Daming: Brother, there is no future for monks, let's rebel

The Crown Prince sighed, rose, and said, “I am grateful for your concern for the affairs of state, Uncle. However, this matter concerns the palace and official funds, and should be investigated jointly by the Ministry of Justice and the Imperial Treasury. From today onwards, the Juyi Granary case will be handled by me personally for the time being.”

Zhu Han cupped his hands in greeting, his voice low and deep: "As you command."

As he left the hall, he glanced back.

The rain outside the palace walls had not yet stopped, and the cold wind carried the dripping eaves onto the tiles, like a curtain woven from countless needles and threads.

The candles in the Jing'an Prince's Mansion were still lit.

Zhu Han stood in front of the map, his fingertips tracing the marked warehouse lines—from Juyi Warehouse to East Warehouse, and then to the secret passage for transferring silver in the inner treasury, all of which were secretly connected with the Gu family business.

The boy rushed in from outside, carrying a black wooden box in his hands.

"Your Highness, we've found it."

"What?"

“It’s a spare mold left by the seal-making craftsman Li Hu.” The boy opened the wooden box, and a half-dry bronze mold was clearly visible. It was engraved with a phoenix pattern. Although the details were slightly different, it was almost identical to the real phoenix seal.

Zhu Han's eyes lit up, and he immediately asked in a low voice, "Has anyone seen him?"

The boy's face darkened: "He's dead. Last night at dawn, the seal-keeping facility caught fire, and his body was charred."

The air fell silent.

Zhu Han slowly raised his hand, then slowly lowered it again.

"What a clever move," he sneered. "Not even a word left unsaid."

He suddenly turned around and said to the boy, "Prepare the horses. Enter the palace."

The boy was taken aback: "Your Highness, entering the palace at this time—"

“The more critical the moment, the more we must investigate.” Zhu Han donned his cloak, his eyes sharp as iron. “If she truly used the Phoenix Seal as a cover, there must be traces of the real seal’s circulation. The Phoenix Seal cannot leave the palace unless someone carries an order.”

The palace was deep into the night, and the lights gradually went out.

Zhu Han bypassed the Imperial Garden and crept to the side gate of Zhaoyang Palace. This was the Crown Princess's sleeping quarters.

When he climbed into the inner courtyard, the corridor lights were still on.

Several maids were removing the incense, and he hid in the shadows until the last lamp was blown out.

Just as they were about to approach, a soft sound of footsteps came from the inner hall.

The footsteps were light, yet carried the rhythm of palace boots—not those of a servant, but those of a master.

He held his breath and peered in. He saw Gu Qingping wearing a white fox fur cloak, carrying a small box, hurrying towards the side door. Behind her followed a palace maid, Liu Ruo.

Zhu Han had a sudden thought and quietly followed.

The two walked through the stone path of the Imperial Garden and circled around to the small gate on the west side of the Inner Treasury.

Liu Ruo stepped forward and knocked three times. A coded message came from inside the door: "Feng Hui".

“Moonlight,” Liu Ruo replied. The door opened in response.

Zhu Han's eyes sharpened.

"Phoenix Returns, Moon Conceals" is the secret code for transferring silver in the inner treasury.

He crept to the side of the door and peered through the crack in the lamplight. He saw that a corner of the floor tiles in the inner storeroom had been lifted, and several eunuchs were carrying boxes into the secret passage.

Gu Qingping stood on the stone steps, her expression calm. The box in her hand was opened, revealing dozens of gold seals, all sealed with palace wax.

She whispered her instructions: "Send this batch to Jinling and hand it over to 'Prince Ping's' men. Be quick on the road and don't stop."

The tone was not like a discussion, but a command.

As he was pondering, he suddenly felt a gust of wind behind him, and a short blade was close to his neck.

"Is Your Highness strolling through the palace late at night to admire the moon?"

Liu Ruo's voice came softly. Her expression was calm, and the blade gleamed coldly under the lamplight.

Zhu Han remained unmoved, but instead chuckled lightly: "The Crown Princess's maidservant, quite skilled."

"If Your Highness were to back down, I might pretend I never saw you," Liu Ruo said, her eyes slightly narrowed.

What if I don't back down?

"Then we can only ask Your Highness to stay in this hall."

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhu Han's shoulders trembled, he grabbed the hilt of his knife with his backhand, turned around and pinned Liu Ruo against the pillar.

The blade was snatched from him, and he said coldly, "If you were truly loyal to your master, why would you need to silence him yourself?"

Liu Ruo bit her lip, her eyes trembling slightly. After a moment, she suddenly whispered, "Your Highness... you shouldn't have investigated. The truth is not something you can bear."

Zhu Han was taken aback. Before he could ask any further questions, Liu Ruo suddenly slammed into a pillar, blood gushing out, and died on the spot.

Gu Qingping, who was inside the hall, turned around upon hearing the sound, her eyes turning cold.

"Prince Jing'an?"

The two faced each other across the lamplight from the doorway.

The sounds of rain, the smell of blood, and the flickering lights intertwined to create an eerie stillness.

Zhu Han slowly raised his sword: "Crown Princess, it seems we need to have a talk."

Gu Qingping pursed her lips, then suddenly smiled.

"Talk? Does Your Highness want to talk about the national accounts or the lives of your family members?"

She raised her hand, signaling the eunuch to leave, and walked alone to the lamp.

Raindrops dripped from the tips of her hair, reflecting a layer of cold light.

"Does Your Highness believe the Phoenix Seal is mine?"

Her tone was gentle, yet sharp, "Do you know that the Phoenix Seal was never in my hands to begin with?"

Zhu Han stared at her: "What do you mean?"

"The Phoenix Seal—was personally sealed by the Empress three months ago and handed over to the imperial envoy to be sent to Jinling."

"Jinling?"

“Indeed.” Gu Qingping’s smile deepened. “Your Highness investigated only the Eastern Palace, not the Southern Frontier, which is a mistake. The Phoenix Seal account is merely a path paved by others using my name. The real flow of money is no longer in the court.”

Zhu Han was shocked.

If the Phoenix Seal truly falls into the hands of Prince Ping of Jinling, then her so-called "sending silver" yesterday was actually a cover-up for the Empress's private connections with the outer vassal states.

Seeing the slight change in his expression, Gu Qingping said softly, "Your Highness, I know you are loyal, but loyalty is not the same as foolish courage. You cannot break the scheme of the Crown Prince. If you want to save your life—forget about it tonight."

Zhu Han's gaze was like iron as he coldly said, "You want me to pretend to be deaf and dumb?"

"I want you to live." Her tone suddenly turned somber. "This matter involves nine generations of your family. If we investigate further, not only will I and the Gu family die, but also Your Highness yourself."

Zhu Han remained silent. The sound of rain poured down from the eaves, as if heaven and earth were sighing.

After a long while, he turned around and slowly left.

The wind was strong outside, and his cloak fluttered in the wind. Gu Qingping watched his retreating figure, a complex light flashing in her eyes.

"Liu Ruo, see him off for me—"

She paused halfway through her sentence, only then remembering the bloodstains on the ground.

She closed her eyes and whispered, "I'm sorry."

The following morning, a sudden disturbance broke out in the palace.

The Vice Minister of Justice was suddenly arrested on charges of "unauthorized alteration of the accounts of the Juyi Granary." The presiding judge in this case was none other than Prince Jing'an.

Zhu Han flipped through the confession, his brow furrowed.

The confession mentioned a "palace attendant" who had repeatedly instructed the alteration of accounts, but the signature was unclear.

There are faint red marks on the edges of the paper, resembling phoenix patterns but not quite.

The boy asked in a low voice, "Your Highness, this confession—"

"It's fake," Zhu Han said coldly. "Someone is forcing me to take over." "Why?"

"Because they want to set fire to the Eastern Palace."

He slowly rose, his gaze passing through the window lattice as he looked towards the distant palace.

As the hour of Shen (3-5 PM) drew to a close, the sky appeared as if someone had overturned a basin of thick ink.

A damp north wind swept across the city walls, the battlements hummed, and the flags waved wildly.

Rain started falling in the south of the city, dripping onto the rooftops and splashing up tiny red spots.

The child pointed to the sky and asked his mother, "Mother, is the sky bleeding?" The woman was so frightened that she covered her mouth and said, "Don't talk nonsense, go back inside."

In the Jing'an Prince's Mansion, a narrow crack was torn in the paper window of the study by the wind.

Zhu Han stood before the drawing table, his fingertip lingering for a long time on a dot circled in vermilion—Jinling.

The boy hurried in from under the eaves, smelling of cold rain, carrying a roll of oiled paper.

"Your Highness, we've found it." He lowered his voice. "It's the canal porter's tag. On the night of the Dongcang ferry crossing, an unnamed sailboat set sail from 'Qinghekou,' changed its tag in the middle of the night, and then flew the flag of 'Jiankang Branch' at dawn."

Who owns the ship?

"The register says 'Tuesday'. But when I inquired at the foot tea stalls, I found out it was a fake name. They all called him 'Old Man in the Straw Hat'."

“Old man in a straw raincoat…” Zhu Han murmured twice, his gaze sharpening as he turned to look at the other small wooden box in the boy’s arms.

The boy understood and opened it. The black lacquer on the wooden box had peeled off, and inside lay a layer of fine salt and cotton paper, where a dark bronze mold lay quietly.

It was dug out from a crack in the floor of the ruined building of the Imperial Seal Bureau, a mold of the Phoenix Seal that Li Hu had hidden before his death.

There is a hair-thin crack on the surface of the mold, which extends diagonally from the "feather" radical and is barely visible to the naked eye.

Zhu Han moved the lamp closer, and as the smoke and flame flickered, the cracks became clear.

"This crack is the life he left behind."

Zhu Han lightly touched the seal with his finger, then pointed to the account pages on the table. "Last night, through the secret door of the inner treasury, I saw a batch of sealing wax that matches this mold pattern. If it can be proven in the court, this crack is the shadow of 'God'."

The boy lowered his voice: "But Liu Ruo is dead, Li Hu is also dead, Zhao Chengsheng was cremated... all the survivors have been wiped out. Your Highness has a lot of evidence, if you are accused of 'forging a secret edict and entering the East Granary without permission,' you may become a trap."

"The net has been cast; let's see who falls in first."

Zhu Han put away the box and slowly exhaled a cold breath. "Tomorrow morning at court, I want them to admit their mistakes in broad daylight."

What if someone strikes first?

“That’s even better.” Zhu Han’s gaze was cold and sharp. “There has to be a flash of lightning before thunder.”

At the beginning of the hour of Wei (1-3 PM), the drums in front of the palace were sounded three times.

The palace stood silent like a beast in the rain, with only the heavy tolling of the bells at Shenwu Gate rolling through the clouds.

Today is not a day for a grand court assembly, yet an urgent imperial edict with yellow silk has been issued summoning all officials, stating that "the case of the Juyi Granary needs to be investigated in court. All officials from the Ministry of Justice, the Imperial Treasury, the Censorate, and the Eastern Palace must be present."

Rumors circulated that the Crown Prince had requested the decree, while others whispered that it was the Empress's doing.

Outside the Meridian Gate, the red steps were slippery, and guards stood in two rows.

Zhu Han arrived, wearing a blue cloak and a high-tied hair ornament, his steps as steady as iron.

The boy wanted to follow, but was blocked by the eunuch guarding the gate.

Zhu Han simply said, "Retreat outside the door." The boy responded and retreated to the side gate, leaning against the stone lion, his gaze fixed on the crack in the palace door.

Above the steps, behind the throne, a towering screen stands, indicating that the emperor has not yet arrived.

The crown prince, dressed in bright yellow casual clothes, sat upright on the east couch, his expression solemn.

Gu Qingping was to her right, dressed in plain clothes without any gold or jade ornaments, with only a white jade hairpin inserted in her hair.

Officials from the Ministry of Justice, the Imperial Treasury, and the Censorate lined up in rows, while Lin Yuan, the head of the Seal Forbidden Office, stood to the side, holding a lacquer box in his hands, his sleeves trembling slightly.

The sky was low and oppressive, and a thin line of red rain slanted and weaved outside the eaves, falling on the stone steps and spreading out extremely thin blood-red ripples.

"My lords," the Crown Prince began, his voice clear yet revealing weariness, "the Juyi Granary case has been the subject of much speculation. Today, we will investigate it all. All those involved in forging official seals, falsifying imperial edicts, or illegally crossing into the Eastern Granary at night, regardless of their surnames or seniority, shall be prosecuted to silence public opinion."

Li Qian, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, stepped forward, knelt with his hands on the table, and said: "Your Highness, I conducted a thorough interrogation yesterday and obtained his confession."

He gestured to the clerk to bring out several volumes of confessions, saying, "This case was instigated by a certain palace attendant, carried out by a certain eunuch, with the Crown Prince's accountant making a mistake, and the granary manager fearing punishment. I am willing to take responsibility and will suspend my duties pending Your Highness's decision."

His words, seemingly self-correcting, actually touched on all three points—but avoided the core issue.

Whispers filled the hall. Gu Qingping lowered her eyelashes and remained silent.

"Bring me the confession," the prince said.

The confession was presented. The Crown Prince flipped through it, his expression slightly grim. He looked up at Zhu Han, who was diagonally opposite him: "Last night, Prince Jing'an entered the East Granary without permission, claiming to be acting on a secret imperial edict. Where is the edict?"

"Here it is." Zhu Han stepped forward, holding a secret letter made of yellow silk.

The eunuch took it and placed it on the table. The crown prince unfolded it, his gaze lingering on the words for a moment before he looked up, his expression unreadable.

“Uncle, this secret edict is written by the Emperor himself, but it lacks the imperial seal,” the Crown Prince said slowly.

Everyone in the hall was startled.

The emperor could issue secret edicts, but anything involving the official treasury required the seal of the Imperial Seal Office to be valid.

This edict has no seal; it is merely a piece of paper.

"Your Highness is wise," Zhu Han said calmly. "This edict, from the time it was presented to me, has lost its official seal. I also want to know where it was replaced. That is why I asked the Seal Bureau to investigate."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yuan raised his sleeve to cover his mouth, his old eyes flashing slightly.

The Crown Prince pondered for a moment: "Chief Lin—"

"Your servant is here." Lin Yuan bowed and stepped forward, his hands trembling violently, whether from age or fear, it was hard to tell.

"Distinguish the characters and the color of the seal," the prince said.

Lin Yuan took the secret edict, his nose almost touching the paper. After a moment, he said hoarsely, "It is an imperial brush, but the ink is wrong. Imperial ink is made with dragon's blood and musk and ointment. This edict is black with a grayish tinge and a slight gold sheen. It seems... it seems to be freshly ground after last night's rain, not old ink from last month."

He looked up, swallowed hard, and said, "The seal—it has indeed not been issued."

A stone was thrown into the lake, and ripples spread everywhere. Among the officials, some squinted, as if watching a ferocious beast that had walked right into a trap.

The Crown Prince glanced at Zhu Han and asked, "Since you, my uncle, have entered the Eastern Granary by imperial decree without an official seal, what should we do if someone uses this as a pretext to accuse you of misappropriating military personnel?"

“With my head,” Zhu Hanping said in a flat voice.

Thunder rumbled outside the palace, and a sudden downpour began. The red rain lashed against the wide steps, splashing up layers of pale pink mist.

Someone whispered, "Blood rain is falling from the sky!" The sound of weapons clanging filled the hall, and it was unclear whose heart was thrown into turmoil first.

Gu Qingping suddenly spoke, her voice soft but like a cold needle piercing everyone's ears: "Your Highness, the blood rain is not an omen of heaven, but a man-made disaster."

"Oh?" The prince looked at her.

"Last night, a fire broke out in the East Warehouse, burning two rows of oil barrels. The oil barrels were mixed with cinnabar, which turned red when it fell into the city with the wind and rain. This morning, the rain came first to the south of the city, and the roof of the inner warehouse was also stained red. If you examine the corners of people's clothes, you can find out who was near the East Warehouse last night."

Her gaze swept over them indifferently, "Vermilion easily adheres to silk fabrics and cannot be washed off."

The hall fell silent, and everyone subconsciously looked at the corners of their sleeves.

Several minor officials in the imperial treasury paled and shrank back an inch. Gu Qingping saw this clearly but did not pursue them.

She turned to the Crown Prince and said, "Your Majesty, I request that the Imperial Treasury be opened to examine the imprint of the Phoenix Seal. If the seal in the account is genuine, I will take full responsibility. If not, I request that the Ministry of Justice release the former Vice Minister and conduct a further investigation."

This move, seemingly cutting off her own escape route, was actually handing the knife to herself—because she knew that the true identity of the Phoenix Seal was not in the palace.

"Very well," Zhu Han said, clasping his hands in a fist salute. "Your subject also requests to examine the artifacts."

He stepped forward, picked up the wooden box from his sleeve, removed the cotton and salt, and placed the mold on the table.

"This item was kept by the late craftsman Li Hu before his death. The crack on the mold matches the seal impression from last night's account book. Please take the sealing wax used last night and compare it with the records kept in the inner treasury."

Lin Yuan staggered, a look of horror flashing in his eyes.

This mold is the key. If it aligns, the Phoenix Seal's "True Master" will truly emerge. (End of Chapter)