Chapter 400: Good, you’re very good.

One can be defeated or injured, but under no circumstances may one die now. It was with this thought that Meng Xian forced himself to stay awake despite the intense pain. Meng San was mediocre in martial arts and of average strength; the dagger he thrust in a fit of rage wasn’t very deep, and he had deliberately avoided vital organs. So after pulling out the dagger to stop the bleeding, he still managed to stand up with the help of the other two. Seeing the man beside Yuan Fang, his thoughts drifted back to their first meeting at the Baoding Marquis’s residence, leaving him with mixed feelings.

Although the Duke of Ying now had a legitimate son, it seemed to in no way affect Zhang Yue’s stable position. It didn’t matter if his official rank was low or if he lacked a title—what truly mattered was the emperor’s trust, something he had never managed to obtain in his life.

Since rushing here and hearing that their father was considered a rebel, Meng Tao and Meng Fan felt as if the sky had fallen on them. At this moment, seeing their father pale from excessive blood loss, they both wanted to push aside the Jinyiwei guards blocking them and rush forward. But having studied for over a year during their mourning period for their mother, they were no longer as impulsive as before. They could only stand there, gritting their teeth in frustration. Finally, the observant Meng Tao spotted Zhang Yue and started shouting loudly.

“My father isn’t a rebel! He was framed by my third uncle—everyone here can testify to that…”

“Shut up!”

Zhang Yue opened his mouth but before he could respond, he heard this furious voice. Turning in that direction, he saw that it was Meng Xian who had spoken. At that moment, at Yuan Fang’s signal, a group of Jinyiwei guards rushed forward and drove away all the bystanders. Distraught by his father’s outburst, Meng Tao was also pushed aside and could only stand there helplessly, watching everything unfold.

“Now that things have come to this, I have nothing more to say. Our family has suffered such a disgraceful situation—it’s my own fault.” Meng Xian glanced at Zhang Yue with unusually calm expression before turning to his two sons and shouting, “Right and wrong will be determined by the emperor. Why keep arguing? State law isn’t about personal feelings! I don’t remember teaching you to act recklessly! Help your fourth sister back inside—stop causing more trouble! Tell all the servants to go back inside too. What a mess!”

After saying those words, Meng Xian felt a sharp pain in his wound and couldn’t help but stop to catch his breath. Seeing Zhang Yue’s gaze sweep toward the two brothers, he felt slightly relieved. He shook off the two Jinyiwei guards holding him and stepped forward, offering a faint smile. “I only have one thing to ask Lord Yuan. I’m not sure if this matter might involve Marquis Baoding.”

Before Zhang Yue could reply, Yuan Fang stepped in first. “I am ordered to arrest the rebels. You need not ask anything else. Bring Meng Xian out! Leave twenty men to watch over Meng’s family—no one is allowed to leave!” After saying this, he turned to Zhang Yue and asked, “Lord Zhang, since the emperor has sent you here, let’s go through the list one by one. This is the first household. We’ve wasted too much time; we’ll have to hurry up with the rest. Fortunately, the whole city is under martial law now—no one can escape!”

Hearing this, Zhang Yue saw Meng Xian let out a soft sigh. He understood everything clearly. The so-called list was arranged first by official rank and then by hierarchy. Although Yuan Fang seemed to have said nothing, he had already given Meng Xian an answer. After all, if Zhu Di was determined to punish even Marquis Baoding, it meant he intended to eradicate the entire Meng family. Then Meng Xian’s earlier actions would be in vain. But if Zhu Di didn’t intend to punish Marquis Baoding, those actions might not be enough to save Meng Xian’s life, but there was still a chance they could save his children.

What he had originally planned was to secure the position of crown prince, but now he had to worry about the lives of his family… It was a world of difference.

Yuan Fang never wanted to go to extremes like his predecessor, so he didn’t order any torture equipment when taking Meng Xian away. In the blink of an eye, all the Jinyiwei guards left the courtyard. At that moment, Zhang Yue naturally couldn’t say anything to Meng’s siblings. He could only turn around and follow Yuan Fang out. Just before leaving the gate, he saw a young girl standing at the entrance, staring at him intently. He was momentarily stunned. It wasn’t until they left the gate that he remembered who she was.

Was that girl Cui Mo? Yes, he had helped that family of three at the Daxiangguo Temple back then. Later, Meng Min had saved the girl’s mother, but instead, that family ended up in the Anyang Prince’s mansion, while Cui Mo came to live with the Mengs. The Prince of Zhao had mentioned her last time. Now it seemed that the connection from the Daxiangguo Temple might have been more harmful than helpful… In other words, it was true that it was better not to meet—nothing could be further from the truth.

What he didn’t know was that Cui Mo watched him leave with deep disappointment on her face.

As they had rushed off without a prison carriage, and the emperor’s edict required all suspects to be brought to the palace for personal interrogation, Yuan Fang ordered preparations to be made for a carriage upon his arrival. Meng Xian was then shackled and pushed into it. A group of guards was sent to escort him back to the palace first, while Yuan Fang and Zhang Yue mounted their horses. Since this was an imperial order to arrest people, the two had no chance to talk, so they searched almost the entire capital, arresting each person on the list one by one, and were busy until the first hour of the night.

The first hour of the night is one of the coldest times of day, and at this time the snowflakes grew heavier, forcing them to shake off the snow from their clothes after every short distance. Zhang Yue lent his sable fur cloak to Wang Yu, wearing only an oilcloth cloak himself. Despite the rush and exertion, he was actually sweating and felt no cold at all.

The other Jinyiwei officers were also full of energy, as their duty was to investigate and arrest people. Although this time there was no order to confiscate property, they still managed to take whatever they could, stuffing small items into their pockets. Thanks to everything going smoothly, a faint smile appeared on Yuan Fang’s gloomy face. On the way back, he spoke with Zhang Yue and naturally inquired about everything that had happened earlier. By the time they brought the group of prisoners to the Left Gate of Chang’an, the Jinyiwei waiting there had already joined them, reporting that the emperor had arrived at the Right Shun Gate and ordered all the prisoners to be taken there.

Hearing this, Yuan Fang couldn’t help but ask, “In such cold weather, why did the emperor come to the Right Shun Gate in person? Shouldn’t the interrogation be sufficient whether carried out by the Three Judicial Departments or our Jinyiwei?”

The officer in charge here was a Jinyiwei battalion commander, who quickly replied, “The emperor is truly angry this time. After Meng and his brother were brought in, the emperor summoned the Prince of Zhao and originally planned to call together all civil and military officials of rank five or above in the capital to interrogate them at the Right Shun Gate. It was only the Princess of Chenliu who persuaded him to change his mind, but he still ordered all dukes, marquises, viscounts, and ministers of the six ministries and the cabinet to attend. They all arrived fifteen minutes ago and are now at the Right Shun Gate. Sir and Lord Zhang, you’d better hurry over—interrogation has probably already begun.”

Learning that high-ranking civil and military officials had all arrived, Zhang Yue realized this was a serious matter and quickly entered Chang’an’s Left Gate with Yuan Fang. Passing through Jinshui Bridge, they reached Chengtian Gate, Duanmen, and Wumen; heading from west to east was Guiji Gate, also known as Right Shunmen. In front of Right Shunmen, an umbrella canopy had been set up with a throne, with civil and military officials arranged in two rows. Some wore oilcloth raincoats to protect themselves from the snow, while others, in a hurry, wore only their official robes. Several people knelt in the snow in the middle. When another group of criminals was brought in by the Jinyiwei, the civil and military officials on both sides grew slightly agitated, while Zhu Gao Sui, the Prince of Zhao standing at the front, looked even paler than a frostbitten eggplant.

Among the military officials, Zhang Fu frowned deeply, while the marquises behind him kept glancing at Meng Ying, the Marquis of Baoding. Yet Meng Ying paid no attention to his half-dead younger brother and stared intently at Meng Xian. Although he had guessed that Meng Xian might have had some unrealistic ideas, thinking one thing did not mean acting on it—now that such a disaster had occurred, his death was inevitable! Though the two brothers were not born of the same mother and did not share the same intentions, their nieces and nephews were pitiable!

Since court sessions were usually presided over by the Jinyiwei, Yuan Fang planned to join the ranks upon arrival. But Zhu Di, seated on the throne, noticed him immediately and summoned him over. After asking a few questions, he sneered thoughtfully, then waved his hand to have Yuan Fang stand aside. He then called in Zhang Yue without asking any unnecessary questions, simply saying, “Good, you’re very good.”

Seeing the emperor nod slightly, Hai Shou called out each person’s name one by one. The Jinyiwei brought the criminals forward about ten steps before the emperor, who questioned them one by one. Most, realizing their plot had been exposed, confessed everything they knew. One, hoping for luck, refused to admit anything and was ordered by the enraged Zhu Di to be beaten to death by the Jinyiwei. Hearing the thunderous screams, no one dared to deny anything anymore. Zhu Gao Sui, the Prince of Zhao, standing in the first position to the emperor’s right, could barely stand, but looking around, he found no one to intercede for him, so his face turned as pale as paper.

“Eunuch Huang Yan from the Imperial Secretariat!”

After kneeling for a long time in the Qianqing Palace, he was beaten twenty times with a rod and then left lying in the main hall of the palace. Now, kneeling on the icy snow, Huang Yan felt his entire body frozen stiff; his teeth chattered so badly that he could hardly speak. When he was lifted up, he remained in that prostrate position, unable to move.

Zhu Di was dressed in a thick robe, with a blanket over his knees, and surrounded by Jinyiwei guards to shield him from the wind. So rather than feeling cold, he actually felt extremely hot inside. Facing his most trusted eunuch, he didn’t have anyone else ask the question on his behalf. Instead, he pushed back on the armrests and stood up, letting the blanket fall to the ground. Ignoring the civil and military officials around him, he pointed at Huang Yan’s nose and cursed, “Old fool! I’ve always trusted you and used you. You’ve enjoyed enough blessings over the years—how can you still be so insatiable!”
“Your Majesty, this humble servant… truly knows nothing about this. It’s completely them using my name fraudulently. Please see the truth, Your Majesty!” Despite knowing that denial would lead to execution, Huang Yan still hoped he was different. He mustered his last strength to kowtow repeatedly, saying, “Though I am on good terms with Prince Zhao, His Highness has always been timid. How would he dare order me to do such a thing…”
“Enough! Meng Xian, bring Meng Xian here!”
At that moment, everyone except the emperor felt a chill in their hearts. Seeing Meng Xian, pale-faced, being dragged in by two Jinyiwei guards, even Zhang Yue, who had always despised his ambition, couldn’t help but admire his resilience. Having suffered such severe injuries and knelt in the freezing snow for so long, he still managed to hold on!