Chapter 128

Chapter 128

When Wanye was arrested and shackled by the Imperial Guards at the guesthouse, he was utterly bewildered, having no idea disaster was about to strike.

At first, he sternly demanded an explanation and put up a fierce struggle, but he was hopelessly outnumbered. He was kicked to the ground by the Imperial Guards and tightly bound.

Wanye threw back his head and roared, "I want to see the Emperor of Da Qian!"

But outside the hall, armored soldiers stood rank upon rank, ignoring his furious shouts. The entire Tartar delegation, over fifty strong, was arrested and imprisoned.

Wen Zuo knew well that this matter could give Wanye no room to delay or argue. Thus, he shot Xue Chongnian a meaningful glance.

Even Xue Chongnian understood that Wen Zuo's intention was Shen Zheng's intention, and now, the Crown Prince's intention outweighed everything else.

He immediately acted swiftly and decisively, drawing up the charges overnight against Wanye and his party for secretly colluding with Nanping and plotting to overthrow Da Qian.

Overthrowing Da Qian was true, but colluding with Nanping was a complete frame-up.

An instant before the blade fell, Wanye was still howling, "Let me go! Do you know who I am? I am the son of Aruch, Khan of the Tartars! If you dare kill me, the Tartar hordes will ride you down!"

Chop!

Blood splattered, a head rolled, and the hulking body collapsed to the ground, motionless.

When Consort Zhen received the news of Wanye's execution, tears welled in her eyes and spilled over.

That very afternoon, she personally took Zhaoyue by the hand, prepared generous gifts, and went to the Eastern Palace to offer her thanks.

In the Wenhua Hall, she saw Shen Zheng and Wen Zuo reading together.

Zhaoyue immediately dropped to her knees, lifting her dark, clear, almond-shaped eyes to look at Shen Zheng.

"I have always been one to love and hate fiercely. Your Highness has protected Zhaoyue. For this kindness and virtue, my daughter and I are eternally grateful," Consort Zhen's voice trembled slightly. "Zhaoyue, kowtow to your brother the Crown Prince and thank him."

"Thank you, Crown Prince brother!" Zhaoyue placed her hands on the floor, preparing to kowtow.

Shen Zheng quickly stepped forward, caught her by the arm, and gently lifted her up.

"This matter was all thanks to Master Wen's planning. I merely acted on his advice."

Consort Zhen paused, taken aback, then turned to Wen Zuo, her gaze shifting slightly as she sank into a deep, formal curtsey. "The Director and I have never had any dealings. Today, I am deeply in the Director's debt for his great help, rescuing my daughter from a desperate situation. My gratitude is beyond words."

Wen Zuo could not accept such a grand gesture from a Consort and quickly sidestepped to avoid the honor. "You honor me too much, Your Ladyship. This was merely my duty. It is not worth mentioning."

Shen Zheng gently ruffled Zhaoyue's hair, then crouched down to her level. "Zhaoyue, I know the ancestral rules of Da Qian are strict, especially when it comes to arranging marriages for princesses. I promise you, in the future, I will never let you be constrained by palace rules, forced to marry someone you don't love, and see your life wasted away."

Zhaoyue seemed to understand but not fully, unable to completely grasp the deeper meaning.

But when Consort Zhen heard this, tears instantly flooded her eyes, streaming down her cheeks.

She never expected that Shen Zheng had considered even this.

She had struggled in the inner palace for over a decade. All she had ever hoped for was that after Shen He ascended the throne, he would show Zhaoyue a bit more kindness and protect her safety for a lifetime.

But Shen He had always been weak-willed, long since becoming a slave to rules and conventions.

Yet Shen Zheng, who had never received an ounce of favor from her, could see Zhaoyue's predicament at a glance.

"Your Highness... truly?" Consort Zhen covered her face. Her heart, which had been in her throat for over a decade, finally settled back into place.

"Naturally true." Shen Zheng paused, then shifted the topic. "But Zhaoyue, you must also help me with something."

Zhaoyue tilted her head in confusion.

"In this world, many women are like you, their marriages dictated by others, their lives dependent on others, countless beauties meeting untimely ends. The 'Three Obediences and Four Virtues,' the rules and norms are like a great mountain, crushing them, making it hard to breathe. To shake this mountain, someone must step forward, forge a completely different path, become a model for all women under heaven, donning armor and wielding swords, mastering their own destinies."

"I want you to be that person. Use a generation's time to change customs, to break the shackles for all women under heaven."

Upon hearing these words, not only was Consort Zhen dumbfounded, but even Wen Zuo suddenly looked up, staring at Shen Zheng in astonishment.

In the past, when Shen Zheng bared his heart to him, saying he wanted to "overturn his rules, abolish his laws,"

Wen Zuo took it as the most beautiful love words, yet knew in his heart that such a task was as difficult as ascending to heaven. He had long prepared for an unsatisfactory outcome.

But only now did he understand that Shen Zheng was so solemn and serious about this, and it was not merely to please him.

What Shen Zheng wanted to overturn was far more than just the shackles of same-sex love. What he held in his heart, what he wanted to reverse, was far broader than Wen Zuo had imagined.

A hundred emotions surged in Wen Zuo's heart.

So, only one who sympathizes with the suffering of all living beings can sympathize with the suffering of him alone. Only one who dares to fight against injustice for all under heaven is willing to fight for him alone.

Although Zhaoyue was young, she understood the weight of these words. Thus, clenching her small fists, her voice clear and firm, she said, "I am a princess of Da Qian. Naturally, I should be a model for all women under heaven. Elder brother, rest assured. Zhaoyue will certainly do her utmost and will not fail your trust."

When the news of Wanye's death reached beyond the pass, the garrison commanders prepared their troops and horses, expecting the Tartars to launch a full-scale invasion. Unexpectedly, beyond the pass, there was only deathly silence. Aruch showed no signs of mobilizing troops.

Spies ventured deep into the desert to investigate and only then learned that internal strife had broken out among the Tartars. Aruch was wounded and had already led his remaining forces far into the depths of the desert, too preoccupied with his own survival to consider anything else.

In the deep spring of June, perhaps due to the intense heat, Emperor Shunyuan's appetite gradually waned, and his spirit grew weary. He simply entrusted all major and minor governmental affairs to Shen Zheng for decision.

Huang Ting, upon Shen Zheng's recommendation, was slated for the position of Director in the Ministry of Personnel.

Emperor Shunyuan, now disinclined to bother with details, merely listened to the Directorate of Ceremonial's report and casually approved the draft proposal.

Coincidentally, at this time, the first batch of official grain transported to the capital via the Tianjin sea route arrived and was stored in the granaries.

This trial sea voyage was extremely smooth, with minimal grain loss. The transport volume had already reached one-fifth of the previous canal shipments.

Following this momentum, within a few years, sea transport was expected to replace canal transport as the main method of supplying grain and provisions to the capital.

Upon hearing this news, Emperor Shunyuan was in high spirits and even exceptionally ate a large bowl of white rice.

Who knew that very night, he vomited violently, his already weak appetite completely vanishing. For the following day, he touched not a grain of rice, yet felt no hunger.

His body visibly thinned at a rapid pace. Imperial physicians took turns diagnosing him, pouring down bowl after bowl of decoctions to boost his spirit and nourish his spleen and stomach, yet no improvement was seen.

Fortunately, aside from the lack of appetite, no other ailments appeared.

As the saying goes, good things come in pairs. Just as the court was worrying about Emperor Shunyuan, Liu Kangren returned to the capital with crop seeds exchanged from the Western Ocean.

This diplomatic mission had left him travel-worn, his face tanned dark, but his physique was much sturdier than during his time in Mianzhou, and his gaze had grown even more resolute.

Upon arriving in the capital, he did not first enter the palace to see the Emperor. Instead, he went directly to the Eastern Palace to report to Shen Zheng in detail about his mission to the Western Ocean, from local customs to trade exchanges, leaving nothing out.

Shen Zheng inquired carefully about the cultivation methods for crops like potatoes and sweet potatoes before smiling and telling him to return home early.

After a year apart, Liu Yuanqing saw his son again and could not hold back his tears, embracing him tightly. "My son, you have suffered! It is good that you have returned safely!"

This son, whom he had once regarded as mediocre and unremarkable, had now shouldered the entire sky of the Duke's household.

Liu Kangren’s eyes also welled up. He lifted his sleeve to wipe away the moisture at the corner of his eye before speaking energetically, “Though this journey was fraught with hardships, I have gained much from it.”

He continued almost enthusiastically, “I discovered that being an envoy and leading troops into battle are different roads leading to the same destination. I must negotiate with other nations, seek benefits, sometimes clash head-on in heated debates, and other times make a tactical retreat or employ stalling tactics. The principles of military strategy can all be applied to diplomacy. What I learned in the past hasn’t been for nothing.”

“Good… very good!” Liu Yuanqing gazed at the sparkle in his son’s eyes, his heart swelling with pride and relief.

A few days later, an incident rocked the court and the capital streets.

Two women in tattered clothes stopped the Crown Prince’s carriage, knelt, kowtowed, and tearfully accused Luo Mingpu, the Minister of Justice, of having utter disregard for human life.

According to their tearful account, their husbands had been imprisoned in the Justice Ministry’s prison in the twenty-fourth year of the Shunyuan reign. Before their imprisonment, they had been in perfect health, yet they died in prison from a “sudden outbreak of plague.”

Later, a fellow prisoner who was later released secretly informed them that their husbands had had rat blood smeared on their mouths and noses by prison guards, leading to their deaths from the disease.

Upon hearing this, Shen Zheng immediately ordered the Five City Military Command to arrest the prison guards involved and instructed Xue Chongnian, the Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, to personally oversee the trial.

Xue Chongnian did not dare to drag his feet. He interrogated the guards overnight, and they soon confessed.

By the end of June, Luo Mingpu, the Minister of Justice, had been taken into custody.

Wen Zuo was resting at home. The dense shade of the pear tree took the edge off the summer heat. He reclined on a bamboo chair, idly tossing chess pieces one by one, each landing precisely on the stone table beneath the tree.

The two women who had accused Luo Mingpu had earlier received consolation money from him and left with profuse thanks.

Looking at the current political landscape, within the Grand Secretariat, he, Gu Weizhi, Xue Chongnian, and Mo Shu were all trusted confidants of Shen Zheng.

Liu Chenming of the former Crown Prince’s faction and Shang Zhiqin of the former Virtuous Prince faction, being pragmatic, had already sworn their loyalty to Shen Zheng multiple times.

Thus, the Ministries of Revenue, War, Personnel, Works, and Rites were all in his pocket. The Five City Military Command and the Three Great Battalions under the Southern Liu and Northern Jun banners also secretly answered to the Crown Prince. The Directorate of Ceremonial had Liu Quan and Ge Wei working behind the scenes to assist, while the inner palace had the two noble consorts, Zhen and Liang, working hand in glove. Though Shen Zheng held the position of Crown Prince, he had already grasped the reins of power in the court, completely freeing himself from the constraints of Emperor Shunyuan.

And this man, who now stood at the pinnacle of power, strode into the Wen residence without waiting for the servants to announce him. He removed his face covering, revealing his deep-set eyes, and waved an oiled paper package at Wen Zuo.

Wen Zuo sprang to his feet and made a beeline for the Jujube Cold Cake!

“Why were you so slow, Your Highness?”

By now, the secret passage had long become a leisurely pastime for the two of them. Shen Zheng now entered the Wen residence openly, as if it were his own home.

Shen Zheng raised his arm, lifting the oiled paper package high and deftly avoiding Wen Zuo’s grasping hand. With a teasing glint in his eye, he lightly tapped his own lips, making his meaning very clear.

Wen Zuo glanced around. Seeing Liu Qiying sweeping fallen leaves in the courtyard with her head bowed and Jiang Mannv leaning against the pear tree, fast asleep, he quickly leaned in and gave Shen Zheng’s lips a light peck.

With that soft touch, Shen Zheng was satisfied and handed over the oiled paper package.

At a glance, he saw black and white chess pieces scattered across the table, not forming any game, as if someone had been tossing them around idly.

Shen Zheng bent down, picked up a handful of chess pieces from the stone table, and let them slip through his fingers. “I’ve always wanted to ask, Teacher. Sometimes you hold white stones, sometimes black ones. Is there any particular significance?”

Wen Zuo took a bite of the jujube cold cake and explained, “It depends on the person.”

“The person?”

Wen Zuo said, “People like Cao Fangzheng, the various figures of the Eight Schools, and the Deposed Crown Prince are all arrogant, domineering, and outwardly wicked, so I choose black stones. Their existence signifies that laws and regulations are mere formalities, yet those in power turn a blind eye. Placing one down is like excising rotten flesh.”

“People like Prince Xian, Xie Langyang, and Luo Mingpu outwardly feign benevolence and righteousness but harbor treachery within, stealing from the state in the name of justice. So I choose white stones. Their existence signifies that those in power are foolish and cannot distinguish loyalty from deceit. Removing one traitor is like cutting out a tumor.”

After saying this, he picked up a piece of jujube cold cake and offered it to Shen Zheng’s lips. “Your Highness, have some too.”

Shen Zheng instinctively bit into it, but in his heart, he pondered Wen Zuo’s words over and over. The more he reflected, the more he found each word profound and endlessly meaningful.

My principled kitten.

My kitten who loves his rituals.