Chapter 26: Bewildering and Confusing

Chen Yan's attitude was the complete opposite of yesterday's, and Xue Fengxiang was momentarily at a loss as to whether he was genuinely worried about Chongzhen or putting on a show of his own. After thinking it over, he shut his mouth and said no more.

If Chen Yan was putting on a show, then summoning them now could only mean he was looking for scapegoats.

At a time like this, clearly keeping oneself out of harm's way was the most effective course of action—the more one spoke, the more likely this mess would stick to oneself.

Seeing Xue Fengxiang shut his mouth, the several other Vice Ministers who had been about to speak also fell into silence, each keeping their own counsel. An assassination attempt on the reigning emperor was no laughing matter!

That the Chongzhen Emperor was furious was already an ironclad fact. When they had gone to pay respects earlier, Dong Qi had sealed off the imperial palace with camp soldiers from the Capital Camps, allowing entry but no exit. Judging by the current situation, this could well turn into another Case of the Hammer Attack.

During the Wanli years, the emperor of that time had not wished to investigate deeply, but now the furious Chongzhen Emperor was determined to get to the bottom of it, directly mobilizing the Capital Camps to seal off the inner palace. Everyone was to be re-examined.

Agents of the Eastern Depot were already out on the streets conducting searches everywhere. Wang Cheng'en, who had always handled matters with tact, had received some secret edict after leaving Kunning Palace, and this time he too was prepared to take real action.

That very night, the Chongzhen Emperor issued a decree imposing a nighttime curfew on the capital.

This was yet another bombshell. The capital had been placed under curfew many times before, but those had invariably been reluctant measures taken only when the Jianzhou barbarians raided the borders. This time, the Emperor had narrowly escaped death, and the capital was placed under curfew that very night—which showed just how seriously he took the matter.

In the Eastern Depot's prison, a file leader holding a long whip walked up to that Imperial Academy student surnamed Deng and, without the slightest warning, kicked out at him, then shouted harshly:

"Men, hang him upside down and put him on the rack! I don't believe he won't talk!"

That kick had used the file leader's full twelve-tenths of strength. The Imperial Academy student Deng felt a sharp pain in his chest, and before he could even react, several Eastern Depot agents had jointly hung him upside down, followed by another round of merciless whipping.

Quite a few Eastern Depot agents standing behind watched the scene and felt extraordinarily satisfied. The Eastern Depot had only been established for so short a time, and already someone was plotting assassination. Thank heavens the Emperor's fortune was vast and his fate great—if they had succeeded, that would have been unthinkable.

"The Superintendent of the Eastern Depot arrives!"

Suddenly, a burst of hurried footsteps came from behind—it was Wang Cheng'en entering the prison with several Chiliarchs in charge of punishments and over a dozen file leaders.

Seeing this, the fierce look on the file leader's face vanished immediately. He stepped forward a few paces and said with a fawning smile:

"This humble one greets the Superintendent."

"Well, has he talked? Who put him up to it?" Wang Cheng'en wore a grim, deathly expression, as if at any moment a violent storm could gather on his face.

Having seen the Chongzhen Emperor's wretched state in Kunning Palace today, Wang Cheng'en was deeply grieved, but he also realized that his methods these past days had been far too gentle. It seemed he would have to learn from that Nine Thousand Years—when dealing with these heartless Donglin Faction members, one could not hold back.

That file leader, terrified because he had failed his task, immediately fell to his knees with a 'plop' upon hearing Wang Cheng'en's question, kowtowing as he said:

"Forgive me, Superintendent! This fellow's mouth is hard—he simply won't speak."

Wang Cheng'en was not at all surprised to hear this. He gave a meaningful glance to someone behind him, and the Chiliarch in charge of punishments, Li Youcheng, gave a cold laugh, took the leather whip from the file leader's hand, and actually took the field himself.

It was rare for a Chiliarch in charge of punishments to personally interrogate someone, and now it was not merely Li Youcheng handling the interrogation—Wang Cheng'en and another such Chiliarch were also watching the entire process from the side.

Wang Cheng'en said: "Pass the word down—have the informants of every household report in at once, double the number of men patrolling the streets, and keep round-the-clock watch on the seated officials of all the ministries and yamen in the capital! If any further error occurs, I'll hold you all to account!"

"This humble one obeys!"

Wang Cheng'en said these words without the slightest hesitation in front of the Imperial Academy student Deng. Clearly, whether or not they got answers out of him, this madman who had attempted to assassinate the Emperor was already as good as dead in his eyes.

Because things heard by the dead would never be spoken.

Just as Li Youcheng was preparing to display his skills, running through the Eastern Depot's entire repertoire of tortures to force him to talk, that Imperial Academy student surnamed Deng suddenly threw back his head, stretched his neck, rolled his eyes white, and began convulsing and trembling all over. Before long, he actually spat out blood and fell unconscious.

The Chiliarch in charge of punishments, Li Youcheng, was utterly shocked. He reached out to feel beneath the man's nose, then said with a frown:

"Superintendent, he's stopped breathing."

No one had expected this to happen. These literati and scholars were always cowards who feared death—in all the days the Eastern Depot prison had held them, not one had kept a hard mouth. But today, this one who had tried to assassinate the Emperor turned out to be someone who didn't value his life. The lead had been cut off all at once, and even Wang Cheng'en was growing somewhat anxious.

Just then, the file leader kneeling on the ground seemed to notice something. He hastily scrambled over on hands and feet to pick it up, then presented it with both hands, saying:

"Superintendent, this object fell from this fellow's body just now."

Wang Cheng'en looked at the small object. Holding it in his hand felt as heavy as a thousand jin. He waved his hand to signal the surrounding file leaders and agents to withdraw, and fell into deep thought for a moment.

Li Youcheng and the other Chiliarch in charge of punishments were absolutely trusted confidants, and both wore faces of utter disbelief. Li Youcheng murmured:

"Superintendent, this is something from Kunning Palace. Could it be...?"

Wang Cheng'en naturally understood what Li Youcheng meant. He abruptly tucked the object away in his hand and said in a low voice:

"This matter must never be known to a third person. Otherwise, you two will both die. Understand?"

Li Youcheng and the other Chiliarch exchanged a glance and said, holding their breath:

"This subordinate understands!"

Wang Cheng'en set aside all other matters, made the necessary arrangements below, and hurriedly left the prison to enter the palace and see Empress Zhou. When he reached the Chengtian Gate, he was stopped by a Battalion Commander of the Capital Camps, who refused to let him in no matter what.

This Battalion Commander appeared to be newly promoted. He clasped his fists and said with slight apology:

"Forgive me, Superintendent. This lowly one is merely following orders. At present the capital is under curfew, and His Majesty is not seeing anyone."

"I know that, but this matter is of the utmost urgency and cannot be delayed even a moment. Open the gate quickly!" Wang Cheng'en paced about frantically, on the verge of simply kicking the door down and barging in. Fortunately, Dong Qi heard the news and arrived in time, personally escorting him inside.

"Superintendent, what matter is so urgent?"

"I must first thank Vice Regional Commander Dong. But this matter can only be discussed after I enter the palace and see His Majesty."

Hearing this, Dong Qi merely smiled and stepped aside, saying:

"In that case, Superintendent, hurry into the palace."

After parting with Dong Qi, Wang Cheng'en went straight to Kunning Palace. When he arrived, the Chongzhen Emperor was discussing something with Fang Zhenghua and Li Ruolian. Wang Cheng'en did not go in directly, however—he merely had Xiumei call the Empress out, and waited outside the door himself.

"Cheng'en, why don't you come in? His Majesty has called for you several times."

"Empress, please forgive this old servant his impertinence."

Wang Cheng'en knew well that summoning the Empress out to see him was itself a crime of insubordination, but at a time like this, clearly such concerns could no longer be heeded. He stammered for a long while without being able to speak, his gaze somewhat wandering.

Seeing his appearance, Empress Zhou understood what he meant. She waved her hand to send Xiumei away.

Wang Cheng'en looked around warily, and only then took the object out from his sleeve. When Empress Zhou saw it, she snatched it into her hand at once, and her expression changed immediately. Pulling Wang Cheng'en aside, she asked:

"This is the jewelry I had Xiumei take out of the palace to sell a few days ago. How did it come to be in your hands?"

Wang Cheng'en slapped his thigh and said:

"To answer the Empress, this old servant found it on the body of that madman who stormed the palace. This old servant also does not understand how it came to be on that madman, which is why I rushed into the palace." As he spoke, Wang Cheng'en cast a meek, sidelong glance at Xiumei, who was keeping watch, and said in a low voice:

"Empress, things having come to this, this old servant must ask—can this woman be trusted?"