Chapter 781
Never Be Impolite
Pan Yun still looked unconvinced: "Without concrete evidence, it's natural for Steward Jiang to say whatever he wants."
Steward Jiang said angrily, "This is His Majesty's secret decree, an oral order from someone in the palace. The eunuchs are still staying at the mansion. How could I dare to lie about such an important matter?"
“That’s hard to say. You can’t see into someone’s heart. I can’t believe everything Steward Jiang says,” Pan Jun said, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. “Or maybe you and the Commander have been deceived.”
Pan Yun looked at him suspiciously: "Butler Jiang, you haven't really been fooled, have you?"
"Impossible!" Butler Jiang exclaimed. "Those are people from the palace!"
Pan Yun: "What's so strange about people coming from the palace? Every year, there are always a few eunuchs and palace maids who are expelled from the palace for committing crimes. Or someone might be falsely conveying the emperor's will, without His Majesty's written order, only an oral decree, which means it's just empty talk. The capital is so far away, who knows if it's true or false?"
Butler Jiang narrowed his eyes slightly: "So, Master Pan is unwilling to obey the imperial decree?"
Pan Yun: "That is not true. I am naturally willing to obey the Holy Mandate, but you must prove that you are conveying the Holy Mandate."
Butler Jiang's face turned ashen, his expression shifting several times before finally turning to Wang Cong and Gong Xia.
Gong Xia tactfully got up, while Wang Cong looked at Pan Jun and left after she nodded.
The door to the private room closed. Gong Xia and Wang Cong exchanged a glance, smiled slightly, and walked to the railing to look down. Their ears, however, were both perked up, eager to hear the conversation inside.
Unfortunately, Butler Jiang spoke too softly, and nothing could be heard.
Butler Jiang sat down next to Pan Yun and whispered, "Master Pan, there are many people involved here. The sea ban has been lifted. This case should be stopped now. Otherwise, if we continue to investigate, we don't know how many people will be implicated."
He said meaningfully, "Not only are Prefect Lu and the Naval Office incompetent, but even you, Master Pan, are not clean if you investigate carefully, are you? Last time your ship was able to go to sea because of a private deal between Prefect Lu, the Naval Office, and the Maritime Trade Office. They turned a blind eye and let you go. If you investigate carefully, the crimes involved are huge."
Pan Jun looked surprised: "I went to sea to help His Majesty transport the mined silver back. People from all levels of government offices all went out via my ship."
Steward Jiang: "Do you have a warrant? Do you have an official document from the Maritime Trade Office requisitioning your private ship? Besides, are there only people from various levels of government on your ship? You've taken quite a few people and goods out on your own, and they haven't been registered or paid any customs duties. How do you calculate that?"
Pan Yun: ...That makes so much sense, she couldn't refute it.
Seeing that she remained silent, Butler Jiang whispered, "The prison has already caught fire once. Master Pan, you don't want anything else to happen that could implicate innocent people, do you?"
Pan Yun pondered, looking hesitant. After a moment, she asked tentatively, "Is this really His Majesty's order? Is Steward Jiang trying to trick me? What if I change my story and he pins all the blame on me?"
Steward Jiang immediately said, "Those who can enter the Commander's Mansion have naturally been certified. We don't just believe anyone who comes along and says they have an imperial edict."
Pan Yun tapped the table lightly with her finger, pondered for a moment, and then shook her head slightly: "What if someone in the palace is falsely conveying the emperor's will?"
Butler Jiang frowned and looked up at Pan Yun.
Pan Yun remained unfazed, her eyes gleaming as she met his gaze: "Before we arrived, since Steward Jiang knew my identity, you should have known that I have a grudge against Wang Zhen. Little did you know that this is a scheme by someone with ulterior motives, killing two birds with one stone?" Steward Jiang frowned. Pan Yun's words implied that they needed to produce something to convince her that this was truly the Emperor's will before she would help.
Butler Jiang lowered his eyes and thought for a long time before gritting his teeth and saying, "I can let Master Pan meet the people from the capital, but you must be respectful and not be as rude as you were today."
Pan Jun raised the corner of his mouth slightly: "Steward Jiang is joking. Although I am a Taoist priest, I come from a scholarly family. Our Sanqing Temple is also a proper sect, and we have very strict requirements for our disciples. Whether it is family education or sect rules, we require me to be neither humble nor arrogant in my conduct outside, and to strictly abide by etiquette. Therefore, I am never impolite when I am outside."
Butler Jiang: "..."
These words stung his heart, but there were some things he had to say beforehand.
"It's good that Master Pan knows his manners," Steward Jiang sneered, and said in a low voice, "The envoys who came this time are different. They not only work for the Emperor, but also for the Empress Dowager. His Majesty is extremely filial to his mother. Offending them is more serious than directly offending His Majesty. They are not comparable to Wang Zhen."
Upon hearing this, Pan Yun's whole body went limp, and she turned her head toward Steward Jiang with a look of astonishment: "Could it be... that one of the people behind those pirates is the Empress Dowager?"
Butler Jiang was startled and quickly looked towards the door to make sure it was closed properly before whispering a reprimand: "Master Pan, watch your words!"
Pan Yun gave him a look and lowered her voice, saying, "Steward Jiang, if you want me to do something, you have to let me know some inside information, right? There are people behind those pirates, and they are four different masterminds working together. This is not a secret, so what is there to hide?"
Butler Jiang's eyes widened: "You, what did you say? There are four people behind you?"
Pan Yun said with a disappointed look, "No way, Butler Jiang, you don't even know this and you dare to come to me to cover for them? Tsk tsk tsk..."
She beckoned to Butler Jiang.
Butler Jiang immediately moved his chair and curiously leaned closer to listen.
Pan Yun lowered his voice and said, "We managed to pry open the mouths of four bandit leaders at sea. Unfortunately, in order to save their lives, they only confessed half of their crimes, but even half is enough. There are four factions directing them, including a prince."
Butler Jiang's eyes widened, his heart pounding: "Why wasn't this matter reported?"
Pan Yun gave him a disdainful look: "The matter hasn't been fully investigated, and we haven't obtained any evidence. Wouldn't reporting it now be like alerting the enemy?"
She whispered, "Even without reporting it, the Empress Dowager has already come. If it were reported, who knows how many monsters and demons would be attracted."
She raised her eyes and stared at Steward Jiang, then whispered, "So, Steward Jiang, does His Majesty mean to extricate the Empress Dowager, or to extricate all four families and pin the blame on the Japanese pirates? The difference between the two is huge. Commander Jiang, please don't misunderstand His Majesty's intentions."
Steward Jiang hesitated for a moment, muttering, "It's possible that His Majesty is unaware of this matter; we should inquire further..."
Pan Yun nodded: "Yes, His Majesty is filial and can cover for the Empress Dowager, but to do the same for the other three would be a loss. Ultimately, the silver the delegation and I brought back belonged to His Majesty. Those who coveted the delegation and the silver were simply eyeing His Majesty's people and money."
It's strange, isn't it? The Empress Dowager has everything she could possibly want, so why would she collude with pirates? Not to mention robbing the court's silver and murdering the imperial delegation—isn't this putting His Majesty in a difficult position? (End of Chapter)