Chapter 521: Why Should Servants Make Things Hard for Fellow Servants?

Chen Sheng and the other man chatted about these matters in a relaxed tone.

The young eunuchs kneeling below had long since been scared stiff listening to them, their whole bodies trembling uncontrollably.

The more timid ones had even collapsed limp onto the floor, a faint stench of urine wafting up.

You see, Zhang Wei was like heaven in their eyes — after all, they were all under Zhang Wei's authority. But who could have imagined that the man they regarded as heaven would end up done for right here?

Look at the miserable state Zhang Wei had been beaten into, listen to the words those two above were saying — were those human words? Were those things a human being should say? Where were their consciences?

These young eunuchs really wanted to ask, but they didn't dare.

Bringing them all here was clearly not just to watch how badly Zhang Wei got beaten — this was about making a move against them. No one knew whether they themselves would end up in that state in a moment.

Their hearts were filled with panic — who would dare offend anyone at a time like this?

Chen Sheng glanced at those eunuchs, a flicker of gravity passing through his eyes.

Clearly, his purpose in calling these people over to watch Zhang Wei being beaten was to intimidate them, so that in a moment they would obediently tell the truth; at the same time, it was also to tell them — your superior has fallen, don't think about relying on him anymore, now is the time when betraying him is the best choice.

After Zhang Wei had been beaten, Chen Sheng directly waved his hand, signaling the Embroidered Uniform Guard to drag Zhang Wei away.

Chen Sheng no longer wanted to look at Zhang Wei or waste words on him.

After Zhang Wei had been dragged off, Chen Sheng said, "Alright, the appetizer is finished. Time to get down to business."

The eunuchs kneeling below all shuddered.

Beaten to that state, and it was still just an appetizer?

Now they themselves had become the main course — just how badly was this main course going to be mangled by him?

Xu Xianchun, on the other hand, wore an expression of keen interest, his face full of anticipation.

He found that this young eunuch before him suited his temperament even better than Chen Hong did.

Xu Xianchun couldn't help but sigh inwardly — this Chen Hong really did have a good eye for choosing godson. Look at this Chen Sheng — eunuchs like him were already rare in these times.

Chen Sheng stood up, walked straight over to the several eunuchs, looked them up and down, and only then said, "The reason I called you all here today is, first, that there are some things I want to ask you."

"There's nothing to hide here. We're all servants — why should servants make things hard for fellow servants? As long as you speak the truth about matters, you naturally won't suffer such hardship; and we naturally won't make things difficult for you. So now, I'm going to start asking questions."

Chen Sheng's gaze settled on one person as he said, "Among you, who was the one most favored by Zhang Wei on ordinary days?"

As soon as these words came out, the several young eunuchs were all taken aback.

You see, this question wasn't really much of a question — what kind of question was this?

It wasn't any secret either; just ask around a bit and you could find out.

But this question wasn't really asking for everyone's answer — it was testing everyone's attitude.

All the young eunuchs' movements were perfectly uniform — they raised their hands, pointed at one person among them, and said in unison, "It's him."

As the saying goes, husband and wife are birds of the same forest, but when disaster strikes they each fly their own way — these people had never had much bond between them to begin with, and on ordinary days they'd suffered no small amount of oppression.

Besides, they were all eunuchs — already eunuchs, so what was there to talk about? The root of manhood was already gone.

The gazes of the several people also fell upon this eunuch.

At this moment, this young eunuch had already begun trembling, his complexion abnormally pale and ghastly.

On ordinary days, relying on Zhang Wei's backing, he could be said to have thrown his weight around, and he'd taken no small amount of benefits. Those merchants treated him with great respect when they saw him, and even the officials of Yangzhou did the same.

But at this very moment, his whole person had wilted.

"Take him down and interrogate him," Chen Sheng said with an expressionless face. "Since he's Zhang Wei's trusted confidant, he must know quite a lot about Zhang Wei's affairs. Take him down, and question Zhang Wei as well while you're at it — I imagine quite a bit can be extracted."

Xu Xianchun glanced at Chen Sheng and said, "Shall our Embroidered Uniform Guard handle it?"

Giving Xu Xianchun a look that was half smile, half not, Chen Sheng said, "Of course you'll conduct the interrogation. If not you, then who? Everyone trusts that the Embroidered Uniform Guard has the capability and will certainly obtain satisfactory answers."

"No need to go to such trouble — Zhang Wei will definitely talk," Xu Xianchun said with complete confidence. "Zhang Wei keeps a mistress in Yangzhou, and this mistress has borne him a son. As long as we bring this mistress and his son over, there's nothing he won't say."

Hearing this, Chen Sheng was stunned for a moment, looking at Xu Xianchun with some confusion.

You see, he too was a eunuch — was there something about this matter that he didn't know?

How could Zhang Wei possibly have a mistress? And how could he possibly have a son?

"This woman was given to Zhang Wei by Yangzhou merchants after he arrived in Yangzhou. As for that child, he was brought over from Zhang Wei's own clan. Over the years, his clan has profited no small amount from him — money and grain beyond counting." Xu Xianchun explained briefly, then said, "Well then, let's go ask."

While the interrogation was proceeding with intensity on this side, the people outside had already grown anxious from waiting.

Han Qi paced back and forth continuously within the room.

His father had entrusted this matter to him, and he very much hoped to be able to bring this matter to an end himself, to be able to rescue his younger brother — nothing else mattered.

Seeing his subordinate walk in from outside, Han Qi hastily asked, "How goes the situation? Still no news even now? Has that eunuch Zhang Wei still not come out of the Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters?"

"Reporting to the young master, once he went in, he hasn't come out," the subordinate said hastily and cautiously.

At this critical juncture, whoever provoked the young master's anger would not have a good outcome.

Han Qi couldn't be bothered to quibble with his subordinate over such things right now.

After a moment of silence, Han Qi directly stood up and said, "Is there still no news from Mao Qiguang's side either?"

"Reporting to the young master, no. We still haven't found the person," the subordinate said once again.

"To the Yangzhou Prefectural Office," Han Qi said with a grim face.

Matters had reached this point — it was no longer possible to send people to search; the only option was to mobilize official authority and have the Yangzhou Prefectural Office take action.

In this place of Yangzhou, the Yangzhou Prefectural Office's word still carried weight — after all, the county magistrate is not as good as the one directly in charge.

"Yes, this one will go prepare the carriage at once," the subordinate said hastily, then turned and ran out.

The Yangzhou Prefectural Office.

As the Prefect of Yangzhou, Chen Tang's days were quite comfortable.

You see, the place of Yangzhou could be said to be blessed with natural beauty and abundant resources, with a thriving economy — merchants were extremely numerous, and wealthy people were extremely numerous as well. Chen Tang, as the local official here, naturally thrived like a fish in water.

It was only the Emperor's arrival in Nanjing that made Chen Tang's days somewhat tense. But it didn't really matter — as long as nothing stirred up trouble, then songs were still sung and dances still danced; it didn't affect anything at all.

At this moment, an elderly man over fifty years old walked in from outside.

He was stout and corpulent, and from his dress, one could tell at a glance that he was a private secretary.

The adviser came straight to Chen Tang and said, "Your Excellency, Han Qi of the Han family has arrived."

Hearing this, Chen Tang raised an eyebrow, a smile spreading across his face as he said, "Looks like another opportunity for profit has come knocking."

Compared to Zhang Wei's posturing, Chen Tang was far more direct.

"Let him in." Chen Tang said with a smile.

"Yes, Your Excellency." The adviser acknowledged, then turned and went out to fetch the visitor.

Before long, Han Qi walked in from outside.

Upon seeing Chen Tang, Han Qi clasped his hands in greeting and said, "Greetings, Your Excellency."

Hearing this, Chen Tang nodded and made a gesture inviting him to sit.

Once Han Qi was seated, Chen Tang said directly, "You've come about your younger brother's matter, haven't you? What, still not resolved?"

Han Qi pondered for a moment, and without any concealment, told Chen Tang everything.

Finally, Han Qi turned to look at Chen Tang and said, "This matter still requires Your Excellency's help. My father is very worried about my brother, and hopes Your Excellency can offer some advice and put in some effort. Whether you need people or resources, we can discuss it."

Chen Tang looked at Han Qi and said, "That's certainly no problem — we're old acquaintances after all."

"There are two conditions. First, all expenses are paid by your family — that's the established rule, since we're handling matters on your behalf."

"Of course, you should also understand. Beyond the expenses, this official expects some compensation as well." Chen Tang said directly.

"If Your Excellency gets the matter done, two hundred thousand taels of silver." Han Qi said. "I will not go back on my word."

Chen Tang nodded and said, "That price is a bit low, though it depends on how easily the matter can be resolved. If it's easy, this sum will do; if it's not, then we'll need to add a bit more."

"No problem." Han Qi nodded again and said, "Money is the last thing we lack."

Chen Tang nodded, tacitly accepting the matter.

He then continued, "Now let's discuss the second condition. This official wants the position of Yangzhou Transport Commissioner. Once the matter is accomplished, your family must help me secure this post."

Hearing this, Han Qi furrowed his brow.

The current Yangzhou Transport Commissioner had a good relationship with his family, and their cooperation had been quite pleasant. Suddenly being asked to help Chen Tang secure the position of Yangzhou Transport Commissioner — this ran contrary to the Han family's established interests.

"I know your family has influence where it counts — you can even reach the Chief Grand Secretary himself. After all, you're all salt merchants. If your Han family speaks up, even the Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat will put in a word for me. After all these years as an official, one must always strive to move up a step."

Hearing this, Han Qi furrowed his brow again.

The Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat is Han Kuang — he's from Shanxi, a Shanxi merchant.

Although they were all salt merchants, and the Shanxi merchants did have some presence in Yangzhou, getting them to exert their influence and speak up would come at no small cost.

Still, securing the position of Yangzhou Transport Commissioner probably wouldn't require calling on that connection.

"We'll have to wait until Chen Zhenglin steps down." Han Qi said after some thought.