Fortunately, the dire situation Qingyang worried about didn’t occur. Before Jiang Huo could take his leave, Du Qiniang arrived under orders with several maids to attend to her daily needs.
Qingyang knew Du Qiniang’s background—she was the daughter of a Ying Province medical official. Because her father had been coerced into surrendering to the Liang army, after the Jing-Xiang campaign he was executed, and she and her younger sister were demoted to the music camp as slaves, while other family members were also relegated to hard labor camps.
The Du sisters were bestowed upon Han Qian by Prince Tan Yang Yuanpu. Han Qian subsequently took in her brothers Du Yijun, Du Yiming, and other relatives to serve under him. They currently belonged to the Han household retainers.
Du Qiniang was skilled in medicine and identifying poisons. Han Qian arranged for her to be at Prince Tan Yang Yuanpu’s side, responsible for medical meals and such matters.
Although Du Qiniang being sent over indicated Yang Yuanpu still maintained a certain degree of authority and hadn’t become a puppet receiving constant admonishments due to the arrival of the Imperial Dowager Consort, Zheng Chang, Han Daoming, Zheng Yu, and others, the fact that she couldn’t see Yang Yuanpu while Jiang Huo was subsequently summoned to report on the Xu Province situation still made Qingyang feel quite unpleasant.
She felt like a cornered beast that had walked into a trap—unable to go anywhere, unable to move in any direction. Her previous hope of immediately sending someone to Shu to make contact after reaching Yueyang had also come to nothing.
At present, she only had Du Qiniang who could help her strategize. She first had the other female attendants leave, then asked Du Qiniang: “Can you send someone to Xu Province to contact Han Qian?”
“This servant serves at His Highness’s side, ordinarily responsible for internalMansion meals. According to regulations, I’m forbidden from casually contacting people outside the internalMansion,” Du Qiniang said with slight resentful sorrow.
Seeing the resentful sorrow between Du Qiniang’s brows, Qingyang thought—she was responsible for meals and should be counted as a female official of the internalMansion. According to regulations, she couldn’t casually contact outsiders. But before the Imperial Dowager Consort arrived in Yueyang, who would have unnecessarily managed Han Qian’s people so strictly?
Qingyang guessed it was most likely that the Imperial Dowager Consort knew Du Qiniang was someone Han Qian had sent to Prince Tan’s side. These past few days she probably hadn’t lacked for mistreatment, and restrictions should have been imposed on her, making her movements no longer as free as before.
At this moment, Qingyang also more clearly recognized that regardless of how much she resented Han Qian for violently abducting her to Chu, right now in Prince Tan’sMansion, only Han Qian’s people could be used by her.
Qingyang comforted Du Qiniang, saying:
“At this time, you’re the only one I can rely on and discuss matters with at my side. That Han Qian uses you shows you must have exceptional qualities. You’re also from an official’s family, literate and reasonable since childhood, well-versed in medical principles. From now on, in my presence, you need not consider yourself a servant…”
Du Qiniang, Lin Haizheng, and Feng Xuan were successively recommended by Han Qian to serve at Prince Tan Yang Yuanpu’s side after the campaign to reduce provincial powers. Having official positions, they couldn’t casually leave to return to Xu Province.
They had also only just learned Han Qian had returned to Xu Province, but Xu Province hadn’t sent anyone to directly contact them. They also didn’t know what Han Qian’s reaction would be upon learning the news that the Dowager Consort, Zheng Yu, and others were already in Yueyang. For now, they could only observe how things developed.
* * *
The Yueyang Regional Commander’sMansion official residence served as Prince Tan Yang Yuanpu’s temporary palace. At this moment, the council hall was packed and brightly lit.
Zheng Yu, Zheng Chang, Han Daoming, Han Daochang, as well as Shen Yang, Zheng Hui, Zhang Ping, Zhou Yuan, Guo Liang, Gao Chengyuan, Zheng Xingxuan, and others all sat below Prince Tan Yang Yuanpu, seated at their respective tables.
“On the fourth day of the second month, Han Qian escorted Princess Qingyang back to Longya City. Seeing his father Han Daoxun’s coffin, he was overcome with grief, his mind in a trance, with no heart to pay attention to the changing turbulent situation. On the ninth day of the second month, he selected a burial site for his father Han Daoxun and then built a hut beside the tomb to observe mourning, not descending the mountain again. On the tenth, after seeing Han Daoxun’s funeral rites completed, this subject escorted Princess Qingyang down the mountain, planning to board a ship from Linjiang back to Yueyang. Unexpectedly, we encountered Wang Jixiong on the way, who had come to Xu Province to pay respects to Han Daoxun. This subject took the initiative to stay with Princess Qingyang for two more days, thinking that after Wang Jixiong paid his respects, we would invite him to visit Yueyang. We didn’t expect that after paying respects to Han Daoxun, Wang Jixiong would fall gravely ill. The day before yesterday, he actually passed away in Xu Province…”
Jiang Huo knelt before the hall reporting on the circumstances of what he had seen and heard on his Xu Province trip. Seeing a curtain hanging behind His Highness with the Dowager Consort Lady Wang’s silhouette vaguely visible behind it, his heart was shrouded by a layer of shadow.
He knew how powerful that curtain was. This curtain meant the Dowager Consort had the authority to summon generals and ministers and issue decrees, with effectiveness not even inferior to His Highness.
Truthfully, when Jiang Huo was in Xu Province, he had completely failed to anticipate that Han Daoming, Zheng Chang, Zheng Yu, and others would risk the dangers of the Tower Ship Army blockade to escort the Dowager Consort Lady Wang into Yueyang City.
Jiang Huo didn’t pay much attention to Zheng Chang and Han Daoming. Instead, he secretly observed Huang Province Prefect and Zheng clan patriarch Zheng Yu. Seeing he was under sixty years old with somewhat graying temples and long beard, his lean, slightly narrow face appeared somewhat gloomy. His triangular eyes, however, were extremely focused as they examined everyone before the hall. It seemed that even though he had only arrived in Yueyang a few days ago, he wanted to seize every opportunity to imprint every person in Yueyang into his mind.
Jiang Huo thought to himself—besides pledging loyalty to His Highness, the reason Zheng Yu rushed to Yueyang was probably because he was the Dowager Consort’s greatest supporter, wasn’t he?
Otherwise, with Marquis of Xinchang Li Pu currently remaining in Run Province, although Han Daoming and Zheng Chang had titles of Court of Judicial Review Junior Administrator and Ministry of Personnel Vice Minister, as homeless dogs fleeing to Yueyang, they didn’t have much voice.
Zheng Yu was different.
Zheng Yu was Huang Province Prefect and even more so the Zheng clan patriarch.
Left Vermillion Bird Army Commander Zheng Hui was Zheng Yu’s cousin-nephew. Imperial GuardMansion Commander Zheng Xingxuan was Zheng Yu’s legitimate son.
During the campaign to reduce provincial powers, hundreds and thousands of Zheng clan disciples had established outstanding military achievements and were now the backbone force of the Left and Right Vermillion Bird Armies.
Just five days ago, after learning Han Qian had returned to Xu Province, they couldn’t wait to restructure the Hunan Regional Administration.
Besides Prince Tan Yang Yuanpu continuing to concurrently hold the position of Regional Administration Minister, with Shen Yang and Marquis of Xinchang Li Pu continuing to serve as Left and Right Vice Ministers, they also established a Regional Censorate, Regional Privy Council, and Six Regional Ministries.
On one hand, the Hunan Regional Administration urgently needed to form a complete system similar to a small court to better mobilize resources from Hunan’s eight provinces and even more legitimately issue orders to surrounding provinces like Huang, E, Ying, and Sui to obey the Hunan Regional Administration’s commands.
Otherwise, forget about outlying prefectures and counties—even adjustments and appointments of officials in Hunan’s eight provinces had no formal basis for the Regional Administration to proceed with. The most direct consequence this brought was that efficiency would become extremely low, or even chaotic.
However, the main purpose for Zheng Yu, Zheng Chang, and Han Daoming in doing this was to facilitate their ability to directly bypass Prince Tan’sMansion officials who had merit but shallow seniority like Han Qian, Zheng Hui, and Wang Lin, and directly occupy these newly established high-ranking official positions.
Discussing family background and seniority ranking remained a universally accepted rule in the current age.
Needless to say about Zheng Yu and Zheng Chang. Han Daoming, as someone who had previously served as Chi Province Prefect and Ministry of Personnel Vice Minister, had two concubine sons and one son-in-law serving as county vice magistrates and county lieutenants and other low-level officials in Hunan’s eight provinces. This time he also brought two to three hundred nephews and household soldier retainers to escort the Dowager Consort to Yueyang and support Prince Tan. Never mind positions like Left and Right Vice Ministers or Regional Privy Councilor—wasn’t it perfectly legitimate for him to serve as Regional Administration Ministry of Personnel Vice Minister?
Who could say otherwise?
Besides Zheng Yu serving as Regional Privy Councilor and Zheng Chang serving as Censorate Vice Director to control the Regional Censorate, even Han Daochang, for his merit in escorting the Dowager Consort, was able to serve under Regional Administration Ministry of Works Vice Minister Zhou Yuan as Regional Administration Ministry of Works Director. It was also made clear that only civil and military generals and ministers at the rank of Regional Administration Vice Minister or Vice Commander and above were qualified to participate in the Regional Administration’s council deliberations.
“Han Qian escorted Princess Qingyang back from Shu—his laborious achievement deserves high merit. But with his father dying miserably under brutal torture, his overwhelming grief is also human nature. His Highness should permit him to observe mourning and filial piety. After all, since our Great Chu was founded by the late Emperor, we’ve also established the nation through filial piety. Filial regulations cannot be lightly violated.” Seeing Han Daoming and Han Daochang sitting before His Highness but finding it inconvenient to speak much, Zheng Chang spoke for them. This was also his duty as the newly appointed Censorate Vice Director.
Although Zheng Chang truly didn’t want to become enemies with a figure like Han Qian—he’d even had a period of good cooperation with him in Jinling—during the Jinling upheaval, he had no choice but to cooperate with Wang Wenqian and abandon Han Daoxun.
Zheng Chang originally hadn’t had so many worries, but with Han Daoxun ultimately dying so miserably, he had to seriously consider whether Han Qian was a magnanimous person.
Zheng Chang wasn’t certain whether Han Qian had anticipated they had already arrived in Yueyang and thus decided to remain in Xu Province. But given the current situation, perhaps Han Qian remaining in Xu Province to observe mourning was an outcome everyone could accept?
Han Daoming and Han Daochang sat behind their long tables in silence, staring at the teacups before them, as if what Zheng Chang said was a matter completely unrelated to them.
Jiang Huo knelt before the hall. Seeing His Highness’s gloomy expression, he secretly felt that with Zheng Chang using the hats of filial propriety and filial piety to press down, and with the Dowager Consort sitting behind the curtain, His Highness had no way to speak any words he might have, did he?
Jiang Huo then looked at Zheng Hui, Gao Chengyuan, and Guo Liang seated diagonally in front of him. Seeing them hesitate for quite a while but ultimately not making a sound, he thought—Li Zhigao, Zhou Dan, and others were closer to Han Qian, but they were in Shao Province. If the three of them—Gao Chengyuan, Guo Liang, and Zheng Hui—didn’t stand up to speak, could it be they truly wanted to make Han Qian remain on Longya Mountain observing filial piety for three years?
Jiang Huo could only place his last hope on Shen Yang.
Shen Yang, however, seemed not to notice Jiang Huo’s anxious expression. He coughed lightly twice and said to Yang Yuanpu:
“If Han Qian insists on remaining in Xu Province to observe mourning and filial piety for his father, even if Your Highness overrides sentiment to employ him, it would only force his intentions. I fear he would also have no heart to assist Your Highness in planning affairs. Your Highness should accommodate his pursuit of filial piety. Setting this matter aside, there is one rather critical matter for the Regional Administration that cannot be endlessly delayed without resolution…”
Seeing even Shen Yang say this, Jiang Huo could only sigh inwardly. Yet he didn’t know what matter Shen Yang had that urgently needed a decision made right now.