The Crown Prince Chases His Wife
Chapter 120 The Layout
Last night, after being taken away by the people from the Imperial Court of Judicial Review, Left Prime Minister Wang Xian did not return home all night.
The entire Prime Minister Mansion was anxious, and to be precise, the whole faction of the Left Prime Minister in the capital was sleepless.
Wang Jingheng, the eldest son of the Left Prime Minister and now one of the secretaries in the Cabinet, was supposed to enter the palace at dawn, but he sought an audience with the Empress and Imperial Concubine Xian as early as the rooster’s crow.
Outside Kunning Palace, he was informed that the Empress was unwell and would not receive visitors. Wang Jingheng understood that his aunt, the Empress, was not on good terms with the Left Prime Minister Mansion, so he didn’t hold out much hope and headed to Jingren Palace instead.
Inside Jingren Palace, Wang Jingheng conveyed his father’s message from last night to Imperial Concubine Xian, “Aunt, the noble families rise and fall together.”
The Imperial Concubine Xian’s expression was troubled, she understood this principle well. However, since it was the Taizi taking action, she feared there was little she could do.
She reassured Wang Jingheng, saying, “It depends on how much this case will drag the Left Prime Minister Mansion into it.”
“Perhaps it will only be a false alarm.”
This incident eventually alarmed Emperor Hui.
Emperor Hui was furious, demanding to know who had the audacity to snatch people from the Imperial Guards and commit such brutal killings, resulting in the deaths of over a dozen guards.
The Emperor ordered a thorough investigation to get to the bottom of the matter.
——
Meanwhile, the Southern Yamen Imperial Army’s night raid on the assassins yielded results.
The information was traced back to the underworld forces associated with the Taizifei.
The assassination organization, Huayue Tower, had taken on a contract in the capital yesterday to eliminate witnesses related to last year’s southern suburb case.
According to Huayue Tower’s rules, they would never reveal the identity of their employer, but under pressure from the Taizi Mansion, they disclosed a name.
Following the leads, it was uncovered that the mastermind behind the assassination contract was none other than the Left Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Xue Sheng.
Interestingly, this Deputy Minister’s second son was also one of the suspects in the western suburb assault case and was now implicated in the southern suburb murder case as well.
———–
Yesterday, several suspects’ fathers were summoned to the Imperial Court of Judicial Review for questioning, which lasted the entire night.
This morning, Deputy Minister of Personnel Xue Sheng sought to visit his son but was denied.
“Not allowed to see him? Master Peng, what is the reason for this?” Deputy Minister Xue was dissatisfied.
“Master Peng, the case my son is involved in isn’t a major one, and he hasn’t been charged with a serious crime. Why can’t I see him?”
Peng Du, the Chief of the Imperial Court of Judicial Review, felt a bit awkward.
“This case is special, so I hope Deputy Minister Xue can understand.”
Seeing that the Chief was hesitant and evasive, Xue Sheng began to feel uneasy. Could it be that the rumors he heard last night were true?
“I heard that the Taizifei’s people came to the Imperial Court of Judicial Review last night and took away the prisoners. Is it true that my son is no longer in your custody? Please, Master Peng, give me a clear answer.”
Deputy Minister Xue stared intently at Chief Peng, seemingly intent on catching any flicker of emotion on his face.
Peng Du knew that Taizifei’s visit to the Imperial Court of Judicial Review last night couldn’t be hidden. Just after she left, several death row inmates were transferred from the prison by the Southern Guard Imperial Army.
If nothing unexpected happens, it seemed the Taizi intended to pin the murder charges from the southern suburbs case on those few individuals.
At that moment, there was a sudden commotion outside. It was Lu Chen, the commander of the Southern Yamen Imperial Army, who had personally brought people over.
Peng Du, the Chief of the Imperial Court of Judicial Review, immediately stepped forward to greet him.
Lu Chen nodded at Peng Du, then raised his hand and spoke in a cold voice, “Arrest him.”
Two rows of guards moved past Peng Du and quickly approached Deputy Minister Xue.
“Suspect Xue Sheng, surrender peacefully.”
Deputy Minister Xue was filled with fear and confusion, what was happening?
The investigation had come to his door!
———–
Yesterday, several officials and wealthy merchants, including the Left Prime Minister Wang Xian and former Jingzhao Perfect Gao Jin, were summoned to the Imperial Court of Judicial Review and subsequently imprisoned in its jail for questioning.
At this moment, anxiety began to set in among them. Something must have gone wrong.
Lu Chen, leading the Southern Yamen Imperial Army, took temporary control of the Imperial Court of Judicial Review’s jail and personally interrogated the suspects.
The Southern Yamen Imperial Army had its own methods for handling interrogations, and it didn’t take long for those who were willing to speak to start talking.
Former Jingzhao Perfect Gao Jin, being a weak-willed man, quickly revealed that the southern suburbs murder case from last year had been suppressed under pressure from the Minister of Personnel.
Under heavy interrogation, Deputy Minister Xue Sheng confessed that both he and Minister Yan Changye had coerced the witnesses and family members of the victims to change their testimonies. However, he claimed that the order to hire assassins to silence witnesses was solely his own doing.
Xue Sheng had initially sought out killers in a moment of desperation to eliminate the witnesses, not realizing that those killers would leave no survivors during their encounter with the guards, resulting in such a large scandal.
He thought that the Huayue Tower would keep their mouths shut and that the suspects involved were numerous, making it unlikely for the investigation to be traced back to him. Little did he know that the Southern Yamen Imperial Army was moving at an astonishing speed.
Initially, Minister Yan steadfastly denied any involvement, but with the testimonies of two officials against him, he ultimately admitted to the two incidents.
The wealthy merchants had no ability to manipulate the case; they were merely informed and had given considerable amounts of money to both the Minister of Personnel and Deputy Minister Xue.
As for the Left Prime Minister Wang Xian, no issues arose during his interrogation, and no one pointed fingers at him, suggesting that he truly was unaware of these matters.
Wang Xian let out a sigh of relief, but inwardly he cursed.
If he had known about the disgraceful actions of his wife’s precious nephew, would he have allowed him to continue causing trouble in the capital?
At that moment, Wang Xian recalled that at the beginning of last year, when Minister Yan Changye and Deputy Minister Xue Sheng visited his mansion for New Year greetings, they seemed to have mentioned that “the matter had been settled.” However, their words were merely hints and not explicit.
At the time, he thought they were referring to the previous impeachment case in the Imperial Censor.
Now that he thought about it, those two must have assumed that he, Wang Xian, was aware of this case.
And as for his wife, Madam Li, she had never mentioned anything about him stepping in to mediate, perhaps she too was kept in the dark and unaware?
———-
The Southern Yamen Imperial Army swiftly delivered the testimonies they obtained to the imperial palace, for the Emperor and the Taizi to decide.
In the imperial palace, within the inner sanctum, Emperor Hui tossed the written testimonies onto the table, glancing at Taizi Feng Zhan, who was leisurely sipping tea.
“Are you dissatisfied that we couldn’t touch the Left Prime Minister?”
Feng Zhan maintained his usual calm demeanor, remaining silent.
The Emperor continued, “The Ministry of Personnel is the head of the six ministries, overseeing the selection, assessment, appointment, promotion, transfer, and awarding of civil officials. This incident has effectively removed one of the Left Prime Minister’s arms.”
That day, news of the Emperor’s decree spread throughout the palace.
Left Prime Minister Wang Xian was penalized with a year’s salary reduction, Minister Yan Changye was dismissed from his position and several wealthy merchants involved in the case had their assets confiscated.
Deputy Minister Xue Sheng, who hired assassins to silence witnesses and slaughtered imperial guards, had challenged the authority of the imperial family. He was imprisoned, and sentenced to death to be carried out in the autumn of the following year, and the entire Xue family faced confiscation of their property and exile.
———–
Some officials were dismissed, while others were promoted.
Wang Jingyi of the Imperial Censor Bureau was recognized for her contributions and was elevated from the rank of a regular eighth-grade Censor to a sixth-grade Deputy Censor.
Taking advantage of her newfound influence, Wang Jingyi promptly submitted a proposal to establish a supervisory group to rigorously investigate corruption cases involving collusion between officials and merchants across the Great Xia provinces.
The Taizi Mansion swiftly approved her proposal.
Ji Mu, who had just been transferred from the Ministry of Personnel to the Imperial Censor Bureau as the Deputy, was reassigned back to the Ministry of Personnel as a Deputy Minister, taking up his new post immediately.
In the Imperial Censor Bureau, officials raised their teacups instead of wine to toast Ji Mu, celebrating his new position.
Ji Mu lifted his teacup, glancing through the steam at Wang Jingyi seated diagonally ahead. He quickly averted his gaze.
“Thank you, everyone.”
After finishing his tea, Ji Mu bid farewell to his colleagues, but his attention inadvertently lingered on the graceful figure dressed in loose official robes.
Wang Jingyi’s performance in the Imperial Censor Bureau repeatedly surprised Ji Mu.
She was even more intelligent and decisive than Ji Mu had previously imagined.
Ji Mu speculated that Wang Jingyi’s proposal to rigorously investigate corruption cases across the Great Xia provinces was an attempt to stir up the calm waters, diverting attention from the ongoing issues related to the western suburbs case.
Wang Jingyi was a woman born for a life in politics.
At the same time, Wang Jingyi was observing Ji Mu, the newly appointed Deputy Minister of Personnel.
Her smooth entry into the Imperial Censor Bureau during such a sensitive period could only be attributed to the backing of the Emperor or the Taizi.
She had looked into Ji Mu’s background: he came from a modest family and had been a successful candidate in the imperial examination of the twenty-first year of Yonghe. Over his eight years in office, he had climbed the ranks from Hanlin Academy scholar to Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, then to a clerk of the Imperial Academy, and subsequently to Left Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Left Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and now, he was heading back to the Ministry of Personnel as a third-grade Deputy Minister.
Given this trajectory, it was not hard to imagine that if nothing unexpected occurred, Ji Mu would soon be appointed as a Minister of some department, or even take a higher position.
Ji Mu had been moving within the Left Prime Minister Mansion for several years. If he was truly the Taizi’s person, then the Taizi’s influence in the court could be much more significant than others had assumed, a result of the support from the Empress Dowager and the Grand Scholar An Shifeng two years ago.
More likely, the Taizi had already begun laying the groundwork while stationed in the north, even before leaving the capital.
Taizi Feng Zhan was truly inscrutable.
———–
At the Chenghua Hall of Taizi Mansion in Xishan.
In the center of the hall was a large sand table model, which, upon closer inspection, revealed the terrain and geography of the Great Xia and surrounding countries.
At this moment, beside the sand table stand Taizi Feng Zhan, Taizifei Qin Yan, and the Shizi of the Duan Wang Mansion, Feng Subei.
For the past few days, Feng Subei has been coming to the Taizi Mansion’s Chenghua Hall every day to conduct simulations.
As for what they were simulating…
After a stick of incense burned, Feng Subei spoke, “To the north of the Great Xia is the Turkic tribes, to the west are the Western Barbarians, to the south is the Southern Frontier, and to the east are the Eastern Barbarians and the Gaoli Kingdom.”
“If we are to go to war, we must prepare for a full-scale battle.”
“The priority in war is to ensure sufficient supplies. This year, with the floods and grain shortages in the Great Xia, the right time for war will at least have to wait until after the autumn harvest next year.”
“As for the breakthrough point…”
“If Northern Liang agrees to flank the Turks from both sides with the Great Xia, it will be twice the result with half the effort.”
Both Feng Zhan and Qin Yan thought of the Northern Liang Emperor, and…
Miss Shen.
But what Qin Yan envisioned was not just a two-pronged attack.
If they could first take down the Western Barbarians, cutting off the Turks’ chance of seeking outside help, it would turn into a three-sided assault.
Over the years, Qin Yan had witnessed the Turks’ brutality and ferocity firsthand on the northwestern border.
When they slaughtered villages and towns, they spared neither women nor children and even…
Qin Yan closed her eyes for a moment, pulling back her thoughts, and looked at the fertile land surrounded by mountains in the southwestern part of the Great Xia map.
Yizhou, this natural granary.
How could one not be tempted?
————
Yizhou Prince Mansion.
The Yizhou Wangfei, Song Yin approached the door of the Yizhou Prince’s new favorite, Lady Yan, she heard the muffled sounds of a woman’s painful moans coming from within.
Outside the tightly closed door stood Ye Qinghe, the Emperor of Yizhou, with a guilty expression on his face.
Song Yin exchanged a glance with Ye Qinghe before pushing the door open and stepping inside, the door closing quickly behind her.
Upon entering, Song Yin immediately inquired about the strong smell of blood in the room. She covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, maneuvering around the screen to frown at the bed.
The doctor and midwife were nervously attending to Lady Yan, who lay on the bed, her hair drenched in sweat, pale-faced, and with her eyes tightly shut. Buckets of blood were being carried out from behind the screen.
Looking at the figure on the bed, Song Yin couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
Ye Qingli, A Yan, Lady Yan.
Truly both pitiable and detestable.
Though she had an intense hatred for Ye Qingli and Ye Qinghe, this was still a life at stake.
Once the procedure was complete, a maid brought over a bowl of medicinal soup for Lady Yan to consume.
Song Yin stepped out from behind the screen, and the doctor approached, bowing slightly.
“Wangfei, Lady Yan was unable to save the child in her womb, and she will likely find it difficult to conceive again in the future.”
The doctor spoke without lowering his voice too much, so Lady Yan inside the screen heard him.
Difficult to conceive again…
Tears streamed down A Yan’s cheeks as her throat tightened. She gritted her teeth, desperately enduring the pain in her body and heart, but she managed to suppress any sounds.
Yet, if she hadn’t engaged in any other relationship with Ye Qinghe, would he still have been so indulgent toward her? After all, he was a man…
Song Yin furrowed her brows and asked the doctor, “What happened?”
At that moment, Song Yin quickly reassured herself that she hadn’t seen Lady Yan in days and hadn’t pretended to be generous by sending her supplements or anything of the sort.
This matter should not fall on her.
The doctor hesitated, and Song Yin spoke again, “Speak.”
The doctor explained awkwardly, “Replying to Wangfei, it may have been due to the excessive intensity during the… intimate act.”
“Intimate act?” Song Yin was shocked, recalling the guilty expression she saw on Ye Qinghe’s face earlier.
Taking a deep breath, she turned to glance in the direction of the screen.
Good, good, good!
You really can!
Song Yin turned and strode out. As she passed by Ye Qinghe, he averted his gaze from her complicated expression and stepped aside to enter.
Once back in her room, Song Yin sat in a chair, silent for a long time.
A maid hurried back, “Wangfei, the doctor and midwife from Lady Yan’s chamber have been dealt with by Wangye.”
Song Yin looked up.
“Dealt with?” That meant exactly what she thought it did.
The maid continued, “I heard that Lady Yan requested more medicine to stabilize her pregnancy and seems to be pretending to be with child. It’s unclear why.”
Song Yin pulled her gaze away, her expression turning slightly cold.
She was no longer interested in what Lady Yan intended to do.
What she needed to focus on was preparing for her journey to the capital in two months.
At this point, the only ones with the motive and capability to influence Yizhou were probably those two in the capital.