Chapter 27: Interrogation

After the first day of court ended, the Emperor specifically retained the Three Ministers, together with officials from the Ministry of Justice, the Niu Dali Temple, and the Censorate. He summoned multiple imperial physicians, eunuchs, and palace maids on duty the night the late Emperor passed away, along with the suspects Nine Thousand Years, Li Fei, and Xiang Fei under escort, and brought them all back to Lingxia Palace.

They attempted to reconstruct the scene of the late Emperor's death to clarify the case and restore the sequence of events, leaving no detail out, finding not a single flaw!

Even with officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Niu Dali Temple, who possessed rich experience in judging cases, present, they could not deduce who had the motive and opportunity to commit the crime and administer poison.

The officials knew the case was suspicious, yet each harbored their own ulterior motives and were unwilling for the truth to come to light.

"Reporting to His Majesty, this old servant is truly wronged! This old servant served the late Emperor for many years... how would I dare harbor thoughts of disloyalty!" Nine Thousand Years, seizing the opportunity, quickly defended himself, hoping to clear his name in the process.

Nine Thousand Years knew well that his guilt was inescapable, so he employed every trick in his book, attempting to deceive his way through.

The Emperor glanced at Nine Thousand Years and said coldly, "You dog servant, you still haven't figured out the charge; you committed forgery of an imperial edict, not regicide! I kept you alive to investigate the cause of the late Emperor's death; otherwise... I would have already chopped you into a thousand pieces!"

The Emperor sensed the ministers' intent to meddle and spoke with a warning, signaling Nine Thousand Years not to attempt to escape punishment.

"This old servant is guilty and deserves death ten thousand times over..." Nine Thousand Years employed his most favored tactic of self-harm, crying out: "If this old servant had strenuously prevented the late Emperor from taking the second pill that night, perhaps the late Emperor would not have passed away, wuwuwu..."

Although Nine Thousand Years was under interrogation, he had not abandoned the idea of seizing the initiative.

No matter how hard Nine Thousand Years performed, no matter how hoarse he screamed, after all, the current Emperor was not the late Emperor and would not fall for his act.

However, when Nine Thousand Years mentioned the detail of "taking the second pill," it caused Yu Yu Dian, the Minister of Justice standing nearby, to shift the cause of death to the "Seven Times a Night Pill."

Yu Yu Dian was truly perceptive, but regretfully, his too-direct words provoked a strong backlash from Prime Minister Mei and others.

"Reporting to His Majesty, this subject believes..." Yu Yu Dian stepped forward and said respectfully: "Perhaps the cause of the late Emperor's death was the medicine, not murder."

Upon hearing these words, Prime Minister Mei panicked on the spot!

He quickly jumped out to steer the direction, attempting to push the case back towards the direction of a treacherous minister committing regicide.

Prime Minister Mei knew the origin of the "Seven Times a Night Pill" and, fearing the truth would be exposed, could not wait to speak up and interfere.

At this moment, Prime Minister He remained silent, yet he was covered in sweat, his court robes already soaked through!

He secretly rejoiced: It was a close call that batch of "Seven Times a Night Pills" was offered by Prime Minister Mei; if Lu Lu Xiongying's escort hadn't encountered bandits, the person standing there, anxious like an ant on a hot pan, would probably be me!

"Who gave the 'Seven Times a Night Pills' that the late Emperor took while alive?" the Emperor asked.

Before Yu Yu Dian could reply, Nine Thousand Years quickly pointed at Prime Minister Mei and wept to the Emperor: "Those pills were indeed given by Grand Councilor Cao!"

Although Nine Thousand Years was under interrogation, his emotions were extremely agitated; as if he had prepared beforehand, he firmly insisted that Prime Minister Mei had introduced the "Seven Times a Night Pills," attempting to direct the fire towards the latter.

Prime Minister Mei thumped down immediately, prostrating himself on the ground, then desperately explained how he obtained that batch of "Seven Times a Night Pills," detailing the entire process from beginning to end.

Seeing the situation turn unfavorable, Prime Minister Mei could only desperately prove his innocence, but because he was too anxious, he actually appeared to have many suspicious aspects.

After listening, the Emperor turned to Yu Yu Dian and asked: "You are the Minister of Justice; if it were you, what would you do?"

Yu Yu Dian exchanged a glance with Prime Minister He, hesitated for a moment, then replied: "Immediately detain Prime Minister Mei... and forbid visitors!"

Although Yu Yu Dian was a clear judge, his answer was still a carefully weighed statement, as if he was not entirely certain of Prime Minister Mei's guilt.

"Approved!" The Emperor immediately issued an edict: "Dismiss Cao Mei from all official posts and send him to the Ministry of Justice for interrogation!" Upon finishing his words, Prime Minister Mei knelt on the ground and kowtowed fiercely, shouting his innocence continuously until the guards dragged him out of Lingxia Palace.

Prime Minister Mei met this fate because he offered the "Seven Times a Night Pills," which aroused suspicion in others, combined with Nine Thousand Years' betrayal, driving him by fate to this tragic end.

"Who refined that batch of 'Seven Times a Night Pills' from Cao Mei? Does anyone know?" the Emperor asked.

"This old servant knows, it was the Joyful... Joyful Daoist!" Nine Thousand Years, kneeling on the ground, replied in a very affected manner.

Seeing Prime Minister Mei suffer misfortune, Nine Thousand Years took the opportunity to push out another scapegoat, attempting to continue clearing his own guilt.

The Emperor looked at the crowd of ministers before him; everyone kept their heads down, silent, clearly protecting themselves.

He thought: Relying on them to discover the true cause of my father's death is likely hopeless; if I press hard, it will either be officials protecting each other or factions attacking the opposition. Obtaining the truth from the mouths of these officials will be extremely difficult; it is better to seek another method.

After deep consideration, the Emperor subsequently issued two edicts: "Order the Ministry of Justice... to immediately arrest the Joyful Daoist and bring him to the capital for questioning! Summon Jiang Jiang Mingyu to the palace."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu, sitting at home, did not wait for the appointment document from the Ministry of Personnel, but instead first welcomed the edict delivered by Eunuch Cheng.

Before leaving, Jiang Jiang Mingyu asked Steward Zhang: "In your opinion, is my entering the palace this time auspicious or ominous?"

Steward Zhang smiled and replied: "You are a virtuous person, and heaven will protect you."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu: "What does that mean?"

Steward Zhang: "Eunuch Cheng coming personally is surely a great omen; if it were otherwise, Master Jiang at this moment... would probably already have shackles on his body, how could he be laughing and talking with me."

Old Xie ran over at this moment, saying urgently: "Master, Eunuch Cheng is urging you to hurry, saying His Majesty is still waiting in the palace!" Upon finishing his words, Jiang Jiang Mingyu, who had already changed into official robes, put on his black gauze cap and set off immediately.

Following Eunuch Cheng's footsteps, Jiang Jiang Mingyu traveled through various places and quickly arrived at Lingxia Palace; at this time, the Emperor and the ministers were still there and had not dispersed.

When the Emperor saw Jiang Jiang Mingyu appear, a trace of joy clearly showed in his eyes; but full of joy, he still pretended to be calm and did not reveal it. This was a strict emotional control technique, also a form of imperial statecraft, which he had learned since childhood.

But the person happier than the Emperor was actually Prime Minister He!

He, who was worried about being implicated in the case, upon seeing Jiang Jiang Mingyu appear, finally felt more than half of the heart hanging in mid-air put down!

Prime Minister He secretly rejoiced in his heart: Excellent, this investment in Jiang Jiang Mingyu was not wasted.

After a whole afternoon of reasoning about the case, the Emperor saw the ministers each holding their own views, each speaking their own words, and occasionally taking the opportunity to fabricate false accusations, attempting to smear political enemies!

Such vulgar court tricks made him feel disgusted.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu, as a rare representative of the clean stream in the court, and having a private romantic relationship with the Emperor, was therefore especially favored.

After Yu Yu Dian finished summarizing the case for Jiang Jiang Mingyu, the Emperor then made his decision.

He issued an edict: "Appoint Jiang Jiang Mingyu as a fifth-grade Imperial Censor and Special Envoy, with full authority to investigate the cause of the late Emperor's death; carry the Diamond Mace, and grant the power to execute first and report later!"

"This subject accepts the edict." Jiang Jiang Mingyu knelt on the ground to receive the edict.

Shortly after, Eunuch Cheng brought a set of black gauze cap and insignia, official robes, and a special envoy token made of pure gold.

The top of the black gauze cap was embroidered with cloud and gemstone patterns using gold thread, and inlaid with a small sapphire and a piece of crystal.

The sides of the official cap were decorated with white pheasant patterns.

The official robes were made of high-grade stone-blue cloud satin, adorned throughout with gold-edged strips.

A gold-threaded python was embroidered on the front panel and the back panel respectively.

The middle of the official robes featured pleated satin texture decorations.

The collar and cuffs of the official robes were also trimmed with stone-blue cloud satin.

The official's sash was of silver, with a rank insignia of four round, plain gold plates.

The imperial commissioner's token was engraved with the two characters "Imperial Envoy," the script bold and forceful, its face carved with a pattern of a heavenly horse at play among clouds, and its border adorned with pure-gold cloud motifs, gleaming brilliantly, appearing exceedingly sacred and solemn.

Behind him followed two young eunuchs, the two of them working together to carry a three-foot-long brocade box.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu stepped forward and opened the brocade box; inside lay a pair of golden, glittering Vajra Mace.

The Vajra Mace was two and a half feet long, cast in yellow gold, its striking edge shaped like a half-moon, incomparably sharp.

The shaft was decorated with patterns of Vajra warriors carved in purple-gold thread, vivid and lifelike, rendered in exquisite detail.

The Vajra Mace weighed a full sixteen jin, beyond the ability of an ordinary person to lift and wield with ease. Jiang Jiang Mingyu carefully lifted the Vajra Mace from the brocade box, but because it was too heavy, his elbow gave way and the Vajra Mace dropped to the ground with a clang that rang through the entire hall.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu's face showed embarrassment; though he had been bestowed this heavy responsibility, being unable to grip the Vajra Mace made him appear, for the moment, unequal to the task.

The emperor, seeing this, also seemed to realize the Vajra Mace was too heavy for Jiang Jiang Mingyu to use, but in order to highlight Jiang Jiang Mingyu's taking up of this important duty, he still did not speak to have it replaced.

The emperor then looked about him; at this moment, not far off to his right, there happened to be standing a burly, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted imperial guard; finding his face somewhat familiar, the emperor summoned him over and asked his name.

The guard dropped to one knee, performed a warrior's salute, cupped his fist and replied: "Reporting to His Majesty, this humble servant is of the Mongols, surnamed 'Tuke,' given name 'Tuke Siluo,' holding the rank of Vice Commander of the Imperial Guard."

"I recall now — you are the guard who, before the late emperor's passing, tested the poison of the One-Night-Seven-Times Pill!"

The emperor nodded, reasoning that since he had taken the One-Night-Seven-Times Pill, he was, among all present, the comparatively least suspicious person, and that perhaps having him at Jiang Jiang Mingyu's side would aid the investigation.

He therefore issued an edict: "I order you to protect Lord Jiang at close guard, by day and by night; should any mishap occur, I will hold you solely accountable!"

Tuke Tuke Siluo: "This humble servant accepts the decree."

After Tuke Tuke Siluo received the order, his heart was a tangle of mixed feelings.

On the one hand, the emperor entrusting him with such an important task made him feel immensely honored — it showed the emperor's trust and expectations toward him.

But on the other hand, he also keenly knew the difficulty and responsibility of this mission; if any mistake occurred, the consequences would be unthinkable.

The emperor sighed endlessly within his heart.

The matter of his royal father's passing remained, to this day, an unsolved mystery; to uncover the truth would likely require a long road ahead.

The emperor silently clenched his fist, vowing to seek the truth for his royal father and let the deceased find peace. Though the case was thorny, he would never give up lightly.