Thinking of the ghostly hauntings at the Forbidden City, Prince Gong didn't mind his regal demeanor and dashed over Andrew Sea to the entrance of Qianqing Gate in a hurry – he had to protect the emperor!
Cannot let the emperor be harmed by demons and ghosts. The current emperor, Yi Zhen, currently has no son in his family. What if he were to be cursed by the evil spirits... Who should inherit the throne of the Qing Dynasty then?
Of course, ghosts and demons are not something to be believed. It could also be that the emperor has been worried and suppressed for so long that he's a bit crazy... The foundation of the Qing Dynasty cannot be entrusted to a madman!
Yi Zhen was the fourth son, and his three eldest brothers were gone. Moreover, they didn't leave any descendants. Although there was a younger brother, the fifth son Yi Zheng, he had been adopted by Daoguang to inherit the lineage of Daoguang's younger brother Ruan Kaibin. So now, below Xianfeng, it's the sixth son Yixin!
It's truly... urgent!
Hurriedly, Yi Xin ran into the Qianqing Gate and rushed to the hall door of Qianqing Palace. He then peered in, seeing a thin, limp cripple in stone blue formal robes and a common cap wandering back and forth in the hall, grumbling through gritted teeth: "Deceiving the emperor... Heshun, Jiang Zhongyuan... They should die! Saishang'ea, Xiang Rong... They deserve to be killed! How can my Qing Dynasty produce such treacherous ministers..."
Yi Xin muttered to himself upon hearing these words, wondering what was going on. Why did he have to kill Sai Shang'a, Xiang Rong, He Chun, and Jiang Zhongyuan all at once? Just for deceiving the emperor? That couldn't be it! Who among the officials these days doesn't deceive the emperor a bit? If they all told the truth, they would have been dismissed and exiled long ago... Wait, you're not that serious about it in your everyday life either...
Yi Xin's serious tone suddenly made him sound like Zhu Youlang, the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Was it possible that...
Yi Xin was just about to think about this when a eunuch standing guard at the entrance of the Qianqing Palace suddenly shouted, "The Prince of Gong respectfully requests an audience with Your Majesty!"
Upon hearing the eunuch's shout, Yi Xin quickly ducked his head out, and then glared fiercely at the gatekeeper — What are you shouting? Didn't you see that I was eavesdropping? What if the emperor found out what would I do?
Inside, Xianfeng quickly hobbled to the throne behind the imperial desk and sat down - he was afraid that the ministers would see his leg was crippled.
When ancient emperors chose their successors, they not only considered the virtues and talents of the princes but also their physical health. Ideally, they would select an heir who was physically sound, with all limbs intact, healthy, and with sharp hearing and eyesight.
A prince with physical defects is generally considered unsuitable to become an emperor.
Xianfeng, due to a fall from a horse as a child that broke both of his legs, has not fully recovered and remains crippled to this day. Although he still became the crippled emperor, he was somewhat self-conscious and reluctant to let his ministers see him limping.
Therefore, when Xianfeng attended court sessions, he always arrived early and left late. He would arrive before the ministers and leave after them. He would only slowly depart with the help of eunuchs when there were "no one" around.
When summoning ministers to the Qianqing Palace, he would also do this. He would have to sit down first before letting them in, even if today's ministers knew about his limp, he still had to make an effort to cover it up...
Just as Xianfeng settled down and was about to have Yi Xin announced, the eunuch guarding the gate shouted again: "Body Renge Academy of Chinese Painting and Calligraphy University Dai Shifu, Taize Moxie Zheng, official of the Juminxi Palace walking; left Daohu Yinshangzhi, official of the Juminxi Palace walking; Five Grade Junshu Chongbu, official studying walking of the Juminxi Palace - please Your Majesty grant an audience for His Majesty's edict."
"Announce!"
Xianfeng shouted.
And then saw the annoying Yi Xin, as well as Qian Renei and Peng Yunchang of the Juminxi Palace, and the "learning walk" Mu Yin, one after another came in, standing in a row and all kneeling before Xianfeng.
"Your slave Yi Xin respectfully greets the Emperor's well-being."
"Your slave Mu Yin respectfully greets the Emperor's well-being."
Yi Xin, a Baima Prince in the Eight Division of Qing Dynasty, possessed a position of seniority and honor, acting as the emperor's chief servant. He had the right to call himself a slave in front of Xianfeng.
Mu Yin was a member of the Zhengbai banner, which along with the Zhenghuang and Xianghuang banners, were directly under the Manchu emperor and were known as the "upper three banners." All commanders under these three banners belonged to the emperor, so none of the Baima princes held a banner in these upper three banners. The people of the upper three banners and servants of the Pakai slaves were all considered slaves of the Manchu emperor. Therefore, Mu Yin could also call himself a slave in front of Xianfeng!
Both slaves used Manchu language to bow and ask for the Emperor's blessings, which was also a rule.
"I, Qian Renei, respectfully greet the Emperor's well-being."
"I, Peng Yunchang, respectfully greet the Emperor's well-being."
Then it was the turn of the two Han Chinese officials to bow and ask for the Emperor's blessings. As Han people, they didn't have the qualifications to call themselves slaves in front of Xianfeng. In theory, not only Han people, but also those who were subordinate to various Baima princes and Paoi slaves could not call themselves the emperor's servants - those princes were their actual masters!
And the two Han Chinese officials used Mandarin in their bows and greetings.
"Old Six, Qian Renei, you may rise," Xianfeng said. "Andrew Hai, fetch a chair for Qian Renei."
Gongqin Wang and Qian Renei both expressed gratitude before rising.
And Andrew Hai fetched a small round stool for Qian Renei - this was the emperor granting him permission to sit!
Qian Renei was a senior and distinguished minister, and with the emperor's grace, he was granted the honor of sitting in a dignified posture.
As for Gongqin Wang Yixin, he wasn't actually disabled... So he should just stand straight!
And the other two officials of the Juminxi Palace could only kneel.
"Papi papi papi" - a few loud slaps. Xianfeng picked up a few documents on the desk and threw them down, followed by a loud curse: "Look, look... These are the petitions of Sai Shang'a, Xiang Rong, He Chun, and Jiang Zhongyuan... Look at this mess! Why did my Qing Dynasty have to use such worthless insects? That's why bandit raids are increasing!"
I have always known that these people have been deceiving me, covering up their failures with victories, but I have always shown them leniency, hoping they could inspire virtue and genuinely do their best. But I didn't expect them to take advantage of me and conceal the truth even more. They thought I was young and ignorant and could be easily deceived? That's truly despicable! You all say, should these worthless insects be killed?”
Yi Xin, Qian Renei, Peng Yunchang, and Mu Yin were unaware of the situation and therefore followed Xianfeng's order to open one petition each and start reading.
After reading for a while, all four of them were stunned.
"This, this even has divine demons descending from the sky? How is this possible?"
"How can there be a Heavens-Reaching Master and the Great Bull Demon? Wasn't it said that the rebels were using foreign religions to sway people's hearts? How has it turned into 'The Investiture of the Gods' and 'Journey to the West'?"
"This... riding on a flying chariot, descending with the purple thunder, and witnessed by thousands of people... Could it really be true?"
"It even mentions picking up a magical treasure as evidence, and a Hongdaquan as a witness... Is this true or false?"
Upon hearing the comments from the others, Xianfeng's anger flared. "It's come to this? How can you still protect these traitors? Are you all in cahoots with them? Old Six, what do you think?"
Yi Xin was startled and thought: If I were to say that Sai Shang'a, Xiang Rong, He Chun, and Jiang Zhongyuan had misled the emperor, you would probably get angry and send them all off to Xinjiang. If they were removed from the front line in Guangxi, the Long Taiping might sweep across both Guangdong and Guangxi.
"Your Majesty, the petition from Sai Shang'a clearly states that there are witnesses and evidence, and it is already on its way to Beijing. What if we... wait for the witnesses and evidence to arrive?"
Xianfeng snorted: "Old Six, it seems you really believe that the rebels have demons helping them from behind?"
"Your slave believes that this matter cannot be disbelieved or fully trusted, but it should... "
Xianfeng interrupted Yi Xin before he could finish his sentence: "Good! Since you are half-believing and half-suspecting, I will appoint you to handle this matter! If the rebels really have demons helping them, go and eliminate the demons!"
"But, but your slave is not capable of this!" Yi Xin of course knew that this good brother was setting him up, so he hurriedly pushed the responsibility away.
However, Xianfeng had finally found an opportunity to make Gongqin Wang look bad, and he wasn't going to let it go.
"Old Six, stop pushing it. I think this task belongs to you!" Xianfeng said. "Although the petition from Sai Shang'a mentions 'Heavens-Reaching Master' and 'Great Bull Demon,' the Long Taiping is using Western religion. Perhaps that 'Great Bull Demon' is a Western devil, and it looks like a bull. Killing Western devils belongs to the sphere of Western affairs, right? Now in Beijing, you are the most knowledgeable about Western affairs. Who else should handle this matter if not you?"
Qian Renei, Peng Yunchang, Mu Yin, what do all of you think?"
"Your Majesty is wise, dealing with Western demons truly belongs to the Western affairs! Gongqin Wang, please don't decline the task."
"Gongqin Wang, nowadays, no one else in the court except you has seen the Bible of the Westerners, and won't know how to kill Western demons."
"Gongqin Wang, this matter can only be yours. For the eternal peace of the Qing Dynasty and for the well-being of all people under heaven, please accept this responsibility!"
Gongqin Wang Yixin was put on the spot now. It was his own doing since he had such a keen interest in Western affairs...
