Chapter 340
Chapter 340
Several bailiffs from the Court of Judicial Review stepped forward, pinning Jin An and the two other warriors to the floor, preparing to torture them. Jin An and the warriors sneered and clamped their mouths shut.
*'Do they really think a warrior of the Jin Clan would fear torture? To expect a confession from us... what a foolish dream!'*
Shen Lang said,
“Lord Wang, there's no need to waste your energy. As I said, I will speak when His Majesty's confidant comes to interrogate me. Otherwise, I will not utter a single word.”
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review felt humiliated.
“Shen Lang, are you saying I am not qualified to interrogate you? Do you think I can't torture you?”
Just then, Zhang Chong spoke from the side.
“Shen Lang holds the scholarly rank of Juren. Until that is revoked, he cannot be tortured.”
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review sneered.
“Fine, I understand! Then I shall immediately petition His Majesty to issue an edict stripping Shen Lang of all his scholarly ranks.”
“I, too, will submit a memorial, relaying Shen Lang's exact words to His Majesty.”
“Then we shall submit our memorials together.”
The nearby Yan Mi'yi ground his teeth and said,
“I will also submit a memorial. The moment I arrested Shen Lang, my entire family was slaughtered. I want to see just who dares to commit murder so brazenly under His Majesty the King's nose. Who killed a man of the Blackwater Terrace and one of His Majesty's men.”
In the end, the three men wrote their memorials simultaneously and dispatched riders on fast horses to report to the King, who was traveling north. After the memorials were sent, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review said,
“Lord Zhang Chong, until the King strips Shen Lang of his rank, we cannot torture him. But we can certainly torture his family's servants. Men, administer the grand punishment!”
He deliberately dragged out the word 'grand'. This was a hint to the bailiffs that they could beat them to death. Two of the three Jin Clan warriors would be beaten to death right in front of Shen Lang.
*'Beat the mountain to scare the tiger, kill the chicken to warn the monkeys. Just you wait, Shen Lang. Once the King revokes your rank, you will be the one receiving that punishment.'*
Yan Mi'yi of the Blackwater Terrace had a chilling look in his eyes.
*'Shen Lang, did you think that just because I won't torture you, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review would let you go? Wang Jinglun is a key figure in the Su Faction. Since Su Nan wants you dead, how could he not be eager? You might have been able to kill my family, but do you think you can kill Wang Jinglun's? His home isn't even in the capital, and the family he has here is already under the protection of the Marquis of Zhenyuan's estate. Do you think he's from a commoner family like mine, so easily killed? Just you wait! His Majesty will be furious. You dared to slaughter the family of a Blackwater Terrace Chiliarch. You dared to kill the family of a hunting dog raised by the King himself. You're practically begging for death! Now, you'll watch with your own two eyes as these three servants are brutally beaten to death.'*
Zhang Chong suddenly spoke up.
“Halt the punishment for a moment. I have some questions.”
Just then, a loud shout came from outside.
“An attack, an attack!”
The thunderous sound of horse hooves grew closer. A bailiff rushed in to report.
“My lord, someone is trying to storm the prison.”
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Wang Jinglun, Zhang Chong, and Yan Mi'yi of the Blackwater Terrace were all stunned. The three men turned to look at Shen Lang in unison.
*'You... are you insane? Sending people to storm the prison? Daring to surround the Court of Judicial Review? That's rebellion! Years ago, the Count of Dongjiang was deemed a traitor for leading soldiers to attack the Dongjiang Prefecture Office, and most of his clan was exterminated. And you, Shen Lang, you send men to attack the Court of Judicial Review? What was the rank of the Dongjiang Prefecture Office? A mere Subordinate Sixth-Rank. And what is the rank of the Court of Judicial Review's office? Third-Rank! It's over. This is absolute treason. Even if you didn't truly commit the crime of deceiving the monarch, you and the Jin Clan are finished now.'*
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was not angry; on the contrary, he was delighted.
*'You've lost your senses in a fit of rage. Everyone says Shen Lang is devilishly clever, what a joke. It's only because his own safety wasn't on the line before. Now that his life is in danger, he resorts to such a stupid move. To dare and surround the Court of Judicial Review. Now you can't escape the charge of treason.'*
“Men, go to the Central Military Commission and the Bureau of Military Affairs in the capital! Mobilize troops and annihilate these traitors!”
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review ordered. Yan Mi'yi couldn't hold back and also gave an order.
“Men, go to the Blackwater Terrace and report that someone is committing treason, surrounding the Court of Judicial Review to take Shen Lang away. Request that the Director send troops to quell the rebellion.”
“Yes, sir!”
In an instant, several groups of messengers shot out from the Court of Judicial Review's office, heading for the Central Military Commission, the Bureau of Military Affairs, and the Blackwater Terrace, respectively. Soon, ten thousand troops would be mobilized to crush the rebellion. But a moment later, a voice rang out, and the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review froze in shock.
“I am the Third Princess, Ning Yan. I heard an injustice was being committed at the Court of Judicial Review, so I have come to investigate the matter personally. Anyone who dares to block my path, no matter who they are, will be killed.”
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and Yan Mi'yi were stunned.
*'It's that troublemaker? She's the King's Third Princess. Could she possibly be considered a traitor? Ridiculous. So it wasn't the Jin Clan's warriors storming the prison.'*
*Thud! Thud!*
Outside, a valiant female warrior under Ning Yan's command was using a log as a battering ram to break down the gate. Zhang Chong's hair stood on end, and he instinctively glanced at Shen Lang.
*'Young Master Shen, you seem to charm women wherever you go. Did you sleep with Ning Yan, that troublemaker? The moment you're captured, she recklessly storms the prison? This will only cause a bigger scandal and further enrage the King.'*
But even Shen Lang hadn't expected Ning Yan to storm the prison.
*'That tigress, Ning Yan, actually attacked the Court of Judicial Review?'*
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review shouted loudly.
“Stop them. But do not, under any circumstances, harm the Third Princess.”
In an instant, the bailiffs and warriors of the Court of Judicial Review surged forward like a wave to block Ning Yan.
***
The King's royal procession was approaching the capital, now less than a hundred li away.
"Giddy-up, giddy-up."
On the official road leading north, troops of cavalry galloped swiftly, one after another, having shot out from the capital's north gate. Each troop of cavalry carried a memorial: one from Senior Censor Zhang Chong of the Censorate, one from the Blackwater Terrace, one from the Court of Judicial Review, one from the Central Military Commission, and one from the Bureau of Military Affairs. The ranks of those who wrote these secret memorials, or *mijie*, grew higher and higher, and their contents became increasingly shocking. However, neither the Crown Prince nor Su Nan submitted a memorial regarding Shen Lang.
The Crown Prince did submit a memorial, but it was one of apology, stating that such great turmoil had occurred during his regency and requesting that his royal father punish him. And Su Nan, claiming illness, remained at home and did not go to the Bureau of Military Affairs. In this way, he adopted an attitude that all these events had nothing to do with him.
***
The officials and soldiers of the King's procession had no time to rest. Secret memorials arrived incessantly from the capital; an uninformed observer might have thought the city was under attack. Like them, the King had also not slept properly for two days and three nights, making him like a fierce, irritable, and angry lion. More than a dozen secret memorials were laid out neatly before him. From the Blackwater Terrace, the Court of Judicial Review, the Censorate, the Department of State Affairs, the Bureau of Military Affairs, the Crown Prince's Residence, and so on. The memorials were first organized by the Grand Eunuch Li Zhun before being handed to the King one by one. With a very natural movement, Li Zhun placed Zhang Chong's secret memorial in a conspicuous position at the very bottom of the pile.
As the King read through them one by one, he grew more and more furious, his body trembling with rage.
*'Shen Lang, this bastard has some nerve. Daring to murder the family of the Blackwater Terrace Chiliarch Yan Mi'yi and using Gao Duhuan's name... ridiculous! And demanding a ransom of one hundred million gold coins? Do you take everyone in the world for a fool? What is the Blackwater Terrace? They are my hunting dogs. The capital, under my feet, is the safest and most secure place in the State of Yue, yet you murder here with such ease?'*
Next, he read the memorial from the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. It stated that after Shen Lang's arrest, warriors from the Jin Clan's detached courtyard had secretly attempted to rush back to Xuanwu City.
*'What is the meaning of this? Are they trying to get Count Jin Zhuo of Xuanwu to rebel? Are they trying to threaten me?'*
The next memorial enraged the King even further.
*'The Imperial Ambassador Yun Mengze and the Third Princess Ning Yan attacked the Court of Judicial Review? Has this bastard Shen Lang lost his mind? How dare he entice my daughter and an imperial ambassador? Is he trying to drag the royal family and the Great Yan Dynasty into this? This man is so sinister, his true intentions are unfathomable!'*
“Treason, treason... He is truly courting death.”
*'Shen Lang, do you really think I can't kill you? To act so arrogantly, relying on the Jin Clan! Jin Zhuo, your son-in-law first deceived the monarch, cursed the Crown Prince, and committed an act of high treason. If I kill him, would you truly dare to rebel?'*
Seeing the King's murderous aura, the Grand Eunuch Li Zhun said,
“Your Majesty, there is one last secret memorial. It's from Zhang Chong.”
The King said angrily,
“I won't read it. What could Zhang Chong possibly have to say at this point? I won't read it...”
Though he said he wouldn't, the King took the memorial and read it carefully. Afterward, his entire body turned ice-cold. Zhang Chong's secret memorial was largely unrelated to Shen Lang. His memorial was exceedingly long. It detailed the annual income and expenditures of the Su Clan's trading businesses and stated that the Su Clan was providing the State of Jiang with over forty thousand gold coins each year.
The Su Clan's fiefdom was over three thousand square kilometers, but its high altitude meant it wasn't very productive. Its only advantage was its rich mineral deposits. So where did the Su Clan get so much money to support their private army and the thousands of bandits in San'anya? With what money did they groom and control the officials of Tianxi Province? It was the slave trade. That alone was horrifying enough, but what was even more shocking was that they monopolized the illicit slave trade. Of course, the monopoly itself wasn't surprising; the problem was that the Su Clan was conducting this exclusive illicit slave trade with the State of Chu.
After the great war between the states of Wu and Yue, Wu was left devastated beyond recognition. Consequently, the State of Chu to the west became a fatal threat to the State of Yue. Half of Yue's army was constantly stationed in the west, facing off against Chu. Although there was no full-scale war between the two states, there were countless skirmishes along the border. The borders between the two states were sealed, and even trade relations were completely severed. Ning Yuanxian had always thought to himself.
*'The states of Chu and Yue will inevitably fight a great war.'*
However, Yue was currently quelling the Nanguo rebellion, while Chu was embroiled in territorial disputes with the northern states of Liang and Wei, leaving neither side with the capacity to focus on other matters or start trouble. But there could only be one hegemon in the south. Since the State of Wu had been utterly defeated in the war, the southern hegemon would emerge from either Chu or Yue.
Yet now, in Zhang Chong's secret memorial, all the figures were recorded with impeccable detail. Although it didn't explicitly state that Su Nan was colluding with Chu, the hidden meaning was crystal clear. It meant that Su Nan had first monopolized diplomacy with the State of Jiang, then used Jiang as an intermediary to conduct massive illicit trade with Chu, earning a vast amount of gold each year. And hidden within the secret memorial was an even more dangerous signal.
*'Was the Su Clan merely engaged in secret trade with Chu? Or were there even more clandestine dealings?'*