Chapter 575
Carrying a Sword Before the Emperor
Chen Ji followed behind Wang Zhao, the guard of Jie Fan, and entered the palace through the Donghua Gate.
When I passed by Wenhua Hall, I saw that the hall doors were wide open, but there was no one inside. It seemed that the ministers of Wenhua Hall had all gone to Renshou Palace.
As dusk slowly descended into the distance, Chen Ji's eyes were dark and unreadable. He subconsciously wanted to grip the whale knife tightly, only to remember that he had entrusted it to Xiao Man for safekeeping.
As they walked along the long palace road, before even reaching Renshou Palace, Chen Ji heard a loud voice from afar: "Your Majesty, yesterday, in front of the Six Ministries and hundreds of people, Zhang Zhuo presented a total of 400,000 taels of Buddhist coins to Viscount Wu Xiang. This is absolutely true!"
"Lord Zhang holds the rank of Second Grade Official, with an annual salary of 576 shi (a unit of dry measure), equivalent to 460 taels of silver. It would take Lord Zhang 870 years of service to accumulate 400,000 taels of silver!"
"Lord Zhang, please don't say it's due to your ancestors' good fortune. I've heard that your ancestors held low-ranking official positions, and your father was merely a county clerk. Your family had no surplus property. How could you have amassed such a large fortune?"
Chen Ji stood beside the Filial Piety Stele, listening to the censors' arguments, which blocked every possible escape route for Zhang Zhuo.
This was by no means a spur-of-the-moment decision, but rather an outburst of resentment accumulated during the recent inspection in Beijing and anger pent up from the implementation of new policies.
Zhang Zhuo once told him outside the Meridian Gate that the officials and nobles in the capital rarely do anything on a daily basis, because the more they do, the more mistakes they make, and everyone is waiting for others to make mistakes.
Opportunities may lie hidden in the mistakes of others.
Zhang Zhuo didn't want to make mistakes, but reformers were bound to clash head-on with the old party. Of ten thousand reformers, nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine met with tragic ends.
Zhang Zhuo clearly knew what he would encounter along the way, but he didn't care.
Chen Ji looked up and saw that Emperor Ning on the throne was unreadable, while the censors were indignant.
Meanwhile, the cabinet ministers, along with Qi Xianzhun, the most powerful Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, stood in the front row, remaining silent throughout.
At this moment, a righteous official turned his attention to Chen Ji, saying, "Your Majesty, Chen Ji, relying on Your Majesty's favor and holding a noble title, acts like a cruel official, lawless and unruly. His crimes are threefold."
"Firstly, he brutally murdered an official of the imperial court in the street. Even if the Imperial Inspector Yang Zhong had committed a crime, he should have been tried and judged by the three judicial departments according to the law. However, Chen Ji dragged him through the market on horseback, causing Yang Zhong to die a gruesome death with blood splattered all over the street. His cruelty and brutality were appalling."
The censor paused, then raised his voice even higher: "Secondly, he disrespected the palace and defied the court flogging. He bound himself and pleaded guilty at the Meridian Gate, relying on his official rank, and received ninety strokes of the court flogging without flinching. The court flogging is a punishment imposed by His Majesty's divine authority to discipline disloyal subjects; how can this boy be allowed to flaunt his power?"
"Thirdly, he extorted money from nobles and disrupted the city. In order to raise money, he threatened the Qian family, one of the eight major merchants, and the Chengguo Duke's Mansion, using words of intimidation and behaving like a bandit. This caused the merchants and nobles in the capital to be in a state of panic and controversy."
Another censor stepped forward: "Your Majesty, Chen Ji's various actions are no ordinary acts of madness; they are signs of impending chaos in the government. We beseech Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly, severely punish this scoundrel, rectify the court, and reassure the people!"
"Your Majesty, please punish Chen Ji severely!"
"Your Majesty, please punish him severely!"
Verbal and written criticisms poured in from all sides.
Wang Zhao looked at Chen Ji and saw that the other man's face was calm, as if the censors were talking about someone else.
At this moment, Qi Xianzhun stepped forward in Renshou Palace: "Your Majesty, the crimes of Zhang Zhuo and Chen Ji should be tried together. I request Your Majesty to summon Chen Ji to the palace for a face-to-face confrontation."
The truth has finally come out; what was bound to happen has finally arrived.
The Three Mountain Bells rang from the throne. Wu Xiu strode out of the palace gate and announced loudly, "Summon Viscount Wu Xiang, Hai Dongqing of the Secret Service, Chen Ji, to an audience!"
Chen Ji strode into the palace gate, prostrated himself, and loudly proclaimed, "Your subject, Chen Ji, is summoned to an audience."
Whispers came from both sides, and it seemed that everyone's eyes were focused on his back, as if they wanted to break his spine.
On his throne, Emperor Ning slowly spoke: "Rise. You have heard what the censors said. I will allow you to defend yourself."
Chen Ji slowly rose to his feet, and under the gaze of dozens of eyes, he declared firmly, "Your Majesty, it is all slander."
Qi Xianzhun's gaze suddenly fixed on Chen Ji's face: "Chen Ji, do you dare to say that you didn't drag Yang Zhong to his death?"
Chen Ji lowered his eyes and said, "It's dragged on to death, but His Majesty has already punished me with a beating in court, and I have already repented. Why is Lord Qi still holding on to this? Does Lord Qi think His Majesty is being unfair and want to take charge for him?"
Qi Xianzhun hurriedly bowed to the emperor on the throne: "Your Majesty, I am in charge of the law and must report matters to the emperor. Do not listen to this boy's unreasonable arguments."
Having said that, he turned to look at the ruins at the palace gate: "Viscount Wu Xiang, this is not a place for you to run wild. Let me ask you, did Zhang Zhuo ever give you two strings of Buddhist coins in front of the gate of the Imperial Guard Commandery, each string containing two hundred thousand taels of silver?"
The officials inside Renshou Palace held their breath.
coming!
The previous accusations against Yang Zhong, the eunuch faction, and the exploitation of nobles and merchants were merely a prelude; the real substance was the 400,000 taels of silver that Zhang Zhuo had given him—something that could potentially kill Zhang Zhuo.
The officials all knew that Zhang Zhuo was someone who amassed wealth for His Majesty. The so-called selling of official positions and accepting bribes were actually all collected on behalf of the imperial treasury.
But that's the crux of the problem: although the 400,000 taels of silver belonged to His Majesty, His Majesty would not acknowledge it.
As long as this matter is firmly established, no one will protect Zhang Zhuo. As far as Emperor Ning is concerned, even if there is no Zhang Zhuo, there is Li Zhuo. He can always find the next person to help him amass wealth.
Moreover, this money did not belong to Zhang Zhuo. Either Zhang Zhuo secretly misappropriated His Majesty's money, or Zhang Zhuo secretly intercepted His Majesty's money. The Emperor on the throne could no longer tolerate Zhang Zhuo.
Nobody likes having their money stolen, especially 400,000 taels. This is a dead end for Zhang Zhuo and Chen Ji.
Upon seeing that Chen Ji remained silent, Qi Xianzhun once again sternly demanded, "Did Zhang Zhuo give you two strings of Buddhist coins, totaling four hundred thousand taels of silver?"
Chen Ji calmly replied, "Reporting to Qi Fengxian, no."
Everyone was stunned, not expecting that with so many eyes watching yesterday, Chen Ji would still dare to deny it.
Qi Xianzhun sneered: "Please have Jie Fanwei remove the Buddhist talisman from Chen Ji's wrist and verify it truthfully."
Wang Zhao stepped forward and took the bracelet off Chen Ji's wrist, but he immediately realized something was wrong as soon as he touched it: "No, this is just an ordinary sandalwood bracelet, not a Buddhist coin."
Qi Xianzhun stepped forward, snatched the bracelet, and immediately knew it was fake by touching it with his fingertip.
He looked at Chen Ji: "Did Zhang Zhuo give this to you?"
Chen Ji cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to Magistrate Qi, it was indeed a gift from Lord Zhang."
Qi Xianzhun then asked, "Didn't Zhang Zhuo give you 400,000 taels?"
Chen Ji cupped his hands again and said, "No."
Qi Xianzhun said in a deep voice, "I see you won't give up until you see the Yellow River. Your Majesty, I request that a witness be brought to the court!"
The bells on the throne rang, and Wu Xiu strode out of the palace gate: "Summon Zhang Yunze, the clerk of Li Ji Pawnshop, to an audience."
Qi Xianzhun stared intently at Chen Ji's expression, trying to discern something amiss, but Chen Ji's unusually calm demeanor made him realize something was wrong.
A moment later, the old official followed Xie Fanwei into the palace gate with small, quick steps and knelt on the blue-gold bricks: "This humble subject, Zhang Yunze, humbly begs for Your Majesty's grace."
Qi Xianzhun asked, "Zhang Yunze, I ask you, did this man come to your pawnshop to pawn anything the day before yesterday?"
The old magistrate replied loudly, "Inspector Qi, this is indeed true. The day before yesterday, this fellow came to my pawnshop and pawned Gu Fu Lou, Tian Bao Ge, five hundred acres of fertile land in Changping, and Bao Xiang Bookstore, totaling forty thousand taels of silver. Yesterday, he brought a string of Buddhist coins worth two hundred thousand taels and redeemed all the house deeds."
Having said that, the old swindler presented the pawn ticket with both hands.
Qi Xianzhun looked at Chen Ji: "What else do you have to say?"
Chen Ji slowly straightened up, his previous submissiveness gone, and his Qilin-patterned robe stood tall and straight.
A sudden sense of unease flashed through Qi Xianzhun's mind.
Chen Ji ignored Qi Xianzhun and instead looked at the throne: "Your Majesty, according to the laws of our Great Ning, the monthly interest rate for private loans cannot exceed three percent. However, when I visited the market, I found that pawnshops were not following the law. For example, Li's Pawnshop not only charges a monthly interest rate of nine percent, but also allows interest to compound. Many pawnshops are engaging in exploitation and oppression, acting recklessly under the emperor's nose, sucking the blood of the people. I beg Your Majesty to issue an edict to thoroughly investigate... The physical evidence is on the pawn ticket in Qi Fengxian's hand, written clearly in black and white."
Old Chao Feng's expression changed, and his body began to tremble.
Qi Xianzhun took a deep breath: "We'll talk about private lending later. First, Viscount Wu Xiang, explain where your 200,000 taels of Buddhist coins came from. Do you still dare to say it wasn't a gift from Zhang Zhuo?"
Chen Ji slowly and deliberately said, "Reporting to Qi Fengxian, that string of Buddhist coins is my own. I have businesses such as Tianbao Pavilion and Gufu Tower, and I have accumulated some savings. Because they are messy and inconvenient to keep, a few days ago, I sent my maid Yao Man to Longfu Temple to convert all the silver into a string of Buddhist coins worth 200,000 taels."
He glanced sideways at the old clerk: "The micro-engravings on Buddhist coins are all traceable. There are a total of eighteen beads. The first six are engraved with when it came from which temple, the middle six are engraved with who it was first given to, and the last six are engraved with the amount. Pawnshops register all the silver they receive. By comparing the two, you can tell whether what I'm saying is true or not."
Qi Xianzhun was stunned. The miniature carving on the Buddhist Tongbao coin could not lie. In that case, the Buddhist Tongbao coin that Chen Ji took to Li Ji Pawnshop was not a gift from Zhang Zhuo.
He said sternly, "You must have hidden the Buddhist coins that Zhang Zhuo gave you!"
Zhang Zhuo calmly said, "Qi Fengxian, nowadays, censors and officials don't need to provide evidence when they speak? You slandered me before, but I, being innocent, chose not to defend myself. Now that the truth has been revealed, do you still want to slander me? There was never any such thing as 400,000 taels."
Qi Xianzhun's face flushed crimson: "Since Lord Zhang doesn't have that 400,000 taels of silver, why did he lie in public yesterday?"
Chen Ji picked up the thread: "When I was investigating the chaos in the pawnshops, I discovered that Li's Pawnshop was lending money at exorbitant interest rates, sucking the blood of the people, and repeatedly driving families to ruin and death, yet no one questioned it. It seems that there is a powerful figure protecting them behind the scenes. In order to find out who is behind Li's Pawnshop, I asked Lord Zhang to help me put on a show... Qi Fengxian has witnesses, and so do I."
At this point, Chen Ji announced loudly, "Your Majesty, I request that the Secret Service's Jin Zhu and Tian Ma escort the witnesses Cui Qinghe and Qi Zhenwu to the palace!"
Qi Xianzhun's eyelids twitched.
On his throne, Emperor Ning calmly said, "Granted."
Before an incense stick could burn, Jinzhu and Tianma escorted Cui Qinghe and Qi Zhenwu into the palace. Jinzhu announced loudly, "Your Majesty, your humble servant and Tianma have captured two people outside the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau). We found more than ten strings of Buddhist coins on their bodies, totaling 600,000 taels of silver. One of these strings was the one that Chen Ji exchanged at Longfu Temple a few days ago."
As he spoke, he handed a wooden box to Wu Xiu, who then carried it to the throne.
Chen Ji took a deep breath and asked in a deep voice, "May I ask Steward Cui and Censor Qi, why is this Buddhist coin, which should have been in Li's Pawnshop, in your hands? Are you protecting the pawnshop and aiding and abetting evil?"
Qi Xianzhun suddenly looked at Chen Ji and saw a red figure in the main hall with one hand on his leather belt. Although he did not have a knife on him, it was as if he had brought a knife with him!
……
Third update (End of this chapter)