Chapter 99: Struggle
When Chu Xin was brought to the court hall, the Du Family father and son were already kneeling to the side, with papers covered in writing scattered all over the ground.
The interrogation was mainly initiated by Yan Bei and carried out by Guo Yin, while the people from the Three Judicial Offices just watched from the side.
The Chu Family Eldest Young Master had been flattered by others since childhood; how could he have ever endured such torment? Moreover, that day at the Xu Family, he had been injured by Yue Tang.
But he also resolutely refused to yield. After all, he had practiced martial arts, so as long as his body held out, why fear them?
He believed his father would definitely find a way to rescue him.
But in reality, facing the Du Family father and son’s accusation, he remained completely silent and could not utter any forceful rebuttal, which in itself explained quite a bit.
There were people from the Chu Family among the Three Judicial Offices. They had originally received word from the Chu Family and had already planned to seize the opportunity when flaws appeared in the Du Family father and son’s confession to intervene at the right moment. But how could they know that the entire set of confessions had already been repeatedly reviewed by Yue Tang, making it impossible for them to find any leverage?
Coupled with the fact that Chu Xin here could not overturn the Du Family’s statements, they could only glare helplessly. Sitting there for most of the day was quite uncomfortable.
Fortunately, at that moment, a guard from the prince’s mansion suddenly entered and whispered a few words in Yan Bei’s ear, after which he stood up.
“Everyone must be hungry, right? Court is adjourned for now; separate the prisoners and escort them to prison. Let him think it over carefully; we’ll continue the interrogation tomorrow.”
Everyone quickly stood up and followed the orders.
Yan Bei strode out of the yamen, glanced back once, then stopped and asked Guo Yin: “Have you arranged things with the people inside and outside the prison?”
Guo Yin cupped his hands: “As per Princess Yongjia’s instructions, we’ve transferred a batch of elite guards from the Imperial City Department to secure all the key points.”
Yan Bei nodded and said to Cui Xun: “Go back immediately and inform Jiang Shao to dispatch another batch of men to secretly infiltrate around the prison.”
After sending the men off, he put on a bamboo hat and rode toward the palace.
The Emperor was reviewing documents in Zichen Hall, but his gaze was fixed on the vast fine rain outside the window without moving.
The Vice Minister led Yan Bei in, and a gust of wind lifted the curtain.
The Emperor stood up and waved away the palace servants: “Brother Yan.”
Yan Bei bowed: “Your Majesty, please address this subject by his official title. First, it undermines Your Majesty’s dignity; second, the censors will find fault with this subject.”
The Emperor smiled and walked to the couch by the window, gesturing for him to sit: “There’s no one else here. Besides, I grew up in the Mu Family and am used to showing respect to the Grand Tutor’s family.
“Brother Yan is the stabilizing force left to me by Father Emperor; my respect for you is only natural.”
Yan Bei thanked him and sat down. Watching him naturally and gracefully open the cup and pour tea for both of them, his movements elegant yet approachable, Yan Bei said: “Your Majesty spent ten years in the Mu Family; what are your feelings toward the Grand Tutor and his family?”
“I was born under a calamity and had to leave the capital. Uncle treated me with the utmost care like a father; his entire family are my benefactors.” I only hope he can live to a ripe old age and continue to protect me and the imperial court for a long time.
The Emperor sighed softly here. Then he looked over: “Brother, you braved the rain to come to the palace; is there progress in Elder Cousin’s case?”
Yan Bei presented him with a transcribed record: “The Du Family father and son accuse Chu Ying of plotting murder. From the confession, the logic is tight, with no flaws.
“At the same time, based on the evidence they provided, men were sent this afternoon to the scene to investigate. The terrain matches their confession: the ambush site, the path Princess Yongjia took, the location where the two sides clashed, and the shifts in battle formation after the incident—all align perfectly.
“Additionally, some witnesses were interrogated, and it can now be confirmed that during the times the Du Family cited for meetings with the Chu Family, at least one of Chu Ying or his son had the opportunity to meet them.
“Moreover, the Du Family voluntarily submitted part of their family assets, which he claims were rewards given to him by the Chu Family back then. Tracing back the remaining portion indeed shows deep ties to the Chu Family.”
While he was speaking, the Emperor had already opened the transcript, his expression grave: “So much evidence pointing to the Chu Family—could they really be involved in murdering Elder Cousin?”
He snapped the booklet shut: “Elder Cousin is just an imperial clan female relative; moreover, the two families are relatives. Why would the Chu Family do this?”
“Though the Princess is merely a female relative, the Former Emperor promised the Prince Duan’s Mansion the hereditary right to control the Imperial City Department. Prince Duan’s heir apparent is deceased, and Princess Yongjia has inherited the mansion. Chu Ying’s original purpose in allying with the mansion through marriage has come to nothing.
“So, to regain control of the Imperial City Department, of course they would have to wipe out Prince Duan’s Mansion.”
The Emperor’s expression changed slightly: “Wipe out Prince Duan’s Mansion? Do you mean including my Uncle Prince Duan?”
Yan Bei sighed: “Once the Chu Family confesses, Prince Duan’s death will naturally be linked to them.”
“But Uncle Prince and Elder Cousin died in different places on the same night. How could the Chu Family pull that off?”
“This subject is puzzled too.” Yan Bei set down the cup and looked at the Emperor: “But we can reason backward: if Prince Duan didn’t die at the Chu Family’s hands, then just killing Princess Yongjia alone wouldn’t help them either, would it?”
The Emperor fell silent.
Yan Bei took out a memorial: “Now that Du Minghuan has voluntarily confessed his crimes, he must be dismissed. This is this subject’s proposed candidate; please review, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor looked at him in surprise, took it and opened it, then said: “This Dou Yun has served in the Imperial City Department for years and was personally promoted by Uncle Prince Duan as deputy envoy—quite suitable indeed.
“But you’re too late.”
He set down the memorial and picked up the scroll he had been holding earlier: “The Grand Tutor was just here, and I already approved his.”
Yan Bei frowned and took the booklet to look, then said: “The Grand Tutor is indeed thorough. The Du Family only filed their case this morning, and he’s already prepared a candidate in this short time.”
The Emperor looked apologetic: “I saw the resume was appropriate and approved it.”
“How can Your Majesty be blamed for this?” Yan Bei said. “The Bureau of Military Affairs oversees the Imperial City Department. Since the Former Emperor appointed this subject as envoy of the Bureau of Military Affairs, this subject must bear the responsibility.
“The Grand Tutor submitted this memorial without even consulting me? It makes me, Yan Bei, seem negligent.”
The Emperor grew even more embarrassed: “Prince Jingyang is right. Well, this memorial hasn’t been formally approved yet. I will issue an edict to the Ministry of Personnel right away to order Dou Yun to take over as Imperial City Department Envoy and assume the post immediately.”
Yan Bei stood: “Your Majesty is wise.”
After bowing, he said: “If the Grand Tutor has any objections, this subject will personally invite him to the mansion later to explain face-to-face.”
The Emperor saw him to the door and watched him leave before returning to the hall. He picked up the memorial Mu Chang had submitted and let out a heavy sigh.
“Go deliver this to the Grand Tutor.”
……
Mu Chang happened to still be at the yamen.
When the palace memorial was sent back, he frowned at the red ink markings on it for a moment, then closed it. He wrote a few lines, clipped them into the memorial.
In the pitch-black night, he handed the memorial to the man by the carriage, then gazed at the rain through the car window.
After Mu Chang left, Chu Ying stayed in the Zen Room for a long time; that bronze token burned like red-hot coal in his palm.
But even the reddest coal eventually cools.
On the way back, he had already sent for the second and third brothers to wait for him in the study.
With the Du Family personally filing the accusation and Yan Bei personally stepping in to suppress, if the Chu Family had any last shred of hope, it could only be by taking matters to the extreme.
Like the Du Family, he had no way out either.
When a man reaches a dead end, he will try any path.
“Big Brother,” after entering the study, Chu Rui was the first to hand over a memorial, “Someone suddenly delivered this just now!”
Seeing the handwriting on the cover, Chu Ying immediately opened it, then slammed the memorial onto the desk.
“The Imperial City Department is lost; Yan Bei got ahead of us.”
“Doesn’t that mean all our previous efforts are wasted?!”
Chu Rui had clearly already read the memorial; hearing him say it aloud, the worry in his heart finally shattered.
“We planned so carefully back then, and now we’ve got nothing—worse, we’re covered in criminal charges!”
The repeated heavy blows these days made this Second Master Chu, who had always lived in luxury, spread his arms in furious roar. The Chu Family had once been among the elite, but ever since Consort Shen gave birth to the Fourth Prince and was elevated to one of the four consorts, their arch-rival Shen Family began to rise.
At that time, no one knew who the crown prince would be.
The First Prince’s birth mother, Consort An, was also an enemy of the Shen Family, but the An Family had no power and was no match for them at all.
Besides that, there was the Second Prince, but he was far away in Jiangling, separated from his parents for years. Though he was the legitimate son, many in the imperial court stirred up trouble, using his innate calamity as fodder.
At the time, the Fourth Prince did seem to have a real chance at contending.
Consort Shen’s grandfather had died at the hands of old Grand Tutor Chu; the two families had decades of enmity. The Shen Family’s rise meant hard times for the Chu Family.
Thus, the Chu Family leveraged the childhood sweethearts relationship between Yue Rong and Chu Yan to arrange the marriage. After all, Prince Duan was no ordinary prince; he was trusted by the Former Emperor, who promised the Prince Duan’s Mansion hereditary control as Imperial City Department Envoy.
This meant the Imperial City Department could become the Chu Family’s power base in the future, enough to contend with the Shen Family.
Who knew the goal hadn’t been achieved when Yue Rong died!
The Former Emperor then enfeoffed Consort Shen as Empress!
The hope of controlling the Imperial City Department through son-in-law and grandchild was dashed, while the Fourth Prince became the imperial heir apparent, gaining even more advantage in the succession!
This brought greater crisis to the Chu Family!
Why did the Former Emperor suddenly appoint a successor empress?
No one knew. But what if it was to pave the way for establishing the Fourth Prince?
The Chu Family couldn’t afford to gamble, so that year when Chu Ying gathered them and proposed that treasonous plan, they weighed it and agreed.
Then the three brothers went to persuade the family master, which didn’t take much effort.
After all, if the plan succeeded, the Second Prince would ascend.
Once the Second Prince took the throne, they would not only crush Empress Dowager Shen’s hopes but also become part of the imperial faction—crucially, the Imperial City Department would be theirs! Wouldn’t that be freer than relying on son-in-law and grandchild to control the yamen?
For such a multi-benefit endeavor, what reason did old Master Chu have to oppose? By then, he was plagued by chronic illness and couldn’t hold the family together much longer. The enmity with the Shen Family was his doing too.
Why not secure more benefits for his descendants?
So striking at Prince Duan’s Mansion wasn’t entirely their initiative; they were forced by circumstances!
But everything had gone steadily until now—why did it all fall apart at this critical moment, with nothing to show?
Chu Xuan was usually steady-tempered, but now he couldn’t hold it: “Big Brother, what did the person who sent the memorial say?”
The two brothers knew Chu Ying had allies outside; though he never named them aloud, he hadn’t hidden it deliberately—how could they not have an idea?
Chu Ying gritted his teeth and first sent Chu Rui off: “Go tally the manpower and report an exact number to me in a quarter-hour! Also summon back one of the men staking out outside Prince Jingyang’s Mansion!”
Chu Rui stomped his foot hard and turned to leave.
Chu Ying took a vermilion pill from his bosom and placed it along with the bronze token from Mu Chang into Chu Xuan’s hand: “Use this token to go see Xin’er in the prison.”
Chu Xuan’s face changed drastically: “Big Brother!”
“Do as I say!” Chu Ying forcibly closed his fist around it. “Make sure to watch him swallow it with your own eyes!”
“Big Brother!” Chu Xuan’s eyes reddened.
With the guillotine hanging over their heads, how could he not understand what this meant?
But Chu Xin was the Chu Family’s legitimate eldest grandson, Chu Ying’s own son! Originally a precious child doted on endlessly, even a minor headache would alarm the main chamber—yet now, his own biological father had to order him killed personally!
“Things have come to this; why hesitate?” Chu Ying scolded. “Is he more important, or is our entire family?”
“It’s not that I want to kill my own son with my own hands—it’s just that the one caught by Yue Tang happens to be him!
“If it were someone else captured, they’d have to die the same way!”
At this point, his eyes were bloodshot, veins bulging on his forehead.
Chu Xuan let his shoulders droop and slowly tucked the items into his bosom: “I understand.”
He turned and walked out.
His back receded into the distance.
Until he vanished outside the courtyard gate, Chu Ying withdrew his gaze and gripped the memorial on the desk tightly.
Chu Rui came back in from outside: “Tally complete. Excluding those who can’t leave sentry posts, we have fifty men ready for deployment.”
“Take this,” Chu Ying placed a thumb ring on the desk. “No matter what it takes, lure Yue Tang to beside the moat tonight.”
Chu Rui picked up the thumb ring and looked at him in equal shock: “Big Brother plans to send assassins? Our fifty men probably lack the martial prowess! Besides, it’s already dark; no time to arrange, and moving out on short notice could ruin everything!”
“If our men aren’t enough, adding the palace imperial guards’ force won’t suffice?”
Chu Ying turned under the lamp: “Your task is just to lure her out; someone else will handle the rest!
“If not tonight, then tomorrow. In any case, come tell me the moment it’s done—before tomorrow night!”
Chu Rui immediately pocketed the thumb ring: “I’ll go right now!”
Chu Ying sat down behind the desk, the lamplight instantly illuminating his twisted face.
