Chapter 207: Chilling
"Master Cheng, Master Cheng——"
Dou San's cry interrupted Cheng Maoming's thoughts. He turned around and continued to walk out. As soon as he reached the gate of the courtyard, he saw Dou Qisheng, the brother of the late queen, who had come with his servants.
This is the prince’s uncle.
Dou Qisheng, originally the deputy commander of the Xuanwu Battalion, had recently been transferred to the Right Military Governor's Office. While his rank had been elevated, his actual power had been significantly diminished. This was due to Dou Qisheng's assistance in the Crown Prince's plan to kidnap Lin Chan. This was unacceptable to Emperor Tai'an.
"I heard from my family that General Cheng is looking for my third brother. I wonder what happened?"
At this time, Dou San was also brought out. When he saw Dou Qisheng, he shouted, "Sixth brother, save me!"
Dou Qisheng frowned and looked at Cheng Maoming.
He didn't care that much about this cousin, but no matter how close they were, they were all family members. When they met in adversity, they all met in prosperity. Naturally, he couldn't sit still when he heard that Jinlin Guards were coming to find him.
The last time Jinlinwei went to Xuanwu Camp, they caused him a lot of harm.
"General Cheng, what has my third brother done wrong that would require you to come in person?"
Cheng Maoming remained calm on the surface, but in his heart he was annoyed by the other party's unconscious sense of superiority.
Over the years, because the prince's position was stable, even though the former queen died early, the people of the Dou family were confident in dealing with people and things, including him, the commander of the Jinlin Guard who worked exclusively for the emperor.
Everyone knows that the prince will succeed to the throne in the future, and the Dou family will then become even more prosperous.
Cheng Maoming thought of the prince who was indifferent to him.
At this moment, he made a decision: what bureau is there? His ability is limited, so he just needs to report the facts he found out to the emperor.
After making the decision, Cheng Maoming smiled at Dou Qisheng and said, "It's not convenient to disclose this. I hope Mr. Dou will understand."
"General Cheng, you wouldn't be so uncompromising, would you?" Cheng Maoming's decisive refusal made Dou Qisheng look a little ugly.
"It's really inconvenient. I have to rush back to report to the emperor. Excuse me." Cheng Maoming bowed.
Dou Qisheng had no choice but to turn aside and listen to Dou San's shouting with a gloomy face. After everyone had gone away, he kicked the wall and said angrily, "Asshole, you dare to use the emperor to pressure me!"
He strode in, grabbed a shivering maid and asked, "What's going on?"
"The master was drinking with his friends... and he took the Five-Color Powder..." the maid said tremblingly.
When Dou Qisheng heard the words "Five-Color Powder", his expression changed slightly.
This stupid thing!
But he soon sensed something was amiss: while taking Five-Color Powder was illegal, it wasn't enough for the Jinlin Guard commander to personally arrest him. The capital was prosperous and affluent, so it wasn't uncommon for people to secretly take Five-Color Powder. If they all came with such a fuss, they wouldn't be able to catch them all.
"Is there anything else?"
Faced with Dou Qisheng's questioning, the maid's face turned frighteningly pale: "Also, still...and the Jinlin Guards discovered two jars of Five Color Powder..."
"How big is the jar?" Dou Qisheng asked through gritted teeth.
“So big—” The maid stretched out her hands.
Dou Qisheng’s eyes went dark and he almost fainted.
Selling and taking secretly are two different things.
This harmful thing!
His face turned pale as he hurried out, not forgetting to order the servants he brought with him: "Take everyone here back to the Dou Mansion!"
Cheng Maoming brought Dou San back to Jinlinwei for further interrogation. As soon as he was whipped, Dou San confessed the source of the goods.
It was an ordinary-looking small village with only about twenty households, but in fact the entire village was involved in the production process of Five-Color Powder.
What shocked Cheng Maoming was that these people had been selling Five-Color Powder for five or six years.
The scheme against the Crown Prince and the Dou family shouldn't have been so far-reaching.
With a thought in mind, Cheng Maoming couldn't help but ask Dou San a question: "How did you get on this road to wealth?"
Dou San had long lost the high spirits he had in the outer residence. With his head bowed, he spoke of the sad past: "Don't look at me wearing silk and brocade now. Before I did this, I was so poor that I could hardly afford meat..."
Cheng Maoming patiently listened to Dou San's whining about his poverty, then got to the point: "One time, I was drinking with a friend. After we got drunk and talked about our financial difficulties, my friend pointed me to this path. This is truly a way to make money. From now on, I can finally eat meat to my heart's content—"
Dou San's eyebrows danced with joy, but when he met Cheng Maoming's gloomy eyes, he suddenly realized: he was being interrogated, and this was not the occasion to show off.
Dou San fell silent. Cheng Maoming calmly asked, "What's this friend's name? Where is he now?"
"His name is Jia Jing. He said he was the fifth child and asked me to call him Jia Wu. He left the capital a year ago and I haven't seen him since."
"How did you meet this friend?"
"He was a merchant who traveled between the capital and other provinces. One time, he sold me a fur at a discount, and we became familiar with each other after a few visits..."
Cheng Maoming listened silently, shuddering.
The person who was speaking was unaware of this, but in his opinion, this person was not a friend at all, but simply someone who appeared at the right time and led Dou San onto that path.
He didn't even need to do anything, just let Dou San know that there was such a place that produced and sold the Five-Color Powder.
Then, Dou San, who had become a middleman, sold the Five-Colored Powder to the eunuch Wang Fu through Hu Di without knowing it, and it was eventually delivered to the prince.
A disappeared "friend" pushed the prince and the Dou family into the abyss two years later with just a slight push.
The more Cheng Maoming thought about it, the more frightened he became.
Continuing the investigation, it turned out that there was nothing to dig deeper into about that small village. Just like many places that produce certain specialties or where by chance the whole village is engaged in a certain trade, this village makes a living by making and selling Five-Color Powder.
The reason for this journey was that one of the villagers had, many years earlier, been a medicine boy who supplied the Five-Color Powder to the imperial court of the previous dynasty. After Emperor Tai'an ascended the throne and banned the use of the Five-Color Powder, this man returned to the village, but after enduring such hardship for so long, he could no longer resist returning to his old profession.
Just as Cheng Maoming was investigating, Dou Qisheng came to the palace to ask for a meeting.
Emperor Tai'an thought Dou Qisheng came to speak well of the prince, so although he was a little annoyed, he still met him.
Dou Qisheng fell to his knees upon seeing Emperor Tai'an: "I am guilty!"
Emperor Tai'an subconsciously sat up straight: "What happened?"
"One of my cousins did something illegal without my family's knowledge. I blame myself for not noticing it in time. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me—"
Emperor Tai'an raised his eyebrows and asked slowly, "What illegal things have you done?"
"He...he secretly took the Five-Colored Powder..."
Dou Qisheng thought that Dou San had already fallen into the hands of Jinlin Guards, and it would be better for him to apologize voluntarily than to be reported by Cheng.
Although taking and even selling the Five-Color Powder was taboo, he was unaware of it, and at most Dou San would suffer a little.
Dou Qisheng was optimistic, but he didn't know that the three words "Five-Color Powder" were like a long needle, piercing Emperor Tai'an's heart.
"Five-Color Powder--" Emperor Tai'an recited word by word, looking at Dou Qisheng with a gloomy and unfamiliar look.
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