Chapter 226: Wrath of Thunder

Chapter 226: Wrath of Thunder

Emperor Xingyuan looked at his son, who was crying out in protest, and felt his heart grow colder.

"You didn't know about the slaughter of civilians, but what about embezzling the disaster relief funds?"

Prince Qing choked.

Meeting Emperor Xingyuan's cold gaze and glancing at the collapsed Lord Pei, Prince Qing's courage to argue vanished.

With Wu Yanting rebelling and Lord Pei confessing, if he continued to deny everything and was accused by Lord Pei, even if he told the truth, his father would not believe him.

"Father, have mercy!" Prince Qing cried, his face filled with resentment and regret. "I only accepted some jewels and silver from Lord Pei and his group. When Miss Zhu's father stopped me on the street and told me about the situation in Taiping Town and the mysterious death of officials in Beiquan County, I instructed Lord Pei and the others to handle it."

Prince Qing felt deeply wronged: "I truly didn't know they would resolve it by killing people!"

Sent to such a terrible place, with poor food and living conditions, he had stayed within the mansion and didn't go anywhere. The disaster relief was managed by Lord Pei, and the implementation was overseen by Commander Wu. He hadn't done anything, just thought it would be fine to accept the treasures offered from below after a hard trip.

"They misled me, Father, please understand!" Prince Qing kowtowed heavily on the golden bricks, creating a loud thud.

Emperor Xingyuan looked at the crowd kneeling before him and remained silent for a long time before finally speaking. "Guards, take Pei Zuo to the Ministry of Justice's jail, and imprison Prince Qing in the Imperial Clan House."

As Lord Pei was dragged away, he had even forgotten to cry.

Prince Qing, however, continued to shout, "Father, I am innocent!"

Emperor Xingyuan looked at his ministers with a cold, expressionless face and spoke in a deep voice. "Lord He, Inspector of the Censorate, and He Qingxiao, Commander of the Jinlin Guard, the two of you, along with Lord Zhang, Right Servant of the Ministry of Revenue, will depart for Dingbei tomorrow to thoroughly investigate this case."

"We will comply, Your Majesty," He Qingxiao and Lord He replied in unison.

Lord Zhang, Right Servant of the Ministry of Revenue, was not in the hall, but someone was immediately sent to summon him.

In addition to these three, Emperor Xingyuan also assigned a eunuch from the Ceremonial Directorate to accompany them and oversee the investigation.

After setting these arrangements in motion, Emperor Xingyuan kept He Qingxiao behind.

"Go and find out what's happening at Wu Yanting's residence."

As soon as they heard of Wu Yanting's rebellion, under Emperor Xingyuan's instructions, He Qingxiao had already dispatched the Jinlin Guard to surround Wu Yanting's mansion. At this moment, the entire general's residence was encircled by the Jinlin Guard. As He Qingxiao left the palace, a subordinate who had been waiting outside to report approached him.

After listening to the report, He Qingxiao re-entered the palace.

"Upon investigation, only Wu Yanting's three daughters are currently in the residence; his son is missing," He Qingxiao reported, then hesitated before continuing, "I believe that after failing to capture Wei Changqing, Wu Yanting, fearing exposure, secretly disguised and took his son away in advance to prepare for any eventuality."

"How foresighted!" Emperor Xingyuan sneered coldly.

He Qingxiao lowered his eyes. "I have failed in my duty, and I ask for your punishment, Your Majesty."

Emperor Xingyuan looked at the youth kneeling to admit his guilt, and though dissatisfaction did arise in his heart, it was trivial compared to the string of troublesome events.

"There are two tasks I need you to complete," Emperor Xingyuan said.

"Please instruct me, Your Majesty."

"The first task is to thoroughly investigate the situation in Dingbei. I do not wish to be deceived again, mistaking corrupt officials for meritorious servants."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"The second task," Emperor Xingyuan slowed his tone, his eyes flashing with cold light, "From now on, the Jinlin Guard must have surveillance outside the residences of all military officials of the fourth rank and above."

At this moment, the Jinlin Guard, though tasked with monitoring officials, had not yet become all-encompassing. It could be said that Wu Yanting's defection greatly strengthened the Jinlin Guard's role as the emperor's eyes and ears.

He Qingxiao knew that the Jinlin Guard’s power would grow, but its reputation would plummet into infamy.

However, this was beyond his control. Being in his position, he could only do his best to maintain his conscience while handling the emperor's affairs, bearing both the blame and the consequences.

"Your servant receives the imperial command."

"Go."

After the hall became empty, Emperor Xingyuan sat on the imperial throne in silence for a long time.

What angered him most about Wu Yanting's defection was not worry. The famous generals who had followed him to conquer the world were still around, and there were outstanding young commanders as well. Quelling the rebellion was just a matter of time.

What truly weighed on his mind were people like Pei Shaolang, especially Prince Qing.

He had intended to pass the empire to this son. And now—Emperor Xingyuan closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they were cold.

So much had happened that day, and dusk was approaching.

As officials returned to their departments, they fell silent, worried the disaster might reach them. By the time the offices closed, there were fewer invitations among friends and fewer banquets with colleagues. Everyone hurried home.

Among them, Duan Shaoqing was even more fearful. As soon as he got home, he went to the Ruyitang.

The elderly lady was startled the moment she saw her son. "What's wrong? Why do you look so terrible?"

"Something big has happened at court."

The elderly lady hurriedly asked what it was.

Duan Shaoqing looked anxious and hesitated. "I’m not sure of all the details, but Prince Qing has been imprisoned in the Imperial Clan House, and the Left Minister of the Ministry of Revenue is in the imperial prison, apparently for embezzlement."

The elderly lady didn’t know much about court affairs but caught one point. "Prince Qing is in trouble? What about Count Gu Chang's mansion?"

Count Gu Chang's mansion was closely associated with Prince Qing. When Count Gu Chang was previously in trouble, people believed that his mansion wouldn’t completely collapse because Prince Qing was still around. But now that Prince Qing had been imprisoned in the Imperial Clan House, Count Gu Chang's mansion might face extermination, and it could implicate others.

Duan Shaoqing had naturally considered the worst-case scenario, and when asked by the elderly lady, his expression became even more troubled.

"If only we had known earlier about this marriage—"

The elderly lady’s face darkened. "Eldest son, are you blaming me?"

"Mother, you misunderstand. How could I blame you? It's just that our family's luck has been particularly bad lately."

The elderly lady sneered. "It all started with Qiao’s misdeeds—no wonder things have gone downhill!"

The mother and son worried together for a while, and Duan Shaoqing sighed. "Mother, please ask my wife to keep the family restrained and not go out much. I will also pay more attention. Hopefully, this disaster won't affect our family."

In the Evening Serenity Abode, Wang Mama reported to Xin You. "Miss, Jin Chai from the Ruyitang sent word to me secretly. She said that as soon as the eldest master returned, he went to the Ruyitang looking very terrible. The elderly lady dismissed all the attendants and spoke for a long time."

The elderly lady had two senior maids, Yu Zhu and Jin Chai.

As for why the senior maid from the Ruyitang would inform the Evening Serenity Abode, it had to do with Wang Mama and Li Mama.

When Xin You moved out of Shaoqing Mansion, she left Wang Mama and Li Mama to watch over the Evening Serenity Abode. As she became wealthier, Wang Mama and Li Mama received more rewards, and both loved to show off. They quickly became the envy of the household servants. These servants were very willing to get close to them, and Wang Mama mentioned it to Xin You.

Xin You thought it was a good idea, so she gave them money to build relationships with the other servants.

Unintentionally, they gained the trust of Jin Chai, the less favored senior maid from the Ruyitang, without her realizing it.