I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 319 Unexpected Misfortune! Shen Yiguan, More Wronged Than Dou E

It was nearly four in the morning, in the southern suburbs of the capital.

In one of the Jinyiwei's strongholds, the murderers Ma Hanyong, Zhao Dazhu, and Shi San had been tortured beyond recognition.

After reading the testimonies of the three people, Shi Qing began to think carefully.

The useful information he has obtained so far is—

Shen Yaoshan's assassination was a hired killing, and the mastermind behind it was a middle-aged man.

Although all three murderers communicated with the man through the carriage window.

However, what is certain is that this middle-aged man was very wealthy; he often lived in the capital; he had investigated three people in a gambling den in the southern suburbs of the capital; he had a large amount of gold coins; the murderer, Ma Hanyong, remembered his voice and recognized him when he heard him speak again.

Shi Qing did not agree with Ma Hanyong's method of "appearing near Banqiao in the southern suburbs of Beijing, waiting for the mastermind to approach him, then extorting money from him before fleeing to the sea."

He didn't think the mastermind behind it all would be foolish enough to show up in front of Ma Hanyong again.

On the contrary, the fact that the mastermind behind this had a large amount of gold coins, and that he had investigated three people in a gambling den in the southern suburbs of the capital, is a more valuable clue.

In the capital, there aren't many people who can easily produce a bag of gold beans worth five hundred taels of silver, and since the gold beans need to be melted and refined, they must be related to gold shops and jewelry shops.

Immediately, Shi Qing ordered his subordinates to split into two teams.

One team investigated based on the clue "golden beans," while the other team investigated based on the clue "information was purchased at a gambling den in the southern suburbs of Beijing in June or July of this year."

In this way, the scope can be continuously reduced.

Once the suspect is identified, Ma Hanyong can be instructed to identify the person by their voice.

Having not slept all night, Shi Qing decided to take a nap first, and then report the progress to Emperor Wanli after the morning court session.

……

The sun was high in the sky, and the autumn sun shone brightly.

Inside the Wenhua Hall.

Shi Qing reported all of last night's gains to Emperor Wanli.

Little Wanli nodded.

"Well done! The next task is to find out who the mastermind is!" After thinking for a moment, Xiao Wanli said, "Two days later, announce to the public that the three murderers have been caught."

"Yes!" Shi Qing solemnly cupped his hands in greeting.

The reason why Emperor Wanli did not immediately announce the arrest of the murderer.

On the one hand, they wanted to continue to tormenting the officials in the capital, making them deeply feel how busy they were because of Shen Nian's special treatment.

On the other hand, once the murderer is revealed, the Three Judicial Offices have an advantage over the Embroidered Uniform Guard in finding the mastermind behind the scenes using clues. Emperor Wanli hoped that Shi Qing would find the mastermind behind the murderer, rather than the Three Judicial Offices.

Ever since the palace maid who had never conceived was beaten to death by Empress Dowager Li, the young Wanli Emperor had been inclined to cultivate his own people, such as Shi Qing and Fang Ping.

In his eyes, Feng Bao could only be considered half one of his own, because Feng Bao was just as loyal to Empress Dowager Li as he was to him.

……

The following day, at nightfall, in the front courtyard of the Hanlin Academy.

With a serious expression, Hanlin Academician Shen Yiguan addressed the dozen or so clerks in front of him: "Everyone must patrol the area several times tonight. Perhaps the three murderers are hiding in the capital, in Nanxunfang. Grand Secretary Shen's affairs are our Hanlin Academy's affairs. We must be more diligent than other government offices. Do you all understand?"

"Understood!" all the clerks shouted in unison.

Shen Yiguan nodded, then walked out of the Hanlin Academy looking exhausted and got into the carriage to go home.

Once he was seated in the carriage, his expression immediately changed.

"The assassination of a mere merchant has prompted the entire court to search for clues. If he were to be assassinated, would the entire court be forced to be buried with him?"

Shen Yiguan is now the second-in-command of the Hanlin Academy, in charge of practical affairs.

After Emperor Wanli asked various government departments for help in apprehending the criminals, he volunteered to lead a group of clerks and organized a criminal-hunting team.

The task force's mission was to patrol the Nanxunfang area east of the Hanlin Academy every morning, noon, and evening, carrying portraits of the three murderers, in order to increase the probability of discovering the killers.

Shen Yiguan, while working at the Hanlin Academy, appeared to take this matter very seriously, but in reality, he valued appearances more than substance.

Of all the officials in the court, he disliked Shen Nian the most.

He believes that if Shen Nianzhi had not risen to prominence, he would be sitting in the Cabinet Office right now.

This statement is not an exaggeration.

Shen Yiguan was a smooth and shrewd man, skilled in political maneuvering. In addition to having good relationships with people in the capital and being quite capable, he also managed to win over all the officials, merchants, and gentry in the capital, who were all from Zhejiang except for Shen Nian. He was quite influential among these people.

……

Half an hour later.

As Shen Yiguan alighted from his carriage upon arriving home, he heard someone call out, "Brother-in-law! Brother-in-law!" He turned around and said, "Hu De, what are you doing, sneaking around like that?"

A middle-aged, overweight man dressed in a silk robe jogged up to him, his forehead covered in sweat, looking very anxious.

"Brother-in-law, I have something important to tell you. Let's go inside and talk!"

Shen Yiguan frowned slightly, looking at the latter's anxious expression, and said, "Come in!"

Hu De, courtesy name Youwei, was a native of Yin County, Zhejiang Province, and a fellow townsman of Shen Yiguan. He was a very wealthy silk merchant.

He was a distant cousin of Shen Yiguan's wife.

After getting to know Shen Yiguan, he called him his cousin-in-law to show his closeness.

Shen had always looked down on Hu De, but the other man was rich, incredibly rich, and could cover all the expenses for organizing gatherings of fellow Zhejiang natives.

Therefore, Shen Yiguan accepted this relative as his own and would join him at drinking parties every now and then.

The other party used Shen Yiguan as a facade to cultivate relationships with powerful figures, while Shen Yiguan used him as his own money bag; they exploited each other.

……

A moment later, the two arrived at the study in the Shen residence.

The host and guests all sat down.

Shen Yiguan smiled warmly, ordered someone to brew him a cup of good tea, and then asked with concern, "Youwei, what's the matter that you're in such a hurry?"

Shen always prioritizes appearances and feigns politeness in his work.

Even if he can't get things done for someone, he can still make the person who asked him for a favor leave happy.

Hu De paused for a moment, then lowered his voice and said, "Brother-in-law, the assassination of Shen Yaoshan was... was... ordered by me."

"What?" Shen Yiguan was so surprised that he jumped up from his chair.

"Why...why did you hire someone to assassinate him?"

"Because of Yaodong Trading Company's disruption, the monthly wages of shop assistants across the country have all increased. Because of Shen Nian's entry into the cabinet, it is becoming increasingly difficult for merchants like me to make profits through the old methods. If the new policies continue, all my money will turn into those crop stalks!"

"Didn't you tell me at the last gathering that the Shen family father and son are both sinners of our Great Ming Dynasty?"

"Shen Yaoshan is disrupting private commerce, and Shen Nian is disrupting the court. They are both robbing the rich to help the poor for their own reputations. I think that killing Shen Yaoshan would also allow Shen Nian to go home to observe mourning, and it would also help you enter the cabinet. It's a plan that kills three birds with one stone!"

"No...no...no...I didn't say anything!"

“I didn’t ask you to hire someone to kill me, I didn’t ask you to help me get into the cabinet, this matter has nothing to do with me… I…” Shen Yiguan’s lips trembled, and his tongue seemed to be tied in knots.

He was clearly frightened.

He drank too much at the last banquet.

In order to get Hu De to join forces with some wealthy merchants to spread bad rumors about the Shen family, he did say things like Shen Yaoshan was disrupting trade and Shen Nian was disrupting the world, and even claimed that his failure to enter the cabinet was also because of Shen Nian.

Although these were said while he was drunk, they did indeed come from his mouth.

If this reached the ears of the young Wanli Emperor, it would immediately become his motive for hiring someone to kill, and he would surely die.

"You...you are too despicable! How could I, Shen Yiguan, a Jinshi of the second year of the Longqing reign, know a scoundrel like you! Shen Yaoshan has already donated the Yaodong Trading Company to the court. Killing him won't change the current state of commerce! If you're so capable, why...why don't you kill all the Tatar leaders?"

"I...I...I didn't know he had donated to Yaodong Trading Company at the time!"

Hu De looked at Shen Yiguan.

"Brother-in-law, I'm calling you tonight because I never expected this matter to escalate to this extent. Although those three murderers have never seen my face, they have heard my voice. If they are caught and the investigation leads back to me, I... I'm finished! If I'm finished, I'll confess that I was ordered by you. If you want to live, you must save me!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Yiguan clenched his fists, his face filled with murderous intent.

Hood straightened his chest as he sensed the murderous aura.

"Don't even think about killing me to cover it up. I wrote a letter of denunciation before I came here. If I don't go back tonight, this letter accusing you of being the mastermind will fall into the hands of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

"You...you...you...you scoundrel, what does this have to do with me? I...I'm more wronged than Dou E!"

Enraged, Shen Yiguan punched himself in the chest several times.

He was on the verge of tears, feeling utterly wronged.

He knew in his heart that, based on the impressions of the young Wanli Emperor and the five Grand Secretaries on him, plus his relationship with Hu De, this was the case.

This pot was made specifically for him.

Out of jealousy of Shen Nian's talent, he hired someone to kill Shen's father; out of a desire to be promoted to the cabinet, he hired someone to kill Shen's father.

The motive is reasonable, the witness testimonies are all available, and everything makes perfect sense.

After pausing for about ten breaths, Shen Yiguan looked at Hu De and said, "Tell me all the details of how you hired someone to kill me!"

(End of this chapter)