Chapter 353: From This Day On, There Will Be No More Duke Yansheng

In fact, there was little fear left in Kong Shangsheng's heart.

Having dealt with Xu Xianchun for so long, he had experienced everything there was to experience, and all the mental preparations that needed to be made had been made. So he was fearless, and nearly free of desires as well.

The only thought in Kong Shangsheng's mind now was to protect his family—nothing else mattered.

Even if it meant the execution of his entire household, he hoped the court would spare him one descendant. As for the rest, he no longer cared much.

Xu Guangqi's words were not lost on Kong Shangsheng—he was simply trying to test whether what he said was true, or to get him to retract his confession, or to make him stick to it to the death.

None of this mattered to Kong Shangsheng anymore.

He had seen such things before. Those who thought their visitor was a good man and retracted their confessions could only be called fools. Because the moment you retracted, you would be done away with soon after.

So Kong Shangsheng had never even considered retracting. Besides, the facts were right there—not acknowledging them wouldn't make them disappear.

Kong Shangsheng looked at Xu Guangqi and said, "Grand Secretary Xu, everything I said is true, and everything written here is true as well."

Hearing Kong Shangsheng's words, Xu Guangqi let out a sigh, and the expression on his face turned grim.

For Xu Guangqi, what Kong Shangsheng said didn't matter; what he hoped for was to quash this matter as quickly as possible.

If Kong Shangsheng could take the blame upon himself, then this matter would be much easier to handle. Judging from the current situation, Xu Guangqi's hopes were likely to be dashed.

Turning to look at Xu Xianchun, Xu Guangqi said, "Magistrate Xu, keep a close watch on the prisoner. Don't let anything unexpected happen."

"Rest assured, Grand Secretary Xu. Nothing will go wrong," Xu Xianchun said with a smile.

On this matter, Xu Xianchun didn't need Xu Guangqi's instructions at all—he knew full well that the prisoner here absolutely could not have any problems.

If the prisoner died at this moment, his own troubles would be enormous. He would never be able to clear his name, would be attacked by others, and would become a target for all.

So Xu Xianchun was extremely careful. All the guards were trusted men he had brought from the capital; not a single local was used. At the same time, shifts were rotated constantly, never allowing one person to stay near the prisoner for too long, lest he be bought off.

Though doing such a thing could cost a man his head, men die for wealth as birds die for food—who knew if there might be some desperado?

Nodding, Xu Guangqi said nothing more.

He trusted that Xu Xianchun would handle things properly. In this regard, Xu Xianchun dared not be careless—if anything went wrong, Xu Xianchun would find himself in deep trouble.

So Xu Guangqi said, "Then I'll leave this place to Magistrate Xu. I need to take men to make arrests."

"May I ask who you're going to arrest? Do you need the Embroidered Uniform Guard's assistance?" Xu Xianchun hurriedly stepped forward and said, "If Grand Secretary Xu needs men, just say the word. The Embroidered Uniform Guard will cooperate fully, without a single word of objection."

"If Magistrate Xu is interested, you may come along as well," Xu Guangqi said after a moment's thought, with a smile.

There was no way the Embroidered Uniform Guard could be kept out of these cases—the preliminary work had already been done by them. Moreover, His Majesty had already instructed that all those arrested were to be handed over to the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Under such circumstances, letting Xu Xianchun tag along was of no consequence. Not letting him come would instead breed many complications. Letting him come made it less likely for anything to go wrong.

And if something truly did happen, Xu Xianchun could be made to bear some of the responsibility. So Xu Guangqi agreed readily and said directly, "We're going to arrest the Duke Yansheng and his entourage. Bring your Embroidered Uniform Guard men and come along."

"Yes, Grand Secretary Xu." Xu Xianchun quickly replied with a smile.

For others, this might be a thankless task—after all, arresting the Duke Yansheng was no small matter, and the slightest misstep could cause trouble.

And even if nothing went wrong, one would still be cursed up and down afterward.

But Xu Xianchun didn't care. He felt this was an opportunity—a chance to render great service, and at the same time, to demonstrate his stance to His Majesty.

As long as he was doing things for His Majesty, he feared offending no one. Whether it was the Duke Yansheng or the Kong clan, in his heart they made no difference.

Only in this way could he gain important appointments.

Xu Guangqi and Xu Xianchun could be said to have hit it off instantly, and so they set out with the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

For the Embroidered Uniform Guard, this arrest presented no difficulty at all. These people had already been under watch; upon arriving, all they had to do was take them into custody directly. There was no need to spend any effort on arrangements or planning.

Upon arrival, things went exactly as the Embroidered Uniform Guard had anticipated. The people were quickly all taken into custody and escorted away, without any effort expended at all.

The men sent to make the arrests didn't even need to make a move—the guards already had everyone in hand.

Xu Guangqi stood outside the gate of the small courtyard, his expression somewhat heavy.

This was where the Duke Yansheng resided.

From this day onward, the title of Duke Yansheng would cease to exist, and the Duke Yansheng himself would be no more.

As a man of letters, Xu Guangqi's feelings were somewhat complicated.

It wasn't that he pitied them or cried out for justice on the Duke Yansheng's behalf—that was hardly the case. After all, Xu Guangqi had witnessed the Duke Yansheng's deeds with his own eyes and knew they had gotten what they deserved.

Xu Guangqi didn't much believe in the Kong clan either; what he believed in now was Catholicism. But his feelings were nonetheless complicated.

A title that had been passed down for so many years—gone just like that. And this wasn't even a noble title of merit.

If it were a noble title of merit, Xu Guangqi wouldn't have had any particular feelings about it at all.

But this was the Duke Yansheng!

This was the descendant of Confucius the Sage!

Thinking of this reasoning, Xu Guangqi couldn't help but feel complicated.

"Magistrate Xu, would you like to come in with me?" Xu Guangqi said slowly, looking at Xu Xianchun.

"That won't be necessary. I'll just wait here," Xu Xianchun said with a smile.

Xu Xianchun would not choose to go in at this time. If Kong Yinzhi started saying all sorts of things, wouldn't he have to confront him over it?

That sort of thing couldn't be done. First, take the people back into custody. As for everything else, once they were in the prison cell, Kong Yinzhi wouldn't be able to explain his way out of anything.

Xu Guangqi said nothing more. In fact, he didn't want Xu Xianchun to go in right now—he needed to go in and have a talk with Kong Yinzhi, to see what this Duke Yansheng was thinking, and how he could have done such a thing.

Stepping into the small courtyard and crossing the flagstone path, Xu Guangqi soon pushed open the door of the house.

Inside the room, Kong Yinzhi was drinking tea and reading a book.

Upon seeing Xu Guangqi, Kong Yinzhi quickly rose to his feet, greeted him with a smile, and bowed respectfully, saying, "I didn't expect Grand Secretary Xu to come. My apologies for not receiving you properly."

Xu Guangqi paid it no mind, walked over to Kong Yinzhi with a smile, and casually helped him up.

After the two had each taken their seats, Xu Guangqi said slowly, "Duke Yansheng, there is something I wish to ask you, regarding Kong Shangsheng. I heard that you gave him a jade pendant and a letter?"

Hearing Xu Guangqi's words, Kong Yinzhi was taken aback, then quickly waved his hands and said, "I cannot leave this place, nor do I have any way to pass messages. How could I possibly send a letter or a jade pendant?"

"Could Grand Secretary Xu be mistaken? Or has such a rumor spread outside? May I ask where Grand Secretary Xu heard this, and could you enlighten me?"

Looking at Kong Yinzhi, Xu Guangqi let out a sigh.

Still young.

Kong Yinzhi's urgent questioning had already confirmed that the matter truly existed. Even if the earlier words had said otherwise, no one would have believed it.

But Xu Guangqi remained unruffled, speaking slowly: "It was Lord Xu of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who said so."

Throwing Xu Xianchun under the cart weighed nothing on Xu Guangqi's conscience.

After saying this, Xu Guangqi turned to look at Kong Yinzhi and said directly: "I do not know whether this matter exists—I ask the Duke Yansheng to tell me the truth."

Hearing this, Kong Yinzhi knew he could no longer hide it, and inwardly cursed Xu Xianchun thoroughly.

What kind of man was this?

Was his mouth like a prostitute's waistband? How could it be so loose?

So casually pulled off by anyone?

How could such a matter be casually told to others?

But Kong Yinzhi still dared not trust Xu Guangqi, and said: "Grand Secretary Xu, what do you mean by this?"

Xu Guangqi looked at Kong Yinzhi and sighed inwardly.

A man simply couldn't be too stupid, or he'd let others play him into ruin.

So Xu Guangqi no longer concealed anything, and told Kong Yinzhi everything.

Of course, some things could not be said—for instance, that His Majesty had already issued an edict to seize his entire family, and had sent him to arrest Kong Yinzhi. None of that could be said now; the timing was not yet ripe. All that could be spoken of was the matter of Kong Shangsheng.

"Kong Shangsheng has already identified you, and he has confessed. He did not bear all the guilt himself as your letter claimed he would."

Xu Guangqi said slowly: "Xu Xianchun showed your letter and jade pendant to Kong Shangsheng, and also presented them to His Majesty. These are the evidence of your crime, the evidence of your unrepentant scheming, the evidence that you wanted someone else to take the blame."

Hearing these words, Kong Yinzhi's face instantly turned pale, cold sweat poured down in an instant, and then his whole body began to tremble.

Clearly the shock was too great—he looked on the verge of some kind of attack.

But after a while, Kong Yinzhi calmed down and said indignantly: "This Xu Xianchun actually deceived me! Utterly despicable!"

Hearing this, Xu Guangqi said impassively: "Duke Yansheng, tell me how Xu Xianchun deceived you. If he truly tricked you, I will plead your case clearly before His Majesty."

"Thank you, Lord Xu." Kong Yinzhi said hurriedly, with a grateful expression on his face.

He sighed and said helplessly: "I had no other choice, after all—I cannot leave this place, and no news can be sent out, which is why I fell for Xu Xianchun's trap. Grand Secretary Xu, you must help me."

"Tell me the whole story quickly." Xu Guangqi nodded and said.

At this point, Kong Yinzhi naturally had no other thoughts in his mind, and hastily recounted the matter.

How Xu Xianchun had found him, how he had demanded a bribe, how he himself had agreed to give him two hundred thousand taels of silver.

He told Xu Guangqi everything.

After hearing Kong Yinzhi's words, Xu Guangqi closed his eyes and sighed inwardly.

Could he curse?