Chapter 88

Luo Ming realized the King of Chu came for serious business, not trouble. The cabinet was too busy for secret talks, so Luo Ming led them to a private room.

The King of Chu sat down, looking around at those who followed him. Tao Sheng was a trusted ally. The King of Chu had come to find her after hearing about Ji Yanming’s situation. 

Xie Huaian, Ji Yanming’s good friend, had secretly helped the King of Chu in the past, so he was trusted. Luo Ming, Tao Sheng’s uncle, was also trustworthy and supportive.

Tao Sheng, worried about Ji Yanming, asked, “What evidence did Mr. Shi have that led the Dali Temple to take Xiao Ji?”

The King of Chu explained, “My father gave me this memorial this morning. It said Xiao Ji did a great job in Ling State and protected the emperor well. The emperor trusts him but must follow the law. Since Xiao Ji was given to me, if something happens, I’ll be responsible. My father wants us to prove Xiao Ji’s innocence.”

Luo Ming felt reassured. It was clear that the emperor still trusted the King of Chu and believed in Ji Yanming. The King of Chu respected the emperor’s judgment, making everything clearer.

Tao Sheng took the memorial and opened it to read.

This is the original memorial written by Shi Zongnian to accuse Ji Yanming, which the emperor handed directly to the King of Chu.

The list of Ji Yanming’s “numerous crimes” is mainly divided into three parts.

The first part listed many of Ji Yanming’s meals and social activities with officials who supported the rebellion. However, the prince’s rebellion this time was already extremely complicated. If you want to get to the bottom of it, half of the capital is filled with officials who supported the rebellion. Ji Yanming’s activities were all normal official duties and social activities, so there was nothing to see.

Even the Dali Temple cannot use this as evidence to arrest anyone.

The second accusation was well-founded. It stated that when Ji Yanming was working in the Hanlin Academy and drafting imperial edicts, he had informed the crown prince in advance many times, allowing the crown prince to take the imperial edict to officials in advance to gain favor with them, thus helping the crown prince form a clique for personal gain.

Among these was a secret letter from Lord Shi, which was said to have been obtained during a search of the Eastern Palace. The other letters had been handed over to the Dali Temple for verification.

This secret letter was not written in the format of an ordinary letter. The content was written in the official script. To someone like Tao Sheng who was familiar with Ji Yanming, it did not look like her cousin’s handwriting. Only the signature at the back looked like it was written by him.

Lord Shi also mentioned in the memorial that the words on it were written by other scholars under Ji Yanming’s instruction, and he only signed and stamped it before sending it to the prince.

But this matter is obviously illogical. The prince is a superior, and writing a secret letter is the most basic respect for him. What Ji Yanming reported is such a confidential matter. The less people who know about it, the less risk there is. It seems a bit strange to ask someone else to copy it.

Tao Sheng expressed her doubts, but the King of Chu said that Shi Zongnian also said that Ji Yanming has always been clever, and maybe he did the opposite, using this trick to make things seem unreasonable so that he could argue his way out of the case.

Luo Ming felt this was simply an excuse: “Even if it is to avoid suspicion, it should follow common sense. This fact is a bit strange; I’m afraid something fishy is going on.”

The first accusation was just a claim, the second one had physical evidence, and the third was a witness, who was the person who helped Ji Yanming copy the message in the official script. However, he was now missing, and no trace of him could be found either in the government office or at his home.

If the other party silenced him, it would be even more difficult for Ji Yanming to prove his innocence.

The King of Chu originally wanted to find Tao Sheng to discuss countermeasures, but when he saw Luo Ming, he had an idea: “I heard that Lord Xu, the Minister of the Dali Temple, was Lord Luo’s classmate.”

“Exactly.”

In fact, Luo Ming and Lord Xu were not only classmates but also in the same department. It was just that both held important positions, so to avoid suspicion, they did not interact much on the surface. However, they always had a good relationship and would help each other when needed.

“It’s easier to do things if you have acquaintances.” The King of Chu was more favorable toward Luo Ming. “Can you please go and ask your classmate to take care of our Xiao Ji? You know, once this person enters the Dali Temple, he will inevitably face hardships. Torture is one thing, but there are also petty ways of torturing people, especially those like the King of Rui, who like to make small moves behind the scenes. We must always be on guard in advance.”

The King of Chu was also somewhat annoyed.

My development in recent years has been too slow. Although I am now considered one of the emperor’s most senior princes, I am still far from becoming a confidant who can influence the Dali Temple.

Besides, most of the officials in the capital who like to take sides have been implicated by the crown prince and have been suspended or imprisoned. The remaining ones did not like to take sides easily in the first place, and now, after experiencing what happened with the crown prince, they continue to wait and see, daring not to get too close to the King of Chu.

Even if the King of Chu talked to his acquaintances in the Dali Temple about this matter, they would at most give him some face and take care of Ji Yanming a little, but it would definitely not be as effective as the relationship between Luo Ming and Xu Shaoqing.

What the King of Chu said made sense. Luo Ming stood up and said, “I’ll go right away. I think there are many similar cases there. I’ll ask Lord Xu to help check them out. If there are cases with similar methods, we can focus on the handling process, which can help resolve this case more quickly.”

The current situation is that they all know Ji Yanming was wronged, and all they need to do is prove it.

Luo Ming had worked in the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice before and later joined the cabinet. He was an expert in this area, so with his help, things would naturally be more efficient.

The King of Chu nodded to Luo Ming, which was considered as accepting his favor.

After hearing Luo Ming’s promise, Tao Sheng, whose heart had been hanging in the air, felt much more at ease.

Throughout the process, Xie Huaian didn’t say a word. Tao Sheng turned around and saw the other party’s thoughtful expression, as if he knew something.

Tao Sheng was afraid of missing out on any details that might reveal the truth, so she asked Xie Huaian, “Master Xie, do you have anything else to say?”

Xie Huaian shook his head: “Nothing, it’s just that this fact is a little unexpected.”

It seems that Xie Huaian doesn’t have any clues either. Tao Sheng sighed softly: “That Lord Shi is now an official of your Hanlin Academy. How much do you know about him?”

“He is talented, and writes well. He has been highly appreciated by his superiors in recent years,” Xie Huaian said. “This Lord Shi… on the surface, he is still benevolent and upright. He is especially caring toward poor students and does not look down on them because of their family background. Although he is somewhat scheming, he has not lost the character of a scholar.”

“Mr. Shi is usually very enthusiastic in the government. Especially when his students have problems, he will generally help them regardless of the results. He is also very tolerant of lower-level officials who make mistakes and never punishes them indiscriminately. His reputation in the court and the Hanlin Academy is also quite good.”

Tao Sheng nodded sadly.

Mr. Shi was a kind man in the Hanlin Academy, just like described in the records. Xie Huaian didn’t have any new information.

Xie Huaian thought for a moment and said, “I’ll check for more details. You also think about whether Brother Ji ever mentioned anything related. Let’s share what we find later.”

Tao Sheng said, “Even though I work in the court, I’ve only been in the Imperial Music Bureau and the Imperial College. Most of my time has been spent with the emperor. I’m not familiar with the Hanlin Academy’s or Ministry of Justice’s ways. You have to take care of it.”

Xie Huaian smiled, “Brother Ji and I have a bond, so don’t worry. It’s really no trouble. Also, don’t get too stressed. It might make you sick or worry Brother Ji.”

Tao Sheng felt grateful, “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me just yet,” Xie Huaian laughed, “After Brother Ji is safe, we can throw a party and thank everyone.”

_

After Tao Sheng was promoted to the fifth rank of Taiyue Cheng, she got her own office in the Taiyue Bureau.

The quiet place helped her think. Tao Sheng couldn’t find a solution and decided to look into her past life for help.

The clerk waiting outside noticed Tao Sheng hadn’t moved for a while. He brought her some fresh tea.

Tao Sheng took the tea, tapped the cup, and searched her mind for a similar event. Then she remembered.

It reminded her of the famous “Empty Seal Case” that happened during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty ^[1]refers to a famous historical case in Ming Dynasty..