Zhuo Yu Feng Yang Chapter 40

Chapter 40: Tracing the origin of the residual seal, the aftermath of the old case

Jiang Zhuo laid the rubbings flat on the long table and took out a yellowed “Directory of Internal Affairs Officials of the Yongzheng Dynasty” from the bookcase.The pages of the book were turned noisily, and his eyes were fixed on the name on the directory. His fingertips traced the lines of writing, and finally stopped on the three words “Li Mingshan”.

The directory records that Li Mingshan once served as a doctor in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He was transferred to Jiangxi Gueguan in the eighth year of Emperor Yongzheng’s reign. The following year, he was dismissed from his post due to a corruption case and was investigated, but there is nothing about his follow-up.

“That’s wrong.” Jiang Zhuo whispered to himself, frowning, “Tang Ying’s secret edict said that after Li Mingshan framed him, he was still serving in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. How could he be suddenly transferred to Jiangxi?”

Lu Jingyang stood aside, holding a bowl of freshly brewed hot tea in his hand. He was stunned when he heard this: “Is Secretary Shi wrong? Or is there something fishy in this?”

“It’s not a misremembering, it was deliberately erased.” Jiang Zhuo raised his eyes and pointed at the word “Li” on the rubbing. “Look at the writing style of this character, which is heavy at the beginning and light at the end. It is almost exactly the same as Li Mingshan’s signature handwriting in the directory.”

He picked up the copper seal and brushed his fingertips over the flat cut surface at the fracture: “This seal was cut off with a sharp weapon, and the copper shavings at the fracture were smoothed away. Apparently, he was afraid that people would recognize the seal.”

Lu Jingyang suddenly realized it and slapped his thigh suddenly: “You mean, this copper seal was Li Mingshan’s official seal back then?”

“Nine times out of ten.” Jiang Zhuo nodded, turned the copper seal over, and pointed to the remaining seal characters on the seal surface. “The official seal of Chihu Button could only be used by officials of the fourth rank or above of the Ministry of Internal Affairs during the Yongzheng Dynasty. The specifications of this seal correspond to Li Mingshan’s official position of doctor.”

At this moment, Jiang Zhuo’s cell phone suddenly rang. It was Lu Chen’s call.

“Are you asleep?” Lu Chen’s voice came through the receiver, a bit hoarse, “I found something about Li Mingshan’s follow-up.”

Jiang Zhuo’s spirit perked up: “You say it.”

“In the ninth year of Yongzheng’s reign, Li Mingshan did not go to Jiangxi to take office at all.” Lu Chen’s voice deepened. “I asked someone to check the secret files of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He was secretly executed by Emperor Yongzheng because he was exposed for embezzling official porcelain from official kilns. The announced transfer was just a cover-up.”

Jiang Zhuo’s heart suddenly sank.

The secret edict only stated that Li Mingshan framed Tang Ying, but did not mention his outcome.It turns out that this moth had long ago ended up with his body and head missing.

“There is one more thing.” Lu Chen added, “After Li Mingshan’s death, his mansion was ransacked and all the property in the mansion was confiscated. Only one thing was missing. It was his official seal. According to the files at the time, the official seal was ‘missing’. Now it seems that it was probably hidden by his cronies.”

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Zhuo didn’t speak for a long time.

Lu Jingyang also heard the clues, and his face became solemn: “So, this copper seal was deliberately broken by Li Mingshan’s cronies? What are they trying to cover up?”

Jiang Zhuo did not answer, but picked up the copper seal again and applied rust remover to the inscription on the side.This time, he dipped a soft-bristled brush in warm water and wiped it carefully, not even a single gap.

As the patina completely faded away, the handwriting on the inscription finally became clearer.

In addition to “Li”, “Ministry of Internal Affairs” and “Yongzheng”, two incomplete characters were also revealed – [… Porcelain… Account…]

“Porcelain account?” Lu Jingyang narrowed his eyes, “Is it the account of Li Mingshan embezzling porcelain?”

Jiang Zhuo’s pupils suddenly shrank.

He remembered the words in Tang Ying’s secret edict that Li Mingshan had embezzled hundreds of pieces of official kiln porcelain.In addition to the treasures collected by Qing Yanshan, some of those porcelains may still be missing.

The word “porcelain account” on this copper seal is most likely the key to recording the whereabouts of those porcelains.

“After Li Mingshan died, his cronies would definitely want to take the porcelain account and find the remaining porcelain.” Jiang Zhuo’s voice was cold, “But they were afraid of being traced by the court, so they broke off the official seal, leaving only the parts related to the porcelain account.”

“Where is the rest of the porcelain?” Lu Jingyang asked.

Jiang Zhuo shook his head and his eyes fell on the copper-printed Chihu button.He suddenly discovered that there was a very fine groove at the eye of Tiger Button, like a mark carved by someone with a needle.

He took out a magnifying glass and took a closer look. There was a small “well” carved into the groove.

“Well?” Lu Jingyang came over with confusion on his face, “What does this mean? Is it a place name or a symbol?”

Jiang Zhuo didn’t speak, but turned on the computer and searched for the map of Yongzheng’s imperial capital.

On the old map, densely packed streets and alleys crisscrossed the area.His eyes swept across the streets and finally stopped at a place in the south of the city – Shajing Hutong.

That’s where Li Mingshan’s mansion was.

“It seems that we have to go to Shajing Hutong.” Jiang Zhuo’s fingertips fell on the four words “Shajing Hutong” on the map, and a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes.

Lu Jingyang immediately became energetic and clenched his fists: “When are you going? I’ll pack my things now!”

“Tomorrow morning.” Jiang Zhuo closed the computer and looked out the window at the dark night. “Shajing Hutong has now been transformed into an old residential area. I’m afraid it will take a lot of effort to find clues.”

The moonlight shines through the window lattice and falls on the copper seals and rubbings on the long table.

The incomplete copper seal glowed dimly under the moonlight, as if telling a dusty past.And that period of past events not only hides the secrets of Li Mingshan’s corruption, but also hides a batch of official kiln porcelain whose whereabouts are unknown.

The next morning, as soon as the sun shone into the alley entrance, Jiang Zhuo and Lu Jingyang were already standing in the alley of Shajing Hutong.

The branches and leaves of the old locust trees cover the sky and the sun, and the courtyards with green bricks and gray tiles are scattered in an orderly manner.In the alley, old people who got up early were walking with their birdcages, and vendors were shouting one after another, creating a peaceful scene.

No one knows that this seemingly ordinary old alley actually hides a shocking secret from a hundred years ago.

Jiang Zhuo and Lu Jingyang looked at each other and walked deeper into the alley.

Behind them, a black shadow flashed past and followed them quietly.