Chapter 112: The source of the trouble, the house collapses

Wuchang Prefecture, Huguang Provincial Administration Commission Prefectural Yamen.

After arranging the search and arrest in Daye County and Xingguo Prefecture for the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Capital Battalion Guards, Li Zaiting was still frowning, looking thoughtful.

Feng Shiyu, who had just finished signing the official documents, saw this and couldn't help but soothe him: "Why does Yingfeng have to be so concerned?"

"Although Daye County and Xingguo Prefecture have many mountains and dense forests, they are ultimately not large."

"Regardless of whether the news is true or false, there will soon be a result."

Searching mountains and seas required local cooperation in terms of both geography and people, so it naturally couldn't be hidden from the Provincial Administration Commission.

Li Zaiting shook his head and did not answer.

The matter had already been arranged; what the result would be was not something he could change by worrying.

He was just still thinking about the situation in the Chu fief—he always felt something was not quite right.

Regardless of the Heir's motive, how did he know so clearly?

Taking a step back, they had been in Huguang for a while; why hadn't they thought of exposing his uncle before?

Although it wasn't strange to the point of being improper, his intuition was always faintly warning him.

Li Zaiting turned his head and looked at Feng Shiyu, asking: "I remember that after the Prince of Chu passed away suddenly, the imperial court clearly ordered the Commandery Prince of Wugang to manage the mansion's affairs; why is the Commandery Prince of Dong'an in charge of the Chu fief now?"

The Prince of Chu died in August of the fifth year of Longqing, at the age of thirty-one.

In November of the same year, the Emperor and the Ministry of Rites decreed who would manage the Chu fief—"On the day of Guiyou, ordered the Prince of Wugang, Zhu Xianhuai, to manage the mansion's affairs, because the Prince of Gong's son was young and had not yet been named."

He had personally copied the edict for the record of the Six Ministries, so he naturally remembered it clearly.

It was unexpected that upon arriving in Huguang, he found that the Commandery Prince of Dong'an was the one calling the shots in the Chu fief.

The edict had become a scrap of paper.

Feng Shiyu glanced at Li Zaiting, walked to the door of the duty room, looked left and right, and gently closed the door.

Only then did he reach out to invite Li Zaiting to sit down, saying: "When I first arrived in Wuchang, I also had this question and even personally went to the door to verify this matter."

"As for the reason, it is because the Prince of Wugang managed the Chu mansion twice; the first time, he had already offended many Commandery Princes, so much so that now the reality does not match the name."

He paused: "This matter is a long story..."

Subsequently, Feng Shiyu slowly explained.

The matter had to start from the major case of the Prince of Chu's mansion killing the Prince and usurping the throne.

The previous Prince of Chu during the Jiajing era, the Prince Min of Chu, Zhu Xianrong, had two sons.

Among them, the Heir was named Zhu Yingyao.

This Heir was lewd and evil by nature, not only playing with women from good families but even scouting the Prince of Chu's harem.

When he saw one with some beauty, he would have his trusted aides, eunuchs, and matchmakers trick her into "being lured to the Jixi Hall to have illicit relations"—a son having illicit relations with his mother is called 'Zheng'.

After the Prince of Chu discovered this, although he was furious, he was unwilling to let the family scandal become public.

He only had the Heir Zhu Yingyao's attendants beaten to death, the palace maids imprisoned, and the Heir scolded.

With such indulgence, Zhu Yingyao naturally had no reason to restrain himself.

As he grew older, he became even more excessive, often collecting women for lewd pleasure.

Every time, the Prince of Chu would raise his hand high and lower it gently.

Unfortunately, the Prince of Chu liked to shield his son, but the servants didn't have such good luck.

Those attendants and eunuchs who collected beautiful women were basically all beaten to death to warn the servants not to corrupt the Heir.

But not all servants would sit and wait for death.

Once again, during a Jixi Hall exchange meeting, perhaps the commotion was too loud and the wind leaked, and it happened to be learned by the Prince of Chu.

The Prince of Chu was furious and wanted to beat the servant Liu Jin, who organized this exchange meeting, to death.

Liu Jin didn't tolerate him; facing death, he naturally used every trick he had—he got the news and immediately "secretly said to the Heir Zhu Yingyao: 'The Prince is very angry and wants to depose the master; it is better to strike first.'"

Your father is furious and wants to depose the Heir! Let's rebel!

Ordinary people wouldn't believe it.

But the oddities of the imperial clan couldn't be viewed with ordinary eyes.

Zhu Yingyao believed it on the spot! He was panicked and at a loss, then swore an oath with Xu Jingrong, Liu Jin, and others!

And followed Liu Jin's plan.

He set up a banquet with lanterns in the Jixi Hall and invited the Prince of Chu to come, using the excuse of wanting to admit his mistakes face-to-face and turn over a new leaf from then on.

When the Prince of Chu heard this, he was overjoyed.

Not only did he go happily, but he also brought his own younger brother, the Prince of Wugang, Zhu Xianhuai, to be a witness.

Then came the familiar scene of the sword-wielding men—"Gathered his party, divided them to hold copper melons and wooden clubs, covered them with masks, and laid an ambush behind the Jixi Hall, agreeing to use a cannon as a signal."

With the intentional calculating against the unintentional, the process naturally didn't need to be said.

The Prince of Chu had his head cracked open by his own son with a copper melon, completing his final act of doting.

And the accompanying Prince of Wugang, Zhu Xianhuai, managed to escape a disaster, only being locked up—"Forbidden the Prince of Wugang in a separate room, ordering him not to come out."

With a living witness, the Prince of Chu was finally not considered to have died of illness.

Although the Heir's group sealed the princely city and guarded the palace gates, somehow the news still reached the Provincial Governor and the Surveillance Commissioner, and then reached the Emperor's ears.

Upon learning this, Emperor Shizong was furious and immediately sent Imperial Envoys to investigate thoroughly.

The lineup was similar to the current team of Imperial Envoys: a eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial, a touring Censor, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and a Consort Commandant; hmm, even the Consort was Wu Jinghe.

The Prince of Chu died, killed by the Heir; the princely title naturally fell to the Prince's second son.

But the second son was only four years old, not of age, so he naturally couldn't inherit the title.

Emperor Shizong naturally let the Prince of Wugang, Zhu Xianhuai, who had suffered and made merit this time, manage the Chu fief.

This was the first time the Prince of Wugang managed the princely fief.

Unfortunately, this Prince of Wugang offended all the Commandery Princes of the Chu fief as soon as he took power.

First, disregarding the big picture, he reported the case of the Prince of Chongyang, Zhu Xianxiu, murdering his elder cousin—the Prince of Chu loved to shield people, not just his son.

The consequence of reporting was that the Prince of Chongyang was ordered by Emperor Shizong to commit suicide for his crimes.

There were quite a few complaints in the mansion, thinking that the Prince of Wugang was too vicious, and when it came to the life of his own brother, he couldn't even do the 'concealing for kin'.

Besides this, there was the matter of dividing the manors afterward; at that time, the Prince of Tongcheng, Zhu Yingyu, received fewer manors than before, so he felt it was unfair and had a disagreement with the Prince of Wugang.

The most fatal thing was the Prince of Wugang, Zhu Xianhuai, submitting a memorial to discuss the fief's administration.

He requested the establishment of a clan school and "supervise and examine the children below the rank of Commandery Prince; every three years, the education commissioner would examine their performance, and those who failed five times would be dismissed and given two-thirds of their salary."

After this was agreed upon by Shizong and the Ministry of Rites, the Prince of Wugang almost offended half of the imperial clan.

Dismissed? Reduced salary? With a Prince of Wugang like this who infringed on the interests of the clan, he still wanted to be the person in charge!?

Therefore, now that the Prince of Chu had passed away, the imperial court again ordered the Prince of Wugang to manage the Chu fief, and the resistance within the clan could be imagined.

Li Zaiting listened silently as Feng Shiyu explained the origin.

After listening, he sighed: "So, the Prince of Chu passed away the year before last, and the Prince of Wugang was ordered to manage the mansion's affairs, but he couldn't command the Chu fief at all?"

Feng Shiyu nodded: "Not only were the Commandery Princes of each mansion unconvinced, but even the Imperial Concubines and Princely Consorts were unwilling to create complications."

"In the end, the Commandery Princes and Imperial Concubines all intended to compromise, so they invited the Prince of Dong'an to come forward and mediate."

Hearing this, Li Zaiting looked at Feng Shiyu and frowned: "Invited the Prince of Dong'an to come forward?"

How did he not know that these members of the imperial clan had moments of humility?

Shouldn't they be scrambling for power and unwilling to fall behind?

There were quite a few Commandery Princes in the Chu fief.

Feng Shiyu shook his head, looking like he didn't know the inside story either.

He thought for a while and added: "It is said that he had the support of the Prince of Gong's Consort."

The Prince of Gong's Consort was the legal mother of the current eldest son of the Prince of Chu, and also the legal mother of the next Prince of Chu; her weight naturally went without saying.

Li Zaiting nodded; it seemed it was still the same old story of fighting for power, but this path was also within reason.

He gained some insight and said slowly: "So, the current Prince of Dong'an usurped the Prince of Wugang's position to be able to manage the Chu fief."

If that was the case, the two Commandery Princes had likely been fighting for a period of time.

And the Heir of the Prince of Wugang's motive, and even the source of the information he obtained, could be considered reasonable.

Li Zaiting thought for a while and threw out the last question: "In Zhaozhi's view, what is this Prince of Dong'an's character like?"

Asking about his character was actually asking how likely it was that the Linxiang County case was done by the Prince of Dong'an.

Feng Shiyu showed a thoughtful look.

After a long while, he said: "The Prince of Dong'an is quite heroic and often helps refugees and aids the common people."

"The affairs of the Chu fief are also handled in a harmonious way, and he is praised by the imperial clan."

"Even when the authorities delayed the salary silver of the Chu fief, he never made things difficult for the Provincial Administration Commission."

Li Zaiting silently noted it in his heart: recruiting refugees, showing grace to the common people, uniting the imperial clan, having other financial resources...

The more he said, the more it sounded like him!

As for whether he should arrest him if he found clues now...

Li Zaiting weighed it again.

Just at this moment, Feng Shiyu suddenly remembered something and said: "By the way, Zhang Chucheng went to the Prince of Chu's mansion and met this Prince of Dong'an."

In the Prince of Chu's city.

Hai Rui followed Zhu Yingyou and easily entered the city gate.

With the guards gone nearby, the two continued the topic just now.

"Supervising Secretary Zhang went to the Chu mansion? For what reason?"

Hai Rui's expression was somewhat surprised, and he asked back.

He had come specifically for the Zhang Chucheng case; although investigating a case required a high-level perspective, he didn't let go of any clues.

Zhang Chucheng's movements and tracks, such things, were even less likely to be missed.

Why hadn't he heard that Zhang Chucheng had been to the Prince of Chu's mansion before?

Zhu Yingyou led the way in front, his neck tilted forward, his back somewhat hunched, his posture extremely poor, making Hai Rui feel very uncomfortable.

The former didn't notice at all and sneered: "Naturally he came! As for what for..."

"He came to reprimand my Chu fief!"

Hai Rui frowned: "Reprimand?"

Zhu Yingyou snorted: "Reprimanding my Chu mansion for stealing and digging for mines and privately casting copper coins."

"It was all done by my uncle!"

He muttered, finally returning to the point, and said seriously: "Speaking of business, speaking of business, didn't the Imperial Envoys ask me for the evidence of my uncle murdering Zhu Yingyan of the Yueyang Prince's mansion?"

"The day before Zhu Yingyan died, he sneaked into the Chu mansion and met my uncle!"

"The two plotted for a long time, and finally parted on bad terms; when Zhu Yingyan left, he was also driven by my uncle's people!"

"After Zhu Yingyan went back, he died that night! Could the Prince of Dong'an possibly be cleared of suspicion!?"

Hai Rui listened carefully, and seeing the Heir of the Prince of Wugang's look of certainty, he immediately believed it a few points.

He pursued: "Did someone see it with their own eyes?"

Zhu Yingyou proudly raised his head: "The witness is the eunuch who serves as the Deputy Chief of Ceremonies by my uncle's side!"

The Prince of Wugang's mansion had managed the Chu fief after all, so it still had the foundation to plant people.

Hai Rui didn't answer immediately but fell into deep thought.

Judging by the performance of this Heir of the Prince of Wugang, it was likely not framing or attacking.

Could this Prince of Dong'an... truly be the real culprit who murdered Zhang Chucheng?

He had just mentioned that Zhang Chucheng had been to the Chu mansion and reprimanded him for stealing mines and casting copper coins.

The motive was also there.

So, should he immediately place him under house arrest, or even arrest this Prince of Dong'an?

Just as he was thinking.

Suddenly, he saw one big and two small, three eunuchs, running over from far to near.

Zhu Yingyou shouted to the leading big eunuch first: "Yo, Eunuch Qin? Not serving the Imperial Concubine, why am I seeing you here?"

The Chief Eunuch of Ceremonies was panting and grabbed Zhu Yingyou: "Oh, Heir, the Prince of Wugang's old illness has flared up, he's looking for you urgently, come back with me quickly!"

Zhu Yingyou was stunned for a moment and immediately believed it.

Subconsciously: "My father's old illness has flared up? Is he very sick?"

Just as he was about to take a step, he hesitated again: "Eunuch Qin, I still have business here... why don't you let my father wait?"

He had brought the Imperial Envoys into the princely city; if he didn't strike while the iron was hot now, wouldn't he be alerting the enemy?

He had to get the Prince of Dong'an arrested first!

The Chief Eunuch of Ceremonies was unmoved: "Heir, don't be stubborn! The Prince's condition is extremely serious, please return to the Prince of Wugang's mansion!"

After saying this, he was about to have the accompanying small eunuchs carry him back.

Zhu Yingyou was unwilling, but he wasn't sure how serious his father's illness was, so he was carried away half-pushed.

Just at this moment, Hai Rui, who had been watching quietly from the side, finally made a move.

He tucked his hands into his sleeves, his tone inexplicable: "The Prince of Dong'an truly manages the Chu mansion in an orderly manner."

The eunuch was looked at by this gaze and hurriedly bowed, smiling apologetically: "Let the Heavenly Envoy laugh."

"This servant doesn't know what the Heir said to trick the Heavenly Envoy into the Prince of Chu's mansion."

He lowered his voice slightly: "Wang Shizi of the Prince of Wugang is naturally dull, speaking nonsense and incoherently; please don't take it to heart."

Hai Rui was unmoved and ignored him.

He looked up at the two small eunuchs and scolded: "Put him down!"

The two small eunuchs were startled, and their movements stopped subconsciously.

Zhu Yingyou didn't understand and looked over here too.

Eunuch Qin was also caught off guard, smiling awkwardly, and simply buried his head: "Heavenly Envoy..."

Hai Rui waved his hand to interrupt him.

He said coldly: "Wang Shizi of the Prince of Wugang, Zhu Yingyou, has come forward to report, and this official has already accepted his accusation!"

"According to the Great Ming Code, this official now summons the Prince of Dong'an to the yamen!"

"You go tell Zhu Xianhuai that this official will wait here for two quarters of an hour."

"If he honestly follows me back to the Provincial Governor's Prefectural Yamen, that's fine; if not, don't blame this official for bringing troops and cages when I come again, and not giving him face!"

After saying this, he closed his eyes, ignored everything, and began to count the time.

Eunuch Qin heard this, wanted to speak several times, but stopped, becoming increasingly at a loss, his expression anxious as he paced back and forth.

How did he get stuck with these errands!

After hesitating for a long time, he stomped his feet and ran to the Prince of Dong'an's mansion.

Zhu Yingyou didn't understand and was hesitating whether to return to the mansion to see his father.

Hai Rui's low voice sounded again: "Heir, don't go; this official will have the Provincial Governor's Prefectural Yamen summon the witness later, and you will return to the Provincial Governor's Prefectural Yamen with me later."

Zhu Yingyou said 'Ah', his expression full of resistance.

He wanted to refute, but looked up at that stiff and mean face and finally closed his mouth.

The two stood on Zhongying Street and waited quietly.

About a quarter of an hour had passed.

A somewhat wealthy figure appeared in their sight.

Surrounded by eunuchs, holding umbrellas and fans.

The mansion's Chief Historian, Master of Ceremonies, and Judge followed behind this figure, whispering.

The guard team was armored and armed, looking on covetously.

A group of people walked over in a crowd.

Hai Rui was alone and moved his body.

He stepped forward, facing this group of people.

They confronted each other right on Zhongying Street.

The Prince of Dong'an, Zhu Xianhuai, was dressed in five-chapter sacrificial robes, wearing a jade belt, his posture and expression showing majesty.

He frowned at Zhu Yingyou, somewhat hating that iron wouldn't become steel: "For the sake of mere power, you frame and attack your uncle; don't you know that such behavior is no different from a beast!?"

Zhu Yingyou was somewhat afraid of him, and hearing this, he shrank his neck and moved behind Hai Rui.

Zhu Xianhuai didn't have the time to argue with him and turned to look at Hai Rui, who was standing like a brush.

He sighed helplessly: "The Heavenly Envoy was deceived by this unfilial nephew of mine, making a wasted trip; this Prince truly feels uneasy in his heart."

Hai Rui looked at this Prince of Dong'an for a long time and went straight to the point: "Is the Prince of Dong'an willing to follow me back to the Provincial Governor's Prefectural Yamen?"

Zhu Xianhuai was silent for a long time.

The mansion's officials behind him looked back and forth between the two.

The guard team was ready to move.

The eunuchs fanned the fans in their hands even harder.

Only the noisy cicadas and the sound of the fans remained on the scene.

Even Zhu Yingyou felt the atmosphere was scorching and began to look forward to this uncle and the Imperial Envoy falling out.

Just at this moment.

This Prince of Dong'an smiled kindly.

He turned around and waved away the mansion's officials and attendants behind him, and took the fan from the eunuch's hand.

Then he stepped forward two steps and fanned Hai Rui twice: "The Heavenly Envoy might as well calm your anger."

He stretched out his hand to lead the way and laughed: "This Prince acts uprightly; what the Heavenly Envoy requests is naturally acceptable."

"With villains framing and attacking, it is just right to trouble the Heavenly Envoy to investigate clearly and return this Prince to innocence."

Hai Rui looked deeply at the Prince of Dong'an, Zhu Xianhuai, nodded, and turned to leave.

Zhu Xianhuai followed closely behind, swaggering.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 113 =====