Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 178

Chapter 178 Mian Jun (1)
Supervisor of the Forbidden City.

As the palm eunuch with the power of a batch of red, Wang Zhen was even rumored to be an inner minister, an existence that could contend against the Cabinet. However, this way, he could imagine how busy he usually was. Although it was already the end of the application, he still had a thick stack of memorials waiting to be approved.

However, Wang Zhen was pleased with this. As someone who had once sought fame but could not obtain it, and even failed to pass the examinations, he felt a sense of unspeakable pleasure in being able to make decisions on the various proposals put forward by the officials of the Manchu Dynasty, those high and mighty Jinshi, and even Master Shu Jishi.

The only thing that made him uncomfortable lately was that Lu Zhen, who had ruined his good fortune that day, actually didn’t die under the assassin’s assassination. Although he didn’t really dare to retaliate against Lu Zhen because of Emperor, Dongchang’s ears and eyes were always staring at Daxing County Government, wanting to find out Lu Zhen’s mistakes. The result was that he didn’t catch any mistakes, but he saw this shocking scene. However, the result was somewhat unsatisfactory.

After reading more than a dozen memorials and feeling a little sleepy, Wang Zhen unconsciously thought of this matter, “But don’t be happy too early. This matter isn’t that easy to deal with. Perhaps the second wave of assassinations will come soon. He has offended those people quite a bit this time.”

Thinking of this, a gloating smile appeared on Wang Zhen’s face. He felt that he might soon get news that Lu Zhen had been killed, but he was still standing aside from this matter. Thinking of his pride, Eunuch Wang reached out to grab the porcelain teacup from the Jun kiln and drank a sip of this year’s Dragon Well before the Rain.

Just as he was slowly sipping on the fragrance of the tea, a loud thud sounded, causing Wang Zhen’s hand to tremble in shock. Half a cup of tea was spilled on his face and the clothes in front of him. When he was shocked, his body also jumped.

Then, a deep but resounding thunderclap resounded through the entire sky of the Forbidden City, causing Wang Zhen to be stunned, “This is …”

Not only him, but everyone in the Imperial Palace, from ordinary palace maids and eunuchs to imperial soldiers guarding the various sects, to the officials who stayed in the Cabinet to handle government affairs, and even the Son of Heaven Zhu Qizhen, who was reading the memorials, were all shocked by the sudden drumming.

Someone fell down from this scare, and someone also drew an ink mark on the document in front of him with a shake of his hand. As a result, the imperial pen in Zhu Qizhen’s hand landed on the ground, completely staining the memorial on the table …

The imperial palace was quiet. There had never been such a big commotion before. The sudden sound of thunderous drums came from outside today. It really caught everyone off guard. Quite a few people subconsciously looked towards the bell tower at the corner of the palace. They thought that it was the sound coming from there, but they immediately knew that their judgement was wrong.

Yang Pu’s expression also changed several times. He suddenly stood up and looked out of the cabinet window. He muttered, “Could this be … Deng Wen Gu …”

As an old man of the Yongle Dynasty, although he had never personally heard of the sound of the drum, he had heard of how powerful the drum was when it sounded from the seniors. Back then, he only said that this was a legend, but no one had ever beaten this drum that had always stood outside the palace gate. Unexpectedly, after several decades, the drum began to ring again.

How was this possible? Deng Wengu was surrounded by dozens of Royal Guards. Ordinary people were simply unable to get close to him, let alone climb up and knock on the drum! Moreover, there must be a great grievance to report to Emperor, and he didn’t dare to make such a big commotion. In this prosperous world, could anyone still dare to make such a determination?

Yang Pu was stunned on the spot, unable to understand what was going on. However, Hu Ying, who had just returned to the Ministry of Officials, was shocked. He quickly thought of something, but his face was also filled with astonishment. “Is it really him? How dare he cause such a big trouble? Or is this case really so serious?”

Everyone in the capital, from officials to merchants, were attracted by the sudden sound of drums. Everyone’s gazes converged in the direction where the drums were sounding. Although no one knew what had happened, there was one thing everyone agreed on-this matter must not be small!

@ @ @ @

When Lu Zhen leapt up the drum tower, the moment he froze, it instantly disappeared. All the guards looked ahead in surprise, and at this moment, the drums above rumbled.

When they looked back, they saw Lu Zhen holding the drum hammer high and knocking on the huge Dengwen drum. The surface of the drum covered with rhinoceros hide let out bursts of roars, and a loud thud spread out in all directions.

At this moment, the guards were stunned as if they were once again stunned by someone’s movement control technique. No one dared to step forward and take anyone else! Because the Dengwen drum had already sounded, this matter was no longer something a soldier of their status could interfere with. In this world, the only person who could ask the drum beater was Emperor!

Although the rules laid down by Emperor Taizu had already been broken by their descendants, they only dared to use some methods to play by the side. Even the Son of Heaven wouldn’t have the courage to openly violate the rules set by the Great Ancestor Emperor! Therefore, for decades, the monarchs and officials only dared to surround Deng Wengu and prevent others from approaching him, but they did not dare to tear it apart. And if someone really went upstairs and knocked on the drums, they could only follow the rules!

A moment later, Lu Zhen was finally tired of knocking. He stopped and put the drumstick aside. Then, he stood there proudly and looked in the direction of the imperial palace. Unfortunately, this building was not too tall, standing there, one could only see a corner of the palace wall.

If he could leap into the air, he would notice that there was already a commotion in the originally calm palace. Afterwards, a troop of imperial guards and burly generals from the Emperor Ritual Army rushed over from the direction of Mandarin Palace. Very quickly, this group of people had already passed through the palace gate and rushed under the drum tower.

When he saw that there was indeed a person standing in front of the Dengwen Drum, the leader was stunned. Then, he pressed his sword and stepped forward, “Who exactly was beating the Dengwen Drum?”

Lu Zhen took a deep breath and slowly walked down the stairs from the top of the building. After arriving in front of the soldiers, he raised his head and said, “I, County Magistrate Lu Zhen of Daxing County, have a huge case to report to His Majesty! Because I can’t see Tian Yan, I can only beat the drum to alert Emperor!” After saying that, he bowed his hands and bowed, giving a standard salute.

The general’s expression changed several times, but in the end, he still said solemnly, “Since that’s the case, County Magistrate Lu, follow me to the Palace Saint!”

Rules were rules. With the sound of the drum, even if Emperor was unwilling, he could only summon the drummer. As for what his motive was and whether he had done anything wrong, he could only make a decision after seeing the driver.

Of course, Lu Zhen, the county magistrate, wanted to enter the palace to see the driver, but it was not that simple. He had to be searched by the Imperial Army soldiers guarding the palace gates and be sure that there were no prohibited items on him before he was allowed to enter the Forbidden City through the corner gates.

Seeing him being escorted in by the Imperial Army, Lin Lie and the two servants heaved a sigh of relief. At the very least, their lord wasn’t taken down directly by these fellows. However, even Lin Lie was sweating profusely for Lu Zhen at this time. After causing so much trouble this time, would he be able to safely leave the imperial palace?

“Sir, why would he take such a risk?” One of the servants couldn’t help but mutter softly.

“I heard from your Excellency that there is a saying in the book called ‘Where is righteousness?’ Even though there are thousands of people, this is probably the reason why your Excellency did all of this!” As Lin Lie spoke, his eyes were filled with reverence. Sure enough, he wasn’t following the wrong person.

The other two were also greatly touched and stood there infatuated. Looking ahead, Lu Zhen’s figure had already been completely blocked by the tall and lofty palace wall. Beside the three of them, the soldiers guarding the drum tower had already surrounded them, in case they did the same crazy thing again …

After being escorted by the Imperial Army into the depths of the Imperial Palace, Lu Zhen’s heart was calm. When he made this decision, he was prepared for the worst. But now, it seemed that things were still under control. At least, he could stand in front of Emperor once again through this crazy action. And this time, I’m sure we won’t be talking in the empty plaza like we were a few months ago, right?

After settling down, Lu Zhen still had the mood to glance at the scenery along the road with the afterglow. He discovered that he was not walking along the road to the Taihe Temple as before, but following a path paved with white marble to the other side. Unfortunately, he was too unfamiliar with the surroundings of the imperial palace, so he didn’t know where he was going.

After walking for a while, Lu Zhen stopped for a moment, because he saw a few more people by the roadside, and they were looking at him.

One was the boss who had spoken for him at the court meeting, Lu Zhen seemed to be the only surviving Yang Pu Yang Pavilion Elder, and the other one was staring at him with a pair of cold eyes. Although his appearance was unfamiliar, judging from his clothes and appearance, Lu Zhen could make a guess-he should be the legendary Wang Zhen, the power supervisor who brought calamity to the country and the people!

After exchanging a glance with Yang Pu, Lu Zhen once again buried his head and rushed forward. With so many imperial guards surrounding him, it was impossible for him to really talk to anyone.

Yang Pu looked worriedly at Lu Zhen being brought over and sighed deeply, but he didn’t know how to express himself. Wang Zhen’s face was filled with disbelief, “Isn’t this guy too capable of causing trouble? He actually dares to beat the drum. Is there anything in this world that he doesn’t dare to do?” But then, he smiled again. This Lu Zhen must be dead, right?

Under everyone’s gaze, Lu Zhen continued to move forward. Soon, he arrived in front of a palace. Between the yellow tiles and the red walls, there was a huge plaque hanging on top of it. On it were three large words, “Wen Hua Palace”!