Tang Dynasty Prison Administration

Chapter 130: The Azure Dragon Case

Yao Chong chimed in, "That's right, we must wipe them all out in one fell swoop, not a single one can be let go, otherwise, they might continue to cause trouble like this in the future!"

The sage looked at Su Wen and said, "Su Wen, do you have a way to capture them all in one fell swoop?"

Su Wendao said, "This humble subject has it, but it requires Your Majesty's cooperation!"

The sage said, "Tell me first!"

Su Wen said, "Since we can't wipe them out in one fell swoop right now, let's just use a tactic to lure them out!"

Song Jing said, "You mean, let the sage lure them into making the first move?"

Su Wen bowed and said, "Your Majesty need not do anything. Everything can proceed as usual. The birthday celebrations will proceed as planned. I will post a notice announcing that Li Xinyue died from an overdose of Azure Dragon Powder. This will make the other party think that I, Su Wen, the Warden of the Prison, am incompetent and only want to close the case as soon as possible. After all, this case is extremely treacherous, and he will definitely think that he has the upper hand!"

Cui Lin asked, "Should we inform Li Zheng?"

Su Wendao said, "The fewer people who know, the better, because this will lure out all the malicious people lurking in Chang'an and wipe them out in one fell swoop!"

Song Jing said, "No, your plan is too dangerous. What will happen to the Emperor on the day of the celebration? What if something happens to the Emperor?"

Yao Chong said, "Your Majesty, I believe this plan is also unfeasible. Your Majesty will surely attend the birthday celebrations in person. What will happen to the Tang Dynasty if something goes wrong?"

Zhang said, "Your Majesty, I also believe this is not a good time. Su Wen, although your plan can wipe them out in one fell swoop, we have no way of knowing how many of them there are, or how many are lurking in the shadows. It's too risky. We should discuss a foolproof plan!"

At this moment, Zhang Jiuling slowly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that rather than letting those hidden pawns in the shadows of the Tang Dynasty continue to lie dormant, it would be better to implement Minister Su's plan. This way, all the pawns hidden in the darkness can be wiped out, and the Tang Dynasty will be much more peaceful in the future!"

Song Jing asked, "What about the Sage's safety?"

Zhang Jiuling said, "This is a matter for the Golden Guard, the Feathered Forest Army, and the Thousand Bull Guard. It's not our place to interfere. If they can't even protect the safety of the Sage, then what's the point of having them?"

Yao Chong said, "In my humble opinion, Your Majesty, it would be better to make an appearance on your birthday and then return to the palace afterwards!"

Zhang Jiuling asked, "If the Sage merely shows his face, will those pawns hidden in the shadows still reveal themselves?"

Song Jing shouted, "Zhang Jiuling, you are putting the Emperor in danger! You have ulterior motives!"

Zhang Jiuling said, "All the emperors of our Great Tang Dynasty have been on the front lines in the army. Back then, the emperor led eight hundred men into the palace and killed Empress Wei's faction. Later, he led three hundred men to quell the coup led by Princess Taiping. Would the emperor be afraid of a few petty villains?"

Yao Chongdao said, "Zhang Jiuling, these are two different things. He's secretly plotting something; how should we deal with him?"

Zhang Jiuling asked, "Back then, Princess Taiping had her palace maids poison the arrowhead powder. How did the Emperor know?"

Zhang Jiuling said, "The Sage is the Emperor of our Great Tang, blessed with boundless fortune and ordained by Heaven. If he were to fear a few petty villains and hide behind them, and if word got out and the people of the Great Tang found out, wouldn't they all laugh at the Sage for being a coward who clings to life?"

Zhang Jiuling said, "Your Majesty, I believe there is no need to worry. Just proceed with the celebrations as usual, and use this opportunity to wipe out all those treacherous villains hiding in the shadows and completely resolve the Yitian case!"

Zhang Jiuling said, "The Youzhou mystery case, the Qingzhou lotus case, the flower shop case, then the Shazhou case, the Yitian case, and now the Li Xinyue case and the Qinglong powder case—how many innocent people have lost their lives in all of these? If we can't wipe them all out this time, can we guarantee that these things won't happen again in the future?"

Zhang Jiuling said, "At that time, wouldn't countless innocent people of our Great Tang Dynasty lose their lives?"

Zhang Jiuling said, "When my Emperor Taizong was saving a few civilians, he personally drew his sword, mounted his horse, and led a dozen or so riders in a frontal charge against three hundred enemy soldiers. Did he ever show any fear?"

At this moment, Zhang Jiuling pointed directly at the Emperor and said, "If Your Majesty is afraid, then say so! I will immediately kill myself right here in this hall, and when I see Emperor Taizong, I will say, 'Your Majesty, you are as cowardly as a mouse, fearing a few petty villains like a tiger!'"

Seeing Zhang Jiuling in this state, Su Wen was shocked. Good heavens, has the courage of a subject become like this?

He pointed directly at the emperor and started spewing insults!

Seeing this, the Emperor smiled and said, "Zhang Jiuling is right. Back then, I led a raid with only three hundred men, personally stormed Princess Taiping's residence, and ordered her to commit suicide, thus quelling the coup. I am a descendant of Emperor Taizong; how could I be so cowardly? This matter will be handled as Su Wen suggested. This time, we must wipe out all the villains hiding in the shadows!"

Su Wen bowed and replied, "Yes!"

Upon seeing this, the others all responded by bowing.

The sage said, "As for the matter of Li Zheng, the military governor of Jiangnan, let's not tell him yet. Let him suffer for a few days. After we have dealt with all these petty villains, we will issue a proclamation to clear the name of his daughter, Li Xinyue, and then bestow a title upon her. That will not have let him down!"

The crowd bowed and said, "Your Majesty, we second that proposal!"

At this moment, Cui Lin looked at Su Wen and said, "Su Wen, it would be best if you stayed home for the next few days!"

Su Wen was somewhat puzzled, but the others nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, you should hide!"

"Huh?" Su Wen looked completely bewildered.

......

The next day.

As soon as the notice was posted, the entire city of Chang'an began to discuss it.

Su Wen woke up groggily to find a man in armor, wielding a sword, rushing in and shouting, "Su Wen!"

Su Wen got up and looked towards the door. He saw that the person who came in was none other than Li Zheng. Li Zheng strode into the room with a sword in his hand and rushed towards Su Wen aggressively as soon as he saw him.

Seeing this, Su Wen threw a pillow at Li Zheng's face without saying a word, then turned and ran. Li Zheng shouted, "Su Wen, you scoundrel! You can't solve the case, so you post notices to humiliate my daughter, saying that she died from excessive use of Qinglong powder and Yiduosan, you..."

Su Wen said, "Governor Li, please calm down. Although I also want to solve the case, this is the truth, not something I made up!"

Li Zheng cursed, "Bullshit! You scoundrel, you're clearly trying to humiliate me! Today I will cut off your head to avenge my daughter!"

Having said that, Li Zheng angrily charged towards Su Wen, who was so frightened that he immediately began to hide around the pavilion, shouting as he did so, "Governor Li, calm down! I am, after all, a fourth-rank official of the imperial court. Your act of wielding a knife and committing violence is tantamount to treason!"

Li Zheng angrily said, "I don't care about any of that. I'll kill you today, and then I'll go and beg His Majesty for forgiveness!"

Just then, Cui Lingyu shouted, "Li Zheng, how dare you!"

Upon hearing this, Li Zheng stopped his pursuit and looked back to see Cui Lingyu leading a large contingent of Imperial Guards into the mansion, surrounding Li Zheng.

Seeing this, Su Wen finally breathed a slight sigh of relief. This morning was too exciting; it almost overwhelmed him.

No wonder they all advised me to hide yesterday. Good heavens, it turns out Li is a brute!