Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 160 A Good Son-in-Law
Lu Wenzhao had something on his mind and couldn't sleep well, so he got up early.

"Husband?" Lu Wenzhao's movement was not loud, but it still stirred up a gust of cold wind, disturbing Hai Rou who was sleeping in the same quilt with him.

"You continue sleeping, I'll put on my clothes myself." Lu Wenzhao gently pushed Hai Rou back.

"Ajiu hasn't gotten up yet." Usually, Ajiu, the only maid in the house, is the first one to get up because she has to prepare breakfast for the master and the mistress.

"It doesn't matter. I can handle it myself outside." Before getting married, Lu Wenzhao had never been served by anyone, so his hands and feet were very nimble, and he dressed up in no time.

"My dear husband, is there something on your mind?" Hai Rou blinked, trying to make herself more awake.

"Nothing, just a job to do today." Lu Wenzhao leaned over and pecked Hai Rou on the forehead. "Thank you."

Hai Rou wanted to return the kiss, but when she stood up, Lu Wenzhao had already stepped onto the bag and turned around. So she had no choice but to shrink into the quilt with a red face and pretend nothing happened. "Go away."

It was still dark when Lu Wenzhao left home. However, breakfast stalls along the main road had already set up shop. Lu Wenzhao went to his favorite mutton soup restaurant and, as usual, laid out a few copper coins of varying sizes on the table. The owner didn't ask any questions, just a quick greeting before serving Lu Baihu a bowl of warm mutton soup and a few steamed buns.

Lu Wenzhao quickly finished his breakfast, eating a steamed bun and a sip of soup, slicing some de-smelling mutton offal. As he was about to leave, a breeze blew a few grains of strangely cold air onto Lu Wenzhao's face. He looked up at the pale, fish-belly-like sky and thought: It's going to snow again.

In the main hall of the Jinyiwei East Office, Commanding Officer Hai Zhentao was frowning as he flipped through the records and reports on the desk. Hai Zhentao was so focused that he didn't even notice the gust of wind and snow that came in when someone pushed the door open.

Lu Wenzhao didn't say anything, but found an empty seat and sat down, waiting silently. He knew Hai Zhentao's temper well; once Master Taishan was focused, he hated being disturbed. Time ticked by, and after less than three-quarters of an hour, Hai Zhentao had finally moved all the documents from his left hand to his right.

But Hai Zhentao didn't relax. His brows were still furrowed. He planned to sort out all these things from beginning to end. Hai Zhentao rubbed the Jingming point above his nose and called out, "Someone come."

"Greetings, Mr. Assistant!" Lu Wenzhao hurried forward.

"Go get me a cup of hot tea." Hai Zhentao wanted a cup of hot tea, but when he saw that the person coming was his son-in-law Lu Wenzhao, he stopped giving orders. Serving tea and pouring water was not the job of a sixth-rank military officer. "Why are you here?" A terrifying guess suddenly popped up in Hai Zhentao's mind. "Did something happen in the prison?!"

Lu Wenzhao knew what Hai Zhentao meant, so he quickly denied it, "No! Lord Sun is fine."

"That's good. When did you get here?" Hai Zhentao nodded, then waved to the yamen runner. "Pour it out and make a new one."

"Not long. I just saw that the adults were busy, so I didn't dare to disturb them." Lu Wenzhao asked with concern: "You look worried. Is there something wrong?"

"Haven't there been quite a few murders in the capital lately?" Hai Zhentao's tense nerves relaxed a little. He stood up, stretched, and began pacing the vast main hall. "The Military Affairs Department is helpless and at a loss. The leading commanders are constantly running to the Command Headquarters to request assistance from the Imperial Guard. You know what's worrying us here, so the Lord has assigned this difficult task to me."

Lu Wenzhao's eyes lit up: "Murder cases are a good job that can easily earn you credit!"

Jobs were categorized as either good or bad, and good jobs could be further divided into lucrative and meritorious jobs. Lucky jobs offered no merit but were highly profitable, such as assignments like arresting people, searching for evidence, and confiscating homes. While meritorious jobs, such as spying with the army or assisting in suppressing rebellions, which required risking one's life, were considered first-rate meritorious.

In theory, human life is of paramount importance, so murder cases are particularly easy to be rewarded.

"What a bird!" Hai Zhentao stopped pacing and returned to his seat when the yamen runner brought him hot tea. "For the past two weeks, someone's been killed almost every day. The method is quick and efficient. It's obviously done by an expert."

"A secret deal with the underworld?" Lu Wenzhao guessed.

The so-called "dark money" refers to gangs paying for someone's life. Generally speaking, a large number of murders in a short period of time, or the annihilation of an entire family, are often linked to the underworld.

"I don't know. There are even rumors that it's a hidden reward offered by the factory guards."

"Rewards" were associated with government officials and even the imperial court. There were both white and black rewards. For example, the imperial court's public promise before the Battle of Sarhu, "A reward of 10,000 taels of silver and promotion to commander-in-chief for anyone who captured and killed the rebel leader Nurhaci," was the largest "white reward" in recent decades.

"The most troublesome thing is that almost all of the dead were scholars. There were also two old eunuchs who had left the palace." Hai Zhentao paused. "Old eunuchs."

"Scholars? Are there any connections among them? Like classmates, fellow townsmen, etc." Lu Wenzhao helped analyze.

"I've been searching for a long time and found nothing." Hai Zhentao pointed his index finger at the pile of documents to his right. "By the way, what are you doing here? Looking for a job?" Seeing that Lu Wenzhao hadn't said anything, Hai Zhentao assumed that he had received some information and had come here specifically to ask for a job.

Hai Zhentao randomly picked up a book and tossed it in front of Lu Wenzhao. "Take this, and get results within a month. A real result would be best, but if you can't, go find a few refugees with children in the suburbs of Beijing to take on the case. It's just a matter of paying them. It's almost New Year, so it's best to have fewer cases. It's not going to look good."

Despite his dislike, Lu Wenzhao wasn't puzzled by Hai Zhentao's proposed "ultimate solution." "Turning murder cases into robbery and slaying refugees" was a common practice at all levels of government. Refugees had no household registration, their status lower than registered slaves. Even in peaceful times, no one cared about their lives. The Jinyiwei were extremely merciful in paying refugees to take the blame when they couldn't rely on their resources and couldn't achieve results.

"Sir, I'm not here to ask for a job, but to report it." Lu Wenzhao shook his head, then returned to his seat and picked up the package he had brought with him.

"What mission are you on?" Hai Zhentao didn't react for a moment.

"We have obtained Mr. Sun's confession." Lu Wenzhao opened the package and took out all the confessions inside in one breath.

"Confession." Hai Zhentao was stunned, then his eyes widened. "You took something out of Sun Ruyou!" Hai Zhentao quickly put down the teacup he had just picked up, leaned on the table, and swooped down to grab the complaint that was lying on the edge of the desk. The half-scalding tea splashed on Hai Zhentao's wrist, but he was completely unaware.

"Yes." Lu Wenzhao nodded. "You had already left the yamen when Lord Sun signed and sealed the document."

"You actually made this imperial envoy successful!" The more Hai Zhentao looked down, the more the corners of his mouth rose.

Because being an imperial envoy usually involves a wide range of tasks, it is the most complicated type of mission. It can be a good mission, a bad mission, or even a fatal one.

The key to determining whether an imperial envoy is good or bad lies in the envoy's own wisdom and the information he has.

For an imperial envoy, the most important thing is not the facts, but the emperor's will. Knowing and following the emperor's will ensure invincibility. However, the emperor's will is unpredictable and constantly influenced by the various parties involved in the case. If the envoy fails to understand the power balance and interrelationships of the various stakeholders, and acts haphazardly and recklessly, he or she is likely to get himself or herself into trouble.

"It's concise and clear, with a clear distinction between the main and the subordinate, and no random rambling. This confession is truly excellent!" Hai Zhentao praised it repeatedly, almost seeming to be reluctant to let it go. "How did you conduct the interrogation? Did you torture him?" "I dare not disobey your Excellency's instructions." The implication was that he hadn't.

"Then why did Sun Ruyou confess?" Hai Zhentao put down the confession.

"Because we got this." Lu Wenzhao took out a jade waist badge from his arms, leaned forward and placed it in front of Hai Zhentao.

"Sun Jiaji?" Hai Zhentao picked up the badge.

"This is the grandson of a convicted official." Lu Wenzhao explained.

"You sent people to Zhejiang?" Hai Zhentao asked doubtfully.

Sun Ruyou was from Yuyao County, Zhejiang Province, and was therefore a conservative among the Donglin Party's top leaders, similar to the Zhejiang Party. In terms of dealing with foreigners, foreign religions, foreign learning and other issues, Sun Ruyou could even be said to be Shen's "comrade."

"That's not the case." Lu Wenzhao shook his head. "Sun Jiaji is currently studying at the Imperial College in Beijing."

"Did you catch him?" Hai Zhentao asked.

"No, I just treated him to a meal and explained the situation to him." Lu Wenzhao still shook his head. "Sun Jiaji was just a young man who didn't even pass the imperial examination. He was very worried about his grandfather, so he tricked me into lending him the things. Lord Sun was initially reluctant to accept the loan, but he had to think about his descendants, so I gave him the things and made a deal with him."

Lu Wenzhao flipped to the page describing Sun Ruyou and showed it to Hai Zhentao. "I allowed him to clear himself from the main culprit. This way, Lord Sun's guilt would be much less severe, and even if he were ultimately dismissed, the impact on future generations' careers would be much smaller."

"Keep your voice down!" Hai Zhentao gestured, signaling Lu Wenzhao to be careful. "There might be someone from the Western Factory in this room. Wei Gong is counting on us to commit crimes in order to gain the emperor's favor."

"Hmm!" Lu Wenzhao accepted it, but didn't take it to heart. "You are in charge of the case, so I will leave the confession to you."

As he spoke, he pulled out the last page of the confession. Besides the signature and fingerprint of the criminal, Sun Ruyou, it also contained the name of the person who handled the case. Lu Wenzhao had written five names on two lines at the end, leaving a large blank space.

"You're sensible." Hai Zhentao didn't hesitate and directly wrote the name of his eldest son, Hai Bokang, in the blank space at the end. "Take it. It would be better if you give it to the head guard."

"Thank you, Mr. Assistant Secretary?" Lu Wenzhao was a little surprised. He had deliberately written the five names on two lines to make it easier for Hai Zhentao to put "Hai Bokang" after "Hai Zhentao." This way, the credit could be attributed to Hai Bokang.

"A good son-in-law is like a son, why should we be so distant?" Hai Zhentao saw Lu Wenzhao's confusion and said with a smile, "You are much more promising than Bokang. When I go down, I may have to rely on you to protect him."

"Taishan, you are too kind." Lu Wenzhao said modestly.

"Go quickly." Hai Zhentao's face was full of encouraging smile.

"No more adding?" Lu Wenzhao pointed to the blank space behind "Haibokang" again.

"That's all the credit you've earned. If more people shared it, it wouldn't be worth much." Hai Zhentao grabbed the case files, sorted them out, and handed them back to Lu Wenzhao. "This is exactly what the Chief Guard needs!"

------

The distance between the East Office and the headquarters was not far, so it didn't take Lu Wenzhao much time to reach the Commandery Office.

Lu Wenzhao originally thought that his first assignment would be the one personally assigned by the Chief Guard to him, which was to place Zhang Shirui, the daughter of the Heavenly Master, under house arrest. Normally, as a subordinate of Luo Sigong, Lu Wenzhao was not qualified to come to the headquarters to report on this assignment.

"Your humble servant Lu Wenzhao greets the Lord in Charge of Guards!" Seeing that Luo Sigong was not working at his desk but was supporting his head in a daze, Lu Wenzhao walked straight up to him and bowed.

"Lu Wenzhao?" Luo Sigong was a little surprised. "Did the East Office figure it out so quickly?"

"If you're asking about the recent murders," Lu Wenzhao's mind raced, and he immediately understood what Luo Sigong was asking. "I can only regretfully tell you that I have no clue yet."

Luo Sigong was very upset because just yesterday, Fang Congzhe had done as he had said and submitted his resignation to the emperor on the grounds of old age and incompetence.

To Luo Sigong's surprise, the emperor did not reject the petition, but kept it in his hands without sending it out.

According to common practice, if the letter was retained, the relevant official would suspend his duties, stop all public and private interactions, and wait for the emperor's orders at home. In this way, Fang Congzhe became the first minister with a nominal position.

Logically speaking, when the Prime Minister was suspended, the Second Prime Minister Ye Xianggao should have temporarily taken over as Cabinet Prime Minister to handle state affairs, but the emperor directly ordered Shen Yi, who was fourth in line, to temporarily perform the duties of the Prime Minister as a cabinet member.

For a moment, the cardinal was shocked and everyone was in danger.

Moreover, before this, Fang Congzhe not only did not respond positively to Luo Sigong's request, but instead turned Luo Yangxing away.

"Then why are you here!" Luo Sigong's frown deepened.

"I'm here to report another case to the Chief Guard!" Seeing Luo Sigong's unfriendly look, Lu Wenzhao suddenly felt extremely grateful for Cao Huachun's guidance. "It's related to Zou Yuanbiao, the convicted official who committed suicide a few days ago out of fear of punishment."

"What?" Luo Sigong's expression suddenly changed. "Hurry up and tell me!"

"Huh!" Lu Wenzhao let out a long breath, then took off the backpack on his shoulder. "Master Guard, under the supervision of Hai Jianshi..."

"Shut up and get to the point!"

(End of this chapter)