I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 236: Catch the Inner Court in Advance

In the main room of Zi Guang Pavilion, Zhu Yijun sat on the chair with a face as calm as well water.

Huang Jin stood beside him with a serious expression.

Feng Bao, Liu Yi, Fang Liang, and Wang Cheng knelt on the ground, their faces full of fear.

Fang Liang, the person directly responsible for the attack on the Third Prince of Baoen Temple, the Junior Supervisor of the Imperial Horse Administration and the Chief of the Imperial Guards, kowtowed and reported: "I was negligent and caused a serious mistake. Your Highness, please punish me severely!"

"What happened to Concubine Xian and the Third Prince in Bao'en Temple is your responsibility. No one can help you shirk this responsibility." Zhu Yijun said in a deep voice.

Fang Liang, who was kneeling on the ground, had a dark and deathly pale face. He closed his eyes and was determined to die.

As soon as the Baoen Temple incident happened, Fang Liang knew that he could not escape responsibility.

Whenever a noble lady left the palace, the Imperial Stables were responsible for her protection.

Jinyiwei, Wucheng Bingmasi, and Shuntianfu all assisted and cooperated. When Li and Zhu Yihao got into trouble, the first person responsible was naturally the head of the Imperial Horse Administration, followed by Fang Liang.

"You will be fined one year's salary, and the head of the Imperial Stables who was on duty at the time, along with the guards, will receive twenty strokes of the cane."

Fang Liang couldn't believe it. He raised his head and looked at Zhu Yijun with wide eyes. His lips trembled and he couldn't speak for a long time.

Huang Jin hurriedly said, "This child is so excited that he can't speak. You forgot everything except thanking me!"

Fang Liang kowtowed: "I thank Your Highness for saving my life."

"Okay, stop kowtowing. If you break the floor here, I'll have to pay someone to fix it."

Zhu Yijun's slightly joking words made the solemn atmosphere in the room a little more relaxed.

"Everyone, get up." Zhu Yijun felt that the beating was enough, so he waved his hand, signaling them to get up.

"I have a rough idea of ​​what happened at Baoen Temple. You guys were negligent and careless. But the biggest blame does not lie with you.

They are deliberately plotting against you, and they are trying to avoid you. If I punish you severely, it will be exactly what they want."

"Your Highness is wise!" everyone said in unison.

"Okay. Now that the responsibilities have been clarified, the most urgent thing is to get to the bottom of this case. Who has the murderer?"

"Your Highness, it is in the hands of our East Depot." Feng Bao replied immediately.

"Commander Zhu and Deputy Commander Song will be here soon. Send someone from the East Factory to join the Jinyiwei in interrogating the criminal. Find a few interrogation experts. It's best to attack the heart. Ask them carefully."

"Yes."

"Wang Cheng."

"The servant is here."

"What was the name of this criminal?"

"Zhang Erxiong."

"Investigate, investigate thoroughly. The murderer will not emerge from the ground. Investigate his family and his past. Someone must have instructed him to do this.

The only thing that allowed him to have the courage to commit such a huge crime was blackmail or bribery. There must be clues. Wang Cheng, investigate carefully and follow the clues to find witnesses and evidence. It's irrefutable evidence!"

"I obey your command!"

Qi Yan reported at the door: "Your Highness, Jinyiwei Commander Zhu Xixiao and Deputy Commander Song Gongliang have arrived."

"please come in."

"Yes."

The two men came in and bowed and greeted each other.

"Envoy Zhu, Deputy Envoy Song, please stand up." Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said directly: "The case of Bao'en Temple has been reported to the emperor by Concubine Xian, and there must be an explanation. The Imperial Stables are responsible for this matter, and the Jinyiwei are also responsible.

It's just that it doesn't make much sense to talk about responsibility at this time. The most urgent task is to investigate this case thoroughly. Has the Jinyiwei conducted a preliminary investigation?"

Zhu Xixiao glanced at Song Gongliang.

Song Gongliang bowed and replied, "In reply to your Highness, the Jinyiwei has investigated Zhang Erxiong. He is 30 years old this year, from Shunyi County, Shuntian Prefecture. He is the second oldest of four brothers and has been making a living in the Tongzhou wharf area for many years.

He got married when he was 20, but within two years his wife ran off with a traveling doctor, leaving them childless. On weekdays, he worked as a thug, helping people watch over gambling houses and collect gambling debts. Sometimes he also guarded the homes of wealthy families and patrolled at night.

The Jinyiwei indeed had spies all over the capital, and they found out Zhang Erxiong's background so quickly.

"Are you fond of gambling and whoring?" Zhu Yijun asked.

"Yes, Zhang Erxiong likes these two things the most." Song Gongliang replied. "That's right, someone bribed him. This guy did this because he wanted a lot of money. But we need to find out who bribed him. Envoy Zhu, Deputy Envoy Song, Jinyiwei will select experienced criminals to interrogate Zhang Erxiong together with the East Factory."

"Yes."

"But Zhang Erxiong is a scoundrel who has been hanging around in Tongzhou for a long time, so he should be very knowledgeable. He must be very cunning, so we should pay attention to the truthfulness of his confession."

"Yes."

After giving some more instructions, Zhu Yijun finally said.

"Okay, you guys go do your work, Mr. Huang, Feng Bao, Liu Yi, and Deputy Envoy Song stay."

"Yes."

Only Huang Jin, Feng Bao, Liu Yi and Song Gongliang were left in the main pavilion, all of whom were Zhu Yijun's most trusted confidants.

"The key point of this case is that Concubine Xian petitioned the emperor and was granted permission to leave the palace to burn incense and worship Buddha at Baoen Temple. How did the news get out of the forbidden area?"

"Your Highness, I guess it was spread by a lady of noble birth," Feng Bao replied.

"Well, tell me more carefully."

"Yes, Your Highness. I have checked the records of the entry and exit of the palace. Four days before the Baoen Temple incident, the mother of the virtuous concubine, as well as the eldest sister-in-law and the second sister-in-law, three ladies of honor entered the palace as usual and sat in the Yonghe Palace for half a day.

During one of the hours, Concubine Xian used the excuse that she wanted to have some private conversation with her mother and sister-in-law, and she sent her attendants away, leaving only the four of them to have a private conversation.

When Feng Bao finished speaking, everyone turned to Zhu Yijun.

After a while, Zhu Yijun did not speak, but Huang Jin said leisurely: "This matter was spread by word of mouth, there is no evidence, it is difficult to investigate."

Feng Bao immediately replied, "Your Highness, the Yanqi Palace in front of the Yonghe Palace has lost a very valuable copper-based gilded gemstone enamelware made by the Emperor Xuande.

I am leading the investigation of this case. Around the time when the precious artifacts were lost in Yanqi Palace, ladies from outside the palace came to Yonghe Palace. I ask for your order to summon the mother and sister-in-law of Concubine Xian to the East Factory for questioning.

There was silence in the room, and everyone looked at Feng Bao at the same time.

Huang Jin felt even more emotional in his heart. His godson would do anything to please His Highness.

Everyone knew whether or not any precious items were lost in Yanqi Palace. This was not important. The key was to find a reason to investigate Concubine Xian's mother and sister-in-law.

Everyone turned to look at Zhu Yijun again, waiting for his final decision.

Zhu Yijun thought for a while and made a decision: "It's too hasty to do this. It will make us look guilty. There is still a follow-up to this matter. Let's wait until they show the sign behind it."

"Yes, sir." Feng Bao replied immediately.

"There is one more thing. Lord Gangfeng investigated the Lianghuai salt administration and found that some people in the inner court had close ties with the Yangzhou salt merchants. The small fry were dealt with, but there are still big tigers. There are eunuchs in the inner court who tipped off the Yangzhou salt merchants and supported them."

Zhu Yijun's words made everyone feel heavy.

“I have been suppressing this matter before because I am worried that it will be caught by the imperial censors in the outer court, and you, the bigwigs in the inner court, will be in trouble.

Now that the Lianghuai Salt Administration case has passed, it is time for the inner court to clean up its house. "

After hearing this, everyone guessed who it was.

The eunuch Teng Xiang was appointed as the supervisor of the Ministry.

He was once the big shot of the Silijian. Later, when Emperor Longqing ascended the throne, his entire family was intent on currying favor with the new emperor, and neglected the Silijian's duties. Zhu Yijun found a reason to dismiss him from the position of the Silijian's writing eunuch and appointed him as the Silijian eunuch, so that he could concentrate on serving the emperor.

So there is resentment in my heart.

When the cabinet minister Yin Shidan and the vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue Hu Qingxu launched a surprise attack and plotted to take over the Coordination Bureau, Teng Xiangyou secretly informed them and made a lot of efforts.

Hu Qingxu was dismissed from office, Yin Shidan was kicked out of the cabinet, and the prince ignored Teng Xiang, letting him think that he had done things without anyone noticing.

Last month, the emperor suddenly had an idea to rebuild his residence, Prince Yu's Mansion, after listening to someone's advice, and sent Teng Xiang to supervise the work.

This was a very lucrative job, and Teng Xiang happily left the palace immediately to work as a supervisor.

The prince took advantage of the fact that Teng Xiang was away from the emperor for a while and suddenly took action.

Even if the emperor asked about it later, they would often make up excuses, such as the supervisor fell ill and retired early, or simply report a sudden death.

Teng Xiang was not an old acquaintance of the Emperor, and the Emperor did not have deep feelings for him, and he would forget about him completely over time.

The prince has good means!
"The evidence of Teng Xiang's corruption, bribery and fraud is all there. The Imperial Household Department should put an end to him."

Huang Jin replied respectfully: "This old servant obeys your highness's order."

(End of this chapter)