During the Battle of Jinling, the Han Residence was relatively well-preserved, having merely been requisitioned by rebel forces as barracks.
Apart from some filth and considerable damage to doors and windows, the main buildings remained largely intact. After thorough cleaning, they looked renewed and refreshed.
Though the palace was holding the grand ceremony for establishing the Empress today, the Han family was also receiving honor—a daughter entering the palace to be invested as Noble Consort, a rank only slightly below that of Imperial Noble Consort. For the Han Residence, today was truly a day of great celebration.
With supplies scarce in Jinling, the Han family had sent people to Hangzhou and Huzhou a month earlier to purchase silk brocades, ceremonial candles, gold and silver vessels, and other goods.
Today, the two to three hundred lanterns hanging inside and outside the Han Residence were all fashioned from red silk.
The walls of both inner and outer courtyards had been freshly whitewashed, and the doors and windows, after repairs, had been newly painted.
Fine sand had been carefully scattered throughout the courtyards, both inside and out.
Many precious trees and exotic plants that had been destroyed were transplanted anew from other places. They even captured two young deer and two golden pheasants to raise in the garden behind Mingju Hall as auspicious omens. The cleaned shallow pond was also stocked with new koi.
The imperial betrothal gifts had been delivered yesterday—over a hundred boxes of items filling half the street. Early this morning, Jiang Huo, newly appointed as Junior Director of the Palace Attendants Bureau, led officials from the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs and the Ministry of Rites to the residence to announce the decree. Everyone in the Han household, old and young alike, received rewards, and only then did they escort Noble Consort back to the palace.
Though the Han Residence was also hosting a celebratory banquet today, Han Daoming, Han Daochang, and Han Jun—whose rank barely qualified him to stand in the court assembly—accompanied the old master Han Wenhuan, who had been enfeoffed as Marquis of Guangliang after His Majesty’s ascension, to the palace first to attend the Empress’s investiture ceremony.
Due to the somewhat special circumstances, and with Yang Yuanpu’s permission, Old Master Han along with Han Daoming and Han Daochang were allowed to return before nightfall after attending the main ceremonies, enabling them to entertain the guests who had come to the Han Residence for the celebratory feast.
Besides the old master being enfeoffed as a county marquis, Han Daoming served as Deputy Chief Administrator and concurrently as Minister of Finance. Not only did he control the Ministry of Finance, but he was also properly one of the chief ministers qualified to participate in Bureau of Military Affairs council meetings.
Today’s Han Residence was truly a prime ministerial household. With a daughter entering the palace—unlike the lower-ranked Nine Imperial Concubines or Twenty-Seven Consorts—Han Daoming was also qualified to be called National Uncle. This was a double measure of wealth and prominence.
Han Wenhuan had stood in the palace for most of the day and his body could no longer support it. Upon returning to the residence, he did not go to entertain guests but first withdrew to the inner quarters to rest. Though he wanted to lie down, he had no sleepiness at all. He had a maid help him up to sit in the courtyard, watching the tender yellow stamens of a cluster of winter jasmine in the corner already beginning to wilt in this early summer season.
“Grandfather…”
Han Wenhuan turned to see Han Chengmeng standing at the courtyard gate calling to him.
“Why aren’t you in the front courtyard accompanying the guests?” Han Wenhuan asked.
“The official who went to Xuzhou to deliver the decree returned to the capital today, and Han Dong also came to Jinling with the ship. He just delivered a congratulatory gift and was about to leave. Your grandson thought Grandfather might wish to see someone from Xuzhou, so I temporarily detained him and came to ask you,” Han Chengmeng said.
“Mm, mm.” Han Wenhuan looked at Han Chengmeng with considerable satisfaction and told him to invite the visitor from Xuzhou to the inner quarters for a chat.
A short while later, Han Chengmeng led Han Dong and two other robust young men over.
Han Dong wore brown casual clothing. At twenty-six or twenty-seven years of age, with a short mustache on his upper lip, he appeared refined and mature. It was hard to imagine that four or five years ago, he had been merely a low-ranking servant in the Han Residence, and only with his uncle Han Laoshan’s support had he attended private school for two or three years to gain rudimentary literacy.
The two robust young men behind Han Dong both wore leather armor and brown military uniforms, clearly military officers from Xuzhou. However, one of them had a familiar face—Han Wenhuan remembered this young man from Langxi as the guard called Han Donghu who had been at Han Qian’s side, or perhaps another military officer.
Han Dong had come to Jinling representing Xuzhou, so having Xuzhou military officers as escorts was natural.
“How is Han Laoshan’s health? Are your parents adjusting well to life in Xuzhou after moving there?” Han Wenhuan pulled Han Dong to sit beside him, chattering away with questions about family matters. He still remembered that Han Dong was Han Laoshan’s nephew who had later been adopted into Han Laoshan’s household. Afterward, his birth parents and siblings, originally servants of the Han household, had all been redeemed to commoner status and then taken to Xuzhou.
“My father’s health is still good. He also wanted to come to Jinling to visit you, Old Marquis, but the Lord worried his body couldn’t endure it and didn’t permit it. When I departed at mid-morning, he was still complaining that the Lord underestimated his constitution. As for my uncle and aunt, they can’t sit idle in Xuzhou. They say that since I’ve been adopted by Father, they want to earn a family fortune for my younger brother in Xuzhou. They’ve settled in Qianyang and opened a shop to do some small trade,” Han Dong said carefully, sitting to one side and describing his family’s situation in Xuzhou. According to contemporary customs, having been adopted into Han Laoshan’s household as an heir, he had to call Han Laoshan “Father” and his biological father “Uncle.”
Han Dong currently served as an assistant clerk in the Ministry of Rites and Courier Service under Feng Yi’s administration, mainly taking over from the retired Han Laoshan to handle certain matters on behalf of the Inner Palace.
Han Qian had accepted the investiture as Marquis of Qianyang, and both he personally and Xuzhou as a territory under Great Chu’s governance were required by protocol to present tribute gifts for the Empress’s investiture ceremony and the imperial consort selection.
Feng Yi, as Xuzhou’s Minister of Rites, had accompanied Han Dong and Han Donghu and others with the decree-bearing official to Jinling to present tribute gifts on behalf of Han Qian and Xuzhou.
Of course, since Xuzhou presented a humble attitude toward Jinling, to perform the act thoroughly, Feng Yi had Han Dong also deliver a congratulatory gift to the Han Residence—Feng Yi knew they wouldn’t be well received, so he simply didn’t come himself to avoid seeing their disdainful faces.
Though the gift was just a dozen or so bolts of medicinal patterned cloth, a Xuzhou specialty worth little money, it still represented Xuzhou’s “goodwill,” didn’t it?
Han Wenhuan just pulled Han Dong into casual conversation about family matters. When Han Dong took his leave again, he didn’t urge him to stay for the banquet but had Han Chengmeng escort Han Dong and his companions out of the residence.
After a while, Han Chengmeng, who had seen Han Dong and the others off, returned to see Old Master Han Wenhuan standing in the courtyard, gazing absently at the koi swimming in the pond. He asked quietly, “His Majesty’s wariness toward Xuzhou should be somewhat relieved this time, shouldn’t it?”
Han Wenhuan glanced sideways at this grandson not born of a principal wife and asked, “What is your assessment of Han Qian?”
“Han Qian’s talents are unmatched. Perhaps it’s precisely this that provokes His Majesty’s suspicion. Moreover, there are rumors that Han Qian and His Majesty both knew early on that the late Emperor’s life was threatened by Anning Palace, but His Majesty decided to conceal this matter,” Han Chengmeng said. “Regardless of the ulterior motives of those spreading these rumors behind the scenes, isn’t the truth perhaps exactly this?”
“Han Qian has repeatedly used the Han family as chess pieces to toy with. Do you have no thoughts about that?” Han Wenhuan asked. As if remembering something, he added, “Oh, when your second uncle and I went to Xuancheng to recruit Gu Zhilong, we truly didn’t know Han Qian’s intention was to lure Gu Zhilong out so he could attack Langxi. That’s quite different from what we told outsiders.”
“Grandson suspects this was indeed the case. Grandfather knew this and would have proceeded without hesitation, but Second Uncle and Han Jun are not such men,” Han Chengmeng said. “As for the Han family becoming chess pieces in Han Qian’s hands several times, it does rankle the heart, but it’s still better than following Anning Palace and the Crown Prince down a path to destruction!”
“Did you figure all this out yourself?” Han Wenhuan asked.
“With Little Sister entering the palace, Weiran also returned to Jinling these past few days. I’m closest to him, and we pondered this drunkenly,” Han Chengmeng said. “By rights, with Han Qian enfeoffed as a marquis and Little Sister entering the palace as a consort, certain matters should settle down. But Weiran and I always feel uneasy. We were afraid to speak to Father about this for fear of being scolded, so we wanted to ask your thoughts, Grandfather.”
“If things could truly be this way, it would be excellent indeed. But you and Weiran must understand—the tree desires stillness but the wind won’t cease,” Han Wenhuan sighed and said. “Think about it—if His Majesty and Han Qian were truly at peace with each other, who would be distressed now that His Majesty is sharpening his blade? Even for their own security, there are those in court who don’t want His Majesty and Han Qian at peace. Others don’t want His Majesty and Han Qian at peace, and though they can’t touch Han Qian far away in Xuzhou, that doesn’t mean they’re completely without recourse. This time His Majesty recalled Shen Yang to the central government, but after all the deliberations in the Council of State, they actually appointed Shang Wensheng to replace Shen Yang as Magistrate of Guangde Prefecture—this shows ill intent…”
Han Chengmeng naturally understood that the key turning point in the Battle of Jinling was Han Qian’s establishment of the Chishan Army on the foundation of remnant household troops from Taowu and the Xuzhou military officer corps, recruiting servants. In two battles, they not only made the Xuanzhou aristocratic families like Gu Zhilong submit but also completely suppressed the initially powerful Chuzhou Army north of Jieling Mountain, thereby reversing the wait-and-see attitude of the aristocratic families of Jiangxi and eastern Zhejiang.
After Han Qian relinquished military authority, the Left Guangde Army formed from reorganized Chishan Army forces, though no longer existing after base-level officers were transferred to accompany Han Qian back to Xuzhou and ordinary soldiers were dispersed and reassigned to various armies, still couldn’t deny Han Qian’s irreplaceable influence in Guangde, Langxi, and Anji Counties, where Chishan Army soldiers’ families were concentrated.
As head of the Lishui Shang clan, Shang Wensheng had served as a Ministry Section Chief before the Jinling Incident, not particularly prominent among court officials. After the Jinling Incident, Shang Wensheng was forced to submit to Anning Palace and became the Grand Tutor for Imperial Grandson Yang Fen, though he remained dissatisfied with Anning Palace and secretly maintained contact with Yang En.
After Jinling was recovered, Shang Wensheng and his eldest son successfully induced the soldiers guarding them during their river crossing to defect and join the southern bank, reuniting with his second son Shang Zhongjie and remaining in office in Jinling.
However, the Chishan Army had risen at the northern foot of Fuyu Mountain. Besides destroying Liyang City, their most crucial battle was the capture of Shang Family Fort. Shang Wensheng’s second son Shang Zhongjie had only survived by escaping just in time, but at least seventy or eighty Shang clan members died at the hands of the Chishan Army.
No matter how humble a posture Han Qian had assumed before, as long as His Majesty harbored doubts about Han Qian, the Council of State ministers’ decision to use Shang Wensheng as Magistrate of Guangde Prefecture carried very intriguing implications.
Han Wenhuan continued, “Though Shang Wensheng may not be foolish enough to willingly be exploited by others, if they fail once but don’t give up, where will their next target be?”
“Our Han family?” Han Chengmeng gasped.
“Not necessarily our Han family, but they won’t easily give up. Your father and second uncle can be careful, but Han Jun, Han Duan, who remain as officials in Jinling not daring to go elsewhere, and Shuhui who has just entered the palace—they’re all too inexperienced, too easily manipulated,” Han Wenhuan’s brow furrowed extremely tightly at this moment. He told Han Chengmeng, “After this matter is concluded, you and Weiran should take your wives and children out of Jinling if possible. Try not to return if you can avoid it! If there’s truly any disturbance, I’ll arrange for someone to send you word first…”
“…” Han Chengmeng stood there shocked. Though he and his brother-in-law Qiao Weiran had felt uneasy, sensing things weren’t as simple as they appeared, he hadn’t imagined that in the old master’s eyes, the situation the Han family currently faced was so severe that they must immediately plan to avoid a catastrophe of the nest being overturned.