Chapter Six: No One Can Stop It

  Time slipped away unnoticed, and in the following days, Ye Xiang spent his time pretending to be ill. Every time the imperial physician came to take Ye Xiang's pulse, Ye Xiang would tie a string around his armpit. The imperial physician couldn't find anything wrong with him, so whatever Ye Xiang said was what it was, and whether they suspected anything or not had nothing to do with Ye Xiang.

  Time passed day by day, on August 10th, Ye Xiang got up very early. At this time, Ye Xiang was lying in the rocking chair in the courtyard, beside him was a delicate and charming Li Lan, who was feeding grapes to Ye Xiang, and behind Ye Xiang stood Li Jinzhong.

  Looking back at Li Jinzhong, Ye Xiang said somewhat weakly: "What have people in the palace been busy with lately?"

  Li Jinzhong took a look at his master, he didn't know why the body of this crown prince was not good, and he was very anxious in his heart. Although he had defected to Li Xuan's servant, but the person in front of him was his future after all!

  Hearing the prince's question, Li Jinzhong replied obsequiously: "Your Highness, there has been nothing special in the palace these past few days. It was all just trivial matters that didn't need to disturb Your Highness."

  Ye Xiang smiled lightly and waved his hand at Li Ran, indicating that she should stop moving, then gently closed his eyes and stopped speaking.

  Seeing the prince not speaking, Li Jinzhong inquired and looked at Li Lan, seeing the other slowly shaking his head also nodded lightly.

  Li Jinzhong didn't know, but Ye Xiang did. Today, Zheng Guifei would give Taichang Emperor a great gift, a gift that could take his life. Eight beautiful women, and Taichang Emperor did not disappoint Zheng Guifei's expectations. He spent the night with several of them and didn't get up the next morning.

  As a 21st-century person, Ye Xiang clearly knew that Tai Chang Emperor was no longer in his prime and couldn't be the Seven Times Prince. But he did it, so there's only one possibility - he took medicine, and possibly the world's most extraordinary medicine, He Huan San.

  He smiled slightly, knowing that he was one step closer to the throne, not for the sake of dominating the world, but to protect his own life. Emperor Taichang was a weak emperor who basically listened to and followed Li Xuan's words. At this time, Li Xuan should have already formed an alliance with Zheng Guifei. If Emperor Taichang did not die, then Ye Xiang would forever be the crown prince. Once he could no longer follow Li Xuan's intentions, Ye Xiang's fate would only be a mysterious and unjust death.

  It was night, a palace maid led eight beautiful women into the Qianqing Palace, while outside the palace were guarded by two hundred Jin Yiwei, no one was allowed to approach.

  Two days passed and it was August 12th, on this day a piece of news spread from the imperial palace, a piece of news that no one had expected. Emperor Taichang wanted to promote Zheng Guifei as Empress Dowager. As for Zheng Guifei, all high-ranking officials in the court knew that she was the favorite concubine of Emperor Wanli, not just any favored one but the most favored among the six palaces. For decades, being able to tie an emperor's heart around her own body is enough to show this woman's extraordinariness.

  The Wanli Emperor's reign can be divided into two periods. The first period is the decade when Zhang Juzheng was in power, also known as the first ten years. During this period, the only thing that ran through the entire Ming dynasty was reform and innovation. However, after Zhang Juzheng's death in the tenth year of Wanli, his student, who had been very obedient to him, turned against him after his death. From then on, the tone of the rest of Wanli's reign changed to one of contention for power. For the next decade, the Wanli Emperor and his ministers held different views and quarreled incessantly.

  The empress of the Wanli Emperor was surnamed Wang, although she was conferred as empress, she did not give birth to a son for the Wanli Emperor, and Wanli also had no eldest son. So according to the ancient inheritance system, there is only the establishment of the elder or the virtuous one. One of Wanli's concubines, Wang, gave birth to a son, this son was later the Taichang Emperor, this crown prince got the support of all ministers. The Zheng Guifei, who was most favored by Wanli, also gave birth to a son, who was later killed by Li Zicheng and cooked into a Fu Lu soup with a deer, the Fu Wang.

  Because of his favoritism towards Zheng Guifei, the Wanli Emperor was determined to make Fu Wang the crown prince, which led to a prolonged struggle for the throne. However, the Wanli Emperor ultimately failed to win this war. The emperor had his own way of resisting, and for the next thirty years, he did not attend court. For thirty years, he did not leave the palace gate, did not manage state affairs, did not make sacrifices, did not visit temples, did not hold court, did not meet with officials, did not review documents, and did not give lectures. In this struggle for the throne, Zheng Guifei played the most important role.

  For Tai Chang Di, Zheng Guifei should be an irreconcilable enemy. After ascending to the throne, it's already a great favor not to secretly kill her, and yet she was even made Empress Dowager. Many of the officials standing in the imperial court were the main forces who fought for the country back then. They didn't expect that the master they supported would eventually become friends with their enemy. What about these people?

  On August 14th, nothing changed and everything went according to Ye Xiang's plan. Emperor Taichang fell seriously ill. Ye Xiang knew that something big would happen today - Emperor Taichang would let someone examine him, but it wasn't the imperial physician, rather a eunuch, Li Lanruo, the chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department, who was also Zheng Guifei's personal eunuch and a historical Mongolian doctor.

  Chui Wensheng will give Taichang Emperor a dose of laxative, and Taichang Emperor's illness will become more and more severe. At this time, the ministers outside the palace have already made a fuss about the Empress Dowager's affairs, and finally someone has stood up, that is Yang Lian.

  Yang Lian, courtesy name Wenru, alias Dahong, from Ying-shan, Huguang. He passed the imperial examination in the 35th year of Wanli and became a jinshi (a successful candidate). He served as the magistrate of Changshu, later as the secretary of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War. This was Yang Lian's resume at that time - a small official who could not be smaller than a seventh-grade secretary in the Ming dynasty. It was this small official who submitted a memorial to the emperor, rebuking Emperor Taichang. He argued with the emperor, saying that Empress Zheng should not be honored as empress dowager.

  As this memorial was presented, the ministers in the imperial court also began their own attacks, perhaps due to pressure or because Emperor Taichang suddenly came to his senses.

  On August 22nd, Emperor Taichang ordered the expulsion of Cui Wensheng and at the same time recalled the imperial edict that had conferred the title of Empress Dowager on Zheng Guifei.

  At this time, Ye Xiang was still pretending to be ill, as if the events that had just occurred had nothing to do with him. Looking at the sunset in the distance, Ye Xiang's heart was very calm and peaceful. At this moment, no one would have thought of Ye Xiang, Zheng Guifei and Li Xuancai should be furious with the Empress Dowager and the Queen who had just disappeared like that.

  Although things have not yet found their way to Ye Xiang's body, Ye Xiang knows that he will soon be unable to remain so carefree. Thinking about the events that are about to unfold, Ye Xiang's heart is filled with cold laughter.

  Looking at the sun that was about to set, Ye Xiang's heart felt a little strange. This vast dynasty was like the setting sun, declining day by day. The sun would rise again tomorrow as usual, but what about this dynasty? Was there still a way out? And where was the way out?