Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 178 The Sword That Cuts Wei Zhongxian
"Who killed Zhao Nanxing?" Zhu Changluo asked the same question Wei Chao had asked.

"Tian Ergeng did it himself." This time, Wei Zhongxian did not say any high-sounding words.

Zhu Changluo nodded, then called out, "Wang An."

"I'm here." Wang An replied.

"The joint petition from the three judicial offices has been approved," Zhu Changluo instructed. "Draft an imperial edict. Order the Northern Pacification Office to hand Zhao Nanxing over to the three judicial offices for a joint trial the day after tomorrow. They are to thoroughly investigate the truth and impose the appropriate sentence. This edict will be drafted by the Cabinet and, after approval, directly issued to the Ministry of Internal Affairs." This was the clear decree for the entire process.

"Yes." Wang An hurriedly wrote the emperor's instructions on the memo.

"Wei Zhongxian." Zhu Changluo called again.

"I'm here." Wei Zhongxian straightened up and looked up.

"Since Tian Ergeng calls you dad, then use it." Zhu Changluo said, "Luo Sigong said it himself. Tian Ergeng is impartial."

Wei Zhongxian understood that Tian Ergeng had been saved. "On behalf of this old man, Tian Ergeng, I thank the emperor for his grace." Tian Ergeng was younger than Wei Zhongxian, but not by much.

"If your son makes a mistake, your father will take the blame." Zhu Changluo warned: "Since you are a father again, you must take good care of your eldest son."

Wei Zhongxian rose to prominence in the Li Palace. Before that, he had been a powerless eunuch at the bottom of the society. He was considered too old to be adopted as a son by someone else, let alone adopted. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with calling Tian Ergeng Wei Zhongxian's good eldest son.

"I can save that." Wei Zhongxian kowtowed again.

Zhu Changluo waved his hand.

"I'll take my leave." Wei Zhongxian kowtowed and stood up. He faced the emperor and then left.

"Stop." Just when Wei Zhongxian was about to reach the palace door, Zhu Changluo stopped him.

Wei Zhongxian knelt down. "Your Majesty, please give your instructions."

"When you get to the Western Factory, stop by Mi Mengshang and ask her to come and sleep with you tonight." Zhu Changluo looked at Wei Zhongxian coldly.

Wei Zhongxian was frightened by the Emperor's gaze. He knew that his thoughts had been seen through, but he still gritted his teeth and pulled out the excuse he had prepared long ago, saying: "I have already found out that Mi Cairen is a spy placed by the Zheng Palace under the Emperor's wing. It is really not appropriate for her to serve in the bed again. Therefore, I ask..."

"Shut up." Zhu Changluo said these two words calmly, and Wei Zhongxian's endless chatter stopped. "When will it be your decision? What do you want to do?"

"I have absolutely no selfish motives!" Wei Zhongxian kowtowed profusely. "I am simply worried that the Renyin Incident will recur and harm the emperor."

"So you acted on your own and let Mi Mengshang put herself in danger?" Zhu Changluo asked.

The charcoal fire heated the southern study room just right, not too hot, but Wei Zhongxian felt as if a fire was hanging over his head, scorching him and making him sweat profusely. He understood that the emperor was only warning him, and if the emperor was determined to punish him, there would be no need for nonsense.

The emperor didn't even need to utter the word "kill." All he had to do was repeatedly request an audience and then give Wang An a look, and his life would be over. But a beating wasn't always just a beating; if the response wasn't right, the hammer could easily become a knife.

How to deal with it? It is absolutely impossible to conceal it after being exposed. So Wei Zhongxian replied: "I have no other choice but to do this."

Zhu Changluo let out a long breath and asked, "Do you know why I am willing to use you?"

"I am stupid." Wei Zhongxian bowed again.

"You are not stupid! If you were stupid, then there would be no smart people left in the Ming Dynasty." Zhu Changluo shouted, "Wang An!"

This shout nearly frightened Wei Zhongxian to death. He thought the emperor was dissatisfied with his answer and was going to punish him.

"I'm here." Wang An was startled. At this moment, he had not yet told the emperor his guess.

"Do you think our Weixi Factory Supervisor is a stupid person?" Zhu Changluo asked.

"In reply to your Majesty, I think Wei Zhongxian is a really stupid person," Wang An replied.

"Why?" Zhu Changluo asked again.

"Whatever Wei Zhongxian's considerations, he shouldn't have decided matters concerning the harem on behalf of his lord." Wang An carefully chose his words, not mentioning Li Zhulan at all. This kind of matter needed to be verified before reporting.

"Did you hear that?" Zhu Changluo stood up and left the throne.

"I heard it." Wei Zhongxian's head was still on the floor, but when he heard the sound, he knew that the emperor was coming.

"Don't just listen, take it to heart." Zhu Changluo ordered: "Look up!"

Wei Zhongxian didn't want to look the emperor in the eye, as it frightened him, but he had to obey the emperor's orders.

"I put you in the position of the governor of the Western Factory because you are ruthless. So ruthless that you are inhumane. But ruthlessness should be used in the right place. Take charge of what you should take charge of, and don't interfere in what you shouldn't." Zhu Changluo looked down at Wei Zhongxian. His voice was not loud, but he spoke very quickly, as if he was afraid that Wei Zhongxian would hear clearly. "I will only give you this one chance. If you reach out to the harem again, Wei Chao..."

Zhu Changluo walked over to the sword rack and picked up the new sword he had given Mi Mengshang after receiving it. "Use this to kill him."

Wei Chao shuddered. He didn't expect that the emperor would let him hold a sword.

"What? Weren't you in charge of the Armory Bureau before?" Zhu Changluo cast a questioning look at Wei Chao. "You've been sitting in the Imperial Household Department for so long, and now you can't even lift a sword?"

"No!" Wei Chao's legs went weak from these repeated questions. He dropped to his knees and moved to Zhu Changluo's side. He raised his hands and shouted, "I can lift it!"

"Go back to your seat." Zhu Changluo waved his sleeves.

"Yes." After just this one round, Wei Chao's back was soaked with sweat. So when he stood up, he gave Wei Zhongxian a sympathetic look.

"Go back and discuss the aftermath with your old son." Zhu Changluo retracted his gaze and turned back to the throne.

"Let Xu Xianchun, the one who killed Lord Zou, take the blame," Wang An added.

"I obey your command." Wei Zhongxian almost screamed as he accepted the order. He stood up in a panic, but was stopped again.

"Take this to the Imperial Household Department." Wang An stacked the banknotes and the long letter together and pushed them to the edge of the table. "Don't forget to go to the Liancaifang to get your share."

"I bow to thank the emperor for his grace." Wei Zhongxian kowtowed to express his gratitude and finally left the Southern Study.

After Wei Zhongxian left, Zhu Changluo looked at Wei Chao and said, "Go to the Ministry of Rites and call Xu Guangqi. The case against the Donglin Party should be concluded."

"Master." Wei Chao stood up, cradling his sword. "Should we have the Western Factory Inspection Bureau investigate Zhao Nanxing's cause of death?" Zhu Changluo was stunned for a moment, and after a long pause, he finally understood what Wei Chao meant. "You remember it better than I do." Zhu Changluo chuckled and nodded. "Alright, stop by the Pacification Office and ask Tian Ergeng if Zhao Nanxing's death can withstand investigation. If suicide is tenable, have Wei Zhongxian investigate Zou Yuanbiao and take Wang Chengen with him. If it doesn't, forget it."

"This slave takes the order."

------

After Wei Chao left with the sword, only Zhu Changluo and Wang An were left in the Southern Study.

"Wang An." Zhu Changluo called.

"I'm here." Wang An stood up and waited.

"Tell Wei Chao about Ke Yinyue and Wei Zhongxian's affair." Zhu Changluo felt it was time to remove this hidden nail.

When Zhu Changluo handed the sword to Wei Chao, Wang An knew that the emperor would have such an order. But when the time came, he was still nervous.

Wang An walked to the imperial desk with his head lowered, knelt down with a thud, and kowtowed loudly. "I am guilty! Your Majesty, please punish me."

"What are you doing?" Zhu Changluo was completely bewildered. "Raise your head and speak."

"Reply to my master. Ke Yinyue is dead." Wang An did not do as he was told, but continued to put his forehead on the front of his robe.

"Dead?" Zhu Changluo pondered for a moment and asked, "Did you do it?"

"Yes. It was my servant who ordered it." Wang An replied.

"Do you have an old grudge against her?" Zhu Changluo was not surprised. Wang An was originally destined to be killed by Wei Zhongxian and Keshi. And Keshi's role in this was even greater than Wei Zhongxian's.

Wang An didn't know what the emperor was thinking. But he could tell the emperor's tone wasn't harsh, and he didn't seem to be blaming her. But he wasn't going to hide it any longer. So, Wang An replied, "My lord, I know Keshi, but I have no grudges against her."

"Then why did you kill her?" Zhu Changluo figured it out as soon as he finished asking. "Wei Zhongxian! Did you ask him to do it?"

Wang An was startled by the emperor's sharpness. He maintained the same posture and replied, "Yes. Just when your Majesty decided to use Wei Zhongxian, I instructed him to kill Ke Yinyue. This way, the vicious and venomous Wei Zhongxian would no longer be able to waver."

"Did Wei Zhongxian do it himself?" Zhu Changluo asked.

"Yes, I sent someone to follow him." Wang An paused and added, "We even know where the body is."

Zhu Changluo didn't care about Ke Yinyue's life or death. "I remember she has a son, right?"

"Yes. His name was Hou Guoxing, and he's dead too. The perpetrator was Fu Yingxing, the current commander of the Western Depot and Wei Zhongxian's nephew. However, Hou Guoxing's body was buried separately." Wang An added, "Ke Yinyue also had a younger brother named Ke Guangxian."

"Just because you mentioned this person specifically, does that mean he is dead too?" Zhu Changluo had no impression of Ke Guangxian at all.

"Yes. But Ke Guangxian's death was caused by Wei Zhongxian acting on his own and cutting off the roots of the problem." Wang An replied.

"Kill him if you will." Zhu Changluo knocked on the table. "Stand up and talk."

"I thank the Emperor for His Majesty's grace." Wang An breathed a sigh of relief. He stood up and looked toward the imperial desk. Wang An expected a rebuke, but instead, he saw only a look of bewilderment and sympathy in the Emperor's eyes.

"Does Wei Chao know about this?" Zhu Changluo asked.

"Wei Chao doesn't know. He only knows that Ke Yinyue is missing and has lost contact." Wang An replied.

"He didn't investigate?" Zhu Changluo asked again.

"After losing contact with Ke Yinyue, Wei Chao sent people to Dingxing County, Ke Yinyue's hometown. But before that, Fu Yingxing had already killed Ke Guangxian. So he found Wei Zhongxian and asked him to use the people of the Western Factory to help him investigate," Wang An replied.

"There's no way they can be found out." Zhu Changluo snorted.

Wang An gave a wry smile and continued, "So after Cui Wensheng rose again, Wei Chao went to the Inner East Factory again. Cui Wensheng was very respectful to Wei Chao and worked very hard."

"Running around east and west, he really likes this woman." Zhu Changluo began to feel sorry for Wei Chao.

"But Keshi betrayed him. Wei Zhongxian was a good friend of Wei Chao's, and this isn't the way to treat a couple!" Wang An suddenly became angry. "Even if we weren't vegetable vendors, we should still follow some rules!"

A "dui shi" (a type of relationship) could be a romantic relationship between an eunuch and a palace maid, or a homosexual relationship between two palace maids. Regardless of the relationship, "dui shi" was usually a relatively short-lived affair. As the saying goes, "In the palace, boredom reigns, this is the last resort to satisfy one's hunger and thirst." Meanwhile, "cai hu" (a type of relationship) specifically refers to a long-term, stable romantic relationship between an eunuch and a palace maid, like a married couple. Even in "dui shi" relationships, however, they generally did not engage in multiple relationships.

Zhu Changluo had no intention of continuing the topic, but said: "People cannot die in vain, let's squeeze out some surplus value." Although it is pitiful, contradictions must be utilized.

"Yes." Wang An agreed.

In fact, there was no need for Zhu Changluo to give special instructions. After Wang An guessed Wei Zhongxian's thoughts, he had already started to make arrangements.

------

Xu Guangqi sat in the main hall of the Ministry of Rites, dealing with endless official business with a worried look on his face.

The Imperial Guard received the imperial edict, and the Imperial Guards were dispatched in all directions, sweeping across the entire Beijing officialdom in a single day. With the exception of the Imperial Treasures Department, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Imperial Observatory, which were unable to intervene despite their efforts, nearly every government office in the capital was arrested. Among them, the Thirteen Censors and the Six Imperial Households were the hardest hit by this storm.

Some from the Ministry of Rites were also taken away, but Xu Guangqi wasn't worried about them. He judged this to be just the final commotion before the silence. As long as the emperor didn't go back on his word, the situation wouldn't get any worse. What truly worried him was something else.

"Sir." The gatekeeper came over and reported, "A Taoist nun named Zhang wants to see you." As the gatekeeper spoke, he handed over the clearance document from the Tianshi Mansion and the note issued by the Daoluo Division.

"Zhang Shirui?" Xu Guangqi murmured, but did not hesitate. "Let her in."

Soon, Zhang Shirui, dressed in a gray-black Taoist robe, walked into the main hall of the Ministry of Rites and bowed politely. "Greetings, Your Excellency."

"No need to be so polite." Xu Guangqi smiled and nodded. Although many days had passed, he still had a deep impression of this young woman. He even worried that the emperor would have the Jinyiwei arrest Zhang Xianyong and torture her in the imperial prison because of her disobedience. "Miss Zhang, if you have something to say, just say it directly."

"I wrote a letter of apology. I wanted to present it to the palace, but the Daolu Si said they didn't have the authority to do so. They asked me to come to the Ministry of Rites." As he spoke, Zhang Shirui took out a hard-cover memorial from his arms and placed it on Xu Guangqi's desk.

"Although the Daolusi is only a sixth-rank government office, the left and right Zhengyi officials can directly submit memorials," Xu Guangqi pointed out. "They just don't want to get involved in your family's affairs."

　Excerpt from Zhuozhongzhi, Volume 9, A Brief Account of the Persecutions Suffered by the Chief Justice

　　Just as Nixian was about to kill the prison guard (Wang An), still grateful for his life-saving kindness, he hesitated. Wang Tiqian, eager to seize the imperial seal, threatened Keshi with threats. Keshi secretly warned Nixian, "There may be someone outside to save him. If the emperor changes his mind, how can you and I compare to Xi Li? We will suffer in the end." Nixian finally made up his mind.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)