Chapter 4 So It Was

  Although he knew the dynasty, Ye Xiang's heart was not at ease. The Ming Dynasty was a complex and complicated dynasty with eunuchs in power, officials forming cliques, the East Factory and West Depot running amok, and natural disasters rampant everywhere. There was one question that had been puzzling Ye Xiang since his previous life: why did the Ming Dynasty, which was already so decrepit, manage to last for so many years?

  Ye Xiang didn't know which prince he was, only knowing that he wasn't Chongzhen after all, since Chongzhen had never been a prince. He thought to himself, "Good thing I don't have to hang myself," and let out a slight sigh of relief.

  He glanced at the eunuchs around him. In the Ming Dynasty, there were many famous eunuchs, such as Liu Jin and Wei Zhongxian, who were powerful for a time. But he had never heard of one with the surname Li.

  Ye Xiang just kept his head down and walked forward, but didn't notice that a group of people suddenly appeared in front of him. A woman, surrounded by palace maids, walked towards Ye Xiang. Although the woman was no longer young, her charm had increased even more, exuding a mature and alluring femininity. The clothes on the woman's body were very different from those of ordinary palace maids, much more luxurious.

  When Ye Xiang realized that the two groups of people were about to meet, he became aware of a very important issue - this was the imperial palace and all the women present were consorts of the emperor. Judging by her age, this woman should be one of his father's consorts, and he should pay his respects to her. However, since he didn't know her identity, if he revealed any weakness, it would be disastrous. Glancing at the eunuchs and Li Ran beside him, Ye Xiang immediately made up his mind that he must wait for them to speak first; otherwise, as the crown prince, he absolutely could not make a sound.

  But what made Ye Xiang astonished was that the woman actually walked to his side, bowed to him and smiled: "Ke Shi has seen Your Highness, where is Your Highness going?"

  Originally relieved that he didn't have to pay respects, Ye Xiang's eyes widened in shock as he stared straight at the woman, his hand slowly pointing at her. "You are... you..." He hadn't even finished speaking when he fainted. The eunuchs and palace maids all cried out in surprise, lifting Ye Xiang up and rushing him to a nearby room. A eunuch beside him kept shouting loudly, "Quickly, the prince has fainted! Quickly summon the imperial physician!"

  What Ye Xiang didn't expect was that his fainting would move countless people's hearts and unintentionally change many things.

  Nourishing Heart Palace, a eunuch knelt on the ground and said to the person above: "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince fainted on his way here."

  "What's wrong with the prince? Hurry up and summon the imperial physician to treat him, I'll be right there." The person sitting above immediately stood up and wanted to walk out.

  The person kneeling on the ground was suddenly shocked and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, the imperial physician has already examined him, and the Crown Prince is just frightened and will be fine after resting for a while. The coronation ceremony is about to begin, how can Your Majesty leave at this time?"

  The people who wanted to leave stopped in their tracks after hearing the man's words. It had been over 30 years, wasn't this the day he had been waiting for all these years? His son was gone, but he still had other sons, and this position must not be lost. Seeing the man slowly walking back, the people kneeling on the ground finally let out a sigh of relief, lifting their sleeves to wipe away the cold sweat from their foreheads.

  Shu Xiang, a noblewoman sat on the bed listening to her maid report about the Crown Prince's fainting spell, a hint of a smile hung at the corner of her mouth as she said lightly: "He's really useless, I don't know what this waste is capable of doing, it's better if he dies early."

  Ye Xiang woke up again half a day later, slowly opening his eyes. He saw the familiar room and realized he was back. Feeling dry on his lips, Ye Xiang said, "Someone, bring me some water."

  At this time, there was only Li Ran in the house. Hearing a sound from the bed, Li Ran hurried over and picked up a cup of water from the table to slowly feed Ye Xiang.

  After drinking the water, Ye Xiang felt much more comfortable. He hadn't expected to faint and it seemed that he still wasn't fully merged with this body. Glancing at Li Ran beside him, Ye Xiang gently took her hand and softly said, "Come lie down with me for a while."

  Li Lan felt a bit embarrassed, and the prince usually didn't care about himself, but why was he thinking about this at this time. He couldn't help but blush slightly and say: "Your Highness, your body is weak, it's better not to..."

  Ye Xiang felt a bit embarrassed, it seemed that his impatient image had left an impression on Lin Lan's heart, which wasn't a good thing. "What are you thinking about? I'm worried you're tired and want you to come up and rest for a while." Ye Xiang thought he should explain himself or else this rumor would spread and affect his wise and powerful image.

  "Your Highness, you should rest well and don't think too much." Li Ran also felt a bit awkward, pulling Ye Xiang's quilt but not daring to look at him.

  He let out a soft sigh, Ye Xiang's mood was somewhat heavy at this moment. He already knew who he was - the famous Carpenter Emperor Zhu Youjian of history. So today, the one ascending to the throne was Tianqi Emperor's father, Taichang Emperor, that Taichang Emperor in history who only reigned for a month.

  Now Ye Xiang can't help but think that he is Chongzhen, compared to Emperor Chongzhen, this Tianqi Emperor seems even more pitiful. Emperor Chongzhen was forced to hang himself on Coal Mountain, while this Tianqi Emperor? He couldn't govern the country but did excellent woodworking, and died at just seven years old with a very suspicious cause of death.

  First, he fell into the water for no reason, and then he took the elixir of immortality. In the end, he died without even leaving behind a son. During the seven years that this Tianqi Emperor was in power, he made a mess of the already precarious Ming dynasty.

  In the early years of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng's reforms gave the declining Ming dynasty a glimmer of hope. However, after Zhang Juzheng's death, he was purged and his policies were largely abolished, while the Donglin Party was swept away by the Eastern Party. After the tenth year of Wanli, the emperor stopped attending court sessions, leading to a power struggle between the Donglin Party and the Qi-Zhe-Chu Party, which used mutual impeachment to purge each other, putting the entire Ming dynasty in peril. Although the foundation laid during Zhang Juzheng's time helped win three major wars, it also exhausted the national strength, causing the Ming dynasty to take another step towards destruction.

  After the death of Emperor Wanli, Emperor Taichang ascended to the throne. This emperor, who had waited for more than thirty years for the throne, did not even have time to do anything and died just one month after ascending to the throne.

  The next emperor to ascend the throne was this Tianqi Emperor, who liked doing carpentry work since he was a child and was even more incapable of governing the country. First, he massively promoted the Donglin Party and purged the Qi-Zhe-Chu Party, and finally allowed the eunuch Wei Zhongxian to establish the Eunuch Party, making the entire court chaotic and everyone in danger.

  This is a complex and tumultuous era. In the next month, two events will occur in the imperial palace that are enough to change history.