Chapter 63-64 Unexpected

  Zhao Chu felt both hatred and love for the two men, Lu Xiang and Yao. He wanted to kill them, but it would be a pity to waste their skills. On the other hand, if he didn't kill them, he was afraid they would become a threat in the future. He knew that at the time, he had intimidated them with his advanced weapons, but these guys were reckless and daring, willing to do anything for money. If things went wrong, they might cause trouble for him again. Moreover, this time they had killed an old friend of Huang Jingchen's. If Zhao Chu kept it a secret from Huang Jingchen and he found out later, it would create suspicion between the two men, which wouldn't be good. Therefore, Zhao Chu decided to tell the truth about what happened, leaving it up to Huang Jingchen to decide whether to kill or spare them.

  "Huang Bo, you said that since the matter was done secretly, but who leaked the news and mobilized people from the rivers and lakes as well as officials to jointly pursue and kill them, wanting to eradicate them completely. Could it be that Cai Xiang wants to silence them by killing?" Zhao Che asked again.

  "It won't be him, the Night Gate is a sect in the Jianghu, and people from both the imperial court and local areas have many connections with them. They spend money to get them to do some shady things, so Cai Jing using them is just to cover up. The Night Gate has always had a good reputation, and when an assassination attempt fails, they will often take care of it themselves, never revealing their employer's information." Huang Jingchen quickly made a judgment, "The problem with the Night Gate being pursued this time must be from within themselves!"

  "Huang Bo, what are you talking about? Are you saying it's an internal conflict?" Zhao Shu was a bit bewildered, Huang Jingchen's words had exceeded his judgment.

  "It should be a combination of both, someone inside and outside colluded with them!" Huang Jingchen Zhao didn't quite understand and continued: "Your Highness, think about what the Imperial City Patrol is. It's the emperor's eyes and ears. Cai Jing wouldn't dare to interfere, but now people from the Imperial City Patrol are involved. And those who can manipulate the Imperial City Patrol are countable on one hand, Your Highness, can you guess who it is?"

  "Could it be Yang Jia? They can take action in the palace, someone must be inside to help them and cover their actions, and only he can do that!" Zhao Ke said as he thought.

  "Heh heh, Prince Wang's guess is correct. It was indeed Yang Jiaolong. The eunuchs in charge of the pharmacy and tea delivery in the palace all died under unclear circumstances, yet no one investigated. Such a big incident could only be covered up by him. And I heard that Yang Jiaolong has been getting close to your distant uncle Zheng Qizhong recently."

  "What does he have to do with this?" Zhao Ke felt that his brain was a bit short of oil, and the speed couldn't keep up. This matter had already involved two top leaders in the palace and the imperial court, and now it had also pulled in this royal relative.

  Here is the translation:

  "It's worth mentioning again that Cai Jing was demoted to Hangzhou, where he hoped to make a comeback. Since the Emperor listened most to Empress Dowager's words, Cai Jing entrusted Zheng Juzhong to mediate on his behalf and promised him the position of knowing the imperial secrets. After Cai Jing returned to power, he indeed recommended Zheng Juzhong to the Emperor, but this time, Empress Dowager blocked it due to Zheng being an outsider, and the position fell into Zhang Kangguo's hands. Naturally, Zheng Juzhong held a grudge against Cai Jing and turned to Yang Jie instead!"

  "Could Yang Jie be thinking of killing Zhang Kangguo and leaving the position to Zheng Zhongzhong?" Zhao Shi only knew that Cai Jing's return to power was a strong move, but he hadn't expected so many twists and turns.

  "In this, how he plotted with Cai Jing, I do not know, but I think even if Yang Jia's courage was greater, he would not dare to openly interfere with state affairs. However, the fact that the Emperor increasingly relied on Cai Jing is true. I reckon Yang Jia pursued and attacked Ye Men because he suspected that Cai Jing had used them, fearing that they would threaten him or that things would not be kept secret, so he decided to eliminate them all at once. But to eradicate a hidden sect from the root, the simplest method is to find an insider!"

  The rest is not necessary for Huang Jingchen to say, Zhao Ye also understood that Yang Jian had already secretly bought off the people at the Night Gate, figured out their tracks, and after Lu You's successful assassination, he immediately arranged for people to continuously leak out their whereabouts and residences, leading those who had offended them in the Jianghu world to pursue and kill them. The officials were fishing in troubled waters, taking advantage of the situation to surround and annihilate the various branches of the Night Gate, using those who could be used and killing those who couldn't, incorporating the largest killer organization on the Jianghu under his own control.

  "This old man is indeed a seasoned official and a master of intrigue, so thoroughly familiar with these matters. If I weren't aware of the general direction of events myself, he would have fooled me! Zhao Xiang thought to himself, feeling grateful that Huang Jingchen was on his side, which saved him a lot of worry and also made him realize how complicated things were in the imperial court. 'Huang Bo, what do you think we should do with these two people?'"

  "Besides, since they have no other choice but to temporarily submit to us, if they are willing to be loyal to us, Your Highness will gain an extra force. If they harbor any ulterior motives, killing them would not require much effort. If Your Highness trusts me with this matter, I will arrange for Shunzi to secretly keep an eye on them." Huang Jingchen replied after a moment of contemplation.

  "Huang Bo, don't you want to avenge Zhang Zhiyuan's death?" Zhao asked.

  "Haha, Prince Wang is worried that I'm taking personal revenge!" Huang Jingchen said with a smile, "Zhang Kangguo and I do have some connections, but it's also mutual utilization. Now that he's gone, I've hurried back to the capital to burn incense for him, which counts as repayment. Besides, when a knife kills someone, can't just blame the knife!"

  "I was measuring you with a small person's heart, don't blame me, Huang Bo!" Zhao Che's concerns were exposed by Huang Jingchen, and he looked embarrassed as he poured Huang Jingchen a cup of tea.

  "Isn't the prince a little man?" Huang Jingchen said with a sip of tea, Zhao Yi was taken aback and suddenly thought that he was only eight years old, of course, he was an unadulterated "little man". He couldn't help but laugh at Huang Jingchen, who also made the embarrassed Prince, and the two plotters, one big and one small, couldn't help but burst out laughing!

  The city is heavily guarded, with soldiers waiting for dawn, while the villagers outside the city who are repairing the canal are still unaware of what's happening. They just notice that there are more idle people wandering around the village, and the men are still busy at work, at most reminding their wives and children to lock the doors tightly and be careful not to let thieves steal their hard-earned money.

  This winter, there were only two heavy snowfalls. After entering spring, the weather gradually warmed up, and there was not much rainwater. As a result, a spring drought formed. The wheat in the fields was at the jointing stage and needed to be watered. The tenants begged the village heads to speak with the person in charge, delaying for two days to release some water from the reservoir to irrigate the fields.

  Zheng Fu and the others discussed it and felt that this would affect the harvest of the tenant farmers for more than half a year. Stopping work for two days wouldn't delay the construction period, so they agreed to use the repaired irrigation canal to irrigate the fields, watering all the wheat fields in each village. This was originally a good deed, but unexpectedly it caused a disaster.

  The irrigation ditch has been basically dug out and is being reinforced and leveled. After the water supply is completed, work will resume. However, no one expected that after soaking in water for a period of time, a section of the soft soil canal would suddenly collapse, burying all six strong workers who were repairing the canal inside. Despite efforts to rescue them, two people died and three were injured in the tragic accident.

  "Zheng Fu, kneel down!" In the council hall, Zhao Che's face turned iron-green after listening to the report. He paced back and forth in the hall twice, then suddenly turned his head and sternly ordered Zheng Fu, who was standing on one side, to kneel down. The other attendants were taken aback, as they had never seen the normally gentle King treat a servant so harshly before.

  "Second Master" Zheng Fu's heart skipped a beat as he heard this, and although others were unclear, he knew the truth about Wang Ye, so he knelt down on one knee with a low cry.

  "Zheng Fu, I'm asking you, do you know about water channels and transporting water?" Zhao asked, pointing at him.

  "Second Master, I know it was me who ordered the release of water for irrigation!" Zheng Fu replied honestly.

  "All right, since it's your order, after the water is diverted, you can send someone to check the change in soil quality of the irrigation canal!" Zhao asked again.

  "Second Master, I didn't, I was negligent!" Zheng Fu replied with his head lowered.

  "Haha, you're careless, speaking lightly, one sentence from you took two lives, two men lost their lives in an instant, the world has a few more fatherless children, and two broken families. Do you know your sin?" Zhao Ke said with a cold smile.

  "The little people know their guilt!" Zheng Fu said with a bow of his head.

  "Good, you still have a sense of responsibility. Since I entrusted the dam construction and canal repair to you, now that something has happened, you must take responsibility for it. Otherwise, I won't be able to explain myself to the deceased and their families. Now, I'm relieving you of your position as head manager, deducting one year's salary, and giving you 20 heavy blows with a stick. Are you willing to accept this?"

  "Second Master is right, I dare not have the slightest complaint, only please don't drive me out of the mansion!" Zheng Fu said with a thud on the ground, his eyes red.

  "Your departure will be discussed later!" Zhao Kai waved his hand, and two guards came up to drag him out. "Who was in charge of supervising the water canal at the collapsed section?" he asked again.

  "Second Master, it's true!" A small servant from the housekeeping department walked out of the crowd and knelt down before Zhao could even speak.

  "Have you noticed the change in soil quality and signs of landslides?"

  "Second Master, I've arrived. However, the laborers all want to dig a bit more to earn some extra money. I thought this way we could finish the repairs faster and avoid delaying your important matters, so I didn't stop them," replied the small steward.

  "Hmph, you're just trying to flatter me, but you're actually a heartless person who only cares about meeting deadlines and pleasing me. People like you who deceive those above and below are the most despicable." Zhao Ze said coldly.

  "Second Master, spare my life! I was also doing it for the mansion!" The little servant's face turned pale with fear as he fell to the ground, wailing loudly. He knew that the master wanted to kill him, but it would be as easy as crushing an ant.

  "Get out, take him down and give him twenty lashes first, then lock him up. We'll deal with him later!" Zhao said with some disgust. He looked at the other managers, his gaze sweeping over them, and they all lowered their heads. "Zheng Lu, you're temporarily in charge of the site manager position, responsible for handling affairs on the construction site. The rest of you should take this as a warning. You're not just here to supervise the laborers' work. If something like this happens again, be careful with your own heads!"

  "Yes!" Everyone replied in unison and also let out a sigh of relief, they were all afraid that the king would continue to hold them accountable.

  "Zheng Lu, pass on the message that during the recovery period of the injured Zhuang Ding, their wages will be doubled and all medical expenses will be paid by the government. Additionally, their rent for this year will be waived; for those who died, a compensation of 30,000 yuan will be given immediately, and all funeral expenses will be borne by the government. Each family will also receive an additional 20 mu of land as a means of livelihood in the future!" Zhao Ke said.

  "Yes, I'll go and handle it right away!" Zheng Lu responded, immediately arranging for someone to take care of it.

  Everyone had left, Zhao Chu sat down weakly. "Second Master, these are all unexpected, don't blame yourself too much!" Jian Xi said as she poured him a cup of tea and handed it over.

  "Jian Xi, go and get me a set of plain clothes. I'll still go with them to the homes of the casualties. This whole thing is ultimately my fault for not making proper arrangements, or else this wouldn't have happened!" Zhao Che sighed and said.