Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 111 Purpose
Jia Chuan looked at Wei Da and said with a smile:

"The secret passage is naturally underground. The Prince's mansion is closed, but it doesn't matter if it's not. Water can't reach it from the surface, and the same goes for this side. In this way, we can wait for the Emperor to send people to pump out the water. After pumping out the water, we'll know whether the secret passage leads to the Prince's mansion. If I've framed the Prince, then the charges you mentioned will be waiting for me. If it does lead to the Prince's mansion, then we'll have to trouble you to go back and tell the Prince of Han how to answer the Emperor's questions. You can't very well say that the Prince's scissors are custom-made from the blacksmith's shop and that you dug a tunnel to easily retrieve them, can you?"

Qian Xun couldn't figure out what Jia Chuan meant by "releasing water." Just as he was about to lay the groundwork with a few words of nonsense about the Han King possibly being unaware, Jia Chuan waved his hand and said, "You'd better not say anything. If I were you, I would keep quiet. The more you say, the more mistakes you'll make! You represent the court, and you must remember that. You always act as if you can speak on behalf of the Han King. I'm really worried about your family. How could such a good life suddenly be gone?"

Qian Xun's face turned ashen after Jia Chuan's words. He said grimly, "No need for Judge Jia to worry about that..."

"I was just being polite, but you took it seriously, everyone!" Jia Chuan cupped his hands to the crowd and said loudly, "When the water is released in a little while, the water level in the river behind the street will drop. You can go and see for yourselves whether I am lying."

As soon as Jia Chuan finished speaking, the crowd began to surge towards the riverbank.

Qian Xun and Wei Da exchanged a glance, and Qian Xun nervously stepped forward and asked, "What do you mean by this?"

At this moment, Wu Bing returned to Jia Chuan's side and nodded to him. Jia Chuan looked back and saw several people coming out from behind.

Jia Chuan breathed a sigh of relief and turned to ask Wu Bing, "Is the secret door here closed too?"

Wu Bing nodded and said, "As you said, a slope was dug in the direction of the Prince's Mansion, which gave us a chance to close the gate."

Jia Chuan looked at Wei Da and said, "Let me share some little-known facts with you, but I know you wouldn't understand. If both doors happen to open outwards and are now closed, the water will slowly seep into the secret passage, and due to the pressure, the doors won't be able to open. So, if you want to do anything, you can only start from the river behind the street. How to do it? I won't tell you yet. I'll tell you when the Emperor sends someone. Right now, what you need to do is to notify the Prince of Han who has run to the manor as soon as possible. You know, the Prince of Han isn't young anymore, and in this freezing weather... drawing your sword won't do you any good."

Wei Da did indeed draw his sword and stared fiercely at Jia Chuan.

“Everyone in the village died at their hands, so who do you think you are?” Jia Chuan asked, pointing to the people around him.

Wei Da couldn't bear such mockery and raised his knife to attack, but Qian Xun held him tightly, whispering, "He's deliberately provoking you. He could easily kill us now. He could just tell the capital that we were obstructing us... and the prince would be helpless. Besides, even if the prince made him pay with his life, what good would it do? Look at the people who came with you, who can save you?! The bigger picture is what matters!"

Wei Da gritted his teeth, watching Jia Chuan's provocative mockery, and finally put away his knife.

"This is boring! Let's go back to sleep."

Qian Xun, holding Wei Da's hand, watched helplessly as Jia Chuan and his group disappeared around the corner on the street.

Little did they know that Jia Chuan had deliberately told the people to go to the riverbank so that he could clear a path for his own escape. He didn't know if any of the people who had come with him were from the village.

Fortunately, no, otherwise, Jia Chuan knew that Wei Da would definitely make a move.

……

When Jia Chuan and his group arrived, they did not ride their donkeys into the street. Instead, they left the donkeys at a place arranged by Wu Bing, where someone was watching them. However, Wu Bing's donkeys were not there, so the group took turns riding the donkeys back to the house. By then, it was already completely dark.

As night fell, the closed city gates opened a crack, and Zhu Gaoxu, lying prone on his horse, entered the city.

According to Jia Chuan's prediction, Zhu Gaoxu will definitely lead a large group of people to the house again, and then the house will highlight its role.

That night will surely be bloody, but it will all be the blood of those in the Prince of Han's mansion. Jia Chuan plans to weaken the Prince of Han's mansion's power one last time before escaping.

This mission was thus successfully completed. As for whether it satisfied Zhu Zhanji, Jia Chuan felt it should be enough. The only regret was that he hadn't yet figured out the situation at the estate. What exactly was it that the Prince of Han valued so much? How much gold and silver was hidden in the estate?
As soon as Jia Chuan entered the house, he urged everyone to eat quickly. He was in a state of excitement. As a criminal investigator, he had unexpectedly brought down a big tiger. Although the process felt like a giant hand was pushing him forward, the result was good. After another fierce battle tonight, this drama would come to an end.

Old Zheng and Shunzi, who were left in the house, finally felt relieved. Old Zheng pulled Jia Chuan aside, and Shunzi pulled Dong Yuanyuan aside, not to ask how they were doing, but to tell them about their anxiety in the house.

Come to think of it, Jia Chuan was most worried about whether Zhu Gaoxu would order his men to occupy the house in a fit of anger. Although Zhang Zheng said that as long as the Prince of Han could leave immediately, he could stop others from breaking into the house and at least hold out until Jia Chuan and the others returned, the blacksmith in the blacksmith shop still needed Zhang Zheng and the others to escort him out of the city. What should they do?
Old Zheng and Shunzi were unaware of Jia Chuan and Zhang Zheng's conversation, but they followed Jia Chuan's instructions and took Yu Yan down underground. They were just waiting for someone to shout "Run!" so they could run through the tunnel. Once outside, someone would take care of the three of them. But the waiting process was agonizing, especially since they didn't know what was happening outside.

Jia Chuan didn't tell the truth because he didn't know how things would turn out. What if the Prince of Han didn't fall for the trap? He wanted to take Old Zheng and Shunzi out directly and hide them outside, but there were still many people in the house. He figured it wouldn't be a problem to ensure their safety, and there was no need to go out to fight the enemy. He was indeed in a hurry at the time, so Jia Chuan had them wait in the house next to the secret passage.

Looking back now, Jia Chuan still feels a bit scared. He has done some deep self-reflection and found that his predictions for some things were beyond his ability. If it weren't for good luck, this time he might have implicated not only the people around him, but also Zhang Zheng and the others.

Zhang Zheng's real purpose in making this trip was not to pick up anyone. No one could have predicted this in advance. Because Jia Chuan valued his life, he would always think of an escape route, which was the secret passage under the house leading to the outside of the city. How to make the most reasonable use of it?

After dealing with those who wanted to ambush him in the surrounding area, Jia Chuan would definitely send someone to the capital immediately, and he would definitely have to take a secret passage. Last time, he had Chen Mo quickly take Zhang Xing out of the city before the Prince's Mansion could react. What about this time? What Jia Chuan feared most was that the people in the Prince's Mansion would discover that there was a secret passage in the house, which would block his escape route.

So he came up with this idea: to have Zhang Zheng make a trip before the Prince's Mansion could react. That is, Zhang Zheng would go directly to the mansion after entering the city, and then turn back and leave the city, making the people in the Prince's Mansion think that Zhang Zheng's men had taken the prisoners. Of course, for such a big case, it would be much easier for Zhang Zheng to handle it in Le'an than for Jia Chuan to handle it alone.

Who would have thought that after hearing about it, Zhu Gaoxu would actually come in person to kill him, forcing him to use the blacksmith shop as a tactic? Plans really can't keep up with changes.

Fortunately, Wu Bing and his team were well prepared, which Jia Chuan greatly admired!
From the moment Jia Chuan deduced that there was a secret passage between the blacksmith shop and the Prince's mansion, Wu Bing began a covert investigation to find out the route of the tunnel.

He had dug before, was experienced, knew how to find the shortest distance, what to avoid, and the approximate depth. He quickly figured out the general route. This was why Jia Chuan was afraid the Prince's Mansion would discover that the house also had a secret passage. Once they realized it, they might find the house even faster than Wu Bing found their secret passage, since there were no buildings outside the city. Jia Chuan explained to Wu Bing how he would use the blacksmith shop. Over the years, Wu Bing had acquired quite a few properties in Le'an, none of them large, but they were always useful. For example, this time, they needed to find a place not far from the blacksmith shop and the river, so they dug from a small courtyard near the tunnel to the outside of the Prince's Mansion's tunnel and stopped. The problem was how to divert the river water so that their men could evacuate in time when it was necessary to fill the tunnel.

Wu Bing solved all these problems, which enabled Jia Chuan to use the blacksmith shop ahead of schedule.

But precisely because he had used it in advance, Jia Chuan felt it was time to leave early. He was just waiting for Zhu Gaoxu to come in a fit of rage and bring his men. He couldn't possibly open the door for the prince and just wait for them to force their way in. The prince had come in person, so what evidence was there to leave behind?

Make the situation as big as possible!
Unfortunately, Jia Chuan and his companions sat there until dawn.

Jia Chuan stood in the courtyard, looking up at the sky that was just beginning to brighten, wondering why the Prince's mansion was so quiet.

……

While things were peaceful in Jia Chuan's area, they were anything but peaceful in the Prince's mansion, where a disturbance had raged all night.

After Zhu Gaoxu returned, he not only had a persistent high fever but also fell into a coma. Several doctors were employed in the Prince's residence, and three different prescriptions were tried, but none of them could bring down Zhu Gaoxu's fever or make him regain consciousness.

But right now there are a lot of things waiting for the prince to decide, and how to deal with the blacksmith shop and the secret passage under the prince's mansion is not something that Zhu Heng and Wang Bin can decide.

Upon receiving the news, Zhu Heng considered sending men out of the city to retrieve the blacksmiths. But who had taken the blacksmiths away? The only way to bring the blacksmiths back safely was to eliminate all witnesses, including Zhang Zheng. If he wasn't confident of that, Zhu Heng hesitated, but by then it was too late to send men out of the city to catch up.

We need to come up with a plan now, before things get out of control.

So, Zhu Zhantan, the heir apparent, sat down in the main seat of the study with trepidation.

He felt he shouldn't be here; he should be in his father's bedroom, serving him. What if his father woke up and suspected that he was only thinking about the throne and wished for his father to die?

Besides, what is it that he can make a decision about?
Zhu Heng asked, "Our guards at the city gate said they saw Zhang Zheng, the Shandong Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, leave the city with a group of blacksmiths. They should arrive in the capital in about three days. We need to think of an explanation..."

Wang Bin said with a gloomy face, "Last time, that person in Beijing didn't give you a chance to defend yourself, but this time I'll give you a chance to defend yourself?"

Mei Qing hurriedly said, "It would be best if we could intercept them!"

Wei Da said, "Yesterday we sent a message to the capital, trying to stop the people from the manor from entering the capital. Now that we have the blacksmith, we are afraid we will not have enough manpower in the capital."

Mei Qing said, "Why don't we submit a memorial first, saying that Jia Chuan, in order to frame the prince, secretly dug a tunnel from the blacksmith's shop to the prince's mansion, and that the blacksmiths were in cahoots with Jia Chuan..."

Wang Bin looked at Mei Qing and asked, "Did that person in the capital believe it?"

“I bet he won’t dare to press on. If he does, how is he any different from Emperor Jianwen?” Mei Qing retorted angrily.

"What if he were like Emperor Jianwen?" Wang Bin asked with a gloomy face.

Mei Qing wanted to say "rebellion", but swallowed the words back. The King of Han was not prepared. What were the chances of winning in such a hasty situation?
Zhu Heng sighed and looked at Zhu Zhantan, saying, "The Crown Prince still needs to come up with a plan. Should we submit a memorial after dawn, or send someone to Beijing to intercept the blacksmith?"

Zhu Zhantan wanted to ask, "You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?" He was somewhat annoyed. He didn't attend every meeting, and when they remembered he was there, he would sit and listen. Sometimes he didn't even know the background and would get sleepy listening to the conversation. Tonight was the same. He knew nothing about what had happened before or how this incident had occurred. After a few words of bickering, they asked him to make a decision. If he made the right one, fine, but what if he made the wrong one? Would his father forgive him when he woke up?

Thinking of this, Zhu Zhantan stood up and said, "You can discuss and decide. I'm worried about my father's health; I won't feel at ease if I'm not by his bedside."

After saying that, he walked toward the door, but was stopped by Mei Qing, who said, "The prince has his own physician, and the young master can't help even if he goes. But this matter is too important right now. If we can't come up with a plan before dawn, I'm afraid we'll be in a very passive position later."

"I have no idea what has happened during this time. Now you are asking me for advice, where would I get any advice? Whose idea was it to open a blacksmith shop on the street? What were they thinking at the time? Did they think it was okay to openly tell the world that the royal family was privately manufacturing weapons, and that no one could do anything about it? So what is there to be afraid of now? If no one can do anything about it, what is there to be afraid of?"

Mei Qing's face turned pale and then red as she was questioned.

Who came up with this idea? Coincidentally, it was him.

The Prince's mansion was very large, and the Prince of Han owned many properties and estates. Moreover, the Prince of Han controlled several iron mines, so it was not surprising that he could smuggle some raw materials. Back in Nanjing, Zhu Gaochi had secretly made some preparations.

Why did they later dare to set up three blacksmith shops directly on the street? That depends on when they decided to do so.

When the eldest son, Zhu Da, first ascended the throne, he wanted to keep his second brother in check. Even though he had some dirt on Zhu Gaoxu, he turned a blind eye, which is why Zhu Zhanqi has survived to this day.

When Zhu Gaoxu returned to Le'an from Beijing, he was still feeling resentful and some of his thoughts became too extreme. When Da Pang found out, he could only appease him. Apart from reducing the number of guards in the Prince's Palace, he did nothing else. Although some guards were removed, Zhu Gaoxu simply replaced them himself. Da Pang knew this but didn't say anything. Having just ascended the throne, Da Pang couldn't start by targeting his own brother. He didn't need anyone to persuade him about the importance of the court.

(End of this chapter)