Chapter 103: No Good Banquet, Scars Are Seeked

The red roofs and embroidered tiles are leaning against the setting sun, The songs of Chu and the dances of Yan are heard.

Palaces and villas rise up in the sky, with jade and gold pavements shining brightly under the moonlight.

……

After all, the Prince of Chu's Palace was modeled after the Forbidden City, and it is grand in scale and majestic.

The halls are arranged in sequence, decorated with gold, and the corridors are decorated with indigo. Especially when the lanterns are lit, the night scene is extremely beautiful.

However, Zhu Changwen followed behind Wu Jinghe without looking around. He just kept his head down to reduce his presence.

But Wu Jinghe asked someone to follow him, so he naturally had something to say.

"Last April, I went to Changsha with Huairou Earl Shi Guangzu to confer the title of prince on your father."

The current Prince of Ji, Zhu Yiluan, is the successor to the Ji clan from his elder brother, and is of the same generation as the current emperor.

Wu Jinghe walked in front, and his voice reached Zhu Changwen's ears, making the latter more nervous.

"At that time, the late emperor gave his father eight words of advice, saying 'be respectful and cautious, and abide by the rules of propriety'..."

Wu Jinghe turned around and looked at Zhu Changwen, his tone turned cold: "It seems that you haven't learned anything."

He didn't say what happened, but seemed to be referring to Zhu Changwen's shouting at the city gate just now, and seemed to have other meanings.

Zhu Changwen's eyelids twitched, and he pondered the meaning behind Wu Jinghe's words. He smiled and said perfunctorily, "My great-uncle is right. I will reflect on it. I will reflect on it."

He changed his words and started calling them relatives.

Although they are related within the fifth degree of mourning, he can't help being thick-skinned - when he sent a congratulatory message to the emperor last year, he even called him "uncle" "Your Majesty the Emperor".

An official from the Prince of Chu's palace led the way, taking the two of them through the imperial garden, one in front and one behind.

Wu Jinghe shook his head and said indifferently: "The royal family must wait before leaving the city."

"When you ran from Changsha to Wuchang, did you ever ask for permission from the authorities?"

According to the regulations, relatives of each fiefdom had to report any trips they made and were not allowed to leave their fiefdoms without permission. Even their annual trips out of the city to worship their ancestors and visit their graves had to be reported to the Ministry of Rites first.

It is obviously against the rules for Zhu Changwen to come to Wuchang now.

Having said that, Zhu Changwen was still stunned for a moment before he reacted.

Oh, it turns out that I was violating the ban and leaving the city!
It’s not his fault that he couldn’t react in time. Normally, no one would really take this ban seriously!
Not to mention leaving the fiefdom, sneaking into Kyoto is as easy as eating and drinking.

In July of the sixth year of the Jiajing reign, there was a lieutenant in the Jingjiang Palace who violated the rules and left the city twice and sneaked into Nanjing.

In the thirty-seventh year of the reign of Emperor Jiajing, there was a general named Fengguo in the Palace of Prince of Leping of the Han Mansion. "At the end of March, he left his father and went out for a trip, and no one knew where he was going."

As early as the Tianshun period, there was an incident in which Zhu Panye, the King of Linchuan in Ning Prefecture, "left the city without permission and entered people's homes to extort money and property."

Even recently, at the beginning of the year, several people from the Ninghua Palace, Fangshan Palace, and the generals and lieutenants of the Qin Palace sneaked into the capital to petition and request for salaries and grain, that is, to demand the money owed by the court.

Although the emperor ordered them to be "detained in their idle houses", the princes and vassals went to the capital to petition again last month.

It was common for people to leave the city in violation of the ban.

It was only after Wu Jinghe pointed it out to Zhu Changwen in person that he realized something was wrong.

Hidden rules are hidden rules, and no one will pursue them.

Now Zong Zheng was in front of him and asked about this matter in a stern tone, and Zhu Changwen choked immediately.

He followed Wu Jinghe, feeling a little helpless.

As they passed the goldfish pond, they could gradually hear the faint sound of the singing girls kept by the Prince of Chu's mansion performing in the mansion.

But Zhu Changwen felt even more annoyed when he heard it.

He followed Wu Jinghe step by step, thought for a while, and then said carefully: "Grandfather, there is a reason for this!"

"Since the Longqing period, the amount of royal salary has not been enough, and officials have borrowed money many times. They now owe our Ji Prefecture more than 66,500 shi."

"My relatives are forbidden to follow the occupations of the four classes of people, and they do not receive enough salary from the clan. They are really in great hardship. Now the lake is flooded, and many of my relatives' houses are broken and leaking. There is no way to repair them. We can't stand it any longer."

"My father had no choice but to order me to go to the government office and ask for it back."

"The three government offices of Huguang are all in Wuchang. I had no choice but to take the necessary measures in an emergency."

The best way to defend yourself is to blame the other party instead.

The imperial court owes the salary silver, and they won't let people come to collect it? If I investigate further, the worst that can happen is that I will be confined to my home. Can the imperial court pay the money back?
Besides, what Zhu Changwen said was true.

It has become a common practice for local government offices to default on salary payments to royal family members.

All the major vassal states have warehouses. The Guangshi Warehouse of Prince Ji's Palace has not seen any salary rice deposited into the warehouse for several years.

The princes and vassals who came to Beijing to collect debts last time kept saying, "From the 40th year of Jiajing to the first year of Wanli, not a penny of the salary and grain we were entitled to was paid." This was not an empty statement.

Even as early as the fifth year of Longqing, the late emperor had promised to appease the people - "The clan salary has been in arrears for many years, and the officials of the government offices are ordered to collect it in many ways, and one or two quarters of the salary will be paid every year to support their maintenance."

But the local authorities still turned a deaf ear.

If not, why would they, the Prince Ji's Mansion, have to rely on their own abilities to find food?

Wu Jinghe put his hands behind his back and walked slowly in front.

He knew that the court was in the wrong on this matter, so he did not dwell on it any further. Instead, he asked again, "Why don't you go to the Governor's Office? Why are you here for a banquet?"

Zhu Changwen laughed bitterly: "Grandfather, you are wronged! This is not a feast at all!"

"Now that the Sansi Yamen has been in trouble, they have no time to pay attention to me for the time being."

"With nowhere else to turn, I came to the Chu Palace, hoping that he would be generous and give a little help to my relatives."

"That's why the King of Dong'an invited me to a banquet to discuss this matter as soon as possible..."

Zhu Changwen followed behind him, bowing and clasping repeatedly, wiping tears from his eyes from time to time.

Unfortunately, Wu Jing didn't pay any attention to his pity and didn't even listen to what he said next.

Just grasp the key information immediately.

Prince of Dong'an...Zhu Xianzhen.

He naturally knew this person. He was the cousin of the previous King of Chu and the current Prince of a County. He was also one of the leading figures of the Chu vassal state.

Wu Jinghe frowned.

The emperor sent him to Huguang, but not to investigate the case.

That Majesty instructed us to reform the system of princes and vassals, without considering whether these princes and vassals were involved in the case.

In other words, even if you are not involved in the case, you have to take this opportunity to get things done - even if you are not guilty, you have to make it clear that "it is possible".

But no matter what, we must at least find out what the current situation of the Huguang vassal state is.

The vassal states of Chu, Min, Jing, Ji, Xiang, and Liao occupied Huguang, and the Chu Prefecture was always the leader.

Now that he had just arrived in Huguang, he was specially invited to come - of course he was specially invited. If he wanted to meet Hai Rui, he should have come in person.

What exactly the Chu Mansion is about is something that one has to figure out carefully.

Wu Jinghe's roundabout way of asking the younger generation behind him who invited him was not without purpose.

Although the affairs of the palace can be handled by the Concubine Dowager, the actual management of the palace affairs still needs to be done by the clan members.

The previous generation of the Chu Palace experienced a major case of killing the king and usurping the throne, and the current King of Chu died young for no apparent reason, so that the position of the Prince of Chu is still vacant.

Therefore, the court ordered the younger brother of the previous King of Chu to temporarily take charge of the affairs of the Chu vassal state.

When people from the Prince of Chu's Palace went to invite Wu Jinghe, Wu Jinghe specifically asked whether he was invited by this "acting leader".

As a result, the chief secretary hesitated and kept saying that it was the imperial concubine who invited him, which obviously meant something else.

Now that he had asked Zhu Changwen about the King of Dong'an, Wu Jinghe was even more surprised - the one who was in charge of the affairs of the Chu vassal state was not the King of Dong'an!
Wu Jinghe fell into deep thought.

Seeing that his great-uncle stopped talking, Zhu Changwen thought he had gotten away with it, so naturally he would not speak again.

The two of them walked in silence along with the officials from the Prince of Chu's Palace.

Palaces and pavilions are lined up one after another between the night and the lights.

Soon, they arrived at a hall on the central axis of the Chu Mansion. On the door were inscribed the words "Zhonghe Hall", which was also built according to the Huangji Hall in the Forbidden City.

Maids, eunuchs and guards were arranged in two rows, with a grand display no less than that of the imperial palace.

As soon as Wu Jinghe walked out of the hall, a group of people immediately surrounded him.

"Jinghe is indeed a martial artist. Even after not seeing him for decades, he still has the skills to maintain his youthful appearance."

A woman in her fifties, dressed in the attire of a concubine, led the crowd to greet them.

He spoke and laughed happily, and seemed to be taking advantage of the attitude of his elders.

This is the former Queen Mother of the King of Chu, the biological mother of the King of Chu who passed away two years ago, and now the Queen Mother of the Chu vassal state, Wu.

There is a reason why there is some arrogance in the words.

After all, before Emperor Shizong ascended the throne, he was a relative of Huguang and was under the care of the Chu vassal. When the Prince Xing's Mansion failed to collect wages, it was the Chu vassal who stepped forward and provided some assistance.

Because of this relationship, the Chu vassal also had frequent interactions with Emperor Shizong.

After Emperor Shizong married his daughter, Wu Jinghe followed the princess back to his hometown of Anlu in Huguang.

Wu Jinghe and Chu Fan had dealt with each other a long time ago.

In addition, the Queen Mother was one generation older than King Sejong, so outsiders did not find it strange that she behaved like an elder at this time.

Wu Jinghe knew very well that there was no good banquet, and it was not the right time for a junior to take on this role.

He did not respond, but just smiled and said: "I am already sixty years old, very old, how can I say that I have the secret to keep my youth."

"It is a great fortune that I can return safely from this tour for His Majesty."

In his words, he mentioned his age and his status as an imperial envoy, without any intention of considering himself a junior.

He even said that the trip was dangerous and he didn't want to build any connections, which was really disrespectful.

Now Concubine Wu felt a little embarrassed.

She greeted the people around her and skipped over what had just happened.

"Captain Prince Consort."

"Angel."

"Red Helmet General."

Each person had a name, so the Queen of Chu, Wang, the sons of the King of Chu, the King of Dong'an and others all came to greet him.

Wu Jinghe glanced at the slightly plump Prince Dong'an without showing any expression, as if thinking about something.

After everyone had greeted each other, Wu Jinghe asked curiously, "Why haven't you met the King of Wugang yet?"

The King of Wugang is the current prince in charge of the Chu vassal state, but unexpectedly he didn't even show up.

The concubine and Prince Dong'an exchanged a glance, and the latter stepped in to smooth things over: "General, it has been raining heavily recently, and my cousin's legs hurt so much that he can't walk anymore. He has been resting in the mansion for several days."

Wu Jinghe was the Red Helmet General of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, a powerful general commanding 1,500 men in Beijing. Calling him this way would not make him seem more distant than the imperial envoy, nor would it make him sound like he was holding on to his superior status.

The Prince Consort looked back and forth between the Concubine Dowager and Prince Dong'an, his expression solemn and silent. It was not until the two began to get a little nervous that he suddenly smiled and said, "Yes, it seems that everyone has this problem when they get older."

"But besides the pain in my legs, I also have a headache, and I don't know when it will end."

He bit the word "headache" in a slightly heavy tone and shook his head with emotion.

The concubine took over the conversation reluctantly: "Jinghe was born as a martial arts champion, and he also practiced in the Western Garden with Shi Miao. How can his body be compared to us ordinary people?"

Although she was trying to ease the atmosphere, the concubine couldn't help but glance at Wu Jinghe, who had black hair and beard and looked like a middle-aged man, with an envious look on her face.

The wealthy Prince of Dong'an echoed, "General Hongkui has received the blessing of the World Temple and has entered the Dao through martial arts. If the Concubine wants to learn, she might as well sincerely worship Master Feiyuan."

After easing the atmosphere, he turned sideways and gestured to the hall, reminding: "The young people from the Min and Xiang mansions are already waiting in the hall for the banquet to begin. Let's go in first."

The concubine dowager also reacted immediately and invited Wu Jinghe to join the banquet.

Tsk... This is the second time that Sejong has been brought up. Wu Jinghe kept it in mind.

There was no reaction on his face, he just smiled and followed suit, stretching out his hand to invite the host to go ahead.

He was born as a martial arts champion and could easily tear a tiger or leopard apart. Although he is old now, he has brought several personal guards with him and is not worried about his safety.

Several people were polite to each other and walked into the hall in harmony.

Zhu Changwen, who was ignored the whole time, gritted his teeth and stood there motionless.

Seeing that no one came to invite him, he snorted coldly and followed behind angrily.

……

Some people drink alone by the river, while others invite others to eat and drink.

Naturally, there were also people who worked diligently, sitting in the lobby of the governor's office and working seriously.

Hai Rui silently organized the confessions of Jiang Patrol Commander Chen Xiao and Military Assistant Ji Ruzhi, and rubbed his brows tiredly.

After the long journey and continuous interrogations, it would be a lie to say that I wasn't tired.

It's just that I was so immersed in it that I could ignore it a little.

Hai Rui thought about what the two men had just said.

The river patrol commander Chen Xiao was supposed to lead his troops to patrol the area that day, and Linxiang County was naturally included in the scope.

But how else can we say that it is one thing after another?

Chen Xiao was invited by a group of wealthy businessmen that day, saying that they were transporting a batch of goods and hoped that he could oversee the transportation of one or two.

Between accepting money to do private work and boring patrols day after day, Chen Xiao chose the former without hesitation.

Of course, the route naturally coincidentally goes in the opposite direction of Linxiang County.

Coincidentally, after the incident, the so-called wealthy businessman also disappeared.

As for Ji Ruzhi, it was even simpler, as it was his job to wipe out the pirates.

The governor's order for him to withdraw Tang Bin's guards was perfectly reasonable in his opinion - besides, he was just following orders.

Things have stopped at this point, it can be said that there is no flaw, it's just too much of a coincidence.

In addition to deliberately revealing the flaw to the Inspector Shu Ao - the Yueyang Palace.

But it is precisely this flaw that makes everything a coincidence and can be blamed on the dead person.

Things are closed.

Chen Rui and others also saw this and wanted to stop here and close the case.

The job was done very cleanly, Hai Rui couldn't help but feel impressed.

Fortunately, this is not a criminal case. The people below have ways to resist the investigation, but they cannot resist the one in the Golden Palace. He does not need evidence - if nothing can be found out, the worst that can happen is that they can find a reason to kill a few people every year. After all, he has just ascended the throne, and good days are yet to come.

Just as he was thinking about it, a voice sounded, drawing Hai Rui's attention back.

"Censor Hai, you've been working hard for half a day. Eat something."

Hai Rui turned his head and saw the eunuch Sun Long walking towards him with a tray.

Sun Long placed several dishes of food on the table one by one: "Lotus root and pork ribs soup, steamed preserved meat, these are all local delicacies of Huguang. His Majesty specifically asked me to take care of your health. After the long journey and the stress, it's a good time to nourish your stomach."

After saying that, he took out another cup of Xiaogan rice wine and put it aside.

Hai Ruiduo glanced at Sun Long and shook his head secretly.

He had dealt with Li Jin, Zhang Hong, Wei Chao and others before, but this was the first time he encountered such a flattering eunuch.

Don't lead the emperor astray, Hai Rui took the food and thanked him.

After taking a look, it was indeed just home-cooked food.

Hai Rui's mind was wandering, but he didn't waste any time picking up his bowl and chopsticks and started eating.

Just as he put the bowl to his lips and blew gently, he suddenly remembered something.

Hai Rui asked, "Eunuch Sun, please invite Governor Zhao as well."

Sun Long lowered his head and looked pleasing, without asking any more questions. He just answered and left.

Not long after.

Governor Zhao Xian, looking haggard, walked into the court from the side.

Seeing Hai Rui reading the file in one hand and drinking soup from a bowl in the other, he was startled.

He called out hesitantly, "Censor Hai..."

Hai Rui raised his head and saw Zhao Xian coming. He stood up to greet him: "Governor Zhao, you haven't had dinner yet, right? Come, let's eat together."

Zhao Xian looked at Hai Rui in surprise. He thought he was called here to interrogate him overnight.

I didn't expect him to be so kind.

His mind immediately became active, and he tried to guess Hai Rui's attitude.

Hai Rui moved a chair over and placed it opposite his desk, motioning Zhao Xian to sit down.

The two sat down together.

Hai Rui finally had time to speak, and said with some regret: "I heard that the Dongting Lake dam burst yesterday. Does Governor Zhao know about this?"

Zhao Xian nodded silently. Although he had been avoiding suspicion and no longer asked about these matters in the past few days, he was still well informed.

However, he was the governor, and his assignment was to be the assistant minister of the Ministry of War and the right assistant censor-in-chief. He did not ask about specific government affairs, so he could only know about it.

Hai Rui continued, "It would be fine if the patrol commander Chen Xiao and the military assistant Ji Ruzhi were executed, but Qiu Qiao could not wait for the case to be closed, so he must be executed now!"

Qiu Qiao was the garrison commander of Dongting Lake, so he cannot escape blame for what happened.

Disaster relief and dam repair can be discussed later, but appeasing the people is urgent.

Zhao Xian suddenly realized that this was a way to use human heads to calm public anger.

No wonder he was called here.

Yuezhou Prefecture has one Dongting garrison commander, one Yuezhou Guard commander, and 5174 soldiers. Of course, this is the quota.

The former was a civil servant in charge of Dongting Lake, a fifth-rank official, on the same level as the prefect of Yuezhou.

The imperial envoy could certainly be killed, but Hai Rui's intention was obviously not this.

The hidden meaning is that he, Zhao Xian, is still wanted to kill people, hoping that he can help the imperial envoy stabilize the situation in Huguang.

He instantly understood the implication, but did not answer immediately.

Instead, he asked, "Your Majesty, didn't you ask me to go to the capital with my crime?"

It is difficult to say whether the emperor wanted to protect the important official or was really furious and asked him to come to the capital that day.

But whether it was to avoid suspicion or the emperor's decree, he should not linger in Huguang.

Hai Rui took a sip of rice wine, picked up the fermented glutinous rice that had spilled on the table with chopsticks, and put it back into his mouth.

After swallowing it, he smiled and said, "Hasn't the decree been announced yet?"

"Your Majesty has ordered me to act according to my own discretion, and I have nothing to be shy about. Governor Zhao, I will just do my job as it pleases."

As soon as he arrived in Huguang, he stripped Chen Rui and others of their official positions in order to establish his authority.

The subsequent promotion of Xu Xuemo and the protection of Zhao Xian now were all for the purpose of stabilizing the situation.

Just like the emperor’s motto - when doing things, you have to pay attention to the methods and ways.

Zhao Xian pondered for a moment, then suddenly sat up straight and said seriously: "I really didn't know about Zhang Chucheng's affairs beforehand, and I definitely didn't secretly allow it!"

As soon as the words fell, the hall fell silent.

Hai Rui put down his bowl and chopsticks and sat up straight, asking, "Who moved the seal of the governor's office?"

Zhao Xian showed a bitter expression: "The governor's office is not permanent, and most of the officials are drawn from the three departments. There are too many people and too many suspicious people."

Hai Rui did not comment, and continued to ask, "How did Zhu Yingyan die?"

Zhao Xian laughed at himself and said, "I killed him. Or maybe he jumped up with his feet half a person's height off the ground and hanged himself to death."

This is the result given by the Sansi Yamen.

He hanged himself with nothing under his feet.

Perhaps it was Governor Zhao Xian who instigated him to escape, but Zhu Yingyan refused, so Zhao Xian murdered him.

Hai Rui ignored his self-mockery and nodded thoughtfully.

After a while, he picked up the bowl again and said, "I'll find out."

When Zhao Xian heard this, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

He was afraid that the imperial envoy would be eager to make achievements and would take credit for the merits. After using him to pacify the situation in Huguang, he would discard him.

But now that he had Hai Rui's promise, he finally felt at ease - he was willing to believe Hai Rui's promise.

He did not bother her any more, but stood up and said, "Tomorrow I will rush to Yuezhou and kill Qiu Qiao, the garrison commander of Dongting Lake, to offer sacrifices to the gods and vent the anger of the people."

Seeing that he agreed, Hai Rui also relaxed his expression and said, "Let Councillor Feng Shiyu go with us. As for the matter of repairing the dam, we should just use the dirty fines directly."

"You don't need to bring the soldiers. The Yuezhou Guard will soon exchange garrisons with the Beijing Camp. General Liu Zhen will handle this matter and will also lead troops to Yuezhou. The governor can go with him."

Zhao Xian nodded and was about to turn and leave.

Suddenly Hai Rui stopped Zhao Xian again and said, "Governor Zhao, the governor's office has suppressed the chieftains before, and many of them have surrendered."

"Is there anyone who is a little more friendly and wants to trade with us?"

Zhao Xian was stunned: "Tusi?"

The chieftains were the ethnic minority tribes such as Shizhou and Yongshun.

Why are you asking this suddenly?

Hai Rui nodded meaningfully, "Privately forged weapons and armor must have a destination."

(End of this chapter)