Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 132 Dengwengu

"There has been a funeral in the mansion these past two days. I was sorting out Fan Bing's old things and found these..."

After Wen Jia finished speaking, he took out a faded Baoruizhai pawn ticket from the blue satin purse he carried with him. The corners were damaged by being gnawed by rats and ants, but Pingle's private seal was intact.

"This was found in an old box under Fan Bing's bed."

He then took out a few pieces of paper, some new and some old, and handed them to Xue Sui.

"This was found in the secret drawer in the study."

"I found this under the closet."

The faint morning light coming in through the window made her dark eyes look like deep pools.

"Fan Bing is mediocre and incompetent, but he has a lot of ideas. He has been a broker for Pingle over the years, and he probably knows her well. That's why he left evidence secretly. He was afraid that it would be discovered, so he hid it very secretly..."

"It's a pity that he doesn't have much ability, and Pingle won't entrust him with important tasks. They are just trivial matters such as reselling banned items..."

Wen Jia's eyes were bright and his back was straight.

The window of the Rouge Shop faced the street. The soft sunlight cast a swaying shadow on her face. She was wearing a white mourning dress under her cloak. Although it was a pale mourning dress, it made her look resolute and courageous.

This was completely different from when Xue Sui first met her.

Three years ago, on the night of the Lantern Festival, Xue Sui had personally seen Wen Jia cowering in a corner and being dragged away by the drunk Fan Bing, pinching her arm. The silk flowers on her temples were even squashed...

Fan Bing’s death was like overturning a mountain from above her head. The long-standing shackles were gone, and she felt like she was reborn.

"I remember one time when Fan Bing got drunk and boasted that he had evidence in his hand and Pingle would be afraid of him. At that time, I thought he was just talking nonsense, but now I know that he had always left a way out for himself. Fortunately, he was afraid of death and was suspicious by nature, so he left these evidences..."

"Sixth Miss, take a look. Are these necessary?"

Xue Sui sat down and looked through it slowly.

Fan Bing's handwriting is like a centipede crawling.

"In the winter of the eighth year of Chongzhao, I pawned a jadeite peace locket for Princess Pingle's mission and exchanged it for fifty taels of silver. Lost."

"In the spring of the tenth year of Chongzhao, I asked the dealer Ma San to find a pair of rare luminous cups from the Western Regions for Princess Pingle. The price was more than 30,000 taels of silver. The payment was made by the newly-minted Jinshi Li Liangsheng. I was paid 500 taels. Lost."

"In the early winter of the eleventh year of Chong Zhao, Sun Da, a member of the Ministry of Works, was in charge of the renovation of the Princess's residence. He falsely reported a sum of 20,000 taels, and the surplus went into Princess Pingle's private treasury. He assisted in the purchase of materials and was paid 200 taels. Lost."

Those damp pages contained the secrets of Fan Bing and Ping Le's many years of dealings. They were very trivial, and not much could be directly pointed out to Ping Le. But it could be seen that Fan Bing had been doing all kinds of shady things under Ping Le's instructions.

The most powerful piece of information was a secret letter. I don’t know if it was stolen by Fan Bing from Pingle Prefecture. On it was written “One hundred thousand silver taels transferred for river management”, with the signatures of Pingle and Xiao Zhengyuan, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Works. The date was exactly half a month before the Luo River burst its dike.

"The money used for river management passed through Pingle's hands, but was misappropriated elsewhere."

Xue Sui clenched the letter tightly and banged his elbow hard on the carved window, causing the window frame to tremble continuously.

"The flood in the Luo River has caused hundreds of thousands of people downstream to suffer... There are countless starving people everywhere!"

Wen Jia sighed: "The secret room in the West Mountain Villa is clearly filled with Pingle's crimes. Unfortunately, my father is biased and not only refuses to punish her, but also conceals the evidence for her crimes and quells the criticism from the court and the public..."

Xue Sui looked at the evidence.

"Fan Bing did so many immoral things, it's not unfair that he died at Ping Le's hands."

Wen Jia laughed bitterly, "He deserves to die, he should have died a long time ago!"

Xue Sui raised his eyes and met Wen Jia's gaze. "Princess, what are your plans next?"

Wen Jia pursed his lips slightly, revealing a bleak smile.

"I want to rescue my mother. She has been waiting in the cold palace for too long. After being imprisoned for eleven years, the moss on the cold palace has spread over the threshold. I have grown up, and her hair has turned white..."

Xue Sui nodded slightly, put away the secret letter, and touched the loose hair on his temples.

"The numerous crimes committed by Xishan Villa were not enough to punish Pingle's serious crimes, so I'm afraid these won't be able to do anything to her..."

Noticing that Wen Jia's body stiffened, she changed the subject.

"But I have a good idea to save the princess's mother..."

Wen Jia knelt down and bowed: "I would like to hear more details."

Xue Sui's eyes swept across her white fingertips and looked at the rising sun outside the window.

"This move may violate the Heavenly Family's taboos, and is somewhat risky."

Wen Jia's eyes were firm, and he said without hesitation: "To save my mother, even if I have to go to the Yama Palace, I am not afraid. Even if it's my Niuniu..."

She bit her lip, and suddenly held Xue Sui's hands tightly, sobs rolling through her throat.

"I have placed Niu Niu in the care of the Puji Temple. If...something really happens to me, please take care of her and find a way out for Niu Niu - don't let her return to the clan, and don't let her know her biological father." She bowed deeply.

Xue Sui held her cold hand and helped her up.

"It's not a matter of life or death. You have to remember that you, like Pingle, are descendants of the emperor and princess of Daliang... At least, in the royal book of the emperor, you are no different from Pingle."

Wen Jia nodded heavily, "Whatever you say, I'll do it."

"This matter——needs the help of the east wind."

Xue Sui dipped the tea in the cool water and wrote the word "noisy" on the table.

The water drops slowly meander along the lines of the wooden table, like tears of blood...
-
The next day.

The mist at five o'clock in the morning had not yet dissipated. Princess Wenjia, in mourning clothes, stood outside Chengtian Gate with a blood-lettered letter held high. She walked barefoot on the blue bricks, and each step was firm and heavy, shocking the Yulin guards on duty so much that they retreated three feet.

"I am suing Princess Pingle for colluding with officials to embezzle the money for river management, which caused the Luo River to burst its banks and the people to suffer. She also killed her husband to silence him! I beg you to help me!"

Dengwen Drum is located in the west corridor outside Chengtian Gate. It is a three-person-high drum with a mottled red lacquer surface that shows traces of time.

Behind it is Dengwen Drum Court.

Once a citizen knocked the drum to complain, the official on duty at Dengwen Drum Court would immediately handle the case.

If the case is serious, it can be reported directly to the emperor.

The drumsticks fell, the big drums thumped, and a few birds perched under the eaves flapped their wings in panic.

Passersby, porters, and morning market vendors were all attracted by the noise and gathered around, creating a bustling crowd.

"Isn't this Princess Wenjia, whose husband just died..."

"The prince consort just died? Was it the gambling prince consort of the Fan family?"

"It's him, who else could it be?"

"A princess like you is going to beat the drum to file a complaint?"

"I heard that Wen Jia's husband is entangled with Princess Pingle..."

The people pointed and talked endlessly.

Alim, a Hu merchant in the crowd, clenched his scimitar with a solemn expression. The high priest Amon Rah beside him turned wolf bone beads and muttered to himself.

Not far away, Lu Youan clenched the reins tightly in his hands, his palms turned red without him realizing it.

Xue Sui stood calmly behind the window on the second floor of Ruixiang Pavilion on Zhuque Street, moving his fingertips back and forth on the window frame, as if suppressing the waves in his heart.

The door of Dengwen Drum Court slowly opened——

Zhao Rucheng, the judge on duty today, was so frightened when he saw that the person beating the drum was in mourning clothes, with flying hair and a pale face, that he turned out to be Princess Wenjia of the current dynasty. He turned pale and staggered over, but kicked the threshold with his foot, and his official hat was crooked.

"Oh, Princess..."

Zhao Rucheng hurriedly straightened his hat, rushed to Wen Jia, and stretched out his hands to grab the drumstick in her hand.

"Put down your drumsticks first. If there is anything, we can discuss it..."

Li Fuyin dodged sideways, remained unmoved, and continued waving his arms.

Every drum beat was as loud as thunder, as if it was going to shake a crack in this oppressive heaven and earth.

The delicate woman swung up the drumstick and beat out the momentum of the general's battle formation.

Zhao Rucheng's back was soaked with cold sweat and his scalp was numb.

"Princess, can we talk about it in private? If not, you can always plead your case before the Emperor. Why, why do you have to make such a big fuss and let everyone know?"

Wen Jia's face was pale and he stated loudly.

"I have a grievance to report!"

"Princess Pingle was corrupt and perverted the law, and took human life lightly. I implore Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate the Luo River breach case, severely punish the treacherous officials, and redress the injustice!"

The drum surface vibrated and raised fine dust.

Then, some people in the crowd started shouting.

"Punish Princess Pingle severely and give justice to the people!"

"Justice should be done, and the treacherous should be severely punished!"

This shout was like a spark that instantly ignited the emotions of the crowd. People responded one after another, and the shouts became louder and louder, more and more uniform. People from all directions were attracted over, like a surging tide that was about to submerge Chengtian Gate.