FBC – Chapter 146 Silencing Witnesses

Pei Yi suppressed his inner anxiety and stepped forward to inspect two sets of winter garments.

All seemed normal.

Then his gaze fell on the third set—and his pupils abruptly contracted.

As expected!

He forced himself to remain calm as he stepped forward and examined the fabric, then cried out in shock, “This is not from the Pei family!”

A wave of commotion rippled through the crowd.

Yuan Zhongying was the first to shout, “Not from your family? How is that possible? What nonsense are you spouting?!”

Over a dozen officials from the Three Departments hurried over. Some who had handled past procurement reached out to feel the garments.

“The fabric is cotton, which is fine, but the filling inside feels off. It looks fluffy but lacks resilience. It flattens with a single squeeze.”

“Cut it open and see.”

Several people quickly cut open a few garments, reaching in to examine the stuffing. Their expressions changed drastically.

“What is this?! This is old cotton! There’s kapok, even dandelion fluff!”

Someone sifted through it carefully and said, “It’s mixed with grass, broken hemp… What is all this?!”

Shocked, they rushed to cut open the rest—every single one was counterfeit.

Pei Yi trembled with rage. “You can tell it’s fake just by touching the outer fabric. To meet the demand for these winter garments, our Pei family used some of our own finely spun cotton cloth. Since we were short on time and fabric, we paid a hefty price to purchase more of the same quality from Bianjing and nearby regions. But look at this—coarse, lumpy, brittle. This is the lowest-grade rough cotton and aged stock!”

The Vice Minister of Works and Yuan Zhongying were both rendered speechless, their gazes fixed straight on Prince Jiang.

The scandal was exposed. Disaster loomed.

Prince Jiang’s expression was grim.

He glanced at Yuan Zhongying, then signaled subtly toward the military camp gate.

Yuan Zhongying instantly understood and began backing away quietly.

If these stubborn officials went straight to report this to His Majesty, the Jiang family would surely be implicated. Not a single whisper could be allowed to leak.

Therefore, everyone here had to either obey—

Or die.

Prince Jiang walked up, feigning sincerity, and reached out to feel the garment. His face darkened. “Pei Yi, how dare your Pei family pass off inferior goods as quality ones and deceive the Emperor!”

Pei Yi shook with rage.

“Prince Jiang, I said earlier that we should inspect everything publicly. If there was a problem, the Pei family would spare no effort to supply a new batch. But it was you who refused inspection. And now you want to accuse us—how does that make sense?”

Prince Jiang snorted coldly. “Do you think simply sending a replacement batch will make this right? The Pei family dares to deceive the court, falsifying goods—this is treason. With the southern war at a critical point, such delays could cost lives. I suspect your family of colluding with the enemy! Do you think that crime can be atoned for? This is a capital crime, punishable by execution of nine generations!”

Pei Yi’s face drained of color.

He had always known the court was treacherous, and that the Jiang family was ambitious—but he never imagined they could be this ruthless.

Zuo Fengtian frowned. “Prince Jiang, do you take us all for blind and deaf?”

Cao Liyu added, “Who is truly deceiving the Emperor here? If we hadn’t insisted on a regulated inspection and supervised the sampling, this forgery would’ve gone undetected. Had we followed your plan and allowed General Yuan to present genuine samples to pass the inspection, hiding the thirty thousand fake garments—who would’ve borne the consequences in the southern front? Could you or General Yuan have shouldered that blame?”

Prince Jiang replied coldly, “You’ve all been deceived by the Pei family—myself included. This batch was delivered by them. They even have people stationed outside the camp. General Yuan’s three thousand soldiers are guarding the warehouse—who else could’ve swapped them out? It must’ve been fake from the start!”

Jin Guyong shook his head. “Whether real or fake, this matter is too serious. We must immediately report to His Majesty.”

Cao Liyu looked around. “Where’s General Yuan?”

Suddenly, flames burst from a nearby warehouse, and chaos erupted in the camp.

“Fire! There’s a fire!”

The garrisoned soldiers rushed to put it out.

The attending ministers all wore uneasy expressions.

Zuo Fengtian grabbed Pei Yi. “Bring the counterfeit goods. We’re heading to the palace now!”

Pei Yi nodded. “Our Pei family’s men are stationed outside the camp. I’ll have them come in to tally the numbers and begin remanufacturing at once.”

Prince Jiang suddenly said coolly, “The fire’s started. You officials won’t be leaving.”

Zuo Fengtian’s face darkened. “What do you mean by that?”

Prince Jiang abruptly stepped back. The Tianwu infantry immediately surged forward, surrounding the dozen or so officials.

All their faces changed.

“Prince Jiang, what are you trying to do?!”

Zuo Fengtian bellowed, “Are you trying to silence us?”

Cao Liyu stared in disbelief. “You dare?!”

Standing just outside the encirclement, Prince Jiang smiled and said, “What nonsense—‘silencing witnesses’? That’s such an ugly term. With the fire, it wouldn’t be surprising if a few officials perished. Oh, and lately, bandits have been rampant—blades know no friends. But don’t worry, the thirty thousand winter garments won’t burn. I’ll personally report everything to His Majesty.”

Then he chuckled. “Today, anyone who doesn’t obey… must die.”

Pei Yi was stunned.

Prince Jiang was truly mad—he dared to openly kill imperial officials in broad daylight?

And he planned to spin the whole affair, dumping all the blame onto the Pei family!

Zuo Fengtian had brought a few military officers. After a brief glance at each other, they all drew their swords.

“We’re battle-hardened generals! Do you really think you can stop us?”

“Right! We fight our way out!”

Prince Jiang shouted, “Kill anyone who resists!”

The Tianwu troops charged forward.

Frightened officials raised their hands, begging Prince Jiang for mercy.

In the chaos, the Tianwu soldiers slaughtered indiscriminately—anyone from the Three Departments was targeted.

In the blink of an eye, blood pooled on the ground. Terrified officials knelt, begging for their lives.

Zuo Fengtian grabbed Pei Yi with one hand and fought fiercely with his sword in the other.

“They’ve shut the camp gates!”

“They really plan to kill us all!”

Panic spread, and people fled in all directions.

Outside the military camp, not far away, a black carriage stood.

Zhou Chunyu, Zhou Zhilan, and Dong Hua stood guard around it, swords in hand.

Inside sat Gu Hua, tense with worry.

Her mind raced through everything she recalled from her past life, fearful that she might’ve overlooked something that would doom Pei Yi and the three officials.

Suddenly, chaos erupted from the direction of the camp. She quickly lifted the curtain to peek out.

“A fire?! Why is there a fire?!”

Gu Hua tried to remember—there had been no fire at the camp in her previous life.

Could it be…

Her face paled. “No! They’re trying to silence witnesses! We must help them!”

Zhou Zhilan held her back. “You must stay put. Chiyan and Chiyu will go.”

Zhou Chunyu placed a small item to his lips and blew hard—a shrill, sharp sound rang out, though not too loud.

At the same time, cavalry emerged from both the east and west—each rider fierce and imposing, silver spears in hand, galloping straight toward the camp.

“Who are they?”

Gu Hua was puzzled. Their uniforms didn’t resemble Chiyan’s men.

Zhou Chunyu removed the whistle and sighed in relief. “Madam, look at their silver spears. They are the Silver-Spear Imperial Dragon Guard. The leaders of these two cavalry units once served under General Mu.”

Gu Hua finally relaxed. “Was this Chiyan’s doing?”

Zhou Chunyu smiled. “Chiyan couldn’t have mobilized them. Madam, this was you.”

Gu Hua was stunned. “How could I have done that?”

“You used the command token of our lord to seek out Assistant Minister Zuo Fengtian from the Ministry of War. He arranged this.”

Realization dawned on Gu Hua.

This was the first major thing she had ever attempted. If not for the guidance of Zhou Chunyu, Zhou Zhilan, and the others, she never would’ve dared believe she could actually prevent this disaster.

Chiyu?

Gu Hua suddenly remembered something.

“Steward Zhou, did you just say Chiyu? Didn’t he go on campaign with our lord? Why is he here?”

Zhou Chunyu cursed himself for speaking too freely.

But the words were already out…

“He was sent back by our lord to eliminate bandits.”

Gu Hua grew anxious. “Even Chiyan and Chiyu—his most capable men—were sent back? How could he be so reckless about his own safety?”

“He’s worried about you.”

“What is there to worry about me for?!”

Gu Hua was ready to jump out of the carriage in frustration, and Zhou Zhilan quickly held her back.

Just then, a cavalry unit charged in swiftly from the north.