HomeCrane NotesChapter 45: Duckweed in the Waves (Part 8)

Chapter 45: Duckweed in the Waves (Part 8)

After Yang Wan left, Deng Ying walked back to the Supervisorate of Imperial Ceremonial alone.

In the rear hall, the early meal was being served. Zheng Yuejia and Hu Xiang sat on either side of He Yixian, while two young eunuchs stood to the left and right behind He Yixian, attending to him carefully.

The meals at the Supervisorate of Imperial Ceremonial were different from other places. They were prepared in a separate kitchen at the back, with fixed portions of rice and meat. Generally, the food was prioritized for those of higher status, while those below would share what remained. After Deng Ying was promoted to Senior Secretary and concurrent Supervisor of the Eastern Depot, the kitchen included him in their considerations. However, since he had been spending most of his time at the Eastern Depot recently, the shrewd young eunuchs in the kitchen had been giving his portion to Li Yu.

Today was Deng Ying’s first time dining at the Supervisorate.

When He Yixian saw him enter, he said nothing, unhurriedly finishing a bowl of porridge before setting it down. The young eunuch at his side quickly took it away to refill it.

He Yixian glanced at Deng Ying and casually asked, “Did they prepare his portion?”

The kitchen eunuch quickly responded, “Yes, yes we did.”

He Yixian took the refilled porridge bowl and said, “Then give him bowls and chopsticks.”

The eunuch handed over the utensils, which Deng Ying accepted with a nod. Seeing there was no place for him to sit, Zheng Yuejia put down his chopsticks and stood up.

“Venerable Elder, I’ll go attend to the memorials.”

“Sit down,” He Yixian picked up a piece of pickled cucumber. “What time is it that you’re in such a hurry?”

“Yes…” Zheng Yuejia had no choice but to sit back down.

Hu Xiang gave a cold laugh, “Zheng Yuejia, you’re quick to change with the wind, aren’t you?”

He Yixian suddenly tapped the table with his chopsticks. “Hu Xiang, haven’t you suffered enough from your reckless nature?”

Hu Xiang quickly stood up. “Yes, Venerable Elder.”

He Yixian said irritably, “Sit down. Can’t even eat a meal in peace since he came in.”

He finished speaking and, holding his bowl, looked at Deng Ying. “You should be kneeling outside to eat, but with today’s snowy winds being so strong, I’m worried about your health getting worse in the cold. So just stand here and eat. When you’re done, follow me to take up duties at the Hall of Mental Cultivation.”

Deng Ying lowered his head. “Thank you, Venerable Elder.”

“Don’t use that affected tone with me. I can’t stand it. You may be beyond teaching now, but the rules of the Supervisorate have always been that if you can’t meet my standards, you won’t make it to His Majesty’s presence. You’ve broken all the Supervisorate’s rules, and now it’s too late to make amends.”

Deng Ying said nothing more, standing by the snow curtain and slowly finishing the porridge in his bowl.

He Yixian put down his chopsticks, and Zheng Yuejia and Hu Xiang followed suit. The young eunuchs cleared away the remaining food, taking it out to distribute among the lower-ranking staff. Shortly after, fresh hot tea was brought up.

He Yixian asked casually, “Today’s memorials don’t need to be rushed to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. We need to discuss with His Majesty those two memorials he held back yesterday. Which two were they again?”

Zheng Yuejia replied, “Yesterday His Majesty held back the memorials from Censor Huang Ran and Ministry of Revenue Secretary Zhao Ande, both requesting the establishment of a Crown Prince. Including the six from three days ago and twelve from five days ago, His Majesty has held back twenty memorials in total. Today we must decide on returning them.”

He Yixian took a sip of tea and looked up at Deng Ying. “What’s your view on this?”

Deng Ying responded, “Discussing the establishment of an heir at this time is indeed premature. These twenty memorials can be rejected.”

He Yixian said, “Rejecting them now is simple enough, but I fear that after the Noble Lady gives birth, this wayward trend will become impossible to suppress.”

As he finished speaking, the snow curtain was lifted by the wind, letting in a dazzling ray of morning light. He Yixian raised his sleeve to shield his eyes. “What time is it?”

The eunuch at the door replied, “Venerable Elder, it’s the Chen hour (7-9 AM). The Grand Secretaries have all arrived for their duties.”

“Very well. Where is His Majesty now?”

“His Majesty has gone to inquire after the Empress’s health.”

He Yixian nodded and stood up. “Let’s go sit in the main hall.”

The main hall of the Supervisorate had only one room, furnished with four long tables equipped with brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.

The original purpose of establishing the Supervisorate of Imperial Ceremonial was simply to have eunuchs help the emperor organize memorials submitted by the Grand Secretariat and assist in imperial endorsements. They were forbidden from participating in political affairs. The Founding Emperor had even established an iron plaque prohibiting eunuchs from participating in politics.

However, by the Zhenning era, court affairs had become increasingly complex. Having been strictly controlled by the rules of the Hall of Literary Brilliance while he was Crown Prince, Emperor Zhenning showed little interest in political affairs after ascending the throne. Throughout the year, he only kept control of financial matters, allowing himself and the imperial clan to indulge in extravagant pleasures.

Deng Yi took advantage of this to collude with the Supervisorate of Imperial Ceremonial, tacitly allowing the eunuchs to exercise the emperor’s authority to issue vermillion endorsements.

Emperor Zhenning realized that people like He Yixian were genuinely looking out for his interests. By focusing on major issues and delegating minor ones, he could still maintain clear oversight. Thus, the Founding Emperor’s iron plaque gradually gathered dust.

At this moment, the Grand Secretariat’s memorials hadn’t yet arrived, so during this idle time, He Yixian gestured for the Senior Secretaries to sit down. Seeing Deng Ying still standing, he said, “So you’re willing to accept my guidance?”

“Yes.”

He Yixian laughed, “Fine, then keep standing. In any case, you spend most of your time at the Depot office, so do as you please here.”

After speaking, he turned to Hu Xiang and casually asked, “I hear the Palace of Extended Joy is getting quite a lot of things?”

Hu Xiang replied, “It’s not so much that they’re asking for things, but rather that His Majesty is bestowing many gifts. You know, Noble Lady Jiang’s background isn’t particularly distinguished, her family in Zhejiang only has that tiny plot of land. His Majesty is elevating their family and has already promised that if the Noble Lady bears a prince, the Jiang family will be granted a marquis title. This generous reward can’t easily be changed now.”

He Yixian said, “What’s the hurry? Noble Lady Jiang will give birth at the beginning of the year. When spring comes, we can bring it up with the Ministry of Revenue.”

Hu Xiang shook his head. “Yang Lun from the Ministry of Revenue is single-mindedly focused on implementing new policies in the South. Would he listen to this?”

He Yixian smiled, “He might not listen to you, but he might listen to Senior Secretary Deng.”

Without waiting for Deng Ying to respond, he continued, “Although the court is all petitioning to establish the eldest prince as Crown Prince, we can’t show favoritism. The Palace of Extended Joy is precious now – whatever they want or lack, the Twenty-Four Offices mustn’t be stingy.”

“The people in the Twenty-Four Offices are all very sensible. Seeing His Majesty punish Noble Consort Ning, haven’t they all rushed to curry favor with the Palace of Extended Joy?”

“Punish Noble, Consort Ning?” He Yixian massaged his tiger’s mouth point. “When did this happen?”

Hu Xiang said, “Oh my, you were recuperating outside these past few days, and I forgot to tell you. A few days ago, His Majesty punished Noble Consort Ning at the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Somehow, this news spread throughout the six palaces.”

He Yixian nodded with a smile, “Then what is there left for the court to debate?”

Hu Xiang also smiled, “Exactly.”

Deng Ying listened quietly to this conversation, then looked up to see Zheng Yuejia gripping his teacup so tightly his knuckles had turned white, and gave a gentle cough.

Though Zheng Yuejia came to his senses, he nearly dropped his teacup.

As they chatted, time passed quickly. After noon, the Grand Secretariat’s memorials were delivered.

He Yixian flipped through the first few and gestured for Deng Ying to come over. “You review and endorse these.”

Deng Ying accepted them reverently and stood at a long table near the window, opening the memorials.

The topmost one was written by Censor Huang Ran, its contents still requesting the establishment of a Crown Prince.

This man was the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examinations of the second year of Zhenning, known for his careful word choice and literary brilliance.

Deng Ying rolled up his sleeves, and dipped his brush in vermillion ink, feeling melancholic.

In his youth, he had imagined himself becoming someone who would write petitions on behalf of the common people, offering counsel for the empire, with his elegant writings spreading across the four seas and his social connections spanning the capital. But now, he had become someone who read such petitions and memorials. Though he still held a brush, each character he wrote was a crime under the iron plaque.

As he was about to write, he suddenly remembered Noble Consort Ning’s question to him: “How would people live if they knew their fate?”

Did he truly know his fate?

He did know, but he didn’t want to tell Yang Wan, fearing she couldn’t bear it – that despair he was still struggling to process.

By the You hour (5-7 PM), Deng Ying left the Supervisorate of Imperial Ceremonial and made another stop at the Depot office, and by the time he returned to his quarters at the City Moat Direct Office, the sky had completely darkened. Li Yu brought food to his room, placed it on the table, and wiped his hands on his clothes. “I heated it again, eat while it’s hot.”

Deng Ying took off his official robes, put on a grey-blue robe, casually lit a lamp, and took out a key to open the cabinet beside his bed, retrieving the medicine he had brought back from the Imperial Dispensary.

Watching his actions, Li Yu asked puzzled, “What are you doing? Aren’t you going to eat?”

Deng Ying looked at the food on the table and smiled at Li Yu. “You eat it.”

Li Yu swallowed. “Really?”

Deng Ying stood up straight. “Yes, Wan-wan said you’re still growing.”

Li Yu’s eyebrows raised slightly.

“Wan-wan? Who’s that?”

Deng Ying started, quickly coughing. “Oh, Lady Yang.”

Li Yu said, “My sister never lets Chief Secretary Chen call her by her name, you’re quite bold.”

Deng Ying unconsciously nodded. “Yes, I shouldn’t call her that. Don’t tell her.”

Li Yu said, “I’d say you should be more careful. Yang Wan is even tougher than my sister, she’s quite formidable.”

He took a bite of meat and vegetables, then continued, “Today I passed by the Palace of Extended Joy’s entrance, and it was quite satisfying to see. Palace Superintendent Chen from the Palace Administration brought quite a few people and gave those servants who looked down on everyone a good beating. Afterward, they were made to beg Noble Consort Ning’s forgiveness. I later heard from my sister that Yang Wan dragged those loose-tongued people before the Empress, and coincidentally, His Majesty was also having lunch with the Empress and hadn’t left yet. After hearing Yang Wan’s words, he didn’t even protect Noble Lady Jiang, and immediately ordered the Palace Administration to arrest people.”

Deng Ying asked, “What did she say?”

Li Yu, with his mouth full of food, said indistinctly, “You can ask her yourself, but it might have to wait a few days. My sister said that although the Emperor punished the Palace of Extended Joy, Senior Lady Jiang also got angry at Yang Wan. Who knows where she’s being confined right now.”

Deng Ying didn’t ask further.

Li Yu put down his chopsticks and said, “By the way, what’s the medicine for?”

“Oh, it’s for soaking my foot injury.”

He pulled his robe tighter and walked toward the door. “I’ll go brew it first. Could you close the door for me later?”

Li Yu stood up. “You’re always doing these things yourself, boiling water and carrying basins. The Supervisorate gave you several eunuchs to serve you, but you won’t accept them. How about letting me serve you instead? Following you might lead to success someday.”

Deng Ying smiled but didn’t respond.

When he returned with the medicinal brew, Li Yu had already cleaned up the table, bowls, and chopsticks and left.

Though the charcoal was burning in the room, it was still somewhat cold. Deng Ying pulled the brazier closer, took off his shoes and socks, and sat on the edge of the couch, rolling up his trouser legs.

Although the injury had reached the bone and couldn’t be completely cured, following Yang Wan’s advice about using medicine for warm soaks, it truly didn’t hurt as much as before.

He straightened up and casually picked up a book from the bed. He hadn’t read more than two pages when he suddenly heard Li Yu outside saying, “Hey, why are you limping?”

Then came Yang Wan’s deliberately lowered voice: “Shh… can’t you be a little quieter?”

“You… you… what are you sneaking around for?”

“I’m bringing him food and secretly getting medicine. I saw him leave earlier, so I came back with food. He… hasn’t returned yet, has he?”

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