Chapter 267: The Most Poisonous Thing Is Human Hearts

The Right and Left Administrative Commissioners held the rank of second-class officials, while the Right and Left Advisors held the ranks of third-class and fourth-class officials, respectively. In Beijing, such positions might not seem significant, but in local areas, they were equivalent to high-ranking governors. In Shandong, since the early Yongle era, efforts to dredge the Grand Canal had led to heavy labor demands, followed by years of droughts, floods, and locust plagues. As a result, the performance evaluations of officials in the Administrative Commissioner’s office were generally mediocre, with many remaining in their posts for years. When Du Zhen suddenly took over the position of Right Administrative Commissioner, many were dissatisfied and resentful.

Du Zhen was a cold-hearted man who rarely spoke or interacted with his colleagues. Naturally, some people spread rumors secretly, claiming he had been ordered by the emperor to investigate whether the officials in the office were corrupt. As soon as Du Zhen left Jinan Prefecture for Qingzhou, several people took secret action. After succeeding in their plans, they seized the Qiu family to search for fabricated evidence. If not for Du Wan returning, presenting that letter from Daoyan, and threatening them further, they would never have stopped.

But retribution came too quickly!
Although Emperor Yongle favored eunuchs, and people like Zheng and Zhang Qian had set sail overseas, most civil and military officials saw eunuchs as insignificant castrated men. When Zhang Hai, the Right Administrative Commissioner, and others received the imperial edict and stood up, they all cast angry glances at Zhang Yue, who stood behind Lu Feng in his blue robes. Everyone knew Zhang Yue and Du Zhen were teacher and student, and that Zhang Yue was the nephew of the Duke of Yingguo. If not for his slanderous actions, how could they all have been implicated? In this tense and silent atmosphere, a hysterical voice suddenly rose among the officials who had just been dismissed and were in despair.

“I want to see the emperor! I refuse to believe there is no justice in this world!”

With one person speaking up, the other officials could no longer contain their anger, and chaos ensued in the hall. Zhang Hai, the Right Administrative Commissioner who had held the position for five years, stared intently at Zhang Yue, his eyes seemingly spewing fire: “Zhang Yue, you rely on the power of the Duke of Yingguo to oppress us. Don’t think you can escape the condemnation of scholars everywhere! You pretended to win people’s hearts in Qingzhou with ulterior motives. I… we will all impeach you!”

Although he had anticipated the consequences of a cornered animal fighting back, Zhang Yue never expected anyone to step forward at such a moment and shamefully blame him. He narrowed his eyes slightly, smirked coldly, and was about to speak when Zuo Xuan, who was standing beside Zhang Hai, suddenly stepped forward, pointing at his nose and cursing loudly.

“Du Yishan is guilty of overstepping his authority by mobilizing troops—his crime is unforgivable! You, as his teacher, colluded to deceive the emperor and persecute the loyal and righteous. Unless everyone in the world is blind, there must be loyal people who will stand up to speak for us! Don’t think that just because you come from a noble family you can do as you please. There are gods watching over us, and justice will surely be served!”

Lu Feng had just seen a group of civil officials who usually acted arrogantly and looked down on eunuchs now looking devastated, and he felt pleased. But then these people suddenly changed their tune and started shouting loudly, leaving him stunned. However, when he heard their harsh words directed at Zhang Yue, he gradually grew annoyed.

This task had been assigned to him by the emperor before he set off, with Zhang Yue merely acting as an assistant. Had these people forgotten that he was the one in charge of this mission? It was clearly an act of disrespect toward him!

Eunuchs often tended to be stubborn, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Finally, he coughed and said with a forced smile, “Gentlemen, this is an imperial edict approved by the emperor, and I’ve been sent here to read it. What does it have to do with Lord Zhang?” As soon as he finished speaking, someone glared at him, followed by an angry curse.

“Colluding in crime! It’s you eunuch faction who deceive the emperor!”

Although he was illiterate and didn’t fully understand the idiom, Lu Feng knew that “colluding in crime” was not a good phrase. His face turned pale instantly. He was about to order the soldiers in the hall to arrest these lawless officials when he felt someone pressing on his shoulder. Turning his head, he saw Zhang Yue nodding at him, prompting him to step back involuntarily.

Though new to the place, Zhang Yue was always cautious. After arriving at the provincial administration office, he asked the officials there about the situation of the Du family. As an imperial envoy, the subordinates dared not hide anything and told him everything that had happened in the first month. How could he not know about Qiu Shi and Du Wan’s past plight? Stepping forward now, he saw pairs of hateful eyes below, but he simply smiled indifferently.

“It turns out even you all understand that justice is clear and retribution is inevitable! You keep claiming to uphold justice and righteousness, yet you are nothing but hypocrites! The current emperor is wise and capable, making decisions with firm authority—no one can deceive him! Instead, you take advantage of your colleagues’ misfortunes to oppress their wives and daughters, using every possiblemeans. Any sensible person in the land would despise such behavior!”
Since he had spoken up, Zhang Yue was too lazy to be polite and simply said it bluntly: “You claim to be loyal and virtuous, but you fail to ensure the people have enough to eat and live in peace. You fail to report the truth to the emperor and keep communication channels open with the people—where is your loyalty? Where is your virtue? The White Lotus cult has been spreading in Shandong for years, and you, who have served as local officials there for five, six, seven, or even eight years, have done nothing to stop it. Even when the newly appointed Lord Du worked tirelessly to eradicate it, you stood by doing nothing. Have you done anything at all for the people or the court? Allowing the cult to wreak havoc in the region—this is clearly malicious intent! And are you all insane? Eunuch Lu is an envoy carrying the emperor’s sacred orders. Insulting him is tantamount to insulting the emperor himself!”
“You… you’re arrogant! You’re spreading lies! You… you even colluded with eunuchs!”
Zhang Yue threw one accusation after another at them. Zhang Hai, the left governor, retorted in frustration, only to suddenly feel as if something blocked his throat and collapse, fainting. The others panicked, but before they could respond, Lu Feng seized the opportunity, waving his hand, and a group of fierce soldiers rushed in. These palace guards were skilled at such actions in Beijing, and soon the hall was empty.
This hall was where the provincial officials usually held meetings—vast and spacious. After giving orders in a domineering manner, Lu Feng felt relieved. Glancing at Zhang Yue, he sneered and said, “Lord Zhang, you really have a gift for speaking—you even managed to make someone faint on the spot! These fools are truly delusional, daring to question the emperor’s orders. Demotion is too lenient for them. They should be punished for their extreme disrespect, have their titles revoked, and be forbidden from holding any official positions for generations! They claim to be scholars, but I must eradicate their status as scholars!”
Indeed, it’s better to offend a gentleman than a scoundrel!

Zhang Yue understood that eunuchs had narrow minds; while it wasn’t certain they would repay even the slightest kindness, it was certain they would seek revenge for the slightest offense. Seeing Lu Feng’s face filled with hostility, he said cheerfully, “This time we are acting under the emperor’s orders. As long as we report everything that happens during this trip, the emperor will surely make a wise decision. Talking too much leads to mistakes, and acting too much also does. Why give others an opportunity to hold us accountable? Don’t you think so, Eunuch?”
“Lord Zhang is absolutely right. I almost made a mistake! These people are already on the verge of disaster—why bother fighting with them? If we report everything truthfully, not one of them will be able to escape!”
Thinking of Zhu Di’s past temperament, Lu Feng suddenly realized something and immediately bowed sincerely to Zhang Yue. At just thirty years old, although he lacked an important organ, his future seemed bright, so he certainly didn’t want to ruin it easily. Realizing that Zhang Yue had always respected him and often given him advice at critical moments, he grew to like him even more. In contrast, he faintly sensed that the newly appointed officials looked down on him as an eunuch, which filled him with resentment.
When leaving Jinan to head to Qingzhou, he glared resentfully at the Jinan prefecture after mounting his horse, harboring some sinister thoughts. Zhang Yue, watching his actions, couldn’t help but become calculating.
The Qingzhou post station was located outside the south gate of Qingzhou, divided into the front post and the official residence. The front post served to receive officials and messengers, keep horses, and handle official business. It included dozens of rooms such as the main hall, back hall, gift room, storage room, kitchen, etc., as well as twenty stables housing nearly a hundred horses, sufficient for handling ordinary official documents and mail. The official residence, on the other hand, was for entertaining visiting officials. It had a bright entrance building, a three-room main hall, and four courtyards, each with a three-room main building and two side rooms to the north and south, arranged according to the officials’ ranks by the post master.
Although he was just a lowly official, the post master, Xu Sansheng, was quite satisfied with his situation. Handling arrivals and departures was hard work, but as long as he managed the accounts well and received regular payments for food, firewood, and other necessities, he could always make a profit. It was much easier than striving to become an official. Besides, he had been the post master for ten years and knew well the tricks of serving superiors.

It didn’t matter much if one was careless in serving civil officials—those people could at most file complaints to cause trouble. But serving military officers or imperial relatives was different; the slightest carelessness could result in whips. So when he learned that the imperial envoy would be staying at the official residence in Qingzhou, he was so worried his hair turned white. The envoy was accompanied by five hundred soldiers from the capital, and even if he gave up his own house, it wouldn’t be enough! It wasn’t until that evening when the messengers arrived that his worries turned into joy.

At that moment, following the burly man who led the way as they toured the entire residence, he wore a flattering smile on his face. “Lord Peng, since it’s Lord Zhang who is serving as the imperial envoy this time, why not stay in the Qingzhou government office? I’m just worried that this residence might be too simple and shabby…”

“Our lord has stayed here before—what’s there to be shabby about?” Peng Shisan glanced satisfactorily at the clean and tidy main hall before turning around and giving orders. “Tell those servants to serve carefully. Our lord is easy-going, but that Eunuch Lu is bound to be picky. As long as you treat him with proper respect, nothing should go wrong. In short, remember to do whatever our lord instructs—you’ll surely be rewarded!”