Chapter 118: The Difference Between Fools and Smart People

When Zhang Yue and the others took a bath, changed clothes, and went to visit Duke Zhang Fu of England, it was indeed as Rong Shan had said—Zhang Fu was still in a coma, neither opening his eyes nor saying a word. Faced with this situation, Zhang Yue was extremely anxious, but the middle-aged imperial physician named Shi Quan didn’t allow the three of them to stay long before ordering them to leave again. No matter how domineering Zhang Fu and his son were, once the word “imperial order” was mentioned, they had no choice but to leave reluctantly.

As soon as they stepped outside, Zhang Fu glanced at the sky and came up with an idea. He turned to glare at the physician, who then sneered and said, “I asked the crown prince for leave to visit my elder brother. Surely the emperor is aware of this. You keep claiming to have an imperial order—well, I’ll go see the emperor right now. Let’s see what you can say then! Bin, go back and change into some other clothes. We’re heading to the Western Palace!”

Zhang Bin wasn’t the kind to give up easily. Hearing this, he was overjoyed. After walking a few steps with his father, he suddenly turned back and gave Zhang Yue a mocking look. “Brother Yue, aren’t you leaving yet? This physician is utterly merciless. It won’t be easy for you to wait until your uncle wakes up. You’ve had a hard time following us all this way—better go back to your room and rest. Stop thinking nonsense!”

During those over half a month on the ship, Zhang Yue had heard plenty of Zhang Bin’s sarcasm. Getting angry all the time wasn’t worth it, so he simply treated it as a pig’s nonsense and pretended not to hear it. Seeing that it was already approaching evening, he thought that Zhang Fu and his son must be crazy to go see the emperor at this time. So he went straight back to his room, deciding to go see his teacher Du Zhen the next day to find out more about the situation.

When Emperor Yongle, Zhu Di, established his residence in Beiping in the past, the Yanwang Palace he lived in was built based on the old halls of Yuan Dadu. Shortly after ascending the throne, he decided to move the capital to Beijing. Ignoring the objections of his ministers, he first dredged the canal and then made several trips north to inspect Beijing, staying in the original Yanwang Palace each time. Later, to build the imperial palace, he ordered the demolition of the Yanwang Palace to construct new palaces. To ensure he had a place to stay during future northern inspections, he also ordered the Ministry of Works to build the Western Palace in the Western Garden as a place for holding court. The concubines and the crown prince accompanied him lived there.

In the western palace, there was the Fengtian Hall, with two side halls to its left and right. To the south of the Fengtian Hall was the Fengtian Gate, flanked by the East and West Corner Gates. South of the Fengtian Gate was the Wumen Gate, and further south was the Chengtian Gate. To the north of the Fengtian Hall lay the Rear Hall, the Cool Hall, the Warm Hall, as well as palaces such as Renshou, Jingfu, Renhe, Wanchun, Yongshou, and Changchun—these had all been newly built just before Zhu Di’s arrival in April of this year. Since they were new palaces, the staffing was not yet complete, and many of the halls remained empty with no one inside.

Due to Duke Zhang Fu suddenly falling seriously ill, Zhu Di was troubled for several days. Whenever officials came to report matters, he would often scold them harshly. Over time, those officials grew to dread presenting themselves before him in the Cool Hall. If Yang Rong and Du Zhen were by his side during his outbursts, there was still some chance of turning things around; otherwise, few dared to speak up. The most unfortunate were the eunuchs, who had no way to escape and were dragged away for punishment at least a dozen times over those days.

Yang Rong held the position of Hanlin Academician, while Du Zhen was merely a Hanlin Academy Reader. He always fulfilled his duties as a literary attendant dutifully, occasionally acting as a secretary to draft imperial edicts, seemingly uninterested in advancing further. He rarely interacted with other ministers, mostly staying in touch with his former peers from the Hanlin Academy, which led to a reputation for being cold and aloof.

The more this was the case, the more Zhu Di believed that Du Zhen’s talent rivaled that of Jie Jin, yet he lacked the arrogance that came with such talent. Different from Yang Rong’s smoothness, Du Zhen’s integrity earned Zhu Di’s growing trust.

One day, as the sun set, Du Zhen and Yang Rong left the Cool Hall, naturally engaging in casual conversation along the way. Although Yang Rong was the youngest among the cabinet ministers, he enjoyed greater favor than Yang Shiji. Though he and Du Zhen had been colleagues in the Hanlin Academy, Yang Rong felt somewhat resentful seeing Du Zhen’s rapid rise. However, realizing that the emperor valued only Du Zhen’s talent and quick wits and did not include him in decision-making, he finally relaxed.

“The crown prince sent a messenger earlier, saying that Zhang Fu and his son would come to Beijing to visit Duke Zhang Fu. It seems Yuan Jie is coming with them. Since Duke Zhang Fu has no heirs, if anything happens, the issue of succession will surely cause great trouble for the emperor. It’s not a good idea for Yuan Jie to come at this time.”

“Although Duke Zhang Fu holds a high title, it’s who holds that position that truly matters. From what I know about Yuan Jie, he won’t be interested in such a seemingly prestigious role. He must be acting on behalf of Duke Zhang Fu’s wife. I’m not worried about him. It’s actually Liang Qian and Zhou Mian being brought to Beijing that’s truly unexpected.”

When Du Zhen brought up this matter, Yang Rong’s expression immediately turned grim. He had thought that since King Han Zhu Gaoxu had been banished to Le’an Prefecture in Shandong, he would never have any chance of seizing the throne, and the crown prince would be firmly in control of the Eastern Palace. Yet suddenly, problems arose. If not for his cleverness in shirking responsibility for the crown prince and Du Zhen’s subtle additions that implicated more people than just Liang Qian and Zhou Mian, things might have been different. Of course, more importantly, the emperor always thought of him and Du Zhen as impartial and unaligned with any faction.

At this point, he could only sigh helplessly repeatedly, “Just a mere Chen Qianhu, someone the emperor has already ordered to be exiled—why would the crown prince go to such lengths to protect him, even claiming he had merits and bringing him back? Although the emperor dealt with King Han, he has always been cautious about the crown prince. With someone reporting him, he naturally seized the opportunity to act immediately! Alas, Zhou Mian is one thing, but Liang Yongzhi is truly innocent and implicated in this.”

Du Zhen and Liang Qian also had some acquaintance, but since Zhu Di was in a fit of anger, constantly talking about factions, it was not appropriate for him to speak out. He thought about finding a way to intervene later. The two sighed again before leaving through Chengtian Gate.

It was already late, and the carriages of both families were waiting outside. Yang Rong and Du Zhen bid each other farewell and were about to board their carriages when suddenly, several riders rushed over and dismounted not far in front of them.

Yang Rong had sharp eyes. Seeing the father and son dismount and speak to the guards in front of Chengtian Gate, showing identification documents, he immediately stepped forward and gently pulled at Du Zhen’s sleeve. “As the saying goes, when you mentionCao Cao, he appears. That’s none other than my second uncle from the Yuan Festival—Zhang Fu, the commander of the Shence Army!”

Du Zhen had been away from the court for a long time and had only returned for less than a year, so he knew few people. Hearing Yang Rong’s words, he couldn’t help but take a closer look. Zhang Fu wore a shiny silver crown and a dark blue brocade jacket embroidered with peonies, arguing with the guards. The young man beside him still had his hair unbound, wore a red gold headband, and a bright red brocade robe, looking full of arrogance. After seeing this, Du Zhen lost interest and, following Yang Rong’s lead, said with a smile, “Seeing them come to see the emperor at this time, it’s clear they’re just a pair of arrogant, self-important fathers and sons—nothing to fear.”

“Yishan, you’re still as ruthless as ever!” Yang Rong chuckled lightly and winked meaningfully. “Meeting such people is a great misfortune for the Yuan Festival, but isn’t it also a great fortune for them?”

Seeing Yang Rong say that, he turned and strode up to the green silk carriage adorned with a plain lion’s-head emblem. Du Zhen smiled coldly, stopped looking at Zhang Fu and his son, and went straight to his own very simple carriage. Only when the carriage slowly set off did he lift the curtain to take another glance, only to see that the father and son still hadn’t been allowed into the Western Palace, prompting him to sigh even more deeply.

The Zhang family, as the Duke of Yingguo, indeed enjoyed great prestige, but that was because the father and son had been diligent and loyal in serving the king. In comparison, the emperor’s extra favor toward Zhang Fu and Zhang Jie was merely due to his affection for their family. Think of Xu Da, who had made great contributions, Xu’s wife who was the empress, and the Xu family of the Duke of Weiguo, who had once been one of the most prominent families—yet now they were far less influential than before.

Zhang Fu, not accompanying the emperor to Beijing, naturally judged the emperor based on common sense. Now, holding documents from the Central Military Command and stating his name and rank, he was still turned away, which made him feel increasingly anxious. At this moment, he could still hold back, but Zhang Bin, accustomed to being spoiled at home, gradually grew angry and began using his usual familiar address.

“The emperor is my uncle. I often see him casually in my aunt’s palace!”

Just then, a sharp reprimand came from behind him: “How bold! To use family ties to override imperial laws outside the palace!”

Only then did Zhang Fu turn to look behind him. A large sedan chair was parked not far away, and a girl dressed in a silver-red gauze top and a white silk dress embroidered with ink paintings, wearing a crown inlaid with cat’s eye stones, stepped out of the chair. At first, he didn’t recognize her, but when she gave him a cold smile, he was instantly shocked and realized who she was, filling his heart with despair.

It was Princess Chenliu again!

After saying those words, Princess Chenliu ignored Zhang Fu and his son completely, walking away with her two maids toward Chengtian Gate. Suddenly, she stopped, frowned at the two of them for a while, and then sneered.

“Since you’ve forgotten what I said last time, let me repeat it. It’s the King of Hejian and the Duke of Yingguo who are good at fighting. Lady Zhang is also kind-hearted—where’s your arrogance? Now that the Duke of Yingguo is ill, you rushed all the way from Nanjing just to visit him. Why are you in such a hurry to see the emperor? Are you eyeing the duke’s title? I’m warning you kindly—the emperor is very troubled by the Duke of Yingguo’s illness these days. If he’s in a bad mood, he might not even care about you, descendants of the late King of Hejian!”

With that, Princess Chenliu checked her identification token with the guards who came to greet her, then headed toward the Western Palace. On the way, a personal maid glanced around, stepped forward quietly, and whispered, “Princess, the Duke of Yingguo is seriously ill now. Perhaps that man’s son will inherit the title of Duke. Did you mean that just now…?”
“Can that brat inherit the title of Duke with his ugly appearance?” Princess Chenliu sneered disdainfully, but wasn’t worried at all. “My uncle is very shrewd. Over the years, so many people have spoken ill of our father, yet he never believed them. He certainly won’t act rashly in such matters! Both the King of Hejian and the Duke of Yingguo were heroes of their time. Whoever inherits the title of Duke must also be a hero, right?”