Chapter 686: The Suicide Letter

The King of Joseon said nothing more, quickly unrolled Zhang Fu's suicide letter and scanned it at a glance.

The more he read, the darker his expression grew; the more he read, the more he felt something was wrong, until finally he slammed the letter down hard on the table.

Zheng Xuhong's heart gave a sudden lurch.

He had guessed right after all — something had gone wrong.

Ever since receiving this suicide letter, Zheng Xuhong's instincts had told him something was off, that there was something hidden in it. He hadn't opened the letter because he sensed it was a big trouble. Now, seeing the King's expression, he knew it truly was a big trouble.

After a moment's hesitation, Zheng Xuhong asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, is there something improper in the letter?"

"Improper is hardly the word!" The King of Joseon seemed about to fly into a rage, but in the end could only let out a light sigh and say, "Zhang Fu's suicide letter is nothing less than a hot potato — I can neither hold it in my hands nor throw it away."

"May I ask what it says?" Zheng Xuhong asked carefully.

"Zhang Fu says he was wronged, that everything was a frame-up against him. He wanted to die to prove his innocence, but feared people would say he was putting on a show, so he simply took his whole family with him in death — using the deaths of all nineteen members of his household to tell the world that Zhang Fu was innocent."

Zheng Xuhong's face changed drastically.

In the arrangement he and the King of Joseon had made, this matter had already been settled — whether Zhang Fu was innocent or not, he had to bear the blame, and quelling the affair was the most urgent priority.

Who could have imagined such a suicide letter would surface? That Zhang Fu would use his entire family's deaths to resist?

This was a problem. Under such circumstances, if this matter got out, it would stir up a huge commotion. After all, using one's whole family's lives to prove one's innocence was a tactic that would win people's sympathy. Everyone who heard of it would instinctively suspect something was wrong — who would stake their entire family's lives on proving their innocence otherwise?

And the matter could not possibly be settled quietly — a reversal would come soon.

Zheng Xuhong raised his head, looked at the King of Joseon, and said, "Your Majesty, I fear we are in trouble."

"Has no one truly seen this letter?" The King of Joseon looked at Zheng Xuhong and asked.

"To answer Your Majesty, no one has seen it." Zheng Xuhong nodded, speaking with certainty: "The moment my men found the letter, they delivered it straight into my hands. Seeing it was unsealed, I did not open it. Under these circumstances, the letter should not have leaked out."

The King of Joseon glanced at Zheng Xuhong, then gave a slight nod and said, "If that is so, then this matter may not be without room for a turnaround."

"Your Majesty, I fear things may not be so simple." Zheng Xuhong let out a sigh.

"What do you mean?" The King of Joseon stared at Zheng Xuhong, asking urgently, "Could something else go wrong?"

Zheng Xuhong sighed, and said with some helplessness, "Since Zhang Fu intended to use this to prove his innocence, how could he allow this letter to be buried and forgotten? He must have made other arrangements as well."

In truth, Zheng Xuhong had another thought in his heart.

That was that he too leaned toward Zhang Fu not having done this thing, that someone had framed him. Only, he did not believe Zhang Fu would use his whole family's lives to prove his innocence — that was not something Zhang Fu would do. Let alone staking his entire family's lives, even suicide to prove his innocence was something Zhang Fu likely would not do. This matter had probably been done by someone else — trouble.

But this could not be said in front of the King of Joseon, and saying it would be meaningless anyway. Under such circumstances, it was better not to speak. This matter would not be easy to close out now, because no one wanted it closed so quickly.

The King of Joseon's face immediately darkened. He raised his head, looked at Zheng Xuhong, and said, "It can't be, can it?"

Zheng Xuhong fell silent and said nothing. The meaning was clear: it wasn't that it couldn't be — it certainly would be.

"Who would leak this information?" The King of Joseon said in a low voice.

"The servants who fled from the Zhang household." Zheng Xuhong gritted his teeth and said, "Among them there must be some of Zhang Fu's trusted confidants. They appear to have fled, but in truth they may be carrying some mission. If these people spread the news, or if they have copies of Zhang Fu's suicide letter, then we are in trouble."

Hearing this, the King of Joseon shot up from his seat in alarm, stared at Zheng Xuhong, and asked, "What about those people? You didn't let them get away, did you?"

"To answer Your Majesty, no." Zheng Xuhong shook his head and said firmly, "After Zhang Fu returned home, everyone who came out of his household was placed under guard — not a single one was allowed to leave."

"That is good, then." The King of Joseon nodded and said, "Go at once and find out which among them are Zhang Fu's confidants. Not a single shred of information about this matter may leak out. If things cannot be managed, then simply dispose of all of them."

Zheng Xuhong had not expected the King to speak so bluntly, but he understood the severity of the matter and quickly nodded, saying, "Rest assured, Your Majesty. I will go at once and see it done properly."

The King of Joseon waved his hand, signaling that he could leave.

Just as Zheng Xuhong was about to turn and go, a eunuch came running in.

He moved quickly, and upon entering said with a grave expression, "Your Majesty, one of Lord Zheng's men just delivered news — something has happened at the place where the Zhang household servants are being held. All of the Zhang servants have been poisoned to death."

"What did you say?" Zheng Xuhong's face changed drastically. He reached out and grabbed the eunuch, asking in disbelief, "Those people were under heavy guard — how could they possibly have been poisoned?"

The eunuch felt helpless.

How would I know?

I'm just here to deliver the message. If you want to know what happened, you can go ask your own men. What use is asking me?

But seeing Zheng Xuhong in this state, the eunuch could not say anything and could only watch him quietly.

Zheng Xuhong hesitated for a moment, then released his grip.

He had been too agitated, but now he calmed down.

He clasped his hands toward the eunuch and said, "My apologies."

The eunuch smiled and said, "You are too kind, my lord."

The King of Joseon waved his hand to interrupt the two, and said, "Zheng Xuhong, this is your failure. Go at once and find out exactly what happened. The news must not leak out — do you understand?"

"I understand." Zheng Xuhong nodded and turned to stride swiftly out.

He had no choice but to hurry — this time something truly major had happened!

And there was another matter that sent a chill down his spine — this affair was likely to implicate him!

By the time Zheng Xuhong arrived at the scene, what he saw was a ground full of corpses.

Glancing at Zhang Gang, who stood beside him with his head lowered, Zheng Xuhong said in a low voice, "Zhang Gang, I put you in charge here to keep a proper watch over things. And this is what you've done? Now everyone here is dead — how am I supposed to answer to His Majesty?"

"My lord, your subordinate is guilty!" Zhang Gang said with a bitter smile, "But your subordinate never noticed — who could have imagined these people would be poisoned? They were only some escaped servants. Your subordinate was careless and never thought anyone would make a move against them."

Zheng Xuhong felt helpless as well.

To be honest, he too had not imagined anyone would make a move against these servants. If he hadn't seen the suicide letter today, he wouldn't have noticed their importance either. It had only been out of caution that he had ordered them all detained.

This raised another question — namely, that Zhang Fu and his family had very likely been killed by the servants; and those servants had now been silenced by murder.

Whatever the case, there was no way for him to investigate further now. With everyone dead, what evidence could he possibly find?

Zheng Xuhong looked at Zhang Gang and said, "Have you found out who did it? If we want to atone for our crimes, we can only find this person."

"My lord, we already know who it was," Zhang Gang said hurriedly. "It was a guard named Chen Qian. He was a minor steward responsible for cooking for the prisoners, and he never drew any attention to himself on ordinary days. After delivering the meal today, this man vanished. When the incident was discovered, your subordinate sent men to look for him, only to learn that he had already left."

"Then why aren't you out looking for him right now?" Zheng Xuhong said angrily.

"Yes, my lord." Zhang Gang acknowledged and said, "Upon learning of his flight, your subordinate already sent men to search for him. But his home was already empty — not a single person there. Your subordinate has now sent men to search throughout the city, and we will surely capture this man!"

Zheng Xuhong closed his eyes, feeling deeply helpless.

This person is probably impossible to find. No matter who arranged this matter, this person has likely disappeared forever.

The best possibility is that he has already been silenced—when he is found, he will probably be a corpse.

The Ming embassy.

Zhang Yu looked at Song Xiang and said with a smile: "It seems things went smoothly."

"Very smoothly." Song Xiang nodded and said: "Those people are all dead, and that man called Zhang Gang has already been brought out. How should we arrange for him next?"

"You want to kill him to silence him?" Zhang Yu looked at Song Xiang and asked.

"That is the safest course." Song Xiang thought for a moment and said: "I also know what you are thinking. But some things should be done this way. If this man dies, it is good for everyone."

"He cannot die." Zhang Yu shook his head and said: "There are many Joseon people working for us. We cannot kill them so casually. There is no wall in this world that the wind cannot pass through—if word gets out, the hearts of those below will waver. When people's hearts scatter, the ranks become hard to lead. This man must live. Not only must he live, he must live well, to tell others that those who rendered merit for the Great Ming will not be allowed to die unjustly, nor will they be killed to silence them. Settle him somewhere for now, and in a few days find an opportunity to send him away."

"But the Joseon side will investigate." Song Xiang said with some worry.

"You need not worry about that." Zhang Yu said with a smile: "They probably do not have the energy for it."