Chapter 32: Refraining From Softness

Chapter 32: No Weakness of Heart

A month had passed since Liang Zhen's memorial reached the imperial court. In that time, he had made significant progress in Yu Zhou, and his actions were already well-known among the officials.

Upon arriving in Yu Zhou, he personally inspected the hardest-hit districts and counties. He then requisitioned troops to surround the residence of the local provincial administrator, forcing the elderly mother of the administrator, in her eighties, out of her home. Upon seeing her incessant coughing and ashen face, the onlookers scattered in panic, aware that she was infected with the plague but not yet isolated. They feared that even a moment's delay could lead to contagion.

Afterward, Liang Zhen led his troops to surround several grand mansions, extracting numerous plague-stricken individuals and sending them away. Any resistance was met with swift action; he drew his sword without hesitation, regardless of the person's status or the influence backing them.

That same day, the Yu Zhou provincial administrator, hearing the news, hastily returned, only to be promptly apprehended by Liang Zhen before he could plead his case. His official hat was seized, and he was escorted directly to the capital.

In one night, the wealthy and influential who had harbored hopes of concealing their infected family members behind their power were shaken to their cores. Without waiting for Liang Zhen's visit, they arranged transportation to send their loved ones to quarantine zones.

The quarantine zones were established in the most severely affected counties across the provinces. Liang Zhen efficiently dispatched soldiers to evacuate nearby residents, establishing a thirty-mile exclusion zone. The sealed-off counties closed their city gates, allowing no entry or exit, guarded by troops who would not hesitate to use artillery against any attempting to escape.

Rumors spread rapidly throughout Yu Zhou, painting Liang Zhen as a reincarnated vengeful spirit, severing all contact between the plague-stricken and the outside world, seemingly intent on exterminating them all.

With the encouragement of some, civil unrest soon erupted. Displaced people, using the demand for justice as a pretext, attempted to storm the cities. Liang Zhen, anticipating this, swiftly deployed troops to suppress the uprising. Just when everyone expected him to execute all those involved, he only punished the ringleaders and exposed the instigators within the city, beheading them and displaying their severed heads on the city walls as a warning.

Two days later, Jiangnan unexpectedly sent three hundred thousand bushels of relief rice. Liang Zhen promptly organized its distribution in the name of the emperor and the government to the displaced people, defusing the recent turmoil.

The epidemic persisted, albeit with significantly fewer cases. The imperial physicians' medicinal soups couldn't save those already infected, but they were effective in preventing the spread among the uninfected, greatly reducing the likelihood of contracting the disease. Within a few days, there were no new patients.

However, not a single person survived the isolation zone. In just three short days, over ten thousand plague-stricken people became ten thousand corpses, cremated in a single fire.

All who questioned Liang Zhen's actions were silenced. Half a month later, as the weather turned cooler, and after confirming the complete eradication of the plague, Liang Zhen lifted the quarantine and issued an edict. Families who had lost loved ones to the plague would receive five taels of silver per deceased, while each displaced family would be given ten taels to settle down locally. This finally restored order.

In his official report, Liang Zhen merely summarized the events. In a private letter to Zhu Yunxuan, he divulged the hidden details.

Indeed, Liang Zhen had taken the lives of over ten thousand plague victims. After consulting with the imperial physicians, he learned that the disease was transmitted through mosquito bites and was incurable once contracted. Thus, he decided to replace the daily medicinal soup with poison, sparing them a more painful demise. Without this drastic measure, the number of new infections could not have been reduced to zero in such a short time.

When Zeng Hui came to report, Zhu Yunxuan had just finished reading Liang Zhen's letter. Handing over the memorial, Zeng Hui informed him that an imperial censor had impeached Liang Zhen. Even before Liang Zhen returned to the capital, his tyrannical acts in Yu Zhou had already reached the emperor's ears, particularly the sudden death of over ten thousand people within three days. No amount of justification could silence the public's uproar.

"Your Majesty, Prince Zhao's actions were reckless and heedless of consequences. Although he managed to control the epidemic, his methods were overly radical..."

Zhu Yunxuan let out a soft sigh, interrupting Zeng Hui. "Teacher, you know he acted on my behalf. What he did... I tacitly approved it."

"Still, Your Majesty..."

"What can I do now, even if I wanted to deal with him? The impeachment by the imperial censor lacks any evidence. How can I punish him? While in Yu Zhou, he acted in my name and that of the court, providing silver and grain, shouldering all the blame himself. How can I punish him?"

Zeng Hua was momentarily at a loss for words. "Your Majesty, even if you can do nothing today, such a wolf-hearted individual will always be a menace. If the king is not kingly and the subject is not loyal, there will come a day when you must deal with this to uphold the order of the court."

It was no wonder that Zeng Hua felt the need to remind Zhu Yunxuan of these concerns. He had also heard the veiled rumors about the emperor and the Prince of Zhao, though he did not entirely believe them, they still made him worry that Zhu Yunxuan might hesitate and be indecisive.

Closing his eyes, Zhu Yunxuan spoke calmly, "Teacher, do you think I will soften? You can rest assured... I won't."

"Your Majesty's firm resolve is most reassuring. Moreover, regarding the silver and grain distributed by the Prince of Zhao, they didn't go through the Ministry of Revenue. Your Majesty, do you know where he obtained them?"

Zhu Yunxuan slightly shook his head. "He told me it was from his own personal wealth."

Zeng Hua was astounded. "The Prince of Zhao's personal wealth?"

This amount, equivalent to hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, had actually come from the Prince of Zhao's own pocket. For a moment, Zeng Hua was unsure whether to be astonished by the vastness of his fortune or amazed by his generosity.

Even Zhu Yunxuan was learning this for the first time. Liang Zhen possessed such substantial assets, willing to part with hundreds of thousands of taels in the name of the emperor. Zhu Yunxuan's emotions were mixed, a vague unease creeping into his heart.

Liang Zhen returned to the capital in mid-August. Regarding the accusations against him, he naturally denied them. Without evidence, and with no unrest in Yu Province, the matter eventually faded away.

In the Ganlin Palace, upon seeing Zhu Yunxuan, Liang Zhen's gaze fell on his emaciated cheeks and then to his still flat abdomen, now four months along. He frowned slightly. "I was only gone for a month, how has Your Majesty lost weight again? Have you not been eating on time?"

Gao An couldn't help but shrink his neck, afraid that Liang Zhen might seek trouble with him later.

Zhu Yunxuan said calmly, "What you did in Yuzhou has already spread throughout the court, especially after the imperial censor impeached you. Even without evidence, everyone is now saying that you killed over ten thousand people."

"Let them talk," Liang Zhen replied nonchalantly. He had indeed done the killings, and he didn't mind bearing the blame for it.

Human nature was such that while everyone knew it was the only way to contain the epidemic quickly, they dared not say or do it themselves. Yet, when others did, they would angrily criticize from the perspective of righteousness, all for the sake of their reputation.

Zhu Yunxuan had long expected this attitude and felt even more complicated. "…Where did you get that enormous sum of money? Transporting so much grain from the south to Yuzhou must have required early preparation. When did you start making these arrangements?"

Liang Zhen smiled. "When His Majesty first sent imperial physicians to Yuzhou, I arranged for people to purchase grain in the south. As for the silver… It's not actually mine."

Zhu Yunxuan furrowed his brow. "Not yours?"

Liang Zhen answered frankly, "It's the late emperor's private treasury, containing tens of millions of taels of silver and some landed estates. The late emperor entrusted it to me when he was gravely ill. I hadn't used it before."

Zhu Yunxuan was astonished. He had never known that his father had such a private treasury. Emperor Zhao Yang's treasury wasn't abundant, and every penny had to be spent wisely. Even for this relief effort, the Ministry of Finance couldn't allocate such a large sum to win public favor. If not for Liang Zhen's silver and grain, the situation could never have been resolved so easily. It seemed absurd when he thought about it.

Unfortunately, his father had schemed all his life only to end in failure. He gave everything he could to the son he believed to be his own, who in reality was an enemy who hated him to the core.

"So that's the case."

Zhu Yunxuan nodded, not asking further. Liang Zhen watched him with a smile, noticing the previously furrowed brows relax, as if a burden had been lifted. He immediately guessed what Zhu Yunxuan was thinking.

Probably, Zhu Yunxuan didn't want to feel indebted to him over this matter. Now that he knew the money actually came from the late emperor's private treasury, his heart was at ease.

Liang Zhen sighed inwardly at his persistence. He decided to do a favor and smooth things over: "Since it's the late emperor's private treasury, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to keep it. In a couple of days, I'll have it audited and return it all to Your Majesty."

Zhu Yunxuan was surprised: "You're going to give it back to me?"

Liang Zhen chuckled lowly, "Your Majesty, anything you desire, I can provide, as long as you're willing to trust me."

For a moment, Zhu Yunxuan was speechless. He knew Liang Zhen was hinting at something, but didn't know how to respond. Trust between them was an insurmountable challenge. Neither he nor Liang Zhen could achieve it, otherwise Liang Zhen wouldn't continually test him.

"In Yu State, I once caught a cold. I thought it was an epidemic. At that time, I just wished to see Your Majesty one last time before I died. But I didn't dare to meet you, fearing I might harm you. Eventually, I safely returned. Was Your Majesty disappointed?"

Zhu Yunxuan's expression turned cold. Their eyes met, his voice icy: "I wasn't."

A deeper smile appeared in Liang Zhen's eyes. He stepped closer. Zhu Yunxuan's heart tightened, with nowhere to retreat. Pressed against the imperial desk, Liang Zhen embraced him.

A warm breath brushed close to Zhu Yunxuan's ear, whispering softly, "This servant knows."