“After my father examined the bodies, he found no trace of water in their lungs or hearts, no silt in their throats, and no signs of struggle after falling into the water. He concluded they absolutely did not die from drowning.”
“The matter was grave, and my father immediately wanted to report it to the Crown Prince, but Lou Yong’an stopped him.”
“Lou Yong’an threatened my father into silence by holding me, my mother, and the entire Zhou family hostage. He said that if my father dared to speak the truth, he would wipe out our entire family. He even had men abduct me and my mother to use as leverage.”
Zhou Fengchun’s voice was soft, but in the deathly quiet hall, it was loud enough for everyone to hear clearly.
“To protect me and my mother, my father had no choice but to comply and play along with Lou Yong’an, hoping to find a chance later to inform the Crown Prince. But who could have expected the news of the sunken ship to leak out?”
“A rebellion suddenly erupted in the south. The Crown Prince was recalled to the capital for failing in his duties, and Master He, the third lord of the He family who could have taken charge, went to Rongjiang. My father followed him there, only to witness a massacre by the soldiers.”
Zhou Fengchun’s face paled as he spoke, his voice trembling, but he tried his best to recount the events clearly. His words aligned closely with what Duke Zeng had mentioned earlier.
He described how his father had gone to Rongjiang, hiding outside the city and witnessing soldiers besieging it. He saw He Wenzhuo on the city walls, questioning the men outside, only to be wounded by an arrow. Then, the soldiers outside used ballistae to launch torches into the city, setting Rongjiang ablaze.
Zhou Fengchun’s voice quivered. “My father never imagined he’d stumble upon such a scene. He was utterly disheartened.”
“Afterward, they unleashed a flood to drown all of Rongjiang. My father went to great lengths to find a relatively intact corpse and discovered that the person had been drugged with a sedative before being burned. Nearly ten thousand people in Rongjiang were first drugged into unconsciousness and then burned alive in the city.”
“My father realized he’d been swept up in an earth-shattering conspiracy and fled in panic, terrified. Not long after, word spread that He Wenzhuo, the third lord of the He family, had colluded with southern officials, embezzled disaster relief funds, and was killed by rioters. Soon after, the Lu family and the Fifth Prince were sent to take over the south, launching a massive purge of the so-called rebels.”
“At the time, blood flowed like rivers in the three regions of Shezhou. Most of the officers who had helped recover the bodies in Changxin County were killed or injured during the ‘suppression’ of the rebellion. My father realized someone was trying to silence witnesses and didn’t dare mention anything about Rongjiang.”
“To reassure Lou Yong’an and the others, he pretended to be greedy and demanded hush money. Additionally, because my father had a distant familial connection with Zhou Jungui, the Shezhou garrison commander who was quelling the “rebellion”, he managed to preserve his life.”
Zhou Fengchun could sense the atmosphere shift as his words landed. Many in the hall gasped, and some breathed heavily.
Some were shocked, others skeptical, and a few showed anger.
But Zhou Fengchun paid them no mind, pausing briefly before continuing:
“My mother and I were unaware of this matter for years. My father, however, was tormented daily, waking from nightmares every night. It wasn’t until he was on his deathbed that he told us the truth, weeping that his cowardice had failed the soldiers and the wronged souls of Rongjiang. He couldn’t even close his eyes when he passed.”
“I originally intended to bury this secret forever, but then Lou Yong’an and Zhou Jungui suddenly died, along with several other officials connected to the events of that year, one after another.”
“I was already uneasy, and my mother was terrified. That’s why I took her to pray and repent at a temple for peace of mind. I never expected someone to overhear us. Once the news spread, I knew things would go wrong, so I fled with my mother. But those sent to silence us came relentlessly.”
“My mother and I fled for our lives. By sheer luck, we were saved by Duke Zeng’s men, but my mother… she died at the hands of those pursuers during our escape.”
Zhou Fengchun’s eyes were red, tears streaming down his face.
“My father concealed the truth back then, allowing so many to die unjustly. My mother and I lived well off the hush money he greedily accepted, but the souls of Rongjiang haunt us, and the wronged souls of the south are everywhere.”
“This is the Zhou family’s retribution, our retribution!”
Zhou Fengchun broke down in sobs, and the women who had entered with him also wept uncontrollably.
They were all beneficiaries of the disaster back then. Their husbands and nephews had risen to wealth and power through collusion.
Compared to Zhou Fengchun, they were even more terrified.
Almost without prompting, they knelt and confessed their identities and what they knew.
Some spoke of how their husbands colluded with the Lu family, spreading rumors to incite chaos and frame the Crown Prince and He Wenzhuo.
Others recounted how their nephews accepted massive bribes to deliberately obstruct the Crown Prince’s disaster relief efforts.
Still others described how their family members worked with the court’s bandit-suppression forces, collaborating with real southern bandits to exploit refugees, using civilians to pose as rebels. These “rebels” were then “suppressed” by the court, allowing the true bandits to gain military merits, infiltrate the southern bureaucracy, and whitewash their identities.
Their confessions came in a chaotic jumble, interrupted by sobs and fear, but each revelation made the breathing in the hall grow heavier. Military officials like Marquis Wenxin panted audibly.
Yin Bao’s veins bulged on the back of his hand as he glared at the woman who mentioned “using civilians as bandits,” demanding word by word, “Are you saying that the reports sent back to the capital about the court’s suppression of bandits were all fake?!”
The woman trembled violently. “Yes, they were fake…”
“The initial ‘rebels’ in the Shezhou region were actually local mountain bandits who had long been causing trouble. My brother-in-law was one of the bandits who robbed the disaster relief funds.”
“I once overheard my husband mention that someone had bribed those bandits to stir up chaos in the south. After the Crown Prince’s relief ships were sunk, they incited the refugees and locals to oppose the relief efforts, making it impossible to proceed.”
“When the Crown Prince was recalled to the capital and new officials took over the relief efforts, the court sent troops to suppress the ‘rebels.’ Those bandits had already been tipped off and colluded with the incoming soldiers and Shezhou’s local officials. They killed a large number of disaster victims to pass them off as bandit heads, while the real culprits used the opportunity to gain merits, clear their names, and secure official positions.”
Yin Bao’s eyes widened in fury, barely able to believe it.
Marquis Wenxin roared, “How dare they?!”
Cao Dejiang’s lips tightened, his hands clenching as he said coldly, “Go on!”
The woman, trembling with fear, didn’t dare evade. Lowering her head, she continued softly:
“The troops in Shezhou were led by Zhou Jungui at the time. My husband served under him. They colluded with the bandits, using civilians as stand-ins for rebels, and quickly quelled the southern uprising.”
“My husband was rewarded and promoted three ranks to become a military official in the Shezhou prefecture. Zhou Jungui entered the Governor’s Office as a chief historian in charge of troops. To avoid suspicion and because their interests were tied, my husband even married his concubine-born sister to one of the bandit leaders who had infiltrated the prefecture. That man later became a sixth-rank cavalry officer…”
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You can read ahead to chapterr 470 (100+ extra chapters) here
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