In Hongwu, we started as rebels

Chapter 967 The Embroidered Uniform Guard's Blade
"Why bury the gun after it exploded? Since it's classified, it should be returned to the Ministry of War's workshop!"

Inside the prison, Mao Xiang pointed directly to the vitals.

At this point, Zid didn't know how to hide it anymore, so he confessed honestly:

"Lord Mao, a clerk from the Ministry of War was killed in the bombing."
This matter concerns his career advancement; if word got out, it would be disastrous, which is why the Ministry of War kept it a secret.

This reasoning made sense, but Mao Xiang and his men's expressions darkened.

The more plausible and reasonable something is, the harder it is to solve the case.

Wen Cheng raised his head and asked calmly:
Who else was present for the test that day?

"Only two of my subordinates, the clerk in charge of the test named Feng Hao, were killed in the explosion."
The Ministry of Works gave his family thirty taels of silver, which settled the matter.

The other clerk in charge of recording was named Jiang Feng, who was a distant cousin of the current Right Vice Minister, Lord Wang.

"Wang Huan?" Wen Cheng raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Correct!"

A fierce glint flashed in Wen Cheng's eyes, and he said in a deep voice:
"Arrest him! Arrest Jiang Feng!"

The two eunuchs hurriedly ran away, and Wen Cheng explained:

"In this land price dispute, Wang Huan misappropriated 900,000 taels of silver and also colluded with some grain merchants."

They've lost a lot of money on land now.

However, Lord Lu suppressed any action regarding the grain supply.
Both inside and outside, the losses would be devastating; they had every motive to do it!

Xu Huizu frowned.
"You mean Jiang Feng hid the blown-up gun?"

Wen Cheng nodded, his gaze deep:
"How could no one covet the top-secret military equipment?"
Even fragments have value.
It's a pity the gun exploded, and they even buried it—such an irregular act actually happened in the Ministry of War!

Xu Huizu's expression suddenly changed, and even Mao Xiang, who was sitting, had his pupils shrink.

Losing a gun is fine, as long as it's found.
If the entire flintlock musket manufacturing process were lost and those rebels were to create it, that would be disastrous.

As night approached, Jiang Feng was still struggling when two Imperial Guards brought him in.

His thin body was wrapped in a rumpled blue robe, and his face was flushed red.

"Why are you arresting me?"

Mao Xiang sat behind the interrogation table, his fingertips tracing the Embroidered Uniform Guard token at his waist, his eyes as cold as ice:
"I ask you, where did the flintlock musket that exploded at the beginning of the year go?"

"A flintlock pistol?" Jiang Feng was taken aback, his expression suddenly changing:
"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't know? Zid has already instructed that you were responsible for recording the details when the gun was tested that day."

The gun exploded, the official died, and you're to give him a haphazard burial.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Feng's last shred of hope vanished completely, and he became utterly dejected.
Mao Xiang and Chen Sheng pursued:

"Now I'm asking you, where did the gun go? Don't be stubborn and refuse to listen to reason!"

"The guns are buried, and the booklet is in the cabinet in the duty room. You can go and check it!"

"Checked."

Wen Cheng walked in from outside, holding a yellowed booklet in his hand, and threw it in front of Jiang Feng.
"There's not even a single word about 'explosion' on the booklet, Jiang Feng, are you still trying to lie?"

Jiang Feng's body stiffened abruptly.
Staring at his name in the booklet, cold sweat instantly slid down his forehead.

He opened his mouth, but no words came out; he simply shrank back instinctively.

"Did not say?"

Mao Xiang waved his hand, and the Imperial Guards immediately stepped forward.

Jiang Feng was pressed onto the rack, and the clamps clicked onto his fingers.

"If you don't speak up, the clamps are about to tighten."

"Would you like to experience the feeling of your fingers being connected to your heart?"

Jiang Feng's face turned pale instantly. He stared at the wood grain on the clamping rod.

Remembering what I'd heard before about the ruthlessness of the Imperial Guards' interrogations, my teeth started chattering:
"I'll talk! I'll talk! Lord Wang told me to change that record!"

He said the news of the death must not be spread, otherwise the Ministry of War would be held responsible.

"One death is nothing. There are so many workshops in the capital, people die every day! Why are you hiding it! Speak!"

Xu Huizu stepped forward, the sound of armor plates colliding was deafening.
"Why are you hiding it! Tell me!"

Jiang Feng looked at the young man before him, and the duke's armor made his pupils suddenly contract.
It's just a gun explosion, why does the Duke have to come and interrogate it personally?

Jiang Feng spoke, trembling:
"At that time, Lord Wang had just been transferred to the Ministry of War, and he did not want this matter to get out and affect his career."

"What else did he make you do? Did he take the fragments of that gun?"

Jiang Feng's lips trembled, and his eyes darted away:
"I...I didn't know anything about the fragments. Lord Wang only told me to change the records; I didn't care about anything else."

"do not know?"

Mao Xiang sneered and gave the Embroidered Uniform Guard a wink.

The Imperial Guards immediately tightened the clamps.
Jiang Feng let out a heart-wrenching scream; his fingers were pinched until they turned purple, and his robes were soaked with cold sweat.

"I'll talk! I'll talk! The fragments were taken by Vice Minister Wang!"

He said he wanted to take it to the workshop to study it and see why it exploded.

At that moment, a eunuch rushed in.
His forehead was covered in cold sweat. He came to Wen Cheng's side and said in a deep voice:
“Father-in-law, this person is neither Jiang Feng nor a distant relative of Lord Wang.”

His real name is Chen Mo, and he is the son of Chen Guangsong, the former Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.

Chen Guangsong?
These words were like a thunderclap, exploding in the interrogation room!

Mao Xiang, Wen Cheng, and Xu Huizu exchanged a glance, all seeing shock in each other's eyes.
Chen Guangsong's family was wiped out and his clan was exterminated because of counterfeit military equipment.
This matter was discovered by Lu Yunyi when he was about to go to Yunnan. So, does that mean they are enemies?

"Are you Chen Guangsong's son?"

Wen Cheng stepped forward, his voice deep.

"Why did Wang Huan save you? And why did he change your name to Jiang Feng and get you a job in the Ministry of War? Was it so that he could assassinate Lord Lu one day?"

Jiang Feng's pupils suddenly contracted, and he quickly shook his head:
"No, I am not, I am Jiang Feng."

"Damn it, he won't listen to reason, so let's torture him! Cut off one of his hands!"

Mao Xiang didn't waste any words with him, and waved his hand sharply.

The next moment, wails and howls filled the cell, and Jiang Feng was quickly tortured beyond recognition.

"Speak, I'll speak."

“When my family was raided back then, Lord Wang had a past relationship with my father and secretly hid me in his mansion.”

Later, fearing I would be recognized, he changed my name and arranged for me to become a clerk in the Ministry of War.
He told me to follow him so I could do things for him in the future.

"Work for him?"

Mao Xiang's eyes sharpened. "What are you helping him with? Hiding guns?"

Jiang Feng shook his head, too pained to speak a complete sentence:
"I...I don't know, I just dug the gun out and handed it to him."

"My lord, I want to live, I just want to live."

Lord Lu is a high-ranking official of the second rank. How dare I, a mere clerk, retaliate? Spare my life! Spare my life!

Mao Xiang raised his hand to signal the Imperial Guards to stop the torture, and said to Wen Cheng:

"Immediately send someone to investigate Chen Guangsong's old case, as well as Wang Huan's accounts over the years."
His decision to save Chen Mo was definitely not just out of friendship; Wang Huan might have been involved in the arms case years ago.

Wen Cheng nodded and immediately sent someone to retrieve the files.

Xu Huizu stared at Jiang Feng, his tone as cold as ice:
"You better not be lying. If we find out you're hiding something, next time we'll turn you into a human pig!"

Jiang Feng lay slumped on the rack.
She didn't even have the strength to nod; she just kept crying.

"My lord, spare me! Spare me!"

About two hours later,
The Imperial Guards returned with the files and escorted Wang Huan into the interrogation room.

Wang Huan, dressed in a scarlet robe of a third-rank official, still stood tall, though his face was somewhat pale.

He saw Jiang Feng on the ground, his eyes narrowed sharply, but he quickly regained his composure:
"Lord Mao, I am an official appointed by the imperial court."
"You've arrested me without any evidence; aren't you afraid of His Majesty's wrath?"

"Without any evidence?"

Mao Xiang threw Jiang Feng's confession in front of him.
"Chen Mo has already confessed. You saved him, made him change his name to Jiang Feng, and even made him alter the Ministry of War's test records. What else do you have to say?"

Wang Huan picked up the confession, his fingers trembling slightly, yet he remained defiant:
"Chen Mo is talking nonsense! Jiang Feng is just the son of a distant cousin of mine. He got his job in the Ministry of War according to the rules!"

"According to the rules?"

Wen Cheng took out an account book, turned to one of the pages,
"This is your account from last year. There's a sum of five hundred taels of silver on it for Jiang Feng to purchase property."
"Does a low-ranking official like him need you to provide him with five hundred taels of property?"

Wang Huan's face instantly turned pale, and he staggered back, only to be grabbed by the shoulder by the Imperial Guards.

"That five hundred taels was a subsidy I gave to my cousin! Don't make false accusations!"

Xu Huizu sneered.
"Jiang Feng said you took the fragments of that flintlock rifle. What did you use them for?"

Wang Huan swayed as he looked at the torture instruments in the interrogation room.
He glanced again at the dying Jiang Feng on the ground, and finally slumped down in despair.
"I did not assassinate Lu Yunyi!"

"No assassination attempt?"

Mao Xiang stared at him, his voice suddenly rising: "So what's going on now?"

We've searched the entire Ming Dynasty workshop, and only one flintlock musket is missing. You're saying you didn't do it?

Xu Huizu stepped forward, looking down at him:
"Where did that flintlock musket go? Who did you give it to?" Wang Huan's lips tightened into a line, and he remained silent for a long while before finally speaking:

It was lost three months ago.

"lost?"

All three were startled. Xu Huizu stepped forward and grabbed Wang Huan by the collar:
"Was it the gun or some fragments that were lost? How could it be lost?"

Wang Huan's voice was tinged with helplessness:

"The gun has been repaired; it's a complete gun. I originally intended to keep it for emergencies."

I didn't dare keep the gun at home; instead, I kept it at the Sanyuan Pawnshop.

They also arranged for several distant relatives to keep an eye on things, just in case something happened.

But these people, three months ago,

These people were all killed, killed in the pawnshop! The guns are gone too!

"I knew that gun was top secret, so I didn't dare to say anything or report it to the authorities!"
But I really didn't know the gun would fall into the hands of an assassin.
They had no idea it would be used to assassinate Lord Lu!
I didn't do this!

I am a civil official, a scholar who passed the imperial examinations, how could I possibly do such a treasonous thing!

Xu Huizu released his grip, and Wang Huan collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

Wen Cheng picked up his pen and began to write down Wang Huan's words, but his fingertips trembled slightly.
The man was killed, and the gun was lost.

This indicates that a force is taking advantage of the situation.
They not only dared to mess with people from the Ministry of War, but they also dared to take top-secret military equipment.

Things are getting more complicated.

Xu Huizu asked in a deep voice:
"Where is Sanyuan Pawnshop? What's its exact address? And where are the dead buried?"

"The pawnshop is at No. 13 Kaiming Street in the north of the city. The person was buried in the backyard."

"What?" Mao Xiang tensed, his pupils contracted slightly, and his hands clenched tightly.
If I remember correctly, Hexing Dyehouse was located at No. 12 Kaiming Street in the north of the city, and it was the business of Qian Xinghuai, a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!
After Shangzhi was discovered by Lu Yunyi,

Qian Xinghuai then withdrew and returned to work at the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

He was later killed by Yu Tongyuan's men at the Lotus Tower.
For some reason, Mao Xiang felt there was a vague connection between them.

It was as if a giant hand was manipulating things from behind, weaving together all the forces together.
Wen Cheng noticed Mao Xiang's unusual behavior and asked:
"Lord Mao, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing."

"Lord Mao is currently under investigation, and if he doesn't speak up about something, his punishment will be compounded," Wen Cheng said calmly, seemingly certain that Mao Xiang was hiding something.

Xu Huizu also turned his gaze over.
Mao Xiang noticed their gazes, sighed helplessly, and recounted the matter of Qian Xinghuai.
The two looked absurd and their faces turned serious upon hearing this!
This matter has become increasingly convoluted and involves more and more people.
Wen Cheng glanced thoughtfully at Mao Xiang, his eyes slightly narrowed, then looked at Wang Huan and asked:

When did Sanyuan Pawnshop open?

"In the nineteenth year, after I entered the capital, my salary was not enough to cover my expenses, so my family funded the opening of a pawnshop to supplement the household expenses."

Wen Cheng muttered to himself, then looked at Mao Xiang:

"It's been five years since the nineteenth year."

Five years have passed, and Qian Xinghuai, as a commander of the Imperial Guard,
Didn't you notice anything amiss with the shops next to you? Or is there some other hidden story?
Mao Xiang immediately understood Wen Cheng's meaning, abruptly stood up, and glared angrily:

"Wen Cheng, what do you mean! You suspect me of murdering and stealing a gun?"

Wen Cheng ignored his anger and gave a light snort:
"The feud between Lord Mao and Lord Lu has been brewing for a long time; this is common knowledge in the capital."

"Using trouble to commit murder. Lord Mao has done this kind of thing quite a few times. He has the motive, the ability, and the manpower. We have reason to suspect that the Embroidered Uniform Guard took the gun."

"absurd!!"

Mao Xiang's voice suddenly rose, and bloodshot veins instantly welled up in his eyes:
"Wen Cheng, don't make false accusations."
It's true that I have a grudge against Lu Yunyi, but that wouldn't warrant killing someone in the street, much less using such childish methods and leaving such an obvious opening!

"Oh? It seems Lord Mao really did plan this?" Wen Cheng teased.

"You're talking nonsense! You damned eunuch, stop being so sarcastic all the time!"

The Embroidered Uniform Guard could outmaneuver the Imperial Palace Administration.
It's because of bad apples like you who make baseless accusations without any evidence!

Xu Huizu stood to the side, his brow furrowed. The matter was still not clear.
They've already started fighting amongst themselves?

"Alright! First, check the Sanyuan Pawnshop and find the body!"

Mao Xiang snorted coldly, glared at Wen Cheng, and stood up to leave.

"I'll personally examine the body and show you how the Embroidered Uniform Guard operates!"

But before he could reach the door, Xu Huizu stepped aside and blocked his way, his voice calm but carrying an undeniable air of authority:

“Lord Mao, now that the Embroidered Uniform Guard is also involved, you should recuse yourself. Lord Wen, you should take men to investigate.”

"Wei Guogong!"

Mao Xiang felt a chill run through his body. How had things suddenly taken such a turn for the worse, trapping him in this situation once again?
His jaw clenched, and he demanded:
"Duke of Wei, I, Mao Xiang, have also led troops and fought battles. If I wanted to kill someone, I wouldn't need to go to such great lengths!"

Xu Huizu glanced at him indifferently:
"The Embroidered Uniform Guard is now suspected of seizing the gun, so they should stay away from the case."

"Your yelling at me won't do any good. Men, keep an eye on him! Don't let him leave the prison!"

"Yes!"

The two guards at the door shouted.

Wen Cheng chuckled lightly, giving Mao Xiang a somewhat provocative look:
"Lord Mao, I will go examine the body now. If it has nothing to do with the Embroidered Uniform Guard, then you may come out."

Having said that, Wen Cheng turned and left, while Mao Xiang shouted and jumped forward:

"asshole!!"

In the dead of night, Kaiming Street in the north of the city was quiet and deserted.

The soil in the backyard of Sanyuan Pawnshop was stained black by the moonlight, and a few torches were stuck in the corner of the wall.
The shadows of the Imperial Guards stretched long and were cast beside the newly dug pit, looking rather ferocious.

Wen Cheng wrapped his brocade robe tighter around himself and stood by the pit.

Two imperial guards were digging with shovels, the clanging of the shovels hitting the soil particularly jarring in the quiet night.

"Sir, we've found it!"

One of the guards suddenly stopped what he was doing; the tip of his shovel had hit something hard.

The crowd instantly gathered around, and the torchlight shone down into the pit.

A corner of tattered blue cloth was visible beneath the soil.
The imperial guards carefully dug away the surrounding soil with their hands.
A curled-up corpse gradually came into view.

“There’s more!” another Imperial Guard shouted.

Over the next half hour, the three bodies were dug out one after another and placed side by side in the open space in the backyard.

The body was already decomposed, its clothes were blackened by mud, and there was a gruesome wound on its chest.

"Coroner, come here and examine the body!"

Wen Cheng's voice broke the silence, carrying an undeniable authority.

The old coroner, who had been waiting nearby, quickly stepped forward.
He was carrying a wooden box, which contained silver needles, a small knife, and a white cloth.

He first knelt down and used a cloth to wipe the dirt off the chest of the leftmost corpse.
He then took out a pair of thin wooden gloves from the box, put them on, and gently pressed his fingertips against the edge of the wound.

"Sir, the wound is on the third rib on the left side of the chest, about three inches deep. The blade is thin, and the angle of entry was low, so it must have been stabbed from the front. It pierced the heart in one go, and there were no signs of struggle."

The old coroner's voice was hoarse, carrying the cold hardness of years of performing autopsies.
"The other two bodies had the same injuries, both killed with a single, clean stab."

Wen Cheng frowned even more deeply, took two steps forward, bent down and stared at the wound:

Can you tell what kind of knife it is? A machete? A kitchen knife? Or a military knife?

The old coroner shook his head, took out a small silver ruler from the box, and measured the width of the wound:
"The wound is about 1.2 inches wide, with neat edges and no curling, which indicates that the blade is very sharp."

But ordinary kitchen knives have too wide blades, and military knives are too thick; they don't quite match.

He paused, then suddenly looked up at the Imperial Guard beside him.
"Sir, may I borrow a Jinyiwei's waist knife?"

Upon hearing this, the Imperial Guard standing nearby stiffened abruptly, instinctively gripping the scabbard at his waist.
"This isn't appropriate, is it?"

Our Embroidered Uniform Guard's swords are all standard-issue, how could this be?"

"Take it if I tell you to!"

Wen Cheng's eyes turned cold, and the prayer beads stopped between his fingers.
"Whether it's true or false, you'll know once you compare them. Are you feeling guilty?"

The Imperial Guard turned pale and dared not argue further. He could only slowly unslung his sword and hand it over.

The scabbard was black, bound with dark red ribbons, and made a soft swishing sound when the sword was drawn.
The blade gleamed coldly in the torchlight.

It is indeed a thin-bladed waist knife commonly used by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The old coroner took the knife but did not immediately compare the pieces.
Instead, he first checked the width of the blade, then touched the edge with his fingertip.

He walked to the body, squatted down, gently placed the blade against the edge of the wound, and adjusted the angle.

"It matches!"

The old coroner suddenly spoke, his voice trembling slightly.

"The width of the blade and the direction of the cut perfectly match the wound!"

Especially the small notch at the tip of the blade, which corresponds perfectly to the scratch on the lower left corner of the wound!

Everyone was in an uproar instantly.

The Imperial Guard's face instantly drained of color.
"Someone must have forged our Embroidered Uniform Guard's swords to frame us!"

(End of this chapter)