Chapter 72
Morning Court
As soon as Gan Yongfu finished announcing, “If there are matters to report, speak now. If not, the court is dismissed,” Yin Ji stepped forward to report the sensational daytime murder case that had caused an uproar in Shengjing and left the citizens in a state of panic.
Yin Ji declared loudly, “Your Majesty, the criminals are audacious. In broad daylight, they dared to kill so many ordinary citizens right under the feet of the Son of Heaven. This is a crime that reach the heavens and must be thoroughly investigated to uncover the mastermind behind it. Otherwise, it will be difficult to appease the public and prevent the people from growing discontented or even panicked.”
[罪恶滔天 (zuì è tāo tiān): lit. crimes that reach the heavens; fig. extremely heinous or atrocious crimes]
As soon as Yin Ji finished speaking, someone else stepped forward to second his proposal. For someone to dare kill so many people in broad daylight, regardless of their motives, it showed their audacity and had no regard for the king’s law. Not only were the common people terrified, but even the officials felt uneasy, fearing that such actions might one day be directed at them.
[目无王法 (mù wú wáng fǎ): lit. No regard for the king’s law; fig. To act lawlessly or without respect for authority.
Yin Ji reminded Emperor Changde, “Your Majesty, it hasn’t been long since the incident of the restless spirits at the quarry last year. If this matter isn’t clarified and the people given an explanation, they might start speculating.”
As for what they might speculate, as soon as Yin Ji said this, the Crown Prince realized it was a veiled attack on him. Last year, when the Second Prince held sway, hundreds of lives were lost at the quarry. Now, with only one prince left in the court, the people might assume that he, the Crown Prince, was behind this.
Since this matter had nothing to do with him, the Crown Prince absolutely couldn’t let such a label stick to him. He immediately spoke up to support Yin Ji’s proposal. “Father, I believe Minister Yin’s words are reasonable. I request that Your Majesty order a thorough investigation into this matter.”
The Crown Prince’s faction, seeing him speak up, breathed a sigh of relief. They had been worried that the Crown Prince might have been behind this, therefore if this matter was investigated, they would have to clean up his mess. Since it wasn’t him, they naturally followed his lead and demanded a thorough investigation.
None of them noticed that Emperor Changde’s face had turned livid with anger, as if he wanted to kill someone.
But with the entire court agreeing that the matter needed to be investigated, and with the threat of public outrage and resentment being invoked, Emperor Changde had no choice but to comply.
He spoke in a harsh tone, instructing Yin Ji, “Since you are so concerned about the people, and since these deaths occurred within the boundaries of Shengjing, which falls under your jurisdiction, I entrust this matter to you for a thorough investigation. I, too, would like to see who dares to be so brazen as to kill under the feet of the Son of Heaven!”
Emperor Changde’s sharp gaze fell on Yin Ji, causing him to shudder and feel a sudden chill.
The entire morning court was devoted to this single matter. As soon as Emperor Changde assigned Yin Ji to investigate, he dismissed the court with visible displeasure. Uninformed officials assumed the emperor was angry at the murderers, but those in the know, like Yin Ji, understood that Emperor Changde was furious at him for inciting the court to demand an investigation.
Yin Ji had initially only been 50% convinced that Emperor Changde was behind this. Now, seeing his reaction, Yin Ji was 80% certain. The remaining 20% would require evidence to confirm.
As soon as the court was dismissed, Emperor Changde, seething with anger, returned to his private chambers. In front of Gan Yongfu, he cursed Yin Ji for being ungrateful. “I thought he was capable and knew how to read the situation. Now it seems he’s nothing but a head made of elm wood! I shouldn’t have appointed him as the Prefect of Shengjing. He’s utterly stubborn and unyielding!”
[榆木脑袋 (yú mù nǎo dài): lit. a head made of elm wood; fig. someone who is stubborn or slow-witted]
“Let him investigate. Let’s see what treasures he can dig up,” Emperor Changde fumed, clutching his chest in pain. After cursing for a while, he leaned back in his chair to rest.
Gan Yongfu served him tea and then softly advised, “Your Majesty, why bother with a stubborn official? In my humble opinion, Minister Yin is better suited to be a Deputy Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, handling difficult and serious cases. The role of Prefect of Shengjing involves too many trivial matters and isn’t suitable for him.”
Emperor Changde snorted coldly. “How did I not see this side of him back then? I even considered promoting him. What a blind fool.”
If Gan Yongfu was to speak honestly, Yin Ji was truly wronged. After all, the emperor hadn’t revealed the truth to him. How could Yin Ji have known?
Of course, Gan Yongfu kept these thoughts to himself and instead echoed Emperor Changde’s sentiments, saying only what the emperor wanted to hear.
Once Emperor Changde had calmed down and convinced himself that Yin Ji wouldn’t trace the matter back to him, he asked Gan Yongfu, “What about the men I sent out last night? Haven’t they returned yet?”
“This…” Gan Yongfu hesitated, not daring to speak.
“What’s with the hesitation? Speak!” Seeing Gan Yongfu’s reaction, Emperor Changde knew it wasn’t good news, and his anger flared up again.
Gan Yongfu had no choice but to report the truth. “Early this morning, the Wei family’s servants delivered the bodies to the government office, claiming they were assassins sent to kill the Su family girl last night. However, the numbers don’t match. Two are missing. It’s unclear whether they escaped or were captured by the Wei family.”
“Bang!”
Emperor Changde slammed his hand on the table. “The Wei family again! Wei Su’s death wasn’t enough. Now there’s Wei Yunzhao. I have been too lenient, sparing his wretched life.”
He should have let Wei Yunzhao die alongside his father at the border, so he wouldn’t be causing trouble now.
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