Chapter 145: Targeting and Stalemate

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After Zhu Hao berated the palace eunuch and sent him away, he shook his head with a bitter smile. He had thought he had already developed an immunity to the system’s infuriating behavior, but he had discovered that the stronger his immunity became, the more outrageous and shameless the system grew. In the end, it could still drive him into a fury.

Zhu Hao sat on the bed and drew a deep breath, calming his agitated emotions. He then rose, walked to the window, and opened it.

Through the window, he saw that the moon and stars had risen high into the sky at some unknown hour. Shaking his head slightly, he thought, “I never imagined I would sleep until this late.”

Zhu Hao gazed at the stars for a while. Thinking of all the setbacks he had encountered during his trip to Zhejiang, he wondered how he could resolve the predicament before him. After considering the matter from every angle, he could only place his hopes on Qin Hui discovering something suspicious in the ledger and giving him a new direction for his investigation. Otherwise, he feared that three months would not be enough to uncover the truth behind the Zhejiang provincial examination scandal.

As these thoughts occupied his mind, Zhu Hao gradually began to feel weary. He closed the window, returned to bed, and before long fell asleep once more.

Because he had slept for so long the previous day, Zhu Hao rose early the following morning. After washing and eating breakfast, he was considering where to continue his investigation when a palace eunuch came to report that the two Provincial Administration Commissioners of Zhejiang had arrived at the temporary imperial headquarters, accompanied by officials of every rank from across the province.

Assuming that some major incident had occurred, Zhu Hao immediately ordered the eunuch to admit them.

To his great surprise, nothing serious had happened in Zhejiang. The officials had come solely because Zhu Hao had brought Ziyan into the temporary headquarters.

They had not come, as Zhu Hao had imagined, to urge him to avoid entanglements with a woman from a pleasure house. On the contrary, every one of them had come to congratulate him, and each had brought a gift register.

Zhu Hao made no attempt to put on airs. He ordered his attendants to accept every gift exactly as listed, then kept the two Provincial Administration Commissioners behind for a private conversation and sent the other officials away.

The reason Zhu Hao accepted their congratulatory gifts was that he believed the fruits of the people’s labor would be offered to someone else if these corrupt officials did not offer them to him. In that case, it was better for the gifts to remain in his hands. One day, he could return their value to the people of Zhejiang.

Zhu Hao received the two commissioners in the main reception hall. Smiling at them, he said, “Commissioner Xiao, Commissioner Li, you two certainly have quick sources of information. I only returned from the Fragrant Blossoms Pavilion yesterday, and you already knew about it. It seems that all of Zhejiang lies within your grasp.”

There was no goodwill in his words. He was implying that the two men had been monitoring his movements and had therefore learned so quickly that he had brought the pavilion’s leading courtesan into his headquarters.

Both commissioners were seasoned men of the world and naturally understood his meaning. With smiles on their faces, Xiao Jingaо spoke first.

“Your Highness is too kind. It is merely that the leading courtesan of the Fragrant Blossoms Pavilion leaving that establishment is such a major event in Hangzhou that if your subordinate had not heard of it, it would have amounted to negligence on his part. For Your Highness to take the leading courtesan of the Fragrant Blossoms Pavilion as your wife is a joyful occasion for you and a great blessing for all of Zhejiang. That is why we have come to offer our congratulations. Please do not misunderstand us.”

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The moment Xiao Jingaо finished speaking, Zhu Hao was about to reply when Li Shoujun cut in first.

“Your Highness, Commissioner Xiao is absolutely right. May we ask where the Princess Consort is, so that we may pay our respects?”

Hearing this, Zhu Hao cursed inwardly.

“These two bastards. They keep bringing up exactly what I least want to hear. They insist on pinning this marriage to a pleasure-house woman on me. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re scheming. You want to use this matter to memorialize the court and have them summon me back. Dream on! I had already made my plans before I ever competed for the courtesan queen. Do you really think two old fossils like you can manipulate me? Hmph!”

With that thought, Zhu Hao said, “The two of you are mistaken. The leading courtesan of the Fragrant Blossoms Pavilion is an important witness in my investigation. I brought her here to protect her. I have already reported the matter to the imperial court, so do not misunderstand. I have not taken her as my wife.”

After he finished speaking, he saw embarrassed expressions appear on their faces. They both gave a few awkward laughs, and Xiao Jingaо said, “So that is how it is. It seems your subordinate misunderstood. What an embarrassing mistake.”

Once Xiao Jingaо had finished, Li Shoujun nodded and added, “So it was merely a misunderstanding.”

Zhu Hao gave a slight nod. “Since the two of you now understand the circumstances, I must trouble you to explain them to the other officials of Zhejiang. Do not let anyone misunderstand this matter again.”

Xiao Jingaо and Li Shoujun nodded repeatedly and agreed. They then bowed to Zhu Hao, announced their departure, and withdrew from the imperial envoy’s headquarters.

The reason the two commissioners had left so readily was much as Zhu Hao had suspected. They had come to test him. If it were confirmed that Zhu Hao had taken a courtesan as his wife, they would have memorialized the court and asked that he be recalled. But once Zhu Hao stated that he had already reported the matter to the court, then regardless of whether he had truly married the woman, there was nothing more they could make of it. Naturally, they had obediently withdrawn.

Watching their departing figures, Zhu Hao shook his head slightly and thought, “Let’s see what other tricks you can come up with.”

He had assumed that the matter would end with the departure of the two commissioners. What he never expected was that, from that day onward, the number of people greeting him whenever he went out in disguise would suddenly increase.

The moment he stepped outside the headquarters, officials would approach him and ask:

“Your Highness, why did you not bring the Princess Consort with you?”

“Your Highness, are you going out to buy something for the Princess Consort?”

And so on.

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There was nothing inherently wrong with such remarks. They were as ordinary as asking someone they passed in the street, “Have you eaten?” But given the circumstances, whenever Zhu Hao faced such greetings, explaining himself was awkward, while saying nothing was equally awkward.

In the end, he either stayed inside or went out with the full procession of an imperial envoy, thereby avoiding the need for anyone to greet him.

Yet Zhu Hao knew that if he made a grand display whenever he went out, the local officials would be waiting in rigid formation long before he reached his destination. There was no chance of uncovering any useful information.

If he traveled in disguise, however, the moment he stepped outside the headquarters he was certain to encounter Zhejiang officials greeting him. Zhu Hao knew that someone was deliberately targeting him, but he had no better way to deal with it. The situation left him deeply frustrated. For several days in succession, he did not even wish to leave, merely arranging for Wei Xiaobao to investigate in secret.

Although he had sent Wei Xiaobao to make inquiries, Zhu Hao himself knew that it would be difficult for him to uncover anything useful. If Wei Xiaobao had been able to find something valuable, the investigation would have made progress long ago, rather than leaving them as passive as they were now.

In the end, Zhu Hao could only place all his hopes on Qian Qianyi’s ledger, praying that Qin Hui would be able to decipher something and give him a breakthrough. Once the investigation began to advance and several Zhejiang officials were arrested, their method of targeting him would collapse on its own. Given the officials’ instinct for self-preservation, no one would dare wait outside the headquarters to greet him then.

Zhu Hao waited in the headquarters for seven or eight days. At last, the day he had agreed upon with Qin Hui arrived. Early that morning, he summoned Qin Hui before him and looked at him expectantly.

“Qin Shun, the time we agreed upon has arrived. Have you made any progress with that ledger of yours?”

The moment Qin Hui heard this, he hurriedly fell to his knees. His face was filled with shame.

“Your student is incompetent and has failed Your Highness’s trust. I still cannot decipher this secret ledger. I beg Your Highness to punish me!”

Zhu Hao’s face fell with disappointment. He knew that after being pressured by him that day, Qin Hui must have devoted himself wholeheartedly to studying the ledger. Since he had still found nothing, Zhu Hao could not blame him for failing to try. It could only mean that the ledger was probably understandable solely to Qian Qianyi.

Once again trapped in a deadlock, Zhu Hao truly did not know what to do.

Although Qin Hui had failed to decipher Qian Qianyi’s ledger within ten days, Zhu Hao knew that he could not actually drive him away. He was desperately short of capable people and could not do something as foolish as cutting off his own arm.

Besides, Qin Hui was a potential four-star talent, and his loyalty was at the maximum. If Zhu Hao truly dismissed him, then by his own standards, it would be nothing short of madness.

Thinking this, Zhu Hao drew a deep breath and said, “Qin Shun, I gave you ten days, yet you have accomplished nothing. I am deeply disappointed in you. However, considering your sincere attitude, I will give you one more chance. Tell me how long you actually need to decipher this ledger. As long as your request is not excessive, I will approve it. I hope you will seize this opportunity.”

Though Qin Hui felt somewhat relieved upon hearing that Zhu Hao was willing to give him another chance, he truly had no idea how long it would take him to understand the ledger. Thus, after Zhu Hao finished speaking, Qin Hui simply remained kneeling on the floor in silence.