Chapter 68 Wei Zhongxian's empire was so beautiful, attracting countless heroes to its downfall...
Jiang Ge was unaware of what was about to happen to Jiang Yuanshan, and even if she had known, she wouldn't have felt anything.
The father-daughter relationship had been severed after the original owner's death; she and Jiang Yuanshan were nothing more than strangers.
As night deepened, the backyard of the Songyang County government office was quiet. Jiang Ge saw off the last celebrity before returning to the courtyard, gently closing the gate and locking it.
Moonlight streamed through the window lattice, casting dappled shadows on the blue brick floor. Jiang Ge slowly walked back to the inner room, her fingers lightly tracing the pile of account books on the table. In recent days, she had long since grown accustomed to being able to shed her pretense and be her true self only in the quiet of the night.
Her slender fingers unbuttoned the collar of her official robes, peeling away the heavy layers one by one. When the white silk binding her chest finally came loose, she let out a long sigh, as if she had broken free of some invisible shackles. Her long, black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, falling over her shoulders, shimmering softly in the candlelight.
Django walked to the bronze mirror and gazed at the woman in it. Her face, usually concealed by deliberately thickened eyebrows and a tied-up bun during the day, now finally revealed its natural, delicate features. She reached out and touched her cheek; her fingertips brushed against smooth skin, not the dark makeup she had deliberately applied during the day.
Turning to the bed, she took a sandalwood box from under her pillow. The box clicked softly as it opened, revealing neatly stacked account books and banknotes inside. Django sat cross-legged on the bed and began to count the items by candlelight.
The rustling sound of her fingers turning the pages was particularly clear in the quiet room. She remembered when she first arrived in Songyang County, all her belongings amounted to only a dozen or so taels of loose silver. At that time, she tossed and turned every night, worried about her identity being exposed and how to govern this impoverished county riddled with problems.
Today, the figures in the ledgers have grown to an astonishing five figures. The proceeds from the suppression of bandits in Black Wind Village, the revenue from the newly built brick kilns in the county, the taxes paid by caravans... Behind these figures lies the gradually improving life of the people of Songyang County, and also her hard work.
Django's fingertip hovered over a page of accounts.
The sound of the night watchman striking the gong came from outside the window; it was already past midnight. Jiang Ge closed the account book, but didn't put it away immediately. Her gaze fell on a corner of the room—where several sets of brand-new yamen runner uniforms hung neatly. These were specially made for the county yamen runners, using the finest cotton fabric.
A team should look neat and orderly.
Songyang County now not only has a full treasury, but also a yamen runner with hidden talents, and hundreds of workers who make a living from the county's brick kilns.
These are her sources of confidence, the foundation upon which she can survive in this treacherous world.
The candlelight flickered gently, casting swaying shadows on the wall. Django locked the ledgers back into the sandalwood box, but didn't go to sleep immediately. She went to the window, opened it, and let the night breeze dispel the stuffiness in the room.
The distant mountains were outlined in a hazy shape under the moonlight.
Django gazed up at the bright moon in the night sky, its cool light bathing her jade-like face. A night breeze swept by, lifting her unbound long hair, which danced behind her like ink-black silk.
At that moment, she suddenly recalled the history she had studied in college, and the gleam in her professor's eyes as he lectured. Those names that once existed only in history books—Empress Lü, Empress Wu Zetian, Empress Feng, Empress Xiao—came vividly to life before her eyes.
"Heh..." She chuckled softly, her voice exceptionally clear in the quiet night. Her knuckles unconsciously tapped on the windowpane, producing a rhythmic, soft sound.
She recalled Empress Lü's benevolent rule with its light taxes and levies, and Empress Wu Zetian's boldness in establishing the imperial examination system and promoting those from humble backgrounds. These women had carved out their own paths in the patriarchal society of ancient times. Now, she held the power of a county, with a full treasury, popular support, and the assistance of the system and historical figures. Why should she continue as a county magistrate?
In the moonlight, Jiang Ge's eyes shone with an astonishing light. She turned back to her desk, spread out a sheet of Xuan paper, and dipped her brush in ink. The brush tip hovered on the paper for a moment before finally falling:
"The land is so beautiful, it has attracted countless heroes to bow down in admiration."
When she got excited while writing, she simply threw down the brush and dipped her hand in the ink. As she wrote, her heart gradually calmed down.
"In this age of great strife, those who do not contend perish." She murmured, her voice filled with an unprecedented resolve. Since fate had transported her to this era and given her this opportunity, then she should—
"Fight!"
The sudden sound was particularly jarring in the still night. Jiang Ge looked at his palm, stained black with ink, and suddenly laughed. This smile was completely different from the Magistrate Jiang of the daytime; the light in his eyes was even more dazzling than the bright moon outside the window.
She rose and walked to the wardrobe, taking out a crimson official robe she had never worn before from the bottom shelf—it was a robe she had secretly commissioned to fit her own measurements, made of the finest brocade, with phoenixes and peonies embroidered in subtle patterns on the cuffs. Her fingers traced the smooth fabric, and she imagined the day she could openly wear such attire and stand before everyone.
No.
She wanted to stand openly and honestly in front of everyone as a woman.
Having made up his mind, Django pressed the confirmation button to open the blind box. Although he didn't know whether the person who came was loyal or treacherous, good or bad, a treacherous minister would be more interesting, wouldn't he?
—Ming Dynasty
As the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs of the Ming Dynasty, Wei Zhongxian's power had already reached its zenith. Dressed in a python robe and with a jade belt around his waist, even high-ranking officials in the court would bow to him. However, whenever the night was deep and quiet, this "Nine Thousand Years Old" would sit alone in his duty room in the Eastern Depot, staring blankly at the candlelight.
As a eunuch, his body was crippled, and he had very few forms of entertainment. Wei Zhongxian disliked listening to music, appreciating flowers, and had little interest in gourmet food. There was only one thing he had an almost obsessive fascination with—silver.
"Your Majesty, this is the account of tributes from various places today." A young eunuch knelt down and presented a thick booklet.
The emperor is only ten thousand years old, while Wei Zhongxian is nine thousand nine hundred years old. If Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he would definitely skin him alive and tear his tendons apart.
Wei Zhongxian flipped through the pages casually, his fingertips tracing the lines of numbers. Thirty thousand taels, fifty thousand taels, eighty thousand taels... These numbers brought a satisfied smile to his gaunt face. Every sum of silver he received had to be personally inspected, and sometimes he would even have the cash brought to him just to hear the pleasant clinking sound.
"Why is the salt tax in Zhejiang less?" he suddenly frowned.
The young eunuch was so frightened that he kowtowed repeatedly: "Your Majesty, they say there's been a lot of rain this year, making salt production difficult..."
"Bullshit!" Wei Zhongxian slammed the account book on the ground. "Go tell the governor that if he's short even a tael of silver, he'll pay with his head!"
While Wei Zhongxian was reveling in the pleasure of amassing wealth, deep within the Forbidden City, in the Qianqing Palace, the young Chongzhen Emperor was engrossed in reading the "Veritable Records of the Taizu Emperor." The rising smoke from the incense burner cast a shadow over his gaunt face, making it appear even more somber. This last emperor of the Ming Dynasty had only been on the throne for a few months, yet he had already seen through Wei Zhongxian's treachery and disgrace to the country.
If Wei Zhongxian is not eliminated, the Ming Dynasty will be in turmoil.
Think of how glorious the founding emperor was back then, and then look at him...
"Your Majesty, it's late," Wang Chengen, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, advised softly, his gaze sweeping over the mountain of memorials piled on the imperial desk. "Wei Zhongxian has again forged an imperial edict today to punish three censors..."
Once this happens, the officials in the imperial court will surely bow down and submit.
Emperor Chongzhen suddenly coughed violently, leaving a dark red stain on his handkerchief. He stared at the bloodstain for a long time, then suddenly chuckled, "My lord, what do you think Wei Zhongxian is doing right now?"
"They must be counting their ill-gotten gains again," Wang Chengen said through gritted teeth. "The assets confiscated last month alone are enough to cover half a year's military pay in Liaodong..."
The young emperor walked to the window, gazing at the moon, half-hidden by dark clouds. Moonlight streamed through the windowpanes, casting spiderweb-like shadows on his bright yellow robes. "Let him be smug for a while longer," Chongzhen's voice was as soft as a sigh. "I want him to return everything he's swallowed, with interest."
He certainly wanted to deal with Wei Zhongxian, but there was simply no suitable opportunity. He could wait a little longer; his patience had reached its limit.
Wei Zhongxian piled all the silver on the table, grabbed a handful and poured it down, the sound of silver clinking and clanging.
It's really pleasant to hear.
Back then, Wei Zhongxian was just a street hustler who was also a gambler. He had no choice but to cut off two ounces of flesh from his body and become a eunuch. Unexpectedly, becoming a eunuch led Wei Zhongxian to the pinnacle of his career.
"Heh..." Wei Zhongxian suddenly chuckled, grabbing a fifty-tael ingot of official silver and stuffing it into his purse. The cold silver against the damaged area sent a shiver down his spine. "Worth it...worth it..." he murmured to himself, recalling the old eunuch in the castration room's words that castration was like removing a calamity; now, those words seemed incredibly wise.
What's so good about women?
Is power and money good?
Wei Zhongxian made a fake [illegible], which looked almost identical to the real one when placed inside the [illegible], and even the delicate [illegible] finger gesture was no longer raised.
Sitting in the chair, he appeared as if he were merely a courtier, not a eunuch.
The emperor seems to have a lot of complaints about him these past few days.
Eunuchs are meant to depend on the emperor for their livelihood, and Wei Zhongxian didn't want to ruin his job. Otherwise, he would have given the emperor an even larger cut.
Wei Zhongxian grimaced as he swiped the silver, heartbroken, truly heartbroken.
He turned and opened the secret chamber. Inside, in a three-tiered camphor wood chest, three hundred salt certificates were neatly stacked. He pulled out the top stack, his knuckles turning white—these were the golden eggs!
“Prepare another gift list…” He gritted his teeth and tore off ten salt permits, then thought for a moment and stuffed five back in. Suddenly, he caught sight of the three-foot-tall coral tree in the corner, a birthday gift from the Fujian General. Wei Zhongxian rushed over and hugged the coral, rubbing his face against the cool red branches, and finally hardened his heart: “Pack this… too.”
"Add the pair of jade unicorns from Yunnan to the gift list as well."
What are coral trees? What are jade unicorns? As long as the Emperor's favor remains... Wei Zhongxian suddenly burst into a manic laugh, startling the sparrows under the eaves. As long as the Emperor continues to use this old dog, the entire Ming Dynasty will sooner or later become his treasury!
Wei Zhongxian had a premonition of what was going to happen, but he never imagined that the insignificant emperor Zhu Youjian, whom he considered a threat, would deal with him so swiftly and decisively.
What do intelligent people fear most? Not an even more intelligent opponent, but a complete fool. It's like encountering a child who doesn't follow the rules when playing chess; no matter how much you calculate, he'll just make random moves.
Unfortunately, Zhu Youjian was just such a fool.
People often say that Wei Zhongxian deserved to die, but not so early. Even the timing of a treacherous minister's death is crucial. Clearly, Zhu Youjian did not understand this principle.
Wei Zhongxian, like a mouse, sensed the impending disaster, but due to his extreme arrogance, he ignored it. Just like now, he was touching the jade unicorn and refusing to let go.
"My darling, let me touch you again." This jade kylin was extremely translucent and was Wei Zhongxian's beloved possession. He was truly reluctant to part with it to the emperor so soon.
While I was playing with the jade kylin, a piece of paper suddenly fell from the sky, and at the same time, many things appeared in my mind.
After he saw it clearly, he burst into laughter: "Someone, help me change my clothes!"
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Author's Note: Zhu Yuanzhang: We're going to skin you alive!!!
[Dog head carrying a rose][Dog head carrying a rose]
I originally thought that writing a plot where Jiang's father is killed would be hard for everyone to accept, but I didn't expect everyone to be so accepting of it, so I'll just have to go for it then [doge emoji]
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