After speaking, she gently patted the Empress’s arm. “What do you think?”

Since He Yixian had been taken away, the Empress had been sitting in her seat in a daze. When the Empress Dowager suddenly patted her, she missed half a breath, sat up straight in alarm, and mumbled a vague “Yes.”

The Empress Dowager shook her head as she looked at her, then turned to look at Bai Yuyang. However, she didn’t speak immediately. After a while, she withdrew her gaze and said, “Minister Bai, are you feeling discontented in your heart?”

Bai Yuyang froze for a moment, then lowered his head and said, “Your servant wouldn’t dare.”

“There’s nothing to fear.”

The Empress Dowager looked up toward the outside of the Empress Dowager’s Hall. Clouds churned in the sky, and sunlight pierced through the constantly changing gaps in the clouds like dazzling swords, stabbing directly onto the moon terrace of the Taihe Hall.

The Empress Dowager continued, “The Founding Emperor did establish an iron law that eunuchs were not to participate in politics and government affairs. In my youth, I heard that the Founding Emperor had executed Zhou Ping, a eunuch of the Ceremonial Office, by cutting him in half at the waist for embezzling thirty taels of silver. It’s rare to hear of such things nowadays. Do you know why?”

Though this question was directed at all the officials, no one dared to answer.

The Empress Dowager laughed softly and explained herself, “Your family estates have grown, and you have many descendants. Don’t they need people to attend to their food and clothing? Even if an official is upright and doesn’t want those empty displays of grandeur, would they be willing to let their family suffer alongside them? After working hard as an official for a lifetime, if someone suddenly comes from outside and criticizes your household for being extravagant, demanding you drive out or kill all your servants, ask yourselves honestly, is this feasible?”

The officials looked at each other.

The Empress Dowager sighed, “I’m getting on in years, and if it weren’t for you elders forcing me to come out and speak, I wouldn’t want to say anything. But since you want to hear me make a few statements in this hall, I might as well be frank with you. You are all pillars of the Great Ming, and I see all the grievances you’ve endured for the sake of the state. For those wrongs that cannot be righted now, I apologize to you. The Emperor is still young; teach him slowly, and it will be a different world altogether.”

All the officials bowed and said, “We are instructed.”

The Empress Dowager smiled and waved her hand, “Let’s disperse for today, but don’t go home yet. Each of you goes to the Gate of Supreme Harmony to receive your meal, drink some hot wine, and then have your family members come to help you home. Though we can’t celebrate the New Year properly this year, the season is still here. In the memorial you wrote, you said… not to prohibit common people from marriages and entertainment, so let it be so. With New Year’s Eve approaching, behind closed doors, celebrate the festival as you should. Don’t force yourselves into such austerity; there’s no such principle in serving as officials in our Great Ming. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

With the inner court providing the feast, the officials entered the duty room at the Gate of Supreme Harmony after leaving the hall.

The charcoal in the room burned bright red. Yang Lun took off his official robe and sat by the fire. Soon after, Bai Yuyang and Qi Huaiyang also entered. Before Yang Lun could speak, Bai Yuyang said coldly, “How long do you intend to protect that person from the Eastern Depot?”

Yang Lun stood up. “This concerns the succession to the throne and regional stability. As you can see, it’s not just me protecting him.”

Bai Yuyang also took off his official robe and draped it over the round-backed chair, turning to sit opposite Yang Lun. “If this case is dismissed, the Ministry of Justice will have to release him without charges. He’s the Superintendent Eunuch of the Eastern Depot. With He Yixian and Hu Xiang being convicted, tell me, who will be the Chief Eunuch of the Ceremonial Office?”

The charcoal fire made Yang Lun’s cheeks burn and his forehead sweat.

The other cabinet ministers in the room also began to discuss.

The Left Censor-in-Chief said, “This is repeating the same mistake.”

He sighed and continued, “The Late Emperor was entrusted to eunuchs back then, which led to repeated leniency toward He Yixian later. Now this Deng Ying, though not like He Yixian’s ilk, is still very close to His Majesty, and…”

He glanced at Yang Lun, hesitated for a moment, but finally spoke, “Moreover, the Consort Ning is ill and has been recuperating in the Banana Garden for years. The one who has been taking care of His Majesty is the palace maid Yang Wan from Chengqian Palace, and she with Deng Ying…”

“Silence!”

Yang Lun’s shout cut off the Left Censor-in-Chief’s words, and he lowered his head and coughed.

Bai Yuyang said, “Vice Minister Yang, you cannot shield her just because she’s your sister.”

“What shielding?”

Yang Lun walked a few steps to stand before Bai Yuyang. “Yang Wan has been in the palace for three years, always caring for His Majesty diligently. When has she ever bewitched His Majesty into doing anything wrong?”

Bai Yuyang said, “Then why did His Majesty refuse to execute Deng Ying that day, insisting on conducting a ‘major crime interrogation’? Do you, as her brother, know what your sister has said before His Majesty?”

“She hasn’t said anything!”

“Yang Lun!”

Bai Yuyang also stood up. “Let all the cabinet ministers see if Deng Ying is pardoned this time, including you, which one of us will still be able to impeach him?”

He turned to face the officials, “Are none of you afraid?”

The cabinet ministers fell silent, and one of them pulled Yang Lun back, gently advising, “Actually, Minister Bai’s words make sense. His Majesty is still young, and the Ceremonial Office holding the imperial seal means their word is law. This Deng Ying and your sister are too close, and we can now see His Majesty’s attitude toward him. Although… I also believe he’s different from He Yixian, but…”

He shook his head and sighed, “He has embezzled school fields from the south, and the Eastern Depot has built prison facilities these years. Which case doesn’t involve corruption? You should go see for yourself – every person in those prison cells has had their family stripped of everything. Even Senior Minister Bai was persecuted to the point of severe injury and hasn’t recovered yet. Vice Minister Yang, he truly cannot hold the position of Chief Eunuch.”

After these words, others joined in agreement.

Yang Lun has pulled back a step, looking at Bai Yuyang with no words to argue. Unable to eat anything, he shook off the minister’s hand and walked out wearing his robe in the wind.

With things weighing on his mind, he didn’t want to go home and walked alone toward the Huiji Gate. In the shadow of the gate, he saw Yang Wan holding a package of medicinal herbs waiting for him in front of the Imperial Pharmacy.

Yang Lun slowed his pace, and Yang Wan came forward to meet him.

“Why are you looking so dejected?”

“Who’s dejected?”

Yang Wan looked up with a smile. “Winning one battle is still one battle. We’ve already done well.”

As she finished speaking, Yang Lun’s stomach growled loudly.

Yang Wan looked down at Yang Lun’s stomach and smiled, “Haven’t eaten? Why don’t we go to Deng Ying’s quarters, and I’ll cook you a bowl of noodles?”

Yang Lun asked, “Isn’t his residence sealed off?”

“It is, but Li Yu’s house next door is open. No one lives there, we can sit for a while.”

Yang Lun followed Yang Wan toward the city moat. Along the way, Yang Wan kept coughing.

Yang Lun couldn’t help but ask, “Did you go to the Imperial Pharmacy to get medicine for yourself?”

Yang Wan shook her head as she walked.

“No, my illness is being treated by the Imperial Physician.”

“Imperial Physician?”

Yang Lun recalled the earlier words of the cabinet minister and suddenly became annoyed. He caught up to her in a few steps and rebuked her, “How can a palace servant’s illness be treated by the Imperial Physician? Don’t think that because His Majesty has ascended the throne and you raised him for several years, you can overstep your bounds.”

Yang Wan quietly accepted his words without argument.

She stopped and looked at him, asking, “You’re afraid too, aren’t you?”

Yang Lun froze. “I…”

Yang Wan smiled with a sigh, “I hope His Majesty becomes a benevolent ruler, but I can no longer bear his benevolence toward me. If this continues, even if I do nothing, the inner court won’t tolerate my presence.”

She looked up at Yang Lun, “Brother, you’ve changed quite a bit over these years. I watched you worry about Deng Ying and mediate for him, and I was very touched. But…”

She clutched the medicine package tighter.

“I’ve gradually come to understand that individual changes are not enough to resist the hearts of an entire court. People’s hearts…”

She pressed her lips together, and her loose hair was suddenly blown by the cold wind, making the jade ornaments by her ears sway and chime delicately.

She held back her words and narrowed her eyes, seeming to endure some hidden pain, “Hearts are both complex and unified. Whether officials or common people, each has their worries and joys. But they all know who they should hate at this moment. If you try to be kind to the one who is hated, it only deepens their ‘sins’ and hastens their death.”

“Hastens their death.”

Yang Lun repeated, “Is this how you speak of him?”

Yang Wan said, “Isn’t it true?”

“Yes.”

Yang Lun sighed, “You’ve seen it all.”

Staring into Yang Wan’s eyes, he said, “Your words are truly disheartening.”

“That’s just you.”

Yang Wan retorted.

Yang Lun turned his head and laughed softly, nodding while saying, “Yes, I’m the disheartened one. You and Deng Ying are alike – even with the execution ground ahead, you dare to walk forward without looking back.”

Yang Wan was about to respond but broke into another fit of coughing.

Yang Lun quickly spread his arms to shield her from the wind. “Can’t even the Imperial Physician cure you?”

Yang Wan shook her head, “I haven’t taken the medicine prescribed by the Imperial Physician.”

“Why not?”

“I can’t leave myself any vulnerabilities. I must live to leave the palace.”

She took out the medicine from her arms, “The Empress Dowager has already permitted me to take my sister out of the Banana Garden. These medicines for dispelling dampness and cold are prepared for my sister. I’ve already informed the Empress Dowager that after taking my sister out of the garden, I will leave the palace, and then…”

She paused, “What I’m going to do might bring shame to you. I hope… you won’t manage me, won’t stand on my side, and especially won’t try to save me.”

“You…”

“Brother.”

Yang Wan interrupted him, “I’m truly happy that you no longer rebuke me or blame Deng Ying. This big step you’ve taken toward us is already a great kindness to us. This step is enough. Now… please step back, return to where the Inner Cabinet should stand, and leave the path ahead for me to walk.”

“How will you walk it? You’re just a young woman. Do you want to chase him to the execution ground and die together?”

“I won’t do such useless things, but his path forward can only be guided by me.”

She tucked her wind-blown hair behind her ear, “He is my person, and he only listens to me, only accepts my reasoning, though I don’t have much reasoning – I just force him to take medicine and eat fruit, to take care of his health. But he has decided to follow me, so this is how he must live. Brother, the Great Ming’s laws are just an empty framework to him, but I am real. I will take care of him for life.”