Censor Lin Run, having found the words of Fan Yingqi and Ma Sen unusual, was already puzzled. Now seeing Pan Sheng’s face change dramatically and Fan Yingqi staring blankly, he walked over, picked up the confession, and read it. His face turned ashen. However, being a man of great integrity, beneath his shock and confusion, a surge of anger ignited within him. He cursed loudly:
“Nonsense!”
“This is a coerced confession!”
“Has this Jiangxi province revolted?”
“I will report this to the imperial court at once and request a high official to come and oversee the proceedings! We will uncover the truth of the matter!”
As he spoke, his anger and shock caused his beard and hair to stand on end.
Unexpectedly,
Ma Sen sneered:
“Lord Lin, according to imperial law, censors involved in a case must recuse themselves… Hmph, there is no need for me to elaborate further, is there?”
“You!”
Lin Run roared in fury:
“How can you turn the plaintiff into the defendant! Li Mingfeng accused Zhu Mo of secretly burning imperial ritual vessels. There are witnesses and evidence, so how can you reverse this? I will report this to the imperial court!”
Ma Sen and Shen Chun exchanged glances, a sly smile appearing on both their faces simultaneously.
Pacing back and forth leisurely, Ma Sen said calmly:
“Lord Lin, you are the Imperial Inspector. Does the imperial court not have its reputation to consider? Must I really say it out loud?”
Lin Run was immediately choked, and just as he was about to unleash a torrent of profanity, a thought struck him: Could it be that they have already apprehended Huang Ying? And now they are framing me too?
At this thought,
He felt a deep tremor of humiliation. With a mournful sigh, he said,
“Lord Fan, since that is the case, please, Imperial Envoy, make a decision?”
Fan Yingqi, now the Left Minister of the Privy Council, no longer feared the Yan family. However, with the case having turned against them, any further protection on his part would further muddy the waters, turning what was clear into something irrevocably confused. In this Great Ming dynasty, officials and villains were often indistinguishable. Even Wang Yangming had once been falsely accused of colluding with Prince Ning, which showed that the best course of action was to remain untainted.
Being a man of considerable intellect, his thoughts turned. He said,
“Lord Ma, when I came, Elder Grand Secretary Chen instructed that for any major matters, I must report to the imperial court… Yes, given the significant events that have unfolded in Jingdezhen and the involvement of a vassal prince, I, as the Imperial Envoy, must report to the court… Yes, Lord Yan is also currently in the Privy Council, so I shall request him to discuss a strategy with Elder Grand Secretary Chen. What do you think, Lord Ma?”
Ma Sen dared not make a decision for the moment. He thought he should consult Luo Longwen first. Since the next step was to剿 (raid) that village, and they had already apprehended this group, what was the rush? He then smiled and said:
“Lord Fan is the Imperial Envoy. Whatever you report to the imperial court, no one else can interfere with.”
Mmm,
Fan Yingqi forced a smile:
“Very well, once I report to the imperial court, we will proceed with the judgment… For now, there is no hurry to interrogate the case… What do you think, Lord Ma?”
What could Ma Sen say? Even if he agreed to stop the interrogation, it would still continue. He smiled and replied:
“I obey the command of the Imperial Envoy, Your Excellency.”
Thus,
A clandestine struggle finally came to a close. Fan Yingqi had intended to leverage Tan Lun’s influence to suppress the Yan family, but he had not anticipated them striking first, thus cornering him. After much deliberation, he was utterly at a loss. He finally sighed, lamenting his lack of experience and his hasty decision to leave that crucial location at that moment.
Hoo~~~
He let out a long breath, hoping fervently that no large-scale bloodshed would occur. The Yan family could at most pose a threat; a complete breakdown of relations was unlikely.
After everyone had left, he immediately penned a secret letter, summoned his personal guards, and had it delivered to the Prince of Yi’s mansion. He dared not even return to his official residence, opting instead to stay in the Jingdezhen barracks.
…
Fuzhou,
Shen Chun’s secret residence.
Luo Longwen was quite satisfied with the day’s events. The only drawback was that Fan Yingqi was proving to be quite formidable, having actually brought two thousand soldiers, who were moreover personally dispatched by the Governor-General. This made things rather difficult. He had initially expected Tan Lun to merely provide him with a letter of authorization.
Lu Wen, worried that he might be blamed, saw him frowning and quickly said:
“Lord Luo, shall we go and剿 (raid) that village tonight?”
Luo Longwen shook his head and said slowly:
“If we are to剿 (raid), we must first neutralize Fan Yingqi. Otherwise, if he truly obstructs us and produces the Governor-General’s order, it will indeed be troublesome…”
Ma Sen was becoming somewhat impatient, thinking that this matter was getting too complicated and that delaying was not a solution. He said:
“Lord Luo, in my humble opinion, things have reached this stage… The Crown Prince ordered a vassal prince to secretly forge imperial artifacts and then falsely accused Zhu Mo of rebellion. The facts are all there. Once presented to the imperial court, the Young Grand Secretary will be able to justify himself. Must it necessarily lead to bloodshed?”
Luo Longwen also felt a deep sense of emotion. Truthfully, he did not wish to proceed, but the situation was as it was. If he did not see it through to the end, there would be future risks. This was, after all, a confrontation with the current Crown Prince. If they failed to eliminate him, the consequences would be endless.
After much thought, he said:
“No, there must be bloodshed… Lord Ma, Ru Cheng, here’s what we’ll do! You don’t need to dispatch troops. Have the guards change their clothes and mix in with the potters and household servants. Let those servants and potters do the fighting… If Fan Yingqi dispatches troops to obstruct, Ru Cheng, you will also deploy troops to confront him. As long as we can hold him off for an hour or two, then over there, they will charge into the stronghold, causing destruction… Lord Ma can then report Zhu Mo’s rebellion in his capacity as Governor, and then the matter will be mostly settled…”
“This?”
Ma Sen found this plan too terrifying. If the officials and people of the world heard of it, they would undoubtedly be filled with anxiety, and it would push the Crown Prince into a desperate situation. Even if the Crown Prince adamantly denied any premeditation with the Prince of Yi, with Luo Longwen’s severe interrogation and the production of Huang Ying’s confession, stating that the Crown Prince had ordered the secret forging of imperial artifacts to frame Zhu Mo, and then presenting it to the imperial court, it would still be an ignoble affair. The Emperor would be forced to depose the Crown Prince…
Lu Wen, however, was unfazed:
“Lord Luo, your stratagem is brilliant! I shall go and attend to it at once!”
Seeing Ma Sen’s reluctance, Luo Longwen enlightened him:
“Kong Yang, the Crown Prince ordered his subordinates to falsely accuse Zhu Mo of rebellion. The evidence is conclusive, and the facts are all there… No one has wronged him… Now, we say that his subordinates colluded with Zhu Mo, and he himself may not have been aware of it. This is also to protect him, at least we haven’t offended him, right?
Everything has a beginning. Who told him to be suspicious of Zhu Mo wanting to seize his throne? Don’t you think so? His suspicion gave rise to this devious plan, which in turn led to this major incident in Jingdezhen, didn’t it? The cause of this matter does not lie with us; it was all the Crown Prince’s doing…”
Ma Sen thought about it and found it to be true. If not for the Crown Prince’s excessive suspicion, how could it have escalated to this point? After thinking for a moment, he said:
“Alright, Lord Luo. The two of us are taking a great risk here. I request that Lord Luo put in a good word for us with the Young Grand Secretary.”
Luo Longwen nodded seriously:
“This time, I, Luo, was personally present and know how difficult things are. You and Lord Shen have taken immense risks. I will truthfully report to the Young Grand Secretary. You can both rest assured.”
Mmm,
Ma Sen and Lu Wen turned and left.
…
At the same time,
Prince of Yi’s mansion in Nanchang.
The news had just arrived. Fan Yingqi’s secret letter made the forty-something Prince of Yi as uneasy as if sitting on pins and needles. Fortunately, Duke of Qian State, Mu Chaobi, had arrived a few days prior. He immediately ordered someone to call him and handed him the secret letter to read.
Mu Chaobi had come down to oversee this secret mission. Upon his arrival, he had heard that Ma Sen, Lu Wen, and Shen Chun of the Yan family were opposing Fan Yingqi, which had already made him deeply uneasy. After hastily reading the secret letter, he slumped onto the grand armchair, utterly dejected.
However, after closing his eyes for a moment, he suddenly jumped up and shouted:
“This is bad! Your Highness, quickly kill everyone who knows!”
“What?”
The Prince of Yi had always lived a life of pampered luxury. Although he had been worshipping Emperor Jianwen at home with Mu Chaobi and others, he had never experienced any real trouble in his life. Seeing Mu Chaobi in such a panic, he quickly asked:
“Your Grace, what… what are you saying?”
Mu Chaobi took a deep breath and said calmly:
“Your Highness, the Yan family is trying to destroy the Crown Prince! The case will not subside! They will continue to investigate Lin Run, interrogate those in the Prince’s mansion who know the details, and a colossal case will surely be uncovered!”
“Ah?”
The Prince of Yi immediately came to his senses. A chill ran down his spine, and then a surge of anger erupted. He cursed:
“You scoundrel Yan Shifan! I will have you cut into a thousand pieces!”
He paced nervously for a few steps, and instantly realized that Mu Chaobi’s words were absolutely correct. He quickly shouted, “Someone! Someone!”
Left Chief Clerk Li Wen hurried in. The Prince of Yi said:
“You immediately go and find out clearly, who among those who handled Huang Ying’s affairs knew about it? Arrest all of them and bring them to the Prince’s mansion. Then—”
*Snap*,
He made a gesture across his throat with his hand.
Li Wen, being extremely astute, immediately understood and nodded heavily.