Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 696 Account
"No way!" Li Erzhan's pupils shrank. "I don't know, I really don't know anything about any skeletons! And I've never sent any assassins to Qingyun Palace!"

"Then why does Queen Kim insist that it was the three of you who did it!" Luo Yangxing's tone was as if he were interrogating a criminal.

"How would I know what that madwoman is thinking!" Li Erzhan seemed to be so anxious that he couldn't think straight. "I really didn't send any assassins. I was just following orders to instigate the deposition of the mother and the demotion of Zhenming! That's right... that's right!" Suddenly, a look of desperation flashed across Li Erzhan's face, as if he had grasped a lifeline. "Demote Zhenming! Demote Zhenming! If I really sent someone to kill Princess Zhenming, why would I have gone to all this trouble to work with Zhang Wan!"

"What do you mean by demoting Zhenming, what do you mean by going to great lengths? What are you talking about?" Luo Yangxing glanced at Yuan Keli.

“Here’s what happened!” Li Erzhan quickly interjected, “About a month ago, shortly after the slave chieftain sent Generals Jiang and Jin back to their country, Zhang Wan approached me, hoping to join me in submitting a memorial to the throne, urging the officials to depose the king, execute the generals, burn the books, and reveal our true intentions.”

“I agreed without hesitation. But at that time, the deposed king had already distanced himself from me because of his insistence on sending troops. I was afraid that my advice would fail, so I first wrote a joint petition with Jang Wan requesting that Princess Jeongmyeong be demoted to Princess Aung-no-kyu in order to win back the deposed king’s trust. Unfortunately, even after doing this, the deposed king still managed to suppress the matter of executing generals and burning books with the help of Park Seung-jong and others.”

"Is that so?" Yuan Keli looked down at Li Erzhan, his eyes slightly narrowed.

Li Erzhan kowtowed several times, "If you esteemed envoys really don't believe me, you are welcome to send someone to investigate, or... or arrest me and interrogate me right now!"

"What do you think would be the best way to handle this matter, Vice Commissioner Luo?" Yuan Keli turned his gaze to Luo Yangxing.

"Of course we must investigate this thoroughly!" Luo Yangxing said with a righteous and stern expression, "This kind of cruelty to the bloodline of the late king must not be tolerated!"

“This is a very important matter. Why don’t you, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, investigate this case?” Yuan Keli changed his previous attitude and took the initiative to hand the case over to the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"Yes!" Luo Yangxing immediately replied, cupping his hands in greeting. "I guarantee I will give you a satisfactory answer."

"Okay. Then I'll have to trouble you." Yuan Keli turned to look at Shen Yourong again.

Shen Yourong nodded and couldn't help but smile at Luo Yangxing: "With the Embroidered Uniform Guard handling the case, they're sure to get to the bottom of it!"

"Just you wait and see." Luo Yangxing cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Shen Yourong. "We, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, will certainly give the princess justice."

"Alright." Yuan Keli looked down at Li Erzhan and let out a long, weary sigh. "That's enough for today. Judge Li can go back now."

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"Are you really going to use Li Erzhan?" Shen Yourong asked, watching Li Erzhan's disappearing figure.

“We can’t handle the land survey and tax increase all by ourselves; we need a way to manage it.” Yuan Keli’s brows were furrowed. “Besides, it’s unlikely that things will last long if we rely on ourselves alone.”

“But this person is not clean, very not clean.” Shen Yourong withdrew her gaze and turned to face Yuan Keli directly. “His hands must be stained with a lot of blood.”

“Don’t worry,” Luo Yangxing turned around, his gaze passing over Yuan Keli and Shen Yourong. “I will never let him smear his filth on us.”

“This man is no pushover. If we disregard the status the Emperor bestowed upon us, we might not even be able to outmaneuver him,” Shen Yourong said.

"No matter how capable he is, he's still just a Korean. If all else fails, I wouldn't mind helping you two," Luo Yangxing said, giving a thumbs-up and making a gesture across his neck.

Shen Yourong's pupils narrowed, and she suggested to Yuan Keli, "Why don't we report to the Emperor first, and then make a decision?"

“I will. I will send a letter to the palace today.” Yuan Keli nodded emphatically.

"Hehe. Then I have no more worries." Luo Yangxing asked with a smile, "What does Guardian Yuan intend to do about this case?"

"Let's do the normal tests first," Yuan Keli said.

"A normal checkup?" Luo Yangxing tilted his head.

“It’s unlikely that this kind of case can be resolved in a day or two,” Yuan Keli said, suggesting that it might be better to delay it.

"And what about your new policies?" Luo Yangxing asked. "They've already started, haven't they?"

“I think,” Yuan Keli smiled, “that Li Erzhan wouldn’t dare to slack off just because the case hasn’t been settled yet.”

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Just as dusk was falling, someone knocked on the side door of Prince Li Erzhan's residence in Guangchang Prefecture.

"Who are you?" The servant who answered the door did not open it, but looked the burly man in coarse clothes up and down through the crack in the door.

“Don’t worry about who I am, just give this to your master,” the burly man said, pulling out a pre-prepared sign and slipping it through the crack in the door. “Then tell him clearly that I came through a back door.”

Upon hearing this, the servant immediately realized that the burly man before him had important business to discuss with his master. However, he still said, "Sir, my master is currently entertaining guests. Would you like to..."

"Don't give me that nonsense." The burly man raised his hand to interrupt the servant, his tone as hard as a rock. "If this door isn't open in a quarter of an hour, I'm leaving."

"I'll go right away!" The servant who answered the door was not angry. He replied, clutching the sign, and turned to run.

In the reception room of the Li family's backyard, Li Erzhan was sitting alone in the main seat facing south, embellishing his account to the invited crowd of supporters of his experiences meeting the imperial envoy at Qingyun Palace that morning.

Li Erzhan was still unsure whether he had gained the approval of the imperial envoys, but his tone and manner of speaking were so firm, as if Yuan Keli was about to appoint him as the commander-in-chief of Hanyang.

Li Erzhan had no choice; he had to do it. In less than half a day, news of Queen Dowager Kim's public accusation against him at the Xiyu Hall had leaked. If he didn't stabilize morale in time, it wouldn't be long before those around him, those who centered around him, would abandon him, or even openly turn against him to protect themselves. This was something Li Erzhan absolutely could not afford.

Li Erzhan dared to assert that no matter what the imperial envoys were thinking now, as long as he showed signs of being "incapable of managing his subordinates," they would not hesitate to abandon him.

"So that Lord Yuan wants you to assist him in implementing his new policies?" asked Jin Jinguo, the Registrar of the Household Department. "That's right! Surveying, calculating, registering, taxing, supplying—so many things, these high-ranking officials of the Celestial Empire can't possibly finish them all by themselves. The Ming troops in various regions can't possibly be spending all their time tending to the fields. So I predict that in the future, we will be the ones doing the work below, while they will be the ones directing and inspecting from above." Li Erzhan's posture was languid, his expression and tone nonchalant.

“But if we help the imperial envoy with this kind of task, won’t we offend all the gentry and wealthy families in the country?” Jin Jinguo’s concerns were immediately echoed by many silent supporters.

"You're afraid of offending the local gentry, but aren't you afraid of offending the imperial envoy?" Li Erzhan said to the Jin Jin Kingdom with a somber expression. "They have royal decrees and imperial swords; they can easily accuse you of treason and kill your entire family, exterminate your three clans. What will you do then, after they've confiscated your property and handed over your land to the gentry and wealthy households who are willing to cooperate and pay taxes, or even just to the common people and tenant farmers? Will you go to the King of Hell to cry out for justice?"

Jin Jinguo's eyes darkened, and he lowered his head.

“What good will we gain? This is a lose-lose situation. We might as well let Park Seung-jong lead the government officials to do it,” suggested Jo Seo, the general of the Southern Camp.

"Good heavens!" Li Erzhan glared at Zhao Xu. "Are you an idiot? Who told you this is harmful to others and doesn't benefit yourself?"

"How do you want to profit?" Zhao Xu shrank back, startled by Li Erzhan's gaze.

“What I just told him,” Li Erzhan casually pointed at Jin Jinguo. “Couldn’t it be the other way around?”

"On the contrary?" Zhao Xu was taken aback at first, but his eyes quickly lit up. "You mean, take other people's land into your own hands?"

"There are plenty of stubborn fools in this world, and even if there aren't any, we can just make a few. The imperial envoy only needs money and provisions for military use; he won't care where those money and provisions come from. As long as we do our job conscientiously and help the imperial envoy keep a close watch on Korea, the imperial envoy won't mind if we spit out less and take a few bites. Just like you, spending years lying around in the Southern Camp's accounts, drawing salaries without working, drinking the blood of soldiers, and exaggerating losses, and I haven't said anything, have I?" Li Erzhan was clearly talking about Zhao Xu's abuse of power for personal gain, but his tone was as calm as if he were chatting casually.

"I, I'm not," Zhao Xu's pupils contracted, and the hairs all over his body stood on end.

"What? You dare say you didn't do it!" Li Erzhan slammed his hand on the coffee table, as if to vent all the fright he had suffered at Qingyun Palace today.

"I...I did it," Zhao Xu said decisively, standing up and kneeling before Li Erzhan. The others present were stunned by Li Erzhan's outburst.

Li Erzhan slowly withdrew his tyrannical aura, but still looked down at Zhao Xu. "Your soldiers are well-trained, so I've turned a blind eye to you. Now, you and I are working for the Imperial Envoy. As long as we do our job well and are mindful of our actions, not going too far, the Imperial Envoy certainly won't say anything. As for offending people, hmph..." Li Erzhan glanced at Jin Jinguo, but as his eyes darted around, he saw the servant hurrying towards the reception hall. "...Haven't we offended enough people over the years?"

"What are you doing here?" Li Erzhan looked at the servant with some displeasure, but did not stop him from coming over.
"Master," the servant whispered in Li Erzhan's ear, "a strong man came from the west side gate. He asked me to give this to you." With that, the servant handed the plaque to Li Erzhan. "...He also told me to make it clear that he came through the side gate."

Upon seeing the sign, Li Erzhan's muscles tensed instantly. He abruptly stood up, strode away, and casually tossed out, "You guys wait here, I'll be right back."

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, most unaware of what was happening. Only Jin Jinguo, who had served Li Erzhan for many years, and a few high-ranking officials quickly grasped the situation: an important person had arrived. In the past, anyone who elicited such a reaction from Li Erzhan would undoubtedly be from the palace, and now, it was highly likely to be the same.
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The side door opened, and Li Erzhan personally came out to greet them.

"Lord Pei, your presence is an honor. I apologize for not being able to greet you properly." Li Erzhan walked quickly to Commander Pei and presented the white jade plaque with both hands.

"Judge Li is truly courteous. May I have a cup of tea?" Commander Pei put away the jade token, hung it back on his waist, and simply bowed slightly as a return gesture.

"It is my wish, but I dare not ask." Li Erzhan turned to the side and gestured towards the door, inviting them to enter.

When the two arrived at the quiet room in the back hall, tea and snacks were already laid out on the tea table next to the main seat. Li Erzhan led Commander Pei to sit down, but after Commander Pei was seated, he himself turned around and went to sit with his legs together in the guest seat below.

“Let’s get to know each other formally first,” Commander Pei said, raising his teacup in a toast. “My surname is Pei, and my given name is Lun. I used to work in the Western Division of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and now I am a Commander under Commander Luo, who is in charge of the Korean Affairs Division of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.”

"I am Li Erzhan, and I greet Commander Pei!" Li Erzhan stood up and respectfully bowed to the seventh-rank commander who looked much younger than his eldest son.

"Please sit down, Judge Li." Pei Lun put down his tea, picked up a piece of pastry, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"May I ask?" Li Erzhan slowly sat down, smiling at Pei Lun. "What are your instructions, Guardian Yuan?"

“It wasn’t Guardian Yuan.” Pei Lun choked on the pastry and quickly drank a sip of tea. “It was Young Marshal Luo who sent me to speak with you.”

"Alright." Li Erzhan's eyes narrowed. "What are your orders, Young Marshal Luo?"

"Cough, cough," Pei Lun coughed lightly twice. "Young Marshal Luo wants you to find a way to get Li Tingbiao and Zheng Hang to come out and confess their crimes."

"Confess?" Li Erzhan's breathing suddenly became heavy.

“Since Queen Kim has named names in her complaint, someone has to take the blame, right?” Pei Lun said.

Li Erzhan thought for a moment and said, "But were they really the ones who carried out the assassination?"

"Does that matter?" Pei Lun asked rhetorically.

"Isn't this important?" Li Erzhan stared at Pei Lun, trying to read something from his expression, but Pei Lun just kept eating.

"Heh." Pei Lun chuckled and said, "You, who are in charge of the Uigeumbu, still care about the truth? Closing the case as soon as possible and giving Queen Dowager Kim an explanation will only benefit you. You can't even control two subordinates, can you?"

“But Jung Hang has already switched allegiance to Park Seung-jong.” Lee Er-chan licked his lips lightly.

“This is your problem, not ours.” Pei Lun burped. “If you still want to suppress this matter, you’d better give us an explanation as soon as possible.”

"Is suicide acceptable out of fear of punishment?" Li Erzhan asked.

“Okay.” Pei Lun nodded with a smile, then picked up another pastry. “But don’t let them all die; there has to be an execution scene.”

(End of this chapter)