Chapter 659: Both Sides Lose Ground

Following the standard banners, clear pathways, crossbows, swords and shields, bows and arrows, came various flags and musical instruments. Soon after that were umbrellas of all colors—purple, red, gold-embroidered, and round red umbrellas—along with round fans embroidered in blue and red. Further behind were eight fine horses. At the center stood the prince’s elephant chariot, standing 11 feet 6 inches tall. Behind that were palace maids carrying gold and silver basins, gold and silver water jars, gold and silver incense burners, and gold and silver incense containers.

For the people of the capital, such grand spectacles were rare, aside from the emperor’s processions during his inspections and military campaigns. With the crown prince seeing him off in place of the emperor, there was hardly another prince in the world who could match such splendor. Thus, when many saw the large procession leaving the city, they silently praised the emperor’s kindness for tolerating a prince known to harbor rebellious thoughts. After all, Zhu Gaochi not only summoned Prince Han Zhu Gaoxu to the capital for an audience but also increased his annual salary, allowed him to expand his princely domain, appointed his third son as the heir, and granted titles of county prince to his other sons, with countless other rewards.

When entering the capital, the army wore all black as a sign of mourning, but upon leaving, they displayed full regalia and princely attire. This stark contrast left even the soldiers accompanying Zhu Gaoxu stunned, let alone others. Now, as they were far from the city, Zhu Gaoxu, sitting in the elephant chariot, recalled how Zhu Zhanji had personally seen him off at the Li Zheng Gate. He gritted his teeth fiercely.

Even as emperor, Zhu Gaochi remained pretentious. All those rewards and comforts only made him more resentful, leaving him with no choice but to leave the city! If only he had a just cause or a brilliant advisor like the monk Daoyan back then—how could he end up in such a predicament?

On this bitterly cold day, the elephant chariot was enclosed by red curtains and high hanging drapes on all sides, blocking out the howling wind. There were also foot and hand warmers inside. Yet, after traveling over ten miles from the city, Zhu Gaoxu gradually felt the pervasive cold, though it paled in comparison to the deep chill in his heart. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his lower abdomen, his expression changing instantly. He immediately cried out, “Someone!”

Besides the stablehands, there was a eunuch serving on each side of the chariot’s platform. Both of them were frozen stiff in the cold wind. Hearing his call, they almost simultaneously woke up and hurriedly asked, “What orders do you have, Your Highness?”

“Call Feng Yuanming… bring him here!”

He used the word “please,” which was extremely unusual for the usually defiant King of Han, Zhu Gaoxu. Yet he certainly had reasons to be polite. There were so many doctors who couldn’t cure his illness, but “Feng Yuanming” managed to restore him to health with remarkable skill. Not only that—his long-standing ailments such as back and leg pain were also cured by her, often without the need for bitter herbal decoctions; just a few needles could greatly relieve the symptoms. So before heading to the capital this time, he sent away all the other doctors he had hired earlier to his estate.

After a while, a thick red curtain was pulled aside slightly, and a figure slipped in. Having had his pulse taken daily these past few days, Zhu Gaoxu was already accustomed to this and casually stretched out his left hand. As she checked his pulse, he felt an increasingly severe pain in his lower abdomen and asked irritably, “What on earth is going on? Why does this happen every day?”

Though she could end Zhu Gaoxu’s life with a single move, she had to resist such temptation at all times these days. Tang Sair even thought her role was essentially that of a doctor. But since she owed Zhang Yue a favor, and what he asked of her wasn’t particularly difficult—just not killing Zhu Gaoxu—she agreed. And since she couldn’t let this affect her master Feng Yuanming, she could only reluctantly suppress her fierce murderous intent and instead tamper with the medicine.

At that moment, she placed three fingers on Zhu Gaoxu’s wrist pulse for a while before pulling them back lightly. “It’s cold and dry these days. Please, Your Highness, exercise restraint.”

If it were anyone else, just the word “restraint” would be enough to make Zhu Gaoxu fly into a rage. But this time, though his face turned pale and blue alternately, he managed to hold back, snorted coldly, and waved his hand to send her away. Once the curtain was drawn back, he thought of the twelve palace maids sent to him by Zhu Chici. At that time, his illness hadn’t fully recovered—he could see but not eat, and he felt Zhu Chici was doing it on purpose. So once his strength returned, he spent countless days in madness, ignoring the fact that he still had to observe mourning for Zhu Di.

Anyway, Zhu Chici wasn’t much better than him. Once his father, who had always oppressed him, died, that guy put on a show of piety in public but was completely different behind closed doors! That fat bastard’s body wasn’t like his—let’s see who wins!

Thinking of this, Zhu Gaoxu ordered Mei Qing and the guard commander Wang Bin to come in. First, he gave instructions for security along the route, then sent Wang Bin away. He then instructed Mei Qing, “The Jinyiwei has just had its members replaced. Even if they send people to keep an eye on me, it’s impossible to monitor everything perfectly along the way. When passing through the various counties, try to meet with the local military officers. Ignore the civil officials; at critical moments, they can at most die for their duty but can’t do much else. The key are the soldiers! I don’t care about money. Spend generously and offer promising prospects—I’m sure that will persuade people! Also, arrange things urgently in Nanjing!”
The route from the capital to Qingzhou and from the capital to Nanjing followed the same official roads and post stations, requiring a passage through Zhuozhou and Dezhou before heading east and then south. Knowing that Zhu Gaoxu was ahead, Zhang Yue naturally ordered the group to slow down. Firstly, traveling in the cold winter months was exhausting; secondly, there was ample time for this assignment; thirdly, if they encountered Zhu Gaoxu’s group doing something shady, it could cause trouble. It wasn’t until they passed Dezhou that the convoy gradually sped up, but by then it was already deep in winter.
Since San San was still too young, although both Zhang Yue and Du Wan were reluctant to leave their daughter behind, they had to endure the pain of leaving her in the capital under the care of their sister-in-law Li Yun, to be taken care of by her when the Sun family arrived in the capital. As for Xiao Jingguan, they took him with them. At first, they were worried that the cold might harm him, but after more than ten days of a leisurely journey, he remained healthy and energetic, without even a cough. Sun Han, who was traveling with them, was amazed, while Zhang Yi often thought of her own children left in the capital, so she would often take the child in her arms to ease her loneliness.
That evening, the weary group finally arrived in Xuzhou. Knowing they would reach Nanjing by the end of the year, everyone relaxed. But instead of competing for space in inns or guesthouses, they found a clean and tidy inn in the city and rented it whole. Zhang Yue took care of himself properly and, feeling a slight headache, ordered the innkeeper to deliver food and drinks directly to their rooms. It was winter, and business was slow, so the innkeeper and his staff served them eagerly without any problem.

Due to his two experiences going beyond the borders, Zhang Yue now slept extremely lightly. That night, while he was sound asleep, he suddenly sensed some movement outside and jolted awake. Seeing Du Wan sleeping soundly beside him, he didn’t move and listened carefully. Soon, the rustling sounds turned into loud noises.
“Sir, I’m telling the truth. Everyone staying at the inn today is from Beijing—all wealthy or noble. They can’t possibly be military households with hidden agendas. Besides, everyone is resting right now.”
“Who knows if you’re lying? Move aside—I’m going to send people in to search!”
Hearing this voice, Zhang Yue immediately frowned. Propping himself up on his elbows, he heard Peng Shisan’s loud voice outside. After just a few words, it suddenly became quiet, with only faint murmurs of apologies, before complete silence ensued. Though the matter seemed resolved, he remained puzzled. When he lay back down, he noticed Du Wan had also woken up.
“Is something going on outside?”
“Don’t worry. Old Peng has taken care of it. It’s nothing serious.”
Zhang Yue gently adjusted the covers for Du Wan and closed his eyes. But shaken by the incident, he found it hard to fall asleep as various thoughts flooded his mind—thinking of Feng Yuanming, who wanted to travel the world to collect herbs and write books; of Wan Shijie, whose whereabouts were unknown in the north; of not having had a proper chance to talk to Du Zhen before leaving; of meeting Yang Shiqi and the Shen brothers; and wondering if Tang Sair would go so far as to harm Zhu Gaoxu… After what felt like an eternity, he finally drifted off to sleep.
He had many dreams that night. When he woke up in the morning, Zhang Yue felt sore all over, with a headache that seemed to split his skull. Over the years, he had been constantly on the move with little time to rest, yet he had rarely fallen ill. Now, he knew something was definitely wrong. With a weak call, Du Wan quickly sat up. Seeing his flushed face, she hurriedly sent someone to call a doctor. After a busy morning, Zhang Yue took some medicine and fell asleep again, while the others gathered to discuss the situation.
“The doctor said his illness is serious. It will take some time to recover. Second sister and her brother-in-law…”

“I’m not in a hurry to take office anyway; I don’t mind delaying for a few days. Let’s wait until I’m recovered from my illness before setting off!” Sun Han cut off Du Wan’s words decisively, then sighed, “Yuan Jie has always had a body as strong as iron. I never thought he would fall ill at a time like this. It’s just that the weather along the way is too cold. Fortunately, we’re moving slowly, so we can take this time to rest together. There isn’t much distance left to Nanjing. I’ll send someone with a message, and then no one will gossip.”

Zhang Yi always followed her husband’s lead and would never defy him. Thinking that it would be good to have each other’s company, Du Wan thanked them after hearing this. After they left, she ordered two more people to take care of her son. After finishing these tasks, she planned to go see Zhang Yue again when Ling Xi pulled Peng Shisan inside.

“Young mistress, he says he needs to report on last night’s incident.”

At the mention of last night, Du Wan immediately remembered waking up to find Zhang Yue fully awake. She quickly asked Peng Shisan, “Was it really noisy outside last night? It seemed like someone was trying to search the inn. What exactly happened?”

“I thought it was just ordinary government troops harassing the people. I went to find out this morning, but it wasn’t that.”

Peng Shisan thought about how he had rushed out early in the morning, only to return to find out that Zhang Yue had fallen ill. It seemed quite unbelievable. After pausing for a moment to think about how to start talking, he continued, “Now that the court has banned treasure ships from going to the West, those troops who used to go there with Eunuch Zheng and others have nothing to do. They’re used to a life of luxury and can’t stand a hard life. Now that the government has ignored them, those assigned to various places try to smuggle goods, so the government enforces strict regulations. In the Xuzhou area, inspections are carried out every night.”

“Troops from the West?” Du Wan had been helping Lady Wang at the Duke of Ying’s residence, dealing with official documents, and had heard some things about them. Suddenly remembering someone else, she asked, “I heard that Eunuch Zheng is now ordered to lead those troops to guard Nanjing. Shouldn’t they be guarding Nanjing? Why would they end up in Xuzhou?”

“I haven’t figured out the details yet, but since he’s been sent here to guard Nanjing at this time, it seems Eunuch Zheng must have lost his influence.”

Du Wan naturally understood what it meant to be in decline—after all, in many people’s eyes, Zhang Yue also fell into that category. After Zhu Gaochi ascended the throne, he appointed Yang Shiqi, who wasn’t the most prominent figure during the Yongle era, as the head of the cabinet. The nobles hadn’t been touched yet out of fear of causing trouble. As for the others, they kept changing, and government policies also shifted significantly. From this perspective, it wasn’t surprising that Zheng He was in decline. But with tens of thousands of elite naval troops available, it would be a shame to leave them unused… Amitabha, she had been with Zhang Yue for too long; even her way of thinking had become similar to his.

“I understand. Please ask Master Peng to investigate further. Once he wakes up, he’ll likely want to know about this as well.”

After Peng Shisan left, Du Wan instructed Lingxi to take good care of the carriage outside, then went to see Zhang Yue again. It wasn’t until after lunch that she planned to rest when suddenly Mother Cui’s voice came from outside: “Young mistress, someone is here to see you. They say they are the wife of Lord Wang, the Transport Commissioner of Lianghuai, and there’s also an official from the prefecture office who claims to be here to apologize.”

The latter part was expected, but Du Wan was momentarily stunned by the long list of titles mentioned first. She then remembered that both Lady Wang and Zhang Yue had spoken of this relative, so she nodded and said, “Let the second son-in-law receive that official from the prefecture office. As for Lady Wang’s entourage, invite them in; I’ll meet them personally.”

Among wives and concubines, there was a distinction between legitimate and concubine-born ones. But even before this lady spoke, just by her mannerisms, Du Wan and Lingxi knew she must be a noblewoman by imperial decree. Indeed, this slightly plump middle-aged woman was the wife of Transport Commissioner Wang Xunliang. After some small talk, she got to the point, her expression solemn.

“My husband has served as the Transport Commissioner of Lianghuai for nearly ten years without ever being transferred. He’s given up hope and doesn’t intend to pursue any other ambitions. But now that the Duke of Yingguo has become Grand Tutor, he thought he could simply live a quiet life as an ordinary official. Yet now someone is investigating him. My son Bin is unfortunate and has been caught in a scandal. I know Lord Zhang is the Duke of Yingguo’s most trusted nephew. Since he’s here in the Jiangnan region, I beg him to help my husband!”