Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 440: Retracting the Confession
The Qilin Lion Tiger Car stopped outside the moat in front of Xihua Gate, and Luo Sigong and Lu Wenzhao jumped off one after another.

After getting off the car, Luo Sigong gestured to the driver, who nodded in understanding, started the car, and continued driving south.

It is impossible for a carriage to go straight to Chengtian Gate along this road, but if you go further south to the Baochaosi, there will be an open space where the carriage can turn around and return along the same route.

Lu Wenzhao's face still showed a hint of panic, but Luo Sigong didn't say anything more. "Let's go." Luo Sigong patted Lu Wenzhao's shoulder gently and strode towards Xihua Gate.

"Yes." Lu Wenzhao hesitated slightly and quickly followed.

Luo Sigong was an old acquaintance, but when he reached the gate of Xihua, he was stopped by the military officer guarding the gate.

"General Luo, what brings you here?" The military officer was very polite.

"The Emperor summoned me." Luo Sigong didn't think much about it, as he knew the Forbidden City was still under martial law. "This is a note."

The military officer took the note, glanced at it, and frowned slightly. "General Wei, there's nothing on this note." He wasn't referring to words, but a mark that could serve as proof.

"No one greeted you?" Luo Sigong asked.

"No." The officer turned and looked at the guards beside him. "Go to the duty room and ask Chief Zheng."

"Yes." The guards ran over quickly and soon brought over the director of the Imperial Stables, whose surname was Zheng.

"Greetings, Commander Luo." Zheng Zhangsi came forward and saluted.

Luo Sigong returned the greeting with a bow. "You're welcome, Director Zheng." Although they had never met each other much, Luo Sigong had met Director Zheng before.

"Greetings, Director Zheng." Lu Wenzhao bowed respectfully.

Manager Zheng ignored Lu Wenzhao and walked straight to Luo Sigong.

"General Wei, I'm not trying to stop you. You're probably aware that things are like this in the palace these days. No one can enter without a permit." Zheng Zhangsi took the note from the military officer. "Your note doesn't have the seal of the Imperial Household Department, the Imperial Horse Administration, or the Palace of Heavenly Purity. I'm too timid to let you in." Zheng Zhangsi gently raised the note. "May I ask which government office gave you this note? I'll go ask right away."

"I don't know which government office this person is from. The note was given to me by the gatekeeper. By the time I received it, the person had already left." Luo Sigong shook his head. "But this kind of thing can't be fake." Although it was just a note, it had the words "Imperial Edict" written on it. If it was fake, it would be a false imperial decree.

Chief Secretary Zheng nodded solemnly, but still refused to release the man. "Then I'll go to the Qianqing Palace and ask. Could you please wait here for a moment?"

"Of course." Luo Sigong smiled happily. "We'll just wait here."

About a quarter of an hour later, Zheng Zhangshi arrived at Xihua Gate with a eunuch dressed in a bright red dragon robe. Luo Sigong recognized the man immediately and saluted from a distance, saying, "Greetings, Chief Eunuch Shi."

"I pay my respects to General Manager Shi." The last time Lu Wenzhao entered the palace, he was brought directly before the emperor by Cao Huachun, so he had never met Shi Fuming. However, he had heard of Shi Fuming's famous name.

"My dear General Luo, I clearly sent someone to wait for you two." Shi Fuming walked straight to Luo Sigong and held his arm affectionately. Shi Fuming looked around and said, "I wonder where that brat Shi Fangyi has gone?"

Luo Sigong was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized: "Could it be that Eunuch Shi went to the Meridian Gate?" If Luo Sigong came alone, he would not go to the East Office, nor would he take a car, and he would not take the long way around to enter the imperial city through the Xi'an Gate.

"Hmm." Shi Fuming's expression eased slightly, and he said to a eunuch following him, "Go to the Meridian Gate and take a look."

"Yes." The eunuch took the order and left.

"General Wei, please come with me quickly. The master is waiting for you." Shi Fuming half-led and half-took Luo Sigong into the palace gate.

"Okay." Luo Sigong hurried after him, and just as he was about to try to find out, he heard Shi Fuming interrupt and apologize, "Please forgive me, General Wei. My sons are more stupid than the other, as if they have no brains. They made you wait here for so long."

Luo Sigong quickly shook his head and said, "That's not true. Please don't blame him. It's my own fault for not taking the usual route. Not only did I keep His Majesty waiting for so long, but I also made you make this trip."

"Don't try to excuse him. He's just a clueless idiot." Shi Fuming looked at Lu Wenzhao and said with a smile, "Unlike your new son-in-law, who is obviously very smart at first glance."

Lu Wenzhao flinched at his smile, but could only smile along. "Master, thank you for your compliment."

"Chief Steward Shi." Luo Sigong followed up Shi Fuming's words and asked, "What did the emperor want to ask this boy to come to the palace?"

Shi Fuming didn't bother to play witty jokes, but simply shook his head. "You're asking the wrong person. I'm just a doorman who manages the flow of people in and out. How would I know about the important matters in the study?"

"You're such a joke," Shi Fuming said, and Luo Sigong gave up the idea of ​​asking more questions. Instead, he flattered her, "Where in the world is there a concierge for a python?"

"Haha," Shi Fuming was very happy that Luo Sigong noticed his new clothes. "Even if the emperor is so kind as to give me such a robe, I can't forget my roots. A gatekeeper is a gatekeeper."

The chief steward of the Qianqing Palace was not originally in the sequence of officials, but after Shi Fuming sent and received several secret memorials and reported several things that Wang An did not know, the emperor felt that his position should be raised.

"If you must say so, then you are also the number one gatekeeper!" Luo Sigong said with a smile, but when he saw the double-eaved hip roof getting closer and closer to him, Luo Sigong's heart couldn't help but rise.

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In the Southern Study, the Emperor, dressed in a dark-colored casual attire with a gold dragon pattern, sat quietly behind his desk, reviewing memorials. Nearly an hour had passed since the summons had been issued, but the Emperor showed no sign of irritation at the prolonged wait.

Luo Sigong stepped over the threshold and entered the Southern Study. Without waiting for the emperor to look up, he lifted his front lapel and presented a solemn ceremony. As he kowtowed, he shouted in a slightly trembling voice, "Your Highness, Luo Sigong, pays homage to the Emperor. Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

"Your Majesty, Lu Wenzhao, kowtows to the Emperor, may His Majesty live long and long." Lu Wenzhao felt his entire body tremble. Luo Sigong's words in the carriage made him wonder if he had made a mistake in some assignment that the Western Factory had discovered, leading to his summons.

Zhu Changluo did not immediately respond to the two men's kowtow. Instead, he read the memorial in front of him and wrote his comments before saying, "Everyone, stand up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Luo Sigong's tense nerves finally relaxed a little.

After meeting the emperor several times, Luo Sigong had a firm grasp of the Southern Study's operating rules, or rather, the new emperor's temperament. Even if he didn't know why he was summoned, as long as he wasn't kneeling to answer, it was probably not a bad thing. On the other hand, if the emperor gave him the cold shoulder right from the start, followed by a barrage of questions, then there might be a serious problem.

"Please take a seat." As soon as the emperor spoke, a eunuch brought Luo Sigong a wooden stool. As for Lu Wenzhao, being able to speak while standing was already a great honor. "Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace!" Luo Sigong was overjoyed, kneeling down and kowtowed before carefully placing his still-sturdy buttocks on the wooden stool.

Luo Sigong's cautiousness made Lu Wenzhao, who was standing next to him, feel both funny and terrifying.

Such a vicious Luo Zhangwei actually sat upright with his legs crossed in this hall like a quail. Lu Wenzhao couldn't see Luo Sigong's face, but he could guess how submissive Luo Sigong's expression was at the moment.

Lu Wenzhao had once had the privilege of meeting the emperor. Though he had been kneeling to speak, the emperor had struck him as an approachable elder brother. Now, standing in the same hall, Lu Wenzhao's memory of that gentle, brotherly smile had faded. He couldn't help but wonder: What kind of monarch was this emperor, capable of such a cold-blooded old fox's attitude?

Lu Wenzhao couldn't see clearly, he only felt that there was a black mist covering his eyes.

"The Tianjin Zhongwei case," the first question was asked by Wang An, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, who sat to the emperor's left. "How do the Jinyiwei plan to close the case?"

Luo Sigong was startled when he heard this. Before Wang An could clarify who he was questioning, he quickly replied, "Replying to Master Wang. Regarding the Tianjin case, the Jinyiwei still has the same approach. Ask what you should ask, and don't ask what you shouldn't ask."

"What should be asked and what should not be asked?" Wang An asked.

Luo Sigong suddenly looked up at Wang An, his face filled with confusion. "Ask everyone within Zhongwei, but not outside of Zhongwei."

"Commander Luo," Wang An said, looking back at Luo Sigong calmly. "There's nothing I shouldn't ask."

Luo Sigong was stunned, but he quickly realized: This is going to change the course! But why?
Luo Sigong didn't dare to look directly at the emperor, so he could only look at Wang An inquiringly.

At this moment, the emperor's voice came from behind the imperial desk. "Lu Wenzhao."

"I'm here!" Lu Wenzhao felt an electric current surge through his body. His knees softened and he immediately knelt down.

"No need to kneel, just stand and answer." Zhu Changluo's face was filled with the same smile as when he first met Lu Wenzhao, but Lu Wenzhao didn't dare to look up and couldn't see it.

"Yes." Lu Wenzhao struggled to stand. But by this point, his legs were shaking so much that he could barely stand. For him, answering while kneeling might have been more satisfying.

"Did Shen Caiyu betray Wuqing Hou Li Mingcheng?" Zhu Changluo asked.

"No," a negative answer almost blurted out, but the next moment, Lu Wenzhao shut his mouth tightly and changed the subject: "Your Majesty, Shen Caiyu has betrayed the Marquis of Wuqing."

Good boy! Your reaction is really quick! Luo Sigong silently gave Lu Wenzhao a thumbs up in his heart.

"Then have you obtained the signed confession?" Zhu Changluo asked again.

"Your Majesty, I got a copy on the ship back to Beijing, but I tore it up." Lu Wenzhao said honestly, adhering to the principle that you can deceive anyone but not the emperor.

"Who told you to tear it?"

"No one," Lu Wenzhao swallowed. "I wanted to tear it apart myself."

"why?"

"This matter involves the Heavenly Family. Without Heaven's will, I dare not act on my own."

"Did he confess again after arriving in Beijing?" Zhu Changluo nodded slightly.

"He should have confessed, but it's not written in the confession." Lu Wenzhao said.

"Should be." Zhu Changluo asked, "Aren't you trying this case?"

"Your Majesty, according to the imperial rules, I need to accept the investigation and questioning of the Western Factory after returning to Beijing. I am afraid that the evidence will be missed during the interrogation, so I request Liu Qiao, a captain of the Eastern Office, to try this case on my behalf. At the end of each day's interrogation, I will read the confession, and there is indeed no testimony about Lord Wuqing." Lu Wenzhao's words were very beautiful.

"Then let Liu Qiao add this paragraph and sign it again." Zhu Changluo ordered.

"Your Majesty is wise!" Lu Wenzhao praised him.

Zhu Changluo nodded and took a densely written eight-leaf folding book from a convenient place. After opening it, he turned directly to the last page and wrote in the blank space at the end: Accurate.

After the ink dried slightly, Zhu Changluo closed it and handed it to Wang An, who had come closer. "The Western Factory's investigation of you is complete. This is Wang Chengen's final report. Take it and have a look."

"Yes." Lu Wenzhao took the report from Wang An and read it eagerly.

The text in the memorial was essentially the same as his answers to questions over the past few days, but at the end there was a brief comment: "This officer has performed his duties effectively, is honest and upright, and deserves excellent evaluation."

"Your Majesty, I bow to thank you for your grace!" Looking at the blood-red word "Zhun", Lu Wenzhao was ecstatic and felt that his soul was floating to the sky.

Zhu Changluo turned his gaze back to Luo Sigong. "General Wei, you really found a good son-in-law."

Luo Sigong had initially been delighted by Lu Wenzhao's excitement. But upon hearing these words, his empathy vanished, replaced by a sense of unease. He wasn't sure whether the emperor's words focused on "find" or "good." If it was the latter, everyone would be happy, but if it was the former, it might have a hint of a warning.

If anyone else were to engage in this kind of witticism with Luo Sigong, he would have to observe their expressions to discern their true intentions. But facing the emperor, Luo Sigong didn't even dare to raise his head. He was afraid that if he looked at the emperor, he would be questioned, "What are you looking at?"

Luo Sigong didn't have time to think; his reply was out in a flash. "He's just a young man, just starting out. Thanks to Your Majesty's mercy, he's achieved some success. If we force him, he might end up like Fang Zhongyong again. I beg you to be less appreciative and to constantly guide him, so he doesn't become arrogant because of his small achievements and disappoint Your Majesty's expectations."

"You should handle the training yourself. He's not my son-in-law." Zhu Changluo also stopped there. "General Wei, how is the work of dismissing and filling vacancies going?"

"Your Majesty," Luo Sigong let out a breath without leaving a trace. "All the proposed cuts have been made, but filling the vacancies will take time."

(End of this chapter)