"Have the Imperial Court of Supervision investigate?" Zhang Han exclaid in surprise.
Zhao Douan glanced at him and said indifferently, "If the late Emperor had arranged it this way, it ans that this Pan Yushi was definitely not on the sa side as Zhou Cheng."
It was just like how Lv Liang was also an Imperial Censor, but belonged to an entirely different faction from his direct superior, Yuan Li. Such occurrences were quite normal.
Upon hearing this, Xue Xuan nodded and said, "Indeed, Pan Yushi isn't one of Zhou Cheng's n. After conducting a thorough investigation, he discovered that the verdict was indeed wrong. Yang An had been chronically ill for a long ti, and indeed, the Yue family had sought the help of their neighbor, Mr. Hao, to find the Magician Shen Rong for treatnt, but there was no poisoning involved.
As for the affair, it was purely fabricated. Yang An had simply died from his illness. Pan Yushi reported to the late Emperor, who, seeing that the facts were clear, made a decisive decision, ordered the release of the captured mbers of the Yue family, and had the accuser imprisoned."
Was the case clarified? The three of them were first surprised, and then, deeper confusion followed.
Haitang curiously asked, "If the case had been cleared up and the dust had settled, why did it start up again?"
Xue Xuan fell silent for a mont before saying, "Because Wang Zhen intervened."
The Lord from the Imperial Court back then?
Had he been disposed of?
Zhao Douan raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself that this case was getting more and more interesting.
Xue Xuan continued, "After Wang Zhen intervened, very quickly, the case completely flipped. The responsible Pan Yushi was accused of deceiving the Emperor and being disloyal, and the four released mbers of the Yue family changed their testimony again.
Wang Zhen's explanation was that my father had accepted bribes and, along with the Magician Shen Rong—who were both from Wuling—had connections from the sa hotown. Therefore, he bent the law for personal gain and covered up for him. Pan Yushi was also involved in this, deceiving the late Emperor together with the officials from the Ministry of Justice."
"Wang Zhen reported to the late Emperor, who was furious and ordered my father, Pan Yushi, and a host of other officials involved to be imprisoned and tried by the Imperial Court of Supervision.
One could imagine what kind of result Zhou Cheng, who controlled the Imperial Court of Supervision, would co to.
After my father and others entered the 'prison of the Imperial Court of Supervision', they were subjected to severe torture to extract confessions. Many couldn't withstand the torture and followed Zhou Cheng's narrative, implicating more and more people...
And as for the final outco, several of the lords also know it.
My father died, Pan Yushi was sent to work in exile, and also died on the way."
The room fell slightly quiet.
Xue Xuan had finished recounting a more detailed version of the case, but the three were even more puzzled.
Whether it was Pan Yushi suddenly being accused of deceiving the Emperor or the already released four mbers of the Yue family abruptly confessing guilt,
it was clear that all these were the handiwork of Mr. Wang, forced confessions, framing, and entrapnt—the tactics were simply all too crude.
Zhao Douan narrowed his eyes and said, "You an to say, all this was because of Wang Zhen? Because your father had offended this Mr. Wang, so Mr. Wang used this case to collaborate with Zhou Cheng to fra your father?"
Zhang Han and Haitang also frowned slightly.
They felt this explanation could make sense, but still found it a bit far-fetched.
After all, Xue Lin was not a simple man back then; he had the backing of a group of literati led by Grandmaster Dong.
Even his daughter was engaged to the Dong family. Could Mr. Wang, even with his imnse power, really intervene and fra soone over such a trifle?
Xue Xuan seed to have noticed their thoughts. This female teacher who taught in the dilapidated alleys of East City suddenly chuckled self-deprecatingly:
"Initially, I thought so too, but later I discovered there were more hidden details."
"Hidden details?" Zhao Douan raised an eyebrow.
Xue Xuan humd affirmatively and spoke calmly:
"At that ti, Wang Zhen had a much-loved adopted son, who was also arranged to serve in the Imperial Court.
And this adopted son of Mr. Wang, on one occasion accidentally encountered Yue Shi, the wife of the hundred-household Yang An, and was attracted by her beauty. He tried to force himself on Yue Shi but did not succeed, hence he harbored resentnt.
After learning of Yang An's death, he secretly bribed Yang An's colleague to falsely accuse him in order to seek revenge."
The three, Zhao Douan, were taken aback for a mont, not expecting that the original case contained such a twist.
And the twist had found its way to their own governnt office.
Xue Xuan chuckled self-deprecatingly and said, "Originally, if my father had not interfered, this wrongful case would have passed by. Wang Zhen's adopted son never expected the matter to escalate to such an extent that it couldn't be contained.
After Pan Yushi's morial to the Emperor and the judgnt, he was annoyed that such a trivial matter had escalated to the Golden Throne Hall. He called Zhou Cheng and others for a scolding, and also fined them their salaries."
"Indeed, Zhou Cheng had already known that the mastermind behind the case was Mr. Wang's adopted son, and the reason the Imperial Court of Supervision had passed the case was to give face to Mr. Wang.
He had gone to the Ministry of Justice earlier to pressure my father for that very reason."
So, it was like that ...
Thus, when Zhou Cheng went over there and slamd the table, it was to help Wang Zhen's adopted son ... Zhao Douan drew a soft breath.
Not expecting that this broken case was filled with foreshadowing everywhere ...
Zhang Han and Haitang also looked at each other, "What happened next?"
Xue Xuan said:
"After being punished, Zhou Cheng felt that he couldn't be punished for nothing, so he went to see Wang Zhen and explained the whole story, also trying to gain so favor, as, after all, he had stirred up all this trouble to 'show his respect' to Mr. Wang."
"Wang Zhen, upon learning that the root of the matter was his adopted son's lust, was quite unhappy and summoned him for a severe reprimand.
Yet, the adopted son dared not admit it and stubbornly refused, steadfastly insisted that Pan Yushi was lying and that the case had nothing to do with him."
"Being a powerful eunuch with influence throughout the governnt, how could Wang Zhen tolerate deceit? He must have known that his adopted son was lying.
But at that ti, amidst the factional struggles in the court, Wang Zhen and people like Grandmaster Dong were at odds, and my father, as the Junior Minister of the Ministry of Justice, was also a thorn in Wang Zhen's side..."
Zhao Douan sighed and concluded:
"So, even though Wang Zhen knew it was his adopted son's fault, he still saw it as an opportunity to strike at his enemies, so he stepped in and overturned the already settled case?"
Xue Xuan nodded.
Having held onto this hidden story for over a decade, revealing it today was also a painful reminiscence of the past for her.
The lady professor, elegant and scholarly, said:
"That's all I know."
"There's one more question," Haitang suddenly asked:
"What's the na of Wang Zhen's adopted son?"
She asked not for any other reason but mainly because he had also served as a Jinyi Captain in the Imperial Court, a "predecessor" of theirs.
Out of sheer curiosity.
After a mont of silence, Xue Xuan uttered a na:
"Wang Shan."
...
...
At the sa ti, in South City.
In a house usually uninhabited, the short-statured Qin Qiu, who loves wearing silk robes and tucks a fan behind his neck, was tied to a pole, screaming horribly.
He had just left the Teaching Bureau and hadn't gone far when soone knocked him out and kidnapped him here.
Without a word, the kidnapper began to beat him savagely.
At the gate of the residence, a carriage was parked.
Hee Zheng, the Junior Minister of the Ministry of Justice, quietly leaned against the carriage, tapping his fingers on his leg, with the low, mournful screams echoing from the yard.
After a long while.
The screams from the yard stopped, and a little later, the gate was pushed open.
The man who had been disguised as a coachman, a clerk from the Ministry of Justice, approached the carriage and whispered:
"Sir, Qin Qiu has confessed. He said that the only ti he knows Zhao Douan might have slept with a woman, was at Wang Mansion."
Hee Zheng opened his eyes wide, and his tapping fingers ceased as his eyes lit up.
Thinking that after all the trouble, he had finally caught Zhao Douan slipping.
Then, frowning, he asked, "Wang Mansion? Which Wang Mansion?"
There were many Wangs in the Capital, and he was uncertain.
The clerk whispered a na:
"Wang Shan."
...
ps: The case ntioned in this chapter is not fabricated by ; it is based on a real case that occurred during the Orthodox era of the Ming Dynasty. So details have been creatively altered, but the overall process remains unchanged.
The story ca from a book by Ma Boyong, but Prince Ma did not turn it into a novel, rely wrote an article docunting this event, titled "Four Wronged Souls of the Orthodox Era." After reading it, I thought it was good material, so I simply turned it into a novel haha.
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