Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 263 The True Holy Will

A quarter of an hour later, the carriage carrying Wang Chengen arrived at the Jinyiwei East Office. Although Wang Chengen was not a frequent visitor, the gatekeeper had a deep impression of him, so he invited him in without asking any questions.

Wang Chengen walked straight into the main hall and found that Luo Yangxing was not behind the extra desk. He then went to Liu Chengxi, the chief officer in charge of the East Office, and asked in a tired voice with a hint of morbid excitement, "Where is Luo Yangxing?"

When Liu Chengxi heard Wang Chengen calling Luo Yangxing by his real name, his eyebrows immediately raised.

"Greetings, Chief Officer Wang." Liu Chengxi stood up, bowed, and said, "Earlier, Admiral Luo took away all the centurions of our clan and was about to go to the thousand-household unit to summon reinforcements. After sending the errand, Admiral Luo also went with them."

"What is he going to do!" Wang Chengen did not return the greeting and asked directly.

"I don't know." Wang Chengen didn't return the greeting, and Liu Chengxi didn't stand up straight. "Liu Chengxi only said that he wanted to surround the residences of the nobles and relatives in the rear palace."

"Then where did he go?"

"He should have gone to Li's house." Liu Chengxi answered seriously.

"Okay. I understand. Go ahead." Wang Chengen flicked his sleeves and turned away. They only stayed there for a few breaths.

"Take care." Liu Chengxi's eyes flickered downward, a sudden flash of understanding on his face. He suddenly realized that Luo Yangxing seemed to have deliberately stated where he was going, as if he had anticipated someone coming to see him.

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Wuqing Hou Li Wei was a man who loved to build luxury houses for himself. This hobby of his left many assets to his descendants.

On May 26, the sixth year of the Longqing reign, Emperor Muzong passed away, and Emperor Shenzong ascended the throne. That same year, Li Wei, a first-rank official and deputy governor of the Imperial Guard, was granted the title of Earl of Wuqing, citing his status as the father of the emperor's biological mother, the Empress Dowager. From that time on, Li Wei embarked on a lavish construction spree, building residences and villas in scenic locations throughout Beijing. The most lavish of these was Tsinghua Garden, located dozens of miles northwest of Beijing's Deshengmen Gate.

However, Qinghua Garden, known as "the most famous garden in the capital," was too far from the Governor's Office. Commuting to and from the yamen was inconvenient, not to mention the need to attend court meetings on a tight schedule. Therefore, after Emperor Shenzong's death and Emperor Taichang's accession to the throne, Li Mingcheng, forced to change his living habits, resigned himself to moving to a small villa near Zhengyang Gate. Even this small villa, situated north of Shanchuantan and south of Zhengyang Gate, was a sprawling garden, covering hundreds of acres. Compared to it, the Zhang Mansion, where the lineage of the Duke of Ying had resided for centuries, was merely a small place.

When Wang Chengen arrived at the gate of Li's house, Luo Yangxing was leisurely drinking tea in a three-story restaurant not far from the door opposite the Li mansion. When he saw the person getting off the carriage, Luo Yangxing couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Wang Sizheng!" In order to prevent the child from wandering around asking questions, Luo Yangxing called out considerately, "I'm here."

Wang Chengen looked up at the sound. When he saw Luo Yangxing's smiling face clearly against the light, his face, which already lacked vitality, became even darker.

Wang Cheng'en rushed into the restaurant, which had been openly occupied by the Jinyiwei. He hurriedly climbed the stairs, taking two or even three steps at a time, but due to his short legs and fatigue, he stumbled twice in a row. If it weren't for the loyal Qi Feng'en who had been following him, Wang Cheng'en would have definitely fallen unconscious or fainted.

"Captain Luo!" Wang Cheng'en came up to Luo Yangxing and, at first, held back, not addressing him by name. Then, he barged in, "What on earth do you want to do? Luo, you held me down, telling me not to cause trouble and to go back and ask for instructions. I went back and asked, and then someone from the Imperial Household Department came to greet you. And you didn't listen! Can you please tell me what you want to do?"

"Sit down and have some tea." Luo Yangxing waved his hand, pointing to the empty seat across from him, and said leisurely, "The view here is beautiful. I don't know how strong your taste is, so I only put one cup. The teapot is over there, please add as much as you want."

"What kind of tea do you want?" Wang Chengen had no intention of accepting the invitation and sitting down.

"If you don't want tea, then have some cakes. Their peach cakes and osmanthus cakes are both excellent." Luo Yangxing pushed the plate in the middle of the table to the side of the teacup. "All yours."

"I won't eat!" Wang Cheng'en glared angrily, questioning Luo Yangxing with a serious expression, "Captain Luo, are you kidding me?"

If those old eunuchs had come to him with such glares, Luo Yangxing would have immediately surrendered, but facing Wang Chengen, he could even smile and speak. "Before I answer, I want to ask you a question."

"You ask." Wang Chengen finally sat down.

"Does the emperor know about this?" Luo Yangxing asked a vague question without any specific target.

"What is it?"

Wang Chengen's rhetorical question was enough to give Luo Yangxing a clearer mind. He cast aside his hesitation and flattery from yesterday and, adopting a solemn and dignified demeanor, refined and refined Luo Sigong's words. "I've thought a lot since you left. A hundred years ago, Emperor Sejong inherited the throne by divine mandate. Upon ascending the throne, he immediately eliminated nearly 150,000 redundant personnel from the payroll of the Five Military Commandery. Those who had been appointed by chance were dismissed, saving the country over 1.7 million dan of rice annually." Luo Yangxing had clearly done considerable homework to give his visitor a reasonable explanation.

"Back then, the Luo family assisted Emperor Shizong in clearing up the country's accumulated ills and saving the Ming Dynasty from crisis. Now, His Majesty has made drastic changes in the palace to eliminate redundancies and corruption, and has also ordered the Jinyiwei to clean up corruption. He is clearly another powerful ruler. It is impossible for him to turn a blind eye to the redundancies and corruption in the imperial court."

"A few days ago, the Lantern Festival political meeting concluded. People across the court and the public are saying that the Ministry of Revenue is facing financial difficulties and that grain and salaries in the border areas are in arrears. To reduce state expenditures, His Majesty has even taken to using an abandoned mausoleum as his residence. His Majesty's determination to revive the nation is evident. The Imperial Guard cannot withdraw the case. If they do, even if His Majesty is willing, he will have to find another excuse!"

Luo Yangxing's words were so beautiful that Wang Chengen was stunned. Although Wang An had forced his anger down yesterday, Wang Chengen wasn't truly convinced. Now, hearing Luo Yangxing's heartfelt speech, he couldn't help but nod deeply, as if he had found a confidant.

"So what's next? What are you going to do?" Wang Chengen's eyes were already dry, and after blinking twice, some tears even appeared in his eyes.

"Nothing. Just standing around like this." Luo Yangxing opened the teapot, inserted the teaspoon, then uncovered the teacup in front of Wang Chengen and poured the scooped tea leaves into it. "Is one spoonful enough?"

"What's the point of surrounding it?" Wang Chengen still had no intention of drinking tea, but he did not refuse as firmly as before.

"I can only stand by. Jinyiwei arrests require the emperor's seal and the signature of the Criminal Division. That's the rule." Luo Yangxing evaded the point with a procedural question, refusing to mention anything else. "You look tired. They have a guest room with a bed. Would you like to rest for a while?"

"No." Wang Chengen shook his head slightly, wiped the moisture from the corners of his eyes, and asked again: "Did you go home last night?"

Luo Yangxing was startled, then he lifted his teacup and blew away the floating tea. After taking a sip, he said, "I'm going home. I have a family after all, and I can't always be hanging around out there." "Since you've been back, you should know that General Luo has been impeached." Wang Chengen took the initiative to add a spoonful of tea and picked up the kettle of boiling water beside the square table and filled it up for himself.

"I know. The insults were excessive, and my father was furious. He said he wanted to challenge that censor named Zhao to a duel." A fleeting cunning glint crossed Luo Yangxing's brows. "Perhaps he's holding a grudge and seeking revenge because of the previous Donglin Party case?"

"It's possible. I remember this censor named Zhao was also on the list of those to be caned in court," Wang Chengen nodded in agreement. He didn't know that with just a few words, Luo Yangxing had eliminated several negative speculations.

"Tea can relieve fatigue, but it won't eliminate it. You should rest for a while." Luo Yangxing intertwined his fingers, unconsciously assuming the same position as Luo Sigong. "I believe the Emperor will make a decision."

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Qianqing Palace, South Study. Earlier.

The route from the External Auditorium to the Western Depot, then to the Imperial Household Department, and finally to the Southern Study, or directly to the Southern Study, was not the only reporting route for public opinion in the capital to reach the emperor. Around the same time Wang Chengen left the Western Depot and ordered his men to report the incident, the crucial news that the Jinyiwei had dispatched troops to surround the imperial court's superior nobles and relatives was delivered to the Southern Study by a hurried eunuch from the Imperial Stables. Subsequently, the Eastern Depot and the Cabinet, like the Imperial Stables, relayed this news to the emperor in a special report.

The reason for the report rather than impeachment was that the Jinyiwei's actions, while bold, did not violate any rules. After all, the Jinyiwei were indeed tasked with thoroughly investigating the Rear Army Governor's Office, and they did not break into the residences of the nobles to arrest anyone.

This news was like a blow to Wang An's chest, and cold sweat instantly covered his entire body.

The Jinyiwei's action showed that they refused to accept the orders of the Silijian. Or more accurately, they did not believe that the orders of the Silijian were the embodiment of the emperor's will, so they refused to carry them out.

If Wang An had already received the emperor's approval, then the Imperial Guards had misunderstood the emperor's intentions and could have simply reprimanded him. However, the problem was that Wang An had not yet had the opportunity to inform the emperor, directly or indirectly, that he had "instructed the Imperial Guards to close the case."

Wang An fell into self-doubt. He knew Luo Sigong was no match for Wang Chengen; he was a timid old fox. He would never act impulsively, and even if his blood ran high, he would quickly calm down. He must have had a thorough reason for doing so. This meant that Wang An himself might indeed have misunderstood the emperor's will.

Overstepping!

This horrible word kept lingering in his mind.

Acting without waiting for the emperor's approval was not a problem. As long as one was close to the emperor, then usurpation was not usurpation, but rather the willingness to bear responsibility and infamy. However, if the emperor misunderstood, then it was undeniable usurpation.

Wang An tried his best to control his expression and asked with a smile, "Master, aren't the Jinyiwei going too far? Should we give them a heads-up and ask them to tone it down a bit?"

"Hasn't our General Luo done a good job?" Zhu Changluo narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "The Rear Military Governor's Office really needs to be cleaned up. Let's use the pretext of investigating the Tianjin case to suppress them for a while."

"But what should we do with Shen Caiyu's body?" Wang An began to take the risk.

"Hasn't the news been suppressed? Tell the Imperial Guard to keep it safe. When the time comes, I want them to come and claim it themselves." Zhu Changluo had no feelings for the useless nobles who were sucking blood from the body of the Ming Dynasty. However, Emperor Taichang's past life forced him to be cautious.

As the saying goes, when a rabbit dies, the fox mourns. If one recklessly suppresses those who have contributed to the succession struggle, he risks alienating himself. Without a proper name, without sound words, nothing can be accomplished. Even Zhu Yuanzhang, the patriarch of the Zhu family, had to abide by the Basic Law when he killed someone.

At this time, Zhu Changluo found Luo Sigong's defense memorial among the pile of memorials. "General Luo's defense is written like a declaration of war. Good! I like him a little bit. Wang An." Zhu Changluo called out crisply, sounding in a good mood.

"I'm here!" Wang An was completely paralyzed. He stood up as if in a state of stress, and began to breathe heavily. He knew that he had completely misunderstood the emperor's intention.

"Why are you so excited?" Zhu Changluo felt a little strange, but he didn't think much about it or ask any more questions. Instead, he said, "Why don't we let these two fight? It might be quite interesting."

"Okay." Wang An agreed subconsciously.

"Haha." Zhu Changluo chuckled and said, "Then send the original article to Zhao Yanqing. Let him handle it himself."

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In the evening, after the court was dismissed, at Huanghuafang, Nuanxiang Pavilion.

"This gentleman looks unfamiliar." Luo Yangxing's face was very strong, not the slightest bit of a pale scholar, so the waiter came up and directly addressed him as "master." "Would you like me to recommend two brands to drink with you?"

"No need. I'm looking for Zhou Miaotong." Luo Yangxing glanced at the shelf and did not see Zhou Miaotong's brand.

"Ms. Miaotong has finished her song. Please come back tomorrow." The old man shook his head slightly without explaining too much.

"Who's the madam here?" Luo Yangxing had just finished asking when his eyes locked on a middle-aged woman dressed up and flirting with people. "Is she the one?"

"That's Aunt Xue." The old man was still waiting for his reward. But with the person in front of him acting so pretentiously, he could only answer yes. There were too many people in Beijing that one couldn't afford to offend. Generally speaking, the more arrogant the unfamiliar person, the more influential they were. If someone in their line of work didn't know how to treat people, they'd better change careers soon. Otherwise, they'd die without knowing how.

Luo Yangxing ignored the toady. He walked straight over, stopping just a stone's throw away from Aunt Xue, and got straight to the point: "I want to redeem Zhou Miaotong."

"Excuse me, sir, what is your last name?" Aunt Xue's eyes were full of peach blossoms and her eyebrows were as bright as spring when she met anyone.

"Don't worry about my last name." Luo Yangxing spoke as if he were browsing a flower and bird market. "I want to redeem Zhou Miaotong. How much? Just quote the price."

(End of this chapter)