Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 1125 Who to Investigate and How to Investigate

Inside the Qianqing Palace,

As the ice in the groove beneath the dragon pillar slowly melted, the air in the hall became slightly chilly. With Chen Hui's three kowtows and his cold reply, a bad premonition flashed through everyone's hearts. Was the inner court eunuchs going to be invited to participate in politics?

"This servant believes that this matter has far-reaching implications. This servant has come to investigate, and whoever is implicated will be investigated."

"Hmm, you dare to tell the truth, Minister Gu. Did you hear what Chen Hui said?"

Emperor Wu ignored Chen Hui and instead spoke amiably to Grand Secretary Gu, who was kneeling in the center of the hall. This attitude caused the civil and military officials to look somewhat strange. Did His Majesty have other ideas?

"Your Majesty, I certainly heard it. If the Emperor Emeritus believes what I, the eunuch, say, I will not argue further and will go to the prison myself."

He didn't even try to argue, but knelt down and kowtowed, about to remove his official hat. Little did he know that this attitude would enrage the Emperor Emeritus, who would rebuke him.
"You insolent fool! I don't listen to anyone. You want to go to the imperial prison? It's too early now. Didn't you just say you were my protégé, a Jinshi from the Tianbao era? I remember, I specifically selected you back then. You went to the Hanlin Academy, and then to the Six Ministries. I remember it all. Fine, since you're one of my subjects, whether you are or not, I won't acknowledge it now, nor will I deny it. I've decided you're a hero, and I will never take that back. Let heroes investigate heroes, let heroes investigate heroes—that's for you to investigate."

His gloomy eyes were fixed on Gu Yichen, and he didn't move an inch.
"Your subject obeys the decree."

Before he could finish speaking, the retired emperor suddenly interrupted.

“Chen Hui, one of you, one of Gu Yichen, one of Song Zhen from the Ministry of Justice, one from the Censorate, one from the Court of Judicial Review, one from the Imperial City Guard, two from the Prince of Beijing and the Prince of Dongping, and people from the Cabinet, all of you need to send people to the trial, to investigate, to investigate his backers, his accomplices, no, and the Marquis of Luoyun, where is the Marquis of Luoyun?”

After rambling on and on, the Emperor Emeritus suddenly raised his head, trying to find Luo Yunhou's figure in the crowd.

Among the crowd inside the hall,
Seeing that he couldn't avoid it, Zhang Jinyu tightened his skin. The investigation into Xu Changwen was precisely to investigate him—his accomplices, his backers—and it seemed Xu Changwen didn't know many people. Seeing the gazes of numerous court officials turning towards him, Zhang Jinyu had no choice but to bite the bullet and step forward amidst the mocking stares of several princes.
"Your Majesty, I am here,"

The person stepped forward standing up, without kneeling. It wasn't that Zhang Jinyu didn't want to bow, but there were too many people, and if he knelt, he might not be able to find him.

Upon hearing this, the retired emperor suddenly raised his head and saw a figure standing out from the crowd, exceptionally brave and sharp, with the sharpness of an army. He was indeed a "once-in-a-century" military genius. The pacification of the rebellion within the pass still needed this person as the pillar of stability.

"Very well, Marquis Luoyun, you are indeed valiant and extraordinary. Your Zhang family has been loyal and virtuous for generations, guarding the border. I remember you all. But this birthday banquet is supposed to be a joyous occasion. I wonder what your opinion is on this matter?"

Thinking of the memorial in his hand, the retired Emperor Zhou Shengzhuo could not calm his mind. No emperor in history had ever been scolded by his ministers at his birthday banquet. This event would surely be recorded in history books. His reputation as a virtuous emperor was ruined.

Upon hearing this, the focus of the entire hall fell on Zhang Jinyu. Not only did the nobles start whispering among themselves, but even the civil officials were restless, wondering what earth-shattering words Marquis Luoyun would say next.

But it was precisely this question that stumped Zhang Jinyu. If a student makes a mistake, the teacher will inevitably be implicated. If that's the case, why ask him? Or rather, what does the Emperor Emeritus mean? Not here. Looking at Grand Secretary Gu kneeling in front, he couldn't fall behind. He hadn't even remembered what he had just read.

"Your Majesty, Xu Changwen is my protégé. If we're talking about guilt, I am guilty too. But I was only focused on eating the food and didn't hear clearly what the memorial said. However, I believe that whatever we do, it all comes down to reason. First, we must determine this person's character. Like those officials from Jiangnan who came to the capital for trial, they all claimed to be honest officials, but when their homes were searched, they found millions of taels of silver. No matter what they say, I don't believe them. Since Your Majesty has searched his home, let's first determine his character, and then investigate the case to see if what he said is true. If it is..."

As Zhang Jinyu spoke more and more, he used everyday matters to judge the situation, which silenced all the civil and military officials. In the end, Chen Hui could no longer bear it and quickly reprimanded him.
"Lord Luoyun, the Emperor Emeritus asked how you investigated the case, not to hear you spouting common sense."

Perhaps due to her tone, Zhang Jinyu suddenly interrupted the conversation and stopped speaking, but she stared at Eunuch Chen with a strange look in her eyes. She just stood there without saying a word, staring at Chen Hui without moving. This appearance puzzled not only the civil and military officials, but also the Emperor Wu and the Emperor Emeritus. The Emperor Wu had a thought and asked.

"Lord Luo Yun, why are you so quiet? What are you staring at Chen Hui for?"

"Your Majesty, I am somewhat puzzled. My purpose in coming here today was to attend the Emperor Emeritus's birthday banquet. One reason was to wish him a long and happy life, and the other was to join in the fun and sample the dishes from the Imperial Kitchen. How did things turn out like this? The Emperor Emeritus is now angry, the banquet is over, and I even have some venison left over. What a mess! Eunuch Chen, how did you manage to arrange this?"

Zhang Jinyu seemed to be feigning ignorance, wiping the sauce from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve. His face was full of questions, and even showed signs of confusion. This question caused an uproar in the hall; many officials suddenly realized that these plans had been premeditated long ago.

“Brother Yan, Marquis Luoyun is right. What a fine banquet has turned into this mess. What do you think Eunuch Chen is planning?”

Yan Cong pondered for a moment, also somewhat puzzled. Logically speaking, how could the struggle in the court involve the palace? Could it be related to the case in Jiangnan?

"Yes, Brother Yan, Brother Cao is right. There's probably someone behind this. Who do you think it could be?"

"Who is it, an eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial?"

The whispers turned into a clamor of discussion. Chen Hui, standing on the stage, was terrified; his face turned pale, his forehead was covered in sweat, and his hands trembled as he tucked them into his sleeves.

"Alright, the Emperor Emeritus asked you about Xu Changwen's affairs. Why say so much? Since you say that being an official means being honest, then tell me, was Xu Changwen an honest official? And what about you?"

Seeing the growing murmurs, the Empress Wu waved her sleeve, returning to the main point. The hall instantly fell silent, and the eunuchs from the Directorate of Ceremonial on the platform all secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhang Jinyu was somewhat embarrassed. How could someone ask such a question? She smiled awkwardly and bowed.

"Your Majesty, I dare not speak presumptuously. Xu Changwen has only been an official for a month. Even if he wanted to embezzle, he could only take it from the disaster relief funds in Jiangnan. I know that the officials in Jiangnan are all very wealthy. Perhaps the officials from Jiangnan who came to the capital also have considerable wealth. But Xu Changwen is definitely an honest official. As for me, I am not. I like money. Although I have not embezzled money from the people, I have taken a lot of money from gentry and wealthy merchants. Therefore, I am not an honest official."

After these words, all the civil and military officials in the hall, even the two emperors, were somewhat caught off guard by such a response.

"Alright, what's this about honest officials and corrupt officials? As long as they are loyal to the court, I can tolerate them. Marquis Luoyun is one of them. Chen Hui, organize people to investigate."

The retired emperor took the golden whisk and banged it hard on the table, making a "bang bang" sound, as if he was about to ignore what Marquis Luo Yun had said. This action seemed unintentional, but it shocked everyone. How could the retired emperor be so biased towards Marquis Luo Yun?

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will investigate immediately."

Chen Hui quickly accepted the order, but stopped abruptly as he turned around, his face showing difficulty as he reported the message.
"Your Majesty, who should I begin the investigation with? Who should I arrest first?"

Clearly, the most important officials in the court, the most suspicious ones, are all among those being investigated. So who can he arrest?
"Who are you investigating? Who are you investigating?"

Whether it was due to mental distress or something else, the Emperor Emeritus felt a wave of dizziness and swayed as if he were about to collapse. Seeing this, Xia Shouzhong quickly ran up to the high platform and burst into tears.

"Master, Master, are you alright? Someone, summon the imperial physician, summon the imperial physician!"

After a flurry of activity, the imperial physician arrived, administered acupuncture and a secret medicine, and the Emperor Emeritus finally regained consciousness.

"Take this memorial and investigate according to its contents. First, imprison Xu Changwen in the imperial prison, then confiscate his property. Send the confiscated items to the Ministry of Justice so the Grand Secretariat can personally inspect them to determine if he is indeed a corrupt official. As for the rest, I await your reply."

His voice was weak and feeble, and Xia Shouzhong knelt on the ground, crying out;
"Master, Master, please stop talking and rest. Chen Hui, get out of here!"

A piercing scream echoed throughout the Qianqing Palace. After the retired emperor was carried back to his palace by the palace eunuchs, only a mess remained. The Empress Dowager's expression was somewhat complicated. Looking at the dejected faces of her brothers, she suddenly lost interest and waved her hand.

"Go check it out,"

"The officials knelt to see him off." "Respectfully seeing off Your Majesty."

Amidst a chorus of shouts, the Empress, accompanied by Dai Quan and others, departed from the Hall of Mental Cultivation, leaving behind only the civil and military officials of the court, who stared at each other in bewilderment, as if they were in a dream.
As Zhang Jinyu watched the Emperor's figure gradually disappear into the distance, the words in her heart remained unspoken. Just as she turned to leave, the serving eunuch handed her a note that read, "Leave the palace with the army." It seemed the Emperor was unmoved.

Just then, Marquis Bai Guangju of Xiangyang approached, his eyes filled with worry.

"My lord, this thorough investigation may not be easy. What are your plans?"

One move affects the whole situation. Since Marquis Luoyun is already deeply involved, he should have a corresponding strategy to consider the overall picture.

But Zhang Jinyu was also somewhat irritable. Putting aside all the dirty business, which of those who were in charge of the investigation didn't have a few ulterior motives? Not to mention the investigation itself, if these people were really involved, with so many masters above them, how could they be interrogated? And then there was the matter of confiscating their property.

Oh, right, the Mizuhashi House.

"Plans? What plans? If we keep talking, I might become an accomplice. I have things to do today, and I'll keep an eye on things when they want to investigate and interrogate. As for the rest, I'm willing but unable to do anything about it."

Looking at the table full of dishes, I only ate a few bites. It was a perfectly good banquet; why make things difficult for myself?
So far, those princes are all like lost souls. Although they don't know why, they feel much better. They only got what they deserved.

Before the Marquis of Xiangyang could say anything more, Zhang Jinyu prepared to leave the palace. After all, he didn't know what had happened to Xu Changwen's residence. As for the soldiers in Hanyuan Hall, he had already sent a letter to Duan Hong, instructing them to lead their troops to set up camp by Qiushui Lake to escape the summer heat.

Just as he got up and stepped outside the hall, the Marquis of Xiangyang, who had been following behind him, hurriedly caught up.
"My lord, do not rush to leave. I think we should consider this carefully."

"Since Brother Bai wants to come along, why don't we go to Xu Changwen's house and see what good things we've found while we've been searching his house along the way?"

As Zhang Jinyu spoke, she left the jade steps. The Marquis of Xiangyang had no choice but to follow closely behind.

The civil and military officials inside the palace were also preoccupied, leaving the palace in twos and threes. But the more they did so, the more rumors circulated. In addition, the assassination attempt by the Court of State Ceremonial made the people of the Capital Garrison and the Imperial City Guard turn pale.

"Report, Your Highness, Your Highness, the Court of State Ceremonial reports that a traitor appeared at the Thousand Autumn Banquet and carried out a massacre, even killing the entire Donghu delegation."

Inside the Qianqing Palace,

The princes had not yet left and were sitting there drinking in silence. Upon hearing this, they were all surprised. When did the residence of the Minister of State Ceremonies become a sieve? The Prince of Song immediately smashed his cup and asked.

"Are any of you princes injured?"

Although a large number of guards were left behind, the two sects' traitors were full of experts, and no mistakes could be tolerated.
"Your Highness, all the princes are well, but many foreign envoys who came to the capital have been caught in the crossfire, and quite a few people have died. They are currently causing trouble at the Court of State Ceremonies. Fortunately, Lord He from the Military Command has led troops there to stabilize the situation."

The guards who returned to report dared not be negligent and replied nervously. The princes were uneasy. How could they have arrived at such a coincidence? Could it be that the cult was after them? With these suspicions in mind, they could no longer sit still and hurriedly got up and left, rushing back to the Court of State Ceremonial.

Beside the water bridge on South Street in Beijing
Zhao Cheng, the Imperial City Supervisor, and Li Yun, the Commander of a Thousand Households, arrived with their troops. They reined in their horses. The midday sun was as scorching as a red-hot iron. Looking around, they saw that the common people had long since disappeared, and only a few scattered figures were wandering around the shops along the street.

However, in the alley north of the water bridge, there were several inconspicuous courtyard gates with vermilion wooden doors bearing the words "Supervisor of the Ministry of Revenue." Presumably, that was the residence entrusted to Xu Changwen by Consort Chen.
"Commander Li, is the residence of the traitor Xu Changwen just ahead?"

His words were blunt; since it was entrusted by Consort Chen, there must have been something to gain. However, Li Yun, the commander of the Northern Garrison who had come with him, turned around in surprise and saw Lord Zhao's indifferent expression. A thought struck him.
"Sir, it's in the second courtyard. Chief Steward Xu is in charge of a small courtyard rented by the Ministry of Revenue, so there's no mistake. But sir, is this raid on the mansion following the usual procedure?"

The so-called "usual practice" is twofold: one is to thoroughly investigate and gather all the family wealth, handing over half to the authorities and dividing the other half among the brothers; the other is the opposite, where nothing is touched and everything is handed over, or, to put it another way, 10% is handed over and 90% goes to them. There are many intricacies involved in this.

Li Yun wanted to ask about this case to test Lord Zhao's attitude.

"Haha, what do you think? Since this person is so rebellious and has offended Eunuch Chen, don't blame me for being ruthless. Naturally, his entire property will be confiscated, untouched."

These words were also spoken to those who came with them. The entire house was searched, not a single penny was left, and everything was recorded. In this way, if someone was a corrupt official, they would not be able to hide it.

The copper studs on the armor of the fifty elite cavalrymen behind them gleamed coldly in the sunlight. Their hooves left shallow marks on the bluestone pavement, startling the surrounding merchants into looking away.

“My lord, that is true, but Steward Xu is, after all, a top scholar in the imperial examination and a disciple of Marquis Luoyun. If you really go too far, aren’t you afraid of incurring his wrath?”

It wasn't that Li Yun wanted to say these things, but he felt compelled to offer a reminder. Who could have imagined that such bad luck would occur on such a joyous day? Today they're raiding his home; tomorrow might be another day. And it wasn't just anyone raiding his property; it was certainly not someone from the Marquis of Luoyun's faction.

Mentioning Marquis Luoyun, Zhao Cheng's expression became somewhat unnatural. Everyone knew of Marquis Luoyun's prestige, but he was Eunuch Chen's man. If he disobeyed orders, it would be Eunuch Chen who would die.

"Enough with the nonsense. He is him, and Marquis Luoyun is Marquis Luoyun. They cannot be confused. Let's go into the alley."

With a pull of the reins, the cavalrymen entered the alley. Upon arriving at their destination, Zhao Cheng smirked and pointed his whip at the door.
"Is this right here?"

Although the gate was new, not a single drop of vermilion lacquer had been applied, clearly indicating that it was hastily built by craftsmen from the Ministry of Works. The gate tower was even simpler; if it weren't for the inscription "Grade A, Class III" carved by the Ministry of Works, who would have imagined that Magistrate Xu actually lived here?

A captain from the Imperial City Guard behind him swung his sword twice from its sheath.

After a while,
The door creaked open a crack, and an old woman, leaning on a jujube wood cane, stood shakily inside. Her head was wrapped in a turban, and the white hair at her temples was blown wildly by the wind. Behind her followed a little girl with two pigtails and two patches on her blue cloth skirt. The little girl was also holding a steamed bun in her hand.

"Sir, what's wrong?"

Xu's mother squinted her dim eyes, glanced at the group of soldiers outside the door, and then saw that everyone was holding weapons. A bad premonition rose in her heart, and instantly, the sweat on her palms soaked the jujube wood cane.

"Gentlemen, have you come looking for my son, Changwen?"

Seeing the frightened expressions of the master and servant, Zhao Cheng didn't say anything. He pushed open the door, dismounted, and strode inside. His boots stepped into the bluestone garden, startling the flowers and plants in the yard. The yard was too small, with only the main house and the side house, which were clearly visible. There was half a pile of firewood against the west wall, and in the corner of the east wall, there was a broken pottery jar with a missing corner on the top.

The main house is fairly well-maintained, while there are two side rooms, though they are not large, and the roof tiles have already turned a bit green.

Seeing the trembling old woman in front of him, Zhao Cheng ignored her and strode inside, waving his hand...
"Guards, search the place!"

"Yes, my lord."

The Imperial Guards behind him immediately rushed into the courtyard to prepare for the confiscation of the property, but a figure appeared in the center of the main hall and shouted loudly;
"slow!"

(End of this chapter)