Chapter 561: A Meeting at Lingji Palace and an Unexpected Return

The seventh month of the lunar calendar is particularly busy for temples and Taoist shrines due to the Ghost Festival. As the end of the month approached, these places, once bustling, gradually grew quiet. Even Lingji Palace, the most prestigious temple in the capital, saw few visitors. Lingji Hutong in front of it was empty, far from its usual hustle and bustle.

Though he had just returned home and had other matters to attend to, Zhang Yue still took half a day off to visit Lingji Palace early in the morning. Zhu Zhanji had mentioned praying at Lingji Palace the previous day. Zhang Yue hadn’t paid much attention at the time, but upon reflection, he thought there might be a reason behind it. It didn’t matter if he met no one on this trip—after all, his grandmother was nearing death at home, and his wife was pregnant. Praying there could at least bring him some peace of mind.

He paid his respects to the Golden Palace True Lord and the Jade Palace True Lord enshrined in Lingji Palace, clasping his hands and praying softly. After standing up and leaving the main hall, a temple attendant came over with a ledger—although it was a temple built by imperial decree and even had appointed Taoist officials, the rules regarding offerings were the same everywhere. Zhang Yue signaled Lian Sheng beside him, who then handed over a large bundle of gold coins. The attendant counted them and wrote “800 ingots” in the ledger.

Today’s gold coins were not valuable. Though 800 ingots were all new coins, they were only worth about 10,000 copper coins in the market, roughly equivalent to ten taels of silver. For an attendant accustomed to generous donations from nobles, this amount was insignificant. After bowing, he took the ledger and left without even offering company. As soon as he left, Lian Hu scowled and said, “We don’t even know how much money we’ve given to these temples throughout the year, yet this guy still complains about the small amount of offerings. What a snob! Young master, let’s go inside and see. After giving so much, we should at least get a free meal of vegetarian food before leaving!”

“What’s so special about vegetarian food? Aren’t you afraid people will say you’re taking advantage?”

Zhang Yue slapped him on the head irritably. Seeing that Zhang Bu and the others were still staring around in amazement, utterly captivated by the splendor around them, he couldn’t help but smile slightly. It was only after a while that he spoke up to remind them, then walked past the main hall. Just as he was about to enter the small door on the left to take a look around the back hall, he suddenly heard a sharp cry and quickly turned around. There, he saw a young gentleman surrounded by seven or eight people, having just entered the Lingji Palace. One of the attendants was running swiftly toward him, shouting, “Young Master Zhang!”

Although Lian Sheng and Lian Hu didn’t recognize this group, they could tell from their imposing appearance that they must be people known to Zhang Yue, so they stepped aside. However, the four men led by Niu Gan were highly alert and immediately prepared to step forward to block their path. Fearing that these four guards carefully trained by Peng Shisan might overreact, Zhang Yue quickly stopped them and stepped forward himself.

“Young Master Zhang, what a coincidence! Our master also happened to come to Lingji Palace to pray and offer incense. Who would have thought we’d meet you here!”

Seeing that it was a young eunuch, Zhang Yue nodded and then instructed Lian Sheng and the others to explore around without worrying about him. After those six people reluctantly left, he stood there waiting. Before long, Zhu Zhanji and the others approached. Hearing this imperial grandson who had sneaked out address him directly as Yuan Jie, he smiled and called him Young Master Zhu.

After Zhu Zhanji entered the main hall to pray again, although Zhang Yue didn’t know what exactly the imperial grandson had prayed for, he knew that even if he didn’t pray for Zhu Di or Zhu Gaochi, he would surely pray for the safety of his pregnant wife. Once this was done, a young eunuch stopped the guest host, and he followed Zhu Zhanji through the small door on the left to the back, with the other attendants following from a distance. With fewer pilgrims today, the eunuchs had a bit less to worry about, but figuring out how to explain this situation back was still a huge problem.

Zhu Zhanji, however, ignored what others thought. After walking a few steps, he asked impatiently, “Yuan Jie, why didn’t you mention that you were attacked at Jiming Post yesterday when you saw me?”

“Since I’m unharmed, if I spoke to Your Highness in public at that time, wouldn’t it become known throughout the city?” Seeing Zhu Zhanji shake his head in disapproval, Zhang Yue realized his excuse wouldn’t fool this shrewd crown prince, so he lowered his voice and said, “Once Your Highness has investigated thoroughly and comes up with a convincing explanation, it won’t matter if others find out. The emperor is thousands of miles away, and there are already many rumors in the capital. Why cause further unrest over my matter?”
“Do you know that my father originally planned to send you to supervise the military rations? It was only after learning about your assassination attempt that he abandoned that idea. You even played tricks at Jiming Post—despite someone begging for mercy, you still killed all the assassins. And the news didn’t reach us until last night. At first, I thought you were venting your anger, but then I realized how scheming you are!”
Seeing Zhu Zhanji’s angry yet fearful expression, Zhang Yue understood what the crown prince was worried about. Seeing no one else around, he thought for a moment before saying with a smile, “As Your Highness said, I am indeed a bit scheming. Not leaving any survivors was to avoid trouble. Those who dare to assassinate must be determined people; it’s hard to imagine them begging for mercy. Fortunately, no one survived, otherwise, who knows what kind of confessions might be extracted under torture? Now, the local authorities have it much easier. With so many enemies, I can blame it on the White Lotus Sect, the Japanese pirates, or even the Tartars.”
The back hall of Lingji Palace was located in an open area. The two walked while talking, with neither of them intending to enter the hall for worship. Gradually, they entered a bamboo forest. As they entered, Zhu Zhanji waved his hand to signal the eunuchs accompanying them to stay outside and guard against unauthorized entry.
The weather had turned cool, and gusts of wind blew through the lush bamboo forest, causing countless leaves to rustle. The dry leaves on the ground were swept around, creating a desolate atmosphere. Watching the wind blow through the bamboo and hearing the rustling sounds, Zhu Zhanji stopped in his tracks. Seeing this, Zhang Yue also stopped immediately, only to hear a deep voice coming from ahead.
“Good and evil will eventually be rewarded; some people won’t live in peace forever.”

If Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi was the best at hiding his true intentions while feigning weakness, then the youthful and impulsive Zhu Zhanji was by no means the kind to endure schemes without reacting. Remembering how others had persuaded the emperor to let him accompany them on the northern expedition, and now how they were scheming against his father from all sides, he felt an overwhelming anger with nowhere to vent. After saying those words, he kicked a thick bamboo stalk hard, yet still unsatisfied, he kicked it again and again.

Though he was the crown prince raised in the palace, Zhu Di had chosen many people to teach him martial arts over time. With his angry kicks, the bamboo stalk shook violently, and many bamboo leaves fell, covering him head to toe. Zhang Yue quickly brushed the leaves off his head and body. Seeing Zhu Zhanji’s disheveled state, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly before stepping forward to help. Seeing Zhu Zhanji’s face turn pale as he punched the bamboo stalk in frustration again, Zhang Yue gently coughed.

“Your Highness, the crown prince remains in the capital to oversee the country, and he isn’t in charge of military supplies. In truth, the emperor’s actions this time are mostly out of frustration. The time for the emperor’s northern expedition is now at least half a month longer than originally planned. So while some grain will be sent to Kaiping later, it’s likely just as a precaution. But what’s crucial now are the laborers and the summer taxes. As far as I know, even now, there are still people in the fields near the capital taking in displaced households, making it twice as difficult for the authorities to conscript people.”

Besides the so-called 300,000 troops, there were also over 200,000 laborers accompanying them on this expedition. It could be said that at least half of the able-bodied men from regions like Beizhili, Shandong, Henan, and Shanxi had been drafted away. Although Zhu Zhanji was merely a crown prince without real power, he had heard about these matters. Now that Zhang Yue brought it up, he frowned thoughtfully before looking at Zhang Yue and asking, “Is it Prince Zhao?”

Before Zhang Yue could answer, he sneered, “Although the founding emperor once granted public lands to officials, those lands were taken back later because the nobles occupied too much land. Our grandfather imposed strict restrictions on the nobles and granted very little land. Moreover, when the nobles first came to Beijing, even the Duke of Ying’s estates were mostly purchased in the past, so they were limited. Yet Uncle Prince Zhao owns thousands of hectares—tens of thousands of mu—of fertile land, and it keeps increasing. That’s quite strange.”

Knowing that it was enough to mention such things briefly, Zhang Yue stopped talking. He actually wanted to bring up Liu Yongcheng’s previous letter, but considering it involved the internal affairs of the Eastern Palace and that the old eunuch was cunning and likely had some countermeasure, he simply answered Zhu Zhanji’s questions with some trivial matters. When pressed and forced to reveal the truth about his so-called extraordinary archery skills, it only provoked undisguised laughter.
“Who says this isn’t real skill? Do you think everyone can have such luck?”
A few days ago, he had been playing crickets and was reported to his father by several officials from the Eastern Palace. Zhu Zhanji came out today partly to ask Zhang Yue questions and partly because he was feeling frustrated. Having laughed heartily at that moment, he felt much relieved from the frustrations in the palace, and he thought this trip had been a great decision. It wasn’t until he heard a reminder from his attendants outside the forest that he realized he had to return by noon. He sighed, but remembering his mother’s warning, his expression immediately became serious.
“Yuanjie, you’ve accomplished quite a bit over these over a year since you left. It wouldn’t be unreasonable for you to be promoted, but you’re still too young. You’ve served as a county magistrate and an official in the Ministry of War, and before that, you were ordered to supervise Xuanfu. You could have taken up a position as an official in another prefecture in North Zhili and then advanced further upon returning. But because of this mission, promotion is uncertain. It’s not certain you’ll be demoted, but if the emperor gets angry upon his return, he might use this as an opportunity to hold you back.”
Reflecting on Zhu Zhanji’s words, Zhang Yue left Lingji Palace in a daze. Throughout history, members of noble families often inherited high ranks and generous salaries from birth, but it was rare to hear of someone holding high official positions at a young age. Zhu Zhanji’s words clearly indicated that he might remain in the same position. Yet this wasn’t a hurdle he couldn’t overcome, nor something to worry about. After entering officialdom through the imperial examinations, he had reached the fifth rank at the age of twenty, which was already a fast promotion.
If one’s foundation isn’t solid, they’ll fall quickly!
Realizing this, he snapped out of his thoughts and looked around, realizing he had already arrived near the Xisi Archway, not far from home. But at this moment, he changed his plans to go home for lunch and turned his horse around instead. Liansheng and Lianhu, who had been wandering all morning, still didn’t know who Zhang Yue had met, but they were more alert than the confused Niu Gan and the others. Seeing Zhang Yue suddenly turn back, the two brothers hurried over.
“Third young master, aren’t we going home?”
“To the Ministry of War!”

Although he really wanted to visit Du Zhen at the Du family’s residence at this time, after careful consideration, Zhang Yue decided to return to the Ministry of War immediately—he couldn’t afford to be too relaxed. After all, the emperor had sent him back not to spend idle days visiting relatives and friends. If Zhu Di suddenly changed his mind again and implicated his father-in-law and mentor, that would be extremely disastrous.

Over the next ten-odd days, the capital remained peaceful, even the rumors ceased. The transportation of military provisions gradually returned to its usual efficiency, with caravans moving back and forth along the postal routes nonstop. That afternoon was again Lu Zhen’s turn to be at the Ministry of War. As usual, he visited the four departments—Military Affairs, Recruitment, Armory, and Carriages—and then returned to the main hall.

Because of what Zhang Yue had revealed, he spent most of these days in the Ministry of Revenue. He took drastic measures to set an example, and although he failed to catch the man who had spread nonsense, he did discipline those subordinates severely. In his view, Xia Yuanji was too lenient with his subordinates, and the older Guo Zi also turned a blind eye, allowing these disrespectful officials to act unchecked. If he were the Minister of Revenue, he would have already put them in order. Look at all those officials in the Ministry of Rites, from vice ministers to clerks—who would dare defy him as the minister?

“Sir, sir! The emperor… the emperor has issued an order to withdraw the troops!”

Hearing this news, Lu Zhen almost thought his ears were playing tricks. After confirming it with the messenger once more, he finally believed it, but he still felt uneasy. Almost at the same time, the Duanjing Hall in the Eastern Palace and the five ministries and six departments received the same news. Zhang Yue, who had just left the Military Command Headquarters, happened to see the messenger rushing in with the news and was equally shocked.

Although he had been on the road for over ten days and had been in the capital for several days, the military reports still stated that the generals were sweeping through the Wulangha tribes. And from the emperor’s angry tone, it seemed he intended to continue fighting. So why suddenly decide to withdraw? Was it really due to a shortage of military provisions, or because Yang Rong and Jin Youzi persuaded him, or perhaps because the emperor’s health had deteriorated? Thinking of this, he almost instinctively turned around and went inside. When he reached the main hall, he heard the messenger shouting loudly.

“Seven days ago, the generals reported victory, bringing back over three thousand warhorses. All the Wulangha tribes came to the camp gates to surrender. Since the Wulangha people rebelled against the court, they are not allowed to graze in the old city of Danning! On the day of Xin Chou in August, the emperor issued an order for the troops to withdraw.”