Chapter 684: It Wasn't Zhang Yu Who Killed Him (Begging for Full Subscription!)

Zheng Xuhong's face also looked grim. Hearing the king ask him this question, he sighed helplessly and said, "Your Majesty, I don't yet know what happened either. For now, all we can do is conduct a thorough search of Zhang Fu's residence and see if there are any clues that might point us in the right direction."

The King of Joseon nodded, understanding why Zheng Xuhong had come back. He needed to draw additional manpower. The men Zheng Xuhong had brought with him were probably frightened out of their wits by the scene before them and were no longer fit for use.

The King of Joseon nodded and said, "Then go ahead. Have the men cooperate with you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Zheng Xuhong nodded, bowed respectfully, turned, and walked out.

After Zheng Xuhong left, the King of Joseon's expression turned even uglier.

Zhang Fu was dead — this was something he had never imagined. Especially at a time like this, and in such a gruesome manner.

In truth, in the King of Joseon's heart, even if Zhang Fu were arrested this time, it would only be a matter of dealing with Zhang Fu alone. He had no intention of implicating Zhang Fu's family members — at most they would be exiled, and he had even planned to find them a decent place. As long as the family estate wasn't confiscated outright, he could seize some assets and leave them a portion of their property. This way, he could soothe public sentiment and keep the younger faction from becoming too resistant.

But now, Zhang Fu had died in such a gruesome manner — who could stomach that?

The younger faction would likely become even more radical. After all, Zhang Fu's death was too brutal. The younger faction would feel it as if it had happened to themselves — every man fearing for his own safety.

The Great Ming Embassy.

Song Xiang walked in from outside with a grim expression. Seeing Zhang Yu, she hurriedly said, "News just came in — Zhang Fu's entire family is dead. They were hanged in the main hall of the Zhang residence."

Hearing this, Zhang Yu's expression didn't change at all. He simply said, "I didn't expect it to be so gruesome."

"You guessed this would happen long ago?" Song Xiang looked at Zhang Yu suspiciously.

"I guessed it long ago." Zhang Yu nodded and said, "Starting four days ago, no one from the Zhang family came out to do shopping. I knew something had happened. I just didn't expect they would choose this method."

"I originally thought poison would be the best method — never expected hanging." Looking up at Song Xiang, Zhang Yu said in a low voice, "Our people have been watching their front gate the whole time. Did they really find no clues at all? Something this big should have made some noise."

Song Xiang's expression instantly turned very ugly. She looked at Zhang Yu and asked, "You don't think it was suicide?"

Shaking his head with a mocking expression, Zhang Yu said, "How could it possibly be suicide? Even if it were suicide, no one would take their entire family and kill themselves in such a violent manner. This can only be murder."

"Killing everyone and hanging them up — that's not something a few people could pull off. With such a commotion, our people didn't notice a thing — truly baffling. The Joseon side didn't notice either. It seems whoever did this is an expert."

"Could it have been the servants?" Song Xiang said. "Our people were watching, and the Joseon side was watching too. It would be too difficult for anyone to come and go without being noticed. So the likelihood that someone inside did it is very high."

"Where are those servants now?" Zhang Yu looked up and asked.

"They've all been taken into custody by the Joseon side." Song Xiang said with a dark expression.

"Then they're probably dead by now." Zhang Yu shook his head and said, "Forget it. Although this matter was outside our plans, and we don't know who did it, I had already guessed it might happen and made preparations. This isn't a bad thing for us."

Song Xiang nodded and said, "Then what should we do?"

"Once this news breaks, everyone's attention will be focused on Zhang Fu's affair. We make our move right away," Zhang Yu said directly. "Send Kim Jeong-min down."

"Alright, I'll make the arrangements." Song Xiang nodded.

"Have our people made contact with the Second Grand Prince of Joseon?" Zhang Yu nodded, indicating the matter was settled, then turned the conversation to the Second Grand Prince of Joseon.

This man was crucial.

"Contact has been made." Song Xiang said, "A meeting is arranged for today."

"Good." Zhang Yu nodded and said, "Speed things up. And make more contact with Joseon's ministers and generals, in the name of the Second Grand Prince. We must accelerate."

"Also, our own people need to be ready. When the critical moment comes, stirring things up will depend on our people — those Joseon men can't be relied upon."

"I understand." Song Xiang nodded and said, "We've already brought people in through Chen Facai's channels. Those who came this time are all elites from the staff office, plus men from the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Don't worry — there's absolutely no problem."

"Good." Zhang Yu nodded and said, "We won't have to wait much longer."

Meanwhile, at the residence of Grand Prince Bongnim.

A man stepped in from outside with a smile on his face. He had fair skin, regular features, and a decent appearance; he wore a long robe and held a folding fan in his hand, looking more like a scholar.

Guided by a servant, he arrived at the rear garden and went straight into the pavilion. The servants all took their leave, leaving this man alone here.

The man was in no hurry at all. While admiring the scenery, he picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup of tea; seeing the pastries laid out on the table, he unceremoniously picked one up and took a bite.

He nodded with a satisfied expression, as if the taste was quite good.

Grand Prince Bongnim stood not far away watching this man. He turned to the person beside him and asked, "Is this the man you spoke of?"

Standing beside Grand Prince Bongnim was an old man in his fifties, thin and gaunt, with most of his hair gone — he could only tie it into a very small topknot.

This man was none other than Zhao Chenqi, one of the representative figures of the elders faction. Unlike Kim Jeong-min, Zhao Chenqi held real power within the elders faction.

Kim Jeong-min had originally been in a semi-retired state. If not for this stroke of luck, he would never have had any hope of returning to prominence. But this Zhao Chenqi before them was a man of real power, controlling the Rites Board — one of the Six Ministries.

Hearing Grand Prince Bongnim's words, Zhao Chenqi nodded and said, "It's this man. He has Park In-yong's account books, and Park Jeong-yang's secret letters to prove his identity."

Grand Prince Bongnim nodded and said, "So what do you think he's come for this time?"

"Park Jeong-yang is dead, and Park In-yong is dead too. His business is now on the verge of collapse. Coming here at this time is nothing more than looking for a patron. Whether to use him is entirely up to Your Highness."

"This man also said that his business has nothing to do with Park In-yong's operations — he's responsible for trade with the Great Ming, and all of it is legitimate business. If Your Highness wishes to use him, it's not entirely out of the question."

Grand Prince Bongnim thought for a moment, frowned, and finally snorted coldly, saying, "Do you believe that?"

Zhao Chenqi shook his head, not at all surprised, and said, "Your servant does not believe it."

Grand Prince Bongnim turned his head, snorted coldly, and said, "How much of their trade is above board? Just because they do business with the Great Ming, it becomes legitimate? The slave trade is rampant in Joseon, and it's the same on the Ming side. This has long been an accepted fact among Joseon's high ranks."

"Life is hard here in Joseon. Life is good over in Ming's Liaodong region. There have always been Joseon subjects fleeing over there — that's nothing surprising. But only those with ability can make the crossing; many people can't get across. So these people appeared — they're willing to act as middlemen. If you have money, they take a fee and arrange for you to go over and become a proper citizen. Word has it that if you work in the Ming for three full years, you can obtain Ming citizenship."

"For those who can't afford the fee, these people don't mind either — as long as you go over in person. Once you arrive in the Ming, they'll sell you off. Of course, it's not a permanent sale — it's for a fixed term. Work for the middleman for enough years, and you can buy back your freedom."

"At that point, the Ming side will issue you official identity documents."

Joseon had lodged complaints with the Ming about this matter more than once. In Joseon's view, this was the Ming plundering Joseon's population and sending them to Liaodong to fill the empty lands there.

Solving this problem would be simple — all the Ming had to do was refuse to grant these people citizenship. If they wanted to cross over, the Ming could simply arrest them and send them back to Joseon, where they would be severely punished.

But the Ming side accepted everyone who came, turning a blind eye to all of this. Some even went further and directly trafficked women, selling them to Liaodong to be wives.

They even went after young girls — approaching poor families directly, handing over a large sum as betrothal gifts, and taking the girls away on the spot.

Word has it that such young girls were actually quite valuable. On the Ming side, whether sold as concubines or as wives, the prices were very high.

The pretty ones were sent to brothels and such places, where the prices were even higher. So there were always people in this line of trade. Even though Joseon investigated endlessly, there was no way to stop it. Because there were buyers, and the prices were high — someone would always take the risk.

Many of the businessmen between Joseon and the Ming were in these trades. Because even if you wanted to do legitimate business, the Ming wouldn't pay you any attention. Why would Ming merchants who could do legitimate business not just do it themselves?

Whether coming over to sell goods or buy goods, they could all come on their own.

After all, the Joseon authorities wouldn't dare to make things difficult for Ming merchants. Would they dare to arrest them, or threaten and bribe them?

"I wouldn't dare, especially now that the Ming envoys have arrived."

"Once Joseon tries anything like that, the Ming merchants will run to the embassy to file complaints. Then the Ming embassy will step forward and go straight to the Joseon king."

"This has left Joseon feeling quite stifled. The business that Park In-yong and Park Jeong-yang could do with Ming was probably limited to this."

"The Ming side wanted respectable commoners, not criminals. They should have started doing business with Ming from the very beginning, and only later set their sights on criminals. Unfortunately, Ming wouldn't take them, so they sold them to Japan instead. Thinking about it this way, everything connects together."

"Park In-yong and Park Jeong-yang are both dead now, and their business has lost its backing. If they want to continue, they need to find new backing. This man should be the one in charge of the business with Ming. His coming to see me this time is the same — he's seeking a patron. He knows about Park Jeong-yang's relationship with me — this is him coming to pledge his allegiance."

"Yet even knowing full well the truth of the matter, Grand Prince Bongnim still let the man in, and even wanted to meet him. This already says a great deal."

"Let's go take a look." Grand Prince Bongnim finished speaking and strode over, bringing Zhao Chenqi along to the pavilion.

The person inside the pavilion also heard the commotion. Seeing the two approaching, he quickly rose and bowed respectfully, saying: "Greetings to the Grand Prince, greetings to Lord Zhao."

Grand Prince Bongnim nodded and sat down on his own, without offering the man a seat. After all, the disparity in their statuses was simply too great.

After a sweeping glance, Grand Prince Bongnim said in a deep voice: "Lin Dechang, I hear you wanted to see me, and claimed to have important matters. You may speak now."

Lin Dechang nodded but did not speak. Instead, he turned to look at Zhao Chenqi.

The meaning was obvious: is it really appropriate for you old fellow to be listening here? At the same time, he was telling Grand Prince Bongnim that this matter was extremely important and could not be overheard by others.

Grand Prince Bongnim, however, did not hesitate and said directly: "If you have something to say, just say it. I keep nothing from Lord Zhao."

This was winning people's hearts.

Zhao Chenqi remained expressionless on the side. It truly seemed, as Grand Prince Bongnim had said, that their relationship had already reached a point of no boundaries.

Lin Dechang nodded and said with a smile: "I see. Then this humble one will speak. The reason I asked to see the Grand Prince this time concerns only one matter — the throne of Joseon."

"How dare you!" Grand Prince Bongnim slammed the table hard, glaring at Lin Dechang: "What standing do you have to speak of such things? Do you believe I can't have you dragged out and beheaded right now?"

"The Grand Prince, please calm your anger," Lin Dechang said, remaining unruffled and smiling: "The Grand Prince may think this humble one is spouting nonsense, but that is not the case. I have sources in Ming — the Grand Prince should know this as well. The Crown Prince, it seems, will not be able to return from Ming."

"That is nothing but a rumor." Grand Prince Bongnim snorted coldly.

This matter had been circulating for quite some time. It was said that the Crown Prince of Joseon had caught the eye of the Ming Emperor, who intended to find a princess from the imperial family to marry him. Others said a Ming princess had taken a liking to him and wanted to keep him in Ming.

Regardless of which rumor, the result was the same — the Crown Prince of Joseon would not be coming back. If this rumor were true, then Joseon would need a new Crown Prince. The Joseon king had many sons, and everyone knew what opportunities lay hidden within that.

"Does the Grand Prince think that the news I brought is merely this sort of thing?" Lin Dechang said with considerable confidence: "If it were only such news, then the Grand Prince could have this humble one dragged out and beheaded right now, and I would have no complaints."

"Oh? You have other news then?" Grand Prince Bongnim raised his head to look at Lin Dechang, his face dark as he asked: "If you dare spout nonsense, your life will truly be forfeit."

"The Grand Prince need not worry. This humble one knows the gravity of the matter."