Chapter 389: Hearing the News

The Beianmen in the imperial city was close to Shichahai. The alleys in the vicinity were originally inhabited by the families of the military households, with neatly arranged houses all built under the supervision of Song Li, the Minister of Works. Thousands of houses spread over several hundred zhangs in area, and this time one-third of them had to be vacated. Since the newly assigned three thousand soldiers worked in three shifts a day, enduring extreme hardships in the dead of winter, they were provided with ample rice and other supplies, as well as hot water after work. Those soldiers accustomed to hardship naturally had no difficulty adapting.

Although they were jointly in charge and bore even greater responsibilities, Hai Shou, the eunuch, was accustomed to living in the palace and naturally refused to stay in those houses meant for military households. So by evening, he refused to stay any longer. As soon as he left, Zhou Bailing, who came in right after, saw Zhang Yue sitting by the fire reading and couldn’t help but take a look before laughing.

“Sir, you’re quite refined—still reading in such cold weather.”

Zhou Bailing was originally a bold man who rose from a military household through his achievements in the northern campaigns. Having become familiar with Zhang Yue and knowing he didn’t care much for formalities, he sat down on a small stool beside him. When he saw Zhang Yue put down his book and reach out to warm his hands by the fire, he smirked disdainfully toward the door.

“The emperor is fine in many ways, but he loves using these eunuchs! Hai Shou was sent from Korea years ago. Within a few years, he gained the emperor’s favor and rose to his current position. I heard he extorts bribes constantly whenever he returns to his country—the greediest scoundrel! Don’t be fooled by his polite behavior toward you, Sir Zhang. It’s because of your family’s great influence; he can’t afford to offend them. What if it were someone else? They’re eunuchs themselves yet still hire others to manage their businesses. That Huang Gong from the Imperial Secretariat alone owns over a dozen shops near Andingmen!”

“Old Zhou, keep such talk to yourself. Don’t spread it around!”

Zhang Yue knew Zhou Bailing wasn’t the kind to talk nonsense, so he said it with a half-smile. Zhou Bailing chuckled, scratched the back of his head, and wrapped himself tighter in his bright red cotton robe, then sighed, “Compared to those local military units, our imperial army is considered elite, with top-quality food and supplies. But still, it’s hard to make ends meet for the whole family; we hardly save any money each year. My son is also from a military household, but since my position as a thousand-household leader isn’t hereditary, I’m not sure I can leave anything to him.”

The Ming Dynasty registered all the commoners in the country, and Zhang Yue naturally understood the significance of the tax and labor registers. However, these days, even children of military families often took part in the imperial examinations. He comforted Zhou Bailing a bit and learned that his son was living in the city, so he advised sending the child to study at his own family’s school under the name of a Zhang family relative. Overjoyed by this good news, Zhou Bailing was extremely pleased.

Private schools in the capital were expensive, and people looked down on children of military families. He didn’t have the means to hire a teacher on his own, but with Zhang Yue’s help, it became much easier. He didn’t expect his son to pass the examinations, but an educated officer would have an easier time advancing than one who wasn’t. Although he hadn’t read many books himself, some people who had achieved similar merits had only reached the rank of hundredmen or governors, while he had become a thousandman.

The two talked for a while by the fire, after which Zhou Bailing stood up, ready to go on an inspection. Zhang Yue had returned early the previous night and gone straight to bed without conducting any inspections, so this time he offered to go instead, planning to switch roles at night. Zhou Bailing thought that it would be quiet and cold at night, and he wasn’t comfortable letting Zhang Yue go out alone, so he didn’t argue further. After Zhang Yue put on his coat and left, bringing Hu Qi and the others, Zhou Bailing assigned four more soldiers to accompany them. In total, nine people entered the palace through Beianmen.

Inside Beianmen were the twenty-four bureaus of eunuchs. Although it was already dark, many rooms still had lamps lit, and people came and went frequently. Since Zhang Yue and his group carried specially made lanterns with large imperial characters on them, the eunuchs, who were aware of the military forces stationed near the palace, didn’t approach to question them; some even avoided them. As Zhang Yue continued on his way and saw Donghuamen in the distance, a group came out from the Inner East Factory on his left, and the two groups collided.

“Eunuch Lu.”

“Ah, it’s Lord Zhang. What a coincidence!” Lu Feng, who was scolding a few subordinates, forced a forced smile upon seeing Zhang Yue. “You’re really diligent, going out to inspect things in person. I have some matters to attend to, so I’ll be leaving first. I’ll talk to you again when I have time.”

Zhang Yue noticed that the several eunuchs behind Lu Feng all had grim expressions on their faces. His heart stirred slightly, but he said nothing. He nodded and allowed them to pass. Soon after, he led his men to Donghua Gate. As he asked the leader of the guard a few questions about defense, the surrounding soldiers grew alert, prompting him to turn around quickly. Upon closer inspection, he saw a group of people carrying a large sedan chair manned by four people not far away. The lanterns carried by the two leaders at the front bore the character “Zhou” clearly visible. Suddenly, a familiar figure came to mind. The sedan chair came to a steady stop, and a strong porter lifted the curtain—inside was indeed the person he had been thinking of.

“Princess?”

Zhu Ning bent down and emerged from the sedan chair. Seeing it was Zhang Yue, she immediately smiled and said, “What a coincidence! I just came back from your house after visiting Wan’er! You’ve been so busy with work that you haven’t paid attention to her, who is now pregnant. Today, I saw Wan’er experiencing frequent contractions—she’s bound to give birth to a lively little one. By the way, do you still need to patrol along the imperial road?”

“I just entered through Beian Gate. I haven’t been to Wumen or Xihua Gate yet; there’s still a long way to go.”

Noticing Zhang Yue wearing a sable fur coat, Zhu Ning narrowed her eyes and studied it for a moment before taking out a letter from her sleeve and handing it to him. “Your father sent letters from the south to our family. One is to pay respects to the old lady, and the other is for you. Since you weren’t here, Wan’er read them for you. She said they were quite urgent, and since it wasn’t convenient for others to deliver them, she asked me to bring them. I originally planned to take a detour to Beian Gate, but I happened to meet you here.”

“Thank you, Princess, for your trouble.”

“What trouble? It was no effort at all!” Zhu Ning smiled generously, waved her hand to ask her attendants to step back, and then whispered, “Wan’er told me about what happened this morning. It’s good that you thought things through carefully; otherwise, you would have fallen for their trick. One learns from experience. Although I have a good relationship with you and your wife, I never cross the boundaries of propriety. That’s how the world is—everything can change, but rules never do!”

“The Princess’s reminder is helpful. I didn’t think it through at the time. When I heard what happened later, I reconsidered and realized it was wrong. In any case, I’ll be more careful from now on.”

Hearing Zhu Ning’s words, Zhang Yue couldn’t help but think of Zhang Chao, who had taken a long leave from the army using Lady Deng’s mourning period these past few days, as well as Zhu Ning’s scathing rebuke of him that day. He had originally thought that Zhu Ning, having been raised to pretend to be a man since childhood, must be somewhat careless, but now he was gradually seeing her meticulous side and truly realizing that she was no ordinary heroine. Since they were at Donghua Gate at the moment, it was not convenient for him to stay there talking with her. After saying that, he smiled, bowed slightly, and prepared to lead his men on further inspection.

At this moment, Zhu Ning reminded him, “It snowed again just now. Although there are people in the palace cleaning, some areas will still be icy, so be careful when walking. The palace gates aren’t locked yet, making it the most slack time of the day—someone might bring in all sorts of messy things. If we encounter suspicious people… Well, these are just my unnecessary warnings. Just listen to them for now. I’m leaving too. Don’t forget to go back and check when you have time.”

Zhang Yue nodded with a smile. Seeing Zhu Ning walk into Donghua Gate and leave all the guards outside, he gave a signal to the people behind him, and they continued forward. After taking a few steps, he suddenly heard an extremely loud explosion. Looking up, he saw a bright light in the southwest sky, quickly followed by a faint red glow. By then, Zhu Ning, who had already entered Donghua Gate, also rushed out. Upon seeing the light, she immediately turned to look at Zhang Yue.

“What caused that noise?”

“I don’t know. It’s strange. The gunpowder depot is in the northeast part of the imperial city, and the armory is in the northwest. The southwest should be newly built empty corridors and residential buildings—how could there be an explosion?” The more Zhang Yue thought about it, the more he felt something was off. Seeing several eunuchs peering in from inside Donghua Gate, he said to Zhu Ning, “Princess, please enter the palace first. I’ll send someone to investigate.”

“Okay,” Zhu Ning nodded readily. After turning and walking a few steps, she turned back and reminded him, “I’ll report this to the emperor. Your duty is to guard the palace. The Five City Military Command and Shuntian Prefecture can handle this—just send someone over. Don’t get involved in unnecessary matters!”

Seeing Zhu Ning walk away, Zhang Yue quickly ordered Zhao Hu to return and see Zhou Bailing. He also instructed the guards at Donghua Gate to impose a temporary curfew and prevent anyone from entering or leaving. He then led his men onward toward Wumen. Due to the sudden explosion, eunuchs from places like the porcelain storage areas along the way rushed out to see what was happening. He had to lead his men there to disperse them, though his doubts grew greater. By the time he finally made his way around to Wumen, he found it already under strict lockdown. Upon inquiry, he learned that it was Zhang Qian, the eunuch in charge of the imperial palace, who had given the order personally.

“Are there any other messages from Lord Zhang?”

The one guarding Wumen was Qian Baihu, a highly trusted subordinate of Zhou Bailing. He had also gone to Qingzhou and traveled to the south with Zhang Yue. Knowing he didn’t need to beat around the bush with this young lord, he replied honestly, “Nothing else. I only saw that Lord Zhang looked extremely upset at the time, with stains on his clothes—probably from falling while running in haste.”

Knowing that Zhang Qian, given his caution, would ensure no other gates were overlooked, Zhang Yue didn’t rush to Xihua Gate. Instead, he paused for a moment and took in the several groups of eunuchs who had been stopped. Most of them were eunuchs from various palaces heading to different departments, preparing to return to the palace, not the servants living in the corridors. They were mostly dressed in red or blue chest-and-back tunics with round collars, wearing black gauze hats with rhinoceros horn straps, though their expressions varied. As his gaze swept over their faces, he noticed one young eunuch looking around nervously. When their eyes met, the man seemed shocked and immediately stood still, hands hanging down and head bowed.

“Old Qian, take that man over!”