Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 670 The Forbidden City Investigates a Case
"What a pity?" Shen Yourong was taken aback and asked Luo Yangxing in confusion, "What's a pity?"

"Hehehe." Luo Yangxing blinked and explained with a smile, "What I mean is, we were delayed by the sea breeze and thus arrived in Wangjing later than General Li and the others, losing the first merit, which is a pity and a regrettable thing."

Shen Yourong stared intently at Luo Yangxing for a while. He subconsciously felt that there was something more to Luo Yangxing's words, but he didn't question or press further. Instead, he went along with it and said, "Judging from what Vice Envoy Lin said, General Li and his men probably haven't entered Hanyang yet. They've probably just heard some rumors."

"Oh? Is that so?" Luo Yangxing took over the conversation and then turned to ask in Korean, "Envoy Lin, have any other Ming troops entered Hanyang, or have they sent any notifications to Hanyang?"

"Probably not." Lin Chengye was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected that this military officer in his fine clothes could speak fluent Korean like the interpreter in his entourage.

"Then why does your Crown Prince perform the 'Story of King Sukjong's Lingwu'? Is it because his name was Li Heng before he changed it?" Luo Yangxing spoke directly to Lin Chengye, while Huang Baihu whispered to Shen Yourong for simultaneous interpretation.

Lin Chengye was speechless for a moment. Openly discussing the palace coup and even casually addressing the crown prince by his given name was not something a subject like him could do.

"Hard to say? Then let me ask another way." Luo Yangxing then asked, "Why is martial law being declared in Hanyang?"

"Probably to prevent riots," Lin Chengye replied.

"What riot?" Luo Yangxing pressed.

"I only stayed in Hanyang for less than two hours, and I ate several meals on horseback. Neither Park Yeong-sang nor Yoo Pan-seo explained anything to me. So, I really don't know much." Lin Chengye felt somewhat guilty, because before leaving Changdeok Palace, he had clearly heard the words "investigate" and "precaution." Lin Chengye didn't know the details, but even a fool could tell that at this time, the only case requiring the Crown Prince's precautions was a treasonous plot orchestrated by rebels.

Lin Chengye didn't want to discuss such a potentially scandalous issue with the officials of the Celestial Empire, so he changed the subject: "However, I believe that the Ming army from other routes should have already entered the capital region."

Luo Yangxing didn't think much of it; after all, it was a palace coup, and martial law in the city was normal. He followed up by asking, "How did you know that other Ming troops had entered the capital region?"

"A declaration of guardianship! Park Seong-jong once casually mentioned that Ganghwa, Jangtan, and Paju had all received the 'Declaration of Guardianship of Joseon' circulated by that separate Ming army." At this point, Lin Chengye suddenly remembered Park Seong-jong's reprimand and felt a surge of injustice: These were clearly two separate Ming armies! Since Hanyang had learned of the news first and demanded that various places welcome them, they should have proactively publicized their decision. Why were they being blamed instead?

"Jianghua, Changtan, Paju, General Li and his men have really entered Gyeonggi Province." Shen Yourong murmured softly as she listened to the translator.

Luo Yangxing glanced at Shen Yourong, and seeing that he was just talking to himself, he continued to ask, "How far are these places from Hanyang?"

Lin Chengye quickly composed himself. "The nearest city, Paju, is about 80 li from Hanyang, which is a bit farther than Incheon."

“Admiral Shen,” Luo Yangxing said to Shen Yourong with a smile, “it seems we can send a report of victory to the Emperor.”

Shen Yourong nodded in response, but said, "Let's wait until we enter Hanyang before we talk about it."

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On the official road south of the South Gate and north of the Han River, Zhang Wan, the military advisor to the imperial envoy welcoming the army, Zheng Douyuan, the deputy envoy welcoming the army and the inspector of the Uigeumbu government, and Gao Yonghouzheng, the scribe of the delegation, rode side by side. Behind them, in addition to the other members of the delegation, was a patrol team from the Uigeumbu government.

The two groups were traveling the same route but had different backgrounds, and would eventually have to part ways. However, Zhang Wan had no idea when or at which intersection this temporary patrol team would say goodbye to them.

Zhang Wan didn't want to say goodbye to these people; he hoped they would leave silently at the crossroads where they should have parted ways. If it weren't for these upsetting and unpleasant things, he would never have wanted to travel the same road with these murderers who had killed countless people and harmed loyal and honest people.

However, just as unpleasant things never happen according to one's will, Zhang Wan couldn't simply avoid seeing the annoying face of the patrol team leader, Gu Shibo (峕, pronounced the same as "Shi").

"Zhang Canpan, Zheng Jianxiang, Gao Zuolang." After a burst of accelerating hoofbeats, Ju Shibo, the Tongzhi Yijinfu Shi, arrived beside Zhang Wan and the other two with two Yijinfu Dushi, instantly squeezing the relatively wide official road down to just the edge.

"Is Ju Tongzhi leaving?" Zhang Wan suppressed her disgust and smiled at Ju Shibo.

"It's a pity, yes." Gu Shibo had a round face and broad shoulders, and his smile resembled that of a kind Maitreya Buddha. "We checked, and Yanfo Temple is located over at Woniu Mountain."

Zhang Wan, who was talking about "Sleeping Ox Mountain," didn't want to waste time arguing with Ju Shibo, but she couldn't resist her curiosity. "Where is it?"

"Actually, I'm not entirely sure either. But I heard from my men that if you turn right at that intersection ahead and walk another three or four miles, you'll see Woniu Mountain." Ju Shibo raised his hand and pointed to a crossroads in the distance.

"I see." Zhang Wan nodded, then said with a smirk, "They haven't even caught a single criminal in the act at the North Camp outpost. Now, after a day, they probably won't be able to find anything out, right?"

"We have to try no matter what, there's always some clue." Ju Shibo chuckled. "At the very least, we can find Judge Li's sedan chair. You may not know, but that sedan chair was made of the finest Fujian rosewood. Not to mention the cost of the wood and labor, the transportation alone cost over a hundred taels of silver."

"Wow, that's really extravagant," Zhang Wan exclaimed, unable to resist adding sarcastically, "Why not use Phoebe zhennan?"

“That won’t do, that’s overstepping your bounds. Doesn’t Judge Zhang know that there’s only one place in the world where golden nanmu can be used?” Ju Shibo asked with a smile, his tone devoid of any sarcasm, but Zhang Wan still felt that the other party was insulting her.

"Hehe." Zhang Wan could only manage a dry laugh, "Then I wish you a smooth investigation and swift success."

"Thank you for your kind words, please be careful on your journey." Ju Shibo bowed with his hands clasped over the reins, then steered the horse to a slower pace. The delegation and the guard then parted ways.

Once the porters at the back of the delegation had completely left the fork in the road, Gu Shibo suddenly swung the reins sharply and shouted, "Quick! Keep up!"

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A quarter of an hour later, Ju Shibo arrived at the foot of Woniu Mountain with his men.

Woniu Mountain isn't a large mountain; to put it simply, it's a small hill that stretches less than two miles from north to south. The patrol team scattered and quickly found the temple buildings hidden among the trees.

"Commander Gu, we've found Yeonbusa Temple." Chief Secretary Hwang Ting-yue rode his horse to the Han River, where Gu Tsu-baek was leading his horse to graze and drink water.

"Where is it?" Ju Shibo turned around and looked at the Woniu Mountain behind him.

"The entrance is in Shanxi; you can't see it from here," Huang Tingyue pointed out.

"Hmm." Ju Shibo nodded, patting the horse's rump. Then, with a nimble flip, he mounted the horse. "There's a small village over there. Take a few men and go capture their village elder." Ju Shibo turned his head and gestured towards a small settlement on the roadside south of the mountain and north of the river.

"Should we take it to Yanfo Temple?" Huang Tingyue asked.

"Otherwise what?" The horse galloped up, turning Ju Shibo's short rhetorical question into a long one.

Hwang Ting-yue's directions were vague, but Gu Tsu-baek quickly found the mountain pass leading to Yeonbuk-sa Temple. The reason was simple—two guards were standing there leading horses.

"Has anyone gotten on?" Gu Shibo dismounted and handed over the reins.

“Go and notify the other brothers to assemble,” said the guard on the right who was taking the rope. “It’s just the two of us guarding here.” “Then you two continue to guard here. If anyone comes from behind, just tell them to come up with them.” Gu Shibo looked up along the mountain path and immediately saw a doorway hidden by trees.

“Master, perhaps we should wait for the others to go up first. I’m afraid there might be danger.” One of the guards threw down his horse’s reins and quickly walked to Ju Shibo’s side, half-blocking the entrance to the mountain path.

“What danger could there be? They’re just a rabble; they’d have run away long ago.” Gu Shibo pushed him aside and pointed to the footprints on the dirt road in the mountains. “Look, the newest footprints are all going downhill.”

"Maybe it was our people who stepped on it?" The guard in charge of the entourage glanced behind him.

"There were only a few of them, how could they have left so many footprints?" Ju Shibo rolled his eyes at him. Then he started walking up the mountain. "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and catch up!"

"Yes!" The four henchmen quickly exchanged glances, then gripped their sword hilts and followed.

Woniu Mountain is not high, and Yanfo Temple is built halfway up the mountain, so Jushibo quickly arrived at his door.

“Go open the door.” Gu Shibo stood outside the closed door, looking up at the mottled, peeling plaque on the door.

"You protect the prefect, I'll go over there." The head of the guards drew his sword, his heart pounding, and walked towards the door.

Boom!
The lead henchman approached the plaque and launched a flying kick. But the door didn't open!

"The door is locked, locked from the inside!" the head henchman cried out, taking two steps back.

"What are you yelling about! Since the front gate is locked, they must have left through the back gate." Uncle Ju took two steps back and pointed to the footprints on the ground that circled the courtyard wall.

“Go take a look.” The head of the entourage waved his hand, tracing a straight line along the footprints to the corner of the courtyard wall. Then, he turned to meet the gaze of the entourage to Ju Shibo’s right. “You go.”

"Me?" The attendant was startled and instinctively shrank back.

"Otherwise what?" The head henchman glared at him. "You little bastard, always so bossy, now you're a coward. Hurry up!"

The attendant's eye twitched, and he turned to look at his comrades, but they all avoided his gaze. Only Ju Shibo stared at him with a half-smile.

With no other option, the attendant had to grit his teeth, grip the knife tightly in his hand, and slowly move along the path along the wall toward the corner.

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves, accompanied by shouts, came from the foot of the mountain not far away.

“You two,” Gu Shibo said, looking at the retreating figure of the former attendant, “go with him.”

The sound traveled very fast, and the attendant who had initially received the order immediately slowed his pace, almost stopping.

"What if the thief suddenly comes out from the front door?"

"There's no response when we open the door?" Gu Shibo turned around and shouted down the mountain again, "Hurry up!"

The two attendants knew that Ju Shibo's urging was also directed at them. They exchanged a glance, then started walking and followed the attendant who had come before them.

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When the three guards from the Righteous Guard returned from the back gate, the entire patrol force was almost complete, except for the troops under Huang Tingyue, who were still on their way.

"What's going on at the back door?" Ju Shibo looked at the three of them, his arms crossed.

"The back door is also closed," the first guard sent to check the back door said, pointing to the temple gate. "There's probably no one really in this dilapidated temple."

“Not necessarily,” said another official surnamed Zheng, pointing to the courtyard wall by the gate. “A wall this height can be easily scaled up by simply piling something up.”

“Why make it so complicated? We’re about to run away, why lock the door?” said the head of the entourage.

"Perhaps they were trying to hide something," someone guessed. "Like the bodies of those four sedan chair carriers."

"What's there to hide?" A rebuttal immediately came from the crowd. "As the saying goes, murder and arson, destroying the evidence—wouldn't it be cleaner to just set it on fire?"

"Where did you get all this nonsense from? The door's locked, just open it!" Ju Shibo frowned and turned around, immediately spotting the source of the guessing and rebuttal voices. "Zhang Er, Li Liu, you two climb over and open the door."

The crowd immediately dispersed, making the two people stand out.

"Climb over and get in!?" Zhang Er and Li Liu hesitated, looking on in shock. But Ju Shibo continued to urge, "Hurry up!"

"Commander Ju, let's just break down the door," Zhang Er said. "If there really is a thief inside, we can just jump in and trap him."

"Hmph." Gu Shibo sneered and rolled his eyes. "Fine, go ahead and crash into it."

"Come on, come on!" Zheng, the magistrate, shouted as he waved, "Prepare to storm in!"

Zhang Er and Li Liu exchanged a glance, then went to the door first, poised to ram it open. Immediately afterwards, two more guards were summoned to the eaves by Zheng, the magistrate.

"Charge!" Zheng Dushi shouted the order.

Boom!
All four shoulders slammed into the door at once, and the door panel immediately showed signs of loosening.

"Retreat!"

Boom!
After another muffled thud, the door panel no longer bounced back to its original position.

"Retreat!"

Boom!
After three impacts, the bolt broke. The doors of Yanfo Temple flew open to the left and right, slamming hard against the doorposts on both sides.

The four guards, unsteady on their feet and filled with fear, stumbled and fell into the temple gate. Just as they were about to fall to the ground, their fellow guards from the Righteousness Bureau, who were waiting behind them, also filed in from both sides with swords and shields.

(End of this chapter)