Chapter 1954 - The Burned Records!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Historians placed utmost importance on the accuracy of records, and once they could no longer remember things correctly, their career was essentially done for.
“Lord Yan, you also know of the incidents in court and how the Sage Emperor is very different from how he was in the past. I know that the Yan Clan values the historical records highly, but the original intention of the Yan Clan’s rule was to prevent officials from interfering with their own records and editing the books.
“But the records Wang Chong wants to inspect are from thirty-some years ago, regarding the time before the Sage Emperor took the throne. It has nothing to do with the court or any other officials. In several decades’ time, these records will be made public all the same. In reading these records, Wang Chong will not affect the Yan Clan, the officials, or the court. I hope that Lord Yan can accommodate my request!” Wang Chong sternly said.
Yan Wenzhen fell silent. Wang Chong was right. If he only read through the records of the Sage Emperor’s early life and did not read his own records, it would have little effect on the Yan Clan, the court, or any of the other officials.
In Yan Wenzhen’s mind, this was the best-case scenario, but the rules of the Yan Clan…
“Lord Yan, historians are also officials. As long as they do not defy their principles, they should be able to make a few exceptions. You also know of the selection of talented women. Although the Sage Emperor earlier said that he was putting the matter to the side, putting it aside means that he has not given up and could propose it again at any time.
“The people throughout the realm are uneasy. Once the selection begins and the various provinces and commanderies must offer their women, mother and daughter, father and daughter, brother and sister will end up separated. How could Milord bear to see such a sight?
“The matter of the Peace Pavilion is also a sign. This is only a palace construction, but what if His Divine Majesty suddenly changes his mind and tries to imitate Emperor Yang and construct palaces throughout the realm? This excessive construction is certain to place a burden on the people… Does Milord truly wish to see things reach this state?” Wang Chong said.
“This…”
Yan Wenzhen instantly became hesitant.
Wang Chong was right. Historians were still officials, and the Yan Clan was made up of scholarly officials who cared for the prosperity of the empire and the happiness of the people. This was what the members of the Yan Clan hoped to see.
But…
“Lord Yan, please!” Wang Chong solemnly said.
“Haaah…”
Yan Wenzhen gave a long sigh and finally raised his head.
“Your Highness, can you guarantee that you will not mention today’s matter to any outsiders?
“Also, can these records really help you resolve the problems in the court?”
Wang Chong was elated to hear this, knowing that Yan Wenzhen had relaxed his grip.
“Wang Chong guarantees that no outsider will ever hear of today’s matter. In addition, the records of the Sage Emperor’s life before his enthronement truly are extremely important for resolving the recent incidents in the court!” Wang Chong solemnly said.
“Okay! I trust Your Highness! Your Highness, please wait a moment while Wenzhen inspects the records.”
Yan Wenzhen emotionally sighed.
“Many thanks, Milord!”
Many of the buildings in the Yan Clan Residence were not meant for habitation.
Inside were rows and rows of wooden bookshelves, each room packed in this way. Anyone who was not a member of the Yan Clan would take ages to navigate this voluminous library and find the records they sought, or perhaps never find it at all.
Wang Chong quietly waited in the room. No matter what, he had to get those records, which would be his greatest harvest from this trip.
An hour later, Yan Wenzhen finally returned, and Wang Chong hoped that he would have the books. But the moment he entered, Wang Chong sensed that something was wrong.
Not only was Yan Wenzhen empty-handed, he had an extremely bizarre expression on his face.
“What’s wrong?”
Wang Chong bolted up from his chair in unease.
“It’s gone!” Yan Wenzhen cried out, his eyes slack, apparently still immersed in shock.
“What’s gone?”
Wang Chong’s eyes widened as he asked.
“I followed the map of our Yao Clan and headed toward Room One-thirty-two of Pavilion B, but I searched through the entire room and did not find information regarding the Sage Emperor’s life before taking the throne,” Yan Wenzhen sternly said.
“How could this be?”
Wang Chong’s body trembled in shock, his face paling.
The Yan Clan’s recordkeeping system was extremely rigorous, even stricter than the palace’s on some levels. And for generation after generation, there had never been a mistake.
Moreover, the Yan Clan’s library was immense, and if an outsider were trying to find something, they wouldn’t know where to start amongst the sea of books.
Something like this shouldn’t have been possible.
“When I discovered what was going on, I immediately mobilized the Yan Clan members to search all other possible areas, eventually confirming that these records had gone missing.
“Sensing the seriousness of the matter, I immediately summoned all the clan members. In the end, I discovered that thirty-some years ago, not long after the Sage Emperor took the throne, there was a large fire in the Yan Clan that destroyed many books.
“At the time, I was still copying books in the clan’s ancestral home, as per clan tradition, so I do not know the exact details. But it now seems that the books destroyed thirty-some years ago were exactly the ones you wanted, the information on the Sage Emperor’s life before he took the throne!”
Yan Wenzhen was still in disbelief as he spoke.
Everyone knew just how strict the Yan Clan was. It was their mission in life, their everything, to ensure that the records of history were accurate and well-preserved.
An accident like this was no small matter.
“Impossible!” Wang Chong said in shock.
“How could there be such a coincidence? The records in the palace were lost, and then a fire thirty-some years ago at your Yan Clan just so happened to destroy the same records?”
The chance of this being a coincidence was far too low. Even a fool could tell that something was wrong.
Just as Yan Wenzhen had said, without a guide, an outsider would never be able to find that place.
“Moreover, just who would think to destroy some records without much use? What sort of benefit would they obtain from this?”
The matter was growing more and more confusing.
“Our Yan Clan is responsible for keeping the records, so I want to know the answer even more than you do!” Yan Wenzhen sternly said.
“But if they were burned, were they burned away so cleanly that nothing was left?” Wang Chong said.
Everything left behind traces of its existence. If there was a great fire, some of these books had to have survived. From there, he could find some clues and perhaps even get an inkling of the mastermind.
“I had the same idea, so I went to see if there were any damaged books left. But there were none! All the records had vanished without a trace!” Yan Wenzhen said.
His chest began to heave up and down as he recalled what else he had discovered.
“But the most shocking part was not this. Our Yan Clan has strict rules. If books have been destroyed in an accidental fire, we have ways of making new copies of the records,” Yan Wenzhen said.
If the books were destroyed but the recorder was still alive, the effects would be limited.
Many members of the Yan Clan wanted to become the Grand Scribe, the recorder for a dynasty, and a hidden requirement for this was an astonishing memory. Without this, one could not become a Grand Scribe.
“But when I carefully examined the incident, I found that the surviving books were all burned, and nothing was ever mentioned about recompiling them. This should have never happened in our Yan Clan. Even if the surviving books were burned, they would still be extremely important. To completely destroy them would require going through a strict process. It’s not something that can be done casually.
“I looked through our records and discovered that the one who had given the order thirty-some years ago to destroy the surviving books was none other than my father!”
Yan Wenzhen found it hard to hide the shock on his face.
All the Yan Clan members knew how strict and scrupulous Old Master Yan was. Yan Wenzhen had spent his entire life trying to model his behavior on Old Master Yan’s.
Every one of his words was like a nail hammered into the ground, excruciatingly difficult to change.
Yan Wenzhen even remembered how his father would explode in rage when he got a single word wrong, punishing him by having him kneel in the ancestral hall and refusing to see him for half a year.
But now, he had learned that his extremely strict father had ordered for books to be destroyed. How could Yan Wenzhen dare to believe this?
Yan Wenzhen could have believed anyone else could do this, but not his father.
Wang Chong was even more shocked than Yan Wenzhen.
“How could this be? Old Master Yan?!”
Wang Chong’s body shuddered. He had never imagined that even Yan Wenzhang would be related to this matter.
But he quickly calmed himself down. Eunuch Gao, his grandfather, Yao Chong, and now, Old Master Yan… This matter continued to grow more complicated and confusing.
“Just what are they hiding? What could it be?!” Wang Chong softly muttered.
Wang Chong had not made much progress in his investigation, but there was one thing he was sure about.
Eunuch Gao, his own grandfather, Yao Chong, and Old Master Yan were all hiding something, and this something was connected to the Sage Emperor.
But there was one thing Wang Chong still didn’t know. What had happened in the palace thirty-some years ago that was somehow connected to the recent events in court?
Wang Chong quickly left the Yan Clan. This matter involved Old Master Yan, so he would not be able to get any more information from Yan Wenzhen.
“The trail was cut?”
In the carriage, Xu Qiqin saw Wang Chong’s absentminded expression and cautiously probed.
“Mm!”
Wang Chong nodded as he recounted what had happened in the Yan Clan.
“How could this be?”
Wang Chong’s words and his speculations left Xu Qiqin flabbergasted.
In both this life and the last, the lady of the Xu Clan was renowned for her intelligence and wit. But not even Xu Qiqin had imagined that their investigation would involve so many influential figures.
