lovenovelstory Chapter 136 The Calamity of Witchcraft
Chapter 136 The Calamity of Witchcraft
Chapter 136 The Calamity of Witchcraft (Part Two)
Meanwhile, Zhao Dezhao returned to the Prince of Wugong's residence and went straight into his study. Amidst the flickering candlelight, his expression grew increasingly grave.
The more he thought about it, the more something seemed off.
Zhang Quhua sued Lu Duoxun for accepting bribes and falsifying the list, but the truth will come to light once the matter is investigated.
That day, in the examination hall, in front of Xue Juzheng, Lu Duoxun, and many officials from the Ministry of Rites, he ordered Zhang Quhua's name to be crossed out. This was not a secret, and many officials could testify to it. Lu Duoxun had no way to refute it, nor did he need to.
Why would the person behind such a clumsy accusation have Zhang Quhua make it?
Unless—Ludoson is not the target at all.
In other words, it's not a so-called new policy!
Zhao Dezhao's fingers tapped unconsciously on the table, his thoughts racing.
The so-called lawsuit against Ludoson may just be a smokescreen; their real purpose is undoubtedly to target him!
"A monster—a monster?"
As Zhao Dezhao muttered those two words, his eyes grew increasingly serious, and a hint of fierceness flashed across them.
He immediately summoned his servants: "Tell Lu Duoxun to come to my residence immediately after the palace examination!"
In the afternoon, Lu Duoxun, who had just finished presiding over the palace examination, rushed over. Before he could even pay his respects, Zhao Dezhao immediately told Lu Duoxun everything that had happened in the Chuigong Hall.
Upon hearing this, Lu Duoxun frowned, lost in thought, his fingertips constantly rubbing his cuffs. After a moment, he looked up and said with certainty, "If Your Highness's prediction is correct, then Zhang Quhua is merely a pawn being manipulated. The other side must have other plans, and Your Highness must be on guard!"
"I am naturally aware of that." Zhao Dezhao waved his hand and said in a deep voice, "That's why I need Lord Lu to help me find out Zhang Quhua's recent whereabouts."
"Find out exactly who he contacted after returning to Kaifeng, especially after failing the exam, who he met and what he said, leaving no stone unturned."
"The enemy is in the dark while we are in the light; we must find this person."
"9
"I obey your decree!"
Knowing the gravity of the matter, Lu Duoxun dared not delay and quickly bowed in agreement, his expression becoming increasingly solemn.
"Go ahead and expedite this matter. Report back immediately if you have any updates."
Zhao Dezhao waved his hand to signal him to leave, but a feeling of unease lingered in his heart.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Early that morning, just as dawn was breaking, a rapid drumbeat could be heard outside the Kaifeng government office.
"Knock knock knock—knock knock knock one"
The yamen runner on duty yawned as he stepped forward and opened the gate. There he saw an old man dressed as a night watchman, holding a drumstick in a flustered manner. As soon as the yamen runner came out, he rushed forward and almost knelt down with a thud.
"My lord! Help! Please, my lord, save my life!!"
The constables quickly helped the old man up, their tone impatient yet respectful: "Who are you? Why are you beating the drum? What grievance do you have? Tell me slowly!"
The old man finally regained his composure, his face still pale, his lips trembling, and his voice shaking uncontrollably: "I am—I am a night watchman from Kaifeng. Last night, around midnight, I was passing through the back alley of Changning Street when I suddenly heard eerie whispers coming from a grand courtyard—"
"Oh, right, there were also some strange chanting sounds! Out of curiosity, I quietly crept over and listened for a few moments, peeking along the wall. I vaguely heard some kind of shrine ritual or curse, which scared me half to death. I turned and ran!"
"But after we got back, a series of misfortunes befell my family! My wife went to the well to fetch water and fell straight in. When they pulled her out, she was already dead—"
'
At this point, the old man's face was filled with deep fear, and he kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "I know, it must be because I overheard something I shouldn't have heard that night, which brought trouble upon myself."
"I rushed here early this morning, begging you, sir, to save me!"
"Tch, I thought it was something important—"
Upon hearing this, the constable curled his lip and was about to send the old man away when he suddenly remembered that the back alley of Changning Street was the residence of the Prince of Wugong.
Upon realizing this, the constable's face changed drastically, and a layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on his back. He dared not delay any longer, so he quickly helped the old man up and hurriedly led him into the mansion, heading straight to the back hall to report to Song Qi, the Kaifeng Prefectural Magistrate on duty.
"A shrine sacrifice curse—this is witchcraft!"
Upon hearing this, Song Qi's face instantly darkened, and her brows furrowed.
"But the key point is that in the back alleys of Changning Street, there's only one residence: the Prince of Wugong's mansion—"
This matter is of great importance and also involves the Prince of Wugong of the current dynasty. Song Qi's expression became increasingly solemn, feeling that the situation was extremely troublesome.
He originally intended to ask Zhao Guangyi, the prefect of Kaifeng, to take over the matter, but the yamen runner who went to invite him quickly reported back that the Marquis of Taiyuan was ill and unable to come. He was only ordered to investigate the matter thoroughly and report it to the emperor as soon as possible.
This really worried Song Qi.
On one side is the forbidden witchcraft of the palace, and on the other is the noble martial arts prince. Neither side is something a mere magistrate like him can afford to offend.
Left with no other choice, he had to bite the bullet and have someone take the night watchman to the secret room.
"My lord! Everything I said is absolutely true! I would never dare to deceive you!" The night watchman knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face, his expression still showing fear.
Song Qi dared not believe it easily, so he immediately sent two trusted constables to the night watchman's house to check.
Before long, the yamen runners reported back, and the result was exactly as the old man had said.
Sure enough, a woman's corpse was found floating in the well in the courtyard. Her death was tragic; her face was ashen white, her eyes were wide open, and the terror she felt before dying remained in her eyes.
Upon receiving the news, Song Qi rubbed his temples, his face grim. He fixed his gaze on the night watchman and asked in a low voice, "You said you heard chanting and curses coming from inside the mansion. Did you hear them clearly? What exactly were they saying?"
The night watchman trembled, and said in fear, "It seemed to be something—the soul of a child, entering this wooden figure and being driven by me—and something about a black dragon covering the sun, but I didn't hear it very clearly—"
"nonsense!"
Song Qi's eyes widened as he stared intently at the night watchman's every move. He shouted sternly, "That's the residence of the Prince of Wugong, a place for royal relatives. How dare you spread rumors and slander here? I think you're deliberately trying to harm the Prince and plotting something sinister! Guards! Drag him away and punish him for treason!"
Upon hearing this, the night watchman turned pale with fright and immediately knelt on the ground, still crying and pleading, "My lord, spare my life! I'm innocent! I really heard those words. Otherwise, I wouldn't dare to come to Kaifeng Prefecture to beat the drum even if I had a hundred lives!"
"Besides, I had no idea beforehand that it was the Prince's residence. If I had known, I wouldn't have dared to approach it even if you killed me!"
Seeing that the night watchman remained completely composed even under such pressure, Song Qi felt an increasing headache coming on.
"Very well, let's do as the Marquis of Taiyuan says and report to the Emperor."
He immediately ordered his men to throw the night watchman into prison and keep him under strict guard. Then, he himself took the files he had examined and the statements from the autopsy, and hurriedly headed straight for the palace.
Meanwhile, inside the Chuigong Hall of the Imperial Palace.
Wang Renzhan had been investigating Zhang Quhua's case for days and had finally made some initial progress. At this moment, he was kneeling in the hall, bowing to Zhao Kuangyin on the throne to report on the case.
"Your Majesty, I have thoroughly investigated the Zhang Quhua case and have uncovered some of the truth."
Wang Renzhan bowed and said, "Liu Rang, the official in charge of the Ministry of Rites, insisted that he personally witnessed Lu Duoxun taking Yang Li to identify Zhang Quhua's examination paper."
"I then questioned Lord Xue and the officials from the Ministry of Rites who were present that day, and they all said in unison that Zhang Quhua's examination paper was crossed out by order of the Prince of Wugong, and had nothing to do with Lu Duoxun. Lu Duoxun never interfered in the drafting of the list from beginning to end."
"I summoned Yang Li again, and Yang Li vehemently denied the bribery, saying that he had never met Lu Duoxun in private. I sent people to search Yang Li's residence, but found no evidence of bribery."
As he spoke, Wang Renzhan looked up at Zhao Kuangyin again and said cautiously, "Therefore, in my opinion, there are only two possibilities in this case."
"Firstly, Liu Rang is lying and is deliberately using Zhang Quhua's case to discredit the new policy."
"Secondly, perhaps Zhang Quhua's name was indeed crossed out by the Prince of Wugong, but the Prince of Wugong may have done all this to cover up for Lu Duoxun —"
Zhao Kuangyin listened quietly, his face expressionless, his fingers tapping incessantly on the imperial desk.
Only after Wang Renzhan did he suddenly ask, "Has Zhang Quhua woken up?"
"Your Majesty, I am awake—"
Upon hearing this, Wang Renzhan looked troubled and began to stammer after only speaking halfway through his sentence.
"Speak plainly!" Zhao Kuangyin frowned, his tone turning serious.
"Your Majesty, I obey!" Wang Renzhan panicked and hurriedly said, "Zhang Quhua—has already woken up. However, after waking up, he still seems dazed, and what he said is quite strange. Your Majesty—I dare not report this without authorization."
"Oh? What did he say?" Zhao Kuangyin raised an eyebrow slightly.
Wang Renzhan took a deep breath and said with a forced smile, "Zhang Quhua said that the reason he suddenly fainted yesterday was because—he saw a black dragon on the back of Prince Wugong. The black dragon's eyes were bloodshot and it was filled with resentment. He was so frightened that he cried out 'monster' and fainted."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin's expression changed drastically.