Chapter 506: Earth-Shattering News
Half a month after Wanbaozhai opened, a news story that shocked the entire capital suddenly spread. To celebrate Princess Xiangyu’s recovery from critical condition, Prince Qingliu and his queen decided to fast for three months and generously reward all the servants and maids in their mansion.
Prince Qingliu had already become the focus of attention from various factions after hosting Emperor Qianwei at Wanxianlou. With numerous daughters, his affection for them was no less than those who had only one or two daughters. The sudden news of Princess Xiangyu’s recovery naturally sparked intense interest in uncovering the truth. Only by understanding the situation could they prepare appropriate tonics—ones to replenish energy, calm the mind, or warm the stomach.
The information obtained from the mansion’s managers at great cost was unexpected by all parties. Princess Xiangyu wasn’t suffering from a serious illness but had been severely injured in an assassination attempt.
The motive for the attack was merely a dispute, yet the assassin was someone who could terrify even the city’s officials and guards. Bandits!
It wasn’t unusual for bandits to have spies and hideouts in the capital, or for those with criminal records outside the city to come to the capital for fun. Completely eliminating them was impossible. But the fact that Princess Xiangyu had been severely beaten by bandits meant that if investigated thoroughly, the city officials and guards would surely face severe consequences. No wonder they failed to fulfill their duties—they had never shown mercy even to bandits caught in the capital. It was simply bad luck for them.
They couldn’t understand how Princess Xiangyu could be injured by bandits. After all, members of the royal family were protected by secret guards assigned by the Tianwei Pavilion. Even if it were bandits, it was doubtful that ordinary sect disciples could overcome these guards. More importantly, not only royalty like Princess Xiangyu but even officials like them could make the bandits retreat if they revealed their identities and didn’t provoke them unnecessarily.
You should know that although 99% of bandits are fearless to the death and even eager to engage in life-or-death games where one must die each time, they would never risk destroying their entire stronghold just to get revenge. For bandits, comrades mean little; if there’s no rule against fratricide in their stronghold, a pair who were once very close might cut each other to pieces the very next day over a argument. But they can’t ignore the possibility of their leader and other chiefs being killed as well. Those who can command bandits must not only be more ruthless and stronger than them but also possess skills that earn their respect. Whether that respect comes from greater ruthlessness or strength, those who fail to earn the bandits’ respect can never become leaders.
Unless they’re too proud to back down and driven mad, bandits would never commit the act of killing officials. Killing officials is a grave taboo in the Great Han Nation. Moreover, the Tianwei Pavilion can uncover every case. Once such an act occurs, not only will the stronghold be destroyed by just a few powerful warriors, but even a major sect will be wiped out by the Tianwei Pavilion without exception. Bandits with grudges against officials usually target their families. If they’re members of more upright sects, they’ll wait until the official retires before seeking revenge.
The prefects of the capital and the guards couldn’t understand why Princess Xiangyu, even without bodyguards, couldn’t simply state her identity and show some proof if there was a dispute. Yet there was no reason to doubt the news—Princess Qingliu wouldn’t deliberately frame them.
Even if Princess Qingliu did frame them, they could only accept it. To be framed by the highly respected Princess Qingliu meant, beyond all their negative feelings, they also felt honored. Those framed by Princess Qingliu would become well-known for centuries—though not in a good light, they’d still gain some lasting fame.
Fortunately, everyone was safe now, and Princess Qingliu had personally led forces to destroy the entire bandit den, satisfying her desire for revenge. As long as it wasn’t a deliberate frame-up by Princess Qingliu, there was still a glimmer of hope.
Soon, the prefect of the capital and the generals in charge of various gates all set out to seek help from those who could intercede with Prince Qingliu. Those who could speak to Prince Qingliu were all powerful figures from various factions. Those who came to ask for their help saw it as an opportunity to visit the prince’s mansion and get closer to him, hoping to hear some information related to the struggle for the throne. Even those who weren’t asked for help still went to the mansion, as everyone wanted to talk to Prince Qingliu—perhaps those conversations might reveal some crucial secrets.
In no time, carts full of top-quality herbs for treating internal and external injuries were delivered to the prince’s mansion. Originally, this matter had nothing to do with the wealthy people of the capital, nor much to do with the owners of the top restaurants there. But as news spread, the owners of these top restaurants grew furious at the bandits, their hatred even surpassing that of the prefect and the guards. This was because the bandit underlings couldn’t withstand torture and confessed out of desperation to die quickly. Before coming to the capital, their leader had told them that they were working for one of the top restaurants.
What made these restaurant owners even angrier was that they knew which top restaurant it was, yet the underling refused to reveal a single word under any torture.
While the prefect and the guards were unlucky and somewhat involved in this matter, these restaurant owners were completely unrelated—they were simply hit by a bolt from the blue. Moreover, this “bolt” might be quite severe, even leading to the destruction of their families.
The bandits were originally fierce men from various regions. The court deliberately sent them to live in the mountains as bandits because such people were prone to causing trouble. It was better to gather them together and let merchants willing to take risks for money supply them with food. Such people were often the instigators of chaos. Although the Great Han Kingdom had strict rules for selecting heirs, most of them were shrewd as foxes. No matter how much they disregarded the common people, they wouldn’t deliberately push them to rebel. Yet, it was still possible for some incompetent rulers to gather these bandits and cut them off from the outside world. Without such fierce men to lead the rebellion, the submissive common people wouldn’t be able to cause much upheaval.
The reason the Great Han Kingdom had endured for thousands of years was, first and foremost, the contribution of Tianwei Pavilion. Second was the policy of turning fierce men from various regions into bandits. Lastly were the various rules for selecting heirs.
To sever the connection between bandits and the outside world, apart from leading these bandits into the mountains to create reasons for them to fight among themselves, allowing wolves to gradually lose their humanity and grow more ruthless through conflict, thus making ordinary people afraid to approach any bandit, another method is to use severe punishment. Anyone found colluding with bandits would be executed by slow torture, and their families and servants would be reduced to slaves. If the minor leaders remained unaccounted for, the owners of the top restaurants in the capital would calculate that, to avoid causing unrest by eliminating so many wealthy elites at once, they might not be killed outright, but they would surely suffer physical pain, heavy fines, and even be monitored by the people of Tianwei Pavilion while keeping their concubines at night. Moreover, this time the bandits had angered the Prince of Qingliu. The Prince of Qingliu was renowned for his fairness and impartiality, but he was also famously indulgent toward his princesses. If this indulgence outweighed his fairness, even if Emperor Qianwei tried to stop it, they would surely die. It should be noted that the Prince of Qingliu was also extremely intelligent; whether faced with direct or covert threats, they had no chance of survival. After the local officials and gatekeepers finished dealing with matters, they learned from the person who sought help that although the Prince of Qingliu was angry, he had no intention of blaming them. As they rejoiced and considered giving more assistance, the owners of the top restaurants in the capital also became busy. Their network might not be as extensive as that of the local officials, but it was certainly on par with that of the gatekeepers, and they could offer gifts of greater value. Soon, the Prince of Qingliu’s palace saw another wave of demand for medicinal materials. Xin Taqi, the owner of Junda Restaurant, behaved almost identically to the owners of the other top restaurants. Upon hearing the news, he immediately deposited a large stack of silver bills into the VIP card he had obtained from Linji Inn, then rushed to a large pharmacy to buy the most expensive healing herbs, before heading straight to the residence of the Minister of Revenue. Junda Restaurant’s patron was the Prince of Ruiqing, while its backer was Minister of Revenue Yang Mingshu. Xin Taqi was willing to allocate 20% of his annual profits to maintain relationships, with Yang Mingshu taking 10% of those profits specifically for such times. Yang Mingshu did not disappoint Xin Taqi either; after accepting a sufficient amount of herbs that could fill a cart and a stack of high-value silver bills, he immediately took the herbs to the Prince of Qingliu’s palace.
After waiting anxiously in the minister’s residence for half a day, Yang Mingshu finally returned with not good news—the Prince of Qingliu had given no clear reply. This meant that if he couldn’t force the lower-ranking officials to reveal which top-tier restaurant was colluding with the bandits, he was likely to target all such restaurants. Undoubtedly, the Prince of Qingliu favored showing favoritism to the princess over upholding fairness, which was no good news for any top-tier restaurant. Like all owners of top-tier restaurants, Xin Taqi returned to his mansion worried. After venting his anger, he shut himself in his study. It was then that Xin Taqi’s expression clearly differed from that of the other restaurant owners. His earlier resentment and anxiety had been merely for show. When it came to colluding with bandits, the closer one was to them, the more likely they were to be betrayed. Besides the risk of implicating family members and servants, there was also a large reward for those who exposed such collusions. For family members or servants, in addition to the reward, they could avoid being implicated as well. Even spouses and children who were involved with bandits had to be cautious about whether to reveal it to others. Alone in his study, free from such concerns, Xin Taqi’s face showed deep remorse and relief.