Chapter 594: Wait, Soldiers

Marquis Li Bin of Fengcheng died on his way back from Congjiaoji, and Princess Yongping was reprimanded for her son’s involvement in treason. As a result, Fengcheng Hutong, where these two families lived, gradually became deserted. Before the New Year, Li Bin’s son inherited the marquis title and served as an officer in the Front Army Command, bringing more nobles to the area and restoring some of the former glory to the Marquis’s residence. Yet the princess’s mansion remained silent day after day, except for the back door used by servants, which was frequently used.

With few visitors, the five-room mansion with its seven green copper-ring doors remained tightly closed, and the servants guarding them were lazy. Given Princess Yongping’s high status, ordinary guests certainly didn’t qualify to enter through the main door unless sent by an imperial messenger. At that moment, the two gatekeepers were chatting happily when one of them suddenly spotted a carriage approaching from the east. He quickly nudged his companion and stood at attention, not daring to breathe loudly. Soon, the carriage stopped in front of the west gate. Peeking through a crack, they saw Princess Yongping get out and scold the gatekeepers harshly, causing them to shrink back even further.

Recalling what she had seen at the training ground, Princess Yongping felt a surge of anger. Seeing the two gatekeepers cowering on their knees, she snorted coldly and got into the prepared sedan chair. When the curtain was lowered, she ordered the head servant standing nearby, “These two wretches have no sense at all! Beat them twenty times to teach them a lesson!”

Hearing this, the middle-aged head servant dared not disobey and quickly agreed. Only after the sedan chair entered the west gate under the escort of several attendants did he sigh in relief. The princess had always been harsh, but ever since the marquis had had his title revoked and imprisoned, her temper had become even worse. She would beat or scold servants at the slightest provocation, breaking a whole pair of bamboo paddles at home. He called four strong boys to drag the two gatekeepers, who kept begging for mercy, away. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered that more people were coming today.

When Li Maofang was still alive, though his companions were lowly, they were at least sons of nobles. After moving to Beijing, Fengcheng Hutong in front of the main gate was bustling with activity. But now, everyone who came to the house used the back door stealthily!

The small sedan entered the second gate, and immediately, servant maids came to carry it, leading it all the way to the rear hall with seven rooms and seven pillars. Only then did attendants step forward to lift the curtain of the sedan. As Princess Yongping stepped out, her wet nurse, Mother Zhao, who had been waiting there, helped her into the inner room. Once the curtain was drawn shut, she whispered, “Princess, Mei Qing from the Han Prince’s Mansion has arrived and is waiting in the outer study now.”

“At this hour, why bother with such rules? With Maofang not here, I feel annoyed just thinking about the outer study. I don’t even want to go!” Princess Yongping sneered irritably before adding, “I’ve been a widow for many years, and my only son is not by my side. If there are still those who want to spread rumors, there’s nothing to say. Take two trusted maids with you, ask all the casual people along the way to step aside, bring Mei Qing here, and let’s hear what he has to say!”

During the Yongle era, each princess was married to a meritorious official, so none of the maids accompanying them dared to act arrogantly in front of their masters. Although Mother Zhao was a wet nurse, once Princess Yongping gave an order, she could only obey. She quickly agreed. About fifteen minutes later, she returned with a middle-aged man in green clothes and a small hat. Seeing Princess Yongping give a signal, she stepped outside and stood guard at the door. Hearing faint voices coming from inside, she didn’t dare eavesdrop and focused on what was outside instead.

“What exactly is Second Brother thinking?”

“Princess, you’re well aware of the emperor’s current situation. It seems only a matter of two or three years. Your Highness was too hasty at first, but now she seems to have realized that all it takes is patience. The military leaders now are all your former comrades. Even if there’s no blood relationship, they all know how fearless and powerful you were back then. Once Le’an sends troops, surely no one in the world will dare to oppose them! Since the emperor was able to seize the throne this way, Your Highness can do the same! Besides, isn’t there still a princess in the capital?”

Though flattered by these words, remembering her difficult situation, Princess Yongping quickly dismissed any sense of pride and pressed further, “Zhanqi brought so many people to the capital back then. Now that he’s caused trouble, keeping those people around is too conspicuous. We should send some of them back. As for Fang Rui, he does seem to have some insight…”

Mei Qing was in his early forties and had followed Prince Han Zhu Gaoxu for over twenty years; he was truly a trusted confidant. Suddenly, he interrupted Princess Yongping’s words: “Princess, there’s no need to worry about those insignificant folks. Most of them were sent by the late Crown Prince Yizhuang to His Highness Zhu Zhanqi. That Fang Rui merely thinks he’s clever, but these princes don’t even regard him as important. In the face of absolute power, such petty cleverness is utterly worthless. Princess, have you seen if these schemes have ever shaken the Emperor?”
At the thought of her unpredictable father, Princess Yongping, who had initially been displeased by Mei Qing’s rebuttal, fell silent. The Prince of Han had tried several times to undermine the Eastern Palace, and it seemed to be working, but Zhu Di simply changed his mind, sending the Prince of Han to Qingzhou, and later exiling him to Le’an. In the face of the emperor’s absolute power, such petty cleverness was indeed meaningless.
Still, thinking of Zhu Zhan Tan, who had died young, Princess Yongping couldn’t help but sigh: “It’s a pity. Zhan Tan’s plans were quite thorough. That Jinyiwei commander Yuan Fang was unyielding and couldn’t be brought down. They finally managed to frame him in front of the emperor, but he easily deflected the accusations! As long as the emperor suspected even slightly that he was connected to the Zhang family, he wouldn’t be able to remain the Jinyiwei commander!”
After all, Zhu Zhan Tan had once been Mei Qing’s young master, so even though he despised Fang Rui, he didn’t dare to easily reject Zhu Zhan Tan’s plans. Moreover, the previous opportunity had indeed been great, so he sighed.
“Plans are made by humans, but success depends on fate. The Crown Prince Yizhuang planned many things before he passed away. If this one didn’t succeed, it was also fate. Yuan Fang isn’t like Ji Gang—he’s extremely cautious. Besides, he was just a thousand-household officer in Kaifeng, so it was normal for him to deal with wealthy families. Without solid evidence, it would be impossible to bring him down. And even if he’s gone, there are others. If we can’t take control of the Jinyiwei now, the leverage the Crown Prince Yizhuang had over Lu Feng probably isn’t much use either. In short, what matters now is troops. If most of the nobles can side with the Prince of Han, everything can be accomplished! Although the Ministry of War holds the military tokens, without commanders, they can only watch helplessly!”
“I don’t have time to deal with this now. Before the Longevity Festival, I must first get Maofang out!”

Knowing that Mei Qing, the Han King’s confidant, would find it difficult to operate in the capital, she would surely have to go out on her own, so Princess Yongping deliberately showed her displeasure. She stood up coldly and said word by word, “It was my third brother who committed those sins. He lives comfortably and happily, and even might be freed from his restrictions now that my third sister-in-law has passed away. Yet my Maofang is still locked up in that dark place to this day. Although my second brother and I have been close since childhood, I don’t want to do others’ work only to end up being implicated!”

“How could that be? Your Highness is generous by nature—how could she be as heartless as the King of Zhao?” Mei Qing quickly stood up as well, wearing a flattering smile. “The late Duke of Jingguo, during the Jingnan Rebellion, led troops alongside Your Highness to capture Xie Gui and others. He also contributed to the conquests of Danning and the battles at Baihe Gou. He shares the same achievements as the nobles, and even implicated my father and our family—these are all known to the emperor. It’s been over two years now; the emperor’s anger has long passed. With just one more effort during this birthday celebration, he will surely release the princess’s beloved son. It’s just a matter of a marquis title. Once everything is settled the next day, it’s not impossible to grant him a ducal title or even make him a king.”

With her husband having died early, Princess Yongping devoted all her attention to her son. Mei Qing’s words certainly struck a chord with her. Although there was no concrete evidence at the moment, when Mei Qing produced a letter written by the Han King himself, followed by a pile of flattering words, and then whispered that a thousand taels of gold would be provided as expenses for her actions, she reluctantly agreed. As soon as Mei Qing left, she immediately ordered her wet nurse, Mother Zhao, to call in eunuch Han, who was handling matters outside.

“You went to see that Fangling in person—what do you think?”

“Princess, this man is indeed extremely intelligent and ambitious. But after all, he offended the Eastern Palace. To support him…”

“That’s exactly what I want—him offending the Eastern Palace. Otherwise, what use would he be to me?” Princess Yongping cut off Eunuch Han impatiently and ordered, “He’s only suspected by the crown princess of having an affair with a palace maid—it’s not a big deal. We can easily resolve it. He was once a good friend of Zhang Yue, so it won’t be hard for him to return to the Eastern Palace. Everyone has ambitions. His background is even higher than Zhang Yue’s—his grandfather was once made a Marquis of Fuchang. Now that he sees his friend thriving, he must be jealous. As long as I’m willing to pay the right price, why wouldn’t I use him? All movements in the Eastern Palace will be under my control. If anything happens the next day, I can act accordingly. Do you understand?”

“Yes, your servant understands!”

The eunuch understood that the Princess Yongping’s decision was final and irreversible, so he didn’t bother arguing further, though he had his own plans in mind. Since the Han and Tang dynasties, no ruling princess had ever been heard of; even the current King of Han was merely using the connections of the late Duke Jing of Jing. Since Fangling was indeed a brilliant move, he would find an opportunity to connect with that person. The princess acted out of too many personal motives and likely wouldn’t achieve much; it was always wise to have a backup plan.
“By the way, I forgot to send a message to Maofang the day before yesterday. I’ll have someone take another message to him. He must prepare the gifts for the Longevity Festival with utmost care—this is crucial for whether he can see the light of day again. The emperor is deeply devoted to Daoism and Buddhism, and he places even more emphasis on conferring titles on monks from the Western Regions than on anything else! It doesn’t matter if he suffers a bit now; once he’s out, what blessings won’t he enjoy? Once he gets through this, everything will be bright and sunny from then on!”