Chapter 148: The Untranquil City of Hangzhou

Thinking thoughts like this, Zhu Hao listened as Gao Yuan also softened his stance, so he spoke up, "The three Lords make a complete point. Well then, as the three Lords are burdened with affairs of state, this Prince will not detain you any longer. The two Administration Commissioners need to appease the common people, and Surveillance Commissioner Gao needs to deal with the families of the rioting students. Therefore, I shall have my entourage from the temporary residence lead the officials of the Surveillance Office to take control of Qian Qianyi! How does that strike the three Lords?"

The three men knew that Zhu Hao still did not trust them, but at this moment, they did not wish to remain inside Zhu Hao's temporary imperial residence for even a single second longer. Thus, they nodded, accepted the order, and acknowledged it as such.

After the three men departed, Feng Gongcheng, the Commander of the Zhejiang Embroidered Uniform Guard Thousand-Household Office, returned to report that everyone on the name list had been successfully captured. Upon hearing this, Zhu Hao ordered Feng Gongcheng to guard them with the utmost strictness, ensuring no mistakes were made. At the same time, he dispatched Wei Xiaobao to the Zhejiang Embroidered Uniform Guard Thousand-Household Office to interrogate the captured students according to the amounts recorded in the account books. As soon as Zhu Hao finished his instructions, Wei Xiaobao accepted the command with delight and left.

After Wei Xiaobao departed, Zhu Hao sent Qin Hui, accompanied by three imperial guards and carrying his handwritten note, to the Zhejiang Provincial Surveillance Office to take a squad of bailiffs and surround Qian Qianyi's estate, arresting Qian Qianyi in the process. He simultaneously instructed Qin Hui to bring Qian Qianyi directly to the temporary residence to see him upon apprehension, rather than sending him into the dungeons of the Surveillance Office. Qin Hui acknowledged the order and left as well.

Once Qin Hui had gone, Zhu Hao waited for news within the temporary residence. For some reason, however, a persistent premonition told Zhu Hao that an accident might occur, yet he could find no flaws in his own arrangements.

Therefore, after both Wei Xiaobao and Qin Hui had departed, Zhu Hao grew somewhat uneasy and anxious within the residence. After waiting for about three hours, as night was beginning to fall, Wei Xiaobao was finally the first to return with a joyful expression on his face, reporting: "Reporting to Your Highness, all the captured students have made a full confession. They verified that they indeed practiced fraud in this imperial examination, bribing the Chief Examiner for this year's provincial examination, Qian Qianyi, and obtaining the examination questions beforehand. Furthermore, the sums they used to bribe Qian Qianyi match the figures recorded in the account books without a single discrepancy!"

Upon hearing Wei Xiaobao's report, Zhu Hao stood up, clenched his fists tightly, and thought to himself, "The lid on the Zhejiang examination scandal has finally been lifted! With this ledger and the testimonies of these students, Qian Qianyi will no doubt be unable to escape this time!"

With these thoughts in mind, Zhu Hao first bade Wei Xiaobao rise, and then turned to question an attendant, "Why has Qin Shun not returned yet? Go out and look for him!"

Zhu Hao said this because he was now feeling rather impatient, thinking that after having been in Zhejiang for so long, the examination case finally had some direction. While it could not yet be said to be fully resolved, it at least proved that the Chief Examiner of this year's Zhejiang provincial examination, Qian Qianyi, had accepted massive bribes and that cheating had occurred within the examination halls. For Zhu Hao, this progress was a breakthrough, and naturally his heart was stirred with excitement. Yet at this moment, he did not know how many Zhejiang officials were entangled in this provincial examination fraud, nor precisely who was involved. However, Zhu Hao knew that once he interrogated that spineless coward Qian Qianyi, all the answers he desired would be laid bare before him. Consequently, he had a fierce desire to see Qian Qianyi right away.

Hearing Zhu Hao's words, the attendant hastily accepted the command and withdrew. Scarcely had the attendant stepped out of the room when Qin Hui entered with a panic-stricken expression. He immediately dropped to his knees and blurted out, "Your Highness, please forgive me! This student is incompetent! This student was ordered to surround the Qian residence and arrest Qian Qianyi, but when I led the men inside, Qian Qianyi had already committed suicide by taking poison out of fear of punishment! This student is incompetent, and begs Your Highness for punishment!"

Hearing Qin Hui's words, Zhu Hao leaped to his feet in shock and exclaimed, "What? How can this be?"

The reason Zhu Hao was so astonished was that his decision to arrest Qian Qianyi had been made only a short while ago; it was impossible for Qian Qianyi to have caught wind of it, so where could any talk of committing suicide out of fear of crime come from? Moreover, Zhu Hao deeply understood Qian Qianyi's cowardly character, making it utterly unbelievable to him that Qian Qianyi would ever take his own life.

After pondering for a brief moment, Zhu Hao figured out the crux of the matter and questioned Qin Hui, "Qin Shun, let me ask you: when you went to arrest Qian Qianyi, were you delayed by something?"

Zhu Hao asked this because he remembered dispatching Wei Xiaobao and Qin Hui at the same time. While Wei Xiaobao had to interrogate over fifty people, Qin Hui merely had to arrest a single person, Qian Qianyi. Judging by the time required, Qin Hui should have returned to report long before Wei Xiaobao, and certainly should not have reported back only after Wei Xiaobao had already completed his mission and returned.

Furthermore, with an event as momentous as the death of Qian Qianyi, Zhu Hao believed Qin Hui would not have dared to delay upon learning of it, and would have reported to him at the very first instance. Therefore, the time wasted by Qin Hui must have been spent during the process of the arrest, which prompted this question.

Hearing Zhu Hao's inquiry, Qin Hui hurriedly replied, "Reporting to Your Highness, this student did not dare delay the task entrusted by Your Highness for even a moment. It was simply that when I went to the Provincial Surveillance Office, waiting for them to assemble the bailiffs took roughly over an hour!"

Listening to Qin Hui's words, Zhu Hao finally understood why he had experienced that ominous feeling earlier: Surveillance Commissioner Gao Yuan had indeed practiced outward compliance while acting in opposition behind his back.

How could Zhu Hao possibly believe that assembling bailiffs required an entire hour? He suspected that this one-hour period was not spent by Gao Yuan in assembling bailiffs, but rather in sending someone to murder Qian Qianyi. Even if it was not sent directly by Gao Yuan, it was undoubtedly the deed of Gao Yuan's accomplices.

Piecing everything together from the beginning, Zhu Hao understood a great deal. Based on the fact that Qin Hui had traveled to the capital to lodge a complaint, his mind had already concluded that this Gao Yuan was definitely connected to the Zhejiang examination fraud. If Gao Yuan had not colluded with Qian Qianyi and intentionally shielded him, leaving these Zhejiang students with nowhere to lodge their grievances, they surely would not have traveled thousands of miles to the capital to appeal.

Having figured this out, Zhu Hao brought his palm down heavily upon the tea table and roared in anger, "How dare a mere common fellow act so presumptuously! Someone come, summon Feng Gongcheng to see this Prince!"

Watching the furious Zhu Hao, Qin Hui remained on his knees and said cautiously, "Your Highness, what are you planning to do..."

Hearing Qin Hui, Zhu Hao let out a cold snort and declared, "Since this Prince cannot interrogate Qian Qianyi today, I shall interrogate Gao Yuan directly. Let me see whether his tongue is tougher, or the torturing instruments of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

With that, Zhu Hao took a deep breath, softened his tone slightly, and said, "This whole affair was stirred up by that scoundrel Gao Yuan, and I fell into his trap as well. This matter cannot be blamed on your incompetence; rise and speak!"

Zhu Hao's words made it clear that he intended to forcibly arrest Surveillance Commissioner Gao Yuan for a coerced interrogation under torture. Rising to his feet, Qin Hui hastily bowed and dissuaded him: "Your Highness, Gao Yuan is, after all, the Surveillance Commissioner of a province. To move against him now without any concrete evidence is likely unwise. If this truly provokes a backlash among the official circles of Zhejiang, I fear it will prove disadvantageous to Your Highness!"

An enraged Zhu Hao was in no mood to listen to anyone's persuasion. As soon as Qin Hui finished speaking, Zhu Hao let out a cold laugh and retorted angrily, "This Prince cares nothing for that anymore! We shall seize Gao Yuan first; once Gao Yuan confesses, I wager those Zhejiang officials will have nothing more to say!"

When Zhu Hao finished speaking, Qin Hui urged once again, "And what if the interrogation of Gao Yuan yields no results, and the Zhejiang officials retaliate..."

Before Qin Hui could finish, Zhu Hao cut him off with a reprimand, "Enough, say no more! This Prince's mind is made up. As for the retaliation of the Zhejiang officials, this Prince cares nothing for it. Ever since I arrived in Zhejiang, when have these local officials ever shown true sincerity toward me?"

Knowing that further remonstrance was futile, Qin Hui stopped speaking and quietly stepped aside.

Roughly a quarter of an hour later, Feng Gongcheng arrived before Zhu Hao and paid his respects, saying, "Your subordinate, Feng Gongcheng, obeys your command to attend upon Your Highness!"

Taking a slight breath, Zhu Hao instructed, "Rise and speak, Commander Feng! Let me ask you: right now, within the entire city of Hangzhou, how many men of the Embroidered Uniform Guard can be mobilized?"

Unaware of what the Prince was scheming this time, Feng Gongcheng answered truthfully, "Reporting to Your Highness, the number of Embroidered Uniform Guard members in Hangzhou city who can be mobilized immediately is roughly a little over three hundred. May I ask if Your Highness is planning an operation?"

Nodding upon hearing this, Zhu Hao ordered, "Very well, mobilize all the Embroidered Uniform Guards within Hangzhou city immediately and assemble them. In a quarter of an hour, accompany this Prince to the Surveillance Office to make an arrest!"

A chill ran through Feng Gongcheng upon hearing this. He stammered, "Your Highness, are you going to arrest... Surveillance Commissioner Gao? Your Highness, this subordinate has no authority to arrest a Surveillance Commissioner!"

Hearing Feng Gongcheng trying to back out, Zhu Hao snorted coldly, "I am the Commander-in-Chief of the Embroidered Uniform Guard; do I lack the authority to arrest a mere Surveillance Commissioner? You are simply to follow me to make the arrest, and whatever happens, this Prince will bear the responsibility alone!"

Feng Gongcheng wanted to say more, but Zhu Hao's gaze narrowed. Fixing a cold stare upon him, he bellowed, "Feng Gongcheng, do you intend to disobey this Prince's military orders?"

Stunned into silence by these words, Feng Gongcheng dropped to one knee and conceded, "This subordinate dares not! This subordinate obeys the command!" With that, Feng Gongcheng backed out of the room to assemble the Embroidered Uniform Guards stationed in Hangzhou.

This day in Hangzhou was destined to be turbulent. Following the issuance of Zhu Hao's commands, the Embroidered Uniform Guards in the city—dressed in fish-scale uniforms, with embroidered spring blades at their waists and torches in hand—rapidly assembled outside the temporary imperial residence. About a quarter of an hour after the order was given, more than three hundred Embroidered Uniform Guards had completely gathered, instantly illuminating the entire temporary residence as bright as day.

Seeing that all the men had arrived, Feng Gongcheng reported to Zhu Hao. Following the report, Zhu Hao, clad in a python robe with a jade belt, vaulted onto his horse and moved into the ranks of the Embroidered Uniform Guards. Holding the Emperor's sword in his right hand and waving his left, he shouted to the three hundred-plus guards, "Set out!"