Chapter 506

Imperial City,

Archive Warehouse,

In the room,

the wooden shelves storing files were dense and very crowded,

and only two people could pass between the two rows of wooden shelves.

In the corridor outside the room, a group of four people walked hurriedly toward this side.

Arriving at the door,

"Plap~"

The copper lock was opened.

"Squeak~"

The heavy wooden door was opened from the outside.

"Two eunuchs, please wait a moment, this official will go in and take out the files."

"His Majesty is in a hurry, please hurry, two officials!"

"Yes!"

Afterward, the two officials walked in.

The two walked along the forest-like wooden shelves while chanting, and soon stood still at one place.

Before long,

the two officials walked to the door holding several rolls of paper.

"So fast?"

"Replying to the eunuch, the warehouse has been using the Thousand-Character Archive Method created by Master Zhou Zhan for some years, and all kinds of files are in good order, so naturally, they are found quickly."

"Good!"

"Please follow this official to the door to register and stamp."

"Please."

"Squeak~" The room door was closed and locked again.

At the Emperor's place,

The documents taken from the archive warehouse had been opened and placed on the table.

The sound of turning pages came from time to time,

that was Zhao Zilong and Zhao Meifeng unfolding documents one by one, each with a unique number using the Thousand-Character Classic.

"Your Majesty, He Guan has arrived."

"Hmm."

Soon, He Guan, wearing armor, walked in.

"Subject, He Guan, has seen Your Majesty!"

The Emperor nodded and waved his hand at Zhao Zilong, who raised his head to the side.

Zhao Zilong stepped forward and gestured with an inviting posture: "Official He, please this way, I have a few questions to ask."

Half a quarter of an hour later,

After Zhao Zilong whispered a few words beside the Emperor, he came to He Guan:

"Official He Guan, His Majesty orders you to wait outside the hall."

"Yes!"

After speaking, He Guan walked outside the hall and stood still.

Amidst the eunuch's announcement,

Xu Zaijing stood outside the hall and nodded to He Guan at the side.

"Fifth Young Master, His Majesty orders you to go in."

"Yes."

When Xu Zaijing stepped into the hall,

all the documents brought by the eunuch earlier had been tidied up,

and only a few sheets of paper were placed on the Emperor's imperial desk.

"Has seen Your Majesty!"

Looking at Xu Zaijing, who was bowing and cupping his hands in salute, the Emperor waved his hand at Zhao Zilong, who wanted to step over.

"Hmm, rise!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"When you, kid, escorted the Bai Gao surrenderers to the capital last year, did any Bai Gao craftsmen leave the team on the way?"

Xu Zaijing pondered for a moment and cupped his hands: "Replying to Your Majesty, yes!"

Hearing this, Zhao Zilong and his disciple looked at each other.

Emperor: "Continue."

Xu Zaijing: "One evening at mealtime, an official from the Ministry of Works brought a seal and entered the camp, leading away a family of Bai Gao craftsmen! The kid remembers that the main general in the camp that day called that Ministry of Works official 'Official Zhen'."

Xu Zaijing finished speaking and looked at the expressions of the people in the hall, feeling confused for a moment.

The Emperor picked up the paper on the imperial desk and handed it to the great eunuch at the side, then raised his chin at Xu Zaijing and said:

"Take a look and see if it is this seal."

"Your Majesty, the seal that day was only seen by the main general in the camp at the time; the kid did not take over this seal, so I cannot tell if it is this one!"

"You kid are quite law-abiding!"

The Emperor said while taking back the paper held by the great eunuch: "Do you still remember the appearance of that 'Official Zhen'?"

"Replying to Your Majesty, it was dark that day, and I only looked at it by the torchlight! If Official Zhen were standing in front of the kid, the kid would definitely be able to recognize him!"

"Hmm! Go and talk to Meifeng, let the Imperial City Division draw a portrait! Also, let He Guan at the door go do whatever he needs to do."

The Emperor ordered.

Xu Zaijing was stunned for a moment, too late to think much, and hurriedly cupped his hands in response.

Afterward,

Xu Zaijing followed Zhao Meifeng out of the hall.

On the way,

"Zhao..."

Xu Zaijing had just said one word when he saw Zhao Meifeng shake his head slightly at him and look at the little eunuch in front.

Xu Zaijing understood, and there was silence all the way back,

until they entered the courtyard set up by the Imperial City Division in the palace city. Seeing no one around, Xu Zaijing opened his mouth: "Brother Zhao, what happened?"

Zhao Meifeng nodded with a serious expression: "Brother Jing, the secret letter from the lurking scouts in the division reported that Bai Gao iron art has appeared in the Prince of Jing's fief!"

Xu Zaijing's eyes widened, and he said in surprise: "Ah?!"

Zhao Meifeng nodded affirmatively.

"So, that's why His Majesty checked the archives of our return to the capital?"

"Correct!"

"And the seal His Majesty wanted you to see just now, His Majesty ordered people to check at the Ministry of Works, and there is no record of it being used."

Looking at Xu Zaijing's confused appearance, Zhao Meifeng continued: "The great seals of various ministries are of great importance; using them requires more than two people present and must be recorded."

Xu Zaijing frowned and nodded: "In other words, the whole thing... is fake? The Prince of Jing sent people to impersonate court officials to take away a family of craftsmen?"

Zhao Meifeng shook his head: "No, the authenticity of that seal still needs to be carefully identified by a specialist using a crystal mirror! Whether it was the Prince of Jing who sent people also needs to be carefully investigated."

After Xu Zaijing nodded, he suddenly looked at Zhao Meifeng and said urgently: "Brother Zhao! His Majesty has the seal there; if someone learns that His Majesty checked the archives, wouldn't it startle the snake..."

As he spoke, Xu Zaijing looked at Zhao Meifeng's expression and hesitated: "Is this luring the snake out of the hole?"

Zhao Meifeng nodded approvingly.

"Brother Zhao, why doesn't His Majesty directly strip the Prince of Jing of his fief..."

Listening to Xu Zaijing's naive question, Zhao Meifeng shook his head and said: "The Prince of Jing is a member of the imperial clan and has a noble background. Without ironclad evidence like the Prince of Yan, His Majesty cannot directly strip him of his fief."

"If he strips it, it is fighting among the same clan, which easily makes the imperial clan in the court feel unstable."

Xu Zaijing said: "Is the appearance of this Bai Gao iron art not enough?"

"Not enough! What if the Prince of Jing says someone framed him, or... His Majesty framed him?"

As he spoke, Zhao Meifeng took a deep breath, looked at Xu Zaijing, and said:

"More importantly, in the days since the recovery of Bai Gao, there have been nobles in the court suggesting that His Majesty should take advantage of the situation to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Qin Yan Yun! His Majesty is also quite moved! And the southeast where the Prince of Jing and the Prince of Tan are located is near Suhu..."

Xu Zaijing nodded and said: "That is the grain-producing land of our Great Zhou, one of the granaries..."

Zhao Meifeng said: "Correct! At least four million shi of grain are sent every year. If there is a problem, Bianjing will be strangled by the neck."

"Unfortunately, although the Northern Liao and the Jin Kingdom have had battles these days, the scale is too small, and it is not yet a good opportunity for our dynasty to send troops! And we don't know which battle will evolve into a life-and-death struggle between the two countries..."

Looking at Xu Zaijing's gaze, Zhao Meifeng nodded: "Brother Jing, you thought correctly, it is the news sent by my senior brother."

After listening to Zhao Meifeng, Xu Zaijing sighed: "His Majesty is afraid that if he disperses his energy to settle accounts with the Prince of Jing, he might miss the opportunity to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Qin Yan Yun, and it might also cause a reduction in production in the Suhu region, involving the capital and inciting public anger?"

"Yes."

As he spoke, Zhao Meifeng looked at Xu Zaijing and said: "Now that His Majesty has an imperial prince and has recovered Bai Gao, he is increasingly thinking about leaving a great world for the prince."

Looking at the nodding Xu Zaijing, Zhao Meifeng continued: "Brother Jing, do you have anything else to tell me?"

Xu Zaijing frowned and asked doubtfully: "Brother Zhao, what else? I drank some wine with Brother Zhang that day, and I remember the appearance of that person in my heart; other than that, it is what I just said."

Zhao Meifeng stopped mid-sentence.

At this time, the voice of an official came from outside the door: "Director, the portrait painter from the division is here."

"Come in!"

Listening to Xu Zaijing's account, it took the painter a lot of time to draw a portrait that made Xu Zaijing nod.

Afterward,

with the sunset in the west,

before Xu Zaijing left the Imperial City Division courtyard, he said: "Brother Zhao, what should I say when I go out?"

Zhao Meifeng: "Just say the Prince summoned you."

Outside the palace,

Evening,

Chai family courtyard,

Chai Zhengzheng sat beside Lady Chai, and together with the Chai family master who was drinking digestive tea, watched the servant girl tidying up the table.

Lady Chai tilted her head and smiled: "Zhengzheng, why, not going back to your own courtyard?"

Chai Zhengzheng shook her head: "Daughter doesn't want to go back yet."

As she spoke, Chai Zhengzheng also glanced at her father.

The Chai family master, who was drinking tea, was stunned for a moment, then put down the porcelain bowl containing the tea and said: "Good, then let's go out for a walk."

The family of three left the room,

Lady Chai waved her hand at the personal servant woman behind her, and the understanding servant woman blocked the following servant girls behind.

Walking into the flower garden,

after there was no one around, Chai Zhengzheng said: "Father, after you entered the palace, why did your expression look a bit ugly when you came home?"

The Chai family master had a smile on his face, looked at Lady Chai doubtfully, his eyes full of the expression "Is it that obvious?".

Lady Chai looked at her husband and said: "The child is grown, naturally she can perceive it! It's not just Zhengzheng who wants to know, I want to know too!"

The smile on the Chai family master's face gradually dissipated, and he said in a deep voice: "Fine! Today His Majesty summoned me into the palace to ask about the Bai Gao craftsmen."

Glancing at his wife and daughter, the Chai family master continued seriously: "Someone impersonated a Ministry of Works official, borrowed our family's name, and took away a Bai Gao blacksmith while the Bai Gao surrenderers were on their way to the capital."

"Ah?"

Lady Chai's eyes widened, and she couldn't help but exclaim, grabbing her husband's clothes hard to keep herself from losing composure.

"This..." Chai Zhengzheng stopped mid-sentence.

The Chai family master just nodded heavily.

"Then, my lord, what did you say to His Majesty? Who did it? So vicious and intentional!" Lady Chai pulled on the Chai family master's clothes and asked hurriedly.

The Chai family master had a mocking smile on his lips, as if mocking the person who did this.

After taking a deep breath, he said: "Fortunately, neither the Marquis of Yongyi nor the Marquis of Ningyuan told anyone about the Dingzhou Wujin coal!"

"The person who did this only knew that the craftsmen were important, but didn't know that the Dingzhou Wujin coal was even more important!"

"And the Dingzhou Wujin coal, the monthly production is checked by the Marquis of Yongyi, the Marquis of Tuoxi, and our family together."

"As long as there is no Wujin coal, the appearance of Bai Gao iron art will be but a flash in the pan!"

Lady Chai frowned: "A flash in the pan? My lord, has Bai Gao iron art appeared? Where?"

Glancing at Chai Zhengzheng, the Chai family master said softly: "The Prince of Jing's fief!"

After the Chai family master finished speaking, Chai Zhengzheng frowned and asked: "Father, without Dingzhou Wujin coal, how could the Prince of Jing's fief..."

The Chai family master said: "A batch of Dingzhou Wujin coal transported to the capital earlier, His Majesty felt it was very useful, so he bestowed quite a lot to the various imperial clan families."

"Hehe..."

Not knowing what he thought of, the Chai family master shook his head with a light laugh.

Chai Zhengzheng looked at the Chai family master with worry: "Father, what's wrong? You... what are you laughing at?"

The Chai family master looked at his wife and daughter's worried eyes, waved his hand with a smile and said: "Nothing, I just remembered an interesting story His Majesty told today."

Before Lady Chai and Chai Zhengzheng could ask, the Chai family master put away his smile with satisfaction and said: "This matter His Majesty asked about, Xu family's fifth young master, Brother Jing, also knows!"

Hearing this, Chai Zhengzheng's eyes widened instantly.

Lady Chai glanced at her daughter and asked doubtfully: "My lord, what's interesting about this? Brother Jing was in the team when returning to the capital!"

The Chai family master smiled: "This matter, the personal guard of the Zhang family's young master, Zhang Fangyan, knows about it. Because this personal guard is now in Bianjing after getting married, the matter of borrowing our family's name was also recounted by this personal guard."

Lady Chai: "So?"

"When His Majesty asked the Xu family's fifth young master, he didn't say that the official borrowed our family's name, only mentioned the matter of the impersonating official."

Lady Chai felt her daughter on the other side suddenly tighten her grip on her arm and said hurriedly: "This, this Brother Jing, isn't this deceiving the Emperor? This, what will he do in the future?"

Chai Zhengzheng at the side nodded repeatedly.

The Chai family master looked at his concerned wife and daughter, smiled and said: "According to His Majesty, the Zhang family's personal guard said that the Xu family's fifth young master and the Zhang family's young master drank quite a bit of wine that night, perhaps he forgot because he drank too much."

Lady Chai and Chai Zhengzheng breathed a sigh of relief.

The Chai family master continued: "But in the afternoon, when the Xu family's fifth young master was restoring the appearance of the fake official with the Imperial City Division officials, he said... he said it in great detail."

"Oh my! This, silly child! Why did he need to avoid suspicion for our family like this!"

Lady Chai said anxiously.

The Chai family master nodded in agreement and glanced at his daughter.

"Why, my lord, do you think Brother Jing did it because of our Zhengzheng..."

Listening to Lady Chai's words,

the Chai family master didn't admit it, just smiled: "His Majesty has this meaning."

Looking at his daughter's somewhat disappointed appearance at the side, Lady Chai said: "My lord, you are still laughing! This concerns the child's future!"

"His Majesty being able to tell me about this means there is no grudge in his heart, you two don't need to worry."

"My expression was ugly, the reason is also thinking about what method to use in the future, how to buy more grain for His Majesty in the southeast."

Looking at the faces of his wife and daughter that hadn't relaxed, the Chai family master continued: "Perhaps the Xu family's fifth young master knows that words cannot be spoken carelessly."

Lady Chai nodded, looked at the Chai family master and said: "My lord, His Majesty has this meaning, then do you think the Xu family's fifth young master said it like that, is it really because of our Zhengzheng?"

The Chai family master thought for a while, then looked at his daughter: "I haven't seen this child express anything! And it concerns his future! But regardless of whether he was intentional or unintentional, our family owes the Xu family a favor regarding the Dingzhou Wujin coal."

Marquis of Yongyi's mansion,

After finishing dinner, Xu Zaijing, who had drunk some wine with Zaizhang, walked through the veranda and entered the courtyard.

The light dimmed, only the lantern carried by the servant girl Qingcao flickered, the candlelight flickering, and the insects in the garden chirped incessantly.

The surrounding atmosphere was vaguely similar to that day on the way back to the capital.

Slightly tipsy, Xu Zaijing suddenly remembered the words Zhao Meifeng asked him in the afternoon.

Xu Zaijing thought carefully again, his eyes widened, and he stopped his steps. Instantly sober, he said in a low voice: "It's ruined!"

(End of chapter)