Chapter 215: A Mere Hatred For Father’s Killer Is Not Worth Mentioning! Seeking Monthly Tickets
In the small courtyard, Zhang Biao had been sleepless all night, poring over several rough clue maps under the oil lamp.
Hearing the commotion, he immediately got up and opened the door. Seeing the two individuals drenched and in a sorry state, especially with Old Zhou clearly injured on his back, his expression instantly turned grim.
“What happened?!”
As he pulled the two into the house, he quickly shut the door, his voice laced with suppressed anger and concern.
Loach, filled with the excitement of survival and lingering fear, spoke rapidly, recounting tonight’s encounter in detail.
Old Zhou added his suspicions about the waist token and the scar-faced man’s identity, as well as his doubts about the timing of the patrolling soldiers’ appearance.
Zhang Biao listened silently, his face expressionless, but his eyes grew colder, as if coated in frost.
When he heard that Old Zhou had taken a blow to protect Loach, he walked behind Old Zhou, lifted his wet clothes, and seeing the shocking expanse of purple bruises, his fists clenched tightly, his knuckles turning white.
“You’ve worked hard, Brother Old Zhou, and you too, Loach.”
Zhang Biao’s voice was unusually calm, but those who knew him well understood that beneath this calm lay an erupting volcano.
He turned and retrieved medicine for injuries from under the bed, applying it to Old Zhou, and then gave Old Zhou a painkiller.
“Lord Zhang, that waist token…” Old Zhou reminded him urgently after taking the medicine.
“Bi’an… guarding the prisons…”
Zhang Biao narrowed his eyes, his mind rapidly searching for relevant information.
Bi’an symbolizes justice and discernment, but also oversees punishment and prisons.
Using Bi’an as a symbol, does it imply self-proclaimed justice, or a connection to prisons and supervision? Or perhaps the mark of some secret organization?
“And that scar-faced man.”
Zhang Biao looked at Loach: “Describe his appearance in detail, as thoroughly as possible.”
Loach tried his best to recall and described the scar-faced man’s features.
While listening, Zhang Biao quickly sketched on paper with a charcoal pencil.
Although his drawing skills were average, his ability to capture characteristics was extremely strong. In a short while, a fierce-looking male portrait with a scar was vividly drawn on the paper.
“Is it him?”
Zhang Biao handed the drawing to Loach and Old Zhou for them to see.
“Yes! It’s so him! Especially that fierce look!”
Loach nodded repeatedly in admiration.
Old Zhou also confirmed, “It’s highly likely.”
Zhang Biao stared at the portrait, his gaze icy.
This person was the key!
“The patrolling soldiers arrived so conveniently…”
Zhang Biao mused, a cold smile curling on his lips: “It seems our Investigator Song, or rather the Emperor behind him, is quite ‘concerned’ about our safety.”
He instantly understood. This was Old Zhu making things convenient in secret, and also monitoring their progress.
“Lord Zhang, what do we do next?”
Old Zhou asked, “Fatty Wang and that scar-faced man must be alerted. It’s unlikely we’ll get anything from the docks in the short term.”
“It’s better if they’re alerted!”
A sharp glint flashed in Zhang Biao’s eyes: “Only when they move will they reveal more flaws! Let’s put the docks aside for now; we’ve already reached the core of their operation!”
He stood up and paced in the small room:
“Now, our focus needs to shift!”
“First, we will fully investigate this ‘scar-faced man’ and the ‘Bi An waist token’! Old Sun, Old Qian!”
Blind Old Sun and Injured Old Qian immediately straightened their bodies.
“Mobilize all your connections, both in the underworld and in official circles, to find out the origin of this scar-faced man and what that Bi An waist token truly represents!”
“The focus is on the Capital City and Kaifeng!”
“Understood!”
The two accepted the orders.
“Second!”
Zhang Biao looked at Old Li: “On your end, intensify the ‘harassment’ of the official from the Ministry of Revenue who lost the jade pendant. Let’s see if we can pry more information about ‘above’ and ‘settling accounts’ from him.”
“I suspect the ‘accounts’ they’re referring to are more than just grain transport!”
“Leave it to me!”
Old Li rubbed his hands together.
“Third!”
Zhang Biao’s gaze finally fell on Loach:
“Loach, you’ve performed admirably, but you’ve also exposed yourself. You can no longer go to the docks. From today onwards, you will follow me, do odd jobs in my courtyard, and by the way… learn a few things.”
Loach was stunned for a moment, then nodded excitedly: “Yes! Lord Zhang!”
After giving his instructions, Zhang Biao walked to the window, looking at the gradually whitening sky outside, his eyes deep.
Fatty Wang, the scar-faced man, the Bi An waist token, the mysterious ‘higher-ups,’ the urgency to settle ‘accounts’… these clues were like a tightening net, pointing towards an increasingly clear shadow.
Li Mo’s blood had not been shed in vain, and Old Zhou and the others had not risked their lives for nothing.
“Soon…”
Zhang Biao whispered to himself, his voice carrying icy killing intent: “We’re almost on your trail.”
He turned and said to the people in the room, “All of you go rest and gather your strength. We have a lot of work ahead of us!”
“Alright!”
The men acknowledged and immediately went to rest.
Zhang Biao, watching them leave, turned his gaze back to the clues.
The deaths of Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiongying, the death of Empress Ma.
Consort Lü. The person behind it.
The corruption case involving grain transport at Prince Zhou’s mansion. Li Mo’s assassination.
He repeatedly analyzed all the seemingly connected, yet not very connected, events, pondering how many secrets were still hidden behind them.
Although the most prominent victors and losers in history were Zhu Laosi and Zhu Yunwen, were there no hidden dark upheavals beneath history besides them?
Just as history books never wrote about conspiracies, were there no conspiracies in history?
It was clearly impossible!
Therefore, in his ‘previous life,’ Zhang Biao’s struggles had revealed a clear point: he could not view the current Great Ming World solely through the lens of historical victors and losers.
He remembered his history teacher from modern times once telling him:
“The world we see with our eyes is only a quarter of the world. The remaining three-quarters may never be seen in a lifetime.”
And now, being in the Great Ming World, he felt as if he was seeing the remaining three-quarters.
“It seems this ‘dying for a cause’ will require more help!”
Zhang Biao’s lips curved slightly upwards: “Perhaps, I should kill a few of Old Zhu’s princes and grandsons?”
At the same time, in Kaifeng, at Prince Zhou’s Mansion.
Within a secluded courtyard.
Although it was late spring, this courtyard felt somewhat chilling.
Zhu Youjian sat in his study, his fingertips tapping unconsciously on the table, his face appearing indistinct in the flickering candlelight.
Opposite him sat a middle-aged scholar in a blue robe with a gaunt face, none other than ‘Mr. Liu’ – Liu Dianbu.
“Regarding Censor Li… has it been handled cleanly?”
Zhu Youjian’s voice carried a subtle tension.
Liu Dianbu bowed slightly, his tone calm: “Second Master, rest assured. The perpetrators were hired desperados from out of town; they don’t know us at all.”
“They were ‘accidentally’ discovered shortly after succeeding and were killed on the spot while ‘resisting.’ The clues end there.”
“As for you, Second Master, you were at the villa west of the city that day, enjoying tea and poetry with several scholars and gentlemen. You have witnesses and evidence, so no one can trace anything back to you.”
Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian’s tense shoulders relaxed slightly, but the darkness in his eyes did not dissipate.
“The Imperial Guard are not fools; that old dog Jiang Huan has a sharp nose. They will definitely investigate, and they will investigate with all their might!”
“Let them investigate.”
Liu Dianbu stroked his beard, his gaze as calm as it was ruthless:
“At most, we’ll sacrifice a few more insignificant scapegoats. As long as the secret of the ‘Red Lead’ elixir isn’t leaked, and the roots of the grain transport aren’t severed, we still have room to maneuver.”
Upon mentioning the ‘Red Lead’ elixir, Zhu Youjian’s pupils contracted sharply; this was the true source of his fear.
He looked abruptly at Liu Dianbu, his voice filled with suppressed anxiety and a hint of resentment:
“Maneuver? How can we maneuver?! What about Uncle Wang? I’ve sent him multiple letters, why has there been no reply? Is he… going to abandon me?!”
Liu Dianbu was silent for a moment, avoiding Zhu Youjian’s pressing gaze, and sighed:
“Second Master, the situation is too sensitive now. His Highness the Prince must also have many inconveniences. This silence now may not be a bad thing; perhaps he is secretly plotting…”
“Plotting? I think he wants me to bear everything alone!”
Zhu Youjian interrupted him abruptly, his voice becoming sharp with agitation:
“He approached me initially, promising to help me replace my elder brother and take charge of the Prince of Zhou’s fiefdom! Now that something has happened, he wants to cast me aside? Is there such a thing as an easy way out!”
A look of ferocious hatred flashed across his face.
His reverence for that ‘Uncle Wang’ was rapidly being consumed by fear and a sense of betrayal.
Liu Dianbu looked at Zhu Youjian, who was almost losing control, and cursed the fool in his heart. However, he had to placate him on the surface:
“Second Master, please calm your anger! This is all Zhang Biao’s fault! If he hadn’t stirred up trouble in the Capital City and created some Anti-corruption Bureau, making the Emperor suspicious, how would Li Mo have bitten onto us like a cat smelling fish? How would the Prince’s grand plan have encountered such a hitch?”
He skillfully diverted the conflict towards Zhang Biao: “Moreover, your Father King was also harmed by him. This is equivalent to hatred for your father’s killer!”
“Heh!”
Zhu Youjian gave a scoff, his tone carrying a nearly cold-blooded indifference:
“Zhang Biao? What is he? Just a lucky madman. He harmed Uncle Wang? Humph, Uncle Wang and him were merely playing a game of power. The victor is king, the loser is a bandit; where is the enmity?”
He paused, his eyes drifting, and uttered a sentence that chilled Liu Dianbu to the bone:
“As for my Father King? In the end, it was his own fault for misjudging people. What does it have to do with me? If he had passed the position of Heir Apparent to me earlier, why would Prince Zhou’s Mansion have fallen to this point today?”
These words completely exposed Zhu Youjian’s selfishness, coldness, and extremely inflated ambition.
In his heart, his father’s fate and the survival of the prince’s mansion were far less important than his own desire for power.
Liu Dianbu looked at the young man before him, who would stop at nothing to rise to power, and who showed no mercy even to his own father. A chill ran through his heart, but more so, a sense of utility.
Such a person was easier to control, and easier to discard at a critical moment.
Just as the two were harboring their own thoughts and the atmosphere was delicate, a trusted subordinate hurried in and whispered a few words into Liu Dianbu’s ear.
Liu Dianbu’s expression instantly became serious. He waved the subordinate away, turned to Zhu Youjian, and said in a deep voice:
“Second Master, we just received news from the Capital City. Zhang Biao… has started interfering with the grain transport!”
“His subordinates are now fully investigating Fatty Wang at the docks and our several lines of inquiry!”
Zhu Youjian was startled at first, then a ‘as expected’ cold smile appeared on his face:
“That boy Li Mo, he really did pass the message on! Zhang Biao wants to avenge his brother and follow the clues to settle the score with us!”
“Second Master, the Imperial Guard must be watching us now. Regarding the docks… should we temporarily lie low and avoid his edge?”
Liu Dianbu inquired, showing his caution as a strategist.
“Lie low? Avoid his edge?”
Zhu Youjian seemed to hear a joke. He stood up and paced in the study, his eyes flashing with a cunning and dangerous light:
“No! Hiding now would only make us seem guilty!”
He suddenly stopped, a ferocious look on his face: “Zhang Biao wants to investigate? Let him investigate!”
“Does he think the grain transport is only controlled by my Prince Zhou’s Mansion?”
“We are merely pawns working for several princes! When he uncovers something critical, someone will trouble him! Isn’t my Imperial Grandfather ruthless and merciless?”
“Prince Qin, Prince Jin, and my Father King, he didn’t even spare the deceased Prince Lu.”
“So, I want to see how many more feudal lords he will deal with for the sake of that so-called ‘truth’! Will he not be satisfied until he forces all his descendants to rebel!”
Having said this, he turned to Liu Dianbu again, saying meaningfully:
“You say, does my ‘Uncle Wang’ perhaps hold the same mindset? He probably wants to muddy the waters further, just like me, right?”
Upon hearing this, Liu Dianbu’s pupils contracted, and he couldn’t help but admire: “Second Master is brilliant!”
Zhu Youjian smiled noncommittally, then said casually:
“Mr. Liu, what if… my ‘honest and virtuous’ elder brother is the mastermind behind all of this?”
Swish!
Liu Dianbu’s expression changed drastically, as if he had gained a new understanding of this ‘Second Master.’
Zhu Youjian’s lips curled into a sinister arc:
“He was jealous of Father’s favoritism towards me, and resented that I might threaten his position as Heir Apparent. So, he colluded with outsiders in secret, leaked the elixir formula, and framed my father!”
“Now that he sees the matter might be exposed, he sent people to assassinate a court censor to silence them!”
“And I am merely a pitiful younger brother, ostracized and bullied by my elder brother, and possibly even targeted for assassination!”
“Hiss—!”
Liu Dianbu couldn’t help but gasp.
What a brilliant plan to shift the blame!
Although this plan was risky, if executed properly, it could greatly disrupt the investigation and even potentially drag the Heir Apparent down, clearing the path for Zhu Youjian to ascend.
“Second Master, this plan is… excellent!”
Liu Dianbu clapped his hands and praised, “We can secretly ‘help’ the Imperial Guard, allowing them to ‘accidentally’ discover some ‘evidence’ pointing to the Heir Apparent.”
“For example, records of the Heir Apparent having close ties with certain alchemists, or some of his industries with unclear origins being connected to grain transport… as long as it’s done subtly, it’s enough to focus the court’s attention on the Heir Apparent!”
“Yes! Let’s do it!”
Zhu Youjian’s face lit up with excitement, as if he could already see his elder brother unable to defend himself and being imprisoned.
“You go make arrangements, and do it quickly!”
“We must completely splash this dirty water onto my good elder brother before Zhang Biao uncovers substantial evidence!”
“Yes, Second Master!”
Liu Dianbu bowed and accepted the order, but a hint of cold light flashed in his eyes.
The two discussed further details in secret, and then Liu Dianbu quietly departed.
Only Zhu Youjian remained in the study.
He walked to the window and looked at the deep night outside, his face a mixture of ambition, fear, and ruthlessness.
Elder brother… don’t blame your younger brother for being heartless, blame yourself for blocking my path!
Zhang Biao… you want to avenge Li Mo? Then go play with my good elder brother first!
Uncle Wang… you want to abandon me? It’s not that easy! I will let you know that I, Zhu Youjian, am not so easily gotten rid of!
It must be said that people of the same kind can play together.
The strategy of that ‘Uncle Wang’ coincided with Zhu Youjian’s cunning.
But what Zhu Youjian didn’t know was that ‘Uncle Wang’ had already taken action to abandon him.
Meanwhile, in Qingzhou City, Prince Qi’s fiefdom.
Investigating Censor Zhao Fengman, dressed in inconspicuous grey homespun cloth, moved like a phantom through the slippery bluestone alleyways.
The rain soaked his hair and clothes, chillingly clinging to his skin, but he was oblivious, his mind filled only with an icy chill and the heat of rapid thought.
He tightly clutched several thin, yet heavy as a thousand pounds, sheets of paper in his arms.
At great risk, he had obtained these fragments of account records from a former minor official of the grain transport who had been driven to ruin by Prince Qi’s mansion.
They clearly documented how the Chief Clerk’s office of Prince Qi’s mansion, by manipulating the River Gang, had falsely reported losses and used inferior goods during the grain transport in the Shandong section. They had even intercepted and resold some of the military provisions meant for Liaodong. The enormous profits ultimately flowed into Prince Qi’s mansion’s private treasury, not the Ministry of Revenue’s Grand Treasury.
What shocked him further was a faint mark on the fragments, which bore a striking resemblance to the rust stains he had previously seen at the bottom of the ‘iron box.’
This made him suspect that Prince Qi Zhu Fu’s corruption might not be an isolated incident, but rather a corner of a vast conspiracy network…
However, just as he was trying to dig deeper along this line and contact another key witness, a sense of danger descended abruptly.
This evening, Prince Qi’s mansion had sent a Chief Clerk with an invitation, smiling cordially and inviting him to the mansion for a banquet, stating that His Highness Prince Qi admired Investigator Zhao’s integrity and wished to consult him on local governance.
Zhao Fengman made an instant judgment; this was a Hongmen Banquet.
Prince Qi Zhu Fu was known among the feudal lords for his violent temper and insatiable greed. He had long been displeased with this ‘troublemaking’ Investigating Censor. How could he suddenly ‘admire his integrity’?
This clearly indicated that they had sensed his investigation was nearing its core and intended to lure him into the mansion, either to detain him or for him to have an ‘accident’!
Without hesitation, he outwardly accepted the invitation politely, saying he would attend after a brief preparation.
Turning around, he immediately returned to his temporary office and, in the fastest possible manner, destroyed most of the documents that could implicate others, only keeping the core account fragments and a few key notes hidden close to his body.
Then he changed into commoner’s clothes and escaped through a known hole in the back wall of the office.
Less than an hour after he left, guards from Prince Qi’s mansion directly broke into his office, claiming to ‘protect the Censor’s safety,’ but in reality, it was to control him.
Upon finding the place empty, they immediately launched a city-wide search.
“There he is! Catch him!”
A sharp shout came from the alley entrance, accompanied by hurried footsteps and the clanging of unsheathed swords.
Several guards wearing Prince Qi’s mansion attire spotted Zhao Fengman and pounced like hounds.
Zhao Fengman’s heart tightened, he cursed inwardly, turned, and fled towards the depths of the alley.
He was far less familiar with the alleys of Qingzhou City than his pursuers, so he could only rely on instinct and luck to weave through the labyrinthine alleys, dodging the rapidly approaching pursuers behind him.
The rain blurred his vision, and the cold air inhaled into his lungs caused a stinging sensation.
He could hear his own heart pounding like a drum and his heavy gasps.
“I absolutely cannot be caught! I absolutely cannot let the evidence fall into their hands!”
This thought propelled him to wring out the last drop of strength from his body.
He abruptly turned into a dead-end alley filled with clutter, seeing no escape.
The sound of pursuers’ footsteps and their sneers already echoed at the alley entrance.
Heaven helps those who help themselves!
Zhao Fengman’s gaze swept around, and he spotted a dilapidated slop bucket, half his height, emitting a nauseating stench, in the corner.
He gritted his teeth, disregarding everything, lifted the lid, and crawled inside. Holding his breath, he curled his body tightly at the bottom of the filth, leaving only his nostrils barely exposed above the liquid.
Almost the moment he hid, several guards rushed into the dead-end alley.
“Damn it! Where is he? We saw him run in here!”
“Search! He must be hiding!”
“This stinking bucket… it really stinks!”
Footsteps paced around the slop bucket. Someone even poked the bucket wall fiercely with a sword sheath, making a dull sound.
Zhao Fengman’s heart was in his throat. He bit his teeth tightly, feeling the filthy liquid soak his body, the pungent smell almost making him faint.
Fortunately, the guards seemed deterred by the stench, or perhaps they thought a dignified Investigating Censor wouldn’t hide in such a place. After searching fruitlessly and cursing, they turned to search elsewhere.
Hearing the footsteps gradually recede, Zhao Fengman waited for a while longer. Once he confirmed it was safe, he suddenly poked his head out of the slop bucket, greedily inhaling the cold air, coughing violently, and spitting out the swallowed sewage.
He was drenched, covered in filth, and in an extremely pathetic state, but his eyes, like those of a trapped beast, flickered with unyielding light.
He climbed out of the bucket with difficulty, leaning against the cold wall to steady his breathing and heartbeat.
He must leave Qingzhou City immediately!
Since Prince Qi had made a move, he would never give up.
If he remained in the city, he would eventually be found.
He oriented himself, enduring the stench and discomfort, and using the cover of night, headed towards a section of the city wall he remembered as long-neglected and possibly having a weakness.
He had to escape this dragon’s den before the city gates were strictly sealed.
The evidence in his embrace burned his chest.
Prince Qi Zhu Fu. Grain transport corruption and that mysterious mark.
Damn it! After leaving the Capital City, I still have to hide and run!
Brother Biao, are you alright? And the brothers.
Zhao Fengman gritted his teeth and pressed on in the rainy night. Every step was fraught with danger, but his will was as hard as quenched steel, becoming ever more resilient.
He knew that what he had obtained this time was different from the ‘iron box.’ Perhaps, a case that would shock the world was about to be unveiled.
Requesting monthly tickets~
