“Since Magistrate Shang recognizes me, that’s good. I’ll ask directly whatever I need to know.”
Chen Ruyi stood with hands clasped behind his back before Shang Wensheng’s sickbed and said.
“According to Magistrate Wei, the second young master of the Shang household returned to Donglu Mountain with his family and servants. Upon passing through Lishui, learning that Shang Family Fort was occupied by a group of refugees, he left his servants and family in Lishui and first rushed to Donglu Mountain with his household troops to expel the refugees. Unexpectedly, they met with desperate resistance and had no choice but to forcibly attack the fort with armed force. The refugees resisted fiercely and were killed in great numbers but still wouldn’t leave, ultimately burning women and children to death in the front residence. Magistrate Wei and your bodyguard Chen Xiang also said that Magistrate Shang rushed back from Langxi three days ago wanting to reunite with wife and son for two days before returning. When leaving Langxi, he didn’t say a word to the magistrate’s secretary or others, so by rights no one in Langxi should have known Magistrate Shang was at Donglu Mountain the night before last. Jinyun Bureau and Ministry of Justice officials rode horses here to search for clues and questioned the Shang family survivors. We can essentially confirm that your young master was killed first, then the assassin attacked the rear quarters. Besides your young master and wife, seven household troops were killed and three wounded. The assassin ultimately escaped by climbing over the rear quarters wall. However, tracking the blood trail left by the assassin, we can confirm he was quite familiar with Shang Family Fort’s terrain. Though the person wore a mask when committing the crime, looking at his build, does Magistrate Shang find anything familiar?”
Only then did Shang Wensheng realize he had been unconscious for at least two days and nights. However, he clearly remembered that when the incident occurred, there were thirty-one elite household troops in the residence. How had ten ultimately died or been wounded? Where were the others?
The sky hadn’t completely darkened at that time. They had just arranged Shang Family Fort inside and out to appear as if refugees had violently resisted before being completely killed. Everyone should still have been on alert. How were only ten household troops involved in pursuing the assassin?
Furthermore, the assassin was familiar with Shang Family Fort’s terrain, killed people while suffering multiple blade and arrow wounds himself, yet ultimately escaped easily—what was that about?
Shang Wensheng had lost too much blood and his body was indescribably weak, but so many questions made him wish he could climb up from his sickbed right now.
Seeing Shang Wensheng’s deathly pale complexion, Wei Zhen said to Chen Ruyi: “Magistrate Shang just woke up—his body may not be able to bear it…”
Chen Ruyi glanced at Shang Wensheng.
Wei Zhen said Shang Family Fort had been occupied by refugees who couldn’t be expelled, and when the refugees couldn’t resist, they killed women and children and burned houses, ultimately leaving fifty-seven elderly, weak, young, and able-bodied with not a single survivor. He didn’t believe this story, but with the Shang family having been broken into by an assassin and killed so tragically, he couldn’t bear to investigate these minor details.
What concerned him more was still the matter of Shang Wensheng’s assassination.
Shang Wensheng was Magistrate of Guangde Prefecture. Just days after taking office, he temporarily left Langxi County and was assassinated the very night he returned to Shang Family Fort. How could people not make associations?
This matter was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, causing ripples throughout the court.
Shang Wensheng saw his personal retainer Chen Xiang standing at the door seeming to have something to say. He raised his hand with difficulty, gesturing for him to come in and speak.
Chen Xiang was also the household troop who had rushed onto the corridor trying desperately to stop the assassin from breaking into the room to assassinate Shang Wensheng. His left cheek had been split open by a blade tip. Fortunately the wound wasn’t deep, but his right hand holding the blade had three fingers severed—he was essentially half-crippled.
“I heard others say that the assassin’s build quite resembled a servant formerly used in the fort,” Chen Xiang said.
Chen Xiang, He Jin, and these others all served at Shang Wensheng’s side and normally stayed in Jinling. They rarely returned to Shang Family Fort and naturally weren’t familiar with the situation of the over two thousand servants at Shang Family Fort during its peak.
However, the household troops around Shang Zhongjie privately discussed feeling that assassin’s build particularly resembled a servant from the fort.
This couldn’t be blamed on Han Donghu’s disguise being inadequate. The reality was that the vast majority of people in this era were malnourished. Someone as robust and powerfully built as him was truly in the minority.
Even though he covered his face with black cloth, exposing only a pair of eyes, for those familiar with him, as long as they had direct contact, they couldn’t help but make guesses.
Moreover, Jinyun Bureau and Ministry of Justice officials had investigated the assassin and escape scene, confirming the assassin was extremely familiar with Shang Family Fort’s interior and the terrain around Donglu Mountain. From killing Shang Zhongjie to charging straight into the inner quarters to assassinate Shang Wensheng, he took the most economical and quickest shortcut, and unhesitatingly climbed over the rear quarters wall, choosing from the back mountain the path easiest for shaking off pursuers to flee straight south—this directly indicated the assassin had lived at Shang Family Fort for quite a long period.
“Who is it?” Shang Wensheng hadn’t expected it was a Shang family servant who assassinated his household. His eyes split with rage, he struggled to sit up, but immediately felt acute pain under his armpit—he had torn open his wound.
“Don’t get up. If the wound breaks open again, even immortals may not be able to save you,” a gray-robed elderly man with a clear, gaunt face came over and pressed Shang Wensheng back onto the bed.
“He looked like a household servant called Shang Hu who was at my nephew’s side. Later I heard he joined the Chishan Army and was the one who led the attack into Shang Family Fort back then,” Chen Xiang said.
Those below had discussed the matter between Shang Hu and the young madam, but with outsiders present at this time, Chen Xiang thought family scandals shouldn’t be made public and didn’t mention this point.
“Do you know where this person went afterward?” Hearing this, Chen Ruyi’s expression lifted and he stepped forward to interject with a question.
The Chishan Army had recruited over three hundred thousand servants and their families in total.
Before the general assault on Jinling, because Han Qian relinquished military authority, besides a considerable number of base-level officers who followed Han Qian to Xuzhou, other Chishan Army soldiers reorganized into the Left Guangde Army were also dispersed, supplementing the Imperial Guards stationed in the capital as reserve troops. After recovering Jinling, over seven thousand soldiers remained in service.
The Bureau of Military Affairs was also planning to extract these soldiers and their families from Guangde Prefecture and settle them as military households in the corresponding garrison military bureaus of various Imperial Guard units.
For the Jinyun Bureau to investigate based merely on a name would be an enormous undertaking, and officials at the Bureau of Military Affairs might not be very willing to cooperate.
However, if they didn’t start by checking the Imperial Guard units first and directly pointed the spearhead at Xuzhou, inferring this person might have withdrawn to Xuzhou with Han Qian when the Left Guangde Army was disbanded—even if not rebuked by His Majesty, they themselves would feel it was too “rash,” the intention too obvious.
Over the past year or more, the Jinling region had been in military chaos with confused personnel information. But if the Shang family retainers could provide more and more accurate information, the Jinyun Bureau would undoubtedly save much effort.
The household troop called Chen Xiang hesitated for quite a while but mumbled without daring to say more.
“What exactly is going on? What don’t you dare tell Director Chen?” Shang Wensheng was so angry he wanted to vomit blood. Pressed down on the sickbed, he glared furiously at Chen Xiang and asked.
“I heard Shang Hu later changed his name to Han Donghu and served at the Marquis of Qianyang’s side. I heard this name was even bestowed by the Marquis of Qianyang himself, but he should have already taken his younger siblings and mother to Xuzhou with the Marquis of Qianyang long ago. He shouldn’t have appeared in Lishui,” Chen Xiang said. Following Shang Wensheng to serve in Guangde Prefecture, he naturally understood clearly the connections between Marquis of Qianyang Han Qian and Guangde Prefecture. He also knew that some words once spoken might very well be like a thunderbolt from clear skies. But under the gaze of Shang Wensheng, Chen Ruyi, Wei Zhen, and others, he dared not conceal anything and could only steel himself to speak everything he knew.
“The assassin was from Xuzhou…” Wei Zhen said this far when his throat seemed gripped by an invisible hand. He couldn’t utter another word, though the shock on his face remained.
If the assassin was sent by Xuzhou, this matter’s implications ran too deep—so deep he didn’t dare speculate rashly.
The gray-robed elderly man treating Shang Wensheng now stood up with a bow and said: “Magistrate Shang still needs to rest quietly going forward. If wound medicine is insufficient, I’ll have my disciple deliver more at that time. Looking at things now, this old fool need not remain here getting in the way any longer.”
The gray-robed elder couldn’t wait to take his leave with two medicine apprentices, seemingly wanting desperately to struggle out from the edge of a whirlpool that might swallow countless people, not daring to have the slightest further involvement with these matters.
“Take care, Elder Chen,” Wei Zhen and Chen Ruyi said quite respectfully, first seeing the elder off.
Though the elder was merely an ordinary physician in the Palace Medical Bureau, at least he had opportunities to show his face before His Majesty.
Besides, in these times who didn’t have the occasional illness? Making connections with Palace Medical Bureau physicians was never a bad thing.
If this elder’s ancestral home hadn’t happened to be near Shang Family Fort, and if he hadn’t happened to be home visiting relatives, whether Shang Wensheng’s life could be preserved was truly uncertain.
Even if Chen Ruyi and Wei Zhen wanted to find more convincing witnesses, seeing the elder unwilling, they wouldn’t forcibly drag him into this.
However, with the matter reaching this point, not to mention Wei Zhen—even Chen Ruyi didn’t dare dig deeper on his own authority. At least he couldn’t pursue the matter to its roots before so many people.
He glanced at Wei Zhen and the Ministry of Justice official responsible for this case and said: “Merely similar build doesn’t prove anything. The Ministry of Justice still needs to continue investigating, but there’s no need to delve deeply into these minor details. Official Shen, what do you think?”
Shen Bochi was a Yuezhou youth who, recommended by Zhang Chao, first served as a clerk in the Hunan Provincial Secretariat’s Ministry of Justice before entering Jinling to serve as Director in the Ministry of Justice.
At forty years old with early experience serving as a clerk in prefectures and counties, he was no ignorant and fearless hothead. He knew that with the assassination case dug to this point, digging further would be treading on thin ice at every step—a ten-thousand-zhang cliff.
If the assassin truly was someone at Marquis of Qianyang Han Qian’s side, never mind him—for the entire Ministry of Justice, this was a minefield that could shatter them to pieces.
Whether or not to dig into the Marquis of Qianyang’s associates could only depend on His Majesty’s decision. And if a thorough investigation was truly needed, that would be the Jinyun Bureau’s assignment and had nothing to do with the Ministry of Justice.
“Director Chen, please bring justice for this humble official!” Shang Wensheng said. Seeing that they had all deduced the assassin’s possible identity yet Chen Ruyi, Shen Bochi, Wei Zhen, and others were all backing down, he was aggrieved. Struggling to sit up again, he begged Chen Ruyi with grief and indignation.
He knew the Marquis of Qianyang’s formidable power, but setting aside how many Shang family members had already died or been injured, now the Marquis of Qianyang was even sending people to assassinate them, wanting to exterminate the Shang clan. How could he continue to fear and shrink back?
“Magistrate Shang, rest assured for now. The Ministry of Justice will certainly capture the true culprit and give Magistrate Shang justice. The assassin wore a mask when committing the crime and never showed his face. Merely similar build truly cannot be taken as proof,” Chen Ruyi said. Before receiving further instructions from His Majesty, he didn’t want to hastily involve the Jinyun Bureau now.
If not so many people knew, the Jinyun Bureau could just investigate. At worst, they could seal up all the case files in the end without making them public.
But now? If His Majesty wasn’t yet prepared to break with Xuzhou and the Jinyun Bureau directly got involved, ultimately causing this matter to become a huge uproar that left His Majesty with no way out—could the Jinyun Bureau still find favor before His Majesty?
As for whether Shang Wensheng was willing or would make a big fuss of things, Chen Ruyi couldn’t be bothered to care and couldn’t control him either…