Chapter 300 — Exposed

Ding Wei, the emperor's chief eunuch from the days of the princely residence, had once served as a eunuch of the seal in the Directorate of Ceremonial. Later, as age crept up on him, the younger and more vigorous Wang Yuan had seized his opening and become the emperor's trusted confidant. Ding Wei, in a fit of pique, had gone off to Shaanxi to serve as military superintendent of the provincial command. Even so, the emperor still favored him generously, inquiring after him from time to time, and he was one of the few great eunuchs at court whose word carried weight.

"Is this true?" Song Yan stared at Chen Jia, a flicker of cold menace passing across his brow.

Looking at him, Chen Jia was close to tears.

For no reason he could name, he had offended Wang Yuan. Those colleagues who had once been close to him now looked at him as though he were a dead man and kept their distance; even the few who pitied him did no more than counsel him to "accept his fate."

Only Song Yan.

Hearing that Ding Wei was implicated in this affair, Song Yan showed not the slightest fear.

He had chosen Song Yan, and he had been right to do so!

When a fire broke out at the Yingzhenguo Estate, he had rewarded those who supplied information about the thieves with a thousand taels of silver.

He had supplied a clue to the wrongful case of the Duke Dingguo, and with Song Yan's character, he would certainly not treat him shabbily.

As for Song Yan's friendship with Wang Yuan—if only Song Yan were willing to put in a word for him, he might turn disaster into blessing and even find favor in Wang Yuan's eyes…

The more Chen Jia thought, the more excited he became, and he said urgently, "It is absolutely true, every word of it. And that is not all—I have also found out how Duke Dingguo died!"

Dou Chi's heart pounded wildly, and his hands clenched into fists.

Song Sui's face turned cold. He gazed at Chen Jia and for a long time said nothing.

In the room, only Chen Jia's heavy breathing could be heard.

"It is true, all of it is true!" In the dead silence of the room, he could not help crying out. "Ding Wei was originally from Wuyi in Fujian. His surname was Cheng, and he was abducted as a child and sold to a family named Ding. After his adoptive parents died, a clan uncle sent him into the palace. While he was in charge of the Eastern Depot, he uncovered his own origins and found his only nephew, who was working as a servant in Quanzhou.

"Ding Wei helped his nephew buy several thousand mu of good farmland in Quanzhou and open two trading firms.

"When people saw his nephew come into sudden wealth, some sought to curry favor with him.

"His nephew, afraid of being looked down upon, was unwilling to say whose nephew he was. He would only say that a kinsman long since lost had risen to high office in the capital, and had sent him a vast fortune out of gratitude for the kindness shown him by their ancestors.

"Those people wanted to borrow his influence and cajoled him into smuggling by sea. He was caught by a lieutenant under Duke Dingguo's command. Since they did not know his identity, he was put to death on Duke Dingguo's orders along with the ordinary rich merchants."

A deathly stillness fell over the room.

Dou Yan clutched at the front of her garment.

Song Yan's face was ashen.

Chen Jia's voice echoed once more through the room.

"From that time on, Ding Wei hated Duke Dingguo.

"Zhong Qiao was a hidden piece Ding Wei had planted in the Embroidered Uniform Guard back when he ran the Eastern Depot. Because Ding Wei went off to Shaanxi, Zhong Qiao's identity was left unused, but Zhong Qiao made use of certain information the Eastern Depot had once held to secure a footing in the Guard, and step by step rose to become commander of the Northern Judicial Office.

"When Duke Dingguo was taken into custody, Ding Wei instructed Zhong Qiao to have him tortured.

"After Duke Dingguo died, Zhong Qiao panicked and turned to Ding Wei for help.

"Ding Wei reassured him, saying the emperor was suspicious of Duke Dingguo and meant to deal with him, and that the emperor would certainly not pursue the matter.

"And afterward, the emperor indeed did not pursue it.

"My adoptive father and I had glimpsed such a heaven-sent secret—how would we dare investigate any further? We decided to bury it in our hearts and never speak of it again.

"A few months later, Gao Qiao was suddenly thrown into prison over some trivial offense, and soon died there.

"The next year, my adoptive father somehow offended Wang Yuan and was put to death by him.

"It was then that I discovered that no few of those who had gone with us on official business to Fujian had, for one reason or another, been put to death by the Eastern Depot or the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"I grew afraid.

"I quietly gathered together those who had gone to Fujian with me and tried to find out what was really going on.

"But before the cause was ever uncovered, word got out that I had offended Wang Yuan.

"I was isolated by the men of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and there were always those who made things hard for me. My duties went wrong again and again, and I nearly lost my post.

"Five months ago, I was seized by men of the Eastern Depot. There was no interrogation—they went straight to torture. If Wang Yuan had not recently made a fool of Shi Chuan, commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, before the emperor, and my brothers had not seized the chance to bring the matter to Shi Chuan's attention, I would likely have died in the Eastern Depot's prison.

"What I cannot understand is this: even if we knew the cause of Duke Dingguo's death, it should have been Ding Wei who moved to silence us. So why should it be Wang Yuan, who is Ding Wei's mortal enemy, who comes forward?"

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Sisters and brothers, here is a rough draft for now.

o(∩_∩)o~