Several days later, in Hangzhou,
Identity card – 563743675
Guanyin Temple.
Zhu Mo and Lü Kun showed the Wu brothers the confessions. From their highly professional perspectives, Lü Kun had handled the case exceptionally well.
Wu Ming smiled and said, "Mr. Lü, I never expected you to have such skill. This watertight confession is even more meticulous than ours..."
Lü Kun humbly replied, "You two are the true masters. I am but a novice and still need your guidance."
Hahaha,
The four chatted and laughed together for a while.
Zhu Mo realized that with the Crown Prince's imperial edict appointing Yan Shifan as the Right Minister of the Bureau of Military Affairs, and Fan Yingqi personally coming to Fuzhou to oversee the case, the situation was grave. It meant that the Yan family and Prince Yu had joined forces against him. The danger this time was no less than before. Although he might not ultimately be charged with treason, if they succeeded in framing him, his future would be ruined.
He pondered for a moment and asked,
"Lord Lü, did Lord Zhu or Lord Qi reveal anything to you?"
Wu Ming replied,
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"Young Master Zhu, to be honest, ever since His Majesty retreated to the Taoist palace, we have not received any news from Master Qi... It's been half a year, and nothing has happened!"
Oh...
It seemed to be true...
Zhu Mo paced a few steps, thinking: If it were any other time, with such a grave accusation of treason, how could the Embroidered Uniform Guard not be involved? This time, they were truly not intervening... It seemed that Fan Yingqi was the main force, Ma Sen the subordinate, and Pan Sheng merely an observer...
Without the intervention of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, it would be difficult to stop. And if they intervened with force, how would Tan Lun, as the Governor, agree? Since Prince Yu had sent a high-ranking official, it meant he was determined to destroy him. Now that he was regent and had reached an agreement with the Yan family, who in the empire could oppose him?
"Shujian, what do you think?"
Zhu Mo usually had a strong sense of confidence in major matters, but this time he felt a genuine sense of powerlessness. Perhaps the Jiajing Emperor could ultimately save his life, but everything else would be lost.
Lü Kun had matured rapidly over the past year and had been constantly contemplating the situation. He said,
"Zixuan, I see great peril! After Zhang Yu's rebellion last time, the Crown Prince detested the Yan family. That he could now abandon their past grievances and join forces to deal with us shows he is determined to succeed... I believe the Crown Prince is mistaken. His Majesty has no intention of deposing him. Rather, his suspicions are fueling his anxieties, and he is being misled."
Mm-hmm,
Wu Ming and Wu Liang nodded incessantly.
Zhu Mo thought for a moment and said,
"Shujian, do you remember Prince Jing? I told you that Xu Wenchang mentioned the events in the capital that day. Yan Shifan had been targeting Prince Jing for a long time. I believe there must be something suspicious about it... Think about it, why would Yan Song oppose Prince Yu? Does he truly want to become emperor himself? That's a path of near-certain death! Therefore, I have always believed that if Yan Song moves against Prince Yu, it means he has another candidate for succession!"
He paced a few steps, then continued,
"Consequently, I believe that Prince Yu and Yan Song are not of one mind... Yan Song wants to use Prince Yu as a shield, to make Prince Yu commit unforgivable crimes, to stain him with indelible guilt, and then he will support his chosen successor..."
Lü Kun listened, somewhat entranced, and murmured,
"The Yan family wants to destroy Prince Yu... If that's the case, then Ma Sen will blow things out of proportion, while Fan Yingqi only wants to crush you, Zhu Mo, and will stop there..."
Exactly!
Zhu Mo said,
"Therefore, the rift between them can be used to my advantage... I believe that if Ma Sen and Shen Chun try to kill me, Fan Yingqi should intervene... My life will likely be safe..."
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Mm-hmm,
Lü坤 deeply agreed, nodding and sighing,
"But the reform will ultimately fail..."
Wu Ming and Wu Liang thought about it and also felt a sense of helplessness. Such a beneficial and people-oriented reform would eventually die due to the combined efforts of Prince Yu and the Yan family. In the current situation, who could turn the tide?
Wu Ming looked at Zhu Mo and suddenly felt that no matter how extraordinary this young man was, he had encountered a major obstacle this time. Unless the Emperor had some other plan, this grand drama would truly come to an end.
He shook his head with a bitter smile and said,
"Young Master Zhu, ever since you came to Jiangnan, I have sincerely admired you and genuinely wished for your success... But some things in this world are not meant to be... Regardless, Wu Ming respects you as a man! Come, I will toast you!"
Having said that,
He, with deep sorrow, actually poured two bowls of wine.
Zhu Mo drank it down in one gulp and said calmly,
QQ563743675
"Until we reach the end of our rope, it's hard to say who will win or lose... I think things will become clear very soon..."
He paced a few steps and said,
"Shujian, there are two matters to worry about now. First, the Khitan servants in Jingdezhen will likely be pressured by Ma Sen and Fan Yingqi. We must find a way to protect them... Second is Prince Jing. Last time, Xu Wenchang and I passed by Anlu and visited him. I suspected then that there was something unusual behind Prince Jing... Now, looking at the Yan family's actions, I am even more certain. This matter also needs to be investigated quickly...
Do you remember Prince Rao Yang and Song Yin'er? And that jade pendant with the word 'Jing'? Later, Xu Wenchang said he also knew Zhu Xue, the third son of Prince Ning, who was also dabbling in the capital at the time... These are all very mysterious..."
Wu Liang was straightforward. He had listened all night, waiting for Zhu Mo to say what to do. But by this point, Zhu Mo hadn't revealed anything. He couldn't help but ask,
"Young Master Zhu, after all this talk, what should we do? We can't just stand by and watch, can we? They are targeting you!"
Lü Kun was also a bit puzzled. Zhu Mo, who always quickly came up with solutions, seemed a bit absent-minded this time. Wu Ming was naturally the same.
Thus, all three looked at Zhu Mo.
Zhu Mo sighed,
"To be honest, this time I truly have no solution. Think about it, the one overseeing the case is Fan Yingqi, Prince Yu's confidant. The Governor is Tan Lun, Grand Secretary Xu's close associate. Ma Sen and Shen Chun are all subordinates of Yan Shifan. What can we do? In the past, we relied on Zhang Juzheng as a supportive minister, but now Zhao Zhenji is in charge of Jiangnan, and he is also Xu Jie's man... We are truly out of options. We can't just bring those over a thousand men from the North Training Ground, can we? If we did, wouldn't that be a clear charge of treason?"
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The three sighed almost simultaneously, feeling truly bound hand and foot this time, unable to find any entry point.
Zhu Mo truly lacked confidence this time. The lack of confidence stemmed from not knowing the truth!
Now, Prince Yu and the Yan family had gone all out, each with their own trump cards and plans. As for himself, he had no idea what their trump cards were, so how could he respond? In fact, he had been thinking about it these past few days, but he couldn't come up with a solution.
At this moment, prompted by Wu Liang's question, he suddenly had a less-than-ideal solution and said calmly,
"As we just discussed, Prince Yu and the Yan family have a rift... In fact, it's not just a rift, but great animosity... I believe that halfway through the case, they will turn against each other... As for us, let's do nothing this time and just wait for them to fall out...
Why? Firstly, the situation is unclear, and acting rashly is dangerous; secondly, as I said earlier, Prince Yu doesn't want my life. Now, prophecies say I am the fifth-generation descendant of Emperor Jianwen, or a prince's heir, or even the Emperor's orphaned descendant living among the common people... If that's the case, then Prince Yu is my brother, so how could he kill me? He would have to hand me over to His Majesty for judgment.
Therefore, I believe the best approach this round is to wait! However, it's not a passive wait. We need to secretly do two things: first, protect those Khitan servants, and second, investigate Prince Jing thoroughly. Once we understand Prince Jing, we will know the trump cards of Prince Yu and the Yan family, and then it will not be too late to counterattack!
Don't forget, the five-clawed dragon porcelain that Shen Chun burned, and the testimonies of the household guards, are all in our hands! When we reveal them as our trump cards, that will be the viable strategy!"
Silence...
After a long while,
QQ563743675
Lü Kun still felt the risk was too great, but besides this, he really couldn't think of any other good plan. So he sighed, "There's no other way... Zixuan, you know more about Prince Jing's affairs, so you go and investigate... As for me, I'll go to Jingdezhen and deal with them together, what do you think?"
Zhu Mo was most troubled by this matter. His trouble was that he couldn't show himself. If he appeared, it would solidify the charge of colluding in treason. He had thought about it for a long time these past few days, but he was completely at a loss. Although Lü Kun was already very capable, he was still uneasy about dealing with such a dangerous situation. But now, he had no choice but to go all out. He immediately said,
"Alright! It's the only way."