Chapter 45 Divination

Chapter 45: Divination

The familiar courtyard walls, the familiar bricks and tiles, the familiar gate...

The previous small courtyard, though dilapidated, had been very tidy. Now, it was covered in a layer of black dust, its original appearance lost.

Seeing his former home, Jiang Wang was hit by a wave of disorientation. It had only been two or three months, yet it felt as if two or three years had passed.

What was this? Was it easier to go from frugality to luxury than from luxury back to frugality?

Meanwhile, the ruins of the Zhang residence next door to his courtyard—or rather, what was now to become his own unfinished mansion—had a lot more going on than his little yard.

Xiao Yan had previously promised him a new residence, to be rebuilt on the original site. Now, many craftsmen were busy clearing away the charred bricks and tiles, creating a lively, clanging commotion.

Seeing Jiang Wang's curious expression, Zhong He suggested, "Let's go take a closer look."

Jiang Wang nodded and walked a few steps closer, carefully observing the full scope of the site.

Since the courtyard walls had completely collapsed, he could no longer discern the original layout, only roughly estimate where the buildings and gardens had been.

He hadn't realized it before, but seeing it now was a shock.

The Zhang residence was actually this large?!

It occupied almost the entire space between two streets.

Could a Vice Minister of Revenue really own such a grand mansion?

And Zhang Songyun had just been promoted to Minister of Revenue. He must have been raking it in!

Jiang Wang couldn't help but think of the man beside him, the Minister of Justice. Zhong He, only a fourth-rank official, could afford to take him to dine at Yingyue Tower, the most famous restaurant in Zhaojing. His salary must be pretty decent.

Xiao Yan was truly generous, giving such substantial salaries to his colleagues, yet he's so darn cheap with *me*!

He should really find a way to fleece Xiao Yan properly!

What was this mansion? Besides this mansion, he should also get back those three thousand taels!

"Brother Zhong, do you know of any perfectly justifiable way to ask the Emperor for some money?"

His friend here was well-versed in law. If not now, when would be a better time to ask?

However, after Jiang Wang spoke, Zhong He did not reply. Perhaps his question was too blunt, and Zhong He found it difficult to answer?

Jiang Wang turned his head, about to explain, but found Zhong He intently staring ahead, clearly having not heard his words.

Jiang Wang softly called Zhong He's name: "Brother Zhong? Brother Zhong?"

After being called several times, Zhong He seemed to snap back to reality, suddenly turning his head, the furrow on his brow not yet smoothed away.

"Hmm? What is it, Brother Jiang?"

"Brother Zhengyan, do you have... a thing for collecting rubble?"

Otherwise, he really couldn't think of any other reason why Zhong He would be so interested in a pile of rubble.

Zhong He couldn't help but laugh, his brow relaxing.

"Brother Jiang, are you making fun of me? I'm just interested in that tree over there."

Zhong He pointed to a small tree amidst the ruins, only about the thickness of a bowl, originally inconspicuous and nearly invisible under the cover of night.

Yet Zhong He had noticed it.

Jiang Wang looked more carefully. The small tree was not tall or thick, and half its branches had been burned away. But on the remaining half, upon closer inspection, one could see scattered specks of green.

It was amazingly resilient.

Jiang Wang wanted to take a few steps closer for a better look, but an imperial guard approached, intending to shoo them away. His tone was initially impatient, but upon recognizing Jiang Wang, it became considerably more polite.

"Lord Jiang, what brings you here? It's late, sir, windy and dusty out here. It would be better for you to keep your distance."

Only then did Jiang Wang notice that there were scattered imperial guards stationed around this "ruin."

So that was it. The imperial guards were here on watch duty.

After all, things related to the palace required a certain dignity; random people couldn't be allowed to enter freely.

"It's fine, just looking around."

Having merely wandered here to walk off our dinner, Jiang Wang didn't want to cause trouble. He called Zhong He, and they left together.

The two walked all the way to the palace gate, exchanged a few more pleasantries, then went their separate ways home.

Only after Jiang Wang's figure passed through the palace gate and disappeared within the palace walls did Zhong He finally turn and walk away, heading left, in the opposite direction of his own home.

After walking about three intersections, putting some distance between himself and the palace, a burly man was waiting in the shadows of a street corner. Seeing Zhong He approach, he waved him over.

＊

Inside the Cangwu Hall, the tea in the pot cooled from hot, was reheated to boiling, and Fang Fengshi was still chattering away at Xiao Yan. He spoke of how disrespectful the steward of the Chang residence was, how if they looked down on him today, they would look down on the Emperor tomorrow. He insisted that Xiao Yan needed to teach them a lesson, to show them who truly ruled the Great Jing Dynasty.

"Alright, could you please sit down?"

Fang Fengshi wasn't just talking; he was pacing in circles, making Xiao Yan dizzy.

After another little while, perhaps feeling thirsty, Fang Fengshi finally sat down and took a sip of the once-again cooled tea.

"So, what do you think?"

Even if Fang Fengshi hadn't brought it up, Xiao Yan had already been considering this.

The Chang family's power had indeed grown too great recently, even to the point of lawlessness. It was time to put them in their place.

He could indulge the Chang family. Although now wasn't the most opportune moment to topple them, that didn't mean the Chang family could walk all over him.

That steward of the Chang residence was arrogant and looked down on others?

Then perhaps he should start with him.

At the next morning's court session, Xiao Yan planned to utilize his "willful and capricious" character to "reasonably" make things difficult for the Chang family.

He smiled at Fang Fengshi, but his tone was chillingly low.

"Good. It is time they learned exactly who the Emperor is."

Fang Fengshi hadn't seen this kind of smile from Xiao Yan—one that didn't reach his eyes, a scheming smile—in a long time. He silently lit an incense stick in his heart for the Chang family, wishing them luck.

However, a sudden, urgent disturbance in the middle of the night disrupted Xiao Yan's plans.

A guard from the door rushed in to report that Wang, Director of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, insisted on seeking an audience, claiming to have urgent matters to report.

Xiao Yan was puzzled. He thought it over carefully but couldn't recall any recent events related to the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. However, he kept a weary, sleep-deprived look of annoyance on his face and said impatiently, "Very well, let him in."

No sooner had he spoken, before the guard could even go to relay it, than Wang Wenzhou, the Director of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, came rushing in and dropped to his knees. He was soaked through, his hat askew, and his disheveled sideburns were plastered to his face.

"Your Majesty! I studied the sky tonight. The stars were shining brightly in the clear sky, but suddenly dark clouds rolled in and a thunderstorm suddenly erupted. This is an ominous sign!"

Xiao Yan looked outside. The clamor of rain was noisy, mixed with occasional thunder—it was indeed raining.

But it was just rain, and "spring rain is as precious as oil." What kind of ominous sign is that supposed to be?

Xiao Yan dismissed it and even wanted to comfort Wang Wenzhou, telling him not to make a fuss.

However, in the next moment, Wang Wenzhou produced a divination plate.

He remained prostrate on the floor, his hands held high and trembling as he offered up the divination plate to Xiao Yan.

"Your Majesty, see for yourself! I used today’s heavenly stems and earthly branches to arrange the celestial and terrestrial plates, derived the four readings and three cycles, and the resulting divination pattern turned out to be the 'Encouraging Virtue' configuration—a case of the lower defying the upper, with the Noble Star moving in reverse. Your Majesty, this is a great inauspicious sign!"

A major ill omen?

Xiao Yan’s heart skipped a beat, and his mind raced as he tried to recall whether he had missed any critical details earlier, leading to some new turmoil stirred up by the mastermind behind the scenes, or if Chang Wenji and his group had come up with some new wicked scheme.

But in the end, he came up empty. Everything was still going according to his plans.

"Are you sure, Director Wang, this is a great inauspicious sign? Maybe you're still half-asleep and saw it wrong?"

"I have served as the Director of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau for several years. Regardless of the circumstances, I have never gotten a single divination wrong. Your Majesty can place your full trust in me!"

Wang Wenzhou’s words were firm and resolute, betraying no falsehood.

And he was telling the truth.

Wang Wenzhou was upright and incorruptible. Since taking office, he had never accepted bribes from anyone. Every day, he performed divinations in a specific room within the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, performing his duties with utmost diligence. Indeed, he had never miscalculated a single divination.

Xiao Yan looked at Wang Wenzhou’s lean but steadfast figure, and the scales in his heart gradually tilted toward "belief."

"Go on."

"Your Majesty, the divination indicates that malignant energy has coalesced, and the inauspicious direction lies in the southeast of the Purple Palace."

Within the imperial palace? The southeast direction?

After all, Xiao Yan had no one in his harem. Apart from palace maids, eunuchs, and the imperial guards responsible for defense, the vast imperial city was home to only him and Jiang Wang.

And Jiang Wang’s residence, the Biwu Pavilion, was located in the southeast direction.

Wang Wenzhou’s words did not directly name anyone, but every implication pointed toward Jiang Wang.

But how could that be?

Jiang Wang’s previous actions had all been aimed at distancing himself from the Chang family.

Was it possible... that Jiang Wang was doing this deliberately? Just to put on a show and win his trust?

Or did he think his surveillance of Jiang Wang was flawless and unnoticed, only to find he'd been in Jiang Wang's sights the whole time, and Jiang Wang had long known he was being watched?

If that were the case, Jiang Wang would truly be a master actor.

On the surface, simple, with occasional willful cleverness, like a lively and innocent little fox, but in reality, a vicious wolf with a deep scheming mind?

Xiao Yan still couldn’t believe it. He couldn't believe Jiang Wang was so two-faced.

But suddenly, the scene from his conversation with Fang Fengshi earlier that night flooded his mind.

Fang Fengshi had stayed with him for a long time, not only telling him how arrogant the Chang family was but also telling him of Jiang Wang's outing from the palace that night.

He had keenly caught the phrase Fang Fengshi inadvertently mentioned.

"Jiang Wang went to the ruins of the Zhang residence tonight and stayed there for a long time."

At the time, he thought Jiang Wang was just taking a post-dinner stroll, and since he was accompanied by Zhong He, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, he hadn't thought much of it.

But now, combined with this divination...

Was Jiang Wang doing it on purpose?

Did he know something and deliberately went to the Zhang residence using a walk as his excuse?

But the only lead connected to the Zhang residence was... the soul sand.

Could it be that Jiang Wang also knew the news that the soul sand was hidden under the green bricks in the garden of the Zhang residence?

If he really knew, where had he learned it?

Xiao Yan was unsettled, his thoughts in turmoil. It felt as if the left and right sides of his brain were fighting.

The little figure on the left kept telling him how good Jiang Wang was, that Jiang Wang had also been through that terrible fire and nearly died in it. If Jiang Wang were truly a villain, wouldn't that have been far too risky?

But the little figure on the right held the opposite view of the one on the left, and its tone was much more forceful. It said Jiang Wang’s previous actions were also strange. If he had nothing to be guilty about, why would he contact Chang Wenji? After all, there was still no clear evidence proving Jiang Wang’s innocence.

The two little figures bickered fiercely, and Xiao Yan felt as if his head were about to explode.

Wang Wenzhou, who had been waiting for orders, still heard nothing from Xiao Yan. He had previously heard rumors about the "Favorite Minister," and now it seemed they were true.

At a moment like this, His Majesty was still hesitating. Wouldn’t this fail to heed this heavenly warning?!

If His Majesty couldn't decide, then he would!

Wang Wenzhou kowtowed heavily and said loudly, "I beg Your Majesty to grant me permission to go to the Biwu Pavilion. Whether Lord Jiang is black or white will be revealed!"

Xiao Yan gazed solemnly toward the southeast, and after a long moment, he finally spoke.

"I... permit it."

Author's Note:

The villains are starting to make their move.