Chapter 513: Xu Xianchun Interrogates a Man

Over the years, the two had worked in tandem, investigating no shortage of major cases and important cases—one could say they were experienced, senior, and highly skilled in their methods.

Zhu Youxiao had cultivated so many people precisely so he wouldn't have to handle everything himself. The reason he had come all the way to Nanjing, all the way to Yangzhou, was nothing more than to back them up.

If anything came up that they couldn't handle, he could deal with it directly, without endless wrangling and buck-passing.

He knew full well that many matters ended up with no result precisely because of such wrangling. If he didn't come himself, who knew what the people below might do.

His presence here was also a deterrent—if some unforeseen incident occurred, he could respond in a timely manner.

At least someone like Duke Wei—once he arrived in Nanjing, he had him placed under watch. Though he hadn't yet dealt with him or made the news public, the man had already been arrested.

This resolved many problems. Once something happened, the duke couldn't stir up trouble, and it was impossible for him to scheme anything.

But if he had sent ministers instead, they wouldn't have that authority. At that point, even if Duke Wei didn't show his face and only stirred things from behind the scenes, the dispatched ministers wouldn't be able to withstand it—the whole endeavor might well fail at the final step.

But now that he had come in person, Duke Wei was already under arrest and could do nothing, which greatly reduced the pressure on his ministers.

After they left, Zhu Youxiao continued lying on Chen Yu'er's thighs, enjoying her massage.

As for outside, Xu Xianchun let out a sigh of relief the moment he walked out.

This was the first time he had seen His Majesty in such a posture. Of course, he had met with His Majesty privately before, but never so casually.

Civil officials might find it hard to stomach, and many might feel compelled to offer remonstrance, but Xu Xianchun knew that His Majesty would never do such a thing in front of those people.

For someone like himself, this was His Majesty expressing closeness toward you—one couldn't fail to understand the weight of that.

Upon seeing Chen Hong, Xu Xianchun hurriedly said, "Eunuch Chen."

Chen Hong nodded to Xu Xianchun, a smile appearing on his face.

Xu Xianchun was growing more and more favored these days—who knew what His Majesty saw in him. Still, the man handled affairs with shrewd competence, and this time he would surely rise even higher.

Chen Hong said, "The man is over here. Follow me."

"Yes, Eunuch." Xu Xianchun replied with a respectful demeanor, then followed Chen Hong down toward the first floor.

When the two arrived at the first floor, Han Guotai had already been hauled up.

Han Guotai still hadn't figured out what was going on—he didn't know who these people were. He raised his head and shouted, "What exactly do you want to do? Do you know who I am? I'm telling you, you'd better release me right now, or else there won't be any good outcome for you."

Xu Xianchun glanced at Han Guotai, then turned to Chen Hong with a somewhat puzzled look.

His Majesty hadn't explained to him what this was about—he'd only instructed that there was a matter for him to handle and a person to be handed over to him.

Chen Hong glanced at Xu Xianchun and said with a smile, "Go back and interrogate him yourself. Ask, and you'll know."

Clearly, Chen Hong didn't want to say.

Though Xu Xianchun didn't know why, he didn't press the question directly. After all, at this point, asking further would just show he lacked tact.

So Xu Xianchun nodded and said, "Yes, Eunuch."

At the same time, Xu Xianchun shot a meaningful glance at his subordinates.

Two Embroidered Uniform Guards came forward and directly escorted Han Guotai away.

Watching the group's departing backs, Chen Hong's expression turned grave, and his smile vanished. He knew that action was about to begin—some people's days were probably about to get very difficult.

Leading his men away from Lichun Court and back to his own territory, Xu Xianchun's bearing immediately changed.

Glancing at the men escorting Han Guotai behind him, Xu Xianchun dared not delay.

His Majesty had told him to interrogate—then interrogate he would, and thoroughly.

Xu Xianchun had his men bind Han Guotai to a cross-shaped pillar, stripping off all his clothes.

Beside them, a fire had been lit, with a large iron basin full of blazing hot coals, and branding irons laid on top. All sorts of torture instruments were laid out nearby—whips, various knives—one could say everything was available.

These things—never mind being used on someone, just looking at them was terrifying.

Many of the instruments were things Han Guotai had never even seen before. Now that he saw them, his face immediately changed color.

One had to know—though Han Guotai wasn't particularly clever, he wasn't a complete fool either. He understood the principle that a wise man doesn't court disaster.

Han Guotai looked at Xu Xianchun and said, "Great sir, let's talk things over properly. Whatever the matter is, it can be discussed. If you want money, I have money."

"Name your price, and I absolutely won't haggle—I'll have it delivered to you right away. Please don't hurt me. If something really happens to me, there'll be no way to settle things afterward."

Xu Xianchun glanced at Han Guotai and understood from his words that this man truly knew nothing.

Xu Xianchun sat down on a chair and asked, "First, tell me—what's your name, where do you live, what do you do for a living, and who are your father and mother?"

From the look of this fellow, one could tell he wasn't someone who did big things. His Majesty probably wasn't targeting him specifically.

His Majesty wasn't that kind of boring person. So there was only one possibility—His Majesty's targeting of him had to do with someone behind him. Under such circumstances, he naturally wanted to get to the bottom of it.

At this moment, Han Guotai naturally didn't dare conceal anything. He quickly recounted his situation.

Finally, he looked up at Xu Xianchun and said, "My father is Han Shicheng. Our family has been scholars for generations, and we do some business on the side to make a living. Please don't do anything rash—we can discuss anything. There's absolutely no problem."

Hearing the name Han Shicheng, Xu Xianchun furrowed his brow.

He felt he'd heard that name somewhere before.

Xu Xianchun turned to his subordinates and asked, "The name Han Shicheng sounds very familiar to me. Do you feel the same?"

A subordinate quickly said, "Of course—we have files on him."

With that, the subordinate took a dossier from the side and handed it to Xu Xianchun, saying, "He's a representative figure of the Huizhou merchants—one of the few people who call the shots in the entire Huizhou merchant association."

Hearing this, Xu Xianchun nodded and understood what His Majesty meant.

But with only this one man, His Majesty hadn't specified what he wanted done.

After thinking it over, Xu Xianchun said, "Go find Mao Qiguang. This fellow has probably been scared out of his wits these past days."

Mao Qiguang, Chiliarch of the Yangzhou Embroidered Uniform Guard, could be considered one of their own.

But local Embroidered Uniform Guards and those in the capital sometimes weren't of one mind. In many cases, local Embroidered Uniform Guards were also targets of merchants' currying favor, reaping no small benefits.

Besides them, there were also the eunuch garrison commanders of Yangzhou. These two types of people were representatives sent by the palace to the localities—one could say they held a large portion of power.

They were extensions of the palace's authority in the regions, though often they were of little use. Once in the localities, they were frequently bought off—people used money and all sorts of methods.

Since arriving in Yangzhou, Xu Xianchun had never once met Mao Qiguang. But now that he had Han Guotai in hand, Xu Xianchun suddenly had an idea.

He felt the matter could be handled this way, and so he needed Mao Qiguang.

"Bring them all over, but don't alert anyone else." Xu Xianchun said.

His subordinate smiled and replied, "Sir, rest assured. This isn't our first time doing this—we've got plenty of experience. Nothing will go wrong."

"Then go handle it." Xu Xianchun nodded and said.

Han Guotai finally snapped back to reality at this point. Looking at the two men, he said, "You're actually people of the official court? Which yamen are you from?"

"What? Threatening us?" Xu Xianchun looked at Han Guotai with a half-smile.

Hearing this, Han Guotai immediately cowered, a brilliant smile spreading across his face as he said, "How could that be? We're just getting acquainted, seeing if we know each other. After all, my father is fairly familiar with people in the yamen. If we know each other, then this is all just a misunderstanding. Perhaps my father even knows your superiors—then we can get properly close."

Xu Xianchun gave him a look and said, "Alright then, let's see if you know anyone. We're from the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Does your father have any acquaintances in the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

As he said this, a smile lingered on Xu Xianchun's face, wearing a teasing expression.

Hearing this, Han Guotai immediately grew excited and hastily said, "I know people! Never mind my father—I know people myself. You two look a bit unfamiliar, but I know the Chiliarch of your Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"Commander Mao of your Embroidered Uniform Guard—I'm very familiar with him. We drink together often, and we frequently visit the pleasure houses together. In all of Yangzhou city, who doesn't know how close we are?"

"Just a few days ago, I even sent him two women—the finest ones our household has cultivated. We're all old friends here, see, I told you so. This is truly a case of the floodwaters crashing into the Dragon King's temple."

"Is that so?" Xu Xianchun was taken aback. Wearing a surprised expression, he said, "I see. No problem then. Commander Mao will be arriving shortly—if you two truly know each other, there certainly won't be any issue."

Han Guotai immediately let out a sigh of relief, nodding repeatedly as he said, "Good, good, good—excellent!"

"Come, come, put the men down. Have someone prepare a table of food and wine. Since we're all family now, no need to stand on ceremony. I'll have a good chat with Young Master Han." Xu Xianchun said with a smile.

The subordinate beside him wore a strange expression, though he dared not show the slightest hint of puzzlement. He simply hurried off to prepare the table and refreshments.

Once everything was ready, Xu Xianchun invited Han Guotai to take a seat.

The two then chatted at length.

The more they talked, the more animated they became, feeling as though they had met too late. This continued until the arrival of Mao Qiguang.

And Mao Qiguang, for his part, had not a shred of confidence in his heart.

He knew that the Embroidered Uniform Guard of the capital had followed His Majesty south—that much he was aware of. But why had they come running to Yangzhou? In his heart, he suspected nothing good was afoot.