Chapter 903: Discussing Important Matters

The Du family did not have many servants. After her two daughters got married, Lady Qiu kept only two maids. Later, one of them got married and, along with her husband, managed a small 200-mu farm that the Du family had acquired—so Lady Qiu now had just one maid. Recently, because Xiao Wu insisted persistently, saying that since her mother was getting older, someone needed to take care of her, another young maid was brought in. Thus, Du Wan rushed over in a hurry. The eleven- or twelve-year-old maid became flustered, but Xiao Wu helped out from the side, constantly nagging.

“I’ve taught you so many times—Mother prefers weak tea; it’s good for health. Sister is pregnant now and shouldn’t drink tea on an empty stomach. At this time, she should be given something sweet like preserved fruits to stimulate saliva production. Also, when making tea…”

As Xiao Wu kept talking nonstop, Du Wan’s worries about her mother’s injury faded significantly. She gently took Lady Qiu’s hand and said softly, “Mother, since Xiao Wu got married, she’s become much more capable than before.”

“Capable? Just now, out of concern for me, she left the three officials from the Nan Cheng Bing Ma Si in Wanping County, Shuntian Prefecture, waiting in the main hall. If it weren’t for the Yuan Festival, I wouldn’t have even known.” Lady Qiu complained, but a relieved smile appeared on her face. She patted Du Wan’s hand and said, “It’s thanks to you that I have such a good daughter… By the way, was it Xiao Wu who sent you the message? It’s just a minor injury. You’re pregnant—why such haste?”

“He’s already here. How could I, as his daughter, not come?”

Only then did Du Wan roll up her mother’s sleeve and see the large bruise. Her face showed deep anger, but knowing her mother’s temperament, she quickly concealed it. After chatting a bit and helping Lady Qiu drink a cup of tea, she coaxed her to sleep and then instructed the two maids to take good care of her. She then took Xiao Wu outside. After learning about the conflict that had taken place earlier, she frowned thoughtfully. Before she could figure out what was going on, Zhang Yue entered, pushing aside the curtain.

Xiao Wu, worried that Du Wan would scold her, was overjoyed to see Zhang Yue. She rushed forward and asked, “Brother-in-law, what happened to those three officials? Did they complain because they were left waiting?”

“Are you still afraid they’ll file a complaint?” Zhang Yue glanced at Xiao Wu before smiling. “Don’t worry. I’ve already told them to go about their duties. As long as Father-in-law doesn’t get angry, they’re more than willing to sit there in the cold for an hour.”

“Afraid of Dad? I think they’re really afraid of you!” Xiao Wu finally breathed a sigh of relief, stuck out her tongue, and said cheerfully, “Thank goodness I didn’t take the baby out today. He’s so young; he might get scared to death… Brother-in-law, I’ll go get some medicine first to help Mom recover. After all, she was just frightened today. You and Sister, go discuss whatever you need to!”
Seeing Xiao Wu leave with a smile, Du Wan couldn’t help shaking her head. Then she looked at Zhang Yue with concern, who happened to look over at the same time. The couple almost simultaneously pointed to the room to the west, then exchanged a smile. Zhang Yue stepped forward to help Du Wan, and together they went to that room. After sitting down, Zhang Yue recounted what the three officials from Wanping County in Shuntian Prefecture and the Southern City Military Command had said, then couldn’t help tapping the armrest lightly.
“This matter is strange. The Military Command has limited manpower, and so does the county and prefectural governments for inspections. I think I’d better send more people from home to help. Stay and persuade your mother-in-law not to refuse. After all, this is my sincere effort. Besides, I doubt you’d want to stay at home in fear while being pregnant.”
Du Wan knew that although Zhang Yue seemed easy to talk to, he could be stubborn once things came to it. Moreover, the Du family indeed had limited manpower, and it was impossible to recruit anyone at this moment. So she nodded and then asked, “By your reasoning, are the Prince of Jin’s men being incited to act as scapegoats?”
“Either way, they’re people who can never turn things around. If we send them to cause trouble, the worst that can happen isn’t that bad. If the emperor punishes them severely in anger, there might be strong reactions from other princes. In the end, how can the new decree on inheriting titles for relatives be implemented?”
“Dad’s nature is to see things through to the end. Now that Mom is injured, he won’t back down; instead, he’ll be even more determined to succeed. We should send some people to guard the house. I even need to tell Xiao Wu to go out less.” After thinking for a moment, Du Wan raised her head and said, “Spend more effort on Dad. Persuading him won’t work, but he rarely thinks ahead. You’re better at that than he is—make sure no one schemes against him. As for everything else, you don’t need to worry. But since there was no hint about this incident in advance, you need to be careful—there might be some oversight.”

After discussing for a while, Zhang Yue pulled Du Wan into his arms and whispered a few words to her before leaving. After all, as a vice minister of the War Ministry, he should have been working in the government office at this time. If not for Xu Kuo, who had just taken office, he wouldn’t have been able to spare such time, and he naturally needed to return immediately.

As soon as Zhang Yue returned to the office, Xu Kuo, who had already heard the news, couldn’t help but ask a few questions. Zhang Yue then explained the situation. Unexpectedly, someone from the palace had also come—Cao Jixiang, who had now been promoted to deputy head of the Imperial Secretariat. With the twenty-four internal departments under reform, he had followed the rules and waited in a small hall outside the second gate. After learning the details, he stood up, saying he needed to report back to the Imperial Secretariat, and hinted that the emperor was furious upon hearing about the matter, before leaving in a hurry. By evening, when work ended, eunuchs were already waiting outside the office, ready for Zhang Yue to enter the palace.

It wasn’t until he reached East Chang’an Street that he realized he was the only one summoned—none of the higher-ranking officials such as Hu Bian, minister of Rites, Guo Jin, minister of Personnel, or Wu Zhong, minister of Works, were included. The young eunuch who came told him that Yang Shiqi, Du Zhen, Yang Pu from the Grand Secretariat, as well as Jian Yi, Xia Yuanji, and Duke Zhang Fu of Yingguo, had already entered the palace earlier. They were all gathered in Wenhua Hall, waiting only for him. Only then did Zhang Yue realize that this summons was not for a court meeting.

It wasn’t a court meeting, but something even more significant. Among the ministers of the Grand Secretariat, Yang Shiqi and Du Zhen were highly trusted. Jin Youzi was often ill, so despite being a veteran minister from the Yongle era, his favor had diminished significantly. In contrast, Yang Pu, though of lower rank, was on the verge of taking his place. Jian Yi and Xia Yuanji had stepped down from their ministerial duties to focus on state affairs, just like Duke Zhang Fu. These three usually only appeared at regular court sessions, but in times of major crises, the emperor naturally summoned them. As for him, his past experience, merits, and current rank were secondary—what mattered was solely the emperor’s trust.

After all, it wasn’t about rank at this moment, but about closeness to the emperor.

When he arrived at Wenhua Hall, he found that everyone else was already there, except Emperor Zhu Zhanji. Just as he was about to wait in line, an eunuch announced that the emperor had sent food. Immediately, everyone stood up and went to a side hall. This wasn’t a formal banquet during an imperial lecture or a major festival, so the rituals and dishes were less elaborate. Apart from the lack of wine, everything else was available on the table. Yet neither Zhang Yue nor the others felt like eating. They silently filled their stomachs a little and almost simultaneously put down their chopsticks.

From coming out to eat to returning to the hall after finishing, Zhang Yue never found an opportunity to speak with Du Zhen, so he had to suppress his desire. After waiting a while longer, a sharp announcement came from outside, and he quickly bowed along with the others. When Zhu Zhanji, dressed in plain clothes, sat down on the central throne, he directly brought up the matter of the Prince of Jin being brought to the capital and Lady Du Qiu being attacked. Only then did the people in the hall exchange glances based on their relationships with one another.

Rather than discussing how to deal with the Prince of Jin that night, it was more about how to handle the princely families in general, and how to intimidate or pacify them!

“Rebellion is an unforgivable crime, and on top of that, he poisoned his own mother, oppressed his elder brother, imprisoned his brothers, and mistreated his nephews. The Prince of Jin’s crimes are extremely grave. What do you all think should be done to him?”

This was certainly not just a simple request for opinions. After a moment of silence, Zhang Fu, the Duke of Yingguo, was the first to speak: “The laws are strict. If such an unforgivable criminal is pardoned, it will fail to intimidate other princely families. He should be punished according to the law.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Xia Yuanji across from him shook his head and said, “Although his crimes are unforgivable, from the Hongwu era to now, whenever a princely family member commits a grave crime, they are summoned to the capital for punishment and then imprisoned in the Western Palace or the Imperial Clan Office. The Princes of Qi and Gu were treated the same way. If we now punish the Prince of Jin according to the law, what about those who came before him? The Prince of Jin has two young sons, and both have already been granted princely titles. If he is punished for unforgivable crimes, how should these two princes be dealt with?”

Although Xia Yuanji was known for his integrity and tenderness toward subordinates’ mistakes, he was not easy to deal with in court matters. Yet from his words, it was clear that he wasn’t trying to protect the Prince of Jin but was thinking about the long term. Zhang Yue glanced at Zhang Fu, who seemed oblivious, staring straight ahead as if unconcerned by the contradiction to his own views. He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

This great uncle… there’s no need to be so obvious when trying to provoke discussion, right?

“But if the punishment is too mild, it’s likely to happen again and again in the future. As you all know, since the Yongle era to the present, this isn’t the first time a prince has committed the crime of rebellion. Du Zhen remained cold-faced, as if his expression hadn’t changed even when he heard about his wife’s injury, but those who knew him well could see the anger hidden beneath his calm demeanor. ‘The Prince of Qi, the Prince of Gu, the Prince of Han, the Prince of Liang, the Prince of Jin… If the crime of rebellion only results in being demoted to a commoner, then those princes supported by the court might still harbor rebellious thoughts in the future. Such people must be dealt with severely. As for the Prince of Jin’s two sons who have already been granted the title of prince, their salaries come from the court. They neither tried to persuade their father nor thought to report to the court—what kind of filial piety is that?’”

This topic was naturally delicate. Everyone knew that when it came to princes rebelling, the first example was the late Emperor Taizong, Zhu Di. Since he himself had taken this dangerous path, Zhu Di naturally guarded against princes closely—thus, from the Yongle era to the present, the number of guards assigned to princes had been reduced repeatedly. Even Zhu Tu, Zhu Di’s younger brother by the same mother, had had three of his guards removed at the end of the Yongle era, not to mention others. And the Prince of Han, Zhu Gaoxu, who rebelled while having guards at his disposal, had done so not long ago.

“Letters showing collusion with commoners were found in the Prince of Jin’s mansion, along with prohibited imperial garments. The mansion’s officials also confessed to smuggling armor into the capital and colluding with the imperial guards and other illegal acts. Under such circumstances, they truly deserve the harshest punishment. However, since the Prince of Jin is still a prince, imposing a severe punishment openly might cause significant backlash. After all, there have been no precedents of severely punishing princes before.”

The speaker was Jian Yi. He had served as a clerk in the Imperial Secretariat during the Hongwu era, was promoted to Deputy Minister of Personnel during the Jianwen era, and then rose from Deputy Minister to Minister of Personnel during the Yongle era. It took him just over a decade to go from a scholar to minister. Now considered a veteran official of five dynasties, he knew these historical precedents very well.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yue thought that although the Prince of Qi and the Prince of Gu were only demoted to commoners for their rebellion, if it weren’t for the Prince of Han, Zhu Gaoxu, “dying suddenly” by chance, Zhu Zhanji would surely have confined them first as a show of leniency, just like he did with the Prince of Liang at the moment. As for what to do next, it would depend on the emperor’s mood.

The emperors of the Ming Dynasty were truly “benevolent” in this regard—while adhering to the principles of kinship established by Zhu Yuanzhang, they gradually blocked the path for princes to interfere in government affairs through various measures such as restricting visits to their fiefs, establishing increasingly sophisticated preventive mechanisms, and treating the princes like pigs kept in pens. Yet the cost of maintaining these “pigs” kept rising year by year, eventually becoming unbearably heavy. To be honest, the imperial system was at its best during the Tang and Song dynasties, when not only were many virtuous rulers present, but there were also almost no instances of princes rebelling.

The others debated for a while longer. Zhang Yue didn’t say anything groundbreaking in such a situation, and it was Yang Shiqi, who had remained silent until then, who finally spoke up: “The Jin Prince must now also be accused of allowing his servants to commit crimes. I believe the other princes will, as before, submit petitions claiming that the Jin Prince violates ancestral traditions, plots rebellion, and is guilty of the utmost treason, demanding his execution without mercy. In the past, the more they said such things, the less the emperor could impose severe punishment, so he could only grant a mild pardon. Now that the petitions from the princes are likely on their way, we might as well wait and see what they say.”

Seeing Zhu Zhanji’s thoughtful expression, Zhang Yue couldn’t help but ask, “Does Grand Secretary Yang mean that this time the princes’ petitions will be different from before?”

“After all, the court is currently discussing various matters related to the succession of princely titles. In the past, they merely submitted petitions out of formality. If they act as usual this time, it would be unusual. Moreover…” Yang Shiqi paused, giving Zhang Yue a meaningful look, “I doubt anyone would think that, now that the Jin Prince is already a prisoner, his servants would still go to such extreme lengths to doom him. The more determined the court is to execute the Jin Prince, the greater the resistance from the princes. Additionally, with so many matters at court, as far as I know, the threshold of the Duke of Yingguo’s residence must be worn out from people trying to get in. Many young officers who only want to enjoy the benefits left by their ancestors have gone there to seek opportunities. Furthermore, Yu Qian has faced several life-threatening situations while conducting land surveys in the south.”

For a moment, the Wenhua Hall was utterly silent.