Lan De and Su Zhe arrived together at the small flower chamber. Zhù Ying was seated on the couch, a pot of tea on the stand beside her. The weather was still cold, and the brazier had only just been lit. Coming in from outside, neither of them minded the chill in the room.
Lan De clasped his hands in greeting when he saw her: “Chief Minister.”
Zhù Ying rose from the couch and said, “Sit. Nothing needs to be rushed — let us speak calmly.”
Su Zhe called out, “Adoptive Father.” Her expression was none too pleasant either.
Zhù Ying observed the manner of the two and could tell there was no discord between them. She pointed toward the chairs nearby. Su Zhe walked over quietly, and only after watching Zhù Ying settle back onto the couch did she sit. Teacher Hu pressed a small hand warmer into her hands. Su Zhe managed a faint smile.
Lan De, by contrast, was not at all composed. He muttered under his breath, “Noble Consort Yan really is from a small household with small horizons — she is so dreadfully shallow.”
Zhù Ying looked at Su Zhe. Su Zhe said, “I paid no attention to her. I’d already turned her down long ago.”
Lan De heaved an exaggerated sigh full of grievance: “The young lady had no choice — she couldn’t very well avoid the Noble Consort entirely. She had to oversee the bow of discipleship ceremony for her! What could she do when the woman has borne an imperial son? Hmph — and she really has produced something precious! “
When the theatrical sighing was done, he saw that Zhù Ying’s expression had remained entirely unmoved, and he deflated somewhat and spoke more plainly: “Lucky it was I who ran into it. If anyone else had seen her harassing our young lady like that, she’d never be able to clear her name no matter how many mouths she had.”
Zhù Ying said, “What exactly did she do this time?”
Lan De gave a cold laugh and said, “My son is going to be Crown Prince. You help me, and you will be richly rewarded.”
His natural voice was not coarse to begin with, and now he layered onto it a deliberate mimicry, making for something deeply unpleasant to hear. Even more disagreeable than the manner of speaking was the content of the words — clearly he had overheard what Yan Gui had said to Su Zhe directly.
Su Zhe said, “She wanted me to come to her quarters to talk. I said I still had duties and could not wander about the inner palace without cause. So she waited in the pavilion outside the Empress’s chambers to intercept me. And she said all of this? What kind of talk is that?”
When the theatrical performances were done, Lan De’s tone turned somewhat more earnest, even carrying a degree of sincerity: “Chief Minister, the inner palace is not at peace right now — worse than in the two preceding reigns. It’s nearly in the open now. When my father served, the Emperor’s authority was unquestioned, and the inner palace did not dare to make moves. During the late Emperor’s reign, our current Empress Dowager was a woman of clear judgment who managed affairs well. Right now, the Emperor and the Empress are both young — one doesn’t see the situation, and the other can’t hold it together. You must exercise the greatest caution.
I am now attached to the Empress’s household. Our Empress’s disposition is gentle, and with her background, nothing will go fundamentally wrong. But the other women in the inner palace — who can say what they are yet, dragon or phoenix? The Emperor is also young — who can predict which of them might find favor in future? Favor in the inner palace is a thing without pattern or certainty.
Today’s matter — on account of our friendship, I did not bring it to the Empress. But this can only be stretched once. Any more than this and I won’t be able to keep it hidden either. As for the Noble Consort — I suggest you deal with her sooner rather than later. A few small tricks, nothing more. She performs within the palace as though she has powerful backing, and those inside believe it. You in the outer court would have no way of knowing, and naturally no way to refute it. Over time, a misunderstanding takes shape between inside and outside, and then things become troublesome.”
He spoke at great length, and Zhù Ying listened with full attention, nodding at intervals. When he finished, she said, “I have taken note of this matter. I will not let you be put in a difficult position again.”
Lan De impressed upon her again and again: “Be quick about it. The women on both sides are not to be underestimated! Don’t assume these golden branches and jade leaves are all that refined and dignified. I’ve seen enough of them in the palace — they look splendid on the outside, and some seem quite restrained, but in truth, give them three parts leeway and they’ll open a dyehouse. Don’t give them even half a part.”
Zhù Ying said, “Rest assured.”
Lan De was reassured. He rose and said, “Then I won’t impose further. I need to get back — there are affairs at the palace.”
Zhù Ying walked him out of the chamber, talking as they went. “That senior eunuch your family mourns — he can rest now in peace.”
Lan De gave a wry smile: “What I’ve endured in service to our Empress — it wasn’t easy. Princess Anren was impossible to serve. Cleaning up after her created no end of complications, and forced me to think two steps ahead of everything. Please, no need to see me further out.”
After Lan De left, Su Zhe said somewhat sheepishly, “Adoptive Father…”
Zhù Ying said, “Prepare a generous gift and send it to his household — we owe him this. When you’re done, go and find Qingtian. She has already located the aggrieved parties. Once the first month is over, have them go to the capital prefecture to bring a suit against the Yan family.”
“Yes.”
“The next time you encounter the Noble Consort, make it unmistakably clear to her: stop bouncing about trying to scheme. The consequences will be hers to bear.”
“Yes!”
……
After this brief interlude, Zhù Ying returned to the main hall. The table had been set. Gu Tong was looking around: “Hey, where’s Little Sister?” Zhù Yan and Xiang Yu, one on each side, were also craning their necks, all three of them swiveling their heads in a rather comical fashion.
Zhù Ying said, “She’ll be along shortly. Let’s start eating.”
Everyone took their places. Zhù Yan first respectfully offered Zhù Ying a cup of wine: “This journey takes me far, and I don’t know when I will next see my teacher. Whatever I have accomplished today is entirely the result of your teaching and guidance. I will work with all my heart, and will not tarnish your name.”
Everyone drank in response.
Zhù Ying said simply, “May your journey be safe.”
The formal moment passed, and things became lively after that. Lang Rui opened his mouth and began to sing a mountain song, and many of the others joined in. Before two songs were through, Su Zhe returned. Lin Feng said, “Three cups as penalty!”
Su Zhe said, “Bring them over!”
Everyone called out their approval. Lu Danqing carried over a tray of roasted meat: “Eat something first before you drink — an empty stomach gets drunk faster.”
Su Zhe ate half the tray and then traded cups with Zhù Yan. The two clinked cups and each fell into their own private thoughts. In all practical senses they had been fellow students, though there had been a time when they even came to blows with each other. Now they had both grown up. Zhù Yan reflected on Su Zhe’s background — a woman who had risen to the rank of Director, with a higher official grade than his own — and made an inward vow: however hard and exhausting, he too would make something of himself. He could not fall short of her.
Su Zhe, for her part, genuinely envied Zhù Yan’s freedom. She had two cups with him and stopped herself before reaching for a third — any more than that was too much.
Both Zhao Su and Lu Danqing could tell she was not quite herself. Zhù Ying gave no outward sign of anything being amiss, so neither would be able to get anything from her. Both decided they would find time to have a proper talk with Su Zhe later.
Zhù Yan was setting off the next day, so no one dared to drink too freely. The evening was still young when they were already urging Zhù Yan to go and rest. Zhao Su pulled Su Zhe aside and murmured, “Something on your mind? Something to do with the palace?”
Su Zhe said, “Mm. Noble Consort Yan is a nuisance.”
“Did the Empress send someone to call you to account?” Zhao Su raised an eyebrow.
“No — the Empress doesn’t know. Lan happened to walk in on the Noble Consort making things difficult for me. Adoptive Father has already made arrangements.”
“Good. If anything comes up, come to me.”
“Right.”
Lu Danqing then made an excuse — Su Zhe had drunk a bit more than usual tonight and her steps were a little unsteady, and she needed someone to see her back to her room — then pulled her pillow along and announced she was sleeping in Su Zhe’s room that night. Su Zhe happened to have a great deal on her mind that she longed to share, so she made no objection. The two of them lay head to head beneath the covers. Su Zhe did not wait for Lu Danqing to open the subject; she spoke first: “Tell me — where is our future path?”
Lu Danqing’s family had older brothers to inherit. But from the time she could remember, she had grown up knowing of Su Mingluan’s existence, and her way of thinking was different from other girls from the start. Su Mingluan had noticed this small difference in her and specifically urged Lu Guo to send her to the capital. She said with conviction: “I want to accomplish great things and hold high office.”
“Like me now?” Su Zhe asked in return.
Lu Danqing was briefly at a loss for a response, and after a pause said, “With Adoptive Father here, we won’t be buried without recognition.”
Su Zhe said, “That’s not it. We can’t just rely on Adoptive Father to shelter us — we have to think about ourselves too. I have been thinking hard about this for some time now. I will have to go home eventually. At home, we are headwomen; in the capital, what are we? You — have you thought about where your future lies?”
Lu Danqing said, “Following Adoptive Father would naturally be better. If Adoptive Father has other arrangements, I’ll do as instructed. If things don’t work out in the capital, I’ll go back and come to you. Going it alone is never as good as traveling with a companion.”
The two girls talked for half the night before finally drifting off to sleep.
The next day, Su Zhe still had to go to the palace to supervise the ritual instruction. Yan Gui had been given a fright by Lan De the day before and was much quieter today, no longer trying to steal moments to speak with Su Zhe on the side. When the day’s duties ended and Su Zhe returned to the residence, she went straight to Zhù Qingtian, discussed matters with her, took out a few strings of coins, and went to visit the households of the wronged parties. Su Zhe looked over several cases and, together with Zhù Qingtian, selected the two with the deepest grievances — one was a widow whose son had been beaten in a brawl with the Yan family’s people, and the other was a man whose ancestral land had been seized by the Yan family, leaving him too destitute to support a wife, who had then run off.
Su Zhe watched from a distance without showing herself directly. Through Zhù Qingtian, she found two common men from the street, gave money to both households, and had the people told to rest and recover for a few days. Su Zhe herself continued going to the palace to attend to her duties.
As for Yan Gui — she had been quiet for two days. Then, watching her son learning the ritual protocol faster than the other child, and hearing Empress Luo remark, “Since the third son has already learned it, you and he need not come by every day — the child is still young and the weather is cold; rest at home,” Yan Gui found herself in a bind.
She could not afford not to come! She had very few opportunities to meet with outer court officials. Earlier, when the Emperor had gone out beyond the palace, she had always been spoken ill of for it, and now the Emperor barely went out himself anymore, leaving her with even fewer chances.
Seizing what remained of her opportunities, she pressed up against Su Zhe again: “My lady, the matter I mentioned the other day — is there no further thought to be given to it from your household? Though I remain within the deep palace, I know things are not peaceful in court right now. Though Chief Minister Zhù has now been appointed Chief Minister, no person of talent is without those who envy him — he will inevitably need someone to speak well for him before the Emperor. Is that not so?”
The promise of making him Chief Minister had already proven an empty boast — but Yan Gui clung to her idea: how would they know which cloud had brought the rain? Might they not wonder, and consider the possibility that it was she who had put in the good word?
Su Zhe said with full seriousness: “Adoptive Father is a loyal minister, devoted purely to the Emperor! He only knows the proper order of law and governance, and he never meddles or schemes. I also ask the Noble Consort to observe the laws and regulations and not overstep the proper bounds by a single step.”
She then left decisively. Upon returning to the residence, without waiting even a day longer, on the first day of the second month, she and Zhù Qingtian, working from behind the scenes, arranged for the petition to be submitted to the capital prefecture. Watching the petitioners enter the capital prefecture and hearing the drum begin to sound, Su Zhe said to Zhù Qingtian, “Go and send word to Princess Anren’s residence.”
At that moment, Yan Gui had no idea that ruin was approaching.
Yan Gui was undeterred. Harboring her thoughts, she returned to her own quarters with her son and sent the boy off to review his ritual studies. It did not take long for a new idea to come to her. Using the occasion of the Emperor’s visit to see his son, she waited until the Emperor was in a good mood and then requested that her mother and aunt be permitted to enter the palace for a family visit.
The family members of women in the inner palace were not free to come and go — the Empress being an exception, since her family had always been of the imperial house. The Emperor consented.
Yan Gui made some preparations, and two days later, Yan Gui’s mother and Madam Shen entered the palace together.
The two first beamed over the third son with delight until the boy, overwhelmed, turned and buried his face in the nursemaid’s arms. Yan Gui said, “Have the third son taken away.”
The two were still smiling merrily. Yan Gui’s mother lowered her voice: “I heard that the one on the other side is a halfwit…”
“Mother!” Yan Gui cut her off sharply. “We don’t concern ourselves with him. Let’s talk about our own business.”
Madam Shen asked with concern: “Is there something you need us to do?”
Yan Gui said, “My husband-uncle still refuses to go and work on things for me.”
Madam Shen’s face reddened. Shen Ying, this man — he acted as though anything touching the inner palace was beneath his dignity. Yet when it came time to accept the appointment to Vice Minister, had he not received the decree with all smiles? Did he in his heart not know that the Vice Ministry also had something to do with his niece’s standing? These words she could only swallow down and let fester within herself.
Yan Gui said, “So now there’s nothing for it but for us to make another push ourselves. Chief Minister Zhù over there — he still won’t agree to anything. I can’t go out from within the palace. Mother, Aunt — there’s nothing for it but for you to make a trip. The Zhù residence has no lady of the house, but there are women of the inner household. You’ll have to plant yourselves there and wait however long it takes for the Chief Minister to return home, and get the message to him.”
Madam Shen said, “This sort of thing — going to someone for a favor happens often enough, but one must at least preserve some dignity.” She reached up involuntarily and touched her own face.
“If you want to live and eat and dress well, you cannot afford dignity,” Yan Gui said. What she was saying applied even to her own dear aunt — the aunt who loved her and had given her every effort to get her into the palace. Half of it was because they were family, and the other half was because Yan Gui had spent years flattering and fawning in her presence until she was scarcely different from the aunt’s own senior maid.
She had made her way step by step precisely like this. What did dignity matter? She had plastered on a humble face to get into the palace, and now she was Noble Consort — with the aunt needing to bow to her first, and only then receiving a partial bow in return.
“For the sake of the third son, I am willing to suffer any amount of cold looks and rejection! My husband-uncle won’t personally speak to Chief Minister Chen, Chief Minister Chen’s wife can’t make decisions, and what other option do we have? Are we to wait for the Empress to have us killed? If something befalls me and my son, can you escape? You know perfectly well what Princess Anren’s temperament is.”
Both Yan Gui’s mother and Madam Shen grew frightened. “Fine, fine, we’ll go.”
Yan Gui then impressed upon them again and again: “Do not be afraid of losing face.”
……
After Yan Gui’s mother and Madam Shen took their leave, they first went to the Shen residence to confer. Going to the Chief Minister’s residence meant not arriving empty-handed, and they also needed to prepare calling cards. The two rehearsed their lines for some time, talked it over for an entire day, and still found the whole thing daunting.
It was on this very day that the capital prefecture received the petition.
And then court began to liven up. Although Princess Anren herself had carried out more transgressions, and graver ones, than the Yan family, she now struck a pose of righteous indignation and bit down hard, demanding that the matter be handled impartially. She declared that if Governor Yao showed any favoritism, she would go and have Governor Yao himself charged!
Governor Yao Zhen silently cursed his bad luck.
The Yan family was blindsided by the lawsuit. The two women put their plans to visit the Zhù residence aside and scrambled to deal with the situation. Shen Ying wanted no part of it — this had already gone beyond anything he could manage. The Yan family, having no connections they could reach, tried to send bribes to the capital prefecture, only to have them intercepted by agents of Princess Anren’s — yet another great scene.
In the middle of this farce, Yao Chenying arrived in the capital.
Zhù Ying was delighted to bring him before the Emperor. Yao Chenying was presentable in appearance, with a fine beard, and his manner of speaking suited the Emperor’s taste. The Emperor consequently approved of Zhù Ying’s recommendation and appointed Yao Chenying as Minister of Finance.
The Yao family kept a residence in the capital, and Zheng Xi had long since sent people to have it tidied up. All the worn and outdated furnishings had been replaced with new ones. The most fashionable new fabrics and fittings of the capital were all in place, and even two sets of servants had been prepared in case Yao Chenying’s own attendants proved ill-suited and he needed staff at once.
Even the banquets for receiving guests at the Yao residence had been arranged with the assistance of the Zheng household. Everything was ready and waiting for the cousin to arrive.
Yao Chenying moved in without a care in the world, received his official appointment, and then set about hosting colleagues and acquaintances in the capital. The first day was a family dinner; from the second day onward, it was social obligations, and he sent a card specifically to Zhù Ying.
With the Empress’s household and the Noble Consort’s household both caught up in their own affairs, nothing was held up when the auspicious day came for the imperial sons to formally bow in discipleship to their tutors, and Su Zhe was at last able to extricate herself from the inner palace.
Zhù Ying was in a fine mood and arrived at the banquet on time.
At the table, Zheng Xi was looking thoroughly satisfied. He had already met with Yao Chenying the day before and given him a great many instructions. Today he made a point of attending — coming to support his cousin. When he saw Zhù Ying, he walked over and took hold of her hand, taking the seat beside her. Laughing, he asked, “Now that the Ministry of Finance has been handed over to him, what are you going to do? Surely you can’t be planning to not keep anything at all in your own hands.”
Zhù Ying said, “First I’ll rest for a couple of days.”
Because there were many people and it was not the place for specific conversations, Zheng Xi did not continue down that line. He watched Zhù Ying and grew more pleased with each look. Not far from them, Governor Yao Zhen’s smile was looking a touch perfunctory. Someone at the table teased him: “Why do you look so distracted?”
Someone who was in the know provided a brief account: “He’s been run ragged by the Princess.”
Zheng Xi laughed and said to Zhù Ying: “We’re rather familiar with hearing court cases, aren’t we.”
Governor Yao Zhen took the opportunity to ask for guidance.
Zheng Xi said, “Judge it according to the law.”
Zhù Ying also said, “Rule on the case as the law requires, and whoever keeps buzzing in your ear — fine them for that as well.”
Governor Yao Zhen had his own solution in mind but had not yet steeled himself to act on it. Hearing both of them speak to this effect, he made up his mind. He went back and truly had the Yan family convicted, then had Princess Anren’s agents who had been stationed outside the capital prefecture gates arrested and given twenty strokes of the rod apiece. When it was done, Governor Yao Zhen felt both anxious and oddly exhilarated.
Now it was the Yan family’s turn to weep.
It was only at this point that they realized they had been far too careless all along. It was not that they were so terribly formidable or that Noble Consort Yan and her son were feared by all under heaven. It was simply that… no one had bothered to deal with them.
Yan Gui’s mother, seized with panic, went once again to Madam Shen. The two women hastily made their way to the Zhù residence.
……
The Zhù residence was not lacking for guests. Among the female visitors were old acquaintances — Madam Jin, for instance.
The moment these two women arrived, it was clear they were unlike the others. The household staff found it curious. When word came that they were asking for Su Zhe, there was nothing to do but invite them in to wait. By the time the two loyal attendants returned with Zhù Ying, Su Zhe heard that these two had come, and leapt to her feet at once: “What do they think they’re — I’ll —”
“Enough,” Zhù Ying’s voice cut in, stopping her words. “Don’t always take everything onto your own shoulders. They haven’t come for you — they’ve come for me.”
“So you’re going to see them?” Su Zhe’s expression was terrible.
“I will not!” Zhù Ying said. “Have you made things unmistakably clear to Yan Gui?”
“Unmistakably clear does not begin to cover it.”
Zhù Ying said, “Then you go and meet them. Make things equally clear to them. Tell them it will not happen, and then see them out. Don’t let them get caught in the curfew and have the capital prefecture nagging at us again.”
“Yes.”
Zhù Ying went to change her clothes, then settled into the study and took out a blank memorial, writing it out brush stroke by stroke.
By the time she reached the second page, Su Zhe came hurrying back: “Adoptive Father, she’s refusing to leave — she wants to see you. She says if you won’t see her today, she’ll come again tomorrow. Madam Shen never used to be like this!”
“Did you make things clear?”
“Completely! The Chief Minister serves only the state, upholding the proper order of law and governance. While there is a firstborn son and the Empress is still young, there may well be a legitimate son in the future. They should stay in their place.”
“Tell them I have nothing to say to them. Have Shen Ying come,” Zhù Ying said. “These two have nothing to say that I need to hear. Ask her — is Shen Ying just sitting at home with his mouth open, waiting for someone else to bring him what he needs? He lets the women charge ahead and face the danger, and then calmly accepts a promotion that comes partly because of a favored concubine of the inner palace? Shen Ying doesn’t come — then let Yan Gui come to see me in person! Sending two women who can’t even make decisions to come and irritate me? This time I’ll let it pass, but the next time — I don’t care who she is, a lady or not, I’ll throw her into the street.”
“Yes.”
A moment later Su Zhe came back: “They’ve left. They said they’d have Shen Ying come. Adoptive Father, that Shen Ying — he doesn’t strike me as someone who can get things done. And Yan Gui…”
Zhù Ying waved her hand: “I don’t want anything done by them. I’ve already given them their warning. It wasn’t I who was trying to drag them into this — it is they who have been insisting on jumping into my hands. I have no choice now but to let them fall into misfortune.”
“Should we inform Chief Minister Chen?”
“Not necessary. I have something else for you to do — at this point, do you still want to go back to Wuzhou?”
Su Zhe said, “My future prospects in the court are not much to speak of, it’s true. And A’Ma has only me. Keeping me in the capital, I can’t settle my heart either. Adoptive Father — are you sending me back?”
“There are several things for you to prepare…”
“What?”
“Lean your ear over here…”
Zhù Ying instructed Su Zhe to put the house they had arranged outside the city in order, to move the household staff hired from outside out of the residence, to have the horses ready at the paddock outside the city — one person, two horses for each attendant — and to withdraw a sum of money…
Su Zhe listened and grew more and more startled: “I… I don’t need all of this.”
“Do as I say.”
“Oh.”
While Su Zhe was busy preparing in earnest, Zhù Ying was not idle either. Her memorial was finished, and Shen Ying — pressed by his wife — arrived at the Zhù residence.
Shen Ying was genuinely uneasy about coming to the Zhù residence. It was an unease he could not quite name, a deeply concealed sentiment. He had witnessed Zhù Ying at the very beginning, and now… He also harbored another anxiety — the old matter of the “broken engagement” had been no gracious concession from their side. So whatever wind his wife had tried to blow his way, he had always refused to come anywhere near Zhù Ying.
Zhù Ying’s expression seemed fine enough. She invited the husband and wife to sit. The two were somewhat ill at ease. Shen Ying gave a cough, and rather than opening the subject himself, cast a look at his wife, as though signaling her to speak first.
Madam Shen at last murmured softly, “Chief Minister, we have come…”
Zhù Ying very helpfully filled in: “Madam keeps her word indeed.”
“Then the Chief Minister’s meaning is —”
Zhù Ying’s expression changed abruptly: “Attendant Shen is aware of my origins. I do not stand on empty ceremony — I deal in concrete interests. To do business with me, the terms must be fair to both sides. I do not ask what you can do for me. I only ask this: what can either of you actually do for this matter of contention over the succession?”
The husband and wife stared at each other, at a loss.
Zhù Ying continued: “Nothing — is that not so? You can only wait and benefit from someone else’s work. I do the work; if something goes wrong, the fault is mine; if I am charged with an offense, it too falls on me. What exactly is the basis for that arrangement?”
Madam Shen quickly said, “Once it succeeds, we would never shortchange you.”
“I place no faith in empty promises. I want only what I can see and touch. How do you intend to make good on your word? How do you intend to share in the risks?”
Shen Ying was driven to the wall. His face flushed deep red, and in anger he demanded, “What do you want?”
“Write me a pledge. You and Yan Gui — both of you are to write a pledge. Otherwise, there is nothing to discuss. Right now, you are the ones coming to me. Remember that — the rule is to establish the eldest. Or, if you prefer, go and find Chief Minister Chen.”
The reference struck a nerve in Shen Ying — for his wife had been pressing him with words along the same lines: “If you won’t put in the effort now, when things succeed I will use everything in my power for our own son. Our son becoming a bigger official than his own father — do you still have any dignity left?”
Shen Ying stood up: “Fine! Where is the paper and brush?”
Zhù Ying said, “Your name alone is not enough. I need Yan Gui’s handwritten pledge — with her seal affixed.”
Shen Ying drew a long, slow breath: “I’ll wait.”
Zhù Ying shook her head again: “I also need to hear from Madam. You cannot go in to see Yan Gui yourself.”
Shen Ying’s vision went dark before him, and he nearly fainted from the force of his anger: “You are toying with me? If you want her handwritten pledge, why did you need me here at all?”
Zhù Ying smiled pleasantly: “I cannot stand to see you eat what others have suffered to earn without contributing a thing yourself. I want you in a state of constant anxiety. That task — will you accept it?”
Madam Shen touched the tip of her husband’s boot lightly with the toe of her shoe. Shen Ying said, “Fine!”
“Here then — copy this out. You write it, go have her sign it and affix her seal, and bring it back to me.”
The draft was simple: namely, that as long as Zhù Ying helped the third son ascend to the position of Crown Prince, and once the third son came to the throne, she would be given in return thus-and-such rewards. The contents were precisely what Yan Gui had once described to Su Zhe.
Shen Ying, barely containing his rage, copied it out hastily. Zhù Ying handed the copy he had made to Madam Shen: “I thank Madam for her trouble.”
Madam Shen’s hands shook as she took the paper. She tried to speak but could not find her voice.
Zhù Ying’s expression shifted again, and with a smile she made a gesture of invitation, seeing the husband and wife out.
……
Back at home, Shen Ying regretted it immediately: “This isn’t right — I have a feeling this whole thing is a trap!”
Madam Shen said, “Have you ever managed to accomplish a single thing? When we came back to the capital, it was your brother-in-law who cleared your family’s name. Chief Minister Zhù should by rights have been your niece’s husband — and you watched and did nothing as that fell through right before your eyes. Then when you were promoted to Vice Minister…”
“That promotion was something I earned through loyal and diligent service!” Shen Ying said furiously.
Madam Shen said, “Is that so. And what else? You really are such a capable man. For how many years have I begged you — begged you to help my family — and by the time my parents both died, you still hadn’t lifted a hand for them. It was only the general amnesty that allowed them to return home. What have you ever actually accomplished?”
Madam Shen had once listened to her husband in all things. But now, her niece had become the more capable one, and she had shifted to following the niece instead.
She quickly seized on a pretext, had word smuggled in through a palace errand eunuch, and requested another audience with Yan Gui. That same day the paper with the pledge was placed in Zhù Ying’s hands.
Zhù Ying was somewhat surprised. From the way Shen Ying had looked at the time, she had not been sure she could get him to actually write it. As for Yan Gui readily signing and sealing the document — that had been even less certain. Tricking someone required catching them in the heat of the moment. Give the other party even a little more time, and they were liable to come to their senses.
She carefully verified the seal — unmistakably Yan Gui’s. Su Zhe had handled the whole process; in fact, it had been Su Zhe who delivered the document to Yan Gui in the first place.
Verification complete, Zhù Ying said, “I’ll keep this. Madam may go.”
Madam Shen was still waiting for her to make some promise in return, but Zhù Ying had already signaled Su Zhe to see the woman out. Su Zhe’s heart was churning like a tempest as she came flying back, lifting her skirts: “Adoptive Father! You — does this mean… surely you haven’t…”
“Haven’t what?”
Su Zhe lowered her voice: “Agreed to help Noble Consort Yan?”
“What exactly did I agree to?” Zhù Ying said without the slightest trace of guilt. “That was written by them — not by me. She takes her petty little intrigues and uses them to make a nuisance of us, and you think we have to simply capitulate? Look — here is leverage.”
“But your name is on it too, which makes it easy for people to suspect your intentions…”
“Tch!” Zhù Ying said without a care. “Who says I have to use it? As long as she keeps quiet and stops pestering us, this will never see the light of day. If she dares to make noise — let her find out what became of Gong Jie. The real power of a card in your hand is that others can’t know when you’ll play it. The uncertainty is where the full force lies. Have you finished all the preparations I asked of you?”
“Yes, everything is ready.”
“Good. Go and get some rest.”
Su Zhe was in a complicated tangle of emotions. This was very likely the eve of her departure. A reluctance to leave stirred and circled in her heart. She steeled herself, and began to pack her belongings.
The next morning early, Zhù Ying said, “I’ve arranged leave for all of you — none of you need to go to court today. There is a box in the study — the key is with Gu Tong. Once everyone is gathered, open it.”
Su Zhe found this strange but obediently agreed. Zhao Su and the others arrived one by one. Gu Tong was the last to come. The group assembled, and Su Zhe went to retrieve the box. Gu Tong produced the key. They opened the box and looked inside — a memorial lay within. The group exchanged puzzled glances. Zhao Su said, “I’ll read it aloud.”
“Go ahead!”
Zhao Su opened the memorial and had barely gotten out, “Your subject…” when his voice choked, as though an invisible hand had seized him by the throat like a rooster mid-crow.
Su Zhe said, “What is it?” and snatched it from his hands — and went equally blank.
Gu Tong, Lin Feng, and the others crowded in, reading over Su Zhe’s shoulder. And there in the memorial, written out in clear brush strokes, their Adoptive Father — their A’Weng — had presented a self-account declaring that she was a woman.
Zhao Su was the first to come back to himself: “This is a memorial! She — he — didn’t have us come to court, so this morning in court…”
——
That day in court, not a sound was heard.
The Emperor’s eyes spun. His mind was full of “the annals of history,” “a fine chapter,” “bringing clarity and order to the realm…”
Chen Meng’s mind was full of: Is this real or not? So my brother-in-law… is a woman?
Xian Jing was the first to open his mouth: “Have you gone mad?”
Zhù Ying said, “I am considerably more clear-headed than you.”