Chapter 155: Turning the Tables

Chen Hong looked at Luo Sigong, smiled, nodded, and said, "Lord Luo, I am here on His Majesty's behalf to ask a few questions."

Upon hearing this, Luo Sigong hastily lifted his robes and knelt to the ground. The Embroidered Uniform Guard officers around him all knelt down as well.

Luo Sigong said, "Your servant, Regional Military Commissioner of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, humbly inquires after His Majesty's health."

Chen Hong straightened his back, rested his horsetail whisk against his left arm, made a gesture of bowing toward the Forbidden City, and declared in a clear voice, "His Majesty is in good health."

After saying this, Chen Hong continued, "Luo Sigong, His Majesty asks you—are the entire Embroidered Uniform Guard just a bunch of idle good-for-nothings? Or are you all fools? Can you still get anything done? If you cannot do the job well, you might as well pack up and leave now."

His Majesty had personally scolded him—this frightened Luo Sigong considerably. He hurriedly said in a loud voice, "Your servant is guilty. The Embroidered Uniform Guard is willing to die for His Majesty."

"His Majesty asks you—why has the matter entrusted to you still not been investigated clearly?" Chen Hong continued in a loud voice, his tone severe. "This concerns the late emperor. Is this how the entire Embroidered Uniform Guard handles its duties?"

Hearing Chen Hong's words, Luo Sigong immediately shuddered.

This case was actually very significant, but because it was entangled with factional strife, it had been dumped on the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Even so, that was merely an expedient measure—since the court did not want this matter stirred up, the Embroidered Uniform Guard could only find nothing.

During this period, no one had brought the matter up at all, so the Embroidered Uniform Guard had not dared to make any move either.

Now His Majesty had sent Chen Hong to ask questions, with such a harsh tone, even cursing the Embroidered Uniform Guard outright. This did not represent His Majesty's dissatisfaction with the Guard—rather, it represented His Majesty's attitude toward this matter, namely that His Majesty wanted the Guard to stir things up.

Thinking of this, Luo Sigong hurriedly said, "I report to Your Majesty—the entire Embroidered Uniform Guard has been exerting itself to the utmost, and we have already found some leads. It is only that the matter is too great and involves too much, so I have not yet sorted it all out. I beg Your Majesty to grant a few more days."

Chen Hong nodded and continued, "His Majesty gives you only three days. If you can give His Majesty an accounting, then the entire Embroidered Uniform Guard will still have merit; if you cannot give His Majesty an accounting, then the entire Embroidered Uniform Guard will bear the punishment together."

"Your servant obeys the decree." Luo Sigong said in a loud voice.

After hearing Luo Sigong's words, a smile appeared on Chen Hong's face. He walked over, reached out to help Luo Sigong to his feet, and said with an inscrutable expression, "Let us speak further inside."

Luo Sigong hastily nodded, smiled, made a gesture of invitation, and said, "Eunuch Chen, please, after you."

After saying this, Luo Sigong led the way, and the two walked together into the rear hall, where they took their seats as host and guest, and tea was served.

After dismissing everyone in the room, Luo Sigong finally let out a sigh of relief and said, "Eunuch Chen, you've finally come. These past few days my heart has been ill at ease. Seeing you has settled me considerably."

"Lord Luo, this matter doesn't involve you—why are you panicking? We both serve His Majesty. As long as we do our duties well, there's no need for our hearts to be unsettled." Chen Hong picked up his teacup and took a light sip.

"The eunuch jests." Luo Sigong said with a bitter smile, "The matter indeed has nothing to do with the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but that Zou Yuanbiao died in the Guard's Imperial Prison. There is much speculation about me now—how could my heart not be unsettled?"

"That case is already over. Wasn't the blame given to Eunuch Wei? He has already received his punishment." Chen Hong said expressionlessly, "You need not worry about past matters—no matter how blame is assigned, it cannot fall on you. As for the matter at hand, the entire Embroidered Uniform Guard must apply itself with full effort. You need to find something."

"Eunuch, please instruct me on how to proceed." Luo Sigong said hastily, at the same time putting on an appearance of listening attentively.

"Do you still need to ask me about this? Interrogating people and investigating cases—isn't that the Embroidered Uniform Guard's specialty? When did you ever need to ask me? Your Embroidered Uniform Guard is stronger than Wei Zhongxian—over there, Zou Yuanbiao is dead, so he can't do anything. But on your side, aren't all the people held in the Imperial Prison still alive?"

"So interrogate as you should interrogate, question as you should question—what's so difficult about that?"

Although Chen Hong spoke obscurely, Luo Sigong understood—he was being told to investigate however he saw fit, going directly after the people involved in the case.

For example, Li Kezhuo—he was the one who presented the Red Pill to the late emperor. Naturally, this man warranted a thorough investigation.

Besides him, another key figure in these cases, Fang Congzhe, was also in the capital. Since the man was already in the capital, what harm was there in going to ask him a few questions?

So as long as the momentum was built up, everything else would become much easier. Luo Sigong understood in his heart, and so he nodded and said, "Rest assured, Eunuch. I know what to do."

Chen Hong nodded, smiled, and said, "I trust you can handle this matter well. And I haven't come solely for this matter either."

"Whatever the Eunuch commands, please speak freely." Luo Sigong said hastily.

"This matter is not my personal affair, but something else entirely. Go find that Chen Kedao, and have him contact everyone he can reach—all those who share his scholarly school—and bring them all to the capital."

"Additionally, investigate the School of Mind. Find out how many officials at court come from the School of Mind, and mark down which faction each of them belongs to. This matter is extremely important—it was personally entrusted by His Majesty in private. It must be done quietly, not with great fanfare. Do you understand?"

"Rest assured, Eunuch. I understand." Luo Sigong answered hastily.

"Good, as long as you understand in your heart. Handle these two matters well, and not only will you have no trouble, you will instead receive His Majesty's reward. So do your work well—if you accomplish these things, it will benefit both of us." After saying this, Chen Hong set down his teacup and stood up.

"I am only here to ask questions—I cannot stay long. See to these matters as quickly as you can."

"Rest assured, Eunuch. Your subordinate understands." After saying this, Luo Sigong took out some items from the side and discreetly pressed them into Chen Hong's hands.

Luo Sigong clasped his hands and said, "A small token of appreciation—please accept it, Eunuch. I have troubled you several times of late; I hope you will not take offense."

Chen Hong discreetly tucked the items away, likewise clasped his hands, and said with a smile, "Then I shall gratefully accept."

After returning to the palace, Chen Hong reported everything to Zhu Youxiao in full detail—except for that final small token of appreciation, which he did not mention.

After hearing Chen Hong's report, Zhu Youxiao fell silent.

Zhu Youxiao intended to observe which way the wind blew on this matter, mainly to see how the people below fought among themselves. He hoped more people would be dragged down into it.

These past two days, the court had been locked in fierce contention, with the point of debate being the Donglin Faction's case.

One faction believed the case should be punished severely—everyone involved should be dealt with according to the Great Ming Code, with those deserving death put to death, without leniency. Another faction believed the people's hearts needed to be appeased, and appropriate leniency should be shown.

There was also a middle faction, which believed sentencing should be differentiated. Those whose crimes were most heinous must inevitably be beheaded, without leniency; while some whose actions were pitiable but whose circumstances were sympathetic could be dealt with lightly.

The middle faction basically voiced their opinions and then did not insist much. One could say they stated their position and then ran off—offending neither side, and then letting the matter drop without any real insistence.

The fiercest debate was between the other two factions—those for execution and those against. They took turns submitting routine memorials, hurling verbal barrages, and even slinging mud at each other.

Especially the faction advocating execution—they struck particularly hard, believing the case had further ramifications and should be dug into more deeply.

The faction advocating execution felt that there must still be people at court colluding with Liaodong and embezzling military funds. After these people left the capital, how did three hundred thousand taels just disappear? Where had all that silver gone?

Until this case was fully investigated, the matter was not over—severe punishment was a must. Among them, the Censorate was the most energetic in jumping around. Whether to salvage their image or for other purposes, they were extremely ruthless toward their own colleagues, especially toward Yao Zongwen and Feng Sanyuan and those few—they wished they could kick them to death on the spot.

The Censorate had reason to hate them. What status had the Censorate originally enjoyed? What status did it enjoy now? Wasn't it all because of these few men's doing?

The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War were impeached the most heavily. Among them, Minister of War Cui Jingrong had completely holed himself up at home, not daring to come out.

No matter how these cases were ultimately resolved, Cui Jingrong could not escape. Even if he was not implicated, with so much silver vanishing into thin air, how could he explain it?

And what about the Minister of Revenue? Where was the money? Where had you all embezzled it to?

The two most energetic impeachers were Cui Chengxiu, the newly appointed Right Assistant Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and Mao Wenru. The two of them jumped up and down, biting at anyone they caught, looking as though they would not rest until the Donglin Faction was destroyed.

The Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youxiao reclined expressionlessly against the daybed, while several Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat stood below.

The Six Ministries were not fully represented—the missing ones were from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue. They truly had no face to stand here right now.

Zhu Youxiao looked at them and slowly said, "The court has been quarreling fiercely these days. Have you all come up with any solution at all?"

Everyone remained silent.

At this point, the fire had already been lit and had spread across the entire court—no one could escape it. His Majesty was single-mindedly determined to clean out a group of people, and their desire to resist was powerless against his will.

"Your Majesty, I believe this matter should be handled swiftly—the longer it drags on, the more troublesome it becomes." This time, Han Kuang stepped forward and spoke directly.

"Feng Sanyuan, Yao Zongwen, and the others should be beheaded and their families' property confiscated; Li Ruzhen should receive the same. However, Yuan Yingtai and Wang Huazhen do not deserve the death penalty—dismissing them from office and sending them home, never to be employed again, should suffice." Han Kuang took a step forward and continued.

"I believe this course of action is improper. If those who violate the nation's laws are not severely punished, how can this serve as a warning to those who come after? If everyone follows their example, what then? Does the court's law still matter or not? Does the court's dignity still matter or not?" Someone shouted angrily.

The speaker was none other than Cui Chengxiu. Originally, he had no standing to be here—the one who should have stood in this place was Yu Maoheng.

However, that fellow Yu Maoheng had requested leave, claiming he was ill—gravely ill, in fact, already bedridden.

Zhu Youxiao hadn't expected Yu Maoheng to be an old fox as well—he had chosen to hide at this moment.

Still, it was just as well that Yu Maoheng had hidden himself away, for it pushed Cui Chengxiu to the forefront—which was exactly what he wanted to see.

Han Kuang furrowed his brow. He greatly disliked Cui Chengxiu—the man was of poor character and utterly devoid of scruples—yet he could not afford to underestimate him.