Chapter 59: The Coup at the Gate—The Death of Yu Qian!

At this moment, the celestial screen shifted once again!

"Six years passed, and Zhu Qiyu's health deteriorated day by day. Coupled with the covert poisoning by the wicked Empress Sun, it was already a remarkable feat that Zhu Qiyu managed to hold on for six years, and indeed, he did a commendable job!"

"In the eighth year of Jingtai, the country was prosperous and the people were at peace! This was the greatest evaluation of his reign!"

Beneath the celestial screen, the founding Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang sighed and said, "For a child who had never been tutored in the imperial arts from a young age to achieve such a feat is truly extraordinary!"

During the Xuande era.

Zhu Zhanji, holding young Zhu Qiyu in his arms, looked at the commentary on the celestial screen and stroked the boy's head.

"My child, you did well. A prosperous country and peaceful people—splendid indeed!"

"From now on, follow me and learn the imperial arts!"

Kneeling to one side, the wicked Empress Sun knew in her heart that she was utterly ruined!

Zhu Qizen, unaware of what was happening, tugged persistently at Zhu Zhanji's trouser leg. "Imperial Father, didn't you say that only the Crown Prince could learn the imperial arts? Didn't you say my younger brother was too cowardly?"

Zhu Zhanji first set Zhu Qiyu gently on the ground, then said with a face full of tender affection, "My child, today I shall teach you your first lesson: be decisive and ruthless, strike when a strike is called for!"

With that, he turned around with a face as cold as frost and kicked Zhu Qizen flying several meters away, sending him into a fit of continuous coughing up of blood.

"Wuwu... My child, my baby!" Empress Sun hurriedly embraced the blood-spitting Zhu Qizen, her face streaming with tears.

"Your Majesty... He is your own flesh and blood as well... How could you be so cruel!"

Zhu Zhanji squatted down and let out a cold laugh. "My flesh and blood, ha! If Grandfather heard you say that, do you suppose I would live to see the first day of the new year?"

"And furthermore... Why do you suppose you two mother and son are still alive right now? I simply wanted to wait and see the celestial screen to learn what other fine deeds you had committed, but the result has greatly disappointed me!"

"Right now, I truly wish to carve you open with a blade and see whether your heart is pitch black or crimson red."

...

Meanwhile, high above on the celestial screen.

"In the eighth year of Jingtai, Shi Heng, Cao吉祥, and Xu Youzhen, instigated by the wicked Empress Sun and driven by the lust for wealth and power, decided to launch a coup d'état to restore Zhu Qizen to the throne."

"They first made contact with Zhu Qizen, securing his tacit consent, and then secretly rallied various military generals and officials to lay the groundwork for the rebellion."

"Led by Shi Heng and others, a force of a thousand soldiers slipped into the imperial city under the cover of night. First securing vital gates such as the Chang'an Gate and the Donghua Gate, they marched straight to the Southern Palace. Breaking down the gates, they welcomed Zhu Qizen out and escorted him triumphantly to the Fengtian Hall."

During the Hongwu era of the Great Ming.

"I am utterly defeated. How can this brat's life be so stubbornly tenacious? I beg you, spare the Great Ming!" Zhu Yuanzhang was rendered speechless with fury.

He had been driven completely out of wits by Zhu Qizen...

Was this wretched creature determined to anger him to death before calling it quits?

During the Yongle era of the Great Ming.

"Bang!" Another ornament in Zhu Di's imperial palace vanished into thin air.

The silver acupuncture needles on his head vibrated violently without stop!

"I... I... Am I going to be driven to death of sheer rage? Heavens above... What virtue or merit did our Zhu family possess to be blessed with such a treasure!"

At this moment, Zhu Di was truly—truly numb with fury... This wretch had actually ascended the throne once again!

The Great Ming was doomed... The Great Ming was in grave peril!

During the Chenghua era of the Great Ming.

Zhu Jianshen watched this scene with a fierce expression on his face. Back then, his uncle had clearly intended to restore him to the position of Crown Prince.

In just a few more days, he would have ascended... yet that shameless father of his had to pop back into the picture!

The resentment burning inside Zhu Jianshen was immense. How wonderful it would have been if his father had never retaken the throne—Yu Qian would not have died, and he himself would not have been so exhausted!

"Uncle! Why couldn't you just harden your heart back then? If your hands had been a bit darker and you had arranged an 'accident' for my dear father, wouldn't my grand enterprise have been secured?"

"That way, you could have entered the imperial mausoleum... and I could have ascended the throne ahead of time, while Lord Guardian Yu would not have had to die. What a marvelous ending, three birds with one stone!"

"Why couldn't uncle and nephew be of one mind, sharp enough to cut through metal?"

"You do the dirty work... and I'll take the blame for you. Wouldn't that have been magnificent!"

How deeply Zhu Jianshen regretted not bringing this up with his uncle back then; otherwise, the plan might actually have succeeded...

"Someone come, fetch my father's spirit tablet. I find myself somewhat missing him!"

The young eunuch standing nearby stared at the fragments of the spirit tablet strewn across the floor, feeling entirely numb.

Was this what His Majesty called "missing him"?

They now harbored a very reasonable suspicion that the late emperor might well have been beaten to death by their very own sovereign!

...

"After reclaiming the throne, Zhu Qizen changed the era name to Tianshun and executed Yu Qian on trumped-up charges!"

Upon seeing this, emperors from other dynasties and planes were driven so mad with fury that they nearly suffered cerebral hemorrhages on the spot.

As the previous celestial screen had recounted, Yu Qian was the hero who defended Beijing.

When Zhu Qizen was captured and the Ming dynasty faced imminent peril, Yu Qian had turned the tide, organized the forces to repel the Oirats, and preserved the foundation of the Great Ming.

Cao Cao felt a sharp throbbing in his temples as he watched. "This brat... I must hand it to him! He refuses to do a single decent thing!"

Xu Chu roared, "I truly want to pry open his skull to see what on earth is inside! Dammit, the man saved your family's empire, and this is how you repay him?"

Jia Xu finally understood: this brat had simply had things far too smooth-sailing from childhood.

What he lacked was someone like Dong Zhuo to keep him in check!

...

At this moment, within the imagery of the celestial screen.

"Lord Guardian Yu, be on your way! His Majesty requires your head to consecrate the new reign!"

A loyal soul illuminating the sun and moon. On the execution grounds, Yu Qian stood clad in plain white garments, his white hair fluttering in the wind. Yet his posture remained straight, and his gaze burned like a torch.

The executioner's broadsword gleamed with a chilling, steely light as Yu Qian raised his head to gaze at the gloomy, overcast sky.

In that gaze, there was deep attachment to the mountains and rivers of the Great Ming, resentment toward the treacherous officials running amok, and above all, enduring anxiety for the common people of the realm.

He recalled the soldiers fighting in a sea of blood atop the city walls during the Defense of Beijing;

he recalled the days and nights of exhaustive toil to protect the common folk, and above all, he remembered the words Zhu Qiyu had once spoken to him.

"Yu Qian... Do you feel any regret?"

"No regret. This minister feels no regret." That had been his answer at the time!

Yu Qian looked far into the distance... his eyes filled with unyielding resolve...

The citizens of Beijing wept in unison. Everyone knew he was innocent; the entire world knew he was innocent!

Everyone knew he was a loyal minister... yet... yet how had he miraculously become a convicted criminal in the words of their sovereign?

Why?!

"The whole world knows he is innocent! Why is this so, Oh Heavens!"

"Not fearing to be shattered to pieces of dust, to leave a stainless name in the world... Ha, ha..." Yu Qian's voice resounded across the execution grounds like a great bronze bell, every word ringing with iron resolve, piercing straight through the clouds.

...

Beneath the celestial screen, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di stared wide-eyed in horror.

Bloodshot veins covered their eyeballs entirely.

"You little bastard... How dare you... How dare you!"

"You actually dared!"

No matter how furiously Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di roared, it was all to no avail!

...

High above the celestial screen, with a flash of blade light, the warm blood of a loyal statesman sprayed across the earth, staining the execution grounds crimson!

In an instant, dark clouds gathered across the sky and violent winds whipped up, as if weeping in grief for the fall of this hero, as if recounting this eternal, monstrous miscarriage of justice!

The executioner stared at the blood-stained blade in his hands, his face twisted in profound agony!

"Lord Guardian Yu... I have failed you, I shall redeem myself before you right now!"

With those words, he raised the blade and slit his own throat!

Beneath the execution platform, the weeping of the common people shook the earth...

The image froze at this very moment!

Zhu Yuanzhang could no longer hold back; two lines of bloody tears streamed from his eyes...

"You little bastard... I am going to kill you!"

"Bang!"

Zhu Yuanzhang fell flat onto the ground, struck down by overwhelming rage... his face twisted in agony, white foam spilling from his mouth as his body convulsed incessantly!