Chapter 52: Why Does Chongzhen Want to See Me Again?

After a long while, Zhu Cilang finally managed to suppress the rising anger in his heart.

Although the Chongzhen Emperor had a habit of making heroes sweat, bleed, and weep, he, Zhu Cilang, would never do such a thing!

He was determined to grant Lu Xiangsheng a posthumous title and additional compensation!

This hero of the late Ming Dynasty fully deserved such a reward!

With this in mind, Zhu Cilang turned to look at Li Ruolian and commanded:
"Go and bring Lu Xiangsheng's family here. I wish to see them!"

Li Ruolian bowed and replied:
"Understood!"

With that, he turned and strode out of the hall.

About an hour later, Lu Xiangsheng's younger brother, Lu Xiangji, hurriedly led Lu Xiangsheng's wife, Lady Wang, and his young son into the presence of Zhu Cilang.

"This humble commoner, Lu Xiangji, pays respects to Your Imperial Highness the Crown Prince!"
"This humble woman, Lady Wang, pays respects to Your Imperial Highness the Crown Prince!"

Lu Xiangsheng's young son also clumsily dropped to his knees, calling out in a childish voice:
"This humble commoner, Lu Yizai, pays respects to Your Imperial Highness the Crown Prince."

Zhu Cilang said indifferently:
"Rise."

Hearing this, the three of them stood up.

Lu Xiangji raised his head to look at Zhu Cilang, and in an instant, his face turned completely pale.

For he recognized Zhu Cilang!

Earlier at the teahouse, he had angrily denounced the Chongzhen Emperor as a foolish ruler right in front of this very youth.

At that moment, Lu Xiangji's heart turned to ashes.

He assumed that the Crown Prince had summoned them purely to exact revenge for his previous rebellious remarks.

He was not afraid of dying, but he feared dragging his sister-in-law and young nephew down with him!

Overwhelmed with terror, he hurriedly dropped to his knees once more, trembling as he pleaded:
"This humble commoner was blind and failed to recognize Mount Tai. I beg Your Imperial Highness to spare us! If Your Imperial Highness must punish someone, let this humble commoner bear the full brunt of it. I only implore Your Highness to spare my sister-in-law and the child."

Lu Xiangsheng's wife had no idea what was happening and was instantly at a loss.

She stared blankly at Zhu Cilang, her eyes filled with fear and apprehension, and young Lu Yizai was no different!

Zhu Cilang looked at Lu Xiangji with a faint smile and said:
"What? Knowing fear now, are you?"

Lu Xiangji dared not speak, keeping his head lowered in absolute terror, dreading that his past impulsiveness would ruin his surviving family.

However, he was clearly overthinking; Zhu Cilang had no intention of harming him.

In fact, in Zhu Cilang's eyes, the Chongzhen Emperor was indeed a foolish ruler...

Though, of course, such words could never be spoken aloud.

"Very well, get up! For the sake of your elder brother, Lu Xiangsheng, I will let this matter pass!"

Hearing these words, Lu Xiangji tremblingly scrambled to his feet.

Zhu Cilang continued:
"I know why you have come to the capital. Regarding what happened to Lu Xiangsheng, His Majesty and the imperial court were indeed in the wrong! But you may rest assured, I will memorialize the Emperor to clear Lu Xiangsheng's name and rectify this injustice. All the rightful compensation shall be delivered, and I shall also petition for a hereditary peerage to be bestowed upon him, so that his descendants and the Great Ming may endure for all eternity!"

Upon hearing Zhu Cilang's words, Lu Xiangji and Lady Wang burst into tears.

They had journeyed to the capital merely to petition the court for an honorable posthumous title and better compensation for Lu Xiangsheng. Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined that the imperial court would actually confer a noble peerage upon him!

This was something they would not have dared to dream of even in their sleep!

Overcome with emotion, Lu Xiangji and Lady Wang dropped to their knees once again, kowtowing and expressing their boundless gratitude:
"We thank Your Imperial Highness for your boundless grace!"
"The Lu family shall forever be devoted to Your Highness's immense kindness!"

Even young Lu Yizai was pulled down to kneel along with them.

Zhu Cilang went on:
"I will give you a definitive answer regarding this matter tomorrow. You may withdraw and rest for now. Li Ruolian, see that they are well taken care of!"

Hearing this, Li Ruolian cupped his fists and replied:
"This subordinate obeys!"

After expressing their gratitude repeatedly, Lu Xiangji finally took his sister-in-law and nephew and departed.

Soon, only Zhu Cilang remained in the grand hall.

Zhu Cilang rubbed his chin, beginning to ponder what rank of nobility should be bestowed upon Lu Xiangsheng.

A duke's title was definitely out of the question; there were only a handful of dukes in the entire Ming Dynasty, and Lu Xiangsheng's achievements, while great, fell just short of that.

An earldom, on the other hand, felt a bit too stingy.

That left only the title of a marquis as the most appropriate choice!

Why not confer upon him the title of Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery?
And add the title of Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, since that was a purely honorary office anyway.

With that settled, Zhu Cilang finally finalized the peerage for Lu Xiangsheng.

After finishing his midday meal, just as Zhu Cilang was preparing to make a trip to the inner palace and have the Directorate of Ceremonies draft the imperial edict, Wang Chengen suddenly arrived.

"Your Imperial Highness, the eunuch guarding the Kunning Palace reports that His Majesty wishes to see you. This servant has come specially to inform you!"
Wang Chengen said respectfully.

Why does the Emperor want to see me again?
Didn't we meet just yesterday?

Zhu Cilang was slightly puzzled at first, but the next second, a realization crossed his mind, and a smile spread across his face.

If he guessed correctly, it must be because of the *Great Ming Daily*.

When he left the residence this morning, he had deliberately instructed someone to hand the issue of the *Great Ming Daily* sent by Xue Guoguan last night to the Chongzhen Emperor.

If nothing unexpected happened, the Emperor had likely finished reading it long ago.

Since he had been planning to visit the imperial palace anyway, he might as well drop by and see the Chongzhen Emperor along the way!

"Let's go!"

With a wave of his hand, Zhu Cilang boarded his palanquin and headed toward the inner palace.

Kunning Palace.

Empress Zhou was absent because she was busy consoling the other imperial concubines. After all, now that Zhu Cilang had placed the entire inner court under strict lockdown, the other consorts were inevitably letting their imaginations run wild, leaving her as the only one who could comfort them.

This, too, had been done at Zhu Cilang's behest.

At that moment, the Chongzhen Emperor was perusing the copy of the *Great Ming Daily* in his hands with a beaming smile, looking as though he could not bear to put it down.

Even though he had already read through it repeatedly, he still could not resist reading it yet again!

Especially the front-page headline, which actually hailed him as a "Sage and Enlightened Ruler"!

Coupled with the eunuch's earlier report that the *Great Ming Daily* was to be circulated throughout the entire capital, the Chongzhen Emperor felt even happier.

Because this meant that all the common people would also be able to read this newspaper and realize that he was, indeed, a "Sage and Enlightened Ruler"!

He had encountered official gazettes and palace reports before, but to be frank, compared to the *Great Ming Daily* in his hands, those traditional gazettes were utterly insignificant.

The *Great Ming Daily* was undoubtedly a peerless divine sword for the imperial court to master public opinion among the common folk!

With the newspaper in his hands, he would no longer have to fear those civil officials spreading rumors among the populace.

Yet, the moment he remembered that this newspaper had been created by Zhu Cilang, the Chongzhen Emperor's joy suddenly subsided somewhat.

After all, this was entirely Zhu Cilang's achievement, having nothing to do with him as the father!

He truly wondered how this rebellious son's brain was wired to come up with such a brilliant method to control public opinion!
The Chongzhen Emperor muttered inwardly.

Suddenly, at that very moment, a commotion arose outside the entrance of the Kunning Palace, followed by a chorus of voices shouting:
"Pay respects to Your Imperial Highness the Crown Prince!"

The Chongzhen Emperor hurriedly put down the newspaper in his hands and hastily put on a calm and collected facade; he could not let this rebellious son see how fascinated he was with the *Great Ming Daily*.

Moments later, Zhu Cilang strolled leisurely into the Kunning Palace, completely ignoring the Emperor.

Instead, he sat down directly opposite the Chongzhen Emperor, poured himself a cup of tea, and began to sip it calmly.

Seeing this, the Chongzhen Emperor was momentarily stunned, thinking to himself, *What is the meaning of this? This rebellious son doesn't even offer a customary greeting when he sees me now?*

Yet, it was awkward for the Emperor to bring this up himself, so he could only sit there, stewing in suppressed frustration.

Zhu Cilang paid him no mind, continuing to leisurely sip his tea with a completely composed expression.

The atmosphere began to grow somewhat bizarre!

However, it was not long before the Chongzhen Emperor lost his patience!