Chapter 576: Exterminating Completely |
Renshou Palace was dead silent. Only the smoke from the two blue-and-white porcelain incense burners with cloud and crane motifs beneath the imperial throne rose faintly, swirling continuously under the painted caisson ceiling of the Twenty-Eight Mansions.
The sky darkened. The young eunuchs picked up copper handles and lit the candles in Renshou Palace one by one.
The leading officials looked at Chen Ji standing proudly in the middle of the hall. It wasn't until they carefully scrutinized the other party's somewhat green and tender face that they remembered he seemed to be only nineteen years old.
Some older leading officials in a daze traveled back to over twenty years ago.
At that time, the ruler was young and the state was in doubt, the Empress Dowager held court from behind a bead curtain, and relatives of the consort clan monopolized the court affairs. Back then, there seemed to also be someone wearing a great red Official Robe, standing above the Imperial Court with a youthful appearance, helping the one on the imperial throne stabilize the rivers and mountains.
The two men did not look alike in appearance, nor in figure, and even less so in voice.
But for some unknown reason, looking at Chen Ji, everyone inexplicably thought of that person.
Prince Jing.
In just this instant, many leading officials suddenly felt they had grown old. The other party's spirit was like a mirror reflecting their own agedness and wasted time.
At this time, the leading officials looked again at Cui Qinghe and Qi Zhenwu prostrated on the ground, and sighed secretly in their hearts. The Qi Family had lost. Now that the Qi Family's general trend had passed, the only difference lay in how great a price the Qi Family would pay.
Under the complex caisson ceiling of the Twenty-Eight Mansions, Chen Ji looked down at Cui Qinghe beside him: "Bureau Director Cui, whose string of Buddhist Prayer Beads Currency is that? Speak truthfully."
Cui Qinghe clenched his teeth and refused to speak, only looking at his own reflection on the lapis lazuli tiles, his complexion extremely ugly.
Chen Ji said Neither Hasty nor Slow: "Bureau Director Cui, don't think that by not speaking, you can take all the matters upon yourself. Also, there's no need to attempt to lie. Under the interrogation of my Secret Spy Division's Meng Ji, there are no lies."
But Cui Qinghe still didn't speak.
He clearly knew in his heart that once he confessed against Qi Zhenwu, there would be no place for him to establish a foothold in this capital city. No, above this massive Imperial Court, there would be no place for his Qinghe Cui Clan to accommodate themselves.
He would rather wait for Meng Ji to come interrogate him. Even if he said something then, it wouldn't be his fault. Even if he was convicted for shielding criminals, at most only he alone would be blamed, but he could fight for a future for the Qinghe Cui Clan.
Seeing that he still refused to speak, Chen Ji smiled and said: "Bureau Director Cui, originally there wasn't much involving you in this. You didn't embezzle and you didn't rob, you just did some things entrusted by someone else. As long as you say whose Buddhist Prayer Beads Currency it is, you will be fine. But if you refuse to confess, or lie and then Meng Ji forces it out of you, that is the crime of Deceiving the Emperor..."
Chen Ji lowered his voice: "If Meng Ji forces out something else, like privately casting copper coins or something, that will result in Property Confiscation and family extermination."
Cui Qinghe's face changed. He could still distinguish clearly the difference between "The Cui Clan having no future prospects from now on" and "The Cui Clan having no descendants from now on."
This was Chen Ji's naked threat, gambling that his Qinghe Cui Clan still had many secret matters that could not endure interrogation.
After being silent for two breaths, Cui Qinghe gritted his teeth and said: "That string of Buddhist Prayer Beads Currency was given to me by Qi Zhenwu. Qi Zhenwu looked for me the day before yesterday, promising me the position of Ministry of Rites Bureau Director, and asked me to take six hundred thousand taels of silver to the Imperial Music Bureau to redeem Bai Li. After the matter was accomplished, Bai Li would be at my disposal."
In the very front row of the leading officials, Elder Qi, sitting on an embroidered stool, sighed in his heart and slowly closed his eyes.
Having received his answer, Chen Ji walked to Qi Zhenwu's side again: "Lord Qi, dare I ask this Buddhist Prayer Beads Currency, why is it in your hands?"
However, the next moment, Qi Zhenwu said in a deep voice: "This is an item Li's Pawnshop used to bribe me. Protecting Li's Pawnshop was also my individual act, and has nothing to do with the Qi Family!"
Elder Qi suddenly opened his eyes.
Just now Qi Zhenwu had two paths to choose. If he shook out that Li's Pawnshop was the private property of the Qi Family, Qi Zhenwu himself would merely be transferring his own family's vault silver. Although it would cause the Qi Family to deviate from the literary heart of the world, he himself would be guiltless. After all, that was the Qi Family's own silver, and how they wanted to spend it was the Qi Family's business.
Now that Qi Zhenwu took all the blame alone, classifying it as corruption and dereliction of duty, although Qi Zhenwu would be exiled to Lingnan, the Qi Family's reputation would be preserved.
For the Qi Family, this was the best result. As for the rest, it only depended on whether the one on the imperial throne wanted to strike the Qi Family's reputation down to the mortal dust, or exchange it for something useful.
Chen Ji cupped his hands toward the imperial throne behind the gauze curtain: "Your Majesty, this subject believes Qi Zhenwu did not speak the truth. I request that the Secret Spy Division's Meng Ji interrogate him using his Official Path Gateway."
The leading officials knew in their hearts that Chen Ji held grudges. This time, if he didn't destroy the Qi Family's reputation, he wouldn't let the matter drop. Once Meng Ji interrogated, all matters for the Qi Family would be over.
But the next moment, Emperor Ning on the imperial throne slowly spoke: "Elder Qi, Qi Zhenwu is someone from your Qi Family. How do you view this?"
Elder Qi heaved a long sigh of relief in his heart. Inside this Renshou Palace, there were never prices that could not be negotiated... Moreover, this Emperor who had reigned for thirty-two years and was extremely adept at emperor's mind control techniques, needed balance in the Imperial Court.
He slowly stood up from the embroidered stool, then lifted the hem of his Official Robe, and tremblingly knelt prostrate on the ground: "This old subject was not strict in managing the family, resulting in the young disciples in the clan taking the wrong paths. This is entirely the fault of this old subject. This child Zhenwu has a frivolous and impetuous disposition and cannot distinguish right from wrong. He actually accepted bribes from merchants and interfered with the laws of the court. This old subject implores Your Majesty to issue a decree, exiling him to Lingnan and never employing him again. As the Left Censor-in-Chief, Qi Xianzhun also bears the responsibility of negligence... Kneel!"
Qi Xianzhun understood tacitly, also lifting the hem of his clothing and kneeling beside Elder Qi: "Your Majesty, the Qi Family has passed down poetry and Propriety through generations. Since our ancestors, there has been none who hasn't taken maintaining integrity and being loyal to the ruler and considerate of the state as our teaching. To think such unworthy descendants would appear today, tarnishing the family lintel and harming the court's discipline. This subject has no place to hide his shame. This subject is willing to resign from the position of Left Censor-in-Chief and return home to pursue scholarship."
The leading officials were Looking at One Another.
Left Censor-in-Chief.
This was the price the Qi Family offered, and also the price that tempted Emperor Ning the most.
The Left Censor-in-Chief commanded the Chief Surveillance Bureau, taking one of the most crucial official positions to constrain Imperial Power.
In the sixth year of Jianing, Emperor Ning tried three times to confer a princedom on Zhu Youxiao, who was not yet Prince Jing at the time, but all attempts were sealed and returned by the Supervising Secretaries of the Six Offices in the Chief Surveillance Bureau under the name of 'inappropriate'.
In the ninth year of Jianing, the Directorate of Ceremonial Seal-Holding Grand Eunuch Wang Bao died suddenly in the Falconry Office. Emperor Ning wanted to close the case as Wang Bao suffering a heart attack. However, the Chief Surveillance Bureau insisted on a joint trial by the Three Judicial Offices to thoroughly investigate the cause of Wang Bao's death.
Although in the end it was left unsettled for some unknown reason, it also caused some clues in this case to be exposed, making people guess that Wang Bao probably died at the hands of Xu Wenhe, who was not yet the Inner Chancellor at that time.
Examples like this were numerous.
Now that the Qi Family conceded the position of Left Censor-in-Chief, it was far more important than parting with some silver: power was always more important than silver.
On the imperial throne, Emperor Ning was silent for a moment, and finally agreed: "Memorial approved. Draft a decree: Qi Zhenwu is to be exiled to Lingnan immediately. Qi Xianzhun resigns from the position of Left Censor-in-Chief. Ministry of Revenue Left Vice Minister Chen Lizun is promoted to Left Censor-in-Chief."
Emperor Ning paused for a moment, and then added: "Hu Junye is transferred to the position of Ministry of Revenue Left Vice Minister."
Renshou Palace was instantly in an uproar. These few simple sentences actually threw the spheres of influence of several families into a pot of porridge.
Originally, the Chen Family would not have let go of the position of Ministry of Revenue Left Vice Minister. But now, with the Left Censor-in-Chief being a much bigger temptation, how could they miss the opportunity to command the Chief Surveillance Bureau?
But in this way, several families would fall apart and mutually constrain each other. Where would they still have the time to stop Zhang Zhuo from pushing the new policies?
Just as the leading officials were discussing animatedly, Qi Xianzhun helped Elder Qi up. Today they only sought to preserve the Qi Family's reputation, and couldn't manage that much else.
However, right at this moment, Chen Ji suddenly said loudly: "Lord Qi Xianzhun previously managed discipline and customs, and presumably has read the Ning Dynasty laws thoroughly. I would like to ask for instruction: if a pawnshop's monthly interest is nine percent, how should our dynasty's laws deal with it?"
Qi Xianzhun stood stunned in place. The leading officials also ceased their voices all together, looking at Chen Ji with strange expressions.
His Majesty has already spoken, why is this child still unrelenting?
Without waiting for Qi Xianzhun to answer, Zhang Zhuo said loudly: "Censor-in-Chief Qi might not be as familiar with this matter as I am. According to our Great Ning laws, in the Household Law, Debt Volume: whoever violates the prohibitions to seek profit by privately issuing debt and pawning property, the monthly profit cannot exceed three percent. Even if the years and months are many, it cannot exceed one principal and one profit. Violators will receive forty strokes of the cane. Based on the excess profit calculating the illicit gains, heavy offenders will be judged under illicit gains, and the punishment stops at one hundred strokes of the cane."
The old appraiser's body trembled.
Chen Ji asked loudly again: "In the twenty-seventh year of Jianing, Li's Pawnshop issued Loan Shark Money to the commoner Wang Youde, totaling five taels of silver. These five taels of silver multiplied into one hundred and ten taels over three years. Wang Youde hanged himself, and his wife sold herself to the Li Family to pay off the debt. For such acts of forcing respectable people into prostitution, how should our dynasty's laws handle it?"
Zhang Zhuo chimed in matching his tune: "According to our Great Ning laws, in the Penal Law, Human Life Volume: whoever forces someone to death due to a matter will receive one hundred strokes of the cane. If officials, public servants, and such force commoners to death not because of official duties, the crime is the same, and they must additionally provide ten taels of silver for burial. If accompanied by beating, illegal detention, or snatching wives and daughters to pay off debts, they shall suffer death by a thousand cuts to Punish One as a Warning to Others."
Chen Ji clicked his tongue in praise: "Death by a thousand cuts! I haven't seen that yet."
The old appraiser knelt on the ground crying and shouting: "This lowly one is just an appraiser for Li's Pawnshop, doing things entirely according to the proprietor's orders on ordinary days. That matter in the twenty-seventh year of Jianing was because the proprietor Li Bing took a fancy to Wang's wife, and thus designed a plot to force Wang Youde to death. It has nothing to do with this lowly one!"
Hearing these words, Elder Qi felt a surge of Blood Qi tumbling in his chest.
Chen Ji cupped his hands toward the imperial throne: "Your Majesty, I implore Your Majesty to issue a decree to immediately confiscate Li's Pawnshop, apprehend the chief offender Li Bing, and choose a day for death by a thousand cuts. Furthermore, I request the Secret Spy Division to investigate pawnshops throughout the entire city. For any with a monthly interest exceeding three percent, lightly confiscate the illicit gains obtained by violating the prohibition; heavily confiscate their property entirely and exile them over, returning a bright and clear world to the commoners of the capital city."
The leading officials all had varying expressions. For those able to open pawnshops in the capital city to issue Loan Shark Money, which one didn't have a sky-reaching background behind them? And weren't all these sky-reaching backgrounds currently in Renshou Palace?
On the imperial throne, Emperor Ning calmly said: "Memorial approved."
Elder Qi's eyes suddenly went black. It was only after a moment that he recovered his senses. With Li's Pawnshop gone, the 'Jia'-character rank silver vault in the capital city probably couldn't be kept either.
Qi Xianzhun supported him and said in a low voice: "Father, just endure through today, preserving the Qi Family's reputation is enough..."
Before his voice could fade, Chang Xiu was seen hurrying from outside Renshou Palace. Holding a stack of Bamboo Paper, he stepped through the palace doors, arrived beside the imperial throne, and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, this is today's Evening News."
The leading officials felt a shock in their hearts. What on earth did today's Evening News publish that would cause the other party to disregard the court session to deliver the newspaper into Renshou Palace?
They turned to look at Chen Ji, wanting to see something from Chen Ji's face.
But Chen Ji had both hands tucked into his sleeves, his gaze flickering unpredictably in the candlelight of Renshou Palace. (End of Chapter)