Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 730 The "Stupid" Woman Who Was Corrupted

"Hmm," Zhu Changluo hesitated for a moment, his gaze growing even deeper. "So what do you think?"

"In my opinion, the Eastern Depot's laziness in investigating cases and its eagerness to close them are either a way of shirking responsibility and refusing to do their best, or it is harboring malicious intentions and trying to protect someone!" Mi Mengshang looked at the emperor earnestly, her beautiful eyes seemingly sparkling.

“Shadow protection.” Zhu Changluo looked away, closed his eyes, and supported his forehead with his hand. “Do you know who is behind all of this?”

"I don't know." Mi Mengshang misunderstood the emperor's meaning. "These cases are all handled by the Eastern Depot, while the Western Depot is just supervising them as usual."

Zhu Changluo's eyes darted around under his eyelids, and he went along with her words: "If I hand this case over to the Western Depot to investigate, do you think the Western Depot can find out anything?"

Mi Mengshang found the emperor's attitude somewhat strange, but she still said firmly, "Yes!"

"Heh." Zhu Changlu chuckled indifferently. "What makes you think that?"

Mi Mengshang was taken aback, her previously high spirits beginning to wane under the Emperor's influence: "The case of the Nine Lotus Bodhisattva occurred shortly after the Tianjin shipwreck; this is no coincidence." Mi Mengshang leaned slightly forward, trying to observe the Emperor's expression, but most of his face was obscured by that large hand. Unable to see clearly, Mi Mengshang could only continue speaking along her own train of thought:
"If I'm not mistaken, the essence of this case is nothing more than some people with vested interests in the Li family trying to scare away His Majesty with superstitious omens and prophecies. If His Majesty spares the Li family because of this, then they themselves will be able to protect themselves. Therefore, as long as we follow this line of thought and arrest and interrogate all those with vested interests in the Li family, we will definitely find the mastermind behind this case!"

"Hmm." Zhu Changluo nodded and looked up, finally allowing Mi Mengshang to see the emperor's face clearly. However, the emperor's expression was so complex that Mi Mengshang couldn't discern his true emotions. "Truly intelligent. No wonder you are a promising talent I personally nurtured." Upon hearing this, Mi Mengshang immediately showed delight. "But this case cannot be investigated this way."

"We can't investigate like this? Then how should we investigate?" Her joy quickly turned to cold.

"That's enough investigation, let's stop here."

“That’s it.” Mi Mengshang looked surprised, thinking there was something wrong with her ears.

“That’s right.” Zhu Changluo composed himself and sighed, “It ends here.”

"Why!? This case involves..."

Zhu Changluo frowned and gritted his teeth, but his tone remained unusually calm. "Are you saying that this case involves the Empress Dowager and Consort An's child?"

"Yes," Mi Mengshang heard a slight tremor in the emperor's calm voice. Her nose inexplicably stung. "This case slanders the Empress Dowager, falsely accuses her of a tragedy in the palace; its intentions are extremely malicious. Why not investigate it thoroughly?"

“Tell me first,” Zhu Changluo countered, “who are ‘people whose interests are closely related to the Li family’?”

"They are those who depend on the Li family, or who have gained power and wealth through the Li family."

"So how many people do you think are like that?"

"We'll only know after we investigate."

“You don’t need to check to know,” Zhu Changluo said. “You should have heard that in February of this year, shortly after Li Changgeng, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Finance, returned to Beijing to report on his duties, Li Mingcheng held a grand banquet at Tsinghua Garden.”

Mi Mengshang nodded. "If the Eastern Depot's account is correct, this grand banquet was hosted by Li Guorui. The purpose was to discuss how to deal with the change of sea routes."

"Very good." Zhu Changluo then asked, "Do you know who went to Tsinghua University that day?"

The question stumped Mi Mengshang. She had indeed seen a list, but it wasn't one that could be memorized with just a glance.

"That's too much, isn't it?"

"Hmm," Mi Mengshang responded blankly.

“Then let’s think about it the other way around,” Zhu Changluo asked. “Who do you think didn’t go to Tsinghua University that day?”

"Who didn't go?" Mi Mengshang's breathing became heavy. A terrible thought suddenly flashed through her mind.

"That day, in the entire capital, there were five noble families who didn't go themselves but sent servants. And only the Duke of Yingguo, the Duke of Dingguo, and the Earl of Yongning didn't send any of their own people. Roughly speaking, all the noble families besides these eight can be considered 'people with interests connected to the Li family,'" Zhu Changluo sighed. "And these are only the noble families who were invited to the banquet that day. From the Longqing to the Wanli reigns, the Li family has cultivated its influence for nearly sixty years, its roots deep and its network of interests intricate. If all these people were arrested, it would immediately cause a huge uproar throughout the city."

"So you're saying..." Mi Mengshang slowly widened her eyes. "The reason the Eastern Depot was so reluctant to investigate and so eager to close cases was because..."

“You’re right. I know all about what you just said, and I agree with it.” Zhu Changluo nodded heavily. “Otherwise, even if Cui Wensheng had ten times the courage, he wouldn’t dare to protect anyone in this matter.”

"But Your Majesty, you...you before..." Mi Mengshang's face was filled with disbelief. "Didn't you..."

"Sigh," Zhu Changluo sighed deeply, feigning a nostalgic expression. "Do you know 'The Continued Discussion on Worrying About Danger'?" "The Continued Discussion on Worrying About Danger?" Mi Mengshang was certain she had heard the term somewhere before, but couldn't quite place it.

“That happened in the thirty-first year of the Wanli reign, back then…” Zhu Changluo gave a weary smile. “You probably weren’t even born yet.”

"The Thirty-First Year of the Wanli Emperor's Reign. Continued Discussions on the Dangers and Perils. The Case of the Seditious Books!?" Mi Mengshang was both bewildered and confused, not knowing why the emperor had suddenly brought up this matter.

“It was the second case of the 'seditious book'.” Mi Mengshang looked at the emperor, whose gaze gradually relaxed, his eyes glistening with tears, whether from the setting sun or not, she couldn’t tell. “That year, my father had already named me crown prince, but Prince Fu wouldn’t be enfeoffed in Luoyang for another nine years. So there were rumors in the capital that my father was forced by the pressure from the officials to name me crown prince, and that he was looking for an opportunity to depose the eldest son and establish a younger one.” The emperor’s voice sounded both sorrowful and weary, piercing Mi Mengshang’s heart with pain.

"Of course I don't believe these words. But some people outside do! A book called 'Continued Discussions on Worries and Dangers' suddenly appeared in the capital. The author of this book, using the implication that 'the Prince of Fu, born of Consort Zheng, will surely achieve great things,' and under the pseudonym 'Zheng Fucheng,' directly claims that the Emperor's decision to establish the Crown Prince was out of necessity, and directly targets the then Grand Secretary Shen Yiguan and Grand Secretary Zhu Geng. The book even says that the Emperor's reason for summoning Zhu Geng to be a Grand Secretary was to imply that the 'Zhu' family wanted to 'change' the Crown Prince. Absurd! Utterly absurd!" Zhu Changluo slammed his fist on the tea table at the opportune moment.

"The reason why Father Emperor agreed to make me Crown Prince was thanks to the Cabinet's unwavering commitment to the eldest son for over a decade. The final decision was also made thanks to the mediation of Chief Minister Shen. These heretics are spouting nonsense and writing this wicked book, merely using the name of the foundation of the nation to incite chaos in the government." Mi Mengshang, with tears in her eyes, reached out and gently pressed the Emperor's hand, which was resting on the coffee table.

Zhu Changluo sighed and continued, "...The treacherous book spread slander and sowed discord between my father and me. My father was furious and ordered a thorough investigation. But the result was that the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Eastern Depot, and the Imperial Guard all joined in, but instead of finding the real culprit, the situation escalated and more and more people were implicated. Shen Li of the Grand Secretariat, Zhou Jiaqing of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and Guo Zhengyu of the Ministry of Rites... All sorts of old, trivial matters unrelated to the treacherous book were exposed, and then the matter involved the Chu Emperor and the Imperial Censorate. The incident dragged on for half a year, causing panic and fear throughout the capital." Zhu Changluo's tone was heavy with sorrow, and his slightly thin features were pressed together by deep wrinkles.

"This case is strikingly similar to the 'seditious book' case of years past. Both started in the marketplace, pierced the palace, and spread to the capital. If we were to investigate thoroughly as before, someone would inevitably use their personal connections to implicate others, creating a whole host of problems. At that point, it's uncertain whether the case could be solved, but the capital would certainly be in chaos. Right now, with troublemakers on the borders and the affairs of the state in disarray, I have no choice but to reluctantly close the case and end it here."

“But…” Mi Mengshang felt a pang of empathy and tears streamed down her face. “But wouldn’t closing the case like this wrong the Wuqing family?”

"Injustice? Did I injustice them?" Zhu Changluo withdrew his hand and clenched his fist. "Haven't I been good enough to the Li family? Last year, when the Embroidered Uniform Guard went to Tianjin to investigate the case of the garrison, the case went all the way up to Li Mingcheng. At that time, I didn't do anything to him, I just summoned him to the palace and reprimanded him. If he had listened to me then and kept quiet, how could he have been caught red-handed by the Governor of Tianjin and the Eastern Depot in the Ministry of Revenue case?"

"And then there's the case in Guangning! The Li family's servants went to Guangning to bribe the officials in charge of pacifying the barbarians, selling ironware to the Tartars at the trading market. This ironware, once sold, becomes pots; melted down and forged, it can be turned into swords. There's war going on in Liaodong right now, and people are dying every day. And yet, they're smuggling ironware to aid the enemy, interfering with maritime trade to drive up grain prices, all for their own profit. They're undermining the foundation of my Great Ming Dynasty and destroying the legacy of my ancestors! Li Mingcheng and his two sons have mistaken my leniency for indulgence, repeatedly defying and breaking the law. I can no longer tolerate them!"

"Yes, Your Majesty is right! But I think it would be better if the Li family didn't take the blame for the Nine Lotus Bodhisattva's case, would it?" Mi Mengshang said with concern.

“There’s nothing wrong with it. I’m determined to kill Li Guorui. Letting him take on another crime will put this matter to rest.” Zhu Changluo was really exhausted.

This bizarre case had truly drained him of too much energy. It wasn't that the Nine Lotus Bodhisattva's case was particularly complex or bizarre. Rather, it was that he didn't care about the case at all, yet he had to cater to outsiders' imaginations and feign concern.

If it were intelligent people like Wang An and Cui Wensheng, they would figure everything out on their own and find suitable reasons to convince themselves. But when faced with a "foolish" woman like Mi Mengshang, who is not only emotional but also full of enthusiasm, Zhu Changluo has a real headache.

Mi Mengshang mistook the emperor's weariness for dejection and actually went over to him, gently embracing him as if to offer warmth to this seemingly fragile man. "Your Majesty, no matter what, Marquis Wuqing is still the Empress Dowager Cixi's nephew. If you pin this crime on the Li family, you'll have nightmares sooner or later. Let's switch sides, let's switch sides."

Zhu Changluo's body stiffened, suddenly realizing that he seemed to have misunderstood her. "...Change what?"

“Your Majesty, the cases in Guangning and Tianjin are so serious, and it’s not just the Wuqing Marquis’s family who are on death row. We can easily find someone else to take the blame.” Mi Mengshang looked at the emperor, a comforting and encouraging smile on her face.

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At the fourth quarter of the hour of Mao (5:45 AM), as dawn broke and the thin mist had not yet dissipated, Qipan Street was already bustling with activity. Everywhere along the street, breakfast stalls were steaming with white smoke. Officials of all ranks, too busy to eat at home, hurried to and from the breakfast stalls and vendors, their calls echoing through the streets, turning this corner under the emperor's nose into a pot of gradually boiling, yet increasingly thin, white porridge.

A simple sedan chair passed through the center of the street, through the imposing vermilion gates of the Ministry of Rites, and finally came to a steady stop in front of the slightly mottled stone steps of the Ministry of Revenue.

The sedan curtain was lifted, and the newly appointed Minister of Revenue, Wang Yingjiao, stepped out, bowing. He wore the scarlet, round-collared, right-fastening robe characteristic of high-ranking officials, the brocade pheasant insignia on his chest appearing solemn and conspicuous in the gradually brightening morning light. Wang Yingjiao took a deep breath of the cool air, mixed with the scent of dust and ink, and looked with great confidence at the plaque hanging high above the gate of the Ministry of Revenue.

Two guards, dressed in their uniforms, were dozing against a pillar in the porch, clutching long sticks. Startled awake by the noise, they saw a second-rank official, an unfamiliar face, stepping down from his sedan chair. They immediately put on their usual cautious smiles and hurried forward.

"Good morning, sir." The yamen soldier on the left greeted him with a fist and palm salute, his throat still hoarse from the morning: "May I ask which yamen you are from?"

"I am the newly appointed Minister of Revenue, Wang Yingjiao." Wang Yingjiao's voice was not loud, but every word was clear.

The smiles on the two yamen soldiers' faces froze instantly, then turned into utter awe. "Oh! So you are Minister Wang. We were so blind, so blind! Please forgive us, Minister!"

"May I come in?" Wang Yingjiao smiled gently.

"Please come in! Please come in!" The two guards retreated almost simultaneously, making way for the main road.

Wang Yingjiao nodded slightly, stepped over the threshold which was more than a foot high, and entered the Ministry of Revenue compound.

The front courtyard of the government office was unusually quiet in the early morning, with only the occasional faint sounds of servants sweeping and cleaning coming from under the eaves in the distance. Wang Yingjiao walked steadily through the empty courtyard and headed straight for the main hall.

The main hall was dimly lit, with only a few rays of morning light illuminating the blue brick floor near the entrance. In the vast hall, only one person sat in a round-backed chair below the main seat. That person, dressed in the peacock-embroidered robes of a third-rank official, was perusing a thick stack of documents by candlelight. Hearing footsteps approaching, the person looked up, his gaze meeting Wang Yingjiao's as he stepped across the threshold.

(End of this chapter)