Chapter 855: Implications, Realization

Inside the southern room in the Ancient and Modern Collections Repository, Cheng Jiu had been waiting for an hour. Though anxious, he suppressed his impatience upon seeing the guards outside. Initially, when Zhang Yue asked him to enter, he had considered how to approach the conversation tactfully. But after Zhang Yue realized and found another place for him, he knew his worries were unfounded—someone who had reached such a high position surely wouldn’t be so reckless. Yet, after waiting so long with no news, could it be that the Empress Dowager didn’t consider his trip to Taiyuan a big deal and had no time to deal with it?

But this trip had indeed brought him great gains!

Thinking of this, Cheng Jiu clenched his fists involuntarily. He then picked up the teapot and poured himself another cup of water, ignoring that it had already cooled. He gulped it down in one go. Only when he tried to pour more did he realize the pot was completely empty, leaving him feeling slightly bloated.

Just as he stood up, he heard some movement outside. Soon, the thick door curtain was lifted, revealing the woman in the autumn-scented embroidered robe at the front. Startled, he quickly stood and knelt down.

In the small study to the north, Zhang Yue was rolling ink slowly, sleeves rolled up. Cao Jixiang rushed back after finishing his task, so he also learned that Zhu Ning would come in person to meet with him.

He still didn’t know exactly why Cheng Jiu had gone to Shanxi specifically, but he already had some guesses. Back then, the King of Han, Zhu Gaoxu, had been poisoned by his schemes, while his subordinates died in tragic ways. Although he later investigated those who defected in Shandong, only letters exchanged with local military officials from the Han Kingdom’s study remained. As for the letters between relatives that should have existed, not a single one was left—seemingly hidden or destroyed in advance. The Jin Kingdom was notorious for its brutality, and after all, the Dingbian Garrison originated from Shanxi!

He thought of Zhu Ning outside and sighed softly. He had feared Zhu Ning might be implicated due to the Crown Prince’s illness, but it seemed the Empress Dowager was reasonable and hadn’t taken it personally. Then why wasn’t someone sent to question Cheng Jiu secretly in Renshou Palace, but instead did Zhu Ning have to make the trip herself?

Cao Jixiang originally wanted to step forward to help, but since Zhang Yue insisted on doing it himself, he could only stand by helplessly. Seeing that the inkstone was already filled with thick ink and the distinctive scent of Huizhou ink could be faintly detected, Zhang Yue still didn’t stop. He wanted to remind him, but suddenly the door curtain behind him rustled. Turning around, he recognized the person and quickly stepped back two places, silently kneeling down.

“Princess?”

Zhang Yue didn’t expect Zhu Ning to finish speaking in such a short time and even come to him. He hurriedly put down the Huizhou ink, wiped his hands, and stepped forward. “Why have you come, Princess?”

“Go outside and wait there.”

Even Zhang Yue was stunned by this order. Cao Jixiang didn’t dare disobey and quietly left the room. The older female official behind Zhu Ning remained motionless. After staring at Zhang Yue for a while, Zhu Ning slowly spoke word by word, “By the Empress Dowager’s decree, with so many matters outside, Zhang Yue, the Deputy Minister of War, need not stay in the palace any longer. Return to the Ministry of War to handle its affairs. All matters related to the ministry should be reported to the Cabinet, and together with Guo Qin, the Deputy Minister of Personnel, and Yang Shiqi and Yang Pu, the Grand Secretaries, handle the matter of the emperor’s return to the capital.”

Unexpecting that Empress Dowager Zhang had changed her mind overnight, Zhang Yue was greatly surprised. Seeing Zhu Ning’s serious expression, he knew this was no joke. With orders coming in and out constantly, he felt uneasy. After accepting the order, his expression became somewhat complicated. At that moment, Zhu Ning added two more sentences as she looked at him.

“After leaving the palace, please go to Marquis Wuding’s residence to deliver the Empress Dowager’s decree and summon Marquis Wuding, Guo Xuan, to the palace. I will take Cheng Jiu back to Renshou Palace. This is also thanks to you, Mr. Zhang; otherwise, it would have been delayed.”

Although Zhu Ning wanted to remind Zhang Yue, there were people behind her, and speaking too much could lead to mistakes. Doing too much was also risky, so she didn’t stay longer. With just a nod, she led the female official out. As they reached the door, she suddenly turned around.

“I won’t have time these days and can’t visit Wan’er and Xiao Wu. I really miss them. Wan’er is busy with the grand ceremony for the Prince of Hejian and can’t leave, but Xiao Wu is free. If she’s available, ask her to visit my place. She likes those twin dragons and phoenixes, right? Even though I’m busy, maybe I’ll find time to talk to her once I leave the palace.”

If Zhu Ning had said these things when visiting his home on a regular day, Zhang Yue would have naturally considered it ordinary. But now, with a female official standing beside her, expressionless as a wooden statue, Zhu Ning still smiled warmly and spoke these words in front of her. This made Zhang Yue feel increasingly strange, yet he could only agree, glancing sideways at the female official. Seeing that her expression remained unchanged, as if she truly couldn’t laugh or cry, he disheartenedly turned away and personally escorted the two to the door.

In the palace, aside from the emperor, empress, and Concubine Sun, no one was allowed to ride in a sedan chair. Zhu Ning had always been the same way, unwilling to become the focus of everyone’s attention. But today, the redwood sedan chair carried by two people was parked in the courtyard of the Ancient and Modern Collections Repository. Watching her get in, Zhang Yue saw two strong young eunuchs lift the chair and set off quickly. Cheng Jiu was also sandwiched between two eunuchs, and the group disappeared from sight in no time. He began to ponder even more about Zhu Ning’s seemingly casual words.

Since Zhu Ning had come in person, the elderly eunuch in charge of the Seal and Token Supervision Department naturally came out to greet her. Only after seeing them off did he turn around. Having received Zhu Ning’s instructions, he knew that the military official who had occupied his room was about to leave the palace. A smile even more ugly than crying appeared on his miserable face. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he ordered someone to pack Zhang Yue’s belongings, acting as if sending away a plague. Zhang Yue also didn’t want to stay in such a oppressive place as the palace. As soon as the eunuch from the Court Protocol Supervision Department, Jin Ying, arrived, he quickly packed his few belongings into a wicker box and left the Ancient and Modern Collections Repository, where he had only stayed for one night.

No sooner had Zhang Yue left than Jin Ying arrived with his men. He didn’t enter the courtyard either; he just spoke a few words with the elderly eunuch who came out, then waved for Cao Jixiang to come over. Glancing at him coldly, he said with a forced smile, “Today you’ve done a great service. A single word from the princess is more effective than a hundred words from others.”

After saying that, he ignored Cao Jixiang and turned directly to the eunuch from the Seal and Token Supervision Department, saying, “Old Huang, it’s not that I’m criticizing you, but it’s time to bring in some capable people here. If it weren’t for Jixiang today, that important person would have been kept outside, and things would really have been delayed. I’ve already punished those people from the Court Protocol Supervision Department; even those guards had half a month’s pay deducted. As for that person under your command… the position of deputy head of the Seal and Token Supervision Department should be vacated. He could go work as an assistant in the Treasury Department!”

Yinshoujian was no good place at all. Yet to be suddenly transferred from Yinshoujian to Baocaosi, which was in charge of the palace’s ordinary paper, was akin to being exiled three thousand li to the frontier. Upon hearing this, the young eunuch collapsed to the ground. The old eunuch with a sorrowful face grew even more distressed, yet kept nodding in agreement. As for the others, most cast hateful and fearful glances at Cao Jixiang; even Cheng Jiu, who had already been taken away by Zhu Ning, became filled with hatred.

Yinshoujian used to be a prestigious institution, but now even a young eunuch couldn’t defeat the supervisors and attendants of the Censorate!

As the New Year approached, although the canals froze and merchant ships couldn’t travel north, businesses had started stockpiling goods since autumn, hoping to make a profit during the holiday shopping season. Wealthy families often sent their servants to open shops, but with so many things needed for the New Year, many goods still had to be purchased outside. Thus, from the beginning of the month, shops selling spices, fruit drinks, silk and cloth, new-style porcelain, and more saw people constantly visiting wealthy homes to meet their purchasing needs. The layers of corruption involved in this process were only known to heaven.

The larger shops catered to the nobility, while medium-sized or small shops served ordinary people. As the New Year approached, ordinary people couldn’t afford expensive items, but those who were better off would sew new clothes for their wives and children and order a few pounds of pork from butchers to make dumplings for the holiday. Even those who weren’t as well-off would try to find some scraps to make shoes or gather firewood to light for New Year’s Eve.

As for the poorest, they could only shiver in drafty houses wearing tattered clothes, cursing why there was a twelfth lunar month or a New Year at all. And whenever the city guards patrolled the five cities, frozen corpses could often be found in some areas—after all, although beggars were strictly forbidden from entering the capital, it was impossible to prevent locals from becoming beggars for various reasons. As for those who managed to sneak in, they could not be stopped, so patrols were constant, and anyone found was immediately sent to the burial ground.

However, that morning, there were far more carts than usual being taken out of the city through the Chaoyang Gate, covered with cloth. Even among those who had gathered by the road to leave the city, many had heard about the chaos caused by the horses running around the capital last night. Watching those expressionless soldiers escorting the carts out of the city, they couldn’t help but feel uneasy. Under such circumstances, not even those who knew each other would whisper to one another. It wasn’t until the entire procession had passed and the city gates began to allow people in again that people started to move around and talk to each other in hushed tones.

At the entrances of the luxurious residences in the capital, many fully armed soldiers appeared overnight. Each household of nobles serving in the five ministries had eight soldiers at their doors, while the grand secretaries of the cabinet, the ministers and vice-ministers of the six departments, and the censors each had six soldiers at their doors. The streets, which used to be bustling, suddenly became solemn and deserted. Although it wasn’t forbidden for residents to come and go, any sensible household owner would not allow their family to go outside during such times.

In contrast, the residence of the Marquis of Wuding in the Wudinghou Hutong was completely off-limits. In the relatively spacious hutong, there was a Jinyiwei soldier with a sword every three steps, and there were eight soldiers standing neatly at the main gate, as well as at the back gate. The Fengcheng Hutong, just across a bridge from there, also suffered the same fate. Soldiers often ran past, and Marquis Li Xian of Fengcheng simply went to the Military Governor’s Office early in the morning to request leave, staying at home to keep his family indoors and preventing anyone from approaching the dilapidated mansion next door. With many more Jinyiwei soldiers there, the atmosphere felt extremely tense.

Other than that, Li Xian could only lament in his heart—his father should never have chosen this hutong to live in and become neighbors with Princess Yongping. Now that the princess’s family had suffered misfortune after misfortune, the reputation of this hutong spread quickly throughout the capital, and it even affected the Marquis of Wuding’s residence across the bridge. Although he didn’t know what crime the Marquis of Wuding had committed, he had already decided that once the turmoil passed, he would move away immediately. He wouldn’t even care if it meant giving up this inauspicious place for free.

So, as Zhang Yue and several Jinyiwei guards rushed across the bridge from Fengcheng Hutong, the Fengcheng Marquis’s mansion, which should have been bustling with hundreds of people, appeared no different from the abandoned houses nearby—completely devoid of any presence. It wasn’t until they crossed the bridge that Zhang Yue suddenly remembered that the Marquis’s family lived there. He glanced back and saw the east and west side gates as well as the main gate tightly shut, so he turned his gaze away.

Wealth rarely lasts beyond three generations, and nobility even less than two. After all, rulers change, and even high-ranking nobles must step aside after the second generation. To defy this rule, unless one’s ancestors made great contributions and died in battle, earning the emperor’s favor, one would have to, like Zhang Fu in the past, rely on military achievements to secure prestige for their family for decades.

Once they entered Wuding Marquis Hutong after crossing the bridge, Zhang Yue saw soldiers surrounding the massive mansion. With such a large presence, not only the Wuding Marquis’s family but probably even those living nearby knew something serious had happened. Even if it turned out not to be the fault of Marquis Guo Xuan, the mansion would remain deserted for a long time. Yet, as he thought this, he saw a carriage parked at the entrance of the Wuding Marquis’s mansion.

Although the carriage’s paint was chipped and its horses were far from magnificent, it was clear it wasn’t a ordinary lady’s carriage. The old coachman stood upright, unshaken even as others glanced at him. When Zhang Yue dismounted at the entrance, the Jinyiwei guards on duty heard his purpose and, after seeing his official seal, explained, “That’s the Great Princess of Yongjia. She arrived early in the morning, and no one dares to stop her.”

Zhang Yue had heard about the grudges among this family before, and now understanding the situation, he decided not to get involved. Upon entering, he saw the front yard completely empty. It wasn’t until a Jinyiwei shouted loudly that a servant who seemed to be in charge rushed out in a hurry. Upon hearing Zhang Yue’s name, his already pale face turned as white as paper, and he began to tremble violently. “Lord Zhang… please wait a moment. My master will be here right away!”