Chapter 398: A Frozen Sigh

Though he knew Gao Zheng had once been kind to Wang Yu’s uncle, in this critical moment, when the man still refused to repent even at the brink of death, he had no patience to talk further with Gao Zheng. He simply ordered that the man be tied tightly and taken away. After hurrying out of the Wang family’s residence, seeing Jin Su sending him off, he couldn’t help but give one last instruction.

“Tonight is extraordinary. Keep a close watch on the door and don’t open it easily. Wang Yu will be fine—don’t worry.”

“Thank you, sir…”

At this moment, Jin Su had long stopped using the term “cousin.” She looked at Gao Zheng, tied up and standing in the snow, with a complex expression. Although she knew he had nearly brought disaster upon her family, thinking of his past care and how he had helped her and her daughter when they were in trouble, she couldn’t help but forget his fierce appearance earlier. She pleaded, “It’s cold and snowy outside. I prepared cotton clothes and shoes for my uncle earlier. Could you allow me to have them put on him?”

Seeing Zhang Yue nod without hesitation, Jin Su quickly went back inside and soon returned with a stack of clothes. Despite being pregnant and having difficulty moving, she still went over and personally draped a cotton robe filled with new cotton over Gao Zheng’s body. She then bent down with effort to take off his old shoes. At first, Gao Zheng only sneered, but as his niece-in-law knelt down to help him change his shoes, he gradually became stunned. Yet even after Jin Su stepped back, he said nothing.

“Let’s go!”

Witnessing this, Zhang Yue felt indescribable emotions. He immediately gave an order. Seeing the other soldiers surround Gao Zheng and follow, he spurred his horse to the front. As they left the alley, he glanced back briefly and saw Jin Su still standing by the door, looking this way. He couldn’t help but sigh. However, in this icy snowy night, that sigh was instantly frozen solid, leaving no trace behind.

The nights in the capital used to be the perfect time for petty thieves and bandits to operate, but now they had become their doom. There had never been a night with so many soldiers patrolling the streets, nor had there ever been officers so fierce—or so brutal. Nor had there ever been so many bright torches, leaving those who tried to sneak into people’s homes with no place to hide. If they surrendered peacefully, that was one thing; but if a few stubborn ones tried to resist, they were immediately met with swords and died instantly—the rule of “execute without mercy” was truly enforced without fail.

Along the way, he encountered several groups of soldiers from the Military Command Department and the Divine Strategy Camp, as well as several instances of officers capturing bandits. Even Zhang Yue, who had personally ordered that anyone caught breaking the law at night be executed without mercy, couldn’t help but frown upon seeing the captured and killed, as well as the bloodstains still on the streets.

Behind him, Gao Zheng staggered along, braving the cold wind and witnessing all this chaos. His initial fervor and anger gradually turned into horror and fear, and then into despair. When he passed by Chongwenmen Street and saw a corpse being carried past, he finally felt that even his thick cotton robe couldn’t ward off the bone-chilling cold, and his teeth started to chatter. At this moment, he was no longer as strong as when he left home; he collapsed completely and could hardly walk.

“Sir, he can’t go on!”

Zhang Yue immediately pulled back on the reins to stop and turned around. From a few steps away, he could clearly see Gao Zheng’s pale and blue-faced expression. Remembering that Gao Zheng hadn’t confessed even when Jin Su ordered him to change into warmer clothes and shoes, and now seeing the bloodshed firsthand, he sighed inwardly. He then ordered Hu Qi to dismount temporarily, help Gao Zheng onto the horse, and have the soldiers keep a close watch over him.

After finishing these tasks, he noticed several soldiers from the Military Command Department carrying another corpse over. He casually asked, “How many people have you captured in total? What’s the situation everywhere?”

Although those sergeants didn’t recognize Zhang Yue, they knew that anyone who could ride a horse on such a chaotic night must be an official. Immediately, the leader among them stepped forward and saluted, “Sir, this night we cleared four streets and captured seven people in total. Three of those who dared resist were killed. All the dead bodies have been thrown into the center of the street, where carts from the morgue will take them away. They’ll be taken out of the city at dawn. Not only in our East City, but also near the homes of the nobles in West City, there have been troubles. When we came here just now, we heard that dead bodies and crossbows were found near the Wu’an Marquis’ alley.”

Hearing the words “Wu’an Marquis’ alley,” Zhang Yue was deeply shaken. Since Wu’an Marquis Zheng Heng lived next door to his family, that alley naturally became known as Wu’an Marquis’ alley. The area was inhabited by top-ranking nobles, and logically, no one there should be related to tonight’s events. So how could there be dead bodies and crossbows?

“What exactly happened?”

“Sir, I just heard about it from some brothers in West City. It seems a body was found in an alley next to Wu’an Marquis’ alley—killed by a sword to the throat and also hit by a crossbow arrow in the arm. There was a standard military crossbow on the ground, with a serial number engraved on it. Since the residents there are all nobles, the governor of Shuntian personally went from house to house to inquire. But it seems none of the marquis or earl households were disturbed, and their families were all safe.”

After thanking the sergeant with a bow, Zhang Yue grew more and more puzzled. At that moment, Hu Qi quickly stepped forward and took hold of his master’s reins, asking, “Sir, do you want me to rush back and check?”

“No need. After all, our family is the Yangwu Earl’s household. The governor of Shuntian surely wouldn’t miss such an opportunity. Since everyone says everything is fine, there should be no problem at home.”

Following the city wall from Chongwenmen Street to Damingmen Street, and then around to Chang’an Left Gate, Zhang Yue saw several eunuchs waiting there. The leader, in his early thirties, wore a brocade robe embroidered with qilins and a thick lynx fur cloak. He was stamping his feet in the snow and rushed over quickly when he saw Zhang Yue.

“Heaven, you’re finally back!”

Even though Lu Feng sincerely wished for Huang Yan and the others to suffer misfortune, what he truly hoped for now was that the emperor would not take his anger out on him. He rushed over to Zhang Yue in two steps instead of three, glanced at the person who was already tied up like a zongzi over there, and then said hurriedly, “The emperor punished Huang Yan and Jiang Bao. After that, you had someone bring the Marquis of Fuyang to the palace. Ungratefully, he said some nonsense, which made the emperor furious. He slapped him twice and ordered him to kneel in the snow. Jiang Bao’s adopted son was originally taken back to the Eastern Depot, but was then brought back again to be interrogated right in front of the Qianqing Palace. As a result, he revealed a whole bunch of names. In his anger, the emperor almost sent the imperial guards to arrest them, but Liu Yongcheng and Hai Shou from the Imperial Stables managed to stop him.”

Recalling how the emperor had drawn his sword, ready to execute someone on the spot, and how Zhu Ning had desperately stopped him, Lu Feng couldn’t help but shudder again. “This incident involves a whole group of people from the Imperial Ceremonial Bureau. According to the Jinyiwei, even Lao Chang, the commander of the capital troops, is involved… Well, the emperor has ordered Hai Shou to summon Prince Zhao and Prince Anyang, and has also instructed the Jinyiwei to arrest everyone on the list immediately. Here it is.”

Seeing Lu Feng thrust a piece of paper at him without explanation, Zhang Yue used the two blazing torches at the entrance of Chang’an Left Gate to read the words on it. Among the dense handwriting, the first names were Prince Zhao, Zhu Gao Sui, and Prince Anyang, Zhu Zhanhuan, followed by the Meng Xian brothers. His pupils constricted, and he immediately raised his head.

Before Zhang Yue could speak, Lu Feng said with a wry smile, “I certainly don’t have the courage to reveal such crucial information to you. I originally intended to volunteer to go and arrest them, but this time the emperor doesn’t trust even us eunuchs, nor does he trust the Jinyiwei. That’s why you’re being sent along to watch and make sure to bring them back one by one according to the list. After bringing them back, deliver them directly to You Shunmen, where the emperor will interrogate them personally. You can hand over the suspects you bring back to me so I can account for them. Otherwise, the emperor will take his anger out on me.”

As he spoke, he took a sword from a young eunuch beside him and handed it over solemnly. “It’s the emperor’s sword again. Make sure no such chaos occurs as last time.”

Although he was reluctant to take on such a role of arresting people—especially for the Meng family—he had no choice but to accept this task he didn’t want at all. Taking the familiar Emperor’s Sword, he helped Gao Zheng off his horse and handed him over to Lu Feng. Just as he was about to turn back, a faint voice came from behind him.
“The Emperor naturally knows your relationship with the Meng family. By sending you here, it means the Emperor doesn’t intend to involve Marquis Baoding!”
“I understand. Thank you, Eunuch Lu!” As he spoke these words, Zhang Yue felt as though his sigh had frozen in his throat before it could be uttered.
With Zhang Yue leading his men away at full speed, Lu Feng finally felt relieved. He already owed Zhang Yue a huge debt, and now he had managed to repay a little bit. However, from the initial interrogations, this so-called treason case seemed increasingly mysterious. In his opinion, those people were even more foolish than fools!
Though the city was filled with soldiers, compared to the ferocity of the soldiers in the East City, the West City, inhabited by high-ranking officials and nobles, was much quieter. Yet, many blazing torches could still be seen on Xuanwu Gate Street. Besides these visible figures, along the way, groups of soldiers from the Divine Strategy Camp often appeared out of the darkness, their feet tied with straw to prevent slipping and make silent footsteps. Since most of them knew Zhang Yue, there was no need for identification.
However, when Zhang Yue turned from Xuanwu Gate Street into Fengsheng Hutong, a group suddenly appeared ahead. Unlike the usual red, green, and blue coats of the imperial guards, they all wore red coats and black boots. Only the short, chubby middle-aged man at the front was dressed in a brocade robe—clearly a Jinyiwei. After seeing Zhang Yue’s official seal, the previously indifferent middle-aged man immediately adopted a respectful demeanor but still didn’t make way, saying, “Sir, Lord Yuan has already taken people into the Meng family’s residence and should be starting his work by now. What brings you here…”
Knowing that Yuan Fang had sent people here was merely to imply he should stay out of the Meng family’s affairs, Zhang Yue understood that since he had sent Wang Yu to the palace, he could no longer stay uninvolved. Though he could tell himself that even if he didn’t care, someone else would, the facts remained unchanged.
Just as he was about to draw the Emperor’s Sword, a scream suddenly came from the silent night sky. Instantly, not only was he shocked, but even the group of Jinyiwei turned pale with alarm.