Chapter 750: The Past Has Become the Present

The three thatched cottages behind Guangxiao Temple.
Lingxi and Qiuhen both drew favorable middle-to-high-ranking sticks, bringing them great joy. Lady Li and Lady Yu, who were with them, drew medium-ranking sticks; though somewhat disappointed, they were still satisfied with the messages. Lady Sun scolded Du Wan and Hupo for not trying too, but both shook their heads and refused. Zhang Zhuo appeared briefly before disappearing without a trace; naturally, Lady Sun’s attention turned to Zhang Yue, whom she considered to be “fated for misfortune.”

Unable to resist her mother, Zhang Yue stepped forward and shook the stick container, silently praying. Soon, a bamboo stick fell out with a thud. Before he could bend down, Lady Sun picked it up herself, examined it closely, and murmured, “The twentieth stick: Su Wu as an official aiding a vassal state—top rank.”

At the sight of “top rank,” Lady Sun was overjoyed. Guangneng quickly praised her and sent a young monk to fetch the message. Moments later, the monk brought a piece of paper. Lady Sun promptly handed it to Du Wan, asking her to read it aloud.

“When spring’s prolonged rain ends and clear skies return,
The jade rabbit and golden sun gradually shine.
The past has become the present—look, one leap leads to paradise.”

As soon as Du Wan finished reading, the monk interpreting the sticks smiled and said, “Congratulations, Lord Fangbo! This sign of rain ending after a long drought is an excellent omen, indicating that everything will succeed! No matter what difficulties Lord Fangbo faces, they are like shallow ditches that can be easily crossed. Once accomplished, the path ahead will be smooth, free from hardships!”

Repeating those four lines over and over, Zhang Yue couldn’t help but feel pleased—these few words truly hit the mark, and a smile appeared naturally on his face. Lady Li and Lady Yu, looking at the future predictions for their husbands, envied Zhang Yue greatly and offered their compliments. After leaving the cottages, everyone wrote their names in the incense donation book. Guangneng glanced sideways; though he was disappointed that the couplet in front of the Hall of the Heavenly Kings still hadn’t been resolved, the three donations from the Three Ministries made him feel proud.

As they left Guangxiao Temple, Lady Duan, who had just celebrated her fortieth birthday, thanked Lady Sun and Du Wan repeatedly: “My husband said that if it weren’t for Lord Zhang’s reminder, he would have made a grave mistake this time! This kindness is beyond expression, so he has only one request: as long as he remains in Guangdong, he will obey Lord Zhang’s advice!”

“Madam, you’re too kind. There’s no need to worry about such things—he’s still young and naturally needs help.” Although Sun Shi was extremely happy inside, she didn’t forget to be humble. “If Madam is free, please come to the office anytime; it’ll be nice to have company!”

During her fortieth birthday, Duan Shi thought she was of the highest rank and didn’t care about Sun Shi’s status as a noblewoman through her son. But now that her husband had almost encountered trouble, he had repeatedly warned her. Even if Sun Shi didn’t mention it, she wanted to help out on her own. Hearing this, she was overjoyed: “That would be wonderful! After all, auntie has always lived in a big city and is very experienced. Please give me more guidance in the future.”

She then smiled at Du Wan and said, “Sister, you should also visit me more often. Although we’re both simple people like me, we don’t have all those complicated schemes—we make great company for passing the time!”

Previously, everyone had addressed her as “madam” or “young madam,” but suddenly terms like “auntie” and “sister” appeared. Du Wan couldn’t help but glance at Sun Shi. Seeing the corners of her mother-in-law’s mouth twitch slightly, she suppressed a smile and agreed. Seeing that this noblewoman, who had once seemed so high-minded, turned around to talk to Lingxi Qiuhen Hupo, she gently took Sun Shi’s arm, helped her onto the carriage, and whispered with a smile, “Mother, now you have another second-rank noblewoman as a niece.”

“What’s all this? Am I that old?” Sun Shi was forty-five now, but thanks to good care, she still looked very young. Hearing Du Wan’s joke, she couldn’t help but mutter, “How can people just mix up ranks like that?”

Zhang Zhuo didn’t want to deal with these noblewomen and had already boarded the carriage earlier, hearing everything clearly. Now, after helping his wife sit down in the carriage, he couldn’t help but laugh and say, “As Yue’s position grows higher, your status will inevitably rise as well. If Lady Li calls you ‘sister,’ she’s considering herself your elder. In the past, that might have been fine, but now that Commander Li needs Yue to speak well of him, she can’t act so arrogantly.”

Seeing Sun Shi sigh, yet her face filled with a joyful smile, Du Wan knew well that she was actually happy, so she quickly lowered the carriage curtain. At that moment, Lady Yu stepped forward to say goodbye personally, forcing Du Wan to patiently engage in conversation. This noblewoman, older than Lady Duan, talked at length about matters related to government offices, but Du Wan pretended not to understand and got by with that. Only after the officials from the military and judicial departments left did she finally breathe a sigh of relief. Seeing Ling Xi and Qiu Hen board the last special carriage one after another, she then got on the carriage with Hu Bo. As soon as she went inside, she saw Zhang Yue’s teasing smile.

“This time, both you and your mother are the elders! The eldest son in Li Long’s family is almost thirty already. By then, they’ll have to call you aunt and your mother grandmother!” When Du Wan glared at him fiercely, Hu Bo also hid her smile beside her. Then he raised his hand and said, “Alright, alright. These are just forced kinship ties; it’s none of our business. But there’s one thing I need to let you know. Sister Wan, starting from today, I have two more students, and you’ll officially be the master’s wife.”

The title of “master’s wife” immediately reminded Du Wan of her mother, Qiu Shi, leaving her momentarily lost in thought before she snapped back to reality. Frowning, she asked, “Are you referring to Li Guoxiu and Rui Yixiang? You’ve been guiding them all along, so they’re practically already half-students. But now that a formal teacher-student relationship is established, people will not only praise you for being a good teacher but may also laugh at you.”

“Let them laugh. If they didn’t have the determination, they wouldn’t have taken this step. Two more students mean two more helpers in the future. By the way…” Zhang Yue paused and suddenly looked at Du Wan, asking, “It seems you’ve only received one letter from the master these past few months?”

Du Wan was already used to Zhang Yue sometimes calling her father-in-law and sometimes her master, so she didn’t bother teasing him anymore. She nodded and said, “Indeed, there’s only one letter. Father said back then that the journey to Guangdong is too far, and it’s inconvenient to send letters via post. If nothing important happens, he won’t write. Now that he’s a high-ranking minister and you’re a provincial governor, we’re no longer just a simple teacher and student, nor father-in-law and son-in-law.”

“Sigh. It’s actually Yang the Grand Secretary and the two Mr. Shens who write more letters. I really don’t know how the master is doing these days. That guy, Shi Jie, is such an annoyance—his letters are full of boasts about his little adventures with Xiao Wu. Sending letters all the way just to talk about such things!”

Zhang Yue had been in Guangdong for less than half a year when Yang Shiqi wrote several letters to him, all as advice from an elder, often merely adding a finishing touch to the situation in the court. Shen Du and Shen Can’s letters, on the other hand, discussed calligraphy with him, always ending with exchanges of poems. Besides these, Gu Bin from Beijing, Sun Han from Nanjing, and Xia Ji, who had been transferred to Taizhou Prefecture, also sent letters. The contents covered both court affairs and family matters; reading their letters was like seeing them in person, alleviating the loneliness of being away from home.

Now that Lian Sheng and Lian Hu were in Beijing, although Zhang Yue had two long-time servants from home acting as messengers, they had been with him for too short a time, and all correspondence was sorted by Hu Bo and stored by Du Wan. As for letters from familiar colleagues in the capital, he couldn’t reply to each one personally; he would usually give a brief summary, and Fang Jing and the others would respond on his behalf. Mentioning this, Hu Bo hesitated for a moment before saying, “Young master, since you went to Guangdong this time, others have all sent letters, but it seems there’s no news from Young Master Fang.”

At the mention of Fang Ling, Zhang Yue’s expression darkened. Though he was popular, he really had only a few true friends, and among them, Fang Ling’s situation had been the most volatile. Countless noble sons had joined the Jinyiwei, and his uncle Zhang Xin and third uncle Zhang Jie still held military positions there, though not involved in investigations. Yet Fang Ling was in charge of the Jinyiwei’s operations under the Northern Pacification Commission. Back in the day, Yuan Fang had interacted with them as if they were thieves—how could Fang Ling treat him as before?

Sighing, he said, “The past cannot be changed. He must have his own difficulties.”

Zhang Yue got off the carriage in front of the Bu Zheng Si office and watched his family’s carriage take a detour around the official buildings before entering himself. Before he could step inside, a messenger reported that Zhang Qian had already sent someone to summon him. He quickly instructed Xiang Shaoyuan to handle matters in the office temporarily and rushed to the Maritime Office on Wu’an Street in Yaozhou.

Before he could even exchange greetings, Zhang Qian said directly, “The Eastern Depot sent word by fast horse. Since the Jinyiwei has reported the whole incident, and you also found important items at the Xu family’s place, it is said that censors from Guizhou and Yunnan have all accused Gu Xingzu. As a result, the emperor is furious and has just ordered someone to go to Guangzhou to investigate thoroughly. One is Yu Qian, a censor strongly recommended by Gu Zuo of the Censorate, and the other is Fang Ling, appointed as commander by the empress dowager. Based on the date I received the news, they should arrive in a couple of days. Not only them—Marquis Liu Sheng of Anyuan is coming in person, and he will temporarily command the troops in Guangxi.”

Previously, Amber had only mentioned Fangling, and now the name came up again. Zhang Yue was momentarily stunned. When he heard that Liu Sheng, the Marquis of Anyuan, had been sent to replace Gu Xingzu in command of the troops, he immediately understood that Gu Xingzu would still have to come to Guangzhou.
“It seems Gu Xingzu has done himself a disservice. If he hadn’t sent people to Qiongzhou Prefecture, it would have been just a matter of wasting time in a confrontation with us. But instead, he took reckless risks and turned things into what they are now!”
“I gave him a chance, but he was stubborn and insisted on determining a winner or loser. There’s no one else to blame!”
Zhang Qian didn’t easily form enemies in the palace; everyone thought of him as a kind person. Yet as soon as he stepped outside, he encountered such a mess and such a person, which left him feeling frustrated. With a cold snort, he waved his hand and said, “Anyway, we still have to wait two days for them to arrive. Let’s talk about Qiongzhou Prefecture first. Jixiang, Lord Zhang has arrived—why don’t you come out quickly?”
At that call, Zhang Yue saw the light green pleated curtain beside them move slightly, and a figure swiftly stepped out, bending deeply in a bow—it was Cao Jixiang. His shoes and trouser legs were still covered in mud, showing signs of a long journey, though his face seemed to have been wiped, appearing darker and thinner than before. Zhang Yue gently said, “You’ve gone through a lot this time.”
Zhang Qian had already used those words before, in the same tone and expression, making Cao Jixiang feel even more honored. He quickly replied, “I merely followed orders and dare not claim credit. If it weren’t for Lord Zhang sending Brother Zhang there on official business, and him also bringing in many servants from the Qiu family, it would have been impossible to defeat Gu’s dozen or so personal guards.”
Knowing that Zhang Yue had only obtained some information about Qiongzhou Prefecture from him before, and that it wasn’t detailed enough, Zhang Qian gestured for Cao Jixiang to sit down and recount everything that had happened since his arrival. Although he had already reported everything in detail to Zhang Qian earlier, the fatigue from days of travel still hit him from time to time. Yet Cao Jixiang stayed focused, drinking the strong tea, which was almost as bitter as medicine, while detailing every event and detail since his arrival in Qiongzhou Prefecture, almost repeating every word each person said. By the time he had finished recounting everything without omission, an hour had passed.

Seeing Cao Jixiang’s dark circles and exhausted face, Zhang Yue realized he already knew everything that needed to be known. Zhang Qian couldn’t help but encourage and praise him once more before sending him off to rest. Once he was gone, Zhang Yue said to him, “I never expected that picking up someone like Wang Jin’s envoy at the last minute would turn out to be so useful. Listen to what he said—had it not been for his quick wits in bringing in more than twenty of the best archers from the Inspection Department, even if we could have kept those people, the few remaining servants of the Qiu family would have been completely lost. By then, neither you nor I would have had an easy time explaining things to the British authorities. He’s a talent; we might as well nurture him in the future.”

Nurture Cao Jixiang? The only eunuch in Ming history who truly attempted to rebel and become emperor?

The more Zhang Yue thought about it, the more absurd it seemed. A faint smile appeared on his lips, but he quickly dismissed the matter. Whether a hero or a villain, both need the right circumstances. Without both timing and opportunity, any ambitions are meaningless. Believing he had carefully considered every aspect related to Gu Xingzu, he gently tapped the armrest beside him.

“Although Qiongzhou Prefecture is temporarily stable, there may still be serious problems ahead. I’m afraid we’ll have to go there again after the imperial envoy arrives. For now, all we can do is wait for the envoy, but we don’t have to sit idle. The regulations for the official brokerage were submitted earlier, meaning that the valuation and taxation at the docks should gradually get on track. So, during these waiting days, it’s time to issue the permits for maritime merchants. Please take charge of this, Eunuch Zhang. Just like with the Ningbo Maritime Administration back then, there should be twenty permits in total. Isn’t Minister Xia in the court trying to stabilize the value of paper money by setting up customs posts? This is a good opportunity—let merchants who want permits pay a deposit of three thousand guan in paper money each and then compete through bidding. By the way, any news about the treasure ship?”

Only then did Zhang Qian remember another important matter and immediately smiled. “I almost forgot to tell you—the treasure ship has passed Shandong and is heading toward Liujiagang. With a few days of rest, it can head south. The sea winds are favorable now, and if everything goes well, it will be able to dock at Guangzhou Port in a month. However, although our docks have been repaired, they’re still not big enough to accommodate so many ships at once. We’ll have to let them enter the port in batches to unload their cargo. Their mission to Japan has been very fruitful—Japan not only killed twenty-four pirates at once but also apologized for previously refusing to accept envoys and even opened ports for trade!”