Zhengde Hall, Imperial Study.
"Just as Your Majesty predicted, Grand Eunuch Cao has left the palace."
While grinding ink, Gao Li reported the news he had just received from Xuande Gate to Zhao Zheng.
Closing the memorial in his hand, Zhao Zheng said with absolute confidence, "Little Gao, the rest is up to you."
A look of cruelty flashed in Gao Li's eyes. He knelt on the ground and declared with utmost loyalty, "This servant's life was given by Your Majesty. I am willing to go through fire and water for Your Majesty, and I will not hesitate."
Taking a deep breath, Zhao Zheng said, "This matter must be handled by you personally. I wouldn't trust anyone else."
"This servant understands!"
Gao Li put down the inkstone, bowed deeply to Zhao Zheng, and then withdrew from the Imperial Study.
Zhao Zheng knew very well that after the morning court session, Cao Zhengchun would inevitably make a move.
It was entirely possible that every single movement in the imperial court was already crystal clear to Emperor of Dazhen.
He had to find a way to break the deadlock and firmly secure that dragon chair in Yuanheng Hall.
If he guessed correctly, Emperor of Dazhen and Cao Zhengchun had already set their sights on killing him.
The next time he went to Jiade Villa, he had to devise a foolproof escape plan.
Having just gained a foothold in the inner court and the imperial court, he had no real power other than Gao Li whom he could trust.
If he had a chance to get his hands on military power, he would have a much better chance of turning the tables.
Unfortunately, military power was basically in the hands of the maternal relatives and aristocratic clans. The emperor could only command the guards of the Commander of the Nine Gates and the imperial guards.
In the eyes of Grand General Qian Yong, who held the military power, these forces were utterly insignificant.
If he wanted to cultivate an army that answered only to the emperor, it would cost a vast amount of money and provisions.
As a body double, he was currently penniless. Where was he supposed to get money?
He had heard that the eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial had countless gold and silver treasures hidden in their private mansions.
As long as these eunuchs died, wouldn't there be money?
With money, why worry about lacking provisions?
With provisions, why worry about lacking troops and horses?
Gao Li left Zhengde Hall, dismissed several eunuchs who had been following him, disguised himself alone, and headed straight for the Imperial Prison.
...
The Imperial Prison was guarded by numerous prison wardens.
The Directorate of Ceremonial eunuchs, led by Wei Zhongxiang, were all imprisoned here.
This place was known as a living hell. Even the Commandant of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate lacked the authority to intervene, and eighteen kinds of brutal torture instruments were used on prisoners.
Inside the cells, it was dim, damp, and eerie, with rats scurrying about from time to time.
Several eunuchs sat anxiously on pins and needles behind the wooden bars.
They knew very well what kind of fate awaited them once they were thrown into the Imperial Prison.
Unless the emperor issued an imperial edict sparing them, they would suffer inhuman torture in this prison.
"Eunuch Wei, didn't you say His Majesty wouldn't do anything to us? Why were we still thrown into the Imperial Prison?"
Since Wei Zhongxiang had managed to rise to a position of overwhelming power, he was naturally no fool.
"What are you all worrying about? In the imperial court, His Majesty is just putting on a show for the officials. How could he easily kill us?"
"Don't forget how much effort we've put in for His Majesty within the inner court, how much wealth we've accumulated for him, and how many of the maternal relatives and aristocratic clans we've helped him suppress."
"With just this merit, His Majesty will certainly ensure our lives are safe. It's just that those mansions in the imperial city and the gold and silver treasures we've accumulated over the years are going to be gone."
Hearing Wei Zhongxiang's analysis, the eunuchs felt a glimmer of hope in their eyes.
Yet, thinking of the silver and money accumulated over many years vanishing into thin air, they couldn't help but wear bitter smiles.
"Eunuch Wei, having our savings of many years confiscated into the imperial treasury is even more agonizing than killing us."
Wei Zhongxiang rolled his eyes heavily.
"Be content! This old servant has already guessed why His Majesty didn't pull out all the stops to protect us during the morning court, and I've more or less figured out His Majesty's intentions."
A eunuch panicked and chimed in from behind the wooden bars, "Eunuch Wei, it couldn't be that His Majesty already knows we were the ones who sent the poisoned wine?"
"Eunuch Wei, we shouldn't have thrown in our lot with that bitch of an Empress in the first place. If she hadn't instigated us, how would we have dared to harm His Majesty?"
"Eunuch Wei, what do we do? Once His Majesty investigates this thoroughly, I'm afraid we won't be able to get out of the Imperial Prison!"
Wei Zhongxiang sneered, "What are you all panicking about? His Majesty probably knows nothing about this matter. Otherwise, why would he have ordered Grand Eunuch Cao to postpone the trial to another day instead of directly sentencing us to death?"
The eunuchs nodded in sudden realization, feeling that Wei Zhongxiang's words made some sense, yet feeling that something still wasn't quite right.
"Since His Majesty doesn't want to take our lives, why did he throw us into the Imperial Prison?"
With a sinister smile, Wei Zhongxiang asked, "You've followed His Majesty for years, yet you still can't guess his mind?"
"Right now, the treasury of our Dazhen is empty, and after years of wars, the common people's taxes cannot be collected. Forcing wealth out of the officials has long made them resentful."
"At a time like this, when officials come to impeach the Directorate of Ceremonial, if you were His Majesty, what would you do?"
The eunuchs suddenly saw the light, showering praise on Wei Zhongxiang's analysis.
"Eunuch Wei is right! His Majesty still relies on us to help him gather wealth, so how could he kill us?"
"If His Majesty lacks money, we, as his servants, will respectfully present our money and provisions with both hands. As long as our lives are spared, why worry about not being able to scrape together money and provisions in the future?"
"Eunuch Wei, didn't you say His Majesty doesn't have long to live? Why did His Majesty look so refreshed today, not looking at all like someone on the verge of death?"
Wei Zhongxiang was momentarily at a loss for words. This question struck the blind spot of his knowledge.
This matter also made him feel extremely strange. The debauched and dissolute emperor had clearly hollowed out his body long ago and was on his last legs.
Why, after a month away from the palace, had he become so radiant? Surely he wasn't experiencing a final flash of brilliance before death, was he?
Just as the eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial felt hopeful about leaving the Imperial Prison, a burst of footsteps suddenly sounded in the dark cell.
"Eunuch Wei, it sounds like someone is coming!"
Wei Zhongxiang said with a face full of excitement, "Could His Majesty have sent someone to save this old servant?"
A figure wearing a cloak, their face completely obscured, handed a rosewood food box to the prison warden standing before them in the dim cell.
"This is the meal sent by the Empress for those eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial. Please be accommodating, my lord, and have it delivered to them."
With that, they slipped a few pieces of broken silver to the warden.
The warden beamed with joy and said, "The ones locked inside are all major criminals of the court. Stay here; I'll deliver the food for you."
"Then I'll have to trouble you, my lord."
The warden carried the rosewood food box to the cell where Wei Zhongxiang and the other eunuchs were locked up.
"Someone sent you a meal. Even if you're hitting the road, don't die as starving ghosts."
Seeing that the visitor was only a prison warden delivering prison food, Wei Zhongxiang and the others were deeply disappointed.
According to his analysis, by this time His Majesty should have sent people to release them!
Before Wei Zhongxiang could figure it out, the food in the box had already been distributed to the other eunuchs.
Taking a bite of the food on his plate, Wei Zhongxiang suddenly asked the warden out of curiosity, "Is this meal sent to this old servant by His Majesty?"
Without paying any attention to Wei Zhongxiang's words, the warden walked away.
Half an hour later, Wei Zhongxiang and the rest of the eunuchs suddenly felt a sharp, unbearable pain in their abdomens.
A short while later, all twelve eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial were vomiting blood and died of severe poisoning.
At the entrance of the Imperial Prison.
Gao Li took off the cloak on his head and walked away without looking back!