Tang Chen: Starting from the Xuanwu Gate Incident

Chapter 26 A great Confucian scholar will explain the classics to me.

Originally, such matters could be handled by the relevant authorities, and there was no need for Li Er to personally intervene. However, he had been angered in court this morning and had nowhere to vent his anger.

Beating up a palace attendant is inappropriate... but two low-ranking officials of the seventh rank are just right.

Seeing the memorials soaked by the rain, Li Er threw them at the two kneeling men in the hall without thinking. Of course, most of them landed on Zhang Huaisu, the eunuch in charge of the household affairs.

"Look at the mess you've made! A mere few hundred strings of cash has caused such a huge uproar. All the local government's memorials have been destroyed because of a few hundred strings of cash."

Shen Ce, kneeling below, no longer felt any urgency about meeting Li Er for the first time. He ignored Li Er's words, thinking, "I'm not wrong, I'm polite, I'm not afraid of anything."

Zhang Huaisu, standing to the side, looked indignant and trembled as he glared at Shen Ce. His voice trembled as he said, "Your Highness, I hastily submitted the memorial to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices seven days ago regarding the repair of the Eastern Palace, but the previous registrar, Sun, has delayed in handling it."

After observing Li Er's expression, Zhang Sicheng said, "Shen Zhubu has certainly worked hard. On the very day he took office, he rejected my application, saying that the head of the household was a fraud."

"Perhaps the report was submitted too hastily at the time. I ordered my subordinates to check it overnight and attached all the materials and workmanship details. There should be no discrepancy."

"But... Shen Ce actually had someone write a book for me, detailing how to cleverly list items and inflate expenses. He must be trying to get me to report to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices according to his methods. His intentions are despicable!"

"The delays caused by these back-and-forth actions have kept me up at night. This morning, I personally paid for the repairs to begin on the Eastern Palace, but alas, it is still too late. I hope Your Highness will investigate this matter."

After saying this, he took out the advice that Shen Ce had written for him yesterday from his bosom, raised it above his head, stuck his buttocks high, and knelt on the ground, unwilling to get up for a long time.

Shameless!

When Shen Ce heard that his well-intentioned advice was being treated as dirty water thrown at him, even his good temper was greatly agitated. He endured it without losing his temper and waited for Li Er to speak.

Upon hearing this, Li Er sensed something amiss and, having no intention of resolving the case, waved his hand, indicating that Yuwen Shiji should take a look.

Yuwen Zhanshi took the scroll from the eunuch and slowly flipped through it. He saw that the expense items written on it were clear and the source of funds was accurate. Many of the insights were refreshing, and some even pioneered the way of project budgeting. However, at the end, it was written: "The methods of overspending and accounting have been explained in detail. When dealing with matters, you should understand the profound meaning and act with caution."

Yuwen Shiji looked again at the end of the scroll and saw Shen Ce's signature. This handwriting... it's truly worthy of someone from a military background; it's so distinctive.

They're all seasoned foxes; they can tell what's going on at a glance. But evidence is evidence, and without a doubt, Shen Ce can't deny it.

He had already helped Shen Ce before, but the power struggles in the court required him to fight them himself. He couldn't help him with everything. He could avoid this time, but what about next time?

He immediately closed the book, stood up, and bowed to Li Er, saying, "As the Imperial Clerk said, although the advice is insightful and to the point, there are words soliciting bribes at the end. I ask Registrar Shen of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to defend himself."

Li Er gave him a meaningful look and calmly said, "Tell me."

Shen Ce did not look at the scroll in Yuwen Zhanshi's hand. He raised his head and said directly to Li Er, "Your Highness, I have been in the army for a long time and have often seen the setting up of camps. Having seen the intricacies of it for a long time, I have my own thoughts."

"I happened to see the memorial regarding the repairs to the Eastern Palace, and I simply handled it according to the law and procedures."

"Absurd!" Zhang Huaisu pointed at Shen Ce with the scroll in hand and quickly interjected, "How dare you speak so recklessly in front of the Crown Prince? Do you dare say that your proposal to me wasn't an attempt to solicit a bribe?"

"I cannot agree with the memorial submitted by Zhang Sicheng," Shen Ce chuckled, shook his head, and continued, "After having Qian Zhushi write it yesterday, I wrote a memorial myself with charcoal, which should have already been submitted to Yuwen Zhanshi's desk by now. The Junior Zhanshi can check it at any time."

When Li Er heard that the evidence was with Wei Zheng, he abandoned the idea of ​​sending someone to retrieve it immediately. This old-fashioned man would not show favoritism to anyone.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Huaisu visibly trembled, and his eyes lost their previous firmness.

Yuwen Shiji glanced at Zhang Huaisu beside him and said coldly, "Explain."

Zhang Sicheng straightened his back and said angrily, "This is clearly Shen Ce's act, a desperate attempt to cover up his despicable deeds."

The two gave conflicting accounts, so only the person involved could be heard from. Yuwen Shiji frowned and called out to the guards outside, "Bring Master Qian here."

Shen Ce quickly shouted to stop them: "There's no need to look anymore."

"Is he feeling guilty?" Zhang Huaisu seemed to have caught Shen Ce red-handed upon hearing this, and immediately shouted, then, with a flourish of his authority, kowtowed to Li Er and said, "Your Highness, Registrar Shen must have said this out of fear of being exposed. Now that the matter has been settled, I beg Your Highness to consider his past minor merits and demote him as punishment." After saying this, he glanced at Shen Ce with a strange smile.

Li Er, his previous playful expression gone, asked quite seriously, "Is this true?"

Shen Ce glanced at Zhang Huaisu with disdain and said loudly to Li Er, "The clerk Qian who wrote the letter on my behalf is involved in two matters: leaking secrets and embezzlement. He was arrested this morning by the Imperial Censor of the Eastern Palace of the Court of Judicial Review. A report will be submitted to us soon."

Shen Ce turned to Zhang Huaisu, a sinister smile on his face: "Zhang, are you going to summon Steward Qian for a thorough questioning?"

Zhang Huaisu trembled violently, his jaw practically swaying, and he stammered, "You...you arrested someone without any evidence...why?"

Shen Ce said irritably, "Zhang Sicheng, are you saying that the Dali Temple arrested people without any evidence?"

Upon hearing the words "leaked information" and "Dali Temple," Li Er suddenly opened his eyes, frowned, and said, "Why should Dali Temple interfere in the affairs of the Crown Prince's family? Isn't the Crown Prince's palace already chaotic enough?"

Yuwen Shiji, standing to the side, showed an expression of admiration. He figured Shen Ce wouldn't dare lie about this, so he quickly added to Li Er, "The Imperial Inspector of the Eastern Palace of the Court of Judicial Review is Wen Wuyin, who was just appointed to the post a few days ago."

Yuwen Shiji paused for a moment, then continued, "The eldest son of Wen Daya, the Grand Chancellor of the Hedong Circuit and the Garrison Commander of Luoyang."

Wen Daya was the most loyal of Li Er's inner circle. When Li Er launched the Xuanwu Gate Incident, the only way out was for Minister Wen, who remained in Luoyang. This was the reason why he had previously been assigned to guard Luoyang.

After hearing that the person in charge was Wen Daya's eldest son, Li Er no longer doubted the truth of the matter. He was determined not to let the matter leak out. He turned around and gave a wink, and Anan, who was standing next to him, ran out to give the order.

Wei Zheng, who had been silent for a long time, stepped forward and stood in front of Shen Ce, saying with a serious expression, "I did hear from Prefect Su a couple of days ago that Registrar Shen handled the matter according to the law and regulations, rejecting the memorial submitted by the Imperial Household Department. I wonder what mistake he made?"

"Let's set aside the matter of embezzlement for now and follow the rules and laws. It's always right to act according to the rules and laws. We can't overstep the rules just because the Crown Prince is involved. It would be putting the cart before the horse and setting a precedent."

Upon hearing this, Shen Ce nodded repeatedly, his opinion of Wei Zheng changing considerably. Indeed, as long as he followed the rules, a great scholar would naturally defend him.

Zhang Huaisu, standing to the side, gaped in shock, unconsciously moving closer to Changsun Shunde. His jaw had been trembling ever since he heard that Steward Qian had been arrested; he had clearly seen him just yesterday evening—when did this happen...?

Qian Yanxiu's handwritten statement was what definitively established Shen Ce's characterization, but now that he's been arrested, this testimony is unusable and has instead become evidence of his forgery...

Before Li Er could speak, Yuwen Shiji, the highest-ranking official of the Eastern Palace and the Grand Master of the Palace, stood up, stood in front of the two of them, patted Zhang Huaisu's head and said, "To be honest now, this head might still be saved."

Zhang Huaisu was deathly pale. He sat slumped on the ground, his lips trembling, but he couldn't utter a single word. Deceiving the Crown Prince, framing someone, embezzling money and grain—any one of these could cost him his life.

Without Li Er giving the order, Yuwen Shiji made the decision himself. He beckoned to the guards at the door, and two men immediately put their swords behind their backs and dragged Zhang Huaisu out, one on each side.

"Your Highness, spare me! Your Highness!"

Left..."

Before he could even utter the words "Wei Shuai," Shen Ce swung his fist and slammed it into his mouth, forcing him to swallow his unfinished words along with his teeth. After hitting him, Shen Ce didn't stop. He picked up the scroll he had written on from the ground, forcefully pried open his mouth, and shoved the contents inside.

It wasn't that he wanted to vent his anger; his tone clearly indicated that he had someone backing him up...

He initially only wanted to arrest a minor official to rectify the atmosphere, but this is just going on and on. Which of the officials present could he afford to offend?

Arresting a seventh-rank official is enough, really enough...