He wore no restraints, and thus each step was light, his shoes making almost no sound against the ground.
At the door, he exchanged a glance with Yang Lun, then paused at the bottom of the steps to raise his arm in greeting to Yang Lun.
Looking at his devastated attire, Yang Lun surprisingly discovered in those close-fitting clothes a trace of scholarly dignity as cold as a snow-covered pine, remaining after all finery had been stripped away.
He didn’t avoid Deng Ying’s greeting, returning it with cupped hands from behind the door.
While Bai Yuyang remained silent on the bench, several censors from the Censorate frowned.
They were all outspoken officials who made their careers through criticism. In previous years, because of several impeachments against Deng Yi, many people from the Censorate had been beaten with court rods at the Meridian Gate. Now seeing Yang Lun and Deng Ying exchange greetings, one Censor Liu couldn’t help but speak up: “Lord Yang, is this appropriate behavior toward such a criminal slave?”
Yang Lun straightened up and turned around, “What criminal slave? Have the Three Judicial Offices convicted him?”
Censor Liu was already advanced in years, and being confronted so directly by a junior who had also served as a censor made his ears turn red.
“You…”
Yang Lun gave a cold snort, said nothing more, and swept his sleeves as he walked back to sit below Bai Yuyang.
After Yang Lun was seated, Qi Huaiyang stood and bowed to Bai Yuyang, “Minister, shall we begin?”
“Yes.”
Bai Yuyang adjusted his official cap and sleeves, and straightened his back about to speak when suddenly someone said: “A palace servant being questioned at the Ministry of Justice, shouldn’t he kneel?”
Everyone turned to look – it was Zhang Luo speaking.
Deng Ying turned sideways to look at Zhang Luo, who was staring right at him.
“No official position, not even a dismissed official, why is the Ministry being so lenient? What’s the meaning of this?”
“Lenient?”
Yang Lun couldn’t help but challenge, “Has Lord Zhang ever seen such ‘leniency’ shown to someone not yet convicted?”
Just as he finished speaking, he saw Deng Ying give him a glance, then kneel. “Honored officials, please proceed with your questions.”
Seeing his cooperative attitude and submissive behavior, even the censors had nothing to say.
Bai Yuyang removed the paperweight, and immediately the papers on the desk curled and fluttered like butterfly wings.
He pulled out one scroll and had it passed to Deng Ying, “These are the testimonies of fifteen craftsmen who worked on building the Imperial Supreme Hall. Look at them first.”
Deng Ying took the scroll and opened it before his eyes.
The people in the testimonies were indeed builders of the Imperial Supreme Hall, with one or two elderly ones who were even hometown friends of Zhang Zhanchun.
Bai Yuyang said: “These people testify that in the tenth year of Zhenning, when building the foundation of the Imperial Supreme Hall, fourteen thousand bricks were used from the Linxi supply, exactly twenty thousand fewer than what was reported. Deputy Supervisor Deng, I know this was two years ago, and with the thousands of details in palace construction, occasional oversights are inevitable. But when the actual number differs so greatly from the records, I must ask again: Where did the silver for these twenty thousand bricks that the Ministry of Revenue allocated go?”
Deng Ying placed the testimonies beside his knee and looked up at Bai Yuyang.
“Throughout history, palace construction, from preparing foundation materials to establishing transportation routes, has taken over ten years. From building the foundation to raising the multiple eaves, there are materials wasted due to craftsmanship and materials wasted due to weather throughout the year. Though the craftsmen may have a sense of the bricks and timber used in construction, these are merely estimates. To verify the actual resources spent on construction, my lord should not value personal testimony over official records.”
Bai Yuyang gave a cold laugh after hearing this, “So you’re saying these testimonies can’t be trusted?”
“Then look at this.”
As he finished speaking, he flung a register directly beside Deng Ying’s knee.
Deng Ying only needed one glance down before a chill ran through his heart.
Bai Yuyang said:
“This is the private journal written by He Hong, a craftsman of the Imperial Supreme Hall in the tenth year of Zhenning. It records all the construction processes and materials used for the hall’s foundation that year. Like the other craftsmen’s testimonies, it also shows twenty thousand fewer bricks. Deputy Supervisor Deng, you say we shouldn’t value personal testimony over official records. How do you explain this then?”
Deng Ying remembered this journal’s author – he should be sixty-two years old now, one of the earliest craftsmen who followed Zhang Zhanchun, and Zhang’s old friend of many years.
“Regarding He Hong, my lord…”
“Come, bring He Hong in.”
A dragging sound came from outside the hall, followed by the sharp smell of blood carried in by the wind.
Deng Ying turned around. The man could no longer walk, supported by two bailiffs on either side as he stumbled and fell beside Deng Ying. His upper clothes had been removed, his body covered in blood, his consciousness barely clear. Seeing Deng Ying, he could only move his mouth, trembling as he said: “Deng… Ying, tell Zhanchun that I, He Hong, have failed him… and now I’m going to harm you too…”
Deng Ying looked at the torture wounds on his body and bent down to say: “It is Deng Ying who has brought suffering upon Elder He.”
Hearing him say this, He Hong’s eyes reddened, and he coughed up a mouthful of bloody foam, shaking his head tearfully at Deng Ying.
Bai Yuyang raised his voice: “Deputy Supervisor Deng, you are from the Directorate of Ceremonies and bear responsibility for rebuilding the Imperial Supreme Hall. His Majesty values you highly, and I don’t wish to be too discourteous to you. But with both witness testimony and physical evidence before us, if you still won’t speak directly to me, I can only question you in another way.”
Deng Ying remained silent.
He Hong looked up at him, “Just speak… at this point, no one will blame you.”
“Deng Ying.”
Seeing his silence, Bai Yuyang called him again, “Are you determined not to speak?”
His words carried with the wind, suddenly thrown out of the main hall.
Yang Lun’s hands secretly clenched, while the censors craned their necks.
Bai Yuyang lost patience, “Guards, twenty strokes of the rod, then we’ll continue questioning.”
“Minister Bai!”
“Lord Yang, you are only assisting in the investigation. Please do not interfere with the court proceedings.”