Chapter 25

### Chapter 25: The Change in the Court

Recently, the maids Yunxuan and Yuzhu have been following Chen Xie around. Both of them share a common trait: they can recognize a few hundred characters. The Zhang family, being a scholarly household, naturally prioritizes literacy when buying maids. As specially assigned maids to take care of Chen Xie, one is responsible for the study, and the other for the bedroom.

In this era, human life is not valued highly, and buying a maid doesn't cost much silver. After Chen Xie learned that they could read, he quickly made some adjustments. Yunxuan, who takes care of the second daughter, is responsible for Chen Xie's daily life and the study, while Yuzhu follows Chen Xie around, holding a small notebook and a carbon pen. Zhang's household runs this clinic, and Chen Xie is in charge of treating patients, while Yuzhu handles other matters.

By modern standards, Chen Xie is using child labor, which is illegal! However, in the Ming Dynasty, there was no such concept. As long as you were given a full meal, you had to work, regardless of your age. At first, Yuzhu was a bit jealous of Yunxuan, but over time, she realized that Yunxuan always returns to sleep at night, and even brings the second daughter with her, so there was nothing to be jealous about.

Chen Xie treated the women one by one and taught the older women how to identify meridians, how to insert needles, and what precautions to take in daily life. Yuzhu quietly recorded everything and memorized it later. When she encountered unfamiliar characters, she asked the young master, who was always patient and taught her how to write them.

It seemed that the young master intended to continue running the Zhang family clinic. Yuzhu thought this was a good opportunity. If she couldn't become the young master's woman, she could at least be a competent helper. Sigh, the young master is a good person, kind to everyone, and treats the servants well, but he has one flaw: he doesn't like women, which is a waste of all the cosmetics.

The same complaint soon appeared in Chunxiang Tower. After several days of treatment, Chen Xie stopped the injections and switched to medication. The dosage and frequency for each patient were written in their medical records. Hongguo and others were responsible for fetching the medicine from Yuzhu and ensuring that the patients took it on time.

With some free time, Chen Xie returned to Dengzhou City and began a three-day training session for the girls at Chunxiang Tower.

As the popular short-haired doctor in Dengzhou City, Chen Xie was undoubtedly the girls' ideal patron. He was tall, handsome, and had a fine complexion that made one want to devour him. He was kind to everyone, always smiling and calling them "sister" and "little sister" without any airs.

The girls were initially very confident that they could win over Chen Xie within three days. However, this little scoundrel was truly unresponsive. When his tender arms were exposed, he acted as if he didn't see them. When the girls deliberately lowered their bodices, revealing white skin, he still didn't notice. Some of the more aggressive girls even pretended to lose their balance and fall into his arms, but to no avail.

After an hour of training, Chen Xie left. At dinner, everyone gathered and sighed in unison.

"This short-haired doctor, how could he not see it? I even exposed my belly."

"Tsk, exposing a belly is nothing. I didn't even wear a bodice, and he saw half of my breast, but it didn't work."

As they were chatting, the madam Yingniang appeared, her face stern. She looked at the more flirtatious girls and scolded them, "You naughty foxes, I know what you're thinking. Let me tell you, save your energy. The short-haired doctor is a gentleman. When he was treating the patients, he saw countless white legs, but he didn't touch any of the girls. I didn't believe there were such gentlemen before, but now I do."

For a moment, Chen Xie's image became noble, and the benefits of the girls' harassment disappeared. This change made Chen Xie very unhappy. He wasn't a gentleman; he just didn't want to be distracted from his work. He thought about finding a girl who suited his taste after this busy period to end his certain unglamorous record.

However, the girls became proper, and Chen Xie couldn't touch or look at them, so he had to suppress his dirty thoughts and continue his unglamorous record.

While Chen Xie was busy, the Ming Dynasty's emperor, Chongzhen, was also very busy. On October 19, an earthquake struck Nanjing, and the officials, who had been tormented by Wei Zhongxian, used this as an opportunity to launch a campaign to eliminate Wei Zhongxian. Historically, it was more accurate to say that Chongzhen was waiting for an opportunity rather than the officials.

In modern times, celestial phenomena are considered normal, and earthquakes fall under the domain of geology. However, in the Ming Dynasty, this was seen as a warning from heaven. Why the warning? Was the emperor a昏君 (tyrannical ruler)? Were there traitors in the court?

The conclusion was obvious.

On October 22, the first to speak out was Lu Chengyuan, a low-ranking official but with a great reputation. He was not aligned with either the Donglin or the eunuch factions. He submitted a memorial to impeach the eunuch faction's leader, Cui Chengxiu, and indirectly implicated Wei Zhongxian. He was ready to risk his life.

According to procedure, after being impeached, Cui Chengxiu, as a cabinet member, had to make a statement. How? By submitting a resignation letter to the emperor, indicating that he had performed poorly and was criticized by his colleagues, and asking the emperor to let him retire.

Following the usual practice, as a cabinet member, Cui Chengxiu's resignation should have been rejected by the emperor. However, Chongzhen quickly approved it. The underlying message was clear. Wei Zhongxian thought he had lost a foster son and could get away with it, but the storm that followed was even more intense.

The result of Cui Chengxiu being abandoned was evident: the eunuch faction's morale was shattered, and the group could no longer be maintained. One after another, more intense memorials were submitted. On October 24, Qian Yuanque, a military official, not only impeached Wei Zhongxian but also directly criticized Chongzhen for protecting and indulging him. Wei Zhongxian, who had missed the best opportunity to rebel, had no future.

The fall of the eunuch faction was like a Ferrari racing on a track. Before the end of October, only a few people had impeached Wei Zhongxian, showing the limited integrity of the literati. Not everyone could be as righteous as the Six Gentlemen, and selfishness is a human nature. However, it must be said that during the darkest moments of Chinese history, there have always been people who stand up and use their blood to interpret the true meaning of "integrity."

It is precisely because "integrity" has run through the entire history of China that Chinese civilization has continued to thrive.

Sitting in the position of the inner minister, Wei Zhongxian was like an ant on a hot pan. He sought help from a eunuch named Xu Yingyuan. Under Xu's "sincere" persuasion, Wei Zhongxian also submitted a resignation letter. Chongzhen, once again demonstrating his decisiveness, ordered Wei Zhongxian to retire to Fengyang on the first day of the eleventh month. Wei Zhongxian thought he was safe and happily packed his bags and set off.

On the sixth day of the eleventh month, in Fucheng County, Hejian Prefecture, Wei Zhongxian received a message from a fast horse from the capital, informing him that the emperor had sent people to arrest him. At this moment, Wei Zhongxian realized that his life was at its end. In the cold, windy night, he hanged himself with a rope in a dilapidated inn.

Wei Zhongxian was dead, but the matter was not over. Chongzhen accused Wei Zhongxian of treason, but this charge was not substantiated and was merely a fabricated accusation.

Before clearing the eunuch faction, some preparations were needed. The eunuch faction was too large, and Chongzhen's patience in preparing was truly remarkable. During the preparation period, Chongzhen also did something: he withdrew the eunuch supervisors from the border garrisons.

At this time, Chongzhen was full of ambition for the future of the Ming Dynasty, determined to be a sage emperor like the founding emperors. He believed that after eliminating Wei Zhongxian and cleansing the court, everything would improve.

It is worth mentioning that the once powerful eunuch, who was known as the "Nine Thousand Years," had only one person follow him to his death, and that person was Li Zhaoqin.

Shandong is not far from Beijing, so these events quickly spread to Dengzhou through various channels. Before learning these news, no one would have believed that the powerful eunuch faction could fall so quickly. It was like a towering building that someone found annoying, kicked a few times, and it collapsed with a loud crash.

Upon hearing the news, Zhang Yao was stunned in the study for a whole day before remembering to send someone to find Chen Xie.

"Si Hua, Wei Zhongxian is dead, and the court is on the right path. The Ming Dynasty has hope." Zhang Yao said excitedly, but received a very calm response: "Let's wait and see." Zhang Yao was a bit angry. How could he be so indifferent? The birth of a sage emperor and the cleansing of the world should be a time for joy and hope, but why did he show no reaction?

However, Zhang Yao did not get angry at Chen Xie. Instead, he quickly calmed down and continued to ask, "What? Si Hua doesn't have faith in the current emperor?"

Chen Xie didn't know how to answer and thought for a long time before reluctantly replying, "Do you think the current困境 (difficulties) of the Ming Dynasty can be changed by a wise emperor?" Chen Xie was still polite and didn't add, "Is the current emperor definitely a sage?"

Zhang Yao believed so, but Chen Xie knew otherwise. In 17 years, Chongzhen had made too many bad moves, one after another. Some historians bluntly stated that if Wei Zhongxian had not been eliminated and the eunuch faction had continued to grow, the Ming Dynasty might have lasted another decade or so. This statement, in fact, makes sense.

To be blunt, Wei Zhongxian's interests were aligned with the emperor's. As long as the eunuch faction was in power, the emperor would not be poor. Wei Zhongxian was an expert at making money, whether by force or by stealth. During the eunuch faction's rule, the funds for the Liaodong campaign never ran dry.

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**End of Chapter 25**