Chapter 485

More frantic than Pan Yue were the civil officials of the Daowangyi Sect: "Was it Chief Grand Secretary Yang who proposed reinstating Wang Zhen?"

"The news from the palace is undeniable—he heard it with his own ears when Chief Grand Secretary Yang proposed it to Your Majesty."

"Chief Grand Secretary Yang is risking his final reputation!"

"Could Wang Zhen have leverage over Chief Grand Secretary Yang?"

"What leverage does Chief Grand Secretary Yang have? Yang Ji? Hmph, he can be Wang Zhen's leverage—or ours."

"Exactly. Yang Ji's reputation is terrible. Send men to Ji'an to investigate."

"So Chief Grand Secretary Yang now knows Yang Ji's true nature? Hah, it seems he isn't as virtuous and impartial as legend claims."

Everyone fell silent, but their glances shifted, adding two more shades of contempt toward Yang Shiqi.

Xue Xuan was released from prison; Pan Hong watched nearby: "My lord Xue, if you meet my two boys outside, make sure they return to Datong—don't stay in Jingcheng."

Xue Xuan: "Call me Jingxuan, Master Pan. I've been stripped of my post—I'm no longer an official."

Pan Hong immediately agreed, then said: "My courtesy name is Bozheng."

Xue Xuan called him "Bozheng," bowed, and left.

Pan Hong clung to the doorway, watching him go with reluctant eyes.

The man in the neighboring cell, seeing he wouldn't look away, said: "Stop staring—you'll never leave this place in your lifetime."

Pan Hong tore his gaze away and asked: "Is Lin Da Ren imprisoned in the Zhao Yu?"

Lin Da Ren remained silent.

Pan Hong sighed: "I've been locked up six days—it feels like a year, like six years."

Lin Da Ren gritted his teeth: "Are you mocking me?"

Pan Hong wore a look of sincere earnestness: "Lin Da Ren, you're imagining things. I admire you—after all, I've only been here? If it truly feels like a year per day, you've been in the Zhao Yu for two thousand four hundred and forty-six years…"

Pan Hong glanced up at the skylight: "In another two hours, it'll be two thousand four hundred and forty-seven years."

Lin Da Ren froze, then quickly recovered: "You've read my Juan Sect file—you know when I was imprisoned?"

Pan Hong smiled: "I was formerly a Censor of the Censorate. Your case back then was handled by the Censorate—I was just a junior censor, running errands for the senior officials."

Lin Da Ren fell silent.

But Pan Hong wouldn't let it go, leaning forward to chatter on: "Didn't expect you'd live this long—still alive after all these years…"

Lin Da Ren gritted his teeth: "What do you mean? Are you cursing me to die?"

"No, no, Lin Da Ren, don't misunderstand—we're both fallen dogs now. Why would I curse you to die?"

Lin Da Ren sneered: "You're the dog. I'm not. I'm locked here and won't die. You? Not so sure."

"Not so," Pan Hong shook his head. "If we're to argue that way, you're the dog—I'm not."

"After all, I didn't breach a dam to flood ten thousand mu of farmland just to escape death by hiding in the Zhao Yu."

Lin Da Ren sneered repeatedly: "Do you think this prison holds only real criminals? Let me tell you—there are more good people here than bad. Like you. Like me!"

"If I hadn't breached the dam, countless lives would've been lost."

Pan Hong: "Lin Da Ren, do you know how many died after your dam broke and flooded ten thousand mu of farmland?"

"Fewer than if the towns had been flooded?" Pan Hong sneered. "Your dam breach was masterfully done—it flooded only households with less than twelve mu per person. After the flood, those with land lost some, those with little lost all, tenant farmers became refugees and beggars. Six years later, this disaster still hasn't been resolved."

"Three years ago, of those ten thousand flooded mu, over seven thousand six hundred were bought by five families to form estates; the remaining two thousand were snapped up by dozens of small landowners. Only a tiny fraction of original villagers retained any land."

Pan Hong stared straight into Lin Da Ren's eyes: "The marketplace there vanished. The population scattered. Only grave mounds in the wasteland remain as traces of them. Still, Lin Da Ren, do you insist you did nothing wrong?"

Lin Da Ren's face twitched: "I—I saved the entire town!"

Pan Hong: "Are the lives of great landlords and powerful gentry worth more than those of common folk?"

"Don't slander me! The town held over eighty thousand people—were they all landlords and gentry?"

Pan Hong sneered: "This matter was already debated in court. I have no wish to argue further with you. Let history judge your merit or fault a hundred years from now. Let your conscience ask you at midnight, when you dream."

Lin Da Ren turned pale.

At this moment, the civil officials in the palace were also pale, tinged with a sickly bluish hue.

Wang Zhen had barely returned to the Office of Attendants when he struck—first, Wang Wen filed a formal accusation against the Fujian Governor for harboring bandits and colluding with pirates to raid the coast;

then, Ma Shun of the Southern Town Surveillance Office submitted a memorial exposing salt smuggling in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

!. Read

Worse still, both men submitted two ledgers. No one knew what was written inside, but the Emperor's face grew darker with every page.

Then Wang Wen brought up the old case of Lin You, Prefect of Ji'an, who breached a dam to flood ten thousand mu of farmland in the summer of Zhengtong Year Two: "It is said Lin You breached the dam to spare the Chief Grand Secretary Yang's own farmland, flooding ten thousand mu of commoners' fields instead—leaving refugees without food or clothing, displaced for six years."

Yang Shiqi stood with lowered eyes, as if he hadn't heard.

The other civil officials remained silent, unwilling to defend Yang Shiqi.

Yang Pu pursed his lips and stepped forward: "Your Majesty, Wang Wen is lying. At the time, Chief Grand Secretary Yang was in Jingcheng—the flood came suddenly and swiftly. How could he have known?"

"Besides, Chief Grand Secretary Yang owned no more than a hundred mu of farmland—why would he destroy ten thousand mu just to save a hundred?"

"Who knows? After the flood, the Yang family acquired many new fields—rumor says they bought the flooded land at rock-bottom prices. Could this not have been part of Chief Grand Secretary Yang's plan?"

Yang Shiqi replied calmly: "You're full of shit."

"Is it bullshit? Your Majesty, send men to Ji'an to investigate—it'll be clear."

Yang Shiqi showed no worry—his expression was open and calm.

Even the civil officials were baffled—had he cleaned up all traces, or was he truly unaware of what happened in Ji'an?

After court, Yang Shiqi strolled slowly over to the group: "Jiang Da Ren."

"Your servant is here."

Yang Shiqi: "I can withstand investigation. But can the Salt Transport Bureau?"

Jiang Da Ren lowered his eyes, face unchanged, fingers trembling slightly.

Yang Shiqi said: "Aren't you curious what's written in the Emperor's ledgers? If you investigate salt smuggling, you must investigate Salt Transport. If salt is probed, what of Grain Transport? Smuggling is rampant in the south—last year, pirates even landed, sacked villages, and wielded broadswords. When you trace each case, each crime—have you prepared yourselves?"

Inspector Jiang couldn't help glancing at Yang Shiqi and asked softly, "Why is the Grand Secretary speaking on Wang Zhen's side?"

Yang Shiqi shook his head slightly: "I am not on Wang Zhen's side; I am on the side of Your Majesty and the people of the realm."

You've grown too fat; it's time to lose some weight, or else when the New Year comes, you'll be turned into pork stew."

Good night

(End of Chapter)