Chapter 306

The Ministry of Justice sent over twenty to thirty convicted officials, all of whom were somehow tied to the deposed crown prince affair.

With the crown prince deposed, court appointments and personnel shifted chaotically, plunging the situation into disorder.

Among these convicted officials, the most prominent was Xie Changling, Left Assistant to the Crown Prince. This man had once been famed throughout the land as the top imperial examination graduate, and though his official career had faced minor setbacks, it had generally remained stable. Due to his exceptional scholarship, he was appointed as an official of the Crown Prince's household, groomed as part of the future administration to serve after the crown prince ascended the throne—when he would be entrusted with great responsibilities.

Who could have imagined that after walking ninety steps out of a hundred, he stumbled at the final ten? The future prime minister-in-waiting now languished as a prisoner.

Chen Guanlou picked up his brush and divided the personnel, assigning Xie Changling to Xiao Jin's jurisdiction, and instructed Xiao Jin to treat him well.

"Xie my lord is a man of great talent and a former official of the Crown Prince's household—he must not be humiliated. Contact his family and have them send silver quickly. The Lei Prison Warden has just taken office; they are the first batch of convicted officials. I don't want any outstanding debts—don't give him any leverage. Understood?"

"I understand! But, sir, I'm unclear—what crime did this Xie my lord commit? Just because the crown prince was deposed?"

Chen Guanlou's lips curled slightly in mockery. "Xie my lord's crime is dereliction of duty, which led to Prince Zhong's missteps and caused the most devastating crown prince deposition in the empire's three-hundred-year history."

"Huh?" Xiao Jin's brain clearly couldn't process this charge. "So it's just a made-up accusation, arbitrarily slapped on?"

Chen Guanlou nodded. Indeed, it was fabricated. During the coup, events inside the Crown Prince's palace were gradually being exposed. The crown prince had never shown any sign of rebellion; from the very beginning, he had tried to restrain his palace guards and officials. As a result, thousands of Crown Prince's guards were surrounded for days without drawing a single blade or firing a single arrow, preventing the worst possible bloodshed.

The crown prince had done all he could to honor the old emperor and preserve their father-son bond. But he had failed his title as crown prince, failed the men of the Crown Prince's household, failed the ministers who supported him. Had he been willing to make a decisive move back then—raised three thousand Crown Prince's guards and rebelled—he might now be sitting on the dragon throne, not the immortal old man, Emperor Taixing.

What a pity.

One wrong thought.

The deposed crown prince had done everything he could to protect everyone in the Crown Prince's household.

Yet look—his former officials are now locked in prison. Tsk…

One cannot be too self-deceived.

Xiao Jin hesitated, pondered, then whispered, "Sir, has the court begun purging Crown Prince's personnel?"

Chen Guanlou fell silent—he couldn't say for sure.

If it were a purge, the Crown Prince's guards had been disbanded and reassigned, but no execution orders had been issued. Some guards were even retained to continue protecting the deposed crown prince, Prince Zhong.

If it weren't a purge, then former Crown Prince's officials were being suppressed in varying degrees. It was only a matter of time before they were imprisoned.

Classic slow-cutting flesh.

A single, swift slash would be brutal, yes—but it would make the world remember, etch the old emperor's cruelty into history, and nail him to the pillory of shame.

But slow-cutting flesh? How many of the Crown Prince's officials will ever be recorded in history? Future generations won't even know what happened to these men after the crown prince's fall.

The old emperor is cruel, yet he cares about face. His method of preserving face is hypocrisy: pretending to repent while secretly preparing a purge. When ministers think he's had a change of heart, he turns around and launches a massive cleansing. Ministers are repeatedly broken, yet still refuse to learn—they still cling to hope for the old emperor.

Take this crown prince deposition: many elderly ministers wept bitterly, kneeling outside the Taiji Palace gates, begging the old emperor to change course, insisting he had merely strayed into false Daoist practices and could still be redeemed if he repented.

But Zhao Mingqiao was different—he saw through the old emperor's true nature. It couldn't be changed. He was simply this man. Since he couldn't change, then destroy him.

Chen Guanlou met Xie Changling in person.

Xie Changling had the standard official's face.

What is a standard official's face? Upright, solemn, dignified. Looking at him, one felt the presence of righteous qi. Yet his eyes were unusually lively—not the dull stare of a bookworm, clearly the mind of a sharp, agile thinker. He was young, barely over thirty.

Add up his years in office.

Got it.

Another prodigy.

He passed the imperial examination as top scholar in his early twenties—a true academic god, with top-tier intelligence. Even among the clever courtiers, he belonged to the smallest, smartest elite—the intellectual overlord.

Had Prince Zhong not been deposed, this man would almost certainly have become prime minister and ruled the empire.

"Xie my lord, state any needs you have. We'll do our best to fulfill them."

Xie Changling accepted his imprisonment calmly, his expression serene. He looked at Chen Guanlou and asked curiously, "Are prison guards now so courteous?"

"There are always exceptions," Chen Guanlou replied.

Xie Changling nodded. "Thank you. Could I have a few books? Time drags on endlessly without them—I wouldn't know how to pass it."

"Of course. Any other requests?"

Xie Changling shook his head. "I won't make things hard for you. I'll meet your demands as well. As for the required silver, contact my household steward—he'll cooperate. Have him bring me a few changes of clothes and my usual bedding. No problem, right?"

"These are minor matters—no problem. Our Tianlao Prison practices humane management. As long as you don't cause trouble, we're easygoing," Chen Guanlou smiled.

Xie Changling nodded. "So I'm lucky, then—not locked in the Zhao Prison, but here in Tianlao. Will I be tortured?"

"Do you have any crimes to confess?" Chen Guanlou countered.

Xie Changling froze, then burst into loud laughter, gasping for breath. "Crimes? Ha! What crimes do I have? Why don't you make one up for me?"

"That's not our job. We're jailers—we only guard prisoners."

Xie Changling laughed and nodded. "You're right—I nearly misunderstood. Asking you to fabricate one would be unfair. Thank you, Prison Clerk Chen. By the way, I think I've heard of you."

"Me? A lowly jailer? How could I possibly be known to you, sir?" Chen Guanlou was astonished. What merit did he have to be known by a former Crown Prince's official? Was he that famous?

"Last year, when the Grand Tutor was imprisoned, Crown Prince's guards handled security. I heard about you from them," Xie Changling said—his memory was excellent.

Don't doubt a prodigy's memory. A single detail triggers the whole memory.

"Cui Shiwai seemed to hold a grudge against you. I rarely saw him look defeated. Back then you were just a jailer, yet you managed to humiliate Crown Prince's guards—impressive."

"Sir, you mustn't say such things! What merit do I have? I never humiliated Cui Shiwai! He's got a terrible misunderstanding about me! It's been so long—there's no explaining it now," Chen Guanlou sounded deeply wronged.

Last year's incident was still being mentioned this year.

Don't these prodigies know what "selective amnesia" means?