Jing Wang ran in the courtyard, clinging to a large tree at one moment, then lying on the ground listening intently, letting out yelps that were impossible to decipher.
Xu Wei, realizing the urgency, decided he had to go in. Seeing that Supervisor Li wasn't paying attention, he reached out to push the door. Just then, a series of yelps echoed, and a figure flashed before his eyes. Jing Wang’s face appeared in the gap of the door, his eyes bloodshot and wide with terror.
At this moment,
Xu Wei saw clearly—
This person was not Zhu Xue!
Zhu Xue had been studying painting under him for over half a year. That person was slightly older than the one before him, by at least five or six years. Zhu Xue’s chin was also sharper, and his face fuller, whereas this person had a very gaunt face.
Furthermore,
Zhu Xue’s eyes were not as deep as this person’s, and their temperaments were vastly different. Zhu Xue was somewhat arrogant and impetuous, while this person was inscrutable.
It must be known,
Xu Wei had studied medicine. The first impression he got from that brief glance was that this person was not mad! Observing his expression now, though his demeanor was extremely frenzied, his eyes were clear, and his pupils were not scattered…
Zhu Mo, on the other hand, felt this person exuded a special aura, as if possessing something mysterious. Though his eyes were filled with panic, his hands did not tremble; instead, they held the doorframe firmly, his fingers long and strong… As for whether this person was mad, the answer was quite clear—
The person’s composed demeanor said it all!
He was not mad!
At this moment,
Just as Xu Wei was about to speak, Zhu Mo immediately tugged at his sleeve, and they retreated a few steps. Supervisor Li and Shi Weiming, seeing movement in the courtyard, also rushed over. Having largely achieved their objective, they quickly followed Supervisor Li and hurried away from the royal mansion.
…
In the Taoist temple’s guest room,
The two were still somewhat shaken.
Xu Wei pondered for a moment and said:
“Naturally. I’ve also studied a bit of medicine. This person’s eyes were not scattered or cloudy, his pulse was stable. Moreover, his complexion was normal, and his hair was healthy, indicating no issues with his kidney water. If the heart and kidneys are fine, how can a person go mad? Do you remember? Though this person’s eyes were bloodshot, they were not bulging, nor were there any issues with his qi and blood… I suspect he was faking it…”
Zhu Mo followed up:
“If he was faking madness, did Yan Shifan know about it?”
Xu Wei, who had been thinking all the way, said with certainty:
“Yan Shifan should have known! Otherwise, what benefit would his Yan family gain from clashing with the Crown Prince? It seems the rumors about people are not baseless. Like children’s rhymes, they often foreshadow destiny. The Yan family indeed intended to rebel…”
The Yan family’s rebellion was also an unexpected event for Zhu Mo in his ten-plus years in the Jiajing dynasty. In his memory, the Yan family, though powerful, had not truly rebelled. Later, Yan Shifan was executed by a single imperial edict, and the Yan family’s faction seemed to fade. However, in the past decade or so, what he had seen and heard differed from later records. He eventually concluded that this divergence was due to the variable of the Portuguese. The Yan family, along with Yin Yuanheng, Zheng Jian, Otomo Sorin, Mao Longxuan, Mang Yinglong, and others, genuinely intended to fundamentally change the Great Ming.
Thinking of this,
He had a clear judgment regarding the events in Jiangxi’s Jingdezhen, and said:
“Wenchang, with this in mind, Jingdezhen will not be quiet… Although the Crown Prince compromised with the Yan family, appointing Yan Shifan as the Right Minister of the Bureau of Military Affairs, and they jointly handled the case. However, since the Yan family possesses Jing Wang as their trump card, the outcome in Jingdezhen will inevitably be the Crown Prince suffering a loss… At that time, if the Yan family causes any major incident, it will surely trap the Crown Prince, making it impossible for the Emperor to allow the Crown Prince to supervise state affairs later. Thus, Yan Song will introduce Jing Wang…”
Thinking of this,
Zhu Mo felt the scene was too vivid and said leisurely:
“Brother Wenchang, imagine, by then I, Zhu Mo, will be disgraced, the Crown Prince deposed. What choice will the Emperor have? Of course, only this Jing Wang will remain? But Jing Wang will likely already be in the Yan family’s clutches, or perhaps this person is an imposter found by Yan Shifan himself. With such a substitution, this Great Ming empire will then belong to the Yan family… How brilliant, how incredibly brilliant…”
Xu Wei followed his line of thought and felt a shiver run down his spine—
That’s right.
Why would Yan Shifan keep the real Jing Wang? This person was likely a look-alike they found. At the time, he would be put on the throne to deceive the world…
However?
He blurted out:
“Zixuan, you think the Emperor also knows this person is faking madness?”
Zhu Mo nodded, thinking: You people don’t know, that Jiajing fellow is exceptionally shrewd. He had already sent the Embroidered Uniform Guard down long ago…”
But he replied verbally:
“Naturally. Think about it, what kind of person is the Emperor? Even if he’s slow, after the incident in Jiangxi, he should have sent someone to investigate…”
Mm-hmm,
Xu Wei said:
“However, the Emperor had confined Jing Wang to the capital residence at that time, and later he went mad, so he was sent here. And now that the Emperor knows this person is not mad, wouldn’t that make him suspect the Yan family? This means that the Yan family using this person as a trump card doesn’t make sense, does it?”
Zhu Mo smiled calmly and said:
“You’ve forgotten four words—”
“Oh?”
“King, Does, Not, Meet, King!”
Zhu Mo finished speaking, then chuckled again and continued:
“The Emperor’s disadvantage lies in believing Tao Zhongwen’s nonsense. He hasn’t seen his own son since he was three or four years old! How would he know if this person is real or fake?”
With a sigh,
Zhu Mo exhaled deeply and said again:
“This cannot be blamed on others. Who told him to go against human ethics? This is what is called karma! That old Yan Song understood his ‘king does not meet king’ perfectly, which is why he devised this substitution scheme!”
Hiss!
Hiss!
Xu Wei suddenly felt a chill run through his entire body and murmured:
“Too poisonous, too poisonous…”
It was evident,
The Emperor believed his son was not mad, and thus would not refuse his ascension. But if this person had truly been swapped by the Yan family, then wouldn’t the Emperor have been working for the Yan family’s benefit?
Moreover,
What kind of person was he, Xu Wei? As soon as he heard the Yan family intended to kill the Crown Prince, he knew the Yan family must have a trump card! And after tonight’s observation, he was now deeply convinced—
This person was most likely an imposter found by Yan Shifan!
Because,
If they didn’t find someone to replace him, the real Jing Wang, as long as he was alive, would have the Yan family exterminated on the very first day of his reign!
At this point,
Both of them understood. All the clues now connected— Since the Yan family was so ruthless, Jiangxi would soon spiral out of control…
With this thought,
Xu Wei said, “Zixuan, we must go to Jiangxi! We have to leave tonight! If we’re late, it’ll be too late!”
Zhu Mo sighed and said:
“What’s the point of going? If I show myself, the rumors will be confirmed… But now that it has come to this, we have no choice but to go…”
His original plan was to wait and see, to hold out until Prince Yu and the Yan family had their showdown, then he would have an opportunity to counter. But as things stood, the Yan family would likely push matters to an irreversible point at some stage, and in that case, those Khitan would be in dire straits.
Xu Wei followed up:
“The Yan family’s foresight is so profound. I believe that at least one part of that prophecy will come true, which is ‘water red, earth black’! The Yan family is very likely to cause a river of blood…”
Zhu Mo nodded. After a brief discussion, they rode their fast horses that very night and rushed towards Jiangxi.
…
Meanwhile,
Jingdezhen was already filled with an atmosphere of terror.
In just a few days, the situation had reversed. When Lü Kun had accompanied Zhu Mo last time, both sides were still in a standoff. Now, it was a complete landslide. Imperial Commissioner Fan Yingqi and Governor Ma Sen had already arrived in Fuzhou, and Jingdezhen’s garrison troops were on full alert. The Khitan felt an all-pervasive sense of despair.