Chapter 146 Counterattack: Fu Jingtao, a Lifeline of Remaining Life
At dusk and midday, the golden sun sets on the earth.
Upon returning to the Zuo residence, Zuo Xulin's first act was to seek out Zuo Yingfeng.
He rushed into the inner courtyard, and as soon as he entered, he saw Zuo Yingfeng chatting and laughing with two ministers of the Ministry of War under the eaves.
Zuo Xulin stopped in his tracks. The three people over there had just finished their conversation. The two ministers glanced at each other and noticed Zuo Xulin's sudden appearance. They both looked surprised and exchanged a few words with Zuo Yingfeng.
Zuo Yingfeng, who was facing away from this side, put away his smile, turned his head and looked over, exchanging a glance with Zuo Xulin, who was standing in the courtyard.
Zuo Xulin stood motionless in place, and when the two ministers approached and exchanged pleasantries, he could only awkwardly greet them and bow.
After they passed by him, Zuo Yingfeng, who was a step behind, came up and looked at him with a very complicated expression. He patted his shoulder with his big, heavy hand, turned his shoulder aside, and slowly followed.
As the three of them left the courtyard, a maidservant approached them respectfully and curtsied, saying, "Please, young master, wait in the inner room. The eldest young master saw the guests off and will be back soon."
Zuo Xulin is still in a state of confusion.
Yue Yining was accused of treason and was arrested by the Imperial Guards in front of him. Within half a day, the court and the public were abuzz with discussion and suspicion.
The information he learned was that a maid in the princess's residence who was responsible for taking care of Yue Yining's daily life risked her life to steal evidence of her embezzlement of state funds and treason, and went to the government office to beat the drum for petitioning.
It just so happened that the Vice Minister of War was inspecting the yamen at the time, so he called the man in, questioned him briefly, recorded the evidence and testimonies, and sent a document directly to the capital.
The matter was of great importance, and it was a crucial case personally assigned and instructed by the Vice Minister of War, so the Council of State Affairs reviewed it very quickly. The evidence was conclusive, and according to the laws of Dongxi, the suspect should be immediately imprisoned to await trial. Therefore, Zuo Yingfeng and Rong Xuan affixed their official seals and approved the order for the Imperial Guards to arrest the suspect in the capital, which led to the scene where Yue Yining was taken away by the soldiers in court.
But Zuo Xulin simply refused to believe the charges leveled against Yue Yining.
Embezzlement and abuse of power? Stealing public funds? How could that be?
Not to mention that the Yue Yining he knew would never do such a thing, judging from the speed of the report and the various coincidences that occurred during the process, it seems more like someone deliberately framed Yue Yining, intending to pin these crimes on her before she could react!
Hearing the door open, Zuo Xulin, who was lost in his thoughts, was instantly pulled out of his reverie. Seeing Zuo Yingfeng slowly walk in and close the door, he could no longer suppress his anxiety and stood up abruptly. "Elder brother!"
"Was the arrest warrant for Yue Dushi issued by your eldest brother?"
Zuo Yingfeng sighed, rubbed his temples, and sat down. "I knew you rushed back for this."
“That’s right, I approved it, and Rong Xuan also stamped his approval. I read the submitted document, and the content was clear and the evidence was appropriate, so I handled it according to the rules.”
"Rules? What are rules?" Zuo Xulin's voice suddenly rose, and the usually cold man became furious with an intensity he himself did not realize. "A maid beat the drum to appeal for justice, the Vice Minister of War happened to be inspecting the yamen, the evidence and documents were presented directly to the capital, the Council of State Affairs reviewed and approved them within half a day, and the Imperial Guards arrested the person in a flash—elder brother, aren't these rules being implemented too quickly and smoothly?"
Every word he uttered seemed to burst from between his teeth: "What is the background of that maid from the princess's residence? Is the source of the incriminating evidence she risked her life to steal reliable? Why did the Vice Minister of War happen to be at the Jingzhao Prefecture office at that particular time? Have those so-called embezzlement certificates and treason documents been verified for authenticity? Can the handwriting, seals, and routes of communication withstand scrutiny?"
"Such a heinous crime should be subject to a joint trial and thorough investigation by the three judicial departments according to the law. How can a high-ranking official be convicted and detained in a single day based solely on one side's testimony and a piece of evidence whose authenticity is unclear? Is this following the rules, or is someone behind the scenes abusing the rules to frame a loyal official?!"
Zuo Yingfeng was stunned by his younger brother's barrage of questions.
He had never seen Zuo Xulin so out of control. This youngest and last brother in the family had always been the most composed, steady, and calm among all the brothers in the Zuo family, like ice that never melts, rarely showing his emotions.
The anger burning in his eyes, the urgency and subconscious protectiveness in his words, and the clenched fists that trembled slightly all felt unfamiliar to Zuo Yingfeng.
“Xiao Lin…” Zuo Yingfeng’s voice was filled with disbelief and astonishment. He sat up slightly and looked at Zuo Xulin. “That’s not what I meant.”
Zuo Xulin himself froze. The naked astonishment in his elder brother's eyes was like a bucket of ice water poured over his head. He suddenly realized his rudeness and aggressiveness just now, and his self-control, which he had always been proud of, had long since vanished.
He withdrew his hand from the table as if burned, and his previous soaring momentum instantly weakened, leaving only a near-disgraceful silence, his face turning an ugly pale.
The study fell into a deathly silence, with only Zuo Xulin's slightly heavy breathing and the sound of his erratic heartbeat.
Zuo Yingfeng sighed deeply as he looked at his younger brother, who remained tense.
“Xiao Lin,” Zuo Yingfeng’s voice softened, carrying a soothing tone as well as a subtle warning, “you’re too excited.”
“I understand your approval of Yue Dushi and his character,” Zuo Yingfeng said slowly, carefully choosing his words. “But precisely because this matter is of great importance, such a serious crime as treason is a special case that must be handled with swift and decisive measures. This is by no means a rash decision.”
He stood up, walked over to Zuo Xulin, and tried to make his tone more rational:
"The chain of evidence is complete and hits the nail on the head. The Vice Minister of War personally supervised the report, which is why the State Council had to prioritize it. This was also to prevent the suspects from destroying evidence or fleeing. According to the law, for serious criminals, arresting them pending trial is the standard procedure, but it is not the final conviction."
"As for the doubts and the authenticity of the evidence you mentioned," Zuo Yingfeng paused, his gaze becoming profound, "these will all be investigated and verified by the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate during the subsequent joint trial. Detaining him now will actually ensure the safety of Yue Dushi himself, allowing him to undergo a comprehensive and in-depth interrogation and investigation."
"If she is truly innocent, the three judicial authorities will investigate thoroughly and clear her name."
Zuo Yingfeng's words made sense, but Zuo Xulin's almost instinctive unease did not lessen in the slightest.
The seemingly logical chain of evidence and the perfectly timed coincidences all point to this being an elaborately designed trap. Anyone with eyes can see that Yue Yining has been ensnared in the deepest part of this trap.
His upright and loyal elder brother seemed to intend to turn a blind eye.
“…Elder brother.” After a long silence, Zuo Xulin tore at his throat and spoke with difficulty, “I have worked with Lady Yue for two months. I am willing to use my career and my conscience to vouch for her. She is gentle and kind by nature, and she cares about the people as an official. She is conscientious and hardworking. She is definitely not a corrupt official. There must be something fishy about this matter.”
“I understand.” Zuo Yingfeng looked deeply at Zuo Xulin. “The biggest struggle in the court right now is the succession. Who will become the crown prince is a matter of interest to all parties and the future of countless people.”
"As the most capable strategist under the Third Prince, Yue Yining has accumulated numerous achievements and is utterly loyal, yet she is already at the center of the vortex. Outstanding talents are either recruited for our own use or simply destroyed; this is the mentality of all those who plot for power. The maid who denounced her happened to approach the Vice Minister of War, who belonged to the Fourth Prince's faction. All of this is nothing short of a coincidence; Yue Yining may very well be the first victim of this power struggle among the Crown Prince's factions."
"But Xiao Lin, all you can do now is calm down, trust the court's laws, and trust the subsequent investigation. The princes' factional struggle has nothing to do with us. If we get involved, we'll only get ourselves into trouble. Before things settle down, it's pointless to make any rash moves."
Zuo Xulin grew increasingly disheartened as he listened, and in the end, he fell silent, not uttering a single word.
Looking at his distraught younger brother, Zuo Yingfeng understood the reason for his drastic change in personality. He felt surprise and regret, but ultimately, these feelings turned into resolute determination.
Zuo Yingfeng hardened his heart and said in a low voice, "I did have some selfish motives before, which is why I asked you to get close to Yue Yining. Now that I think about it, this is, after all, your marriage. Forcing you to marry a woman you don't love would be too selfish of me."
"Pretend I never said that I would let you marry Yue Yining. Don't take it to heart."
Zuo Xulin froze, then suddenly looked up and exclaimed, "Elder brother...!"
Zuo Yingfeng shook his head, indicating that he didn't need to say anything more.
He patted his younger brother's shoulder again with his thick, strong hand, as if to comfort him, or perhaps to silently warn him, before getting up and leaving the room.
...
The Censorate Prison was a place where serious criminals of the imperial court were imprisoned.
After arresting Yue Yining, the Imperial Guards escorted her to the prison, locked her in a cell, and left.
It was Yue Yining's first time in jail. She glanced at the clanging iron gate in front of her, then at the dirty thatched roof and floor tiles below. She didn't feel any psychological burden and simply found a relatively clean spot to sit down.
Her first night in the Censorate prison was quiet and peaceful, much better than she had expected.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. She was only interrogated once. The interrogators treated her very cautiously and did not use torture, but as a result, they did not get anything out of her and soon released her.
According to the charges, she was a serious offender, and no one was allowed to visit her except the interrogator and the prison guards.
There was a small window on the roof of the prison cell in the Censorate, and beams of light shone down from each cell. Yue Yining was so bored that, apart from fiddling with the thatch, she would always lean against the wall and look up at the color of that small patch of sky, trying to guess the time.
If nothing unexpected happens, things should be in complete chaos outside by now.
The person in charge of the Censorate prison was Censor-in-Chief Lin, one of the earliest people to side with the Third Prince, which is why Yue Yining didn't struggle and went straight to prison without any worries.
The Fourth Prince's influence doesn't extend to the Censorate. Even if he sends people to interrogate her later, they will likely be officials from the Censorate. The Censorate is now mostly composed of the Qingliu faction, so Zhou Congyi's ability to mediate for her is another layer of protection.
But this is only temporary peace.
Now that the Fourth Prince and the Ministry of War have taken action, they will not let it go. Although the "evidence" she deliberately left in the room was actually forged, they will find a way to make it real, so that she will have no chance to recover.
Now that she's in the Tai prison, they can't bribe the interrogators to use torture to force her to confess, but the Fourth Prince and the Ministry of War will surely realize this soon.
Yue Yining guessed that they would submit another memorial, explaining the situation and suggesting that she be transferred to the Ministry of Justice for imprisonment.
The Ministry of Justice prison was no longer under the jurisdiction of the Third Prince and the Qingliu faction.
Currently, the person who actually controls the Ministry of Justice prison is Rong Xuan, the Minister of Justice. The Ministry of Justice, one of the six ministries directly under its jurisdiction, is more like a neutral area. The people inside are a mixed bag. Although there are many royalists, there are also quite a few other unsavory characters.
If the Fourth Prince and the Ministry of War really wanted to do something to her, it would be much easier than it is now, and her safety would be difficult to guarantee then.
However, Yue Yining didn't care about that.
She has achieved her goal of getting her imprisoned. The longer she persists, the higher their chances of winning will be. There's always a way out. Besides, Wei Yihua will do everything she can to ensure her safety.
What she should be wary of now are some hidden tactics.
Besides forcing her to confess, there is an even simpler way: let her die in prison.
Yue Yining is used to thinking about problems and devising solutions from the other party's perspective.
Her long years of wandering and the coldness and warmth of human relationships during her childhood made her exceptionally good at adapting to changing circumstances. Her days studying the Five Arts at the Heavenly Temple allowed her to see all walks of life and gradually gain insight into human nature and understand people's hearts.
At that moment, warm and bright sunlight streamed in through the window above, illuminating a steaming bowl of brown rice being handed in through the cell door.
Yue Yining sat by the wall, watching the jailer's scrutinizing gaze and his furtive, hunched-over figure as he left. Her gaze drifted downwards, and all around her were scattered reeds, like a field littered with corpses.
Yue Yining leaned against the wall and thought for a while before slowly standing up, preparing to reach for the bowl of rice.
Just then, a deep, aged voice suddenly came from the cell separated by iron bars:
"Hey, if you don't want to die, go hungry and don't touch that bowl of rice."
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A note from the author:
The old-fashioned Zuo family member has fallen in love with our Ningning. There's no way around it; our Ningbao is just so charming.
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