xymnovel Chapter 107 Breaking the situation
Chapter 107 Breaking the situation
Chapter 107 Breaking the situation
A few more moments passed.
Liu Bian stood up and said he wanted to see Liu Xie's recent reading, expenses, and daily records.
This request is not excessive at all.
It is quite common for an elder brother to visit his younger brother, to check on his well-being, and to see how the tutor is teaching him. What's more, this elder brother is not only an elder brother, but also the Crown Prince.
The people in the Prince's mansion naturally dared not stop them.
The manager, with a forced smile, led the person to a side hall.
Account books, ten-day reports, and lists of people entering and leaving were quickly brought up in stacks.
The pages were laid out, the scent of ink mingling with the smell of old paper, and for a moment the only sound in the hall was the turning of pages.
Liu Bian sat at the head of the table, turning the pages slowly.
With each page he turned, the heart of the steward of the Prince's mansion beside him sank an inch.
Because the Crown Prince observed things too closely.
He was meticulous to the point that he knew exactly which group of people delivering charcoal went through which door on which day, which day two extra boxes of paper and ink were brought in, and which eunuch left his fingerprint on behalf of whom in the entry and exit register. It was as if every single detail came alive in his eyes.
Wang Ming stood aside and quietly added the clues he had found the night before: "On the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, two repairmen entered through the west gate. The roster showed that they were repairing windows, but there was no report of repairs in the back garden of the Prince's Mansion that day."
"On the second day of the first lunar month, the paper and ink shop delivered two boxes of Chengxintang paper. One box was put into the study, and the other box was not put into the account book."
"On the night of the third day of the lunar month, the door sign on the west side gate should have indicated that it was locked at the beginning of Hai hour, but the register recorded it as the end of Xu hour."
At this point, he handed over a separately copied door sign.
"And this too."
"According to the records, no one should have entered or left that night, but the watchman outside the west gate remembers that a small carriage did indeed turn out of the back alley of the Prince's Mansion."
The steward of the Prince's mansion stood below, his back already soaked with cold sweat.
Liu Bian turned to one of the pages and lightly tapped it with his finger.
Who wrote the character "王" (Wang)?
The steward's Adam's apple bobbed.
"Yes, Your Highness, it is this servant—"
"Is it you?"
Liu Bian looked up at him, his tone still flat.
"I remember that you used a slender brush for the first few pages of your signature, but suddenly switched to a round brush for this page."
He pushed the booklet forward.
"The character is the character of one person."
"A habit is not a person's habit."
The air in the hall suddenly tightened.
The steward's face turned pale, and his knees were already starting to buckle.
Liu Bian did not press further, but slowly closed the page and picked up another ten-day report.
"And here too."
"Two boxes of paper and ink were delivered to the warehouse on the second day of the Lunar New Year, but only one box was reported on the third day. Where did the missing box go?"
"Look at this one: someone pressed the door signboard of the west side gate again at night, the ink pads are layered, one new and one old. Someone changed the time."
"And this person too."
He raised his hand and pointed to a line on the register of those who entered and exited.
"The Prince's mansion has never had a servant named 'Sun Cheng'."
"And this Sun Cheng, of all people," came in and out three times in one month.
Having said that, he finally raised his eyes to look at the steward, his voice not loud, but like a knife tip pressed against his throat: "Do you want to tell me who he is?"
The steward's legs went weak, and he knelt down with a thud.
"Your Highness, I have been wronged!"
"Injustice?"
Liu Bian smiled, but the smile carried a chill.
"I haven't even told you what you've done wrong yet."
"You're the one crying foul first."
The moment those words were spoken, the expressions on the faces of the people in the hall changed.
The two eunuchs standing behind the side door instinctively wanted to retreat.
But as soon as they took a step, several inspectors who had been standing like wooden stakes blocked their way. Their movements were slow but clean, as if they had been waiting for them to take this step.
At that moment, the hall finally fell completely silent.
Liu Bian put down the ten-day report in his hand, his voice calm yet authoritative: "Inspection Division."
"exist."
"Feng Na".
Just two words.
There were no shouts of violence, no cursing.
But the moment those two words were uttered, everyone in the Prince's mansion felt a sudden sinking feeling in their hearts.
The steward of the Prince's mansion and the two eunuchs changed color almost simultaneously. One wanted to kowtow and cry out for justice, another wanted to rush over and break through the door, and the last one was the most decisive. His legs went weak and he collapsed.
The inspectors stepped forward and pressed the person down, their movements as swift as pulling in a net.
Liu Bian sat at the head of the table, not even moving the hem of his robe.
"The charges should be clearly stated."
"He altered the register of people entering and leaving the Prince's residence without authorization, signed the gatekeeper's name on behalf of others, and used the name of the Prince's residence to send out letters."
"It is not treason."
"There's no need to shout it out loud."
"Just follow the rules."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the faces of those people, and said in a calm voice, "Let's set the rules first, then we'll ask about the rest."
"The Empress Dowager has arrived—"
Just then, a series of hurried footsteps sounded outside.
The expressions of everyone in the hall changed simultaneously.
Mrs. Dong arrived.
She arrived quickly, clearly someone had gone to report the commotion outside as soon as it started. Before she even entered, her cold voice boomed in: "Your Highness, you have quite the airs. Perhaps you should take me down too?"
As soon as the curtain was lifted, Empress Dowager Dong entered with her entourage. Her face was grim, and her gaze swept across the room, taking in the people kneeling on the ground and the inspectors standing in the hall.
When the final word fell on Liu Bian, the coldness in his eyes was almost undisguised.
"Where is this place?"
"This is the Prince Chenliu's Mansion!"
"What are you trying to do by bringing the inspectors into the Prince's residence to arrest people?!"
No one in the hall dared to make a sound for a moment.
Liu Xie, who was originally in the inner room, panicked when he heard the commotion and couldn't help but lean out halfway, looking anxiously at the outside.
Liu Bian turned his head and said gently to the people inside, "A-Xie, go back."
"Take the book with you, your brother will come to see you later."
Liu Xie glanced at Empress Dowager Dong, then at him. His face was a little pale, but he still obediently nodded and retreated with the two scrolls in his arms.
This retreat immediately changed the situation.
Because everyone could see clearly that the Crown Prince was protecting the Prince of Chenliu first.
It's not about using the Prince of Chenliu as a pretext.
Empress Dowager Dong naturally saw it as well, but her expression darkened further: "Crown Prince, there's no need for such pretense."
"Today you brought men into the manor, you arrested Xie'er's people, and you raided Xie'er's residence!"
"Are you going to extend your knife to Chang Le Palace again tomorrow?!"
That's a very strong statement.
If it were someone else, they would probably have knelt down and begged for forgiveness on the spot.
Liu Bian did not rush to respond.
He simply stood up and bowed to Empress Dowager Dong.
"Grandmother, you flatter me."
"Your grandson has come today not to offend the Prince of Chenliu, nor to offend his grandmother."
"My grandson has come to perform the proper rites on behalf of the Prince's Palace."
Empress Dowager Dong gave a cold laugh.
"Significant?"
"You forced everyone in Xie'er's household to the ground, and you call that proper etiquette?"
"Yes."
Liu Bian answered extremely quickly, without giving an inch.
"Precisely because this is the Prince of Chenliu's residence, we must be even more mindful of etiquette."
As he spoke, he spread out a stack of account books, ten-day reports, and door signs on the table one by one.
"The register of people entering and leaving the Prince's residence has been altered without authorization."
"The west side gate sign has been pressed again."
"The cost of paper and ink has exceeded the limit by a whole box, and there's nowhere to put it."
"Some people even used the name of the Prince's Mansion to send private messages, but they didn't use the main gate or the main road; instead, they used the back alley and side gate."
1
He would say one item and then push the corresponding page forward one page.
"If Grandmother feels that her grandson has wronged them, she is free to send someone to confront them."
"But what if all of this is true—"
'
He raised his head and looked at Empress Dowager Dong. His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears: "The one being trampled underfoot today is not my face."
"It is the title of King of Chenliu."
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"That's the rule of the Prince's Palace."
"It's also about maintaining my grandmother's dignity."
The hall was deathly silent.
Empress Dowager Dong's expression finally changed slightly.
Because she could tell.
Liu Bian's slash didn't even reach her.
Instead, they also put her on the side of "victim".
If she were to continue protecting these people on the ground at this point, it would be tantamount to admitting that the rules of the Prince's Palace could be broken and that the title of the young prince could be used to pass letters and cover one's face.
She couldn't bear to say that.
She stared at the booklets on the table for a long time: "What makes you so sure that the letter was delivered in the name of the Prince's Mansion?"
Liu Bian didn't rush to speak, but instead turned his gaze to the doorway.
The people in the hall were puzzled, and even Empress Dowager Dong looked at him with some confusion.
Just as Empress Dowager Dong was about to speak, Cao Cao strode in from outside, bowed, and presented her with a piece of cut-up scrap paper and a sheet of paper and ink from a paper and ink shop.
"Your Highness, half of the people we captured last night have already confessed."
"The paper came from Qingmozhai in Nanshi, but the account was recorded under the name of the Prince's Mansion."
"And this piece of scrap paper was found in the clerk's sleeve."
Liu Bian nodded, took the paper, and gently placed it on the table.
Although the paper had a narrow border, half a line of text was still visible on it:
————Western Liang governs Western Liang————
The people in the hall turned pale when they saw those words.
The memorial recommending Dong Zhuo to the emperor was just read aloud today.
And this half-line of words is like a hand reaching out from the shadows, suddenly striking everyone's heart.
Liu Bian looked at Empress Dowager Dong, his tone still calm: "Grandmother, do you understand now?"
"Some people use the gates of the Prince's mansion to deliver letters to the court; they use the name of the Prince of Chenliu to cover their own faces."
"If my grandson doesn't apprehend anyone today, what gets out tomorrow won't just be a matter of the Prince's mansion breaking its rules."
"What will get out is—"
He paused, then said, word by word, "The Prince of Chenliu's residence is also in the council meeting."
As soon as these words were spoken, Empress Dowager Dong's face darkened.
Someone actually dared to use her name and her grandson's residence to cross such a dangerous line.
A chill ran through her eyes. She turned her gaze to the steward of the Prince's mansion kneeling on the ground and said, word by word, "I'm asking you."
"Who told you to do this?"
The steward was trembling uncontrollably, his face ashen, and his lips moved several times, but he couldn't utter a single word.
Liu Bian looked at him and suddenly chuckled softly.
"He dared not say."
"Because the person who asked him to do this usually told him first that it was the will of Chang Le Palace."