Chapter 668: No One Is an Easy Target

The land of the Six Dynasties’ splendor, the imperial city of Jinling.
Though its population has dropped sharply due to the capital’s relocation to Beijing, Nanjing still hosts many wealthy families, many of whom are noble officials who survived the successive purges during the Hongwu era and the Jingnan Campaign. Although most of these founding heroes no longer enjoy their former glory, their family reputations, built over forty or fifty years, still fill them with pride. In fact, many consider those who rose to prominence during the Jingnan Campaign to be nothing but nouveau riche.

Since the elders hold such views, the younger generations naturally share them as well. With most families intermarried, almost any two families are related in some way, so these youths grew up together. As adults, they bonded over shared interests, often responding instantly to each other’s calls and remaining highly united. As a result, even the government rarely interfered with these noble youths from influential families, unless something serious occurred. Among Nanjing’s noble families, the Xu and Mu clans were considered the most prominent.

Zheng He and Wang Jinghong were tasked with leading foreign troops to defend Nanjing. Both held the title of eunuch commanders, but when it came to the actual defense of Nanjing, people would turn their attention to the Qianning Prince’s Mansion in Guyi Alley, west of the Nanjing imperial city. Although Mu Ying’s title was posthumously conferred and not hereditary, Mu Sheng, the current Duke of Qian, governed Yunnan and rarely came to Nanjing. The mansion should technically be called the son-in-law’s residence, but the common people referred to it as a prince’s mansion, and the government did not intervene.

Mu Xin was Mu Ying’s youngest son and married Princess Changning, daughter of Zhu Di. Though the princess died young, Mu Xin was highly favored by her father. He built temples and palaces on Wudang Mountain and, from the late Yongle era onward, also served as the defender of Nanjing, living there almost constantly. Though not a man of great strategic genius, he understood that his family’s prosperity depended on his elder brother Mu Sheng in Yunnan. Thus, he maintained extensive connections in Nanjing. Whenever something happened in Yunnan or if there were imperial accusations, he could immediately respond from afar, but he paid little attention to other matters.

As another top noble connected to the imperial family through marriage, he had some relationship with Zhang Fu as well. When Zhu Yong, the Duke of Cheng, was stationed in Nanjing, he maintained close relations with him. Now, after receiving gifts from Zhang Yue during the New Year, he held a grand banquet for his youngest son’s first month, inviting Zhang Yue and his wife. He did not forget the eunuch commanders Zheng He and Wang Jinghong either. The latter two sent gifts through others instead of coming in person, while Zhang Yue and his wife Du Wan attended in person.

Princess Changning passed away in the sixth year of the Yongle era. Since she was a married princess, Mu Xin naturally couldn’t remarry, but he had numerous concubines. That day, it was Jiang, the only concubine among them to be granted the title of “Gongren” by imperial decree, who hosted the female guests. She was a distant niece of the Xu family, the Duke of Wei, and naturally handled everything in an orderly manner. The concubine who had just given birth to a son, however, wasn’t even allowed to show her face. Since most of those who came to offer congratulations were young people with official titles, there were plenty of beautiful women, creating an extremely noisy atmosphere.

In the courtyard ahead, the men were also shouting and making a lot of noise. Although drinking was no longer prohibited, watching operas and listening to music was still forbidden, so they could only talk nonsense about various topics. After three rounds of drinking, Mu Xin excused himself from the banquet. Since the guests were mostly sons of noble officials, seeing others having fun, Zhang Yue quietly stood up. As soon as he left that noisy place, a servant came up to him.

“Lord Zhang, my master is inviting you.”

Following the young servant, Zhang Yue already had an idea in mind. After walking for a long distance and passing by a stone rockery ahead, he saw a plaque reading “Winter Gone, Spring Arrived” hanging above the house. He was momentarily stunned. When someone pulled back the curtain, he bent down and entered. At that moment, Mu Xin, sitting on the cedar chair in the center, stood up.

“Nephew Yuanjie, I’ve long heard about you from Brother Zhu. It’s a pity that when I’m free, I’m busy, and when I’m free, you’re not around. It’s only now that we finally get the chance to meet properly. Well, well, no wonder Emperor Taizong had such high regard for you. You truly are a man of outstanding appearance—just looking at you is pleasing. Come, come, sit down!”

Zhang Yue knew well that Mu Ying was a heroic figure, but none of his sons could be considered particularly talented. Even Mu Sheng, who was made Duke of Qian alongside Zhang Fu for their joint efforts in pacifying Jiaozhi, was far from being a great general. As for Mu Xin, who enjoyed great wealth and honor, there was no need to say more—rumors claimed he had practically driven Princess Changning to death, yet Zhu Di never blamed him. Hearing these extremely awkward words, Zhang Yue felt goosebumps rise all over his body before he finally sat down.

Although Mu Xin had no ambitions, he understood the ways of the bureaucracy well. After talking nonsense with Zhang Yue for a while, he finally got to the point: “I heard that one of your relatives has been imprisoned by the Nanjing Jinyiwei?”

Anticipating that Mu Xin’s invitation must have a reason, Zhang Yue immediately realized that there might have been progress on Xu Jinghuang’s side, and that the two of them had reconciled. Thus, he frowned and asked, “Which relative is Uncle Mu referring to?”

“How so? Isn’t that Wang Xunliang from the Lianghuai Salt Transport Office a relative by marriage of the Duke of Yingguo?” In the blink of an eye, Zhang Yue had already considered possible developments and smiled. “I thought Uncle Mu was referring to someone else; it turns out to be him. His son had some grudges with me in the past, and although he apologized out of respect for the Duke of Yingguo, there was still some resentment. As for Wang Xunliang, he is a first cousin of the Duke of Yingguo’s wife, but their relationship is quite distant; aside from sending gifts, he rarely sets foot in their home. I’ve heard my brother-in-law mention that his son was imprisoned, but I haven’t paid much attention to it.”

“I see… Given those grudges, it’s only natural you wouldn’t get involved. As for Brother Wenbi, I doubt Wang Xunliang would even dare to approach him. Sigh!” Seeing the unmistakable disappointment on Mu Xin’s face, Zhang Yue realized that someone in the Mu family might also be involved, so he tentatively asked, “Why does Uncle Mu ask this? Although I am now the deputy magistrate of Ying Tianfu, I’m actually in charge only of the local schools; everything else is handled by others. Even if I wanted to help, I probably couldn’t. Could it be that he’s run into your problems? If we really discuss it, there might still be a way out.”

Mu Xin had hoped to persuade Zhang Yue, but from those few words, he already felt the situation was hopeless and had planned to seek help from others. But hearing these words, he suddenly realized something. Considering Zhang Yue’s renowned reputation both in the north and south over the years, his tactics were far from ordinary. After weighing the pros and cons, he gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

“Nephew Yuanjie, to be honest with you, Xu Jinghuang, the new deputy commander of the Nanjing Jinyiwei, is my junior. I’ve always taken care of him, and this time he returned the favor by giving me some confidential information, including details about Wang Xunliang’s son. Besides that, he said there are more people imprisoned in the Jinyiwei’s dungeons—people with high-status connections, some even related to the Mu family. Though I consider myself honest, if one really ends up in the Jinyiwei’s hands…”

Since it involved himself, Mu Xin spoke vaguely, but how could Zhang Yue not understand? Seeing the marquis consort, who was under forty, fidgeting with a jade ring while his gaze wandered elsewhere, Zhang Yue waited until he finished his rambling speech before saying cheerfully, “Uncle Mu is not like Wang Xunliang. As the emperor’s direct brother-in-law, it’s not easy for others to frame you. In fact, there’s only one key to solving this problem.”

“What is it?”

“The Nanjing Jinyiwei is prefixed with the word ‘Nanjing’. Ever since the capital was moved, the Jinyiwei and the Beizhenfusi also followed Emperor Taizong to Beijing, where they supervised the whole country through various military units. The Nanjing Jinyiwei isn’t part of these units; it was simply established following the conventions of Nanjing officials. As for its powers of investigation, it’s not proper to set up prisons without imperial orders—that would be a serious violation. If it only held one or two people, it might be okay, but if there are too many, the commander’s fault would be no less severe than Ji Gang’s back then!”
“That’s exactly right! And none of us are easy targets!”
Mu Xin slapped his thigh hard and nodded firmly. “Think about how high Ji Gang flew back then—still, he died quickly in the end. It’s just… Yuan Jie, this Liu Jun is a man with no backing. If there really were no imperial orders, how would he dare be so bold? Besides one of my disciples and Wang Xunliang’s son, it’s said he also secretly recruited many servants and household staff from noble families. If he had no support at all…”
“People die for wealth, birds for food. He became the commander at the end of the Yongle era. Now that the Jinyiwei in the capital has changed, maybe he’s worried he might be sidelined any day, so he wants to extort some money. Or perhaps he’s delusional, trying to control the nobles and high-ranking officials for his own gain. Ah, Uncle Mu, don’t overthink it. If it were really the Jinyiwei doing this, how could Young Master Xu easily find out about it, and how could such news leak out?”
Thanks to this conversation, Mu Xin felt much more at ease. When Zhang Yue got up to leave, he almost insisted on seeing him off to the second gate, but Zhang Yue politely declined. After sending someone to inform Du Wan, the couple left the noble residence and got into their carriage. Speaking of the full-month-old baby she saw in the back courtyard, Du Wan’s face lit up, only to see Zhang Yue staring at her intently. She glared back at him irritably.
“What’s there to look at?”
“Nothing special,” Zhang Yue said deliberately, stretching out the words before reaching out to touch her flat stomach. “It’s simple—you like this, so let’s have another one.”
“Still talking? Every time I think about raising the child myself, all sorts of troubles arise. It’s because you, as the father, have to be so noticeable!” Du Wan pushed Zhang Yue’s hand away, then showed a hint of concern as she turned to look at him seriously. “Even the wisest people make mistakes. Even if you’ve planned everything, be more careful.”

“As long as we get this done, we’ll at least have a long period of peace. I don’t like taking risks either, but circumstances never let me off, forcing me to take them. Don’t worry, it won’t happen many more times!”
“I thought you’d say this was the last time. Since you say it won’t happen many times, does that mean it will happen again?” Du Wan rubbed her brows in frustration, not knowing what to say. After a long while, she sighed, “Father is stubborn. Even if he isn’t willing to say ‘I’ll go despite all obstacles,’ he still often does things that scare people. As for you, you’re stubborn by nature! No matter how you try to distance yourself, Wang Xunliang is still connected to you. If something goes wrong with him, all your plans will be useless.”
Zhang Yue just smiled and shrugged, without answering. Solving Liu Jun alone was simple, but he couldn’t risk it all on Zhu Gaochi’s lifespan. Having come to this era, he had already changed history—perhaps Zhu Di’s lifespan had already been altered, not to mention Zhu Gaochi, who wasn’t old to begin with. Instead of waiting for the emperor to die, it was better to take a chance.
Adding the Duke of Yingguo might not be enough, but if he could also get the support of the nobles and high-ranking officials in Nanjing, their strength would be immense!
As the commander of the Jinyiwei in Nanjing, Liu Jun had been there for over twenty years. He pretended to respect those noble families descended from the Hongwu era, but actually despised them. As for the dissolute young men, he paid them no attention at all. So even though Xu Jinghuang had taken office, he never took him seriously. He was even too lazy to go to the dungeon himself, leaving everything to Tang Qian, focusing solely on how to gain more profit.
During the Lantern Festival celebration, he invited many commanders and high-ranking officers to a banquet. With guests and singing girls all around, the party was lively. He also took the opportunity to establish connections with several important people, securing a backup plan for himself. In his view, since Zhu Di could have won against Emperor Jianwen despite the long journey from Beijing to Nanjing, with Shandong being so close to Beijing now, a surprise attack might solve everything. He couldn’t just sit idly and wait for disaster.
With such thoughts, when Wang Xunliang sent his cousin to see him, he immediately said something serious upon meeting: “Illegally printing forbidden books is no trivial act—Wang Quanbin is in for serious trouble!”

After hearing the message passed on by Peng Shisan, Wang Xunliang could only temporarily suppress his anxiety. He chose the most timid and useless of his cousins who lived under other lords to go to Nanjing to handle the matter. Poor man had no experience with such important tasks at all; as soon as he entered the Jinyiwei headquarters, his legs turned to water, leaving him utterly unable to cope. When he heard the word “death,” he could barely sit still, almost slipping to the ground.

Faced with such an incompetent fool, Liu Jun didn’t even bother to hide his disdain. He snapped, “Go back and tell your lord Wang that his son has already signed and sealed the documents. If he wants to save someone, he’d better prepare a thousand taels of gold first!”

With that, he picked up his teacup, and the servant beside him quickly called for the guest to leave. Only after seeing the man stagger away did he let out a light snort: “Sending such an idiot over—it seems Wang Xunliang is truly an easy target!”