Last year in late autumn entering winter, the Complaint Drum had been struck three times, involving two cases. The first was the Shaanxi grain tax embezzlement case, the second was the Shanxi palace construction case. Both cases were taken over by the Imperial Censorate. Among them, Vice Censor-in-Chief Qian Yueqian presided over the embezzlement case, while Vice Censor-in-Chief Su Jin presided over the palace case.
By the time of the New Year festival, the Shanxi palace construction case had been concluded. Those involved—the Left and Right Vice Ministers of the Ministry of Works, the Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commissioner, and others—had all been executed. Third Prince Zhu Jiyou, after the assassination attempt at the New Year banquet, had been demoted to commoner status.
But there had been no news about the Shaanxi grain tax embezzlement case.
Su Jin remembered that last year, after returning from her inspection tour, she had been entrusted by Surveillance Censor Yan Xiu to investigate this case at the residence of tea merchant Feng Mengping in Fish Sinuous Lane in the eastern part of the city. At that time, she had encountered Shen Xi, who had come to fish in troubled waters at the Feng residence.
Shen Xi had mentioned to Su Jin that the Shaanxi grain tax embezzlement case was actually perpetrated by Minister of Revenue Qian Zhihuan and Right Vice Minister Du Zhen. All the money they collected went into Seventh Prince Zhu Zhaowei’s pocket, and this merchant surnamed Feng was most likely the fence for these exalted figures. Catching him would allow them to catch concrete evidence of Seventh Prince’s and Qian Zhihuan’s embezzlement.
That night, Su Jin and Shen Xi had cornered Feng Mengping at the Feng residence through deception, allowing the capital yamen’s bailiffs to capture him in one fell swoop. Su Jin had originally wanted to request from Liu Chaoming to investigate the grain tax embezzlement case herself. Who knew that the next day, after the capital yamen delivered Feng Mengping to the Imperial Censorate, Liu Chaoming rebuked her for acting impulsively, gave the embezzlement case to Qian San’er to preside over, and instead assigned her the palace case.
Thinking of this, Su Jin’s heart was already filled with clouds of suspicion, yet she still asked with composure, “The Shaanxi Circuit grain tax embezzlement case is being presided over by Lord Qian. Lord Qian, he—”
Hasn’t he been at a temple burning incense and chanting sutras these past days, waiting to return after court reconvenes on the fifteenth?
But Su Jin didn’t voice this second half of the sentence.
Should she trust Qian San’er’s words? At such a young age, he had already been appointed Vice Censor-in-Chief. In this deep palace full of power factions, whose man was he exactly? Did she truly understand?
She suddenly thought of how this third-rank censor of the Imperial Censorate, Qian Yueqian, also had the surname Qian. He was precisely the third younger brother of the late Vice Commander of the Feathered Forest Guard, Qian Yu, and the third son of the retired Minister of Revenue, Qian Zhihuan.
The situation from that day before the palace hall suddenly flooded into Su Jin’s mind.
The reason Qian Yu had been falsely accused of violating the Beauty Li was because a hairpin that Beauty Li usually wore had been found on him.
Su Jin knew Qian Yu had been wrongly executed. At the time, she had wondered—given Qian Yu’s status, who could have accessed his daily belongings to secretly hide a hairpin in his clothing? Even later when Qian Zhihuan retired, she had been puzzled—who had such heaven-reaching, earth-penetrating abilities to make Qian Zhihuan, who held the position of Minister, retire at this critical juncture just like that?
Now it seemed this person didn’t need great supernatural powers. This person surnamed Qian, named Xu, the Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Imperial Censorate who held evidence of the embezzlement case, could do it—he was the one who hid the hairpin in Qian Yu’s clothing, he was the one who used evidence from the embezzlement case to force Qian Zhihuan to retire, and also forced Qian Zhihuan to falsely accuse Shen Tuo as an accomplice, dragging down the Shen household.
Su Jin knew Qian San’er’s background was desolate. Although he was a high minister’s son, his childhood was worse than a servant’s. Yet through his own efforts and talents, before even reaching adulthood, he had established his own household and carved out his own domain in this tumultuous dangerous situation.
But what exactly had made her overlook such a key figure who played crucial roles in the palace hall situation and in Qian Zhihuan’s retirement?
Was it because Qian Yueqian was born with crescent moon eyes, always greeting people with a smiling face?
Or was it that she trusted this Imperial Censorate too much, trusted Liu Chaoming and Qian Yueqian, who followed Liu Chaoming’s lead, too much?
Su Jin finally understood why on the seventh, when she had proposed going to Qian San’er to get concrete evidence from the grain tax embezzlement case to clear the names of Shen Tuo and the Shen household, Shen Xi had politely declined.
He had probably already guessed that the evidence falsely accusing the Shen household came from the Imperial Censorate, from Qian Yueqian’s hands. Otherwise, no matter how powerful Zhu Zhaowei was, how could he have the confidence to detain a Minister of Justice?
And Qian San’er probably hadn’t gone to any temple at all. He was simply avoiding Su Jin.
That statement “Lord Qian recently did something lacking in virtue, so he’s gone to burn incense and chant Buddhist prayers” was specifically said for her, Su Shiyu, to hear.
Indeed, falsifying evidence to frame the Shen household was extremely lacking in virtue.
With this thought, Su Jin turned and rushed toward Xuanyuan Platform. But after taking just a few steps, she turned back and urgently asked, “Did that edict specify what crime it was?”
Secretary Wu said, “Young Lord Shen’s is the crime of harboring.”
“What about Minister Shen?”
“Minister Shen of the Ministry of Justice and Minister Qian of the Ministry of Revenue both have embezzlement crimes. The sentence is exile. After noon, they were already escorted out of Chengtian Gate by Censor Yan Xiu of the Imperial Censorate with bailiffs.”
Su Jin was truly furious. “Flogging, beating, penal servitude, exile, death—if Shen Qingyue is guilty of harboring, then he didn’t commit embezzlement. Why should he receive eighty strokes of the rod?!”
Secretary Wu said, “Because Lord Shen is Vice Minister of Revenue. Being in the Ministry of Revenue yet harboring embezzlement, his crime should be increased by one degree.” Seeing Su Jin’s anxious expression, he added, “Actually, it wasn’t necessarily going to be eighty strokes. This humble official heard Vice Minister Fang say that it was Seventh Highness who ordered eighty strokes. Lord Liu of the Imperial Censorate’s intention was thirty strokes followed by demotion. The two sides were at an impasse, so Seventh Highness let Lord Shen choose himself. It was Lord Shen who chose eighty stro—”
Before Secretary Wu could finish speaking, Su Jin had already rushed toward Xuanyuan Platform.
For a third-rank vice minister to be punished, even though it was still the New Year period, quite a few people had already gathered around Xuanyuan Platform. Su Jin looked through the crowd and saw Shen Xi bound to the punishment bench. She didn’t know how long he had already been beaten. From his lower back to his legs, crimson blood had seeped through. The entire person was unconscious, life or death unknown.
Su Jin’s heart turned cold. She strode forward, directly pushing aside the crossed spears blocking her path, and shouted at the guards carrying out the punishment, “Get out of the way!”
The blade of the spear cut a long, thin wound in Su Jin’s palm, but she paid no attention and clenched her fist. She bowed to Zhu Zhaowei and Liu Chaoming seated above. “May I ask Seventh Highness, may I ask Lord Liu, what grave crime has Vice Minister Shen committed to deserve eighty strokes of the rod?”
Zhu Zhaowei smiled somewhat unexpectedly. “Is Censor Su questioning this prince?” He continued, “How is this? You’re also a censor of the Imperial Censorate—did Lord Liu not mention the grain tax embezzlement case in the Ministry of Revenue to you?”
The criminal clerk from the Ministry of Justice answered on their behalf, “In response to Lord Su, Young Lord Shen’s crime is harboring.”
Su Jin said, “Fine, let’s say it’s harboring. Harboring warrants flogging punishment. Lord Shen, as Vice Minister of Justice, having his crime increased by one degree would only be beating with rods. But beating doesn’t exceed fifty strokes—otherwise it’s equivalent to execution. Seventh Highness wants to beat Lord Shen with eighty strokes—are you trying to beat him to death directly?!”
Zhu Zhaowei said, “Beating doesn’t exceed fifty strokes, but includes fifty. As for these extra thirty strokes, Lord Shen requested them himself to bear his father’s punishment. You see, Shen Tuo, as Minister of Justice, knowingly violated the law, so his crime should also be increased by one degree. This prince, considering his advanced age, not changing exile to beheading is already extra mercy. But these additional thirty strokes absolutely cannot be reduced. Fortunately, Vice Minister Shen’s filial heart shines brightly, also sparing his old father some physical suffering.”
Su Jin said, “Then change the fifty strokes to demotion.” She forcibly suppressed the anger in her heart and bowed to Zhu Zhaowei with clasped hands. “Lord Shen has suffered the painful loss of a close relative. His grief is difficult to resolve. Trapped by his own heart, the decision he made cannot count. I hope Seventh Highness will permit this humble servant to make this choice on behalf of Lord Shen.”
“You’re neither kin nor relation to him—on what basis can you represent him? Just on the basis of close friendship? Just now, Censor Su wasn’t present in the hall and doesn’t know that Lord Liu and Lord Qian already warned Vice Minister Shen, but Vice Minister Shen remained obstinately unrepentant. What can this prince do?” Zhu Zhaowei said neither warmly nor coolly, “If Censor Su doesn’t believe it, you can personally ask these two chief officials of yours and see whether what this prince says is true or not.”
However, upon hearing him say this, Su Jin’s gaze didn’t fall on Liu Chaoming and Qian San’er at all.
Seeing her like this, Zhu Zhaowei smiled again. “Won’t Censor Su ask what official position Vice Minister Shen will have after being demoted?”
Su Jin said blankly, “What?”
Zhu Zhaowei’s voice carried mockery. “Court of Imperial Stud, Stable Administration Office, Assistant Director.”
Upon hearing this, Su Jin was completely stunned.
The Court of Imperial Stud was subordinate to the Ministry of War and was responsible for horse husbandry. The Stable Administration Office was the office under the Court of Imperial Stud responsible for feeding horses and cattle and providing for various livestock. Although its Assistant Director was nominally seventh rank, the official rank was empty. To put it plainly, they were making Shen Xi go raise horses.
Su Jin raised her hand to point at Shen Xi. Blood seeped from the wound in her palm, dripping drop by drop onto the ground.
She stared intently at Zhu Zhaowei and asked word by word, “Lord Shen is full of strategies and unmatched in intelligence—you’re making him feed horses?”
Someone so proud as pine, unstained by the world—they were making him feed horses?!
In ancient times, scholars could be killed but not humiliated, could be broken but not bent.
But these principles today, here with Su Jin, no longer counted at all. She suddenly withdrew her hand and resolutely placed it behind her back. “Feeding horses then feeding horses!” She said, “Then let Lord Shen go to the Court of Imperial Stud!”
Zhu Zhaowei shook his head regretfully. “Originally going to the Court of Imperial Stud was feasible, but alas, you spoke too late.” He suddenly withdrew the smile from his eyes and said coldly, “Doesn’t Censor Su know the palace rules? Shen Xi’s punishment has already been determined. You’re neither kin nor relation to him yet presume to make decisions here—isn’t this disrupting the execution? Guards!”
“Here!”
“The Imperial Censorate’s Su Jin has disrupted the execution without authorization. Bind her—”
Before Zhu Zhaowei could finish speaking, Chengtian Gate was pushed open with a resounding boom by guards. Zhu Yushen led several military guards in on horseback.
He must have rushed over from the Northern Military Camp. Still wearing his ink-black riding clothes, not yet changed, the iron wrist guards on both sleeves reflected the sunset glow with blinding gold. Drawing closer, he dismounted, his gaze sweeping once over the unconscious Shen Xi before finally settling on Zhu Zhaowei. He said indifferently, “This prince will make this decision for Qingyue. Will Seventh Brother allow it?”