Phoenix Cries Return to Court

After an unknown amount of time, a bold, strong young man stepped forward and carefully took the envelope from the corpse's hand.

As the pages were slowly unfolded, the crowd curiously gathered around, only to discover that inside was a shocking letter written in blood!

The blood-written letter reads: "Weeping and pleading with Heaven and Earth, I hereby declare that the imperial merchant Lu Anfu harbors wolfish ambitions, illegally minting counterfeit pearls, rampantly selling them in the market, disrupting the nation's commercial order, and causing chaos for the people's livelihood."

In the past, I obeyed his orders and worked diligently to cover up his evil deeds and accomplish everything without the slightest slackening.

Unexpectedly, after the mission was accomplished, he turned on them ruthlessly, sending men to relentlessly pursue and kill them, intending to eliminate them and remove any potential threats.

Unjustly persecuted and driven to despair, their hearts were filled with grief and indignation that gnawed at their very bones.

Now, with my broken body stained with blood, I write this injustice, to prove my innocence with my death, and to expose the evil of the wicked!

And the man's signature was Li He!

As the investigation by the Dali Temple deepened, more secrets were revealed one by one, and the true identity of the imperial merchant Lu Anfu was also exposed.

It turns out that Lu Anfu was a distant relative of Shen Mo, a Grand Secretary of the current dynasty.

Years ago, Lu Anfu, with his quick wit and by using Shen Mo's name, managed to win over officials at all levels of the court and eventually earned the title of Imperial Merchant, responsible for trade between Dasheng and neighboring countries.

Those in the court are all shrewd and astute; who doesn't know that Lu Anfu has Shen Mo, a powerful figure, standing behind him? Normally, officials from various ministries and local bureaucrats alike show deference to Lu Anfu, as no one wants to easily offend the all-powerful Grand Secretary Shen. Even officials from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War turn a blind eye to Lu Anfu's underhanded tactics.

The exposure of Lu Anfu's affair with the Eastern Pearl has shocked the court and the public.

The moment the news spread, the entire court was abuzz with discussion, and almost everyone assumed that Shen Mo must be backing him up.

After all, without the Grand Secretary's intervention, how could a mere imperial merchant dare to be so audacious?

Zhu Changyu, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, dared not delay. Upon receiving the report, he personally led a team to the scene to investigate and reviewed Lu Anfu's trade records over the years since he became a royal merchant. He verified the clues step by step, and within three days, the evidence was conclusive.

Just as Zhu Changyu led his men to the Lu residence to arrest Lu Anfu and broke down the door, they found a cold corpse in the study!

Lu Anfu committed suicide out of fear of punishment!

The study was in a mess, with tables and chairs overturned and writing implements scattered everywhere. Lu Anfu lay slumped in front of the desk, his eyes wide open and his face full of resentment. Beside him was a written confession, which detailed all his crimes of colluding with foreign powers and forging Dongzhu pearls.

Zhu Changyu frowned at the scene before him, a thousand questions welling up in his mind.

Lu Anfu had been running his business for many years, was meticulous and shrewd, yet only three days had passed since the incident, and he had so easily committed suicide out of fear of punishment? Moreover, the contents of that confession were too perfect, as if they had been prepared in advance, which was rather suspicious.

But now that the evidence is right in front of us, and this matter is of great importance and has a wide impact, the Dali Temple can only compile the matter into a report and send it to the palace along with the investigation results.

……

I learned of this just as dawn was breaking, the sun was just rising, and the fog had not yet dissipated.

Shen Mo and Shen Jueyan, dressed in plain clothes, knelt outside the Imperial Study to beg for forgiveness.

Although Shen Mo was over forty years old, he was usually very energetic. But today, he was hunched over, pale, and his eyes were bloodshot. He had obviously not slept all night. The white hair at his temples was quite conspicuous.

Shen Jueyan knelt beside Shen Mo, his face calm. This was the biggest crisis the Shen family had ever faced since he could remember. Although he was uneasy, he still believed that the innocent would be proven innocent and that everything had its justice.

"Father, please rest assured, His Majesty will definitely investigate and bring us justice," Shen Jueyan said in a low voice to comfort Shen Mo.

Shen Mo slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and, utterly exhausted, spoke slowly, his voice hoarse, "I hope so..."

Even so, Shen Mo knew in his heart that Fu Yanzhi was always suspicious. Even though Lu Anfu was dead and had submitted a confession, Fu Yanzhi would not let him off easily since the matter involved him.

The Imperial Study was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Fu Yanzhi sat upright on the dragon throne, his expression somber. Smoke curled from the blue-and-white porcelain incense burner depicting seascapes and cliffs on the corner of the table. Below the steps, a group of high-ranking officials bowed their heads, holding their breath; no one dared to utter a word. The atmosphere in the hall was extremely oppressive.

Fu Yanzhi flipped through the reports sent by the Dali Temple, his face terribly gloomy. How could he not see the trickery in them?

Lu Anfu's death was too coincidental, and his confession was too perfect. It was clear that someone was manipulating things behind the scenes, trying to pin all the blame on Lu Anfu in order to protect the person behind the scenes.

It is unknown how this matter relates to the Grand Secretary.

Thinking of this, Fu Yanzhi frowned. Shen Mo held a high position and had many followers. If he rashly made a move against him, it might cause turmoil in the court, which would be a loss.

"Your Majesty, the Grand Secretary and the Junior Grand Secretary have been kneeling outside the hall for an hour." Eunuch Wang took a deep breath, stepped forward, and cautiously reported.

Fu Yanzhi snorted coldly, his eyes growing even colder. "Make them kneel."

As the hour of Mao (5-7 AM) passes and the hour of Chen (7-9 AM) arrives, the day gradually comes to an end.

Shen Mo and Shen Jueyan knelt outside the Imperial Study for two whole hours, surrounded by people coming and going. Ministers entered and exited the Imperial Study, and upon seeing this scene, they all cast glances at the father and son with either sympathy or schadenfreude.

However, Fu Yanzhi did not summon the two to an audience for a long time. As time passed, Shen Jueyan's heart grew heavier and heavier.

At 9:00 AM, the sun was nearing its zenith, and the sunlight grew increasingly intense, scorching the ground and sending waves of heat through the air.

Shen Mo was already old and physically weak. In addition, he had not rested well recently because of this matter. After kneeling for a long time under the scorching sun, his face was as pale as paper, and his body trembled slightly uncontrollably. He had already pushed himself to the limit.

Shen Jueyan was in no better shape; when had he ever been treated so coldly! His knees were already numb from kneeling, and beads of sweat slid down his cheeks, soaking his inner clothes.

Finally, the door to the Imperial Study was opened, and Eunuch Wang came out. Looking at the two people in front of him with a reluctant expression, he respectfully said, "His Majesty has decreed that the Grand Secretary and the Junior Grand Secretary be summoned to the palace for an audience."

Upon hearing this, Shen Mo felt relieved and quickly braced himself against the ground, trying to stand up. However, as soon as he moved, everything went black before his eyes, and he almost fell to the ground.

Shen Jueyan reacted quickly, stepping forward to support him and whispering, "Father, please slow down." He helped the unsteady Shen Mo and slowly stepped into the hall.

The hall was chilling. Fu Yanzhi sat upright on the dragon throne, quietly looking down at the disheveled father and son below, his eyes filled with a deep coldness.

This sight made Shen Mo's heart tighten. He suppressed his physical discomfort and knelt down with a "thump." "Your Majesty, I am guilty. Please punish me."