Chapter 185 Either arrest me now, or take me to see my people.
Both Prince An and Marquis Jinyang looked grave upon hearing Jiang Yu's words. Li Zheng even rolled up his sleeves, looking ready to fight.
"I will go see the Emperor now," said Prince An.
Jiang Yu bowed to him in thanks, then strode away. Once in the carriage, she told the driver to speed up. They galloped all the way to the Ministry of Justice, and upon dismounting, she rushed inside.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" The gatekeeper of the Ministry of Justice stopped her.
Jiang Yu ignored him and walked straight in. The man tried to stop her, but Li Zhong, who was behind her, said, "This is the Duke of Chu."
The gatekeeper, upon hearing this, dared not stop her any longer, but quickly ran off to deliver the message. A short while later, two vice ministers from the Ministry of Justice came running over. Although their official ranks were higher than Jiang Yu's, Jiang Yu held the title of a duke, a title exceeding the highest rank. Both bowed to her, saying, "Duke of Chu, we apologize for not welcoming you sooner."
Jiang Yu stopped and looked at the two of them, saying, "You two probably know why I'm here. Enough with the small talk, I need to see my people now."
Guo Huai, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, said with a smile, "Duke of Chu, this is not in accordance with procedure."
"Not in accordance with procedure?" Jiang Yu looked at him and said, "You arrested someone from my Chu State Duke's Mansion. Everything she did was at my behest. Isn't it more in accordance with procedure for you to arrest me now?"
"This... Duke of Chu, please don't make things difficult for me," Guo Huai said with a forced smile.
"Wasn't it you who made things difficult for me first?" Jiang Yu looked at Guo Huai with a cold expression. "Either arrest me now, or take me to see my people."
"Duke of Chu, I am but a lowly official, please do not make things difficult for me," Guo Huai said again.
Jiang Yu ignored him and strode towards the Ministry of Justice's prison. Immediately, a constable from the Ministry of Justice rushed over. Without hesitation, Jiang Yu kicked him, and the constable, caught off guard, was knocked to the ground.
Neither the two vice ministers of the Ministry of Justice nor the yamen runners expected Jiang Yu to make a move. The runners glanced at the two vice ministers; they dared not actually lay a hand on a Duke of the highest rank.
Guo Huai gritted his teeth, unsure of what to do. He looked at Yuan Yutang, another Vice Minister of Justice, signaling for him to speak. Yuan Yutang knew that remaining silent at this point would be unacceptable.
He stepped forward and bowed to Jiang Yu, "Duke of Chu, we are just two people with little influence. How about this, I will take your men to the prison to see the suspect, and you can discuss your matters with the Minister."
"Lord Yuan!" Guo Huai glared at Yuan Yutang in disapproval upon hearing this. The Minister of Justice had sent them to stop Jiang Yu because he didn't want to see her, but Yuan Yutang was taking the initiative to let Jiang Yu talk to the Minister.
Yuan Yutang looked troubled. "Lord Guo, what do you suggest we do?"
Guo Huai remained silent with a sullen face. His goal was to stop Jiang Yu, but he couldn't just say it directly.
Seeing that he did not speak, Yuan Yutang said again, "Duke of Chu, I will take your men to the prison. You will go with Lord Guo to see the Minister."
Jiang Yu glanced at Li Zhong, who immediately stepped forward and said to Yuan Yutang, "Thank you for your trouble, Lord Yuan."
Yuan Yutang smiled, "No trouble at all, no trouble at all."
Yuan Yutang bowed to Jiang Yu again, then left with Li Zhong. Jiang Yu looked at Guo Huai, "Let's go, Lord Guo, let's go see Minister Qiu together."
What could Guo Huai say? He could only lead Jiang Yu to the study of Qiu Wenjing, the Minister of Justice. Upon arrival, however, they were told that Qiu Wenjing had an urgent matter at home and had to leave.
"Heh!" Jiang Yu sneered. So he's dodging!
She turned to Guo Huai and asked, "Lord Guo, are we going to Minister Qiu's house now to discuss this with him?"
Guo Huai looked embarrassed and bowed to Jiang Yu, saying, "This humble official was unaware that the Minister's household had matters to attend to."
"Can I go see my people now?" Jiang Yu asked again.
Guo Huai's face flushed red. Even the Minister of Justice had fled; what could he do? It was just a pity that there wasn't enough time to interrogate Dong Shuang and Ge Da. He believed that under severe torture, there would be no result that couldn't be obtained.
"Come with me," Guo Huai said.
Jiang Yu gave him a deep look, then turned and walked out. She had only taken two steps when Prince An and a eunuch approached.
Upon seeing Jiang Yu, the eunuch announced, "The imperial edict has arrived."
Jiang Yu, Guo Huai, and the Ministry of Justice officials who were watching the commotion immediately knelt on the ground. The eunuch said, "By imperial decree, the case of privately minting official silver has been transferred to the Embroidered Uniform Guard for investigation."
Jiang Yu breathed a sigh of relief, while Guo Huai's hands clenched tightly together.
After Jiang Yu stood up, the eunuch said again, "Duke of Chu, the Emperor summons you to the palace."
"Yes." Jiang Yu glanced at Prince An, their eyes met, and Prince An nodded slightly to her. Jiang Yu then turned and followed the eunuch toward the palace.
Prince An looked at Guo Huai and asked, "Where is Qiu Wenjing?"
"The Minister has some family matters to attend to and has left," Guo Huai said, forcing a smile.
Prince An snorted, "Then I'll hand over this case to you."
"Alright, Your Highness, please." Guo Huai led Prince An towards the prison.
........
When Jiang Yu arrived at the Imperial Study, he saw Prince Rui standing in front of the Emperor's desk, speaking to him. The Emperor listened attentively, and when Jiang Yu offered him a curtsy, he simply waved his hand, telling him to dispense with the formalities.
Jiang Yu stood up and stood quietly to the side, listening to Prince Rui say: "...Your Majesty's idea is to try loading gunpowder onto the bow and arrows first."
Upon hearing this, the emperor's eyes lit up, and he said, "Experiment with it immediately, and tell me what you need."
“Yes,” Prince Rui said, putting away the drawings he had made on the table. “Your subject was also inspired by the Duke of Chu to come up with the idea of gunpowder.”
Upon hearing this, the emperor looked at Jiang Yu and said, "Minister Jiang, please sit down."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Jiang Yu walked to a chair and sat down. He then heard Prince Rui say to the Emperor, "A few days ago, I was doing an experiment and accidentally spilled graphite powder on a piece of glass. When I tried to brush the graphite powder off, I found that my fingerprints were visible."
The emperor didn't quite understand what he meant and asked, "What do you mean?"
Prince Rui glanced at the Emperor with some disdain, as if to say, "How can you not even understand this?" The Emperor snorted, but didn't seem angry.
Prince Rui glanced at the emperor's desk, then his gaze fell on the emperor's jade cup. He took it in his hand, gripped it tightly, and turned to Zhao Fuquan, who was standing to the side, saying, "Go and get some graphite powder."
Zhao Fuquan looked at the emperor, who waved him away. Zhao Fuquan immediately went to do it, and Prince Rui said, "I have thought about it for a long time and I think the reason my fingerprints are visible is that my hands sweat, so the things my hands touch will leave a mark."
Because the fingerprint is so faint, we usually can't see it. However, if a powder that attracts sweat is applied to it, fingerprint traces will appear.
The emperor seemed to be deep in thought. "Does that mean that anything touched by a hand will leave a mark?"
Prince Rui nodded, "I believe this discovery can be used to solve the case."
Upon hearing this, the Emperor looked at Jiang Yu, then at Prince Rui. Prince Rui, receiving his gaze, said frankly:
"The Duke of Chu's inspiration has greatly benefited me. After hearing about what happened to the Duke of Chu's mansion, I came up with this discovery and hope it can help the Duke of Chu."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
