Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 339 Burying One More Thing in My Heart
The military officers of the Factory Guard were extremely sensitive to the word "ancestor". The flag officer on duty at the gatehouse instantly became alert when he heard the word "ancestor". He quickly opened the door and invited Wei Chao in. "Grand Ancestor, please forgive my lack of vision."

Wei Chao didn't want to waste time talking to him. He stepped over the threshold and got straight to the point. "Where are you holding Tang Guanzheng from the Imperial Observatory?"

"They're all in the second courtyard." The flag officer turned and was surprised to find the hanging flower gate still closed. He took two steps forward and knocked on it. His knocks were even louder than the captain's earlier bangs, almost as loud as pounding on the door. After the door opened, he bowed and gestured for invitation. "Your Excellency, please come this way. I'll show you the way."

Entering the second courtyard, the flag officer extended his hand and pointed out Yang Huan's location to Wei Chao. "Grandmaster, our Captain Yang is over there."

"What?" Wei Chao squinted at him and asked calmly, "Are you asking me to pay my respects to him?"

Although Wei Chao's tone was not harsh, the little flag's face turned pale. He bowed repeatedly and said, "I dare not! I dare not!"

"Take me to see someone." Wei Chao didn't bother with him.

"Yes." The flag officer winked at the captain beside him. The captain understood and ran towards Yang Huan's residence.

After a while, the flag officer led Wei Chao into the wing where the young priests and merchants were imprisoned. By then, the priests, who were accustomed to rising early for prayer, had already woken up. The merchants, whose routines were not very regular, were also disturbed by their noise and could not sleep.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, the foreigners in the main room all cast various glances towards the door.

Wei Chao ignored the gazes. He walked straight to the table and found a chair to sit down.

Tang Ruowang was in the Ming room at this moment. When he saw Wei Chao, he immediately felt a familiar feeling in his heart.

After several months, Wei Chao could no longer remember Tang Ruowang's face, but he still recognized him in the crowd with just one glance.

He looked at the young man in the uniform of a sixth-rank official and asked with a smile, "Tang Guanzheng, do you remember me?"

"Who are you?" In the faint morning light, Johann Adam Schall von Bell saw Wei Chao's face clearly.

Wei Chao jokingly said in a gentle tone: "Tang Guanzheng is a handsome man. I can always think of him."

After staring for a moment, Tang Ruowang suddenly remembered that last year, when he, Long Huamin, and Guo Jujing were about to be summoned by the Emperor, it was this eunuch who took them to another palace.

"You were the adult at that time!" Tang Ruowang's voice rose twice, and an earnest smile instinctively appeared on his sad face.

"It seems that Tang Guanzheng still remembers me." Wei Chao nodded.

Tang Ruowang was about to bow when he realized the eunuch before him hadn't yet given him his name. He bowed deeply and asked, "I'm ashamed to ask for your name."

"My surname is Wei, and my given name is Chao." Wei Chao said.

"So you are the renowned Chief Eunuch of the Imperial Household Department!" Tang Ruowang's heart was filled with emotion. Even though he had never met them on a daily basis, as an official serving in the capital, he still knew the names of the five major eunuchs of the Imperial Household Department.

The merchants who had heard the commotion and entered the main hall from the side rooms were also startled. They had tried to inquire about the most prominent officials in the capital and even attempted to visit them. Initially, they were most interested in the noble relatives with titles, but upon investigation, they discovered that these so-called nobles had little power, and were completely different from European lords. These nobles had neither territory nor armies. Their so-called fiefs were merely a corresponding salary of rice. They did not rule over these people, nor did they deal directly with them.

Even the nobles who served in the Metropolitan Commandery were in charge of the Emperor's army, not their own. Their authority was comparable to that of an ordinary general, if not even less. This was because, without the Emperor's permission, they didn't even have the right to mobilize their troops for rotations.

Later, the merchants learned that, below the emperor, there were eleven most powerful men. These men were known as the eunuchs in charge of ceremonies and the cabinet ministers. Only these men were fully involved in national decision-making, no matter how big or small. As the Chinese say, these eleven men were "under one man, above ten thousand men."

The businessmen had tried to establish some relationship with these powerful people, but so far they had only passively met a university scholar named Ye, who did not seem to have much desire to interact with them.

"I'm not that famous. I'm just a servant serving the emperor." Wei Chao laughed, but no one dared to laugh with him.

Tang Ruowang knelt before him and said, "I, Tang Ruowang, pay my respects to Chief Wei."

The merchants also knelt down like Tang Ruowang, knowing that the man with the dragon emblem on his clothes was their savior. But the missionaries other than Tang Ruowang still stood there in a daze.

"Ouch!" Wei Chao held Tang Ruowang's shoulders before he kowtowed. "Official Tang, please get up quickly. I can't stand your kowtow."

Tang Ruowang stood up obediently, but still bowed deeply to Wei Chao.

This time, Wei Chao accepted it calmly and immediately pulled a chair in front of Tang Ruowang. "Sit down, sit down." As for the merchants, Wei Chao didn't even look at them, just let them kneel on the ground.

After Tang Ruowang sat down, the smile on his face turned into excitement: "Chief Wei! This case."

Wei Chao waved his hand to interrupt him. "Tang Guanzheng, I didn't come here today to talk to you about the case."

"So you are here..." Tang Ruowang could even speak half a sentence, and used his tone and expression to express his doubts.

"Of course I'll let you out." Wei Chao held Tang Ruowang's hand and patted it gently.

At this time, the Criminal Lieutenant Yang Huan also hurried over with his men. Looking at his crooked and wrinkled clothes, it was clear that he was in a hurry.

Yang Huan's heart was beating fast and hard. He took two steps to Wei Chao's side, knelt on one knee, bowed his head, and clasped his fists. As he signed his name, he also spoke in a long, repetitive manner: "I, Yang Huan, a Hundred Household Officer of the Northern Pacification Division of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, pay my respects to Chief Wei. I didn't know you were coming, and I couldn't come to greet you. I hope you will forgive me."

"It's already past the hour of Mao, isn't it?" Wei Chao squinted at Yang Huan. "Don't the Northern Pacification Offices have a custom of calling the time of Mao?"

Wei Chao was clearly looking for trouble, but Yang Huan could only bear with it. "I'm tired and lazy in my duties. Chief Wei, please punish me."

"You are an official appointed by the court. How can I punish you casually?" Wei Chao said coldly.

Wei Chao's sarcastic tone made Yang Huan's hair stand on end. He glanced at Tang Ruowang, who was sitting across from Wei Chao, and a hint of realization crossed his brows.

As expected, Wei Chao immediately spoke up, "How do you do things at the Northern Pacification Office? Officer Tang is a sixth-rank Imperial Astronomical Official appointed by the Emperor himself. You're just arresting people on command, don't you have any sense of propriety?" "Isn't this from above?" The general officer, who had come with Yang Huan, tried to argue, but Yang Huan cut him off. "We didn't intend to arrest anyone! Officer Tang was here yesterday, and we not only entertained him but also let him go. We simply followed the rules and sent someone to accompany him. But he was so reckless that he ran to the Imperial Examination Hall, shouting and disrupting the Imperial Examination. That's why I ordered him to be recaptured." Yang Huan simply ignored the instructions from above and took on the responsibility of arresting the man himself.

Wei Chao turned around and faced Yang Huan. "Have you reported it?"

"No, this is my own decision." Yang Huan lowered his head, made a submissive gesture, and only observed Wei Chao's expression with his peripheral vision.

"Hmph! You dare to arrest someone without a report or a letter? Captain Yang, you're so bold." Wei Chao was very satisfied with the captain's reaction. He wanted to laugh, but he tried hard to hold it back, so it looked like he was mocking Yang Huan with a fake smile.

"Chief! There is a reason for this. I just said it." Yang Huan continued to try to "defend" himself by following what he had just said.

"That's enough. I don't care what your reasons are. I'm taking you away now." Wei Chao waved his hand, his sleeve gently hitting Yang Huan's face, allowing him to smell a faint fragrance. It was the scent of the sachet Wei Chao carried with him.

"Just follow Chief Wei's orders." Yang Huan bowed again.

"Tang Guanzheng, let's go and leave this place of trouble." Wei Chao stood up and said to Tang Ruowang.

Seeing that this life-saving straw was about to be blown away by the water, the foreign merchants who were kneeling on the ground quickly used their hands and feet to crawl to Wei Chao.

"Your Excellency!" The most eager person was the arms dealer Harald Brandt, who practically hugged Wei Chao's calf and kissed his boot. "This matter has nothing to do with us." His Chinese had already moved beyond the word level and reached the point where he could use simple sentences, though his punctuation and accent were still a bit problematic. As for the Chinese characters, they were still similar to talismans and astronomy.

Wei Chao took a step back in disgust.

"Pull them apart!" Yang Huan gave an order, and the Jinyi captains who were on guard in the room rushed over, grabbed the foreigners surrounding Wei Chao and began to drag them away.

"Let go." Wei Chao said, and the captains immediately let go.

As soon as the captain let go, Harald Brandt knelt down again. "Your Excellency! We are only here to do business in China. We have nothing to do with that lunatic named Mendoza. Please, be careful!" He was so excited that his sentences and word order began to become disordered.

"We are also loyal to His Majesty the Emperor! We have nothing to do with the rebellion." Other merchants also echoed.

Wei Chao's eyes flickered. Although he had never met these merchants, he knew full well that the emperor held a far greater weight in their hearts than most "foreign scholars." However, Wei Chao maintained a businesslike expression.

"I said, I'm not here for the rebellion case. It's not my turn to investigate this serious case. The Jinyiwei and the judicial department will find out whether you are involved in it." After saying this, Wei Chao turned around and left.

Yang Huan immediately followed with several military officers. Johann Adam Schall von Bell took one last look at the other foreigners and followed.

"Sir Bell!" The merchants continued to wail, but their voices were mostly muffled by the door panels.

"Chief Wei!" Johann Adam Schall von Bell called out.

"Tang Guanzheng, if you have anything else to say, please go out and talk. I don't like this place." Wei Chao did not stop.

Tang Ruowang caught up to Wei Chao and whispered quickly, "Chief Wei! Another person was also captured by the Jinyiwei along with me."

Wei Chao stopped abruptly and was nearly bumped by Yang Huan, who was following closely behind him. "Who else did you capture?"

"He's just a juren." His sudden pause made Yang Huan break out in a cold sweat. "We found Tang Guanzheng in his house."

"Oh?" Wei Chao turned to look at Tang Ruowang. "What's going on?"

"That's a friend of mine," Tang Ruowang said, his eyes shifting. "This place was shut down, and I had nowhere else to go, so I stayed at his house. He has nothing to do with this! He was just taking me in out of kindness. I hope Chief Wei will release him as well."

"Then let it go." Wei Chao resumed walking.

"Yes." Yang Huan replied.

Soon, Sun Yuanhua was brought out by the Jinyiwei captain. Seeing Tang Ruowang, he was immediately delighted and hurried over to him. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Yang Huan standing next to the carriage. He quickly pursed his lips and straightened his back, putting on an attitude of being upright and not afraid of being criticized.

"The person sitting in this carriage is Wei, the chief of the Imperial Household Department." Tang Ruowang pointed to the carriage. "It was he who set us free."

"!" Sun Yuanhua was startled, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. The eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department was a very high-ranking figure. Even if he passed the imperial examination, he might not even meet him in his lifetime. So he quickly saluted the carriage and said, "Student Sun Yuanhua greets Chief Wei!"

Wei Chao didn't even open the car window curtains. He said with a double meaning, "It's okay. Let's go."

The driver received the order and lightly waved the reins, and the carriage started.

"Your humble servants respectfully send off Chief Wei!" Yang Huan, along with the general and minor flags, bowed as the carriage departed. Tang Ruowang and Sun Yuanhua also suddenly understood and followed their example. "Your humble servants and students respectfully send off Chief Wei!"

After Wei Chao's car drove away, Yang Huan ignored the two of them and returned to the courtyard with a group of military officers.

The door slammed shut. Gao Zongqi, who was with Yang Huan, immediately asked, "What on earth does this mean? They arrested someone yesterday, and released them today. And Chief Wei did it himself." Gao Zongqi's tone was filled with an unconcealable uneasiness.

"Hiss!" Yang Huan took a deep breath, but didn't exhale all at once. "Who knows? The higher-ups must have their reasons for doing this. In any case, it's definitely us who are wrong, not them."

"Will we be left with nothing?" Gao Zongqi thought of Xu Xianchun who died inexplicably.

Yang Huan narrowed his eyes slightly. "It's just one more thing buried in my heart. As long as I bury it firmly enough, there won't be any worries."

(End of this chapter)