Chapter 421: Mockery and Self-Reflection

Due to various incidents such as the burning of the three main halls and the issuance of edicts calling for honest advice, even though the Ministry of War had no urgent matters at the moment, Zhang Yue either returned home very late or not at all these days. Among the four officials in the ministry, he was the only newcomer; the others all had over five years of experience. Many of the junior officials were personally recommended by Fang Bin. Thus, when his direct superior, who had served as Minister of War since the seventh year of the Yongle era, smiled and told him to take on more responsibilities, he naturally couldn’t refuse.

However, after Xiao Yi, an official from the Ministry of Rites, was executed today, Fang Bin suddenly said with a smile that he had worked hard on night shifts these days and should go home early to rest. Though puzzled by this sudden change in the minister’s attitude, Zhang Yue was already exhausted from all the troubles he’d faced, so he didn’t bother to guess what was behind it. As soon as work was over, he headed straight home.

Since Zhang Yue hadn’t come home for dinner for five or six days in a row, his rare early return naturally drew attention from the elders, who asked after him kindly. Even Zhang Chao and Zhang Qi showed great concern for him. It was clear at this moment the difference between civil and military officials—compared to the storm brewing among the civil servants, military officers only needed to manage their troops and didn’t have to worry about anything else. After dinner, Zhang Yue chatted with his grandmother, Lady Gu, for a while before being sent off cheerfully to his room by her.

Du Wan no longer dined with the rest in the main house in the northern courtyard; her meals were prepared separately in the small kitchen in the western courtyard. At that moment, the kitchen brought over a plate of cakes. Seeing Du Wan enjoying them, Zhang Yue picked one up and tasted it. The sourness made his eyebrows and eyes wrinkle together, and Qiu Hen beside him burst into laughter. “Young master, this is sour jujube cake prepared specially for the young mistress by your wife—it’s not for you.”

Seeing Zhang Yue remain smiling and unoffended, and even passing him the tea from Amber’s hand, Du Wan glanced at him sideways. Before she could bring up serious matters, she saw Zhang Yue rest his hands on the table and speak earnestly.

“In another month or so, the baby will be born. There will likely be many people vying to name them, so it might not be my turn. That’s why I’ve already thought of names. If it’s a boy, I’ll call him Jingguan; if it’s a girl, I’ll call her Sannan. What do you think?”

“How can a boy be named Jingguan? And what does Sannan mean?”

“Just because he’s a boy, he inevitably acts mischievously as a child. Naming him Jingguan might help tame his temper. As for the meaning of ‘Sanne’, it’s even more significant. My father was the third child in our family, and both Jing’er and I are the third among our grandchildren. Whether the child is a boy or a girl, they’ll still be the third child in the fourth generation of our family. Isn’t it nice and easy to remember to call them Sanne?”
To her surprise, Zhang Yue seriously came up with such a reason. Du Wan was stunned for a moment before showing an annoyed expression, though she felt it made sense. Holding the teacup to warm her hands, seeing that Zhang Yue was staring at her, she could only say helplessly, “As long as you can convince the elders, I’ll follow you. Well, there’s still a month left. With you talking like this, my nervousness is rising again… The princess came by today to deliver a message for the Crown Prince.”
Zhang Yue had originally wanted to tease her and see her blush, but she skillfully changed the subject. When he tried to tease her again, the mention of the Crown Prince stopped him. Giving up on joking, he quickly asked detailed questions. After understanding the situation, he frowned thoughtfully, tapping the table gently with his right index finger.
“As expected of the Crown Prince, whom the emperor values the most. He saw through everything, even more clearly than the cabinet ministers and the six departments. If those ministers accused of wrongdoing keep adding fuel to the fire while the emperor is angry, it could indeed lead to an uncontrollable situation. However, even if I step forward to take responsibility for the sea ban, I’m not one of the officials who initially discussed moving the capital, so I can’t take on that responsibility. The Crown Prince is always cautious; I wonder who else will be chosen. Anyway, this kindness is truly like a blessing; otherwise, we’d have to rely entirely on improvisation from tomorrow onward.”
Although Du Wan had a vague idea of Zhu Zhanji’s intentions, this was a serious matter, and she didn’t want to disrupt Zhang Yue’s judgment with her own guesses. Seeing Zhang Yue’s delighted expression as he spoke, she felt happy too. After a while, someone came to call them outside—Mrs. Sun had called Hu Bo and Qiu Hen over, leaving only her and Zhang Yue in the room.

“Second Madam came by today to inquire about news.” Since she didn’t have any good feelings toward the Dongfang family and they placed great emphasis on formalities like titles, Du Wan simply referred to them that way both in front of and behind their backs. Seeing Zhang Yue frown, she explained, “From her tone, it seems that Second Uncle might have spilled something while drunk one day, so she knew he wanted to go to Jiaozhi and became panicked. Is Marquis Fengcheng really that ill that we must replace the general?”
Zhang Yue knew that although Li Bin hadn’t completely eradicated rebels like Li Li in Jiaozhi, he had at least won successive battles, driving Li Li into a corner. Yet, he regretted not being able to capture such a dangerous figure. After all, just by looking at Rongzhi Bo Chen Zhi, who had withdrawn his troops instead of launching attacks after Li Bin fell ill, it was clear he lacked the qualities of a great general.
“It’s because Marquis Fengcheng is seriously ill that Laos initially agreed to hand over Li Li but then retracted its offer. With the main general ill, the army couldn’t be moved easily, thus missing the best opportunity. In my opinion, the best choice would be to send the Duke of Ying, but the emperor will surely think it’s an overreaction, after all, Li Li isn’t like Chen Jikuo and his nephew back then—he doesn’t have the authority to command the locals. But since he can’t be completely defeated and Jiaozhi won’t be peaceful until he’s killed, someone familiar with the situation must go. If Second Aunt comes to probe you again, just pretend you don’t know.”
“The problem is not just Second Madam; your elder brother and second brother also want to gain merits in Jiaozhi.”
This time, Zhang Yue shook his head without hesitation: “This is different from hunting pirates at sea before. The emperor might send Second Uncle, but if others go, it will only cause trouble. If every Zhang family member goes to Jiaozhi, it’s like handing them a weapon against us. If you’re free, just hint at it to your eldest wife. As for your second wife… forget it. Talking to her might make her suspect you have ulterior motives.”
The couple chatted for a while longer before Hu Bo and Qiu Hen returned. Seeing Du Wan growing tired, Zhang Yue ordered them to take care of her first. Only after seeing her settled did he pick up the lantern and head outside. This had become a routine during Du Wan’s pregnancy. Knowing Zhang Yue would surely go to the study to read, Qiu Hen quickly grabbed a light cloak and forced it into his hands.
“Although it’s already mid-April, it’s still cold at night. Young master, take the cloak in case you get cold on your way back.”

Zhang Yue reluctantly took it and immediately ordered the two to return to their rooms. Carrying the lantern, he left the courtyard. Just as he passed by the neighboring yard, a maid who had been waiting there called out to him. Learning that his mother needed to see him, he was somewhat surprised but still followed her inside. When he arrived in the main house and found only Lady Sun there, he glanced around.

“Stop looking. Jing’er has gone to bed. I just want to talk to you for a few moments. After that, you can go back to your duties.”

Lady Sun stared intently at her only son before softly sighing after a while. “When your father married me, there were already two concubines in the house. So I had a hard time adjusting after coming here. Fortunately, he shared my temperament, and those two couldn’t bear children. Over time, one died of illness, and the other, seeing no hope with the concubine, was allowed to leave with the emperor’s permission. I then had some peaceful times. Back then, the old lady disdained your father for his lack of ambition and didn’t bother sending anyone into his house, until those two showed up… Hmph! Even in his old age, he still managed to have an illegitimate son!”

After complaining resentfully, she said awkwardly, “Though I’ve experienced these things myself, it’s another matter when it comes to my son. I always wanted you to understand the ways of the world early and start having your own family, which is why I instructed Amber, and later Qiuhen. Who would have thought you’d treat them so well… Now that Wan’er is pregnant, I really like her, but those three maids were approved by the old lady, especially Lingxi—otherwise, she wouldn’t still be here without being sent away. You’ve been close to Qiuhen since childhood, and you’ve been good to Amber too. Lingxi is so steady; she probably won’t cause any trouble. But the fact that you haven’t had other thoughts these days while Wan’er is pregnant does remind me of your father… In any case, once Wan’er gives birth this time, you’ll have to give an explanation.”

With these thoughts in mind, Zhang Yue walked along, deep in thought. When he arrived at the study, he didn’t see anyone standing outside. It wasn’t until the person spoke that he realized it was Hu Qi, which surprised him.

“Where are Liansheng and Lianhu?”

“Those two kids can’t help at all, so I stepped in and told them to go to bed first.” Hu Qi smiled, took the key to open the door for Zhang Yue. After lighting the lamp inside, he closed the door before approaching.

“This evening, someone submitted another petition to the Department of State Affairs. This time, it was from three scholars who had passed the imperial examinations this year, including Guo Ziyi, the same person who had criticized Lord Du at the Ducang Tower. Lord Yuan investigated his background; he had delayed taking the exams due to his father’s death. He was a well-known scholar in Qiantang and had studied at the same academy as Sun Lianggan. Of course, both of them were extremely proud and did not get along well. Likely, their previous actions against Lord Du were also driven by pride.”

“Yu Tingyi didn’t show arrogance even after passing the exams at a young age. He didn’t achieve anything even after passing the exams in his early thirties—why should he be arrogant?”

Zhang Yue had always disapproved of those who acted arrogantly because of their talent. He immediately frowned. Although there had been a dispute that day, he didn’t take much notice of the petition submitted by those scholars. Upon learning that Yu Qian wasn’t among them, he secretly felt relieved. True integrity wasn’t meant to be displayed at such times. Without proper experience in the court, rushing headlong into such chaos was certainly not the wise course of action. Though this wasn’t yet the Yu Shaobao who would later write the poem about lime, the differences were already evident.