With the death of the Manager of the Happy Building, the storm around the Jade Sound Pavilion was thoroughly quelled.
This outcome was beyond the expectation of many.
The Manager of the Happy Building had worked for the King Han Mansion for nearly ten years.
Over these ten years, the Happy Building had earned an immense amount of silver for the King Han Mansion.
It could be said that she firmly bore the label of the King Han Mansion.
Because of this background, even some nobles of Chang’an or fourth-rank and lower officials at the court had to give her some degree of courtesy.
Riding on the fame of the King Han Mansion, she had behaved with total impunity over the years.
Some small music workshops and brothels that had painstakingly nurtured a well-known girl were quickly poached by her.
If anyone did not comply, their girls, or even the brothel managers, would inexplicably disappear after a while, forever vanishing from sight.
Nobody had expected that tangling with the Jade Sound Pavilion this time would result in the death of Manager Sun.
Some of the inside stories were already well-known.
The Happy Building, accustomed to acting high-handedly, had this time turned its sights on the Jade Sound Pavilion.
Although the rumors of a relationship between the Pavilion Master of Jade Sound Pavilion and the son of the Minister of Justice were proven false, out of caution, even the Sky Sound Courtyard was merely making a small attempt to poach.
However, the Happy Building brazenly took more extreme measures.
They not only employed many hooligans to create disturbances daily at the Jade Sound Pavilion, driving away customers and rendering the pavilion unable to do business,
but the Manager of the Happy Building also personally visited the Jade Sound Pavilion, intending to force Phoenix to transfer the Jade Sound Pavilion at an extremely low price.
Days ago, the Ministry of Justice inexplicably issued an order, stirring up a campaign against misdemeanors in Chang’an, where many hooligans were dealt with.
The direct actions of the Ministry of Justice undeniably confirmed their involvement.
The Jade Sound Pavilion was backed by the Li Family.
The Happy Building was supported by King Han.
Everyone was waiting to see how the drama would unfold.
Unexpectedly, it was King Han who conceded first.
With the tight security around the Happy Building, who could infiltrate Manager Sun’s room in broad daylight, kill her, and then depart undetected?
In this affair, Manager Sun was undoubtedly sacrificed.
King Han was unwilling to provoke a conflict with Li Xuanjing for her sake.
Li Xuanjing was famously protective of his kin; wiping out a place like the Happy Building would not be difficult for him.
Most of the common folk only knew Li Xuanjing as a powerful villain, and through this incident, they gained a clearer understanding of his power and influence.
Forcing the prince most likely to inherit the throne to kill a confidante of ten years and concede,
throughout history, very few power ministers have managed to achieve this.
King Han Mansion.
A youthful figure, frowning, strode rapidly into a grand hall.
Outside was bitterly cold, but inside the hall, it was exceptionally warm.
The young man removed his heavy outer robe, and two maids immediately stepped forward to take it.
The young man looked at the figure sitting on the brocade couch, frowned, and asked, "Father, why did you kill Manager Sun? She has worked for our mansion for so long, without merit but with hard work. Now, outside, everyone says you are scared of Li Xuanjing, isn’t this embarrassing for our King Han Mansion?"
On the brocade couch, a middle-aged man rose from between two plump women and said, "It’s not that I am scared of him; I just don’t wish to provoke him. Anyone can manage the Happy Building. If I didn’t explain it to Li Xuanjing, who knows how he would’ve retaliated from the shadows. You know how much your Imperial Grandfather trusts him..."
The prince could not hide his disappointment.
Since when did a prince fear a subject?
When will Father stand up for himself a bit more...
He waved his hand, retrieved his heavy outer robe, and said resentfully, "Forget it. I’m leaving. Really, how could I have such an embarrassing father..."
As he left, he passed by a middle-aged official, nodded to him in a perfunctory salute as the official slightly bowed.
The middle-aged official entered the grand hall, and King Han, who had gotten down from the bed and commanded the two plump women to leave, then said with a smile, "Fuzhi, come, have a seat."
The middle-aged official did not sit down but closed the hall doors and said, "Your Highness, you are a bit too impatient."
King Han raised an eyebrow, "You think there has been a mistake in my actions?"
The middle-aged official said, "These past months, first it was Zheng Tianxing, then Zeng Yan, followed by Sun Jin. Your Highness has acted too frequently, I am concerned that the observant ones might notice."
King Han dismissively said, "Zheng Tianxing was killed by his concubine, Zeng Yan died at the hands of thieves, and Sun Jin offended Li Xuanjing’s son. I killed her to explain to Li Xuanjing. Do you see any problem with that?"
On the surface, of course, there was nothing wrong.
But with the Zheng Tianxing case, a butterfly was caught.
With the Zeng Yan case, they almost revealed themselves, and to make amends, there was an additional loss of a Death Soldier.
Both cases almost got exposed by the son of Li Xuanjing.
This time, the case was directly related to him.
If anything went wrong, ten years of planning would be ruined by one case.
King Han patted his shoulder and said, "Fuzhi, your courage is still too small. The archives of that year are already destroyed, only the Ministry of Personnel and the Imperial Palace Bureau retained them, and we have our people placed there. If anyone investigates, it would be impossible for us not to know..."
The middle-aged official said nothing.
He was naturally reassured with others.
But when tied to Li Xuanjing, he always felt uneasy.
He looked at King Han and said earnestly, "To be cautious, Your Highness should refrain from taking action lately. Li Xuanjing’s son has been cultivating in the Ministry of Justice. If another murder occurs, it will surely be handled by him. This man is extremely clever and has cracked many strange cases. I’m afraid something might go wrong..."
King Han chuckled, "No matter how clever he is, can he be more clever than Li Xuanjing? Even with Li Xuanjing, we have used him without him noticing anything, haven’t we?"
With a dismissive smile, he said, "You all say Li Xuanjing is clever, but if he really was, why would he choose King Chun who can’t be propped up? Can’t you see, among all the princes, Father Emperor would choose anyone but King Chun? Everyone says Li Xuanjing is extraordinarily smart, but I see him as merely having an empty reputation..."
The middle-aged official sighed inwardly.
Lacking a background was precisely why Li Xuanjing chose King Chun.
If King Chun had, like the other princes, powerful forces backing him, His Majesty wouldn’t trust Li Xuanjing so much.
But these words, he could not say out loud.
Seeing him still frowning, King Han could only say, "Alright, I promise you, I won’t make a move anytime soon. You can rest assured. This matter will be watertight, without any mishaps. Stay later for a meal; we haven’t had a drink together in a long time..."
Thinking of something else, he asked, "By the way, about the piece you planted in the Ministry of Personnel, should we deal with him? I’m not worried about Li Xuanjing, but about him..."
"No need. I believe he’s not capable. Besides, he is my fellow townsman and might be of use to me in the future. After some time, I will find a way to transfer him..."
"Then I’ll listen to you..."
...
Ministry of Personnel.
A few officials were whispering.
"Have you heard about that matter?"
"Which matter?"
"The manager of the Happy Building has died."
"I didn’t expect King Han to make such a concession..."
"Perhaps he doesn’t want to offend Lord Li over a mere manager..."
Archives Chief Zhao He, listening to their discussion, left unobtrusively.
He entered a government office, and seeing no one around, he took out a handwritten register from the drawer.
These volumes were filled with names.
That high-ranking official always had him keep an eye on a certain official’s documents.
He cautiously left himself a hint.
Returning later and taking advantage of his position, he took the chance to conduct his investigation.
This investigation indeed revealed some clues.
The Qinghe County Magistrate Gu Wenhan, whom the high-ranking official asked him to watch, had previously been a Book Corrector at the Eastern Palace’s Scripture Bureau.
And once, when the name "Zheng Tianxing" came up, that third-rank official had a significant lapse.
Zhao He investigated further; this Zheng Tianxing had been a clerk in the Inner Straight Bureau of the Eastern Palace.
It was always the Eastern Palace.
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Out of curiosity, he secretly copied the register of Eastern Palace officials.
After some covert investigations, he found several former Eastern Palace officials who had met untimely deaths.
Some had their families confiscated by the court after being caught in wrongdoings, some were killed by their own concubines, some drowned accidentally in a boat, and there were even a few who died accidentally from pufferfish poison...
These people had died in bizarre ways, none repeating.
Those registers also sporadically mentioned several names of female officials of the Inner Palace.
There was one named Zeng Yan, previously the Keeper of the Treasury in the Inner Palace.
Zhao He had just started looking into her when he learned she had died, killed by a thief breaking into her home.
Another was Sun Jin, a Chief of the Inner Palace, previously managing the concubines’ jewelry and clothes, who later became the manager of the Happy Building.
Now, she too was dead.
Could all these deaths truly just be coincidences?
Zhao He faintly felt that he might have stumbled upon a monumental secret.
Although he still did not know what this secret was, he felt that his prospects of promotion and fortune might depend on it...
Though the Capital Governor, a senior official and his fellow townsman, would only offer him empty promises.
His fate was still in his own hands...
Ministry of Justice.
A young man walked in and said, "Minister, the manager of the Happy Building is dead. It was probably at the initiative of King Han. This issue might once again be blamed on you..."
He could guess how it would be rumored outside.
Li Xuanjing’s power was overwhelming; even King Han had to bow his head and, to settle things with Li Xuanjing, might have even had to order the deaths of his own confidants...
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After the young man left, Li Xuanjing pulled out a piece of paper from a stack of documents and circled the name "Sun Jin" with a red pen.
It was visible that several names on this paper were already marked with red circles.
With an expression of piqued interest on his face, he looked at the remaining names and murmured in a low voice, "Gu Wenhan, Zheng Tianxing..., Zeng Yan, Sun Jin, who will be next?"