Chapter 678: Clashing Forces

Good news stays within the walls, while bad news spreads far and wide. The case involving the Jinyiwei in Nanjing not only shocked the imperial court but also caused quite a stir among the common people. Though ordinary folks might not know about the struggles among the powerful, the name Jinyiwei alone was enough to frighten children into silence in Nanjing. Those who had experienced the severe purges during the Hongwu era, such as the Lan Yu and Hu Weiyong cases, would never forget the terrifying tactics of the Jinyiwei or the countless heads that had been cut. Even those younger generations, who hadn’t lived through those times, had seen the arrogance of figures like Ji Gang. Thus, many cheered when the authorities began investigating the Jinyiwei these days.

As soon as the official’s loud voice rang out, silence fell instantly throughout the building. With everything already arranged, the affairs of the Jinyiwei were spread word by word, and everyone became aware of the key figures involved. Especially the name Tang Qian became widely known—everyone knew he was the lackey who helped Liu Jun wrongfully persecute loyal officials. The patrons in Taiping Tower were stunned.

Liu Guan had just rushed in with the patrol soldiers, and rumors already suggested they were there to arrest this man. Now that someone had been dragged down from upstairs, the official claimed the real culprit had already been brought to the Ministry of Punishments and identified. If that were true, who was this man then? And why was he shouting, “Lord Yuan, save me”?

Liu Guan, who was calmly descending the stairs, paled at the noise. Seeing the strange expressions on everyone’s faces, his face turned ashen. Staring at the smug official, he wanted to kick him out with all his might. But in front of so many people, and given his reputation for being gentle, he could only put on a friendly mask despite his anger. After stepping down the last few steps, he examined the man carefully before asking, “Was it Secretary Zhao of the Ministry of Punishments who sent you?”

“Yes,” replied the official, kneeling on the ground without lifting his head. “A few commoners brought him here. Secretary Zhao was also very surprised. After the Nanjing Jinyiwei identified him, Secretary Zhao confirmed it was indeed the right person. He immediately ordered generous rewards for those commoners, imprisoned Tang Qian, reported the matter to the Crown Prince, and sent me to inform the chief censor.”

At first, Liu Guan thought this man was just lying to disrupt his carefully planned scheme. But as he listened, his heart grew heavier, and by the end, he had no doubts left. The more certain he became, the more furious he grew.

That Tang Qian had disappeared for several months, and no agency—whether it was the Garrison Command, Ying Tianfu, the Ministry of Punishments, or the Jinyiwei—had managed to capture him. Yet, a mere handful of ordinary citizens managed to catch him and demand rewards? The news came at just the wrong time, precisely when he had just made a fuss. How could such things be so coincidental? Moreover, he had specifically ordered people to follow Zhang Yue, and today they finally managed to corner him on this Taiping Tower. Why, then, was it someone completely unrelated who he met instead?

Although extremely unwilling, this was not the time for hesitation. So Liu Guan pondered for a moment before smiling and saying, “Truly worthy of Minister Zhao—he managed to get there before me. Pass the order: return to the Ministry of Punishments immediately!”

The men from the Five-City Military Command were usually responsible for maintaining order in the markets. This time, working with Liu Guan, they could enter places that usually required special access, and they were quite proud of themselves. But in just a short while, the situation changed. Hearing this order, the patrolmen were stunned but had no choice but to obey. Just then, a voice suddenly rang out from the main hall downstairs.

“Sir, wait!”

With that cry, someone stood up beside a table at the top of the stairs. The young man was only seventeen or eighteen years old, of short stature, wearing a blue cloth square headband and aa tea-colored Han silk robe-colored Han silk robe. With broad eyebrows and big eyes, he exuded a distinct sense of vigor. It seemed he was completely unaware that he had become the center of everyone’s attention. He simply looked at Liu Guan, who had turned to look, and suddenly bowed deeply.

“I dare to ask, Sir Chief Censor: if the Ministry of Punishments has already captured that Tang Qian, then who is this person captured by the patrolmen from the Northern City Military Command just now? If he isn’t Tang Qian, then why did he shout loudly for Lord Yuan to save him? Why didn’t he argue that the Military Command had captured the wrong person? Everyone here, old and young, heard clearly that everyone in the Military Command claimed Tang Qian had already been caught!”

It wasn’t just him who had such doubts, but since that man was a high-ranking official of the second rank in the court, most could only keep their suspicions to themselves. Now that someone had dared to speak up, whispers spread throughout the building, and the clamor soon turned the place into a noisy marketplace.

Zhang Yue, standing by the railing on the second floor, was also quite surprised. He observed the young man, who stood upright without any fear, and inwardly praised him. He didn’t know this person, but the courage to challenge the head of the Censorate in court was truly extraordinary. His earlier questions had been quite sharp, and he was even more interested to see what the young man would say next.

In such an atmosphere, the men from the Five Cities Military Command were fairly calm, but Liu Guan’s expression grew increasingly grim. His sharp, knife-like gaze was fixed intently on the boy who was stirring up trouble. Seeing that the boy showed no fear at all, he grew even angrier and snarled, “A naive brat, what do you know about court affairs and judicial procedures?”
This was already an act of asserting dominance through status and experience, but under the watchful eyes of many, the boy not only didn’t back down but stepped forward and raised his voice even more, “Though I am young, I am a student from Suzhou Prefecture and have studied the Great Ming Laws since childhood! The Chief Censor acts under imperial orders to arrest criminals, and no one in Taiping Tower dares to object. But to interrogate such a suspect while allowing suspicious noises to spread everywhere—is this how one carries out arrests? Since the Nanjing Ministry of Punishments has already detained the real culprit, this man still claims to be Tang Qian, shouting loudly so that everyone knows, and insists on implicating some so-called Lord Yuan—clearly with ulterior motives or deliberately framing others…”
“Silence!”
Hearing the word “frame,” Liu Guan finally lost his temper and cut off the boy’s words, shouting sternly, “Drive this nonsense-spouting brat out!”
At these words, a constable immediately rushed forward, ready to grab the boy’s arm without hesitation. But in a flash, a large hand like a palm-leaf fan suddenly appeared from the side, pushing the burly constable aside. Seeing this, the frightened boy stepped back quickly but then started shouting even louder.
“As the Chief Censor of the Censorate, haven’t you heard the rumors among the people? The imperial censors are as greedy as wolves, and the official inspectors are as fierce as tigers! Lord Luo, the governor of Suzhou Prefecture, was impeached by Lord Hou, the imperial censor of Nanjing Directly Governed Region. This should have been a routine inspection, but what’s the reaction among the people? Now, tens of thousands of people in Suzhou Prefecture are petitioning to keep the governor and punish the corrupt and lawless censors! If the Censorate cannot be fair and strict, where else in the world can there be integrity and justice?”
As soon as these words were spoken, chaos erupted upstairs and downstairs. Someone must have cheered first, and soon applause rang out everywhere, filled with support. Although Zhang Yue thought the boy was a bit impulsive, hearing about Suzhou Prefecture stirred his emotions, and he looked up at Liu Guan again. Sure enough, the Chief Censor was so enraged that his face was twitching, as if he might explode at any moment. At this point, he couldn’t stay idle any longer and quickly stepped down the stairs. Seeing Niu Gan standing in front of the boy without moving, he couldn’t help but smile.

Since he had already realized that Liu Guan had barged into his private room with ill intentions, Zhang Yue naturally wasn’t afraid that stepping in to smooth things over might lead to any misunderstandings. With a smile, he raised his hand in a formal bow and then said, “Lord Liu, since Minister Zhao of the Ministry of Punishments has already sent people to invite you, given the seriousness of the matter, why waste time arguing with a young scholar? As for the identity of this criminal, what’s true over there is obviously false here. Please take him back and interrogate him thoroughly to find out who’s behind this deception, allowing him to fabricate identities so recklessly! With so many people here today, it would be bad for reputation if word got out.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Guan immediately understood that his scheme had been seen through. Filled with anger, his eyes narrowed even further. Even the young man earlier hadn’t flinched under his glare, so this tactic had no effect on Zhang Yue either. After staring at each other for a while, he let out a sinister laugh and said, “Thank you for the reminder, Deputy Zhang. Bring back my men and take this guy to the Ministry of Punishments!”

At that moment, the officers from the Five-City Military Command, who had been stunned by the series of events, finally came to their senses and hurriedly pushed the bound man outside. Compared to when he came downstairs, the man now remained silent as if mute. In a short while, the soldiers armed with steel knives retreated like a tide. Liu Guan, the last to leave, stared at Zhang Yue for a moment, then glanced at the still defiant young man before calmly saying, “Deputy Zhang, you’re successful at a young age, which is why you understand each other so well. You even protect such an arrogant kid like this. But don’t forget—these are not the old days anymore!”

Zhang Yue, however, bowed with a cheerful smile and said, “Thank you, Lord Liu, for your kind reminder. Indeed, these are not the old days. But I’ve always followed one path and never strayed from it, so I have nothing to feel guilty about!”

Liu Guan paused for a moment as he strode away, but then quickened his pace and left. Once outside the Taiping Building, he couldn’t help but turn to glance at the flashy sign before sneering and walking off. The boy at the door watched as the group left one after another. Only after they were all gone did he rush in to report to the shopkeeper. Seeing many of those who had cheered earlier getting up to leave, the shopkeeper had a sudden idea and bowed around them all.

“Rest assured, guests, the officials have all left! Since the main culprit has been caught, this matter has nothing to do with us. We’ve caused everyone a lot of worry today! But there’s no need to worry—this shop is owned by the Mu family under the Qianning Prince’s estate, so the officials can’t just come and harass us without reason. Today, on behalf of my master, I’ll cover everyone’s food and drink expenses!”
At these words, the guests immediately cheered up. Even those who had gotten up to leave sat back down, and the place was filled with lively chatter and clinking of drinks. By this time, Zhang Yue had approached the young man and was about to ask him questions, but unexpectedly, the shopkeeper rushed over after speaking, addressing him respectfully as “Lord Zhang.” Realizing that Liu Guan had revealed his identity by repeatedly mentioning him as the deputy magistrate of Zhang’s household, Zhang Yue nodded slightly, dismissed the terrified shopkeeper with a few words, and turned back.
The young man had spoken boldly and with confidence in front of Liu Guan, but now that he was alone, his confidence vanished. Seeing Zhang Yue staring at him, he became even more embarrassed.
“You’re quite bold for someone so young!” Zhang Yue smiled as he examined him before asking, “From the way you spoke, are you from Suzhou? Or are you a scholar?”
“I am Xu Zhen from Wu County, Suzhou Prefecture. I pay my respects to Lord Zhang,” Xu Zhen replied after introducing himself. Glancing sideways, he noticed Zhang Yue’s strange expression and assumed that Zhang Yue must have heard of his name from those people before. He quickly explained, “It’s not that I deliberately avoided paying him a visit. It’s because I heard news from Suzhou Prefecture that upset me, so I didn’t dare to go.”
Hearing him keep referring to himself as a “student,” Zhang Yue, who already found his behavior peculiar, found it even more amusing. Ever since he heard about Xu Zhen from Master Chen and the students at the clan school, he had wanted to see what this Xu Zhen, who would later change his name to Xu Youzhen, was like. Unfortunately, he never showed up, so he forgot about it. Who would have thought they would meet by chance today?
“No wonder your name sounded familiar. So you’re the Xu Zhen mentioned by Master Chen. You were in Jiangxi a while back—how do you know about matters in Suzhou Prefecture?”
Xu Zhen quickly pointed to the other people sitting with him and said, “These are my classmates from the prefectural school. They were dissatisfied that Governor Luo brought order to Wu region all by himself but ended up suffering badly. That’s why they all came to Nanjing, where they met me.”

Zhang Yue glanced at the people sitting beside him who had just bowed together with Xu Zheng, asking for their names and backgrounds. Seeing that they were indeed scholars from Wu, he fell into deep thought. After saying a few words of encouragement and reminder, he turned and left. Not far from Taiping Tower, he heard calls behind him. Turning around, he saw Xu Zheng and several classmates chasing after him.

Panting heavily, Xu Zheng bowed deeply and asked, “Sir, it seemed you had unfinished words just now?”

Although he had already confirmed that this was the very Xu Zheng who had orchestrated the coup, facing such quick-wittedness, Zhang Yue couldn’t feel any resentment. He shook his head and said, “Your actions today may seem bold, but they are actually reckless. You must remember that Lord Liu heads the Censorate—even high-ranking ministers fear him to some extent, let alone just a scholar like you. Even if he doesn’t punish you, he might take his anger out on Magistrate Luo. After all, submitting petitions to the emperor is against the law, and even if it reaches the imperial court, it will likely harm Magistrate Luo.”

Seeing the panic on his classmates’ faces, Xu Zheng gasped in shock. How could he have forgotten this in his moment of righteous anger?