Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Xu Qiqin sat next to Wang Chong and pondered the matter.
She turned to Wang Chong and asked, “Should we continue our investigation?”
“It’s not a question of investigating or not. We need an answer for this matter. For some reason, I feel more and more uneasy,” Wang Chong sternly said.
He once more recalled Eunuch Gao’s conversation with him.
He needed to find the answer before the situation worsened.
As these thoughts passed through his mind, he quickly calmed down.
“Let’s head back first.”
With no more clues, the investigation came to a standstill. At this time, some news came from the palace.
Xu Keyi got down on one knee and respectfully said, “Your Highness, when we were searching the palace and seeking out people related to the records, we learned something interesting from an old eunuch.
“The old eunuch originally worked near the recordkeeping pavilion. Moreover, ten-some years ago, he was friends with a now-deceased eunuch who was responsible for recording the actions and words of the Princes and Princesses in the palace. The two of them would often drink together in their free time.
“From what he said, the recordkeepers of the palace are numerous, and in the last few decades, they’ve been constantly changing. But long ago, the palace used to use the ‘Imperial Eunuch Shift Registry’. Although it’s been some time, we simply need to find the ‘Imperial Eunuch Shift Registry’ to find out what happened back then.”
“What?”
Wang Chong trembled in surprise.
He had learned earlier that the recordkeepers of the palace were switched out at a high frequency, and as they were looking for books from thirty-some years ago, it was basically impossible to find any clues. He had not expected there to still be clues despite how long ago the records had been stolen.
“We’ve questioned some of the old eunuchs tasked with recordkeeping in the palace, and from what they say, it has always been possible to track the palace recordkeepers. Moreover, in the past, there were not so many people. But several decades ago, several incidents took place in the palace, and after that, the system of Imperial Eunuch Shift Registry was ended,” Xu Keyi sternly said.
“What incidents?” Wang Chong asked, grimacing.
“We have not yet found that out. As it was so long ago, few people remember,” Xu Keyi regretfully said.
Wang Chong began to think, and he quickly issued an order.
“Get in touch with Old Eagle, Zhang Que, Li Jingzhong, Yang Zhao, and Bian Lingcheng. Have them find that registry no matter what!”
“Yes, Milord!”
Just one day after Wang Chong issued the order, the Imperial Eunuch Shift Registry was placed on Wang Chong’s desk.
It was a thin sheet of paper about two feet long and one foot wide. The passage of time had made the paper yellow and brittle, but the quality of the paper used by the palace was much higher. Even after several decades, one could still clearly read the contents.
Various tables had been drawn on the paper, listing the eunuch responsible for recording the imperial histories, but also recording the guards responsible for safeguarding the records, the supervisors, the night watchmen, the eunuchs responsible for collecting the trash, and the palace maids responsible for miscellaneous affairs. Everything was recorded in great detail.
According to these records, the guards and palace maids went through a minor reshuffle every five years and a major reshuffle every ten years. As for the eunuchs who recorded the lives of the imperial household, they went through reshuffles every fifteen to as long as twenty years!
Most importantly, this list covered the period before the Sage Emperor’s ascendancy, thirty-some years ago.
“Find the court historian responsible for recording the Sage Emperor’s deeds thirty-some years ago!” Wang Chong firmly said after he finished reading the registry.
This was most likely the only method he had left of finding the truth. As long as he could find those court historians and know of what information had been lost, everything would become obvious. At the minimum, he would know why that information had been lost.
The entire capital soon began to turn to fulfill Wang Chong’s order.
Even though finding a certain person from thirty-some years ago was not easy, with his vast network and a series of investigations, Wang Chong finally found the man he had sought.
“This vulgar subject pays respects to the King of Foreign Lands!”
Late in the night, when no one else was around, a gray-robed elder of more than sixty years of age entered the main hall of Wang Chong’s residence, his head held tall.
Zhang Tianlin!
The vast majority of the people on the Imperial Eunuch Shift Registry had been very old and already passed. This man was the only one still alive.
But Zhang Tianlin had not been responsible for recording palace affairs. He had been the man in charge of the guards who safeguarded the books.
These guards were responsible for approving the entry and exit of those who entered the area where the records were kept.
Besides the court historians, he was probably the person closest to the truth.
Everyone else in the hall had left, even Xu Keyi. For a distance of some several dozen feet around, there was no one else except Wang Chong and this elder, the previous guard captain of the palace records.
“Milord is investigating the matter from thirty years ago?” Zhang Tianlin asked before Wang Chong could speak.
He stared at Wang Chong without the slightest hint of fear.
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“You knew that I would come to find you?”
Wang Chong raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“Heh, this one is a vulgar man who long ago withdrew from the palace, while Milord is a revered noble. If it were not related to the palace, would Milord have taken such great pains to summon this vulgar one? Moreover, this vulgar one ceased to be called Zhang Tianlin long ago.”
Zhang Tianlin’s attitude was completely different from what Wang Chong had imagined. He was so composed that he seemed to have expected today’s meeting.
“It’s not right!”
Wang Chong frowned and shook his head.
“That’s not the reason. You’ve been retired for many years, but you weren’t surprised at all that I summoned you. Just how much do you know?”
“Milord is truly formidable!”
After a moment of silence, Zhang Tianlin frankly admitted the truth.
“Yes, I knew that Milord would seek me out.”
“Why?”
Wang Chong creased his brow in confusion.
It was only through a clue he had come upon by chance that he found this guard captain from thirty years ago, but this man seemed to have predicted all this. This was far too abnormal.
“Heh, thirty-some years ago, without any warning, I and my other brothers in the palace began to resign for various reasons and retire. From then on, the Imperial Eunuch Shift Registry that had persisted for several hundred years was brought to an end, and the guards, palace maids, and court historians began to be shuffled around with much greater frequency than before. Is this not evidence of a problem?
“If that’s not enough, what if we add in the renowned King of Foreign Lands? Is that still not enough?” Zhang Tianlin sternly said.
Wang Chong was taken aback. This former guard captain was much sharper than he had imagined.
“Your Highness, before this, let me ask you a question. Do you truly wish to investigate that incident from thirty-some years ago?” Zhang Tianlin said.
Wang Chong’s eyebrow rose, but he said nothing, only giving a slow and firm nod.
“Even if it is of grave importance and involves too many people?” Zhang Tianlin asked.
“If I really cared about that, I would have stopped long ago. Do you really think I would have reached this stage? Or chosen to meet with you?” Wang Chong sternly said, his expression firm.
Zhang Tianlin was frozen by these words. After some time, he gave a long sigh, and his eyes seemed to grow softer.
“Your Highness, please ask your questions!”
“Thirty years ago, all information regarding the Sage Emperor’s life before he took the throne disappeared. Do you know of this matter?” Wang Chong sternly said.
“At the time, no! But later on, yes!” Zhang Tianlin calmly replied.
Wang Chong nodded. There was a brief pause, and then he continued.
“No records of the Sage Emperor’s life before he took the throne can be found in the library, so these books were taken away by someone, yes? As the guard captain, you have no reason to not know who took them away. Tell me: who was it?”
Wang Chong stared hard at Zhang Tianlin.
This was the answer he wanted to know the most. If he knew who took the books away, he would know who knew the entire truth. The arsonist behind the fire in the Yan Clan also had to be closely connected to this individual.
The room was quiet as Zhang Tianlin struggled and hesitated.
“I have no way of directly telling you,” Zhang Tianlin finally declared.
“Thirty years ago, at the time of the incident, I and all my fellow brothers were transferred away. I did not see what happened there, so I cannot tell you the answer.
“But as the recordkeeping guards, we’ve guarded that place for a lifetime. After guarding those books for so long, it became our mission, even more important than our lives, because that was the reason we existed.
“The rules in the palace are strict. Even though we were transferred away and unable to see what went on there, I still had that person sign the visitor register. As far as I know, that person was the only visitor in that period,” Zhang Tianlin said.
“Who was it?”
Wang Chong’s eyes flashed with an intimidating light.
The tension in the hall reached a maximum.
“Gao Lishi! Eunuch Gao!” Zhang Tianlin firmly declared.
Bang!
Wang Chong trembled, a storm raging in his mind.
How could it be him?
For a moment, this thought dominated Wang Chong’s mind.
Zhang Tianlin quickly departed, leaving Wang Chong alone to stare at the ceiling, unable to calm himself down.