Chapter 76
Qi Junmu did not summon Qi Junyan and Qi Junzhuo privately. Instead, he frequently called Xing Yi and Yang Jinglei to the palace. As for Cheng Jin, perhaps because of his status in the North Frontier Army, the Emperor only praised him verbally and never met him alone.
In the eyes of the court officials, the Emperor's actions showed his distrust toward Prince Jin, Prince Rui, and Marquis Zhenbei.
Some were worried about this; others were troubled.
With Xing Yi, the Emperor naturally asked how they had uncovered Chang Sheng's embezzlement of military pay and how they had discovered his collusion with Western Di.
Xing Yi answered fairly objectively. Although Chang Sheng's embezzlement was relatively well-hidden, Chang Sheng was not like the Shen father and son—his status in the West Frontier Army was not high enough that everyone was willing to go through fire and water for him.
When news of Chang Sheng's disappearance reached the West Frontier, morale initially fell apart. Fortunately, Prince Rui and Cheng Jin were there—one was a prince, the other had military might—and together they managed to steady the panicked hearts of the West Frontier Army.
It was rumored in the West Frontier Army that Chang Sheng had gone to the North Frontier to gather evidence of the North Frontier Army's contempt for the Emperor, and that Chang Sheng and his men would return one day. At that time, everyone sided with Chang Sheng and waited for his return.
But after he vanished, some people started eyeing his position. There was no lack of those eager to take Chang Sheng's place, and little by little, the atmosphere began to change.
Chang Sheng's embezzlement was reported and exposed. Around the same time, Qi Junyan and Cheng Jin discovered serious problems with the West Frontier's defenses—some sections of the city wall were dangerously weak.
In Cheng Jin's words, it could not withstand even one enemy ram. As the saying goes, when a tree falls, its monkeys scatter. Soon, word spread through the West Frontier Army that Chang Sheng had colluded with Western Di.
Then Qi Junyan and Cheng Jin searched Chang Sheng's residence and found letters exchanged between Chang Sheng and Western Di.
As Xing Yi recounted all this, he stole a glance at the Emperor and said, "Your Majesty, this matter is somewhat suspicious. This humble subject, Prince Rui, and Lord Cheng all believe that someone deliberately placed those letters in Chang Sheng's residence for us to find. But the handwriting on the letters was indeed Chang Sheng's."
"So someone had the evidence, did not want to show themselves, and deliberately let you discover it?" Qi Junmu followed Xing Yi's line of thought.
Xing Yi hesitated, then nodded. "Though this was full of holes, this humble subject can think of no other explanation."
"The faulty city wall alone is enough to sentence Chang Sheng to death. What need is there for anything else?" Qi Junmu said flatly.
Xing Yi said nothing more.
Qi Junmu then asked in a casual tone: "And what about Prince Rui meeting with Western Di officials at night?"
"This humble subject does not know the specifics," Xing Yi said quickly. "After Prince Rui met with the Western Di envoy once, there was no further action."
Qi Junmu's face darkened. "Meeting with foreign enemies behind others' backs is already a grave offense. If there were further actions, would that not be treason?"
The Emperor's voice was icy, and Xing Yi dared not respond.
Qi Junmu had no desire to say more to him, so he waved his hand and dismissed him.
As for Yang Jinglei, it was even simpler. The North Frontier Army had indeed not welcomed Chang Sheng's arrival, but Chang Sheng never even reached his destination—he died before getting there. No one could be more innocent than the North Frontier Army.
In short, after spending so many days in the North Frontier, Yang Jinglei and Qi Junzhuo had found nothing.
As for the cause of Chang Sheng's death, they traced it to robbery and murder. In this world, for every upright and loyal man, there are scoundrels who treat human life like grass. A few hundred li from the North Frontier, a band of mountain brigands had made their lair in the hills.
They were all vicious criminals who had no allegiance to the North Frontier Army and would occasionally intercept the army's pay shipments. Because their position was favorable and the borderlands had been unstable for years, no one had moved against them.
Chang Sheng was simply unlucky. He had been carrying too much silver, and somehow word leaked out, reaching the brigands. Men die for wealth—the brigands ambushed Chang Sheng and his party, killed them, and seized the silver.
During the fight between the brigands and Chang Sheng's men, one brigand's leg was broken. To avoid being dragged down, his comrades stabbed him in the chest and left him for dead. Luckily for him, he survived and hid out at a farmer's home.
Living in constant fear of being found out, the brigand steeled himself and turned himself in when Qi Junzhuo and Yang Jinglei arrived in the North Frontier, begging only for his life to be spared.
When the North Frontier soldiers heard the story, they cursed angrily, saying Chang Sheng was a jinx—he died on his own, and nearly dragged the entire North Frontier Army down with him.
Then a group of them went to Qi Junzhuo to plead for permission to go after the brigands.
Qi Junzhuo, Yang Jinglei, and the North Frontier Army spent a long time figuring out who the brigands were. Qi Junzhuo and Yang Jinglei personally led the troops to wipe them out. They were on the verge of success when the Emperor's summons arrived.
Qi Junzhuo had no choice but to hand the matter over to the North Frontier commanders and rush back to the capital as fast as possible.
After hearing Yang Jinglei's account, Qi Junmu gave a faint "Mm" and dismissed him. With that, Chang Sheng's death finally had a stated cause. No matter how many obvious holes there were, now that there was a reason, Qi Junmu could tell everyone that Chang Sheng deserved his fate.
Qi Junmu swiftly summoned all the officials and announced the evidence of Chang Sheng's treason and the cause of his death. The civil and military officials vied to denounce Chang Sheng, practically wishing they could drag his corpse out and flog it.
Finally, Qi Junmu said: "I do not wish to speak of this matter again. Chang Sheng deserved to die. Let this be a lesson to you all. Traitors to Da Qi will never be pardoned."
At that moment, the officials naturally obeyed the Emperor.
The matter of Chang Sheng was settled, but the Emperor did nothing to Prince Jin or Prince Rui. He neither charged them nor questioned them—he simply left them hanging.
Some ministers discussed this in private, and eventually someone sighed and said: "The late Emperor's death anniversary is coming soon. It seems His Majesty is mindful of the late Emperor and does not wish to force a confrontation. After all, before the late Emperor died, all his sons were still here. If one son were missing on the anniversary, it would be hard to justify. His Majesty fears upsetting the late Emperor's spirit."
The other ministers heard this and thought it made some sense.
This speculation naturally reached Qi Junmu's ears. He just smiled and said: "That is not wrong. At least let Imperial Father have one more peaceful year."
Shen Nian was beside him and could clearly see that there was no warmth in the Emperor's eyes.
As the anniversary of Emperor Jing's death drew near, Shen Nian's mood also grew heavy. A little over a month after Emperor Jing passed, Shen Yi had followed him in death.
Shen Yi faced his own death with great equanimity. To this day, Shen Nian could not tell whether it was because his battlefield wounds truly could not be healed, or whether he simply no longer wished to live.
All those past events were merely his guesses, but every time he thought of them, it pained him deeply.
Compared with Emperor Jing, Shen Yi as a father had truly cared for him.
Before he died, he had specifically told Shen Nian that he had lived a rough life and did not care much for formalities after death. On Qingming or the death anniversary, if Shen Nian wanted to burn paper offerings, he could; if he had no time, the thought would be enough.
[清明 (Qīngmíng): a Chinese solar term and traditional holiday around April 4–6, when families sweep ancestors' tombs, make offerings, and honor the dead.]
Recalling the calm detachment in Shen Yi's words, Shen Nian could not help wondering what his father had truly been thinking at the end.
But that was impossible to know. A person's thoughts cannot be guessed by others.
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