The loss of the city gate was no small matter.
Xie Yu immediately went to the palace to see the emperor. Upon hearing the report, the emperor angrily overturned the royal table.
The table, carved from a single block of sandalwood, weighed nearly a hundred jin and normally did not budge even if struck. Now it was lying on the ground, showing how furious the emperor truly was.
As the table corner hit the ground, it made a thunderous thud. Accompanied by several “crackling” sounds, the sturdy stone floor tiles cracked, and gray-white cracks instantly spread outward.
Wang Zhong and several young palace attendants outside were startled, barely daring to breathe.
How long had it been since they last saw the emperor so agitated?
Even when the imperial son-in-law Shen Xuan was to be executed by lingchi, the emperor had not been this furious.
The city gates and walls were the last line of defense for the capital. If they allowed a carriage to pass through this time, what would happen next time?
Would they next allow rebels into the city?
“For now, leave the lower-ranking soldiers alone to avoid alarming them,” the emperor’s face was dark, almost dripping with anger. “Just arrest and interrogate the high-ranking officials.”
At night, the number of guards at the city gates was several times that of the daytime, and the procedures were more stringent. The soldiers, commanding officers, and the duty official of the day had to jointly verify the identities. Only after confirmation would they be allowed to pass.
For such a large carriage to pass under the watchful eyes of everyone, if even one person was not properly bribed, it would not get through.
If it were just the lower-ranking soldiers, they would not dare to do something so bold.
Nor would they have such far-reaching influence!
After the emperor’s rage had slightly subsided, Xie Yu said, “Investigating the same checkpoint would cause too much commotion. Should we first check the eastern city?”
Before coming to the palace, he and Magistrate Song had further questioned the nursemaids responsible for training the girls.
She admitted that upon receiving instructions from above, she would drug the designated girl and wait for someone to come pick her up at night.
But she knew nothing about who gave the orders, who came to pick her up, or where they took her.
As for who issued the orders, it was likely Prince Su, because in the entire Great Lu, aside from the emperor, no one else had more power, status, or audacity than him.
Whoever came to pick her up probably wasn’t important.
Those doing such dirty work were inevitably minor figures, like the “fanatical followers” previously arrested for tailing Xiao Huang and Ma Bing, who would immediately seek suicide upon capture.
Even if they couldn’t die, no further information could be extracted from them.
Because they were merely pawns. Although it took some effort to cultivate them, they were never privy to much inside information and could be replaced at any time.
The most crucial point now was “where they went” and “what happened there.”
Those who had long been immersed in officialdom were not overly optimistic about this.
Young girls, especially beautiful ones, without sufficient ability to protect themselves, often met grim fates.
Although the nursemaid didn’t know where the carriage went, after careful recollection, she confidently said, “They went east.”
Prince Su’s mansion occupied a vast area, nearly half a street. Every time the nursemaid handed over the girls, it was through the back gate, which opened onto a crossroads with many routes.
After picking up the girl, the gray-covered carriage never lingered.
And each time the gate closed, the nursemaid would hear the sound of hooves gradually heading east.
“No exceptions?” Magistrate Song pressed.
The nursemaid thought again and nodded firmly, “None.”
That’s why Xie Yu made the suggestion today.
The carriage went east, but could it change direction afterward?
There was a possibility, but it was low.
According to several stewards, Prince Su’s mansion had been doing this for many years without any mishaps, so all the links along the way were well taken care of.
If that was the case, there would be no need to waste time and risk being discovered by taking a detour.
The emperor pondered for a moment, “Wang Zhong, summon the eastern, southern, and northern city officials to the palace immediately!”
The Great Lu dynasty established the Outer City Department and the Imperial City Department. The former was responsible for managing dozens of land and water city gates in the outer city, while the latter was responsible for the defense of the imperial city. Together, they were collectively known as the City Defense Office, overseeing the defense and security of the entire Kaifeng.
The Imperial City Department was completely under the emperor’s command, while the Outer City Department was more like a regular court position, divided into four city officials: east, south, west, and north, supervising each other.
Xie Yu immediately understood the emperor’s intention.
Going east, they might finally leave through one of the eastern city gates, but they could also turn into the southeast or northeast minor gates.
Kaifeng’s southeast had three major water gates: Puji Water Gate, Shangshan Water Gate, and Tongjin Gate, while the northeast had the Shanli Water Gate, which was dedicated to freight and had a huge daily throughput.
The other party was likely to abandon the carriage and take a boat here, heading north, south, or east to the sea, all unimpeded.
Allowing people with unknown identities to enter and exit the city at night was a minor offense of abusing authority, but a major one could be considered treason, punishable by execution of the entire family.
The involved mid- to high-level officials could not possibly be unaware of the risks, but they still did it, mainly for several reasons:
First, the person in question was high-ranking and powerful, leaving them no choice but to comply.
Second, the person offered too much—fame and fortune that moved the heart.
Third, the person held compromising information on them, enough to ruin their reputation, forcing them to agree and try to drag as many others down with them.
The lower-ranking soldiers might or might not know, but they certainly accepted money.
Because guarding the city gates was a tough job, especially for the lower-ranking soldiers, who endured the cold in winter and the heat in summer, standing there all day exposed to wind and sun, with little chance of earning merit, and a high risk of offending someone.
Due to their low rank, their salaries were also quite limited.
This led many lower-ranking soldiers to take advantage of their positions during city gate inspections, secretly extorting money from the people.
For such people, giving them silver to keep quiet was the simplest and most effective method.
In their view, allowing a carriage to pass was no big deal. It happened every few days and was definitely not related to murder or arson.
The nobles and officials had many unsavory affairs, so one more wouldn’t make a difference.
They just needed to pretend not to see anything, do nothing, and get money for free. Their superiors did the same, so why not?
The matter of interrogating mid- to high-level officials from the Outer City Department did not go through the Kaifeng Prefecture or the Ministry of Justice.
The emperor issued a handwritten order to Xie Yu, commanding him to immediately mobilize the imperial guards to arrest the officials. To prevent rebellion, the emperor even summoned Pei Rong to the palace that night, ordering him to bring a cavalry unit to assist.
The old man hadn’t received such an important task in years and was so excited that he hurriedly rushed to the barracks, shouting, “You brats, get up and get to work!”
Pei Rong handpicked three hundred strong soldiers, joining Xie Yu’s imperial guards, and they marched off to make the arrests with a fierce demeanor.
The four heads of the Outer City Department were all third-grade officials, high-ranking and powerful. Although they were now detained in the palace, their deputies were also fourth-grade officials, who usually commanded troops and were quite arrogant.
When they saw Xie Yu arriving late at night, they were initially indignant and came out with a group of people.
“We are here by imperial order to guard the city and cannot leave without cause! Young Marquis, please go back!”
They called him “Young Marquis” repeatedly, clearly not regarding him as a real official.
Xie Yu was not angry. He raised his hand slightly, and the tall and mighty Huo Ping stepped forward, directly holding up a golden token to his face and loudly declared, “Well said, we are also here by imperial order to arrest you. Surrender now!”
Pei Rong was envious from behind.
Such a strong physique was truly the makings of a fierce general. He should definitely join our cavalry department!
When the deputy head saw this, his face turned pale, and he hurriedly knelt down to plead guilty.
Xie Yu waved his hand, and Huo Ping led the soldiers to take him away.
Pei Rong felt rather disappointed.
That’s it?
You didn’t even resist?
What a great opportunity for a family execution!
Xie Yu noticed the old man’s restlessness and couldn’t help but feel both amused and annoyed. When they went to the other two locations, he simply let Pei Rong lead the cavalry to surround the smaller offices of the Outer City Department on the east and south sides.
The two deputy heads were quite pragmatic. Seeing the well-armed troops outside, with shiny armor and weapons gleaming in the firelight, they immediately surrendered.
Dozens of officials were lined up like a string of dumplings, stretching out quite a distance, so there was no need to worry about the outer city not functioning normally due to a sudden lack of officials.
Along with the arrest orders, another imperial decree adjusting the officials’ deployment was issued.
In no time, some were promoted, some were transferred, and within just a few hours, most of the Outer City Department had undergone a complete transformation, yet outside it was quiet, as if everything remained the same.
Since the Outer City Department had been infiltrated, it was hard to ensure the Ministry of Justice was clean. Therefore, these officials were neither sent to the Ministry of Justice nor the Kaifeng Prefecture but directly taken to a secret prison directly under the imperial guards.
When the three deputy directors saw the place, they were nearly scared out of their wits.
The Ministry of Justice and the Kaifeng Prefecture were at least public places.
But here… the things done were not suitable for public discussion.
Commonly known as the “hidden secrets” that could not be seen by others.
And since they were secrets, the fewer people who knew, the better.
So it wasn’t used all year round, and once activated, it usually involved treason or collusion with the enemy, and those involved rarely came out.
Not only did they not come out, but if something went wrong, their entire families would be executed.
After circling the outer city and making arrests, Pei Rong was satisfied.
After completing these tasks, he couldn’t return yet but divided the selected soldiers into two groups. One group was stationed outside the city gates of the outer city to monitor, while the other group he led and was stationed at the imperial guards’ secret prison to prevent Prince Su and his henchmen from rebelling in desperation.
Ma Bing woke up, went to the market to buy vegetables, and vaguely felt the atmosphere was a bit off.
But she couldn’t quite pinpoint exactly what was wrong.
After buying vegetables and heading back, she met the patrolling officers on the street, and Ma Bing hesitated, finally realizing what was wrong:
The patrolling officers had changed.
There were two military patrols in the Kaifeng Prefecture, Xie Yu and Fang Bao, who were usually responsible for maintaining city security and assisting the Kaifeng Prefecture in maintaining order.
Their daily patrols were predictable, and after several months of interaction, Ma Bing had become familiar with the patrolling officers along the route from the government office to the market.
But today, the ones she saw were not the usual batch under Xie Yu.
What happened?
Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen Xie Yu this morning either.
Not only hadn’t she seen Xie Yu, but even the usual people like Huo Ping and Yuan Pei, who unfailingly went to the training ground every day, were missing. When she passed the training ground before leaving, it was eerily quiet.
Thinking this, Ma Bing instinctively walked towards the city gate.
At first glance, everything seemed normal.
The city gate was still open, people were entering and exiting in an orderly manner, and the city remained prosperous as ever.
But when she looked closer, she was shocked to find many familiar faces missing, and the number of guards checking people seemed to have increased.
Investigations often required frequent comings and goings through the city gates, and since the guards were stationed there permanently, she had a basic memory of them.
But today, some people were gone.
Was it a coincidence?
Probably not.
Something big must have happened.
Ma Bing tightened her grip on the vegetable basket, about to turn back to the government office when she saw an old man with a long bamboo stick tapping his way slowly from the city gate.
There were more people entering and exiting in the morning, and he seemed blind, unfamiliar with the way, stumbling along, his bamboo stick occasionally bumping into something.
Seeing he was blind, some people considered themselves unlucky, while those with a short temper inevitably scolded him.
At first, the old man still smiled and apologized, but after several times, he became embarrassed.
He slowly withdrew the bamboo stick, standing helplessly on the street, not daring to move forward or backward. His sightless eyes wandered aimlessly, his shoulders hunched, utterly lost as to where to go.
“Excuse me…”
He tried to ask passersby by tilting his ear, but no one stopped.
Seeing this, Ma Bing hesitated slightly before walking over, “Old man, where are you going? I’ll take you there.”
The old man was startled, “Huh?”
In such a noisy street, it was extremely unfriendly for a blind person because they couldn’t immediately distinguish where the sound was coming from or if it was directed at them.
Ma Bing took the other end of the bamboo stick and first led the old man to the roadside teahouse to avoid being bumped into, then repeated her question.
This time, the old man heard clearly.
“Miss, I… I need to go to the Kaifeng Prefecture. How do I get there?”
“The Kaifeng Prefecture?”
Ma Bing said, “I work at the Kaifeng Prefecture. Did you encounter any difficulties?”
“No, no,” the old man first hugged the bamboo stick to his chest before nervously reaching into his waist and pulling out a small piece of paper, “Someone asked me to deliver a letter…”
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