Chapter 833: Nighttime Affection, Morning Vigilance

In the dead of night, the cold wind howled outside. Even with thick Korean mulberry paper installed on the windows and a layer of heavy curtains inside, Zhang Yue could still hear the relentless howling wind. At this moment, the couple lay close to each other, neither of them able to sleep. One kept an eye on the outside, while the other gazed at the ink-painted silk curtain above.

“I thought it was just a quick check. Even if there were issues, they wouldn’t be dealt with right away. I never expected something serious to happen. When that arrow was shot, I didn’t know where I got such quick reflexes. Now that I think about it, with you all here, how could I lose my life so easily?”

“Need I say? Of course, it’s because so many people in the family keep praying for you that you’re safe.” Du Wan felt Zhang Yue’s arm wrap around her, but she didn’t move, still staring at the curtain. “When you’re not at home, Mother prays countless times a day. Jingguan is now grown up and often mentions you as his father when talking to me. Qiuhen and Hupo revere you even more—always treating you like a god… Father may not say it, but everyone can tell what he feels. Sister Jing adores me, but she also respects you as her elder brother. Sixth Brother takes you as an example in everything. With everyone in the family relying on you, how could anything happen to you?”

“What about you?”

“Do you really want to hear it?”
As soon as Du Wan spoke, she felt his warm lips press against hers, instantly filling her heart with warmth. After they finally parted, she felt his arm tighten around her even more before resting her head on his shoulder. “Though there are times of fear, I know you can always bring peace. I’m used to trusting you. Not everyone in this world can protect their family from storms.”

Holding her close, Zhang Yue smiled faintly, recalling their passionate moments earlier. After a while, he suddenly heard the sound of the night watchman’s clappers. Listening carefully, he sighed. “It’s already the fourth watch. It seems I won’t be able to get any proper sleep. With such a serious incident and the Ministry of War short of staff, I’ll likely have to work from dawn till dusk these days, with no time to care for home. You can’t handle everything alone—just bring Mother and Sister Jing along… By the way, did Father mention it to Mother tonight?”

“I brought it up. Mother was surprised and didn’t say either yes or no; it seems she’ll need some time to think. I did try to gauge Sister Jing’s reaction—she’s not shy anymore and just said that whatever you and I think is good must be good. I specifically asked her what if he’s older. Guess what she said… She was shocked and asked me if I meant to marry her off to some old scholar as a secondary wife!”
Zhang Yue burst into laughter, and Du Wan in his arms laughed so hard she could hardly breathe. The couple exchanged glances, then couldn’t help but indulge in some tender moments before Zhang Yue finally let go.
“Did you clarify things in the end?”
“Yes. When Sister Jing heard it was Brother Xiao Fang, she was stunned, her face turning red. Then she quickly changed the subject and wouldn’t talk about it anymore. Though they haven’t spent much time together, they’ve met before, and she’s heard about his character from us—she’s at least not averse to him… By the way, have you mentioned him to Xiao Fang?”
“I have… He’s even more clueless. When he went out, he was dazed and almost stepped in empty air on the stairs. If not for me catching him quickly, he might have had another mishap today. In the end, he just said, blushing, that he feared he wasn’t good enough for Jing. Although there’s a significant age gap between them and it will be at least two years before they can marry, judging by his current state, it seems he wouldn’t mind waiting ten or eight years if his brother doesn’t get married. So as long as both are willing, that’s not a problem. His brother sent me a message a few days ago asking me to help arrange a farm and house, saying he’s also planning his own marriage. If not for this, Xiao Fang might still delay.”
“You and Father went to Jiaozhi back then. Though the son listened to you and acted like a grown-up during the discussions, many things still need to be handled by a man. That’s why Xiao Fang missed the imperial examination… As for his character, there’s really nothing to criticize. If that’s the case, we should finalize the marriage contract as soon as possible—after all, there are many families in the capital eager to form alliances with our family. But since the groom’s family isn’t powerful, it would be best if you could persuade the Duke of Yingguo.”
The couple discussed things by the bed for a long time, not knowing when they finally fell asleep. With the emperor absent and no morning court, there was no need to rise early as usual. So Zhang Yue managed to sleep for an hour and a half before being awakened by a gentle call. Though still tired, he got up reluctantly. Looking up, he saw Du Wan already dressing at the dressing table. Putting on a gauze robe over his undergarments, he got out of bed, slipped on his shoes, and went behind Du Wan. He asked, “You went to bed so late—why not sleep a bit more?”

“It’s the same every day; even if you want to sleep, you can’t. Besides, I can always find some time in the afternoon—unlike you who’s so busy.”
Looking in the bronze mirror, she saw Zhang Yue being helped by a maid to put on a black gauze hat and a bright red official robe. Du Wan pointed to a simple jade hairpin and asked the maid to put it in her hair, then turned around to personally fasten the golden belt around her husband’s waist.
Soon, Qiuhen Hupo came along with the wet nurse carrying their children. Zhang Yue gave a few instructions, and when he saw Jingguan leading Sannan enter, he couldn’t help but ask a few questions about their studies. After the family visited their parents and had a simple breakfast, Zhang Yue left.
He still couldn’t override his mother’s insistence. Now, surrounded by attendants, he looked very imposing. On the streets, although it wasn’t yet the time for official duties and the weather was cold, there were quite a few pedestrians. Especially when they reached Jiangmi Alley, he saw officials of all ranks heading to various government offices such as the Six Ministries and the Hanlin Academy to report for duty. Some rode horses, others donkeys or mules; some walked or took carts—there were no sedan chairs. After all, with the founding of the dynasty approaching, the strict ban against using sedan chairs during the Hongwu era still applied to everyone. Except for high-ranking officials granted special permission, no one else was eligible.
In such cold weather, most civil officials from relatively wealthy families rode mule carts, and it was extremely rare to see someone like Zhang Yue riding a horse. As other carriages gave way to him along the way, officials would occasionally stick their heads out from behind the curtains to take a look and express surprise upon recognizing him. Fortunately, along the way Zhang Yue didn’t encounter high-ranking officials like ministers or governors who required him to yield, so after being given way several times, he quickly reached the Ministry of War. Before even dismounting, he saw someone else dismounting from a small donkey.
Although it wasn’t snowing, the morning wind was extremely cold, so all civil and military officials wore warm hats over their official hats. Those who could afford it used sable, silver vole, or sheepskin hats, while those who couldn’t mostly used materials like felt. But that person wore only a very thin black gauze hat, with a faded padded jacket over his official robes. Watching as the person handed the donkey to a servant to take care of and hurried inside, Zhang Yue finally dismounted at the dismounting stone.
“In such cold weather, Chai Shucao is still wearing such thin clothes, almost bareheaded, with his face turned blue from the cold… What’s the point of being an official like this?”

“That’s already quite good. With such a major mistake made by the Military Selection Bureau this time, how can he escape responsibility? He had been an elder in the Ministry of War since the Yongle era. After all the turmoil inside and outside, it wasn’t until the early Xuande period that he was recalled from his position as governor of Yuezhou to serve as a court official again. This time, he’s probably not so lucky. Speaking of which, do people from Qiantang always like to cause trouble? That censor from the Censorate earlier was the same.”
“Everyone thought that being dismissed by the censor meant being demoted or suffering in the imperial prison. Who would have thought he would not only be released but also sent to Susong to oversee land surveys? It shows our Deputy Minister is quite bold, daring to recommend someone like him… By the way, do you think our Deputy Minister will manage to save Chai Shucao as well?”
The two men whispering were doorkeepers from the Ministry of War. So engrossed in their conversation that they didn’t notice anyone approaching. Only when they saw Zhang Yue coming up the stairs did they stop talking. Knowing that Zhang Yue always left a stablehand behind to take care of his horse for immediate use, the two men followed him eagerly until he reached the second gate. Zhang Yue waved his hand, and they stopped. As they walked away, they continued to whisper.
Though their voices were soft, Zhang Yue’s hearing was sharp enough for him to grasp the gist of their conversation. From the office area near the second gate to the innermost courtyard of the third gate, he stood in the spacious courtyard and sighed suddenly. Minister Zhang Ben was on a northern inspection tour, and Vice Minister Feng had fainted again the previous day; it seemed unlikely he would arrive either today. He was left in charge of such a large area all by himself. With two more people from the Military Selection Bureau absent, it was unclear when this overtime work would end.
Zhang Yue merely sighed about the overtime, but here, with a shortage of staff, he had to bear half of the responsibility. Others would consider him generous, but the Eastern Depot and the Imperial Guards were already under immense pressure. Assassinating an official of the court was already a grave offense, and if murder to cover it up was added, the severity of the matter would more than double. Last night, the leaders of both bureaus barely slept at all.
At this moment, Lu Feng personally rushed to the Imperial Guards headquarters on the back street of Jiangmi Alley, accompanied by a few trusted aides. After Wang Jie was dismissed and sent to military service, the position of commander of the Imperial Guards had remained vacant. Wang Yu was on the northern inspection tour, while Fang Ling was in the capital. No one knew whether a candidate would be chosen from among the two deputy commanders or if someone unexpected from outside would be appointed. Even Lu Feng himself wasn’t sure.

Even without these concerns, he had no desire to put on an airs at this moment. After listening to the reports from several Jinyiwei officers on what they had uncovered, he felt a chill run down his spine. Out of the twelve who had fled the previous day, four had already been found—those four had run away out of fear for their lives; being dismissed from their posts was acceptable under the rules. But the remaining eight were now missing, with no trace found anywhere from their registered residences to the counties on the outskirts of the city or the inns and lodgings in the capital. These were all military officers assigned to the imperial guards, whose registered residences were all in Shuntian Prefecture. People had already been sent to investigate, and though the results hadn’t arrived yet, surely they must have some guesses.

“The number of investigators from the Eastern Depot is still too small,” Lu Feng said, tapping lightly on the table with his finger before raising his head and speaking calmly. “If we can resolve this matter smoothly this time, I will definitely request more personnel and informants from higher authorities to ensure everything is covered thoroughly. Also, there are too few undercover agents among the Jinyiwei. Although the corruption in the Military Selection Bureau is an old issue, we can’t let higher authorities truly be in the dark. If there had been proper records from the start, things wouldn’t have escalated to this extent!”

“It’s my negligence.”

As the supervisor of Beizhenfu Si in Fangling, he naturally knew that a few vague excuses wouldn’t suffice to resolve the situation, so he simply uttered a few concise words. After that, neither of them spoke again. The Jinyiwei officers and the two eunuchs from the Eastern Depot standing around dared not make a sound, leaving the room in utter silence. After what seemed like a long time, an urgent voice came from outside.

“Sir, Feng Xi is back!”

As he spoke, a Jinyiwei officer in his early thirties rushed in. Seeing Lu Feng and Fangling both present, he quickly knelt down and bowed, then reported, “I led men to investigate the residences registered for those eight people overnight, only to find that they all didn’t exist. This morning, we checked their family connections. Although we’ve only investigated four so far, it’s clear they were using fake identities. All four families had long since lost their descendants, but the authorities used their connections to give some money to the neighbors. If it weren’t for me revealing the Jinyiwei’s name and using whips, those stubborn people probably wouldn’t have confessed.”

“Indeed!”

Lu Feng sprang up from his chair. Glancing at Fangling, whose expression was equally grave, he said, “Commander Fang, things are starting to become clear. I’ll go to the palace first to see the Empress Dowager. You continue with the investigation.”

“Lord Lu, wait a moment.” Fangling stepped forward to block Lu Feng’s path. Seeing his displeasure, he didn’t move aside but instead lowered his voice and said, “We only have some clues at the moment; there’s no real breakthrough yet. If Lord Lu goes to see the Empress Dowager now, what if she asks about the whereabouts of those people? I’ll continue to lead my men in searching for the remaining eight. Lord Lu might as well go to the Ministry of War and ask Lord Zhang to help retrieve the records of the military selections over the past three years. This scheme has likely been in the works for a long time.”

Lu Feng had been impatient, but upon hearing the words “in the works for a long time,” he was immediately alarmed. After pondering for a while, he bowed to Fangling and said, “Good. Thank you, Commander Fangling, for reminding me! I’ll head to the Ministry of War first. I leave this place in your hands!”

Soon after, Lu Feng left in a hurry with the two eunuchs accompanying him. Only then did Fangling tell the others to go back to their tasks, keeping only his trusted subordinate, Captain Liu. After sitting down, he ordered, “Send someone to the palace to inform the Empress Dowager of this situation. Also, submit a request to retrieve the records from the Ministry of War.”

“Yes. But…” Captain Liu hesitated for a moment before asking in a low voice, “Why did you remind Lord Lu? Right now, the position of Commander of the Jinyiwei is vacant. With Wang Yu accompanying the emperor, this is a good opportunity for you to…”

“To show off my abilities? With such a major incident, everyone is involved. It would be foolish to try to stand out at a time like this! Don’t focus solely on Wang Yu—he’s not the kind of person who would do such a thing. He will surely be assigned another role sooner or later. It doesn’t matter whether we get that position or not; what’s important is not to be overconfident!”