si-mexico Chapter 115 Confiscating the house
Chapter 115 Confiscating the house
The back alley of the Jiang residence was filled with the fishy smell of moss. Gu Zhong staggered and stepped on the moon's reflection in the puddle. He waved away the servant who was about to help him up.
The sandalwood box burned his ribs with pain as it sat in his arms, and the pine resin scent emanating from the indigo mud seal reminded him of the northern battlefield.
At that time, he and Jiang Xiangxun fought side by side, risking their lives together. Amidst the smoke of battle, he also smelled this same scent.
The smell of blood, the smell of burning, and this damn rosin!
"Lord Duke, watch out for the threshold."
The coachman lifted the sedan curtain and saw that the veins on the back of Gu Zhong's hand, which was gripping the box, were bulging, and his knuckles were bluish-white from the force he was using.
The carriage was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood incense, and the smoke rings exhaled from the bronze beast's mouth enveloped his face.
Inside the west wing, Shen Jingshu turned around, pushed the medicine bowl aside, and said to Gu Changyi on the bed, "His Majesty has issued an edict that Prince Jing is not allowed to take Sister Wenyin as a concubine."
Gu Changyi suddenly looked up, a glimmer of hope igniting in her eyes, only to quickly fade away.
He struggled to get up, but the wound on his back felt like it was being bitten by a thousand ants. The tearing pain made him gasp, and his forehead was instantly covered with a fine layer of cold sweat.
“The imperial edict…” His voice was hoarse, filled with deep doubt, “Can an imperial edict really protect her? When has the word of the royal family ever been counted? What about those who died in the Yongxiang Palace…”
Gu Changyi didn't continue, but Shen Jingshu understood what he meant.
The alley was deep and secluded, the dry well was bottomless, and the bones were scattered everywhere—all "gifts" from the late emperor.
“At least for now, we can keep her safe.” Shen Jingshu walked to the bedside, looking at his pale face, her heart filled with mixed feelings that were hard to describe. “But the Duke of Dingguo’s mansion… I’m afraid it will not escape this calamity.”
Gu Changyi gave a bitter smile, "I am no longer a member of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion."
Shen Jingshu remained silent. She knew about the estrangement between Gu Changyi and his family, but she also understood that blood ties were not something that could be easily severed.
Even though Gu Changyi kept saying he didn't care, how could the rise and fall of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion really be unrelated to him?
As the gong sounded at dawn, Gu Zhong, leaning on his dragon-patterned staff, stood at the foot of the steps, gazing at the dense crowd of censors in blue robes on both sides of the imperial road.
"The Duke of Dingguo has arrived very early."
The Vice Minister of Justice, stroking the jade belt at his waist, strolled over slowly. His gaze fell on the mud stains on the hem of Gu Zhong's robe, and his tone was undisguisedly sarcastic. "Last night it rained heavily. Did the Duke go to the west of the city to investigate a case? He didn't even have time to change out of his court robes?"
Before Gu Zhong could speak, he suddenly heard the sound of three whip cracking inside the hall.
Civil and military officials filed in, all silent and trembling, except for the officials of the Censorate, who were all eager and ready to go.
They took turns speaking, passionately recounting the "crimes" of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion—
"Duke Gu Zhong of Dingguo failed to properly educate his sons, allowing them, Gu Changfeng and Gu Changyi, to run rampant and disrupt the court!"
"Gu Changfeng, the heir of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, embezzled government funds; his crime deserves death!"
"Gu Changyi, the second son of the Duke of Dingguo, has trespassed into the Prince of Jing's residence, showing no respect for the law and disgracing the family!"
……
Every word and phrase was like a sharp blade, pointing directly to the vitals of the Duke's mansion.
"I second that!" A supervising secretary from the Ministry of Works suddenly stepped forward. "Last winter, the northern border military pay was short by 300,000 taels, which happens to be related to the grain transport accounts handled by Gu Changfeng..."
Gu Zhong's dragon-patterned staff slammed against the palace bricks with a dull thud: "You brat! When I was guarding Yanmen Pass, your father was still feeding horses for the Tartars in Tubigou!"
"What a fine guard of Yanmen Pass!" Jiang Jin'an's voice was as cold as ice, breaking the noise in the hall.
A figure in a python robe and jade belt walked in the morning light from outside the palace. He held a secret letter with the seal of the Duke of Dingguo’s mansion on it. “This is a secret letter intercepted from the northern border. It records in detail the transactions between the Duke of Dingguo’s mansion and the northern border.”
The Duke of Dingguo's mansion issued a travel permit, carried in eight cartloads of pig iron, and the permit holder was Gu Ping, a retainer of the Gu family. The contact person—
Tuoba Lie, captain of the personal guard of the Left Wise King of the Northern Frontier.
Gu Zhong's expression changed drastically. He opened his mouth, but found himself speechless.
The seal on the last page of the secret letter was all too familiar.
That was the seal of the heir apparent that Changfeng carved himself on his sixteenth birthday.
Emperor Hui, seated on the dragon throne, lightly tapped the armrest, causing the twelve white jade beads with tassels to sway gently with the movement: "Minister Gu, is this seal your household's private seal?"
Gu Zhong looked up at the blurry figure on the dragon throne. The morning light shone through the nine-dragon caisson ceiling, casting dappled patterns of light on Emperor Hui's crown, making it impossible for him to see Emperor Hui's expression.
In the dead silence, Jiang Jin'an suddenly scoffed, "Would the Duke like to examine the ink?"
The ink paste used in the Duke of Dingguo's mansion is made with very special ingredients. It is made with rose saltpeter, which is the favorite of the Gu sisters, and is also mixed with pearl powder, making it unique.
Gu Zhong suddenly knelt heavily on the ground, his forehead hitting the gold brick. "This old minister confesses his guilt."
Everyone in the hall was startled. In the sound of the dragon-embroidered staff falling to the ground, he seemed to see Jiang Xiangxun's hand clutching his armor before his death, and he heard those words, "Please... take care of Jin'an..."
Shen Zizhong stood to the side, wanting to say something several times, but ultimately swallowed his words back.
"I beg Your Majesty..."
"Your Majesty, please thoroughly investigate the Northern Border Arms Case!" Wen Huaizhang suddenly stepped forward. The dragon pattern on the Crown Prince's court robe seemed to come alive in the reflection of the palace pillars. "Your subject has already found the family members of the escort officer from that year."
Emperor Hui raised his hand, gesturing for Li Delu to present the memorial. "Minister Gu, do you know that Prince Jing mentioned an interesting matter yesterday?"
He opened the memorial and chuckled, “An arrowhead bearing the Gu family mark was found in the enemy camp in the north.”
"His Majesty!"
Gu Zhong was startled and suddenly looked up, only to see half a broken arrow slip out of Jiang Jin'an's sleeve, the unique cloud and thunder pattern of the Gu family clearly visible on the black iron arrowhead.
He suddenly recalled Shen Jingshu's eyes during the torrential rain last night—it wasn't the fear a bride should have, but the composure of a hunter closing in his net.
"Guards!" Emperor Hui closed the memorial, his crown tassels obscuring the cold glint in his eyes. "Take Gu Zhong into the imperial prison and order the Commandery to search and confiscate the Duke of Dingguo's mansion."
The Golden Palace was deathly silent.
The century-old glory of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion collapsed at this moment.
As the clanging of the Imperial Guards' armor shattered the morning mist, Gu Changyi was carving a wooden puppet in front of the window of the west wing of the Jiang residence.
Suddenly, a suppressed exclamation came from outside the window: "Young Master! In the direction of Zhuque Avenue..."
The moment the dagger sliced through his fingertip, drops of crimson blood fell onto his unfinished face.
The puppet's eyebrows and eyes were strikingly similar to those of Gu Changfeng when he was a child.
"Young Master Gu!" Yaoqin burst through the door carrying a bowl of medicine. Gu Changyi stared at the beads of blood seeping from his fingertips, then suddenly threw off the brocade quilt and got out of bed.
At that moment, in front of the main gate of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, Lin Yu kicked open the gate, and the soldiers who were confiscating the property surged in like a black tide.
"The Commandant's Office is handling a case! All bystanders, please stand aside!"
Tong Qingyun's waist knife cut through the falling leaves, forcing the servant who was trying to climb over the wall back into a corner.
Gu Shiyi ran wildly through the corridor, and behind her came Gu Shile's cold voice: "Sister, go find Mother."