Chapter 26
Mao Wen finally compromised, and Wang Zhen happily went home to sleep; everyone was happy. The two corpses were carried to another room, making the cold prison cell even more suffocating.
The next day, the sun rose, but it had no warmth whatsoever. It could neither melt the thick ice nor shine into the dark prison. Its existence seemed merely to hang in the air, as lofty and unattainable as the law.
The cabinet was in an uproar early in the morning.
Grand Secretary Liu Zhengxin's prediction was correct. The emperor received the memorial from Li Cai, the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and issued an instruction allowing the Court of Judicial Review, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate to conduct a joint trial. At the same time, he also allowed Chen Zhen, the eunuch in charge of the Eastern Depot and the Directorate of Ceremonial, to participate in the trial.
The joint hearing is scheduled for today.
The Ministry of Justice was packed with people. The heads of the three judicial departments, the Grand Secretary, and the eunuchs had all arrived, and even the cold corpses from the imperial prison had been brought over.
Minister of Justice Xiao Da'an checked the time and, feeling it was about time, began to question, "Is the person below the court the prisoner Mao Wen? Why don't you confess the truth about your crimes?"
The gavel slammed shut, and Mao Wen's body trembled violently. His lips quivered as he replied, "I am Mao Wen, a servant in the household of Grand Secretary Liu. Today I am here to... to identify the author of the demonic book."
"Oh? Who is that person?" Xiao Da'an asked calmly.
"It was Da Guan and Lin Yu." Mao Wen felt as if a knife was cutting his throat, and he collapsed to the ground, tears welling in his eyes. "They wrote demonic books and printed and distributed them in large quantities."
The gavel struck again, shattering the surrounding whispers. Xiao Da'an asked sharply, "What evidence do you have?"
Mao Wen's gaze swept quickly across Wang Zhen's face. Remembering his instructions from last night, he gritted his teeth and said, "There is a little girl in the Liu family, the wet nurse's daughter. She can testify for me."
The prisoner was very obedient and gave the answer he wanted. Xiao Da'an breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at the Grand Secretary, and saw him nod slightly. He then ordered someone to bring the little girl into the courtroom to testify.
Everything was going according to plan. The little girl had memorized what to say at Wang Zhen's instruction early in the morning.
“I saw them printing a lot of pamphlets in the mansion. I was very curious at the time, so I ran to ask Uncle Lin, but he was very secretive and wouldn’t tell me. He also wouldn’t let me tell you about the printing.”
After the little girl finished speaking, she took out several booklets from her hand and handed them over. These were the very same demonic books that had been circulating around a few days ago.
A buzzing murmur filled the hall, turning into a noisy sea. Those present were all shrewd officials; anyone could see it was a setup. How could a ten-year-old girl say such things? Clearly, someone had instigated her.
Li Cai, the Vice Censor-in-Chief, could no longer sit still. He slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Nonsense!"
He strode up to the girl, spitting as he spoke, "Who instructed you to dare give false testimony and frame a high-ranking official in court?"
The thunderous roar startled the little girl kneeling on the ground, causing her to lose her composure. She bit her lip and looked helplessly in Wang Zhen's direction.
Li Cai saw this and his anger surged. He pointed at Wang Zhen and demanded sharply, "Is someone coercing you?"
The artillery fire was directed at Wang Zhen without any attempt at concealment.
Wang Zhen suddenly stood up, pointed at Li Cai and shouted, "This is the main hall of the Ministry of Justice. Whether it's false evidence or not is not yet conclusive. Why are you so agitated? Besides, she identified a dead person lying on the ground. What does that have to do with Liu Shen? Is she trying to cover something up?"
"The thief cries 'stop thief!' How shameless! I think the person who should be interrogated is you, Wang Zhen. Who gave you permission to surround the Liu residence without authorization?"
"Flies don't land on eggs without cracks. If I went to the Liu residence to arrest someone, it means he's the one with the problem—"
"Alright, alright, stop arguing. You're both officials in the same court. What's the difference between you two bickering like women on the street?" Seeing the two arguing, Chen Zhen, the director of the Eastern Depot, quickly stood up to mediate. "The interrogation is still going on. What's the big deal?"
As the Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial, Chen Zhen was the emperor's eyes and ears. Here, he represented the emperor's authority, so as soon as he spoke, Wang Zhen and Li Cai immediately shut up and returned to their seats.
It was impossible for someone else to interrogate her, so Chen Zhen had to step in himself. He immediately squatted down beside the girl, looking her in the eye, and said with a smile, "Little girl, don't be afraid, uncle won't hurt you. Now I'm going to ask you some questions, will you tell uncle?"
Compared to the arrogant attitude of the civil officials, Chen Zhen's face was as gentle as his tone. After hearing what he said, the girl nodded gently.
"You say you personally witnessed Lin Yu printing it, then let me ask you, how many copies of this demonic book did you see printed?"
Without hesitation, the girl answered, "The whole room."
After listening, Chen Zhen laughed and said, "The book of demons is only two or three pages long, how could there be so many printed copies filling the room?" He gently stroked the girl's hair a few times, his tone becoming even more gentle, "Think about it again, how many pages are in the printed copy?"
The girl tried hard to recall what Wang Zhen had said, "It was a whole room full of things."
Her gaze immediately shifted to Wang Zhen, who looked anxious and muttered something under his breath, but she couldn't understand it. She then turned back to Chen Zhen and shook her head.
Chen Zhen understood perfectly well, but he didn't show it on his face, still wearing a smile. He had someone take the girl away, then turned to ask Mao Wen, "Did Lin Yu tell you when the demonic book will be published?"
November 9th.
"The demonic book was seized on the tenth day of the month. How could you have written the book, made the mold, and printed thousands of copies in a single day?"
"This—" Mao Wen looked embarrassed, but before he could speak, Li Cai interrupted him: "He's clearly framing someone. What's the point of interrogation? Just drag him out and give him a beating, then ask him who ordered it. Governor Wang, what do you think?"
Enraged that Li Cai was targeting her again, Wang Zhen nearly overturned the table. "Insinuations? Just say what you mean. Did I orchestrate all of this?"
"I didn't say that, but who knows, the treacherous officials might just jump out on their own."
"Who are you calling a traitor?" Wang Zhen was almost ready to fight Li Cai to the death.
"Whoever has a guilty conscience is a treacherous minister."
"Who's feeling guilty?"
As Wang and Li argued heatedly, the other officials in the hall were not idle either, pointing and whispering, launching a fierce verbal battle and condemnation. The scene spiraled out of control again, and Chen Zhen slammed his sleeve on the table, shouting sternly, "Shut up, all of you! What kind of behavior is this, arguing like this?"
The buzzing stopped, and the tense atmosphere in the air reached its peak. The case could not be investigated any further. Chen Zhen then spoke up, "Today's interrogation is to end here. The prisoner Mao Wen will be escorted to the Eastern Depot. I will consult with the Emperor before deciding on the interrogation date."
Perhaps startled by the suddenness of the words, Wang Zhen's expression changed drastically. He glared at Chen Zhen with a sharp and horrified look and said angrily, "Mao Wen is someone arrested by my Embroidered Uniform Guard. How can he go to your Eastern Depot?"
Chen Zhen snorted coldly, raised his eyelids, and gave a forced smile, "We're all working for the Emperor, so why differentiate between the Eastern Depot and the Imperial Prison? Since Mao Wen is a prisoner, it doesn't matter where he's imprisoned."
"No, that won't work."
Wang Zhen flatly refused, saying, "Mao Wen must be imprisoned in the Imperial Prison; the Eastern Depot should not even think about it."
After he finished speaking, he glanced at the Grand Secretary, Liu Zhengxin, who then stood up and said, "Since Mao Wen has been captured by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he should be detained in the Imperial Prison. The division of powers is clear; how can it be confused?"
The Grand Secretary's words, under normal circumstances, would have been met with considerable respect even from Chen Zhen. However, given their lawlessness and outrageous behavior, they were not to be given a warning, or these people might blow up the capital.
"Grand Secretary Liu, as you know, I have come here on the Emperor's orders. Although I do not have an imperial edict in my hand, the Emperor's words are law and no one can disobey them. Therefore, I hope that you will do me a favor."
Chen Zhen was an eunuch serving as the Inner Minister, while Liu Zhengxin was a civil official serving as the Outer Minister. The two were natural rivals and enemies. If they agreed on something, it would be fine, but if they disagreed, it would be a disaster. Just like now, neither of them would give in to the other.
As the two sides argued, everyone below kept their eyes down and their minds at ease. The hall, which had been noisy just moments before, became so quiet you could hear a pin drop. No one spoke, and everyone fell into silence.
Liu Zhengxin didn't even flinch, his attitude remaining firm: "Mao Wen must be imprisoned in the Imperial Prison!!" This was the bottom line. If he couldn't even win against a eunuch, and word got out, he, the Grand Secretary, would be laughed to death.
As the two were locked in a stalemate, a eunuch suddenly appeared outside the door, looking anxious. He rushed towards Chen Zhen and whispered in his ear, "His Highness the Crown Prince has disappeared."
"……What"
Chen Zhen's expression changed drastically. He no longer cared about competing with Liu Zhengxin for the person. He immediately abandoned the high-ranking officials in the hall and hurriedly left with his attendants.
As they left the Ministry of Justice, the young eunuch said, "Today I met Liu Heng from Cining Palace. He told me that about three days ago, Your Highness went out of the palace to visit Liu Shen, and happened to encounter the Embroidered Uniform Guard surrounding Liu's residence. They got separated from the Crown Prince, and Your Highness has not returned to this day. His fate is unknown."
Chen Zhen's vision went black, and he almost fainted. The Crown Prince's disappearance was a huge matter, yet they knew almost nothing about it. He couldn't imagine what would happen if something truly went wrong.
"Does His Majesty know?" Chen Zhen asked.
“I don’t know. Liu Heng said that the Crown Prince left the palace in secret and the Emperor must not know. So these past few days, they have been searching everywhere in the capital, but it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. His idea is to have our Imperial Guards take some people and go with us to search for him.”
Chen Zhen was trembling with anger, "How dare Liu Heng keep this a secret until now?"
After angrily berating the eunuchs of Cining Palace, Chen Zhen rushed to the palace to report the interrogation results to the emperor. As for the search for the missing person, he sent a group of more than ten trusted men to meet with Liu Heng and discuss how to find the person.
After Chen Zhen left, Liu Zhengxin immediately dismissed everyone in the hall, leaving only his confidants Xiao Da'an and Wang Zhen, and also called Xu Xuan in.
Liu Zhengxin first introduced Xu Xuan to them, saying, "Ziwei, from now on you will work hard under Minister Xiao. The Ministry of Justice is our territory, so you must guard this little corner of the land well. Do you understand?"
Xu Xuan bowed to Xiao Da'an, then raised his face and said, "This student will remember this, and hopes that the Minister will give me more guidance in the future."
With an extra helper by his side, Xiao Da'an was naturally overjoyed and praised Xu Xuan repeatedly.
After everyone was seated again, Liu Zhengxin said, "Mao Wen's confession is probably useless now. We need to think of other ways." He looked up at Xu Xuan and asked, "Has the Imperial Concubine given any instructions?"
Xu Xuan was taken aback and said, "I haven't been to the palace for several days, so I don't know the current situation inside."
"Find some time to go to the palace again and ask the Imperial Concubine what the Emperor's attitude is now. Only by figuring out the Emperor's thoughts can we proceed to the next step."
After finishing his instructions with Xu Xuan, Liu Zhengxin asked, "Did you find anything during the search of the capital?"
Xiao Da'an first shook his head, then pondered for a few moments and said, "There is something. Yesterday, the Imperial Censor Yuan Ting, who was patrolling the city, said that he discovered that all the beggars in the capital had changed into new cotton-padded clothes. He had someone investigate and found that the timing coincided with the time of the demonic book. However, before he could verify it, he fell ill and told me the news."
"……beggar?"
The group was all astonished.
The fact that the demonic book could spread throughout the capital overnight must have required the cooperation of a large number of people. Previously, they had focused their efforts on the printing shop, but neglected the issue of manpower.
Xu Xuan's eyes flickered slightly, and he immediately stepped forward, saying, "I'll go check."
"You?" Liu Zhengxin was taken aback. After a few moments of contemplation, he nodded and said, "That works too."
The Ministry of Justice is currently severely understaffed. Xu Xuan wanted to do the thankless task of investigating cases, and Liu Zhengxin did not want to refuse. He agreed to let Xu Xuan go to investigate and even allocated the Embroidered Uniform Guard to assist him in his capacity as Grand Secretary.
"If any suspicious persons are found, they must be taken to the imperial prison. The rest will be handed over to Governor Wang for interrogation," Liu Zhengxin specifically instructed.
As soon as Xu Xuan left, the stagnant atmosphere in the hall dissipated.
"Is he reliable?" The one who spoke was Xiao Da'an, the Minister of Justice, who was Xu Xuan's superior.
Liu Zhengxin laughed and said, "What, do you think there's something wrong with him?"
"I just feel like I can't see through this person. He's so young, but he's so cunning."
"After all, he's the son-in-law of the Shen family and an informant of the Imperial Concubine. Now that he's in the Ministry of Justice, we'll treat him like a bodhisattva. Let him do whatever he wants. Anyway, if anything goes wrong, the Imperial Concubine will take responsibility; it has nothing to do with us. As for whether he's trustworthy, didn't I send the Embroidered Uniform Guard with me?"
"As expected, experience matters."
After making a joke, Xiao Da'an asked, "What did Guo Zheng find out?"
Guo Zheng was the Vice Minister of Rites. Without direct evidence, it was impossible to arrest and interrogate him directly. However, more than a dozen of his relatives and friends were all arrested by Liu Zhengxin and interrogated in the imperial prison.
Mentioning Guo Zheng, Liu Zhengxin was immediately enraged. He had made a big show of arresting Guo Zheng and bringing him to the imperial prison, but not only did he fail to extract any useful information, he was also impeached by the censor of the Censorate. In addition, Mao Wen's forgery failed, and now the emperor's desk is probably full of memorials attacking him.
Thinking of this, he couldn't sit still any longer. He ordered Mao Wen to be taken to the imperial prison and locked up. He also ordered the two of them to cooperate in the trial of Guo Zheng's cronies. He then took his leave and went to the cabinet to handle official business.
Meanwhile, Xu Xuan received the Grand Secretary's order, selected thirty Imperial Guards, and led them directly out of the government office.
The streets were bustling with people in the winter. The case of the seditious book, which was a huge deal for the high-ranking officials, was worthless in the eyes of the common people in the capital. It even became a topic of conversation over tea.
Outside the outer city, at Dashilan outside Zhengyang Gate, merchants gathered in droves, shops lined the streets, silk shops, stores, and teahouses stood side by side, and the sounds of hawking and drums filled the air, creating a bustling and prosperous scene.
The teahouse gradually filled up with people. Xu Xuan ordered the Imperial Guards to stand by, dismounted, and walked straight to the beggar squatting at the entrance of the teahouse.
Along the way, Xu Xuan had been searching for a beggar dressed in new clothes, and finally found one. The beggar had a sallow complexion, held a chipped bowl, and his eyes darted around, staring intently at the hems of clothes that entered the teahouse. Whenever he saw someone in fine clothes, he would wail and beg.
A silver coin was dropped into the bowl with a thud, and the beggar's eyes lit up as he saw Xu Xuan, dressed in official robes, standing right in front of him.
"How long have you been here?" Xu Xuan asked.
"It's been here for several years."
The beggar snatched the silver coins from the bowl, gently nibbled at them with his teeth, beamed with joy, and thanked Xu Xuan repeatedly.
Having begged for many years, the beggar was no fool. Since the person in front of him was an official and had given him so much money, he must have something to ask. So he asked, "Sir, what do you want to know?"
Xu Xuan laughed and asked, "Where did you get your clothes?"
The beggar's smile vanished instantly. His expression changed slightly, and his lips trembled, but no sound came out for a long time. Seeing this, Xu Xuan took out some silver from his purse and said, "Tell me, and it's yours."
The silver gleamed white in the sunlight. The beggar swallowed hard, stretched out his hand, and carefully placed a few coins in his palm before saying, "A few days ago, someone organized the distribution of denunciation notices, and one person was rewarded with a winter coat."
Xu Xuan took out the notice and handed it to the beggar, asking, "Take a look, is this the one you issued?"
The beggar nodded in agreement.
Xu Xuan asked again, "Do you know who organized this?"
"I don't know, that person was wearing a mask, but we got our clothes from Jiangnan Hutong." Xu Xuan was generous with the money and had a gentle attitude, so the beggar told the truth.
After asking the question, the beggar took the money and disappeared in a flash. Someone came over and asked, "Manager Xu, where are we going now?"
"Go to... Jiangnan Hutong."
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