Chapter 43
These past few days, Dashilan has been quite lively. First, a beautiful woman took over the "Top Scholar's Study," and firecrackers and drums went off, attracting a crowd of neighbors to watch.
Later, there was the "Red Powder Beauty Society," which recruited male members on the street. Not only did they not have to pay a penny to join, but they were also given money for free. All the men had to do was dress up as women and wander around.
For a time, people lined up to receive women's clothing, rouge, and hairpins, either for the money or to join in the fun, and swaggered into the streets in broad daylight. They drank, joked, and played around, living a carefree and unrestrained life.
Dashilan truly lived up to its reputation of "men in red and women in green." Everywhere you looked, there were beautiful women, from noblemen and scholars to ordinary people, all of whom considered it fashionable for men to wear women's clothing.
Moreover, this group of noble sons criticized the Neo-Confucianism of "preserving heavenly principles and eliminating human desires," attacked the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, advocated for individual liberation, and championed freedom of thought and marriage.
An official, after leaving his office, went to Dashilan for drinks with his colleagues. Upon witnessing this scene, he was astonished and, upon returning home, composed a poem:
Today I arrived at the city walls, and returned with tears filling my eyes.
Those dressed entirely in women's clothing were all scholars.
This official was Guo Niangzi's father, Guo Zheng, who was also Wei Luo's teacher.
Since the case of the seditious book broke out, he had been on leave and staying at home until the emperor ordered the release of the second minister Liu Shen. He was then freed, but he was frequently monitored and questioned by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Only in the last few days has he been able to go to the government office to work.
He lamented the decline of morality and the loss of traditional values, and immediately wrote a memorial stating: "The sons of nobles are idle and cause trouble everywhere; scholars despise ethics and have no regard for the emperor or their fathers." He detailed the incident of men wearing women's clothing in Dashilan, stating that if the court does not intervene, the nation's etiquette will inevitably fall into chaos. He requested the emperor's attention and the rectification of this "dressing disorder."
The memorial was presented to the emperor, who, after reading it, immediately replied: "I am deeply gratified by your concern for etiquette, my dear minister. I have ordered the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to conduct a thorough investigation and arrest."
The imperial decree was issued, but the Imperial Guard and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were still busy with the case of the seditious book. They had no time to care about men wearing women's clothes. Moreover, most of those who "wear seditious clothes" were sons of nobles and scholars. They wanted to care but dared not. Therefore, they turned a blind eye to this matter.
*
A few days passed in the blink of an eye. After the birthday celebration for the Dowager Lady of the Duke of Xin's Mansion was over, the officials, having eaten and drunk their fill, had to get back to work.
The case of Han Yu's confession required a joint trial by the three judicial departments. The emperor put it on the agenda and appointed Crown Prince Wei Luo to supervise the trial.
Given the huge mess caused by the previous joint trial by the three judicial departments, Xiao Da'an backed down. This time, he decided to observe from the sidelines, while the actual interrogation was conducted by Qi Dian, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and Deng Yan, the Principal of the Ministry of Justice.
Inside the Ministry of Justice prison, Han Yu's body was covered in whip marks and burn scars, all left from torture during interrogation. Not only him, but also his wife and children, had all suffered varying degrees of punishment. The simplest and most effective way to interrogate prisoners was to beat them.
In this respect, all crows are black.
With the interrogation imminent, Deng Yan arrived at the prison early in the morning, looking at Han Yu with a probing gaze.
"Master Deng."
The voice came from behind him. Deng Yan turned around and saw that it was Xiao Da'an, the Minister of Justice. He immediately bowed and greeted him. Xiao Da'an nodded and asked, "You've arrived so early?"
"The joint trial is a matter of great importance, and your subordinates dare not slack off."
Deng Yan's voice was clear and bright.
Xiao Da'an walked in, patted him on the shoulder, and praised, "Young people are great, full of energy, unlike us old men who always feel tired."
Deng Yan's eyes shifted slightly, and he lowered his head, offering a few humble words.
Xiao Da'an was a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Justice. He wouldn't come here unless there was a reason, let alone talk to a low-ranking official like him. Therefore, Deng Yan was careful and answered him carefully while observing the surroundings.
Sure enough, after a while, Xiao Da'an revealed his true intentions. Seeing that no one was around, he quickly handed Deng Yan a note and even stuffed it into his sleeve.
Deng Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, opened the note, and his pupils contracted sharply. The note read: "During the interrogation, you lured Han Yu and implicated the mastermind as Vice Minister Liu Shen and Vice Minister of Rites Guo Zheng."
Deng Yan immediately tore the note to shreds and threw it on the ground, angrily questioning, "Does the truth have to come from the criminal's sleeve instead of from their mouth?"
Their eyes met, sparks flew, and Xiao Da'an was both embarrassed and embarrassed by his subordinate's retort.
"You...shut up!"
Xiao Da'an's expression changed. How dare a mere sixth-rank official be so audacious as to go against his superior? Did he even want to stay in the Ministry of Justice?
But Deng Yan was fearless. Since he dared to talk back to the Minister, he must have a powerful backer and was not afraid of the Minister of Justice.
"Minister Xiao, as the head of the Ministry of Justice, in charge of the country's punishments, you should be upright and honest. But now, because of your own selfish desires, you have openly slandered others. I wonder if you are worthy of the emperor and father, and worthy of your official robes?"
His words were concise yet forceful, making Xiao Da'an's blood boil and his eyes widen in anger. But the other person was right, and Xiao Da'an was helpless, only able to gasp for breath and stammer, "You you you..." unable to utter a word.
While the two were locked in a stalemate, the faction led by Vice Minister Liu Shen was also busy.
Liu Shen was severely persecuted by Wang Zhen, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and was forced to stay at home, unable to even step out of the door. He vowed that he would not be a gentleman if he did not avenge this wrong.
Therefore, on the day he left, Liu Shen wrote a memorial, tearfully accusing the Grand Secretary's faction, especially Wang Zhen, of using his position to settle personal scores, forming cliques and engaging in corrupt practices, and was the real culprit.
Of course, since it's an impeachment, going it alone is too boring; a group battle is more in line with the characteristics of partisan strife.
At Liu Shen's command, the six censors and the censors of the Censorate jointly submitted a memorial impeaching the Grand Secretary and Wang Zhen, digging up all sorts of old and trivial matters, such as bribery, corruption, immoral private life, and extravagance.
Having been in officialdom for a long time, everyone has some dirty secrets. According to the way those censors dug, the Grand Secretary and Wang Zhen have become heinous criminals who should be dragged to the execution ground and chopped off to vent their anger.
The two sides went back and forth like this for several days, neglecting all important matters and spending the entire party arguing. In the end, the three septuagenarian cabinet members all ended up in a mess, and none of them gained any advantage.
*
Inside the Ministry of Justice, the officials of the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate were already in their positions, ready to meet the new round of challenges.
This time, the deputy minister's party gained the upper hand.
Crown Prince Wei Luo was someone they had personally pushed into the position. Today, with the Crown Prince here, the Grand Secretary's faction will inevitably be wary and restrain their actions.
As the announcement "His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived" was made, officials from all departments bowed their heads in respect. Wei Luo walked to the head of the hall, sat down, and said, "No need for formalities."
The officials took their seats.
The prisoner Han Yu was quickly escorted to the court, where he was presided over by Qi Dian, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.
Qi Dian was a straightforward person. He was neither a member of the faction of Grand Secretary Liu Zhengxin nor a follower of Second Grand Secretary Liu Shen. He was a "non-stick" person, neither helping either side nor offending either side.
He looked at Wei Luo, and with the latter nodding in approval, began interrogating the prisoner.
Enough of the small talk, let's get straight to the point. Qi Dian asked, "Why did you write this demonic book?"
Han Yu knelt on the ground, raised his head upon hearing this, and his gaze swept over the high-ranking officials in the room before finally settling on Wei Luo. He was filled with grievances and shouted loudly, "I am innocent! I did not write the demonic book!"
After he finished speaking, he kowtowed, and the whole room erupted in commotion.
While in the Ministry of Justice prison, he personally admitted that he wrote the book to take revenge on Shen Guoan, but now he has recanted his confession in court, shocking both sides.
Qi Dian looked embarrassed, coughed a few times, and then asked, "A few days ago, you admitted that you wrote the demonic book. Now you are recanting your confession in court. Do you know the consequences?"
“They tortured me to extract a confession and threatened my wife and children, so I had no choice but to confess.”
This is a public slap in the face to Xiao Da'an, the Minister of Justice.
Wei Luo turned to look at him, and everyone else present also looked at him.
Xiao Da'an immediately lost his temper, jumped up, slammed his fist on the table, and roared, "You audacious madman! The Ministry of Justice's interrogations have always been reasonable and legal. You confessed yourself, and now you're turning around and framing the Ministry of Justice. Tell me, who instructed you to write this seditious book? Or who instructed you to make this kind of rebuttal?"
With just a few words, the ball was kicked back into the court.
Han Yu looked left and right, shook his head at the top, and said, "No one instructed me."
"So that's what you wrote, just for your own selfish desires, to take revenge on Shen Guoan?" Qi Dian continued to ask.
"It wasn't me who wrote it. Someone paid me to hire beggars to distribute the demonic book."
Qi Dian asked, "Who is that person?"
Han Yu shook his head. "I don't know."
Qi Dian sighed, and was about to ask again when Xiao Da'an interrupted. Since Deng Yan wouldn't help, he had no choice but to take matters into his own hands.
He had someone bring portraits of Da Guan, Lin Yu, and Mao Wen for Han Yu to examine, and asked, "Take a look, are they the ones who hired you?"
Han Yu's hands were almost ruined from the torture, but in order to survive, he still tried to pick up those few thin sheets of paper. At that moment, they felt as heavy as a thousand pounds in his hands.
He squinted and examined each sheet carefully, discarding them one by one until all three sheets landed on the ground. Only then did he look up, shake his head, and deny it, saying, "None of them are."
Xiao Da'an's eyes were practically blazing with fire.
They've given him chances, but Han Yu's head, made of stone, won't budge. If he knew what was good for him, he should admit that the three of them were the ones who hired him.
But he doesn't admit it.
Xiao Da'an was furious. He sat back down in his chair. His false accusation had failed, and he had to think of another way.
Without Xiao Da'an's intervention, Qi Dian could ask again, "You say you were hired, but you can't say the name of the person who hired you. How can you prove that you're not the one crying wolf?"
This means that the demonic book was indeed written by Han Yu.
Han Yu's eyes turned red. "Master Shen is a member of the royal family. I may have been bold and extorted money from him, but ever since his son dragged me to the imperial prison and beat me up, I have never dared to provoke him again. Besides, I am just a scholar. With my abilities, I could not possibly write the contents of a demonic book."
"Therefore, there must be a mastermind behind you instructing you."
Xiao Da'an had a loud voice; his voice echoed throughout the room, drawing everyone's attention. It seemed Xiao Da'an wouldn't be satisfied until Han Yu vomited out some people.
The current situation is that neither side is satisfied. Xiao Da'an's attempt to frame Han Yu has failed, and no one from the Inspectorate is willing to speak up because the Crown Prince has not yet expressed his opinion. However, Qi Dian clearly wants Han Yu to confess.
However, Han Yu neither confessed nor implicated others, leading to an awkward situation during the interrogation, which ultimately had to be adjourned.
For officials, a recess is merely a matter of waiting time, but for Han Yu, his recantation in court is punishable under the law.
Therefore, the Imperial Guards arrived, took Han Yu away, and gave him a severe beating on his buttocks. His fragile body could not withstand the ordeal, and Han Yu immediately fainted.
Today's joint trial has to be called off.
The officials returned to their respective departments, and Wei Luo also returned to the palace to report the results of today's interrogation to the emperor.
What do you think?
The emperor asked Wei Luo.
"Han Yu had previously pleaded guilty, but has now recanted his confession in court. There must be something going on. The specific details of the case will need to be verified at the next hearing."
Wei Luo lowered his head, merely stating a fact without expressing any opinion.
Although Wei Luo was close to Liu Shen's faction, he still had to act like a "non-stick pot" in front of the emperor in order to put the emperor at ease.
The emperor was generally satisfied with the crown prince's objective account. He nodded upon hearing this, and did not continue the topic. Instead, he picked up several memorials and asked Wei Luo to read them.
A memorial to the throne stated that erotic novels were rampant in the market, and requested the court to send people to investigate and confiscate them, and to strictly investigate those who privately printed banned books;
One letter impeached three censors for being late to their office; it turned out they had been drinking at a brothel the night before and hadn't returned home.
One letter was the emperor's reply to Guo Zheng, the vice minister of the Ministry of Rites, saying that he would rectify the chaos of "clothing demons".
The last letter was from an official who said that the Embroidered Uniform Guard was severely overstaffed, with many holding positions without working, and requested the emperor to reduce the number of personnel.
After reading it, Wei Luo respectfully placed the memorial back on the imperial desk, awaiting the emperor's orders.
The emperor looked at him and said, "After the New Year, you will be twenty. A gentleman has reached adulthood, and it is time to share the burdens of the emperor and father. Go and investigate these matters with the Embroidered Uniform Guard."
Wei Luo suddenly looked up, first in disbelief, then overjoyed.
The emperor actually allowed him to participate in politics!
Wei Luo hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed, saying that he was too young and incompetent. The emperor saw this, curled his lips, pretended not to see his son's excitement, told him to get up, patted him on the shoulder, and said some encouraging words, telling the crown prince to do his job well and not to worry.
With the emperor's repeated encouragement, Wei Luo had no choice but to agree. Father and son looked at each other, both with smiles on their faces.
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