These past two days, with the Third Prince’s grand wedding, Guo Rong had been managing affairs both inside and outside the palace. Today, after accompanying him in the palace all day, he was dragged by Zhao Mingting to the garrison headquarters. His entire person was extremely exhausted and fatigued, his thinking sluggish, far from his usual sharpness. He also couldn’t understand why Zhao Mingting had suddenly, with such urgency, pulled him here to storm the camp.
After reviewing documents back and forth for half an hour, he hadn’t spotted any flaws. Guo Rong’s eyelids were fighting each other. Li Zhigao very considerately inquired whether he should rest first at the military headquarters here, and wait until tomorrow to invite Chief Administrator Shen Yang over before discussing military affairs.
How could Guo Rong possibly want to spend the night here?
Seeing that Zhao Mingting also hadn’t discovered any flaws, he said that the marquis’s residence still had matters requiring his personal attention tomorrow, and he was thinking of leaving the garrison tonight to return to the city.
The suspicion in Zhao Mingting’s eyes remained heavy. He thought about how the beggar who had overheard his conversation with Wang Wenqian yesterday was clearly a spy from the Third Prince’s side. Immediately afterward, the Taowu Marketplace garrison headquarters suddenly strengthened its outer perimeter security, making it impossible for the Bureau of Operations’ secret agents to infiltrate no matter what. This indicated that Wang Wenqian’s warning wasn’t fabricated from nothing to divert their attention from Chuzhou. However, since Guo Rong had already spoken, as an invited guest, he had no excuse to continue delaying and detaining him.
In the end, Zhao Mingting reluctantly led his troops and rode out of the garrison together with Guo Rong.
Watching the drawbridge slowly rise behind them, Zhao Mingting looked back to see Li Zhigao, Han Qian, and the others still standing atop the gate tower. His subordinates were disgustedly removing their filthy oilcloth robes and tossing them aside.
“Let’s go, Administrator Zhao.” Seeing Zhao Mingting still hesitating, Guo Rong yawned and urged him on.
“Something’s not right. We must enter the garrison camp to see the true situation,” Zhao Mingting suddenly had a flash of insight, understanding where the flaw lay. He said to Guo Rong, “Shen Yang enters and exits the garrison daily without any abnormalities. And yesterday at the marquis’s residence banquet, did you see even half a trace of tension or unease from Li Zhigao and the others?”
Hearing Zhao Mingting say this, Guo Rong also suddenly awakened, secretly feeling that if the garrison side truly needed to maintain such high alert as just now, then yesterday they shouldn’t have allowed all those who regularly entered and exited the garrison to easily enter the marquis’s residence for the banquet.
Had Li Zhigao’s many pretentious acts just now actually been using their fear of the epidemic to lead them by the nose?
“Commandant Li…” Seeing that Li Zhigao, Han Qian, and the others were about to descend from the gate tower, Guo Rong hurriedly called out, asking them to lower the drawbridge.
“In the dead of night, Administrator Guo exits the garrison gate only to want to enter again—are you here to toy with us?” Li Zhigao said with a darkened face in a heavy voice.
“Commandant Li, open the camp gate. I want to inspect the garrison,” Guo Rong said.
“Why? On what grounds?” Since Li Zhigao had already seen Guo Rong and Zhao Mingting out, how could he possibly reopen the gate and lower the drawbridge to let them in? He said coldly, “Administrator Guo, you do have the authority to oversee punishments and rewards and investigate irregularities, but to come storming the camp without name or purpose in the dead of night during curfew—Zhigao has already endured the annoyance in his heart to accommodate your troublemaking until now. Yet Administrator Guo remains unsatisfied and continues to toy with Zhigao and all these soldiers. Forgive Zhigao for being unable to comply further. If Zhigao has committed any offense, please have Administrator Guo inform His Highness tomorrow for investigation, or memorialize His Majesty. Zhigao will bear full responsibility. It’s already late today—please return to the city, Administrator Guo.”
To prevent military officials from usurping authority, Emperor Tianyou gave military supervisors the power to memorialize directly, even allowing them to directly control some troops. However, Guo Rong wanting to re-enter after leaving during curfew, with Li Zhigao openly refusing—if this matter reached Emperor Tianyou, it would become an endless legal tangle.
Seeing Li Zhigao, Han Qian, and the others leave the gate tower without any concern, Guo Rong also awkwardly looked toward Zhao Mingting and asked, “Can Administrator Tian’s side delay another day? I’ll free myself up tomorrow and find Shen Yang to re-enter the garrison.”
“His Majesty’s side has already inquired once. Unless we absolutely reject it, Administrator Tian doesn’t want to delay further and suffer more rebuke,” Zhao Mingting said with furrowed brows.
The two Vice Directors of the Secretariat were both highly respected, yet they only wanted to be peaceful officials. Unless they made an absolute determination, one couldn’t expect them to defy Emperor Tianyou’s will.
Guo Rong lowered his voice and said, “From the current situation, Taowu Marketplace does have something fishy about it, but we haven’t clarified exactly what the situation is. Perhaps it’s inappropriate to make too big a commotion over this matter?”
In Guo Rong’s view, His Majesty had long been dissatisfied with the Palace of Tranquility. Having the Third Prince take command of the Dragon Sparrow Army and incorporate the disaster refugees was also something His Majesty had pushed through against widespread opposition. No matter what they did now, they couldn’t let the Palace of Tranquility and His Majesty become openly opposed. In that case, it was extremely likely that Chuzhou’s side would reap the fisherman’s profit.
“During this time, both inside and outside the palace, everyone’s been saying the Third Prince is intelligent and studious, bearing some resemblance to His Majesty’s demeanor before he rose to power. Haven’t you considered that His Majesty may very well favor the Third Prince to replace him, rather than that person in Chuzhou?” Zhao Mingting stared at Guo Rong with sinister eyes as he asked.
Zhao Mingting’s gaze made Guo Rong quite uncomfortable. He only asked, “In Administrator Zhao’s opinion, should we go see Administrator Niu right now?”
Even if they truly wanted to ask Secretariat Vice Director Tian Zhiwen to delay affixing his seal to the Ministry of Personnel memorial, they would need to consult with Vice Privy Councilor Niu Gengru first. They didn’t have the qualifications to go directly to Tian Zhiwen’s door.
“No need. However, I’ll still need you to free yourself up tomorrow to come again. Even if time is tight, we must first confirm the situation here before making other arrangements,” Zhao Mingting said.
Seeing Zhao Mingting’s eyes reflect a cold, sharp gleam in the dim torchlight, Guo Rong felt a slight chill in his heart, knowing that in Jinling City, Zhao Mingting was the direct confidant relied upon by Xu Mingzhen and the Palace of Tranquility. The power he wielded was much greater than others imagined.
Han Qian and Li Zhigao descended from the gate tower but didn’t leave immediately. Instead, they stood behind the gate, observing everything on the opposite bank of the boundary ditch through the gaps in the wooden palisade.
After a long while, they finally saw Zhao Mingting and Guo Rong leave, surrounded by over a hundred people.
“We have done all that mortals can do. What follows can only be left to Heaven’s will,” Li Zhigao said to Han Qian with composure.
Han Qian nodded. In fact, he could be grateful that Zhao Mingting was this urgent, dragging Guo Rong over to storm the camp in the dead of night. Only in this deep of night could they make these crude deceptions and lead them by the nose. If they had really come after daybreak, and they had no reason during the day to keep thirty to forty thousand people confined inside the garrison without letting them out, then the garrison’s true situation would have been clear at a glance.
They had already done this much. But if his father’s appointment to be transferred to Xuzhou was truly intercepted by the Palace of Tranquility, they could only plan anew for what followed.
After Zhao Mingting and Guo Rong entered the city, the Bureau of Operations people from the Privy Council also all withdrew from Longhua Wharf. Naturally, Chai Jian’s side subsequently withdrew their people back to the city as well.
Li Zhigao remained at the garrison headquarters to hold the fort. Han Qian also waited until after daybreak before returning to the city with Yao Xishui and Zhao Ting’er, bringing some personnel.
Yao Xishui didn’t go directly back to the Evening Crimson Tower. Instead, she first led Han Qian and the others to Chun Shisanniang’s residence.
This was also a secret stronghold of the Evening Crimson Tower.
Chun Shisanniang possessed considerable beauty, but in her early years had fallen into the world of courtesans at another entertainment hall. Later she redeemed herself, purchased a residence, and socialized with the city’s powerful and influential. These years, no one knew that Chun Shisanniang had any connection with the Evening Crimson Tower.
Han Qian only learned that Chun Shisanniang was from the Evening Crimson Tower after Li Chong and the others used her to threaten Feng Yi and Kong Xirong.
“The Fragrant Pavilion has already been targeted by Zhao Mingting, and Administrator Han openly flirted with Miss Wang the other day. Should we acquire a shop from elsewhere and do different business?” After Chun Shisanniang invited Yao Xishui and Han Qian to sit in the elegant room, she asked about subsequent arrangements.
“No, we’ll still directly acquire the Fragrant Pavilion,” Han Qian didn’t think being targeted by Zhao Mingting was any problem. The construction of covert forces inherently required interweaving both overt and covert lines. He said, “Even if Zhao Mingting targets the Fragrant Pavilion, can he really prevent the ladies of various households from coming to buy rouge and cosmetics?”
“But what about Shisanniang’s identity?” Yao Xishui asked.
Previously, Chun Shisanniang’s identity hadn’t been exposed, but if she now came forward to manage the Fragrant Pavilion, even ghosts would know she belonged to the Third Prince.
Add to this that Chun Shisanniang’s former entanglements with Kong Xirong’s father Kong Zhou were widely known, and they obviously couldn’t expect this connection with Chun Shisanniang to force a figure like Kong Zhou to jump aboard their pirate ship—the situation could very likely spiral beyond their control and become even more intricate and complex.
After pondering for a moment, Han Qian said, “Have Shisanniang advance this matter from the shadows first. There’s no rush to come forward directly.”
Han Qian didn’t think that with Zhao Mingting investigating down the line from the Fragrant Pavilion rouge shop, Chun Shisanniang’s identity could remain concealed for long. However, directly pushing her into the open—if Kong Zhou’s side didn’t want to be helplessly branded with the Third Prince’s mark, they would inevitably have countermeasures, and the entire situation would indeed become extremely chaotic.
Nevertheless, with Chun Shisanniang managing the Fragrant Pavilion from the shadows, even if she fell within Zhao Mingting’s field of vision, it wouldn’t matter much. As long as Kong Zhou’s side didn’t alert the enemy and stir the situation into chaos, it could even mislead the Palace of Tranquility’s judgment regarding Kong Zhou, Feng Wenlan, and the others, thereby making the situation more favorable for their side.
Yao Xishui thought perhaps this was the only way—first push the matter forward and get it started, then see how the Palace of Tranquility’s side reacted before deciding how to proceed.
After leaving three carefully selected capable women for Chun Shisanniang to train and discipline, Han Qian escorted Yao Xishui back to the Evening Crimson Tower before going to the Marquis of Linjiang’s residence to see the Third Prince.
Just as he and the male-disguised Zhao Ting’er dismounted in front of the residence gate, Feng Yi and Kong Xirong rushed out urgently: “Han Qian, your father’s being transferred to Xuzhou to serve as Regional Inspector, yet you didn’t reveal even half a hint beforehand—you’re really not being loyal enough!”
In Feng Yi and Kong Xirong’s view, Han Daoxun being transferred to serve as Regional Inspector of Xuzhou was naturally the result of the Han family’s behind-the-scenes maneuvering. They naturally assumed Han Qian had known about this long ago, feeling somewhat resentful that Han Qian wasn’t righteous enough.
“Xuzhou is a land of miasma and pestilence, not even one-tenth as prosperous as Jinling. I was still hoping it wouldn’t happen.” Hearing Feng Yi and Kong Xirong rush over making such a big fuss, Han Qian relaxed slightly, knowing the matter was accomplished. He only said nonchalantly.