Chapter 134: Two Memorials to the Throne
“Spying on neighbors, unlawfully taking concubines, relatives engaging in trade, colluding with monks, embezzling public funds.”
These twenty characters—ha! Not only would they be useless to Sun Hongde if he were to use them to go after Wang Hongyi, but even if Wang Hongyi, with his lack of scruples, wanted to use them to frame Sun Hongde, he would still be embarrassed to rely on such flimsy charges to eliminate him!
Even Magistrate Sun was speechless.
“You... you’re taking this far too lightly, aren’t you?”
What exactly does spying on neighbors mean?
According to Tang law, one must not pry into another’s residence without permission.
In other words, you cannot climb over someone’s wall and snoop around. Clearly, Wang Hongyi wasn’t the type to waste time climbing walls.
This regulation applied mainly to cases of building a second story without authorization.
If a second floor allowed one to overlook a neighbor’s courtyard, it counted as spying on neighbors, punishable by imprisonment.
However, there was an exception: if the neighbors agreed, the second floor could be built.
Who was Wang Hongyi? If he wanted to build, would the neighbors dare refuse?
Old Wu Jiu concocted this charge, but first, it wasn’t a serious crime; second, it was hard to prove.
...
As for unlawfully taking concubines—this charge was pure fabrication.
By law, officials below the fourth rank could only take up to three concubines.
Wang Hongyi was indeed below fourth rank, but he had not taken concubines unlawfully. He had three concubines in his household, one of whom had died. Even counting Chen Siniang, already brought into the household, it still totaled three, which was both reasonable and legal.
The rest—relatives engaging in trade, colluding with monks, embezzling public funds—were essentially all one matter.
Wang Hongyi’s nephew opened the Cui Xin Tower, colluding with monks from the Guanyin Temple, borrowing high-interest loans from Qin Wenyuan, attempting to seize Qin’s property.
If this charge were proven, it could keep Wang Hongyi busy for a while. But the key point was, this scheme never succeeded.
Damn it, Wang Hongyi never gained an advantage over the Qin family; in fact, he lost money.
The Qin family settled the debt with a few dilapidated shops, and Qin Wenyuan ended up benefiting from Wang Hongyi.
In Sun Hongde’s eyes, these twenty characters were utterly unreliable.
Not only were they baseless rumors and trivial matters, but even if proven, as a close confidant of the Empress Dowager, Wang Hongyi would at most receive a mild reprimand—he might not even face formal punishment.
But once Wang Hongyi recovered, would there still be any good thing left for them?
“Ninth Lord, don’t treat this like a game—this won’t do!”
Yet Wu Ning was inexplicably confident. “Magistrate, just send it up. Unless the King of Hell takes a holiday, no deity can save him.”
“Huh?”
Sun Hongde felt uneasy, thinking, “Kid, is this really reliable?”
...
“Then I’ll... just send it up and see?”
He didn’t know that Wang Hongyi was far more ruthless than Wu Ning—he had even been accused of treason.
Moreover, Sun Hongde was cautious. He suspected that this baseless impeachment might fail, and was afraid that reporting directly to the Empress Dowager would bring trouble upon himself.
So, he didn’t submit directly to Wu Zetian, but followed the proper procedures, sending it to the Palace Memorial Office, hoping it would be reported up step by step.
As it happened, the impeachment took more than ten days to circulate. Before Wu Zetian even saw it, it landed in the hands of the last people it should have.
According to Tang government procedures, memorials from local officials were first sorted by clerks at the Palace Memorial Office. Minor matters were sent directly to relevant ministries for handling, and only major issues were forwarded to Wu Zetian for her judgment.
This trivial impeachment didn’t warrant the Empress Dowager’s personal attention.
The clerks glanced at it and tossed it into the pile meant for the Censorate.
But who was in charge of the Censorate?
It was Vice Censor Lai Junchen!
...
At that moment, Lai Junchen held three documents—two official memorials and one private letter.
The official documents came from Fang Prefecture. One was from Wang Hongyi, accusing Magistrate Sun Hongde of colluding with the Deputy Governor of Shannan Circuit, Wu Changlu, to defraud taxes and merchant guilds, with intentions of rebellion.
The private letter was also from Wang Hongyi, requesting his elder brother’s help to eliminate Sun and Wu, promising to share half the resulting wealth with him.
Lai Junchen furrowed his brow, muttering to himself, “Hongyi’s timing is a bit off this time.”
Sun Hongde was somewhat troublesome, but the real issue was Wu Changlu.
He was a newly promoted noble favored by the Empress Dowager just before the new year, very significant.
Having been on the job less than half a year, and already facing accusations—would the Empress Dowager blame him? Lai Junchen wasn’t sure.
Yet he carefully examined Wang Hongyi’s private letter.
“The Wu family’s coal mine... it actually yields such profits?”
Lai Junchen’s interest was piqued.
To be precise, not just a little, but greatly.
According to Wang Hongyi, that single coal mine generated thousands of strings of cash annually, with Sichuan merchants ordering tens of thousands of catties of coal, and the profit margin was huge.
Not just a small Fang Prefecture, even the great merchants of the Eastern Capital couldn’t earn such sums.
How could Lai Junchen not be tempted?
But how could he acquire the coal mine without angering the Empress Dowager? On this point, Lai Junchen was no fool.
The Empress Dowager’s favor was the foundation of his standing.
His mind had long since discarded the personal feud between Wang Hongyi and Sun Wu, focusing solely on the coal mine and how to acquire it without provoking the Empress Dowager.
Or perhaps, sell out Wang Hongyi?
...
But selling out Wang Hongyi wouldn’t get him the coal mine.
Looking at the memorials in hand, Lai Junchen thought to himself that Wang Hongyi’s false accusations might have some use—but not for him. He needed someone more powerful.
With this in mind, Lai Junchen rose and left the Censorate, turning toward the office of Wu Sansi, Minister Wu.
As for Sun Hongde’s impeachment of Wang Hongyi, Lai Junchen didn’t even spare it a glance—what trivial nonsense was he sending up? Sun Hongde must have lost his mind.
...
At that moment, Wu Sansi was reviewing cases. Seeing Lai Junchen arrive, he hurried up to greet him.
Unexaggeratedly, Lai Junchen’s reputation for cunning and ruthlessness made even someone of Wu Sansi’s status uneasy.
Wu Sansi clasped his hands and welcomed him out: “Vice Censor Lai, what leisure brings you to my chambers?”
Lai Junchen smiled and returned the greeting: “With nothing pressing, I thought to chat idly with Minister Wu to pass the time. How about it?”
“Excellent, excellent! It’s an honor!” Wu Sansi felt suspicious but could not show it. He invited Lai Junchen inside, ordered tea to be prepared, and they began to chat about trivial matters.
After more than fifteen minutes of idle talk, Lai Junchen gently steered the conversation toward Fang Prefecture.
“Minister Wu, you recently inspected Fang Prefecture and returned after the New Year. I have some questions to ask.”
“Please, speak.”
“I heard there’s a mountain village called Xiashan’ao near Fang Prefecture city?”
“Oh?” Wu Sansi raised an eyebrow. “Vice Censor Lai knows of Xiashan’ao? Could it be you’ve heard of the famed Xuncui Residence?”
“Xuncui Residence?” Lai Junchen was taken aback, blurting out, “Isn’t that a coal mine?”
“A coal mine?” Wu Sansi was surprised too, thinking this must be Lai Junchen’s real purpose in visiting.
“The most famous spot in Xiashan’ao is indeed the Xuncui Residence; it’s quite distinctive.”
“As for the coal mine...” Wu Sansi mused, “There is indeed a coal mine whose charcoal differs from others.”
“Vice Censor Lai, what made you inquire about the coal mine?”
“...” Lai Junchen was uncertain.
Was Wang Hongyi deceiving him? Impossible—he wouldn’t dare with such audacity.
Lowering his head to think, he reached into his pocket and pulled out Wang Hongyi’s memorial accusing Sun and Wu of rebellion, as well as Sun Hongde’s impeachment of Wang Hongyi.
“Minister Wu, take a look at this!”
...