Chapter 257: The Tug of War (Part 1)

Chapter 257: The Tug of War (Part 1)

Just as Le Wuya had anticipated, Xiang Zheng now felt as if he had been forced to swallow a dead fly—unable to swallow it down, unable to spit it out, his gut twisting with disgust.

That Kou Chun lived up to his name—a complete fool! He couldn't even cover his own tracks!

A Censor-in-Chief had stormed into his jurisdiction kicking up a storm, copying out name lists, auditing account books, raising a ruckus in Zhangde for the better part of twenty days, even digging up treason cases—and yet he might as well have been blind, not letting out so much as a fart.

Any other official would've had a complaint memorial on the Emperor's desk by express courier days ago.

—Wait, was it possible he hadn't even realized Wen Ren was investigating him?

And speaking of dumb...

Xiang Zheng had originally thought that the Fifth Prince, Xiang Zhi, though mediocre, at least had a shred of filial piety in him.

Now it seemed all that was left was pure idiocy.

Even the timing of his little filial-piety stunt was this stupid! He had to go find some bookworm whose head was so full of sage-speak it had gone soft, and use him as a pawn!

He was the Son of Heaven—if he was unhappy, nobody else got to feel good.

Xiang Zheng let out a furious laugh: "Investigate! Re-open this case! Get the Three Judicial Offices together for a joint review—I want this thing dug up to the bottom!"

Le Wuya flicked his wide sleeves and bowed with solemn formality: "Your Majesty is wise indeed."

Xiang Zheng dropped his gaze, coldly staring at the top of Le Wuya's hat, but his tone was surprisingly warm: "You did a good job on this mission. What reward do you want?"

Le Wuya said frankly: "Your Majesty's kindness knows no bounds—just give your servant two days off. Your servant's been on the road for weeks and is dead tired."

Xiang Zheng blinked, then broke into a smile, the ice in his eyes melting a little: "You're different from the rest. Every civil and military official treats an imperial commission as a great honor, and here you are complaining about being tired."

Le Wuya tilted his head up and beamed: "Other people want gold and jade piled up to the ceiling; your servant just wants to steal a little idle time from this drifting life. If Your Majesty gives your servant two days off, that beats any honor you could hand me."

Hearing this, even Xue Jie, who was standing nearby in attendance, paused and looked over at Le Wuya.

...Even that lord had never been this open, this unrestrained, this blunt in front of the Emperor.

Every joke that lord made had about eight hundred hidden agendas packed into it.

In that respect, he didn't seem like him at all.

Xiang Zheng shoved the evidence across the table: "Perfect—while you're resting, go fill Xiao Liu in on how this all turned out. After all, he's the one who asked you to do this."

But Le Wuya didn't so much as blink, and said gravely: "...That's wrong."

Xiang Zheng raised an eyebrow: "'Wrong'? You're saying I'm wrong?"

"Yes, Your Majesty is wrong." Le Wuya said with complete seriousness, "Your servant works for Your Majesty. Even if the Sixth Prince asked, how would your servant dare to act on his own? I'll have to trouble Your Majesty to tell the Sixth Prince about this yourself!"

At that, Xiang Zheng really laughed: "Look at you—all that wild energy, no filter on that mouth of yours."

"Your servant was out of line." Le Wuya owned up to it readily, "Your servant comes from a merchant family, so it's only natural I'm short on manners and smooth talk. I'll humbly learn from Lord Wang."

That said, there wasn't a hint of self-deprecation in Le Wuya's voice.

Xiang Zheng waved a hand: "Enough. Wang Su's respectful enough, but he's lost his true self in the process. You've got your own strengths—don't lose that bluntness of yours."

He thought for a moment, then added: "Sir Wen Ren's been on the road a long time and must be tired—go on, take your leave. Today, hand all the evidence over to the Three Judicial Offices, fill Wang Su in on the case, and pass on my verbal order for him to bring Grand Court Director Zhang Yuanye and Justice Minister Geng He to the palace for an audience. Once that's done, you get your day off tomorrow."

Le Wuya said cheerfully: "Your servant thanks Your Majesty for his kindness!"

With that, Le Wuya got ready to leave.

As Xue Jie gathered up the evidence Le Wuya had brought, Le Wuya could faintly feel Xiang Zheng's eyes still on him.

It was a look of wariness, of scrutiny, and of amusement.

And he acted like he didn't notice.

As he left Shouren Hall, the Emperor's order followed him out into the corridor.

Xue Jie politely told Chang Yuxing he could go, saying His Majesty had no more need of him.

Chang Yuxing let out an "Ah," and obediently withdrew without asking a single question about why—but he was already eighty percent sure in his heart:

That Scholar Tian's dream of an imperial commendation and glory would never come to pass in this lifetime.

Perhaps in the next.

The palace path stretched long before them, and he and Le Wuya walked out one after the other.

After putting a little distance between themselves and the eunuch leading the way, Chang Yuxing lowered his voice and whispered in Le Wuya's ear: "What audacity."

"Lord Chang flatters me." Le Wuya replied in a meek tone, "Your servant's courage, compared to yours, is truly lacking by a wide margin."

Chang Yuxing felt a chill run down the back of his neck and his scalp go numb: "..." Ancestor! Why must you bring up that which should not be mentioned?!

He quickly changed the subject: "But the charge you leveled was far too heavy, far too dangerous! Aren't you afraid that the Emperor, in his wrath, would truly try this as a case of rebellion, dragging in local officials and common folk alike? What would you do then?"

A case of officials lining their pockets, tried as treason—that would truly be a massive upheaval!

Chang Yuxing had dealings with that Prefect Kou Chun before, and knew the man to be a muddle-headed fool who never did things cleanly.

If he alone suffered for his misdeeds, so be it—but if the local common folk were to suffer alongside him, would that not be unjust?

"It won't happen." Le Wuya said lightly, "His Majesty is wise and benevolent. Pursuing this to the bitter end would benefit no one, wouldn't you agree?"

Chang Yuxing, having been steeped in officialdom for decades, had long cultivated himself into a worldly-wise soul with seven apertures of cunning.

At Le Wuya's single sentence, he was suddenly enlightened.

Indeed.

The matter of Scholar Tian had originally been a good deed deserving of an imperial commendation and being made an exemplar.

Though his public killing of his own son was excessively cruel and had drawn considerable criticism, it nonetheless aligned perfectly with the court's advocacy of filial piety.

If the Emperor, instead of rewarding, chose to punish—condemning everyone from officials to abbots to worshippers—then the Emperor's reputation among the common people would suffer greatly.

The common folk, unlike officials, could not piece together the full sequence of events through multiple channels of inquiry.

They could not see all those hidden intricacies; they could only see that the Emperor had flown into a rage and punished a bunch of ordinary people who had gone to burn incense and pray.

Could it be that the court no longer championed filial piety?

...No wonder the Emperor was so furious—he had likely been backed into a corner with no graceful way out.

This case had dragged on for days without resolution, and the Emperor had deliberately summoned the Fifth Prince twice for questioning—clearly showing how seriously he took the matter.

Chang Yuxing, the Minister of Rites, knew best that the emperor had championed filial piety since his youth, and in recent years had grown even fonder of tales of filial sons and virtuous descendants.

In one's twilight years, one simply seeks peace and contentment.

Even if it were mere posturing for fame, what of it?

If one could strike the emperor's heart, that itself was a masterful skill.

The emperor had already clearly signaled his intention to commend Scholar Tian, even having Chang Yuxing submit a copy of the commendation memorial from Zhangde Prefecture for his perusal.

Once the Censorate closed the case, with a minor punishment for Scholar Tian as a token lesson, the commendation could be approved immediately.

However, in this case, the Left Assistant Censor-in-Chief, personally appointed by the emperor, had become an unavoidable stumbling block.

Wen Renyue oversaw matters for Yuzhou Circuit, and when he came to report that the case had issues, the emperor could neither play deaf nor dumb—he had to confront the case's peculiarities.

Before entering the capital's officialdom, Wen Renyue had already been a notorious thorn.

In Nanting, he had dragged Magistrate Shao off his horse and slapped the emperor in the face, who was about to bestow upon Shao Hongzhen the title of "Model Magistrate of All Counties."

Within just over a month of arriving in Tongzhou, he had uprooted his deputy Wei Yixian and sentenced him to execution in autumn.

Setting aside everything else, he was indeed a sharp blade, a natural-born censor in the making.

If he were determined and refused to put his seal of approval on this case, the emperor would find no graceful way to pressure him anytime soon.

And the old foxes of the Three Judicial Offices knew how to read the room—they had to uphold the emperor's dignity while also heeding court and public opinion.

In the end, it would likely be much sound and fury over nothing, using Scholar Tian and Kou Chun as scapegoats to hastily close the matter.

At this thought, Chang Yuxing got goosebumps.

...Could this Surveillance Commissioner Wenren possibly be scheming against the Fifth Prince, deliberately pushing him into the emperor's line of fire?

The Fifth Prince had long fallen out of imperial favor, desperate enough to clutch at straws—when he encountered a case involving filial piety, he would naturally rush forward to show his loyalty...

Good heavens, this was his very first case!

And he dared to set a trap for a prince from the get-go?

Chang Yuxing stole a sidelong glance at him, his mind racing with doubt, when suddenly Le Wuya flashed a beautiful, unrestrained smile straight ahead.

Following his gaze, Chang Yuxing quickly halted and clasped his hands in salute: "Sixth Prince, greetings."

Le Wuya followed suit, bowing properly: "Sixth Prince, greetings."

"Please, no need for such formality, gentlemen." Zhi Jie remained as warm and refined as ever, asking Chang Yuxing candidly, "Minister Chang, are you still drinking that longevity tea?"

Chang Yuxing replied with a composed expression: "Thanks to Your Highness for asking, I take a cup each morning and evening, without missing a day."

"No wonder Minister Chang looks so healthy." Zhi Jie's smile was warm. "Could I borrow the recipe? I'll try it first, and if it suits me, I'll present it to Father as well."

Chang Yuxing nodded: "You're too kind, Your Highness. I'll have a copy made when I get back to my residence and send it to..."

"Send it to the Ministry of Revenue." Zhi Jie interrupted softly.

Chang Yuxing naturally understood what he meant and quietly admired the prince's caution.

Though he associated with ministers, he always did so openly and above board, reporting in advance every time, leaving no room for fault-finding.

After finishing his small talk with Chang Yuxing, Zhi Jie turned to Le Wuya: "Has Commissioner Wenren fully recovered from his illness?"

Le Wuya immediately moved to perform a deep bow, but Zhi Jie reached out first to gently hold his wrist: "Commissioner Wenren, no need for such formality."

The eunuch ahead shot a quick glance.

Chang Yuxing took the opportunity to jest: "Indeed, Commissioner Wenren. The Sixth Prince is most approachable and kind—excessive formality would be rather overkill."

And while Chang Yuxing was smoothly defusing the situation with a smile, Le Wuya applied a subtle pressure, hidden by his sleeve, clasping the Taoist beads on Zhi Jie's wrist and pulling him slightly forward, whispering eight words meant for their ears only:

"A loss may be a blessing in disguise."

Zhi Jie was taken aback.

By the time Zhi Jie snapped out of it, Le Wuya had already stepped back with composure, as if that brief touch had never occurred: "Thank you for Your Highness's concern, I have fully recovered from my illness. I wouldn't want to hold up Your Highness—I take my leave."

With that, Le Wuya clasped his hands to Zhi Jie once more and strode away, brushing past him.

Meanwhile, Zhi Jie continued forward with the guiding eunuch, squinting at the roof beasts atop the Hall of Benevolent Guard, lost in thought.

...His teacher must have just returned from Zhangde Prefecture.

Judging by his expression, he must have achieved the results he wanted.

What exactly did that "blessing in disguise" mean?

And when he realized how much his squinting habit resembled Le Wuya's in his past life, the flicker of confusion in Zhi Jie's heart quickly dissipated, leaving only pure delight.

He was a student personally taught by his teacher.

...Though it was archery that was taught, that was a mere detail—it didn't matter.

In those years when Zhi Jie had secretly observed his teacher from the shadows, he had already learned many principles without formal instruction.

The first was: whatever his teacher said or did, there was always a reason.

No need for doubt—just trust.

Zhi Jie slipped his left hand into his sleeve, gripping his right wrist, greedily savoring that lingering trace of warmth.

...His teacher had held his hand.

If that was so, let alone losing a horse—even losing himself, he would be willing.

Author's note:

Xiaoliu: Provided it's losing himself to his teacher. [Hands clasped in prayer]