Chapter 64: A Li Will Never Have A Dark Room Again
Ever since Yan Bei that year held the Former Emperor’s imperial decree and appeared just in time at the critical moment when Empress Dowager Shen was about to push the Fourth Prince into power, in the three years since then he had hardly ever shown his edge.
But today on the Imperial Court, he suddenly unleashed his power, and all the ministers immediately started having ideas.
Just as everyone in the hall was watching Yan Bei, Yan Bei’s gaze also did not spare the crowd.
After court adjourned, Dou Yun, who was originally at the very end, left the fastest, followed by Du Minghuan, with Shen Yi right behind, Mu Chang and Chu Ying both unhurriedly bringing up the rear, each showing their attitude, but those few old foxes did not reveal the slightest bit.
He too rose from his chair.
After leaving the palace and getting into the sedan, a guard immediately came to relay a message, he gave a few instructions to send him off, then quickly returned to the mansion.
After entering the door, he instructed Gao An again: “If Du Minghuan comes, bring him straight in.”
Sure enough, just as he returned to the room and removed his official robes, Gao An arrived: “The man is here.”
Yan Bei’s face turned cold: “Bring him in!”
Yan Bei had dropped such a bombshell on the Imperial Court, Du Minghuan could hardly remember how he had made his way down from the Imperial Court.
Until he got onto the street and the horse could no longer move, he came back to his senses and realized his hands and feet were still cold.
Yesterday when Shen Li came to the door, Du Minghuan in his panic had sent someone to Prince Jingyang’s Mansion for help, originally without much hope, but in the end Yan Bei had actually made a move, and the one he sent was even Gao An—this was truly the greatest face!
Therefore last night Du Minghuan’s hopes for Prince Jingyang’s Mansion had blazed high, and he felt he had grasped a bit of Yan Bei’s intentions.
Thinking that though Prince Jingyang usually had a cold face and acted all high and mighty, deep down he was still weak and reluctant to let the Du Family go.
Because all of Yan Bei’s forces were in Mobei, he had never operated any connections in the Capital City, with such great power in his hands, how could he not need followers?
All night long Du Minghuan was very pleased, not only did he not feel that being caught by the Shen Family was a bad thing, on the contrary it had drawn out Yan Bei’s attitude—this was a good thing!
But he never imagined that just one night later, Yan Bei had slapped him hard across the face on the Imperial Court!
The He Family’s case had actually been brought up to the Imperial Court by Yan Bei, and he even had people dig into the hidden matters behind the He Family and the Zhang Family!
This was his cousin!
The two families’ relationship was already extremely close on the Imperial Court, Yan Bei had clearly noticed something wrong, and last time had even specially sent someone to check his study, yet he disregarded all relations like this, bluntly bringing the matter up in public!
What did the He Family’s matter have to do with him?
He was actually so relentless!
So utterly unfeeling toward kin!
All these years he had been so careful to curry favor everywhere, turns out he was a white-eyed wolf!
Did he think that with just himself Yan Bei he could dominate the Imperial Court?
Did he really not need the Du Family, who controlled the Imperial City Department, to serve him loyally?
Just because he had concealed the truth from him last time, Yan Bei had pushed him to the forefront without regard for consequences, even forcing the Three Judicial Offices to conduct a thorough investigation! If he really destroyed the Du Family, what good would it do Yan Bei?!
Du Minghuan was full of wrath, gripping the horse reins and circling the street twice, but in the end he still headed toward the prince’s mansion.
No matter what, the Emperor’s imperial decree had already been issued, and to turn the tide, only Yan Bei could do it.
He must be deliberately using this case to threaten the Du Family, he must be!
Following Gao An into Yangrong Zhai, without a word he knelt down and cried: “Prince, spare my life!”
Yan Bei sneered: “Who wants your life?”
“This official knows his crime, there is indeed something fishy about the He Family’s case, it’s just that this official has not yet investigated it clearly—”
“You once repeatedly said the Du Family had no relation to this case, insisting both cases had reasons. How is it now suddenly something fishy? Du Minghuan, you are toying with this prince!”
“This official would die ten thousand deaths before daring!” Du Minghuan crawled forward on his knees, “He Jianzhong and Zhang Shaode are both this official’s subordinates, blood cases happened in their two families, if it turns out there is a cause behind it, that is this official’s dereliction of duty.
“The Prince also knows that the Du Family has produced no talents for generations, and in my hands being able to take charge of the Imperial City Department is already heaven-sent luck, if His Majesty holds me accountable, Cousin, I cannot bear it!
“I beg the Prince to withdraw the order and hand this case over to this official to handle!”
“You cannot bear it?!” Yan Bei walked up to him, “Afraid of death?”
Du Minghuan nodded dazedly.
Yan Bei’s palm pressed on top of his head: “Then tell me, three years ago what did He Jianzhong and Zhang Shaode ever do for you?”
Du Minghuan trembled all over.
Yan Bei squatted down, his eyes already glaring red: “Do you remember? Last time I told you, I calculated it, your Du Family up and down totals forty-three people. Tell me now while you still can, what wicked deeds have you done? He Jianzhong is dead, Zhang Shaode is dead too, tell me, who is next? Will it be you? The beheading knife at the Execution Ground, how many mouths can it chop?”
Du Minghuan collapsed on the ground, his lips trembling, but he could not make a sound.
Yan Bei withdrew his hand: “Get out!”
“Prince! Prince!…”
Du Minghuan tried to crawl forward on his knees. Gao An brought people up: “Marquis, compose yourself. Our Young Heir Apparent is sleeping in the inner room, the Prince will not be polite to anyone who offends the Young Heir Apparent.”
The guards split to left and right, grabbed Du Minghuan’s arms, and dragged him out without explanation.
They really dragged him out.
The man was thrown outside the door, with passersby on the street.
Shen Li in the horse carriage at the street corner dropped the curtain, narrowed his eyes and said to the subordinate in the carriage: “From this it seems the people at Guang’an Temple have no relation to Prince Jingyang’s Mansion. You can go investigate the shady dealings between the Du Family, He Family, and Zhang Family.”
The horse carriage drove out of the street, Gao An inside the door withdrew his gaze, then picked up A Li who was struggling to step over the threshold, and returned to Yangrong Zhai.
Yan Bei was still standing under the curtain, clad in cold solemnity.
“Father.” A Li reached out his hands to him, “I had a nightmare.”
Yan Bei picked him up, wiping away a tear at the corner of his eye with his right hand. “What did you dream of?”
“Dreamed of a dark room locking me up.”
Yan Bei’s throat moved, stroking the long scar under his ribs through his clothes, pressing against his little face he said: “Then next time shout loudly for Father King, shout for Mother.
“Before there was Father King so no need to fear, now with Mother added, even less need to fear.
“This lifetime, Father King and Mother will absolutely never let A Li encounter a dark room again.
“All those who locked A Li in the dark room, Father King and Mother will personally put them one by one into it, so they can never come out!”
“Mm,” A Li nodded heavily, “When A Li grows up, I’ll protect Father and Mother too.”
Yan Bei carried him out the door.
“Good. And best to add little brother and little sister.”
……
The little guard sent to follow Xu He was named Yu Ting, about the same age as Xiao Huo.
When Yu Ting brought the news from the prince’s mansion side, Yue Tang happened to be listening to Wei Zhang speak.
Every year on the “anniversary of death” of Prince Duan’s father and son and Yue Tang, Prince Duan’s Mansion would hold sacrifices in the family temple of the prince’s mansion, this year was no exception, even though there were still ten days or so until Yue Rong’s anniversary of death, Chu Yan who had been living in Bie Ye had already returned a few days ago with her adopted son.
While Wei Zhang was detailing these things, Yue Tang was painting and did not interrupt from beginning to end.
So much so that at the end, Wei Zhang could not help leaning close to ask: “Master, are you listening?”
“Listening.” Yue Tang said: “The anniversary of death is still ten days away, no rush.
“Progress on Yan Bei’s side is good, go watch the Du Family immediately. He has also sent a few people already. The guards will listen to you. Once there is any sign, come tell me at once.”
After Wei Zhang received the orders and left, Yue Tang set down the brush on the table, and picked up again the message from Yan Bei that Yu Ting had brought.
Lamplight leaped into her habitually indifferent eyes, with sparks faintly flashing at the bottom.
As long as Yan Bei made a move, it was impossible not to suppress the Du Family.
With the Du Family desperate and without a way out, they would not be so foolish as to let themselves be slaughtered.
So no matter how conflicted they were, in the end they would certainly take the road that Yue Tang had prepared for them.
Then, what did the murderer standing at the end of that road look like?
……
If on the way out of the palace Du Minghuan’s heart was filled with wrath, then on the way back from the prince’s mansion to the Marquis’s Mansion his heart held only disbelief!
He could not believe Yan Bei had really discarded him like this, over the past three years he had clearly still played along, maintaining some courtesy, but overnight he had turned hostile and disowned him!
Dark clouds floated before Du Minghuan’s eyes.
He was too unlucky!
……No, perhaps it was not his luck turning bad, but someone deliberately causing trouble!
Those recent string of misfortunes one after another were not coincidences!
Someone murdered the He Family people, and that person had killed Zhang Shaode ahead of them!
He understood!
Du Yu was right, the one who broke into his study on the birthday banquet day and took the evidence of crimes was perhaps not Yan Bei at all!
It was someone else!
“Father!”
Du Yu, who had been busy outside with Imperial Clan Court matters, hurried back. “Why would the Prince suddenly do this?”
“I suspect he discovered something.” Du Minghuan’s teeth ground together, “In the end the He Family matter was not cleaned up thoroughly enough.”
“The matter blew up too big, with lives dropping one by one, it’s really hard to clean up…”
“But the one who killed Zhang Shaode, you still let him escape!” Du Minghuan roared, “He killed so many people, toyed with me completely, and now we haven’t even touched his shadow! The reason Yan Bei is acting like this, if it’s because this person is stirring things up behind the scenes, you and I are finished!”
Du Yu stood with head bowed, his voice not as steady as usual: “But how could the murderer get over the prince’s mansion walls to see the Prince? And why would the Prince believe him?
“Even if he believed him, why would he discard us over just this one thing?
“He is not a three-year-old child, nor some hot-headed youth, he is Prince Jingyang who could appear in time to shock the Imperial Court when the Shen Family’s ambitions were exposed, he has courage and strategy, even if he knows we killed Princess Yongjia, what does that have to do with him?
“Even if he upholds loyalty and righteousness, why would he be so impulsive as to disregard his own interests?
“Just one commandery princess, is she more important than the interests of his prince’s mansion?
“Not to mention he has no evidence we killed anyone, on what basis does he conclude we killed the commandery princess?!”
His voice was low, but clear enough.
Du Minghuan was like doused with cold water, instantly sobering: “You’re right, why is he going all out like this? Look at why he hasn’t torn faces with us all these years? Because he doesn’t trust any family in court. So he only has us. Now that he doesn’t want us anymore, could it be he has found another family?”
Du Yu’s expression changed slightly: “Who else is there? Those three families on the Imperial Court couldn’t possibly lower themselves to be at his beck and call. What other family has the strength of our Du Family?”
“What about Wei Zhang?” Du Minghuan looked at him, “We never caught him, you always said the He Family people weren’t killed by him, but now so many have died, and clearly aimed at us, if not Wei Zhang, then who?!”
“I know Wei Zhang’s suspicion is growing, but he still doesn’t qualify!” Du Yu was also a bit agitated, “Even if there is such a person, it must be someone even more heavyweight than Wei Zhang!”
Du Minghuan shut his mouth.
He had to admit this was very correct, Wei Zhang had plenty of motives, plenty of capability to kill, but he lacked the most crucial point, he was just a fugitive guard, he could not see Yan Bei.
“I always feel like we’ve overlooked something very important,” Du Yu clenched his cheeks, “Now the net over our heads is spreading wider and wider, there must be something wrong somewhere!
“Maybe that night, the one who escaped wasn’t only Wei Zhang! There was someone even more important than Wei Zhang…”
“Big Brother!”
Just as Du Yu said this, Du Minghuan’s own younger brother pushed the door in: “I heard that court suddenly issued an imperial decree today to thoroughly investigate the murder cases of the He Family and Zhang Family, outside there are already many discussions, saying our Marquis’s Mansion intended to suppress the matter, all guessing what shady thing is behind it!
“What’s going on?”
Du Minghuan’s temples throbbed: “Court just adjourned, how could there be discussions so quickly? Who is spreading it outside?!”
“Master!”
At that moment the Marquis’s Mansion butler also hurried over: “Just now someone from the Supreme Court delivered a message, saying His Majesty decreed today for the Three Judicial Offices to thoroughly investigate He Jianzhong and Zhang Shaode, and just now Empress Dowager Shen sent someone to the Supreme Court to inquire about the matter!”
The three people in the room all changed color.
Everyone knew the Emperor and Empress Dowager Shen were opponents, whenever one side wanted to handle something, the other would always find a way to trip them up.
Yesterday the Shen Family’s Eldest Young Master had come aggressively to the door, suppressed by Gao An, unable to offend Prince Jingyang’s Mansion, he had left full of pent-up anger.
Today’s imperial decree was issued by the Emperor, and publicly raised by Prince Jingyang, how could the Shen Family not get ideas?
He Jianzhong and the other were both the Du Family’s confidantes, personally promoted by him, who in the entire Capital City didn’t know?
Such big matters in the two families, originally suppressed and done with, now brought up again, Yan Bei didn’t say and no one knew, turns out there was something fishy behind the Zhang Family and He Family too.
The Du Family had often flaunted power in the Capital City before, yet their two subordinates died just like that and they said nothing, almost getting away with it, couldn’t the Shen Family people think it abnormal?
If Yan Bei were helping them it would be fine, no one would be foolish enough to find trouble.
But today it was Yan Bei who actively uncovered it, cutting off his own wings, what scruples did the Shen Family have left?
They certainly wouldn’t miss this chance to kick them when down!
This time, it was like both Empress Dowager Shen and the Emperor were coming for the Du Family!
