“I didn’t lose!” Lin Feng spoke first, seizing the initiative.
Zhù Ying said nothing, observing his complexion carefully. Aside from a hint of anxiety, there was nothing dejected about him. A fight wasn’t the sort of thing to discuss in this setting, so Zhù Ying did not question him in public. Instead she said, “Fall in behind.”
Because this was a triumphant return, and there was also the western barbarian peace envoy, the court would naturally have arranged a welcoming party. Those returning and those coming to welcome them would have worked out a plan in advance — where to hold the reception, who would come out to greet them. Compared to the northern campaign, the court’s feelings about this battle with the western barbarians were less intense. As a result, the welcoming party had not come out quite as far, and those sent to receive them were a single member of the imperial family and a single court official.
The imperial family member was someone Zhù Ying knew — the Prince of Guangning, who privately addressed her as “Third Elder Brother” following Zheng Xia’s lead. The court official was Wang Shuliang, whose role in the Court of State Ceremonial made him perfectly suited to receiving the barbarian envoy.
From where she had encountered Lin Feng to the appointed meeting place, Zhù Ying had ample time to find out what had happened.
Lang Rui kept stealing glances at his uncle. The proud gleam that had shone on the boy’s face had long since vanished, replaced by worry on Lin Feng’s behalf. Lin Feng hunched his neck and drew close behind Zhù Ying.
Zhù Ying said, “Tell me. What did you do?”
“It was they who were unreasonable and absolutely insufferable!”Lin Feng said under his breath.
Chen Mei thought to himself: You’re done for. She asks you a question and you evade it — the way you handle things is probably just as off.
Zhù Ying merely cast him one glance, and Lin Feng sidled up and murmured, “It was them — they hadn’t even shaken the dust off themselves yet and they were already lording it over people. I couldn’t stand to watch, so I got into a fight with them.”
Chen Mei straightened up in his saddle, leaning toward Lin Feng’s side, and prompted him: “Give us the cause and effect.”
“Oh! Right! Adoptive Father, it went like this — you know how I’ve got some colleagues and friends? We all went out for drinks, and straight drinking gets dull, so we went to listen to some music. Social obligations, you understand. Among the performers, there was a Snow Maiden who was truly pitiable…”
After finishing work, he had gone with two or three colleagues for drinks. He had taken a liking to one of the singers, who was delicate and lovely in appearance and knew some southern melodies. Though they were not quite mountain folk songs, they bore a certain resemblance, and Lin Feng was drawn to her. She had even specially learned more songs for Lin Feng’s sake. He had been rather content with this arrangement — until, unfortunately, the singer was seized and abused by the younger brother of one Yan Gui.
“That young wretch has all sorts of problems. He won’t let Snow Maiden see anyone else, and whenever he finds out she has, he beats her. Beating a woman — what kind of man is that?” Lin Feng said indignantly. “A couple of days ago, we went to Snow Maiden’s place and found him in the middle of hanging her up and beating her. I couldn’t stand by and watch, so I got into a fight with him. He had a few lackeys with him, but I was different — I…”
He went on at some length. Zhù Ying asked only one question: “The Yan family? They’ve become that formidable?”
Lin Feng said, “Isn’t it all thanks to his sister trading her life for their standing? In the capital, people are watching the Emperor reprimand Princess Anren, and they think Yan is about to rise. Oh, and Little Sister seems to be on fairly good terms with Noble Consort Yan — that doesn’t seem quite right.”
“Oh?”
Lin Feng said, “The ceremony for installing her as Noble Consort hardly looked like something arranged in the last couple of years. The Ministry of Rites was generous with it, and the Ministry of Finance allocated extra funds.”
Zhù Ying made no comment and instead asked him, “What exactly is your relationship with Snow Maiden?”
A while back, Zhù Ying had written to Lin Feng’s maternal grandfather — the “Mountain Sparrow Grandfather-in-law” — to inquire about Lin Feng’s marriage. Of course, the grandfather wanted Lin Feng to return home and take a wife, preferably a girl from their own clan, or at least from a neighboring family. But Lin Feng was doing well as an official here in the capital, and Zhù Ying had Su Zhe right there as an example. The grandfather, however, had some sense of his own son’s limitations and felt it unlikely that Lin Feng and Su Zhe would make a match.
The grandfather was also uncertain. He harbored deep wariness toward the court and did not want his son to marry in the capital. But he entrusted Zhù Ying with sounding out Lin Feng’s own thoughts, and asked whether she might arrange for Lin Feng to be sent home long enough to take a wife before returning. The reason was that girls from their own clan required Lin Feng to come back himself, demonstrate his worth through singing, dancing, and games, and win a wife on his own initiative before the elders could step in to oversee the wedding.
Lin Feng followed Zhù Ying around, and what ability did Zhù Ying have to teach him how to court a wife? She herself hardly paid attention to such things. She had tried to sound him out, and Lin Feng had given no thought at all to the matter of marriage.
Zhù Ying had also considered his marriage, but in the capital he was a “frontier tribal” official under the loose rein system, and a second son at that. Matching him to a “suitable” girl was no easy task. Girls from good families were first married to equals, and the second consideration was that they might not look favorably on him. Girls from lesser families required taking the grandfather’s feelings into account. Girls who were not particularly outstanding required taking Lin Feng’s own feelings into account.
The matter had simply sat there, unresolved.
She knew Lin Feng went out socializing with colleagues, and knew he hadn’t been throwing money around like a fool. She could not manage every detail. But now that Lin Feng had mentioned being “fond” of a girl named “Snow Maiden,” she had no choice but to ask.
Lin Feng hesitated: “It’s just… it’s just like that, you know. I really just couldn’t stand watching that Yan brat mistreat someone!”
“What do you intend to do about her?”
Lin Feng said, “Just beat that Yan brat until he’s afraid, and that’ll be enough. I’ve made it clear — if that Yan brat lays a hand on Snow Maiden again, I’ll beat him again!”
Well then. He was still completely confused about the situation.
Zhù Ying asked again, “The capital prefecture didn’t arrest you?”
“Huh? We both just went home after the fight.”
Just like that? This wasn’t much of a matter after all. Zhù Ying said, “Today is not a rest day — how did you get out of the city?”
“I applied for leave!”
Zhù Ying said nothing more. Lin Feng’s heart was in his throat. He had rushed out ahead of everyone because the injury was on his face, impossible to hide. Better to come forward himself and get his version in first than to have Zhao Su report it to Zhù Ying.
Zhao Su was now with the Ministry of Finance. For Zhù Ying’s return to the capital, Zhao Su had come out ahead to brief her on relevant Ministry of Finance matters and was on the list of those meeting the convoy. Zhao Su rather disliked Lin Feng causing trouble in the capital, and at the time had already berated him: “So you fought — so what, who’s afraid of anyone named Yan? First moment Adoptive Father’s out of the capital and you’re out fighting over a woman, making a spectacle of yourself.”
In a panic, Lin Feng had bolted, also fearing that Zhù Ying would deal with him personally.
He remained anxious right up until the moment they met the Prince of Guangning and Wang Shuliang. Zhù Ying still had said nothing to him. Lin Feng was bitterly regretful — if he had known, he should have arranged for some people to ambush that Yan brat in a back alley and beat him properly. He should never have used his own fists and ended up injured.
He watched Zhù Ying exchange pleasantries with the Prince of Guangning and Wang Shuliang, then exchange a glance with Zhao Su, and his heart hammered harder. Where had he forgotten that this fellow was also not exactly a gentle soul — black-hearted to the core. He feared Zhao Su was now going to settle scores with him.
At that moment, no one had any attention to spare for what he was thinking. The Prince of Guangning expressed the Emperor’s condolences on behalf of the imperial family, Zhù Ying expressed gratitude on behalf of all the officers and soldiers, Wang Shuliang praised Zhù Ying’s restraint on this campaign, and Zhù Ying then indicated the barbarian envoy who had come with her. After that, the whole group entered the city together, welcomed by common people lining the streets on both sides.
Zhù Ying first had to enter the palace to have an audience with the Emperor. Wang Shuliang and Chen Mei waited outside to accompany the barbarian envoy.
The ceremony had been prepared. The Emperor had shed all his previous anxieties, and his entire face was written over with delight. He said warmly to Zhù Ying, “You have spared no effort, minister. You are a pillar of the nation.”
Zhù Ying replied, “I am fortunate not to have failed in my mission.” She then reported that Kun Da Chi had dispatched an envoy to negotiate peace.
The Emperor said with a stern face, “He has the audacity to request peace?”
Zhù Ying said, “Your Majesty need only regard it as being for the sake of the border people’s peaceful livelihood.”
The Emperor then reluctantly agreed to summon the barbarian envoy for an audience. Chen Meng watched his son enter the hall alongside Wang Shuliang and the barbarian envoy, and the corner of his mouth curved slightly. His days of late had been somewhat anxious, with Zheng Xi in mourning leave and the demands on the Secretariat growing ever greater. Now that Zhù Ying had returned, he saw hope!
The barbarian envoy had come before, and his observance of etiquette was proper. The Emperor’s displeasure eased somewhat. He deliberately assumed a stern manner and again questioned the envoy as to why Kun Da Chi had taken up arms. The envoy once again fell back on the claim of having been coerced. Both sides knew the account carried its holes, yet both tacitly played along with the performance.
The real contentious matters would have to be argued out in the detailed negotiations that followed.
The envoy presented Kun Da Chi’s gifts, which were somewhat more lavish than the tribute of prior years — in addition to various local specialties, there were several dozen fine horses.
The Emperor therefore commanded the Court of State Ceremonial to attend to the barbarian envoy, and also issued an order for a banquet to be held to welcome Zhù Ying and the others back from their travels.
……
Zhù Ying returned home from the palace. It was already dark. A sudden coolness touched the tip of her nose — it was snowing.
The whole party arrived home. Zhao Su, Su Zhe, and the others were all there. Chen Mei, Wu Pei, and the rest had gone back to their own homes; gathered at the Zhù residence now were only their own people. The servants who had kept watch in her absence received her with smiles: “You’re finally back!”
Everyone was in high spirits. Zhao Zhen, with a touch of excitement, said, “Surely after this triumphant return, you’ll advance even further, won’t you? Perhaps appointed as Marquis or a Chief Minister?”
Zhù Ying said, “Do not speak rashly.”
Lin Feng chuckled, “Everyone is saying so! In court right now, Minister Zheng is on mourning leave, Minister Dou is doing less and less, and Minister Xian is not up to the task. Only Minister Chen, and how could one person keep up with everything? If someone is to take another step forward, it can only be you, Adoptive Father!”
Zhù Ying said, “Don’t celebrate too early. Let’s first properly settle the commendations for the meritorious officers and soldiers before we talk about anything else. When you all go out, on no account be arrogant or complacent!”
Her tone was strict, and Zhao Zhen and the others suppressed their elation with effort: “Yes.”
Zhù Ying set Lin Feng aside for now and instead said to Zhao Su, “You’ve learned to report good news while hiding the bad — quite capable of you, aren’t you?”
Su Zhe quickly said, “The front lines were pressing. We discussed it and decided not to trouble you with these things.”
Zhù Ying said, “The wound on his face hasn’t fully healed — this happened while I was at the front. It seems there’s quite a bit you’ve been keeping from me. Will you tell me yourselves, or shall I uncover it piece by piece?”
Everyone promptly stood at attention. Su Zhe said, “Everything that occurred has been written in my letters.”
“As for him…” Zhao Su glanced at Lin Feng. “Things like this happen ten times a day in the capital, give or take.”
Everyone had thought it not worth mentioning.
Zhù Ying said to Lin Feng, “The days I’ve been away from the capital — I imagine your studies have fallen behind as well?”
Lin Feng nearly jumped out of his skin at those words!
Zhù Ying said, “Get out of my sight. Go back and redo all your coursework from the beginning.”
Lin Feng scrambled away as fast as he could.
Zhù Ying then asked Zhao Su and Su Zhe, “How is the Zheng family doing these days?”
Zhao Su said, “Still as before. Minister Xian has not been able to do anything to them either. From the Emperor’s manner, he does not seem to wish for Minister Xian to gain the upper hand.”
“And the Chen family?”
Su Zhe said, “Minister Chen keeps his head down and attends to his work. Whenever there’s any dispute at court, he always hedges and refuses to declare which side he will support.”
Zhù Ying asked about a few more matters in the capital, then said, “All of you get some rest. You have to be at court tomorrow.”
She was different — she had several days of leave to rest, time enough to visit some friends and also to urge that the arrangements for the commendations be followed through.
Zhao Su and the others took their leave and withdrew. They were all lodging in the guest rooms of the residence. Su Zhe walked swiftly toward the rear courtyard and turned to wait beside the inner gate. Zhù Ying would inevitably pass through this gate on her way back to her room. Soon enough, Zhù Ying was also heading to her room to rest.
There were still a few steps between them when she saw Su Zhe standing beneath a lantern. Zhù Ying asked, “Is there something?”
Su Zhe nodded: “There is one matter to report.”
“Come and speak then.”
Su Zhe followed Zhù Ying into the main room. The attendants lit the lamps, and Su Zhe said, “It is a confidential matter.”
Zhù Yin smiled, took up a lamp, and withdrew. Zhù Ying asked, “It seems quite serious. Has something happened at home?”
Su Zhe shook her head: “No. It’s something else — Noble Consort Yan has approached me.”
“Oh?”
“She… wants her son to become Crown Prince. Adoptive Father, can we lend her our assistance?”
Zhù Ying looked at her intently and asked with full seriousness, “Have you thought it through yourself — you actually want to help her? This isn’t just her asking you to pass a message?”
Su Zhe gathered her courage and nodded: “I… do want to help her.”
“Why?” You little wretch — they’ve lined up to deliver surprises one after another!
“The eldest son being raised by the Empress is dull and slow — he doesn’t seem fit to be Crown Prince. The third son born to the Noble Consort appears to be clever and capable by contrast. He is more qualified and more likely to become Crown Prince. Princess Anren has been publicly reprimanded. The Emperor recently fell ill, and there has been talk at court of late that it’s time to think about the imperial sons’ education…”
“Why should we help her?” Zhù Ying asked patiently. “What conditions did she propose? What does she want us to do? Can what we would gain possibly be commensurate with the risks involved? Aside from her personally, have you encountered anything else?”
Su Zhe said, “Princess Anren…”
Su Zhe had been snubbed by Princess Anren again. When she had been handling something for Princess Anren, she had elevated the matter somewhat — and for the Ministry of Finance’s approval of funds, had also allocated a bit more. Given that the woman had nearly starved herself to death to extend the Emperor’s life, giving her a little extra seemed only fair. Even Ye Deng hadn’t raised an objection, so Su Zhe certainly had no grounds to curtail it. But Princess Anren was not pleased. She had been penalized and forced to return land holdings; she had also been docked salary and confined to quarters.
Then she fell ill. Once she became ill, the Emperor had no wish to bear the blame of hounding her to death, and rescinded her confinement. The moment she was out, she ran straight into the ceremony installing Yan Gui as Noble Consort, and Su Zhe — encountering Princess Anren in a sour mood — had received a thorough tongue-lashing.
“I’ve had enough of dealing with that foolish woman!” Su Zhe said. “I asked Noble Consort Yan herself: she has family, Sheng Ying is her relative, and Minister Chen is an enormous backer — why not reach out to them? Noble Consort Yan said her family is worthless, Sheng Ying neither agrees nor refuses, and Minister Chen pays her no heed. Adoptive Father, it is better to tend a cold stove than to try the hot one. The eldest imperial son is simpleminded — after him, it would naturally be the third son. The Emperor holds Noble Consort Yan’s loyalty in high regard. No matter how one looks at it, it seems a solid bet.”
Zhù Ying said, “What is the rush? Becoming Crown Prince, having sons, and there are those who still die. How are you so impatient? This doesn’t seem like you at all — to actually be won over by Noble Consort Yan.”
“The endless parade of it inside the palace — who is in favor, who has given birth to what, who is raising what, who has received more imperial visits… I am sick to death of it! I am a court official. I might as well be a eunuch for all the difference it makes. The Ministry of Rites assigns me only these kinds of tasks. If I must manage the business of wives and children, I would rather be involved in something of greater consequence. Noble Consort Yan has promised that she will put in good words for you before the Emperor. She says you will certainly become Chief Minister, and that once the third son becomes Crown Prince, all court matters in the future will be yours to govern…”
“She? She said that to you? I need her to recommend me?” Zhù Ying reached out and pressed the back of her hand to Su Zhe’s forehead. “Come now, tell me the truth. I’ll kill the Yan family to the last.”
Su Zhe’s breathing grew rapid and urgent: “She — she also promised that once it is done, I — I would no longer have to be merely a figurehead. I could command troops, participate in governance — not just manage the petty squabbles of the inner palace. I… Adoptive Father!”
She sank to her knees, and tears fell without her realizing it: “Adoptive Father, from the time I was small, you always told me and A’Ma to set our eyes on the world. You brought me to the capital, and I have seen the world. But in this world — what can I do? It is like placing someone at a banquet table and then binding her hands and feet, stopping her mouth, and forbidding her to eat!”
Zhù Ying crouched down and looked at her tear-streaked face: “Hard feelings — even hard feelings cannot lead you into confusion. Your head must stay clear! The current Emperor is, all in all, a filial son. The late Empress Dowager was, in her way, a perceptive woman. Yet to this day, Mu Chengzhou has never been given a position of any real use. Yan Gui? How far can she go? A Empress Dowager who cannot even arrange positions for her own relatives — what can she offer you? For the sake of her son and her own wealth and safety, she can promise you the sun and the moon right now. But once she gains power, how would you compel her to make good on those promises? Promises that cannot be kept — do you intend to risk your life for them?”
Su Zhe bowed her head to the floor: “I did not think it through carefully enough. But I am in such pain! Adoptive Father, please let me go home. Back home, at least I can govern my own stockade. Here, what can I do? Even with you to shield me, I am still an anomaly — different from the men! You are a good person, holding an umbrella over us, but even at your side, there is only Danqing who is anything like me. I look around, and there is not even one soul to whom I can confide my troubles. Not even my Uncle — he cannot understand me. Yet at your side, all the people are like this.
It is Qingjun I envy instead — whenever she is able to go home, I am truly glad for her. At least at home, she is not alone. The hardships of a woman in official life — you will never be able to fully understand. For as long as I remain in the court, my life will be this way. Like the prison warden at the Court of Judicial Review — that’s all she will ever be, for the rest of her life.
When I first came to the capital, you arranged for them to be my teachers. They spoke of the prison warden post. I have now risen to the rank of Director — yet they are still prison wardens. Is it truly that they lack the ability? They are leagues below you, yes — but they are far superior to all those drunks and good-for-nothings in the Six Ministries and the Nine Courts! And yet they are forever confined within the prison of the Court of Judicial Review. The court will never permit them to replace those worthless men.
Unless you were to take the field again, to establish your own command and headquarters — only then could I pretend, under your wings, that I have some power of my own.
Please let me go home.”
Zhù Ying helped her up. Su Zhe pressed downward with all her strength, but Zhù Ying used both hands and lifted her face up, and as she slowly wiped her face, she said, “How do you know I don’t understand? Tomorrow, don’t go to morning court — take the day off. I know what is in your heart. Let me make the arrangements.”
Su Zhe asked through her sobs, “So… you’ve promised me?”
Zhù Ying said, “Come now, wash your face. The night is deep. Sleep well, and tomorrow I have something I need you to do.” She rose, wrung out a cloth, spread it open, and handed it to Su Zhe.
Su Zhe pressed the cloth over her face without further insistence. Beneath the cloth, her face had settled into a perfect calm.