As night fell, at the Marquis of Weiwu’s mansion.
The Marquis of Weiwu, a portly middle-aged man, sat in his chair with a grim expression. In the hall were two beautiful women, one kneeling and weeping inconsolably, while the other offered quiet comfort.
His second daughter had mysteriously disappeared today. Considering the carriage collision before the incident, the Marquis was certain his daughter had been abducted.
He mentally reviewed his potential enemies. Political rivals seemed unlikely, as his hereditary title had gradually pushed him to the fringes of the capital’s power circle. Of course, the allied nobility remained a formidable interest group.
But there was a difference between the collective and individuals. The Marquis couldn’t recall having any political enemies desperate enough to kidnap his family members.
As for personal enemies, he hadn’t made any recently.
“My lord has already reported to the authorities and notified the Golden Feather Guard at the city gates. Don’t worry, we’ll find Ying’er,” said one of the women.
“Sister, Ying’er is just a helpless girl. If she… if something happens to her… even if we find her, she won’t survive!” cried the other.
The Marquis’s face twitched, his expression growing darker.
At that moment, a servant rushed in, shouting, “My lord, the young miss has been found…”
The Marquis and his two wives hurried to the front hall, where they found their daughter, her face haggard and tear-stained, along with the Imperial Blade Guard who had brought her back.
After dismissing the Imperial Blade Guard with a reward, the Marquis examined his daughter briefly and sighed in slight relief. “Ying’er, what happened?”
Zhang Yuying, held in her weeping mother’s arms, sobbed, “It was the son of Zhou Shilang who kidnapped me. He… he not only tried to violate my chastity but also planned to kill me to silence me.”
She then recounted what she had seen and heard, vividly adding details of how she had escaped from the wolf’s den when the guards were careless.
“My lord, you must seek justice for me and Ying’er,” Zhang Yuying’s birth mother trembled with anger.
“My lord, this Zhou Liyi has repeatedly insulted Ying’er, which is an insult to our entire household,” the first wife said gravely.
The Marquis of Weiwu exploded in rage, slamming his palm on the table and shattering it. His whole body shook with anger as he exclaimed, “Zhou has gone too far!”
The next day.
At the east side gate of the Wumen.
The civil and military officials going to court were surprised to find the Marquis of Weiwu arriving in armor, though without weapons at his waist.
…
That day, an interesting event occurred in the imperial court.
The Marquis of Weiwu, clad in armor, entered the hall, invoking his ancestors’ merits. With tears streaming down his face, he accused Zhou Shilang.
He cried out, “My ancestors fought through thorns and thistles for the Emperor, risking their lives. Now, their descendant’s daughter is bullied, and Your Majesty does not protect her. Wouldn’t this dishearten all the soldiers in the world?”
The incident caused a great uproar.
The culprit, Zhou Liyi, was utterly bewildered, wondering when he had kidnapped the Zhang family’s second daughter without his knowledge.
Emperor Yuanjing flew into a rage, ordering the Court of Judicial Review, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate to handle the case and produce results within two days.
As the suspect in the case, Young Master Zhou Liyi’s first stop was the Censorate.
The City Inspector in charge of interrogating him was a sixth-rank official who sat at the desk and, without a word, first gave Young Master Zhou a beating with a rod.
After Zhou Liyi was beaten to the point of crying for his parents, the official slammed the judge’s mallet and demanded, “Zhou Liyi, is the courtyard where the Marquis of Weiwu’s concubine-born daughter was imprisoned your private residence?”
“Yes!” Zhou Liyi could only admit.
It was common for powerful nobles to purchase private residences in the inner city. When Zhou Liyi bought the courtyard, he didn’t use anyone else as an intermediary.
The deed bore his name, and the government office had the paperwork for the property purchase.
“Since it’s your courtyard, there’s nothing more to say. Sign and seal it!” Two yamen runners came forward, one holding a confession document, the other forcibly making Zhou Liyi sign and seal it.
Following the procedure of the Three Judicial Offices’ review, after the Censorate’s examination, the verdict was handed to the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Justice, disagreeing with the Censorate’s results, demanded a retrial.
So Young Master Zhou was sent to the Ministry of Justice, where his treatment changed dramatically.
He was given plenty of food and wine, and Lang Zhong of the Ministry of Justice, who was in charge of the case, thoughtfully found a physician to apply medicine to Zhou Liyi’s bloodied buttocks.
After several hours of “questioning,” the Ministry of Justice overturned the Censorate’s verdict, ruling that Zhou Liyi was innocent and had been framed.
The case files were transferred to the Court of Judicial Review.
Without a word, the Court of Judicial Review gave Zhou Liyi another beating with a rod. After a “rigorous” interrogation, the Court of Judicial Review rejected the Ministry of Justice’s verdict, finding Zhou Liyi guilty.
The next day, seeing that the Court of Judicial Review, the Censorate, and the Ministry of Justice each held their own opinions and had not reached a conclusion, Emperor Yuanjing ordered a joint trial by the Three Judicial Offices, escalating the case.
The Court of Judicial Review sent one Sicheng and two Sicheng; the Ministry of Justice sent two Lang Zhong and four Zhushi; the Censorate dispatched two City Inspectors.
A total of eleven officials jointly tried the case.
In the joint trial, the Ministry of Justice believed Zhou Liyi was innocent and had been framed by thieves. The Court of Judicial Review and the Censorate unanimously found Zhou Liyi guilty.
The two sides argued for an entire day without a conclusion, and naturally, there was no result.
Just as dusk fell, a white-robed official from the Imperial Astronomy Bureau was invited to the yamen.
“By imperial decree, I’ve come to assist with the case,” the white-robed official from the Imperial Astronomy Bureau stated his purpose, then looked at Zhou Liyi kneeling in the hall and shouted:
“Zhou Liyi, did you kidnap Zhang Yuying, the concubine-born daughter of the Marquis of Weiwu?”
Zhou Liyi shook his head repeatedly: “I didn’t. It wasn’t me. I’ve been wrongly accused.”
All the officials stared intently at the white-robed official from the Imperial Astronomy Bureau.
This white-robed official declared righteously: “He’s lying!”
The color drained from Zhou Liyi’s face.
…
Three days later, Zhou Shilang was dismissed from office and exiled for embezzling funds from the national treasury and failing to educate his son properly. His son, Zhou Liyi, was banished to the southern frontier.
…
Fifty horsemen leisurely traveled along the official road, with Second Uncle Xu leading the way, riding high on his success.
After news of Zhou Shilang’s downfall spread, Xu Pingzhi spent an entire night drinking with Xu Qi An and Xu Erlang. They celebrated both the sweet taste of revenge and the relief of lifting a heavy burden.
The two brothers rode behind Xu Pingzhi. Xu Erlang said, “There’s something I’d like to ask you, Big Brother.”
Xu Dalang glanced at him: “You’re curious about why Zhou Liyi admitted to this crime, or rather, why the Marquis of Weiwu and other court bigwigs couldn’t see through this not-so-clever frame-up?”
Xu Erlang pondered: “I only figured out part of it. For Zhou Shilang’s political enemies, whether Zhou Liyi was wrongly accused or not doesn’t matter. They would seize this opportunity to bring down Zhou Shilang.
“For the Marquis of Weiwu, this was a chance for revenge. He couldn’t defeat Zhou Shilang before because he lacked allies, but now it was a heaven-sent opportunity. That’s why he went to court in armor that day, causing a stir throughout the court.
“As for whether his daughter was kidnapped by Zhou Liyi, he might have had doubts, but without sufficient evidence, the Zhou young master who had repeatedly insulted his daughter was more detestable.
“What I can’t figure out is, since Zhou Liyi didn’t do this, Zhou Shilang and his allies must have known the truth and should have come up with a countermeasure.”
“Why do you think I went to the Imperial Astronomy Bureau that day?” Xu Qi An laughed heartily. “Remember what the eighth-rank official at the Imperial Astronomy Bureau is called?”
“Eighth-rank Qi Observer…” Xu Xinnian’s eyes lit up with sudden understanding.
“During the tax silver case before, the Imperial Astronomy Bureau’s practitioners were involved in tracking and judging the case. This shows that the current Emperor relies on the Imperial Astronomy Bureau,” Xu Qi An gazed ahead, feeling pleased with himself:
“At first glance, the case seems unreasonable, but if investigated closely, you’d find no traces left behind… Well, your big brother is a professional in this area. Add in the factor of factional struggles, and the case was bound to be both troublesome and difficult to investigate. So, the simplest and most effective method was, of course, to find a practitioner from the Imperial Astronomy Bureau.”
Xu Xinnian was convinced: “So, Big Brother bribed the practitioner from the Imperial Astronomy Bureau.”
“How rude!” Xu Qi An spat, then said righteously: “When it comes to alchemists, how can it be called bribery? It’s an equal exchange!”
After a pause, he said: “Cixiu, remember, in this world, apart from blood relatives, any friends or enemies are because of the word ‘interest,’ especially in officialdom.
“No one will be kind to you without reason, nor will anyone hate you without cause. Even your closest friends, when they associate with you, it’s surely because your existence serves a positive purpose for them.
“In the future, when you enter the court as an official, your big brother hopes you can be a capable official, not just an upright one.” Xu Qi An imparted his philosophy to his younger brother, saying slowly: “Remember, adapt to circumstances.”
To cultivate his little brother into the Grand Chancellor of Great Feng, he first needed to shape him in his image. Otherwise, what use would there be in cultivating a Grand Chancellor with different principles?
Xu Xinnian gazed into the distance and recited: “Adapt to circumstances… What if I lose myself in the fog of power in the future?”
“That would be your fate. Of course, if Cixiu becomes a treacherous minister who brings disaster beyond measure, your big brother will clean house,” Xu Qi An said, half-jokingly and half-seriously.
“Good!” Xu Xinnian retorted: “If one day Big Brother becomes a warlord causing havoc, I’ll do the same.”
Why do I feel like I’ve just raised a flag… Xu Qi An coughed and looked towards Xu Pingzhi: “Second Uncle, you must bear witness for us.”
“Get lost!” Xu Pingzhi turned back and scolded: “Always talking about fighting within the family, do you think I don’t exist?”