The round-faced胖子 was Wu Feng, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He was one of the most skilled detectives of his time and had naturally found Zhu Mo's residence long ago.
This time, Duke Lu had instructed him to be thorough. This meant more observation, and drawing a portrait was essential. He and three other Embroidered Uniform Guards had followed Zhu Mo all along, sketching his portrait from various angles. They only intervened when two of the Yan family's household guards stopped them to question them.
What he had shown the two thugs earlier was not an "Imperial Guard North Command" iron plaque, but a secret imperial jade plaque inscribed with the character "Ming."
The character "Ming" signified royalty. The two Yan family guards naturally dared not openly challenge it. No matter how powerful the Yan family was, they wouldn't dare to oppose a prince of the Zhu family.
Moreover, in their eyes, this jade plaque most likely belonged to Prince Yu. And who was Prince Yu? He was the future Emperor!
Therefore, the two guards could only leave in frustration.
At this moment,
In a secret room in a deep alley.
Wu Feng carefully examined the portraits drawn by the three special Embroidered Uniform Guards. He felt that they were no different from Zhu Mo he had seen earlier, and nodded with satisfaction.
Half an hour later,
Six portraits and a secret report filled with Zhu Mo's experiences were handed over to Lu Fang.
...
Inside the Yuxi Palace,
Jiajing glanced at the items in Lu Fang's hand and couldn't help but smile. He said, "Lu Fang, this work has been done quite meticulously… Did Wu Feng do it himself?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, this servant dares not be negligent."
"Good. It's reassuring to use our own people. Grant him a reward!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your great favor!"
Jiajing washed his face with ice water before walking to the desk. As soon as he glanced at the portraits, his whole body trembled!
"Mo..."
He almost blurted it out, but stopped himself just in time.
This,
Isn't this Mo'er?
Jiajing strode forward, grabbed the six portraits, his hands trembling uncontrollably. He looked from one to another, his face filled with astonishment!
"This, is this really Mo'er?"
It was too similar!
It was exactly the same as his memory from over ten years ago!
Even the image from his recent dreams was not far from the person in the painting!
Jiajing slowly put down the paper, his entire body still trembling.
Lu Fang had never seen the Emperor like this, and felt extremely panicked. He stammered, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, what's wrong? Should I summon the imperial physicians? Your Majesty..."
Jiajing took a long breath, slowly calmed his mind, and then read the secret report from beginning to end no less than ten times.
[This person's name is Zhu Mo, nineteen years old. He grew up in the Qingxu Temple on Mount Wutai since childhood. At sixteen, he traveled to the capital and was recommended by a disciple of the Blue Immortal to serve in the Hanlin Academy...]
Zhu Mo? Zai Mo?
Zhu Zai Mo?
Of the 'Tu' generation?
Yes! It must be...
A Taoist temple?
Isn't that exactly what the fisherman said back then? Mo'er was taken to Shanxi by a Taoist priest?
"Tell them to immediately—"
Before he could finish speaking, he suppressed himself again!
Forty years of imperial experience told him: the more critical the moment, the more impatient one must not be, and the more one must pretend to be nonchalant, otherwise, things would surely go contrary to his wishes.
He felt his teeth chattering and his limbs trembling. After taking several deep breaths, he finally calmed down.
"Lu Fang, I am fine! Tell Wu Feng to send more people to monitor him secretly. If there are any mistakes, the entire family will be executed..."
"Yes, yes, Your Majesty's decree..."
Lu Fang didn't dare to ask any more questions. He instinctively felt that this Zhu Mo might be involved in something of immense importance!
Execution of the entire family? The Emperor had never spoken such terrifying words before! Who exactly was this Zhu Mo?
...
Zhu Mo was now in the Hanlin Academy.
In the Hall of Etiquette, Xu Jie, Gao Gong, and Zhang Juzheng sat in grand chairs. Over twenty accompanying scholars were lined up on both sides, with Zhu Mo standing opposite the three.
Xu Jie observed him carefully for a while, feeling that this young man indeed had a very strange aura. He wanted to ask, but didn't know where to start, so he smiled and said:
"Uh, Mr. Zhu, your writing is superb. I am very impressed, deeply impressed! Uh, but, why did you write this Qingci? And why did you leave after writing it?"
Zhu Mo had a good impression of Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng. Along the way, Wang Yong had explained the whole story. He smiled at the corner of his mouth, about to answer, when he suddenly remembered the words of the round-faced胖子 on the street: "No matter what anyone asks, absolutely do not answer."
He suddenly felt that these words made sense: since he was already involved in the Qingci case, he indeed had to be careful. With this thought, he decided to remain silent, instead smiling and offering a bow, then crossing his arms with a nonchalant air.
Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng exchanged glances, finding him more and more mysterious. Based on their years of experience, they immediately thought of conspiracy theories—
Could this person have been planted in the Hanlin Academy by someone else?
The thought of conspiracy made them even more cautious.
Xu Jie was inwardly terrified, but outwardly he chuckled and clasped his hands, saying, "Mr. Zhu, please forgive my presumption... I have a proposal. Mr. Zhu, please listen to it first, and whether you are willing is entirely up to your decision... Uh, I intend to formally invite Mr. Zhu to be a serving scholar of the Hanlin Academy. What do you think, sir?"
The current leader of the Qingliu faction, Elder Xu, personally and sincerely invited him?
Zhu Mo suddenly felt a little dizzy—
Since Elder Xu was being so humble, he couldn't refuse out of politeness! Moreover, since he had come to the Ming Dynasty, it would be a loss not to be a scholar! The matter of doing business in Nanyang could be put aside for now...?
Zhu Mo immediately clasped his fists and said, "Many thanks to Elder Xu, Lord Gao, and Lord Zhang!"
Xu Jie smiled and said, "We are all family now, uh, you, arrange a room for Mr. Zhu. From now on, he will specialize in the research of Qingci and Taoist scriptures..."
...
Thus,
Zhu Mo was officially employed by the Hanlin Academy.
That night, someone took him to the scholars' residence, but Zhu Mo refused and returned to his rented room on the back street. It was a secluded small courtyard with flowers and grass. Although simple, it was very quiet and peaceful.
But tonight, as the wooden gate of the small courtyard creaked shut, figures appeared at both ends of the street, in front of and behind the houses. There were about twenty of them, all skilled Embroidered Uniform Guard experts. In the distance at the street entrance, a sedan chair was parked, with Wu Feng personally on duty throughout the night.
This night,
Zhu Mo slept particularly soundly.
...
At the same time,
The Yan Song mansion was brightly lit.
Spies sent by the Ministry of Justice and their own people lurking in the Hanlin Academy had all reported—
Zhu Mo was originally a young Taoist priest who entered the Hanlin Academy through connections with his sect. He was not a Hanlin scholar at all!
He was a fraud!
The Qingci manuscript appeared at noon that day. At that time, the scholars were in the Hall of Contemplation for discussions, and only Zhu Mo was present in the Hall of Etiquette, staying for about an hour.
Therefore, Yan Shifan believed: the Qingci must have been written by another person, and Zhu Mo was merely carrying it. This was undoubtedly a crime of deceiving the emperor.
However, Yan Song, being an old fox, pondered for a moment and then reminded, "Then who was the person encountered by Yan Fu and Yan Lu near Zhengyang Gate today? Who sent him? Could it be the Emperor?"
Yan Shifan replied without hesitation, "Father, isn't it obvious? That person was sent by Prince Yu! If the Emperor were to send someone, he would send the Embroidered Uniform Guards... What Prince Yu did is what Xu, Gao, and Zhang did, right, Father? This is a crime of deceiving the emperor. We must not let them gloss over it!"
"Crime of deceiving the emperor, crime of deceiving the emperor... Why do I feel something is not right? Who exactly is this person?"
Yan Song muttered for a long time, sighed deeply, and still felt uneasy.
"Father! The urgent matter is that we must capture that Zhu Mo as soon as possible, torture him to extract a confession, and make him implicate Xu Gao Zhang. Then we can impeach Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng!"
Yan Song finally nodded helplessly.