Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 774 Taking the blame for one's father, fulfilling both filial piety and righteousness
"Yes, this servant understands." Cui Wensheng nodded repeatedly, but the muscles on his face tensed slightly. He cautiously pressed on, "Then what about that matter..."

"That matter," Wang An said calmly, "which matter?"

"It's about getting the Grand Secretaries back on their side," Cui Wensheng said grandly.

Wang An smiled faintly, then suddenly turned to look at Wang Jinzhong, who was standing on the other side: "Zhong'er."

“My son is here.” Wang Jinzhong was unaware of the situation, but he still instinctively bowed in response.

Wang An's smile faded, and his expression gradually turned serious: "Recently, the Western Depot has heard some rumors that several of your servants are incredibly audacious and greedy, secretly smuggling copper coins in and around the capital, engaging in money laundering, and extracting huge profits from banks. The one who has made the most money has probably already amassed several hundred taels of silver. Are you aware of these things?"

Wang Jinzhong's heart skipped a beat, and a cold sweat instantly broke out on his back. He dared not offer any explanation and immediately knelt on the ground: "Your son has failed in his duties of discipline and management, and such a scoundrel has emerged among his subordinates! I beg my godfather to punish him severely!"

Wang An withdrew his gaze and stopped looking at him: "After you go down, pick out a few of the most dishonest people. The Eastern Depot will follow up and arrest them."

Wang Jinzhong glanced quickly at Cui Wensheng, his eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment, but he immediately kowtowed and replied, "Yes! Your son obeys!"

Wang An then withdrew his gaze and looked at Cui Wensheng again, his eyes as calm as a deep well: "Pick one of these people and make him take the blame for his crimes of seeking personal revenge and leaking secrets. After he signs and puts his fingerprint on the document, have him tortured to death to silence him. Don't let him leave the gates of your Eastern Depot alive."

"Yes, this servant understands! Thank you for your kindness, Ancestor." Hearing this, the biggest weight in Cui Wensheng's heart finally lifted. The tense muscles on his face gradually relaxed, and his voice became much lighter.

Wang An slowly rose from his armchair, casually beckoning to Wang Jinzhong, who was still kneeling on the ground, to get up. He then continued instructing Cui Wensheng: "After this, you should make a big show of it and go to other government offices to arrest a few people who are also embezzling copper coins and engaging in illegal currency exchange. This should be described as your Eastern Depot originally intending to investigate economic corruption, but inadvertently uncovering the maid who, out of personal resentment, leaked an imperial edict, leading to Li Guorui's suicide out of fear of punishment. Do you understand?"

Cui Wensheng understood perfectly. He immediately stood up, knelt down again, and respectfully kowtowed to Wang An: "Yes! This servant will definitely handle it cleanly and efficiently!"

Wang An walked to the table, picked up his hat, and put it on his head properly: "Alright. Everyone go about your business. The palace gates will be opening soon, and I should go into the palace to serve my master."

Cui Wensheng and Wang Jinzhong, who were still in a daze, got up together and respectfully followed Wang An toward the door of the duty room. Cao Huachun, on the other hand, ran to the door and silently opened it, waiting for his godfather to go first.

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By dawn, the sky was already quite bright. The post-rain sunlight pierced through the thin mist, illuminating the glazed tiles of the imperial city with a dazzling brilliance.

Surrounded by a retinue of attendants, the three sedan chairs filed out of the Directorate of Ceremonial, passed through numerous palace gates and increasingly noisy alleyways, and entered the main road heading south.

Upon reaching the entrance of the Inner Eastern Depot, the sedan chair procession split into two groups. The sedan chair carrying Wang An did not stop, heading straight south towards the slowly opening Donghua Gate. The other two sedan chairs turned into the heavily guarded gates of the Inner Eastern Depot, proceeding along the shadows beneath the high walls to its deepest point, finally coming to a stop in front of a tightly guarded courtyard with a somber atmosphere.

The sedan curtain was respectfully lifted by the accompanying servants. Cui Wensheng stepped out of the sedan chair first, bowing low. As soon as he stood still, Cui Yuan, who had been waiting at the courtyard gate, immediately led the Chen brothers, Renxi and Yixi, to rush forward and kneel down in unison.

"Your son pays respects to his godfather," Cui Yuan said, kneeling in reverence.

"Your humble servants pay their respects to the factory supervisor." The two brothers immediately knelt down.

Cui Wensheng stepped over the lowered sedan chair pole, his gaze sweeping over the three people lying on the ground. He didn't immediately call them to get up, but instead turned slightly to look at Cao Huachun, who was getting off another sedan chair: "Didn't you see that the little ancestor has come over too?"

Cui Yuan was startled, and quickly looked up to glance at Cao Huachun. Seeing Cao Huachun's conspicuous eunuch attire, his heart tightened. He shifted his knees, turned his head, and bowed again in Cao Huachun's direction, his forehead almost touching the ground: "This servant Cui Yuan greets Your Highness! May Your Highness be well!"

The brothers Chen Renxi and Chen Yixi hurriedly followed suit, their voices filled with barely concealed nervousness: "Your humble servants pay their respects to our esteemed ancestors!"

Cao Huachun stopped, straightened his robes, and looked at the Chen brothers: "Uncle Cui, are these the two brothers you mentioned earlier?"

Cui Wensheng smiled broadly and nodded repeatedly, "That's right, it's those two. This is Chen Renxi." Cui Wensheng first pointed to the burly man on his left, then to the burly man on his right. "This is Chen Yixi. If the young master has anything to do, you might as well entrust it to them."

Cao Huachun remained noncommittal, then asked, "Besides them, was there anyone else involved in last night's events?"

“That’s it, that’s it!” Cui Wensheng shook his head hurriedly: “Just the two of them, there’s no one else.”

"Hmm." Cao Huachun didn't ask any more questions, and simply said, "Let's go take a look."

Cui Wensheng immediately responded, and said to the three people kneeling on the ground, "Get up, lead the way." After saying that, he waved his hand and led Cao Huachun toward the gloomy entrance to the dungeon.

The group descended the steep stone steps. As soon as they entered the dungeon, a damp, musty smell mixed with the stench of blood and filth hit them. Although it was early morning, only a few rays of sunlight managed to squeeze in through a few narrow ventilation windows at the top, barely illuminating a small area below. The deeper areas were shrouded in suffocating darkness.

Cui Yuan, who was walking ahead, quickly took out a tinderbox, blew on the sparks, and lit the torch stuck in the wall. The leaping flames immediately dispelled the nearby darkness, but also cast distorted shadows on the wet stone wall, adding to the eeriness.

Cui Wensheng, standing to the side, explained to Cao Huachun with a forced smile, "My little ancestor, please bear with me. This is how it is down here. You can't see any light even in broad daylight."

Cao Huachun didn't speak, but just shook his head as he gazed at the deep passageway.

Cui Yuan led the way, holding a torch and lighting the oil lamps on the walls along the way. The dim light gradually formed a line, barely illuminating the path leading deeper into the prison. When they arrived at a cell, Cui Yuan stopped, holding the torch in one hand and pointing inside the bars with the other, saying, "Young Master, the one imprisoned here is Li Guochen, the eldest son of the Marquis of Wuqing."

After saying that, he turned and pointed to another cell next door: "Li Guorui's body is in that cell over there."

At this moment, Li Guochen, who hadn't slept all night, stood up at the sound and silently gazed at the uninvited guests by the firelight. Cao Huachun hadn't intended to say anything to Li Guochen, but Li Guochen took the initiative to come forward, leaning against the railing and looking at Cui Wensheng: "Admiral Cui, His Majesty... how do you intend to deal with my father and me?"

Cui Wensheng did not answer immediately, but instead turned his questioning gaze to Cao Huachun.

Cao Huachun took half a step forward, calmly looked back at Li Guochen through the fence, and asked in return, "Young Master Li, do you know how your young lord died?"

Li Guochen felt the man before him looked somewhat familiar, but couldn't quite place him. He frowned, pondered for a moment, and hesitated before asking, "May I ask who you are, sir...?"

“This servant is Cao Huachun, we’ve met before.” Cao Huachun smiled faintly. “Young Master Li, don’t you remember this servant?”

Li Guochen paused for a moment, then seemed to remember something. He forced a tired but polite smile and cupped his hands in greeting: "So you are Eunuch Cao from Master Wang's school. My apologies, my apologies."

"No, no, I wouldn't dare." Cao Huachun waved his hand and repeated the question from before: "Young Master Li, do you know how your brother died?"

“My brother…” Li Guochen met his gaze: “Didn’t he commit suicide out of fear of punishment?”

Cao Huachun nodded in satisfaction: "That's right. It's good that the eldest young master understands."

Just then, a hoarse, frantic roar erupted from the opposite cell from Marquis Wuqing, Li Mingcheng. He gripped the bars tightly and shook them desperately: "Eunuch Cao! Eunuch Cao! No, it wasn't suicide! It was Cui Yuan! It was Cui Yuan who ordered those two beasts to strangle my son! Eunuch Cao! I beg you! I beg you to report this to the Emperor! Seek justice for my son! Uphold fairness!"

Cui Yuan was already feeling uneasy, and upon hearing this, his face turned deathly pale, cold sweat instantly beaded on his forehead, and he looked at his godfather, Cui Wensheng, for help.

Cui Wensheng's smile remained unchanged, and he didn't say anything, only secretly giving him a look that said, "Don't be impatient."

Cao Huachun seemed oblivious to the Marquis of Wuqing's wails. He stood expressionless before the cell where Li Mingcheng was imprisoned, looking through the bars at the seemingly insane old marquis inside. His voice was icy: "My lord, you cannot speak carelessly. The young marquis clearly heard that the officials of the outer court had repeatedly submitted impeaching you, accusing you of grave crimes deserving death. To save your life, he chose to leave a will and hang himself. The young marquis took the blame for his father, fulfilling both filial piety and duty. Your nonsense only serves to disregard his good intentions."

"No! No!" Li Mingcheng cried out as if he had gone mad, pointing his finger intently at Cui Yuan and the Chen brothers. "It was him! It was them! I saw Cui Yuan give the order with my own eyes! I saw those two beasts strangle my son with a rope! I saw it with my own eyes, I saw it with my own eyes! Eunuch Cao, Eunuch Cao, they forged an imperial edict to kill someone, defiling the Emperor's holy name! You must investigate this thoroughly!"

Cao Huachun stopped arguing with him and turned to walk to the door of the cell opposite. By the light of the torch held high by Cui Yuan, a corpse could be clearly seen hanging from the wooden bars of the cell with rough hemp rope. The corpse's limbs hung limply, its face was bluish-purple, and its eyeballs bulged out, clearly indicating that it had died with its eyes open.

Cao Huachun looked up and silently stared at the corpse for a moment before his gaze swept over the messy cell: "The ligature marks are clear, the scene is tidy, and there are no signs of struggle or fighting. This is clearly a suicide by hanging!"

Having said that, Cao Huachun flicked his sleeve, turned around without hesitation, and walked back the way he came. He didn't look back even once. Cui Wensheng and the others immediately followed.

Behind him, Li Mingcheng's heart-wrenching cries and curses echoed repeatedly in the deep dungeon, utterly desolate.

Back on the ground, the once gentle morning light was now so bright that it was hard to open one's eyes.

Under Cui Yuan's almost pleading gaze, Cui Wensheng leaned closer to Cao Huachun and lowered his voice, saying, "Young Master, you heard it too. If we let Marquis Wuqing continue spouting such nonsense, it probably won't end well. What do you think?"

“Uncle Cui, you are overthinking it.” Cao Huachun waved his hand and continued walking towards his sedan chair. “The Marquis is old and has suffered the great pain of losing his son. It is normal for him to be delirious and talking nonsense. Afterwards, he will be sent to the mausoleum of the Duke of Anguo to repent for the rest of his life. It is quiet there, no one will disturb him, and no one will listen to his pointless madness.”

Upon hearing this, Cui Wensheng's face immediately broke into a smile: "Oh, with your words, I can finally rest assured!" Then he warmly invited: "Young Master, you've been busy all morning, why don't you sit for a while, have some tea, and help my son and me figure out how to word the memorial reporting that the young marquis took the blame for his father and committed suicide out of fear of punishment?"

"Please make yourself at home, Uncle Cui." Cao Huachun walked to the sedan chair, and the accompanying attendant immediately lifted the curtain. "This is a matter you handled, so the memorial must have been written properly. Why do I need to say anything more? Besides, I have some trivial matters to attend to and need to rush out of the palace, so I won't bother you any longer."

"Leaving the palace? What for?" Cui Wensheng asked instinctively, but immediately realized his slip of the tongue. He quickly slapped his mouth and chuckled awkwardly, trying to cover it up: "Oh dear, look at my talkative nature! My ancestor, please don't be offended. Just pretend I didn't ask anything. Please, please!"

Cao Hua leaned against the sedan chair, turned back and smiled at Cui Wensheng: "It's alright to tell my uncle. I'm going to the Zhengyangmen branch to discuss the establishment of the General Administration of Customs with Eunuch Gao Shiming."

"General Administration of Customs?" Cui Wensheng was taken aback, clearly unfamiliar with this new term.

“It’s that new government office that’s in charge of maritime trade,” Cao Huachun explained. “We started planning this last year. But we were waiting for Western merchant ships to sail north, so many regulations weren’t finalized in time. What, Uncle Cui, you haven’t heard of it?”

Cui Wensheng looked slightly embarrassed and scratched the back of his head: "Hehe. I really don't know much about this kind of thing."

Cao Huachun nodded as if he understood: "Indeed, you are in charge of the Eastern Depot, and you have no time for anything else." After saying that, Cao Huachun stepped over the lowered sedan chair pole, stood in front of the raised sedan chair curtain, and bowed to Cui Wensheng to say goodbye: "Uncle Cui, I will take my leave now. I will talk to you in detail when I have time later."

Cui Wensheng was actually very curious, but seeing that Cao Huachun was determined to leave, he didn't want to force him to stay and ask any more questions. He could only go along with the conversation and say, "Alright, alright, business is important. I'll see you out now."

"Uncle-Master, please wait," Cao Huachun said from behind the curtain as he settled into the sedan chair. "There's no need to see me off."

"Take care, young master." Cui Wensheng led Cui Yuan and the others to bid farewell to Cao Huachun.

"Let's lift the sedan chair. We're going to the Zhengyangmen branch." Cao Huachun knocked on the sedan chair.

The sedan chair bearers steadily lifted the official sedan chair and turned to walk out of the Eastern Depot's yamen. Cui Wensheng stood there, a smile plastered on his face, watching the sedan chair disappear into the distance until its silhouette vanished around the corner of the courtyard gate. Only then did his smile slowly fade. "The General Administration of Customs," Cui Wensheng muttered to himself, rubbing his fingers thoughtfully. He then shook his head and quickly turned to walk into the yamen.

Memorials to the throne, wills. Li Guorui is dead, but a whole host of messes await him.

(End of this chapter)