Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 141: Membership application submitted, but requires processing (Second update)

Before the end of the first lunar month, light snow was still falling in Beijing on this day.

In a rented courtyard in the south of the city, Zhao Wenhua sat alone under the lamp, with half a pot of cold wine in front of him.

The official demotion document from the Ministry of Justice lay on the desk, the ink already dry, yet it was as glaring as a knife.

He tilted his head back and gulped down a glass of liquor. The liquor was spicy and burned his throat, but he couldn't suppress the frustration in his heart.

"Why has the case of a mere commoner come to this? Why has it come to this!"

"They were all smiling at us just a moment ago, but in the blink of an eye they turned their backs on us. How hateful!"

"You still want the recipe for Hundred Flowers Wine? Ha! I'll take it to Lingnan and let it rot there, I'd rather not give it to you!"

He gritted his teeth and muttered to himself, his fingers clenching the wine glass so tightly it made a cracking sound. Suddenly, a wave of sorrow washed over him: "I don't want to go to Lingnan. I'm a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination), I shouldn't go to Lingnan!"

Just as tears were streaming down her face, there was a knock on the courtyard gate.

Zhao Wenhua didn't hear it at first, but after the knocking was repeated several times, the pageboy who had been beaten and scolded not long ago cautiously went inside to remind him. Only then did Zhao Wenhua come out of the room, look outside, and call out in a hoarse voice, "Who is it?"

"Yuan Zhi! It's me! Yan Shifan!"

A familiar voice came from outside the door.

Zhao Wenhua shuddered, instantly sobering up considerably. He quickly wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, waved for the page to step aside, and staggered over to open the door himself.

A cold wind swirled snowflakes in his face. Two young men stood outside the door, one of whom was Yan Shifan, holding a wine jar in his hand and looking at him with a smile.

"Brother Donglou? It really is you!"

Zhao Wenhua's voice changed: "You've come to see me?"

Yan Shifan clicked his tongue: "In this freezing weather, you're just going to make us stand outside?"

"Please come in! Please come in!"

Zhao Wenhua then seemed to wake from a dream and hurriedly ushered the person into the house.

The courtyard was small, and the house was not big either. The charcoal brazier was about to go out, and he hurriedly added new charcoal and used his sleeve to wipe away non-existent dust from the chair.

'Who are you trying to fool with this pathetic look?'

Yan Shifan observed this, then looked around and deliberately feigned sympathy: "Yuanzhi, how did you end up in such a predicament? Is there anything I can do to help?"

Zhao Wenhua had been waiting for these words, and he hurriedly bowed deeply, his waist almost touching the ground: "Donglou has provided timely help. Even if I have to work like an ox or a horse, I will repay this great kindness!"

"Hey! Hey! What are you saying!"

Yan Shifan immediately helped him up: "We've come here precisely to help you, haven't we? Come, come, let me introduce you to someone!"

Zhao Wenhua straightened up and looked at the other person.

In fact, he had been glancing at this person frequently out of the corner of his eye as he walked into the room.

Judging from his appearance and demeanor, this man was clearly not Yan Shifan's follower; on the contrary, Yan Shifan seemed to respect him quite a bit.

In light of the recent turmoil at the Imperial College, Zhao Wenhua had a wildly excited guess in his mind!

As expected, the tall and handsome young student introduced himself: "My name is Haiyue, courtesy name Mingwei. Greetings, Master Zhao!"

Zhao Wenhua's body trembled, revealing utter shock: "Oh my! I never expected it to be Brother Mingwei in person! My apologies, I have long admired Brother Mingwei's reputation!"

Yan Shifan subtly curled his lip, and Hai Yue's attitude was also different from usual, with a hint of arrogance: "I have long heard of Chief Zhao's name, especially about that matter... Please sit down!"

In an instant, the host took the lead, and Zhao Wenhua became reserved, barely sitting down with his bottom touching the ground: "I wonder what Brother Mingwei is referring to?"

"A death row inmate from the Ministry of Justice faked his death and was switched at birth!"

Haiyue said, "The news that the two Zhangs faked their deaths has spread throughout the city, proving that Manager Zhao was right to foresee the truth!"

Zhao Wenhua was taken aback, and his expression immediately changed: "This matter..."

Yan Shifan continued, "Yuanzhi, Mingwei is not an outsider. You can tell me the secrets of the Ministry of Justice that you wanted to tell me before!"

Zhao Wenhua's eyes darted around, and he sighed, "To be honest, Donglou, I only heard rumors before. It's true that the prison guards didn't conduct thorough autopsies and handled the bodies carelessly, which could have led to the substitution of the deceased. But the Zhang case is not an ordinary case, far beyond what a lowly official like myself in the Ministry of Justice can handle. Besides, I've been framed and lost my job... Alas!"

A fleeting chill crossed Yan Shifan's eyes.

This reaction reveals that Zhao Wenhua had deliberately lured him into joining the Yixin Society by using such bombshell news, hoping he would be eager to make a name for himself. Whether he could actually uncover anything after joining was irrelevant; perhaps Zhao was just trying to climb the social ladder and curry favor with Hai Yue, the leader trusted by the emperor, who would then discard him. But Zhao Wenhua hadn't expected his words to come true. After the Zhang brothers were executed, rumors of a faked death and a stand-in actually surfaced. Now, when asked to confess, he could only offer sob stories and empty promises.

Haiyue's expression changed slightly: "So, Steward Zhao is unaware of the inside story?"

If Zhao Wenhua were still the head of the Ministry of Justice, he could have easily brushed it off with a few dry laughs. The secrets of the Six Ministries are of utmost importance, and even the newly favored Yixin Society, which has gained the Emperor's favor, could not be easily tricked into revealing information.

But at this moment, Haiyue's expression changed, and his heart jumped. Thinking of how his former friends and colleagues, who used to laugh and talk with him, had all refused to see him after his demotion, how could he dare to give up this last straw? He hurriedly said, "Of course not! I spent two years in the Ministry of Justice and participated in many important cases. Of course I know a lot of things!"

Haiyue said, "I would like to hear the details!"

Zhao Wenhua gritted his teeth and said, "For example, the system of redemption for punishment. According to the 'Great Ming Code,' both death sentences and exile can be redeemed with silver. However, the rules vary from province to province and region to region. In practice, the price is often inflated. Just last year, a wealthy merchant from Taiyuan committed murder and demanded an extra three thousand taels of silver as redemption. In the end, the sentence was changed to caning due to manslaughter..."

Yan Shifan's eyes widened: "Three thousand taels? That much? Does that mean your Ministry of Justice is richer than the Ministry of Works?"

Zhao Wenhua smiled bitterly: "Not all of the ransom money collected goes into the national treasury... Well! At most, only 30% goes into the treasury, and the rest is divided among officials at all levels of the Ministry of Justice and local judicial commissioners. I... I'm not taking that money!"

"Ha! If you don't take it, how will the doctor take it? If the doctor doesn't take it, how will the vice-minister take it? If the vice-minister doesn't take it, how will the minister take it?"

'It would be strange if you didn't take it! Damn it, even the Ministry of Justice has so much illicit profit!'

Haiyue and Yan Shifan were both skeptical, and they returned to the original topic: "If that's the case, why would you dare to make a deal to fake a prisoner's death?"

Zhao Wenhua said, "To be honest, I didn't believe it at first either. A death sentence can be commuted to exile, right? Cough cough! It's just that some local officials are bold enough to tamper with case files, fabricate evidence, and downgrade the death penalty to exile, then to redemption, and even collude with local powerful families to pay only a symbolic hundred taels of silver under the pretext of poverty. This is the most hateful thing!"

These words were spoken with considerable resentment, clearly indicating disapproval of cases involving mere collusion of power, where no one was willing to spend real money.

Immediately afterwards, Zhao Wenhua added, "Those who truly have the background to exert influence in the Ministry of Justice, the provincial judicial commissioner's office, or the prefectural and county government offices will not reach the point of death; they can simply resolve the matter by downplaying it and making it disappear! On the contrary, those who are convicted and sentenced to death are mostly penniless and powerless commoners who don't have the ability to find someone to take their place and avoid disaster, right?"

These words sounded quite sincere, and Yan Shifan asked in surprise, "If that's the case, why is there talk of someone taking another's place?"

Zhao Wenhua said, "I only heard about it occasionally, that a prisoner who was to be executed by the Ministry of Justice last year suddenly came back to life..."

Yan Shifan's eyes widened: "What do you mean by suddenly coming back to life?"

Zhao Wenhua said in a low voice: "It's because some people saw that death row inmates who should have been executed were still alive and well, so there's a saying that not all death row inmates were really killed, and that some of them faked their deaths to escape punishment."

Haiyue frowned slightly: "Which prisoner specifically? And who saw the prisoner come back to life, and where?"

Zhao Wenhua shut his mouth and his eyes darted around.

Yan Shifan, unable to contain himself any longer, snorted: "Yuanzhi, we've come here to give you a chance to redeem yourself. You don't really want to be demoted to a minor official in Lingnan with no hope of advancement, do you?"

Haiyue did not stop him, but simply looked at him calmly.

Yan Shifan's attitude was indeed somewhat direct, but it wasn't without its advantages.

Being overly polite to Zhao Wenhua would only make him seem indispensable, while being straightforward would make Zhao Wenhua abandon any other illusions.

There are only two paths ahead—

Either get out and be exiled to Lingnan! Or investigate this major case in the Ministry of Justice!

Zhao Wenhua fell silent.

Outside the window, snow fell silently, and the wine in the bowl reflected the dim candlelight inside, shimmering with golden light, much like his turbulent emotions at that moment.

In fact, Zhao Wenhua knew he had no choice.

He was from Cixi, Zhejiang. His family was wealthy from a young age, and he was able to study at the Imperial Academy through connections. He later passed the imperial examination with flying colors, and his life seemed to have been smooth sailing. But now he was going to that place of exile to spend the rest of his life. He might fall ill early and not even have a chance to enjoy his later years...

On the other hand, the Yixin Conference can reach the ears of the emperor. Although the Six Ministries are deeply intertwined and the waters inside are murky, if the emperor really sets his mind on reforming them, it is still the central government. It is just a matter of the emperor's word being law and a single imperial edict.

Therefore, Zhao Wenhua's silence was more about figuring out how to negotiate a better price.

Seeing the impatience in Yan Shifan's brows and Hai Yue's confident expression, Zhao Wenhua still didn't dare to make too many demands. He didn't even dare to directly say that he wanted to keep his official position. He just said in a low voice, "I have read Journey to the West and have long admired the Yixin Society. I hope that Brother Mingwei and Brother Donglou will give me a chance to join!"

Yan Shifan's eyes darted around: "Yuan Zhi is underestimating himself too much. We've already put your membership application on the agenda!"

Zhao Wenhua didn't dare to believe it and looked at Haiyue.

Haiyue said, "Every member of the Yixin Society is carefully selected, with a preference for quality over quantity. Joining the society requires a process. As for Manager Zhao's current situation, it's a bit awkward. The only way to make it happen is to investigate the case and make contributions!"

"understand!"

Zhao Wenhua was overjoyed and stood up to bow: "Thank you for your guidance, leader. I will definitely clear my name and serve the Yixin Society faithfully!"

(End of this chapter)