(Four months later)
Whether it was because things were too busy, the summer of the fifth year of Yongji was exceptionally hot.
At the end of May, Emperor Yongji returned to court in triumph and announced the decision to relocate the capital to the entire realm. All ministries and bureaus lit lamps at dawn and burned oil into the night. For over a month, they couldn’t spare even half a day’s leisure. Fortunately, entering the seventh month after the Start of Autumn, several bursts of wind and rain extinguished the summer heat. While bringing some coolness, various matters concerning the capital relocation had all been finalized, and court governance finally showed signs of improvement.
However, the hearts of all civil and military officials did not settle because of this. Instead, they hung higher and higher in suspense.
On this day, at just past the fourth hour of the morning, outside the Meridian Gate, several rows of ministers already stood waiting for the lanterns.
Liu Sicheng of the Court of Judicial Review arrived a bit late. Clutching his official hat, he hurried to the Golden Water Bridge. Borrowing the moonlight, he searched for a long while before finding an acquaintance and moving over to ask: “Bureau Director Li, the sedan chairs of the lords haven’t passed yet, have they?”
Bureau Director Li was from the Ministry of Justice and very familiar with Liu Sicheng. When meeting privately, they didn’t stand on ceremony. He lowered his voice: “Why are you only just arriving? Today is a big day for us Three Judicial Offices. Just now, the sedan chairs of the Chief Grand Secretary, Duke Shen, and several ministers have already passed.”
This day was the first of the month. Besides the regular court attendance of officials fourth rank and above, those below fourth rank should also hold their tablets and listen to discussions outside Fengtian Hall.
However, the “big day” Bureau Director Li mentioned didn’t refer solely to the first day’s grand court session.
The story goes that when Zhu Yushen returned to the capital from Shu, all the high-ranking ministers who accompanied him were punished. All civil and military officials were alarmed, but they couldn’t discover the real reason. They only knew His Majesty was angry, seemingly because of a tuntion case.
The tuntion case was filed by the Imperial Censorate. After Liu Chaoming was stripped of his position as Left Chief Censor, it should have been transferred to the Ministry of Justice or the Court of Judicial Review. Who would have expected that for the following month, Zhu Yushen didn’t mention the case at all, yet still had the Imperial Censorate frantically investigating it.
The officials couldn’t make heads or tails of it. They simply thought the imperial mind was unfathomable, or that Zhu Yushen was dissatisfied with the new policies and wanted to wait until after the autumn harvest to implement unified reforms. However, yesterday near the end of the morning court session, Zhu Yushen suddenly asked: “Imperial Censorate, how is the tuntion case coming along?”
Vice Chief Censor Yan Xiu found it difficult to speak, but replied: “Your Majesty, it is still under investigation. However, the circumstances of the forty-seven cases differ, and coordinating them is complex. We have sent letters to all circuits. If we are to have leads, at the earliest, it will be September.”
Having finished speaking, he and the other censors in the hall bowed: “The delayed trial of the cases is the fault of us ministers. We request Your Majesty’s punishment.”
“This is not your fault,” Zhu Yushen said. “Tomorrow, I will appoint someone to lead you in investigating this case.”
When these words came out, it was like one stone stirring up a thousand ripples.
Among all the civil and military officials, only the Left and Right Chief Censors could lead the Imperial Censorate’s censors in investigating cases.
And now the Imperial Censorate was leaderless. Zhu Yushen’s implied meaning was precisely that he would appoint a new Left Chief Censor.
Liu Sicheng said regretfully: “It’s precisely because I knew today was a big day for us Three Judicial Offices that I stayed up all night organizing case files, fearing some oversight that would draw criticism from the new Chief Censor. That’s why I came a bit late.” He lowered his voice again. “Bureau Director Li, you’re from the Ministry of Justice—who do you think His Majesty will promote to Left Chief Censor?”
Bureau Director Li said: “How would I know?” After thinking for a moment, he added, “But the position of Left Chief Censor—how could just anyone be appointed? Just look at the previous holder.”
The former Left Chief Censor Liu Chaoming had brilliant and outstanding political achievements that no one in court could match. Before the age of twenty-four, he had risen to the head of all officials, serving through the reigns of Jingyuan, Jing’an, and Yongji, standing unshaken. To this day, he was still a first-rank Chief Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, presiding over the overall court situation.
“If I had to guess, either Lord Zhao Yan will be recalled, or your Ministry of Justice’s Minister, Lord Qian Yueqian, will be transferred to the Imperial Censorate,” Liu Sicheng said.
He explained his reasoning: “Look, Lord Qian followed Lord Liu all along the way. His three years as Minister of Justice have been beyond reproach. Moreover, the Ministry of Justice still has Vice Minister Fang. Back when Lord Su was still in the Ministry of Justice, he was famously strict. Vice Minister Fang could handle matters well even under Lord Su. He has both capability and seniority. If Lord Qian is transferred to be Left Chief Censor and Vice Minister Fang is promoted to Minister, with each deity returning to their proper position, wouldn’t that be perfect?”
Bureau Director Li said: “But I always feel that having Minister Qian as Left Chief Censor still falls a bit short—not quite enough to inherit Lord Liu’s mantle. As for recalling Lord Zhao, that’s even more impossible. Now that Lord Gu Yunjian has been transferred back to the capital by His Majesty to serve as Assistant Censor, he’s Lord Zhao’s son-in-law—his wife is the Second Miss Zhao. Not to mention that having two censors under the same roof is inappropriate, looking at the long term, wouldn’t that block Lord Gu’s path of promotion? Say, could it be the Tenth Prince?”
Liu Sicheng glanced at him, finding it absurd: “I might as well say it’s Duke Shen.”
The two debated back and forth with no clear conclusion.
Actually, this was hardly surprising.
Though the Minister of Justice and the Left Chief Censor were of equal rank, because the Imperial Censorate controlled the administration of officials and had the power to investigate and assess all officials, combined with His Majesty’s favor toward censors and the fact that Liu Yun had always been at the head of all officials, in everyone’s eyes, going from Minister of Justice to Left Chief Censor was a promotion, while the reverse was demotion.
Thus, though the Three Judicial Offices were three parallel departments, the Left Chief Censor had invisibly become the head of the Three Judicial Offices.
Now that a new Left Chief Censor was taking office, the entire Three Judicial Offices, and indeed the entire court, would face upheaval.
As they were talking, the palace attendants came to light the lanterns.
The officials lined up according to their offices and ranks. Led by palace attendants with lanterns, they walked toward Fengtian Gate.
Looking from a high vantage point, these official robes transitioning from water blue to ink black were like a stream rippling through the deep palace.
Reaching the terrace below, the officials spread out and bowed to those standing above.
Standing on the terrace were the Tenth Prince Zhu Yiheng, Cabinet Chief Grand Secretary Liu Chaoming, Minister of Finance Shen Xi, Minister of Justice Qian Yueqian, Minister of Works Liu Dingliang, Minister of War Chen Jinsheng, Minister of Personnel Zeng Youliang—Minister of Rites Luo Songtang was advanced in years and had taken sick leave today, replaced by Vice Minister of Rites Shu Wenlan. Additionally, there were the Vice Military Governor of the Military Governor’s Office, the Commanders of the Twelve Guards, the vice ministers of each ministry, the directors of each bureau, and the directors of each academy.
At exactly the fifth hour, the left and right doors of Fengtian Hall opened. Palace Attendant Wu Chang called out in a loud voice: “Summon—all officials for audience—”
Zhu Yiheng stepped into the hall first. Then, led by Liu Chaoming and Shen Xi, all officials formed two lines and entered the hall.
Those below fourth rank lined up from outside the hall doors, extending all the way down to below the terrace, before Fengtian Gate.
The officials lifted their robes, knelt, kowtowed, and completed their obeisance to the supreme ruler seated high upon the dragon throne.
Ordinarily, at this point Wu Chang would call out “Do the ministers have matters to present?”
But today was different. Zhu Yushen excused the assembled ministers from further ceremony and said directly: “The capital city in Beiping is under construction. In the coming years, relocating the capital will be of paramount importance to court governance. After the relocation, Beijing and Nanjing will operate as two parallel capitals. The foundation must rest on the administration of officials and clean governance. The Imperial Censorate cannot go without a leader for even one day. I have already commanded the new Left Chief Censor to use the Shu mulberry field case as the breakthrough point to begin investigating the major tuntion cases throughout the realm. She has now completed the preliminary investigation and returned to the capital.”
When these words came out, all the officials looked at each other in bewilderment.
Completed the preliminary investigation? That meant the Shu tuntion case had been solved, and the remaining forty-six tuntion cases now had starting points?
But listening to His Majesty’s meaning, this person had returned from Shu. If one excluded travel time, from filing to investigating to closing the case, it had taken less than a month.
Investigating cases was not easy. Among all civil and military officials, besides Liu Yun, who else had such great capability?
Before everyone could find the answer in their hearts, Zhu Yushen had already raised his hand: “Summon.”
Late summer, early autumn—the sky was high and clouds broad. The tightly closed Fengtian Gate slowly opened. Wind from heaven and earth suddenly flowed, pouring from outside the gate into this deep palace where ruler and ministers stood together.
Walking from the wind came a touch of crimson.
The crimson robes blazed brilliantly, filled with the clear light of heaven and earth.
The officials’ gazes were involuntarily drawn. They all looked over. When they saw clearly who it actually was, they couldn’t help but be greatly shocked.
They stood shoulder to shoulder, almost able to hear each other’s inner gasps of surprise, yet not one person actually made a sound. This was only because that touch of crimson, contrasting with Su Jin’s calm brows and eyes, merged into an extremely still and solemn aura that made everyone feel a sense of awe.
Beneath her feet were white jade steps. On both sides were civil and military officials.
Su Jin walked forward step by step. Apart from the wind, no other sound could be heard, as if heaven and earth should naturally be thus. In this realm for decades, everything could settle like dust—only the wind did not cease, the rain did not cease.
In a trance, something seemed to come piercing through time.
It was the words engraved at the bottom of her heart—from over a year after she first became a censor, before she fell into the whirlpool of court conflicts.
—”Su Shiyu, you are a woman, yet deeply mired in dangerous circumstances. Why?”
Yes, she was a woman. So her insistence on remaining in officialdom—its purpose might be much purer than that of the men in the realm.
She did not seek to rise smoothly through the ranks or gain honors, nor did she seek eternal fame in the annals of history. If not for harboring the bright moon in her heart, wishing to cross the river on a single reed, why would she place herself in danger?
She raised her foot, ascended the terrace, and stepped into Fengtian Hall.
Fengtian Hall was as deep and silent as stillness itself.
—”The current situation is perilous. Moving one hair affects the entire body. My lord, I am a chess piece.”
Winter of the twenty-fourth year of Jingyuan—falling snow spread everywhere, just like the confusion that filled her heart.
—”Su Shiyu, so-called adherence to one’s original heart has never been a smooth path. Where you go, mountains and rivers stretch across. What your eyes see may be dark clouds covering the sun. But your heart is open and honest. Why care who stirs up wind and clouds? As long as the bright moon remains in your heart, there will always be a day when you grasp the moon.”
Su Jin reached the imperial presence, clasped her hands in her sleeves, and bowed.
But she need not kneel, because she was a censor, because she wore crimson robes, because her return was to plead for the people, to restore clarity to governance.
“This minister—Left Chief Censor Su Jin—pays respects to Your Majesty.”