Chapter Twenty-Five: A Sudden Inspiration

Zhu Hao and Gongsun Ce looked at each other, neither speaking for a long while. The case of the great fire had indeed taken many unexpected turns. At last, it was Zhu Hao who shook off his faint disappointment and ordered the attendant, “Bring the treasury official here! I will interrogate him myself!”

The attendant obeyed, soon returning with the treasury official, whose face now resembled that of a dead man. Zhu Hao fixed him with a cold glare and snapped, “Why is there a barrel of kerosene missing from the treasury? Explain yourself! Speak the truth to me now!”

The official, trembling, stammered, “I… I… I really don’t know, Your Highness!”

At this, Zhu Hao’s fury erupted. “Nonsense! You are the treasury official, and a barrel of kerosene is gone, yet you claim ignorance? Do you think I am a child and easy to fool? Do you believe I cannot punish you?”

The official fell to his knees, knocking his head to the ground as if pounding garlic, and pleaded, “Your Highness, please spare me! I truly don’t know!”

Zhu Hao, now so enraged he almost laughed, retorted, “You don’t know? Very well! If that’s the case, I won’t trouble you further. Guards, take him to the Embroidered Guards. Let them interrogate him thoroughly! I refuse to believe he won’t talk!”

At first, the official relaxed slightly when Zhu Hao said he would not trouble him, but upon hearing the second half of the command, he collapsed like a pile of rotten mud, trembling violently, unmistakable signs of terror.

The Embroidered Guards had been established by Emperor Taizu, Zhu Yuanzhang. Their duties included surveillance, arrest, interrogation, and sentencing. In the Ming Dynasty, they were the foremost secret service, notorious for their interrogation methods—no mouth could withstand the Embroidered Guards.

It was commonly said among the people, “Better to go to the King of Hell than to the Embroidered Guards!” The obvious meaning was that the Embroidered Guards were even more terrifying than the underworld, and the hidden meaning was that death would be a blessing compared to suffering at their hands. Even the gods would tremble in their prison.

With such a fearsome reputation, how could the official not be afraid? He was already scared out of his wits, unable to utter another word.

Seeing this, Zhu Hao decided to press him further, hoping to break him. He spoke deliberately, “If you tell me now, I can be lenient, considering your honesty. But once you are with the Embroidered Guards, you will have no choice but to speak. You should know the palace fire was caused by kerosene. If it is proven the missing kerosene was used to start the fire, not only will you die, but your entire clan will not be spared!”

Though the official was a eunuch, and had no wife or children, he still had parents and brothers, and cherished these precious family ties. Zhu Hao’s words shattered all his resistance.

The official dragged himself up from the ground with all his strength and pleaded, “Spare me, Your Highness! I will tell you everything, just please don’t send me to the Embroidered Guards! If you promise, I will confess everything I know!”

Upon hearing this, Zhu Hao saw an opening and waved off the two attendants who were about to escort the official away. His face remained stern as he said, “At this point, you’re still bargaining with me? Speak the truth immediately!”

But the official, still frightened by the mere mention of the Embroidered Guards, did not answer directly and begged again, “I implore Your Highness to promise me!”

Zhu Hao, not wanting to waste time, nodded. “Very well. I promise you—if you confess truthfully, I will not send you to the Embroidered Guards. Speak now!”

The official knocked his head repeatedly in gratitude and began, “The missing kerosene is indeed connected to me. I had planned to secretly sell a barrel to save some money for my retirement. I never imagined the palace would catch fire because of kerosene. But this fire truly had nothing to do with me—the missing barrel was stolen and sold by me, I admit it.”

Zhu Hao snorted coldly, “You treacherous dog, stealing under your own watch! Guards, take him to the Embroidered Guards for strict interrogation!”

The official begged desperately, “No, please! I have told you everything, Your Highness. You promised me that if I spoke the truth, you wouldn’t send me to the Embroidered Guards! You can’t go back on your word!”

Zhu Hao smiled faintly. “You are correct—I did promise. But I promised not to send you if you spoke the truth. Now, I doubt you have told me the truth. Therefore, I haven’t broken my word.”

He gestured for the attendants to take the official away. As he was dragged off, the official cried out, “I am innocent! I told the truth! I told the truth!”

Zhu Hao sighed inwardly. “I know you told the truth, but what use is a thief who steals from his own post? Today, I shall rid the palace of a rat for my father. Forgive me, I have broken my promise…”

He had hoped to uncover some clue from the official, but found nothing. After all the effort and commotion, he had caught only a parasite in the palace. It felt like a loss. There was also a measure of frustration in how Zhu Hao treated the official.

After all this, the sky had already darkened. Zhu Hao lamented the wasted day—only two days remained, and still, he had found nothing. He grew restless.

As lanterns began to light throughout the palace, an elderly eunuch hurried to the treasury and, seeing Zhu Hao’s group, greeted them, “Liu He, steward of Kun Ning Palace, greets Your Highness. May Your Highness enjoy good health!”

Zhu Hao, irritable and distracted, waved him off. “No need for formality. Rise.”

Having spoken, Zhu Hao suddenly realized something. What? That old eunuch said he was from Kun Ning Palace? Why would someone from Kun Ning Palace greet him? They were either confidants of the Empress, who disliked him as much as she did, or had witnessed him being made a fool by her, and surely sneered at him in their hearts. Neither group would ever seek him out.

Puzzled, Zhu Hao turned to scrutinize the old eunuch. To his surprise, it was the very eunuch who had reported the fire to his father. Zhu Hao remembered that on his first day, he had spoken kindly for the old man, who had given him a grateful look before leaving.

But what amazed Zhu Hao was not their brief acquaintance, but the sheer coincidence. In a palace of tens of thousands, they had met again in only a few days—an unexpected stroke of fate.

As Zhu Hao mused over this, another thought struck him. Wait—why was this old eunuch, so late at night, not on duty at Kun Ning Palace but at the treasury? Could he be connected to the fire?

His mind full of questions, Zhu Hao did not conceal his suspicion and asked directly, “Steward Liu, why are you here instead of on duty at Kun Ning Palace so late?”

Liu He quickly bowed. “Your Highness, I am the steward responsible for the lanterns in Kun Ning Palace. Tonight, while lighting the lamps, one emitted black smoke. This perplexed me, as all palace kerosene is specially refined, and should burn with a faint osmanthus fragrance. In my twenty years of tending the lamps, such a thing has never happened. So I came to the treasury to ask the reason. But the treasury official was arrested for corruption and sent to the Embroidered Guards, and upon hearing Your Highness was here, I thought to pay my respects before returning to duty.”

Zhu Hao listened, and something flashed through his mind, though he didn’t quite grasp it. Instead, he thought of Liu He’s duties, and remembering the old witch’s usual harshness, worried that a delay might bring punishment. So he said, “Steward Liu, you are still on duty—lingering here too long will not be good for you. Best hurry back.”

Liu He acknowledged and departed. After he left, Zhu Hao and Gongsun Ce returned to their own quarters. No sooner had they arrived than a young eunuch came bearing imperial orders. Zhu Hao allowed him in and asked, “What does my father want so late at night?”

The eunuch bowed respectfully. “Tomorrow is the day the Imperial Kitchen goes out to purchase vegetables. His Majesty sent me to ask what Your Highness would like, so they may buy extra.”

Hearing this, Zhu Hao felt another spark of inspiration—this time he caught it, and excitedly asked, “So tomorrow, a large quantity of vegetables will be brought into the palace? Tell me, how often does the palace purchase vegetables?”

The young eunuch, puzzled by the question but not daring to disobey, answered truthfully, “It depends on how much is left in the palace stores—usually, never more than seven days.”