Chapter 865: Cutting Off the Arm to Retreat, Taking Another Step Forward

The capital city was shrouded in darkness everywhere at night. At such times, whether it was the commoners with endless tasks the next day, the merchants running businesses, the porters and drivers who relied on their strength, or the court officials who obeyed every command, most of them had already gone to bed. One reason was the night curfew imposed by the authorities, and the other was that people had to get up early the next day.

Only a very small number of people continued to work by candlelight—some because they had urgent matters to handle, some due to pressure from above, and some because they had to find alternative solutions after failing in their attempts. Of course, there were also those who took advantage of the quiet of the night to break in forcefully.

Although secret meetings involved three or four people, often only one person came up with a solution; as for those who resorted to torture, there were merely shadowy figures. Yet these various actions were closely connected. So, before the morning sun even shed its first rays from the east and before the light snow melted, another thin layer of snow covered the already accumulated snow. News of the delays caused by the darkness and snow reached the ears of those involved, bringing different levels of relief, worry, and fear.

Before dawn, a carriage was already prepared in front of Scholar Chen’s residence in the Velvet Thread Alley of Dashi Yongfang. All the servants and staff in the household had risen early, and the two gatekeepers stood neatly on either side of the entrance. When an old man dressed in a bright red silk official robe stepped out, the driver and gatekeepers waiting by the carriage immediately knelt down and bowed deeply.

Chen Shan, with a tense expression, did not even look at the servants and got into the carriage on his own. Only after the thick cotton curtains were drawn did he sigh deeply and lean weakly against the thick, warm cushion covered in blue satin embroidered with cranes playing in the water.

Back when Zhu Zhanji was still the crown prince, he had been ordered to serve as a tutor, making him one of the older officials in the imperial palace. Thus, as soon as Zhu Zhanji ascended the throne, he was promoted to Vice Minister of Revenue as a veteran of the palace. Not long after the suppression of Zhu Gaoxu’s rebellion, he entered the cabinet as Grand Scholar of the Jinshen Hall and Minister of Revenue.

He thought he could secure his position with the emperor’s favor, but Yang Shiji, Yang Rong, and Jin Youzi had served in the cabinet for over twenty years, while Du Zhen, though newer, was on good terms with Yang Shiji—after all, he had someone to rely on. Yang Pu was as silent as a mute gourd; although he and Zhang Ying supported each other, they still ended up being removed from the cabinet due to poor performance. Now, Zhang Ying was sadly transferred to Nanjing to serve as Minister of Rites in retirement. As a grand secretary, he could only oversee the Inner Book Hall, which had now also declined in importance!

Even the Inner Book Hall was far from what it used to be because of the major incident that had occurred earlier!

Thinking of this, Chen Shan, who had closed his eyes to rest with his hands folded inside his sleeves, couldn’t help but clench his fists tightly. Although Yang Shiji was favored during the Yongle era, as someone from the Eastern Palace, his favoritism wasn’t as great as that of Yang Rong and Jin Youzi. Being imprisoned twice by the Jinyiwei could be called a legend if put positively, but negatively, it meant the emperor still distrusted him. Yet, because he was from the Eastern Palace, as Emperor Renzong ascended the throne, Yang Shiji quickly became the head of the cabinet. He too was someone from the Eastern Palace of the current emperor; to achieve this, he had been extremely cautious while serving in the Eastern Palace and finally earned trust. But now, he was pushed aside!

“Master, we’ve arrived at Beianmen.”

A soft voice finally pulled Chen Shan out of his bitter thoughts. He adjusted his clothes, peeked out from behind the high cotton curtain, and stepped down from the carriage using a small stool. There, in front of him, was Beianmen.

Among the four gates of the outer imperial city—southeast, southwest, northwest, and due south—the main Mingmen was not opened frequently. Officials entered the palace through the Chang’an Gate on the left and right, while imperial relatives often used Dong’anmen. Beianmen, on the other hand, was the main route used by the eunuchs of the twenty-four departments in the inner court. As Chen Shan was in charge of the Inner Book Hall, he often passed through here, unlike other officials. Thus, the guards stationed there recognized him well. Seeing this grand secretary approaching slowly, they hurriedly bowed to him. It wasn’t until two eunuchs came forward to guide Chen Shan inside that the guards resumed their duties.

Going further inside from Beianmen for a short distance, the East Gate with yellow tiles lay to the east. Most of the twenty-four departments, including the Secretariat of Rites, the Bureau of Imperial Attire, the General Supervision Office, and the Bureau of Wine, Vinegar, and Flour, were located there. The Secretariat of Rites was the second-largest in size, located in the south. Throughout the Yongle and Hongxi periods, and especially at the beginning of the Xuande era, its status became even more solid because the two officials in charge enjoyed great favor with the emperor.

Most government offices outside were built facing south with the entrance to the south, but the inner offices in the palace followed the old system. The main entrance of the Imperial Secretariat faced west, and inside, in the courtyard facing south, there were many pine and cypress trees. This was the Inner Study Hall, with powerful characters inscribed on the couplets in front of the door.
“Before reaching the gates of Confucius, one must strive to make progress; if one cannot complete family duties, set them aside with a carefree heart.”
Chen Shan stood there for a while, then silently walked inside and headed straight to the main building on the north side. Though it was merely a place where eunuchs studied, a tablet of the sage was still placed there. He performed his rituals meticulously before entering a room on the side.
Since Empress Dowager Zhang reformed the system of the Inner Study Hall, dismissing the four scholars who used to teach there and having only palace servants teach literacy, his status as the grand scholar in charge of the hall became awkward. Although he had never wanted this role, those palace servants, though lowly, would become a powerful force once they graduated and owed him gratitude. But now even that hope was gone.
“Sir, this is the newly arrived tea from Lu’an. Would you like to try it?”
Chen Shan looked up and saw a young eunuch with a subservient smile, holding a small Junkiln teacup from a lacquered tea tray and placing it on the table by the kang. He nodded slightly but said nothing. It wasn’t until the man quietly reached the door that he spoke up, asking, “How many people are there in the Inner Study Hall now?”
The young eunuch was startled, stopped in his tracks, and bowed his head again. “Reporting to Lord Chen, there are sixty in total.”
Sixty was the original number set when the Inner Study Hall was established. But these sixty people used to be adopted sons of eunuchs and junior eunuchs. Now, due to the empress dowager’s decree, those who graduated from the Inner Study Hall could no longer become leaders of the twenty-four government departments, effectively ending their chances of becoming eunuchs or junior eunuchs in the future. Moreover, aside from studying, each of them had their own duties. So compared to before, there were many fewer familiar faces and many more new ones. Additionally, the teacher chosen was merely a court official from the Imperial Secretariat, with limited knowledge of Confucianism and Mencius’ teachings—how could he expect to teach much?
“You’ve been serving here for two years, right?”
“Reporting to sir, I have been serving here for two years and seven months.”

Chen Shan was speechless with laughter. He thought to himself that the first four scholars in charge of the Inner Study Hall had all been sent back, and the new four hadn’t been in office long before the Empress Dowager reorganized the hall, forcing them to leave as well. He himself had only taken charge just last year—little over a year in total. By that standard, this young eunuch could actually be considered an elder.

“You’ve been serving here for so long without any rank, yet you’ve never attended lectures in the Inner Study Hall to learn to read? You should know that even some of the eunuchs and junior supervisors in the Imperial Secretariat and the Eastern Depot were secretly learning to read.”

The young eunuch still kept his hands hanging in front of him, his face full of deference. “Your Excellency is right. But the higher-ups are busy learning a few characters just so they won’t be completely ignorant and deceived by those below. I’m simple-minded and not young anymore. Even if I learn a few more characters, how could I possibly surpass those kids from the Inner Study Hall? It’s better to be honest and diligent, not seeking to stand out but aiming to avoid mistakes. Over these past couple of years, I’ve managed to become somewhat familiar among those officials. In a few days, I’ll be working under Eunuch Fan.”

Chen Shan had originally reached for his teacup, but as he listened, his hand froze. Eventually, distracted as he was, he got scalded by the hot cup. He awkwardly pulled his hand back and then carefully observed this eunuch who had always served here—polite and attentive but not talkative—gradually feeling confused.

Back then, since the Inner Study Hall was located within the Imperial Secretariat, the head attendant would often come by casually, and quite a few servants would secretly listen outside. Only this one, who served tea and ink in his room, never went there. Yet he always seemed to have endless tasks—from preparing tea and doing needlework to running errands—always wearing a courteous smile, his shoes worn out in just a few days. Chen Shan had once mocked him for being unambitious. Now it seemed that this attentive yet knowing-ease eunuch was actually the smartest of them all!

“Your Excellency? Your Excellency?”

“It’s fine. You may go.”

As the familiar smile disappeared outside the door, Chen Shan felt an indescribable fatigue rising from his feet. As someone who valued propriety above all, he picked up his teacup and drank it in large gulps. Then he got up from the bed, went to his desk, picked up the ink stick, poured some water into the inkstone, and rolled up his sleeves to start grinding it slowly. Once most of the inkstone was filled with ink, he put down the stick, sat down in his chair, took a large sheet of paper and smoothed it out, then picked up a brush from the brush holder.

Yet, although he had made up his mind as soon as he heard the news early in the morning and became fully resolved after hearing what the young eunuch said, when it came time to write, he was overcome by deep sorrow. He had imagined wielding power in the future, earning the emperor’s trust like Yang Shiji and others after mastering both civil and military skills and serving the crown prince. Now it seemed that was nothing but an unrealistic dream. He regretted listening to others’ temptations; now that the schemer was nowhere to be seen, he had to bear the consequences!
Yang Shiji, you remain unshaken by anything, but I refuse to believe your son won’t cause trouble again! Du Zhen, don’t think serving together as father-in-law and son is glorious—it will inevitably arouse envy! As for Yang Pu… do you plan to wait until everyone else is dead?
At this moment, a drop of black ink finally fell from the wolf-hair brush tightly held in his fingers, trembling slightly due to his extreme tension. The pitch-black ink stood out sharply against the snow-white paper.
The Ministry of War was naturally busy that morning as well. An urgent dispatch sent from Yunnan over 800 miles had just arrived. By the time Yang Rong reached Kunming, Duke Mu Sheng of Qian State and the troops of the Luochuan Si clan had engaged in another fierce battle. Though both sides numbered only a few thousand men, the battle ended in a stalemate—no clear winner. Fortunately, it halted Luochuan’s advance eastward, which was a good thing. In addition, regular messengers brought dispatches, along with routine news and some bad news.
Heavy snow had fallen in areas like Pinggu in Jizhou to the east!
“It seems even if the message reaches Danning, it will be delayed for some time. It will take days to organize the army again. Even if they return as lightly as before, the heavy snow makes travel difficult… Thankfully, I helped Yang Ji find that person last night. I don’t know if this was Chen Shan’s own idea, if he was deceived, or if he’s colluding with others… From what I see, the idea of sending gifts to the Du family seems to have come from him.”
Zhang Yue mused aloud, realizing how interconnected all these factors were. As he pondered the three princes who had broken into the palace the previous day, someone reported that Hu Qi had arrived. Hearing this, he perked up immediately and ordered him in. Sure enough, Hu Qi, whose cloak still bore white snowflakes, waved his fist happily as soon as he entered.
“Sir, I’ve found out!”
Hearing this, Zhang Yue, who had been lounging comfortably in his armchair, sat up straight and asked directly, “What does he know?”

Although Hu Qi was excited, he knew there were things that couldn’t be blurted out. After bowing, he went over to Zhang Yue’s chair and whispered a few words in his ear. As his voice grew softer, Zhang Yue’s frown deepened, but eventually it relaxed, and he nodded in approval at Hu Qi.
“Well done! Especially the illusion of this man falling into the water was quite good. With this, it should cause chaos on their side for a while. Even if they find out, they might think that guy ran away out of fear of being silenced.”
“However, since it involves the Jin princes—only the Princes of Zheng, Yue, and Xiang, plus the Prince of Liang—it must be one of these four princes. Should we keep investigating quietly?”
Zhang Yue was naturally aware of these concerns; otherwise, he wouldn’t have let Hu Qi take all the credit for uncovering the fraud at Tongji Warehouse and give it to the Jinyiwei and Dongchang. But this time, he showed the gold token in his hand and said with a smile, “I rushed to the palace yesterday and ended up getting such a valuable thing. With so much going on in the palace and the Jinyiwei and Dongchang busy, I can use this to direct you guys, so no one will gossip anymore. Keep a close eye on those four mansions and report anything immediately.”
The mansion of the Prince of Zheng, deep in the Ten Princes’ Alley, had been closed off since yesterday afternoon, with no one allowed to leave. Of course, even if it weren’t closed, the sudden appearance of a large number of guards in the area would make the already vigilant people in the mansion even more cautious. The master of this mansion, the Prince of Zheng, spent the entire night locked in his study, but whether he was reciting the Huangting Scripture under the Empress Dowager’s orders, the ordinary servants in the mansion had no idea. All they knew was that there was constant clattering and breaking of things in the study throughout the night.
“How can he just stand by and do nothing after causing such a mess? It’s not that easy!”
At that moment, the Prince of Zheng angrily threw down his pen, took a deep breath, and said, “One of his servants from the Jin princes dares to threaten me with a few maids. If something goes wrong, he disappears without a trace. It’s not that easy! Go and call Li Huaian. I’m determined to fight in this duel! He can’t just shift the blame onto me that easily!”