Chapter 350: The Calm Before the Storm

"Then I thank you, sir." Kong Shangsheng nodded and followed the Embroidered Uniform Guard escorting him out.

At this point, there was nothing he could do but resign himself to fate.

After obtaining the confession, Xu Xianchun nodded with satisfaction. Glancing at the sky outside, the east was already showing the pale light of dawn.

Xu Xianchun let out a breath and said to Cui Yingyuan beside him: "It will be daylight soon. I need to go rest and recover my energy, then go see His Majesty. Everything here is in your hands — you must not allow the slightest mistake. Keep watch over Kong Shangsheng; absolutely do not let him die. Do you understand?"

Cui Yingyuan nodded and said: "Rest assured, sir, I will handle things properly and there will not be the slightest mistake."

Nodding with satisfaction, Xu Xianchun walked out.

He was truly exhausted and truly needed rest.

As the saying goes, a year's plan lies in spring, and a day's plan lies in the morning. When the sun rose in the east, the entire city of Jining seemed to come alive.

The bustling streets were crowded with people, and all manner of hawkers' cries filled the air without cease. The whole city suddenly seemed brimming with vitality.

The assassination incident that had caused such an uproar a few days earlier seemed to have quickly subsided — so much so that one might briefly feel a moment of confusion: did that incident really happen at all?

But those in the know understood that not only had it happened, it was far from over.

When people saw Xu Xianchun enter the Emperor's traveling residence, they knew a resolution was likely at hand.

Today Zhu Youxiao had also risen early; his spirits had been good these past two days. Not being in the capital and having remained abstinent these days made him feel his body was in fine shape — though he couldn't say whether it was just an illusion.

After practicing his boxing and getting some exercise, Zhu Youxiao prepared to eat breakfast.

This morning's meal was shredded chicken congee, paired with a bowl of wontons. Though the two things didn't seem to go together, Zhu Youxiao wanted to eat them that way, so that was how he ate.

After eating and drinking his fill, Zhu Youxiao took the silk handkerchief Chen Hong offered, gently wiped his mouth, then stood up and stretched his limbs, asking: "Has Xu Xianchun arrived?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the man is already waiting outside." Chen Hong said hurriedly.

Zhu Youxiao nodded, walked over to a chair and sat down, took a sip of tea, and felt considerably more comfortable before saying: "Then have him come in."

Before long, Xu Xianchun walked in from outside.

With a grave expression, he came before Zhu Youxiao, bowed, and said: "Your servant Xu Xianchun pays respects to Your Majesty."

"Rise." Zhu Youxiao waved his hand.

After Xu Xianchun straightened up, Zhu Youxiao continued: "So? Have you gotten some news? Or has there been some progress that made you rush over so early in the morning?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, your servant has indeed uncovered some things. However, the matter is of great importance, and your servant dared not make decisions on his own, so he has come specially to report to Your Majesty." Xu Xianchun said quickly.

"Then let's hear it." Zhu Youxiao nodded, leaning back against the daybed, waiting for Xu Xianchun to explain.

"Through the interrogation of Kong Shangli, your servant confirmed that his mastermind was Kong Shangsheng, and yesterday I took men to arrest him." Xu Xianchun did not conceal anything and began speaking directly.

Xu Xianchun believed that His Majesty already knew all of this — whether he said it or not, His Majesty was well aware. But at this moment, he truly could not afford to hide anything.

"Your servant sent his subordinates to arrest Kong Shangsheng while he himself went to see the Duke Yansheng. As it turned out, the Duke Yansheng tried to bribe your servant." Saying this, Xu Xianchun produced a jade pendant and said: "Your Majesty, this is the jade pendant the Duke Yansheng gave your servant."

"Is there anything special about this jade pendant?" Zhu Youxiao looked at Xu Xianchun with narrowed eyes and asked.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this jade pendant is the Duke Yansheng's personal ornament, and can be used to prove his identity. After all, he is currently under detention and has nothing else he could give your servant. Once the matter is accomplished, he is willing to pay two hundred thousand taels of silver to redeem this jade pendant." Xu Xianchun said without changing expression: "Your servant, thinking of the investigation at the time, pretended to agree to him."

"Though it happened suddenly, your servant did not report to Your Majesty. Your servant is guilty and begs Your Majesty to punish him." Having said this, Xu Xianchun knelt on the ground, adopting the posture of one admitting guilt.

Zhu Youxiao looked at him, waved his hand, and said: "Enough, get up. Your actions for the sake of the investigation are understandable. But you must remember — this sort of thing cannot be done constantly. I won't say 'don't let there be a next time.' You may exercise your own judgment on the boundaries here, but you must not cross the line."

"Rest assured, Your Majesty, your servant will not disappoint you." Xu Xianchun quickly acknowledged, while inwardly breathing a sigh of relief.

In truth, this sort of thing carried great risk, because in principle such actions were not permitted.

His Majesty was trusting him. If His Majesty no longer trusted him, this would become a crime. The reason was also simple — no one could know what you were thinking when you accepted silver. Saying afterward that you did it for the investigation was something that could not be proven. If such behavior were permitted, many corrupt officials would use this method to exonerate themselves.

"Continue." Zhu Youxiao nodded.

"Yes, Your Majesty." After acknowledging, Xu Xianchun continued: "After your servant pretended to agree to the Duke Yansheng, he had your servant deliver a letter to Kong Shangsheng."

"At the time, the Duke Yansheng said that with this jade pendant to prove his identity, along with his personal letter, Kong Shangsheng would believe your servant. This is that personal letter — please review it, Your Majesty." Having said this, Xu Xianchun took a letter from his bosom, knelt respectfully on the ground, and held the letter up with both hands.

Seeing Zhu Youxiao nod, Chen Hong hurried over, reached out with both hands to receive the letter, then quickly carried it before Zhu Youxiao and respectfully presented it to him.

Taking the letter from Chen Hong's hands, Zhu Youxiao read through it quickly.

Zhu Youxiao already knew the contents of this letter, but he still read it very carefully.

After finishing reading it once, Zhu Youxiao suddenly slammed the table, then stood up.

After pacing a few steps with a grim expression, Zhu Youxiao barked: "Utterly audacious, lawless in the extreme! Bribing investigating officials, threatening criminals, forcing others to take the blame — truly insane! What do these people think of the Great Ming's laws? What do they think of Me?"

After saying this, Zhu Youxiao looked at Xu Xianchun and said directly: "So what have you found in your investigation?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, your servant has gotten to the bottom of the matter." Saying this, Xu Xianchun brought forward a written confession and said: "This is Kong Shangsheng's confession, which details the full course of this incident."

"How the Kong family seized control of Shandong's military and civil affairs, how they encroached upon the people's land, how they sold off disaster relief grain — it is all written out clearly. The Kong family's grain stores in Jining city have been sealed by us, the shopkeeper responsible for reselling the grain, Kong Shangli, has been arrested, and Jining Prefect Zhang Shun has also confessed. It can now be said that both witnesses and evidence are in hand."

"Please review it, Your Majesty." Xu Xianchun once again held up the confession, speaking respectfully.

Chen Hong once again went to Xu Xianchun's side, took the confession with both hands, came to Zhu Youxiao's side, and respectfully handed it to him.

Zhu Youxiao reached out, took the confession, and read through it quickly.

In this confession, Kong Shangsheng admitted to many things, such as the Kong family's collusion with local officials. It was written very clearly that this was not something that had happened overnight. Selling off disaster relief grain was also not something that could be accomplished in a single day.

The Great Ming had been established for over two hundred years, yet the Kong family had been on Shandong soil for more than two hundred years as well. Dynasties changed, emperors fell, but the Kong family had always stood firm.

On the ground of Shandong, it was less that the imperial court had the final say and more that the Kong family did. Within the government offices, apart from officials sent down by the court, the remaining local clerks were essentially all people arranged by the Kong family. Even those not arranged by the Kong family dared not offend them.

Officials served three-year terms and then left with a pat of their backsides — even if they offended the Kong family, they could be considered emboldened by their impending departure.

But these local clerks and officials were different. They would remain on Shandong soil forever. Offend the Kong family, and the Kong family had a hundred ways to make sure they never left Shandong. So no one dared offend the Kong family.

Under such circumstances, there was nothing that happened in the government offices that the Kong family did not know. If an official sent by the court wanted to be a good official in Shandong, without the Kong family's cooperation, he could forget about it entirely. Moreover, these men were all scholars, all disciples of Confucius the Sage, and naturally wished to cultivate good relations with the Kong family. Add to that the substantial financial support of the Kong family, and naturally they had thoroughly permeated Shandong's officialdom.

Throughout all of Shandong, high and low, a single word from the Kong family worked better than an imperial edict from the Emperor — wherever they went, all bowed their heads. Under such circumstances, whatever the Kong family wanted to do was as easy as turning over a hand. When it came to encroaching upon land, apart from the Prince of Lu's household, no one could contend with the Kong family. And the selling of disaster relief grain was not something that had started just yesterday.

As the saying goes, three feet of ice is not frozen in a single day. The entire Shandong government apparatus was like the Kong family's storehouse, available for them to take from as they pleased. Under such circumstances, just as Kong Shangsheng had said, it was nothing more than business.

After reading the confession, Zhu Youxiao was not as angry as before.

Gently setting the confession down, Zhu Youxiao looked at Xu Xianchun, waved his hand, and said: "Withdraw to the side hall and wait."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Xu Xianchun quickly acknowledged, turned, and withdrew.

Once Xu Xianchun had left, Zhu Youxiao turned to look at Chen Hong and said directly: "Go fetch Xu Guangqi and the others. This matter is this big — I need to discuss it with them."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Chen Hong hurriedly acknowledged and turned to walk out.

This time, the matter had blown up.

Chen Hong had been by Zhu Youxiao's side for quite some time, and he knew his master's temper very well.

If His Majesty lost his temper, then perhaps nothing serious would happen; but if he remained as calm as he was today, then something truly big was about to occur.

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