Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 117 The Beginning of the Secret Memorial System

"Captain!" Lu Jianxing stepped on the stirrup and dismounted.

Lu Jianxing was the oldest member of Lu Wenzhao's team. Logically, Lu Jianxing was also a hereditary Jinyiwei centurion, and should have been above Lu Wenzhao. However, thanks to his father's longevity, the succession process wasn't initiated until last year, so he currently held only a minor rank, barely on par with Shen Lian. Without a fortuitous encounter, he likely wouldn't have lived to achieve the rank of centurion.

"How is it?" Lu Wenzhao took a deep breath.

The experienced Lu Jianxing saw through Lu Wenzhao's disguise at a glance, so he said directly and considerately: "Good news!"

"Huh!" Lu Wenzhao expelled all the dirt from his lungs.

"Around the time of Shen, two girls came to the dock with customs documents from the Tianshi Mansion and asked if there was a ship to Nanjing. They were half a minute late and missed the ship leaving Tianjin at 2:30 pm," Lu Jianxing elaborated.

"Great!" Lu Wenzhao smiled happily. "Where did they go after that?"

"The Zhang family has no acquaintances in Tianjin, so they should stay in the inn." Lu Jianxing replied.

"Very good." Lu Wenzhao felt relieved and turned to Shen Lian and said, "You stay here. If we haven't found him by the time of dawn, have Shen Caiyu blockade Tianjin and prohibit all ships from leaving."

"Yes, sir!" Shen Lian clasped his fists and accepted the order.

"What's wrong with him? He's like he's on a steroid." Lu Jianxing glanced at the energetic Shen Lian and asked Lu Wenzhao. "Isn't he usually quite calm?"

"You'll find out when we get back to Beijing." Lu Wenzhao smiled and kept the secret a secret. Then he ordered the remaining nine people: "Divide into groups of three and search for Zhang Shirui in three directions!"

"Yes, sir!" The nine people separated at the intersection.

"Captain. Logically speaking, it would be faster if nine people split into nine groups." Lu Jianxing knocked on the wooden door of an inn called "Jinkouzhan".

"You don't know my junior sister." Lu Wenzhao walked up and knocked on the door with more force.

"Is she very powerful?" Lu Jianxing asked.

"Ding Baiying is a rare martial arts prodigy. She entered the Wuzhai at fourteen, defeated me at fifteen, despite nine years of training, and by sixteen, her only rival was my master. If Ding Baiying were to flee with her employer, a single Jinyiwei guard wouldn't be able to stop her," Lu Wenzhao said self-deprecatingly. "Compared to her, I'm a martial arts loser. If my master hadn't let me off, I probably wouldn't have been able to become a disciple until I was thirty. This isn't because I've gotten stronger, but because my master has aged."

"Hehe" Lu Jianxing was about to laugh when the wooden barrier was moved away.

"Who's there? I'm ready to go to bed." The waiter said unhappily. "You can only go upstairs. It's eight coins a night."

"We're not staying in the hotel. We're looking for someone," said Lu Jianxing.

"Get lost!" The waiter got angry. "Are you looking for your mother?"

Lu Jianxing chuckled, and without any further ado, he punched the other person in the abdomen.

"Ah" the waiter was in so much pain that he couldn't speak.

"Who the hell are you? How dare you talk to the Jinyiwei like that?" Lu Jianxing walked past the waiter and strode into the inn.

At that moment, the only candle still burning in the inn was on the counter. "Are you the innkeeper or the cashier?"

"Shopkeeper." The shopkeeper put down the account book and shrank his head.

"Then why don't you come and open the door yourself, instead of asking such an uneducated person to cause trouble for you?" Lu Jianxing put his sword on the counter.

"I know I was wrong! I hope you will forgive me." The shopkeeper did not make any excuses, but trotted two steps and knelt down in front of Lu Jianxing.

At this time, Lu Jianxing lifted the corner of his clothes and pointed to the sign hanging on his waist. "Did you see it clearly?"

"I see it clearly." The shopkeeper nodded repeatedly.

"Have you ever seen two women coming together? Only women." Lu Jianxing looked down at the shopkeeper kneeling on the ground.

"I've seen it!" The shopkeeper has an excellent memory.

"Take us to find them." Lu Wenzhao walked over and ordered.

"To answer your question, sir. They are not in our store now. They came here a while ago." said the shopkeeper.

"Come here before? When?" Lu Wenzhao frowned.

"Mid-last month." The shopkeeper thought for a moment and replied.

"Damn it." Lu Wenzhao understood and turned away. "They stayed at this hotel when they came to Beijing."

Tianjin is a key waterway junction connecting Beijing in the north, Jinan in the south and Nanjing in the distance. Merchants and sailors coming and going would all stop here, so although it is a citadel, it is quite large in scale.

A quarter of an hour passed quietly, and just as Lu Wenzhao was about to knock on the door of the fourth inn, the melodious sound of a flute whistle came from afar. "Captain, we found it!" Lu Jianxing pointed in the direction of the whistle.

"Quick! Blow the whistle and let them defend and wait for help!" Lu Wenzhao gave orders while running.

Lu Wenzhao was extremely anxious at this time. He was afraid that a fight would break out! Because no matter which side won, his situation would be very embarrassing.

The distance between the whistle and Lu Wenzhao's group was two miles, but fortunately, after nightfall, there was no one on the road, so they could gallop freely. Half a quarter of an hour later, Lu Wenzhao arrived at the door of the inn where the whistle was sounded.

"Ha~~!" Fortunately, a small flag and two captains only guarded the door and did not draw their swords.

"Master!" Seeing Lu Wenzhao coming over, the three Jinyiwei present also breathed a sigh of relief. For a case like this that was personally related to the superior, it was better to let the superior make the decision himself.

"Jinyiwei are on duty, get out!" Lu Wenzhao winked at Lu Jianxing. Lu Jianxing understood and shouted back the guests who had come out to watch the fun even with candles.

After all the guests had left, Lu Jianxing ordered the trembling shopkeeper behind the counter, "Light the lights and get out."

Ding Baiying's eyes lit up immediately when she saw Lu Wenzhao. But the brightness only lasted for a moment before a dark shadow enveloped her pupils.

"Brother, you're here too." Ding Baiying's clothes were relatively neat, but her long hair was not tied up. Her pure hair cascaded from her head to her waist like a pitch-black waterfall, and the scattered hair was like splashing mist that diluted the already dim candlelight. "It's not 'I'm here too', it's that I brought people with me." After the innkeeper ran to the back hall as if escaping for his life, Lu Wenzhao spoke in a businesslike tone. "I'm Lu Wenzhao, a captain of the East Office of the Beijing Jinyiwei Command Headquarters. Please ask Miss Zhang Shirui to come with us."

Lu Wenzhao had only met Zhang Shirui once, but this was enough for him to confirm the identity of the woman standing next to Junior Sister Ding.

Zhang Shirui was about to speak when Ding Baiying stepped forward and blocked her way. "What did my daughter do wrong that requires you, the Imperial Guards, to arrest her?"

"Miss Zhang, please come with us." Lu Wenzhao ignored Ding Baiying.

"To arrest someone, you need a warrant from the Imperial Guard, and the warrant must also be signed by the Criminal Department!" The Dongchang case taught even ordinary people, who were unfamiliar with court rules, that arrests required a warrant and a signature. Furthermore, Lu Wenzhao had already told Ding Baiying this information, which didn't need to be kept secret, back in the Wuzhai.

The sound of horse hooves approached from afar on the street. "No one else should come in. Keep an eye on the horses outside," Lu Wenzhao instructed, then turned his gaze to Junior Sister Ding. "I don't have a riding permit."

"Then what basis do you have for arresting people?" Hearing this answer, Ding Baiying straightened his back a little more.

"We received orders to invite Miss Zhang from the Tianshi Mansion to her own home. In Beijing, of course." Lu Wenzhao casually pulled over a bench, the wood scraping against the blue bricks with a harsh sound. "But when we arrived at the Zhang residence, she had already left. We came to Tianjin only to invite Miss Zhang back, not to take her away, so we didn't need a permit." Lu Wenzhao left in a hurry and had no time to go through the formalities of obtaining a permit. But the facts didn't matter; the words were beautiful enough.

Ding Baiying saw through Lu Wenzhao's trick immediately. "Hmph. Brother, if you don't have a letter from the emperor, please go back." She chuckled.

"Miss Zhang, do you really need to argue about these official matters? Come back with me first. Then you can sue me however you want. Even if it means impeaching a Jinyiwei captain for overstepping the bounds of duty in the name of the Tianshi Mansion." Lu Wenzhao waved his hand, and the other five Jinyiwei immediately formed a circle around Zhang and Ding. "The higher-ups haven't said they're going to jail Miss Zhang, so I don't think it's a big deal. Once the facts are fully investigated, they'll naturally order the removal of Miss Zhang's protection."

"Protection? House arrest, right?" Ding Baiying held the hilt of the sword in his right hand and protected Zhang Shirui tightly behind him.

"So what?" Lu Wenzhao glared at Zhang Shirui with a dark look. "Miss Zhang should be thankful. If you had the misfortune to board the ship to Nanjing today, the person you'd meet later wouldn't be a mere centurion like me." The threat in Lu Wenzhao's words was obvious.

"Senior Brother, you know me. Before I report to you, no one can force Miss Zhang to do anything she doesn't want to do." Ding Baiying's tone was as calm as ever, but her eyes were slightly red.

"Are you really going to draw your sword against the Jinyiwei on behalf of Miss Zhang? Do you know what you are doing?" Lu Wenzhao shouted, "Get out, you have nothing to do here!"

"Captain, this is not good," Xiaoqi, who discovered Zhang and Ding, reminded them indirectly.

Lu Jianxing glared at Xiaoqi fiercely and cursed in his heart: Are you the only one who is smart?

"Alas!" Lu Wenzhao sighed deeply. "I've made the stakes very clear. Miss Zhang, please don't make the mistake."

"I went back hoping to resolve this matter, but is it too late now?" Zhang Shirui patted Ding Baiying's shoulder and held down her hand that was tightly gripping the hilt of the sword. "Go wherever you want to go."

Zhang Shirui walked in front of Ding Baiying and protected her behind her. She looked at Lu Wenzhao, but her words were meant for the others: "I'll go back with you. Miss Ding is not a guard of the Zhang Mansion, she's just an escort. After she finishes her job, she has nothing to do with me anymore."

"Very good. This way, our mission hasn't been ruined." Lu Wenzhao stood up. "Miss Zhang, rest assured. I will still be the one guarding the Zhang Mansion after we return to the capital. The Jinyiwei will strictly follow your orders and protect Miss Zhang's safety."

He said this to both his subordinates and Ding Baiying.

"I can't complete my mission!" Ding Baiying took out the 100-liang silver note from his sleeve pocket and said stubbornly, "One liang of silver a day is too early."

------

The next day, Beijing, Forbidden City.

Today, the long-awaited morning court session officially resumed. Civil officials of the third rank and above, military officers of the first rank or with titles, the censors from the six departments and thirteen provinces, and the hundreds of Hanlin scholars from the Hanlin Academy all rose early and lined up neatly inside and outside the Qianqing Gate.

In order to prevent the Hanlin scholars standing outside the palace from getting cold, the emperor thoughtfully gave each of them a wide cotton robe of relatively high quality.

"It's past the hour of Mao, why hasn't the emperor come yet?" Fang Congzhe, the chief minister of the cabinet, asked the eunuch Wei Chao who was standing in the hall.

"The master rose early for the morning court session. But the Imperial Kitchen Supervisor made some mistakes today and sent the master a cold breakfast. The master is wise and doesn't want to waste food. But as soon as this breakfast was consumed, the dragon's belly began to churn." Wei Chao pulled out the speech he had prepared long ago. "My lords, please wait a little longer. If the master can come, he will come."

Not far away is the Qianqing Palace and the South Study.

Because the weather was too cold for outdoor exercise, Zhu Changluo opened an exercise area in the warm hall.

"I heard from Wei Zhongxian that Zhang Shirui ran away?" After a not-so-intense morning exercise, Zhu Changluo sat back at his desk, writing and drawing on a piece of paper with a printed stripe with a brush.

"My Lord, yes." Wang An swallowed hard. He had received the news last night while attending to departmental matters at the Imperial Household Department, but had not reported it to the Emperor. "I figured it wasn't a big deal, so I didn't disturb your rest."

"This is indeed not a big deal. There is no need to blame Lu Wenzhao if he failed to intercept Zhang Shirui in Tianjin. The woman had already run away when he received the mission. It is not his fault." Zhu Changluo wrote at the beginning: This is a secret order, do not tell others, keep it to yourself.

"Master is wise!" Wang An complimented.

"If Lu Wenzhao comes back empty-handed, let the Nanjing Jinyiwei surround the Tianfei Palace. If Zhang Xianyong also runs away, hand the case over to Wei Zhongxian." The secret letter was not long and was completed quickly.

Zhu Changluo blew on the letter paper, then pulled out a small, gold-inlaid wooden seal. "Send the first letter secretly to Xiong Tingbi, and the second to Yang Lian. After much deliberation, I still think I should consult their opinions before deciding on the 'Liao slaves' western transport.'"

"A secret decree?" Wang An was puzzled. This wasn't the first time the Emperor had issued a secret decree.

"I don't think it's necessary to inform all officials of everything." Zhu Changluo, a student of Qing history, was well aware that one of the major Qing institutions that further strengthened central imperial power was the secret memorial system established during the reign of Emperor Kangxi. The best thing about this system was that it wasn't an economic reform, so it rarely infringed on the vested interests of rentiers. While it involved many details, it could be implemented immediately.

"I understand." After Zhu Changluo stamped his name in seal script on the letter paper, Wang An stuffed it into the envelope and sealed it.

"Ask someone to make some less exquisite wooden boxes, and make the same number of locks. Each lock will only be equipped with three keys. One will be kept in the Imperial Household Department as a backup, one will be kept by me personally, and one will be sent to the officials who receive secret memorials." Zhu Changluo thought about it.

"I obey your order." Wang An said after receiving the order, "Please forgive me for asking this question."

"You say." Zhu Changluo nodded.

"Do you really want to leave the matter to Wei Zhongxian? I'm afraid he might kill someone." Wang An said.

"If someone's dead, then so be it. Let the Internal Inspection Department file it." Zhu Changluo stretched lazily and said as a matter of course, "There are so many people with the surname Zhang in Jiangxi."

Wang An paused, then shuddered violently. Jiangxi!?

(End of this chapter)