Chapter 444: Comparing People Kills People

Although nothing was mentioned about Fang Bin’s death at the next morning’s court meeting, everyone in the capital, as long as they weren’t blind or deaf, knew about it. Wu Zhong, the Minister of Punishments, and Lü Zhen, the Minister of Rites, were in a daze throughout the meeting. Even Lü Zhen, who was usually very eloquent, almost made mistakes several times while presenting his reports if not for forcing himself to stay focused. By the end of the meeting, their disheveled appearances were evident. Even the military officers who weren’t directly involved were puzzled and discussing the sudden death, as it meant they would now have to deal with another Minister of War.

“It’s just losing one’s position after being scolded by the emperor. Who among us hasn’t been scolded by the emperor during battles?” Zheng Heng, the Marquis of Wu’an, though old, still had a strong voice. “To commit suicide over such a trivial matter—what kind of burden does that place on the emperor? I always thought Fang Bin was greedy, but I never expected him to be such an idiot!”

Since the commanders of various armies had already been appointed, Liu Sheng, who was in charge of the capital garrison, also had to come to the court meeting specially. Although he hadn’t been granted a title through the Jingnan Campaign, he had led the central army and the Divine Machine Camp during several northern expeditions. Even when there was a major incident like the theft of gunpowder from the Divine Machine Camp, he was only reprimanded and had his salary reduced. Thus, no one dared to underestimate him now. Seeing a few nobles shaking their heads and sneering, he glanced at Zhang Yue, who was mixing among the Ministry of War officials and heading toward the left exit, then interjected, “Once someone dies, they’re dead. The emperor will surely remember his past contributions, so this matter will probably be dropped. Why should we soldiers worry about it? With this northern expedition now a certainty, have everyone prepared their weapons and armor?”

What soldiers valued most were naturally weapons, armor, and good horses. When Liu Sheng brought up this topic, everyone immediately forgot about Fang Bin’s matter. At the same time, several censors from the Censorate were at the back, whispering to each other with excitement. One of them even clenched his fist and waved it. “We can’t just let him die. If such a corrupt official gets away unscathed, there will be more Fang Bins in the future! Even if we can’t bring down greedy and intolerant scoundrels like Lü Zhen and Wu Zhong, we must show them a warning!”

The night before last, I didn’t get much sleep, and last night I waited for news until the dead of night, then tossed and turned thinking over things, so naturally Zhang Yue wasn’t in good spirits. Fortunately, though he’s busy with official duties now, all he has to do is review documents from various places regarding tax collection and transportation—repetitive work that only requires him to mechanically sign and stamp them, allowing him to distract himself with other thoughts. Finally, when it was time for lunch, Wan Shijie, unable to stand it any longer, simply pulled Zhang Yue to Ducang Building near Chongwen Gate.

“Before, you were working outside, and I couldn’t help much, but now that you’re in the capital, it’s not right for you to keep your worries to yourself—that’s not very friendly!”

Since he had official duties in the afternoon, Wan Shijie instructed the waiter to bring only tea, no wine. When everything was ready, seeing Zhang Yue still silent, engrossed in eating and drinking, he grew impatient and said directly, “Yuanjie, you’re just worried about the consequences of Minister Fang’s suicide. But you saw what happened at today’s court meeting—the emperor was only slightly upset. To put it bluntly, since the person is dead, this matter should come to an end. Now, there are already others handling the supervision of troop funding and supplies. Xiao Xia even told me that Grand Secretary Yang and Scholar Xiao Yang have advised the emperor, and it seems the emperor is considering their words.”

Though grateful for Wan Shijie’s kindness, Zhang Yue still felt a heavy weight in his heart. Unable to resist Wan Shijie’s urging, he simply raised the teacup in front of him and drank it in one gulp before speaking seriously, “I just think Minister Fang shouldn’t have committed suicide.”

“Shouldn’t?” Wan Shijie finally realized and thought carefully. His expression grew solemn. “What you say makes sense. Minister Fang had no crime committed, and Ministers Xia and Du, who were imprisoned by the Jinyiwei, are still fine. Why would he suddenly die…? But we both know Minister Fang’s personality—he was extremely stubborn. Maybe he felt depressed…”

“Early yesterday, Princess Chenliu and my younger brother went to Lingji Temple to offer incense, and they happened to meet Minister Fang,” Zhang Yue said, unwilling to hide anything anymore. He slammed the teacup down on the table and took a deep breath. “According to my brother, Princess Chenliu even spoke to Minister Fang a few words, and it seems he was moved by her words… And don’t you find it strange? Minister Fang was once exiled to Guangdong for a crime, but his situation now is better than back then. Why would he consider suicide this time?”

“Well…”

Wanshi Jie could no longer say things like “you’re overthinking it”; his brows furrowed in confusion. After pondering for a while with no solution, he simply put down his cup. Just as he was about to speak, he heard thudding sounds from above the floorboards, and soon after, he saw a figure rushing upstairs. He found the person somewhat familiar, and before he could figure out who it was, the person rushed straight toward their table. Before even standing firmly, the person shouted, revealing their identity right away.

“Brother-in-law, you’re really here! Thank goodness! Come with me quickly—someone wants to see you!”

As soon as Xiao Wu spoke, her voice turned feminine. Fortunately, the tavern was extremely noisy, so no one noticed this slight change in voice. Wanshi Jie had met Xiao Wu before, so he immediately realized who she was. Zhang Yue, after being shocked, quickly became alert and guessed who had come to see him. He asked in a deep voice, “Where is she?”

“By the carriage on the left side of the city gate…”

Seeing Zhang Yue stand up immediately upon hearing this and rush downstairs, Xiao Wu was momentarily stunned. She initially thought of chasing after him, but after some consideration, she decided it was better for her not to get involved in such a complicated matter. So she sat back down at the table. She had been dragged out by Zhu Ning early in the morning, and the carriage had circled several main streets in the city over and over. By now, she was dizzy and hungry, so without hesitation, she ordered another bowl of rice and started eating heartily.

Only after filling her empty stomach halfway did Xiao Wu lift her head. She saw Wanshi Jie staring at her in amazement, and she felt a bit embarrassed. After tilting her head and observing him for a while, she suddenly said with a smile, “I remember you. You also went to Qixia Temple with my brother-in-law to consult the old monk back then, asking him how to achieve great success.”

Back then, Wanshi Jie was too focused on meeting the brilliant Daoyan, so everything else was secondary. Hearing Xiao Wu’s words, he felt a bit awkward. He had heard Zhang Yue mention that Du Wan had such a sister-in-law, but “seeing is believing.” Now that his past was revealed, he couldn’t help but smile sheepishly. However, Xiao Wu was used to being friendly with people, and he wasn’t someone who cared too much about details. After a short exchange of questions and answers, they became familiar with each other.

After coming downstairs, Zhang Yue quickly found the carriage on the left side of the city gate—it was still the same Zhai carriage with its red silk and various decorations removed, but now covered with a grid-patterned cloth. As soon as he approached the carriage, the curtain was gently pulled back slightly, and soon after, Zhu Ning’s familiar voice came from inside. She first recounted what had happened at Lingji Palace the previous day before sighing.
“I never expected that just after I visited Lingji Palace yesterday, Fang Bin would die so quickly. Though he seemed distraught at the time, it’s unreasonable for him to commit suicide. Besides, I had tried to comfort him. It makes no sense. However, I heard that Fang Bin was always disliked by others. While he was alive, people feared his close relationship with the emperor, so now that he’s dead, countless people will surely take advantage of the situation. His death affects not only him and the Fang family but also many others. If it affects your father-in-law, that would be terrible. Wan’er is my close friend, and I admire Lord Du as well, but there’s nothing I can do about this. Zhang Yue, it’s all up to you now.”
The emperor had become increasingly irritable over the years, and the more he favored someone in normal times, the harsher his punishment would be when problems arose—Huang Yan and others were perfect examples. So although Zhang Yue was puzzled by Fang Bin’s death, this was exactly what he feared the most. Zhu Ning’s reminder coincided with what he had seen, so he nodded and replied solemnly, “Princess, rest assured.”
Zhu Ning remained silent for a while before saying softly, “There’s probably little I can do to help Wan’er in the future. If we really get married, I won’t be able to act so freely… Minmin will have to observe mourning for three years, and with what happened in her family, it will be difficult for her to find a suitable husband in the future. I, as a princess, am much luckier—at least the three candidates the emperor gave me are all kind-hearted people. Speaking of which, Wan’er is the luckiest of the three of us. So you must treat her well from now on.”
Even though he already knew Zhu Ning had no other choice, Zhang Yue was still surprised by her words. He immediately bowed sincerely and said, “Princess, you’ve done so much for me and Sister Wan. A simple thank you is utterly inadequate. There’s nothing else to say, but I hope you’ll be happy in the future.”
“Thank you for your kind words.”

Inside the carriage, Juning smiled gently, her face glowing with a warm, pleasant expression—very different from her usual bright and cheerful demeanor. After chatting a few more words with Zhang Yue, she heard Xiao Wu’s voice outside and opened the curtain to pull her into the carriage. As the carriage moved slowly forward, Zhang Yue returned to Ducang Building, while the black carriage parked on the right side of Chongwen Gate finally lowered its curtain and instructed the driver to follow.

King Zhu Tu had spent most of his life dealing with his strict father, Zhu Yuanzhang, then his nephew Zhu Yunwen, who used him as a scapegoat, and finally his suspicious elder brother Zhu Di. Exhausted from all these struggles, he poured all the warmth he had left in this life into his daughter. Sitting in the steady-moving carriage, thinking of what he had seen from afar just now, he couldn’t help but sigh.

People make others jealous to death—how could his daughter be inferior to Old Du’s daughter? It’s all because of their social status!

Juning had no idea that her father had followed her all morning. After sending Xiao Wu back to the Du family, she ordered the driver to head to the palace to meet Princess Zhang, the crown princess. However, when the carriage reached Donghua Gate and she got off, she encountered someone unexpected.

“It’s really a coincidence to meet Aunt Ning here,” said Zhu Zhanqi, who happened to be coming out of the palace. After bowing and straightening up, he whispered, “In those folk tales of the Three Kingdoms, it’s said that Zhuge Liang drove Zhou Yu to death with words. Aunt Ning truly is as remarkable as a hero—her words were enough to make a high-ranking official commit suicide out of shame.”