News of Zhang Tianhe being imprisoned spread throughout every street and alley of the capital in less than half a day. Common people continuously surged toward the streets, hoping to take advantage of the chaos to kick him a few times and throw some rotten eggs at him.
The fierce and intimidating Imperial Guards surprisingly made an unprecedented exception, allowing these indignant common people to strike. All the way, they turned a blind eye and unhurriedly escorted the prison cart to the Ministry of Justice office.
Han Zhi sat at a window seat in Juyi Tower, looking down. He could only see Zhang Tianhe dodging left and right in a wretched state, his face smeared with eggs until his original features were almost unrecognizable.
Because of the matter concerning Song Chuyi, he had not been close with his always-respected aunt for quite some time now, even turning away at the door the people she had sent to find him several times. But upon hearing that such a thing had happened, he could no longer stand by with folded arms—his father Han Zhengqing had guarded Datong for so many years. To say he was completely clean was impossible.
Especially after Zhang Tianhe became Northwest Governor-General and joined in the enterprise, they had engaged in many businesses they hadn’t dared touch before. More than half of the underground money houses in the northwest were his father’s enterprises.
If all these matters were dug up, the Han family would meet with misfortune, and his aunt and Prince Dongping would also be implicated—who didn’t know that the Han family was a blade in the hands of Consort Fan and Prince Dongping? If the Han family had any improper conduct or wrongdoing, it would certainly be connected to Consort Fan and her son.
He couldn’t let the Han family be ruined, much less watch helplessly as his aunt and cousin met with disaster. At this moment, the best method was nothing other than shutting the mouths at the top—the Court of Judicial Review and the Censorate—while simultaneously shutting Zhang Tianhe’s mouth.
He watched the prison cart creak its way across the stone-paved street. Reaching out, he called Guan Shan over and softly instructed him, “Go smooth out the connections and find a way to get Master Zhang’s grandchildren out.”
Males fifteen years and older would all be beheaded, but those under fifteen could keep their lives—they would merely be exiled three thousand li or confiscated into official slavery. Money makes the devil push the millstone; they could always save a few. Sometimes the seemingly simplest method was the most effective. When a person knew he would certainly die, he would definitely think of his ancestors, especially with such a grave crime that would likely exterminate the entire clan. He would want to leave behind a bit of bloodline. At the critical moment, this bloodline would be the best medicine to make Zhang Tianhe shut his mouth.
Guan Shan didn’t dare delay in the slightest. Bowing, he responded affirmatively and immediately turned to go out and down the stairs.
Han Zhi then looked at Wei Yanxi, who had been standing to the side all along, and instructed him in a deep voice, “Go drink some flower wine with that Imperial Guard friend of yours. Let him know what he should say to Zhang Tianhe.”
That northwest connection would certainly be dug up. Even if the Ministry of Justice and Court of Judicial Review were all bought off, Cui Shaoting and the Song family wouldn’t let matters rest. This time, Zhang Tianhe clearly intended to destroy them completely. Both publicly and privately, they couldn’t possibly let go of this enormous piece of leverage.
But this wasn’t an unsolvable matter either. At least if there was a big enough and fat enough scapegoat to completely shoulder all the responsibility, no matter how capable the Cui clan and Song family were, they couldn’t just arbitrarily convict people without evidence.
He looked down playfully at the tea leaves floating and sinking in his teacup, the corner of his mouth curving into a meaningful smile—no wonder the Song family was difficult to deal with. With Song Chuyi, this precious treasure, they were indeed invincible in all endeavors. The Chen family’s scheme could also be considered flawless, yet even so, Song Chuyi could find a crack and, relying on this crack, escape from desperate straits while turning the tables. Such ability…
Perhaps his aunt and cousin’s consideration indeed had merit. If Song Chuyi only became his own wife, becoming a marquis household’s principal wife, it would indeed be putting great talent to small use. If she were beside Prince Dongping, the role she could play would probably be much greater.
At this moment, his cousin Prince Dongping, who always presented a gentle face to others, whose birth mother was greatly favored, and who himself could truly be considered to have the bearing of dragons and phoenixes, was looking down with interest and smiling as he asked his imperial mother in a low voice, “Has the matter erupted?”
Consort Fan’s jade-white, flawless slender hands held a fan with double-sided embroidery of gold-sprinkled peonies. The flower ornament on her forehead swayed and gleamed with her nodding motion. “Old Madam Chen sent in a visiting card yesterday asking to see me. I met with her once this morning.”
Zhou Weiqi didn’t need to think to know what Old Madam Chen had come for. It was nothing more than testing the waters for Elder Chen. Although Elder Chen was deeply calculating and had long since thought of an escape route, whether this escape route was stable or not still required his own help.
With Elder Chen’s ability, he could naturally handle Meng Jiming and Feng Yinglong—these two men had deep friendships with him back in the day. Who knew how many pieces of leverage had fallen into Elder Chen’s hands? But that Left Chief Censor of the Censorate, Tao Dinghu, who served a supervisory function, wasn’t so easy to deal with. If Meng Jiming and Feng Yinglong made too many moves and Tao Dinghu made a fuss and reported it upward, that would truly break the sky open.
Consort Fan frowned and glanced at her son, asking him softly, “Tell me, should we extend this helping hand or not?”
When she didn’t smile, her extraordinarily delicate eyes and brows would inexplicably be tainted with a bit of ruthlessness and harshness. Therefore, in front of the Crown Prince, she had always smiled more. Although smiling more didn’t take much effort, she originally wasn’t someone who loved to smile. Away from the Crown Prince’s sight, she was always cold, indifferent, and expressionless. At this moment, looking at her son, she still wore this neither cold nor warm expression.
Zhou Weiqi was also accustomed to this. He sat beside the round table, reached out to take some tea and drank a sip, looking at his mother through the mist. “Hasn’t Mother already agreed with the Chen family? Why are you asking me this now?”
Did they have the capital to refuse help? How much evidence of correspondence with Han Zhengqing did Elder Chen hold, and how many things had he done for them? To say nothing of distant matters, the entire Yangzhou corruption case had passed through Elder Chen’s hands. If these matters were once exposed, what benefit could they gain? Emperor Jianzhang was not the Crown Prince—he wouldn’t treat their words as golden rules.
Unlike Consort Fan, he was naturally born with a smiling appearance. Whether angry or sad, the corners of his mouth habitually held a smile, making it impossible for people to discern what mood he was actually in. This also made people easily develop favorable impressions and feel close to him.
Consort Fan lightly glanced at him and nodded. “Since that’s the case, have your cousin go drink tea with Censor Tao.”
Han Zhi’s tantrum should stop at an appropriate point. If it weren’t for her when he was young, he would have already died long ago. A person whose very life was saved by someone else—what qualification did he have to throw tantrums?
Zhou Weiqi clapped his hands and stood up. “I’ll go myself! Cousin’s anger might not have subsided yet. After I handle this matter well, I’ll go talk with him. He’s always respected Mother and dotes on me. He’ll think it through.”