Chapter 1973: The Spear Points Directly

A single order was given, and within about a quarter of an hour, Yan Tuo returned to the hall and bowed to Emperor Liu, who had already roused himself: "Your Majesty, the drum-beater awaits your summons outside the hall!"

"Summon him!" Emperor Liu said with an indifferent expression.

Soon, the young man, guided by the usher, walked in. In this resplendent and magnificent hall, he found it hard to maintain his composure, appearing extremely ill at ease, his face tense, his gaze wavering.

Before entering the hall, the usher had urgently briefed him on some matters of protocol, but by the time he stood before His Majesty, the only thing he could remember was to kneel.

Emperor Liu sized up this man. He had to admit, just from his appearance, he was somewhat displeased by the grim look hanging on his face. Seeing his trembling, fearful demeanor, Emperor Liu couldn't help but think to himself: with courage like this, he dares to petition the throne directly? He's even worse than that old farmer from years ago.

"Who are you? Where are you from? What is your background?" Emperor Liu asked coolly.

Facing this barrage of three questions, the man seemed to snap back to his senses and answered with his head bowed: "In reply to Your Majesty, this humble one is called Xue Che, from Dunqiu in Kaifeng Prefecture. My family is in trade."

"For what matter have you come to petition? Whom do you accuse?" Emperor Liu's tone gradually turned stern.

Upon hearing this, Xue Che was clearly somewhat nervous, but after a brief hesitation, he gritted his teeth and bowed: "In reply to Your Majesty, this humble one indeed has a grievance to petition! I accuse Zhang Jinjie, Inspector of the Palace City Office, of murder and the destruction of my family for their wealth. My entire family was harmed by him; only I escaped with my life. With no avenue for appeal, I now risk death to petition Your Majesty, begging you to seek justice for this humble one and clear our name!"

Hearing "Palace City Office" and the mention of Zhang Jinjie, Emperor Liu's heart stirred. His eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze seeming to condense into sharp blades pointing straight at the kneeling Xue Che: "Oh? Speak more clearly. How exactly did this Zhang Jinjie destroy your family and bring ruin upon your household?"

Upon hearing this, Xue Che's eyes grew even redder, erupting with intense hatred—just that look alone added a measure of credibility. Xue Che said: "My family was originally in the jade business. After three generations, we had achieved modest success and lived without worry of food or clothing. My father, Xue Xian, purchased a piece of fine Hetian jade over twenty years ago. Its quality was excellent, and he engaged skilled craftsmen to carve it, following its natural shape, into a jade Buddha statue, which was enshrined at home as a family heirloom.

But last year, somehow Zhang Jinjie learned of the jade Buddha and came to my father, demanding it. At the time, my father cherished the object deeply and politely refused. Afterwards, he discussed it with me, and we could never quite set our minds at ease.

The Palace City Office has a fearsome reputation, and Zhang Jinjie is also the son of the Commissioner of the Palace City. My father and I thought it over with growing dread, and to avoid inviting disaster, we decided to offer up the jade Buddha. But the very next day, constables from the Dunqiu county office surrounded our home, seized our property, and arrested our people. Our shop was also sealed. I happened to be away at the time and, upon learning the news, managed to escape.

I intended to find a way to rescue them, but within three days my parents and brothers were sentenced to death. The family members and servants were all exiled to Anxi, and I myself was placed on a wanted list and hunted, forced to flee and hide everywhere.

I originally wanted to flee far away, to change my name and hide my identity to preserve my own life, but whenever I thought of my murdered parents and brothers, I was overcome with unbearable grief. Therefore, I took the bold risk to sneak into Luoyang and risk death to petition Your Majesty, begging for your wise judgment."

As he spoke, Xue Che also pulled a blood-written petition from his bosom and held it up with both hands. His account was quite moving and inevitably stirred sympathy, yet Emperor Liu listened throughout with an expressionless face.

He took the soiled blood petition from Yan Tuo's hands, gave it a brief glance, set it down, pondered for a moment, and then asked: "You say all this is true?"

"Every word this humble one speaks is true! I would never dare deceive His Majesty the Emperor!" Seeing that the Emperor seemed doubtful, Xue Che grew somewhat flustered and immediately began kowtowing heavily to demonstrate his sincerity.

"Under what pretext did the Palace City Office and Dunqiu County seize your property and arrest your people? And ultimately, on what charge were your family members sentenced to death?" Emperor Liu asked again.

Xue Che wept: "My family was falsely accused of connections with the Kang clan and executed on the charge of conspiracy and treason! The Kang clan was originally a great family, wealthy and powerful—how could the small Xue family ever have been able to attach itself to them? The only connection was that in earlier years, we had sold a piece of jade to a member of the Kang clan."

Emperor Liu's brow finally furrowed somewhat. After a moment of deliberation, he fixed his gaze on Xue Che and said: "What you say is all one-sided. Do you have evidence?"

Xue Che kowtowed and pleaded: "The tragedy of the Xue family is known throughout the county among neighbors and villagers. Zhang Jinjie acts with reckless arrogance—a simple investigation would bring the truth to light!"

Studying this man without changing his expression, Emperor Liu finally sighed softly after a long while: "All for a jade Buddha statue, was it worth such a great upheaval, to destroy your family and wipe out your household?"

"This humble one dares to petition Your Majesty not only for the Xue family alone. As far as I know, within the capital region alone, there are dozens of honest merchants and good citizens whose families were ruined and wealth seized in the Kang clan treason case. What the Palace City Office coveted was not just a jade Buddha—it was the Xue family's fortune!"

"Is that so?" Emperor Liu glanced sideways at Yan Tuo.

Noticing Emperor Liu's expressionless demeanor, Yan Tuo quickly weighed his words and said with clasped hands: "This humble one does not know. However, the Kang clan treason case did indeed implicate quite a number of merchant families. As to whether there were any injustices among them, that would require examining the specific handling of the investigations..."

Below, Xue Che seemed to think of something else and continued: "Additionally, this humble one also managed to learn a piece of information—that Zhang Jinjie sought my family's jade Buddha intending to present it as a birthday gift to Your Majesty for the imperial celebration..."

When he finished speaking, Emperor Liu's aged eyes narrowed once more, carrying a hint of dangerous light. Yet his gaze, full of suspicion, fell squarely upon Xue Che. Up to this point, he had formed a basic judgment of this man.

Fixing his gaze on Xue Che, Emperor Liu's aged face was stern enough to be frightening as he said in a deep voice: "Raise your head!"

Xue Che slowly lifted his head, revealing his haggard, story-laden young face.

"Tell me honestly: who put you up to striking the petition drum and lodging this complaint?" Emperor Liu asked slowly.

Hearing this question, Xue Che showed a look of astonishment, a flash of panic crossing his face, and then he quickly bowed: "This humble one bears a deep grudge. To clear my family's name, I would rather die alongside the wicked villain—"

"Answer me directly!" Emperor Liu said coldly: "Before the throne, you still dare to prevaricate. I care not whether your family's case involves injustice—if you speak evasively again, I will first charge you with the crime of deceiving the sovereign!"

"Your Majesty, this humble one, this humble one—" Seeing Emperor Liu's anger, Xue Che's face turned even paler, and he stammered.

"Speak!" Emperor Liu's face now carried a hint of murderous intent.

Seeing this, Xue Che no longer dared to hesitate and kowtowed: "I dare not deceive Your Majesty. Before petitioning the throne, this humble one went to the Luoyang Prefecture. I had heard that Governor Lü of Luoyang was just and selfless, unafraid of the powerful, so I sought him out and laid out my grievances in full.

Governor Lü said that this case was of grave importance, and since the Palace City Office was an imperial agency, the Luoyang Prefecture had no authority to enforce the law. If I wished to clear my family's name, the only way was to petition the throne directly and cry out for justice. He said that only Your Majesty in this world could restore honor and justice to my parents and brothers."

Another Lü Mengzheng surfaces! Waves began to stir in Emperor Liu's heart. This matter seemed to be getting more and more "interesting."

"That's not all, is it!" Looking down at Xue Che, Emperor Liu maintained that chilling expression and said coldly: "The details you've recounted—surely these are not things a wanted fugitive could have learned! Even Lü Mengzheng could not know the full details of a Kaifeng case. And how did you manage to slip into the Western Capital, and even meet Lü Mengzheng!"

At this point, Xue Che naturally could no longer conceal anything. He poured out everything he knew like beans from a sack: "Your Majesty, the petition to the throne was indeed Governor Lü's instruction, and part of what I recounted did come from Governor Lü.

As for how I managed to escape pursuit and successfully enter Luoyang to lodge my complaint—that was with the guidance and assistance of a righteous man."

"And a righteous man, no small talent!" Emperor Liu chuckled: "Who is this so-called righteous man?"

"This humble one does not know. I only know his surname is Zheng. Having heard of my family's grievance, he lent his aid."

"Shifty and evasive—a petty scoundrel!"

Having asked this much, Emperor Liu had no further interest in this Xue Che. He waved his hand and instructed Yan Tuo: "Take this man away and keep him under close watch!"

Soon, Chuigong Hall fell quiet. Emperor Liu's aged back could not endure long periods of upright sitting, and his whole body soon slumped down, leaning askew against the imperial throne. But his expression remained grave and contemplative, clearly mulling over what Xue Che had said.

After a while, Yan Tuo ventured softly: "Does Your Majesty harbor doubts about what this man has accused?"

"Oh? You're interested in this case too?" Emperor Liu's single remark struck Yan Tuo with alarm.

Yan Tuo hastily shook his head: "This humble one merely felt that if what that commoner said is true, the matter is indeed grave—to use the pretext of preparing a birthday gift for Your Majesty to harm people and extort wealth is truly outrageous and utterly depraved."

"Heh heh." Emperor Liu laughed twice, then said to Yan Tuo: "Go to the Palace City Office and inform Zhang Dejun of this petition by Xue Che. I want to see how he reacts!"

"Yes!" Yan Tuo's heart stirred slightly, and he clasped his hands in acknowledgment before departing.

Watching Yan Tuo's nimble, almost comical retreating figure from behind, Emperor Liu's gaze likewise betrayed a hint of suspicion.

Clearly, the old Emperor had sensed that a great net was being quietly woven, closing in on the Palace City Office. A Zhang Jinjie was of no consequence—the real target was likely Commissioner of the Palace City Wang Ji'en.

The already-exposed Lü Mengzheng of the Luoyang Prefecture, and that surnamed-Zheng so-called "righteous man," were likely only the tip of the iceberg. Who else, and which forces, lay behind them—that was perhaps what Emperor Liu was more concerned about.

And for Emperor Liu, what concerned him more at the moment was not how many heinous deeds the Palace City Office had committed, but who was targeting Wang Ji'en—the eunuch Emperor Liu trusted most. There is no wind without waves; if no rumors had circulated before, Emperor Liu would not believe it.

And the first suspect was Yan Tuo. After all, Emperor Liu had only ever expressed his dissatisfaction with Wang Ji'en in front of him.

If that were the case... thinking of this, Emperor Liu's heart grew even colder. Yan Tuo was his personal attendant eunuch, the head of the inner attendants. If he were colluding with outside officials, the consequences would be unimaginable.

This alone was already intolerable to Emperor Liu. But what he resented even more was that there were always those who liked to guess his thoughts and attitudes, and act according to their judgments of imperial intent. And the older Emperor Liu grew, the more he detested those who presumptuously tried to divine the sovereign's will, or even arrogantly exploited "imperial intent" to achieve their own personal ends.

At the Palace City Office, the senior eunuch, Commissioner of the Palace City Wang Ji'en, was likewise watching Yan Tuo's smugly departing figure with cold, sinister eyes. In the hall, only two of Wang Ji'en's "Four Great Vajras" were present—besides Wang Shouzhong, who was stationed at the office to assist Wang Ji'en with routine affairs, there was the "main player" himself, Zhang Jinjie.

Of the four adopted sons, Zhang Jinjie was the youngest and the best-looking, with a dignified appearance. A touch of a small mustache made him seem mature, and to see him on the street, one would hardly imagine he was a ruthless leader of hounds and henchmen.

Of course, in ordinary times, Zhang Jinjie was also the most arrogant in conduct and the most ruthless in style. But at this moment, he could no longer put on any airs of pride. Kneeling there, head drooping like a frost-bitten eggplant, there was even some fear on that handsome face of his.

Off to the side, both Wang Ji'en and Wang Shouzhong wore grim expressions. Wang Shouzhong kept his head lowered, brows furrowed in deep thought, while Wang Ji'en paced back and forth incessantly. Only after a long while did he turn around, venting his anger at Zhang Jinjie: "Look what you've done! Leaving aside your disgraceful conduct, you couldn't even cover your tracks properly, and you let someone lodge a complaint against you before His Majesty!"

Facing Wang Ji'en's rebuke, Zhang Jinjie also wore a look of chagrin—not for any other reason, but for his carelessness in failing to clean up the loose ends.

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Jinjie said solemnly, "Please rest assured, Father. The trouble was caused by me, and I will bear it all alone. I will never implicate you!"

However, this declaration only drew an even harsher scolding from Wang Ji'en: "Still talking nonsense! At this point, do you think this is aimed at you? Haven't you heard the story of Xiang Zhuang performing the sword dance while targeting the Duke of Pei? Didn't you see the smug look on that old dog Yan Tuo? This is aimed at me!"

Wang Ji'en's words shook both the Wang and Zhang brothers greatly. Zhang Jinjie even blurted out, "How dare they!"

"Father, is the situation really that serious?" Wang Shouzhong could not help asking anxiously.

Wang Ji'en's old face twitched a few times. His right hand clenched into a fist as he said in a low voice, "Whether it's serious or not depends on how His Majesty views it!"

Wang Shouzhong immediately followed up: "The Emperor had that old villain Yan Tuo deliver the message—what does that mean?"

Upon hearing this question, Wang Ji'en paced a few more steps, then suddenly stopped and looked at Zhang Jinjie, speaking slowly: "This time, since it has alarmed His Majesty, even I'm afraid I may not be able to protect you. Jinjie, if you are executed according to the law, you won't resent me, will you?"

Hearing Wang Ji'en say this, Zhang Jinjie's expression could not help but change. Meeting Wang Ji'en's cold and serious gaze, sweat involuntarily seeped from his brow. After some inner deliberation, he kowtowed and said, "Father's kindness to me is as heavy as a mountain. I am endlessly grateful—how could I harbor resentment? If I can avoid implicating Father, I will die without regret!"

Having said this, Zhang Jinjie laughed twice and continued, "These years, I have enjoyed all the splendor and wealth one could ask for. That is enough!"

Wang Ji'en carefully observed Zhang Jinjie's demeanor, not letting a single detail escape him. After a long while, he stepped forward and reached out to gently stroke his head: "I know your filial devotion! Rest assured, as long as your father can make it through this ordeal safely, I will certainly protect your wife and children, ensuring your family line continues!"

"Thank you, Father!" Zhang Jinjie said, kowtowing with tears streaming down his face.

"Guards! Throw this unfilial wretch into the prison!" Wang Ji'en's face changed the moment he turned around, and he gave the order to the guards outside.

No escort was needed—Zhang Jinjie went down on his own initiative to the prison cell. But for Wang Ji'en, this disposition brought not a trace of relief to his heart; instead, it only deepened his worry.

"Father, what should we do next?" Seeing Wang Ji'en sunk in thought, Wang Shouzhong took the initiative to ask.

"Send the order—deploy all our people. Also, send word to Shouyi and Jinren about this matter. Have them investigate, and keep a close watch on all those involved!" Wang Ji'en said coldly. "I'd like to see just who it is that dares to make trouble for me, Wang!"

"Yes!" Wang Shouzhong acknowledged, then reminded him, "Should you pay a visit to His Majesty's side?"

After a moment's deliberation, Wang Ji'en said sternly, "Naturally. I will enter the palace immediately! Aren't there people cursing me as a eunuch dog? When beating a dog, don't they look at its master?"

As he said this, Wang Ji'en's old face was almost twisted out of shape—it had never looked so ugly. The hatred on his face could hardly be washed away even by the waters of the Yellow River.