Su Jin had an absurd conjecture in her heart.
She felt that someone wanted her to solve the Petition Drum case as quickly as possible.
So they used the Ninth Prince’s mouth to reveal to her the matter of the Third Prince building a traveling palace in Shanxi. So they did not hesitate to use the young prince’s acute infantile convulsions to show her how the last woman to die had so coincidentally had her poison manifest at the Petition Drum.
Su Jin wanted to verify this conjecture.
She walked faster and faster, almost breaking into a run. Upon reaching Chengtian Gate, she called over a guard: “Who were on duty when the last case at the Petition Drum occurred? Come see me immediately.”
Before long, those who had been on duty that day arrived.
Su Jin asked: “When the last case occurred, did anyone pass by Chengtian Gate?”
One of the guards answered: “In response to Censor, this lowly one remembers that after the woman struck the Petition Drum, the Third Prince’s procession happened to enter the palace through Chengtian Gate, with a fifth-rank official accompanying him to guide the way.”
Su Jin asked: “Do you remember that fifth-rank official’s appearance?”
The guard was somewhat hesitant: “I only remember he was short and thin.” He thought for a moment. “But if this lowly one were to see him, I would definitely recognize him.”
Su Jin pondered briefly and picked up a brush: “Bring paper and brush.”
Brush fell on paper, and in a moment she sketched a portrait—short stature, bulging eyes, a black mole on his chin. It was precisely the former Vice Magistrate of the Capital Yamen, currently serving as Director in the Ministry of Works, Sun Yinde.
Upon seeing it, the guard said in astonishment: “In response to Censor, it is indeed this person.”
Su Jin was speechless for a long while.
The Petition Drum case was like a fragmented ancient musical score, and now she had gathered three of the five pieces—
Fragment one: the deceased woman had a Shanxi accent, and her appearance was similar to the concubines in the Third Prince’s residence. She was most likely someone who had escaped from the Third Prince’s residence.
Fragment two: Sun Yinde helped the Third Prince build a traveling palace in Shanxi and had probably seen these concubines with similar appearances.
Fragment three: the deceased woman had been poisoned in advance with strychnine. When this poison manifested, it would cause convulsive symptoms. After she struck the Petition Drum, she must have seen Sun Yinde and the Third Prince. In her great alarm, this triggered convulsions, hastening her death from the poison.
Su Jin now only needed to investigate two points to solve this case: first, the woman’s true identity and why the concubines in the Third Prince’s residence had similar appearances; second, the woman’s purpose in striking the Petition Drum.
This morning, Zhai Di had already gone with the Ministry of Rites to investigate the concubines in the Third Prince’s residence. If this trip went smoothly and he could bring back two concubines to the Imperial Censorate for interrogation, then the two puzzling points Su Jin needed to clarify would be immediately resolved.
But Su Jin was somewhat afraid to solve this case.
If a person’s heart was a flowing river, then at this moment, her heart’s river seemed to be continuously filled with flowing sand by someone. Though it wouldn’t create thousand-layered waves like a boulder in an instant, over time it could cause mountains and rivers to change course.
Every step she took was calculated by others.
She didn’t know what consequences would result if she continued following others’ intentions in the long run.
The sky curtain above—clouds gathered too quickly, even moonlight couldn’t penetrate. Another heavy snow was coming.
Su Jin returned to the Imperial Censorate hall and picked up her brush to write a memorial, but after writing only a few lines, she crumpled it into a ball.
Having been an upright censor for over a year, the road had not been without obstacles, but she had always remembered Liu Chaoming’s phrase “guard your heart as one.” In the Suzhou Imperial Treasure document forgery case, which implicated the prefect and secretary who died miserably, she had also questioned her heart. Later she understood that under imperial authority, one could not act perversely. After the painful experience, she restrained all her sharp edges and learned to retreat in order to advance. But ultimately, she still walked on the path she herself recognized.
But now, if the road she was to take became a chess piece in the hands of those in power, those scheming for authority, and the bright moonlight at the end of the long road ahead also turned into a mirage—should she retreat?
Someone knocked on the door outside. The ones who entered were the three censors: Yan Xiu, Song Jue, and Zhai Di.
Zhai Di presented a complaint document: “My lord, this official has finished interrogating two concubines from the Third Prince’s residence. I’ve determined that the woman who died from poison at the Petition Drum was surnamed Lu, given name Qianqian. She was from Jiyang County in Shanxi and was abducted to the Third Prince’s residence in Datong, Shanxi this past March. The details are recorded in the complaint document. Would my lord like to review it first?”
Su Jin was silent for a moment before asking: “Is it related to Ministry of Works Director Sun Yinde?”
The three exchanged glances, showing expressions of surprise: “How did my lord know? Have you discovered something else?”
Su Jin shook her head and took the complaint document to read.
After questioning the case, Song Jue’s heart was still agitated. He denounced: “So it’s said that the dragon has nine sons, each different. The Crown Prince has great strategies and talent for governing; the Fourth Prince and Twelfth Prince guard the borders and can be called renowned generals of their generation. But this Third Prince—let me say something disrespectful—his crimes are truly monstrous. If he were just lustful, that would be one thing, but he can be lustful in such elaborate ways.”
As he spoke, he looked left and right. Seeing that Yan Xiu and Zhai Di remained silent, he became even more indignant: “Previously the Ninth Prince was also lustful, abducting a magistrate’s wife as a concubine. This official thought that was already quite outrageous. Who knew the Third Prince was even worse—he actually had a painter first draw a portrait of a beauty according to his description, then sent people to find those who resembled this beauty portrait. If they couldn’t find them, they would dig out people’s kneecaps. I wondered why the Third Prince’s residence had so many beauties with similar appearances. It turns out behind this are piled the kneecaps of who knows how many people.”
Su Jin put down the complaint document and looked up to ask: “Has the Regional Inspector from Shanxi Circuit replied to the urgent dispatch sent earlier?”
Yan Xiu said: “He has replied. They found a letter left behind in Scholar Xu’s former residence—it was a draft of a posthumous letter he wrote to Magistrate Qu before coming to the capital. It actually stated that the current Minister of Works Liu, Vice Minister of Works Cao, together with Ministry of Works Director Sun Yinde, used the practice of exempting craftsmen from service to accept bribes, and vigorously conscripted able-bodied men to build a traveling palace for the Third Prince, to be used for…” He gritted his teeth. “Housing these beauties he abducted.”
The court’s craftsmen had to serve labor service every year. The so-called exempting craftsmen from service meant privately accepting bribes from craftsmen to exempt them from their labor service, then finding other craftsmen or illegally conscripted able-bodied men to replace them.
After reading the complaint document, Su Jin couldn’t help but slam the document and green brush onto the desk.
This Ministry of Works and Zhu Jiyou were truly guilty of monstrous crimes—dying ten thousand times wouldn’t be enough!
And where did the bribes go? Without thinking, one knew. Zhu Jiyou and the Ministry of Works were all the Fourteenth Prince’s people. Apart from greasing palms up and down and expenses, the remainder naturally went into Zhu Mixiao’s pocket.
Seeing that Su Jin was also filled with righteous indignation, Song Jue immediately said: “My lord, since we already have the complaint document and witnesses, should we arrest Ministry of Works Director Sun Yinde based on the complaint from the two concubines at the Third Prince’s residence and bring him back to the Imperial Censorate for interrogation? This official has had some contact with Sun Yinde—he’s an absolute scoundrel. When the time comes, we won’t be afraid of not being able to extract solid evidence of corruption from the Minister and Vice Minister of Works.”
Su Jin nodded and picked up the green brush, about to make annotations. However, the instant the brush touched paper, she paused.
She recalled today’s events, recalled those invisible hands stirring wind and clouds behind these layers of palace pavilions.
A drop of green ink fell on the complaint document. Su Jin’s hand holding the brush stopped in midair for a moment. She slowly set down the brush and raised her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose: “Let me think about it more.”
Song Jue was greatly puzzled: “My lord, the facts are already laid out before us. What more is there to think about?” He paused, seeming somewhat indignant. “Could it be my lord fears offending the powerful and no longer petitions for the people?”
“Censor Song, what are you saying?!” Seeing Song Jue speak without restraint, Yan Xiu immediately stopped him. “Which case has my lord handled this past year that didn’t involve the powerful? When has my lord ever retreated?”
Zhai Di looked carefully at Su Jin. He saw that amid the desolation between her brows, besides the same indignation as the three of them, there was also confusion and hesitation. It seemed what she was concerned about was not only this case, not only what was before her eyes.
He was silent for a moment, then bowed: “My lord, Censor Song is straightforward and speaks impulsively. Please don’t take his momentary heated words to heart. Since this official, Censor Yan, and Censor Song have followed my lord, we believe my lord’s actions must have their own reasoning. Please rest assured, my lord. However you instruct, we will do accordingly. Beyond this, we have absolutely nothing else to say.”
As he spoke, he glanced at Song Jue and Yan Xiu, then jerked his chin toward the door and added: “My lord, then we shall take our leave first.”
Su Jin responded with a faint acknowledgment. Seeing the three of them retreat to the doorway, as if thinking of something, she suddenly asked: “Has Lord Liu returned to his residence?”
Yan Xiu said: “Just now this official passed by Lord Liu’s duty room. The lamp was still lit inside. Lord Liu will probably be staying at the Imperial Censorate tonight.”
After the three left, Su Jin pondered for a while on her own, then pushed open the door and headed toward Liu Chaoming’s duty room.
Outside, snow had begun falling at some point. Su Jin knocked on Liu Chaoming’s door. He was writing a reply to an urgent letter. Seeing her arrive, he didn’t raise his head, only asking lightly: “Why haven’t you returned to your residence?”
The weather was cold and chilly. Su Jin closed the door but didn’t walk in, only standing at the entrance: “My lord, this official seems to have clarified the Petition Drum case.”
Liu Chaoming made an acknowledging sound, looked up at her briefly, then continued writing: “This is a good thing.”
Su Jin stood by the threshold, lowering her eyes: “It is a good thing.” But she said nothing more.
Inside, the candlelight flickered faintly. Outside, snow fell silently in the world. Liu Chaoming was silent for a moment, then asked softly: “What’s wrong with you?”
Su Jin thought for a moment and said: “My lord, I… don’t know whether I should memorialize to impeach.”
Hearing these words, Liu Chaoming also made no sound. He continued writing his reply with suspended wrist until he wrote the last sentence “words cannot fully express my meaning, more to follow.” Only then did he set down his brush, took a cloak from the bamboo rack, pushed open the door and said: “Come walk with me.”
Snow fell like cotton floss. Corridor eaves and palace pavilions were dyed a desolate white. From the Imperial Censorate to Xuanyuan Terrace, one had to walk through a long corridor.
Su Jin and Liu Chaoming walked half a step apart. In the distance, a eunuch carrying a palace lantern passed by. Seeing the two of them, he bowed from afar.
Liu Chaoming asked: “Why not memorialize?”
Su Jin looked up at the sky full of snow: “The situation is perilous. Pulling one hair moves the whole body.” Then she laughed softly. “My lord, I am a chess piece.”
Liu Chaoming neither confirmed nor denied it.
Su Jin said: “So I’m somewhat worried—if I follow the arrangement and act, and it results in evil consequences, what should I do?”
Liu Chaoming glanced at her, then said: “You’re telling me all this because you want to know who exactly is the one moving the chess pieces right now?”