Emperor Jianzhang pursed his lips and pointed at Elder Du: “How about having Elder Du and Minister Meng preside over the trial?”
Chief Minister Chang glanced at Meng Jiming without revealing his thoughts. Meng Jiming immediately stepped forward to accept the order: “This subject will certainly do his utmost!” It wasn’t that he wanted to take on this responsibility—the reality was that as Minister of Justice, he simply couldn’t escape it. No matter who was appointed, he would inevitably be involved. He’d already mentally prepared himself for this before coming.
Only, offending so many people was certainly no laughing matter. Having received guidance from others, Meng Jiming instinctively seized the opportunity to request a favor from Emperor Jianzhang: “However, this matter involves the officials of an entire province of Jiangxi and implicates countless people. This subject is truly apprehensive…”
Elder Du’s mind turned extremely quickly. Almost immediately, he followed up: “This old minister shares the same sentiment. Why not have Your Majesty, as in the previous examination case, appoint a Prince to serve as supervising inspector?”
Elder Du had no desire to offend the tough nuts of Jiangxi on behalf of Prince Gong. Last time with the Yangzhou corruption case, the Crown Prince had caused so many officials from Prince Gong’s faction to fall. This time, he wanted the Eastern Palace to properly taste this bitter fruit!
Emperor Jianzhang approved. Upon returning, Song Chengru told Song Chuyi: “We both predicted accurately—Elder Du won’t miss this opportunity. He also won’t fear that Prince Dongping won’t handle things properly. This old fox will definitely drag both the Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of Works into the water. The Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of Works have suffered indignities for so many years—it’s time they fought for their own interests.”
All the preparatory groundwork had been done thoroughly. Evidence and witnesses had all been prepared in one fell swoop. Song Chuyi naturally no longer worried about these matters. She didn’t even worry about the Minister of Works—Huang Yuanhou would convince his father.
On the other hand, when Prince Dongping learned of this assignment, he was completely dumbfounded. He naturally knew this was no good job. If he let Elder Du and the others conduct the investigation, the Jiangxi Governor would certainly be doomed. But if he tried to interfere—wouldn’t Elder Du immediately seize upon his mistakes and report them upward? Who came up with such a vicious plan!
After Qian Ying heard about it, he first advised Prince Dongping to mention it to the Crown Prince. Having been reminded by Fu Youde, the Crown Prince naturally knew this matter was extraordinary—Emperor Jianzhang’s patience had reached its limit. Jiujiang had experienced problems so many times, and now someone had suddenly categorized and listed out all the instances over the years when Jiujiang had requested funds for dike construction, along with the amounts. Now that the matter had been exposed, there was no room for compromise.
What made him most furious was that the Jiangxi Governor had served in Jiangxi for six years, yet the total silver he’d paid in tribute and to curry favor amounted to only thirty or forty thousand taels. He’d constantly claimed that obtaining silver in Jiangxi was difficult, and each time he came to the capital, he sought connections asking for help getting through the Ministry of Revenue.
The Crown Prince thought carefully about this insatiably greedy person. Apart from receiving silver from him a few times, he had no leverage over him. And as for this received silver—who could prove he’d received it?
He frowned at his son: “This is a matter of offending people, but you shouldn’t fear offending them either. After all, the one making decisions is ultimately your Imperial Grandfather. If you investigate clearly and thoroughly, not disappointing your Imperial Grandfather’s grace, it will naturally benefit you.”
Fu Youde and Chen Dezhong both nodded. After Prince Dongping left, they reminded the Crown Prince again: “Elder Du specifically named Prince Dongping. He’s plotting to have our Eastern Palace descend into internal chaos. Yang Yunyong was too vicious in his corruption. Even if we wanted to protect him, there’s no way to do so. Moreover, we cannot protect him. Right now, His Majesty’s hatred for him likely exceeds his hatred for Zhang Tianhe.”
The Crown Prince’s hatred for this younger brother of his intensified to the point his teeth itched. He gave a cold laugh, the stifling sensation in his chest growing worse. Only after a long while did his complexion relax somewhat. Suppressing his dizziness, he nodded.
After Qian Ying heard what the Crown Prince said, he ultimately sighed and truthfully leveled with Prince Dongping: “What His Highness says has merit, but for you, it’s greatly disadvantageous. After all, the one offending people will be you.”
Prince Dongping was also worried to the point of helplessness, but who asked Elder Du to specifically name him? Who asked Emperor Jianzhang to agree?
The deed was done. Complaining further would be useless. Qian Ying thought carefully, then dutifully made plans for his master: “However, what His Highness said is true. Though handling this assignment well will certainly offend many people, there are also benefits—from now on, everyone will praise you for your righteous integrity. Even before His Majesty, you’ve consecutively handled these two assignments well, and your future path will be much smoother. Regarding this assignment, this subject thinks thus: since it cannot be avoided, do it well and make a name for yourself. If this subject hasn’t guessed wrong, if you handle this matter well, His Majesty should also assign you proper responsibilities.”
Prince Dongping had always been able to listen to others’ advice, especially from Qian Ying, who had always wholeheartedly planned for him. He nodded, and from then on devoted exceptional care to following Elder Du and Meng Jiming in investigating Cui Yingshu’s case.
Although both Meng Jiming and Elder Du were shrewd individuals and skilled at case investigation, the evidence alone filled several entire trunks. In order to handle this assignment well, Prince Dongping was truly run off his feet with busyness.
On the other side, Song Chuyi was also somewhat busy, though not with Cui Yingshu’s matter—all the connections had already been established. What remained that they could do was simply wait for the results.
She was busy with another matter—Mister Qingfeng had returned together with Song Yan this time. Although the old man said he lacked nothing and any courtyard to stay in would be fine, Song Chuyi couldn’t truly be so casual. After selecting a small courtyard for Mister Qingfeng, she personally instructed people to arrange the rooms, calculated the dates, and dispatched people to the docks to wait for Song Yan.
On the day Song Yan returned to the capital, Elder Chen was executed at the vegetable market. The scholars who came to watch were said to have surrounded the scene so tightly not even water could trickle through—although Elder Chen wasn’t sentenced to death for leaking examination questions, in the eyes of the empire’s scholars, Elder Chen was a great traitor who had disgraced the literati by selling examination questions. Now that he was being beheaded for other crimes, they were happy to witness the traitor’s end.
The carriage was blocked and couldn’t advance an inch. Mister Qingfeng simply abandoned the carriage and walked. Seeing Song Yan also get off the carriage and walk for a stretch, he paused for a moment on the bustling main street before turning back to Song Yan: “Old Master Chen’s defeat at your hands wasn’t truly because your methods were so superior, but because he himself was excessively arrogant, having long forgotten how he once walked on thin ice as if treading on spring ice or a tiger’s tail. You must remember that no matter when, you cannot be careless or let everything follow your own wishes. Since ancient times, one is born in sorrow and dies in comfort—this is precisely that principle.”
Song Yan bowed his head and responded respectfully, then followed Mister Qingfeng obediently on foot back to the Earl of Changning’s mansion.