Chapter 7: He cut off their tongue in the deal, what are they supposed to get back...?

In Xiao Yinshi's hands, people's hearts were like glass flowers in a mirror. With a glance, he could predict what a person was thinking. If the glass flowers did not suit his taste, he only needed to put his hands together and gently crush them, and the flowers would fall to the dust.

Talking to such a dangerous person is extremely mentally taxing; one wrong step could send you tumbling off a cliff.

Feng Tan replied, “Yes. Gu Junwei, the son of the Minister of Works, and Zhu Youqing, the Vice Minister of Revenue, died from inhaling poison powder on Wan Niang’s bed. So, if there is poison powder outside the palace now, could Wan Niang be exonerated? This case is perplexing, but one thing is certain: Lin Wanzhou and Wan Niang are involved in the same case. Lin Wanzhou has now rendered her useless by luring out the assassin, so you may allow me to take her away. If Wan Niang is innocent, may you… allow me to go to the Ministry of Justice to release her without charge?”

Xiao Yinshi said, “The Ministry of Justice receives criminal cases from all over the country, the Censorate investigates them, and the Court of Judicial Review refutes them. The three judicial departments are responsible for their own duties and should not interfere in other matters. As a supervising secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Lord Feng should know that I have no right to interfere with the Ministry of Justice’s interrogations.”

As expected, he refused to help her. If he had agreed, Feng Tan would have suspected that the revered deity before her was a living bodhisattva, rather than the living Yama whom everyone in the capital praised.

Feng Tan took a breath and said, "I have solved the case of the Fallen Dragon."

Xiao Yinshi turned around and looked at Feng Tan, waiting for what was to come.

Feng Tan's words were insightful; she understood that only the most core interests could sway Xiao Yinshi. Xiao Yinshi had been testing her for so long simply because he wanted to keep her around for a reason.

Xiao Yinshi's eyes were deep and dark. The leaping flames shone on the boy's fair face. He saw that the wound on the boy's cheek, which had been cut by the short, sharp knife, had scabbed over and become a shallow mark. He remembered what the wound looked like when it first appeared, like the rose-colored clouds burning on the bright moon.

Aren't you afraid?

"Afraid!"

"Even if he's this scared, you still want to save him?"

"Adults won't understand that there are always people who are willing to risk breaking their bones to save the people they want to protect."

The youthful brilliance and radiance of his youth, his misfortune, were foreshadowed in a fleeting glance, yet their reappearance still stirs the heart.

Xiao Yinshi stared at him for a moment, then suddenly smiled and commented, "You have a lot of guts. But such a scheme, done for a mere prostitute, is not enough to convince me."

"Of course, it's not entirely for Wan Niang." Feng Tan countered each move, gradually becoming more composed as he fabricated more lies. "People often say, 'Fortune favors the bold.' Back then, you volunteered to go to the Northwest to find the power of the Liang tribe, and made great contributions, rising to the rank of Third-Rank Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. I admire you greatly. Although it is said that 'only a few truly succeed,' now that I have such an opportunity, I naturally have to seize it boldly. If I could achieve a high position at the same age as you, without having to wait decades for seniority, I would be content with my life."

Since ancient times, fame and fortune have belonged to the young. Feng Tan's words revealed his ambition. Xiao Yinshi changed the subject and asked, "Lord Feng, your mind is exceptionally bright. Do you know what I am investigating?"

Feng Tan shook his head. "It's a top-secret case, and you've kept it a closely guarded secret. I can hardly guess what's going on."

Xiao Yinshi said, "The Inner Treasury, managed by the Ministry of Revenue, has been robbed. All the satin, gold, silver, and precious jade that the Great Huang has accumulated in the treasury over the past hundreds of years have been lost. Silver is spent like water every day, both inside and outside the court, especially for military supplies. If the treasury is depleted, the fate of the nation will be sealed. If the silver cannot be recovered within a few months, the Great Huang will be in grave danger."

He spoke of such a major case so casually that Feng Tan felt her heart pound with fear. She extinguished the tinder in her hand just in time, and the dark room was once again plunged into darkness.

Feng Tan pondered for a moment and said, "The Inner Transport Treasury is managed by the Ministry of Revenue. The procedures for entering the treasury are complicated, and the surrounding area is heavily guarded. Everything else is easy to handle, except for the lacquered dragon talisman, which is divided in two. One half is managed by the Directorate of Ceremonial, and the other half is in the hands of the Vice Minister of Revenue. Only when both are combined can one enter the Inner Transport Treasury. After the incident, the Vice Minister of Revenue, Zhu Youqing, died from prostitution and drug use. There was no way to verify the truth, and no one knows who committed the theft from the Inner Transport Treasury. My lord, there is still one thing I don't understand. What connection does this matter have with Lin Wanzhou?"

Xiao Yinshi said, "When the Ministry of Justice went to Hongxiu Pavilion to investigate that day, in addition to arresting Wan Niang, who was directly related to this matter, they also learned from other customers that only Lin Wanzhou had been to the floor where Wan Niang was that day."

"Then why did the adults torture Su Bai?"

"Lin Wanzhou claimed that she had seen Su Bai in the pavilion that day, and Su Bai also saw Lin Wanzhou. To be on the safe side, Su Bai... or perhaps I should say his master, wanted to kill Lin Wanzhou to silence her."

Feng Tan suddenly realized, "So that's how it is."

The loss of valuables from the Imperial Treasury was inextricably linked to the Vice Minister of Revenue, who died mysteriously in the Red Sleeve Pavilion. Emperor Chongming pressured the Ministry of Justice but did not inform them of the theft of the national treasury, instead leading the Ministry of Justice to believe that a high-ranking official had been murdered. The Ministry of Justice then began its investigation at the Red Sleeve Pavilion, interrogating Wan Niang under torture.

What role did Xiao Yinshi play in all of this?

The central judicial system of the Dahuang Dynasty was strictly hierarchical, with each level responsible for either confirming wrongful convictions or overturning verdicts. Powerful officials were not allowed to act based on personal grudges, and the emperor was not allowed to act based on his own mood. The Ministry of Justice was in charge of four matters: criminal cases, penal servitude, review of cases, and imprisonment; the Censorate was responsible for impeaching officials and clarifying injustices; and the Court of Judicial Review was in charge of the final review of cases.

The Censorate's primary duty does not include adjudicating cases, yet Xiao Yinshi neglected many of the Censorate's affairs and participated in solving cases before the Ministry of Justice closed them, which must have been at the emperor's behest.

Xiao Yinshi came from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so his investigative skills were beyond reproach. But why did Emperor Chongming not use the Embroidered Uniform Guard and instead choose Xiao Yinshi, who had already stepped down as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

It's still partisan infighting, it's bound to be partisan infighting!

The rivalry between the King of Chu and the King of Jing intensified, and six of the Nine Ministers, except for the Ministry of Personnel, were already under their command. Such confidential matters could not be handled by personnel from the Six Ministries. The current Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Wei Shengxian, came from the Wei Sheng family, a prominent clan in the capital with considerable influence. The theft of the national treasury concerned the fate of the Great Huang dynasty, so even though the Northern Garrison was Emperor Chongming's tool for eliminating dissidents, he dared not use it lightly. But Xiao Yinshi was different; he was a powerful minister, but also a lonely one—the key to his power being his isolation.

Upright and honest ministers are easy to find, but loyal and steadfast ministers are truly rare. Xiao Yinshi came from humble beginnings and had no family connections. His style of doing things was profound and experienced. He was the best blade in Emperor Chongming's hands, and it was most appropriate for him to take charge of dispatching the Ministry of Justice and the Northern Garrison.

After clarifying the ins and outs of the matter, Feng Tan asked Xiao Yinshi, "What does Your Excellency want me to do in exchange for Wan Niang?"

Xiao Yinshi pulled out another tinderbox from somewhere and lit it, his expression not very attentive. "Interrogate Su Bai and find out where the silver is."

Feng Tan looked at him earnestly and said, "My lord, do you remember what you did yesterday?"

Su Bai's tongue has been cut out, so how can he reply?

Xiao Yinshi subtly curled his lips, a half-smile playing on his lips, "That's your problem."

Feng Tan: "......"

After the negotiations ended, Feng Tan decisively pressed the hidden chamber mechanism, and the stone door opened again with a loud bang.

The Buddha statues, hanging banners, beams, and incense burners in the Hall of Revolving Wheels were all knocked over and scattered by the fighting. The porcelain vases used for flower arrangements were broken all over the ground. The first wave of Imperial Guards who arrived earlier all had wounds of varying degrees. Some had inhaled the poison powder and died, vomiting blood. Others were still kicking and struggling on the ground, begging the Imperial Guards who came to clean up the battlefield to end their lives.

Scattered throughout the main hall were many severed limbs and the corpses of dozens of black-clad assassins lying haphazardly. Their masks, used to protect them from the poison powder, were either torn off by themselves or by the Imperial Guards, exposing their entire faces.

Strangely, none of them looked like people from the Central Plains.

The Buddha statue has a compassionate expression, but the blood of the sentient beings at its feet flows like a pool, and flesh and blood are flying everywhere in the hall. Humanity and Dharma are in conflict, the Pure Land of the West is defiled, and all living beings are suffering.

Xiao Yinshi walked out of the dark room unhurriedly, taking in the chaos in the hall with a calm and unperturbed expression.

Wei Shengxian hurried over to report, saying, "Reporting to my lord, the assassins in the palace have been eliminated."

"Can we spare their lives?"

“There is one survivor,” Wei Shengxian pointed behind him, and two Imperial Guards immediately brought over the man who had been bound and gagged. “He is a foreigner, most likely from the Linzhang sea area. He cannot speak the Central Plains language. After being captured alive, he first tried to commit suicide by inhaling poison powder, and then tried to bite his tongue to commit suicide, but I have already pulled out his tongue.”

Feng Tan: "......"

These two truly lived up to their former status as subordinates in the same government office; their methods were both so ruthless.

Wei Shengxian looked at Feng Tan with a gloomy expression, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "There is one more thing. Please dismiss everyone else, sir."

Xiao Yinshi said, "Speak freely."

Wei Shengxian said, "Su Bai endured all the cruel tortures in the imperial prison, yet he still refused to confess."

“As expected,” Xiao Yinshi said, standing with his hands behind his back in front of the Buddha statue. “Someone else will handle this matter. I have other things for you to do.”

Wei Shengxian glanced at Feng Tan with a sharp look in his eyes and said indifferently, "What does the master want me to do?"

Xiao Yinshi stood beneath the Buddha's throne, his body enveloped in Buddhist light, his thin lips uttering words as sharp as knives, "Kill."

Wei Shengxian asked, "Who does Your Excellency wish to kill?"

"Red Sleeve Pavilion, Wan Niang."

"Xiao Yinshi!" Feng Tan called out Xiao Yinshi's full name, angrily rebuking him, "How could you go back on your word?!"

A note from the author:

The state establishes three judicial offices, dedicated to handling criminal cases, either overseeing the conviction of prisoners or the exoneration of wrongful convictions. Powerful ministers must not act based on personal grudges, and the emperor must not let his mood or anger dictate the severity of the case. - Liu Ji, Ming Dynasty