“What Master Han says, Wang Yong is not unaware of, it’s just that these years my door has been cold and desolate. Throughout the year I don’t receive summons from my father the King more than a few times. I want to scheme but don’t know where to begin.” After hearing Han Qian analyze how the situations in Chu and Shu differed, the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong said with a face full of bitterness.
Han Qian had thought that after his thorough analysis, the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong should at least become excited, but unexpectedly he displayed a listless and dispirited appearance. Han Qian found this strange—could there be some hidden affair between the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong and his father Wang Jian unknown to outsiders?
Han Qian stared at Wang Yong’s face, not missing any subtle expression, and continued asking:
“The Marquis has no need to hide anything from me. Let me ask the Marquis one thing: does the Marquis aspire to be a wealthy marquis, or does he wish to replace and succeed him?”
Han Qian had spent all of last night reviewing intelligence reports. Unfortunately, no matter how capable Jinyun Tower’s spies were, the intelligence they could gather in a short time was limited. Too many doubtful points still lacked reasonable explanation.
The Lord of Shu Wang Jian did not have many children, but after Consort Su Shu died of illness, the father-son relationship between the Lord of Shu Wang Jian and the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong became quite cold. Add to this the Marquis of Changxiang’s fear of the Marquis of Qingjiang, as well as Jing Qiongwen falling silent for several years before regaining the Lord of Shu Wang Jian’s favor—behind all these matters were suspicious circumstances that Han Qian temporarily could not see through.
Han Qian did not expect Jinyun Tower’s secret agents to dig out all the old affairs in every detail within a short time. At this point he might as well get straight to the point and directly seek answers from the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong.
“How would one scheme to be a wealthy marquis?” The Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong asked.
Having reached this step, Han Qian would not give the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong an opportunity to avoid the important and dwell on the trivial. His gaze piercing, he pressed: “Regarding Shu, Han is ultimately an outsider. What I can understand is limited after all. But the Marquis has been so cautious and careful these years—there must be the Marquis’s reasons. Why would the Marquis still ask me for strategies to scheme for wealth and security?”
Princess Qingyang couldn’t help but glance disapprovingly at Han Qian. The questions were clearly asked by him—couldn’t they pick and choose which to hear?
The Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong still had deep reservations, pondering which matters could be spoken of and which could not be disclosed.
Although in his heart he had always considered Han Daoxun to be the great strategist, the fact that Han Qian could grasp so much intelligence about him in such a short time meant he was destined not to be an ordinary person either.
Moreover, in the Jing-Xiang campaign and the campaign to reduce the feudatories, Han Qian had frequently employed extraordinary strategies. Having been caught off guard by Han Qian today, the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong also feared carelessly saying the wrong thing and revealing even more, ultimately leaving him without even the last bit of self-preservation ability, completely becoming fish and meat in Han Qian’s hands for slaughter.
He was seeking strategies from Han Qian, but this did not mean delivering his entire life and fortune—Han Qian was ultimately still a Chu subject, fundamentally still scheming for Yang Yuanpu.
“The Lord of Shu and the Marquis have a rather cold father-son relationship. Presumably when Consort Su Shu was alive she also did not greatly enjoy the Lord of Shu’s favor. Rumor has it that Consort Su Shu fell ill and died melancholically—likely there are no other hidden circumstances. However, as I just said, Shu’s national governance is entirely decided by the Lord of Shu. Even if the Marquis wanted to avoid the Marquis of Qingjiang’s suspicion, in recent years there seems to have been no need to devote yourself exclusively to poetry and lyrics. Or perhaps this too is the world’s misunderstanding of the Marquis?” Seeing the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong hesitating without speaking, Han Qian could only dig deeper step by step based on his doubts.
What did he mean by “did not greatly enjoy favor”?
Princess Qingyang’s temper was not very good to begin with. Hearing Han Qian casually evaluate her deceased mother, her exquisitely beautiful face seemed covered with a layer of frost.
Xi Ren stood beside Han Qian secretly observing everyone’s expressions. She knew that since the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong was unwilling to voluntarily reveal the truth, Han Qian’s questions needed to be extremely skillful. At this moment, even if the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong, Princess Qingyang, and the Marquis of Changxiang’s consort continued their silence or changed the subject, much useful information could be judged from their facial reactions.
The key point of Han Qian’s statement was not in the latter questions, but in the earlier setup.
Although Princess Qingyang had emotions about defending her mother and consort, the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong did not deny it, which indicated Han Qian’s speculation about the relationship between Consort Su Shu and the Lord of Shu Wang Jian was correct.
As one of the Divine Mausoleum Bureau’s key figures in Sichuan-Shu, whether Consort Su Shu enjoyed favor obviously could not be understood as simply the success or failure of palace rivalry. Behind this necessarily involved the integration and struggle between the two forces of the Divine Strategy Army and the Divine Mausoleum Bureau during Wang Jian’s rule over Sichuan-Shu.
Back then, the internal power struggles in Shu during its founding period might even have directly involved Consort Su Shu and Wang Jian. This was why after Consort Su Shu died of illness, even her son the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong was neglected. Jing Qiongwen’s silence for several years might also be related to this matter.
Or perhaps because these hidden old affairs were difficult to speak of, the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong did not know how to answer?
“Today is already getting late. If I don’t participate at all at the Court of State Ceremonial and the Court of the Imperial Clan, I would appear too idle. The days ahead are long—various matters can be discussed slowly. If I could meet Master Jing, that would be even better.” Han Qian had no intention of interrogating to the very bottom. At this point he brushed off his clothes and proposed to take his leave.
The Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong also felt he had been too passive today. Even if they were to cooperate, this was not the right opportunity to continue deep discussions. He respectfully escorted Han Qian out first, thinking to sort through his thoughts. Or as Han Qian suggested, find an appropriate opportunity to have Jing Qiongwen meet with Han Qian—that might be better.
The Marquis of Changxiang’s estate and Jinhua Tower’s southern courtyard were separated by only one alley, but Xi Fa’er was still waiting with the guards outside the marquis’s gate, not having returned to Jinhua Tower first.
“Those last few questions I asked—from the reactions on the faces of those siblings, did you notice anything?” Under the escort of everyone, Han Qian walked toward Jinhua Tower’s southern courtyard, asking Xi Ren as they walked.
Xi Ren spoke of her speculations. Han Qian nodded and said: “This Consort Su Shu was most likely not an easy lamp to fuel?”
“How can you tell?” Xi Ren asked uncomprehendingly. “Must women necessarily be modest, virtuous, and completely obedient to be considered easy lamps to fuel?”
“Back then, Evening Rouge Tower was not willing to invest heavily in me, otherwise Yao Xishui would most likely have married me as a concubine. Think again about Su Hongyu becoming a concubine at Li Zhigao’s side, as well as all their actions regarding the Third Prince back then, and you’ll understand what the Divine Mausoleum Bureau’s consistent style has been. Whether these people are now scattered and divided or not, their style is ultimately inherited from the same source. This style is not limited to the transmission of sword dance and musical skills, but is a narrowness and gloom deeply ingrained in their bones. This being so, it’s not hard to speculate why Consort Su Shu and the Lord of Shu Wang Jian initially came together, and why their relationship deteriorated.” Han Qian sighed softly.
“You’re saying that initially, in order to conveniently control Wang Jian, the Divine Mausoleum Bureau sent Consort Su Shu to Wang Jian’s side? And Wang Jian also relied on the Divine Mausoleum Bureau’s power to obtain high position within the Divine Strategy Army and step by step eliminate other forces in the two Sichuan regions? After Wang Jian dominated Sichuan-Shu, his conflicts with the Divine Mausoleum Bureau intensified day by day, so Consort Su Shu died melancholically of illness, and Jing Qiongwen had to fall silent for several years?” Xi Ren asked. “However, why did Wang Jian resume employing Jing Qiongwen after several years?”
“No matter how gloomy and narrow the Divine Mausoleum Bureau is, there must be one or two special cases. I think Wang Jian and Jing Qiongwen’s early relationship should not have been too bad either. Even if Wang Jian once stopped using the Divine Mausoleum Bureau’s remnant forces, few of his generals are easy lamps to fuel. Perhaps in his later years Wang Jian came to understand that the Divine Mausoleum Bureau’s methods also had some use.” Han Qian said.
Over these years, the Marquis of Xinchang’s household had made multiple attempts to control the Third Prince and the Vermillion Bird Army, all foiled by Han Qian. Thinking carefully through the many twists and turns within this, Xi Ren thought Han Qian’s speculation was very likely correct. She asked: “If your speculation is correct, not only does the Marquis of Qingjiang suspect the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong, but even the Lord of Shu Wang Jian guards against this second son of his. That the Marquis of Changxiang has no contact with military and political power is actually not just to avoid the Marquis of Qingjiang’s suspicion, but also simultaneously avoiding his father the Lord of Shu Wang Jian’s suspicion?”
“When Consort Su Shu died, the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong was already about thirteen or fourteen years old,” Han Qian said. “Du Qiniang could identify Shen He’s poisoned state because Ting’er spent these years specially collecting a large amount of medicinal and toxic texts for her to study for two years. Yet the medical officials of Tanzhou did not notice too many abnormalities. That the Marquis of Changxiang could see the abnormality at a glance and even specially went to Shen He’s post station the next day to confirm it shows his skill in identifying poisons is not weak. As a noble son, it would be difficult for him to directly access such things—he should have learned from Consort Su Shu. Stated another way, the Marquis of Changxiang is perhaps the true heir of the Divine Mausoleum Bureau in Sichuan-Shu. Thinking this way, you won’t find it strange that the Lord of Shu Wang Jian neglects this son, will you?”
“Do you think there are other hidden circumstances surrounding Consort Su Shu’s death?” Xi Ren asked again.
“That Wang Jian could resume employing Jing Qiongwen indicates that after Wang Jian controlled Sichuan-Shu, his methods of suppressing the Divine Mausoleum Bureau were not too violent. Otherwise, the Marquis of Changxiang would not be so leisurely.” Han Qian said.
Xi Ren lightly knitted her elegant brows and said: “Even so, for you to scheme replacement strategies for him is extremely difficult, isn’t it?”
“What other choice is there? I can’t write to the Third Prince saying the person we’ve been dealing with is not an easy lamp to fuel, so if it really doesn’t work we should change to a different candidate for taking a consort, can I?” Han Qian said with a smile. “Fortunately, I’m providing strategies to scheme for him without guaranteeing it will definitely succeed. If it’s merely to a certain extent estrange the father-son relationship between the Lord of Shu Wang Jian and the Marquis of Qingjiang, and restore the father-son relationship between the Lord of Shu Wang Jian and the Marquis of Changxiang, there are still ways to think of—didn’t Wang Jian resume employing Jing Qiongwen after all?”
Xi Ren understood now. The Lord of Shu Wang Jian was somewhat younger than Emperor Tianyou and Emperor Liang, but he too had entered his twilight years. Especially with his early entanglements of gratitude and enmity with the Divine Mausoleum Bureau, in his old age his suspicions should be considerable…
He guarded against his heir being unable to restrain himself, yet he could not avoid establishing an heir. Perhaps learning from Emperor Tianyou to have several sons mutually balance each other was the final unavoidable choice for people like him—as for Divine Mausoleum Bureau or not, as long as they could be used by the imperial house, what difference was there from other clan faction forces?