Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 143: Tea from the Imperial Household Department and Goose from the Imperial Guard

The eunuch took the badge of Cao's mansion and came to the Imperial Household Department without any hindrance.

Cao Huachun was the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, responsible for general affairs of the department and concurrently managing the Imperial Library. However, he could only sit in the fifth seat of the Imperial Household Department. Even so, most of the time, the first few tables were empty.

"Master." The eunuch walked into the main hall, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed politely.

"Did something happen at home?" Cao Huachun glanced at the eunuch and knew that he was his own family member, but he couldn't remember his name for a while.

Cao Huachun had many eunuchs under his wing, some serving in the palace, some serving as personal servants, and some staying at Cao's mansion to look after the emperor. But so far, Cao Huachun had only adopted one adopted son: Wang Chengen. With so many eunuchs under his wing, it was easy to lose track of who was who.

"Master, someone has come to deliver a visiting card, hoping to see you." The eunuch knelt on the ground without being instructed to stand up.

"How much silver did you receive?" Cao Huachun asked coldly and continued with the work at hand.

Cao Huachun did seldom go home, but he would regularly send people home to pick up visiting cards and send private letters. It was very rash for the eunuch to come to the palace and tell him about this.

"Master, that's all." The eunuch quickly pulled out the banknotes and knelt before the table. "But the money is secondary. The main reason I noticed was that the man was a member of the Imperial Guard, and he came here in person, looking like he had something urgent to do. That's why I dared to bother you, Master."

"Jinyiwei at this time?" Cao Huachun finally raised his head. "Which yamen's Jinyiwei are these? From the headquarters of the Commandery, or from the Northern Pacification Office?"

"None of them." The eunuch was so frightened by the master's words that his mind was completely confused. "Yes, yes. Oh, it's a sixth-rank centurion from the East Office." The eunuch finally remembered. "He said he had received advice from the master before."

Cao Huachun frowned slightly. He couldn't recall any interactions with such a low-ranking member of the Imperial Guard. But then he thought, that wasn't necessarily the case, as many children of high-ranking officials also served in the Imperial Guard. Their fathers hadn't retired yet, so they couldn't inherit high-ranking positions. And promotion through merit was a slow process. "What's his name?"

"My name is Lu Wenzhao."

"Lu Wenzhao?" Cao Huachun's eyes moved. "It's him."

"." The eunuch kept his hands raised, quietly waiting for the master's reply.

Cao Huachun pulled a pass from a drawer and placed it on the table. "Take this pass and have him come to the Imperial Household Department."

"As you command." The eunuch breathed a sigh of relief. He stood up, took the badge, and placed the banknotes on the table.

"Take the banknote." Cao Huachun flicked it lightly, and the banknote flew off the table. "Since you don't work in the palace, you don't have to hand it over."

"Thank you, sir." The eunuch picked up the banknote and bowed as he walked out.

"Idiot." Cao Huachun looked at the eunuch's back and snorted coldly.

The eunuch was very efficient in his work and the round trip took only more than half an hour.

"Eunuch. What did Admiral Cao say?" Seeing the figure on the street corner, Lu Wenzhao took the initiative to greet him.

The eunuch pulled out a badge from his pocket and handed it to Lu Wenzhao. "The master wishes to see you. Take this badge and enter through Bei'an Gate. Of course, you can't go anywhere else, as this badge only allows you to pass through Bei'an Gate. Once you enter Bei'an Gate, follow the road and stop when you see two gates facing each other. They are called the Yellow Tile East Gate and the Yellow Tile West Gate. Entering the East Gate, the first pair of government offices are the Sishejian and Shangyijian, and the second pair are the Silijian and Needlework Bureau."

"Thank you for your guidance, eunuch." Lu Wenzhao carefully put away the badge.

"I've told you so much, first to show you the way, and second to stop you from running around or looking around. Only eunuchs and those who have the emperor's permission can walk freely in the imperial city." The eunuch walked to the door of Cao's mansion and knocked.

"I won't bother with that." Lu Wenzhao stretched out his frozen red hand to salute. He didn't stand up until the eunuch entered the mansion, then he strode towards Bei'an Gate.

Lu Wenzhao had something on his mind, and his legs were quicker than the eunuch, so he arrived at the Bei'an Gate in just a quarter of an hour.

The Imperial City's various gates had relatively fixed rules for who could enter and exit. For example, officials attending court would enter the Wumen Gate through the Chengtian Gate and then gather at the Qianqing Gate. Cabinet officials and officials from various ministries seeking an audience with the emperor would enter the Forbidden City through the Dong'an Gate and then the Donghua Gate. Bei'anmen, however, was the primary gathering place for internal government officials, and was rarely visited by officials from outside the court. Therefore, the gatekeepers, upon seeing a man wearing the uniform of a sixth-rank official and sporting a handsome mustache, immediately stopped him.

"Pass." While the Imperial Stables were sending personnel to the Western Factory, they also partially cleared out the elderly and weak over the age of 40, leaving behind only young and strong men as the new recruits.

"Here." Lu Wenzhao had already taken out his badge and held it in his hand.

"You come... um... with a pass from the Imperial Household Department." The soldier wanted to ask more questions, but when he saw it was a pass from the Imperial Household Department, he stopped talking and handed the pass back to Lu Wenzhao. "Go in."

After entering Bei'an Gate, the Imperial Household Department was only a few steps away. However, the further Lu Wenzhao walked, the more uncertain he became. The Imperial Household Department's eunuch supervisor was a person who could command the respect of the Jinyiwei.
"Huh!" After taking a long breath, Lu Wenzhao walked into the Imperial Household Department.

"I am Lu Wenzhao, greeting His Excellency Admiral Si!" He straightened his spirits and made a standard ninety-degree bow.

"Hey! Captain Lu." Cao Huachun stood up with a smile, walked to Lu Wenzhao and bowed slightly as a return gesture.

There's hope! Lu Wenzhao was delighted.

Given Cao Huachun's status, he could have asked Lu Wenzhao to kneel down to speak to him, but Cao Huachun not only did not give him a warning, but instead came over and bowed to greet him personally, which showed that he respected him.

"I am deeply grateful for the courtesy with which you, Admiral," Lu Wenzhao did not act in a rude manner, but took out three more silver bills.

Three hundred taels, two of which were Hai Rou's dowry.

"I actually like Captain Lu quite a bit." Cao Huachun's face darkened, and he feigned anger. "But Captain Lu seems to treat me like an outsider."

After the establishment of the Liancaifang, the salaries of eunuchs at all levels of the Silijian were greatly increased. However, correspondingly, the tributes given to them by other officials had to be turned in and were systematically reduced to one-tenth of the original amount.

Therefore, for Cao Huachun, Lu Wenzhao's gift was not 300 taels of silver, but 30 taels. Although it was not a small amount, Cao Huachun still decided to turn it into a favor to Lu Wenzhao.

The Emperor wouldn't be short of these 270 taels of silver, but for a small centurion, 300 taels of silver might take years to save. The new rules didn't say that this money had to be collected.

"Admiral Cao, you..." Lu Wenzhao raised his head, with the words "tears of gratitude" written all over his face.

"Okay, come and sit down." Cao Huachun walked around the charcoal stove and came to the chair for guests.

When Lu Wenzhao followed, he found that there were already two teacups with tea in them but no water in them.

This was clearly prepared in advance.

"Captain Lu, if you have anything to say, please say it here." Cao Huachun waved to the eunuchs who were serving him.

The eunuch immediately brought a pot of boiling water and carefully poured it into the teacup. After adding the water, the eunuch returned to his original position and stood.

Lu Wenzhao understood what this meant by "open conversation," but he didn't mind, and he couldn't help but mind.

"Commander Cao, I'd like to ask you about something recent." Lu Wenzhao tried to lift the teacup by the saucer, but the scorching heat burned his knuckles, so he lifted the lid and blew gently. "The Donglin Party?" Cao Huachun opened his mouth directly.

"..." Lu Wenzhao sighed and smiled bitterly. "Admiral Cao, please understand."

"There's no such thing as a clear judgment or an unclear judgment," Cao Huachun shook his head. "Right now, the entire Jinyiwei is obsessed with this matter. If you could have been an exception, you wouldn't have come to me."

"I knew a job assisted by the Imperial Guards was transferred to the Eastern Office, but I didn't expect you to take it." Cao Huachun waved to another eunuch. The eunuch understood and handed over a document. "This is a record document with the seals of the Jinyiwei headquarters, the Northern Pacification Office, the Imperial Guards, and the Eastern Office. Captain Lu, take a look and you will know how this job came to you."

"I dare not look."

"It's just for record keeping. I can get it out to you and you can take a look." Cao Huachun placed the document next to Lu Wenzhao's teacup. "Is Captain Lu still worried that there might be spies from the Imperial Guard in the Imperial Household Department?"

No matter how open the dialogue is, it has its limits.

"How could it be?" Lu Wenzhao picked up the document but didn't open it immediately. "Why?" Lu Wenzhao was asking why Cao Huachun was so kind to him.

"Because you knelt well, I went to the study to 'test'." Cao Huachun smiled.

"The commander-in-chief taught me well." Lu Wenzhao understood. But what he didn't know was that he was the only Jinyiwei who had been promoted since the reform and opening up.

Opening the filing documents, Lu Wenzhao finally understood how this job came to him: the Northern Pacification Office asked the Experience Office for assistance, and the Experience Office did not refuse, going to the Ministry of Rites that same day to arrest the suspect. However, the next day, the Experience Office transferred the suspect to the Eastern Office on the grounds that it was "busy with office work."

This is bizarre. Sun Ruyou was one of the only two big fish, so it's not surprising that Tian Ergeng handed them over to Luo Zhangwei's son. But the Experience Bureau took the job, arrested the man, and didn't try him.

"Something must have happened the night before last." Lu Wenzhao muttered to himself.

"Is this important?" Cao Huachun was not only the acting eunuch commander of the Imperial Household Department, but also Wang An's eldest son. He knew clearly about Fang Congzhe's visit to Luo Sigong.

"Isn't it important?" Lu Wenzhao handed the document back.

"What other people think has nothing to do with you." Cao Huachun looked at Lu Wenzhao and asked, "What do you think?"

"I" just didn't know what to think, so I came to follow Cao Huachun's path.

Cao Huachun was not in a hurry. He looked away, picked up his teacup, and gently tasted it with the tip of his lips. He found that it was no longer hot.

Lu Wenzhao fell into deep thought: Tian Tongzhi had flattered Luo Zhangwei by handing the big fish to Luo Yangxing, but Luo Yangxing had withdrawn his outstretched hand for something. What was it? Was it important? Was it important? Not important!
"I understand." Lu Wenzhao nodded and stood up.

"Drink some tea before you leave." Cao Huachun tapped the lid of the cup with his fingertips.

"Thank you, Admiral." Lu Wenzhao raised his teacup and was about to drink it all when he heard Cao Huachun say, "This is tribute tea. If you drink it too quickly, you won't be able to taste it."

------

At four o'clock in the afternoon, in the East Office Prison.

The Ming Dynasty had three judicial departments: the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Censorate, but in reality, the three judicial departments had almost no power to interrogate officials.

The Dali Temple lacked a prison. While the Metropolitan Censorate had a "Prison Supervisor," he was a low-ranking official of the ninth rank and unable to oversee officials who still had colleagues at court. Furthermore, most cases involving imperial decrees for arrest and the signature of the Criminal Department's Jieshizhong were not handled by the Ministry of Justice. Therefore, throughout the Ming Dynasty, the interrogation of officials was almost entirely handled by the Jinyiwei.

In the first year of Chenghua reign of Emperor Xianzong, the emperor ordered the Northern Pacification Office to be in charge of the Jinyiwei Prison and added a seal for the Northern Pacification Office. All criminal cases were to be submitted to the emperor directly without having to be conveyed through the person in charge of the guards. Those Jinyiwei officials who were not in charge of criminal cases were also not allowed to interfere in the matter.

Times change. During the Zhengde reign, the West Office of the Military Commissioners of the East, West, South, North, and Central Cities moved out of the Commandery and established a new office and prison. This office was responsible for the centralized imprisonment and interrogation of prisoners transferred from the various military commissioners, and was called the West Office Prison. During the Jiajing reign, the East Office also established an office and prison, now known as the East Office Prison.

Therefore, the Jinyiwei in Beijing had three independent prisons: Jinyi Prison, Dongsifang Prison and Xisifang Prison.

After the Jiajing Emperor fully controlled the Jinyiwei, he ordered the Eastern Office to transfer criminal officials to the Jinyiwei Prison and criminal civilians to the Western Office. From then on, the Eastern Office rarely carried out executions directly, and instead served as a "transitional prison" to separate officials and civilians.

In the late Wanli period, the situation of vacancies not being filled spread to the corners of the Jinyiwei system, so when the last centurion of justice under the Dongsifang died, there were no more professional interrogators in the Dongsifang prison.

"Minister Sun, it's time for lunch." Lu Jianxing brought a roast goose, two pots of wine, and a basket of white flour buns.

"Eat this?" Sun Ruyou asked in confusion.

"I bought the roast goose with my own money, so there's no share for you. You only have steamed buns, but if you want to drink, I can give you a pot." Lu Jianxing sat down in front of Sun Ruyou.

"Aren't you going to interrogate me?" Sun Ruyou only slept in the Jinyiwei prison for one night, but the tragic scenes inside were still fresh in his memory.

"Why are you panicking? I haven't learned any torture techniques. If I accidentally kill you, I'll be at a loss." Lu Jianxing picked up a goose leg and handed it to Sun Ruyou. "You can have some too."

"Didn't you say there's no share for me?" Sun Ruyou didn't respond.

"Forget it." Lu Jianxing took back the goose leg and stuffed it into his big mouth. "My master has gone to invite the old prisoner. He will come to entertain you this afternoon."

"afternoon?"

"Otherwise, you think the Jinyiwei invited you to stay here." Lu Jianxing grabbed another steamed bun. "Don't worry, the higher-ups won't let you die, so you'll definitely survive. But sometimes, death is better than life. Do you know Lord Zou?"

"I know him." Sun Ruyou nodded.

"He refused to confess at first. They picked out all ten of his toenails and added salt. In the end, he spilled the beans, saying everything he should and shouldn't have said." Lu Jianxing was lying. Although Zou Yuanbiao had been tortured, he said nothing. "But don't worry, they've got a doctor for him, so he won't die."

"Do you know Mr. Qian Ruogeng, the prefect of Linjiang?" Lu Jianxing asked again.

"know."

"That's right. He spent thirty-seven years in the Jinyiwei prison. If it weren't for the late emperor's mercy, he would have died there." Lu Jianxing swallowed the steamed bun and goose leg in his mouth with a sip of wine. "I think you know this too."

"I know." Sun Ruyou was already sweating profusely.

"At your age, you should go home and enjoy a peaceful life. Why bother to fight us here?" Lu Jianxing said bluntly, "As long as you confess, I will serve you delicious dishes in different styles every day. Even if the higher-ups don't let you go out, you can stay here as an inn." Lu Jianxing handed the other goose leg to Sun Ruyou.

"Alas." Sun Ruyou sighed, took the goose leg handed to him by Lu Jianxing, and sighed, "Zou Nangao has confessed."

(End of this chapter)