Zhu Qingyu had originally harbored a final sliver of hope that perhaps the morning's chaos had caused the driver and Zhang Shen to miss each other. Now, learning that Zhang Shen had indeed not returned home, that last shred of hope was shattered.
Zhang Shen had definitely met with an accident, and the only person who might know the specific details now was Chief Merchant Xue.
Zhu Qingyu let go of Zhang Ruohua's hand:
"Third Sister, listen to me carefully. Go home first and look after the house. Last night, Jingyan was in the front courtyard of the government office and wasn't with me. I need to make a trip to the Xue residence to ask about the specifics."
Zhang Ruohua had been anxious and fearful all night. Having finally waited for her sister-in-law to return, and now learning that her second brother might be in trouble, there was no way she was willing to stay at home. She followed her onto the carriage:
"Sister-in-law, I'm going with you!"
The families of the chief merchants mostly lived in the same area, so the Xue residence was not far from the Zhang family.
In front of the Xue residence, where there were usually porters and servants guarding the door and running errands, the main gates were tightly shut today, with not a single person outside.
The driver got down first to knock on the door. After a long while, a hesitant voice came from the entrance:
"Who is it? What's the matter?"
Recognizing the voice of Chief Steward Xue, Zhu Qingyu, who was right behind the driver, quickly said:
"Chief Steward Xue, I am First Madam Zhang. Are Master Xue and Madam Xue at home? I have a matter to ask them about."
There was dead silence inside. After quite a while, the main door of the Xue manor slowly and stealthily opened a crack.
Chief Merchant Xue poked half his head out:
"Oh my, sister-in-law, it really is you."
Someone pulled from behind, and the half of Chief Merchant Xue's head that had just popped out was yanked right back in.
Zhu Qingyu took a step forward, but before she could speak, a hand reached out and pulled her inside.
Zhang Ruohua had been holding Zhu Qingyu's hand the whole way there, so with one pulling the other, Zhang Ruohua was dragged inside as well.
As soon as the two entered, the Xue family slammed the door shut with a bang, locking out the driver who was still hesitating about whether to follow them in.
Zhu Qingyu was fiercely yanked in first, then bumped into by Zhang Ruohua. Losing her balance, the three of them tumbled into a heap at the doorway like a human pyramid.
Madam Xue was at the very bottom, falling hard on her rear and crying out "Ouch, ouch, ouch!" three times in succession.
To catch Zhang Ruohua, Zhu Qingyu had crashed half her body onto the ground. Her skirt was torn, and as she braced herself with her right hand, her palm was scraped raw, oozing blood.
Zhang Ruohua hurriedly scrambled up first, then pulled Zhu Qingyu to her feet:
"Sister-in-law, are you alright?"
The scene was a chaotic mess. Over on the other side, Chief Merchant Xue had also helped Madam Xue up. As soon as she was on her feet, she said in a frantic rush:
"Sister-in-law, why are you still running around on the streets? If I were you, I would quickly find a place to hide."
Zhu Qingyu's palm stung fiercely, and her knees hurt too, but she could not spare a moment to check her injuries. She hurriedly asked:
"Chief Merchant Xue, Madam Xue, I came just to ask what exactly happened last night. Do you know where Jingyan went?"
Recalling the government office last night—the killings, the arrests, the Imperial Guards—Chief Merchant Xue felt his liver tremble just thinking about it. Not daring to speak loudly, he whispered:
"It's the illicit salt case. The Emperor has issued a decree. Because of this illicit salt business, many people were arrested on the spot. Even an official as high-ranking as Lord Gao, the Viceroy of Liangjiang! Vice Minister Gu killed him right in front of everyone. It was absolute madness. Jingyan... Jingyan was taken away by the Imperial Guards last night."
The sword dangling over her head finally fell, smashing into Zhu Qingyu's mind with a deafening crash. A buzzing sound echoed through the world around her.
Gu Zhao hadn't lied to her. It really was the Imperial Guards!
In all the time she had been here, she had never seen the Imperial Guards, but she had heard many rumors about them.
The Imperial Guards were a violent apparatus belonging directly to the Son of Heaven, obeying only his commands.
Under the will of imperial power, every rumor related to the Imperial Guards was drenched in blood. Their leader, Commander Shen Xu, was rumored to be an extremely brutal and cold-blooded man who took pleasure in torturing and killing prisoners using various methods.
In short, the people and events represented by the words 'Imperial Guards' were far more cruel than the romanticized versions she had seen on television in the past.
Here, from the imperial relatives down to the common peddlers, everyone shared a common understanding: if a person entered the imperial prison of the Imperial Guards, they could essentially be considered a dead man.
The buzzing sound continued to echo relentlessly in her ears. Zhu Qingyu felt as if her own words were coming from another world:
"When the Imperial Guards arrested him, did they say what crime Jingyan had committed?"
Speaking of this, Chief Merchant Xue grew even more terrified. His voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz:
"They said Jingyan committed the crime of deceiving the Emperor. First Madam Zhang, deceiving the Emperor is a crime punishable by the extermination of the entire family! Jingyan kept looking at me before he was taken, and I knew he wanted me to pass the message to you, to tell you to run—run as fast and as far as you can. I wanted to tell you this morning when I came out of the government office, but I didn't see you. As for the Zhang family... sigh, don't blame me for being a coward. I didn't know if the Imperial Guards were at your house, so I truly didn't dare go there to tell you. Thank goodness you came. Now I can say I haven't failed the task Jingyan entrusted to me; I've delivered the message. Really, while you still have the chance, you must run."
In a world where imperial power was supreme, offending the Emperor meant things had already reached the absolute worst stage.
Because it could not possibly get any worse, Zhu Qingyu unexpectedly calmed down. Even the buzzing sound lingering in her ears faded away, and her mind regained its clarity. She said coolly:
"Jingyan must have been framed. He has never met the Emperor in person, let alone handled any errands for him. As for his duties as a chief merchant, he has always been diligent and cautious, never daring to make a single mistake."
Chief Merchant Xue sighed:
"Who says otherwise? You know, us chief merchants might be considered figures of status and prestige here in Yangzhou, but in the eyes of the Emperor, people of our standing are less than ants. The Emperor is someone high up in the clouds, while we are just little ants on the ground. We couldn't even reach him if we tried, so how could we deceive him? Besides, I know Jingyan; he is the most cautious and pragmatic person. How could he be audacious enough to deceive the Emperor? But the Imperial Guards aren't the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Justice would at least hold a hearing to debate right and wrong. The Imperial Guards... to put it bluntly, they are simply not a place that listens to reason."
To find out what was really going on, she still needed to ask Zhang Shen. The key was how to get to see him. Chief Merchant Xue frequently traveled to the capital, so he should know more than she did.
Zhu Qingyu asked again:
"Chief Merchant Xue, thank you for taking the risk to tell me all this. Jingyan has always respected you the most and treated you like an older brother; he truly did not misjudge you. I don't know many people in the capital, so I want to ask for your advice. Do you know who Commander Shen, Lord Shen of the Imperial Guards, is on good terms with? I want to find a middleman who can put in a good word, to see if we can pull strings with Lord Shen so I can enter the imperial prison and see Jingyan."
Chief Merchant Xue was so terrified by Zhu Qingyu's sheer audacity that his mouth hung wide open. It took him quite a while before he could speak:
My goodness, sister-in-law, you are truly bold. At a time like this, instead of thinking about running away, you actually dare to approach the Imperial Guards. The deep affection between you and Jingyan is truly beyond words. As for Lord Shen, could a man like him even have any close friends? I have truly never heard of any. However, if you are talking about an acquaintance who can actually speak with him, we happen to have one right here in Yangzhou City. Vice Minister Gu and Lord Shen both used to be study companions to the Emperor. With this connection, they must certainly be much more familiar with each other than ordinary people.
