What Chongzhen was most worried about happened: something happened in the harem!

Why did most emperors of the Ming Dynasty have short lives?

In addition to genetics and lead poisoning caused by high lead content in palace paint, there is a high probability that there are also human factors.

Various signs at the time of the death of Chongzhen's fifth son Zhu Cihuan indicated that the hands of the nobles had already reached into the palace.

At this time, the eunuch who killed Queen Zhou was simply warning Chongzhen, admonishing him not to attack the nobles.

If they continue to target Yangwu Hou Xue Lian, then the next person to get into trouble will most likely be the Queen.

No, Queen Zhou may have been murdered.

Chongzhen was worried, but at the same time, he was actually happy. He was never afraid of such visible enemies, but those invisible enemies.

Chongzhen waved his hand and asked Wang Chengen to stand aside. He sat beside the queen's bed and asked the imperial physician outside the curtain: "What's wrong with the queen?"

"Your Majesty, based on the pulse diagnosis by the palace maid in the Imperial Pharmacy, I am currently unable to tell what the Queen's condition is. But please rest assured, Your Majesty. I will ask other imperial doctors from the Imperial Hospital to come for a consultation."

(When the imperial physicians of the Ming and Qing dynasties examined the female members of the imperial harem, they could not feel the pulse directly. Instead, the palace maids in the imperial pharmacy felt the pulse and diagnosed the disease and prescribed medicine based on the pulse. The imperial medical office was not located in the palace. In order to deal with emergencies, the imperial pharmacy was set up in the palace. The pharmacists in the imperial pharmacy were composed of eunuchs and palace maids. Because their medical skills were not as good as those of the imperial physicians, there would be imperial physicians on duty in the imperial pharmacy in turn.)

Chongzhen frowned: "Go quickly!"

The two imperial doctors bowed and left as if they had been pardoned, and went to wait outside the hall.

Chongzhen reached out and touched Empress Zhou's forehead and carotid artery. Her breathing was even, her heartbeat was normal, and there were no symptoms of fever.

It is most likely not a serious illness.

Thinking of this, Chongzhen's mood relaxed temporarily.

While waiting for other imperial physicians, Chongzhen took Li Ruolian to a side hall of Kunning Palace.

"Tell me more about it."

"As you wish." Li Ruo Lian bowed his hands and saluted. "The eunuch serving the Queen is named Du Chuan, 17 years old, from Gaoyang, Baoding Prefecture, Northern Zhili. In the palace, he is not only the Queen's eunuch serving the Queen, but also has the job of making fine salt, so he lives alone in a room. He was found dead in the room this morning. Judging from the corpse spots, he died about two hours ago."

"He was strangled to death and then hung from the beams."

Fine salt...

Hearing this word, Chongzhen narrowed his eyes.

As soon as the fine salt came out, it became very popular, especially among the powerful and wealthy in Beijing.

They have plenty of money and are not afraid of things being expensive, they are just afraid of not being able to buy them!

Coupled with Queen Zhou's background and Li Banghua's endorsement, people are flocking to this fine salt that is said to prolong life and taste good.

The dead person was not only a eunuch who served food, but was also responsible for making fine salt.

It seems this matter is more complicated than imagined.

"Any clues about the murderer?" Chongzhen asked.

"Not yet! The Jiannu have just entered the country, and the Jinyiwei are busy collecting intelligence on them, so they haven't paid much attention to what's going on in the palace. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Looking at Li Ruolian with a guilty look on his face, Chongzhen had no intention of blaming him.

In less than four months, Li Ruolian gave the Jinyiwei a brand new look.

The intelligence system in the northern Zhili area has been initially established, and the work of monitoring officials, training personnel, and placing secret guards in various industries is proceeding in an orderly manner.

To exaggerate a bit, it is a change from "nothing" to something.

Such a capable person cannot be punished even if he did something wrong, not to mention that the responsibility for this matter is not his.

"It's not your fault. There's something wrong with my harem." Chongzhen said calmly.

Li Ruo Lian thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I do have a few suspects. Before leaving for Tongzhou, Yangwu Marquis Xue Lian visited Duke Dingguo, Marquis Yongkang, Marquis Wu'an, Marquis Dingxi, Marquis Linhuai, Earl Anxiang and other qualified nobles."

"Combined with the circumstances of Xue Lian's arrest, I believe that these nobles are all suspects. After all, many eunuchs and palace maids in the palace were tenants who rented their land before entering the palace, and they have unclear relationships with these nobles."

Marquis of Yangwu...Duke of Dingguo...Marquis of Yongkang...Marquis of Dingxi...

Chongzhen recited these names silently in his heart.

Are there loyal ministers among the nobles?

Yes, but not many.

Historically, there were five first-class dukes in the late Ming Dynasty.

Duke of Wei Xu Wenjue surrendered to the Qing Dynasty; Duke of Ding Xu Yunzhen surrendered to Li Zicheng and was tortured to death; Duke of Cheng Zhu Chunchen betrayed his master for fame and fortune and was executed by Li Zicheng.

Duke Yingguo Zhang Shize was killed when the city fell.

Mu Tianbo, Duke of Qian, fled to Burma with Emperor Yongli and died resisting the curse of water.

The rest of the nobles.

Except for those who died in the battle, most of the others in Beijing were executed by Li Zicheng, and a few in Nanjing even surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.

Judging from the performance of these people, they can't even pass.

It was not that these nobles in Beijing did not want to surrender to Li Zicheng, but that Li Zicheng refused to accept surrender.

Relying on the contributions of their ancestors to the Ming Dynasty, the nobles not only did not contribute to the Ming Dynasty, but instead used various means to make money, deceive the court, and exploit the people.

The court doesn’t help when it’s in trouble, but fights over its money.

Now he's reaching his hand into the palace!

You were unkind first, and now you blame me for being unjust!

It is impolite not to reciprocate!

Chongzhen stared at Li Ruolian and ordered: "Pick two of these seven nobles and go to their houses to assassinate a few people."

Li Ruolian is no longer the same Li Ruolian as before, and is not surprised at all by assassinations.

He thought for a moment and asked, "How many do you plan to kill, Your Majesty?"

"You decide how many people to kill and who to kill. I have only one request, that the way those people die must be exactly the same as the way this Du Chuan died!"

"This..." Li Ruo Lian hesitated, "I am afraid that doing this will arouse the suspicion of the nobles."

"It's right to doubt! I just want them to doubt me and doubt each other! They want to kill people, so let's see who is better at killing." A surge of anger rose in Chongzhen's heart.

"I... obey your order." Li Ruolian didn't dare to ask more questions, nor did he want to ask more questions.

As the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, such a murder happening in the palace was a slap in his face.

If you get slapped in the face, you have to give it back!

Now that the emperor asked him to kill someone, he was so happy that he couldn't contain himself.

Chongzhen continued to instruct: "The Jinyiwei in Beijing should focus on three places: the palace, the residences of the nobles, and the three major camps in the capital."

Chongzhen did not doubt the loyalty of Liu Wenyao, the governor of the Beijing Camp, but he was afraid that Liu Wenyao would not be able to control it as Liu Wenyao had just taken over the Beijing Camp not long ago.

With the Jinyiwei looking after him, he would feel more at ease.

"If there is a shortage of manpower, we can temporarily transfer the Jinyiwei who monitor the civil servants here, and then transfer them back after the disturbance of this incident has passed."

"I obey your command." Li Ruolian bowed and left.

"Your Majesty, someone is here from the Imperial Hospital." Li Ruolian had just left the side hall when Wang Chengen walked in.