Chapter 118: Palace Tragedy
Zhao Xiaofei and his elder brother hid in a row of low houses next to the Qianqing Palace, where the eunuchs and palace maids were on duty. Zhao Xiaofei said, "This is probably the last time Chongzhen summoned officials to the morning court! Let's wait until they leave before going in!"
"Why don't we go in now? Maybe no one will recognize us!" said Zhao Xiaokun.
"No! Wang Chengen has a very good memory! There is no need for us to take risks! Just wait outside!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
At this moment, Emperor Chongzhen arrived at the Palace of Heavenly Purity, carrying a last glimmer of hope. The light inside was dim, just like his own mood. Deep down, he was on the verge of collapse. Li Zicheng had reached the gates of the capital. The treasury had no money to pay the soldiers, and no one would sincerely support the Ming. He wanted to summon his ministers and ask them to pledge donations, hoping to save the precarious capital.
But the bell rang for a long time, and no minister came to court. In history, there were a few loyal ministers who came, but they were all taken away by Zhao Xiaofei's troops. Chongzhen saw that no ministers came, which made him completely desperate. He closed his eyes and said to Wang Chengen, "Let's go! Go to Kunning Palace!"
"Yes!" Wang Chengen answered with a sob.
The master and servant left the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Zhao Xiaofei and Zhao Xiaokun looked outside from time to time. They saw the backs of Chongzhen and Wang Chengen walking out of the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Zhao Xiaofei called out to his eldest brother, "Let's go! Let's go in!"
Zhao Xiaokun followed his brother into the Palace of Heavenly Purity. They searched everywhere. Finally, they found a small door in a small room on the east side. Zhao Xiaofei chopped the lock open with an axe. The two of them immediately entered the room. Several large square boxes were placed in the middle of three tables. There were dragon patterns carved on them. Zhao Xiaofei raised his hand and opened the box. Inside was indeed the imperial seal, but he didn't know when it was used. He had only seen the six-character seal on the imperial edict that Chongzhen gave him, but he didn't recognize any of the four characters. He only knew the two characters "Chongzhen".
The fake imperial edict was made based on that seal, but Zhao Xiaofei and Zhao Xiaokun didn't care about that anymore. As long as it was a jade seal, they put it in the bag without thinking. After they put everything in the backpack, they realized that these more than 20 jade seals were really heavy.
"Brother! This bag of broken stones is so damn heavy!" Zhao Xiaofei complained.
"Who told you not to exercise properly? Give me the bag!" Zhao Xiaokun took the backpack and put it on his back. Zhao Xiaofei took his brother's first aid kit.
They planned to rescue Empress Zhou. If she were brought to Nanjing, it would further strengthen Zhu Cijiong's legitimacy as the emperor. After all, she was a woman and would not interfere in state affairs. If she proved difficult to control, they could simply kill her. The public could simply claim that Empress Zhou died of depression due to longing for the late emperor.
The two men sneaked towards Kunning Palace with the imperial seals, and on the way they met many palace maids and eunuchs. None of them had anything empty in their hands, and they were all running around with things in their arms. They didn't care where the two fake eunuchs were going!
Just as the two brothers were about to reach Kunning Palace, a eunuch blocked their path. Zhao Xiaofei had never seen this eunuch before, but judging by his attire, he looked like a manager. He asked, "Where are you going?"
Zhao Xiaofei and Zhao Xiaokun didn't say anything. The two brothers were thinking: Is this guy trying to stop us from going in?
But just as they were thinking this, the eunuch said, "You may not survive wherever you go. If you follow me, you will definitely have a good life! I'll give you 50 taels of silver each and help me move things!"
When the two brothers heard they were looking for a job, Zhao Xiaofei saluted and approached, pretending to salute. Then he suddenly pulled out his dagger and stabbed the eunuch in the back. The eunuch fell to the ground without a cry. Zhao Xiaofei said, "If you don't take the road to heaven, you will go to hell!"
Zhao Xiaokun and his brother continued on their way, arriving at Kunning Palace. Emperor Chongzhen and Wang Chengen were talking to Empress Zhou, but Zhao Xiaofei and Zhao Xiaokun couldn't hear clearly from their distance. Palace maids and eunuchs stood nearby, along with several women who resembled concubines. This was Zhao Xiaofei's first encounter with Chongzhen's concubines.
Although I couldn't hear what they said, I could tell with my toes that they were definitely asking Empress Zhou to commit suicide to preserve her reputation! Empress Zhou exchanged a few words with Chongzhen, then bowed to him. A young eunuch climbed onto a stool and tied the white silk. Then he knelt on the ground and shouted, "Please ascend to heaven, Empress!" The other palace maids and eunuchs also cried and shouted, "Please ascend to heaven, Empress!" The other concubines also knelt, silently weeping.
Empress Zhou climbed onto the stool, glanced back at her husband for the last time, and then stepped away. Chongzhen shed tears and spoke a few words to the other concubines, who then wept bitterly and left for the side hall. The palace maids and eunuchs followed them! What for? Zhao Xiaofei knew that Chongzhen must have watched them commit suicide so that he would be assured that he would not be cuckolded after his death.
Zhao Xiaokun said, "Hurry! It's still too late to save her now!" The two brothers rushed into the house at the speed of a 100-meter sprint. Zhao Xiaofei grabbed Empress Zhou's legs and lifted them up. Zhao Xiaokun took out his short knife, climbed onto a stool, and cut the white silk in one stroke.
Empress Zhou fell down at once, and Zhao Xiaofei almost sat on the ground with her. He thought to himself: Mother-in-law, you are really heavy!
Zhao Xiaofei placed Empress Zhou on the bed and let her lie flat. Zhao Xiaokun stepped forward to give Empress Zhou first aid, first performing artificial respiration. Zhao Xiaokun blew air into Empress Zhou's mouth, then sat on top of her and performed CPR.
Zhao Xiaokun tried very hard, but to no avail. So he pulled out his first aid kit and gave Empress Zhou a shot of cardiac stimulant. He then began CPR. After a while, Zhao Xiaokun touched Empress Zhou's neck again, and he finally smiled.
Zhao Xiaofei asked, "Alive?"
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