The Ming King's Schemes and Intrigues (2)
“The third step is witness testimony,” Mr. Ghost Face continued. “There’s a young clerk at Fuyuzhai who’s in charge of warehouse registration. He’s a compulsive gambler and owes a huge debt to underground banks. Night Hawk Pavilion will send someone to help him pay off his debts and will also offer him a large settlement allowance.”
"Let him reveal a message to certain people: about half a month ago, a small batch of rare southern Xinjiang flowers and herbs were indeed put into storage. They have a unique flavor, and not long after, it seems that someone of high status came to inquire about them. As for who it was, he was of low status and could not see clearly, but judging from his accent, he seemed to be from the capital."
"After that, Night Hawk Pavilion will send this young man back to his hometown with the money to get married, and then he will disappear without a trace."
A vague witness and an ambiguous confession perfectly corroborated the existence of physical evidence, yet there was no way to verify it after the fact.
"The fourth step is cooperation from the palace." The masked man lowered his voice even further. "Although the loss of Qingzhu's connection has frightened the deputy steward of the Inner Court, he is already deeply involved and cannot turn back."
"We arranged for him to omit some insignificant details in the review report at the right time, but at crucial points, he would accidentally discover a suspicious point that coincided with the direction of the investigation outside the palace, guiding the investigation to outside the palace, to the Xie family, and finally... pointing to the Prime Minister's residence."
Zongzheng Mingchen listened with great emotion, as if he could already see his father's fury, Prime Minister Jiang's inability to defend himself, and Zongzheng Hengyu's ashen face.
He couldn't help but press, "Then... what about Jiang Wanzhi? In this plan, she seems to be..."
“Your Highness,” the masked man smiled coldly, “Miss Jiang is the most crucial link in the entire plan, yet she is also the link for which we least need to lift a finger.”
"When all the doubts and all the 'evidence' vaguely point to her maternal family, and even implicate her father, her very existence becomes the biggest motive."
"I heard that Jiang Wanzhi was unwilling to marry Prince Heng. As soon as the imperial decree of marriage arrived at the Prime Minister's residence, she ran away from home in the middle of the night, causing quite a stir. If we seize on this information and amplify it, her own misconduct in front of the emperor, her dissatisfaction with His Majesty's marriage decree, and the involvement of her family because of the Drunken Butterfly Flower... Once these things are planted in His Majesty's heart, they will be more destructive than any direct accusation."
"At that time, whether Prince Heng believes her and gets into trouble, or doubts her and becomes estranged from her, it will be beneficial to us. Even if His Majesty is furious and rescinds his order..." The masked man did not continue, but his meaning was self-evident.
Zongzheng Mingchen finally understood. He let out a long sigh of relief, a sly smile of smug satisfaction spreading across his face: "Excellent! What a brilliant scheme! You truly are the strategist of Night Hawk Pavilion! If this succeeds, I will certainly not treat you or Night Hawk Pavilion unfairly!"
“Serving Your Highness is our duty.” The masked man bowed humbly, but there was no warmth in his eyes. “This matter must be arranged as soon as possible. All aspects must be carried out simultaneously to ensure a flawless outcome. I will make the arrangements immediately.”
"Go! Be careful!" Zongzheng Mingchen waved his hand, already impatient.
Mr. Ghostface quietly left the secret room.
Zongzheng Mingchen remained alone in the room, pacing excitedly as if he could already see the dawn of victory.
He walked to the wall, looked at the Great Entropy Territory Map hanging there, his gaze falling on the area representing the Heng King's power, his eyes filled with greed and ruthlessness.
"Ninth Brother, your good days are over..."
…………
In the following days, in a border town in southern Xinjiang, a seemingly ordinary spice transaction was successfully completed, with "cleome flowers" mixed in with other goods and recorded.
In the dead of night, a figure sneaked into the accounting office of Fuyuzhai in the capital and added several barely noticeable false records to the thick ledger.
In a gambling den, a young waiter, beaten black and blue by debt collectors, is suddenly rescued by a mysterious man who pays off all his debts. He listens gratefully to the man's instructions, nodding repeatedly.
In the archives of the Inner Court, Deputy Steward Qian, under the guise of checking old files, spent a long time alone, adding a few seemingly unintentional but actually crucial words with an extremely fine pen to a draft report that was about to be presented to the Emperor…
An invisible net is being cast silently along a carefully designed trajectory toward the unsuspecting Prime Minister's residence.
…………
Several days later, the preliminary investigation report on the Hundred Flowers Banquet and the Drunken Butterfly Flower Case was carefully presented to Emperor Zongzheng Hong.
The report was lengthy and detailed, recording in detail the testimonies of the palace servants involved, the investigation into the source of the flowers, and the background of the deceased palace maid, Qingzhu.
The overall conclusion leans towards "accidental mistake" and "negligence by palace staff," and it is recommended that the responsible persons be punished and that palace regulations be strengthened.
However, in an inconspicuous corner of this seemingly airtight report, when mentioning the direction of the follow-up investigation, a casual sentence was added: "According to investigations, some merchants outside the palace that specialize in exotic spices have trade dealings with the Southern Frontier, and several of them have records of purchasing spider flowers."
Emperor Zongzheng Hong's deep gaze lingered on that line of text for a moment, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the table.
“Outside the palace… a trading company…” he muttered to himself, a barely perceptible glint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.
Reports from the Inner Court usually don't easily point clues outside the palace, unless... there are indeed suspicious points. This just happened to touch a nerve that was already sensitive to rumors.
"Instruct the Inner Court to investigate all businesses in the capital that deal in goods from the southern frontier, based on this clue. Report any findings immediately." The emperor gave the order calmly, his voice devoid of emotion.
"Yes." The personal eunuch bowed and accepted the order, but his heart skipped a beat, knowing that His Majesty was paying close attention to this matter.
…………
The secret agents of the Inner Court acted swiftly. They quickly identified several large businesses that traded with the Southern Frontier, including "Fuyuzhai," a branch of the Xie family.
The investigation was conducted under extreme secrecy. Undercover agents, posing as tax inspectors, reviewed Fuyuzhai's purchase ledgers and inventory records for the past few months.
Everything seemed normal. Until a sharp-eyed undercover agent, while flipping through a batch of purchase lists from about two months ago, stopped his finger on a line of record: "Rare flowers and herbs from Southern Xinjiang, two catties, price eighty taels of silver."
The records were vague and lacked specific names. "Where is this shipment now?" the undercover agent asked, seemingly casually.
The shopkeeper smiled obsequiously and said, "Your Excellency, these rare items from foreign lands are scarce and expensive. They are usually ordered by nobles from various prefectures shortly after entering the warehouse, and they have already been sold out."
"Which households were they sold to? Are there any records?"
"This... has been a long time, and most of the purchases were made privately by the managers of each household, so the records are probably incomplete..." The shopkeeper's forehead was slightly sweaty.
The undercover agent didn't ask any more questions, but quietly made a copy of that page of the account. At the same time, while checking the flow of money, another undercover agent also "coincidentally" discovered an expenditure of about five hundred taels, listed as "pre-purchase of special raw materials," and the recipient was an obscure small warehouse.
After several complex twists and turns, a small portion of the funds flowing through this small warehouse surprisingly developed a very weak connection with the property of a relative of the second steward of the Prime Minister's residence.
These findings were quickly compiled and reported as "suspicious points" in a confidential manner. Each one seemed explainable on its own, but when put together, they appeared particularly glaring.
…………
Yan Cheng presented Zongzheng Hengyu with the movements of the Inner Court's secret investigation and the confidential report about Fuyuzhai and that vague financial chain.
Zongzheng Hengyu stared at the blurry rubbings of the accounts and the complex flow of funds, his eyes so cold they could freeze to the bone.
"As expected, they've arrived." He sneered. "Their methods are quite meticulous, but unfortunately, they're too deliberate."
"Your Highness, this matter is clearly aimed at you and Prime Minister Jiang," Yan Cheng said in a deep voice. "Should we have our people intervene to cut off the investigation or erase all traces?"
“No need.” Zongzheng Hengyu raised his hand to stop him, his gaze sharp as a knife. “Intervening now would be tantamount to admitting defeat. The enemy has meticulously planned this, and is just waiting for us to throw ourselves into disarray.”
He pointed his finger at the fund flow chart: "Investigate, let them investigate. Not only should we let them investigate, we should also help them investigate more thoroughly."
Yan Cheng asked in confusion, "What does Your Highness mean?"
"Find that second steward's distant cousin and help him make the silk shop's accounts look better. Make sure that the final destination of that five hundred taels of silver looks more reasonable and more like a normal business transaction, and completely clear his connection with the Prime Minister's mansion."
Zongzheng Hengyu's tone was calm, yet carried a coldness of complete control: "As for Fuyuzhai, didn't that gambling addict go back to his hometown? Have someone from his hometown tell him to never speak of anything about the flowers and plants of Southern Xinjiang again in his life."
He didn't want a head-on confrontation, but rather to fight fire with fire. If the other party tried to weave a web of ambiguity, he would secretly cut away those ambiguities one by one, turning that web into a tattered mess.
At the same time, we traced the source of these "clues" in reverse.
“Furthermore,” he added, “we need our people in southern Xinjiang to find out which tribe that batch of spider flowers came from and who handled it. We need to follow the trail and find out who is behind it all.”
"Yes!" Yan Cheng accepted the order, inwardly admiring the calmness and ruthlessness of the Prince Heng. This was not merely about defusing the crisis, but about striking at the heart of the enemy's heart.
…………
Jiang Wanzhi was completely unaware of the undercurrents surrounding her and her family outside the palace. She spent her days copying books, tending to the flowers and plants in her small courtyard, and inquiring about news from Cixi Hall through her maids. Her days were peaceful but oppressive.
After court, Prime Minister Jiang's expression grew increasingly grave. Although he remained gentle in her presence, the worry between his brows was difficult to conceal. The atmosphere in the mansion seemed to subtly become tense as well.
After court, Zongzheng Hengyu exchanged a few pleasantries with Prime Minister Jiang at the palace gate. Upon returning home, he allowed the second steward, who was involved in the unclear financial chain, to return to his hometown to retire due to "old age and poor health." He was replaced by a trusted old confidant of Prime Minister Jiang who had served him for many years.
Inside the Emperor's study, Zongzheng Hong looked at the latest secret report sent by the Inner Court. The final investigation results regarding the five hundred taels of silver showed that after changing hands several times, it was invested in a poorly managed porcelain kiln, resulting in a complete loss, and had no direct connection with the Prime Minister's residence.
Meanwhile, at Fuyuzhai, the clues about the flowers and plants of southern Xinjiang also completely disappeared.
The doubts seem to have been cleared up.
But the emperor's gaze was even more profound. An outcome that is too pristine is sometimes itself unusual.
He picked up another secret report, the latest summary of rumors circulating in the capital, with phrases like "Prince Heng and the Southern Frontier" and "Two Princes Fighting Over One Woman" still glaringly obvious.
"Ninth Prince, Prime Minister Jiang..." The emperor's fingers tapped lightly on the table, his eyes flashing with the unfathomable suspicion and weighing of a ruler.
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