Chapter Eleven: Unconscious

  The old eunuch saw that he had stabbed the wrong person and was slightly stunned.

  At this moment, under the stimulation of the survival instinct, Zhong Jinwei's left hand formed a fist and hit the old eunuch's face fiercely. The punch that gathered all Zhong Jinwei's strength was not to be underestimated.

  In an instant, the old guard's nose sank in a block, his face like a clogged drain, with fresh blood constantly flowing from his nostrils and mouth corners. At the same time, his head fell back, and he fell to the ground, taking the dagger out of Zhong Jinwei's right arm.

  Zhong Jinwei suddenly felt numb and painful, the pain was in his left hand, and the numbness was in his right hand, which was where he had been stabbed by the dagger. He lowered his head to take a look, and the place where he had been stabbed by the dagger had already swollen up. Just as he was about to curse, his head spun and he fell softly to the ground.

  At this time, the people around had reacted. Wang Cheng'en took a step forward and stood in front of Emperor Chongzhen, holding his Buddhist staff, opening up a defensive stance, protecting Emperor Chongzhen.

  Wen Tianren didn't hesitate, shouting "Catch the assassin!" as he rushed over to help Emperor Chongzhen, who had been pushed down by Zhong Wengui. Hu Tao and Meng Jianzhao hastily jumped into the hall, drawing their swords and slashing at the old eunuch on the ground.

  Chongzhen Emperor saw through Wang Chengen's body that the two guards' knives were chopping towards the assassin, and hastily shouted: "I want to live."

  Two guards heard Chongzhen Emperor's order and flipped their wrists during the chopping process, changing to a backhand slash.

  The old eunuch saw that the assassination had failed and he would be captured alive, knowing there was no good outcome, used a dagger to stab his own belly.

  Time waits for no one, Meng Jianzhao's knife arrived first, chopping down on the assassin's right hand that held the dagger.

  The assassin's right hand was chopped by the back of the knife, and he couldn't hold on to it. The dagger fell down. But during the falling process, the speed of the old eunuch himself and the speed of Meng Jianzhao's knife chopping were superimposed, plus the sharpness of the dagger, still pierced through a layer of skin of the old eunuch.

  In the blink of an eye, the assassin was subdued by Meng Jianxiao and Hu Tao. Hu Tao also kicked the dagger that had fallen to the ground far away with one foot.

  At this time, Emperor Chongzhen also stood up with the help of Wen Tiren and checked his own situation. Except for the broken sleeve on his left hand, it was just a little painful when he fell down.

  Chongzhen Emperor was about to speak when he heard Ah Qi shouting: "Young Master, Young Master, what's wrong with you?"

  Chongzhen Emperor looked and saw that the palace maid A Qi, whom he had rewarded to Zhong Xiang, had already run over and was supporting Zhong Xiang.

  A Qi looked at Zhong Jinwei, who had already fainted and was a bit disheveled. He wanted to shout for Zhong Jinwei again, but suddenly saw the wound on Zhong Jinwei's right arm, which had swollen into a big lump. So he hugged Zhong Jinwei in his arms, lifted up Zhong Jinwei's right arm, and said: "It's poisonous."

  At this time, Emperor Chongzhen brought two small brothers to surround him. Seeing that Zhong Jin's right arm was swollen, he hastily shouted: "Quickly summon the imperial physician."

  Wen Tianren looked over and called Hu Tao over, saying: "Quickly give him a blood-letting treatment for his wound."

  Hú Tiāo quickly made a cut on Zhōng Jìn Wèi's swollen arm with his knife, then squeezed it with both hands. A stream of black blood was squeezed out, accompanied by a foul smell.

  Suddenly, they heard the assassin let out a "haha" laugh, and everyone involuntarily looked up at him.

  The old eunuch saw that everyone present was looking at him, and smiled complacently: "The poison on my dagger is deadly, you are all wasting your time. Haha, unfortunately, I won't be able to take the emperor down with me."

  As he said this, his voice suddenly stopped, black blood flowed from his nostrils and mouth, his head tilted to one side, and he died.

  Chongzhen Emperor suddenly felt a chill down his spine, if it weren't for Zhong Wenguan's warning, he would have definitely been killed by now.

  Hu Tao squeezed out a lot of black blood, and when the color of the blood turned red, the imperial physician arrived. It was another busy scene of both seeing the emperor and saving people. Emperor Chongzhen, under the advice of Wang Chengen and Wen Tiren, moved to another place. Before leaving, he ordered the Eastern Depot to investigate the assassination attempt and instructed the imperial physician to save Zhong Jingwei at all costs.

  After hearing that Emperor Chongzhen was assassinated, the palace ladies all came to offer condolences, and the cabinet ministers also came to pay their respects. The palace was in an uproar. The name of Zhong Xianwei also spread at this time.

  Chongzhen Emperor pondered alone for a moment after settling everything and visiting the people, then asked Wang Chengen who was still by his side: "The matter of Zhong Xiangru's memorial can no longer be hidden. He said that our dynasty will perish more than ten years later, I am the ruler of a doomed country, how many people know this?"

  King Chengen recalled and said, "Your Majesty, it should be only you, I, Wen Ti Ren, Wen Daren, and the palace maid Aqi who was given to Zhong Jinwei who know." King Chengen finished speaking with a bit of fear, wondering if he would be silenced.

  Chongzhen Emperor thought for a moment and said, "Go ahead and warn Ah Qi to keep it in his belly. Also, summon Wen Tianren to see me." Just as Wang Chengen was about to turn around and leave, Chongzhen Emperor called him back and asked, "Wang, tell me the details of how Mr. Zhong and Wen Tianren met."

  Wang Chengen heard this and said, "Your Majesty, I just forgot for a moment. I was thinking of reporting this matter to you." Then, Wang Chengen recalled and said that all the talented people who left their names in history had good memories, and basically repeated them to Emperor Chongzhen without missing a single word.

  The Chongzhen Emperor listened and didn't speak, sitting quietly for a long time before asking Wang Chengen: "Grand Companion, what do you think?"

  Wang Chengen knew that Emperor Chongzhen would ask him, and he had already prepared his answer. He said: "Your Majesty, I think that if Mr. Zhong is indeed from the future, although his words are boastful, they can be trusted, and his strategy can be used."

  The Chongzhen Emperor listened and said, "Good, Mr. Zhong's words about the characters, except for Sun Chengzong, bring me information on Lu Xiangsheng, Cao Wenzhao, Qin Liangyu, and Hong Chengchou." Then he sighed again and said, "Mr. Zhong has not yet spoken of a fundamental solution, if there is misfortune, it will be my loss."

  The Chongzhen Emperor said here, and gave Wang Chengen an order: "Pass the edict to the imperial physician, Zhong Jinwei has made a meritorious service in saving the emperor, you must save him. If there is any mistake, I will not forgive lightly! Go!" Wang Chengen bowed his head and accepted the order before leaving.

  Soon after, Wen Tianren was summoned outside the palace for an imperial audience.

  After Wen Tianren finished his ceremony, Emperor Chongzhen granted him a seat and said: "Today, thanks to your protection of the imperial carriage, we have achieved great merit." Wen Tianren listened and stepped down from his seat, bowing his body and saying: "I dare not, Your Majesty was frightened."

  After the two had exchanged pleasantries, Emperor Chongzhen asked directly: "Wen Ai Qing, you are already aware of Zhong Jingwei's background. What do you think of our conversation today?"

  When Wen Tianxiang received the imperial edict summoning him to an audience with Emperor Chongzhen, he had already guessed the purpose of the summons and knew what to say and what not to say. He rose to reply: "Your Majesty, I think that while Zhong Xiang's words were boastful and exaggerated, his criticisms of current abuses and the strategies he proposed have some merit."

  Chongzhen Emperor listened and said "Oh" then asked: "How can you be sure?"

  "Your Majesty, Gong Zhongying has only been in power for over a decade, and I think he is exaggerating his words to gain favor with the crowd. However, considering the current difficulties of the imperial court, the strategies proposed by Gong Zhongying are reasonable. He spoke clearly about who should be appointed to what position. Although I am not familiar with the people he recommended, judging from his words and background, I think there is an 80% chance that he is trustworthy."

  He's really cunning, Emperor Chongzhen hasn't even spoken yet, and he already says that you, Emperor Chongzhen, want to be the king of the country. I don't believe this at all. Then, the person recommended by Zhong Xianwei, he believes in him, which is too beneficial for him, because among the people recommended by Zhong Xianwei, he himself is also included! Listening to his tone, it seems that he is the best candidate to be Chongzhen's top assistant in the court. If you don't acknowledge him, then you're just a fool, anyway, this is what Zhong Xianwei said.

  The Chongzhen Emperor nodded slightly and said, "Wen Gongchen truly has a keen eye for insight, not disappointing my expectations of him as a pillar of the state." The Chongzhen Emperor praised him and then said, "As for Zhong Xiangru's wild and absurd words, Wen Gongchen doesn't need to say anything more about it, it wouldn't be good for him."

  Wen Ti Ren lowered his head, with a hint of a smile at the corner of his eyes, and replied: "Yes, Your Majesty."

  The Chongzhen Emperor understood the meaning of Wen Tianxiang's words and said, "You are also tired today, Minister Wen. Go home and rest early. The strategy of Zhong Junwei will be considered by me."

  Wen Ti Ren also achieved his goal and stopped while he was ahead, bowed and bid farewell to the lord before leaving.

  It was almost evening at this time. Chongzhen Emperor looked up at the sky and remembered the assassin problem related to his own safety, so he ordered Cao Huazhun, the commander of the Eastern Depot.

  Cao Huachun had just taken charge of the Eastern Depot when he encountered a major incident in which an imperial eunuch attempted to assassinate the Emperor. It was said that Emperor Chongzhen issued an edict, and Cao rushed to see him with great anxiety.

  The Chongzhen Emperor looked at Cao Huaichun, who was kneeling on the ground, with a hint of anger and scolded: "I promoted you to be the commander of the Eastern Depot, believing in your loyalty and ability. But now someone has come to assassinate me, and you didn't even detect it beforehand, which is very disappointing."

  Cao Huachun knelt on the ground, sweating profusely, and knocked his head: "Your Majesty, I know my fault." He knew that at this time, he must not argue with Emperor Chongzhen, saying that he had just taken over the Eastern Depot and his butt was still hot, how could he react so quickly, if he said so, it would be seeking death.

  The Chongzhen Emperor also knew that this matter couldn't be blamed entirely on Cao Huachun, and he mainly just wanted to scare him into being more diligent. Now that he saw Cao's attitude was acceptable, he suppressed his anger a bit and asked: "Has the situation with the assassin been investigated clearly?"

  "Your Majesty, after investigation, it has been confirmed that the assassin's name is Wang Hengwu. During the Tianqi era, he served as a deputy supervisor of the Imperial Stables. He was once sentenced to death for damaging the late emperor's favorite wooden carriage due to carelessness, but was spared by Wei Zhongxian and received 50 lashes instead, demoted to a minor position responsible for cleaning the floors of the palace. I sent people to search his residence and found a spirit tablet of Wei Zhongxian and a bottle of poison in his hiding place. Therefore, I believe he harbored resentment towards Your Majesty for dealing with Wei Zhongxian and sought an opportunity to assassinate you." After finishing speaking, he pulled out two objects from his sleeve and presented them to Emperor Chongzhen.

  The Chongzhen Emperor looked and indeed saw the spirit tablet and medicine bottle, frowning and asking: "Are there any accomplices?"

  Cao Huachun bowed his head and said: "The slave is currently investigating the matter."

  The Chongzhen Emperor said: "Give me an answer within three days, withdraw."

  Cao Huachun had just withdrawn when the imperial physician came forward seeking an audience.

  Chongzhen Emperor knew that Zhong Xian's matter might have a result, and he couldn't help but feel a little nervous. He had been poisoned so severely, it was unclear whether he could still be saved.

  Then, Emperor Chongzhen hastily summoned the imperial physician who had asked for an audience.