Chapter 199: Loud Thunder, Light Rainfall

Since being demoted to Le’an, King Han Zhu Gaoxu had become increasingly irritable and angry. Even county officials who came to pay him a visit rarely saw him, let alone friends who stayed overnight. Occasionally, messengers from the capital or other places would arrive; due to their low status, they even stayed in the empty rooms in the front yard. As a result, the luxurious guest rooms in the back garden of the royal mansion had never been used to host anyone before. Zhang Yue was actually the first noble guest to stay there.

The bed was covered with curtains embroidered with green and blue flowers and birds, and a bright red satin mattress lay beneath it. He was wrapped in a brocade quilt with a sandalwood-colored lining embroidered with peonies in gold thread. A charcoal stove in the room burned silver bone charcoal, keeping the space warmly cozy. Staying in this room, even more luxurious than his own home, coupled with the worries in his mind, Zhang Yue thought he would surely toss and turn all night awake. Yet, soon after lying down with his head on the pillow, he fell asleep and slept through until dawn.

Early in the morning, it wasn’t the two maids from the previous night who came to serve him, but the eunuch who had led him into the garden the day before. He added boiling water to a silver basin. Seeing Zhang Yue wash his face by himself, he didn’t interfere and instead brought over a set of clean undergarments for him to change into. After Zhang Yue put on his outer clothes layer by layer, the eunuch placed aside the brocade cloak embroidered with golden phoenixes that Prince Zhu Zhantan had given him the previous day and said with a smile, “People say clothes are for people and saddles for horses. In my opinion, even fine clothes need someone to match them. If someone else wore Prince Zhu’s cloak, it would be a waste!”

Having experienced this man’s flattery before, Zhang Yue simply smiled slightly without responding. After combing his hair and putting on the black hat adorned with crystal beads, and after having breakfast, he followed the eunuch out to see King Han. Then, casually, he asked, “By the way, after I left yesterday, I wonder what happened with that matter…”

“Look at my poor memory! I completely forgot that Lord Zhang wasn’t here yesterday,” the eunuch said bluntly, as there was no one else around. “As soon as you left, the King flew into a rage at Prince Shouguang, even accusing him of being behind the assassination attempt. Though Prince Shouguang usually acts domineering, this time he was so scared by the King that he couldn’t even speak. In his anger, the King ordered him to be locked up in the woodshed in the back garden, though no decision has been made yet about what to do with him.”

At this point, he smiled obsequiously again and said, “Since Your Highness said today would be the day to settle matters with Lord Zhang, well, what happens to the King of Shouguang really depends on a single decision. Last night, after interrogating the King of Shouguang, Your Highness ordered several of his trusted subordinates to be captured as well. Early this morning, people were sent to Qingzhou Prefecture to summon Eunuch Zhang and Commander Liu. To be honest, having served Your Highness for so many years, I’ve never seen anyone with such influence that could make Your Highness go to such lengths…”

Such influence? Such lengths? Zhang Yue was perfectly clear that it wasn’t so much about taking his side as much as the fact that Zhu Gaoxu was now directing his suspicions directly at Zhu Zhanqi, which made him so enraged that he went to such extremes! However, since this eunuch could serve Zhu Gaoxu, he must be clever and cautious. Although he hadn’t uttered a word beyond what should have been kept secret yesterday, he was now talking so much, probably on purpose, as if given instructions.

After all, it’s said that even tigers don’t eat their cubs. Could Zhu Gaoxu really intend to have Zhu Zhanqi accused of patricide? If so, it would make things easier for him, who was investigating by order of the emperor. Zhu Zhanqi deserved to be punished severely, but wouldn’t Zhu Gaoxu himself become a laughingstock?

Zhang Qian learned that Zhang Yue hadn’t returned home all night, and he had planned to visit the Han King’s mansion that day anyway. The Han King was eager for him to come. Early in the morning, Liu Zhong sent Meng Xian to suppress the situation in Shouguang, and upon hearing the news, he rushed here at full speed. Besides these two, Mu Ning, who was sharp-witted, came uninvited. As a Jinyiwei officer in charge of investigations, he was already involved in this case by duty. Without even asking permission, the mansion’s gate allowed this high-ranking Jinyiwei officer in.

Liu Zhong and Zhang Qian treated Zhang Yue kindly out of respect for Zhang Fu, while Mu Ning knew that his relationship with Yuan Fang was poor. In these times, dealing with people mainly comes down to relationships. It’s only natural to care for those younger than oneself, especially since Zhang Yue was very skilled at handling matters. So, the three of them, who didn’t usually interact, met Zhang Yue as he came through the snow outside Xuanren Hall. They all smiled, but from their expressions, it was hard to tell they were all clueless about the purpose of being invited that day.

The Prince of Han had not arrived yet, so there was no reason for anyone to enter the hall ahead of time. Thus, even though it was snowing heavily, they stood outside waiting, having to brace against the cold wind that carried snowflakes straight into their necks. But since they were all together, they inevitably had to talk. After a few exchanges, Zhang Qian and the others finally understood what had happened the previous day. Zhang Yue also obtained second-hand information from Zhang Qian, which originally came from Mu Ning. As a result, all four of them forgot that it was deep winter with icy weather and simply stood there in thought.

Zhang Yue was shocked that Zhu Zhanqi had ordered his men to attack Zhu Gaoxu’s troops; Zhang Qian was worried that Zhu Gaoxu might, in a fit of rage, disregard national laws and execute his rebellious son; Liu Zhong was furious that Zhu Zhanqi dared to send troops to assassinate an imperial official, relieved that nothing worse had happened; Mu Ning, with her keen instincts as a member of the Jinyiwei, felt that there must be more to this matter.

Just as everyone was struggling to figure things out and waiting until their hands and feet turned cold, the Prince of Han, Zhu Gaoxu, finally arrived in a sedan chair under an umbrella. He didn’t pay much attention to the extra person and entered Xuanren Hall first, sitting down on the central throne. When he saw everyone bowing, he waved his hand, ordering them to take their seats, and then ordered someone to be brought in.

The first ones brought in were several officers tied up like zongzi, all bare-chested, who admitted that they had acted under Zhu Zhanqi’s orders and had received 1,000 taels of silver as bribes. Hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu, whose face was dark with anger, ordered them to be gagged and made to kneel aside. Then, several guards brought in the manager who had been captured from the Shouguang Prince’s mansion.

As soon as the middle-aged manager was thrown down, he kowtowed frantically, tears and snot streaming down his face. “Your Highness, I really know nothing! I only followed the orders of the Shouguang Prince. A month ago, he withdrew 3,000 taels of silver, and then another 1,000 taels. I even advised him to be more frugal, but I was beaten for it. The Shouguang Prince also scolded me, saying that one should live happily in this world, that it’s better without restraint, and that no one could control him in the future—not even Your Highness…”

“Damn you, wretch! What nonsense are you talking?”
Although only a night had passed, Zhu Zhanqi had suffered greatly from the cold in thefirewood room. When he was carried in by two eunuchs, he happened to hear these words and became furious. After cursing, he finally saw the officers kneeling aside, and his earlier arrogance vanished completely. However, after thinking all night, he realized that someone was using the previous day’s incident to harm him. So he broke free from the two eunuchs, knelt on the ground, and tried his best to clear himself of any blame.

“Father, what happened yesterday was indeed due to my madness. I only took people with me to vent my anger; I had no intention of killing anyone to silence them. I waited for a long time on the north bank of the Zishui River, but not a single person showed up! Father, would you rather believe outsiders than me? I already have a feud with Zhang Yue—he must be framing me! Father, you must believe me. You can’t assume everything was done by me just because of this incident. How could I have such audacity…”

Hearing Zhu Zhanqi repeating the same few words over and over, even accusing him of framing him, Zhang Yue couldn’t help but sneer inwardly, too lazy even to feel disgust. Though he had initially doubted whether someone was being wronged, the mentions of 3,000 taels and 1,000 taels in expenses earlier were too coincidental. Now, even he suspected that Zhu Zhanqi resented his father and secretly paid someone to carry out the assassination. But seeing that guy’s ugly face, he found it utterly absurd.

Zhu Zhanqi’s mumbled pleas clearly showed he understood he couldn’t risk losing too much by being too cautious. He even admitted only half of what happened yesterday. It was impossible for him to admit he was the mastermind behind his father’s murder, but only heaven knew whether Zhu Gaoxu would believe him.

“Enough!” Zhu Gaoxu clearly didn’t want to let his son keep defending himself endlessly. He suddenly stopped him and then covered his shoulder, breathing heavily. “Where is Wang Bin, the commander of the guards?”

“I’m here,” came a voice as someone rushed in from outside—the commander of the Tiance Guard, Wang Bin. He stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and said loudly, “I am ready to follow your orders, my lord.”

“Everyone who followed this traitor yesterday shall be punished with 200 lashes each! The Tiance Guard is one of the top ten guards in the capital army and has always been loyal to me. Even when they were attacked first, I still protected them. Who would have thought there would be such people who disobey orders and act recklessly? How can you be the commander of the guards?”

Hearing this rebuke, Wang Bin immediately bowed his head, his face filled with deep shame. “I deserve death!”

“You do deserve death!” Zhu Gaoxu snarled and clenched his fist, only to feel even more intense pain in his injured shoulder. After a long while, he finally exhaled deeply. “I’ll deal with these lawless elements later. First, you must discipline the entire Tiance Guard. Anyone who colludes with outsiders must be punished equally. If this happens again, I won’t spare you!”

“All those followers who followed that traitor yesterday were dragged out and killed! I’ve ordered the chief to select a few reliable accountants from the palace; any expenses over a hundred taels must be shown to him before approval. All the previous managers and officials should be dismissed, and no one in Shandong is allowed to shelter them! As for that traitor…” At this point, Zhu Gaoxu’s face took on a fierce expression, followed by a cold sneer: “Let him stay in the woodshed for another ten days. No food or clothing shall be given to him—let him reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors!” While others received severe punishments, Zhu Zhanqi was oddly spared, which Zhang Qian, Liu Zhong, and Mu Ning deemed only fitting. After all, the idea that princes should be punished the same as commoners was just a casual remark among the people; how could the punishment be the same? Yet Zhang Yue frowned slightly upon seeing Zhu Zhanqi’s relieved expression. Of course, he wasn’t naive enough to think Zhu Gaoxu would do anything to Zhu Zhanqi for his sake, but given the previous situation, it was clear Zhu Gaoxu truly suspected Zhu Zhanqi of being the mastermind behind the assassination. It was hard to believe that the punishment was so mild—just ten days in the woodshed. If the most important figures in Qingzhou were gathered just for such a minor punishment, it seemed like an overreaction. Sure enough, as Zhu Zhanqi and the others were taken away and Wang Bin had not yet left, Zhu Gaoxu spoke again: “The matter of the assassination attempt against me now has some clarity, so there’s no need for you all to continue investigating. I will naturally report to our emperor in due time. I merely want to ask you all—since the governor of Qingzhou has not yet taken office and all positions in the inspection department are vacant, and someone has even seized the grain store in Shouguang County—what exactly are the imperial rules here? Why is there repeated delay?”