he yelled,
“Ungrateful son! Do you want to kill me with anger? Are you trying to revive the eunuch faction’s disaster?”
“Do you know what the officials and the people will think of you if you do this?”

Zhu Cilang sighed and rubbed his nose, unwilling to argue with Chongzhen, knowing it would be futile.

But then a bright idea seemed to strike him. He smiled and said,
“I forgot to mention—the edict to reestablish the Eastern and Western Depots was issued in your name, Father.”
“In other words, to the officials and the people, the one who truly wants to revive the Depots is you, His Majesty!”
“So even if they curse, they curse you, not me!”

Chongzhen was dumbfounded.
He stared at Zhu Cilang as if looking at a monster.

Zhu Cilang went on,
“Also, the previous edict to confiscate and destroy the noble families was all issued in your name.”
“So even if those nobles hate someone, it’s you they hate!”
“I have done nothing!”
“I have always been a good Crown Prince for the Ming!”

Chongzhen was shocked again.
He never imagined that while he was confined in the harem, unaware of the outside, such a heavy burden would suddenly fall upon him!

Could a Crown Prince really do such things?

Realizing this, Chongzhen’s face twisted with fury.
He pointed at Zhu Cilang and cursed,
“Ungrateful son! Are you trying to coerce the Son of Heaven to command the princes?”
“How could the Zhu family have a son like you?”

He had heard the word “ungrateful son” so often it almost gave him calluses, so he didn’t react but let Chongzhen rant on.

When Chongzhen tired of cursing, Zhu Cilang continued,
“Father, you have managed state affairs for fourteen years!”
“What have you done for this country in fourteen years?”
“Nothing! You have only let this nation decline further!”
“Since that’s the case, let me bear this burden for you!”
“From now on, you need do nothing but stay quietly in the harem and keep taking the blame for me!”
“I will handle state affairs and save the country, while you bear the scorn of all. Together, father and son, we’ll restore Ming’s glory—isn’t that perfect?”

Hearing this, Chongzhen was about to explode!
He was an emperor who cared deeply about his reputation and could never tolerate such slander, especially from his own son!

Empress Zhou stood helplessly beside them, unsure what to say.
One insisted on making trouble; the other insisted on provoking.
This father and son truly were a pair of adversaries.

Seeing Chongzhen’s face contorted with rage, Zhu Cilang remained calm.
“Father, I advise you not to lose your temper! If you die of anger, who will take the blame for me?”
“I’m counting on you to live a few more years and bear the blame a little longer!”
“Of course, if you really die of anger, then I will have to inherit the throne and find someone else to take the blame!”

As the saying goes, extreme anger turns to laughter.
When Chongzhen heard this, he actually laughed in anger.
“Fine, fine! Ungrateful son! You really want to kill me with rage, don’t you?”
“But I won’t give you what you want! I won’t die! I’ll live!”
“I want to see how you can restore the Ming!”
“You want me to take the blame?”
“Fine! I can’t resist anyway! I’ll bear the blame for you!”
“Let’s see if you really have the ability to save the Ming!”

By this point in late Ming, the problems to solve far exceeded just the Manchu invaders and bandits.
Disasters, plagues, famine, the Little Ice Age, official corruption, tax shortfalls, and more all demanded attention.

Although Chongzhen had witnessed Zhu Cilang’s methods before, he still doubted his capability to handle these challenges.

Zhu Cilang understood the implication but was too lazy to explain further.
He calmly replied,
“Then Father, let us wait and see! I will not disappoint you!”
“I take my leave!”

With that, Zhu Cilang departed the Palace of Earthly Tranquility.

Before leaving, he instructed the eunuchs guarding the harem to bring Zhou Kui to a side hall to meet Empress Zhou.
At the same time, they were to closely monitor every move of the two.
If Zhou Kui sensed anything, they were to act immediately once he left the palace.

There was no choice—after all, Zhou Kui was Empress Zhou’s father, his own grandfather.
Even if he had to get rid of him, it could not be done in front of the Empress.

As he had said before, compared to the future of the Ming dynasty, one grandfather was nothing.