Li Tai, wearing work clothes made of coarse hemp that reeked of sheep’s rank odor, left for Chang’an before dawn. According to him, he wanted to see whether those bastards in the court still possessed even a shred of humanity. He and his eighty-year-old teacher had been laboring day and night for the Great Tang’s long-term peace and stability, yet instead of helping, they were being obstructed from behind—what intentions could they possibly harbor?
As the morning sun rose, the Taiji Palace was bathed in radiant light as always. After the eunuchs and palace maids finished wiping down the last corridor pillar, the palace gates swung wide open. Today was a grand court assembly. Yun Ye followed behind Niu Jinda, holding his court tablet with a calm expression, as if the rumors circulating in the marketplace had nothing to do with him. When Old Cheng and Old Niu asked him what countermeasures he had, Yun Ye merely smiled without speaking, only saying that when the sky falls, tall people will hold it up—a small marquis from the Yun Family wasn’t worth putting on display to embarrass himself. Old Cheng and Old Niu deeply agreed, eagerly preparing to watch a good show unfold.
Yun Ye craned his neck but didn’t see Li Tai, who had arrived in Chang’an before him. He estimated that Li Tai was probably crying to Zhangsun right now. Li Chengqian stood at the head of the civil officials, looking at Yun Ye with what seemed like concern. However, seeing Yun Ye leaning against a pillar with his eyes closed in meditation, Li Chengqian’s worried heart settled. Twenty memorials from censors and seventeen from civil officials sat on Li Er’s desk, their words passionate and resolute, determined to eliminate a malignant tumor for the Great Tang—and that tumor was Yun Ye. With everyone’s arrows pointed at him, they didn’t believe he could emerge unscathed.
Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Tang Jian, and other true magnates all maintained composure, eyes fixed downward, noses observing hearts, standing firm and unmoved. In contrast, the assistant ministers and directors of various department granaries were rubbing their hands together, unable to contain their excitement.
The meritorious nobles also lacked their usual interest in creating an uproar. Except for Qin Qiong, Li Jing, and Yuchi Gong, who had furrowed brows, the rest all adopted an attitude of detached indifference. The civil officials’ counterattack was too fierce; the nobles were unwilling to engage in battle.
After the court rituals concluded, before the chancellor could report on affairs throughout the realm to the Emperor, Censor Huang You jumped in to speak first. This was extremely impolite, but Huang You was like an arrow on a drawn bowstring—he had no choice but to release it. Yesterday’s reprimand from Wei Zheng not only failed to make them restrain themselves but instead made them intensify their efforts, rallying many fourth and fifth-rank officials to jointly attack Yun Ye.
“Your Majesty, this subject Huang You has a memorial to present.”
Li Er’s voice, devoid of any emotional inflection, came forth: “Speak.”
“This subject impeaches Marquis Lantian Yun Ye for unlawful conduct, totaling twenty-six charges. First, disregarding imperial grace and embezzling for personal gain. Second, harboring assassins with treasonous intentions. Third, connecting with outer vassal states with unclear motives. Fourth, using ingenious tricks and depraved skills to bewitch people’s hearts. Fifth, recruiting extraordinary talents from across the realm for his own use. Sixth, dispatching assassins south to Lingnan, tantamount to rebellion. Seventh…”
One massive accusation after another came crashing down. If even one of these crimes were proven, being exiled to the poor borderlands of Lingnan to fish would be the lightest punishment. The corners of Zhangsun Wuji’s mouth twitched slightly. Du Ruhui’s expression was exceptionally colorful. Fang Xuanling nudged Wei Zheng beside him and asked in a low voice, “Didn’t you give them a thorough lesson yesterday?”
Wei Zheng rolled his eyes and said, “I all but told them that these matters were actually done by His Majesty himself. They’re a bunch of stupid donkeys who can’t listen to reason. Having suffered losses to their family wealth, they want to recoup it from the Yun Family. Blinded by greed, they’re seeking their own deaths—who can they blame?”
“Twenty-sixth, as a dignified marquis, he engaged in endless brawling with a prince over a catamite, disgracing the nation. This humble subject impeaches Yun Ye on these twenty-six charges. Each one has been verified, every single one is true. I request Your Majesty execute this villain to serve as an example to the realm.”
Having finished speaking, he prostrated himself without rising, awaiting the Emperor’s judgment. At this moment, thirty-some others stepped forward from their ranks, shouting “We second this motion” in unison and kowtowing together, waiting for Yun Ye’s final day to arrive.
“Yun Ye, I always thought you had good relations with people, that you were clever, and that you should be quite skilled in the art of managing relationships from all sides. Your teacher also instructed you in the art of getting along with others. How did things deteriorate to the point where dozens of people want your head? If this happened to Minister Wei, it truly wouldn’t be strange, but happening to you, I genuinely cannot comprehend it. Speak—how did you reach this point?”
Li Er, with a sense of dark amusement, prepared to watch Yun Ye’s predicament. He understood the situation better than anyone. Seeing Yun Ye besieged by so many people, he couldn’t help but want to see how this young fellow would extricate himself.
Yun Ye stepped forward from the ranks with a bitter smile and bowed. After straightening up, he addressed the full court of civil and military officials: “Master Huang You is a learned and venerable scholar who often feels guilty toward his departed ancestors. He says that at nearly fifty years of age, having only fathered eight sons and four daughters, he feels deeply inadequate. He asked this humble subject for methods to enhance virility, determined to father seventeen or eighteen more descendants to be worthy of his ancestors. I refused him, which is why today’s events occurred.”
Not a single one of those accusations could be spoken of openly and frankly. Having no choice, Yun Ye randomly fabricated nonsense. As soon as the words left his mouth, they immediately won roaring laughter throughout the hall. Huang You’s face flushed red as he said hoarsely, “Complete nonsense!”
After the court quieted down, Yun Ye said with a smile, “Of course it’s complete nonsense—I made it up on the spot. My fabrication isn’t as good as yours. Twenty-six charges—quite a lot! Put your hand on your chest and ask yourself: do you even believe these accusations?”
“I am a censor. Reporting on hearsay is within my official duties. You have committed many evils, and this old man will fight you to the death today.”
“Old Huang, isn’t it just that you wanted to invest in that Fortune vessel you abandoned some time ago, but were thrown out by them? A few thousand strings of cash—is such a trivial sum worth making you this furious? Wanting to put me to death—who do you think you are? You’re just a fool. If I had committed so many serious crimes, would it take you to discover them?”
“You have illicit dealings with that chieftain on the grasslands, trading grain and iron implements for useless wool. The evidence is ironclad. Right now, your wool is detained at the Yellow River crossing. What do you have to say for yourself?”
Before Yun Ye could respond, a voice filled with extreme hatred rang out: “So it was you who blocked my wool at the riverside and wouldn’t let it through!”
Just as Huang You was about to turn around to see who it was, he heard a whoosh of wind, and a stick appeared before his eyes.
With a “thud,” Yun Ye sucked in a sharp breath and retreated two steps. Huang You’s mouthful of teeth—there probably weren’t many left. Li Tai, his entire body reeking of foul odors, was beside himself with rage. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He had been shamelessly dragging his eighty-year-old teacher through day-and-night work, only to be sabotaged by these bastards. Now they even wanted to kill Yun Ye? Having lived together with Yun Ye for nearly three years, how could he not know his importance? To kill him just like that?
Paying no mind to the already unconscious Huang You, he raised the wooden stick and continued beating him furiously. Then, spotting other officials who had seconded the motion, he began wildly striking at them in the crowd without discrimination.
The palace guards only managed to seize Li Tai’s stick after taking several blows themselves. Li Chengqian came forward and embraced the skeletal Li Tai, bursting into tears. Only then did Li Er realize that the madman was his precious son. He descended from the dragon throne, and seeing Li Tai’s pitiful condition, his fury surged sky-high.
“Yun Ye, does your academy have vampires? Why has my Qing Que become like this in just three short months? You must give me an explanation. Otherwise, I will pin all twenty-six of those charges on you.” Looking at the teeth-gnashing Li Er, this was no longer the Emperor of the realm—right now he was purely an unreasonable father who doted on his child.
“Your Majesty, no matter who it is, if they sleep only two hours daily for three months and labor without rest, they will end up like this.” Yun Ye hastily explained to Li Er, lest he explode in rage.
Even the explanation didn’t work. Li Er grabbed Yun Ye by the collar and continued interrogating him: “You made my Qing Que labor without rest every day? He’s a prince, not a laborer! You actually dared to treat a prince this way!”
“Your Majesty, you should let Qing Que speak for himself. If he was unwilling, who could force a prince?”
Li Er thought for a moment—indeed, this was true. He released Yun Ye and ordered the guards to take Huang You and several other bloodied officials away to be treated by the imperial physicians. He then approached the two brothers who were crying with their heads together and said to Li Tai, “Qing Que, you tell Father Emperor. If you’ve been wronged, naturally Father Emperor will stand up for you.”
Li Tai thought of the hellish ordeal of these past three months, and his heart immediately filled with bitterness. Originally, with Father not present, he would have endured any amount of suffering himself. But with Father asking this question, tears immediately flowed down like a flood.
“Father Emperor, you don’t know—my teacher Gongshu Mu invented a machine that can spin wool into thread, then weave it into fabric. This fabric is thick and has excellent cold-resistant properties. But after several trials, we weren’t successful. Although fabric was produced, it wasn’t satisfactory. Yun Ye rejected it several times, saying we hadn’t succeeded yet. Your son had a sudden inspiration—what if we mixed hemp in together while spinning the thread? Wouldn’t we produce sturdy, durable fabric that’s not easily torn? Your son and his eighty-year-old teacher lived and ate on the construction site day and night, supervising the weavers through trial after trial.”
“Who would have thought that with so many experiments, we ran out of wool? Your son had the Yun Family purchase more from the grasslands. My teacher, at eighty years old, endured for a month but couldn’t hold on anymore and fell ill. He burned with such a fever that he became delirious, yet he still couldn’t forget whether the fabric would succeed or fail.”
“Father Emperor, how could your son dare to slack off even slightly? Yun Ye prepared all sorts of food for your son, but without the fabric succeeding, even rare delicacies were hard to swallow. Now the experiment has reached the most critical juncture, yet they detained the wool at the Yellow River crossing and won’t let it cross. Without wool, what can your son use for experiments? According to Marquis Yun, once this thing is successfully developed, the great grasslands will never again be able to become enemies of the Central Plains. They will become the most reliable ally of the Central Plains, or even a part of it—with value equivalent to an army of a million.”
As he spoke, he pulled out a piece of failed experimental fabric from his breast and presented it to Li Er. Li Er caressed the coarse fabric, then looked at his son who had become so thin he was practically rattling—his eyes reddened. Where was this mere fabric? This was clearly his child’s own flesh and blood. Previously just a chubby little child who loved to act coquettish, he had now grown capable of sharing his father’s worries and solving his difficulties.
With Li Er’s keen insight, how could he fail to understand that once useless wool became an enormous source of wealth, this small piece of fabric might truly be worth an army of a million soldiers?