Chapter 1669: The Death of the Commissioner of the Wude Office

Liu Yang withdrew with a heavy burden, leaving Emperor Liu alone with his thoughts. At this moment, Emperor Liu's mood was complicated—so complicated it was hard to describe. A faint sense of powerlessness welled up in his heart, and even though his usual toughness quickly cast aside what he deemed a weakness, it still left a faint shadow over his psyche.

"Your Majesty, the Commissioner of the Palace City requests an audience outside the hall!" Seeing Emperor Liu snap out of his contemplation, Yan Tuo respectfully reported the message he had received.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Liu, who had been about to rest, perked up slightly with interest and murmured: "What does he want? Summon him!"

"Yes!"

Before long, Zhang Dejun entered the hall, his aged legs moving nimbly. He approached the imperial presence and performed the customary obeisance with practiced ease. Though his expression was solemn, a hint of excitement could be discerned between his brows.

"Rise! What is it?" Emperor Liu seemed to have little appetite for conversation at the moment, casting only a brief glance at Zhang Dejun and asking in a terse, listless tone.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, regarding the rebellion of Li Jiqian, I have important intelligence to present!" Zhang Dejun clasped his hands and said, his tone grave.

Hearing this, Emperor Liu raised his eyes and fixed them on Zhang Dejun: "You know about this too? Of course—how could you not! Tell me, what inside information has your Palace City Office obtained?"

Suppressing the slight heat in his heart, Zhang Dejun spoke rapidly without hesitation: "Reporting to Your Majesty, according to my investigation, the rebel Li Jiqian committed murder in Xiangzhou this spring, wiping out an entire family, and then fled to Yinzhou.

The Xiangzhou authorities issued an arrest warrant and dispatched constables to track him down, pursuing him all the way to Yinzhou, but returned empty-handed. After that, it became a cold case.

When I received this report earlier, I was curious and sent men to investigate. They discovered that the family slain in Xiangzhou were common folk who made their living as masons. They had once worked at Li Jiqian's residence, and afterward met with calamity—the entire household perished.

The irregularities were obvious. Though the cause was unclear, according to my subordinates' investigation, the slain commoner had been restless and fearful after leaving the Li household, and met his tragic end that very night.

Now that Li Jiqian has raised his rebellion in Yinzhou, I connected the dots again. I cannot help but speculate that perhaps the mason had stumbled upon the villain Li Jiqian's conspiracy, driving him to desperation and murder to silence the witness.

Additionally, from what I know, over the past six months, Li Jiqian's brothers and clansmen have been fleeing Xiangzhou one after another under various pretexts. The Xiangzhou authorities failed to notice and did not stop or detain them in time, still treating Li Jiqian's case as an ordinary murder. Now, only a few elderly and weak members of Li Jiqian's line remain stranded in Xiangzhou..."

After listening to Zhang Dejun's report, Emperor Liu was silent for a long while before forcing a stiff smile—though the laughter was somewhat chilling: "Since you were aware of these circumstances all along, why did you not report them earlier?"

Facing Emperor Liu's stern interrogation, Zhang Dejun instinctively shrank his neck and answered cautiously: "Reporting to Your Majesty, although I sensed something amiss, I never imagined that villain Li Jiqian would have such audacity. Moreover, I did not dare to rashly interfere in the affairs of Xiangzhou and the Wude Office..."

When he mentioned the Wude Office, Zhang Dejun unconsciously stressed the words—clearly, this was the true purpose of his report.

Emperor Liu, however, paid no mind to this fellow's little schemes at the moment. Anger surged within him, and precisely because he was straining to suppress his fury, his expression turned somewhat ferocious. He nearly ground his teeth as he said: "What is this? This is dereliction of duty, negligence, and indulgence of traitors! With people handling affairs like this, no wonder rebels like Li Jiqian emerge!"

Emperor Liu's words startled Zhang Dejun. His legs went weak and he dropped to his knees, hastily begging forgiveness: "This humble one was negligent—please punish me, Your Majesty!"

Even as he begged for forgiveness, Zhang Dejun secretly muttered to himself—surely this advice wouldn't land him in trouble. However, Emperor Liu's next words put him at ease: "Merely dismissing the Xiangzhou officials is not enough—that's letting them off too lightly!"

With that, Emperor Liu turned to Yan Tuo beside him and issued a murderous order: "Transmit the edict—all Xiangzhou officials involved with the traitor Li shall be dealt with as in Yinzhou, taken into custody entirely, and brought to the capital for trial!"

"Yes!" Yan Tuo was slightly startled but naturally had no sympathy to spare for the unfortunate Prefectural Administrator of Xiangzhou, and hurriedly acknowledged.

So it wasn't aimed at me after all, Zhang Dejun thought to himself. He had been scaring himself for nothing.

Seeing Zhang Dejun still kneeling, Emperor Liu, whose pent-up ferocity had clearly not been fully vented, stared at him coldly and said: "I have a task for you. The Li clan of Xiangzhou must all be arrested and brought to the capital for execution. Have your Palace City Office men personally oversee it. They must be caught in one sweep—if a single one slips away, I will hold you accountable!"

"Yes! This humble one obeys!" Though Emperor Liu's pressure was immense, Zhang Dejun was not overly tense—rather, he was delighted. For his Palace City Office, this was a fine assignment.

At least, in ordinary times, such a task would belong to the Wude Office. As for whether he could handle it well, he was confident. Had they not been alerted, it might have been difficult—but since they were now aware, the Li clan of Xiangzhou was too large a target to escape. Moreover, he had already secretly dispatched subordinates to Xiangzhou to set up surveillance.

"You may withdraw!" Emperor Liu's mood gradually calmed, and he waved his hand at Zhang Dejun as if shooing away a fly.

Zhang Dejun was momentarily stunned, then looked up at Emperor Liu. Seeing this, Emperor Liu furrowed his brow and said in an unpleasant tone: "Is there something else?"

"This humble one will see to it immediately!" Zhang Dejun snapped back to attention, rose nimbly, bowed, and retreated slowly with a cautious demeanor.

Zhang Dejun certainly had things on his mind. Emperor Liu had shown no reaction whatsoever toward the Wude Office—this was somewhat unexpected. In Zhang Dejun's view, Wang Yinwu had made a massive blunder in this case, and the Emperor should have taken some action against him.

However, since Emperor Liu did not bring it up on his own, Zhang Dejun truly did not dare to remind him too obviously. He left Chongzheng Hall with slight disappointment, but quickly adjusted his mindset. Regardless, with this matter, Wang Yinwu's days would only grow harder. As for his Palace City Office, its power and influence would expand another notch—Emperor Liu's distrust of the Wude Office was already quite evident.

What Zhang Dejun did not know was that once he left the hall, Emperor Liu ceased suppressing his anger and dissatisfaction. Somewhat losing his composure, he knocked over the brush stand on the imperial desk and snarled viciously: "Damn it! He didn't mention it at all!"

Clearly, Zhang Dejun's report had once again pricked Emperor Liu's sensitive nerves. The issue of Li Jiqian was no longer enough to enrage him greatly—what infuriated him was precisely the Wude Office's dereliction in the matter, and Wang Yinwu's concealment.

Emperor Liu did not believe that the Wude Office could have been completely unaware of the vague and circumstantial matters Zhang Dejun had reported. And just now in Chongzheng Hall, how had Wang Yinwu answered? The specifics still required investigation, yet he had tried to gloss things over. Even if there were only traces of evidence, they could have been reported—but Wang Yinwu had said not a single word.

What was this? Deceiving the sovereign! Whatever his reasons, Wang Yinwu had committed a taboo again! On the other hand, if he were truly innocent and unprepared, then if even the Palace City Office could detect the problem while his Wude Office knew nothing at all—that was equally serious.

As Emperor Liu sank into such thoughts, the violent, suffocating rage within him could no longer be suppressed.

"Someone! Summon Bai Yang!"

On the winter night, the Wude Office was eerily quiet. Related to its atmosphere, ever since the Lu case, the mood within the Wude Office had become extraordinarily oppressive—an oppression that had nothing to do with the nature of their profession.

Even an ordinary clerk in the office could feel Director Wang's anxiety and restlessness. Inside the confidential chamber, Wang Yinwu had not retired for the night, nor did he have the mood to. He sat woodenly behind the desk, holding a thick confidential report in his hands, yet completely unable to focus on it.

At this moment, Wang Yinwu's heart was hollow, his mind a chaotic blur. He was utterly at a loss. The pressure Emperor Liu had placed on him was too great, and over the past six months, his heart had been entirely consumed by shadows—bordering on despair.

At this point, how was he to conduct himself?

However, this question did not require him to answer himself—someone would soon provide the answer. A commotion arose from the corridor outside the door: dense footsteps, the clatter of armor plates, piercingly loud in the silent cold night.

With a "bang," the door was pushed open, and several fully armed Inner Palace guards burst in. Leading them was a middle-aged military officer of robust build, clad in scale armor—Bai Yang, the Chief Inspector of the Inner Palace, one of Emperor Liu's personal guard commanders.

Wang Yinwu's nephew Wang Xuanzhen was held in custody, looking at Wang Yinwu with terror, his distress written all over his face. Wang Yinwu was stunned for a long moment before speaking in a low, hoarse voice, his bloodshot eyes wide: "General Bai, what is the meaning of this?"

Bai Yang's expression was cold and stern. He glanced at Wang Yinwu and replied stiffly: "Carrying out the imperial edict!"

At these words, noticing the wary eyes and cold expressions of Bai Yang and the Inner Palace guards, Wang Yinwu's heart turned completely cold. How could he fail to realize the gravity of the situation?

Swallowing hard, his survival instinct drove him to grasp at the last shred of hope: "Could I... could I have one more audience with His Majesty? I have important matters to report!"

Wang Yinwu's pathetic state stirred some contempt in Bai Yang's heart. After all, Wang Yinwu was an inspirational figure who had fought his way up from the bottom—Bai Yang had heard of his deeds. Ten years as Commissioner of the Wude Office, how glorious it had been. Yet tonight, how utterly pitiful he appeared.

Facing Wang Yinwu's hopeful gaze, Bai Yang's tone grew even colder: "His Majesty's decree—carry it out now!"

With that, he waved his hand, and two guards stepped forward, one of them holding a length of white silk—its meaning all too clear. Seeing this, Wang Yinwu collapsed into his chair, his eyes seeming to lose focus, muttering: "In the end, it cannot be averted. Had I known this day would come, why did I bother confessing..."

With that, he leaned back as if resigned to his fate, making no move to resist—though of course, he had no capacity to resist either.

With the "assistance" of the two guards, Wang Yinwu instinctively struggled a few times, making gurgling sounds from his throat. Soon, everything fell into silence.

"General, it's done!" a guard reported.

"Confirmed dead?" Bai Yang seemed somewhat unconvinced.

"Confirmed without error!" the guard affirmed.

Only then did Bai Yang nod. He turned to look at Wang Xuanzhen, who was already beside himself with trembling terror, and said flatly: "Director Wang?"

"Here! General, do as you must!" As the most capable man among Wang Yinwu's trusted confidants, he suppressed his unease as best he could, took a deep breath, and clasped his hands.

Seeing this, Bai Yang cracked a slight smile, took a waterskin from his waist, and handed it over. Wang Xuanzhen accepted it, drank deeply, but soon choked and sputtered. It was—only wine.

Bai Yang chuckled lightly: "On such a cold night, let it warm you up. His Majesty's intention is that Director Wang died of a sudden illness tonight. Do you understand?"