Chapter 357: The Emperor

Rongguo Prefecture, Rongqing Hall.

The Jia family is a household of great wealth and luxury, most particular about the Dao of self-preservation and nourishing life. Especially since Jia Mu has reached an advanced age, she pays even more attention to her daily routine and health.

Every winter, because the nights grow longer, she tries to minimize her afternoon naps, fearing it will affect the stability of her sleep at night. However, in the height of summer, because the days are long, she must take an afternoon nap for half an hour.

During this time, as long as one or two little maids are left to watch over Jia Mu, it is sufficient. Senior maids like Yuanyang and Hupo can then have some leisure time, either finding a place to chat and laugh, or returning to their own rooms to tidy up.

Yuanyang returned to her own room, took out the small parcel she had brought from Yingchun, and pulled out the pair of autumn boots she had half-finished. By the afternoon sunlight streaming through the window, she began to stitch the shoes, one needle and one thread at a time.

Thinking of the scene when she returned from the Eastern Prefecture that day and Jia Cong took out a folding fan to shade her from the sun, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly, revealing a smile. The needlework in her hands became increasingly nimble.

In truth, she had indeed developed feelings for Jia Cong, but she knew Jia Cong was not an ordinary young master of the household.

At such a young age, he is both scholarly and martial, his reputation already so resounding, and he has even been granted a title by the imperial court and bestowed a mansion. Such ability and talent—even the Old Duke of yesteryear was no more than this.

Such a figure is hard to find a second of under heaven. Although it makes one feel joyful to look at him, it is also increasingly difficult to reach for.

Thinking of these things, Yuanyang's pretty face turned red with anger, and she cursed: "Shut your tongue-rotting mouth! Selling your own sister to be someone's concubine—you call this a happy event? I don't have a shameless person like you!"

She did not know how she had caught his eye, yet now they actually wanted to trample upon her. Her own sister-in-law even had a look of high spirits, as if she had picked up a massive gold ingot.

But being able to see him from time to time and speak a few words to him would be an extremely pleasant affair.

"I advise you, Miss, that everyone knows that gentleman in the Eastern Prefecture is a golden nugget, but how is he someone people like us can reach?"

"I advise you to give up this heart early. If you want to be a concubine, go do it yourselves!"

It just so happened that Jia Mu had been feeling unwell for those two days and could not leave Yuanyang for a moment, so the matter was delayed for two days. It was not until Lady Xing urged them that Jin Wenxiang's wife seized the opportunity at noon to come over.

"I know you have always had high aspirations, Miss, and only that gentleman in the Eastern Prefecture can enter your eyes."

"You tell us to give up this heart, but I advise you, Miss, to give up this thought, lest the talk reaches the ears of the Old Lady and the Old Master, and you suffer for it later."

"If I become a concubine and gain favor, you will think you can climb higher, not fearing you'll fall to your deaths. If I fail to gain favor and am ruined, you will shrink your turtle necks, and whether I live or die will be none of your business."

Jin Wenxiang's wife was feeling ashamed and embarrassed. Her eyes wandered aimlessly, and she suddenly saw a corner of something exposed in the quilt on the bed—it was clearly a man's boot.

"You are not unwilling to be someone's concubine; you are just unwilling to be the Old Master's concubine. Look at you, you've even helped someone else make shoes."

Moreover, her entire family relied on Yuanyang's influence, so she did not dare to truly tear her face with this little aunt.

"He wants to marry you as a concubine; listen, isn't this a massive happy event? Only a person like you, Miss, has this kind of fortune."

She was merely a slave maid; their statuses were truly worlds apart, and the obstacles in this household were so complex.

Jin Wenxiang's wife smiled: "I came to find you, Miss, because there is a massive happy event. Let me tell you in detail: just now, the Eldest Lady found me and your brother, saying the Old Master has taken a fancy to you."

She was, after all, Yuanyang's sister-in-law. Being cursed by her little sister-in-law until she was worthless, her old face was completely lost.

"Even if I never marry for a lifetime, even if I go to my death, I will never agree to this matter. No matter who told you to come and say this, you just go back and report it!"

It was high noon, and instead of finding a cool place, she had come running to the door; it was likely nothing good.

……

"If what you said just now, Miss, was the truth, I would admire your backbone, and that would be the end of it. But search your own conscience—is that what you truly think?"

On the embroidered bed, a pair of half-finished men's boots were strikingly visible. The stitches on the shoe upper were dense and exquisite, and the silver needle stuck in them had not yet been removed.

Jin Wenxiang and his wife had been called to the Eastern Courtyard by Lady Xing that day and told of the Old Master's intention to take Yuanyang as a concubine. The couple had discussed it and reached an agreement, intending to speak to Yuanyang that very day.

Jin Wenxiang's wife sneered: "Miss, these are boots you made for that gentleman. There are over a dozen maids in Baoyu's room; naturally, there is no need for others to do the work. And you certainly wouldn't step into the Second Grandmother's fire basin."

In the blink of an eye, her sister-in-law had said such disgusting things. The Old Master of the household was the most lustful and dissolute; his hair and beard were already white, yet he still married a pile of concubines. Usually, Yuanyang would dodge him as soon as she saw him.

Seeing her sister-in-law suddenly lift the quilt and reveal her private belongings, Yuanyang's face turned deathly pale.

"The Old Lady took pity on me for serving her all these years and allowed my brother and you to hold positions in the house, enough for the whole family to live on. Yet you are still not satisfied, actually listening to others' instigation to make me go be someone's concubine."

Just now, seeing someone enter, Yuanyang had hurriedly stuffed the half-finished autumn boots into the quilt, but she had carelessly failed to cover them properly.

Seeing Jin Wenxiang's wife enter, she frowned and asked: "Sister-in-law, why aren't you busy out front? Why have you come here to me at this hour?"

"Just now, the Eldest Lady even said she saw you with Third Master Cong. Your brother and I didn't believe it and even spoke well of you. Now, what words do you have to say for yourself, Miss?"

However, she was far from having Yuanyang's eloquence and quick wit. Although she was flushed with anger, she could not find words to retort.

Therefore, to Yuanyang, it was quite good to just keep things as they were for now. As for what would happen in the future, she simply let it go and refused to think about it, to avoid bringing trouble upon herself.

As long as the Old Lady was still in this world for one day, she could be secure in this household for one day. Counting it up, there were still many years left. Even if it were a daydream, it was good to dream it for one more day.

At this moment, she suddenly heard footsteps outside. Someone outside the door asked: "Is the young lady in her room?"

She had now become the head of the laundry department in the Old Lady's room, yet she was still somewhat dissatisfied, and she had done no shortage of stirring up trouble among the maids and matrons.

Jin Wenxiang's wife had just been severely scolded by Yuanyang and was feeling ashamed and angry. Now that she had suddenly caught a weak point, she could not help but step forward and lift the quilt.

She had been full of hope, thinking this matter could not fail and that Yuanyang would surely be willing. What fool would choose to be a slave maid instead of a concubine and mistress? She had never expected Yuanyang to have such an attitude.

Recognizing her sister-in-law's voice, Yuanyang couldn't help but frown and hurriedly stuffed the autumn boots under the quilt.

"You envy others' daughters becoming concubines, your whole family is shameless, relying on influence to gain favor. You saw it and grew jealous, so you want to push me into a fire pit."

Her situation was completely different from maids like Qingwen and Wu'er who had served Jia Cong since childhood. There was a difference in closeness between them. Even if she had developed thoughts, it was mostly a delusion, destined to be nothing.

Upon hearing this, a chill went straight to Yuanyang's head. Just a moment ago, she had felt that as long as the Old Lady was there, she could be secure in the household, which was a very good thing.

This sister-in-law of hers was accustomed to chasing influence and currying favor, so Yuanyang had always looked down on her, feeling that this sister-in-law was just a busybody who meddled in everything.

"I can't manage this matter anymore. If the Eldest Lady doesn't ask, that's fine; if she asks me, I'll just tell the Eldest Lady to speak to you herself. Hmph!"

Watching her sister-in-law storm off, Yuanyang sat down on the bed, blankly staring at the unfinished pair of autumn boots, tears streaming down uncontrollably.

……

Yang Hongbin sent the news of the failure to capture Zhou Zhengyang via an 800-li urgent horse courier. By the time the news reached the Love Shenjing, it was a full three days slower than the news sent by the Xinchun Firm via feather-post.

When Ai Li's two female disciples went to the Love Shenjing, they not only brought over a dozen trained wild pigeons but also a Gyrfalcon that Ai Li had brought from Liaodong.

This time, as she followed Jia Cong south, besides the Gyrfalcon named Yingnu that she kept with her, there were two other Gyrfalcons raised since they were young. This time, she let the two female disciples take one of them.

Because during the transmission of feather-post, although the flight speed of wild pigeons is not slow, in the air, wild pigeons still have natural enemies and often become prey for large raptors like hawks and falcons.

But the Gyrfalcon has absolutely no such worries, and its flight speed is faster than that of a wild pigeon.

The reason for deploying a precious Gyrfalcon in the southern intelligence war was to transmit the most urgent news. This time, the information transmission was merely a practical drill conducted by Qu Hongxiu.

……

The Great Zhou Imperial Palace, Qianyang Palace.

In the vast and gloomy great hall, in front of the imperial desk, two people stood and one knelt. The atmosphere was exceptionally solemn, seemingly pressing down so hard that it made people unable to breathe.

Of the two standing, one had graying hair and beard, was over fifty, and his momentum was old yet firm; he was the Minister of War, Gu Yankui.

The other was in his thirties, with a refined face, regular features, a short, beautiful beard, and an imposing appearance. If Jia Cong saw this person, he would certainly recognize him.

This person was the famous Head of the Court of Investigation, Zhou Junxing.

And the person kneeling on the ground was the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Wei Guanyao.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao had read the 800-li urgent report sent from Jin Ling and learned that the Court of Judicial Review and the Five Military Commissions had gone to Jin Ling to question Zhou Zhengyang, only for him to escape. He could not help but be greatly enraged.

He urgently summoned the Minister of War, Gu Yankui, and the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Wei Guanyao, into the palace to report. Originally, he should have summoned the Central Military Commissioner of the Five Military Commissions, who had jurisdiction over the Jin Ling Guard, but Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao automatically ignored him.

He had always been deep and calculating. This time, before the people from the Court of Judicial Review and the Five Military Commissions had even arrived in Jin Ling, Zhou Zhengyang had been able to escape leisurely. It went without saying that he had received news from the Love Shenjing in advance.

That major criminal captured in Liaodong was received and detained by the Court of Judicial Review, and it was also the Court of Judicial Review that interrogated him and obtained solid evidence.

It was also the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Wei Guanyao, who personally entered the palace to request an imperial decree to arrest Zhou Zhengyang.

Therefore, whether it was the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Wei Guanyao, or the Left Temple Judge of the Court of Judicial Review, Yang Hongbin, neither of these two had a reason or motive to leak the secret.

However, it was hard to say about the people from the Five Military Commissions. Nowadays, the Five Military Commissions had become a place for the old nobles of the Four Kings and Eight Dukes to retire, filled with people just waiting to die.

As for these stale old nobles of the previous dynasty, if one were to say they had no resentment toward the Emperor, who could believe it?

The major case of the Jin Ling Water Supervision Office had been reopened, and this time it involved the Jin Ling Guard Commander, Zhou Zhengyang. The Jin Ling Guard was precisely under the jurisdiction of the Central Military Commissioner of the Five Military Commissions.

Once Zhou Zhengyang was caught, who knew what fatal inside information he would provide?

As the superior governing office of the Jin Ling Guard, it was difficult for the Five Military Commissions to avoid being implicated.

Under such circumstances, the possibility that news was leaked in advance from the Five Military Commissions, allowing Zhou Zhengyang to escape leisurely and avoid being caught, thereby preventing a backlash against themselves, was undoubtedly very high.

Whether it was the Minister of War, Gu Yankui, or the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Wei Guanyao, both were old gourmands who had experienced the ups and downs of officialdom and could naturally think of this layer of reason.

And this time, the Emperor summoned them into the palace to report, but did not summon the involved officials of the Five Military Commissions, indicating that Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao had already become suspicious of the Five Military Commissions.

This made the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Wei Guanyao, breathe a sigh of relief. With this reason, the Court of Judicial Review's failure to capture the criminal in Jin Ling could be mitigated, and the guilt borne by the Court of Judicial Review and Yang Hongbin could be lightened by a few points.

But this time, going to Jin Ling to arrest Zhou Zhengyang and investigate the suspicious points of the Water Supervision Office case, the Court of Judicial Review was the main office in charge. With Zhou Zhengyang escaping in advance, the Court of Judicial Review was also hard to absolve of blame.

Therefore, as soon as Wei Guanyao entered Qianyang Palace, he knelt to accept his guilt, intending to strike a proper posture to let the Emperor vent some of his anger.

However, when they saw that the person summoned into the palace to report at the same time was also the Head of the Court of Investigation, Zhou Junxing, they all gasped in unison, realizing that this matter was not as simple as they had thought.

……

In the Great Zhou court, who did not know that this Zhou Junxing was a famous cruel official? Inside and outside the court, people called him "Zhou the Yama."

When Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao first ascended the throne, the political situation was turbulent, and hidden signs frequently appeared. To stabilize the situation, he had spent great effort, and it was said that Zhou Junxing had contributed greatly.

Therefore, although this person's reputation for private morality was poor back then—having once falsely accused a superior to plot for his beautiful concubine, which was criticized—Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao tolerated him again and again.

But later, Zhou Junxing offended too many people and was jointly impeached by court officials several times.

In the end, to appease public anger, Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao could only use him as cannon fodder, sending him to Dezhou to serve as a military advisor. In fact, it was a high-handed but light-handed punishment, sparing his life.

Four years ago, Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao intended to reactivate the semi-abandoned Court of Investigation and transferred Zhou Junxing from his post as a military advisor in Dezhou to the position of Head of the Court of Investigation.

During the time of the previous Emperor, the Court of Investigation was first established, with jurisdiction outside the Three Judicial Offices, investigating secret and major cases, permitted by imperial power, and penetrating everywhere.

When Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao first ascended the throne, his foundation was shallow, with remnants of the Wu Prince obstructing him from within and remnants of the Hidden Sect causing chaos from without. To stabilize the situation, Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao had heavily used the Court of Investigation to sweep away obstacles.

Although the Court of Investigation performed miraculous feats for the Emperor, its actions were cruel. Who knew how many civil and military officials died at the hands of the Court of Investigation? At that time, the three words "Court of Investigation" could stop children from crying at night in the Love Shenjing.

Later, when Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao sat firmly on the dragon throne, the court officials had deep hidden fear of the disaster of the Court of Investigation. Government offices connected, cliques formed, and they jointly submitted memorials to ban it.

To appease internal and external disputes, and because the Court of Investigation had already achieved its goal and it was time to put the sword back in the sheath, Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao agreed.

Thus, the powers of the Court of Investigation—arresting cases, interrogating, and intelligence gathering—were divided among the Three Judicial Offices, the Five Military Commissions, and the Ministry of War.

The Court of Investigation became a mangy dog with its claws pulled out. For six or seven years, it became an idle government office with no sense of existence.

However, by the time Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao had been on the throne for ten years, his position was as stable as Mount Tai, the world submitted, and the imperial heart could measure the world.

Thus, promoting new policies, enriching the country and strengthening the military, and surpassing the previous kings became the burning ambition in Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao's heart.

Reactivating the Court of Investigation became an indispensable link in his administrative guarantees...

Ever since Zhou Junxing sat in the position of Head of the Court of Investigation, he spared no effort in planting eyes and ears in various government offices in the Love Shenjing, collecting talent, and cultivating confidants.

Although the Court of Investigation had been steady in the past few years and had not revealed the fierce aura of the past, under the support of Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao, its strength had grown day by day.

Whether it was collaborating with the Court of Judicial Review to go to Jin Ling to handle the aftermath of the Water Supervision Office case and rectify the officialdom of the Jin Ling auxiliary capital...

Or for the implementation of new policies, arresting and convicting five high-ranking officials above the fourth grade in one night, deterring the old party officials and gentry who attacked and resisted the new policies inside and outside the court...

All showed that the Court of Investigation had once again revealed its prominence, showing extremely strong execution and lethality.

Those old officials and acquaintances who had experienced the storms of two dynasties seemed to smell the familiar bloody scent from this fierce government office that had risen and fallen several times.

……

Now that the Court of Judicial Review's failure to capture Zhou Zhengyang in Jin Ling was clear, the leak of important information was obvious, and the Five Military Commissions had aroused Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao's suspicion.

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Wei Guanyao, and the Left Temple Judge of the Court of Judicial Review, Yang Hongbin, could wash away their suspicions.

But the news of Zhou Suqing's confession was first released in the Court of Judicial Review. Who could guarantee that other personnel in the Court of Judicial Review had no suspicion!

In this matter, the Court of Judicial Review itself was tainted, and its power to investigate and punish had already lost the first opportunity.

Whether it was Gu Yankui or Wei Guanyao, they both knew deeply that Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao summoned Zhou Junxing into the palace together at this time.

That was to use the power of the third party, the Court of Investigation, to investigate the leak of the Five Military Commissions and the Court of Judicial Review.

This was also Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao's announcement to the inside and outside of the court.

The long-silent Court of Investigation would once again take back the powers of arresting cases and interrogating that had been divided from the hands of the Three Judicial Offices!

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao had always been good at using force to strike force in his administration. This time, the failure of the Court of Judicial Review and the Five Military Commissions to capture Zhou Zhengyang became the opportunity for the Court of Investigation to rise again.

Whether it was Gu Yankui or Wei Guanyao, they both felt a heavy pressure in their hearts.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 358 =====