Ji Gang was no longer the brainless, fair-skinned beauty with long legs that he once was. In the past, when he wanted to kill someone, his mind only held simple, crude ideas like assassination and murder.
Now, the Niuhuru Ji Gang knew how to use his brain and cunning to eliminate people, preferably without dirtying his own hands, avoiding killing the goose that laid the golden eggs, and following a path of sustainable revenge development.
After all, the death list in his basement was quite long. If he dirtied his hands and something happened to him, who would send the remaining people to hell?
Not a single one should be spared.
If Xie Jin were that easy to deal with, Ji Gang would have killed him long ago. After all, Ji Gang had used his intelligence to employ the method of using others’ strength against difficult opponents like Li Jinglong and Hu Guan, successfully eliminating them both.
Xie Jin neither took bribes nor engaged in factional politics. He kept himself clean, seeming like a flawless egg that left Ji Gang with no place to bite, unable to find any leverage against him.
A teenage prodigy who achieved success at a young age, Xie Jin was the top graduate from Jiangxi, a crucial region for imperial examinations. Before editing the “Yongle Encyclopedia,” he had also compiled the “Yuan History,” the “Taizu Veritable Records,” supplemented the “Song Documents,” and revised the “Book of Rites.” Even more remarkably, when Empress Ren Xiao wrote “Inner Training” to summarize women’s conduct standards, she had Xie Jin oversee the compilation of “Biographies of Exemplary Women Throughout History,” a classic text for women’s education, which the Empress greatly admired.
Besides editing books, Xie Jin’s poetry and calligraphy were also exceptional. His poetry collections and manuscripts were bestsellers at major bookshops.
Therefore, unlike Fang Xiaoru from the Jianwen reign who engaged in empty rhetoric that misled the country, Xie Jin could both excel in imperial examinations and handle practical affairs – he was a true great talent. This was why Xie Jin held firm in his position as the chief secretary of Emperor Yongle’s cabinet secretariat, with no one able to shake him.
The cabinet’s power at this time was not too great; its main function was still to assist the emperor. Though holding a second-rank position, as the emperor’s close ministers, they took turns staying overnight in the palace’s Wenyuan Pavilion, ready for Emperor Yongle to wake up and handle state affairs at any time. Who dared underestimate them?
This bronze pea was too hard for Ji Gang to chew and would only break his teeth.
What to do?
Ji Gang pondered intensely when suddenly his mind lit up – he had it!
Xie Jin’s performance as a cabinet grand secretary was impeccable, but Xie Jin had another identity: Right Scholar of the Eastern Palace Bureau of Rites, which meant he was the Crown Prince’s teacher.
As everyone knew, Emperor Yongle had always been dissatisfied with Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi and favored Prince Han, Zhu Gaoxu.
When Emperor Yongle ascended the throne, he immediately granted his wife the title of Empress but delayed naming a Crown Prince for two years because the Crown Prince was corpulent and in poor health, while Prince Han Zhu Gaoxu was a great hero of the Jingnan Campaign and had the support of the military, who hoped to see Prince Han made Crown Prince.
Emperor Yongle was undecided. Xie Jin, as Emperor Yongle’s chief confidential secretary, expressed his opinion at the crucial moment: “Seniority by birth order has been the way since ancient times. The Crown Prince is filial and kind, and the realm supports him. If we abandon him to establish the younger son, it will inevitably cause strife. Once this precedent is set, there will be no peaceful days, and historical precedents can serve as lessons from the past.”
As a master historian, Xie Jin used history as a mirror, pointing out that abandoning the elder for the younger had never ended well. Moreover, Zhu Gaochi was the legitimate eldest son, benevolent and honest, with no flaws in character. He had defended Beiping for two years and sought medical treatment for Empress Ren Xiao.
Emperor Yongle sighed: “The eldest prince is in poor health.”
Xie Jin only said three words: “Good imperial grandson.”
Actually, at that time Zhu Zhanji was still in Yunnan, and Emperor Yongle didn’t know how excellent his eldest grandson was. Moreover, Zhu Zhanji was only five years old then – how good could a child be?
In fact, “good imperial grandson” didn’t refer to Zhu Zhanji. Its deeper meaning was that the emperor was still young and in his prime, that he would live for many more years, so what did it matter if the Crown Prince’s health was good or bad?
By the time you grow old, the grandchildren in the Eastern Palace will have grown up. Since there are successors, whether the Crown Prince’s health is good or bad is not a key factor.
To interpret it even more pointedly, when someone becomes emperor, the Eastern Palace, as the heir apparent, is both the emperor’s son and a potential threat and rival to imperial power. An overly formidable Eastern Palace is not a good thing for the emperor.
Just like when Emperor Gaozhu decided to choose the gentle Crown Prince Zhu Biao’s son as heir after Crown Prince Yiwen Zhu Biao’s death, even at the cost of slaughtering almost all the powerful families in the capital, rather than choosing any of his militarily strong princely sons as heirs – it was the same thinking.
The Eastern Palace must first be obedient and under the emperor’s control.
Position determines perspective. Previously, Emperor Yongle didn’t understand his father Emperor Gaozhu’s thinking, wondering why, despite being the eldest with outstanding political and military abilities, he wasn’t made heir apparent while a mere child of the next generation was chosen instead.
Now that Emperor Yongle had become emperor, he gradually understood Emperor Gaozhu’s thinking.
Father, I misunderstood you.
I would make the same choice as you.
As a master of historical studies, Xie Jin could probably fathom Emperor Yongle’s true thoughts. This phrase “good imperial grandson” seemed ordinary but was the main reason Emperor Yongle decided to establish the big fat Zhu Gaochi as heir.
Thus, after Zhu Gaochi entered the Eastern Palace, Emperor Yongle appointed Xie Jin as Scholar of the Eastern Palace Bureau of Rites to educate the heir. Xie Jin was by default a core member of the Crown Prince’s faction.
The Crown Prince naturally liked Xie Jin. Similarly, Prince Han Zhu Gaoxu also regarded Xie Jin as the culprit who cost him the position of heir apparent. However, since Xie Jin was Emperor Yongle’s favored confidential secretary, he didn’t dare do anything to him.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Ji Gang used female official Jiang Quan and the Imperial Clan Court to force Prince Consort Hu Guan to hang himself.
He used Empress Ren Xiao’s critical illness and Emperor Yongle’s hatred to starve Duke of Cao Li Jinglong to death.
Next, Ji Gang decided to use the conflict between Prince Han Zhu Gaoxu and the Eastern Palace to deal with Xie Jin.
Simply perfect.
Ji Gang felt it was time to have a chat with Prince Han about life and ideals.
Prince Han’s mansion.
According to regulations, now that the succession was established, adult princes should have gone to their fiefs. Back when Emperor Yongle was young, he had moved his entire family to Beiping at twenty. Now Prince Han Zhu Gaoxu was already twenty-seven but had not yet gone to his fief, with his entire family still residing in the capital.
After Zhu Gaochi was made Crown Prince in the second year of Yongle, many officials, including Xie Jin, memorialized Emperor Yongle requesting that Prince Han and Prince Zhao leave the capital for their fiefs. At that time, Emperor Yongle said the Empress was in poor health and he needed to keep his two sons nearby to fulfill their filial duties, so the matter of going to fiefs was shelved.
Now that Empress Ren Xiao had passed away, the reason of filial duty no longer held. At the Empress’s funeral, Prince Han had wept as deeply and sincerely as his elder brother the Crown Prince, because without the Empress, he would have to go to his fief, thus severing his hopes for the throne.
Indeed, after the forty-nine days of mourning for Empress Ren Xiao passed, court officials, especially civil officials, memorialized Emperor Yongle requesting that Prince Han and Prince Zhao go to their fiefs.
Prince Han Zhu Gaoxu, having experienced the pain of losing his mother and being pressured to go to his fief, was very sad and depressed. All his ambitions for power came to nothing, and he sighed constantly in his mansion.
Ji Gang seized this opportunity to visit Prince Han, saying: “With Empress Ren Xiao’s passing and the Crown Prince’s poor health, Prince Han must take care of your health to share His Majesty’s burdens.”
Ji Gang was Emperor Yongle’s confidant. When Prince Han heard “the Crown Prince’s poor health” and “share His Majesty’s burdens,” he immediately perked up. “Has elder brother fallen ill again? I must enter the palace to see him, to advise him to take care of his health. Mother’s passing saddens us all. If she sees elder brother sick from the underworld, she won’t rest in peace either.”
Regardless of their private rivalry, the facade of brotherly harmony and respect had to be maintained.
Of course, the key point was to see “how ill” his elder brother was.
Ji Gang praised: “Prince Han is truly filial. The Crown Prince has lost his appetite due to Empress Ren Xiao’s death and often visits the Empress’s coffin in Rouyi Palace to pay respects. The Crown Prince already suffers from diabetes and cannot eat too much or go hungry. That day, perhaps from kneeling too long in Rouyi Palace, when he left the hall, his legs suddenly gave way and he collapsed. Five eunuchs couldn’t lift him up. Fortunately, the Crown Princess was experienced – she immediately took sugar from her pouch, dissolved it in warm water, and fed it to the Crown Prince, who then woke up.”
Actually, the Crown Prince’s illness was typical Type 2 diabetes in modern medical terms – a problem with insulin secretion that made his blood sugar fluctuate like a roller coaster.
What diabetics fear most is not high blood sugar but sudden low blood sugar. While a normal person can persist through skipping a meal, a diabetic who misses one meal will have dangerously low blood sugar – heart racing, stomach feeling like it’s being clawed by a hundred scratches, feet feeling like they’re walking on cotton. They’ll faint from hypoglycemia and must replenish sugar immediately.
That day, the Crown Prince was copying Buddhist scriptures in Rouyi Palace, praying for his mother’s blessing. To make progress, he only hastily ate two bites at noon before continuing to write. As a result, he fainted from hypoglycemia. The nearly three-hundred-pound big fat man fell like Mount Tai – five eunuchs couldn’t support him. He crashed to the ground like an earthquake, stirring up clouds of dust in a spectacular scene.
Hypoglycemic fainting looks frightening, but a bowl of sugar water can revive someone, requiring no medication – it just sounds somewhat embarrassing and undignified for an heir apparent. Therefore, Hu Shanwei imposed a gag order forbidding anyone from spreading the news, which Prince Han didn’t know about.
Prince Han listened with complex feelings: “The Crown Princess is truly virtuous, a worthy helpmate to elder brother.”
The Crown Princess came from humble origins and had no political resources to help the Crown Prince – in this regard, she was far inferior to Consort Guo. However, when the Crown Princess was young, she was the “snake-fighting girl,” famous for her courage and quick reflexes. One bowl of sugar water saved the Crown Prince.
Ji Gang said: “Superintendent Hu forbade spreading this news. I felt that blood brothers shouldn’t be so secretive with each other, so I decided to tell you. When you have time, visit the palace to console the Crown Prince – grief is grief, but he must also take care of his health.”
Prince Han quickly said: “I understand. Minister Ji’s kindness is appreciated. This prince will absolutely not let it slip – I’ll just make routine visits to check on elder brother.”
Despite saying this, Prince Han still felt somewhat uncomfortable, thinking that Superintendent Hu was his neighbor, and their families had a harmonious relationship. When his son Zhu Zhanhe got anything good, he would send a share to the Hu family. Superintendent Hu usually treated Zhu Zhanhe like a nephew, laughing and chatting with him.
I thought Superintendent Hu had Prince Han’s mansion in her heart, but such a major incident as the Crown Prince suddenly fainting, she kept it completely secret without even giving me a hint.
Sigh, people’s hearts are hard to fathom. Superintendent Hu must think that Prince Han’s mansion is going to the fief, so there’s no need to invest effort here.
Seeing Prince Han’s disheartened appearance, Ji Gang understood his thoughts and said: “Today, Cabinet’s Xie Jin again raised the matter of Prince Han’s departure to his fief with His Majesty.”
Xie Jin actually had not done this.
The fact was that recently there were too many memorials urging Prince Han and Prince Zhao to go to their fiefs. The cabinet, as Emperor Yongle’s secretariat, had the job of categorizing memorials, reviewing them first, extracting key points and marking them, and providing preliminary handling suggestions for the emperor’s reference, saving the emperor time for quick processing.
Xie Jin today was merely routinely organizing all the memorials urging princes to go to their fiefs for Emperor Yongle – he had not made any “slanderous remarks.”
Ji Gang’s words frantically implied that Xie Jin was advising the emperor about going to fiefs. Since Xie Jin was also a Scholar of the Eastern Palace Right Bureau, to Prince Han’s ears, this meant Xie Jin was standing with the Crown Prince, frantically stepping on Prince Han’s mansion, wanting to drive him out of the capital.
Prince Han listened with gritted teeth, wanting to tear Xie Jin to pieces, but said: “Adult princes going to their fiefs is a rule in the imperial ancestral instructions. This prince has nothing to say, but with mother’s recent passing, this prince is concerned about father’s health and wants to spend more time with him.”
Going to the fief was impossible – he would never go to his fief in this lifetime!
Now, in Prince Han’s eyes, Xie Jin was a mad dog raised by the Eastern Palace, specifically to bite him.
“Actually…” Ji Gang observed Prince Han’s expression, “Your Highness need not worry about going to your fief, at least not for the next few years.”
“Is this true?” Prince Han’s eyes lit up as he said: “Please enlighten me, Minister Ji!”
Ji Gang was father’s confidant, specializing in intelligence work. He must know something!
Ji Gang put on a troubled expression: “This involves state secrets. I cannot reveal too much today. I just cannot bear to see Prince Han worried and want to give you peace of mind. Don’t mind the storms outside or certain people’s calculated slanders. Your Highness should peacefully observe mourning at home, pray for Empress Ren Xiao’s blessing, be filial to His Majesty, and love your brothers and sisters. Be a good son, good second brother, and good younger brother – leave everything else to His Majesty. Your Highness, this is all I can say.”
Prince Han was deeply moved: “Since ancient times, those who add flowers to brocade swarm like ants, while those who send charcoal in snow are few and far between. Minister Ji’s guidance to this prince will be remembered in my heart. This prince knows Minister Ji’s difficulties and will not probe further or reveal half a sentence. Minister Ji, rest assured – your words end at my ears and go no further. Absolute secrecy.”
Ji Gang put on an expression of deep emotion: “During the four years of the Jingnan Campaign, I and Prince Han cooperated in darkness and light. Your Highness spilled blood on the battlefield countless times to bring about today’s peaceful days. I cannot bear to see certain people burn bridges after crossing them, enjoying Your Highness’s sacrifices while wanting to drive your entire family out of the capital. This is unfair. Your Highness just lost your mother, yet those people cannot wait to act. I deeply despise such people’s words and actions.”
With Ji Gang’s heartfelt words, his status in Prince Han’s heart rose like a rocket. Though they appeared distant on the surface, they gradually grew intimate in private.
Now speaking of the Eastern Palace – the Crown Prince’s hypoglycemic fainting was revived by the Crown Princess’s bowl of sugar water. The Crown Princess didn’t dare let the Crown Prince walk back to the Eastern Palace and had him take a carriage home.
This wasn’t the first time the Crown Prince had such episodes. After the imperial physicians’ diagnosis, they instructed the Crown Prince to eat small, frequent meals – not too much, not too little – with moderate exercise, but not excessive.
Emperor Yongle visited the Eastern Palace to see the Crown Prince and, seeing nothing serious, was reassured.
However, after this fainting incident, the Crown Prince’s left foot developed problems. Initially, the Crown Prince felt some soreness in his left foot, thinking it was from the fall that day. Later, the skin on the sole turned purple. Then, when the foot-washing maid was trimming the Crown Prince’s toenails, she discovered the big toe had turned gray and become more fragile than before. When massaging the sole, the arch showed compression deformity.
The Crown Princess didn’t dare take this lightly and immediately summoned imperial physicians to examine the Crown Prince’s foot. The physicians wrapped the left toe with dressings to prevent deterioration. As for the skeletal deformity of the left foot, the physicians were helpless. Diabetes might seem temporarily non-fatal, but both feet were prone to lesions leading to lameness. In severe cases, the gradually rotting feet would need to be amputated to save the patient’s life!
Moreover, the foot disease was irreversible – it could only get worse and could never be cured.
This time, even the usually calm and composed Crown Prince’s expression changed: “This… what should I do? You told me to eat small, frequent meals, walk a hundred steps after meals, and walk as much as possible instead of riding carriages. I’ve consistently followed all these instructions. Now that my legs and feet are inconvenient and I have difficulty walking, how can I exercise by walking?”
This requirement was contradictory.
The imperial physicians prostrated themselves: “Your subject… is incompetent. This disease cannot be cured. Please, Crown Prince…”
Please overcome the difficulties yourself – these words really couldn’t be spoken. The Crown Prince had a gentle nature and never lost his temper inappropriately, always treating people courteously. The physicians couldn’t bear to see the Crown Prince’s condition deteriorate to this point.
The Crown Prince sat quietly in his chair, looking at his diseased foot. After a long while, he said: “You may withdraw and prepare the medicine.”
Once the physicians left, the Crown Prince seemed to shed all pretense under the unbearable burden. A tear rolled down his chubby face and spread on the python pattern of his purple robe.
The Crown Prince choked up as he spoke toward Empress Ren Xiao’s coffin in Rouyi Palace: “Mother, your son has tried his best, really tried his best to control it, but it’s still against my wishes. Your son has difficulty walking and will become a crippled lame person to be mocked, possibly even having both feet amputated, becoming paralyzed in bed from now on, turning into a pile of rotting flesh—”
“Your Highness!” Crown Princess Zhang and Consort Guo interrupted the Crown Prince in unison.
Crown Princess Zhang tightly grasped the Crown Prince’s hand: “It may not come to that point. Your Highness, don’t let your imagination run wild. We endured even when 500,000 troops surrounded Beiping – what can’t we face?”
“Right, our Eastern Palace will never admit defeat.” Consort Guo half-knelt down, gently helping the Crown Prince put on thin cloth socks to cover the diseased left foot, preventing the Crown Prince from becoming discouraged by looking at it.
Consort Guo said: “Even if crippled, it doesn’t matter. The Crown Princess and I married you for better or worse. If we married a cripple, then the Crown Princess and I will be your two crutches. We will always stay by the Crown Prince’s side, helping to support the Eastern Palace.”