Wuchang Prefecture, Huguang Chief Secretary Yamen.
After assigning the search for Daye County and Xingguo Prefecture to the Jinyi Guards and Jingying Guards, Li Zaiting still frowned and looked thoughtful.
When Feng Shiyu, who had just signed the official document, saw this, he couldn't help but comfort him: "Why should Ying Feng be so worried?"
"Although Daye County and Xingguo Prefecture have many mountains and dense forests, they are not big at all."
"Whether the news is true or false, the results will be available soon."
The search for mountains and seas requires local cooperation, whether it is geographical location or people, and naturally it cannot be hidden from the Chief Secretary.
Li Zaiting shook his head and did not answer.
Things have been arranged, and the outcome cannot be changed by worrying about it.
He was just still thinking about Chu Fan's situation - he always felt that something was not quite right.
Regardless of the prince's motives, how did he know so clearly?
To take a step back, they have been in Huguang for a while. Why didn't they think of exposing his Uncle Wang before?
Although it wasn't strange enough to be inappropriate, his intuition was always vaguely warning him.
Li Zaiting turned his head, looked at Feng Shiyu, and asked: "I remember that after the sudden death of the King of Chu, the court clearly let the Wugang County Prince be in charge of the affairs. Why is the Dong'an County Prince in charge of the Chu vassal now?"
The King of Chu died in August of the fifth year of Longqing's reign at the age of thirty-one.
In November of the same year, the emperor and the Ministry of Rites decided who would be in charge of the Chu vassal - "Guiyou, ordered King Xianhuai of Wugang of the Chu Mansion to manage the affairs of the Chu Mansion, in order to respect the young prince, so he has not been named."
He personally copied the edict and filed it in the Sixth Section, so he naturally remembered it clearly.
When the clinker arrived in Huguang, it was discovered that the Chu vassal was now controlled by the king of Dong'an County.
The edict became a piece of paper.
Feng Shiyu glanced at Li Zaiting, walked to the door of the check-in room, looked around, and gently closed the door.
Then he extended his hand to ask Li Zaiting to sit down and said, "When I first arrived in Wuchang, I also had this question, and I even went to the door to verify the matter myself."
"The reason is that King Wugang took charge of the Chu Mansion twice. The previous time, he had already eviled many princes, so that now he is not worthy of his name."
He paused: "It's a long story..."
Then, Feng Shiyu slowly said.
The matter also starts with the major case of killing the king and usurping the throne in the Chu palace.
The previous Chu king during the Jiajing period, Chu Min King Zhu Xianrong, had two sons.
Among them, the eldest son is named Zhu Yingyao.
This prince, with his evil nature, not only played with good families, but also searched for the King of Chu's harem.
When he saw a pretty person, he would let his close associates, eunuchs, and housewives coax and deceive him, and "lure him to the Jixi Hall to show him off" - a son having sex with his mother is called a showoff.
When the King of Chu found out about this, although he was furious, he did not want to make the family scandal public.
Only the followers of the crown prince Zhu Yingyao were killed with sticks, and the palace officials placed them under house arrest while the crown prince scolded them.
With such indulgence, Zhu Yingyao obviously has no reason to restrain himself.
As he grew older, he became more and more aggressive, often collecting women and having sex with them.
Every time King Chu raised it high and put it down gently.
It's a pity that the King of Chu likes to protect his son, so his servants are not so lucky.
Those followers and eunuchs who collected beautiful women were basically killed with sticks to warn the servants not to lead the prince into mischief.
However, not all servants will sit still and wait for death.
It was another Jixitang exchange meeting. Maybe there was too much movement, and the news leaked out, and the King of Chu happened to know about it.
The King of Chu was so angry that he wanted to kill Liu Jin, the servant who organized the exchange conference.
Liu Jin didn't tolerate him, so when death was imminent, he naturally resorted to all kinds of tricks - when he got the news, he immediately "secretly told the prince Zhu Yingyao: 'The king is very angry and wants to depose the king, so it is better to attack first.'"
Your father is furious and wants to depose the prince! Let’s rebel!
Most people won't believe it.
But the strange things of the clan cannot be seen through ordinary people's eyes.
Zhu Yingyao believed it on the spot! He was panic-stricken and at a loss, and then made a bloody alliance with Xu Jingrong, Liu Jin and others!
And followed Liu Jin's plan.
They put up lanterns and held a banquet in Jixi Hall, and invited the King of Chu to come, with the excuse that they wanted to admit their mistakes face to face and change their ways from now on.
When the King of Chu heard this, he was very happy.
Not only did he go happily, he also brought his younger brother, King Zhu Xianhuai of Wugang, to be a witness.
Then comes the much-loved part of the knife and axe-hands - "Gather the party, hold copper melons and wooden trusses respectively, hide behind the Xitang with masks, and raise a cannon as a signal."
The calculation was done mentally but not intentionally, and the process was naturally not mentioned.
The King of Chu was doted on for the last time by his own son who opened his head with a copper melon.
However, the Wugang King Zhu Xianhuai who was traveling with him somehow escaped and was only locked up - "Wugang King was banned from a separate room and ordered not to come out."
With a living mouth, King Chu finally did not die of illness.
Although the prince and his group sealed the royal city and guarded the palace gates, somehow the news still reached the governor, the inspector and others, and then went straight to Tianting.
After Emperor Sejong learned of this, he was furious and immediately sent an imperial envoy to investigate thoroughly.
The lineup of the imperial envoy team is similar to that of today. They are the eunuchs who are responsible for the rituals, the censors who patrol, the commanders of the royal guards, and the princes and princes. Well, even the prince-son-in-law is Wu Jinghe.
When the King of Chu died and was killed by the prince, the throne naturally fell to the second son Wang.
But the second son was only four years old, so naturally he could not inherit the throne.
Emperor Sejong then logically asked Zhu Xianhuai, King of Wugang, who had suffered a lot and made great achievements this time, to take charge of the Chu vassal on his behalf.
This was the first time that King Wugang took charge of the clan.
Unfortunately, as soon as this King of Wugang came to power, he offended all the princes of the Chu vassal.
First, regardless of the overall situation, he reported a case that the King of Chu had covered up for many years, that is, the case of the murder of his brother by Chongyang King Zhu Xianxiu - the King of Chu loved to cover up, not just his son.
The result of the report was that King Chongyang was ordered to commit suicide by Emperor Sejong.
There were some complaints in the family, thinking that King Wugang was too cruel and could not even hide from each other when it came to the lives of his brothers.
In addition to this matter, there was also the matter of dividing the farmlands later. At that time, King Tongcheng Zhu Yingxuan divided the farmlands less than before, so he felt it was unfair and had a disagreement with King Wugang.
The most fatal thing was that Wugang King Zhu Xianhuai wrote a letter to discuss the vassal government.
It requested the establishment of a religious school, and "supervise and assess the children of the county king and below. Every three years, the inspector will evaluate the performance. If he fails the five examinations, he will be dismissed and given two-thirds of his salary."
After Shizong and the Ministry of Rites agreed to this matter, King Wugang almost hated most of the clan.
Deposed? Reduced salary? You, the King of Wugang, are an unworthy son and have violated the interests of the clan, and you still want to be the one responsible!?
Therefore, after the death of King Chu, the imperial court once again allowed King Wugang to take charge of the Chu vassal. One can imagine the resistance within the clan.
Li Zaiting listened silently to Feng Shiyu's explanation.
After hearing this, he sighed: "So, the King of Chu died two years ago, and King Wugang was appointed to take charge of the government, but he couldn't control the Chu vassal at all?"
Feng Shiyu nodded: "Not only are the princes and princes of the various prefectures dissatisfied, but even the concubines and princesses are unwilling to cause any setbacks."
"In the end, all the princes and concubines wanted to compromise, so they invited King Dong'an to come forward and mediate."
Hearing this, Li Zaiting looked at Feng Shiyu, frowned and said, "Invite King Dong'an to come forward?"
Why didn't he know that these clans still had time to be humble?
Shouldn't we be eager to seize power and not be willing to be left behind?
There are not a few princes of the Chu vassal dynasty.
Feng Shiyu shook his head, and it seemed that he didn't know what was going on.
He thought for a while and added: "It is said that Princess Gong supports it."
Princess Gong is the aunt of the eldest son of the current King of Chu, and the aunt of the next King of Chu. Her importance is self-evident.
Li Zaiting nodded. It seemed that he was still fighting for power, but this approach was quite reasonable.
If he gained anything, he said slowly: "So, now this King of Dong'an has taken over the position of King of Wugang and can take charge of the Chu vassal on his behalf."
If this is the case, the two princes may have been fighting for a while.
The motives of Prince Wugang, as well as the sources of information obtained, can be considered reasonable.
Li Zaiting thought for a while and asked the last question: "According to Huazhi, what is the character of King Dong'an?"
The nature of the question is actually to ask, how likely it is that the case in Linxiang County was committed by King Dong'an.
Feng Shiyu looked thoughtful.
After a long while, he said: "King Dong'an, he is quite heroic. He often helps the refugees and the people."
"The affairs of the Chu vassal are also handled in a harmonious manner, which is highly praised by the clan."
"Even if there was a minister who delayed the payment of money to the Chu vassal, he never made it difficult for the chief secretary."
Li Zaiting kept this in mind, recruiting refugees, showing kindness to the people, uniting the clan, and also having financial resources...
The more I talk about it, the more similar it becomes!
As for whether we should arrest him if we find any clues now...
Li Zaiting weighed the matter again.
At this moment, Feng Shiyu suddenly remembered something and said, "By the way, Zhang Chucheng went to the Prince of Chu's Mansion and met the King of Dong'an."
…
In the city of King Chu.
Hai Rui followed Zhu Yingqian and entered the city gate easily.
Without Ding Wei nearby, the two of them continued their conversation.
"Zhang Gei came to Chu Mansion during the incident? Why?"
Hai Rui looked a little surprised and asked rhetorically.
He originally came here for the Zhang Chucheng case. Although the investigation required a high level of planning, he still did not miss any clues.
Zhang Chucheng's whereabouts are even more impossible to trace.
Why have I never heard of Zhang Chucheng going to Prince Chu’s Mansion before?
Zhu Yingqian walked in front to lead the way. His neck was bent forward, his back was a little hunched, and his posture was very poor. Hai Rui looked uncomfortable.
The former didn't realize it at all, and continued with a sneer: "Of course I've been here before! As for what happened..."
"You are here to give me orders to the Chu vassal!"
Hai Rui frowned: "A warning?"
Zhu Yingqian snorted: "I am being warned by the Chu Mansion for secretly digging for mineral deposits and privately minting copper coins."
"It's not all my uncle Wang who did it!"
He muttered, finally returned to the topic, and said seriously: "Let's get down to business. Didn't the imperial envoy ask me about my evidence that Uncle Wang killed Zhu Yingyan of Prince Yueyang?"
"The day before Zhu Yingyan died, he secretly came to Chu Mansion and met my Uncle Wang!"
"The two conspired for a long time, and finally broke up on bad terms. When Zhu Yingyan left, it was my uncle Wang who drove him to see him off!"
"After Zhu Yingyan returned, he died that night! Could it be that King Dong'an can still get away with it!?"
Hai Rui listened carefully and immediately believed the Prince of Wugang's words when he saw how confident he was in what he said.
He asked: "Did someone witness it with their own eyes?"
Zhu Yingqian raised his head proudly: "The witness is the deputy eunuch who works beside Uncle Wang!"
After all, the Wugang Prince's Palace had taken charge of the Chu vassal, and it still had some background in deploying people.
Hai Rui didn't answer immediately, but fell into deep thought.
Judging from the performance of the Prince of Wugang, I'm afraid it's really not a frame-up or attack.
Could this King of Dong'an... be the real murderer of Zhang Chucheng?
Just now I mentioned that Zhang Chucheng came to the Chu Mansion and gave instructions about secretly digging mineral deposits and privately minting copper coins.
There is also a motive.
So, should we immediately place him under house arrest or even arrest the King of Dong'an?
Just as he was thinking.
Suddenly I saw three eunuchs, one young and one young, running towards me from far away.
Zhu Yingqian took the lead and shouted to the leading eunuch: "Hey, Qin Fengcheng? If I don't serve the concubine, why do I see you here?"
Eunuch Cheng Fengzheng was panting and grabbed Zhu Yingqian: "Oh, Your Majesty, the King of Wugang has an old illness. I'm looking for you urgently. Come back with me quickly!"
Zhu Yingqian was stunned for a moment and immediately believed it.
Subconsciously: "My father's old illness has relapsed? Is he seriously ill?"
Just as he was about to take a step, he hesitated again: "Eunuch Qin, I have business to do... Why don't you let my father wait?"
He has already brought the imperial envoys into the royal city. If he doesn't make an effort now, won't he just scare the trouble?
No matter what, I have to be arrested by King Dong'an!
The loyal eunuch said: "Don't be stubborn, Your Majesty! Your Majesty is seriously ill. Please return to the Wugang Palace!"
After that, he asked the accompanying young eunuch to carry him back.
Zhu Yingqian was unwilling to give up, but he was not sure how serious his father's illness was, so he was half pushed and half carried away.
At this moment, Hai Rui, who was standing aside and watching quietly, finally made some movement.
He put his hands into his sleeves and said in an incomprehensible tone: "King Dong'an really manages the Chu Mansion in an orderly manner."
Seeing this, the flattering eunuch hurriedly bowed and apologized, saying with a smile: "You made the angels laugh."
"Our family didn't know what the prince said, so we lured the angel to the Prince of Chu's Mansion."
He lowered his voice slightly: "Prince Wugang's talent is stupid and he talks nonsense and confusion. Don't take it to heart."
Hai Rui was indifferent and ignored him.
He raised his head, looked at the two young eunuchs, and scolded: "Put them down!"
The two young eunuchs were startled and their movements stopped subconsciously.
Zhu Yingqian didn't know why and looked this way.
Eunuch Qin was also caught off guard. He smiled awkwardly and simply buried his head: "Angel..."
Hai Rui waved his hand to interrupt him.
He said in a cold voice: "The crown prince of Wugang, Zhu Yingqian, has come forward, and I have accepted his complaint!"
"According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, I must inform King Dong'an to the Yamen now!"
"You go and tell Zhu Xianzhen that I will be waiting for him here for two-quarters of an hour."
"If he comes back to the governor's office with me honestly, then he will do it. If not, don't blame me for not giving him face when I come back."
After that, he closed his eyes, ignored it, and began to count the time and wait.
Hearing this, Eunuch Qin wanted to speak several times, but he hesitated. He became more and more at a loss, and looked anxiously back and forth.
Why do you give him all these errands?
After hesitating for a long time, he stamped his feet and trotted towards Dong'an Palace.
Zhu Yingqian didn't know why and was hesitating whether to go back to his home to see his father.
Hai Rui's deep voice sounded again: "Your Majesty, please don't leave. I will ask the governor's office to report to you later. You and I will return to the governor's office later."
Zhu Yingqian groaned, his expression full of resistance.
I had the heart to retort, looked up at that old-fashioned and mean face, and finally closed my mouth.
The two of them stood on Zhongying Street and waited quietly.
About a quarter of an hour has passed.
A slightly wealthy figure appeared in their sight.
Eunuchs surrounded him, holding umbrellas and fanning themselves.
The prince's chief minister, the official of the ceremony, and the trial followed this figure, whispering.
The guards were wearing armor and carrying swords, watching eagerly.
A group of people walked over.
Hai Rui was alone and moved his body.
Step forward and face the group of people.
A confrontation broke out on Zhongying Street.
Zhu Xianzhen, the king of Dong'an, wore a five-piece robe and a jade belt, showing his majesty in his demeanor.
He frowned and looked at Zhu Yingqi, feeling resentful that steel could not be made into steel: "For the sake of mere power, my good nephew went to the imperial envoy to attack my uncle. Don't you know how he behaves like this and is different from a beast!?"
Zhu Yingqian was a little afraid of him. Hearing this, he shrank his neck and moved behind Hai Rui.
Zhu Xianzhen didn't have time to argue with him, and turned to look at Hai Rui, who was standing like a penholder.
He sighed helplessly: "The angel was deceived by my unworthy nephew and went back and forth in vain. I really feel sorry for him."
Hai Rui looked at the King of Dong'an for a long time and said straight to the point, "Would King Dong'an be willing to follow me back to the governor's office?"
Zhu Xianzhen was silent for a long time.
Behind them, the palace officials looked back and forth at the two of them.
The guards were ready to move.
The eunuchs fanned their cattail fans harder and harder.
The only sounds left on the field were the chirping of cicadas and the sound of cattail leaf fans flapping.
Even Zhu Yingqian felt the atmosphere was anxious and began to expect that the uncle Wang would fall out with the imperial envoy.
Just then.
This King of Dong'an smiled kindly.
He turned around and waved away the palace officials and entourage behind him, and took the cattail leaf fan from the eunuch's hand.
Then he took two steps forward and slapped Hai Rui twice with one hand: "Angels might as well put out the fire."
He stretched out one hand to guide the way and said with a smile: "I walk and sit upright. I can do whatever the angel asks me to do."
"Some villain has framed and accused me. I'm going to trouble the angels to find out and clear my name."
Hai Rui took a deep look at Dong'an King Zhu Xianzhen, nodded, turned around and left.
Zhu Xianzhen followed closely behind, swaggering.
Chapter completed!