35: Why don't you go down and ask your father?

"You want to see him?"

Upon hearing Mo Yingqi say he wanted to see Zhou Jinan, Lu Qianyuan frowned. It wasn't out of sympathy; the Flying Fish Guard of the Pacification Bureau, even if they had sympathy, wouldn't waste it on someone like this.

He just didn't understand what Mo Yingqi wanted with him. It was impossible to expect Zhou Jinan to turn against his uncle just after the incident; that was clearly impossible.

"Whatever can be utilized must be utilized, right?" Mo Yingqi finished the last of his tea. "Besides, he hates those of us who wear the flying fish robe, he hates the entire Pacification Bureau—he should at least be allowed to... die with a clear understanding, shouldn't he?"

So, when Zhou Jinan woke up, he found himself in a small room, with a trembling physician opposite him... along with the grinning Mo Yingqi and Lu Qianyuan.

"You... how are you..."

"Oh, Temple Official Zhou, you only had your nether regions cut off, how did you lose your brain too?" Lu Qianyuan smiled mockingly. "When an official is harmed, according to regulations, the Pacification Bureau must take over the investigation. Or do you need me to help you recall how you were tossed at Caishikou to be gawked at for entertainment?"

"Old Lu."

Mo Yingqi waved his hand to interrupt him, then looked with a smile at Zhou Jinan, whose face and lips were deathly pale: "I won't bore you with the rules, Temple Official Zhou. My men have already gone to Dali Temple to retrieve the case files. It's possible you misjudged a case and someone is seeking revenge."

"Bullshit!"

Zhou Jinan struggled to get up, but a piercing pain in his lower body made his expression contort, and cold sweat poured down from his forehead.

"Don't get excited, it's not good for your health." Mo Yingqi kept his polite smile. "You are at Dali Temple, even here in the capital under The Emperor's feet, it's hard to guarantee there are no unjust or wrongful cases. Since the files haven't been fully retrieved yet, we came first to ask you for some details, and second, to bring you something."

"Why are you playing dumb? My current state, isn't it the work of your people at the Pacification Bureau?" Zhou Jinan gritted his teeth, staring stubbornly at Mo Yingqi's attractive eyes. "You lot, you running dogs..."

"Running dogs, perhaps, but we are The Emperor's running dogs, the running dogs of the Daxing Dynasty." Mo Yingqi shrugged. "And now that you've suffered and fallen into trouble, you still have to rely on this group of running dogs to clean up the mess for you."

"Stop crying thief while being the thief, Mo Yingqi, I know you!" Zhou Jinan's eyes held resentment, and... jealousy. "The son of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang region Provincial Administration Commissioner, Zhang Jiayan—come to think of it, we're actually relatives! Do you really think you can deceive those in power and bewitch the Princess? I know exactly what kind of person you are!"

"A mother from a merchant family, who returned to the Zhang family and turned the respectable Zhang family upside down, relying on your martial arts to defy your father..."

Before he could finish, Lu Qianyuan, not caring that he was injured, stepped forward and slapped him across the face.

"Say one more word, and I'll hit you again," Lu Qianyuan said coldly. "You have the nerve to bring that up? Do you not know what that Provincial Administration Commissioner has done?"

"You don't know a damn thing!" Zhou Jinan was acting like a madman now. "My uncle has his own considerations. Being able to use the dowry from his mother's family is doing her the favor of acknowledging her merchant background!"

"Zhou Jinan, although your case is in our hands now, the Pacification Bureau has plenty of ways to deal with you." The smile on Mo Yingqi's face vanished, and his voice turned cold. "Right now, you are a drowning dog; not only can anyone step on you, but even if I killed you, this Eunuch, right now, a single document back home would explain it away. Your dear uncle... I'm afraid he wouldn't even care where a rootless, abandoned pawn like you died."

Eunuch, rootless—these words further incensed Zhou Jinan; his eyes turned red instantly, but Lu Qianyuan had already drawn his wild goose feather saber halfway.

"I have no interest in your uncle's 'grand ambitions,' but if you bring up my mother again, I won't mind letting you know that sometimes, being a Eunuch is more pleasant than being sent to the Imperial Prison." Mo Yingqi placed his saber across his knees. "It seems Temple Official Zhou doesn't want us to investigate your case, but that's fine; we have to do it regardless of your wishes. However, I am curious: your father's case was reviewed multiple times by the Three Judicial Offices, and the Pacification Bureau only made arrests after obtaining concrete evidence. Why do you hate us?"

"Ha, hahahahaha!" Zhou Jinan gave a desolate laugh. "Since you mentioned my father, you must already know about his case back then, and you should know what kind of person my father was!"

"Naturally. Under Grand Chancellor Zhou, there were three younger half-brothers." Mo Yingqi's tone was very calm. "Your father was the youngest. He was a top scholar during the previous Emperor's reign. Later, thanks to your uncle and his own outstanding ability, he was highly regarded by the previous Emperor. After being sent to a regional post, his career soared, and he even received two 'Umbrellas of the People.'"

"You really did investigate my father..." Zhou Jinan's bloodless lips curled into a mocking smile. "Then you should know..."

"Know what? Know that your father embezzled the imperial disaster relief funds, that he sold off the disaster relief grain and replaced it with pig feed bran?" Mo Yingqi snapped his fingers, and a Flying Fish Guard entered, slamming a stack of case files onto the table. "Since the founding of the Pacification Bureau by the Taizu Emperor, I don't know if there have been any unjust cases, or how many there might be, but in your father's case, sorry, he was not wronged."

"Impossible!" Zhou Jinan blurted out almost instinctively. "My father, my father is not that kind of person!"

"I knew you wouldn't believe it; the files are right here." Mo Yingqi pointed to the stack of files on the table. "You are welcome to get up and look for yourself—oh, you probably can't get up. And I can't leave these files with you. How about this, I'll just explain it to you simply?"

After speaking, Mo Yingqi slowly stood up, walked to the table, and gently patted the files with his right hand: "I will only tell you the result. The previous Emperor personally approved the execution by autumn. Out of consideration for your uncle's plea, and because he was merely 'temporarily muddled,' the previous Emperor only executed him and did not implicate his family."

"The Three Judicial Offices held five joint hearings. The Pacification Bureau's records of the investigation process alone are this thick, and there are many witness testimonies and other materials that weren't brought here. Precisely because your father had an excellent reputation during his tenure, and even..."

Mo Yingqi suddenly paused, then pulled out one of the files and opened it: "According to the Flying Fish Guard's field visits at the time, not a single resident in your father's jurisdiction believed that the disaster relief funds were embezzled by your father. Furthermore, many people spontaneously went to the government office to petition, asking if something had gone wrong. But the facts were exactly as stated. As for this disaster relief fund, it was hidden by your father in another residence of his, and his spouse... that is, your mother, knew nothing about it."

At this point, Zhou Jinan's expression had become extremely unsightly. Mo Yingqi was in no rush; he sat back down in his chair: "To show fairness, the search was conducted not only by the Pacification Bureau but also with the specific request for a managing Eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial, as well as... your uncle, Grand Chancellor Zhou's trusted confidant, to participate in the search."

"And to appease the local populace, the previous Emperor only claimed that your father was being taken back for investigation. All the case files here were personally reviewed by the previous Emperor before being sealed by the Pacification Bureau."

At this point, Mo Yingqi paused again, a hint of malice in his smile: "The first file begins with the previous Emperor's decree on record. Precisely because your father had received two 'Umbrellas of the People,' and because your father was upright and had outstanding achievements during his tenure, the mission the Pacification Bureau initially received was never to arrest, but to... see if there was any injustice."

"So, Temple Official Zhou, you tell me: was it you who was wrong, was it the Pacification Bureau that was wrong, or... was it the previous Emperor who was wrong?"

After saying this, Mo Yingqi pointed to the files again: "If the Temple Official doesn't believe it, you are welcome to recover your health and come to the Pacification Bureau to find me or Chief Lu, and I can let you see enough. You have never heard the truth because the previous Emperor was considering your uncle, and because your father always had a reputation for virtue, he was just leaving some face for your family."

Zhou Jinan's pupils constricted, his mouth opened, and the words he originally wanted to use to refute were on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't say them at all.

The fact that Mo Yingqi dared to say this could only prove that his words were all true. He had once heard his uncle mention that after his father was executed, his mother was heartbroken and, unable to cope, hanged herself to follow him in death when the family wasn't paying attention.

"This case was inherently unsightly, involving the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, and your father had served for many years with an excellent reputation, both in official circles and among the people." Mo Yingqi rested his arms on the files, watching the trembling Zhou Jinan with smiling eyes. "If Temple Official Zhou still doesn't believe it, I actually have another way..."

"After Chief Lu and I leave, you are free to follow your mother's example, hang a three-foot length of white silk from the rafters, and go to the underworld to ask your father yourself."