The White Moonlight Turns Out to Be a Black-Hearted Lotus - Chapter 29

The things the old monk spoke of in the tea house were recorded word for word by Pei Xu, sealed away to become a part of the evidence.

Upon returning to the manor, Pei Xu hastily ate a few bites before busying himself with writing the memorial to the throne.

Ji Yuanhui sat beside him, watching: “Is it that urgent?”

“The sooner the better. Only if the Chancellor falls will Teacher have a chance to have his case overturned,” Pei Xu said. “There were many unjust imprisonments years ago, not just Teacher’s; those persecuted weren’t limited to the Xuan and Lu families… If we can gather the strength of everyone involved, the Emperor might not refuse an order to reinvestigate the old cases. But as long as the Chancellor remains, no one will dare to join me in a collective petition.”

Pei Xu gripped the brush tightly, his gaze resolute: “He must fall.”

The completed memorial was sent out that very day by Ji Yuanhui via express courier. With only a few days left before the imperial examinations, speed was of the essence.

Two days later, the Assistant Commissioner of the Golden Feather Guards was secretly dispatched to assist in handling the case.

Thus, on a clear and bright morning, dozens of people were quietly arrested together in a desolate tea house in the western part of the city.

To avoid detection, the location of this scripture-preaching assembly had been chosen for its extreme seclusion; consequently, the arrests went almost entirely unnoticed by the public.

However, as evening approached and the curfew drew near, the scions of the noble families had still not appeared. The elders in their families who served as court officials finally grew frantic. Before they could even send people to search, the Golden Feather Guards had already surrounded their manor gates.

Inside the dim dungeon, the air was damp and bone-chilling.

Pei Xu, feeling somewhat uncomfortable, tucked his cloak tighter around him. “Does that ‘Master’ still refuse to say anything?”

The Assistant Commissioner pressed his hand against the Yanling blade at his waist, his brow furrowed. “We’ve used every torture imaginable; he’s a truly tough nut to crack. The Emperor demanded results tonight. If we fail to deliver…”

He didn’t finish the sentence, but it was clear that punishment for incompetence would be inevitable.

The Assistant Commissioner was merely assisting; if punishment were dealt, Pei Xu would certainly not escape it.

“I understand,” Pei Xu nodded. “I brought some things that might be useful. I must trouble Lord Cui to lead the way.”

As soon as he stepped into the cell, a thick, decaying stench of blood and filth rushed at him. Pei Xu was choked by the smell and covered his nose and mouth with a handkerchief, coughing twice.

“Ha, haha… is this one here to torture me too?” The man tied there, his skin flayed and flesh torn, actually seemed quite spirited. He grinned at Pei Xu, revealing teeth stained with blood. “I’m afraid before you even lift the whip, you’ll tire yourself to death first.”

Pei Xu took a moment to adjust until he could breathe normally. He looked at the man: “Master, you are thick-skinned and do not fear torture, but your wife and child do not look like they could withstand such torment.”

The fake monk surnamed Wang stopped laughing. The muscles on his face twitched uncontrollably. “What do you mean? How can a monk have a wife and child?”

“Master need not worry too much. Our current Emperor is wise and governs with benevolence; he does not harm the kin of others.” Pei Xu pulled a small child’s garment from his sleeve to show him. “Your young son is only six months old now, isn’t he… I found him quite adorable, so it’s no wonder you love him so. According to your wife, you picked this out yourself. Surely you still recognize it?”

The man stared deathly at the small garment. “Impossible…”

“Your crimes are undeniable. Even with a ‘Death-Exempting Gold Plaque,’ you could only be spared once, but what you have done deserves a hundred executions,” Pei Xu looked at him coldly. “If you confess now and name your accomplices, your wife and child may still have a glimmer of hope for survival. But if tonight passes and you are handed over to someone else for interrogation, I cannot guarantee how they will prefer to conduct the questioning.”

The man suddenly jerked his head up, the iron chains clattering violently due to his struggle. “Disaster should not reach the family! A man should take responsibility for his own actions! Did you not say the Emperor governs with benevolence and does not harm kin?”

Pei Xu placed the child’s garment over the brazier, letting the tongues of flame lick at it, burning brighter and fiercer. “His Majesty naturally does not harm kin.”

He covered his nose and mouth with his handkerchief, the firelight dancing in his pupils. “But Master is a monk, a man alone, always solitary. From where would you have kin?”

The fake monk froze, his lips trembling and twitching.

Seeing that he was on the brink of total despair, Pei Xu delivered the final blow: “Master hid them truly well. Do you know how I found your family?”

The monk, his expression grey and defeated, looked up at him.

“After you were captured, people from the Crown Prince’s manor were sent to silence them…” Pei Xu said softly. “My people followed those from the Crown Prince’s manor and rescued them.”

After many slaps, it was time for a sweet date.

“Have you made up your mind, Master? Once tonight passes, the one questioning you won’t be me.” Pei Xu leaned down slightly, looking at him with downcast eyes. “I am willing to speak with you calmly. Others might not be so inclined. After tonight, you will be transferred from the Ministry of Justice to the Prison of the Guard Commandery. There are no kind-hearted Bodhisattvas like me over there.”

The fake monk’s lips opened and closed several times. Finally, he said in a trembling voice, “Can you protect them?”

Pei Xu knew it was done. He straightened up with a smile. “Naturally.”

“I’ll talk. I’ll tell you everything…”

The Assistant Commissioner saw him out of the dungeon. “Lord Pei truly has methods.”

“If it weren’t for the lack of time, and if there were any other way, I wouldn’t have wished to do this.” Pei Xu’s expression was indifferent as he mocked himself, “Regardless, using someone’s kin as leverage is truly a bit unseemly.”

It was indeed very late. As expected, Pei Xu saw Ji Yuanhui waiting for him outside.

“Thank you for your hard work, Lord Cui.” Ji Yuanhui walked forward with a smile, naturally standing beside Pei Xu and wrapping an arm around his waist. “If there is nothing else, we shall return home now.”

After a round of pleasantries, the two boarded the carriage and departed.

The streets were quiet and lonely in the dead of night. Outside the carriage, all was calm, but within this small, cramped space, Pei Xu was sitting on Ji Yuanhui’s lap, being kissed until he could barely breathe.

Ji Yuanhui’s hand held the base of his thigh, stroking and toying with it rhythmically. The nourishing medicinal ingredients and meals he had insisted Pei Xu eat every day had finally made him a bit more supple than before.

Feeling him tremble from the intensity of the kiss, Ji Yuanhui finally released him temporarily.

Pei Xu leaned weakly against his shoulder, while Ji Yuanhui tilted his head to lick and kiss his neck.

Pei Xu felt a bit ticklish: “Your Highness…”

“Lord Pei looks so majestic in his official robes.” The light in the carriage was dim; the only things shining brightly were each other’s eyes. “It makes one unable to help but feel deep affection.”

His face was perfectly serious, and his mouth spoke of devoted love, yet his hands were performing acts of wanton intimacy.

Pei Xu was teased until he went soft in his arms, panting, using the back of his hand to block his face, refusing to let him see his expression.

Ji Yuanhui didn’t force him to look, but simply pressed his lips against his ear to speak: “Rongrong is so cold to others outside. You don’t even smile, standing there with a frosty face. Just one look at you made me feel so swollen I couldn’t stand it.”

“Your Highness…” Pei Xu’s mind was muddled by his breath; he didn’t know what to say except to call out to him.

“Do your colleagues know you beg so softly in private? Do they know you can be rubbed until so much ‘water’ comes out…”

Before the marriage, fearing he would scare him, Ji Yuanhui had been relatively restrained. But after the marriage, having “tasted meat,” he gradually couldn’t hold back. After that one time while drunk, when he discovered Pei Xu didn’t seem to mind, he became even more unscrupulous.

“Only I know, right?” Ji Yuanhui gently stroked his hair with one hand while the other worked him. “Only your husband knows. Only your Highness knows.”

Pei Xu’s thigh spasmed and twitched. He buried his face in Ji Yuanhui’s chest, the tips of his ears turning a deep red.

The carriage was silent for a moment, and the faint scent of photinia flowers rose.

Ji Yuanhui gave a short laugh, kissed him on the cheek, and held his hand up before his eyes.

“Rongrong has dirtied my hand.”

The first thing they did after returning home was change their clothes.

After repeatedly checking, Pei Xu made sure nothing had been stained before he finally felt at ease.

Ji Yuanhui pushed open the door and returned carrying a lacquer tray.

He placed a bowl of sweet soup on the table, along with a plate of pastries and a bowl of medicine.

Ji Yuanhui, however, remained composed: “Eat something first to pad your stomach. Don’t drink medicine on an empty stomach.”

Pei Xu drank this medicine every day, and it was indeed effective. His qi and blood were much better than before, and he was no longer so pale and sickly.

Although he had eaten with his colleagues while on duty in the afternoon, busy as he was until this hour, Pei Xu was indeed hungry again. He sat down, took the spoon, and had a taste, finding it quite to his liking.

As the sweet soup reached the bottom, he picked up a piece of pastry, took a bite, and suddenly remembered something. He looked at Ji Yuanhui: “Your Highness, that person should have already returned to the capital. If nothing has gone wrong, he is already in the palace.”

Currently, there isn’t even a whisper of news regarding this. Ji Yuanhui raised an eyebrow: “Did Assistant Commissioner Cui reveal this?”

Pei Xu shook his head. “I guessed it.”

“The monk was caught in the morning, and the order that results must be produced was given in the evening. The Emperor also fears that long nights bring many dreams.” Pei Xu bit into the pastry. “With him pushing so hard, if no accidents happen, he will be looking for someone to make an example of during tomorrow morning’s court.”

Early the next morning, before dawn, someone came to knock on the Prince’s manor gates, notifying them to tidy their appearance and attend the court assembly.

When they stepped into the Great Hall, a solemn atmosphere hung over the entire court. Ji Yuanhui looked up and saw that the Emperor was already seated there.

Ji Yuanhui held his tablet and stood in his position. It was already late, yet the number of people in the hall was only seventy or eighty percent of what it usually was. Twenty to thirty percent of the officials were nowhere to be found.

He looked thoughtfully at the position that should have been at the head of the hundred officials—the Chancellor’s spot—which was also empty. The Crown Prince stood not far from him, nervously gnawing on his fingernails.

When the hour arrived, before Wang Fu could even shout the usual prompt for business to be presented, he was dismissed by a wave of Ji Jun’s hand.

“I presume you, my dear ministers, have noticed that many of your colleagues to your left and right are missing?” Ji Jun looked around the room and continued, “Parasites have appeared in the court, attempting to interfere with the imperial examinations and shake the very foundation of the nation. Those who are not present today are all among those parasites, and are currently imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice’s dungeon.”

“The case is still being investigated. Those who can stand here today might not be here tomorrow. But those who are absent today shall never be employed again.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a loud thump echoed in the silent hall.

It was the Crown Prince who had fainted from excessive terror.

Ji Jun’s gaze swept over him, but he didn’t look for long before looking away.

Wang Fu called two young eunuchs: “Quickly, help His Highness the Crown Prince down. Summon the imperial physician…”

Ji Jun continued: “Today, we shall open the channels of speech. If any of you know of anyone in court committing vile or corrupt acts, you may submit a petition immediately. Errors will not be prosecuted; truths will be rewarded.”

After a moment of silence, a clear, bright voice rang out: “Pei Xu of the Ministry of Justice has a matter to report.”

“Speak.”

Pei Xu held his tablet high and stepped forward with a bow. “I wish to impeach the current Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Feng Wengong. Four years ago, during his tenure as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, he used his position for personal gain to persecute the loyal and upright, eliminated rivals to create unjust imprisonments, and refused to repent while misleading the throne with slander!

A commotion broke out behind him, seemingly coming from the direction of the Censors in the Censorate.

“Jiang Qin of the Censorate has a matter to report!”

Ji Jun looked over. “Speak.”

“I testify that what Lord Pei says is true! The former Attending Censor of the Censorate, Lord Yu Xingzhou, was one of those persecuted by them!

“Minister Feng.” Ji Jun looked toward a certain person standing among the officials. “Is this true?”

That person stepped forward with his tablet and knelt heavily on the ground, trembling violently, sweating like rain. “I… I…”

He wanted to lie and say he had his reasons, but he feared that if it were discovered later, he would be charged with the even greater crime of deceiving the Emperor.

The clamor in the hall grew even louder. Wang Fu shouted for silence several times to no avail. Amidst the noise, Feng Wengong shook like a sieve.

Someone, it was unclear who, started a shout: “Beat him to death! Avenge the loyal and righteous of the court!”

Ji Yuanhui was standing nearby; the man happened to be kneeling right next to him. He nonchalantly extended his leg and, amidst the chaos, kicked him over onto the ground.

With someone leading the way, others surged forward. The voices inciting the crowd continued: “Beat him to death! Beat him to death! Avenge the loyal and righteous of the court!”

The hall descended into chaos.