Chapter 506: Old Matters |
Behind Bai Long, Xuan She, Bao Hou, Jiao Tu, Yun Yang, Jin Zhu, and Tian Ma spurred their horses to line up in a single row. Glaring like a Tiger, their arrogance was blazing. Their gazes pressed down so hard that the Trouble-Resolving Guard couldn't lift their heads.
The six Zodiacs, who usually seemed in harmony but were actually at odds and harbored their own sinister designs, seemingly only stood shoulder to shoulder the moment Bai Long appeared.
Bai Long swept his gaze over them slowly: "Who will speak up and tell what happened here?"
Lin Chaoqing cupped his fists: "Lord Bai Long, someone came to our Trouble-Resolving Guard to report..."
Bai Long interrupted Lin Chaoqing's words. Pointing to Chen Ji, he said: "You speak."
Lin Chaoqing's voice stalled, yet he still gritted his teeth and continued saying: "Stating that the court's wanted major criminal Chen Wende was lying low in Changping County, plotting rebellion..."
In an instant, the six Zodiacs all looked toward Lin Chaoqing in unison. Beneath Bao Hou's wooden monkey Mask, who knows how many voices of men, women, old people, and young children mixed together, roaring out Deafening: "Presumptuous!"
These two words forcefully interrupted Lin Chaoqing's train of thought, and his speaking voice came to an abrupt halt.
Bai Long started chuckling softly: "Lord Lin, having not seen you for a day, your courage has suddenly grown much bigger?"
Bai Long looked to Chen Ji: "Speak truthfully."
Chen Ji cupped his hands toward Bai Long: "This lowly official led the Feather Forest Army to provide cover for Your Lordship in escorting Princess Liyang and Yuan Cheng toward Tanggu. When we reached Anfu Ward, we were ambushed. After suppressing the rebellion, Chen Wende suddenly appeared, claiming to be the mastermind behind the scenes."
Bai Long figured out what Chen Wende was trying to do in just an instant: "Seeking death, dragging the Chen Family along to be buried with him?"
Chen Wende stood among the Trouble-Resolving Guards, cupping his hands: "Merely pleading guilty and submitting to the law."
Bai Long said indifferently: "What the truth is exactly will only be known after this seat investigates it clearly. Lord Lin, my Secret Spy Division is taking Chen Wende away."
Lin Chaoqing remained silent.
These years, the Secret Spy Division had made enemies of the aristocratic families. The civil officials they had purged were countless; even the Liu Family was personally toppled by the Secret Spy Division. How come when it was the Chen Family's turn, their temperament changed?
Now that there was an opportunity to topple the Chen Family, the Secret Spy Division should have pounced on it like jackals and wolves smelling blood, yet right now it seemed they wanted to let the Chen Family off the hook?
Lin Chaoqing looked around, his gaze finally pausing on Chen Ji's face.
Bai Long waved his hand: "Take Chen Wende away."
Lin Chaoqing returned to his senses, saying in a deep voice: "Lord, this person was caught by our Trouble-Resolving Guard first."
"Oh?" Bai Long said with a smile: "Since when does our Directorate of Ceremonial have to be particular about who comes first and who comes last? Why hasn't this seat heard of this."
Lin Chaoqing deliberated for a moment, still unwilling to resign himself: "Lord Bai Long, we are the close attendants of the Son of Heaven. Our duty is to share His Majesty's burdens. This matter with Chen Wende has huge implications; he cannot be shielded..."
Xuan She said gloomily: "It is not yet your turn to teach the Lord how to do things. Make way!"
From beneath Bao Hou's wooden monkey Mask, a hoarse voice spoke: "Say a thousand things or a myriad things; our Secret Spy Division came with seven Zodiacs. As for this Chen Wende, the Trouble-Resolving Guard must hand him over whether they want to or not."
Bai Long raised his hand to stop the conversation, saying to Lin Chaoqing: "Lord Lin, the Chen Family's second branch is suspected of colluding with Jing Dynasty spies. It is only rational and proper that he be handed over for my Secret Spy Division to take away."
Lin Chaoqing was silent for a moment, waving his hand to signal the Trouble-Resolving Guard to hand Chen Wende over to the Secret Spy Division.
Bai Long pointed at a Trouble-Resolving Guard: "Give up a horse for Chen Wende."
The Trouble-Resolving Guard vaulted off his horse, handing the reins to Chen Wende.
But Chen Wende wasn't in a hurry to take them. Instead, he looked up at Bai Long: "Bai Long wants to protect the Chen Family, and plans to kill me halfway to silence me? Even if I die an unclear death, I fear this matter will not be settled easily now. I advise you not to go to such great trouble."
Bai Long started laughing: "What kind of person does Lord Chen take this seat to be? It's just that there is still a day's journey to return to the capital. This seat is worried you might have an accident on the road, which is why I must personally escort you. Mount the horse, Lord Chen; this seat still has some matters I wish to ask for guidance on."
Chen Wende stood without moving: "What matter?"
Bai Long's tone turned bland: "The matter of Yangzhou."
Chen Wende's expression changed vastly.
He struggled for a long while, finally vaulting onto the horse and honestly leaving with the Secret Spy Division.
Bai Long spurred his horse through the middle of the Trouble-Resolving Guards without looking sideways. Lin Chaoqing halted his horse and stood, the gaze beneath his Bamboo Hat calm. Tian Ma, Jin Zhu, Jiao Tu, Yun Yang, Bao Hou, and Xuan She passed by before him one by one. Every person stared at him with cold sneers, until they brushed past each other.
The seven people of the Secret Spy Division led Chen Wende out of Changping County. Bai Long dismissed the others: "Stay far away. This seat has words to speak with Lord Chen Wende."
Xuan She and the others gave a grunt of acknowledgment and slowed their horse's speed, leaving Bai Long and Chen Wende the two of them to ride side by side.
Bai Long wasn't in a hurry to speak. The silence pressed down so hard that Chen Wende couldn't catch his breath, ultimately unable to hold back from being the first to open his mouth to probe: "What matter in Yangzhou do you want to ask about?"
Bai Long smiled. Answering a different question, he said: "Lord Chen, have you been to Yangzhou? This seat has not yet been there. I hear it is a place of charming elegance and a good location."
Chen Wende said in a deep voice: "What exactly do you want to say?"
Bai Long continued to speak in riddles: "Yangzhou is the intersection of the Grand Canal and the Yangtze River, acting as the throat for north-south canal transport. Every year, tens of thousands of canal boats anchor and transfer goods here, transporting Jiangnan's grain, silk, and porcelain to the Northern Region; therefore it is also called the 'Collar and Throat of Canal Transport'. Because half of the merchants in our dynasty gather here to construct gardens, Yangzhou also possesses the title of 'Wealth Best Under Heaven'... Among them is a garden named 'Ying Yuan [Shadow Garden]'. I wonder if Lord Chen has heard of it?"
Hearing up to this point, Chen Wende finally lost his composure: "How do you people know of this?"
Bai Long slowly said: "Lord Chen, where in this world is there a wall that doesn't leak wind? When the Five Wards Military and Police Department's Wang Clan fell due to hoarding Crossbows, your father feigned placing your mother under house arrest, but in truth had already secretly sent her to Yangzhou. Not just your mother, but also the two women of the Wang Clan who were sold to the Imperial Music Bureau, Wang Enzhuan and Wang Enxian. He bought them together as well, sending them to Yangzhou's Ying Yuan to live incognito. Presumably your father already knew back then that your second branch likely had no path of survival."
After the Five Wards Military and Police Department's Wang Clan fell, on the day the women of the Wang Clan were sold to the Imperial Music Bureau, Chen Ji had also been present, discussing the salt merchant business with Huang Que and Shen Ye.
Because Chen Ji couldn't bear to watch the Imperial Music Bureau sell people like goods, he left early. Yet he didn't know that someone had used the high price of ninety thousand taels of silver to snatch away the Wang Clan's women from the hands of the Runan Yuan Clan and the Hongnong Yang Clan.
Chen Wende was no longer calm. Gritting his teeth, he asked: "Who leaked this matter? Wang Duo? Chen Guang? Han Tong?"
Bai Long said with a smile: "This matter actually cannot be blamed on others. It was you yourselves who were not prudent in harboring dead soldiers, spilling all of your secrets."
Chen Wende was shocked in his heart: "There are people from the Secret Spy Division among my Chen Family's dead soldiers? Absolutely impossible! My Chen Family's dead soldiers have never left any survivors when doing things, except for today!"
"That is not so," Bai Long looked into the distance and said: "Living people will not speak, but dead people will. The bodies of your Chen Family's dead soldiers had traces of perennial leech bites, and they also had injuries on their shoulders. One look and it's clear they are Boat Trackers. Following the line of canal transport downwards to investigate, it could be found sooner or later. After the matter at Fragrant Hills, this seat dispatched people to go straight downstream, searching all the way from Capital City to Yangzhou. Only then did we find some clues. After all, with so many Boat Trackers disappearing all at once, they would eventually be noticed by people."
Chen Wende remained silent.
Bai Long continued speaking leisurely: "After finding your Chen Family's second branch's remaining dead soldiers, my Secret Spy Division's men and horses did not act rashly. We actually even discovered some unexpected pleasant surprises. On the fifth of April, your Chen Family's dead soldiers changed their attire and secretly left the city in nine batches, welcoming your mother and the others together into Yangzhou's Ying Yuan. Afterwards, thirty men were left to look after the house and guard the courtyard, while the rest secretly headed north..."
After the Wang Clan fell, Xiaoman had once told Chen Ji that the Chen Family second branch's house arrest of Madam Wang was actually an intent to quietly starve Madam Wang to death, so as to wipe away this blemish. Yet from then on, there was no longer any news of Madam Wang. There was no funeral, nor did the coffin ever leave for burial, as if this person had never existed, and her son Chen Wende had never shown half a trace of grief.
Bai Long was somewhat evocative: "Lord Chen Lizhi had the face of a man-eater, but at the bottom of his heart he still bore Benevolence and kindness. The salt business's chief manager Chen Yue lost him so much money, yet he didn't kill him. The servants handled matters incompetently and failed to stop Yao Man and the Little Monk, yet he also didn't kill them. The people of the world all believed he abandoned the Wang Clan, never expecting him to save the Wang Clan's women, and even help the Wang Clan take in uxorilocal sons-in-law, leaving behind a thread of Incense."
Chen Wende said softly: "Yes, even when father lost his temper at home, he wouldn't beat or kill the servants. He would only smash porcelain to vent his anger. He was only a bit ferocious on his lips."
Bai Long said with a smile: "There's no need to paste gold onto your father's face. He still personally killed Madam Liang, sank the salt business manager into the pond, and dispatched dead soldiers to kill Chen Ji. Lord Chen, your father was merely good to his own people, that's all."
Chen Wende turned his head to look at Bai Long: "In this state of the world, being able to be good to your own people is already not bad. By appearing today, isn't Lord Bai Long also here to shelter your own people?"
Bai Long burst into loud laughter: "True."
Chen Wende asked gravely: "Since matters have reached this point, what must I do to guarantee my mother's life?"
Bai Long took out a porcelain bottle from his sleeve and tossed it to Chen Wende: "Commit suicide after returning to the capital. This seat guarantees your mother will be fine."
Chen Wende focused his gaze on the white porcelain bottle in his hand, yet tossed the porcelain bottle back: "No need. My back molars carry poison sacs. I know what I must do now. But I have one matter I am unclear about—could you dispel my doubts before my death?"
Bai Long said carelessly: "You may ask, Lord Chen. But this seat may not necessarily answer you."
Chen Wende asked in bewilderment: "The Eunuch Faction are His Majesty's eagles and hounds. Could it be His Majesty does not wish to topple the Chen Family? If he wishes it, by doing this, wouldn't Lord Bai Long's actions run contrary to His Majesty's wishes?"
Bai Long casually replied: "If he truly wanted to topple the Chen Family, he already would have toppled them by utilizing the matter at the Fragrant Hills last time. Why would he need to wait until now? Moreover, my Secret Spy Division merely didn't wish to arrest you. If we truly wanted to arrest Lord Chen, there would be no need for you to jump out on your own. Wouldn't you say?"
Chen Wende mocked himself with a bitter smile: "True. You even found Ying Yuan... So, why did Lord Bai Long come here today? For Chen Ji?"
This time, Bai Long did not answer.
(End of this chapter)