Take control of Wei Zhongxian at the start and confiscate 100 million from him!

Chapter 196 Nocturne
This is the tenth night since the emperor left the capital.

The residence of Wang Qia, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, in the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

Deep within the mansion, in a warm pavilion, the fragrance of precious styrax wafted and permeated the air with a languid aroma.

Several famous courtesans invited from Jiangnan were holding pipa and gently plucking the strings, producing a melodious sound that was as sweet as mercury spilling onto the ground, lingering and penetrating to the bone.

Wang Qia, dressed in a loose-fitting Hangzhou silk casual dress, leaned against a soft couch, holding a luminous cup in his hand, and was having a drink with several old friends from the Donglin Party.

However, beneath this pleasant music and fragrant wine lies a strange sense of oppression.

The smiles on everyone's faces looked like they had been drawn on with a pen, stiff and lifeless.

"Gentlemen, please put your minds at ease." Wang Qia raised his glass first, trying to break the heavy atmosphere. His voice carried a deliberately composed tone.

"Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi harbored ulterior motives and fled south out of fear of punishment; that was because they were guilty! We have acted uprightly and honestly, and have nothing to fear. His Majesty did not harm us in the slightest before leaving the capital, which shows that His Majesty also knows that this vast country will ultimately be governed by upright officials like us."

These words sounded grand and dignified, but they failed to truly soothe people's hearts.

An official with slightly graying hair and beard, holding the rank of Vice Minister, put down his wine cup, his brow furrowed with deep worry.
“Your Highness, while that may be true, His Majesty’s trip is far too unusual. After making such a big fuss in Tianjin after leaving the capital, he didn’t go to Guanzhong, the area most severely affected by the disaster, nor did he inspect Jiangnan, the key to the grain transport, but instead went straight to Shandong… This is completely unconventional. News from Jiangnan says that the scholars are in turmoil, people are panicking, and everyone is watching and waiting, no one can figure out what His Majesty is really up to.”

"Humph."

Wang Qia let out a disdainful snort, and the arrogance that belonged to a second-rank official seemed to have returned to him.

He downed the amber-colored wine in one gulp and slammed the glass heavily on the table.

"What else can he do? Make enemies of all the scholars in the world? He has only been on the throne for a little over a year, and his foundation is not yet stable! Killing a few remnants of the eunuch faction and deposing a prince far away in Guanzhong is called establishing his authority! But if he dares to touch the foundation of our scholar-official class, he himself will not be able to sit on the throne of the Ming Dynasty! We only need to observe the situation, maintain close contact with our comrades in Jiangnan, and do our own job well, and we can remain invincible."

That's what he said, but when he uttered the words "duty" from his mouth, Wang Qia's heart clenched violently and uncontrollably.

Panic, a deep-seated panic that was about to burst forth, was frantically gnawing at his internal organs.

Duty?

Does he still have any sense of responsibility?
Did they only smuggle salt through the Tianjin route?

Far more!
Driven by greater profits, and for the continuous stream of pure gold bars and silver ingots, as well as whole pieces of precious furs sent from Korea, they had already been smuggling ironware, armor plates, and even raw materials for gunpowder—items strictly forbidden by the imperial court from leaving the country—ship by ship.

As for who the recipient in North Korea was, no one was willing to investigate further.

Are they North Korean elites?

Were they roaming pirates?

Or... or those Later Jin Jurchens who were entrenched in Liaodong and fought endlessly against the Ming Dynasty?

Nobody thought about it.

The snowflake-like silver and heavy gold were so tempting that anyone could selectively forget the risks.

But now, with the Tianjin salt merchants uprooted and the emperor's strange trip to Shandong, Wang Qia was forced to start thinking.

He could even clearly recall the vague descriptions given by the merchants who were in charge of making the deals—"A wealthy merchant from the north, very generous, only wants iron goods."

The Northland...

This thought, like a venomous snake, instantly coiled around his neck, almost suffocating him.

They, including themselves, are truly audacious!
If... if the emperor really did find out this...

No! Will not!
Wang Qia shook his head violently, banishing the terrible thought from his mind.

He grabbed the wine pot and filled his cup again, comforting himself: If the emperor really knew, given the ruthless methods His Majesty used to eliminate the eunuch faction in the capital, his entire family would probably have been beheaded long ago. How could he possibly be allowed to sit here peacefully drinking and listening to music?
I must be overthinking it.

The emperor was thousands of miles away, and the capital was safe and sound.

Wang Qia picked up his wine cup, about to drink again, when a strange sound faintly came from the long street outside the pavilion.

That wasn't the sound of a night watchman's clapper, nor was it the sound of ordinary horses' hooves; rather, it was a uniform, heavy, and oppressive sound of footsteps.

Like some enormous and cold-blooded creature moving with a fixed rhythm, pulsating with the pulse of the entire capital, the sound approached from afar. It wasn't loud, but it carried a heart-palpitating penetrating power, easily drowning out the lingering sounds of string and wind instruments inside the pavilion.

The music stopped without us even realizing it.

The courtesans, clutching their pipa, looked out the window in alarm, while the officials inside the pavilion stopped eating and listened intently.

The footsteps are getting closer and clearer.

Suddenly, the once pitch-black night sky outside the window was ignited by an unexpected and eerie fiery red.

Countless torches, like will-o'-the-wisps rising from the ground, instantly illuminated half the night sky.

The flickering firelight cast an unsettling orange glow on the window paper, and also illuminated the pale faces of everyone inside the pavilion in minute detail.

"What...what happened?" an official asked in a trembling voice.

Wang Qia suddenly stood up, rushed to the window, poked a hole in the paper window, and looked outside.

With just one glance, the blood in his body seemed to freeze instantly.

The long street was a dark mass of people!

Those people were dressed in the same color, which reflected a dim light in the firelight.

That's... a flying fish suit!

And hanging from their waists were long and narrow...embroidered spring knives!

Jinyiwei!
The Imperial Guards, surging in like a tide, had completely surrounded his magnificent mansion!
"Quick! Close the door! Hold the door shut!" Wang Qia screamed in terror.

However, it's too late.

The gates of the mansion were pulled open a crack from the inside by the panicked servants, and then the two heavy vermilion doors were smashed open with tremendous force!

Accompanied by the groans of the door hinges straining under the weight and the screams of the servants, a procession entered the front courtyard of the Prince's mansion.

The leader was tall and straight, wearing a brand-new flying fish robe, not the style of an ordinary captain, but with gold thread embroidery, and the insignia on his chest was a majestic unicorn.

The official uniform of a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!

The embroidered spring knife at his waist had a black scabbard and a gold-wrapped hilt. It was longer and narrower than the usual style, exuding a menacing aura.

Behind him followed more than a hundred elite Imperial Guards, each exuding murderous intent and swaggering like dragons and tigers. As they entered the seemingly peaceful and prosperous Prince's mansion, it was as if a pack of hungry wolves had broken into a magnificent sheepfold.

Ignoring the servants scurrying away in the front yard, Shen Lian's sharp eyes locked onto the brightly lit warm pavilion as he strode over.

When Shen Lian's bloodless face appeared at the entrance of the warm pavilion, Wang Qia and the others seemed to be frozen in place, and the wine cups and chopsticks in their hands clattered to the ground.

Wang Qia's drunkenness vanished in an instant, replaced by shock.

He was, after all, a seasoned second-rank official who had long served in the government. He was the first to recover from the extreme shock, but his reaction was full of bluster and bravado.

"How dare you!" he shouted sternly, trying to intimidate the other party with his official authority. "This is the residence of a second-rank official of the imperial court! Shen Lian! I recognize you! How dare you lead troops to break in?! His Majesty the Emperor is on a southern tour, and you are forging an imperial edict! You are plotting a rebellion!!"

His angry shout also alerted the others, and the officials next to him, as if grasping at a lifeline, echoed his words.

"The Imperial Guards are arresting people under false pretenses! Is there no law left?!"

"Commander Shen, do you know what crime it is to trespass on a minister's residence? We will definitely submit a joint memorial tomorrow to impeach you!"

They thought that by using the serious charge of forging an imperial edict, they could at least make the other side hesitate to act rashly.

To everyone's surprise, upon hearing the words "forged imperial edict," Shen Lian not only didn't become angry, but instead smiled. The smile was extremely faint, barely moving a muscle at the corner of his mouth; only his eyes revealed undisguised disdain and chilling killing intent, as if watching a group of ants making their final struggle.

He took a step forward slowly, his movements as graceful as if he were strolling in his own backyard. His voice was not loud, even somewhat soft, yet it clearly overwhelmed all the noise and reached everyone's ears.

"Lord Wang, gentlemen, please don't be so quick to label me."

"A forged imperial edict?" He tilted his head slightly, his posture carrying a condescending scrutiny. "In my Great Ming Dynasty, who is the one who most enjoys paying lip service to His Majesty's decrees, treating them like a passing breeze? Don't you... know the answer in your hearts?"

He paused, his gaze sharp as a knife, slowly sweeping over everyone present.

Those whose gaze swept over him all felt as if they had been licked by the tongue of a venomous snake, a chill rising from the depths of their hearts.

"His Majesty forbids you from forming factions, yet you insist on banding together under the guise of being from the same hometown or from the same examination, forming cliques, excluding dissidents, and treating the court as your own backyard!"

"His Majesty has clearly decreed that salt and iron are vital national resources and are strictly prohibited from leaving the country. Yet you insist on lining your own pockets, selling them to who-knows-what kind of people, in exchange for a few taels of dirty, stinking money!"

"His Majesty requires officials and gentry to pay taxes together to share the burden of the country, but you insist on crying and wailing, submitting memorials saying that this move is competing with the people for profit, as if all the people in the world are your tenants!"

With each sentence Shen Lian spoke, he took a step forward.

His pace was slow, yet it carried an irresistible sense of oppression, forcing Wang Qia and the others to retreat repeatedly.

Finally, Shen Lian stopped in front of Wang Qia, the two of them no more than three feet apart. Looking at the pale-faced, trembling Vice Minister of War before him, the faint smile on his face finally turned into naked mockery.

"Now, you actually have the nerve to talk about the words 'forged imperial edict' in front of me, the commander?"

"You... dare to challenge me?!"

He said the words "You're not even worthy of it" very softly, but it was like an invisible slap that hit everyone hard in the face!
Shen Lian's voice suddenly became high-pitched and chilling, devoid of any gentleness.

"...Wang Qia, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, as a high-ranking official of the court, did not think of serving the country, but instead formed cliques for personal gain and deceived the emperor. Even worse, he disregarded the law, colluded with unscrupulous merchants to smuggle iron goods, and provided financial assistance to the Jurchens. His crimes are unforgivable..."

When Shen Lian clearly uttered the words "support the Jurchens," Wang Qia felt as if the last bit of strength in his body had been drained away. His legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground, his eyes filled with endless despair and death.

The emperor found out... He actually knew everything!
Shen Lian looked down at him with disdain and gave the final order.

"His Majesty has decreed! Wang Qia and his accomplices are to be arrested and imprisoned in the Imperial Prison to await their fate!"

He paused, glanced at the stunned officials, and added, "Those who resist, kill them without mercy!"

"As ordered!"

The hundred or so fierce Imperial Guard captains behind him pounced on him instantly!

Their movements were so swift and decisive that they gave these pampered and refined scholars no time to react.

The chokehold, the back twist, the knee press on the back – a series of movements performed with fluid grace.

The cold iron chains rattled, binding these important figures who had just been talking big and giving orders, one by one like pigs and sheep.

"Shen Lian! You...you lackeys of the emperor! Hounds!" Wang Qia, who was being held down by two captains, uttered a desperate and vicious curse, "Your actions are unforgivable! From now on, history will surely nail you and that tyrant to the pillar of shame! Let your names be infamous for ten thousand years!"

Shen Lian listened to his curses without expression.

History books?

He walked slowly to Wang Qia and drew his long, narrow Embroidered Spring Blade from his waist. The blade was like a pool of autumn water, flashing a chilling light in the firelight.

He crouched down, looking at Wang Qia's face contorted with fear and anger, and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"Lord Wang, with all this irrefutable evidence of your treason and betrayal, do you even deserve to talk about your innocence in history? Besides, history books have always only considered success and failure, not right and wrong! And you have already lost."

Before he finished speaking, he flipped his wrist.

"Shoot-"

The sharp tip of the knife left a deep, bone-revealing gash on Wang Qia's cheek.

This is the first cut of the slow slicing.

The excruciating pain caused Wang Qia to let out a scream that sounded like a cruel, inhuman wail, a sound so shrill it seemed to tear the night sky over the capital.

But Shen Lian's vision blurred for a moment.

He couldn't help but recall that day.

After he accomplished several impressive tasks, as ordered, Commander Tian Ergeng personally led him, along with several other newly promoted commanders, to the palace to meet the emperor.

That was in the West Warm Pavilion.

The young emperor sat there and personally served them tea.

Shen Lian still remembers kneeling on the ground, so nervous that he could hardly breathe, but he greedily enjoyed every moment there.

He enjoyed the emperor's scrutinizing yet approving gaze, a gaze that seemed to see through his heart and know all his efforts and loyalty.

He enjoyed the emperor's composed and insightful demeanor when discussing case files with them.

He savored the immense pleasure that shot from his tailbone to the top of his head, almost making him tremble, when the emperor said to him at the end, "Shen Lian, you did very well. I did not misjudge you."

That short half hour was the most enjoyable, proud, and even happiest half hour of Shen Lian's entire life.

Therefore, he knew that everything he had done was worthwhile.

This is "worth it" not just because there might be another chance in the future to have that half an hour that he can cherish for a lifetime.

More importantly, Shen Lian knew better than anyone else that these "pure and upright scholars" whom His Majesty had personally ordered to be exterminated, these so-called good officials who talked about the country and the world on a daily basis but were actually full of wicked and immoral thoughts, were all a group of giant parasites that were draining the country dry!

They are the ones who betray the country and collude with the enemy, they are the ones who prey on the people, and they are the ones who form cliques for personal gain!

Thinking of this, Shen Lian slowly stood up. Drop by drop, Wang Qia's blood fell from the tip of the knife onto the cold floor tiles of the Prince's mansion, spreading into a small, sinful flower of blood.

Shen Lian's face remained as cold and indifferent as ever.

"Take them all," he said calmly.

The sound was not loud, yet it was like a law.

The Imperial Guards dragged the officials, who were wailing and cursing or who were already paralyzed with fear, out of the warm pavilion like dead dogs.

The gates of Wang Qia's residence were wide open.

Countless torches illuminated the long street in front of the gate as bright as day.

At the end of the street, behind doors and windows, countless eyes were peering at everything in fear.

They were officials of all ranks in the capital, people who thought they could rest easy once the emperor left the capital.

Tonight, the screams of agony from the Prince's mansion, the dragging of chains by the Imperial Guards, and the clatter of boots on stone slabs blended into a terrifying nocturne.

This nocturne conveys an unmistakably clear message to the entire capital:

The emperor was indeed not in the capital.

However, the emperor's sword, the emperor's eyes, and the emperor's omnipresent will are like a sword hanging over everyone's head, never leaving.

Those eyes, thousands of miles away, are still gazing upon every corner and every shadow of this city.

The emperor is everywhere!!

(End of this chapter)