The stone-paved road was so frozen it hurt one’s feet. Although he wore thick deerskin boots underneath, standing outside too long in such cold weather still easily froze one’s feet. Song Jue breathed into his palms and rubbed his hands together: “Let’s hope so.” He then asked Song Chengru: “So what do we do now? Just wait for them to stir up trouble?”
Song Chengru also seemed to feel cold. He pulled his cloak tighter and walked forward: “Just wait for them to make trouble. The Chief Censor defending Zijing Pass has already died for his country. With such major news coming back, how could they not seize this good opportunity? Only when the Crown Grandson’s side completely loses power will those people reveal their true faces. So naturally, all of us should appear as miserable as possible.”
This was indeed true, but once Zijing Pass was breached, Tongzhou would be completely exposed before the Tatars. And after taking Tongzhou, what about the capital? Song Jue wasn’t a timid person, but he still felt the stakes in this game were too high. He couldn’t help but speak plainly: “Actually, isn’t this making things too big? Arresting Zheng Sansi and the others…”
Arresting Zheng Sansi, Scholar Chen, and these peace advocates might be enough. The court officials probably wouldn’t dare think about negotiating peace anymore. But after thinking about it, he closed his mouth himself—this still wasn’t nearly enough, because court officials could never all be arrested. As long as Han Zhengqing’s forces remaining in the capital weren’t uprooted completely, as long as fighting continued in Xibei, there would always be officials who, for various reasons, became Han Zhengqing’s tools, throwing the court into constant anxiety and unrest. Moreover, among these traitors, even more deadly were those planted beside the Celestial Master Zhang and Zhou Weizhao. That was the most frightening part. What if one day they tired of these tricks and directly went after Zhou Weizhao?
Then everything would be finished.
Song Jue stopped speaking. Seeing Song Chengru look at him, he still frowned somewhat worriedly: “Once Zijing Pass is breached and the court situation remains unclear, in the resulting panic, it would be easy for them to exploit openings. So it’s still somewhat risky.”
Song Chengru smiled and patted his grandson’s shoulder: “You’ve always been bold—why are you scared this time? Don’t worry. Little Yi isn’t someone who only acts on impulse and personal preference, and your grandfather even less so. If we hadn’t made other arrangements, how could we risk everyone’s lives and property like this? There’s a saying: ‘How can you catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger’s den?’ That’s exactly our situation now. Unless pushed to the brink, Han Zhengqing won’t show his hand.”
Song Jue had recently only been helping Song Chuyi handle matters in Fujian, so he wasn’t very clear on the specific arrangements. Hearing Song Chengru say this, he was still puzzled: “Xibei… can Little Yi even reach there? We’ve completely lost contact with Chief Commander Cui. Now that His Majesty has fallen unconscious and rumors are flying, I’m afraid officials will immediately seize the opportunity to impeach Chief Commander Cui for incompetence in resisting the enemy and such charges. How will the Crown Grandson respond then?”
How would the Crown Grandson respond? Chen Dezhong and Fu Youde were also pondering this question. Since the formal investiture as Crown Grandson hadn’t occurred yet, Chief Minister Chang, whom Emperor Jianzhang had verbally mentioned as Crown Prince Grand Tutor, hadn’t truly become the Crown Grandson’s teacher. Since there was no Crown Prince Grand Tutor to worry for the Crown Grandson, the people from the original Eastern Palace Administrative Office naturally became Zhou Weizhao’s team and had to worry about this for him. Fu Youde stroked his beard, somewhat frantic: “Have people arrest all those spreading nonsense! What kind of behavior is this?! What kind of behavior!”
To openly slander the nation’s heir like this—ten thousand deaths would not be sufficient punishment!
But Chen Dezhong didn’t echo him. Instead, he sighed: “How do we arrest them? It’s not just one or two people talking. It’s already spread throughout the entire city like a storm. Should we arrest everyone who’s said something? That would be perfect—we wouldn’t need the Tatars and Prince Gong to attack; the court would collapse on its own.”
This did make sense, but the momentum was wrong, clearly wrong. Fu Youde stroked his beard, almost pulling it out entirely. Panic and anxiety surged up together in his heart, and he nearly coughed up blood.
“This can’t continue like this.” He said this and stood up with a swoosh, saying to Chen Dezhong: “I’m going to find His Highness…”
Chen Dezhong reached out to stop him: “What use is finding His Highness?” He looked at Fu Youde’s widened eyes and lowered his head: “The Prince has already reminded us many times. Going to tell His Highness again—would it be useful?”
Chen Dezhong had traveled all the way from Hubei with the Prince of Dongping and knew well Han Zhengqing’s ability to penetrate everywhere—Hubei was so chaotic, yet he could still send Han Cheng there to seduce Jiang Tianping. How much more so in the capital where he and the Great Madam Fan had operated for so many years? Not to mention there was also Prince Gong, the Crown Prince’s own younger brother. His voice sounded very dejected: “The Crown Grandson won’t even listen to what the Prince says, let alone what we say.”
The Prince of Dongping had already voluntarily informed Cui Yingshu about Han Cheng and the others, also allowing the court to arrest Jiang Tianping accordingly, and had returned to the capital to clearly confess his crimes. Yet even so, the Crown Grandson didn’t trust him. How much less would he trust them, these former subordinates of the Crown Prince? Back then, they had been instructed repeatedly by the Crown Prince to be prepared for use by the Prince of Dongping. That the Crown Grandson was wary of them was reasonable and proper—no one could be blamed.
Fu Youde stood there stunned: “According to what you’re saying, we just watch coldly from the sidelines?” Compared to Chen Dezhong and the others, Fu Youde had never been on the same side as the Crown Prince—in any case, he insisted the Crown Grandson was the legitimate heir, having more than once advised the Crown Prince to properly recognize his position and treat the Crown Grandson well. Even now he thought the same: the Crown Grandson was the legitimate heir, the Crown Grandson whom Emperor Jianzhang had personally said he would invest, the nation’s heir apparent. Now the Crown Grandson had nearly fallen into others’ trap, and he felt he had a responsibility to remind and advise him.
“Not watching coldly from the sidelines.” Chen Dezhong quickly interjected. He also knew they absolutely couldn’t watch coldly from the sidelines now. No matter what, even if they had helped the Great Madam Fan before, they bore the Eastern Palace’s brand. If Prince Gong gained power, would he spare them in the future? And Han Zhengqing didn’t seem like the type who would be considerate and speak up for them.
When a new emperor ascended, new officials followed. They felt their current lives were excellent. Not to mention Prince Gong would be suspicious of them—even if he weren’t, they couldn’t feel they could rely on a prince who would invite foreign tribes through the pass.
“Let’s talk to Chief Minister Chang.” Chen Dezhong rubbed his brow: “Chief Minister Chang was the first to propose requesting the Crown Grandson assume regency. He’s always been highly respected and esteemed. It should be him who steps forward to suppress these rumors flying wildly throughout the capital. Only Chief Minister Chang is most suitable.”