Volume Two: Inheriting the Legacy, Blood on the Brocade Robes Chapter 111: The Informant

Yang Ning asked, "You seem to hold the Prince of Huainan in great awe. Does he have a grievance against our Qi family?"

Mao Wenshou replied, "The heir apparent may not be aware, but when His Majesty established the Crown Prince back then, there was quite a controversy in the court. Some even submitted memorials directly requesting His Majesty to abdicate in favor of the Prince of Huainan. This was naturally instigated by the Prince of Huainan behind the scenes. However, the appointment of the Crown Prince did indeed cause a stir, and several officials were even punished."

"Oh?" Yang Ning said, "So the Prince of Huainan has been obsessed with the throne all along?"

"If it were only the Prince of Huainan who harbored such thoughts, it would not be much to fear," Mao Wenshou said. "But to my knowledge, there are many in the court who stand on the side of the Prince of Huainan. The Marquis of Golden Saber, one of the four great marquises, has a close relationship with him."

"The Marquis of Golden Saber?"

Although Mao Wenshou was only a local prefect, he was clearly well-versed in the court's situation. He explained, "Heir apparent, when the Founding Emperor campaigned across the realm, his command was filled with capable ministers and fierce generals. The Marquis of Golden Saber was personally promoted by the Founding Emperor. Besides him, there are many in the court today who were the Founding Emperor's direct followers. After the Second Emperor ascended the throne, he also promoted many talents; the Jin Yi Marquis, the Qi family, was promoted by the Second Emperor himself."

Yang Ning immediately understood. According to Mao Wenshou, the current Chu State still consisted of two factions: those from the Founding Emperor's era and those from the Second Emperor's era.

Many officials led by the Marquis of Golden Saber were promoted early on by the Founding Emperor, and these people naturally still held deep gratitude toward him. Although the last two generations of the Jin Yi Marquis had rendered distinguished service, they were promoted by the Second Emperor. The Founding Emperor’s faction naturally hoped that his direct descendant, the Prince of Huainan, would inherit the empire, while the up-and-coming Jin Yi Marquis naturally fought to protect the Second Emperor's line—that is, to support the current Crown Prince.

"Since the Second Emperor inherited the throne, did he... did he not anticipate what would follow?" Yang Ning lowered his voice. "Could the Second Emperor not see the signs of dissent among the Founding Emperor's officials?"

"Actually, there was no need to look for signs; the succession of the crown has always been fraught with turmoil," Mao Wenshou sighed. "When the Second Emperor passed the throne to His current Majesty, many people submitted memorials asking for the Prince of Huainan to be named Crown Prince, and they were not few in number. Initially, not many people spoke of the Second Emperor promising to pass the throne to the Prince of Huainan, but it was precisely at that time that rumors began to spread, claiming that when the Second Emperor received the Imperial Seal, he promised the Prince of Huainan that he would return the throne once he came of age. Whether true or false, no one can be certain now. Yet, many people use this as a pretext, insisting that the Prince of Huainan is the rightful heir." He leaned forward and lowered his voice further. "It was only after the Second Emperor granted the Prince of Huainan his title that the unrest subsided slightly."

"The supreme power, the foundation of the nation—the Prince of Huainan and his followers are relentless in their ambition; they remain a constant threat to the throne," Yang Ning whispered. "Did the Second Emperor never think of cleaning house?"

Mao Wenshou replied, "In fact, the Second Emperor was always preparing. Originally, the Marquis of Golden Saber was our Great Chu's greatest general, and his clan had many capable warriors. The Marquis's prestige in the military was unmatched at the time. To weaken his influence, the Second Emperor heavily relied on the old Marquis, who lived up to His Majesty’s expectations with glorious military achievements, rivaling the Marquis of Golden Saber in prestige. However, the nation was not yet stable, and there were strong external enemies. If the Second Emperor had struck too hard, I fear our Great Chu would have fallen into chaos first."

Yang Ning nodded slightly, understanding the Second Emperor's mindset.

The forces left behind by the Founding Emperor were the founding heroes of the state. Although the Second Emperor was wary of them, as Mao Wenshou said, an internal purge would have harmed the Chu State itself. In those circumstances, unity was paramount; once civil strife began, it would be self-destruction.

"After the Second Emperor passed away, His Majesty inherited the throne and has always been conciliatory toward the Prince of Huainan, bestowing many honors upon him. Furthermore, he promoted many new officials, so the strength of the Founding Emperor's faction has diminished significantly compared to the past," Mao Wenshou said. "The Great General guards the Huai River line with distinguished service, which has put His Majesty at ease. In recent years, it is said that the Prince of Huainan has been much quieter and has not stirred up any major trouble, except when someone submitted a memorial during the Crown Prince's appointment and was subsequently dismissed from office."

Yang Ning asked, "So you believe that now that His Majesty has passed away, with the Crown Prince far away in East Qi, the Prince of Huainan's faction might seize the opportunity to cause chaos?"

"It is not impossible," Mao Wenshou said. "If the Great General were still alive and holding military power, the Prince of Huainan would not dare to act rashly. But with His Majesty gone and the Great General also having passed away at this time, they may very well give rise to ambition."

Qi Feng finally spoke: "If the Prince of Huainan truly succeeds, the first targets will surely be our Jin Yi Marquis estate."

Yang Ning now had a rough understanding of the court situation. According to Mao Wenshou, the Marquis of Golden Saber was likely with the Prince of Huainan, while the Jin Yi Marquis belonged to the Second Emperor's faction. If the Prince of Huainan were to ascend the throne, he would naturally not spare the Jin Yi Marquis estate.

When he left the capital, he was unaware of these secrets. Now he realized that the capital had been in a state of extreme tension. It was no wonder that many officials did not pay their respects during Qi Jing's funeral, and few attended the burial. They likely sensed that things in the palace were not right and knew the Jin Yi Marquis estate was a primary target for the Prince of Huainan. With Qi Jing dead, they viewed the estate as doomed and distanced themselves to avoid being implicated.

It was no wonder that as soon as Qi Jing died, the Marquis of Wuxiang rushed to cancel the engagement before the funeral even took place—there was deep intrigue behind that as well.

As he thought, he wondered: could the strange occurrences in the Qi family recently be the work of the Prince of Huainan’s faction?

Just then, someone hurriedly reported from outside: "Heir apparent, a group of people is suddenly storming this way. There are many of them; we do not know who they are."

Yang Ning was startled, then suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "They are our own people; do not misunderstand." He realized it must be Gu Wenzhang, who had grown impatient and led his men to storm the place.

He had come to the old estate and briefly forgot that Gu Wenzhang was waiting for his signal. "Those are the Gu family's men. I did not know you had already secured the old estate. The Gu family prepared to bring men over under the cover of night to capture those scoundrels."

Mao Wenshou laughed. "Heir apparent, rest for a moment. I know them; I will go and explain." He bowed and stepped out.

After Mao Wenshou left, Yang Ning said to Qi Feng, "Where is the fake Qi Cheng being held?"

Qi Feng replied, "In the woodshed. Does the heir apparent wish to interrogate him?"

Yang Ning nodded slightly. Qi Feng continued, "We have men guarding him, and we have already interrogated him, but we didn't get anything useful. I will go and bring him over."

Yang Ning stood up. "I will go to the woodshed!"

The two went directly to the woodshed. Guards stood outside, and Qi Feng opened the door. Yang Ning entered and saw the fake Qi Cheng tied up like a dumpling in the corner. Hearing the movement, the fake Qi Cheng looked up and was shocked to see Yang Ning. He blurted out, "You... you are still alive?"

Yang Ning walked over and smiled. "The Chief Steward was certain I would die?"

The fake Qi Cheng opened his mouth but could not speak, his eyes filled with fear.

"Zhao Yuan is dead—oh, pardon me, the Judge," Yang Ning squatted down. "I also know about that 'Nine Nether Hidden Treasure.' I have come to see you only to ask a few trivial questions. If you answer honestly, since you are of no real consequence, I might consider sparing your life. Otherwise...!" He flicked his wrist, revealing a cold blade.

"Since you already know everything, what is there to ask?" the fake Qi Cheng said. "I told them everything I should have. I know nothing else."

"It seems you are still prepared to be loyal to the Nine Nether Hidden Treasure," Yang Ning laughed. "But does that Nine Nether Hidden Treasure care if you live or die? It is said that those who are loyal to him do not enter hell after death. In that case, if I slit your throat now, you can test whether or not you go to hell." The cold blade pressed against the fake Qi Cheng's neck.

The fake Qi Cheng's eyelid twitched. "What... what do you want to ask?"

"Where did the tax silver go?" Yang Ning asked coldly. "You sent the twenty percent of collected taxes to the capital. Who exactly did you give it to?"

The fake Qi Cheng said, "You should ask the people of your own Qi family. The tax silver was sent to the capital and handed over to your Qi family's people."

"Do not play games with me." Yang Ning pressed the blade forward, drawing blood. The fake Qi Cheng cried out, "It... it is the Third Grand Uncle of your Qi family!"

Yang Ning was stunned. "Third Grand Uncle?"

"That is correct. The tax silver was delivered long ago, and the Third Grand Uncle's men verified it," the fake Qi Cheng said. "The Judge instructed that this time, the tax silver did not need to be sent into the Jin Yi Marquis estate as before; we only needed to deliver it outside the capital, and people would be there to receive it."

Yang Ning's expression was grim. "Why turn the tax silver over to the Third Grand Uncle?"

"My coming to the Qi family's old estate was entirely directed by the Judge. We first seized the real Qi Cheng, then used him to threaten the Chief Steward Qi Hong, then found an opportunity to drug him, and finally took control of the entire estate." Facing death, the fake Qi Cheng abandoned his pride. "After I took control of the estate, I found an opportunity for the Judge to enter as well. From beginning to end, everything I did was on his orders."

"Have you been in contact with the Third Grand Uncle all along?" Yang Ning asked. "Or was it only recently? Do you know of Qi Yu?"

"I am not entirely sure how it all works, but the Judge once said that your Qi family has our informants, and the Judge knows everything about your Marquis estate," the fake Qi Cheng said. "I do not know if the Judge was in contact with the Third Grand Uncle before, and I had never heard him mention the Third Grand Uncle in the past. The Judge handled all the expenditures and income here; I only followed orders."

"You have informants in the Marquis estate?" Yang Ning's eyes turned cold. "Who is the informant?"