Chapter 2019: The Truth

Due to the severity of the incident, the atmosphere of the imperial entourage had completely changed. Before they even reached Taikang Palace, those who needed to act were already in motion. As Commander-in-Chief of the southern inspection field headquarters, the Marquis of Ding'an, Murong Chengtai, was under immense pressure. He directly summoned the Commanders of all the escorting armies and issued strict orders to patrol the mountains and clear obstacles—any suspicious person approaching would be killed on the spot. Incidents as serious as someone breaking into the imperial procession had to be eliminated.

At the same time, the investigative officials of the Palace City Office and the Wude Office also sprang into urgent action. Their objective, naturally, was to investigate the identities of the two who had broken into the procession, how they had managed to hide in the deep mountains, how they had chosen their moment to cry out for justice, who was behind them, who had provided assistance, and whether there was a larger conspiracy.

Regardless of how others viewed it, at least the Palace City Office and the Wude Office were treating this matter with the strictest and most cautious attitude. However, getting to the bottom of it was truly no easy task—those imperial soldiers had struck too quickly and too ruthlessly, leaving not a single survivor.

Such complaints were hard to voice, though. Just from the aura those soldiers exuded, one could tell this was not the time to provoke them. As for the investigation of the two offices, the Wude Office naturally took the lead—this was their home turf, and they began their inquiry starting from those two corpses.

That said, it wasn't as if they had no leads at all. At least in terms of investigative direction, Wang Xuanzhen had some idea in his mind. And so, the Wude Office's subordinate branches in Shenzhou and the surrounding prefectures were fully mobilized. All information regarding the circumstances before and after Taikang Palace's construction, the actions of various government offices and yamen in the matter, down to the smallest detail—including the words, conduct, and attitudes of officials from various localities—was gathered and sent to Shenzhou for comparative analysis.

Meanwhile, Wang Xuanzhen took his carefully prepared survey of Shenzhou's conditions, gave it another round of meticulous and deliberate polishing and revision, and immediately went to seek an audience with the Emperor upon arriving at Taikang Palace to report and deliver his findings. This time, however, he would be "speaking plainly and truthfully"—no longer shielding Liu Jiqian or Shenzhou in any way.

Of course, the one who felt the most nervous and furious about this matter was undoubtedly Liu Jiqian, the Prefectural Administrator of Shenzhou. When he first heard the news, he was utterly beside himself—he nearly bit his own tongue off.

What bandits were these, pulling such a trick on him? Truly, death was too good for them. Being cut down by the guards was letting them off easy—they deserved to have their bones ground to ash.

Setting everything else aside, the very fact that such a severe incident could occur within his Shenzhou territory in itself meant problems with public security and with his ability to control Shenzhou. If it had been an assassination attempt on the Emperor, the consequences would have been a nightmare for Shenzhou's officials—and Liu Jiqian would have borne the brunt of it.

However, beyond his anger, Liu Jiqian couldn't help but feel a lurking dread. The moment he thought of the words "blood petition," he became restless and felt a chill at the back of his neck. Ever since that day he welcomed the imperial procession into the city, Liu Jiqian had found it hard to be at ease. The old Emperor's terrifying gaze had already left a psychological shadow on him.

He knew his own situation well. Liu Jiqian was no fool—he knew he had gone too far in some matters within Shenzhou, but after all, it was for the Emperor, to carry out his orders. His methods might be debatable, but his "loyalty" was genuine. Based on Liu Jiqian's assessment of the old Emperor, it was worth gambling on.

If he could pass through smoothly without a ripple, then all would be well—he would await promotion and ennoblement. If anything went wrong, Liu Jiqian also had a set of prepared explanations. But what he never expected was for things to begin in such an unexpected manner.

Under these circumstances, Liu Jiqian issued an urgent order, and the relevant offices in Shenzhou were hastily mobilized as well. In particular, the constables and arresters of the prefecture and counties were dispatched in full force to conduct searches and manhunts, determined to capture those with malicious intentions.

Liu Jiqian also refused to believe that the procession-breaking cry for justice was merely the spontaneous act of two lowly commoners. There had to be someone behind it, someone who wanted to oppose him. As for higher levels, Liu Jiqian couldn't concern himself with that for now, but within his jurisdiction of Shenzhou, he launched an extensive investigation—targeting, one way or another, those who had been critical and condemnatory of his "governance." Such people were not absent in Shenzhou. Who exactly remained to be determined, but there were always suspects.

Of course, besides mobilizing all of Shenzhou, there was something even more important Liu Jiqian needed to do—go see people, see two people.

The first was Prince Xu, Liu Chengyun. No matter what, Prince Xu was his most solid and powerful backer. If things truly reached an irredeemable point, only Prince Xu could and would be willing to put in a good word for him before the old Emperor.

Prince Xu, Liu Chengyun, as the senior member of the imperial clan, naturally accompanied the imperial procession on this southern inspection—that was only to be expected. Whenever there was some benefit to be had, the old Emperor always thought of Prince Xu. During festivals and holidays, the old Emperor might forget others, but Prince Xu received a share of palace gifts every single time. This had been a habit lasting decades, showing Prince Xu's intangible influence over the court.

The meeting between Liu Jiqian and Liu Chengyun went reasonably well, at least allowing Liu Jiqian to be somewhat more optimistic. Although the entire conversation was accompanied by Prince Xu's scolding of Liu Jiqian from start to finish—

Only after seeking help from Prince Xu did Liu Jiqian muster the courage, with a very uneasy heart, to go to Taikang Palace to seek an audience with the old Emperor. The purpose of the audience was, naturally, to beg forgiveness for the procession-breaking incident, with the emphasis on the fact that such a "startling of the imperial carriage" had occurred within his jurisdiction, and that he could not escape culpability.

Along the way, he also confessed some of the hasty and rash actions he had taken during his governance of Shenzhou, as well as the "minor mistakes" that had provoked dissatisfaction and criticism from others, and so on. In short, he was administering a preventive dose first.

And although the old Emperor had seemed somewhat senile in recent years, when he got serious, he was still sharp-eyed and clear-minded. What he had seen and heard in the few short days since arriving in Shenzhou had already drawn his full attention.

Therefore, the little tricks Liu Jiqian played before him had no technical merit whatsoever—they were seen through at a glance. However, the old Emperor did not take him to task over the matter. On the contrary, he even offered words of reassurance, expressing understanding for his hard work over the past two years and telling him not to blame himself or feel guilty over a small matter.

After dismissing Liu Jiqian, the old Emperor received Wang Xuanzhen in the bedchamber, which had not yet been fully tidied, to hear his detailed report on Shenzhou's military, administrative, and civil conditions.

Whatever was said about military, administrative, and civil conditions, there was actually only one focal point—the construction of the Taikang Traveling Palace. Everything in Shenzhou over the past two years had revolved around this matter.

Wang Xuanzhen was naturally someone who knew how to grasp the key points. One by one, item by item, he gave a detailed introduction to Liu Jiqian's various actions. In general, Liu Jiqian's conduct boiled down to two things: blindly currying favor with his superiors and excessively oppressing the people—and the two were causally linked.

Draining the official granaries' stored funds and grain to hire corvée labor, even touching the strategic reserves meant for military and disaster relief—all of that was normal. Deducting wages and rations from the laborers—he could do that too. Convening officials and commoners for donations, then using the palace construction as an excuse to impose a whole slew of nominally justified exorbitant taxes and levies—that was hardly surprising either.

These were all traditional tricks of the bureaucratic trade. But what truly made the old Emperor fall silent were those practices that completely abandoned all bottom lines and principles—treating human lives like grass. According to the Wude Office's preliminary investigation, within Shenzhou's jurisdiction alone, over seven hundred people had died for the construction of Taikang Palace. Some families had bodies to enshroud and bury; others couldn't even find the corpses. As for where the people had gone—some had fallen off cliffs, some were buried beneath the palace foundations, and some might simply have been tossed into mass graves.

Even so, Liu Jiqian had also intercepted and seized the compensation money meant for the families of the deceased laborers. And it still wasn't for his own personal enrichment—those funds and grain were used by him for the palace construction and for the renovation and improvement of various infrastructure that might be involved in the imperial visit.

And this last point was what the old Emperor found most unacceptable, what nearly broke him. So—he was to be the excuse for abusing the people and treating lives like grass in his name, all while the perpetrators wore a face of utmost loyalty, and by their reckoning, he was supposed to be moved and grateful for their devotion?

Even so, the old Emperor was not without awareness. In fact, as early as last year, he had already given instructions to Liu Gui, telling him to at least make things look decent on the surface. Construction projects—especially major ones—always had casualties. But this was not how it was supposed to be done. This was far too far from what the old Emperor had expected.

Likewise, the situation in Shenzhou alone, while infuriating, was not enough to break the old Emperor. However, if the true face behind the construction of Taikang Palace was really like this, then even the old Emperor would feel alarmed.

Some things are very hard to deceive yourself about! If Shenzhou was like this, then what about the other prefectures and counties? Even if they weren't draining the pond to catch all the fish like Liu Jiqian, and their situations were somewhat better, they probably weren't much better off.

In the hall, even the candle flames were affected by the oppressive atmosphere, flickering unsteadily. The old Emperor had been silent for a long time, making Wang Xuanzhen uneasy, even vaguely regretting—had he said too much?

"With governance this oppressive, how can the people's livelihoods be at peace? How can the people of Shenzhou not be full of complaints? How can they not harbor hatred toward Us? And how can We feel at ease touring and escaping the summer heat here?" After a long while, the old Emperor finally spoke, murmuring to himself. At this moment, a look of compassion for the world's suffering appeared on his aged face.

Wang Xuanzhen immediately responded: "What does local misgovernance have to do with Your Majesty? Even if the people have grievances, they would only direct them at the local government—how could they possibly resent Your Majesty? Toward Your Majesty, the people can only feel reverence and awe. Even in their suffering, they only hope that Your Majesty will extend grace and rescue them from their plight—they harbor no other thoughts. To resent His Majesty would be to invite heaven's punishment…"

It had to be said that Wang Xuanzhen's rhetoric was indeed pleasing to the old Emperor's ears at this moment—at least no less so than the beautiful voices of the singing girls in the music bureau. The key point: what did the evil deeds of local officials have to do with the Emperor?

Of course, the old Emperor wasn't so self-deceiving as to actually believe it—it was merely self-comfort. After a moment's thought, he let out a few cold laughs, then rudely snapped: "Utter nonsense! Are you taking Us for a fatuous ruler? Even the most obvious reasoning escapes you? You think you can claim innocence, and that the people are so easily fooled?"

"Your servant would not dare!" Wang Xuanzhen immediately knelt and begged forgiveness.

Although he had been rebuked by the old Emperor, Wang Xuanzhen actually felt more relaxed inside. What he feared most right now was the old Emperor focusing on why he hadn't reported these matters earlier. Though he had long prepared reasons and explanations, it was best not to have to use them.

And judging by the current situation, the old Emperor's focus was clearly in a direction favorable to him. Let others die—it's not my problem. He didn't care how unlucky others were, as long as it didn't implicate his Wude Office…