Chapter 384: Malice and Kindness

By evening, the Zhao Wang’s palace was draped in mourning attire. Since the deceased crown prince was the legitimate eldest son of the Zhao King, everyone from the Zhao King himself down to the lesser nobles wore sackcloth. Though imperial family bonds were often weak, and sons were usually raised by nurses and tutors from birth, Zhao King Zhu Gao Sui was not like King Zhu Gao Xu, who treated his sons like pigs and dogs, nor like Zhu Di, who guarded them like thieves while yet being overly protective—thinking that he himself had only two surviving sons, and now one of them was dead, his mood was naturally gloomy, and sorrow was evident on his face without effort.

“Your Highness, you must know that the imperial guards, the Shence Wei, and the Changshan Guard have all entered the city.”

Only then did Zhu Gao Sui come back to his senses, realizing he was still sitting in his study. Seeing Huang Yan sitting across from him frowning at him, he coughed awkwardly before asking in confusion, “It’s normal for the emperor to deploy the imperial guards and the Shence Wei, but why bring in my Changshan Guard? Those guards were originally meant for me—could it be the emperor wants to take them back?”

“Your Highness, how can you not understand at a time like this?” Huang Yan stood up abruptly and spoke rapidly to Zhu Gao Sui, “If the emperor didn’t trust you, with so many guards in the capital, why would he specifically call in your Changshan Guard? In this vital part of the capital, aside from the guards on duty, which prince’s guards would the emperor hesitate to deploy? We know you’re upset because of the sudden death of the crown prince, but now is not the time to be upset!”

Seeing Zhu Gao Sui sitting there in silence, Huang Yan grew even angrier. After pacing back and forth a few times, he turned around and said, “With the crown prince’s death coinciding with the critically ill crown prince of the Han King and even the crown prince heir falling ill, isn’t this the perfect opportunity? Why, despite all the emperor’s dissatisfaction and concerns, hasn’t he dismissed the Eastern Palace? Isn’t it because of the crown prince heir? Since the Imperial Astronomical Bureau has said the stars are unfavorable for the heir, if the heir also passes away…”

At that moment, the flame in the celadon lamp stand shaped like a celestial maiden offering lotuses suddenly flared upward, just as Zhu Gao Sui’s heart raced. His face lost all color, and his voice became hoarse: “Huang, don’t talk nonsense. Zhan Ji has trained in martial arts since childhood and has always had strong muscles and bones… Besides, my elder brother may seem like a silent wooden puppet, but he’s actually hard to deal with! With such deep thoughts, would he fail to be cautious about such matters?”

Ever since he formed a feud with Zhu Gaochi during the Jingnan Campaign, Huang Yan had been eyeing the position of crown prince. At first, he wanted Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaoxu to fight each other while pushing Zhu Gao Sui forward at the right time; later, he helped Zhu Gaoxu use the opportunity of the succession to bring Zhu Gaochi down. No matter how much effort he put in, Zhu Gaochi remained firmly in control of the crown prince position. If things continued like this, not to mention the Imperial Secretariat, he would even lose his life!

“Who doesn’t know that the crown princess and the crown prince heir are the two most important assets to the crown prince? I’m not foolhardy—I’m just borrowing that title! In short, this is an opportunity. Your Highness, just act like a heartbroken father at home; you don’t need to worry about anything else.”

Seeing Huang Yan turn to the rack and pick up the hooded oilcloth cloak, Zhu Gao Sui could no longer stay calm. He quickly stood up and warned, “Old Huang, don’t forget—everyone knows you’re close to me…”

“Of course, Your Highness doesn’t need to remind me!” Huang Yan swiftly put on the cloak and pulled the hood over his head before bowing with a smile. “With the people Your Highness gave me earlier, plus those under my control, there’s no reason why things won’t succeed. It’s such a good opportunity—wouldn’t it be a shame to let it slip away? Your Highness doesn’t want to end up like the Prince of Han, trapped in Le’an, right?”

Watching that figure disappear at the door, Zhu Gao Sui gulped hard, his heart pounding uncontrollably. Compared to Zhu Gaochi’s influence among civil officials and Zhu Gaoxu’s reputation among military officers, his real strength lay only in the three guards of Changshan and a few eunuchs in the palace. With these, he could only gather information regularly, but it was difficult to take action. Yet in a true crisis, having people in the palace was a huge advantage!

Thinking this, he immediately shouted outside, “Someone, go find the Prince of Anyang!”

For civil officials, the arrival of the Shence Wei in Beijing wasn’t surprising, as the twelve imperial guards were always rotated for duty. However, the thousand men sent by the Shengji Ying and the thousand from the Left Guard of Changshan were something entirely different. Soon, the only two scholars left in the Cabinet were bombarded with questions, and even Minister of War Fang Bin had to face intense scrutiny. In the end, the two scholars and the minister could only shrug helplessly and tell the truth.

This matter wasn’t discussed by any of the six ministries at all—it was an imperial order issued directly by the emperor without going through the Cabinet!

On the other hand, even though Zhang Yue couldn’t figure out the emperor’s intentions, he still followed Liu Sheng’s instructions before leaving and stationed three thousand men on the east, west, and north sides of the imperial city. The Shence Wei guarded the east, the Shengji Ying guarded the north, while the Changshan Left Guard remained on the west. As for Hai Shou, who was said to be in charge of these three thousand men alongside him, he had entered the palace ahead of him. After all, there were still three to four thousand elite troops in the Imperial Horse Supervision Bureau that could be deployed, and compared to these three thousand miscellaneous troops, those were clearly more important.

Having rushed to mobilize troops as soon as he received the news and then assigning them to various defensive positions upon arriving in the capital, along with arranging meals and overnight accommodations, Zhang Yue was so busy that he didn’t even have time to drink water, let alone eat. Now that everything had finally been arranged, snow suddenly began to fall from the overcast sky, and the cold wind grew stronger by the moment, leaving him feeling both hungry and cold.

Since Liu Sheng was a relative and elder, he inevitably used his position to help Zhang Yue. He specially sent Zhou Bailing, a thousand-household officer who had accompanied Zhang Yue on two official missions, who was now following behind him. It hadn’t been too cold when they set out in the morning, and Zhang Yue had only worn a thin red velvet cloak over his official robes. Now, with the cold wind blowing against him, his clothes seemed far too thin. After walking half a circle along the base of the imperial city to Chang’an Left Gate, he noticed that the snow was falling even harder, and his hands and feet had gone numb from the cold. As the group of civil officials passing through that gate on their way home kept looking at him, he could only pretend not to notice them.

“New Year’s Festival!”

Amidst countless curious and scrutinizing gazes, he suddenly heard a calm voice. Zhang Yue was stunned. Following the sound, he saw Shen Du and a middle-aged man with an unfamiliar face. He quickly stepped forward to pay his respects. Just as he bent down, he felt a pair of hands supporting his arms, followed by a weight on his shoulders. He realized the middle-aged man had draped a slightly worn indigo-colored felt-lined robe over him. Seeing that the man was wearing only a simple robe himself, Zhang Yue quickly tried to decline.

“Wear it. You can’t go back right away. This is your elder brother Ning Qingshi. He brought a carriage to pick me up. Once we’re in the carriage, we won’t be cold. I’m lending you this robe. If your father-in-law were here now, he surely wouldn’t let you suffer from the cold.” Seeing Zhang Yue hurriedly bowing to his son Shen Zao, Shen Du, whose hair was already gray, couldn’t help but laugh. “I won’t ask too many questions about your official duties. But since it’s getting late, you should send someone home to give news, and also arrange something to eat first. You need to take care of yourself at such a young age—only by strengthening your body can you have a bright future.”

Watching Shen Du walk cheerfully toward the carriage on the other side of the street, supported by his son, and glancing once more at the thick crane-feather cloak on his shoulders, Zhang Yue couldn’t help but feel deeply warmed by those words. Most of the civil officials who came out through the Left Gate of Chang’an also saw this scene; some experienced high-ranking officials stroked their beards in thought, while the younger ones envied Zhang Yue’s good fortune. Yang Rong, walking behind Minister of Rites Lu Zhen, even heard the minister mutter softly ahead, “Shen Minze really knows how to be a good person!” It wasn’t until almost all the officials inside had left that Zhang Yue, along with Zhou Bailing, set off again through the snow toward the east side of the imperial city. After taking a few steps, he felt an umbrella placed over his head, and soon a hand was extended to him, holding a paper-wrapped package. “Lao Wan? Why are you here? Didn’t you go back to the Ministry of War?” Seeing that Zhang Yue didn’t take the package, Wan Shijie asked this question and then said irritably, “I’ve already been back once. Because of those three thousand men of yours, things there are in complete chaos! If it weren’t for the fact that these three thousand men aren’t under the jurisdiction of the Five Armies Command, there would probably be a lot of trouble there too. I know you won’t go back without an imperial order, so I bought these mutton cakes on Front Street. Mutton keeps you warm—just as Scholar Da Shen said, it’s great for filling your stomach!” Only then did Zhang Yue realize that Wan Shijie had been there too, but since everyone’s attention was on Shen Du at that time, few people noticed him, including himself. Touching the still-warm paper package, he understood that Wan Shijie must have kept it close to his body in such cold weather. Before he could thank him, he saw this newly appointed officer from the Ministry of War’s Armory Department walk straight behind him. Upon closer look, it was Wan Shijie handing a similar paper-wrapped package to Zhou Bailing as well. “Captain Zhou, I’m entrusting you with Yuan Jie.” After walking almost half a circle around the imperial city and eating three mutton cakes in the snow, Zhou Bailing tightened his clothes and finished this unexpected dinner, thinking that Zhang Yue’s friend from the Ministry of War wasn’t bad at all. After walking a few more steps and seeing Zhang Yue looking back at him, he smiled and said, “Don’t worry, Lord Zhang. Our soldiers’ military uniforms are specially made, with fixed amounts of cotton inside—otherwise, how could we withstand bad weather during a northern expedition?”

Exposed by Zhou Bailing, Zhang Yue found that this rough-looking man was actually very meticulous. After all, bringing 3,000 people into the city suddenly, with snow falling from the sky, it would be a disaster if a few of them fell ill from the cold. They continued on their journey and finally reached Dong’an Gate. Suddenly, someone rushed over at top speed along the road leading to the palace.
“Lord Zhang!” The young eunuch walked so fast that he almost lost his balance at the end. After bowing in front of him, he hurriedly said, “The Emperor has ordered you to go home first and meet him in the Qianqing Palace tomorrow!”
After saying this loudly, he glanced around furtively before whispering, “The princess asked me to convey that the Emperor is in a bad mood and may not sleep well tonight. Go to the Qianqing Palace early tomorrow, and someone will take you to see the princess later. She has some things she needs to explain to you clearly.”