Chapter 804

Pan Yun: "I'm just a commoner, yet I cleared my father and brother's name—and made Wang Zhen sit in the imperial prison alongside me. Before me, not even Xue Xuan, the Vice Minister of Justice, nor the three Yang Grand Secretaries managed it. But I did."

Sun Xin recalled all her intelligence, the cold dread in his chest easing slightly as he asked: "Will you plead with the Zhou Wang and the Marquis of Qian? Or ask Xue Xuan to intercede?"

He turned his gaze to Xue Shao and forced a grotesque smile: "Xue Xuan has made many enemies in court. If he pleads for my family, it will only backfire."

"No. I will ask the Empress Dowager and the Marquis of Huichang to plead for your family." Pan Yun smiled softly: "Is that weight enough?"

Sun Xin stared at her in shock—he had no idea how she could possibly get the Empress Dowager and the Marquis of Huichang to plead for him. But if the Empress Dowager pleaded for his family, it would be worth more than a hundred petitions from every official in court.

Sun Xin fixed his eyes on Pan Yun's expression, trying to determine whether her words held truth.

"A monk does not lie," Pan Yun said. "I am no good person, but I scorn deceit."

Sun Xin lowered his gaze, thinking for a moment. Outside the interrogation room, the guards' uneasy murmurs reached him. He knew he had no choice. He finally made up his mind: "Fine. I'll confess."

He locked eyes with Pan Yun: "Pan Yun, if you betray me, I will haunt you just like Chaoyan—until death, I will not let you go."

Pan Yun's lips curled slightly as she nodded: "Good."

Seeing Wu Zhihong opened his mouth but held back—how could Pan Yun be so certain she could pull this off?

This was a matter to be tried, not guaranteed. Involving the Empress Dowager demanded extreme caution. What if she failed? Would she truly die for a scoundrel like Sun Xin?

Seeing Wu Zhihong shot Xue Shao a glance, signaling him to intervene.

Xue Shao pretended not to see.

If Pan Yun wasn't afraid of Sun Xin while he was alive, why would she fear him as a ghost?

He couldn't defeat them as a man. As a ghost, he'd stand no chance at all.

The moment Sun Xin yielded, Pan Yun turned to Seeing Wu Zhihong.

Seeing Wu Zhihong immediately ordered his men to loosen Sun Xin's bindings, lower him down, and move the guards far away—ensuring no one outside the interrogation room could hear their conversation.

Finally, only Pan Yun, Xue Shao, Seeing Wu Zhihong, the county magistrate, and a clerk remained in the room.

The imperial clan's smuggling of maritime trade did not begin with the Lu Wang. Even during the Yongle Emperor's reign, he was well aware of it.

But the maritime prohibition had long been policy. Even though Yongle had relaxed it somewhat, private maritime trade remained rare; foreign trade with Great Ming was almost entirely conducted through the licensed tribute system, overseen by the imperial court.

Great Ming, as the Celestial Kingdom, followed the principle of "light gifts, generous returns." Foreign envoys brought one tael of silver; Great Ming returned one tael of gold.

Thus, the licensed tribute trade was, overall, a loss.

Under these circumstances, the imperial clan's private maritime trade was, in Yongle's eyes, merely family members earning pocket money—a form of subsidy to the imperial kin.

And when the imperial clan profited from maritime trade, they would also contribute back.

The emperor used these treasures for his own enjoyment, occasionally rewarding ministers or drawing from his private treasury to offset the losses of the tribute trade.

So when the Lu Wang first began smuggling maritime trade, it was semi-official. Besides the Lu Wang, the Zhou Wangfu—even the Mu family—had all participated at first.

The Zhou Wangfu had even been impeached by officials in earlier years.

But in the later years of Yongle's reign, court officials opposed Zheng He's further voyages, arguing they drained the people's wealth and brought no benefit to the state.

Yongle then halted the voyages and scaled back the tribute trade.

When the Ren and Xuan emperors ascended the throne, maritime tribute trade was further reduced, and the imperial clans gradually withdrew from smuggling.

For example, the former Zhou Wang was among the first to exit.

"When the imperial inspector came south and accused four princes of smuggling maritime trade, the former Zhou Wang seized the chance to withdraw—he sold his ships and dismissed his crew," the chief secretary said. "He left cleanly because the Zhou Wangfu still had its Medical Bureau. He devoted himself entirely to medical texts and prescriptions; without maritime trade, his life remained as carefree as ever. But my lord cannot."

This Lu Wang was Yongle's nephew; his father was Yongle's tenth brother. In his youth, he was intelligent and well-behaved, deeply favored by the emperor and empress.

But after being granted his fief, for reasons unknown, his character changed drastically. He became obsessed with beauty and devoted himself entirely to Daoist immortality, consuming pills daily—and died at age twenty from poisoning.

At the time, the Hongwu Emperor still reigned. Hongwu despised this son and, upon his death, bestowed upon him the posthumous title "Huāng" (Wasteful). The Lu Wang had just been born.

"The former Lu Wang left my lord nothing. Maritime trade was one of the Lu Wangfu's greatest sources of income. So after the court clearly disapproved of imperial clan involvement in maritime trade, the Lu Wangfu had no choice but to operate in secret."

Pan Yun sneered at his excuse: "He is the emperor's grandson, the new emperor's uncle. His father left him a vast fief and estate—and you say he was left with nothing?"

"He had good teachers, powerful connections, and influence. He reached thirty without being self-sufficient—relying on maritime smuggling to sustain his household," Pan Yun retorted. "Is that something to be proud of?"

Sun Xin had never viewed the Lu Wang this way. He stared, stunned, for a long moment.

Pan Yun shook her head: "You spent over a decade studying in poverty to become an official, struggled to rise to the rank of fourth-grade chief secretary—and yet you pity a royal who was raised in silk and jade, surrounded by tutors from birth? I thought the Lu Wang was tragic. He's merely a parasite, holding immense capital, yet at fifty, still unable to support his household through legal means."

Sun Xin's pupils contracted sharply; his chest heaved violently. His lips trembled, speechless.

Seeing Wu Zhihong sat on pins and needles and hastily changed the subject: "Then what happened?"

Sun Xin fell silent for a long while before continuing: "After it became entirely secret, the fleet needed new protection. Previously, imperial clan smuggling was semi-public—Quanzhou Garrison, Fuzhou Garrison, and Weihai Garrison would turn a blind eye when they spotted imperial ships, and even assist against pirates. But after the court disapproved, we had to rely on secret alliances."

"The Lu Wang's cooperation with Quanzhou Garrison began in the sixth year of Emperor Xuanzong's reign. Initially, the Lu Wang paid money, and the garrison provided protection. Later, Wang Zhen discovered this channel and used Quanzhou Garrison to connect with the Lu Wang. His demands grew ever larger—so the Lu Wang began cooperating with Japanese pirates at sea…"

Sun Xin felt this was not the Lu Wang's fault—it was Wang Zhen's insatiable greed.

Since Wang Zhen inserted his own men into Fujian's Revenue Bureau and navy, each time the Lu Wang sent out a ship, the money he paid Wang Zhen could have bought five times the passage fee from Japanese pirates.

Of course, the Lu Wang eventually disliked paying pirates, so he slowly built his own private force, hiding them at sea under the guise of pirates.

Yet he never abandoned his cooperation with the Japanese pirates.