Qiang Jin Jiu (Author : Tang Jiuqing 唐酒卿)

Chapter 95 : Mansion

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Wei Huaigu, who was over 50 years old, was stripped of his official robes, thereby turning into a prisoner in white. He was shackled, with iron bars separating him and Xiao Chiye. No one had ever maltreated him these few days he had been put on trial. His hair, which had been tied up in a bun, was tidy, and his face was clean. It was just that he seemed to have aged by several years in a few short days. He looked very haggard. 

“The trial ended last night.” Wei Huaigu sat on the chair and said to both of them. “My confession has already been submitted, and I’m now waiting to be sentenced. What else do you want to ask?”

“Embezzlement of state treasury funds, resale of military provisions for illegal gains, and the poisoning of the generals at the frontier—all three charges are capital crimes.” Xiao Chiye looked closely at Wei Huaigu. “Wei Huaixing has also been removed from his post and thrown into prison to await the impeachment order. The fall of your Wei Clan’s line of direct descendants took out two imperial court ministers along with it. How is it that you could bear to let it happen this time?” 

“This matter concerns Libei. Who would dare to bend the law and play favorites? There’s no one to protect me.” Wei Huaigu adjusted his sitting posture as if he was still sitting in the main seat at the Ministry of Revenue’s office compound. He looked at Xiao Chiye, “Your father has now come out of obscurity to take up the mantle. His Majesty probably won’t even dare to sleep these few days. The Prince of Libei is still the same tough nut as he was back in those days. He knows what to do to give them a rap on the knuckles.” 

“You should have known that those military provisions were to be delivered to Libei when you were filling the military provisions up with moldy grains. But you still did it all the same, didn’t you? At that time, you weren’t the slightest bit afraid that there’s no one protecting you.” Xiao Chiye shifted a little and continued, “To send these things into my eldest brother’s mouth, adulterating it was only the first step. When the grains arrived at Libei, you bribed the officials in charge of examining the granary so that they would close an eye and send the stuff to the camps. This was the second step. Then you bribed the mess cooks of the Libei Armored Cavalry and mixed this poisonous stuff into the dishes before they were sent to the soldiers at the frontier pass for consumption. This was the third step.” 

Xiao Chiye stopped and looked out of the corner of his eyes at Wei Huaigu.

“These arrangements take time and effort. The moment an accident happens, you won’t be able to deny your involvement in it. Not only will you not get away with it, you’ll even be subjected to a probe by the Ministry of Justice, which will bring your crime of reselling military provisions for profits to light. You are not this kind of person.” 

Wei Huaigu did not answer Xiao Chiye’s question immediately. Instead, he looked at Shen Zechuan, who had been sitting behind Xiao Chiye all this while. He laughed and pointed at Shen Zechuan, saying, “Second Young Master has made progress, having been in Qudu for six years. Back then, when you first entered the capital, you spent the whole day looking for fights and braying for blood. Vice Commander Shen knows this from experience, right? That’s why I said Xiao Fangxu is an iron fist to dare to put his son on the edge of the blade to polish. You really have your father to thank for being able to grow into the person you are now.”

Xiao Chiye looked at Wei Huaigu with indifference. It was unexpectedly Shen Zechuan who pushed aside the confession statement. With both hands slightly clasped together on the table, he said calmly to Wei Huaigu without so much a smile or wrath, “That’s right. You find it unfair to see such a Xiao Ce’an. Your son spent all day mixing with the brothel crowd during the years of Xiande. By the time the Grand Secretariat had a change of personnel in the reign of Tianchen, it would have been insurmountably hard for him to enter officialdom through the imperial examinations even if he wanted to. You are already at this age. Yet the Wei clan does not have a descendant of direct lineage who is capable of keeping the Wei clan going. You placed your hopes on a marriage alliance, but a pity the Fei clan knows that the Wei clan is on the decline, and Commandery Princess Zhaoyue eventually married into the Pan clan. In your post as the Minister of Revenue, you’ve repeatedly demoted and relegated newly appointed officials to remote areas. What you fear was being replaced by the up-and-coming talents. Today, the Wei clan seemed to be still at the height of its power, but in truth, it is already water that is about to spill over—With your death, the Wei clan is doomed to fall.”