The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 104: Evidence is Complete, Just Waiting for the Culprit
Tu Chengyu thought for a moment and asked, "Mr. Quan, I remember there were horses on board. I wonder how many there were?"

Quan Wenwei said, "Your Highness, the horses on the ship are for your emergency use. There are only five horses on board."

Tu Chengyu shook his head as he listened, saying that even with these five horses, it wouldn't make a difference.

Seeing Tu Chengyu's troubled expression, Quan Wenwei said, "If Your Highness insists on capturing Lai Shangrong as soon as possible, I do have a method that may be feasible."

Tu Chengyu said, "Mr. Quan, please tell me quickly."

Quan Wenwei said, "The news of the Prince's journey south is probably already known everywhere."

“In that case, Your Highness can write a letter and summon Lai Shangrong to come and meet you. Once he arrives, Your Highness can easily take him down.”

After listening, Tu Chengyu clapped his hands and said, "This is a great idea! How come I didn't think of it?"

Then he asked, "Mr. Quan, who do you think would be the best person to send to deliver this letter?"

Quan Wenwei said, "Your Highness, just send anyone. If Your Highness shows that you value it, it may arouse the person's suspicion."

After discussing with Quan Wenwei, Tu Chengyu wrote a letter in court and asked Xiao Xuanzi to send a eunuch with two guards to deliver it.

In addition to the messenger, Tu Chengyu also dispatched another team, led by the guard who had just returned with the news, to rescue Jia Lian and the others.

After the two groups left, Tu Chengyu wrote another letter.

The second letter was addressed to the prefect of Jining Prefecture.

Tu Chengyu arrested Lai Shangrong just to make a scene, not to really interrogate corrupt officials.

Therefore, his plan was to capture Lai Shangrong, expose his crimes, and then hand him over to his superiors for processing.

After sending out two letters, Tu Chengyu and Quan Wenwei discussed their next steps while waiting for their arrival.

After waiting for about half an hour, the first to arrive was the prefect of Jining Prefecture.

The prefect's name was Ma Yizhen, an old man with white hair and beard.

Upon his arrival, Tu Chengyu immediately summoned him to the ship.

"Your humble servant, Ma Yizhen, Prefect of Jining, greets Your Highness."

Tu Chengyu said, "Prefect Ma, there's no need for such formalities."

After performing the salutations, Ma Yizhen straightened up and said, "Your Highness has arrived in Jining Prefecture. I apologize for not being able to greet you in time this afternoon."

Tu Chengyu said, "I did not intend to disturb the local officials when I came south, but there is something I need to ask Prefect Ma, which is why I summoned you here."

Ma Yizhen asked, "What does Your Highness wish to ask?"

Tu Chengyu said, "On my way south, I encountered someone who came to plead for justice, saying that Lai Shangrong, the magistrate of Jiaxiang County in Jining Prefecture, was corrupt and oppressive to the people."

"I summoned you here for this very reason."

Ma Yizhen asked, "Your Highness, how did you learn of this?"

Tu Chengyu said, "Prefect Ma, don't worry about where I found out. Just tell me what kind of official Lai Shangrong is."

Ma Yizhen replied, "Your Highness, I have been in office in Jining Prefecture for less than half a year, and I do not know much about Magistrate Lai's conduct as an official."

Tu Chengyu said, "Are you unaware, or are you afraid to speak up?"

Ma Yizhen said, "This humble official is indeed not very familiar with it."

Tu Chengyu said, "You are a prefect who has been in office for almost half a year, yet you don't know how the county magistrates under you are doing. It's simply absurd."

Ma Yizhen said, "Your Highness, please forgive me. Since taking office, I have been busy sorting out government affairs and have not yet had time to go down to inspect the areas below."

Tu Chengyu said, "If you don't have time to go down to the grassroots, can't you at least ask around? How can you manage the people of this prefecture if you act like this?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Yizhen hesitated for a moment before saying, "Your Highness, it's not that I don't want to inquire about Magistrate Lai, but even if I did, the people in the prefectural government might not tell me the truth."

Tu Chengyu said, "Does Lai Shangrong think he can control everything in Jining Prefecture?"

Ma Yizhen said, "Your Highness may not know this, but although Lai Shangrong is under my jurisdiction, he comes from the Jia family in the capital and has the Jia family backing him up."

"Therefore, by taking advantage of the Jia family's influence, he cultivated a great deal of power in Jining Prefecture, and many people in the prefectural government also associated with him."

Tu Chengyu said, "So this Lai Shangrong is really that capable. No wonder you, a prefect, didn't dare to speak ill of him in front of me."

Ma Yizhen quickly replied, "Your Highness is right to rebuke me; it was my dereliction of duty."

Tu Chengyu said, "Since you know you have failed in your duty, you should admit your mistakes, correct them, and find ways to make amends."

Ma Yizhen said, "This humble official will certainly keep Your Highness's teachings in mind."

Tu Chengyu said, "Whether you remember it or not is none of my business. You just need to handle this matter well."

Ma Yizhen said, "Please instruct me, Your Highness, on what I should do."

Tu Chengyu said, "Lai Shangrong will be here soon. I will arrest him and interrogate him. I hope you can assist me."

Ma Yizhen said, "Your Highness, Lai Shangrong is, after all, an official appointed by the imperial court. If you do not have evidence, you must not arrest him arbitrarily."

Just as Tu Chengyu was about to speak again, Xiao Xuanzi came in and said, "Your Highness, Jia Lian has arrived."

Upon hearing that Jia Lian had arrived, Tu Chengyu said to Ma Yizhen, "Prefect Ma, the evidence has arrived."

Ma Yizhen couldn't figure out what Tu Chengyu was up to, and for a moment she didn't know how to answer.

Tu Chengyu ignored him and said to Xiao Xuanzi, "Take Prefect Ma to the side to rest, and also have Jia Lian and the other two come to see me." Xiao Xuanzi obeyed and led the worried Ma Yizhen out.

After a while, he brought Jia Lian and the other man in.

After the two men came in and stood in line, Tu Chengyu asked, "Have you brought back the two men who were with Lai Shangrong?"

Jia Lian said, "Your Highness, the people have been brought back."

Tu Chengyu then asked, "I heard you've uncovered some clues. Have you gained anything?"

Jia Lian said, "Your Highness, we have found some evidence and several witnesses, and we have brought them back."

Tu Chengyu was immediately pleased to hear that all the witnesses and evidence were complete.

He said, "Can these pieces of evidence convict Lai Shangrong?"

Jia Lian said, "Your Highness, this is sufficient grounds for his conviction."

Tu Chengyu clapped his hands and said, "You two did a good job this time. When we return to the capital, I will definitely reward you."

Upon hearing this, the two immediately expressed their gratitude.

Then, Tu Chengyu continued, "Where is the evidence now?"

Jia Lian replied, "Your Highness, the evidence is right outside the door."

Tu Chengyu said, "Then have someone bring in the evidence, and I'll take a look first."

Xiao Xuanzi, who was standing at the door waiting for orders, immediately had someone bring in the evidence.

The evidence brought in consisted of an account book and several letters.

Tu Chengyu first picked up the account book and flipped through a few pages, then asked Jia Lian:
Where did this ledger come from?

Jia Lian said, "Your Highness, this account book was produced by the two confidants of Lai Shangrong who were captured."

"One of them is named Qiu Jiu, who was originally a servant in our household."

“When Lai Shangrong first took office here, he had no one he could rely on, so he brought Qiu Jiu with him to help him.”

“In the beginning, Lai Shangrong relied heavily on Qiu Jiu and entrusted him with many tasks, so Qiu Jiu learned a lot about Lai Shangrong.”

"Later, Lai Shangrong saw that Qiu Jiu was always loyal to our family, so he stopped giving him important positions."

"In a fit of anger, Qiu Jiu secretly wrote down all the things he had done for Lai Shangrong in the past, intending to send them back to his residence in the capital when the time came."

Tu Chengyu asked, "So, this ledger was personally written down by Qiu Jiu?"

Jia Lian said, "Yes, Your Highness, Qiu Jiu handed this account book to me voluntarily."

After asking, Tu Chengyu said, "Alright, you two have been traveling back and forth for many days. Go and get some rest. I'll call you when Lai Shangrong arrives."

After the two of them left, Tu Chengyu said to Xiao Xuanzi, "Go and invite Mr. Quan here."

Xiao Xuanzi ran out again and soon returned with Quan Wenwei.

Quan Wenwei entered and asked, "Your Highness, is there something you need from me?"

Tu Chengyu said, "Jia Lian brought back an account book, but I'm not quite sure about it, so I called you over to discuss it."

As he spoke, Tu Chengyu handed the ledger to Quan Wenwei.

Quan Wenwei took the document and glanced through it briefly, then said:

"If what's written in this ledger is true, it does indeed involve quite a few people. I wonder what Your Highness intends to do?"

Tu Chengyu said, "Our plan is to capture Lai Shangrong, preliminarily convict him, and then hand him over to the prefect of Jining for processing. We will then continue our journey south."

"But if I were to convict Lai Shangrong now with this ledger, it would surely expose the matter of the ledger,"

"Then those officials involved, once they find out, might try to cut off the clues in the accounting books, and in the end they will get away with it."

"So I don't know what to do now?"

After listening, Quan Wenwei said, "Does Your Highness mean that you want to convict Lai Shangrong now, but also prevent the information about the account books from being leaked, allowing other corrupt officials to escape?"

Tu Chengyu said, "Yes."

Quan Wenwei shook his head and said, "Your Highness, you are overthinking things."

"I've said before, Your Highness, you don't need to think so much."

"If I may be so bold as to say something offensive to Your Highness, you are merely a prince, and there are many things that are not for you to consider."

"Regarding the matter of punishing corrupt officials, Your Highness, you only need to hand over the evidence to the Emperor, and the rest will naturally be handled by the Emperor's arrangements."

Tu Chengyu replied, "But what if those corrupt officials escape if I don't take precautions?"

Quan Wenwei said, "Your Highness, there are so many corrupt officials in the world, you can't catch them all."

"Besides, given your status as a prince of the current dynasty, it would be barely acceptable to deal with just Lai Shangrong."

"But if you want to deal with other corrupt officials, you are interfering in the court and meddling in state affairs."

"This will inevitably lead to impeachment by the officials, and the emperor will probably have to punish them to quell the impeachment."

(End of this chapter)