Take control of Wei Zhongxian at the start and confiscate 100 million from him!

Chapter 51 Jigsaw Puzzle
The hustle and bustle of the capital city has lasted for two days and two nights.

The uproar was like a shapeless, grand storm that rose from the blood-soaked alleyways of that night and swept across every inch of this vast imperial capital.

Then, it seemed to want to break free from the constraints of these towering city walls and spread towards a wider world.

Like a boulder thrown into a stagnant pool, the ripples caused by that night's thunderous actions did not subside with the passage of time; instead, they intensified and spread into everyone's hearts.

The initial shock and fear have gradually changed over the past two days, evolving into an even more indescribable emotion.

Outside the Meridian Gate, on that spacious and majestic square, groups of civil officials still knelt for a long time, wearing their blue or scarlet official robes that symbolized their integrity and moral character.

They no longer cried and wailed like on the first day, as they considered such a posture improper. Instead, they chose a more dignified and powerful approach—sitting in silence.

Without speaking, without shouting, they silently exerted pressure on the towering red walls of the Forbidden City, which seemed capable of isolating everything.

We are here, we are watching, and the whole world is watching!

They are waiting.

We await an explanation from the increasingly unpredictable young emperor.

But in the streets and alleys where ordinary people gather, the scene is completely different.

Various versions of rumors, so bizarre they could be written into supernatural tales, are spreading among the people at an alarming rate.

Some say that the secret agents of the Western Depot seized enough gold and silver to fill the entire Qianqing Palace overnight from the homes of high-ranking officials and wealthy merchants.

Some people say that the artificial mountain in Lord Zhou Yanru's mansion is not a Taihu stone at all, but was made by pouring molten silver.

Some people lowered their voices and said with a tone that was both excited and fearful that a neighbor of a distant relative's cousin was responsible for delivering food to the prison and had personally witnessed cartloads of boxes still stained with blood being transported into that hell on earth that made people shudder.

Fear, excitement, schadenfreude, and deep anxiety about the uncertainty of the future... all these emotions mixed together, making the entire capital city feel like a pot of boiling water being slowly heated over a low flame, bubbling and gurgling.

It hasn't completely boiled yet, but everyone knows it could boil over at any moment!
……

All this noise and commotion seemed to be kept outside the red wall by an invisible barrier.

The warm pavilion on the west side of Qianqing Palace remains as warm and tranquil as ever.

It was as if the chaotic world outside and this place existed in completely different times and spaces.

Zhu Youjian put on a bright yellow robe with twelve imperial symbols, which he would only wear on a very few informal occasions.

This outfit is more relaxed than court attire, yet it carries a unique air of imperial majesty that belongs only to the emperor, unlike everyday clothes.

He no longer sat idly as he had in the past few days, but instead paced slowly behind the large imperial desk.

The cup of tea on the imperial table was no longer cold; instead, a set of sweet white porcelain teaware newly fired from the Jingdezhen imperial kiln had been placed there. The aroma of tea wafted through the air; it was top-grade Junshan Silver Needle tea. The tender buds stood upright in the clear tea soup, like new bamboo shoots breaking through the soil after a spring rain.

Beside the tea set were piles of fresh confessions and incriminating evidence, still carrying the smell of blood and the despair of prisoners, which Zhou Quan had personally delivered from the Western Depot prison over the past two days.

Zhou Yanru broke down.

This once elegant and eloquent Donglin scholar, whose words were sharp and incisive in the imperial court, completely abandoned all his dignity and integrity in the face of the seventy-two sets of tortures in the Western Depot that could melt steel and silence ghosts and gods!
He confessed before he was even put on the torture instruments.

Like a flood bursting its banks, the names of all his colleagues, students, and old friends who had connections with Shanxi merchants poured out of his mind, which had been steeped in the classics for decades.

Behind every name lies a series of dirty deals and shameless betrayals.

Zhu Youjian has been doing one thing these past two days.

He ignored the commotion outside the Meridian Gate and paid no attention to the gossip circulating in the city; he was simply working on the puzzle.

With these bloody confessions filled with unsavory details, and those ledgers that recorded crimes and reeked of money, they pieced together bit by bit the complete web of collusion between officials and merchants that shrouded the Ming Dynasty court.

With each piece he pieced together, the murderous intent in his heart intensified.

With each complex and intertwined node he saw clearly, the chill in his eyes grew colder.

The extent of this network's intricate connections and decay far exceeded his imagination; it had practically grown into the very fabric of the empire, becoming inseparable from it.

The actions in the capital were more like cutting off a few of the thickest vines from a towering tree that was already entangled by countless parasitic vines.

And at the roots of this great tree, in those deeper, more hidden corners, countless vines were frantically sucking its nutrients, causing it to wither away day by day. He needed more power, more evidence.

And more money.

money.

This is a word he's heard so many times since he ascended the throne that he's practically worn out.

The Minister of Revenue was able to kneel before him and weep for half an hour, tears streaming down his face, all for the sake of the military pay in Liaodong.

In order to provide relief funds and food for disaster victims, the cabinet was able to repeatedly negotiate with him, presenting a pile of reports on the devastation of the land.

It was as if the entire Ming Dynasty was a dilapidated house with leaks everywhere, and he, the emperor, was a poor, pathetic head of the household who couldn't even afford to fix the leaks.

He loathed that feeling.

A feeling of frustration: having supreme power but being controlled by others at every turn!
The 1.5 million taels confiscated in the capital was a lot, but it was still far from enough.

That can only solve the immediate problem, but it cannot fundamentally change the current predicament of this empire.

His true hopes lie in two other directions.

Xuanfu Town, Zhangjiakou.

That was the true lair of the Shanxi merchants, their base of operations for smuggling and colluding with border generals, and the root of their massive network.

……

But two days have passed, and still no news has come.

It should have arrived by now, given that it's a 600-li express courier service.

Although Sun Yingyuan's new army was capable in combat, it had never seen bloodshed.

Although Tian Ergeng's Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) had a notorious reputation, Zhangjiakou was a territory that Shanxi merchants had operated in for over a hundred years, and it was as impenetrable as an iron barrel.

A sense of anxiety, which Zhu Youjian himself was unwilling to admit, arose in his heart.

He stopped and walked to the window, looking out at the sky that was divided into squares by the palace walls.

The sky was a deep blue, a clear blue unique to winter, with a few wisps of thin white clouds that looked as if a master had casually sketched a few strokes of light ink on rice paper.

Very beautiful.

But it's also very far away.

Just now.

"Your Majesty!"

A sharp, trembling voice, tinged with barely suppressed excitement, pierced through the hall like an arrow, instantly shattering the frozen tranquility of the warm pavilion.

Immediately following was a series of hurried, chaotic, and even frantic footsteps, completely devoid of the composure and calmness that a eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial should have possessed.

Zhu Youjian slowly turned around, his brows slightly furrowed.

He disliked this feeling of being out of control, and any unexpected or intense emotional fluctuations would put him on alert.

But the next moment, when he saw Wang Chengen's face, which was flushed red and even somewhat distorted from extreme excitement, his displeasure vanished instantly.

Instead, a strong premonition surged into my heart.

"What's the matter that you're in such a panic?" Zhu Youjian asked knowingly, but his voice remained deliberately calm.

"Your Majesty! Great news! This is an extraordinary event!"

Wang Chengen practically tumbled and crawled in. Because he was running so fast, he tripped over the threshold carved from a single piece of golden nanmu wood and fell forward in a disheveled state.

Despite his disheveled appearance, he still held the two sealed reports with sealing wax tightly in his hands, as if they were two priceless treasures, afraid that they would be tainted by even a speck of dust from the mortal world.

(End of this chapter)