Chapter 2020: A Hard Mess to Clean Up

"How is the investigation going? Has the identity of those who dared to block the imperial procession and cry out for justice been found out?" The old Emperor changed the subject and asked.

Not that fast, not that easy, Wang Xuanzhen thought to himself. But facing the old Emperor's questioning gaze, Wang Xuanzhen thought briefly, then reported: "Your servants are incompetent—no leads as of yet!"

Seeing the old Emperor's expression about to turn, Wang Xuanzhen quickly added: "However, based on the coroner's examination of the corpses, we have preliminarily determined that the two were craftsmen by trade—one a carpenter, one a mason.

On the hillside we also found some dried rations and drinking water, and about two zhang away there were traces of excrement and filth. We also discovered a simply drawn diagram of a carriage canopy, apparently used to help them recognize the imperial procession.

Clearly, these two did not act on a whim—this was premeditated. They had hidden on the hillside several days in advance, evading the patrol guards' inspections, waiting for the imperial carriage..."

After hearing Wang Xuanzhen's report, the old Emperor murmured: "Is this malice aforethought, or painstaking devotion?"

That question was naturally not for Wang Xuanzhen to judge—at least not in front of the old Emperor, where it would be improper to overstep.

After thinking it over, the old Emperor took out that blood-stained petition, making a gesture to hand it over, and said: "This petition is clearly organized and explicitly narrated—absolutely not something a mere craftsman could have written. The writing style is more akin to that of a government clerk."

Receiving the blood petition respectfully from Hu De's hands, Wang Xuanzhen read it carefully from beginning to end, and thought to himself, just as I suspected. The content of the blood petition was not complicated—it could even be described as concise and to the point. It directly pointed to the ills of Shen Prefecture, and unambiguously stated that they were great abuses caused by the construction of the imperial travel palace. It even clearly indicated the excessive and harsh use of manpower, funds, and materials in the project.

This must be the work of someone familiar with the inner workings. With this as evidence, the subsequent investigation could be more targeted, and the scope of the search could be further narrowed.

A glint of keen light flashed in his eyes. He put away the petition and respectfully requested: "Your Majesty, this blood petition is an important clue. Could it be temporarily lent to my office for use?"

The old Emperor waved his hand indifferently: "I've already read the thing and memorized its contents. If you have use for it, take it."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Wang Xuanzhen immediately bowed in gratitude, then said: "Your servant plans to pursue this matter from two angles. First, starting from this blood petition, comparing the handwriting to identify the author;

Second, still on the identities of the two who blocked the procession—your servant plans to first screen the registered craftsmen of Shen Prefecture, and if that yields nothing, expand to the surrounding prefectures.

The key point is that this matter must involve the construction of Taikang Palace—the two craftsmen may even have been workers on the project itself. Therefore—"

Before Wang Xuanzhen could finish laying out his investigative plan, the old Emperor raised his hand to cut him off, looking impatient: "How exactly you investigate and handle this is your business. I don't care about the process—I only want results!"

As soon as the old Emperor's tone hardened, Wang Xuanzhen's heart tightened, and he immediately answered solemnly: "Yes!"

"You may go!"

"Your servant takes his leave!"

Wang Xuanzhen withdrew, but the old Emperor's mood did not improve in the slightest—if anything, it grew worse. He sat alone in contemplation for a long while before finally letting out a faint sigh.

In truth, the old Emperor had no need for Wang Xuanzhen to investigate anything. Regardless of the process, the outcome was predictable. At best, Wang Xuanzhen could identify the one who had secretly orchestrated this affair, but to the old Emperor, the most critical question was: how to bring this matter to a close.

The old Emperor was always sensitive about such things. Though the incident of blocking the imperial procession was still shrouded in mist, he seemed already to have seen through everything, glimpsing where it would ultimately land. Relying on instinct alone, the old Emperor realized that he might well find himself in an awkward position.

Therefore, no matter what Wang Xuanzhen and the others uncovered, or what kind of result all those up and down the ranks managed to produce, none of it mattered to the old Emperor.

However, how to close the matter was not so simple. In ordinary times, there would be no need for hesitation—everyone involved, high or low in office, noble or base in rank, those who oppressed the people, those who coveted wealth, those who neglected their duties—demote those who should be demoted, execute those who should be executed, with no need to leave any leeway.

But this time, it was clearly different. The crux was that it involved the old Emperor himself. He was well aware of this, and could not truly play the fool, pretending not to know.

And from the old Emperor's personal perspective, he absolutely did not want any major corruption scandal to emerge from the construction of the Taikang travel palace. That would be far too ugly, and would damage his reputation as a wise emperor.

Of course, the practices of the Court of Construction and the Shen Prefecture authorities were already ugly enough on their own, having greatly lost the people's hearts. But if they were exposed and made known to all the world for anyone to criticize, that would be even uglier.

The old Emperor had to salvage his dignity! For a moment, he even felt intense disgust toward whoever had stirred up this affair—couldn't they just let the old man escape the heat and take a vacation in peace?

And thinking of this, the old Emperor's expression grew even more troubled. After pondering for a long time, he instructed Hu De to summon Commissioner of the Palace City Zhang Bin.

Likewise, Zhang Bin had long been wanting an audience—his main purpose being to pay his respects. Of course, the old Emperor cared nothing for Zhang Bin's concern or displays of loyalty, and simply ordered him sternly: "Go and investigate Liu Jiqian—especially his record during his three years in Shen Prefecture, as well as the entire construction process of the travel palace. Every aspect, every detail—report it all to me thoroughly!"

"Yes!"

By this point, the old Emperor already had some plan in mind, but whether things would develop as he planned still depended on the investigation results. Regardless, Liu Jiqian was a key figure.

There was another key figure—Liu Gui, Director of the Court of Construction. Although he had spent most of his time directing operations remotely from the capital, having visited the Taikang Palace construction site only a few times for inspections, he could hardly escape responsibility for this great project going wrong.

On this point, Liu Gui—who possessed keen political sensitivity—had also sensed it the moment the incident occurred, and had therefore been waiting outside the palace hall from early on.

After a full shichen of waiting, he was finally granted an audience. The old Emperor had no mind to listen to the carefully prepared confession Liu Gui had rehearsed, and launched into a thorough dressing-down.

Facing the old Emperor's storm-like rebuke, Liu Gui actually felt relieved inside. His Majesty scolds well—the harsher the scolding, the greater the chance of passing through this ordeal.

And indeed that was the case. The old Emperor had no intention of punishing Liu Gui severely. He was quite satisfied with this household servant—though a eunuch, under his management the Court of Construction had far surpassed its state during Lü Mengzheng's time.

What angered the old Emperor more was that Liu Gui had not been diligent enough in the construction of Taikang Palace, or had been too lenient with the local authorities, resulting in such a mess. More importantly, the old Emperor had previously hinted that the surface work should be done well and that the people's livelihood should be taken seriously.

But Liu Gui seemed not to have grasped his meaning. Therefore, this time the old Emperor was almost explicit: go back and conduct a self-inspection immediately, and wipe clean every ass that needs wiping.