The Ming Dynasty: Reshaping the Land

Chapter 23 Confession

In Li Jinglong's hand was a gold medal, with a lifelike golden dragon on the front and the four characters "As if the Emperor were personally present" written on the back.

Upon seeing the gold medal, Huang Bin froze on the spot, his chest heaving, his eyes fixed on Li Jinglong.

Li Jinglong, however, remained unperturbed, letting out a cold laugh and saying unhurriedly, "Lord Huang, have you forgotten the rules? Do I need to remind you?"

Despite his resentment, Huang Bin had no choice but to bow and greet the Imperial Envoy: "Your subject Huang Bin pays his respects!"

"Marquis Yichun! I have been ordered to inspect the implementation of the Kaizhong project. I ask you, are the two men below you servants of your household?" Li Jinglong asked coldly.

Huang Bin glanced at Huang Haishan and Huang Biao, whose faces were now unrecognizable, and whispered, "Yes!"

"Are you aware that these two colluded with the granary officials and acted lawlessly?"

"I do not know!"

"Since these two are stewards of the Marquis's residence, do you admit to the crime of failing to manage their subordinates properly?" Li Jinglong glanced at Huang Bin and continued to ask.

"I am guilty!"

Huang Bin readily admitted it, but Li Jinglong had no intention of stopping there.

"These two individuals have been committing illegal acts for nearly six months. Do you admit to the crime of negligence?"

"I am guilty!"

Do you know where the two men hid their stolen money?

"I do not know!"

"Lord Huang, don't pretend you don't know!" Li Jinglong warned.

Upon hearing this, Huang Bin immediately turned to Li Jinglong, a fierce glint in his eyes. "I wonder what Duke Cao's intentions are? Do you believe I am protecting these two?"

"Clap! Clap! Clap!" Li Jinglong clapped repeatedly, smiling as he said, "As a founding hero, Your Excellency would naturally not protect lawbreakers!"

After saying that, Li Jinglong put pressure on Huang Haishan and Huang Biao, saying, "I'll give you a chance. If you reveal who's behind this, I'll spare your lives."

Otherwise, according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, not only will you two be skinned alive, but the men in your families will be exiled to Liaodong, and the women will be sent to the brothels. You should think carefully about which punishment is more severe!

As soon as Li Jinglong finished speaking, Huang Bin was startled and cursed him under his breath. Then he narrowed his eyes and looked at Huang Haishan and Huang Biao.

Seemingly sensing Huang Bin's threat, both Huang Haishan and Huang Biao lowered their heads, not daring to look him in the eye.

"Your Excellency, this matter was decided by me on my own initiative. I had no mastermind behind it. Huang Biao was only acting under my orders, which is why he colluded with Liu Chun!"

With things having come to this point, Huang Haishan chose to remain loyal to Huang Bin. Huang Haishan understood very well that Li Jinglong could not do anything to Huang Bin, a founding hero, based on this matter alone. Even if it reached His Majesty, it would only result in a reprimand and a salary reduction. After weighing the options, Huang Haishan chose to take full responsibility.

Li Jinglong had anticipated Huang Haishan's choice, and immediately waved his hand, ordering the Imperial Guards to take the two away.

"The servants of Lord Huang are incredibly loyal; I am truly envious!" Li Jinglong said sarcastically to Huang Bin.

"Please, Duke Cao, watch your words! These two men have disregarded the law and have already confessed their crimes. Therefore, they are not fit to serve as servants in my Marquis's mansion!" Huang Bin glared at Li Jinglong and said coldly.

"Heh!" Li Jinglong chuckled. "Since that's the case, then please sign and affix your seal. I will certainly report your failure to manage your subordinates and your indulgence of your servants to His Majesty!"

"You..." Huang Bin's anger surged, and he stood up abruptly. "Duke Cao, do not humiliate your subject!"

"These are all the sins you just confessed to, how am I the one humiliating you?" Li Jinglong said dismissively.

"Very well!" Huang Bin said with a forced smile. "I will remember how poorly Duke Cao has behaved today!"

Upon hearing this, Li Jinglong glanced at Huang Bin without blinking and said, "Whether you remember or not is none of my business, but please remember that as a nobleman, you must abide by the law. Otherwise, don't blame me for not reminding you if you commit a crime in the future!"

"Farewell!" Huang Bin snorted coldly, turned around, and led his guards out of the inn.

"Someone come here!"

"Your humble servant is here!" Zheng Zheng entered the main hall.

"Zheng Xiaoqi, send a few men to escort Liu Chun, Huang Haishan, and the others back to Nanjing! The rest of you will come with me to Shaanxi tomorrow!" Li Jinglong said solemnly.

"Your humble servant obeys!" Zheng Zheng bowed and then left the main hall.

"Li Er!" After Zheng Zheng left, Li Jinglong called Li Er over again.

"My lord, I am here!"

"Go to the street and buy some gifts. We'll go to the Prince of Yan's residence later!" Li Jinglong instructed.

"I'll go prepare it right away!"

Li Jinglong nodded, waved for Li Er to leave, then walked to the table, picked up the confession signed and sealed by Huang Bin, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up.

The purpose of this trip can be considered to have been achieved by humiliating Huang Bin. After all, Huang Bin is a founding hero who has an ironclad immunity from death. Unless he is involved in a major case or a corruption case, he can only be given some minor punishment.

However, Li Jinglong believed that with Huang Bin's confession being handed over to the imperial court, Huang Bin had completely lost face!

Shortly after noon, Li Jinglong took Li Er to the Prince of Yan's residence.

"Your Highness, what's wrong?" Seeing Zhu Di rolling his eyes at him, Li Jinglong knew what was going on, but still pretended to be innocent.

"Jiujiang, it's been years since I last saw you. I never imagined you'd become so shameless!" Zhu Di snorted, speaking with a sarcastic tone.

"Your Highness, what brings you to this? Have I ever wronged you?" Li Jinglong asked knowingly, though he couldn't contain his amusement.

"What do you think?" Zhu Di rolled his eyes at Li Jinglong.

"Your Highness, look at what you're saying. I've come to Beiping, and you've already given me a welcome feast and invited me to Yuexianglou. I'm so grateful for such hospitality, how could I possibly be sorry?" Li Jinglong said innocently.

"Invite?" Zhu Di's eyes widened. "Didn't you arrange it?"

"Hey!" Li Jinglong pretended to suddenly realize something, and calmly sat down to the side. "So this is what Your Highness is talking about! I was just thinking that now that we're in Beiping, I shouldn't overstep my bounds, should I?"

"That's five hundred strings of cash! Five hundred strings of cash!" Zhu Di exclaimed with heartache, repeatedly muttering, "My annual salary is only five thousand strings of cash!"

"Your Highness's annual salary is ten thousand shi of grain. This little bit of money is nothing to mention!" Li Jinglong said with a smile, thinking to himself: If it were even a little less, I wouldn't have sent it to you!

"Heh!" Zhu Di glanced at Li Jinglong and asked, "What is it?"

"Haha! Your Highness is wise!" Li Jinglong chuckled. "Your Highness, I plan to go to Xi'an tomorrow. The Imperial Guards accompanying me will be escorting prisoners back to the capital. I would appreciate it if you could select a squad of guards to escort me on this trip!"

Li Jinglong dared not travel lightly alone to Xi'an, after all, there was a scoundrel prince there!

Zhu Shuang was notoriously reckless and didn't respect anyone except for Old Zhu. Li Jinglong planned to go to Shaanxi, capture two people, and then return.

"You're going to the second son's place?" Zhu Di asked, his eyes wide with surprise.

"That's right!" Li Jinglong nodded. "That's why we borrowed a squad of guards from His Highness; one captain will suffice!"

"You're going to Xi'an to investigate Kaizhong? Aren't you afraid the second son will chop you up?" Zhu Di said irritably. Zhu Di knew Zhu Shuang's temper all too well, after all, the two brothers had never gotten along since childhood.

"I am the imperial envoy; the Prince of Qin would never dare to defy the world!" Li Jinglong shook his head and said with a smile, "Besides, isn't there His Highness's entourage of guards?"

"Alright! Be careful, that second son is capable of anything!" Zhu Di curled his lip, his words revealing his disdain for Zhu Shuang.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I will be careful!" Li Jinglong nodded.

"By the way, I heard that this morning you forced Huang Bin to sign and affix his fingerprint to the confession, insisting on accusing him of failing to manage his subordinates properly?" Zhu Di looked at Li Jinglong with a curious expression.

Li Jinglong was startled. No, did the news spread this fast?

Li Jinglong said with a smile, "The Marquis of Yichun knew that the servants in his household had broken the law, which was due to his lax management of his subordinates. Knowing his guilt, he signed the document."

"Don't give me that! You clearly forced them to sign!" Zhu Di scolded lightly. "You're quite the wicked fellow, knowing full well you can't convict them, yet you still insist on disgusting them!"

Li Jinglong shrugged, completely unconcerned, and said, "It's not my fault. Who told them to let their servants get into trouble?"

"You!" Zhu Di pointed at Li Jinglong and cautioned, "Don't do that again when you get to Xi'an, or I'm really afraid you won't make it back!"