Chapter 141: Old Zhu Got Cuckolded? 【 Seeking Monthly Tickets 】
Fu Youwen’s Mansion.
Inside the study, the atmosphere was extremely solemn.
Fu Youwen, Ru Chang, Zheng Ci, and Zhai Shan met again, their faces looking extremely grim, with even a hint of undetectable fear in their eyes.
“Rumors! There are rumors everywhere!”
Ru Chang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead:
“They’re saying all sorts of things! And it even involves the Crown Prince! The Emperor has also started interfering with the Ministry of Justice; has he believed something?”
Zheng Ci’s face turned pale, and he couldn’t help but say:
“Could it be that madman Zhang Biao was spouting nonsense in the Imperial Prison and it got out?”
“Rumors are more ferocious than tigers! Especially when they involve…”
Zhai Shan didn’t explicitly mention the Crown Prince, but his eyes were also filled with worry: “That kind of thing. The Emperor’s attitude is unclear now; were we too hasty before?”
Fu Youwen’s expression was gloomy, and he tightly gripped his tea cup, his knuckles turning white.
He had calculated everything, but he never expected Zhang Biao to have this move.
Even more so, he didn’t expect the Emperor’s reaction to be so strange.
“Why panic!”
Fu Youwen forced himself to calm down, but his voice also carried a barely perceptible tremor:
“Rumors stop with the wise! Without evidence, it’s all talk! Hasn’t that iron box not been found yet?”
After saying this, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes:
“The urgent matter is to find Zhao Fengman immediately, get the iron box, and destroy it!”
“Also, stop Li Mo and Wu Nai Da from continuing to spread rumors!”
“But… we don’t know where they are now,” Zheng Ci hesitated, “How can we stop them?”
“Hmph! You can run from the monk, but you can’t run from the temple!”
Fu Youwen said with a sinister tone, “Aren’t there two more locked up in the Ministry of Justice Prison? Under the guise of the Ministry of Justice thoroughly investigating accomplices, we will search their residences and deter those who are secretly helping them spread rumors! As for Zhao Fengman…”
As he spoke, his gaze swept over the other three, and he said without room for doubt, “Mobilize all the forces we can, and we’ll search everywhere to find him!”
“We need to see him alive, or find his corpse!”
“If necessary, we must contact the Prince and the Duke. If they don’t act, we will all die!”
Upon hearing this, the other three couldn’t help but look at each other in dismay.
This matter was already nearing the point beyond their control.
During the following period, Shen Lang and Sun Gui’s days in the Ministry of Justice Prison, due to Old Zhu’s further interference, indeed became increasingly difficult.
Meals were sporadic, and they were always stale, cold leftovers.
The prison cell was cold and damp, and at night, there was only a thin, moldy, tattered blanket.
Even more terrifyingly…
The prison guards would take them for interrogation at random times in the dead of night, just making them sit there, bombarding them with various questions repeatedly, not letting them rest, trying to break them mentally.
In just a few days, both men had visibly lost weight and become haggard, their eyes sunken and their lips chapped.
“Damn it… If you have the guts, just give me a quick end!”
Sun Gui leaned against the cold wall, his voice hoarse as he cursed, but the ferocity in his eyes had not diminished.
Shen Lang was in a worse condition; his injuries ached from the cold and malnutrition, but he still tried to maintain his clarity:
“They are wearing down our will… trying to make us collapse, to reveal the whereabouts of the iron box… or… to frame Brother Biao and Li Mo…”
“Dream on!”
Sun Gui spat, “I’d rather die than betray my brothers!”
Shen Lang nodded with difficulty, but a deep worry flickered in his eyes.
How long could they hold out? Where was Fengman exactly? Were Li Mo and Wu Nai Da safe?
On the other side.
In the alley of official residences near the Gate of Heavenly Acceptance.
“Search! Search thoroughly for this official!”
A Director of the Ministry of Justice shouted sternly, “We received a secret report that fugitives Shen Lang, Sun Gui, and others met here to conceal stolen goods and evidence!”
The yamen runners rushed into the house like wolves, overturning cabinets and shelves, smashing and looting, and in a moment, the small courtyard, which was already bare, was turned upside down.
However, they found nothing.
“Sir! We found no suspicious items!” the squad leader reported.
The Director of the Ministry of Justice’s face was gloomy, and his sharp gaze swept over every corner.
He had been ordered to find some ‘conclusive’ evidence, and he hadn’t expected these little brutes to be so cunning.
“Seal this place up!”
He roared in rage:
“Dispatch more men, and keep a close watch on all the streets in this vicinity for me! If you find any accomplices of the fugitives Shen Lang, Sun Gui, etc., apprehend them immediately!”
At the same time, a quiet purge also began within the Ministry of War, Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of Personnel, Hanlin Academy, and the Censorate.
The old clerk in charge of old archives at the Hanlin Academy whom Li Mo tried to contact was forcibly “persuaded to retire” that afternoon due to “advanced age and lack of energy,” to “enjoy his retirement at home”; in reality, he was placed under house arrest.
The colleague from the Ministry of Personnel whom Wu Nai Da had secretly contacted was suddenly investigated for “embezzling office funding” and was directly sent to the Ministry of Justice Prison, his fate unknown.
Even colleagues who had previously contacted Shen Lang and Sun Gui, including street ruffians who had interacted with Zhao Fengman, vanished without a trace.
Fu Youwen and his group’s counterattack was precise, ruthless, and merciless, instantly cutting off Li Mo and Wu Nai Da’s operational channels.
The news soon reached Li Mo and Wu Nai Da, who had gathered again, through covert channels.
“Son of a bitch!”
Wu Nai Da couldn’t help but curse, his face turning extremely ashen:
“Our influence in official circles is too weak. With a single word from them, they can cut off our roots.”
“Now both Shuntian Prefecture and the Ministry of Justice are openly arresting us.”
Li Mo said with worry, “Our original operational channels are also cut off; we can barely move.”
An atmosphere of despair once again enveloped the cellar.
“This can’t go on!”
Wu Nai Da said anxiously in a low voice:
“Fu Youwen and the others are like mad dogs! If we keep hiding, we’ll be found eventually! And Shen Lang and Sun Gui in prison probably can’t hold on!”
Li Mo’s expression was grave; he also hadn’t expected Fu Youwen and the others’ reaction to be so fierce and swift, and the Emperor’s inaction also made him uneasy.
Just then, the wooden plank at the cellar entrance was tapped very lightly, three times with a rhythm, a pause, and then two more times.
It was the safety signal from the civilian Wu Nai Da had arranged to keep watch.
Wu Nai Da and Li Mo exchanged glances, then quietly climbed up the ladder, looked out through the cracks in the wooden planks, and then lowered their voices, saying:
“Er Hu, what happened?”
“Brother Wu, someone threw a package into our house. I don’t know what it is, but I think it’s related to you!”
The person named Er Hu, imitating Wu Nai Da, also lowered his voice and spoke very quickly.
And the cellar where Wu Nai Da and Li Mo were hiding was actually Er Hu’s cellar.
Years ago, Er Hu was begging on the street and was bullied by other beggars; Wu Nai Da chivalrously rescued him, and the two became acquainted.
Although they had little contact over the years, their relationship was good, and almost no one knew about their connection.
Therefore, Wu Nai Da had immediately sought out Er Hu and taken refuge at his place.
However, upon hearing Er Hu’s words, cold sweat instantly broke out on Wu Nai Da.
Someone threw a package at Er Hu’s house?
And it’s supposed to be related to them?
Doesn’t this mean their hiding place has been exposed?!
Thinking of this, Wu Nai Da quickly pressed Er Hu, “Did you see who that person was? Also, have you seen any soldiers nearby?”
“No, Brother Wu, I just went outside to check, there was nothing unusual, and no soldiers appeared nearby. As for the person who threw the package, I rushed out as soon as I saw it and didn’t find any trace of him.”
“This…”
Wu Nai Da was stunned, thinking, what kind of situation is this? However, without further hesitation, he immediately said to Er Hu again, “The package?”
“It’s here!”
Er Hu opened the cellar’s wooden plank and handed the package in.
Wu Nai Da took the package, frowned, and then instructed:
“Er Hu, this place is likely exposed; you shouldn’t stay here anymore, or you’ll be implicated and lose your life!”
“Then, Brother Wu… what about you?”
“We’ll move immediately too, don’t worry about us!”
“Okay!” Er Hu nodded heavily, “Then I’ll go prepare some food for you; eat before you leave!”
“Thanks…”
Wu Nai Da smiled and nodded slightly, then quickly brought the package in and closed the wooden plank again.
“What is it?” Li Mo asked nervously.
Wu Nai Da shook his head and carefully opened the package.
There were no letters inside, only a few torn pages that looked like records of imperial palace expenditures.
Although the paper was fine, its edges were scorched and curled, as if rescued from a fire, and it carried a faint smell of burning and an extremely subtle, sweet, unusual aroma.
In addition, there was a small piece of seemingly ordinary silk scrap embroidered with an extremely exquisite peony pattern, and a few ashes that looked like remnants of some kind of incense burning, with a strange color.
“This… where did this come from?”
Wu Nai Da picked up the torn page and his face suddenly changed after just one glance:
“This… this is the recording format of the Imperial Household Department! It records… it’s the expenditure of rouge, powder, and spices in the palace of a certain Empress! How could this leak out?!”
Li Mo took the torn page and carefully identified the blurred handwriting and numbers; his knowledge of history and literature came into play.
As he read, his brow furrowed deeper and deeper, and his expression became extremely strange and terrified.
“This usage… is wrong… far beyond the regulations… and…”
He suddenly picked up those strangely colored incense ashes and cautiously sniffed them.
Although most of the smell had dissipated, the lingering hint of a sweet, unusual aroma made him tremble, and he dropped them as if bitten by a viper.
“Musk!! And… and Red Lead?!”
Li Mo’s voice changed, filled with disbelief and horror:
“These things… are strictly forbidden in the palace!”
“Especially Red Lead; that is… that is an evil object refined by alchemists, said to be able to… induce lust and enhance pleasure, but prolonged use damages the body fundamentally. It can even… even lead to infertility!”
“What?!”
Wu Nai Da’s face changed drastically.
A royal concubine using strictly forbidden aphrodisiacs in the palace? Infertility?!
He felt a chill rush from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and then he tremblingly picked up the silk scrap with the peony pattern; the embroidery of the peony was extremely intricate, by no means from the common folk.
“This peony… I think… I’ve seen it somewhere…”
Wu Nai Da tried hard to recall, and suddenly, he remembered seeing a similar pattern on the curtain of a favored concubine’s palanquin during a distant court procession last year.
A terrifying thought struck him like lightning!
Adultery in the imperial harem?!
Someone used these forbidden evil drugs in the palace to defile the imperial concubines?!
And it likely involved an extremely favored concubine?!
This… this is no longer corruption, nor treason!
This is a shocking scandal that could drag the entire dynasty into the most sordid and bloody abyss!
This is an absolute taboo that could drive the Hongwu Great Emperor completely mad and have him slaughter everything!
With a “thump,” Li Mo collapsed to the ground, his face ashen.
The torn pages in Wu Nai Da’s hand fluttered to the ground; his lips trembled, and he couldn’t speak a word.
The cellar was deathly silent, with only the heavy and terrified gasps of the two men.
If the secret of the iron box had given everyone room for speculation, such as doubts surrounding Zhu Biao’s death.
Then this package undoubtedly hung a butcher knife over everyone’s heads.
So, who sent this package? Was it a well-intentioned reminder? Or borrowing a knife to kill? Or… a warning for silencing?
Regardless, they had already been drawn into this terrifying vortex that could crush them and their nine generations of relatives!
Li Mo looked at the items on the ground, which felt like hot potatoes, and then at the ashen-faced Wu Nai Da; a great fear and despair almost consumed him.
But at that moment, he suddenly remembered Zhang Biao in the Imperial Prison, remembered “Brother Biao’s” seemingly crazy but always all-knowing eyes.
【Brother Biao… did you already anticipate… that we would uncover these things by continuing to investigate?】
【What terrible things did you want us to uncover by having us audit…?】
The more Li Mo thought about it, the more flustered he became, and then he suddenly bit his tongue. The sharp pain forced him to calm down.
【Don’t panic! If you panic now, you’ll truly have nowhere to be buried!】
He took a deep breath, used all his strength, and his voice, though hoarse, carried a hint of determination:
“These things… were deliberately given to us by someone. They don’t want the secret of the iron box to be revealed, so they chose another way to detonate the Emperor’s wrath in advance!”
“Then… then what do we do?”
Wu Nai Da’s voice was tearful.
“What do we do?”
A fierce glint flashed in Li Mo’s eyes:
“The Emperor isn’t intervening for us, is he? Fu Youwen and the others are forcing us into a dead end, aren’t they? Then let’s strike them hard first!”
Wu Nai Da gasped, “Isn’t this too risky!? What if…”
“There are no ‘what ifs’!”
Li Mo interrupted him, “Our location has already been exposed. If we don’t do this, we’ll all die!”
“Only this way can we force the Emperor to intervene immediately! And make Fu Youwen and the others completely chaotic! This is the only chance to save Shen Lang and the others, and force Fu Youwen and the others to reveal their true colors!”
Wu Nai Da looked at the near-mad determination in Li Mo’s eyes and knew there was no turning back; he nodded heavily:
“Alright! I’ll find a way to get the news out immediately! I guarantee it will shock Fu Youwen and the others! And make it impossible for the Emperor to remain a bystander!”
Seeking monthly tickets~
Seeking monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, follow-up subscriptions, and full subscriptions.
【Also, the case of Old Zhu being cuckolded did happen in history; I didn’t write it randomly, and it was in the Hongwu 25th year.】
