Chapter 142: The Drum Of Hearing Petitions Sounds! Old Zhu Angrily Smashes The Hall Of Supreme Harmony 【 Seeking Monthly Tickets 】
“Waste! All of you are waste!”
“We can’t wait any longer! His Majesty has forbidden our people from approaching Shen Lang and their prison cell!”
Fu Youwen paced back and forth in the study, shaking his head and muttering, appearing as if driven mad:
“As for Zhao Fengman, I don’t think we’ll find him, but I still feel something is not right!”
“What do you mean by that?”
Ru Chang asked, his heart pounding: “Could someone else be involved in this matter?!”
“The situation is getting more chaotic! Li Mo and Wu Nai Da, those scoundrels! They probably anticipated our move against them long ago and had already planned their escape route!”
Zheng Ci interjected sharply: “Moreover, our large-scale operation could not have gone unnoticed by the Imperial Guard and His Majesty!”
Having said this, he looked around at the other three and tentatively asked:
“How about we create an iron box ourselves, claim we’ve found it, put some account books inside, and then frame a few scapegoats, like Zhao Qian, what do you think?!”
“It’s useless!”
Zhai Shan shook his head with a grim expression: “Rumors are flying everywhere now, and everyone is saying the iron box contains secrets related to the Eastern Palace. Do you think His Majesty will believe the iron box we submit? He’ll only become more suspicious!”
“Then what do you suggest we do?”
Ru Chang asked indignantly: “Are we just going to sit and wait for death?!”
Just then, a trusted butler rushed in, his face as pale as paper:
“Master! It’s bad! Someone just… just found this outside the Censorate!”
He said, and tremblingly handed over a crumpled piece of paper, clearly a hastily made ball.
Fu Youwen quickly stepped forward, snatched it, and unfolded it to examine.
The moment he saw it, he froze as if struck by lightning, all color draining from his face, his lips trembling, unable to utter a word.
The paper recorded an item as ‘A tribute from Shaanxi,’ with an exorbitant amount, and the recipient’s signature was very blurred.
Furthermore, in the notes, it vaguely mentioned ‘An official surnamed Wang from the Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commission,’ ‘Ru Chang’s brother-in-law,’ and ‘Imperial Prison,’ words that made their scalps tingle.
Although the content was incomplete and vague, the implied direction was enough to make Fu Youwen’s heart stop.
“It’s over…”
The paper slipped from Fu Youwen’s hand and fluttered to the ground. He slumped onto the chair, listless and with hollow eyes.
The other three snatched the paper and read it, their faces turning ashen simultaneously.
“Was it you?!”
Ru Chang glared at Fu Youwen, furious: “You failed to capture them, and now they’ve caught a handle on you and are retaliating this way?!”
“Nonsense!”
Fu Youwen roared in exasperation: “How could a couple of small fries get their hands on such evidence? They must have someone powerful behind them!”
Saying this, his eyes were filled with endless malice and fear: “They are trying to drive us to our deaths!”
“No! Something’s not right!”
Zhai Shan repeatedly shook his head: “Besides us, ordinary people wouldn’t be able to get this kind of evidence! It must be the Prince! Only someone close to the Prince could obtain these things!”
“What!?”
Hearing this, the other three were aghast.
A chilling fear and anger surged into their hearts.
Fu Youwen murmured: “Is he mad? Why would he do this? Does he intend to…”
He didn’t finish his sentence, but everyone understood his meaning.
This was a case of “sacrificing a rook to save the general”!
For a moment, despair and resentment spread among the four like a plague.
They were pushed to the brink of a cliff.
“No!”
Ru Chang couldn’t help but roar: “I must leave the city immediately! I must go see the Prince and demand an explanation!”
It was clear that his immense panic had made him lose his composure.
However, just as his plump body was about to rush out, Fu Youwen and Zhai Shan grabbed him together.
“Stop—!”
“What are you panicking about?!”
Hearing their shouts and feeling their grip, Ru Chang turned back with a face full of rage: “It’s come to this! What are you trying to do?!”
“Minister Ru, this information is not enough to kill us; it’s merely a matter of corruption!”
Zhai Shan was the first to explain: “If it really is the Prince, it’s not that he’s abandoning us, but rather reminding us that this evidence has already fallen into His Majesty’s hands, and we should stop struggling!”
“Exactly! I think so too!”
Fu Youwen nodded in agreement:
“Since this evidence is already in His Majesty’s hands, we cannot continue investigating the iron box. Otherwise, we’ll be completely finished!”
“Then what do you propose we do?”
Ru Chang asked unyieldingly: “Are we to confess to corruption and take all the blame?!”
Fu Youwen exchanged a look with the other two, frowning:
“Admitting to corruption will only hasten our deaths. The immediate priority is to completely sever all ties with Wang En and your brother-in-law.”
“Even if they know some things, they don’t know much, and the Imperial Prison won’t be able to extract much information.”
“As long as we stick to our story that they acted recklessly under our names, and we knew nothing, His Majesty won’t punish us until he investigates further!”
“Indeed!”
Zheng Ci chimed in: “His Majesty obtained our evidence but is delaying his action because he wants to find out who is behind us! As long as the Prince doesn’t reveal himself, His Majesty won’t easily move against us!”
“However…”
Zhai Shan’s tone shifted: “We still need to consider another aspect…”
Saying this, he turned to the other three, his voice eerily grim: “We need to prepare an escape route.”
Upon hearing this, the other three felt a chill.
The next morning, to the right of the Gate of Heavenly Acceptance.
This was usually a quiet place with sparse carriages and officials passing by.
Suddenly, a hoarse yet persistent voice shattered the calm.
“Injustice! My lord!”
A ragged, but determined, old litigator, with a desperate glint in his eyes, rushed towards the Drum of Hearing Petitions, instantly attracting the attention of all passersby.
“This humble citizen has earth-shattering secrets to report to the Heavenly Ear!”
The old litigator shouted until his voice was hoarse, raising high a package wrapped in ordinary rough cloth, from which a corner of exquisitely embroidered peony silk peeked out.
“This humble citizen found this lost item from the palace on Zhuque Street last night!”
“It contains… it contains crucial items concerning the imperial family’s dignity and the stability of the state! This humble citizen dares not hide it and has come to present it to the Emperor!”
“Please, honorable officials, convey my words to His Majesty!”
Boom!
The crowd erupted in an uproar!
An item lost from the palace?
Peony embroidery? The specifications…
Concerning the imperial family’s dignity!?
Everyone who heard this had their faces change.
The leakage of palace items into civilian hands was already a major event, and when combined with phrases like “imperial family’s dignity” and “stability of the state,” the explosive information sent chills down everyone’s spines.
The guards at the gate and the low-ranking officials who rushed over were terrified and wanted to stop him, but it was too late.
Countless eyes were fixed on the package, and whispers of speculation and fear spread like a plague.
The news spread like a hurricane, centered on the right gate of Chang’an, sweeping through the entire Yingtian Prefecture.
Meanwhile, Wu Nai Da, hidden in the shadows, pulled down the brim of his hat and silently disappeared into the crowd, as if he had never been there.
This “old litigator,” with no family and willing to risk his life for money, and harboring a deep hatred for Fu Youwen, was the most suitable candidate.
At the same time.
A court session in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
This was the first court session since Old Zhu had resumed attending to state affairs.
The atmosphere was not as oppressive as before and was relatively peaceful.
The preceding few political matters were also handled smoothly.
Just as Fu Youwen and the other three thought “everything is fine,” Old Zhu casually picked up a memorial submitted by the Censorate, impeaching Fu Youwen and others for “lax household management and condoning corruption among subordinates.” The content was mild, clearly a test.
Old Zhu’s gaze slowly swept over Fu Youwen and the other three, his voice calm and devoid of emotion, making it impossible to discern his mood:
“Fu Youwen, Ru Chang, the Censorate impeaches you for condoning your relatives and disciples in amassing wealth under your name. Is this true?”
Fu Youwen’s heart pounded, but hearing it was only an impeachment of this level, his suspended heart eased by half.
As they had expected, His Majesty had obtained the “evidence” but did not act immediately, waiting and testing them.
He immediately stepped forward, knelt down with a ‘plop,’ and spoke with appropriately feigned panic and grievance:
“Your Majesty, please be discerning! Your ministers were busy with official duties and indeed did not pay close enough attention to our families and disciples!”
“But to say we condoned corruption, this minister would never dare!”
“It must be that our subordinates acted recklessly under our names!”
“This minister implores Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly. If this is true, this minister will not tolerate it and will willingly accept the punishment for negligence!”
Ru Chang, Zheng Ci, and Zhai Shan also stepped forward and knelt, speaking in unison, all pleading guilty and adopting an extremely humble posture, shifting all blame to “subordinates’ misdeeds” and “their own negligence.”
This performance simultaneously admitted minor faults and absolved them of major crimes, perfectly aligning with their previously agreed-upon strategy.
The Imperial Court fell silent.
Many officials sneered inwardly, knowing this was a common tactic, but judging by the Emperor’s attitude, it seemed…
On the dragon throne, Old Zhu gently tapped his fingers on the armrest, his face unreadable.
He was about to follow the expected script, temporarily suppress the matter, deal with it coldly, and continue to wear them down, as well as Zhang Biao and his subordinates in the Imperial Prison.
Just as his lips parted, about to say, “This matter can be discussed later”—
“Dong—!”
A muffled, loud, and extremely penetrating drumbeat sounded from outside the Gate of Heavenly Acceptance without any warning.
It clearly penetrated the relatively quiet Imperial City in the early morning, even faintly reaching the tall and deep Hall of Supreme Harmony.
“Dong! Dong! Dong!”
The drumming did not stop; instead, it continued one after another.
Heavy, slow, yet with a sense of desperation, it stubbornly pounded on everyone’s eardrums and the hearts of everyone in the hall.
Whoa!
The entire hall was in an uproar!
The solemn atmosphere in the hall was instantly broken.
The officials exchanged glances and began to whisper.
“Drum of Hearing Petitions?!”
“At this hour, who is beating the Drum of Hearing Petitions?”
“What immense injustice has occurred?”
Old Zhu’s eyes suddenly snapped open, radiating sharp light.
The finger tapping the armrest stopped abruptly.
He knew perfectly well what drum sound this was.
The Drum of Hearing Petitions! Directly reaching the Heavenly Ear!
It was not to be struck for trivial injustices or minor secrets!
The duty censor’s face turned pale, and he rushed out of the hall to investigate the situation.
A moment later, a eunuch, almost crawling, rushed into the main hall, knelt down with a ‘plop,’ his voice shrill and trembling, full of terror:
“Reporting… Reporting, Your Majesty! Outside the Gate of Heavenly Acceptance… an old man is beating the Drum of Hearing Petitions! The… the petition is here!”
The eunuch held up a petition and then said with a trembling voice: “But what’s even more striking is that next to the old man, on the ground, there’s an opened rough cloth package, and what’s inside seems…”
“Enough!”
Old Zhu interrupted impatiently: “Who is being accused? What is the accusation?!”
“This servant… this servant dares not say…”
“Speak—!”
Old Zhu roared, like thunder exploding in the hall.
The eunuch was so terrified he trembled like a leaf in the wind: “The old man said… said he is reporting the crime of using forbidden medicine in the imperial palace and attempting to murder the imperial heir! And also… the Shaanxi old case, and… and the Crown Prince…”
He didn’t dare to finish, but the words “Crown Prince” had already pierced the deathly silence of the hall like a sharp knife!
“Rumble—!”
The entire Hall of Supreme Harmony erupted in chaos!
The officials turned ashen, and exclamations and gasps filled the air.
Forbidden palace medicine!
Murdering the imperial heir!
Shaanxi old case!
The Crown Prince!
Each word was a taboo that could lead to the extermination of nine generations of a family.
Now, at the court session, it was being shouted out in this manner.
Fu Youwen, Ru Chang, Zheng Ci, and Zhai Shan’s faces instantly turned as pale as paper, devoid of any color.
Fu Youwen’s legs buckled, and he almost collapsed, only supported by a colleague’s subconscious action.
The thing they feared most, the thing they dared not imagine, had been brought directly before the Emperor in the most direct and violent way.
“Hehehehehe…”
On the dragon throne, Old Zhu first let out a suppressed, chilling chuckle.
Then the laughter grew louder and louder, eventually turning into a near-mad roar of laughter.
“Hahahahaha—!”
But there was no warmth in that laughter, only immense wrath and bone-chilling cold.
“Good! Very good!”
The laughter abruptly stopped. Old Zhu stood up abruptly, his eyes red, like a furious primordial giant beast, staring intently at the officials below.
Finally, his gaze, like a tangible blade, instantly locked onto the group of Fu Youwen and the other three, who were almost shrinking into the ground.
“Bang—!”
Old Zhu fiercely kicked over the imperial desk in front of him.
Following that, memorials, ink and brushes, and the Imperial Seal scattered across the floor with a tremendous crash that made everyone’s hearts crumble.
“Fu Youwen!”
Old Zhu’s voice was like a chilling wind from the nine netherworlds, spoken word by word, carrying the intent to crush everything.
“Ru Chang!”
“Zheng Ci!”
“Zhai Shan!”
With each name called, the person addressed trembled violently as if struck by lightning.
“All of you, get out—!!”
The four scrambled out of their positions, collapsing onto the cold floor tiles of the Golden Throne Hall, shaking like sieves.
It’s over! We’re finished!
The Emperor’s wrath has been ignited!
