Chapter 59: Can’t Waste Him
Shen Li sat behind the desk, with a circle of attending servants standing around, while the two who had entered with him were now standing beside the desk.
The voices speaking at this time had already quieted, and the conversation was intermittent.
Below were large numbers of guards, and under the eaves of the opposite roof there were also Du Family members. Yue Tang could no longer get any closer.
At this moment, even if someone from the Imperial Secretariat came, or if evidence of crimes truly appeared, she would be helpless. Only the manpower sent by the Du Family could achieve it.
The Shen Family’s successive accidents over the years were something Yue Tang had heard of for the first time.
But Wei Zhang said it had been continuous for four or five years. When she thought back last night, she only recalled that in the autumn of the year Empress Dowager Shen was established as Empress, her maternal home’s grandfather had indeed fallen from his horse and broken his leg.
The old man was already over sixty, lay in bed for two or three months, and died after failing to survive a cold.
Yue Tang, far away in the outskirts of the capital, knew about it because after the old man died, the former Emperor specially allowed the Successor Empress to return to her maternal home to mourn.
This action became yet another ironclad proof of Empress Shen’s favor at the time.
The Shen Family’s power later rose sharply. If the successive accidents were due to someone secretly scheming, with the Shen Family’s strength, it would be impossible for them not to investigate it.
If they were truly accidents, how could it be so coincidental that every one happened in the same season?
The sun had just risen, and distant chanting sounds fell into Yue Tang’s ears.
While deep in thought, two elderly monks entered carrying a tray covered with red cloth, under which several long cylinders bulged, vaguely like rolled booklets.
A nearby attendant uncovered the red cloth, revealing three booklets, but they did not look like confidential documents.
From Yue Tang’s angle, she could see a clue on the rafter of the opposite room. They were indeed lurking without moving.
“Eldest Young Master, Lord Hu from the Imperial Secretariat has arrived.”
The guard’s voice drew everyone’s attention, including Yue Tang’s.
At this moment, the shadow on the opposite rafter indeed flickered twice.
A middle-aged official in a crimson robe walked in from outside the door. Upon entering, he cupped his fists and called “Lord Shen,” then took out an item from his bosom and handed it to Shen Li.
The two whispered, making it impossible for anyone to hear the content of their conversation.
Several palms with bulging veins had already appeared on the opposite rafter. They were braced on the beam, eager to move.
The hidden compartment of the Du Family held that batch of evidence of crimes pointing to the Shen Family Faction. Depending on their attitude toward the Shen Family, Yue Tang only needed to fan the flames now, letting the people arranged by Du Yu expose themselves in front of Shen Li, and then it would be enough to determine the outcome!
The difficulty was how to fan the flames with just her alone without burning herself.
Seeing those hands on the rafter, she thought of the pill in her sachet.
Just as she was pondering if it was feasible, at that moment a very faint whistle came from outside the window—two long and one short, sounding like a bird—
Wei Zhang?
Yue Tang immediately straightened up and looked toward the source of the sound through the window.
Wei Zhang, disguised as a servant, was standing under a tree outside the wall, looking toward her.
The action plan had been evaluated by her and Wei Zhang together. Over these past years, Wei Zhang had explored many places with her, so in this situation, he roughly knew where she was hiding.
Yue Tang, who was worrying about finding an opportunity, was overjoyed. Though she didn’t know why Wei Zhang had suddenly appeared, since he was here, there was no reason not to stir things up!
She raised her hand and made a signal. Then she concealed her figure, pointed to the opposite rafter, and made an exploding gesture.
Wei Zhang glanced toward the opposite side, nodded, and then quickly left the tree.
Yue Tang silently counted to three on the rafter, and the order among the Shen Family guards surrounding the room outside was already in chaos!
Soon two people quickly entered the room, glancing toward where the Du Family members were hiding while walking up to Shen Li: “Eldest Young Master, we just received a secret report…”
The guard quickly reported a few sentences, and Shen Li immediately stood up, with unconcealed shock on his face, swiftly turning to look toward the rafter opposite Yue Tang!
Yue Tang seized the opportunity and flicked the pill she held in her hand toward the hand that was rapidly retracting!
A “pa” sound was heard from the opposite direction, right where the gazes of the two Shen Family guards below fell!
They shouted loudly: “There! Quickly escort the young master out!”
In an instant, the room was in chaos.
The servants were still alright, but the maidservants had never seen such a scene. They forced themselves to stay calm but still buzzed around like headless flies.
Shen Li gnashed his teeth, glaring furiously at the masked people who had been exposed on the opposite rafter, while being surrounded by the crowd and retreating outward!
The people under the opposite rafter naturally never expected that, besides the Shen Family people, a third party would discover them.
By the time they reacted, half a figure had already fallen into the eyes of everyone in the room, and the Shen Family guards surrounding outside had rushed in, drawing knives one after another and leaping up!
Wei Zhang shouted amid the crowd: “It’s people from the Marquis of Guangling’s Mansion! This lowly one just saw people from the marquis’s mansion lurking nearby!”
Actually, up to now, Yue Tang wasn’t sure if those people opposite were really arranged by Du Yu.
But regardless, once this mess broke out, in the Shen Family members’ eyes, they had to be!
Hearing these words, Shen Li’s expression grew even more shocked. He instinctively looked around and then angrily asked: “How could Du Family members be here?!”
The two attendants who had been closely following him panicked: “Could it be that they were sent by the Emperor?”
The Du Family controlled the Imperial City Department, so if they were sent by the Emperor, it would make sense.
Shen Li gritted his teeth, glaring sinisterly at the rafter: “Capture them all! Don’t let a single one escape!
“Keep them alive!
“Bring them to me for personal interrogation!”
After issuing this resounding command, he turned and retreated out.
They had already mentioned it might be people sent by the Emperor, yet Shen Eldest Young Master still unhesitatingly ordered them captured for personal interrogation on the spot. The conflict between Empress Dowager Shen in the palace and the Emperor was evident!
And Shen Li actually took those words to heart, decisively starting to act, which didn’t seem like he had any ties with the Du Family.
Yue Tang glanced at the chaos below, seized an opportunity to leap down quickly, blended into the crowd, grabbed the several booklets and stuffed them into her sleeve, then slipped out amid the disorder.
Several Shen Family guards in the midst of combat spotted her. As they tried to pursue, they were blocked by the servants whom Wei Zhang secretly shoved, who hadn’t fully retreated yet.
Yue Tang leaped out of the room, passed through the stele forest, and only when there wasn’t a single tail behind her did she leap onto a treetop. Looking toward the Zen Courtyard along the path, sounds of fighting faintly came from afar, with both sides’ troops fiercely engaged.
Bold pilgrims from all sides had already gathered around. After all, with the Shen Family Eldest Young Master in trouble, how many would scramble to step forward and prove their loyalty?
While the timid ones stayed far away, they still watched from the periphery.
The news that people from the Marquis of Guangling’s Mansion were hiding in Shen Gongzi’s room waiting for an opportunity would soon spread through these people.
Yue Tang removed her outer cloak, reverted to pilgrim attire, jumped down from the tree, and then took out the several booklets.
Inside were records of the Shen Family’s recent years of lineage donations in the temple.
Three booklets: one for incense and oil, one for silver, and one for donated houses, dharma assemblies, etc. Recorded in great detail.
The content wasn’t particularly special, but when she flipped to the dates at the end of each booklet, her brow twitched, and her expression suddenly changed!
“Master!” Wei Zhang arrived. “Twenty-four Shen Family guards all mobilized to surround and attack those five people. Two are already down and bound. Shen Li is interrogating them on the spot. The remaining few will soon be wiped out!
“It seems our speculation is correct. The people behind the Du Family are at least not the Shen Family! Those pieces of evidence of crimes are what the Du Family uses to target the Shen Family.”
Yue Tang closed the booklet: “Why are you here?”
“Prince Jingyang went to the Xu Family!”
Wei Zhang caught his breath and explained the whole story.
Yue Tang looked up at the sky. The sun had only climbed halfway; it was merely chenshi, yet Yan Bei had already gone to the Xu Family?
As the Regent Minister, did he have so much free time?
But it was good this way. With him tangling Xu He, Wei Zhang could free himself.
No time to think much, she stuffed the booklets in her hand to Wei Zhang: “Take a look.”
Wei Zhang flipped through page by page, then said: “Indeed, every lineage donation is related to accidents in their mansion.
“The first year was their old master falling and getting injured, the second year the legitimate son of the second house fell from a pleasure boat into the water, the third year the old madam contracted an epidemic disease—
“Their old madam should rarely leave the house, with clouds of servants around her. How could she contract an epidemic disease? This is definitely suspicious.
“The fourth year, which was last year, their ancestral hall caught fire.
“This year—it hasn’t come yet.
“But in any case, none of these matters were top priority. If someone intended it, it wouldn’t be hard to do. This very much looks like premeditation!”
At this point, he pondered: “The Shen Family’s power grew rapidly, naturally attracting secret targeting. But for the Shen Family to swallow such hidden losses without retaliation always seems off.”
Yue Tang’s face was equally grave: “Look again at the dates of their lineage donations.”
Wei Zhang glanced at the dates, then held his breath: “September 23rd?”
He was already startled as he spoke.
“That’s right,” Yue Tang then said. “It’s exactly the day Brother died, September 23rd.”
Yue Tang’s eldest brother Yue Rong went from onset to death in just over two months, but from sudden severe illness to death it was merely three days. Even the Hua Family people then in Luoyang couldn’t rush back in time to help.
The imperial physician’s diagnosis was chest bi, meaning a congenital heart defect.
Later, Yue Tang met Hua Lin and described Yue Rong’s symptoms to him; Hua Lin’s judgment was the same.
These years, Yue Tang clearly remembered the days she lost her father and brother as well as A Li. Every year on this day, no matter where she was, she would hold sacrifices and burn paper. Of course Wei Zhang could spot the issue at a glance.
From the timing of the Shen Family’s incidents, in the October after Yue Rong’s death, the Shen Family old master fell from his horse, and then they began offering incense and praying for blessings in the temple. That year’s lineage donation was in the twelfth lunar month.
Thereafter, the timings of each accident varied, all around September 23rd, but the Shen Family’s donations for lineage and prayers for safety were fixed on this date every year.
“How could there be such a coincidence?”
Wei Zhang had already discerned Yue Tang’s thoughts. His voice carried a slight tremor. “The Shen Family and the prince’s mansion have no private dealings; it’s impossible they chose this date for our Heir Apparent out of remembrance.
“Moreover, Empress Mu shares deep friendship with our prince and princess consort. If Empress Dowager Shen wants the Fourth Prince to supplant the Second Prince, she certainly wouldn’t see Prince Duan’s Mansion as allies.
“Though not enemies, they absolutely aren’t close.
“—Princess! Could it be that Shen Family members were involved in the Heir Apparent’s death?”
If all had been stable, no one would suspect the imperial physician’s judgment could be wrong.
But in fact, Yue Tang’s accident that year was premeditated, Prince Duan’s death left even Yan Bei doubtful, and there were many strange things about the former Emperor. Now the Shen Family’s odd phenomena linked to Yue Rong’s death anniversary—how could one not suspect conspiracy?
Wei Zhang’s face was like frost: “The beaded bracelet hidden in Du Minghuan’s hidden compartment is clearly a woman’s item. Could it be Empress Dowager Shen’s?
“Did the Shen Family set up a grand scheme early on to seize imperial power?”
She had come to verify the Shen-Du relationship, but instead uncovered suspicions on the Shen Family!
If the Shen Family had premeditated murdering Yue Rong, then the siege Yue Tang suffered would also have to be instigated by the Shen Family to make sense?
Yue Tang frowned: “What you said isn’t impossible.
“But if the Shen Family directed the Du Family, the Du Family secretly collecting evidence of crimes could be for self-preservation, but why would Du Yu dare to sneak around eavesdropping?
“The one who came up with a plan to kill two birds with one stone, killing both Zhang Shaode and He Hui at once—didn’t he consider that once exposed, the Shen Family would immediately wipe them out?”
Wei Zhang paused, then said: “Princess considers thoroughly; this subordinate was overthinking.”
“No, you didn’t overthink.” She stopped under the tree, gazing through the treetops toward the direction of the Shen Family’s fighting. “That night’s conspiracy reached the imperial palace, the Imperial Court, the prince’s mansion. It wasn’t solely my Yue Tang’s disaster.
“The Shen Family chose on-the-spot interrogation for the captured Du Family members instead of quietly settling it behind closed doors, which can only mean no direct collusion between them.
“That doesn’t mean the already powerful Shen Family is innocent in the entire conspiracy.”
She paused. “No one can be certain of their innocence.
“A conspiracy spanning such a vast scope—if truly the work of one person, that person’s power would be unmatched.
“Perhaps the Second Prince wouldn’t even have ascended the throne.”
Wei Zhang was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded: “This subordinate understands. Your meaning is that our enemies may number more than one.”
Yue Tang nodded.
She still looked toward the distant Zen Courtyard: “We still have to grope our way across the river step by step to ascertain the truth.
“But today’s trip was still worthwhile. The Shen Family captured these people and will surely hold the Du Family accountable.
“The Du Family can’t withstand the Shen Family; there will be a good show next!
“Guess what the Du Family will do when they can’t hold out?”
Wei Zhang’s eyes gleamed: “Naturally, they’ll go to their backer!”
“Exactly!” Yue Tang smiled. “We must drive the Du Family to a dead end. When cornered dogs jump walls, that’s when they reveal clues.
“Now sneak back over and see what the outcome is there?
“I’ll go ahead to meet Qin Niang.
“After scouting, go to Zui Xian Ju and buy two jars of peach blossom brew, deliver them to the prince’s mansion. I’ll wait for you outside the prince’s mansion gate.”
“Peach blossom brew?”
“Yes,” Yue Tang glanced at him. “I remember our Prince Jingyang has more than once praised Zui Xian Ju’s wine as good. Pick the best and buy two jars; I’ll take them in.
“Among the entire court, I can’t find another ‘thug’ as handy as our Prince Jingyang; we can’t waste him.
Wei Zhang heard this and also laughed: “Master is wise.”
