Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 125 The Real Motive (First Update)
Dongjiang Rice Alley.

This place is located next to the Dong'an Gate of the Imperial City and only one mile away from the Imperial Medical Academy, which is located in the southeast corner of the Forbidden City. It is convenient to be summoned to the palace at any time. The residence of the imperial physician Li Shaoting is located here.

The three-courtyard residence had a pond in the backyard for growing medicinal herbs and a library for storing medical books. For an imperial physician who had been in the capital for less than five years, this undoubtedly proved how superb his medical skills were to be able to live such a life.

Besides his wife, he also had to arrange for several concubines, which inevitably led to some open and covert struggles.

But now, one shocking piece of bad news after another has arrived.

First, Li Shaoting was murdered in Princess Yongchun's mansion. Then it was discovered that he was directly related to Princess Yongchun's coma. Now, even his body cannot be retrieved. His wife collapsed in grief. One of his three concubines took care of his wife, while another stole money and was caught by the last one when she tried to escape. She was beaten half to death, and the mansion was in complete chaos.

"Whoosh!"

The short figure slipped silently into the inner courtyard under the cover of night.

Hiding in the pharmacy with the strongest herbal scent, I found the medicine for the wound and tore open the cloth.

After tending to the wounds inflicted by the Imperial Guards, Yan Ling wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and was about to lie down to recover and escape the capital when she suddenly noticed the moonlight casting a burly silhouette onto the mottled brick wall.

She turned around abruptly and saw a scarred man leaning against the door, quietly watching her.

"not good!"

Yan Ling instinctively tried to flee, but when that face came into view, she couldn't help but gasp: "It's you! You traitor!"

"That's exactly how they described me!"

The scarred man grinned: "Since I've already betrayed them, why don't the rules of the organization change? When evading capture, do you still prefer to hide in the homes of the dead?"

Yan Ling said no more, her eyes scanning her left and right, thinking of possible escape routes, but when she thought of this person's fearsome reputation in the organization, she couldn't help but feel despair.

Not to mention that she was seriously injured under the siege of the Imperial Guards at this moment, even in her prime, she would have had a hard time surviving such a close confrontation.

The scarred giant, his hands empty, leisurely asked, "What's the name you'll use for this operation?"

Yan Ling gritted her teeth and remained silent.

"Won't he still have the surname Yan?"

The scarred man chuckled: "Can't you guys change your surname? It's always Yan. This time you even pretended to poison the princess and assassinate the Empress Dowager. Such heinous crimes, don't implicate an innocent me!"

"what!"

Yan Ling's body trembled, and she suddenly realized something: "No wonder this mission was so aggressive. You were the one who ordered us to do it. My sister... she died because of you!"

The scarred man said, "I must correct two things about you!"

"First, you two sisters have a deep-seated hatred for the Zhang family. Zhang Heling's powerful servant, Gu Liu, forced your father to death and humiliated your mother in order to seize your family's property. This irreconcilable hatred is also the reason why you accepted this mission despite knowing it was extremely dangerous."

"Secondly, the reason I am so well aware of the operation is that someone leaked the information. That person betrayed you 'Sun Rats' without hesitation for the sake of an account book. That person is the traitor."

Yan Ling's expression shifted rapidly upon hearing this: "You! How dare you!"

"Everyone already calls me a traitor, so stop saying such stupid things like 'dare' or 'don't dare'..."

The scarred man said leisurely, "However, I still have to apologize. Your arrangements were originally very thorough, especially when you were preparing to give the princess Tianma powder. You deliberately lured Li Shaoting from the Imperial Hospital out of the capital, thinking that he would not be able to go to the princess's residence for treatment these few days. In the end, I lured Li Shaoting back."

Yan Ling gritted her teeth: "Are you deliberately making fun of us?"

"No! Because Li Shaoting is the real target of this case!"

The scarred man waved a medical book without a cover in his hand: "Li Shaoting's formula and records for Tianma Powder are of great use to me, but if I want to use this, I can't keep him alive! But killing an imperial physician for no reason will inevitably arouse suspicion. This time, under the cover of the Empress Dowager and Princess's big case, no one will notice the death of this minor character!"

"So that's how it is... So that's how it is..."

Fear finally showed in Yan Ling's eyes: "You! What exactly are you going to do?"

"doing what?"

The scarred man said matter-of-factly, "Back then, I was forced to leave the capital and escaped seven assassination attempts. I then hid in Guangzhou for five years to recover from my injuries. Judging from all that trouble, I'll probably have lost at least a decade of my life. Now that I'm back, I'm here to take my revenge!"

"Short life?"

Yan Ling seemed to have heard an unbelievable joke: "Our Liyuan Society exists for the sake of the common people and the nation, and has long since disregarded life and death. My sister just died, and she certainly didn't even flinch before she died. You only care about your own lifespan?"

The scarred man retorted, "Harming the princess and assassinating the Empress Dowager, is that also for the sake of the common people?"

Yan Ling raised her head and said without hesitation, "If we can use the imperial court to get rid of Empress Dowager Zhang and her two wicked brothers, it would certainly be for the sake of the common people!"

"Still the same... even more bewitching than the White Lotus Sect..."

The scarred giant looked indifferently at the short, stubborn girl, as if he were looking at an extremely pathetic puppet, or perhaps at his own pathetic past. Suddenly, he listlessly reached out his hand.

"Fight!"

Yan Ling wanted to roar, but she only felt the palm rapidly enlarging in front of her eyes, and then everything went black before she lost consciousness.

"I'm saving your life, otherwise someone would come to silence you soon. I'm making sure you don't fall into the hands of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

The scarred man lifted the unconscious female assassin and said calmly, "Xiao Chuan!"

Ogawa suddenly appeared: "Don't worry, brother, the place is all ready." "Let's go! A runaway operation, a missing 'Sun Rat'—I'm going to have a good look at how the Li Yuan Society will react!"

……

at the same time.

In the gilded bronze incense burner of the Qianqing Palace, ambergris incense burns softly, and blue smoke swirls around the hall.

Zhu Houcong stood with his hands behind his back, his bright yellow dragon robe gleaming with a cold light under the candlelight.

The palace doors creaked open, and a slender figure, bowing low, silently approached from behind, kneeling on the ground with her forehead pressed against the cool gold bricks: "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Zhu Houcong asked in a deep voice, "What's your opinion on the matter of the Princess's residence?"

The eunuch said, "It seems to be the work of Li Yuanshe."

"seem?"

Zhu Houcong then slowly turned around, his eyes cold and deep, and said, word by word, "Take this opportunity to find the real clues. What I want is not just a company name that can be changed at any time, but to completely eradicate it, at all costs!"

"Yes!"

The young eunuch uttered a single word succinctly, then fell silent and motionless.

The hall fell silent again, with only the sound of the water clock dripping clearly audible.

Zhu Houcong's eyes were dark and unfathomable.

Not long ago, he was furious and pointed the finger at Empress Dowager Zhang.

But in reality, he knew in his heart that Empress Dowager Zhang was innocent.

Although that wicked woman was foolish and vicious, she didn't have the guts to set up a murder plot against his own mother.

The reason they were fixated on Empress Zhang was because they had disliked her for a long time, and now they had a good opportunity to make their point. Moreover, since the case had become so big, they needed to bring down a sufficiently serious criminal; otherwise, it would stir up a huge political storm both inside and outside the court, which would be detrimental to the current situation.

But what truly made this Ming emperor wary was the matter that Commander Wang Zuo had reported six years ago.

Within the imperial court, there exists a secret society dedicated to opposing the imperial power of the Ming Dynasty and maintaining the interests of the official class.

To be honest, Zhu Houcong didn't quite believe it at first, thinking it was somewhat alarmist.

How did those people unite? How did they keep it a secret? And how did they cultivate such a large number of skilled individuals?

But he couldn't completely disbelieve such a thing.

From that time on, Zhu Houcong began to intentionally cultivate another group of officials.

A secret team that even Lu Bing and Huang Jin were unaware of.

It wasn't that they didn't trust these people they had grown up with, but rather that these former officials from the Prince Xing's residence were too conspicuous. Every move they made was being watched by many eyes, making it difficult for them to accomplish anything.

Sure enough, thanks to their secretive team, they finally managed to uncover some clues.

This secret network could also serve as his eyes and ears, allowing him to understand the loyalty of his officials from another perspective: "What exactly happened with Hai Yue, a student of the Imperial Academy, in this case?"

The young eunuch immediately began to recount the entire case in detail.

Zhu Houcong verified with Lu Bing that the other party had not been biased, and nodded slightly: "What is this person doing in the Imperial Academy?"

The young eunuch said, "Haiyue has established a society called 'Yixin Society,' which is currently distributing copies of the new Journey to the West and seeking like-minded individuals. However, the number of members is very small, with only six recruited."

As she spoke, she took out a copy of Haiyue's handwritten version of "Journey to the West" from her sleeve and showed it to the emperor.

"Isshinkai?"

Zhu Houcong asked, "Wang Yangming's doctrines?"

The tone is flat.

Back then, he asked Wang Yangming to explicitly support his respect for his biological father, but the great Confucian scholar was unwilling, which displeased Zhu Houcong. However, as the years have passed and the Great Rites Controversy has been settled, he has gradually come to terms with it. Otherwise, Fang Xianfu, as Wang Yangming's disciple, would have been implicated long ago, and it would have been impossible for him to run around for his teacher's funeral arrangements.

As for using their works to spread their doctrines, this was a common practice among scholars, and Zhu Houcong was not surprised. However, upon hearing that the Yixin Society had been established for some time and had only recruited a mere six people, he immediately shook his head: "No wonder Wenfu commented that this young man has more than enough talent, but lacks the ambition for fame and fortune..."

Lu Bing once said that Hai Yue was not very progressive. Zhu Houcong was initially somewhat skeptical, but now, through various events, he was basically certain that the other party truly lived up to her reputation as someone from Hainan, untouched by the influence of the Central Plains!

"Isshinkai...Isshinkai...!"

Zhu Houcong knew that "heart" referred to the philosophy of mind, but he also felt a sense of unwavering loyalty to the emperor. A thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and he slowly said, "Continue to observe, then step down!"

"Yes."

The young eunuch accepted the order and then got up to leave.

Unexpectedly, as Zhu Houcong watched him put "Journey to the West" back into his sleeve, he suddenly had a whim and added, "Leave the book here!"

(End of this chapter)