Chapter 1: Memories

Just as Zhenzhen had predicted, because Wei Qingxun was the wealthiest person in Ningguo Prefecture, local wealthy households had always paid close attention to her every move, hoping to learn her methods of making money. Once they caught wind that she had purchased fifteen ordination certificates in one go, how could their hearts remain untroubled? Her family background had long been secretly circulating among the wealthy, and now that she was frequently meeting with Zhao Ai, they naturally assumed she had learned inside information from the government and thus made such a bold move. They speculated two reasons: either paper money would depreciate significantly and the court would use ordination certificates for exchange, causing their value to soar; or corvée labor would soon become more burdensome and taxes would rise, while holding ordination certificates could exempt one from labor and taxes, leading more people to compete for them. Regardless of the reason, it seemed inevitable that ordination certificate prices would rise, so the wealthy households acted on this news and quickly bought up all the remaining fifteen certificates.

Since Zhenzhen ran a tavern and faced different customers daily, most of whom loved chatting with her, she was extremely well-informed and thoroughly understood the social conditions and human nature of Ningguo Prefecture. After quietly waiting for the certificates to sell out, Zhenzhen spent the next few days handling tavern affairs each morning before rushing between the three major temples of Ningguo Prefecture, meeting with the abbots and discussing matters with them. After reaching agreements, she took the ordination certificates Wei Qingxun had given her to the prefectural office to see Zhao Ai. When Zhao Ai heard she had actively requested to see him, he was quite surprised and immediately had someone bring her to his study.

Zhenzhen told him: “Those who most need ordination certificates are actually the temples. Besides the certificates the court grants them, they usually must purchase quite a few on their own for ordaining monks. Now that the court strictly controls the number of certificates, this batch was sold too quickly, leaving not a single one for the temples. Meanwhile, those who previously held certificates among the common people, seeing the current situation, are all hoarding them waiting for prices to rise, making it difficult for temples to purchase certificates from civilians. These past days I’ve met with the abbots of the three major temples and told them about the collapse of the dike fields in Ningguo Prefecture, the scattering of tenant farmers, your wholehearted concern for the people, your determination to repair the dikes, and the shortage of funds you face. I asked for their assistance. Each temple has many believers, so I earnestly requested the abbots to come forward and raise charitable donations for this matter, donating to Ningguo Prefecture to repair the public dikes. I myself am willing to donate five ordination certificates – whichever temple raises five thousand strings of cash will receive one certificate from me, hoping to ultimately collect twenty-five thousand strings total. The abbots expressed that if the final donations fall short of this amount, the temples’ Ever-Living Treasuries can loan a portion to make up the full twenty-five thousand strings for the prefecture, and in two years the prefect can extract the corresponding amount from the collected field rents and taxes to repay them. I think this arrangement is excellent – whether the final money received is donations or loans, I will give them certificates all the same.”

The Ever-Living Treasury was a pawnshop where larger temples accumulated and operated wealth, with funds mainly coming from money offered or loaned by believers. Residents could provide valuable items as collateral to borrow from the Ever-Living Treasury, agreeing on terms and repaying with interest by the due date. Large temples with flourishing incense offerings usually had very sufficient funds in their Ever-Living Treasuries.

“Where did you get the ordination certificates?” Zhao Ai immediately asked her.

“I sold Zhanle Pavilion to Wei Qingxun in exchange for six ordination certificates. I’m donating five and keeping one for emergencies,” Zhenzhen smiled lightly. “Actually, I only transferred the management rights to Wei Qingxun. I can still manage Zhanle Pavilion in the future, and even participate in managing Luming Pavilion, making things run even more smoothly.”

Seeing Zhao Ai remain silent for a long time, Zhenzhen thought he was worried about loan interest and explained: “Don’t worry, even if donations are insufficient and the Ever-Living Treasury must loan money, aside from the certificates I’m giving, the temples won’t charge interest. The abbots also said they’ve noticed that Prince Wei pays special attention to people’s livelihood and is a good official who loves the people like his own children. Repairing the public dikes benefits both country and people, and they’re willing to contribute. The Ever-Living Treasuries have always been protected by the court and government, with their profits never subject to taxes. Now that the government has needs, how could they charge interest? They will also try their best to raise donations. Although there are government fields within the dike areas, most are privately owned farmland. Prince Wei is overseeing this project for the people’s benefit – it’s an act of virtue and merit, and I believe many citizens will be willing to donate for this cause.”

After speaking, she took out five ordination certificates and presented them to Zhao Ai: “These are the certificates I’m donating. Please keep them. If you think this plan is feasible, I’ll go confirm it with the temples. Whenever a temple brings five thousand strings of cash, you can give them one certificate. When they’re all given out, please tell them immediately so they don’t need to continue fundraising. I think with these twenty-five thousand strings, plus what the prefecture could mobilize before and what was collected from selling certificates, it should be enough to repair the dikes.”

“This plan is feasible, but I cannot use your money,” Zhao Ai looked at the certificates and said to Zhenzhen. “I’ll buy these certificates from you. Give me the money, you can redeem Zhanle Pavilion, and the certificates will still be given to the fundraising temples according to your plan.”

Zhenzhen couldn’t help but laugh: “Though you’re a parent official, you’re not actually a parent. You have more than just this one matter to handle in Ningguo Prefecture. If you pay for everything yourself, even mountains of gold and silver wouldn’t be enough for your personal contributions. Let’s settle this matter as planned. I have skills – even if I scatter a thousand gold pieces, they’ll return again. You just focus on properly repairing the dikes so the people can have good harvests year after year and every household can prosper. In the future, I won’t have opportunities to spend money like this even if I wanted to.”

Zhao Ai shook his head: “How can I let you lose the Zhanle Pavilion you worked so hard to establish because of my official duties?”

“I lost one tavern, but you… you might lose the entire realm,” old memories surged up in her heart. Zhenzhen sadly lowered her eyes. “I wronged you, Second Brother. Please let me express some remorse to you, though this small compensation is truly insignificant compared to what you lost.”

“Why do you think this way?” Zhao Ai smiled sadly. “Is it because I once advised elder brother to eat Songjiang bass? You didn’t force me to say those words. I never blame heaven or resent others for this. I will take responsibility for my own actions and bear all consequences.”

Zhenzhen immediately replied: “I’m also taking responsibility for my mistakes.”

“Then let’s do it together,” Zhao Ai gazed at her intently, his eyes calm and determined, completely different from the eternally laughing youth in her memory. Now he looked every bit the mature man with deep wisdom. “The Eastern Palace affair is very suspicious – it may not be your fault at all. True responsibility means seeking out the truth within. I’m willing to accompany you in this search, so you no longer need to fear facing the world’s doubts.”

“Seeking the truth?” Zhenzhen asked in bewilderment. She had always harbored doubts about the cause of the Crown Prince’s death, but since his food and drink all passed through her hands, and she was the one who spent the most time with him day and night during those days, aside from herself, she truly didn’t know who else to blame.

“Yes, I believe the truth isn’t as simple as everyone currently believes,” Zhao Ai said. “Think carefully about what unusual things happened in the days before elder brother’s death.”

Zhenzhen painfully closed her eyes. The events before and after Crown Prince Zhuangwen’s death were unbearable for her to recall. Every time she barely remembered them, she felt as if burned and immediately forced herself to escape those thoughts. Those days had become a deep, unhealable wound that she couldn’t bear to revisit.

“Don’t avoid it, Zhenzhen,” Zhao Ai earnestly advised. “Only by finding the truth can we resolve your pain. Elder brother surely wouldn’t want to leave so mysteriously, causing such great harm to country, family, and you… Tell me everything you saw and knew. Perhaps I can help you analyze what exactly was wrong.”

Zhenzhen remained silent for a long time. Under the comfort of Zhao Ai’s gentle gaze, her tense and anxious emotions gradually calmed, and she finally began to slowly recount what happened during those days: “His Highness the Crown Prince had basically recovered by then. His daily routine was normal and his mood was good… If there was anything unusual, it was probably a few days before his death, after he had me accompany him to Funing Hall. That day he had an attendant carry a painting to Funing Hall to show His Majesty. But once we arrived at the hall, he had Feng Jing and me wait outside while he spoke with His Majesty inside for a very long time. When he came out, his mood seemed rather poor. After the evening meal, he dismissed the attendants and had me accompany him to Moon Rock to admire the moon…”

“What was painted in the painting he showed His Majesty?” Zhao Ai suddenly asked.

Zhenzhen answered: “He didn’t show it to me then, but judging from the scroll’s appearance, it was very likely the portrait of my mother that he showed me a few days later.”

Zhao Ai was very surprised: “Why would elder brother show father a portrait of your mother?”

“Later His Highness told me that my mother was very likely Lady Ju, and when he showed His Majesty the portrait, His Majesty said it was Lady Ju,” Zhenzhen said wistfully. She then carefully told Zhao Ai everything she knew about the connections between Lady Ju, Liu Sishan, and Zhang Yunqiao, as well as the process by which Crown Prince Zhuangwen had explored her background with her.

“So elder brother’s meaning was that Zhang Yunqiao and Liu Sishan were your birth parents, while Lady Ju was your adoptive mother?” Zhao Ai asked.

Zhenzhen sighed softly: “That should be the conclusion he reached. Though he also mentioned the possibility that Lady Ju simply liked the name Zhenzhen and gave me the name of Liu Sishan’s daughter, he obviously felt this possibility was small and was just saying it to comfort me.”

Zhao Ai neither confirmed nor denied this, continuing to ask her about the Moon Rock incident. Zhenzhen said: “All along the way, His Highness seemed burdened with worries and quite unhappy. He also mentioned Empress Anshu to me. That day he was very nostalgic for his mother, speaking of His Majesty’s affection for Empress Anshu, and how Empress Anshu was poisoned to death through food by a maid sent by Grand Preceptor Qi, how heartbroken His Majesty was, and how he later plotted for a long time and finally got his great revenge.”

“Plotted for a long time and got his great revenge…” Zhao Ai pondered, then after a moment said, “But everyone knows Grand Preceptor Qi died of illness.”

Only then did Zhenzhen realize why the Crown Prince had stopped abruptly at this point and changed the subject: “So Grand Preceptor Qi was actually killed by His Majesty… I always heard that Zhang Yunqiao had treated Grand Preceptor Qi’s illness but failed to cure him, and was even pursued by the Qi family because of this.”

“After the turmoil over Feng Jing’s background, I also inquired about Zhang Yunqiao’s affairs. I heard that because he had a private relationship with Liu Sishan, he was suspected by the late emperor and therefore sought refuge with Grand Preceptor Qi for protection, later becoming the most trusted physician during Grand Preceptor Qi’s final days…” Zhao Ai said. “But I still remember father’s expression when he saw the bathing instruction book written by Zhang Yunqiao during the investigation of Feng Jing’s background. He immediately called him ‘Yunqiao’ and recognized his handwriting at a glance, as if facing an old friend of many years… Father hated Qi Xian to the bone. If Zhang Yunqiao had truly taken refuge with Qi Xian, how could father have such an attitude toward him?”

“Yes, His Majesty also sent people to search for Imperial Physician Zhang many times and had his portrait hung in the Hanlin Medical Academy alongside famous physicians throughout history. If Imperial Physician Zhang had been one of the Qi faction, even if only formerly, His Majesty would never have given him such treatment,” Zhenzhen thought and speculated. “So Imperial Physician Zhang first took refuge with Grand Preceptor Qi, then deliberately… failed to cure his illness, acting on His Majesty’s orders?”

Zhao Ai confirmed: “Very likely. That’s why elder brother said ‘plotted for a long time and got his great revenge’… That day, after seeing Lady Ju’s portrait, father must have told elder brother about past events, making elder brother so nostalgic for his mother.”

Zhenzhen also felt this reasoning made sense. Zhao Ai then had Zhenzhen continue her account. When she mentioned Liu Jieyu’s moon worship ritual for her father, he seemed slightly surprised but didn’t interrupt, letting her continue.

“Then… right up until the night before his death, His Highness remained somewhat melancholy and distracted…” Zhenzhen recalled that night’s events, her heart involuntarily stirring with emotion, her cheeks flushing, but she still forced herself to remain calm and continued, “The night before his death, His Highness was reading in Zhanlü Hall. When I entered, he was holding a book and staring at it, gazing at the book in silent contemplation…”

“What book was he reading?” Zhao Ai interjected.

“The chapter about Jing Ke from ‘Records of the Grand Historian: Biographies of Assassins,'” Zhenzhen said. “I moved closer to look more carefully, but His Highness wouldn’t let me see it. He put the book back on the shelf and said that since the next day’s lecturer would mention it, he was reading it in advance.”

“I also attended the Eastern Palace lectures then. We would be informed of the instructors’ lesson content beforehand, but the ‘Records of the Grand Historian’ wasn’t among them,” Zhao Ai recalled. He then got up and walked to the bookshelf, took out a volume, opened it to a particular page, and brought it before Zhenzhen. “Is this it?”

Zhenzhen took the book and looked carefully, seeing that the page was indeed the chapter about Jing Ke that the Crown Prince had been staring at in contemplation that night.