Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 49 Jinyiwei Arrives

"Isn't this exactly the same as the situation when Zong Tongpan committed suicide?"

After parting with Lin Daqin, Hai Yue told her brother immediately, and Hai Rui's face changed after hearing it.

"This matter is indeed somewhat creepy..."

Haiyue's voice was unusually weak.

Can his Anchan Zhilong defeat Sadako?
It seems that it is not possible...

So I feel weak!

And this temple where Bodhidharma traveled west doesn't seem to be effective either. Would you have strange dreams if you lived there?

Hai Rui frowned and pondered for a moment before saying, "Brother, I've always felt this was strange. Killing someone in a nightmare is unheard of!"

There are actually many stories of dreams in ancient times. There is a story called "Dream Farewell" in "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio", which tells the story of a friend who appears in a dream and says that he is going to a very far place. After waking up, he finds that the friend has indeed passed away.

The ancients believed in similar plots.

There was even an emperor who deposed the crown prince and asked his ministers to choose a new crown prince. As a result, the ministers chose the Eight Wise Kings. They all used the excuse of Empress Xiaozhuang's dream to go against all objections and reinstate the old deposed crown prince.

But there has never been a case of murder due to nightmares. The key point is that it is not just a single dream, but a series of dreams.

Hai Yue said in a deep voice: "Zheng Yishu hasn't gotten into trouble yet. Maybe he heard some rumors somewhere, and coupled with the fact that he did something wrong, he's been thinking about it during the day and dreaming about it at night. He had a similar nightmare. There's no need to be so nervous and scare himself..."

Hai Rui saw through it and asked, "Brother, you don't want to take care of this anymore?"

"It's not that I don't care..."

Haiyue was a little embarrassed, but she didn't hide her inner thoughts from her brother: "If I save this kind of villain, he might turn against me. Besides, I can't control his dreams. Shouldn't I let him sleep?"

Hai Rui didn't argue, but simply asked, "But this has happened again and again. What if it affects Brother Jingfu, or you and me?"

"Ok?"

Hai Yue's expression straightened up, and she nodded immediately, saying, "You are right. We can't remain passive. I will first go see Inspector Wu and inquire about the details of Zong Tongpan's death before making a decision!"

Hai Rui secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He was a bit frightened, but as soon as his brother took action, he inexplicably gained confidence. "Are you going to tell Jingfu?"

"There's no need to hide things from friends, but this matter hasn't been finalized yet. I need to at least get a general idea before I tell him… Let's go!"

Hai Yue waved her hand, and walked out of Xixing Temple decisively and headed towards the Censorate Office.

As soon as I arrived at the yamen gate, before I even went in, I noticed that the atmosphere today was a little off.

They came and went in a hurry, without the leisurely manner that I first saw. Even many of them had a look of tension and a hint of fear between their brows.
"What's going on? Is Lin Fu, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, here to inspect our work?"

Haiyue felt strange.

The highest-ranking official in Guangdong today is Lin Fu, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. It was he who proposed resuming trade with the Portuguese. Some merchants strongly agreed, but many merchants and people were not happy about it, and it was widely criticized among the people.

I think what made the officials so nervous was the arrival of the provincial governor.

As soon as she entered, she saw a familiar figure hurried out. Hai Yue called out, "Master Min!"

"Shisanlang? What a coincidence! I was just about to go look for you!"

Min Ziyong's eyes lit up when he saw him, but he pulled him to a corner. After checking to see if there was anyone around, he whispered, "Someone's coming from the capital! The Jinyiwei are here in person regarding the Annan envoys!"

"Jinyiwei?"

Hai Yue immediately understood why everyone in the Sansi Yamen was so afraid from top to bottom.

Throughout the Ming Dynasty, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has always been an unavoidable topic.

In the 15th year of the Hongwu reign, Zhu Yuanzhang established the Jinyiwei, a military and political intelligence agency. However, in the 26th year of the Hongwu reign, Zhu Yuanzhang personally ordered the Jinyiwei to be abolished. At the same time, he took out the torture instruments from the Jinyiwei's exclusive prison and burned them all in front of the civil and military ministers, demonstrating his determination not to re-establish the Jinyiwei.

As to why there was such a change, we can get a glimpse of the reason by looking at how many major cases occurred and how many meritorious officials died during those twelve years.

If this kind of institution, which is completely beyond judicial control, continues to exist, the country's judicial authority will be completely destroyed. Although Zhu Yuanzhang tried every means to centralize power, he did not dare to allow it to continue, so he chose to abolish it in public.

Obviously, in the plan of this founding emperor, the Jinyiwei was just a chamber pot, which he would kick away when he found it smelly after use.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang did not expect that his Hongwu reign would last for four years after his death. His son Zhu Di came to the throne too righteously. After ascending the throne, he eagerly restored all the powers of the Jinyiwei, and even intensified them. He set up the Beizhenfu Division to manage the imperial prison and directly arrest and torture officials. The Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Censorate had no right to interfere.

After the operation of the first two generations of emperors, the Jinyiwei finally became an agency directly under the emperor. The subsequent East Factory and West Factory were actually just re-skinned. Apart from being directly under the jurisdiction of the eunuchs and having different leadership, the actual executive personnel were still the same group.

In later generations, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the East Factory, and the West Factory provided rich material for film and television dramas, and were talked about with relish. But in this era, when the three words "Emperor's Uniform Guard" were uttered, not to mention the common people, even the officials were terrified, and it was no exaggeration at all.

"Did Jiajing attach so much importance to the Annan envoys? He even sent the Jinyiwei to Lingnan?"

Haiyue couldn't help but be surprised by this.

Isn't he just an envoy from a foreign vassal? It's not necessary to take him so seriously, right?
Min Ziyong saw the other party's confusion and explained in a low voice, "When Dong Weng heard that the Jinyiwei had come in person, he was also surprised. This place is far from the capital due to the high mountains and long roads. I believe that as soon as the express courier arrived in the capital, the Jinyiwei must have set off south within a few days..."

Wu Lin also told him that the court was not at peace now. The aftermath of the Great Ceremony Debate had not yet completely dissipated. The former chief minister of the cabinet, Yang Tinghe, was demoted to a commoner and passed away last year. For a time, there was a panic and many people were demoted. Now that the emperor was willing to reform and eliminate the accumulated problems, it was inevitable that there would be more turmoil.

So in other periods, a mere foreign envoy group would not be so important. But the timing is different now. With the assassin impersonating the envoy, the envoy being killed, the inspector being kidnapped and other incidents, it is normal to alarm the top leaders.

Hai Yue also saw that the court was probably not at peace. Combined with what the advisor had just said, "The Imperial Guards want to see me?"

"I didn't want it originally..."

Min Ziyong said, "Dong Weng has already reported the details of the case to the Jinyiwei. They have met with Princess Fanglian and have confirmed the facts. However, one of the servants discovered Shisanlang's key role in the case and, in order to complete the case file, has specifically requested to see you."

Hai Yue asked curiously, "This servant is quite responsible?"

Min Ziyong said in a serious tone, "Lu Sheren is different from ordinary clerks. You must not take him lightly. When you answer later, I hope Shisanlang will be cautious!"

Haiyue glanced at the master.

He understood the other party's implication, which was to speak selectively and ignore the parts of the kidnapping case that were unfavorable to Wu Lin.

But he won't do that.

Telling a lie often requires more lies to cover it up until it can no longer be covered up.

Being open and honest may not necessarily cause trouble, but hiding things from your superiors, especially for Wu Lin who was a censor specially sent to the local area by Emperor Jiajing, would actually be a huge loss of points, right?

Of course, Haiyue couldn't control what Wu Lin did, but it was impossible for him to distort the truth.

After all, it was he who saved Wu Lin's life, not Wu Lin who saved his life.

Hai Yue had a plan in mind, but she hadn't forgotten her purpose yet: "Are there any clues to Zong Tongpan's death? Was he really a suicide?"

Min Ziyong's expression changed: "Why are you asking this?"

Hai Yue subconsciously lowered her voice. "I'm currently living in Xixing Nunnery. The students in my room have nightmares every night. They always see a village in their dreams. From their descriptions, it sounds quite similar to what Zong Tongpan experienced."

"here we go again?"

Min Ziyong's face changed again and his lips began to tremble.

He trembled, and Haiyue trembled too: "What do you mean?"

Min Ziyong's face was filled with fear. "After we arrived in Guangzhou, we asked the locals about what happened to Zong Tongpan. Those who knew avoided us. It wasn't until we paid a large sum of money that we learned that this was a local nightmare spell! It's said to have been going on for decades. If you mistakenly enter that village in a dream, you will be unable to escape and will suffer a catastrophe! To this day, no one who has dreamed of this village has been spared. It's as if it were a miracle!"

(End of this chapter)