Huangming

Chapter 125: The inkstone traps the rhinoceros, and the rhinoceros burns to illuminate the water
Chongjiaofang, inside Chongwenmen in the eastern part of the city.

There stands a mansion with a plaque above the gate inscribed with the words "Wang Residence".

This was the residence of Wang Ji, the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate during the reign of Emperor Ming.

Inner hall.

A brazier in the main hall was burning lychee wood, the flames flickering, and the expressions of Wang Ji and Sun Wei were reflected in the firelight.

"My lord, the students of the Imperial Academy have collectively submitted a petition to the Office of Transmission."

It was heard that Zou Yuanbiao, the newly reinstated Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Feng Congwu, the Minister of the Imperial Household Department, were ordered by imperial decree to persuade the kneeling students to disperse, but both attempts failed. Furthermore, because the students who led the disturbance were from the Shoushan Academy, both men were arrested by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and taken to the imperial prison for interrogation.

Wang Ji let out a long sigh.

"It was my oversight that caused trouble for Master Zou and Master Feng."

Zou Yuanbiao and Feng Congwu were both great Confucian scholars with extremely high prestige among the literati.

In particular, Zou Yuanbiao repeatedly submitted memorials during the Wanli era to reform officialdom and heal the people's suffering, which offended the emperor and resulted in his repeated demotions. The last time, he stayed at home for thirty years to teach and never pursued an official career.

The new emperor had finally ascended the throne and was eager to make a difference, but then he encountered an unexpected disaster.

Wang Ji truly felt apologetic.

"There's no such thing as being implicated or not."

Sun Wei's eyes were firm, and he became even more excited after hearing that Zou Yuanbiao and Feng Congwu had been imprisoned.

"Given the prestige of Zou Gong and Feng Gong among scholars, if they were to die in prison, it would surely shake the world. At that time, which scholar would read the Huangming Daily, a newspaper published by such a tyrannical and corrupt court that persecutes loyal officials? And even if they did, who would believe it?"

From the very beginning, Sun Wei's goal was to make sure that no one believed the contents of the Huangming Daily.

Now, his goal is gradually being achieved.

"Mmm, good tea!"

Sun Wei picked up the teacup, took small sips, but didn't swallow them. After savoring the tea on his lips and tongue for a long time, he finally swallowed it with satisfaction.

"A pot of Luojie tea is worth more than a fur coat; this Changxing Luojie tea truly lives up to its reputation!"

Sun Wei was in a great mood, but Wang Ji became somewhat anxious.

As for the reason, it's simple.

If the emperor was able to find out that Li Mingyuan and Chen Ziyu were students of the Shoushan Academy, he was also very likely to find out that their teacher was Wang Ji.

If he gets involved
What to do?
Seeing Wang Ji's unpredictable expression, Sun Wei immediately knew what he was thinking. He comforted him, saying, "Wei Li, there's no need to worry. I think His Majesty won't hold out for long and will definitely agree to these students' demands."

"I hope it is as Chunyu said."

Wang Ji was genuinely a little scared.

When he first heard the Huangming Daily, he was extremely indignant and wished he could challenge the emperor to a duel.

However, after learning of the fate of Zou Yuanbiao and Feng Congwu, who were imprisoned in the imperial prison, he felt a sense of lingering fear.

Wang Ji, his hands trembling, picked up the teacup, about to take a sip to calm his nerves, when suddenly a commotion erupted behind the mansion.

"What happened?"

Wang Ji paused in drinking tea and looked out of the hall.

"Master, something serious has happened!"

The old steward in black scrambled into the inner hall, shouting, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard! The Embroidered Uniform Guard is here!"

Bang~
The teacup in Wang Ji's hand immediately fell to the ground, and his face, which had still had some color in it, turned deathly pale in an instant.

"what?"

Wang Ji looked around, wanting to slip away or find a place to hide, but then a burst of sounds of smashing and screaming came from inside the hall. The Imperial Guards, dressed in flying fish robes, had already entered the hall.

"Wang Ji, come with me to the Imperial Prison!" Xu Xianchun, the Vice Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, said in a sinister tone.

Imperial Prison?

He was just afraid, but now his fears have actually become a reality.

He quickly replied, "I have absolutely no connection with anything outside the Office of Transmission."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xianchun narrowed his eyes, licked his dry lips, and looked at Wang Ji as if he were looking at a naked beauty.

"Now that a curfew has been imposed, how would the censors know what's happening outside the Office of Transmission?"

Xu Xianchun gripped the embroidered spring knife and stepped forward, his mouth splitting open to reveal two rows of large white teeth.

"Could it be that the affairs outside the Office of Transmission are related to you?"

Wang Ji realized he had spoken out of turn.

If the Embroidered Uniform Guard knew that he was the mastermind, would he still have a chance to live?

He forced himself to remain calm and said, "The Office of Transmission is in complete chaos, so I naturally sent my subordinates to investigate."

"Really?"

Xu Xianchun circled around Wang Ji, chuckling sinisterly a few times, which gave Wang Ji goosebumps all over his body, before looking at Sun Wei in the guest seat.

"Who is this?"

Before Wang Ji could speak, Sun Wei preemptively introduced himself: "I am merely an old friend of Imperial Censor Wang."

Old friend?

Want to cover it up!

"Minister of War Sun Wei, why don't you dare show your true face? Does Minister Sun have something to hide?"

When his identity was exposed, Sun Wei was shocked, but he still tried to remain calm.

"In the court, I am the Vice Minister of War; at home, I am an old man; and at the home of Censor Wang, I am his old friend. What's so strange about that?"

"Humph!"

Xu Xianchun snorted coldly and said, "I'm not good with words and can't out-argue you literary gods, but once we get to the imperial prison, you'll all confess! Arrest them and take them to the imperial prison!"

Sun Wei immediately became excited.

You arrested me, Sun Wei, in Wang Ji's residence?

Do you have the qualifications?
He immediately roared, "What crime have I committed to warrant your arrest? Is there no law? Is there no justice?"

Seeing that this man still wanted to resist, Xu Xianchun sneered and said, "Minister Sun, I heard that when you inspected the Beijing garrison a few years ago, you received a lot of bribes and turned a blind eye to the embezzlement of salaries and the sale of military equipment. Is that true? I am acting on the orders of the current emperor to arrest the wicked, which is in accordance with the law!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wei's expression changed drastically. "You...you..."

At that moment, he was speechless.

Xu Xianchun enjoyed Sun Wei's reaction and sneered, "Minister Sun, do I have the authority to arrest you now?"

Sun Wei's face turned pale and then flushed, as if a dye shop had been opened on his face.

"Hmph! Kill me or torture me, it's all up to you! I, Sun Wei, don't believe that black and white can be reversed in this world. If I beg for mercy or say no when I get to the imperial prison, then I, Sun Wei, am not a hero!"

"Good good!"

Xu Xianchun's eyes suddenly lit up.

"What a hero! Heroes are my favorites!"

He waved his hand behind him, and several Imperial Guards immediately bound Wang Ji and Sun Wei tightly.

"Heroes and brave men, follow me to the imperial prison!"

Xu Xianchun escorted Wang Ji and Sun Wei to the Northern Garrison Command and entered the Imperial Prison dungeon.

Even in winter, the smell inside the prison was unbearable.

The smells of blood, excrement, sweat, and decaying corpses.
The combination of various flavors creates an unimaginable tangy and refreshing taste.

At this moment, the prison dungeon was almost full, although there were empty rooms. The interrogation was originally scheduled to begin after everyone had arrived.

However.
Xu Xianchun clearly felt that he had caught two big fish!

Therefore, he took Wang Ji and Sun Wei directly to the "Hall of Hell" to prepare for torture, while he went to meet Wei Zhongxian.

"Grandfather, your son has discovered two suspicious individuals who may be connected to the Office of Transmission."

Xu Xianchun saw Wei Zhongxian pacing back and forth in the main hall of the Northern Garrison Command and hurriedly went up to him to curry favor.

"Oh?"

Upon hearing Xu Xianchun's words, Wei Zhongxian immediately became very interested.

"Tell me quickly!"

Xu Xianchun looked at Wei Zhongxian with a fawning smile and said obsequiously, "Your Majesty, I'll go and arrest him."

Xu Xianchun slowly recounted the suspicious points he found when he went to Wang Ji's residence and arrested Wang Ji.

"When the son went to arrest the others, they only knew that there was a riot in the city, but they did not know what had happened. When they arrived at Wang Ji's residence, Wang Ji said that he had nothing to do with the petition submitted by the Commissioner of the Court of State Affairs. This is one of the suspicious points."

"The second point of suspicion is that Sun Wei, the Vice Minister of War, was also present at the time, but when his son asked him about his identity, he deliberately concealed his identity and said that he was just an old friend of Wang Ji."

The more Xu Xianchun spoke, the brighter Wei Zhongxian's eyes became.

"Anything else?" he couldn't help but urge.

"The most important point of suspicion is that both of them attended the secret meeting at the Donglin Guild Hall today. Furthermore, my son asked the Jinyiwei informants who were monitoring Wang Ji and Sun Wei. They said that Wang Ji went to the Shoushan Academy with Sun Wei today and then returned to the mansion together. It was precisely after they left the Shoushan Academy that the students of the Imperial Academy submitted their petition."

The spies added by the Embroidered Uniform Guard were mostly placed around officials of the Censorate and the Six Ministries.

Wang Ji and Sun Wei were precisely the officials who had been placed under surveillance by spies from the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"Therefore, my son believes that the students of the Imperial Academy causing a disturbance at the Office of Transmission is definitely related to these two people."

"Your analysis makes a lot of sense."

Wei Zhongxian had just been rebuked by the emperor in the East Warm Pavilion, and now he had finally found a way to break through.

The pressure that had been weighing on my heart finally eased a little.

He immediately said, "Quickly interrogate Wang Ji and Sun Wei, and pry them open their mouths!"

The old eunuch couldn't resist wanting to report the good news to the emperor.

"My son will definitely pry these two out of their mouths as quickly as possible!"

Having received Wei Zhongxian's order, Xu Xianchun's eyes flashed with a ruthless glint as he turned and strode into the "Hall of Yama."

The torture chamber was dimly lit, with instruments of torture laid out menacingly. Wang Ji and Sun Wei were already bound to a wooden frame, their faces deathly pale.

“Imperial Censor Wang and Vice Minister Sun, you are both intelligent men. Why suffer this physical pain?” Xu Xianchun slowly walked up to the two men, his fingers lightly stroking the red-hot branding iron beside him.

"As long as you admit that you planned and incited the students of the Imperial Academy to submit a petition and kneel outside the Office of Transmission, I can give you a quick death."

Wang Ji trembled all over, but forced himself to say, "You eunuch, I am an official appointed by the imperial court. How can you arbitrarily frame me without any evidence?"

Xu Xianchun sneered, suddenly grabbed a pair of iron pliers, and clamped them tightly around Wang Ji's fingers: "No evidence? Censor Wang, have all the stewards in your household confessed that you conspired with Vice Minister Sun for a long time today!"

"Ahhhhh~"

Wang Ji screamed in agony, his body drenched in cold sweat.

Seeing this, Sun Wei glared angrily: "Xu Xianchun! You abused your power and harmed loyal and virtuous people; you will surely be punished by Heaven!"

"God's punishment?"

Xu Xianchun sneered, turned around and splashed a bucket of ice water on Sun Wei.

"Minister Sun, we already have the evidence of your crimes of accepting bribes and condoning military corruption. Do you still dare to be stubborn?"

He leaned close to Sun Wei's ear and said menacingly, "If you don't want your whole family to be exiled, then obediently sign this!"

Sun Wei's face turned ashen, and he gritted his teeth, remaining silent.

Xu Xianchun lost his patience and waved for the guards to carry him to the rack: "Since you won't listen to reason, then you'll get to taste the 'Ten Sets of Yama'!"

Even before the torture was administered, Wang Ji broke down, screaming, "I confess! It was me and Sun Wei who planned to have the students of Shoushan Academy collectively submit a petition!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wei closed his eyes in despair.

"Weili, you..."

Xu Xianchun put away the confession with satisfaction, grinning: "It should have been done long ago!"

He was well aware of the true nature of these so-called great Confucian scholars.

Tough nut to crack?
I bother!

What a spineless coward!
Unfortunately, things were urgent today, so I couldn't really torment these two people, which meant I missed out on some of the fun.

but
With His Majesty's current wisdom, all the evil spirits and monsters in the world will inevitably have to make a trip to the Imperial Prison.

Is there any fear that his little hobby won't be satisfied?
(End of this chapter)