HomeCrane NotesChapter 32: Clear Jade and Glazed Tiles (Part 5)

Chapter 32: Clear Jade and Glazed Tiles (Part 5)

Zhang Luo looked down at He Yixian.

This man had entered the palace as a eunuch at age seven, and now had “numerous descendants” – all the palace servants in the inner court called him Patriarch, and even the female officials of the Bureau of Ceremonies called him “Godfather.” He had managed the Directorate of Ceremonial for twelve years, and though constantly criticized and cursed by civil officials, the Emperor himself had said to Zhang Luo: “Without this servant, if I want to reward someone in my household, must I go beg at the duty office of the Grand Secretariat?”

These words held no hidden meaning; Zhang Luo had understood them perfectly at the time.

Though he despised associating with these eunuchs, they were dogs that couldn’t be beaten.

He turned and walked toward the east gate, saying solemnly, “If it’s His Majesty’s business, let’s discuss it inside the office.”

He Yixian followed Zhang Luo into the main hall.

Zhang Luo unbuckled his sword and placed it on the desk, casually pulled over a chair to sit down, and looked up saying: “Speak.”

He Yixian stood before Zhang Luo with a slight stoop. “Lord Zhang showed mercy to Huang and Liu.”

Zhang Luo said: “It was His Majesty who showed mercy.”

“Indeed.”

He Yixian sighed with a smile. “His Majesty has shown these people the utmost benevolence, yet they completely fail to recognize his grace.”

Just as he finished speaking, a blood-curdling scream suddenly came from the imperial prison in the rear courtyard. Zhang Luo turned his head. “Who’s back there?”

The commander replied: “It’s Captain Qin. The prisoners from Tongjia Academy were making a commotion in their cells, speaking rashly about His Majesty. Captain Qin is dealing with Zhou Congshan.”

Zhang Luo said: “Can’t you see we’re discussing matters here? Gag him!”

“Yes sir.”

The commander hurried to the rear courtyard.

He Yixian straightened up and looked toward the back courtyard.

“Is this Zhou Congshan the teacher from Tongjia Academy?”

The terrible screams turned into wretched whimpers.

Zhang Luo frowned and said directly: “Director He, speak plainly.”

“Yes.”

He Yixian turned around. “Half a year has passed since Deng Yi’s case. These people, using the pretext of speaking up for Deng Ying, have written a pile of treasonous articles. In truth, it’s still the Donglin Party’s way – insulting the sovereign father, their arrogance knows no bounds. They should have been convicted and executed long ago. Today they dare to speak rashly about His Majesty again – they truly deserve death by a thousand cuts. His Majesty pities the young officials of the Six Offices and Censorate and is unwilling to use severe punishment, but for these grave offenders in the imperial prison, Lord Zhang, surely there’s no need for further leniency?”

Zhang Luo clenched his hand.

“Kill the people from Tongjia Academy?”

He Yixian responded: “These people were convicted because of the Deng case – they should have been executed from the start. Even the Censorate wouldn’t dare object. Lord Zhang need only let the civil officials at court see the consequences of insulting the sovereign father.”

Zhang Luo stood up and strode to He Yixian. “Is this His Majesty’s intention, or yours?”

He Yixian bowed. “Forgive me, my lord, but if His Majesty had such intentions, he wouldn’t say it.”

Hearing these words, Zhang Luo suddenly struck He Yixian hard across the face with the back of his hand. He Yixian rolled under the desk from the force.

But he didn’t cry out. He lifted his sleeve to press his mouth corner and said to Zhang Luo:

“If every word must come from His Majesty, every action must be done by His Majesty, then how are this old servant and my lord to conduct ourselves?”

Zhang Luo looked down at him. “Don’t lump me together with people like you.”

“Yes, my lord’s lesson is well taken.”

Zhang Luo took the sword from the desk and pressed its scabbard against He Yixian’s injury, tilting his head to ask: “What will you say happened?”

“This old servant struck himself.”

The June heat was stifling. The Imperial Dispensary was brewing cooling tea for various palaces, and the twenty-four Inner Court Offices and Six Bureaus each sent some palace servants to help.

Yang Wan finished her shift and squatted by the tea stove with Li Yu, her sleeves tied back.

She had never gotten along well with these fiery things, and in no time was covered in soot and dust.

Li Yu watched her fumbling about and said with exasperation, “Hey, is this tea so urgent that even the Bureau of Ceremonies had to send you?”

Yang Wan fanned herself a few times with a fan, wiping away sweat as she said, “What would a child like you understand?”

Just then, she saw the Imperial Physician walking out with his medicine box. Yang Wan quickly wiped the soot from her face and stood up to address Physician Peng: “Physician Peng, are you leaving the palace now?”

Physician Peng looked at Yang Wan’s appearance and smiled: “Young lady, you’ve been helping here after your shifts these past few days – such hard work. Come in and wash your hands.”

“Alright, I also have something to ask of you, Physician.”

Physician Peng led Yang Wan into the medicine hall, ordered an attendant to bring water, set down his medicine box,g and gestured for Yang Wan to sit with him.

“What can I do for you, Lady Yang?”

Yang Wan wiped her face with the water the attendant brought, clasped her hands in her lap, and said somewhat nervously in a soft voice: “Actually, I’m afraid to ask. I know the Imperial Physicians never treat the palace servants. But Deputy Director Deng’s leg injury has been particularly painful this month, and even though he can get some medicine, it doesn’t seem to help much. I don’t know what else to do, so I thought I’d try asking you.”

Physician Peng smiled slightly. “So that’s what this is about. Lady Yang, how did Deputy Director Deng injure his leg?”

Seeing he hadn’t immediately refused, Yang Wan quickly replied: “Last year in the Ministry of Justice prison, he wore heavy chains for too long and it injured the bone. This year has had particularly heavy spring and summer rains. After getting caught in the rain early last month, I’ve noticed he seems to be in constant pain.”

Physician Peng nodded after listening. He opened his medicine box and took out a bottle of medicine for injuries, but as he was about to hand it to Yang Wan, he suddenly paused, put it back, and said: “How about this – have him come here and I’ll examine him.”

Yang Wan couldn’t help standing up. “Really?”

“Yes. It’s been injured for over half a year now. We need to examine it to know how to treat it properly – otherwise, any amount of medicine will only treat the symptoms, not the root cause.”

Yang Wan quickly asked, “Are you leaving the palace now?”

Physician Peng looked at the sky. “It’s still early.”

“Then I’ll send Li Yu to fetch him right away.”

With that, she happily walked outside and snatched Li Yu’s palm-leaf fan.

Li Yu jumped up. “What are you doing?”

“I’ll watch things here – you go find Deng Ying.”

Li Yu said: “You’re not asking him to come help with the fire, are you? He’s been either at the Hall of Literary Brilliance or the Hall of Supreme Harmony these days – he’s incredibly busy.”

Yang Wan hit Li Yu’s head with the fan.

“Who said I’m asking him to tend the fire? Hurry up and go find him, or I’ll tell your sister you didn’t listen to me.”

“You…”

Li Yu stomped his foot and turned around. “Fine, I’ll go find him.”

“Wait, you haven’t asked what I want him for. What if he doesn’t come?”

Li Yu rolled his eyes.

“He’d climb a mountain of swords if you asked – he won’t even question it. I’m going. Don’t tell my sister, okay?”

Yang Wan smiled and squatted down behind Li Yu, bending to tend the fire in the stove.

As the autumn of Zhenning’s twelfth year approached, she had been having nightmares for an entire month, tossing and turning, unable to sleep soundly.

She didn’t dare let Consort Ning and the people of the Bureau of Ceremonies know. She still delivered documents between the Inner Court Offices daily, but when she saw Consort Ning and Yi Lang, she spoke noticeably less.

Her notes had been filled in up to the Tongjia tragedy – from Zhang Zhanchun to the two censors Huang and Liu, every word, though concise and calm in her usual writing style, concealed blood and tears.

Today finally brought something to make her happy.

As she thought about this, she fanned herself while watching the entrance.

The golden sun was setting.

When Deng Ying arrived, it was just twilight.

He seemed to have come directly from the Hall of Supreme Harmony, wearing a gray robe with dust on his sleeves. As he walked, he rolled up his sleeves and squatted down beside Yang Wan. “Were you punished?”

Yang Wan folded her hands in her lap. “Something like that.”

Deng Ying reached for her fan. “Let me do it.”

Yang Wan shook her head. “I was joking, I’m fine.”

She then waved to Li Yu behind him. “Come here.”

Li Yu resignedly took the fan. “Alright, Deng Ying, hurry and take her away. Even the fire is afraid of her.”

Yang Wan couldn’t help laughing as she tapped his head: “Thank you for your help.”

Then she stood and said to Deng Ying: “Come, follow me inside.”

Deng Ying also stood up, looking at the medicine hall. “This isn’t a place I can enter privately.”

“It’s fine.”

Physician Peng came to the door. “Today, for Lady Yang and the Bureau of Ceremonies’ sake, we can make an exception.”

He stepped aside. “Come in.”

Deng Ying entered the medicine hall with Yang Wan.

Physician Peng pointed to a round-backed armchair. “Sit here.”

Deng Ying remained standing. “I dare not. If my lord has something to say, please speak.”

Physician Peng said: “Your injury is on your ankle – how can I examine it while you’re standing?”

Deng Ying was startled. “How could I let my lord examine my injury?”

Yang Wan pulled his sleeve and led him to the chair. “I begged my lord for so long – don’t say another word, or if he refuses to examine you, I’ll die of anger right in front of you.”

Though Deng Ying sat down uncomfortably under her pressure, he didn’t speak further.

Physician Peng glanced at Yang Wan and smiled. “No need to get angry with him.”

Then he said to Deng Ying: “Remove your shoes and socks, let me look first.”

“My lord, you cannot!”

Yang Wan saw how he almost instinctively turned his leg to one side, so she released her hand pressing Deng Ying down and stepping back toward the door.

“I’m a bit hot – I want to go out for some air. Don’t you dare anger Physician Peng, understand?”

Without waiting for Deng Ying’s response, she turned and went outside, closing the door.

Li Yu saw her come out alone and asked: “Why did you come out by yourself?”

Yang Wan sat on the steps. “Don’t you understand that patients need privacy?”

“What nonsense… I don’t understand.”

Yang Wan smiled, resting her chin in her hand. “That’s because you’re just a kid.”

“I’m going to tell my sister you insulted me.”

Yang Wan reached out to pat his head. “Go ahead, kid.”

Deng Ying listened to the cheerful voices outside, stood up, and bowed to Physician Peng.

“This lowly one’s body truly cannot offend my lord. Moreover, this ankle injury was received while serving my punishment – it was meant as punishment and warning, and needs no treatment.”

Physician Peng gestured for him to sit.

“This official is a healer – I don’t concern myself much with legal matters. However, in the palace, the principle is the same: healing is also forming a connection. Even if you truly were a criminal servant, as long as your crime wasn’t capital, I would still be willing to treat you. Just now you wouldn’t remove your shoes and socks – that was because you didn’t want to be improper in front of Lady Yang, wasn’t it?”

An outsider had seen through it in one sentence.

He felt deeply ashamed.

Yang Wan was the person closest to him, so close she had seen him nearly naked, with only a cloth covering his shame.

Before this young woman, he should have long since had no “propriety” to speak of, and indeed could never regain it.

Just liking her was already a grave mistake.

So, almost like confessing to a crime, he answered with a single “Yes.”

Physician Peng said: “She’s not here now. Remove them and let me look – I can see you’ve been enduring pain since you came in. If this continues, there will be severe consequences. You don’t want to be crippled at such a young age, do you?”

Hearing these words, Deng Ying no longer insisted. He bent down and rolled up his trouser leg. Since returning from Guangji Temple, his ankle had been severely bruised and swollen. Every day when putting on shoes, the pain was excruciating, but he had endured without telling anyone. He didn’t know how Yang Wan had noticed.

“It hurts even like this, doesn’t it?”

Physician Peng squatted down to examine the affected area. “Have you been walking much these days?”

“At the Hall of Supreme Harmony, walking is unavoidable.”

“No wonder.”

He stood up as he spoke. “The root of the pain is in the bone. With the foundation damaged, it’s very difficult to cure completely, but it can still be treated. I must say, though Lady Yang doesn’t understand medicine, she has quite a good eye. How old is she this year?”

Deng Ying lowered his trouser leg and began arranging his shoes and socks. “Eighteen.”

Physician Peng stood by the window washing his hands, glancing at the steps outside. Without elaborating further, he just smiled and said, “At such an age, having such consideration is rare.”

Just then, they suddenly heard a commotion from the direction of the Grand Secretariat’s duty office.

Physician Peng simply pushed the window wide open.

“What’s happening at the Grand Secretariat today?”

Deng Ying stood and walked to the window. “Today is the assembly – what’s wrong?”

Yang Wan also stood up, and seeing Deng Ying at the window, hurried over saying: “I heard Yang Lun’s voice – it sounds like he’s arguing.”

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