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

Before 9:00 AM, rustling footsteps could be heard in the alleys of the city. Three people carrying a trunk hurried out of the Cui family's secret door.

Walking west along the back alley, hugging the wall, avoiding the guard post at the T-junction, turning into the back wall of the grain store, then exiting, then turning again, it's like walking along a line written on a map.

Finally, we exited through the west gate and headed straight for the dilapidated dock by the river.

Zhu Han had been watching from the shadows. The box was light at first, but suddenly became heavy when it reached the dilapidated dock.

One of the men carrying the box whispered, "No, there's more inside."

"More what?"

"Paper."

"Paper?" The leader was taken aback. He lifted the lid of the box and saw that there was indeed an extra layer of yellow paper inside. Inside the paper were salt coupons and half a flower and wood shadows—all in the format of "old gazetteers," printed very skillfully.

"Let's go!" The leader snapped the lid shut, lifted the box, and ran up to the riverbank.

He had just jumped onto the small boat when it suddenly sank.

Two lights were lit in the middle of the river, one in front of the other. Under the lights, the sailors raised their short guns, but did not fire them. Instead, they used the gun barrels to block the small boat.

Three more lights were lit in the woods on the west bank, and people stood in the shadows in three triangles. A rope was thrown out with a "whoosh" and tightened around the corner of the box.

"Don't move." Yin Yan emerged from the shadows, his scabbard held against the leader's throat. "The Prince of Ning's Mansion is taking delivery."

The leader tried to charge forward, but the rope tightened, he tripped, and fell to the ground.

The other two men drew their knives, but each of them was struck on the wrist with a "ding-ding" sound by two iron rulers, and the knives fell to the ground.

The iron ruler was given to me by Gu Qingping. It was light and sharp, and wouldn't hurt my bones. After tapping it a couple of times, my hand would go numb.

In no time, all three were captured. The leader gritted his teeth: "You switched the boxes!"

"The box is yours, but the road is paved alone."

Yin Yan sneered, "Following you will only take you out of the city."

The three were brought ashore.

Zhu Han slowly emerged from behind the woods, his gaze lingering for a moment on the leader's face: "You, I've seen you again."

The man was stunned, then felt a chill run down his spine—it was the leader of the gang from Haoshui Post Station.

"Speak," Zhu Han said calmly, "who wants your life, who wants my seal, who wants the title of Crown Prince?"

The man hesitated, as if weighing something.

Zhu Han did not urge them, but instead signaled to the soldiers to open the box.

After peeling away the layers of paper, two "letters" were found at the bottom, one signed "Prince Ning" and the other "Eastern Palace".

The paper is fine and of good quality, the ink is even and even, and the signature is stamped with a small red seal.

Zhu Han picked up the small seal, held it up to the lamp, and gently blew on it.

A very light layer of ash rose from the edge of the seal, fell into the lamp flame, and hissed, carrying a very slight sour smell.

"Tamarix ash, ink for outlining." He put down the small seal, as if making a casual remark, "This smell is most familiar to the offices of Shuntian."

The man's forehead was covered in sweat, his Adam's apple bobbed a few times, and he finally said, "It's...it's a guy named Du Xing from the Shuntian Office who usually copies legal documents for people. He said that as long as he can produce two letters, he can use the Crown Prince's name to get salt tickets, then silver, and then exchange the silver for sea salt tickets after crossing the river."

"Where does Du Xing live?" Yin Yan asked immediately.

“There’s an old lamp hook on the gate of the archway at the entrance of Beiyijiao.”

"Do you have connections?" Zhu Han asked again.

"Say there's someone." The leader's eyes narrowed slightly. "Say it's for your 'superior,' don't ask the name, just tell us to follow the instructions on the paper."

"Is the word 'Sizhou Pagoda' written on the paper?" Gu Qingping suddenly asked.

The man was startled: "It wrote...it wrote 'northwest corner of the tower base' and even drew brick patterns."

"Grab him and write his crime record." Zhu Han turned around. "Don't torture him, don't force a confession. Let him get enough sleep, and tomorrow morning send him to the entrance of the Shuntian government office and put him on the steps."

"Release?" Yin Yan almost thought he had misheard.

“Yes.” Zhu Han said softly, “As soon as he wakes up, he runs inside to find his ‘boss’.”

He glanced at the night sky. "There are too many eyes and ears in the city. I'd better let them do it themselves."

As dawn broke, the dew was heavy. The stone steps of the Shuntian government office gleamed with dampness.

The leader was untied, with the two fake notes and the small seal beside him. He shivered as soon as he woke up.

Seeing that no one was around, he stumbled up the steps, clutching the paper seal, shouting, "I want to see the officials! I want to see the officials!"

The doorman shoved him to the ground: "What's all the noise about!"

He said urgently, "I need to find Du Xing. It was him—it was him who sent me to retrieve the seal!"

The doorman paused, and two words in those words caught the ear of a minor clerk who was about to enter the yamen—"Du Xing".

The clerk stumbled and nearly fell, quickly turning his face away.

The doorman cursed, "Where did this mad dog come from!"

The man frantically waved his hands, shouting, "I have a letter! It has the seal of Prince Ning and the seal of the Crown Prince on it! Du Xing—"

A figure casting a long shadow emerged from the corridor, dressed in a worn blue robe, his eyelids slightly drooping: "Who called me?"

The leader grabbed him like he was holding onto a piece of driftwood: "Master Du! Look, this..."

The man in the blue robe's eyes twitched. He reached out to take the paper, and just as he did, a short whistle suddenly rang out from around the corner in the distance.

The doorman looked back, assuming it was the sound of a spatula from a breakfast stall, and didn't pay any attention.

The man in the blue robe trembled slightly, but still managed to catch the paper.

In that instant, a row of people dressed in old cloth clothes appeared at the foot of the stone steps. They were not carrying knives or sticks, but rather the "sealing rulers" used by the government.

The ruler wasn't heavy, but it was extremely hard. The leader was dazed, only seeing the eyes of the person in the very center—deep and bright.

"Du Xing," the man began, "what should be the punishment for the crime of borrowing the seal from the Shuntian Bureau of Justice?"

The man in the blue robe suddenly looked up. Upon seeing the other person's face, his entire face turned pale.

“Prince Ning…”

Zhu Han nodded slightly: "See you in the hall."

Du Xing wanted to escape, but his legs went weak. The doorman stood there dumbfounded, never having seen anything like this before.

Yin Yan stepped forward, grabbed Du Xing, and snatched the letter and seal, handing them over to the servant.

The interrogation in the courtroom did not drag on. Du Xing spoke very carefully, refusing to reveal who his "superior" was.

Zhu Han did not press the matter, but simply ordered someone to spread the two letters out under the lamp, and then ordered the clerk to bring the official documents from the yamen, selecting three copies written by Du Xing.

When the characters are placed together for comparison, the horizontal strokes have a slight return stroke at the end, making the three parts look the same.

"A minor skill in calligraphy," Zhu Han said. "You can copy it like me, but you can't copy my finishing stroke. My finishing stroke ends outside the paper, and the character ends not on the pen."

Du Xing's forehead was covered in sweat, and he finally collapsed from exhaustion: "Your Highness, spare me—I...I was just paid to write, I really didn't know who was taking the documents from me."

“You know that,” Zhu Han looked at him, “but you just don’t dare to say it.”

Du Xing's mouth trembled twice, and suddenly he banged his forehead on the ground, making a "thud" sound, and two drops of blood spurted out: "I'll tell you, I'll tell you—it's...it's the son-in-law of the Shuntian Chancellor, surnamed Qian and named Zongli."

He traveled along the sea route to connect with Jiaozhi (Vietnam).

On the day Wu Yunsheng's incident occurred, fearing implication, he arrested Du and ordered me to copy the words between Prince Ning and the Crown Prince, one copying it onto a salt ticket and the other onto a petition. We would then borrow the seal to obtain silver, exchange the silver for tickets, and use the tickets to travel by sea..."

"Where is Qian Zongli?" Yin Yan shouted.

“He set up a silk shop as a cover in Guihefang in the north of the city.”

"Arrest them." Zhu Han stood up, his sleeves billowing. "Thorough interrogation, no torture. Confiscate the silver accounts, keep half of the salt tickets, and return the other half for someone else to pick up."

"Waiting for whom?" Gu Qingping asked.

“Wait for the boss’s boss.” Zhu Han’s gaze was calm. “This line of inquiry shouldn’t stop at just one son-in-law.”

In the afternoon, behind the curtain of the Guihefang silk shop, Qian Zongli collapsed onto a pile of fabric, his limbs twisted and his mouth stuffed with a handkerchief.

On the table lay a sample of sea salt tickets and a map of the route. Three small red dots on the map marked the three ferry crossings: "Jinghai," "Haimen," and "Dasha."

"Haimen." Zhu Han pointed with his finger. "The salt is closest to Haimen. If you go further east, it will fall into the hands of the outer vassal states."

He flipped through the sample ticket and saw that it was printed with "Eastern Palace Silver Seal Half Flower Shadow". The paper was extremely thin and the printing was light, as if it was deliberately meant to be crumpled up and torn.

"It's like a joke." He handed the ticket to Gu Qingping. "Did you understand it?"

Gu Qingping touched the edge of the paper: "Someone wants the vote to be ruined by the people, ruined by the 'Eastern Palace'."

"Hmm. It's the paper that's bad, not the silver."

Zhu Han put the tickets back. "Send out half of these tickets as usual, and exchange the other half for genuine silver-stamped copies. The person delivering the tickets should not move; follow them to Haimen, to Dasha, and to Jinghai. I want to see who receives them there."

“Your Highness,” Yin Yan couldn’t help but say, “the sea is rough and the waves are high along the way, and we are afraid of being exposed.”

"It's better if it's exposed." Zhu Han spread out the nautical chart. "There's no shadow on the sea, only the wind. Let the wind carry my message."

That night, Qian Zongli was taken to Shuntian Prison, his face ashen.

Zhu Han didn't go to see him, but stayed at the side door of the prison for a moment, where he heard the creaking of chains and the dense, mixed sounds of sighs.

Someone else cautiously peeked out from outside, glanced at the scene, and then withdrew.

I thought it would be a letter of pleas for leniency, but after half an incense stick's time, a messenger from the Imperial Household Department came to report that the Secretary of Shuntian had fallen ill and requested to be relieved of his duties.

“A fake illness for real exemption.” Yin Yan sneered.

“Let him be exempted,” Zhu Han said. “Only if he is exempted will we take action.”

The next day, starting from the north of Shuntian City and heading east, the three groups each carried a small box and went to Jinghai, Haimen and Dasha respectively, according to the ticket samples.

Each team is followed by only two people, one holding a seal ruler and the other holding a "silver stamp copy".

The procession moved at a moderate pace, waiting at ferry crossings and crossing markets as if for show.

When we arrived in Jinghai, the sea breeze was extremely strong, making our eyes sting.

Just as the group placed the boxes on the stone pier, three small fishing boats approached. The people on board were dressed in old seacloth, their clothes stained with dampness.

The lead fisherman tied up his boat pole and grinned at the people on the shore: "Goods?"

The people on the shore handed over the ticket sample.

The fisherman twitched the paper between his fingers, and it trembled like fish scales.

Yu Han laughed even harder: "A real ticket! From the Crown Prince!"

"How do you know?" asked the person holding the seal and measuring tape.

Yu Han pointed to the faint shadow on the ticket: "This half-flower is the shadow, the shadow on the paper."

The man feigned ignorance: "What percentage of the ticket can I get?"

"Seventy percent, no debt." The fisherman dusted off the edge of the ticket. "Once we cross the sea, it'll be ten percent."

"For whom to cross the sea?"

The fisherman stopped laughing, his eyes turning cold: "You've asked too many questions. Here's the silver."

Before he could even get the silver, the fisherman suddenly seemed to smell something. His nostrils flared slightly, and his gaze lingered strangely on the sleeve of the man holding the "silver stamp copy."

Inside the cuffs, there was a very faint scent of silver powder, like warm gold that couldn't be completely removed after being damp in the sun.

The fisherman's eyes changed. He stopped waiting for a price, took a step back, pushed off the edge of the boat, and the boat was about to leave the shore.

But at that very moment, the water at the other end of the dock swelled slightly, as if a large bubble was rising from the bottom.

Immediately afterwards, another fishing boat silently approached, and a strip of cloth hanging on the mast shook, revealing a small "钤" character.

The fisherman's face turned pale. He turned to jump, but a force pressed down on his shoulder.

The man who held him down was not wearing armor, but only a plain-colored long robe that revealed no social standing. He had no sword at his waist, but his hands were steady: "The Jinghai salt ticket case, take it."

"Who!" the fisherman cried out.

“—Prince Ning.” The man turned to the side, revealing a faint smile.

At the same time, uprisings also broke out in Haimen and Dasha.

The ringleaders of the three "ticket-receiving" operations have all been arrested.

Among the three, one of them had an extremely fine "half-flower wood shadow" sewn into a hidden seam in his sleeve, exactly the same as the one hidden under the Sizhou Pagoda.

Two small red stamps were hidden inside the other belt, and the edges of the stamps smelled of tamarisk ash.

The last one, with calluses on his palms, was someone who spent years mooring boats, yet he could press the paper of the Shuntian official documents flat and smooth.

"There are people at sea, people on land, and people in the government office."

Yin Yan presented all the findings from the three sources together, saying, "Now all the clues are revealed."

"Not yet." Zhu Han ignored the documents and only looked at the wind. "There's still one missing."

"Who?"

He didn't answer.

Returning to Jinling that night, the lamp in the Eastern Palace was still lit. Zhu Biao was writing at his desk when he saw him, and rose to greet him: "Uncle Prince."

"How far along are the preparations for the autumn inspection?" Zhu Han asked.

"The weathervane, the fleet of boats, and the encampments along the dike are all arranged as Uncle Wang did the day before yesterday."

Zhu Biao paused, "But my father's decree today instructed me to 'go with the flow'."

"Follow the wind?" Zhu Han chuckled. "Those who follow the wind have no rudder. If you want to 'follow,' you'll need a hidden rudder."

"Who's behind the Dark Helm?"

“It’s in your hands.” After saying this, he seemed to suddenly remember something, and his gaze fell on the paperweight on the corner of the table.

The paperweight was an old inkstone with the words "Ding'an" engraved on the side, the engraving knife steady.

Zhu Han paused on the character "庵" with his fingertip, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

“Your Highness,” he suddenly said, “tomorrow at 5:00 PM, go to the side gate of Fengtian Hall to await my decree.”

Someone will hand you a piece of paper through a side door. Don't ask questions, just take it, seal it in your sleeve, and don't open it.

On the third day of the river patrol, open it on the bluestone east of the river mouth pavilion and read just one sentence.

Zhu Biao was taken aback: "What paper?"

"The rudder," Zhu Han replied.

Gu Qingping looked at him and knew that he had already planned the next step.

She pushed a cup of tea toward Zhu Han: "Would Your Highness like to rest?"

"No need to rest." He finished his tea, stood up, and said, "The case in Haimen is still missing one person. That person is in Jinling."

"Who?" Yin Yan pressed.

“The one who unlocks the door.” Zhu Han walked out. “Qian Zongli, the son-in-law of the Shuntian Chancellor, is borrowing the seal, not unlocking it. The one who unlocks the door is the one who can bring the ‘half-flower shadow’ of the Eastern Palace into the hearts of the people.”

He walked to the threshold and turned back: "The locksmith is a 'mediator' from the salt depot in the north of the city. His name is Yu Cao."

"Grass?" Yin Yan raised an eyebrow. "That name..."

“The grass grows at the base of the wall, where it never sees the sun,” Zhu Han said calmly. “But if the wall is to fall, the grass must be disturbed first.”

The lights at the salt depot in the north of the city were still on at night. Yu Cao leaned against the counter, turning the beads on her abacus, the beads clicking and clattering.

A young apprentice came up and reported, "Master Yu, the Crown Prince will be inspecting the river tomorrow, and all the gambling dens in the city are betting on which night the Crown Prince will stay. Would you like to place a bet as well?"

"What are you betting on?" Yu Cao asked lazily. "Jiangkou Pavilion."

He smiled, a hint of coldness in his smile. "He always liked to talk in the pavilion." (End of Chapter)