The central hall of the inn was brightly lit, with light spilling out through the windows.
In the curtain of rain that obscured heaven and earth, Yan Rongshi and Yan Erlang sat facing each other across a long table. They had been arguing for a while.
"What do you mean you're not in a hurry to catch that old thief Sheng?"
Yan Erlang pounded the table loudly: "You let the criminal escape, losing our witness. Who knows if Xiaoman's background is just something that old thief Sheng made up to save his skin? If you're going to let personal matters interfere with public duty and let him off lightly, the knife wound on my shoulder can't be settled so easily!"
Yan Rongshi listened impassively.
After hearing him out, he only asked: "Sheng Fugui has connections to the Yuqing Tower assassins, and he's suspected of being a spy. You want to investigate thoroughly and drag Xiaoman into it?"
Yan Erlang immediately shut his mouth.
Yan Rongshi continued: "Sheng Fugui is one of three fugitives captured by the Palace Guard. This matter has been handed over to Wu Xun, the Deputy Commander of the Palace Guard. You'd best not interfere. It's not good to try to steal credit from fellow guardsmen."
"Stealing credit" was a major taboo in the military. Yan Erlang cursed, abandoning his idea of leading troops to pursue the fugitive overnight.
But the more he thought about it, the more it didn't sit right with him. "Wait a minute, if the person falls into Wu's hands and confesses, won't that still implicate Xiaoman?"
Yan Rongshi: "I've taken care of it in advance. It won't."
No matter how Yan Erlang pressed, he couldn't get another word out of him about exactly how "it won't."
Yan Rongshi only replied languidly: "I know my second cousin cares deeply for Xiaoman and her brother. Just rest assured, I certainly won't harm my Xiaoman."
The words "cares deeply" provoked Yan Erlang greatly.
He flew into a rage, slapping the table and shouting: "Who's your second cousin!"
Amidst the commotion downstairs, the sound of footsteps came from upstairs.
Ying Xiaoman came down the wooden stairs to the main hall, followed by the military doctor. The doctor sighed, saying: "Young miss, Commander Yan isn't behaving himself. I told him to rest quietly and avoid vigorous movements to prevent his wound from reopening, but he's completely ignored my advice. Look, he's sitting in the hall..."
Ying Xiaoman: "Where's the rope? Give it to me."
The confrontational atmosphere downstairs instantly dissipated. Hearing something was amiss, Yan Erlang quickly went to greet her: "Xiaoman, don't tie me up. I woke up after a nap and I'm feeling much better already. I'm fine!"
Yan Rongshi glanced at the bleeding shoulder across from him: "You pounded the table too hard just now, reopening your wound."
Everyone's gaze immediately shifted over, and his words proved entirely correct. Although Yan Erlang loudly protested his innocence, wasn't his left shoulder indeed bleeding?
Ying Xiaoman said irritably: "Sit back down. Lie on the bench."
Using the technique for tying up wild boars in the mountains, she swiftly and thoroughly bound Yan Erlang to the long bench. The military doctor directed several palace guards to carry the unruly patient back to the east room on the second floor.
Although it wasn't good to steal credit, they couldn't lose the trail of the fugitive. The captain who had gone in pursuit soon sent back news:
Sheng Fugui was fleeing alone towards the northwest.
After pursuing for seven or eight miles, there was no sign of him meeting up with the two assassins.
Dawn was approaching. Further ahead was the area where the Palace Guard had cast their net to catch fish.
Yan Rongshi gave orders:
Continue tracking, but there's no need to capture him. If you encounter the Palace Guard, inform them of the fugitive's trail, then the pursuit team can withdraw.
In the pitter-patter of rain, the Palace Guard sent the latest news of their overnight capture operation.
— Two assassins had been captured alive in the southwest direction.
This capture went unexpectedly smoothly. They didn't encounter much resistance.
In the afternoon's lessening rain, Wu Xun returned to the inn, barely concealing his excitement as he discussed last night's search operation with Yan Rongshi. "It was hard to see clearly in the rain at night, but from a distance it looked like three people fleeing, with one person carrying another on their back. The men all thought it was the young assassin carrying the elderly Sheng Fugui."
"It was only when they got close that they realized only two assassins were fleeing southwest. One of them was carrying a scarecrow from the fields on his back."
"The situation with these two assassins is unusual."
During the raid on Yuqing Tower in July, several assassins had resisted to the end, fighting fearlessly. They seriously injured several men on the spot, and one took poison to commit suicide.
But last night's two assassins were easily captured alive. The characteristic desperate ferocity of the assassins had vanished from their eyes.
"Here are the confessions recorded overnight." Wu Xun placed two freshly recorded confessions on the long table.
"To be on the safe side, I recorded the confessions myself. No third party knows the contents. Lord Yan, we've caught a big fish. The Yuqing Tower assassins have confessed that Sheng Fugui has an entire warehouse full of high-quality iron weapons!"
Yan Rongshi moved the oil lamp closer and unfolded the two confessions dampened by rain.
Wu Xun casually mentioned a few peculiar things he had encountered this time.
The two captives confessed without denial that they were indeed assassins nurtured by Fang Xiang of Yuqing Tower for many years, loyal to the Northern Kingdom, secretly transporting fine iron and delivering intelligence, operating all over the capital.
After Fang Xiang was captured, the spy strongholds hidden in the capital for many years were uprooted. With nowhere to go, the assassins could only flee to Sheng Fugui's safehouse in Frog Alley, usually hiding in several underground cellars dug beneath the old residence.
Every half month, Sheng Fugui would sweep the fallen leaves in the alleyway, indicating that all was safe. The assassins underground would hear the sound and briefly come out for some fresh air.
But strangely, although their relationship was one of dependence, it wasn't very close.
"According to the assassins' confession, although Sheng Fugui and Fang Xiang of Yuqing Tower were both spies sent by the Northern Kingdom, they weren't on the same side."
Yan Rongshi's finger tapped lightly on the confession. "Interesting."
Every country has internal strife at court.
The Northern Kingdom from the grasslands was no exception to internal conflicts and purges.
"Thirty years ago, Sheng Fugui disguised himself as a wealthy rose water merchant, cultivating relationships with princes and nobles in the capital, spending money like water, almost depleting the Northern Kingdom's finances. Later when Sheng Fugui was exposed, the large batch of fine iron weapons he was smuggling couldn't be sent to the Northern court. The vast fortune was confiscated instead, causing the Northern Kingdom to be impoverished for many years."
Back then, the major weapons smuggling case exposed in the capital was uncovered by Minister Yan, and Sheng Fugui failed. The distant Northern court suffered a heavy blow.
Learning from Sheng Fugui's failure, Fang Xiang no longer tried to cultivate relationships with princes and nobles in the capital using large sums of money, but instead focused on lower-ranking officials of the sixth and seventh grades.
"But even after over twenty years of effort, Fang Xiang still failed," Wu Xun said.
Yan Rongshi pondered, "The assassins saw no hope, so they lost their spirit of fighting to the death without regard for their lives, and surrendered without a fight?"
Wu Xun shook his head, pulling the confession open to the back, pointing it out to Yan Rongshi.
"Unexpectedly, it's because of this internal strife in the enemy country."
Yan Rongshi quickly scanned the details, slightly surprised, but quickly regained his composure and used a paperweight to cover that section of the confession.
"I understand the situation now. When officially recording the confession, can you omit this irrelevant section about the enemy's internal strife and focus on the warehouse full of fine iron weapons in Sheng Fugui's possession?"
"I'll draft another confession statement for you to review. If there are no issues, we can both sign it."
Wu Xun readily agreed.
Besides the significant confession recorded from the assassins, he had come back today to discuss another major issue.
"Regarding the two captured assassins, Your Majesty ordered 'life or death doesn't matter,' while Prime Minister Zheng sent word that 'the assassins are dangerous and cannot be allowed to enter the capital alive.' Should I send living people back to the capital, or corpses..."
Yan Rongshi tapped the document: "Tie up the living captives securely, but announce to the outside that we're returning corpses to the capital."
Wu Xun: ??
Yan Rongshi also had something to discuss with Wu Xun.
"The main culprit Sheng Fugui is currently fleeing northwest. He's prepared to die, so if captured, he'll likely try to kill himself on the spot. I trouble Deputy Commander Wu to show mercy and keep him alive."
Wu Xun was startled and immediately got up to leave.
"I'll go supervise the northwest area right away, and make sure to capture Sheng Fugui alive."
Yan Rongshi rose to see him off, lazily adding one last instruction: "After capturing him alive, remember to send word back, also saying it's a corpse."
Wu Xun: ??
Outside, people shouted and horses neighed. After watching Wu Xun lead his elite troops away from the inn, Yan Rongshi sat back at the long table and moved the paperweight, revealing the section of the confession he had covered earlier.
The Yuqing Tower assassins confessed:
After Sheng Fugui's failure, not only did he suffer heavy financial losses, but he also lost the Fifth Prince Mo Erdun. The Northern court was furious and ordered the extermination of Sheng Fugui's clan.
Sheng Fugui's family left in the Northern Kingdom was completely wiped out. But Sheng Fugui had brought his only son to the capital. Surprisingly, the Central Plains court only sentenced Sheng's son to exile.
Fang Xiang of Yuqing Tower, who was hiding in the capital, received secret orders from the Northern court to eliminate Sheng Fugui's only son.
The Yuqing Tower assassins accepted the order.
They planned to track him for thousands of miles and silently take action after he reached his place of exile.
Unexpectedly, halfway through their exile, while passing through Jingzhou, the only son and daughter-in-law of Sheng Fugui were suddenly abducted on the road!
With their mission unfulfilled, returning would mean certain death. The Yuqing Tower assassins searched Jingzhou for a full ten years. They scoured every county along the Han River valley.
Finally, they discovered traces of the Sheng family's son and daughter-in-law.
The young Sheng couple had been living under assumed names in an unnamed rural area of Jingzhou for ten years, digging wells, building houses, farming, and weaving in peaceful obscurity.
[In the 7th month of the Wu-Yin year, the son of the Sheng family and his wife were killed in rural Jingzhou]
However, the assassins who completed the killing mission and returned to the capital to report were immediately secretly executed by Fang Xiang to silence them.
Because, surprisingly, Sheng Fugui, who had been sentenced to death, was still alive.
Having somehow found connections in the capital, he had another death row prisoner take his place. After escaping death, Sheng Fugui sent a message to the Northern Kingdom's court:
—He had a warehouse full of high-quality iron weapons, and the token to open the warehouse had been entrusted to Yuqing Tower.
Only he knew the location of the weapons warehouse; the warehouse could only be opened with the token, which was in the hands of someone he trusted.
He only asked to live out his days in seclusion in the capital, and for his exiled son to be spared.
He was willing to hand over the entire warehouse of iron weapons, begging the court to spare the lives of him and his son.
Yan Rongshi pondered as he unfolded a blank paper and sketched out a complex web of relationships.
Sheng Fugui (bargaining with the location of a warehouse of iron weapons for the survival of father and son) — Northern Kingdom's court (ordered extermination of the entire Sheng family) — Yuqing Tower assassins (hunting down Sheng's son)
Whether the news of Sheng Fugui's warehouse full of iron weapons was true or false, in any case, the Northern Kingdom's court was unwilling to risk any potential loss and agreed to Sheng Fugui's request.
But by then, the secret kill order had already been issued. The assassins would not return without completing their mission.
Years later, the son and daughter-in-law of the Sheng family still died in some rural area of Jingzhou under the Northern Kingdom's court's secret kill order.
The Yuqing Tower assassins who carried out the kill order were immediately executed upon returning to the capital.
Fang Xiang kept this matter tightly under wraps.
So much so that even today, years later, Sheng Fugui was still kept in the dark, believing that his son and daughter-in-law were still living well somewhere in the world. In the long years that followed, Fang Xiang of Yuqing Tower and Sheng Fugui remained in the capital together, quietly waiting for an old friend to arrive with the token as promised.
*
Yan Rongshi pondered as he closed the dossier.
Yuqing Tower had been uprooted, and its leader Fang Xiang had been executed. The assassins who had no choice but to rely on Sheng Fugui had a blood feud with him, ready to draw swords at any moment.
This was also why the two Yuqing Tower assassins had no will to fight and surrendered without resistance.
He reopened the dossier, his gaze falling with pity on the center of the confession.
[In the 7th month of the Wu-Yin year, the son of the Sheng family and his wife were killed in rural Jingzhou]
The Wu-Yin year was the year Xiaoman was born.
This short line represented the fate of Xiaoman's birth parents. Caught between the wars of two countries, individual life and death were as fleeting as duckweed on water.
Candle wax had dripped all over the desk.
Yan Rongshi bent over the desk to write, his brush moving like a flying dragon. Based on the confessions of the two assassins, he rewrote and gradually produced a new confession on the desk.
He omitted all parts of the confession related to Sheng Fugui's son.
He only recorded separately the part about Sheng Fugui bribing his way out in the capital, escaping death, and sending a message to the Northern Kingdom's court.
Dipping his brush in ink, he wrote in bold, upright strokes:
[The Yuqing Tower assassin confessed:
Sheng Fugui, still alive, declared to the Northern Kingdom's court that he possessed a warehouse of iron weapons, secretly hidden somewhere in the Central Plains.]
[It has been verified: The token to open the warehouse was entrusted by Sheng Fugui to his confidant Zhuang Jiu.]
[Zhuang Jiu has not reappeared in the capital. His whereabouts are unknown.]
As evening approached that day, the autumn rain that had been falling for two or three days finally stopped, and the sky briefly cleared.
During this brief period of clear weather, the elite imperial guards of the Palace Front Court, who had been searching for fugitives throughout the night, brought back three corpses with great fanfare.
White cloth covered their heads and feet, tightly bound to stretchers with thick ropes, blood dripping from the stretchers.
The guards roughly hoisted the three corpses from the wooden carts, loading them onto carriages in front of hundreds of onlooking civilians around the inn, stacking the three stretchers and tying them securely.
"Make way," the guards at the front dispersed the crowd, "These three fugitives need to be escorted back to the capital immediately."
The onlookers buzzed with discussion.
"They're already dead, what's the point of escorting them?"
The guards shouted: "By order of Your Majesty: Their crimes are heinous, dead or alive doesn't matter! Everyone make way. Regardless of whether the fugitives are alive or dead, they must be escorted back to the capital immediately."
Wu Xun avoided those three "corpses" and quickly walked into the inn, his expression not particularly pleasant.
"What a mess," he muttered under his breath.
Yan Rongshi had already seen the commotion outside and rose to greet him.
"Thank you for your hard work, Commander Wu," he said, spreading the newly written confession on the desk with the two original confessions beside it for comparison. "What do you think of this new version?"
Wu Xun carefully compared them from beginning to end.
The other parts were mostly the same, only omitting the section about the internal strife in the Northern Kingdom and the secret order to hunt down Sheng Fugui's only son.
He felt the most crucial part about the confession of the warehouse full of iron weapons had been singled out by Yan Rongshi and written in a long paragraph with heavy ink.
"Young Lord Yan has written this excellently, cutting out the unimportant details and making the main points clear," Wu Xun said approvingly as he signed his name.
Yan Rongshi also signed. He was about to seal the confession in a bamboo tube to be urgently sent to the imperial city when Wu Xun coughed and said, "Is Commander Yan here too? Call him out to sign as well."
This was a gesture to share the credit. Yan Rongshi had no objections.
The confession document was sent to the east side of the second floor, room Jia Er. At first, Yan Erlang was unwilling to sign.
He had been genuinely upset by the words "deep sibling affection."
Ying Xiaoman was also in the room. Seeing that he had calmed down, she loosened the ropes binding his upper body and sat by the bed, taking advantage of the army doctor changing his bandages to check on the condition of his infected wounds.
Yan Erlang might have calmed his actions, but his gaze was far from calm. He stared unblinkingly at the young woman before him, her expression focused, as waves of improper thoughts surged in his mind.
What did it matter if they were cousins? Plenty of cousins got married!
He tentatively said: "The bond of growing up together from childhood, that's what you'd call deep sibling affection. How can what we have, meeting halfway through life, be called a sibling relationship?"
Ying Xiaoman heard this and interpreted it quite straightforwardly in a different way. Yan Erlang looked down on her humble commoner background and refused to acknowledge her as a sister.
She didn't care much about it.
"I only have my adoptive parents in the Ying family. Don't worry, I won't try to enter the Yan family to claim kinship."
Yan Erlang panicked. What did she mean by "won't try to enter the Yan family"?
"Xiaoman, don't misunderstand, that's not what I meant! How could I look down on you? Feel free to come claim kinship!"
Ying Xiaoman asked in confusion: "Then what did you mean just now?"
"Well, I—"
At that moment, Yan Rongshi entered the room holding the confession.
Yan Erlang had a belly full of fire that he couldn't direct at Xiaoman, so it all went towards his rival. He didn't even look at the confession handed to him, tossing both the paper and brush aside.
"It's so densely written, what on earth is it? Xiaoman, help me read it. My head is spinning and I can't see clearly. I'm afraid Yan Qi might trick me—"
Ying Xiaoman raised her hand and slapped him on the forehead.
"Why would Brother Qi trick you for no reason? Just sign your name when asked!"
Yan Erlang: "..."
It was one thing to be hit when he was strong and healthy.
But now he was injured and weak, pale in complexion, looking frail and pitiful even to himself in the mirror... why was she still hitting him?
Yan Erlang sat up angrily, grabbed the confession and read it from beginning to end. After just a few lines, he was stunned.
His eyes gradually lit up with excitement.
He wasn't stupid, of course he could see this was a great achievement that had fallen into his lap. He immediately picked up the brush he had tossed aside, ready to co-sign his name at the end.
However, Yan Rongshi pulled the confession to the side and slowly rolled it up.
"Wait. There's no such thing as free merit in this world. Before you sign, do something for me first."
Yan Erlang: "...Are you messing with me?"
Yan Rongshi ignored him and pulled Ying Xiaoman a few steps away to talk.
"Xiaoman," he said in a low voice, "Do you remember the two old documents in your chest? Bring one of them over. It's urgent."
Ying Xiaoman of course remembered the two old documents that Old Man Sheng had given her. Seeing Brother Qi's serious expression, not seeming to be joking, she didn't ask many questions and immediately went back to her room to bring one.
Yan Rongshi then handed the old document to Yan Erlang.
"Read it. Tell me what you think."
Yan Erlang perplexedly unrolled the old scroll. Reading it from start to finish made his head spin and his heart race.
"It must be fake, right?" He tossed the scroll aside. "There's no evidence or proof. How can someone just write a scroll and accuse a high-ranking official? If making false accusations were this easy, wouldn't the entire court be accused of treason?"
Yan Rongshi asked, "Tell me, why do you think the scroll is fake?"
"Who wrote it? There's not even a signature," Yan Erlang scoffed. "Someone who hides like this is likely making false accusations." Ying Xiaoman leaned in to examine it and exclaimed. Indeed, the old scroll had no preface at the beginning and no signature at the end.
Yan Rongshi said, "Although there's no signature, the records are detailed. Dates, locations, and people are all accounted for. It doesn't seem fabricated. What do you think?"
Yan Erlang sneered, "The dates are all recorded, it is indeed detailed and seems real. But what if someone has tampered with it? For instance, on a certain date, these actions were done by someone else. The events are recorded in full, but the name is changed. You're from the Ministry of Justice, so you know that investigations require both witness testimony and physical evidence. Physical evidence alone isn't enough to prove guilt."
Yan Rongshi didn't interrupt him.
After listening, he nodded and said to the surprised Ying Xiaoman beside him, "Xiaoman, you see, everyone in the court is cunning. Yan Erlang isn't even the smartest among them. He can casually list three to five reasons for acquittal off the top of his head."
He carefully rolled up the old scroll.
Sheng Fugui was indeed sent by the northern country. Compared to these shrewd people in the Central Plains, he was still too straightforward.
Ying Xiaoman was shocked. "Are you saying that even if everything recorded in there is true, it's not enough to convict this Zheng Yi?"
Ying Xiaoman didn't know that Zheng Yi was the current Prime Minister Zheng, but Yan Rongshi was well aware of the weight those two characters carried.
"Add one more point: Your Majesty trusts him. It's difficult to convict him based on just two old scrolls of records."
Yan Erlang interjected, "This piece of evidence is certainly not enough. Where is the person who wrote this evidence? With witness testimony, you might barely be able to argue before Your Majesty to have the person arrested for questioning. With just physical evidence and no witnesses, you can't even get past Your Majesty to make an arrest."
Yan Rongshi said, "There is a witness. But the witness himself isn't clean enough to be easily used."
Yan Erlang: "Someone who bribes officials and sells weapons is definitely not clean."
"What if the witness is an enemy spy?"
Yan Erlang was taken aback.
"An enemy spy attempting to implicate a high-ranking court official. Their testimony certainly can't be trusted."
Yan Rongshi pondered for a moment, then took out the confessions of the two Yuqing Tower assassins and handed him a pen. "You can sign now."
Yan Erlang gave him a puzzled look, then unceremoniously signed his name and tossed the pen back, lying down again. "Why are you willing to give me the credit now?"
Meanwhile, Yan Rongshi rolled up the confessions, placed them in a bamboo tube, and said unhurriedly:
"You frequently enter and exit the palace, understand court affairs, and have a somewhat shrewd and cunning mind. Your head sits atop the shoulders of a crafty court official. By having you interpret the old document, I can deduce from your reactions how other cunning officials might argue. This counts as one of your achievements."
Yan Erlang: ?? Was that a compliment or an insult?
Pfft, Ying Xiaoman suppressed a laugh.
Seventh Brother's words were quite sharp. How could he make praise sound so insulting?
Yan Rongshi had already walked out the door. He stopped at the doorway and turned back to call her: "Xiaoman, come here for a moment."
Ying Xiaoman then carried the old document out and stood by the wooden railing on the second floor, asking him quietly, "Is Old Man Sheng's physical evidence really not enough?"
Yan Rongshi told the truth: "It's not enough. Given his identity as a spy, he's also insufficient as a witness."
But calling Xiaoman out wasn't about the evidence.
There was a hint of pity in his gaze:
"Xiaoman, come to the main hall. There's something I need to tell you privately."
The sealed military report was rushed back to the capital by fast horse, arriving at the imperial city before the palace gates closed for the night.
Prime Minister Zheng's residence in the capital also received the news at the same time.
"Are you certain there were three bodies?" Prime Minister Zheng stroked his beard and asked.
"This humble servant saw it with his own eyes," the advisor reported respectfully in the study. "Hundreds of people at the scene also witnessed it. The Imperial Guard of the Palace sent the bodies urgently to the capital. They should have entered the city by now. It can't be fake."
"I see. You may go now."
This was the fourth advisor to come and report. All four advisors brought the same news.
In the now quiet study, Prime Minister Zheng pulled open a small drawer and took out three bronze keys, playing with them for a moment with pleasure. The elegant demeanor he maintained in public disappeared, gradually revealing a smile.
He took out a yellowed, brittle piece of paper. Skipping over the densely written old characters, he carefully examined the last name that had not yet been crossed out, the last segment of the network of relationships that had not yet been broken.
Sheng Fugui — Two assassins from Yuqing Tower.
"Old friend. We've finally reached this day." He pointed at the old paper.
With a long-awaited wish finally fulfilled and the giant stone hanging overhead fallen, instead of feeling relief, an inexplicable sigh rose in his heart. He even wiped the corner of his eye.
Of course, there were no tears at the corner of his eye, but a smile slowly appeared on his lips, growing wider and wider.
"Twenty-six years, it wasn't easy. You tormented me for twenty-six years... you died too easily."
Prime Minister Zheng — no, it's more appropriate to call him Zheng Yi now — sighed softly, smiling as he picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and heavily crossed out the last name on the paper.
The two assassins from Yuqing Tower were also blacked out.
Facing the old yellowed paper now completely covered in black ink, surprisingly, his face showed only a moment of relief before clouding over again.
Zheng Yi muttered, "Now that you're dead. What other tricks do you have hidden? What other concealed connections? Will someone actually bring the evidence of your treason to the Ministry of Justice? Show yourself. I'm waiting."
He paced in the study for a moment, then ordered, "Someone, bring my official robes. The case is serious and can't be delayed. I must enter the palace to see Your Majesty."
The sealed report rushed to the imperial city in a bamboo tube was now spread out on the imperial desk.
Your Majesty rose in shock, slapping the table.
"In that big case of weapons trafficking investigated by Minister Yan years ago, an entire warehouse of fine iron weapons actually fell into outside hands and hasn't been recovered to this day? And it fell into the hands of a spy who had been hiding in the capital for years. His name is Sheng— Sheng—"
Zheng Yi stood at attention below the imperial desk and supplied, "Sheng Fugui."
Your Majesty slapped the table again: "We must investigate thoroughly! Has this Sheng Fugui been captured?"
Zheng Yi said, "He has indeed been captured. Unfortunately, the man is already dead."
"How did he die?" Your Majesty wrung his hands. "Earlier, We ordered Wu Xun to capture him dead or alive, did he kill him on the spot? Alas, such an important witness is lost."
"This is this old minister's fault," Zheng Yi said apologetically. "When Commander Wu left the palace earlier, it was this old minister who spoke out of turn, reminding him that these assassins were great villains who absolutely could not be allowed to return to the capital alive, lest they harm people in a desperate situation."
Prime Minister Zheng became even more apologetic: "This old man's intention was originally for Commander Wu to capture the men and investigate on the spot outside the capital. Commander Wu may have misunderstood this old minister's meaning and directly killed the three bandits..."
"Prime Minister Zheng is kind-hearted, and his concerns were not misplaced. Such villains..." Your Majesty sighed, "They brought it upon themselves, so be it that they died."
Your Majesty flipped through the confession, reading aloud: "'The three were captured with severe injuries.' So they weren't dead when captured, but died after giving their confessions. Wait a bit more, this is the assassins' confession. Let's see if Sheng Fugui's confession is urgently sent to the palace tonight. Prime Minister Zheng, stay and keep Us company for dinner tonight."
Zheng Yi's hand trembled slightly inside his sleeve.
On the surface, he maintained a calm expression, "This minister accepts the decree."
That night, even as it grew late, no second confession was urgently sent from the outskirts of the capital to the palace.
Your Majesty could not hide his disappointment.
The night was too deep, and the palace gates had long been locked. After taking his leave from Your Majesty, Zheng Yi retired to the official lodgings in the outer imperial city.
No confession from Sheng Fugui had been sent to the palace. When Sheng Fugui was captured, he must have resisted fiercely, sustaining severe injuries and dying soon after, leaving no confession behind.
This matched the unyielding personality of his "old friend."
Although he thought this way, the heavy stone in his heart still could not be lifted, and Zheng Yi did not sleep well that night.
The next morning, he was woken by a familiar palace eunuch.
"Prime Minister Zheng, get up quickly. Something big has happened."
Zheng Yi washed up as if nothing was wrong and asked, "Has a second urgent report arrived at the imperial city during the night?"
"There is no second urgent report." The palace eunuch, after all a friend of many years, quietly revealed:
"Yan Rongshi of the Ministry of Justice entered the palace early to seek an audience with Your Majesty, saying someone delivered physical evidence from many years ago in the middle of the night. Prime Minister Zheng, alas, you are suspected of colluding with the enemy."
Zheng Yi's heart suddenly sank.
He was in the midst of dressing, but immediately sat back down heavily on the bed.
After waiting for twenty-six years, he had finally seen his "old friend" breathe his last along with the only two people left by his side.
Sheng Fugui had died yesterday.
In just one short night... Sheng Fugui's threat had actually come true. Someone had really delivered the evidence to the Ministry of Justice.
Where had this person come from? Which connection had he overlooked?!
Amidst the storm of chaotic thoughts, he didn't know what expression showed on his face, but the eunuch before him displayed a look of surprise and concern, carefully asking, "Is Prime Minister Zheng alright?"
Zheng Yi instantly calmed himself.
"Collusion with the enemy is a grave matter. This old minister requests to see Your Majesty to explain in person."
The eunuch sighed and said, "Your Majesty summons Prime Minister Zheng."
Your Majesty still held years of trust in Zheng Yi.
When Zheng Yi took off his official robes and knelt before Your Majesty in just a thin cloth robe in the cold wind of mid-autumn morning, Yan Rongshi clearly saw this point.
Your Majesty showed a look of reluctance, immediately ordering Zheng Yi to rise.
Zheng Yi insisted on remaining kneeling.
"Collusion with the enemy is a serious matter. This old minister dares not rise."
"This old minister dares to ask, who delivered the physical evidence of collusion to the Ministry of Justice? This person is suspected of false accusation, and this old minister requests their arrest."
The evidence of collusion had been brought to the palace by Yan Rongshi of the Ministry of Justice, and Your Majesty's gaze turned to him.
Yan Rongshi calmly replied: "It was abandoned outside the Ministry of Justice's office in the middle of the night, we don't know who delivered it. When the old guard at the gate checked, there were only two scrolls of documents about Prime Minister Zheng's collusion left outside the door."
He unrolled part of the scrolls before the Emperor: "Your Majesty, please look, there are still traces of rainwater soaking at the corners."
Your Majesty pondered: "So you mean there's only physical evidence, but no witness testimony?"
Hearing the hint of favoritism in Your Majesty's words, Zheng Yi decided not to say more.
He bowed deeply with a sorrowful expression: "This old minister is willing to resign and enter prison awaiting trial. Heaven's principles are clear, and will surely prove this old minister's innocence."
Your Majesty indeed refused.
"An important minister of the court cannot avoid being attacked, how can we have him resign and enter prison for trial every time? Prime Minister Zheng, please rise. Yan Rongshi, let Prime Minister Zheng see the evidence, and let him defend himself before me."
Yan Rongshi then unrolled the two old documents, displaying them before Zheng Yi. Zheng Yi only glanced over a few lines before his heart sank. It was indeed Sheng Fugui's record of events from those years.
After he quickly flipped through it for a moment, Yan Rongshi took the documents back and said gently: "The evidence has been soaked by rain and is in poor condition, with many parts of the writing blurred. May I excerpt important sections and read them aloud before Your Majesty? So that both Your Majesty and Prime Minister Zheng can hear clearly."
Your Majesty allowed it.
Yan Rongshi then slowly began to read.
"...On the third day of the second month in the year of Bingyin, Zheng Yi, Chief Minister of the Bureau of Operations of the Ministry of War, visited, bringing a newly made cannon diagram. I gifted thirty taels of gold and a bag of pearls. Not knowing if it's genuine, I record it here for now."
"...On the twentieth day of the seventh month in the year of Bingyin. I went to the home of Zheng Yi, Chief Minister of the Bureau of Operations of the Ministry of War. Gifted fifty taels of gold. Zheng Yi handed over a newly developed repeating crossbow from the Ministry of War."
"...On the third day of the third month in the year of Dingmao..."
Your Majesty was shocked into silence, staring wide-eyed at Zheng Yi standing below the imperial desk, unable to speak for a long while.
Zheng Yi, however, was prepared. He sighed.
"Thirty years ago, this old minister did indeed serve as Chief Minister of the Bureau of Operations of the Ministry of War."
"But the so-called records in these old scrolls are entirely fabricated."
"Ill-intentioned villains, making up a few sentences at will, casually writing down the names of important court ministers, can falsely accuse of the great crime of colluding with the enemy. The entire document is forged, from long ago, and the past years cannot be verified. This old minister... This old minister doesn't know where to begin defending himself." Zheng Yi wiped away a tear sorrowfully.
Your Majesty turned to Yan Rongshi. "What does Minister Yan say? Besides these two scrolls of evidence of unknown authenticity, is there any witness testimony?"
"I still need time to verify the authenticity of the physical evidence. As for witness testimony, there was originally one. But unfortunately..."
Yan Rongshi seemed to think of something, frowned slightly, glanced at Zheng Yi, and then fell silent.
Zheng Yi understood clearly in his heart.
Unfortunately, Sheng Fugui, who had written down these records, had died during yesterday's pursuit. A dead man could no longer speak or serve as a witness.
Moreover, this dead man was also a spy suspected of colluding with the enemy.
Zheng Yi's spirits gradually steadied. His lowered face showed a slight smile again.
Old friend, oh old friend, I overestimated you. I thought you had left behind some formidable evidence, but it turns out you only had these copied record books.
If only you had left behind an original weapon diagram drawn by a craftsman from the Ministry of War, or one or two elite weapons made by the Ministry of War by your side. Heh, were they all left in that warehouse of weapons of yours?
Zheng Yi's posture before the Emperor became even more respectful: "Your Majesty, Sheng Fugui was brought to justice just yesterday, and today his remaining accomplices have thrown these scrolls outside the government office. Falsely accusing this old minister of colluding with the enemy. This old minister has no way to defend himself. I weep blood before Your Majesty to explain:
Firstly, Sheng Fugui was a spy from the northern country. Can the words of a spy accusing a court minister be trusted?"
"Secondly: The physical evidence copied by Sheng Fugui seems to be from long ago, recorded in detail, yet it is ambiguous and without real proof. This old minister dares to ask, the weapon diagrams are recorded in the documents, but are there any original weapon diagrams produced by the Ministry of War? How can it be proven that the weapon diagrams recorded were provided by this old minister? And where is the large sum of money that supposedly bribed this old minister?"
"His wolfish ambitions must have been harbored for many years, intending to harm court officials and throw the court into chaos. Who knows how many copies of such so-called 'evidence' he had in his possession, how many court ministers he falsely accused. Today it's this old minister, tomorrow Elder Han? Who will it be the day after? This minister humbly requests a thorough investigation into this case of false accusation."
Your Majesty nodded repeatedly and sighed as he listened: "What you say makes sense. Minister Yan, what do you think?"
Yan Rongshi's gaze fixed on Zheng Yi for a moment.
Turning to face the Emperor, he bowed and said: "I request the arrest of Prime Minister Zheng."
Zheng Yi: "..."
Your Majesty asked in surprise: "Why? What Prime Minister Zheng says makes sense. The words of the spy Sheng Fugui are very likely false accusations and cannot be taken as truth."
"Every word Prime Minister Zheng says is reasonable, and Sheng Fugui is indeed a spy who has been hiding in the capital for many years," Yan Rongshi said, changing his tone. "But I didn't mention a single word about Sheng Fugui just now."
Yan Rongshi spread out the old case files before the imperial desk: "Throughout the files, the person keeping the records always refers to himself as 'I', without a single mention of Sheng Fugui."
"Why did Prime Minister Zheng bring up Sheng Fugui as soon as he spoke? May I ask Prime Minister Zheng, what connection do you have with Sheng Fugui in secret? Why, upon seeing two old scrolls thrown outside the Ministry of Justice in the middle of the night, did Prime Minister Zheng immediately assert they were written by Sheng Fugui?"
Your Majesty stared wide-eyed at Prime Minister Zheng.
Zheng Yi: "..."
How could someone write two full scrolls of documents without writing their name at the beginning or end? How could such an absurd thing happen?!
Even a scholar from the Central Plains who had studied for just two years wouldn't forget to sign a document, only an illiterate fool from the northern country would do such an absurd thing!
The next moment, Zheng Yi suddenly realized.
It was precisely because of Sheng Fugui's major oversight when recording that the documents had no signature from beginning to end! That's why Yan Rongshi had found the excuse of "blurred handwriting" to not let him examine it closely, deliberately only allowing him to flip through it briefly.
And how could he, faced with a paper full of conclusive records, racking his brains to devise a self-defense, have thought of the small matter of a signature!
He suddenly looked up, glaring resentfully at Yan Rongshi.
Yan Rongshi calmly closed the rain-soaked old case files: "What connection does Prime Minister Zheng have with Sheng Fugui? If Prime Minister Zheng cannot answer, I request his arrest."
Zheng Yi took a deep breath.
He closed his mouth tightly like a clam shell.
Afterwards, no matter how Your Majesty inquired in shock and doubt, he remained silent.
*
As evening fell, twilight enveloped the inn on the outskirts of the capital.
Ying Xiaoman found a sheltered spot outside the inn and burned paper money with her adoptive mother.
After Seven Brother privately told her the final resting place of her birth parents, she thought about it all morning and still decided to tell her adoptive mother.
Her adoptive mother found a stack of paper money to burn for Ying Xiaoman's ill-fated birth parents.
"Jingzhou, isn't that where we're from?"
Facing the bright flames, her adoptive mother sighed and said, "The place where your birth parents lived must not have been far from our home."
Ying Xiaoman didn't speak. She threw her small stack of paper money into the fire, poked it with a tree branch, and watched as the silver foil paper was slowly consumed by the flames.
"Mom. It's cold outside, let's go back to the inn to rest."
Her adoptive mother was lost in thought as she took another stack of paper money and threw it into the fire.
"Ah, the three corpses brought back this morning, I don't know if old Sheng was among them. We might as well burn some for him too."
"No, he won't," Ying Xiaoman said confidently. "I asked Seventh Brother. He said Old Sheng is an important witness and is doing just fine."
"Then who are those three unfortunate souls whose bodies are upstairs?" her foster mother muttered. "Having them in the same inn, on the same floor as us, it's creepy."
Ying Xiaoman didn't know who the three unfortunate fugitives were whose bodies were being kept at the inn either.
Last night, in full view of everyone, the imperial guards had tied three stretchers with bodies into a stack and rushed them to the capital by carriage. Surprisingly, the same carriage had returned early in the morning.
Apparently, another tree had fallen across the official road. They couldn't enter the capital.
She had watched as the three stretchers, covered with white cloth, were carried into the inn and up to the second floor.
They were placed in the largest room on the east side, room A2.
Right in front of Yan Erlang, the imperial guard commander in charge of watching over the inn, who was personally guarding those three bodies.
"It's good that Old Man Sheng is still alive," Ying Xiaoman muttered, throwing the last stack of paper money she was holding into the fire.
Her foster mother leaned in to examine her expression. "If you want to cry, go back to your room and do it."
"I'm fine," Ying Xiaoman said, pulling her foster mother inside. "How many times do I have to tell you, I only recognize my adoptive parents as my real parents."
As her foster mother went upstairs, she was still mulling over it: "You could take your birth mother's swaddling clothes to the Yan family to acknowledge your relation..."
Ying Xiaoman replied, "I won't go."
Despite saying this, when Yan Rongshi arrived at the suburban inn in the thick dusk of the capital city over half an hour later, Ying Xiaoman was still crouching in the sheltered area behind the inn, hugging her knees. A pile of ashes lay in front of her.
It wasn't until the tall figure stood before her that she suddenly looked up, startled.
"Seventh Brother? Why are you back? Didn't you say you were going to the capital to arrest an important criminal?"
"I've already made the arrest," Yan Rongshi said, touching Ying Xiaoman's hand. It was ice-cold; he didn't know how long she had been crouching in the wind.
His gaze swept over the pile of ashes, but he didn't say anything. He pulled the still-crouching Ying Xiaoman to her feet, opened his windproof cloak, and wrapped her inside it.
"I had some free time this afternoon, so I came to check on you. About your birth parents..."
"Give me back the swaddling clothes," Ying Xiaoman interrupted him.
"The swaddling clothes... let me think, they're still at the government office in the capital. I'll bring them back to you another day," Yan Rongshi coaxed her in his usual gentle manner.
But in just these few exchanges, Ying Xiaoman could hear the undisguised fatigue in his clear, mellow voice.
She looked up, examining the face of the man beside her in the light spilling from the inn.
After a moment of scrutiny, she raised her hand to touch his brow and eyes, concerned. "Are you very tired?"
"Yes, tired," Yan Rongshi sighed. "I've been busy preparing and haven't slept for two days. I didn't feel it this morning when I was in front of Your Majesty watching Zheng Yi, but when I came out, I felt dizzy. Fortunately, Your Majesty bestowed some hot porridge, and I slept for a while in the duty room outside the imperial city."
Hearing this, Ying Xiaoman became anxious. "You should have stayed in the capital and slept earlier. Why did you rush out here?"
"To check on you. I was worried that after hearing the bad news about your birth parents, you might be hiding in your room crying."
Yan Rongshi wrapped the cloak tighter around them both. As they huddled close together, he lowered his head to examine her carefully, his brow gradually relaxing:
"Seeing that you're alright, I'm relieved now."
"I'm fine," Ying Xiaoman said, now taking Yan Rongshi's hand and quickly leading him into the inn, urging him to rest. "There are so many empty rooms upstairs, find one and sleep."
"Wait. There's one thing I need to do first."
Yan Rongshi called over the imperial guard on duty: "Is there any hot mutton soup in the kitchen? The three 'bodies' upstairs haven't had anything to eat or drink on the way back. Prepare some hot soup and take it up there to feed them each a few mouthfuls."
Ying Xiaoman: ? Dead people need to drink soup?!
In the time it took her to draw in a sharp breath, they had already climbed the wooden stairs to the second floor.
Her feet were walking towards her own room on the west side, but her eyes couldn't help glancing towards room A2 on the east side where the bodies were being kept.
The words Seven Brother had just said gave her a very uneasy feeling.
The bodies... were going to be kept in the inn for several days.
Ying Xiaoman leaned against the doorframe. Her clear gaze was a bit unfocused, occasionally drifting towards the east, confusion mixed with a hint of nervousness:
"Feeding hot soup to corpses, what kind of custom is that?"
Facing the slightly nervous young woman before him, Yan Rongshi thought for a moment, then leaned in close to her ear and explained in a lowered voice.
"Shh~ Don't tell anyone outside. It's an old custom of our Ministry of Justice: feeding hot soup to corpses... to prevent them from coming back to life."
Ying Xiaoman: !!