Chapter 183: Sure Enough, Something Serious Has Happened!

Though he didn’t know what urgent matter the Duke of Britain’s letter was about, he had been exchanging letters with Beijing over the past few months, and the sender had never mentioned anything urgent. Thus, Zhang Yue didn’t dare delay and hurriedly mounted his horse to head to the county yamen. Upon arriving in no time, he tossed the reins to a servant who came to greet him and strode past the screen wall into the building.

After passing through the three main halls and reaching the back courtyard, he immediately saw Liansheng standing eagerly at the door of the study. Before he could speak, the quick-witted boy rushed over like the wind, ignoring formalities as he handed over the letter right away before explaining, “Young master, the messenger rushed so fast on the way that he arrived in just one day and one night. He’s already collapsed. I had someone take him down to rest and have called for a doctor…”

At that moment, Zhang Yue was examining the seal on the envelope, confirming it was indeed the intact personal seal of Duke Zhang Fu of Britain. As he began to open it and heard that the messenger had traveled in just one day and one night yet was now exhausted, he was shocked, realizing this must be a serious matter. Glancing at the contents of the letter, he almost thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

King Zhu Gaoxu of Han had been assassinated!

Stunned, he quickly read on. It turned out that Zhang Fu wrote that three days earlier, King Zhu Gaoxu of Han had been assassinated in his palace, with the perpetrator killed on the spot. Zhu Zhantan, the crown prince of the Han Kingdom, rushed to report the incident to the imperial court, stating that it was outrageous for someone to assassinate a royal prince in broad daylight. He blamed the provincial governors and lower-ranking officials in Shandong and called for more guards for the Han Kingdom’s palace. Not many people were aware of this yet, but a major upheaval in the Shandong government seemed inevitable.

Peng Shisan had already arranged for his horse to be ready and rushed over. Seeing Zhang Yue’s solemn expression, he wondered what could be so urgent and asked, “What exactly is so urgent that it requires an urgent letter? Did something happen in Beijing?”

“It’s not Beijing—it’s Shandong. We’re here in Shandong. With such a serious matter, if not for my uncle sending a letter first, we might not have heard anything for a long time.” Zhang Yue handed him the letter. It was customary to do so—although Peng Shisan wasn’t particularly meticulous, he had rich experience. Since it was a letter from Duke Zhang Fu of Britain, it only made sense to give it to him. “Take a look. You’ll understand what’s going on after reading it.”

“What could possibly happen in Shandong? Even if… it shouldn’t be able to cause trouble so quickly… Is this a joke?”

Peng Shisan took the letter with doubt and read it. When he reached the middle part, his eyes widened instantly. He looked up at Zhang Yue, who nodded with a cold smile. Realizing it was indeed written by Prince Zhang Fu of Britain, he was convinced it wasn’t a joke. Yet, he still felt an indescribable absurdity.

King Zhu Gaoxu of Han assassinated? Not to mention his ambitious desire for the throne, even his brute strength and martial skills were unmatched by anyone in the army. Peng Shisan remembered once, in his youth, accompanying Zhang Fu to meet Zhu Gaoxu and seeing him handle a 200-jin iron chain as if it were nothing, draw a powerful bow capable of firing arrows weighing three shi, and easily defeat twenty strong men in a fight—things even he found hard to match. Even if he had grown complacent over time, the Han Kingdom’s palace guards were so strict—how could an assassin get in so easily?

Zhang Yue didn’t believe King Zhu Gaoxu could be assassinated within such heavily guarded palace, nor did Emperor Yongle, Zhu Di, believe it.

Although several snowfalls had already fallen in Beijing, the warm halls of the Western Palace were as warm as spring. Yet, Zhu Di’s mood was extremely bad. He barely approved of a few memorials sent by the cabinet before getting up irritably and ordering Zhang Fu to be summoned. But as soon as the eunuch left, he felt something was wrong and ordered Yang Rong to be summoned as well.

Even during the day, countless beeswax candles burned in the warm halls, filling the air with the fragrance of ambergris. The polished gold tiles on the floor had been wiped shiny by numerous eunuchs early in the morning, making them stable underfoot. The palace servants and eunuchs standing around dared not make a sound. All that could be heard in the grand hall was Zhu Di’s heavy breathing, creating an extremely oppressive atmosphere.

“That self-righteous fool!”

Zhang Fu, waiting at the steps, heard a roar from inside and took a deep breath. During the Jingnan Campaign, he had fought side by side with King Zhu Gaoxu many times, and he still remembered their camaraderie deeply. In his youth, he even thought King Zhu Gaoxu was more suitable for the throne than the frail and sickly crown prince. But now, as he had grown older, he could see things clearly that he had missed before, so he no longer harbored such thoughts.

The succession to the Eastern Palace seemed precarious, but in reality, it was as stable as Mount Tai. If Zhu Gaoxu thought that since the current emperor also started as a prince, he could follow the same path, he was wrong.

Eunuch Zhang Qian came out of the palace hall. After bowing to Zhang Fu, he whispered, “Duke of Yingguo, today the Crown Prince of Han in Le’an Prefecture sent another blood-stained robe by fast horse. The Emperor is in a very bad mood now. I beg you to advise him carefully. The Emperor just summoned Scholar Xiao Yang as well—probably just a moment after you.”

Zhang Fu nodded and then said, “If you have time, come visit me. I recently acquired some top-quality imperial robes, but without your superb tea-making skills, I can’t brew good tea.”

The two men with the same surname but vastly different statuses exchanged glances and nodded slightly. Zhang Fu then entered the hall, while Zhang Qian waited at the steps. When Yang Rong arrived, Zhang Fu greeted him with a smile and led him in, saying little else.

Zhang Qian could have entered the hall to serve and avoided the biting cold wind outside, but he preferred to stay outside. In just these three days, at least a dozen palace servants and eunuchs had been executed by flogging. Although he hadn’t made such a mistake as to deserve that fate, he saw no need to risk it. Moreover, the most trusted ministers of the Emperor—both civil and military—were inside, and it was better not to overhear certain conversations. As long as he stayed outside, he wouldn’t be targeted if the Emperor’s anger turned elsewhere.

Although Yang Rong appeared impartial on the surface, he was actually part of the Crown Prince’s faction. Zhang Fu was always cautious and avoided saying unnecessary words, so even now he had to choose his words carefully. Thus, when the Emperor asked them questions in the hall, the two immediately made their positions clear. Though no one believed the Han King had been assassinated, this belief had to be kept to oneself, and someone had to take the blame publicly. Naturally, the unlucky Inspector of Shandong became the scapegoat and was quickly accused of harboring bandits.

“As for the Han King’s request to increase his guards…”

Zhang Fu glanced at Yang Rong, seeing him deep in thought, so he gritted his teeth and said, “Your Majesty, the Han King has always been extremely brave. This assassination was likely due to carelessness. Although the Crown Prince has accused the officials of the Inspectorate, Provincial Administration Office, and Qingzhou Prefecture in his memorial, in my opinion, punishing them is secondary—the commanders of the imperial guards should be held accountable first!”

Yang Rong never expected Zhang Fu to be so decisive this time, and he didn’t know how to continue standing by. Although Zhang Fu, as a nobleman, could speak such things outright, he couldn’t do so, so he said, “Your Majesty, it’s understandable to request more guards after the King of Han was assassinated. However, reducing the number of guards earlier was the Emperor’s decree, and suddenly increasing it again seems inappropriate. Since the guards of Tiance failed in their duty, it would be better to select guards from the imperial guards to replace them, slightly increasing their numbers. This would still reflect Your Majesty’s and the King of Han’s kindness.”

Since this was not a formal court session, Zhu Di was wearing only a yellow robe with a round collar and narrow sleeves, a jade belt around his waist, and black leather boots. His expression was terrifyingly gloomy. Though he had summoned the two to discuss matters, it was actually to strengthen his own resolve. Hearing both Zhang Fu and Yang Rong express doubts that this might be the King of Han’s ruse, how could he not realize they both suspected it?

Although he grew increasingly annoyed by Zhu Gaoxu’s lack of sense, seeing the tattered blood-stained clothes on the table reminded him of the battles at Dongchang and Puzikou. If not for Zhu Gaoxu arriving in time and fighting bravely through dozens of wounds to save him, he might have perished.

Those blood-stained clothes were not from Zhu Gaoxu’s recent assassination—they were old, from over a decade ago!

Returning to his seat behind the desk, he tried hard not to look at those bloodstained old clothes and said in a deep voice, “The Shandong Provincial Surveillance Office is supposed to combat bandits, but they failed to report on the White Lotus Sect’s activities earlier. After the King of Han was assassinated, they still didn’t detect any signs. I really don’t know what this office is doing! Have the Jinyiwei arrest Peng Gang, the head of the office, and bring him back to Beijing. I want to see if he’s become so fat and complacent in Shandong that he’s forgotten his duties!”

Yang Rong wasn’t concerned at all about what would happen to the Provincial Surveillance Office. In his view, all the information about the White Lotus Sect had come from the Jinyiwei, while the office had none—clear evidence of their negligence. He saw no need to save them. Yet despite Zhu Di’s fury, he didn’t mention the King of Han’s request for more guards. Could it be that he had some other plans in mind?

“The King of Han’s request for more guards is unacceptable. The guards of Tiance were personally assigned to him by me, and their loyalty should be unwavering. But this time they were extremely careless. Yang Rong, go back and draft an imperial edict ordering all officers of Tiance to have their salaries reduced for three years and be demoted by one rank, but they must remain in their positions. Have the Imperial Medical Academy select some doctors to take the best medicines to Shandong to treat the King of Han’s wounds. I’ll also have Zhang Qian take some gold, silver, and silk to Le’an Prefecture to pacify this troublemaker!”

Zhang Fu arrived a step earlier than Yang Rong, so he heard Zhu Di’s tone shift from “rebellious son” to “obedient son.” His gaze often fell on an object on the desk, leaving him puzzled, yet he dared not ask. When Zhu Di first sent Yang Rong away and then summoned Zhang Fu, he stepped forward a few steps. This time, he finally saw the blood-stained garment on the desk and suddenly understood everything.

“Wen Bi, those people in the Shandong Provincial Surveillance Office can no longer be kept. Do you have any candidates in mind?”

Faced with such a sudden question, Zhang Fu was immediately at a loss. Although he thought of his cousin Zhang Xin, who was far away in Jiaozhi, promoting capable people regardless of kinship still required caution. In that split second, he bowed deeply and said, “Your Majesty, matters concerning civil officials should be referred to the Cabinet. As a military officer, I truly cannot suggest any candidates.”

Zhu Di didn’t press further. He casually picked up a document on the desk, glanced at it, and then said as if to himself, “The young man is quite resourceful. Let’s give him a chance!”