Zhù Ying said she could handle Princess Anren. After Chen Meng expressed his admiration, he let the matter go and said, “That princess has always had that sort of reputation. If you don’t want to deal with her again, the best thing to do is steel your heart and offend her thoroughly all at once — that way she won’t be able to keep pushing her luck and bothering you with these matters.”
As he said this, he felt a flicker of remorse himself. When he was young, he too had been someone who liked to “push his luck.” He quickly finished his remorse — how old had he been back then? And how old was Princess Anren now?
After the Chen father and son finished their meal at the Zhù household, Zhù Ying walked them to the door. She said to Chen Meng, “His Majesty has been pressing hard for the Lu treason case to be resolved lately. Once your imperial decree comes down, I may not have time to come to your residence to offer congratulations.”
Chen Meng said, “Between you and me, why stand on such ceremony? You focus on handling the situation at hand, and then we can enjoy lasting peace of mind together.”
Zhù Ying said, “Very well.”
After the father and son departed, the entire Zhù household returned to the main hall, which had already been tidied up. Zhù Ying said, “Things have been busy these past few days, and you haven’t been going to your lessons. Have you neglected your schoolwork?”
Lin Feng stared blankly. “What? We still have to—”
Su Zhe kicked him hard in the side, and that shut him up.
Zhù Ying said, “Come here. It’s time to hand in your assignments.”
She tested them one by one. Su Zhe, Zhù Qingjun, and Zhù Lian all had satisfactory results; Lin Feng, however, was only passable. Sweating profusely, he said, “I — I practiced my martial arts too!”
Zhù Ying said, “Is that so? Come out then.”
Lin Feng was dragged to the small training ground and given a thorough thrashing. After taking his beating, he felt relieved. With this round of assignments turned in, the previous matter was considered settled — all he had to do now was catch up diligently on his studies.
Next, Zhù Ying went through all the household attendants one by one and tested them as well. Their spoken Mandarin was quite decent, their writing was also acceptable, but their reading varied considerably. When it came time to test their martial arts, Senior Sister Hu said, “My lord, let me handle this.”
Of the twenty people, Senior Sister Hu first beat the two leaders, Zhù Wen and Zhù Yin, and then had them take turns beating those below them. Going down the ranks layer by layer, everyone received a beating. Lin Feng grinned and said, “Let’s all train together tomorrow.”
Zhù Ying glanced at him and said, “Is that all you plan to practice? Tomorrow, keep reciting your texts.”
“Oh.”
Su Zhe’s written subjects were excellent, so she escaped the beatings, and planned to ask Senior Sister Hu for some supplementary combat training the next day. There was no need to embarrass herself in front of everyone. She said, “A’Weng, you haven’t been home for two days. You’ll be busy again tomorrow — please get some rest.”
Zhù Ying said, “No rush.”
Everyone shuddered all at once.
Zhù Ying said, “We still need to go over household matters!”
After her promotion, certain household affairs had changed from before. Zhù Ying first asked Xiang Le and Xiang An about the visiting cards that had arrived over the past two days — she needed to know the situation regarding recent visitors. Beyond that, there was first the matter of accounts: gifts had been received during this period and needed to be properly handled; second, the new year was approaching, and the entire household staff should receive some benefits and a raise in wages.
Xiang An had also acquired two more shops for the household, along with a warehouse, farmland, and the like. Xiang An said, “There are too many capable people in the capital — I didn’t dare make moves on what I couldn’t see clearly.”
Zhù Ying said, “Well done.” She would need to give Xiang An a large red envelope for the new year.
Xiang Le reported on matters related to the guild halls. There were now two Wuzhou guild halls, and balancing the relationship between the two required attention. Their specialties overlapped, so Xiang Le had enlisted Su Zhe’s help as a mediator between the two, and the two establishments had agreed on a united front — they would raise prices together and lower prices together.
Zhù Ying smiled and said, “Very good.”
Next came a reiteration of household rules: nothing about the household was to be spoken of outside; the gates were to be strictly observed; but everyone must be polite and courteous to visiting guests. Requests could be refused, but expressions must always remain pleasant.
Finally, Zhù Ying said, “Everyone rest now.”
With a buzz, everyone scattered and fled, afraid that if they lingered, they might be called back again.
——
The next day, Zhù Ying woke up, and the window outside was extremely bright — that wasn’t right. She was startled, got up, and pushed open the window to find that it had snowed again.
She withdrew and put on her clothes. The kitchen had the hot water ready and the meal prepared. The entire household had gotten up with her.
Lin Feng yawned, grabbed a flatbread and took a bite, and heard Zhù Ying remind them, “It’s snowed. You all came from the south — don’t play in the snow and catch cold.” He quickly said, “I’ll be careful, I’ll be careful. Heh heh.”
Su Zhe looked at him with faint disgust as he sprayed flatbread crumbs while speaking, and said, “A’Weng, will you be back this evening?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll hand in my assignments this evening.”
The flatbread in Lin Feng’s mouth suddenly lost all flavor, and the soy-braised meat on his chopsticks dropped back onto the plate.
After finishing her meal, Zhù Ying said to Xiang Le, “Send the letter back home in a while.”
Now that she had been promoted, she needed to request titles for her parents, and the household in the south would need to change their attire as well. Moreover, after becoming Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review and conducting the property seizures, her finances were no longer tight — there was no longer any need for the household back home to send money and silk all the way north. On the contrary, she could now send things to them. This time, the letter should include some fabric, accessories, and medicinal herbs.
Xiang Le said, “I’ll go take care of it right away.”
Xiang An said, “The snow is heavy today — let’s not go out ourselves. Senior Sister can accompany my lord.”
Zhù Ying said, “All right.”
Senior Sister Hu said, “Perfect — I could use the exercise.”
After breakfast, Zhù Ying and her party rode horses toward the Imperial City. At that point, the sky had not yet cleared.
Upon arriving at the Imperial City, there was no formal court session that day — everyone was gathering for the mourning vigil. The palace’s mourning vigil followed a strict schedule. Taking advantage of the time before it began, Zhù Ying pulled Luo Sheng aside. “There’s something I think you should know about.”
Luo Sheng quickly asked, “What is it?”
Zhù Ying then told him about Princess Anren’s demands for property. The princess had given her a list — in addition to coral trees, she wanted jewels; and beyond the jewels, she also wanted farmland estates.
Luo Sheng’s face flushed slightly. “I didn’t know about this. This is really too much… You’re still in the middle of an investigation, the case isn’t even closed yet, and she goes ahead and…”
Zhù Ying said, “I can understand Her Highness’s intentions. But as for my opinion on this matter — even if I weren’t the one handling the case, I still wouldn’t recommend going about it this way. It would be better to speak directly with His Majesty and go through proper channels. Why sell official salt as though it were smuggled goods?”
Luo Sheng explained, “At the time of the marriage, things were rushed and preparations weren’t thorough. Now the family wants to add to the daughter-in-law’s trousseau — how can we go asking His Majesty for it?”
“Then let me speak even more plainly: is there anything the Princess owns that wasn’t given by His Majesty? The things at the Prince of Lu’s estate — those belong to His Majesty too. Moving them without the Emperor’s knowledge is not proper.”
Luo Sheng murmured, “This… this…”
Zhù Ying looked toward the late emperor’s coffin, and Luo Sheng followed her gaze. In that instant, a sudden clarity came over him. Luo Sheng said, “I’ll speak with A’Niang. She was just anxious — Ah Yi’s formal investiture still hasn’t arrived.”
Zhù Ying mentally ran through the affairs of this whole family but said nothing further, only remarking, “That matter — why the rush? His Majesty hasn’t said he’s going back on his word. What trousseau? Even if you never gave her another coin, her status is what it is.”
They had already been speaking for quite some time, and the mourning vigil was beginning. The two returned to their respective positions and wept for a while. When the rites were complete, Zhù Ying still had to go before the Emperor to report on the case.
She controlled the flow of information she reported to the Emperor each day, ensuring there was always something new to say and preventing the Emperor from finding fault. After her report, she said to the Emperor, “Your Majesty, the Court of Judicial Review is still short-staffed. Coordination with the Ministry of Personnel is already underway to fill the positions, but the selection of the Deputy Chief Justice is not something this subject and the Ministry of Personnel can decide on our own.”
The Emperor, not yet well-versed in court affairs, asked those present, “Does anyone have a recommendation?”
At the time, many officials were present — from the Six Ministries, the Nine Courts, the Metropolitan Magistracy, and the Imperial Guards. Zheng Xi recommended Shi Kun’s son, Shi Jixing. Shi Kun declined to offer an opinion, saying he needed to avoid the appearance of impropriety. Wang Yunhe did not object, because Shi Jixing was not without ability, and since he was serving away from the capital, by the time he received the appointment and made his way back, the case would likely be nearly finished given Zhù Ying’s efficiency.
As long as Shi Kun made the situation clear to his son, Shi Jixing would only need to show up for the tail end and collect credit for the conclusion.
No one else objected either, and the matter was settled.
Zhù Ying listened as they continued discussing, including some personnel transfers. Chen Meng was indeed moved to the Court of Imperial Stud. The Emperor’s knowledge was limited, and it wasn’t long before things stalled. The Emperor then dismissed the gathering.
Zhù Ying was walking out with the crowd when Shi Kun deliberately held back and said to her, “I’m entrusting Jixing to your care.”
“I wouldn’t dare — just as long as you don’t blame me for overworking your son.”
Shi Kun laughed and said, “Feel free to put him to work! It’ll be good for him to learn some real skills.”
Zhù Ying bowed respectfully, and Shi Kun was very pleased with her demeanor.
Having dealt with Shi Kun, the Crown Prince came over to find Zhù Ying. “What’s on the agenda at the Court of Judicial Review today?”
Zhù Ying asked, “What does Your Highness have in mind?”
The Crown Prince said, “I’m young and inexperienced in these matters. I’ll watch how you handle things and learn from you.” He gave a self-deprecating smile and added that aside from attending to his father’s bedside, he had no other duties at the moment. “Even when I’m before my father and he asks about a case, I need to have something to say. And East Palace is currently packed with all manner of people — not all of them are my people. There’s no Chamberlain of the Palace, and no official business to conduct. What’s the point of staying there? Better to do something useful.”
Zhù Ying said, “Then shall we go take a look at the Court of Judicial Review first?”
“Very well.”
The Court of Judicial Review was still bustling — hearings continued, accounts were still being audited. Another long list of names had been drawn up. Neither Zhù Ying nor the Crown Prince was surprised; the Prince of Lu had enjoyed the late emperor’s deep favor for nearly twenty years — it would have been strange if there weren’t people scattered across the land who had pledged their allegiance to him. Lin Zan pointed to one name on the list and said, “What a pity about this one.”
The Crown Prince looked over and nodded as well. “It’s him. What a shame. My father once praised him as a man of integrity and virtue — who would have thought he’d end up siding with the traitors.”
Zhù Ying also saw the name. This man was a magistrate in a distant region, once a writer of modest renown and of acceptable moral character. Lin Zan knew of him because the man had once come to the capital to study and seek a post; the Crown Prince knew of him because his father — back when he was still the Prince of Zhao — had always had a fondness for such people.
Now that he was caught up in a treason case, no amount of fondness would remain.
Zhù Ying said to Niu Jin, “Go and fetch all the case records from his jurisdiction for me to review.”
The Crown Prince said, “Very good. If there has been any perversion of justice, it should be set right.”
The records were soon brought over. Zhù Ying opened them and looked through. There were not many serious criminal cases under his jurisdiction, and judging by what the records described, his rulings seemed reasonably fair.
The Crown Prince said, “He actually had some ability.”
Zhù Ying said, “Mark his name down for now, and push his case back. The priority right now is still the Lu treason matter. What about the intelligence on the assassins I requested?”
The Deputy Director produced a document listing the assassins’ names, places of origin, and addresses. Zhù Ying said to the Crown Prince, “I’ll be going with the Metropolitan Magistracy shortly to make arrests, Your Highness. Do you still wish to attend the interrogation of the suspects?”
The Crown Prince waved his hand. “No, no. You’re going to arrest the assassins?”
“Yes, and seize their property. I once reported to His Majesty that I intended to free some of the enslaved people. Among those used by the Prince of Lu to recruit assassins — they need to be recovered.”
The Crown Prince said, “Oh! I nearly forgot there were still those people. I’ll come along too.”
In the entire case, the assassins and those soldiers of the Imperial Guards who followed orders without understanding the full picture were ultimately the most peripheral figures. The Prince of Lu was the greatest threat. From the very beginning, Zhù Ying had focused on the Prince of Lu himself — she personally directed the interrogations of the Prince of Lu, his brother-in-law, Wen Yi, and Zhou You. The others she had almost entirely left to her subordinates.
The Crown Prince and the Emperor had little interest in the assassins either.
Zhù Ying said, “Your Highness, your attire makes things rather inconvenient.”
The Crown Prince was deeply disappointed. He was the late emperor’s own grandson — removing his mourning garment at a time like this would be a breach of propriety, but wearing it out in public would be equally problematic. He could only regretfully say, “Then I’ll wait for you to return.”
……
Zhù Ying left the palace and went to the Metropolitan Magistracy to find Zheng Xi, requisitioning men for the arrests. She also requested a clerk from the Household Registry to come along, so that household registrations could be processed on the spot.
Zheng Xi said, “You truly are a living Bodhisattva!”
He dispatched men and assigned constables, who went together with the Court of Judicial Review to make arrests.
Among these assassins, some lived within the capital and some on estates outside the city. Some were already dead and some had been captured alive. At the time of the incident, a number of bystanders had been present, and none had managed to escape — three had been caught by the onlooking crowd and beaten half to death with punches and kicks.
One could hardly blame the people for this. The Crown Prince had been attacked near their homes, which meant they were all in trouble. Better to beat these men to death and be done with it.
Zhù Ying and her party headed first to a neighborhood in the southeastern corner of the capital to handle the first case. The people there had no idea what had come to their door. The constables knocked loudly on the gate, and an old woman opened it, her voice trembling: “Coming, coming—”
She opened the door and froze. “Who are you… Good lord, we’re all law-abiding people here!”
A constable shot back, “Whether you’re law-abiding or not isn’t for you to say!”
The group surged inside. A young woman emerged — dressed in a moon-white jacket, a blue skirt below, hair pinned up, face rouged, forcing out a smile. “I’m not sure—”
The constable below first asked whether this was Zhang San’s household; the answer was yes. Then he asked whether they were former servants of the Prince of Lu’s estate. Even rouge couldn’t hide the pallor that spread across the young woman’s face.
“Then that’s enough! Take them away!”
They also asked whether the old woman was connected to the Prince of Lu’s household. The old woman said, “They paid me fifty coins a month — I just worked here.”
Zhù Ying said, “Let them pack their things first, then bring them back for questioning. Seal the house.” She also asked whether the young woman had any parents.
The young woman’s eyes darted around wildly. “I don’t… I don’t have any…”
Zhù Ying said, “Record her name. Take her away for now and register her household later.”
By midmorning, she had dealt with all the cases within the capital. Among them, one assassin had a wife and children and had also received a young beauty sent by the Prince of Lu — the whole household was in an uproar. The original wife was a rough-handed woman, and the beauty was no pushover either. One wielded a broom to strike the fox spirit, while the other had locked herself in a room, shouting, “You plain-faced old hag couldn’t keep your man, and you dare come after me?”
Zhù Ying didn’t bother debating with them — she had them all detained and temporarily locked in the Metropolitan Magistracy’s jail to await judgment.
She managed to return at noon in time for another mourning session, then headed outside the city in the afternoon.
In the countryside, they encountered a “faithful widow.”
A gaunt young wife was holding the assassin’s elderly mother and saying, “Since I became part of this household, I will be its ghost in death.”
The old woman hugged the young wife back, saying, “My child — I wronged you in the past. From now on, we’ll depend on each other.” She also cursed at Zhù Ying and her party as shameless villains come to forcibly abduct virtuous women.
The constables bellowed, “You wretched old woman! Your son attacked His Majesty and you dare insult a court official! You there — are you leaving or not?!”
The young wife kept shaking her head.
The constables stared in utter disbelief. “There’s actually someone who doesn’t want to regain her free status and would rather stay as the wife of a traitor?”
The young wife stopped crying. She extricated herself from the old woman’s arms. “What free status is the official speaking of?”
“Well, you’ll be returned to your parents. If there are no parents, you’ll be registered in your own name and given money for your return.” The seasoned people from the Court of Judicial Review explained this as a matter of course.
Zhù Ying was very practiced at this. Anyone not already registered as an official slave, she would do her best to release. In weather this cold, if they were detained too long, some would likely die of cold or illness — better to release them in advance. This time she was even freeing the servants the Prince of Lu had bought outright for the assassins. Those who appeared on official government rosters were technically the Emperor’s and the court’s “private property” — those she truly had no power to release at present.
The young wife knelt right there on the spot: “I beg my lord to rescue this poor woman from the sea of suffering! I cannot stand this place one moment longer!”
Quite amusing.
Zhù Ying asked, “Just now you were…”
The young wife said, “I still didn’t want to go back to the Prince of Lu’s estate!” What sort of state was that place in now?
Everyone around her was caught between laughter and tears.
They spent the better part of the day wandering outside the city, and managed to return to the capital before the gates closed.
——
Upon returning home, she received a stack of visiting cards. One was from Chen Meng, who had already confirmed the date for his dinner party. It was to be a few days hence, on the first rest day after the late emperor’s coffin was moved out of the Imperial City — a small gathering for close friends at his residence.
That day everyone would be free, yet since the Emperor had not yet completed his mourning period, anything too festive would be inappropriate. But it was perfectly suited for close friends to gather privately and exchange candid talk.
Zhù Ying wrote back to say she would certainly attend, and also prepared a gift to send over to his household.
The next day it was again the mourning vigil, then the case report. After finishing her report, Zhù Ying waited for the dismissal. To her surprise, the Emperor asked her to stay. Zhù Ying was somewhat puzzled and looked at the Crown Prince, who gave her a wry smile.
The Emperor asked, “Have you gone through all the property from the Prince of Lu’s estate?”
“Yes.”
“Are there any coral trees?”
“There are — twelve in total, plus some smaller corals of two or three feet, and also coral beads…”
“That’s enough, no need to recite the whole list! I believe there was one pair that stood five feet tall?”
“Yes, there was.”
“Give them to Princess Anren.”
Well now! This princess actually went and asked the Emperor for them! What on earth had Luo Sheng said when he got home? Hadn’t he understood?
“Understood.”
“Mm… there are night-luminescent pearls as well?”
Zhù Ying cautiously asked, “Are those also what the princess requested?”
The Emperor let out a sigh, his gaze turning slightly dark.
Zhù Ying quickly said, “The Prince of Lu’s goods and wealth are considerable, and inventory isn’t yet complete. But this subject has divided them into two portions — each going back to where it came from. Whatever was bestowed by the late emperor, or made in the imperial workshops, or rare treasures not proper for a subject to retain — those go to the Imperial Treasury. Whatever was obtained through corruption, bribes, or plunder — the money and silk go to the Ministry of Finance.
“This subject is slow-witted and not very efficient. I ask Your Majesty to allow a few more days to compile the ledger and submit it, so that Your Majesty may then dispose of these things however you wish. You are the Son of Heaven — having you inquire item by item while those of us below watch on is really rather painful to witness.”
The Emperor sighed again — but this sigh was noticeably more relaxed.
Zhù Ying continued, “Only — there will be some expenses in the course of handling the case. For instance, releasing those who were forced from common status into servitude…”
The Emperor cut her off. “No need to mention all that — just handle it.”
“This subject requests that Your Majesty dispatch an envoy to publicly proclaim the decree, so as to better manifest Your Majesty’s virtue.”
“Du Shi’en, then.”
Zhù Ying finally asked, “Shall I first set these two items aside separately, or will Your Majesty arrange everything at once?”
The Emperor said, “Set them aside first. Wait.” He glanced at the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince stiffened but produced a memorial, which he handed to Zhù Ying. “According to this list, give everything to the princess’s household.”
“Understood. This subject has sorted these items into three tiers. The highest-grade and best-preserved items — mostly still in good condition and unlikely to have been damaged — are largely accounted for. By the lowest tier, the Prince of Lu’s household would have used some things in daily life — pearls, for instance, if they were strung into jewelry or used up, they may be missing. In that case — shall the shortfall remain as a debt, or shall items of equivalent value be substituted as compensation to the princess?”
“Give her what’s there.”
“Understood.”
Seeing the Emperor had no further instructions, Zhù Ying bowed and took her leave.
What followed was another rush of busyness. The case was still being tried and the accounts still audited. Yet another long roster of names emerged. Zhù Ying and the Crown Prince were unsurprised — the Prince of Lu had been first in line for the late emperor’s favor for nearly twenty years; it would have been strange if he hadn’t had supporters scattered across the land. Shi Jixing’s appointment had already been formally issued. The Court of Judicial Review had also turned up another figure — Luo Yuan. He had leaked a great deal of palace information to the Prince of Lu, which was how the Prince had managed to follow the late emperor’s illness so closely.
Zhù Ying said, “This man isn’t ours — whoever produced the testimony against him, I need the evidence nailed down tight. Never mind, I’ll come and personally conduct the interrogation in a while. Report it to His Majesty tomorrow.”
She led her people out of the Imperial City and personally oversaw affairs at the Prince of Lu’s estate. First she set aside the items the princess had requested. The Imperial Guards stood watching, nudging each other with knowing looks, when they heard Zhù Ying say, “Pack all of this into boxes. Don’t seal them yet — wait until someone from the palace has come to inspect them, and then have them delivered to Princess Anren’s residence.”
A guard captain stepped forward and asked cautiously, “My lord, this is…?”
Zhù Ying said, “The Prince of Lu’s family knows better than we do what valuables he had. Can anything be hidden from them?”
The captain drew a sharp breath. If items had already been pocketed, and the Emperor then made requests, and the princess made requests again, it would be very difficult to account for. Of course there were ways to explain it away, but it was genuinely troublesome.
Zhù Ying said, “Get to work.”
Before long, Du Shi’en arrived to collect the items. Zhù Ying chatted with him briefly and asked, “How is your injury? An injury taken in the dead of winter — if it wasn’t properly cared for from the start, it could leave lasting trouble.”
Du Shi’en said, “Thank you for your concern, my lord — it’s much better.”
Zhù Ying beckoned, and Niu Jin brought over a small box. Zhù Ying said, “Give it to him.”
Du Shi’en moved to decline, and Zhù Ying said, “Just some medicinal herbs — charge it to the princess’s account.”
Du Shi’en couldn’t help but let out a laugh — half amused, half helpless — as he accepted it and tucked it away. Zhù Ying walked him to the door, and as they passed one of the rooms, the sound of crying mingled with laughter drifted out. Zhù Ying said, “This is the one.”
Zhù Ying said, “These are the women who are about to be given money and sent home.”
Du Shi’en stepped forward and said a few ceremonial words: “Zhù the Grand Lord has petitioned on your behalf, and His Majesty has approved — you are to be freed and returned home. Let this be a cause for gratitude toward the grace of Heaven.”
Those who could go home smiled; those registered in the official rolls showed nothing but blank expressions.
Du Shi’en was a man of few words — once he had said his piece, he bid Zhù Ying farewell. Zhù Ying stayed and distributed household registrations and money, then released them one by one.
When she came to the embroiderer and her daughter, she took a particular look at the elder woman’s appearance, sensing something vaguely familiar. The woman saw her and knelt down at once. “It really is Lord Zhù! Twenty years ago it was you who gave this humble woman a way to live! And twenty years later, you have freed her again. The longevity tablet I set up for you was not in vain — you have truly answered my prayers.”
Zhù Ying asked, “Are you returning home, or would you like to be registered under your own household?”
The embroiderer smiled bitterly. “It’s all the same. My husband wasn’t a bad man, but when facing the Prince of Lu, what choice did anyone have?”
Zhù Ying had money given to her and let the mother and daughter go.
The farmland hadn’t yet been fully accounted for, so it couldn’t be returned yet. But for those who had been identified, each household was given one string of cash to see in the new year. This in turn brought up another matter — servants were easy, as the Prince of Lu’s estate had a roster. Farmland was also easy, as there were ledgers. But the victims themselves were hard to locate. Those Zhù Ying knew of were mostly connected to Old Ma’s sister’s acquaintances; others were harder to track down.
There was nothing for it — she would have to borrow the Metropolitan Magistracy to post a public notice. Once the notice went up, somehow word spread and became distorted: people were saying that the Court of Judicial Review was handling the Prince of Lu treason case and that those with grievances could come to plead their cases. Unable to enter the Imperial City, everyone sent their petitions to the Metropolitan Magistracy. Zheng Xi was so angry he cursed Zhù Ying outright: “Living Bodhisattva — you started this mess! This cannot be allowed to blow up! Get it sorted out at once!”
Zhù Ying said, “Just collect all the petitions and report them to His Majesty. Say it’s about restoring order to the realm and upholding justice for the people…”
“Get out!”
……
In the midst of all this busyness, the coffin was moved out of the palace, and the inner court began the process of relocating chambers.
First, the late emperor’s consorts and concubines were moved out. Those with children left the palace to live with their children; those without children moved to separate palaces. Lan Xing remained for the time being, jointly overseeing the Directorate of Palace Attendants with Du Shi’en — Du Shi’en was nominally Lan Xing’s deputy.
Then came the current Emperor’s consorts. The Empress’s quarters were fixed and there was no dispute about that. The Emperor’s secondary consorts began receiving formal titles, ranging from Noble Consort down to Talented Lady.
Once the East Palace was vacated, the Crown Prince’s residence was also relocated, and he moved into the main hall. The official investiture of Luo Yi also came through, and she relocated at the same time. According to what was said, on the day of the move, Princess Anren did indeed send a great many treasures to the palace — beyond the coral trees and night-luminescent pearls, there were many other furnishings as well.
Zhù Ying had nothing to do with palace affairs — all of this she heard from Luo Sheng. After learning that Princess Anren had truly gone and requested treasures from the Emperor, Luo Sheng was alarmed. He had thought he had made things clear, not knowing that Princess Anren had a completely different interpretation in mind.
No matter what Luo Sheng said, Princess Anren had only one reply: “Then what am I supposed to get out of this?”
That single sentence left Luo Sheng speechless. Princess Anren also found fault with Zhù Ying: “She just doesn’t dare do anything! Too timid for her own good! I went to His Majesty and he gave me everything I asked for, didn’t he? These people are really no fun!”
Luo Sheng had a stomach full of grievances with nowhere to pour them out.
Zhù Ying said, “Her Highness is a free spirit. Unfortunately, even in the Wei-Jin period, one could not act as one pleased in matters of court politics. If Her Highness wants to be free-spirited, she cannot touch anything related to court affairs. If she wants to speak to serious matters, then she must abide by court protocol and regulations. And you — even more so. I have said all I can say. Other people’s family affairs are none of my business, and secrets under one’s own roof are not for outsiders to know.”
Luo Sheng departed with some embarrassment.
Having sent Luo Sheng on his way, Zhù Ying paid a visit to Wang Yunhe’s residence.
Wang Yunhe said, “You’re not busy?”
Zhù Ying smiled. “There’s something I’d like to raise.”
Wang Yunhe leaned back in his chair. “What are you up to now?”
Zhù Ying produced an envelope and placed it on his desk. “His Majesty has just ascended the throne, and the people from his old princely household haven’t yet gotten their footing. Congratulations — you’ll be able to start moving on certain things now.”
“What is this?”
“This estate of yours was one I helped select. But it isn’t really yours — your son will be arriving in the capital, and he’ll need somewhere to live.”
Wang Yunhe’s current residence was the former estate of Gong Jie. After it was confiscated, it had been assigned to him. When Wang Yunhe left or died, the place would have to be returned to the Emperor. So Wang Yunhe had no house of his own in the capital. Chen Yuan was different — the residence Chen Meng now occupied was a private home Chen Yuan had acquired himself. Chen Yuan had always been better than Wang Yunhe at securing money for himself.
Zhù Ying said, “You do what you need to do. If things go wrong and someone is offended, your son will still have somewhere to retreat to. This will spare you one thing to worry about.”
If Wang Yunhe intended to change certain things, even someone of his stature would inevitably face a few waves — resignation, removal from the chancellorship, all of it was possible. Those who undertook reforms had never had a smooth ride.
Better to prepare an extra bolt-hole for him.
Wang Yunhe shook his head. “If there’s real trouble, this little bit won’t solve it. Take it back. You…”
Zhù Ying raised her hand. “Rest assured — this is from a clean source. I’m not one of those useless officials who only know how to accept bribes.”
Wang Yunhe still refused. “Take it back. Don’t put your mind to things like this. A great storm is coming. I know how difficult it is to serve as an official, and that sometimes you have to go along with the current. But at the very least, don’t let yourself do things like this on my account. What I intend to do may not be possible to carry out right away. If I fail, you all must continue the work.”
“Understood.” Zhù Ying said. The Prince of Lu’s treason was hardly a great storm — for the court, the real storm was the reshuffling of power that lay ahead.
Zhù Ying didn’t press further and simply took the envelope back. “I’ll hold onto this for you.”
……
Wang Yunhe wouldn’t accept it, so Zhù Ying took the envelope home and then headed out to dine with Chen Meng.
After dinner, the trials resumed. The case hadn’t yet been decided here, but the palace had already moved swiftly — starting with Luo Yuan, every eunuch implicated was put to death. Luo Yuan’s household was also confiscated, and Du Shi’en led the team handling it.
Zhù Ying thought of the “son” Luo Yuan had purchased — the one she had helped track down.
She crumpled up a sheet of draft paper and tossed it into the charcoal brazier, then smoothed out a new sheet and continued writing.
She worked right up until the day before the New Year holiday and the sealing of the official documents. Morale in the Court of Judicial Review was high. As Zhù Ying seized the Prince of Lu’s estate, she also used the proceeds to acquire some properties for the court. This year’s generous holiday provisions were back!
The “deeds” of the Prince of Lu’s treason were finally compiled before the holiday. Zhù Ying merely listed what the Prince had done — she did not issue a verdict. What crime to charge him with and how to punish him, she left for the Emperor and the ministers to debate.
The debate at court was intense. The Prince of Lu’s major offenses were all enumerated, with the first being treason, followed by accusations that he had driven the late emperor to his death.
The group of old hands in the Grand Secretariat, in addition to these charges, had appended several particularly vicious counts: failure to care for the people, failure to cultivate virtue, corruption and brutality, lack of filial piety and fraternal love, contempt for the scholar-official class, licentiousness…
A man with these charges to his name as a prince was perfectly normal — if he had become emperor, he would have had the makings of a tyrant in the history books.
The Grand Secretariat’s recommendation was demotion to commoner status and exile. As for calling for the execution of the late emperor’s blood by ministers — that was not something they could say aloud. Of course there were hot-headed voices crying out for the execution of the chief offender.
In the end, the Emperor spoke: “He is, after all, the late emperor’s blood. Demote him to commoner status and send him into exile.” At the same time, his wife and children were also demoted to commoner status, stripped from the imperial clan register, and exiled three thousand li away under surveillance by local officials.
As for the confiscation of his estate — that was already done. Zhù Ying presented two ledgers on the spot: one for the Imperial Treasury, and one for the Ministry of Finance. The Ministry of Finance’s copy was to have deducted from it the farmland originally granted by the late emperor, along with severance payments and the Court of Judicial Review’s operating expenses.
Minister Dou had been prepared to argue over this, since the revenues from a property seizure were always easy to fudge. The Prince of Lu’s household had been particularly wealthy, and Minister Dou had already heard wind of the fact that the palace wanted this money.
But Zhù Ying had saved him the trouble. Minister Dou quietly accepted the accounting.
The problem came instead with Zhù Ying’s release of the enslaved people. Releasing servants was itself uncontested, but releasing those servants the Prince of Lu had given to the assassins produced objections. Some argued that these servants should be taken back and made official government slaves, on the grounds that they were “family members of traitors.”
Zhù Ying said quietly, “So persistent even in death, are they? Think about it — if the assassination had succeeded, they would have reaped wealth and glory in exchange, a hundred-fold return. But now that the attempt has failed and they’ve been killed, they’re supposed to have left families behind? Isn’t that convenient? There’s no such good deal in this world. These traitors deserve nothing of the sort — they should be stripped of everything as a warning to those who come after.”
The Emperor was looking favorably on her at this moment and said, “So be it. I already agreed to it.”
With the Prince of Lu sent into exile, the rest were barely worth mentioning.
By now, no one was interceding for Wen Yi. General Ruan seemed to have developed convenient old-age forgetfulness, as if he had never raised the matter. Zhou You and the Prince of Lu’s brother-in-law and the rest all received the standard treatment without exception: death, followed by the extermination of three generations of family. Zhou You’s wife was forced to divorce him — unfortunately his sons fell under suspicion as well; his adult son was executed, and his young grandson was too young for death, and so he went into exile alongside the Prince of Lu.
For the rest who had signed the covenant, the principals were given hemlock wine; their wives and children were made official slaves; all those of the same patriline were dismissed from office. The assassins received the death penalty, extermination of three generations, and confiscation of all property including the household. The soldiers of the Imperial Guards who participated were treated as having been deceived and manipulated — they were stripped of their positions and discharged.
The principals who had signed the covenant wouldn’t necessarily have all had to die — those who had taken no action on the day in question could be spared initially. But the Emperor’s former tutor from his days as the Prince of Zhao, now given the additional title of Attendant of the Secretariat, the Li Grand Tutor of the Prince, held that “these people caused the late emperor’s death — how can they be exempted?”
The reason the Li Grand Tutor of the Prince said this was because of what the Emperor had said. And the Emperor had made that statement because Liu Songnian had delayed the announcement of the late emperor’s death — so the Emperor declared it was the Prince of Lu who had laid siege to the palace and frightened the late emperor to death. The timing matters: the late emperor dying and then the Prince of Lu’s faction launching their revolt is a different situation from the Prince of Lu’s faction already engaged in treason while the late emperor was still alive.
The Emperor went with the flow and agreed that his own former tutor had made a fair point. To appease the Grand Secretariat and stabilize the court, the Emperor also said, “All others shall not be questioned.”
The entire court, high and low, breathed a sigh of relief, and the assembled ministers cried out long live the Emperor.
The Court of Judicial Review’s prison emptied out by more than half in an instant. Since those condemned were all officials, the court extended them one final courtesy — they were given death within the Court of Judicial Review’s cells. Shrouded corpses were carried out one by one. There was no order for the assembled officials to line up and observe.
Zhù Ying said to Shi Jixing, “All that remains is the cleanup.”
The holiday was almost here. She finished the remaining property seizures — the main focus had been on the Prince of Lu, but now Zhou You’s wife was allowed to take her dowry, then the Zhou household was seized; the same process applied to the other households. The merit reports also needed to be written up and submitted — if timed right, the commendations could still be recorded as contributions for the new year. Some would receive promotions; those who couldn’t be promoted could at least accumulate credit toward advancement.
A relaxed new year was finally within reach!
Zhù Ying pushed a number of matters onto Shi Jixing and went home herself.
At the palace gate she was intercepted by Jin Liang, whose face was flushed and beaming. “Sanlang, come on, let’s go drink at my place!”
Jin Liang’s household hadn’t yet moved to a new house — it wasn’t easy to change houses in the capital — but the furnishings inside had improved considerably. Two more young servants had been added to wait at the dinner table. Jin Liang drank; Zhù Ying gnawed on pig’s trotters. Nanny Jin had directed the stewing of a great many trotters, and Jin Biao sat hunched in a corner of the table, keeping company with the drinking.
After half a jug, Jin Liang said happily, “Zhou You finally got what was coming to him! He made you suffer so much back then!”
Zhù Ying said, “That man — not worth thinking about.” She had long since ceased to give him any mind. And besides, Zhou You’s reckoning came not because he had oppressed the people, not because he had sent innocent people to prison with a word — but because of “treason.”
“Treason” was almost amusing in itself. The Prince of Lu was exiled; Zhou You was dead.
What was there to be happy about?
Jin Liang meant well after all. She gnawed her trotters and watched Jin Liang drink alone in great cheer.