The round-faced胖子 was Wu Feng, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. As one of the most skilled investigators of the era, he had already located Zhu Mo's residence.
This time, Duke Lu had instructed him to be thorough, which meant more observation, and sketching portraits was essential. In fact, he and three other Embroidered Uniform Guards had been following Zhu Mo all along, sketching his likeness from various angles. It was only when two of the Yan family's household guards stopped them to question them that they were forced to act.
What he had shown the two guards earlier was not a "Northern Commandery's" iron plaque, but a secret imperial jade tablet inscribed with the character "Ming."
The character "Ming" signified royalty, and the two Yan family guards naturally dared not openly challenge it. No matter how influential the Yan family was, they would not dare oppose a prince of the Zhu family.
Moreover, in the eyes of these two guards, this jade tablet was most likely from Prince Yu. And who was Prince Yu? He was the future Emperor!
Therefore, the two guards could only leave in frustration.
At this moment,
In a secret room deep within an alley.
Wu Feng carefully examined the portraits drawn by the three special Embroidered Uniform Guards. Feeling that they bore little difference to the Zhu Mo he had just seen, he nodded with satisfaction.
Half an hour later,
Six portraits and a secret report filled with Zhu Mo's experiences were delivered to Lu Fang.
...
Within the Yuxi Palace,
Jiajing glanced at the items in Lu Fang's hand and couldn't help but smile. "Lu Fang, this work is quite detailed... Was it done by Wu Feng himself?"
"Replying to Your Majesty, this servant would not dare to be careless."
"Good, it's reassuring to use our own people. Reward him!"
"Thank Your Majesty for your great favor!"
Jiajing washed his face with ice water before walking to his desk. As soon as he caught sight of the portraits, his entire body trembled!
"Mo..."
He almost blurted it out, but at the last moment, he forcibly restrained himself.
This,
Isn't this Mo'er?
Jiajing strode forward, quickly snatching up the six portraits. His hands trembled uncontrollably as he looked from one to another, his face filled with shock!
"This, is this really Mo'er?"
It was too similar!
It was exactly the same as his memory from more than ten years ago!
Even the image he had seen in his dreams recently was not far from the person in the painting!
Jiajing slowly put down the Xuan paper, his body still trembling.
Lu Fang had never seen the Emperor in such a state and felt incredibly panicked. He stammered, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, what is wrong? Shall I summon the imperial physician? Your Majesty..."
Jiajing let out a long sigh, slowly regaining his composure. He then read the secret report from beginning to end no less than ten times.
[This person's name is Zhu Mo, nineteen years old. He grew up in the Qingxu Abbey of Mount Wutai from a young age. At sixteen, he traveled to the capital and, upon recommendation from a disciple of the Blue Immortal, entered the Hanlin Academy to serve...]
Zhu Mo? Zai Mo?
Zhu Zai Mo?
Of the "Tu" generation?
Yes! It must be...
A Taoist abbey?
Then that aligns perfectly with what the fisherman said back then! Mo'er was taken to Shanxi by a Taoist priest?
"Tell them immediately—"
Before he could finish, he forcibly stopped himself again!
Forty years of imperial experience told him that at times like these, one must not be hasty, and should instead feign indifference, lest things go awry.
He felt his teeth chattering, his hands and legs trembling uncontrollably. After taking several deep breaths, he finally calmed down.
"Lu Fang, I am fine! Tell Wu Feng to dispatch more men and keep a close watch. If there are any mistakes, their entire families will be executed..."
"Yes, yes, Your Majesty..."
Lu Fang dared not ask any further questions, instinctively sensing that this Zhu Mo likely involved something of immense significance!
Execution of the entire family? The Emperor had never uttered such a terrifying phrase before! Who exactly was this person named Zhu Mo?
...
Zhu Mo was currently in the Hanlin Academy.
In the Hall of Rites, Xu Jie, Gao Gong, and Zhang Juzheng sat in grand chairs, with over twenty accompanying scholars lined up on either side. Zhu Mo stood opposite the three.
Xu Jie studied him carefully for a moment, feeling that the young man indeed possessed a peculiar aura. He wanted to ask something but didn't know where to begin, so he could only smile and say,
"Uh, Mr. Zhu... Mr. Zhu, your prose is magnificent, and this old man is deeply impressed, truly impressed! Uh, but, why did you write this Qing Ci? And why did you leave after writing it?"
Zhu Mo felt a good impression of Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng. Along the way, Wang Yong had explained the entire situation. He smiled slightly, about to answer, when he suddenly recalled the words of the round-faced胖子 on the street: "No matter what others ask, never answer."
He suddenly felt that this advice was quite sound: since he had already become entangled in the Qing Ci case, he indeed had to be cautious. With this in mind, he chose to remain silent. Instead, he smiled, bowed, and then crossed his arms, appearing nonchalant.
Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng exchanged glances, finding him increasingly mysterious. Based on their years of experience, they immediately thought of conspiracy theories—
Could this person be an infiltrator sent by someone else into the Hanlin Academy?
The thought of conspiracy made them even more cautious.
Xu Jie, though inwardly fearful, smiled broadly and cupped his hands. "Mr. Zhu, please forgive this old man's presumptuousness... I have a proposal. Mr. Zhu, please hear it first, and whether you agree is entirely up to your decision... Uh, I intend to respectfully invite Mr. Zhu to be a Distinguished Scholar of the Hanlin Academy. What do you think?"
The esteemed Xu Ge Lao, the current leader of the Qingliu, personally and sincerely invited him?
Zhu Mo suddenly felt a bit lightheaded—
Since Elder Xu was being so humble, he couldn't refuse him, could he? Moreover, since he had come to the Great Ming, it would be a loss not to be a scholar! Should he put the business plans for Nanyang aside for now...?
Zhu Mo immediately clasped his fists. "Thank you, Elder Xu, Lord Gao, Lord Zhang!"
Xu Jie smiled. "We are all one family now. Uh, you, arrange a room for Mr. Zhu. From now on, he will be dedicated to researching Qing Ci and Taoist scriptures..."
...
Thus,
Zhu Mo was officially employed by the Hanlin Academy.
That evening, someone took him to the scholars' residence, but Zhu Mo refused, returning instead to his rented room on the back street. It was a secluded courtyard with flowers and grass. Although simple, it was extremely quiet and peaceful.
But tonight, as the simple wooden gate of the courtyard creaked shut, figures appeared at both ends of the street and in front of and behind the houses. A total of about twenty people, all highly skilled Embroidered Uniform Guard masters, and further down the street, a sedan chair waited, with Wu Feng personally on duty all night.
That night,
Zhu Mo slept exceptionally soundly.
...
Meanwhile,
The Yan Shiqing residence was brightly lit.
Spies dispatched by the Ministry of Justice and informants embedded within the Hanlin Academy had all reported—
Zhu Mo was merely a young Taoist priest who entered the Hanlin Academy through connections from his sect. He was not a Distinguished Scholar at all!
He was a swindler!
The Qing Ci appeared around noon that day. At the time, the scholars were all in the Hall of Contemplation for discussions, and only Zhu Mo was present in the Hall of Rites, staying for about an hour.
Therefore, Yan Shifan concluded: the Qing Ci must have been written by someone else, and Zhu Mo had merely delivered it. This was undoubtedly a crime of deceiving the emperor.
However, Yan Song was a cunning old fox. After pondering for a while, he reminded, "What about the person encountered by Yan Fu and Yan Lu near Zhengyang Gate today? Who sent them? Could it be the Emperor?"
Yan Shifan replied without hesitation, "Father, isn't it obvious? That person was sent by Prince Yu! If the Emperor were to send someone, he would send the Embroidered Uniform Guard... If Prince Yu did it, isn't that the same as Xu, Gao, and Zhang doing it? Father, this is a crime of deceiving the Emperor, we cannot let them gloss over this matter!"
"Crime of deceiving the emperor, crime of deceiving the emperor... Why does this old man feel something is not right? Who exactly is this person?"
Yan Song murmured for a long time and finally let out a long sigh, still feeling uneasy.
"Father! The priority now is to capture Zhu Mo as soon as possible, extract information through torture, and make him implicate Xu, Gao, and Zhang. Then we can impeach Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng!"
Yan Song finally nodded in resignation.