"I congratulate the emperor. The clouds have finally cleared and the moon is visible." Zhang Jing also imitated Concubine Zheng and acted like a good boy.

Unexpectedly, Emperor Wanli became furious, raised his hand and slapped him, knocking him to the ground.

"You dog slave, have you lost your mind? How dare you say such outrageous words!" Zhu Yijun said to Zhang Jing, who was kneeling on the ground with his face covered, with a gloomy face:

"It seems that the losses I suffered at the hands of Feng Bao weren't enough! Don't you know that some words can never be spoken?!"

"I'm going to tear this broken mouth apart right now!" Zhang Jing quickly tore his mouth apart, pulling it into a ridiculous shape. He said in a different voice, "I'm really happy for Your Majesty. What a life the Emperor has been leading these years, wuwu..."

Not sure if it was because of the pain or because he was really sad for Wanli, he burst into tears.

Seeing that Zhang Jing's mouth was bleeding, Wanli's expression eased a little and said, "Hmph, that's enough. Remember, when words come out of your mouth, others will think it was I who said it. If that old dog tells my mother, won't I be beaten for nothing?"

"Yes, yes, I'll remember it and won't dare to say it again." Zhang Jing nodded hurriedly, but couldn't help laughing and said, "But the old dog is also very sick and can't see the Queen Mother."

"Hmph." Wanli snorted and said, "Now that you mentioned it, I remembered that I have to go and report the death myself."

As he spoke, he took a few deep breaths, tried his best to look like he was crying, and said to Concubine Zheng: "Do you see how sad I am?"

Concubine Zheng was shocked. In fact, she was the first one to talk nonsense. At this moment, she was very obedient and said, "I have it very well."

"Yeah." Wanli nodded. He wanted to say something to her, but he couldn't bear to do so, so he walked out with his hands behind his back.

~~

Ningshou Palace, in the Buddhist hall.

Empress Dowager Li was also praying for Mr. Zhang, but she was much more devout than her heartless son.

During the months that Zhang Juzheng was bedridden, Empress Dowager Li felt as if her heart was empty and hollowed out, and she couldn't muster the energy to do anything.

She is 42 years old this year. It is said that...

Oh, Zhang Lang, I hope you get better soon.

As she was sighing, she heard the emperor crying at the door: "Mother, Mr. Zhang..."

"What's wrong with him?" Li Caifeng's heart was gripped.

"He left us mother and daughter..." Wanli covered his face and cried, sob.

"Impossible, impossible, absolutely impossible..." The Queen Mother's eyes went dark and she fainted.

"Empress Dowager!" The palace maid behind her quickly supported her.

"Mother!" Wanli also quickly raised his head, but there was not a single tear in his eyes.

When Empress Dowager Li slowly woke up, it was already time to light the lamps.

Looking at the colored glaze palace lanterns that emitted an orange halo, Li Caifeng's eyes were filled with tears, and she said sadly, "He clearly promised me that we would celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival together..."

"My mother, please accept my condolences." Wanli, who was guarding the bed, saw that Empress Dowager Li had aged ten years. He thought to himself, "Oh my god, even when my father passed away, I never saw her so sad."

"I wanted him to help us for another five years, but I didn't expect that this would not happen..." Empress Dowager Li sighed and said, "Call Feng Bao, I will discuss with him about arranging the funeral for Mr. Zhang..."

"Have you forgotten, mother? Oban is also bedridden." Wanli said softly.

"Yes. Come to think of it, he is a few years older than Mr. Zhang." Empress Dowager Li felt sad again. The two people she loved so dearly were going to die together.

She felt more and more lonely, so she curled up and wrapped the quilt tightly around her, and she was stunned.

"Mother, mother..." Wanli called several times before Li Cai'e came back.

"What did you say?" However, her eyes were empty and lifeless, and her face was even more haggard, as if she had lost her soul. Was there any trace of the prestige she had in the past when her eyes were cold and she wanted to depose the emperor at any time?

"Your son said that Zhang Hong, the chief scribe of the Imperial Household Department, is experienced and knowledgeable, and can handle the funeral for Otomo." Wanli had to repeat it.

"Hmm." Empress Dowager Li didn't know if she had heard it or not, she murmured, "It should be grand, don't let Mr. Zhang feel disappointed in his afterlife."

"Don't worry, mother. I will send you off with a state funeral." Wanli expressed his opinion again.

However, the Queen Mother fell into a detached state again, shedding tears silently but not responding to his words.

Wanli was mumbling something again, 'Sir, your contribution is great, I have nothing to reward you for, I just need to take good care of your descendants.'

But the Queen Mother could not hear a word. She was very upset and said, "Your Majesty, please go. I am alone."

"Rest well, mother. Please mourn." Wanli had long been tired of waiting, and bowed deeply to Empress Dowager Li and said, "I will come to pay my respects tomorrow."

Having said this, he quietly left the bedroom with heavy curtains.

When he arrived outside the palace, Wanli was refreshed. It was the end of July, and the summer heat in Yanjing had disappeared, and the moon was as cool as water.

Wanli took a deep breath of the fresh air mixed with the scent of flowers and sandalwood, and suddenly felt relaxed and happy, and all his worries disappeared.

"Your Majesty, it's cold at night, please get on the imperial carriage quickly." Zhang Jing said respectfully with blood scabs on the corners of his mouth.

"No, just walk with me." Wanli looked up at the waning moon on the palace wall and felt that this familiar scenery was so pleasing to the eyes.

"Yes." Zhang Jing followed the emperor happily. He waved his hand again, asking the imperial chariot to follow behind him.

~~

Mr. Zhang, the Queen Mother, and Otomo!

The mountain that had been weighing on his heart for years was lifted in one day. Wanli found everything pleasing to the eye and even felt a kind of happiness as if he was the emperor on his first day.

Yes, he had never been so happy since he ascended the throne.

"Your Majesty, it's been many years since you've taken a walk like this." The only flaw was that Zhang Jing was still nagging behind the emperor: "Ever since he stopped going to the Western Palace for a night stroll seven years ago, he has stayed indoors all day, stuck in the palace. Woo woo woo..."

"Okay, stop causing trouble." Wanli said calmly, "Are you so impatient to take the throne?"

"That's not what I meant. I'm just worried that the night will be too long and there will be more trouble..." Zhang Jing looked at Wanli, his heart pounding.

Wanli turned around, looked at Zhang Jing coldly and said: "I will not be manipulated by anyone again."

"I am so happy today that I have lost my mind and been possessed by a devil..." Zhang Jing was so scared that he knelt on the ground and kowtowed hard.

"Haha, if it were another day, I would have dragged you out to feed the dogs!" Wanli was in a good mood and since he needed someone, he didn't bother with him.

After walking along the imperial road for a while, the emperor climbed up the high palace wall and looked out at the dimly lit city of Beijing, wanting to see his great country.

It was not yet late at night and the Beginning of Autumn had just passed. This should have been a time when brothels and dining establishments were doing a booming business, but because the news of Grand Tutor Zhang's death had spread, everyone in the capital, from the nobles to the common people, had consciously stopped banquets and mourned for Grand Tutor Zhang who had died for the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, at this moment, the streets and alleys of the capital are deserted, with white banners hanging everywhere, and faint cries can be heard, like a ghost cave.

A gust of wind blew by, blinding Wanli's eyes, and he only felt something falling into his collar.

When Zhang Jing took it out and looked at it, he found that it was actually a few pieces of paper money. The emperor said angrily, "Damn it! They all flew here."

Wanli saw the parade coming to an end, turned around and was about to go down the palace wall, but suddenly stopped.

"No, how could it fly so far? And how could the sound of mourning reach the palace..." He felt something was wrong and looked at Zhang Jing and said, "Are you right?"

"Old slave, I dare not say..." Zhang Jing said embarrassedly.

"You know? If you have to fart, do it now!" Wanli glared at him.

"Yes, it was our ancestor who ordered a mourning hall to be set up in the palace to commemorate Grand Tutor Zhang." Zhang Jing looked as if he was asking me to say this.

"You dog slave, you really think a foreign minister is your master? I'm not dead yet!" Wanli was so angry that his teeth itched: "If it weren't for the Queen Mother protecting him, I would have sent him to Xiaoling Mausoleum to look after his grave!"

"That's right. He takes advantage of his seniority all day long and doesn't even look at the emperor!" Zhang Jing was not Feng Bao's disciple, but the godson of Zhang Hong, the former chief of the Imperial Household Department.

After the eighth year of the Wanli reign, the emperor had the intention to support eunuchs to fight against Feng Bao in order to find a respite. Zhang Hong was also an old friend of the Yu residence, and he had always been at odds with Feng Bao. He was chosen by Feng Bao and promoted to the position of Chief Writer of the Silijian.

According to the rules, the chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department should also be the eunuch supervising the East Factory. Unfortunately, the East Factory was still firmly controlled by Feng Bao, and Zhang Hong was unable to take over for several years. Naturally, he was full of resentment, and his relationship with Feng Bao became increasingly hostile.

This was exactly what Emperor Wanli was happy to see, so that he could use Zhang Hong's people with confidence. So Zhang Jing became the manager of the Qianqing Palace, and Zhang Hong's other adopted son Zhang Cheng led 3,000 internal troops and stationed in the palace to protect the emperor.

If Wanli had not been surrounded by eunuchs trained by himself, he would not have spoken so harshly.

"Find an opportunity to leave the palace in two days." The atmosphere at this time made Wanli very excited. He ordered Zhang Jing in a deep voice:

"Go find Wang Tianguan and tell him that I agree to replace Pan Sheng with Liu Dongxing. But he must show me his loyalty first!"

"Yes, long live." Zhang Jing was immediately overjoyed and felt that all the suffering he had endured today was worth it.

"I have waited for seven years. I must take back what I have lost!" Emperor Wanli looked at the Huangji Palace in the night and said word by word: "From now on, I will be the master of my own kingdom!"

~~

The next day, the imperial court officially announced the death of Zhang Juzheng, the Grand Tutor of the Ming Dynasty.

At the same time, Emperor Wanli issued an edict, ordering the eunuch Zhang Hong, who was in charge of ceremonies, to supervise the funeral, suspend court for eight days to express mourning, and grant sacrifices on sixteen altars, bestow the title of Shangzhuguo, posthumously named Wen Zhong, and appointed one of his sons as Shangbao Sicheng.

For a time, the whole capital was in mourning. From the nobles to the common people, everyone set up tables at their doorsteps to pay tribute, the smoke of incense filled the air, and the sound of weeping continued all day long.

Outside the Prime Minister's Mansion, in Dashamao Hutong, the streets were filled with plain banners and elegiac couplets. The servants had to clear them away every hour, otherwise the mansion inside and outside would be flooded with wreaths.

There was a constant stream of people coming and going all day long. Most of the common people were not qualified to enter to pay their respects, so they kowtowed from a distance in the street towards the Grand Tutor's Mansion, crying and praying for the Grand Tutor to rest in peace.

No matter how other people viewed Zhang Juzheng, at least the people of the capital were grateful to him. It was this iron-faced Grand Tutor who kept them from hearing the alarm bells and being free from fear over the years.

This scene was very shocking. Even when the emperor passed away five years ago, the people of the capital had never been so sad.

Merits and demerits are in the hearts of the people!

When Emperor Wanli learned about this, he felt very uneasy, so he asked Zhang Jing to pass a message to Zhang Hong, urging the Zhang family to keep the body for three days and then bury it immediately after that, on the grounds that the weather was hot and the journey was long, and then return south for the burial in early August.