Qing Yao

Chapter 278 The Qing Dynasty Belongs to Prince Zhao

The fact that the witness who could prove that "Wu Fu'er" stole and sold grain from the granary hanged himself is definitely a good thing for Yu Fuchang.

Because the dead cannot testify.

He could have easily reported that the whistleblower was making a false accusation out of personal interest, and that he committed suicide out of fear of being found out after learning that the imperial court had sent an imperial envoy to investigate.

This would both clear Wu Fu'er's name and give Zhu Gui, the governor of Anhui, a way out.

Although Zhu Gui was one of the "Five Blessed Children" who harvested ginseng, he was also deceived by treacherous villains and did not know the truth. His fate could be dealt with in a way that was either serious or minor.

Fu Chang, who sought stability throughout his life, did not want to offend a governor because of his "Five Blessings".

A happy ending for everyone would undoubtedly be in his best interest.

However, based on his professional intuition, Master Chen put forward a very bold hypothesis: that there might be a bigger conspiracy behind Fan Wentong's death.

Fu Chang asked in confusion, "What do you mean, sir?"

Master Chen said in a low voice, "I suspect that Fan Wentong may not have committed suicide, but was murdered."

"Murder?"

Fu Chang was startled and subconsciously said, "If it was murder, it would be disadvantageous for Lord Zhao."

There is some truth to what you said.

Judging solely from the outcome, Fan Wentong's death benefited "Wu Fu'er," and anyone who makes the connection would think that "Wu Fu'er" was the one who killed him to cover it up.

If everyone thought that way, then "Brother Zhao" would truly be unable to defend himself.

However, Master Chen shook his head and said, "Lord Zhao is currently in Jiangning. He has only been the grain commissioner for a few months and has never even been to Anhui. How could he possibly kill someone? Besides, if Lord Zhao intended to kill someone to cover it up, would this matter have alarmed the imperial court?"

Fu Chang thought about it and realized that Fan Wentong was just a minor eighth-rank grain envoy. For a provincial grain commissioner, killing a grain envoy was as easy as crushing an ant.

If "Five Blessings" really had this idea, Fan Wentong wouldn't be alive today, and he wouldn't have made such a big fuss about it, forcing Fan Wentong, the governor of Jiangning, to investigate the case across provinces.

But if "Wu Fu'er" didn't do it, then who did?
Fu Chang was a little confused, feeling that the truth was becoming increasingly elusive.

"The students feel that perhaps someone doesn't want us to know the truth."

Master Chen glanced out the window at the coroner who was busy examining the body, and lowered his voice, saying, "The one who examined Lord Zhao's body is the governor of Anhui. Now the court has sent you, sir, to conduct a thorough investigation. What if the truth is the same as what the governor of Anhui said, and it doesn't match? How will the governor of Anhui face the consequences?"

Fu Chang was stunned: "You suspect that Fan Wentong's death is related to Lord Zhu?"

Master Chen did not answer, but reminded his benefactor of something: behind Zhu Gui, this upright and famous minister, was the fifteenth prince Yongyan, who was the Prince Jia.

Therefore, this matter is very likely a power struggle between "brothers".

One was the emperor's illegitimate son who had been raised among the common people; the other was a prince of the highest rank.

What is sibling rivalry? It's the killing of one's own flesh and blood!

"."

Fu Chang was stunned by Master Chen's bold guess, because it was completely beyond his imagination.

"My lord, think about it, why did Heshen and Fu Chang'an value Lord Zhao so much? And why did Fu Chang'an send someone to present 100,000 taels of silver before Lord Zhao's name was cleared? My lord, think about what happened to Lord Zhao before."

Master Chen dared not think about it, but the events that had occurred forced him to remind his benefactor that the whole thing seemed to be shrouded in a huge conspiracy.

It is well known that Heshen's faction was extremely hostile to Prince Jia, and Zhao Youlu was highly regarded by Heshen's faction. Zhu Gui, the governor of Anhui, was Prince Jia's teacher, as was Hu Gaowang, the Jiangsu educational commissioner who impeached Zhao Youlu and was imprisoned. Kuilun, the Fuzhou general who publicly flogged Zhao Youlu, was also very close to Prince Jia. Zhu Gui had previously impeached Zhao Youlu for seeking fame and fortune, but the newly appointed Governor-General of Liangjiang, Sun Shiyi, said that Zhao Youlu was the most capable official in Liangjiang. Sun Shiyi came from the Grand Council and knew far more inside information than Zhu Gui, the governor.
Putting everything together, not only did Master Chen not dare to imagine it, but even the governor of Fuchang turned pale instantly.

All the clues clearly point to one thing—the elder brother, a prince, is sparing no effort to deal with his younger brother, a "grassroots" man who has been living among the common people!
The two are not comparable at all.

No matter how precious "Five Blessed Sons" were, he was still just the emperor's illegitimate son, far inferior to Prince Jia, who had the right to inherit the throne.

Unless the Emperor issues an edict to the world, acknowledging the identity of "Five Blessed Ones" and bringing them into the palace to be granted the title of Prince, they are simply no match for Prince Jia.

Why couldn't Prince Najia tolerate his "out-of-the-counter" brother, who posed no threat to him whatsoever?
If we're going to fight, we should fight our elder brother, Prince Cheng.

Heshen, Fu Chang'an, Sun Shiyi
The performance of the three Grand Councilors.
Fuchang must be a bit crazy. It can't be that the emperor is senile and is abandoning the prince he raised by his side to establish a "bastard" who has been living among the common people, right?

As a result, Prince Jia, who was vying for the throne, fought desperately against the emperor, while Heshen and others, who knew the emperor's thoughts, fought desperately to protect him.
Not wanting to miss out on something good, Master Chen added, "Sir, are you aware of a rumor circulating outside?"

Fu Chang asked curiously, "What rumor?"

Master Chen hurriedly said, "Not long ago, the imperial court issued an edict that all local government offices must erect stone tablets with the words 'Integrity, Caution, and Diligence' and hang them in all their offices as a warning. But as far as I know, even before the edict was issued, Lord Zhao had already written these three characters in the grain transport office and ordered them to be hung in the main hall."

"And there's this!"

Fu Chang gasped. If this were true, wouldn't it mean that "Wu Fu'er" had always been in contact with the Emperor? Otherwise, why would the Emperor have the three characters written by "Wu Fu'er" erected on steles throughout the country to "promote" them?

Even if we take a step back and say the worst, it's still a matter of father and son being of one heart.

I'm becoming increasingly convinced that Zhao Youlu is the emperor's illegitimate son!

"Furthermore, as far as the students know,"

When Chen, the clerk, got into his gossipy mode, he added with great seriousness that at the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Rites suddenly required all the gates of schools across the country to be painted with the ten characters "Enter the Wenhua Hall in life, enter the Ziguang Pavilion in death," and these ten characters were precisely proposed by Zhao Youlu when he served as a professor at Yangzhou Prefectural School.

Where did Master Chen get his information?

This was posted on WeChat Moments in Shaoxing.

Most of the clerks in the government offices, big and small, in Yangzhou are from this circle of friends.

Previously, Master Fu said that the Qing Dynasty and its petty officials jointly governed the country, which was half right and half wrong. It should be that the Qing Dynasty and the Shaoxing clerks and petty officials jointly governed the country.

The creation of the three-character stele and the promotion of the ten-character stele are real events. What signal do they reveal?
There's no other reason than that the Emperor will fully support whatever "Five Blessed Ones" does!

In other words, the Emperor will surely grant any request made by the "Five Blessed Ones"!
Even a fool could see how much the Emperor dotes on this illegitimate son; how could Lord Fu not see it?

"Your Majesty, the Emperor is eighty-one years old this year. What old man in the world doesn't love his youngest son? And what old man doesn't favor his youngest son when dividing his inheritance?"

Master Chen still didn't dare to boldly voice his guess.

Because it's too absurd.

"Does the master mean the youngest son should guard the hearth?"

Fu Chang was still bold, after all, Master Chen was not an outsider.

"The youngest son inherits the hearth" was the inheritance system of the Mongols and the Qing Dynasty before they entered the Central Plains, meaning that the youngest child inherited everything from his father.

Back when the Qing Dynasty was still outside the Great Wall, although Emperor Taizu passed the Khanate to Emperor Taizong, the two Yellow Banners under Emperor Taizu's name were given to Ajige, Dorgon, and Dodo, the three youngest sons of his principal wife Abahai.

Since his ascension to the throne, the current emperor has consistently emphasized abandoning Han customs and restoring ancient Manchu traditions.

(End of this chapter)