Chapter 66: Memorializing the Grand Emperor (Part Two)

The slanted sunlight shone into a hall of the Left Patrol Battalion yamen, casting mottled shadows across the blue-brick floor.

Jiang Nian, He Yun, and Peng Jizhong stepped into the hall.

Peng Jizhong limped, his face bruised and swollen. His pitiful appearance inadvertently upstaged the "spotlight" of Jiang Nian and He Yun, immediately drawing the attention of Lu Keduo, who sat at the head of the room, and Ma Peicheng, who stood to the side. Jiang Nian’s aura of mystery and He Yun’s fifth-rank dragon-guard uniform seemed far less magnetic than Peng’s battered state.

Jiang Nian stepped forward and bowed respectfully: "Jiang Nian pays his respects to Your Excellency the Regional Commander! And to Your Excellency the Assistant Commander!"

He Yun and Peng Jizhong followed closely behind, offering their salutes as well.

Lu Keduo smiled faintly, his gaze lingering on Jiang Nian for a moment, his tone carrying a trace of approval: "Nian, you are of a robust build and possess a martial bearing. Are you a practitioner of the martial arts?"

Jiang Nian nodded and replied: "Reporting to Your Excellency, I practice martial arts every day without fail."

Lu Keduo asked further: "Do you enjoy reading?"

Jiang Nian’s expression remained calm and steady as he answered: "I strive to read daily and dare not grow lazy."

Lu Keduo nodded slightly and continued: "Do you hold any scholarly degree?"

Jiang Nian answered with equal candor: "I have never taken the imperial examinations."

Lu Keduo chuckled lightly, saying with profound implication: "That is of little consequence. If one is proficient in both civil and martial arts, even without an examination degree, you shall forge a fine future of your own."

Jiang Nian cupped his hands in a salute and said respectfully: "I thank the Regional Commander for your auspicious words."

Though brief, this exchange of polite pleasantries clearly revealed Lu Keduo's growing fondness for Jiang Nian.

Lu Keduo cast a glance at Ma Peicheng, who understood instantly. Ma turned his gaze to Jiang Nian, cleared his throat, and asked with a serious expression: "Jiang Nian, you said you sought an audience regarding an urgent matter. What is this all about?"

With a solemn expression, Jiang Nian gestured toward Peng Jizhong and said, "Both the Regional Commander and the Assistant Commander are present here. Tell them the full details."

Peng Jizhong nodded, took a deep breath, and mustered his courage. He pulled out Jia Zhen's five-hundred-liang silver note and presented it before Lu Keduo and Ma Peicheng, recounting step-by-step how Jia Zhen had attempted to lure and coerce him, and how he had ordered his thugs to beat him mercilessly.

As Lu Keduo and Ma Peicheng listened, their expressions grew increasingly grave.

This... this was clearly an accusation against Jia Zhen of the Ningguo Mansion!

Complex emotions surged simultaneously in both of their hearts...

The moment Peng Jizhong’s voice trailed off, Jiang Nian spoke up with righteous indignation: "Hardly had the funeral procession of the late Master Qin departed when Jia Zhen sought to plunder his daughter, intending to take Miss Qin as a concubine. This violates both ritual propriety and the Great Qing Code. Knowing full well that his actions contravened the laws and rites, Jia Zhen went so far as to arrange a separate residence where he could secretly dally with Miss Qin, harboring lawless and rebellious intentions. Furthermore, he attempted to bribe and coerce the Qin family's steward. When Steward Peng refused, he unleashed his vicious slaves to commit violence. Jia Zhen is truly abominable! I earnestly implore Your Excellencies to seek justice for the late Master Qin, to seek justice for Steward Peng, and to severely punish a villain like Jia Zhen!"

His voice was ringing and resolute, like a sharp blade pointing directly at Jia Zhen’s crimes.

Lu Keduo and Ma Peicheng looked at each other in dismay, completely dumbfounded.

Both men were seasoned and well-traveled; they knew that offenses of the sort Jia Zhen had committed today were hardly rare in the Great Qing. However, today Jiang Nian had led Peng Jizhong straight into the Left Patrol Battalion yamen to accuse Jia Zhen formally, and that made the matter extraordinary.

Wary of the influential Jia clan, Ma Peicheng cast his gaze toward Lu Keduo, secretly feeling a wave of relief: "Fortunately, Lord Lu is here today. When the sky falls, it hits the tall ones first. A crisis of this magnitude has arisen, yet we happen to have this newly appointed Regional Commander of the Capital Garrison..."

Lu Keduo pondered in silence for a long time, weighing the pros and cons.

Finally, with a solemn expression, he spoke slowly to Jiang Nian: "This matter involves both the Ningguo Mansion and Qin Ye; it is no trivial affair. I must memorialize the throne and await the Sage's decree!"

Ma Peicheng was startled upon hearing this, and the look he gave Jiang Nian turned peculiar.

Just recently, because of the affair between Jiang Nian and Wang Ziteng, Prince Zhongyi had alarmed both Emperor Jingning, the Retired Emperor, and Emperor Taishun.

And now, because of Jiang Nian, the Qin family, and the incident with Jia Zhen, Lu Keduo was going to submit a memorial that would once again alarm the throne.

Furthermore, Ma Peicheng knew that the "Sage" Lu Keduo referred to was likely not Emperor Taishun, but rather the Retired Emperor, Emperor Jingning.

...

...

In his heart, Lu Keduo held a certain degree of fondness for Jiang Nian.

He also knew that Jiang Nian was exceptionally close to Prince Zhongyi. Since Jiang Nian had brought Peng Jizhong to accuse Jia Zhen before him today, and with Ma Peicheng—a follower of Prince Zhongyi—present, if he were to neglect this accusation, it would most certainly reach Prince Zhongyi's ears. Moreover, the matter involved Qin Ye. With Wang Ziteng’s precedent serving as a warning, he dared not take it lightly.

Having just assumed his post as Regional Commander of the Capital Garrison, he was full of drive and ambition, determined to be an exemplary official.

Furthermore, he bore a grudge against Wang Ziteng and would love nothing more than to see the Jia clan—who were closely allied with Wang Ziteng—meet their downfall.

Thus, upon returning to the Capital Garrison Regional Commander's yamen that day, Lu Keduo immediately set about drafting a memorial regarding Jia Zhen's offense. This memorial was to be submitted directly to the Retired Emperor Jingning, rather than Emperor Taishun.

Emperor Jingning still wielded supreme authority. The Regional Commander of the Capital Garrison was a crucial military post governing the capital, and Lu Keduo was a trusted confidant of Emperor Jingning; his memorials were given priority by the Retired Emperor. Moreover, memorials concerning crimes committed by members of prominent households like Jia Zhen of the Ningguo Mansion had to be presented to Emperor Jingning first.

Lu Keduo wrote in his memorial:

"Your humble servant, Lu Keduo, Regional Commander of the Capital Garrison, respectfully submits this memorial:

Concerning the hereditary third-rank General of Martial Might of the Ningguo Mansion, Jia Zhen, who has acted in defiance of human ethics and in contempt of state law, I humbly request the Sage's verdict.

Upon investigation, on the sixteenth day of this month, right after the funeral procession of Qin Ye, a Gentleman of the Interior of the Ministry of Works, departed, his daughter remained still in deep mourning, wearing garments of coarse hemp. Yet Jia Zhen, harboring rebellious and lawless intentions, secretly summoned Peng Jizhong, the steward of the Qin household, to his mansion. First, he dangled five hundred taels of fine silver as bait, and then threatened him, saying, 'If you refuse, I shall flay your skin,' attempting to force him into persuading Miss Qin to consent to becoming an unofficial concubine outside the marriage rites. Jia Zhen boasted that he would 'temporarily provide a residence for secret rendezvous to avoid public eyes and ears, and take her formally after the mourning period ends.' This is a blatant violation of human ethics and moral principles, and a contemptuous disregard for the prohibitions against marriage during mourning stipulated in the Great Qing Code. Though Peng Jizhong is but a humble servant, he stood firm in his righteousness, refused the bribe, and steadfastly rejected the coercion. Thereupon, Jia Zhen ordered his brutal lackeys to subject him to a vicious group beating.

At the hour of Si-plus-six-tenths on that same day, Jiang Nian, a neighbor of the Qin household, accompanied by his steward He Yun, brought the wounded man to the Left Patrol Battalion yamen to lodge an accusation. As your humble servant was inspecting the garrison affairs of the Left camp at the time, I personally examined Peng Jizhong's injuries: his left leg bone was fractured, his face was bruised and purple, and the brown tunic he wore was stained with dark blood. Observing that the case involves the noble Jia Zhen and the imperial official Qin Ye, your humble servant dared not make an arbitrary arrest, and thus respectfully lists three major crimes for Your Majesty's perusal:

First, Jia Zhen, holding the hereditary office of a third-rank General of Martial Might, sought to forcibly seize the daughter of Qin Ye while the latter's funeral was still warm. This is a contemptuous violation of the twenty-seven-month mourning regulations for coarse hempen garments as prescribed in the Imperial Ordinances on Rites and Mourning of the Great Qing, constituting the crime of defying human ethics;

Second, he openly defied the Household Laws of the Great Qing Code, which constitutes the secondary crime of showing contempt for state law;

Third, he unleashed malicious slaves to commit violence, which constitutes the third crime of intentionally harming the innocent.

Your humble servant trembles with fear and trepidation as I respectfully compile and submit this memorial, humbly begging Your Imperial Majesty to peruse it and issue instructions."

As his brush left the paper, Lu Keduo let out a long breath. He gently blew the ink dry, sealed the memorial with the utmost care, and wore an expression of profound solemnity.

As a trusted confidant of Emperor Jingning, Lu Keduo understood the Retired Emperor quite well. He had submitted numerous memorials to him in the past and could often predict the Retired Emperor's stance beforehand.

Yet this time, he found himself utterly unable to predict how the Retired Emperor would react upon reading this memorial.

Would Jia Zhen be punished?