Chapter 40 Bait-and-Switch

Chapter 40: A Bait and Switch

The weather was growing warmer. The trees along the roadside had begun to sprout fresh green buds, and even the wind in the air felt much warmer.

Chang Wenji took off his heavy cloak and, instead of taking his sedan chair, strolled home.

Although he was already over seventy, his mind was as keen as ever. He enjoyed admiring flowers, taking his birds for a walk, and climbing mountains, showing no signs of an elderly man at all.

Soon, a street vendor spotted Chang Wenji.

"Old Prime Minister Chang, it's good to see you again!" he greeted him warmly. "These are flatbreads made by my own family. Please accept them and take good care of your health!"

The guard beside Chang Wenji wanted to intervene, but Chang Wenji shot him a glare, and the guard retreated sheepishly.

Chang Wenji took the flatbreads from the man and slipped them into his robe.

He asked kindly, "How have the harvests been in recent years? Are there any difficulties in life?"

The vendor immediately replied, "By your grace, everything has been quite good. Life has been going well."

As they talked, more people noticed Chang Wenji. Many commoners gathered to get a look, all wanting to see the current prime minister, who was praised as "championing the people and bearing the weight of the state."

Before long, Chang Wenji was given so many gifts by the enthusiastic commoners. His robes were overflowing, and he even had to have his guards carry the items away in a basket.

"Dear folks, I still have some government business to attend to, so I must take my leave now," he said cheerfully to the onlookers. "If you encounter any difficulties, feel free to come to me. I will help resolve them for everyone."

Upon hearing this, the commoners nearby were deeply moved to tears.

Just moments earlier, a beggar had said he hadn't been able to get any alms for several days and was starving. Old Prime Minister Chang immediately took off a jade pendant from his person and gave it to him.

What a wonderful prime minister! Diligent and dedicated, contributing so much to the Great Jing Dynasty—far better than that useless emperor!

The commoners watched as Chang Wenji walked farther and farther away until he disappeared from sight.

However, after turning a street corner, where the commoners could no longer see him, Chang Wenji boarded the sedan chair that had been following him all along. He took a small path back to his residence.

As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, his expression did a complete one-eighty. The benevolent smile vanished, replaced by profound disgust.

He glanced at the large basket the guards had carried in, noting its contents: steamed buns, baked flatbreads, cloth shoes, small woven grass trinkets...

Chang Wenji betrayed no emotion, merely uttering with contempt, "Throw it away."

With that, he passed through a simple front hall, turned into a hidden corridor through a small door, and arrived at a resplendent backyard.

Exotic flowers, rare plants, and oddly shaped rocks were artfully arranged throughout. Many trees that weren't even found in the palace grew here first.

As soon as Chang Wenji sat down, two or three servants surrounded him, removing his clothes, shoes, and socks and replacing them with a new set of silk garments.

He fingered the bead bracelet made of Southern Border white jade in his hand, took a few sips of the freshly brewed hot tea beside him, and gave a contented sigh.

It was so much better being home. If it weren't for his precious daughter pleading with him to make a trip to the palace, why would he have put on this act?

However, it wasn't a wasted trip. After leaving the palace, deliberately getting close to the commoners should boost his sterling reputation even further.

Just as he was thinking this, the "beggar" who had been given the jade pendant in public earlier walked in.

By now, he was no longer wearing that dirty appearance. His tattered clothes had disappeared, replaced by a clean and comfortable round-collared robe. He looked completely different from before.

He bowed and presented the jade pendant with both hands, saying, "Master, your pendant."

Chang Wenji hummed in acknowledgment and nodded. He glanced at the pendant presented by the man. Although it had been wiped clean, a bit of dust still clung to it from the pretense.

A flicker of disdain passed through his eyes, and he smiled, saying, "Keep it. Consider it your reward."

The man kowtowed in thanks and left. Chang Ying then ran in from outside and rushed to his side.

"Daddy, why didn't you tell me you were back?" she said, noticing the bead bracelet in Chang Wenji's hand and chiding, "If you think this trinket is more important than me, I'll throw it away for you!"

Hearing this, Chang Wenji naturally didn't dare to continue playing with it.

In the Great Jing Dynasty, he stood above all but one, having everything he wanted. It was no exaggeration to say he could summon wind and rain. However, he doted on his daughter the most.

If his precious daughter wanted something, he would move heaven and earth to get it for her.

Chang Ying blinked her big eyes, looking at Chang Wenji expectantly.

"Daddy, everyone says the Emperor likes that Court Diarist. Is that true?"

Chang Wenji stroked his graying beard, pondered for a moment, and then laughed.

"Of course it's false. Daddy told you before that Jiang Wang himself said it was a rumor, but you didn't believe it. You even asked Daddy to go and see for myself. Today, Daddy received news and happened to visit while the Emperor was summoning Jiang Wang. During the midday meal, Jiang Wang couldn't even sit at the table, and there was no interaction between him and the Emperor."

Chang Wenji patted Chang Ying's head. "Now, are you reassured?"

Hearing her father's words, Chang Ying's anxious heart finally settled back into place.

It seemed she had overthought things. Xiao Yan, the Son of Heaven, how could he possibly like such a minor official from the countryside?

It was just that recently, the talk of the "Favorite Minister" had intensified. Even the woman selling wontons on the street knew about it, which had truly disturbed her mind. Fortunately, her father could help her investigate the truth.

With the knot in her heart untied, Chang Ying regained her cheerful smile.

She said, "Thank you, Daddy," and quickly ran off. She had recently started learning embroidery and wanted to make a handkerchief to give to the Emperor.

Watching his daughter's joyful departing figure, Chang Wenji smiled and muttered, "You little ingrate."

He looked up at the sun outside, estimating that Jiang Wang should have seen the message left for him by now.

*

However, at this very moment, after the midday meal had ended, Jiang Wang had not returned to the Biwu Pavilion.

He sat at the round table in the Cangwu Hall, kneading his legs while casting a resentful look at Xiao Yan.

He hadn't wanted to see Chang Wenji in the first place, and this time, he had to stand beside him for so long. He hadn't dared to look up, afraid of accidentally making eye contact with Chang Wenji.

Even so, he had stood there for over an hour.

Feeling that the soreness in his legs had mostly subsided, Jiang Wang stood up, stamped his feet, gave a perfunctory bow to Xiao Yan, and prepared to leave.

After experiencing two instances of being showered with favor during the morning court session, he had thought that Xiao Yan might have realized his previous actions were somewhat inappropriate. But as the Emperor, apologizing to a minister might be hard to say outright, so he had found a compromise by chatting.

Unexpectedly, he ended up standing here all noon.

What was this? A show of authority?

Just as he reached the doorway, a young eunuch approached carrying a large tray, which happened to hold the dishes he had been craving.

At that moment, Xiao Yan's amused voice came from behind.

"Minister Jiang, care for a meal?"

Jiang Wang wrestled with himself briefly, his inner scales tipping back and forth before finally settling on the side of "eating."

What's pride compared to good food, especially imperial delicacies that are rare and hard to come by?

Although he took the opportunity Xiao Yan offered to climb down, it didn’t mean he had to be nice to Xiao Yan. After all, Xiao Yan was in the wrong.

The morning court session had left Jiang Wang no time for a proper breakfast. Then he stood attendance for so long during lunch, and now his stomach was growling with hunger.

Before all the dishes were on the table, he couldn’t wait to start eating. He didn’t even notice that Xiao Yan hadn’t picked up his chopsticks yet.

After shoveling several mouthfuls into his mouth, Jiang Wang suddenly realized—had he started eating out of turn?

This was a grave offense of disrespect! Punishable by death!

But he’d already put the food in his mouth. Was there any way to remedy this…

Oh, there was. There definitely was.

A sudden flash of inspiration struck him. He quickly chewed a couple of times, forcing the food down his throat, then pushed the dishes he'd touched toward Xiao Yan.

"Your Majesty, these dishes are safe and not poisoned. You can eat them."

Jiang Wang blinked his big eyes, his gaze full of sincerity. If you could ignore the food residue at the corner of his mouth, you might truly believe he had tasted the dishes first to test for poison.

Xiao Yan didn’t speak, only extended his slender fingers to wipe the residue from Jiang Wang’s mouth and showed it to him.

"We appreciate Minister Jiang’s thoughtfulness, but as far as We know… all dishes should have been tested for poison before being served to Us. As the Court Diarist, Minister Jiang wouldn’t you know this?"

The moment the warm fingertip touched the corner of his mouth, Jiang Wang’s heart raced. He didn't know why his heart was beating so fast.

Was it because of Xiao Yan’s action, or because of the pointed question before him?

He swallowed and said with feigned firmness, "Your subject… merely forgot this time. I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness."

Even though he was exposed, Jiang Wang stubbornly clung to the excuse of "forgetting." After all, as long as he didn’t admit it, Xiao Yan couldn’t convict him of a crime.

Forgetting is one thing, but disrespect is another.

Fortunately, Xiao Yan didn’t dwell on the matter further. "Let it be, Minister Jiang may continue eating."

After Jiang Wang finished eating, Xiao Yan took out a small silver token—the very reason he had summoned Jiang Wang today.

"Minister Jiang, this waist token will allow you to enter and exit the palace grounds freely."

Jiang Wang took the token, about half the size of a palm, and turned it over in his hands, admiring it.

The waist token was brand new. His position and name were engraved right in the center, surrounded by a border of auspicious cloud patterns.

He weighed it in his hand—it had a certain heft. Judging by its color, it was undoubtedly made of silver.

Jiang Wang used to wonder why people in TV dramas, when desperate, would pawn their waist tokens. Now he understood—they were genuinely valuable items.

Was what he held in his hand merely a waist token?

No.

It was also a hefty chunk of silver.

In ancient times, where gold and silver were used as currency, this piece was practically equivalent to carrying a wad of cash.

Of course, the other significance of this waist token was far more important.

To be honest, given Xiao Yan’s personality, Jiang Wang hadn’t taken his words during the morning court session too seriously.

Because he knew it might just have been a passing whim for Xiao Yan to say such things.

But now, this weighty token was in his hands. He looked at Xiao Yan in surprise, and the small prejudices in his heart began to shift.

Moreover, his name was engraved on this token. It couldn’t have been completed in just one morning—it must have taken at least two or three days.

So, had Xiao Yan been quietly preparing this beforehand?

"Your Majesty…"

Jiang Wang was genuinely flattered and didn’t know what to say.

But Xiao Yan’s next sentence instantly shattered the little bubbles of gratitude rising in his heart.

"In the future, if there are any strange or interesting novelties, Minister Jiang will have to fetch them for Us."

Jiang Wang tilted his head, his eyes filled with speechlessness.

So, this was the real purpose.

In the past, whenever Xiao Yan procured some strange trinkets from the common folk, the censors would inevitably find out. Once discovered, they would submit memorials admonishing him, and Xiao Yan would lay low for a while.

But now, using Jiang Wang as a channel would reduce the frequency of being discovered by the censors, sparing him the trouble of admonishments.

What a clever bait and switch. Xiao Yan really knew how to play the game.

Was Jiang Wang angry? Of course he was, but he was also happy.

Although he had become Xiao Yan’s "shield," he had genuinely gained benefits.

Nothing was more tempting than being able to enter and leave the palace at will.

He was free!

Jiang Wang jogged back to the Biwu Pavilion, wanting to share this waist token with Changle.

But before he could see Changle’s figure, he spotted a lone letter on the table.

The signature on the letter was familiar to him—just a solitary "Chang" character.

And the content of the letter was as concise as the signature.

"Meet at the riverbank path at 7:45 p.m."

Jiang Wang looked at the waist token he had just warmed in his hand, and his heart sank.

He hadn’t expected to find a use for this token so soon, even if it wasn’t what he wanted.

Author’s Note:

Jiang Wang: My heart is bitter.