Chapter 640
Recruiting
Madam Zhang followed Prince Fu through the mansion, with Zhou Kuang and three soldiers providing cover from the side and rear, never letting their guard down even within the Zhang residence.
Madam Zhang tentatively asked, "Your Highness Prince Fu has come to see Chen Ji as soon as you returned to the capital. Is there anything important that you need to discuss?"
Prince Fu suddenly stopped in front of the ceremonial gate and turned to look at Lady Zhang: "I heard that Chen Ji has been stripped of his title and is now living in retirement. Has he said anything about his plans for the future?"
Madam Zhang frowned. She understood the implication in Prince Fu's words: the other party had come specifically to recruit Chen Ji.
She wasn't unaware of what Chen Ji had done or his abilities, but ever since Chen Ji returned to the capital, he had first led the Imperial Guards to fight with street thugs, causing the Wang family's treasonous case of secretly possessing crossbows.
Then, during the spring hunt at Fragrant Hills, he was accused of assassinating the Crown Prince and a warrant for his arrest was posted. The imperial court only issued a few warrants a year, and Chen Ji had already been arrested just three months after arriving in the capital.
Later, on the day of the parade, the top scholar caused a disturbance in the procession.
He was demoted to Chongli Pass but was not taken back that very night, yet he brought back the Jing Dynasty envoy amidst widespread condemnation.
In just a few months, Chen Jiguang forced his way through Andingmen twice.
Madam Zhang knew that Chen Ji was capable of escaping unscathed several times, but this son-in-law acted too recklessly, and might lose his life in one of those reckless actions.
If Chen Ji could calm down and hone his character, he might become a great talent, but not now.
They must not get involved in the struggle for the throne.
Madam Zhang said slowly and deliberately, "Your Highness, my idea is to let him devote himself to his studies, or perhaps grant him a position at the Imperial Academy for three years under the patronage of the Imperial Academy, and then give him a real post to gain experience."
Prince Fu raised his eyebrows and continued walking inside: "It takes five or six years to do academic research, and even for those who are recommended for the Imperial Academy, it takes three years before they can be assigned to a substantive post. People like Chen Ji are wasting their time at the Imperial Academy for three years. They would be better off coming to help me with my work."
Madam Zhang politely declined, saying, "Your Highness thinks too highly of him. I still hope he will take the proper path of the imperial examination."
As they were talking, the gatekeeper came up from behind and said, "Madam, someone else has come to pay New Year's respects at the gate. He says he is the second master of the Duke of Cheng's mansion and has brought two loads of New Year's gifts."
Madam Zhang asked in confusion, "The Duke of Cheng's Mansion?"
The gatekeeper reminded her, "Madam, the young master trampled the Chengguo Duke's mansion with his horse a few days ago..."
Madam Zhang said solemnly, "What nonsense are you talking about? I don't care what others say, but the people of the Zhang family can't say such things... They just came to pay New Year's greetings?"
At this moment, Prince Fu said without turning his head, "Madam, they have come to recruit Chen Ji. That Duke Cheng has been holding back for so long, but he is probably getting impatient. I know that you want Chen Ji to keep a low profile, but a man like him cannot hide. Please tell the Duke Cheng's mansion that they cannot afford to hire Chen Ji, and they should give up their idea as soon as possible."
Madam Zhang returned to the gate of the Zhang residence, but at this time, standing outside the gate were not only people from the Duke of Cheng's mansion, but also several young scholars.
In the dead of winter, several young scholars, dressed in thin clothes and shivering from the cold, each carried a basket containing homemade rice cakes, wheat cakes, eggs, peanuts, and other miscellaneous items.
Madam Zhang hesitated before asking, "You are...?"
Several young scholars stepped forward, cupped their hands in greeting, and said, "We have come to pay our respects to Lord Chen Ji."
Madam Zhang asked in confusion, "Are you his old acquaintances?"
The young scholar quickly waved his hand: "No, no, no, Lord Chen does not know us. We have come to express our gratitude for Lord Chen's kindness."
Madam Zhang was even more puzzled: "A favor?"
A young scholar explained, “Madam, you may not know this, but it is difficult for us poor people to pursue our studies. A single commentary on the classics can easily cost several taels of silver, which we cannot afford. We cannot even read all of the Six Classics. But Lord Chen runs the Beijing Morning Post, and the commentaries on the classics that would normally cost several taels of silver can be found in the newspaper for just a few coins. This is truly a life-saving grace, and we regret that we have no way to repay it.”
Madam Zhang stood frozen at the door. Before she could speak, a man who looked like a tenant farmer came with a basket of eggs, saying that he was grateful to Chen Ji for raiding Li's pawnshop and saving his family from ruin.
After the tenant finished speaking, he put down the eggs and left.
Gradually, more than ten people came to Zhang's house to offer New Year's greetings, bringing things like cured meat and eggs.
The Zhang family hadn't received such meager New Year's gifts in a long time. Madam Zhang remained silent for a long time before instructing the servant, "Take them all to the backyard. Don't waste them."
……
……
Inside the main hall of the Zhang family residence, the imperial physicians were enjoying tea and snacks, whispering amongst themselves as they sipped their tea: "The tea at the Grand Secretary's residence is indeed better than that of the Imperial Hospital..."
The Imperial Physician rolled his eyes: "Nonsense, this is genuine Lu'an Melon Seed Tea. One tael of tea is worth one tael of gold. Can our Imperial Medical Academy's Gao Mo compare?" Zhou Fangping pinched a piece of jujube paste pastry, took a bite, and mumbled: "You guys think that if Lord Chen really lives in the Zhang residence from now on, won't he become a live-in son-in-law?"
The academy director glared at him: "Eat your snacks, stop talking so much nonsense."
Liu, the registrar, lowered his voice and said, "I've heard that Madam Zhang is notoriously formidable. If Lord Chen moves in, he'll probably have a hard time."
The judge put down his teacup and said slowly, "What do you know? If Madam Zhang really looked down on Lord Chen, would she let us sit here drinking tea and eating snacks? Besides, who is Lord Chen? He's a ruthless man who dared to receive ninety strokes of the cane in front of the Meridian Gate and dared to drag the imperial inspector to his death in the street. If he didn't want to, who could force him to become a son-in-law?"
Zhou Fangping muttered under his breath, "Recently, people have been saying that my Imperial Medical Academy has sided with the eunuch faction and become their lackeys. Instead of going to pay New Year's respects to the Minister of Rites today, you've come to Chen Ji's place. I reckon that in a couple of days, the whole capital will be saying that we're part of the eunuch faction."
The abbot snarled, "It was your dawdling this morning that caused the delay. So what if you're a member of the eunuch faction? The Qi family may seem like a clean bunch, but when we went to them to complain about Ye Yan's extortion, did they care? When we went to them to complain about adulterated medicinal herbs, did they care? In the end, it was still the eunuch faction that got in the way. If you're so principled, you shouldn't have given Ye Yan gifts in the first place."
Zhou Fangping shrank back: "I just think it doesn't sound good if word gets out that I'm a member of the eunuch faction."
At this moment, Prince Fu strode over, wearing a black imperial robe embroidered with nine kinds of emblems: dragon, mountain, pheasant, fire, ancestral vessel, algae, rice grain, axe, and axe. Four round dragons adorned his shoulders, chest, and back, making him extremely heroic.
The Imperial Censor instinctively stood up: "The Prince of Fu has returned to the capital?"
Zhou Fangping asked with surprise and doubt: "Prince Fu... is he also a member of the eunuch faction?"
The academy slapped him on the back of the head: "What nonsense are you talking about!"
When Prince Fu arrived at the main hall and did not see Chen Ji, he cupped his hands and asked, "Gentlemen, where is Chen Ji?"
The academy official hurriedly returned the greeting: "Your Highness, Lord Chen has not yet arrived."
Prince Fu nodded, casually found a chair and sat down, waiting quietly like an ordinary guest, without urging him on.
The imperial physician and the chief physician exchanged a glance, then rose to bid farewell to Prince Fu and hurriedly left with the imperial physicians.
Zhou Fangping reluctantly took two more pastries: "What are you doing? I'm not full yet."
The Imperial Censor said irritably, "Eat, eat, all you know is how to eat! Prince Fu suddenly returned to the capital today and immediately came to Lord Chen's place. He must have something important to discuss. Is the matter of the succession struggle something we are allowed to overhear? How many lives do you have to listen to such things? Get out of here!"
Prince Fu sat in the main hall with his eyes closed, resting, while Zhou Kuang led his men to guard outside the door.
After an incense stick had burned, footsteps came from outside the door. Prince Fu opened his eyes and saw Chen Ji's figure. He finally smiled and said, "Everyone says that men become more mature after marriage, but I don't see any change in you."
Chen Ji stepped across the threshold and looked Prince Fu up and down: "Your Highness is quite different from before you left the capital."
The Prince of Fu before me had a much darker complexion, more prominent cheekbones, and looked noticeably thinner.
The Prince of Fu's face had lost some of its frivolity and playfulness, and gained more solemnity and weathered appearance, finally showing some of the proper demeanor of a prince.
Prince Fu sighed, “When I was in the capital, I only felt that the world was peaceful and tranquil, with singing and dancing. But after leaving the capital, I realized how heavy the word ‘peace’ truly is. The people suffer, the soldiers suffer, and even I, as a prince, have many things I cannot do. I have learned more in the past six months than I have in the capital in twenty years. At least now, I know how much of a bowl of military rations is left in the hands of the soldiers after the Ministry of Revenue allocates it, I know whether a soldier’s pay is enough to support his family, I know what kind of life the people are living, and I know what it means to have ‘starving corpses everywhere and nine out of ten houses empty’.”
Chen Ji seemed to be deep in thought: "Your Highness is referring to the people of Yuzhou who suffered from the floods?"
Prince Fu shook his head: "It's not just Yuzhou; the calamities caused by officials far surpass those caused by floods."
Chen Ji sat down opposite Prince Fu: "Your Highness, are you trying to persuade me to take pity on you so that I may serve you?"
Prince Fu smiled and said, "Is it that obvious?"
Chen Ji shook his head: "I just got married and I don't plan to do anything yet."
Prince Fu was not discouraged and said with a smile, "I am not asking you to work for me... It's just that everyone knows that Grand Secretary Xu doesn't have many days left, but the position of Grand Secretary is still undecided. Everyone thinks that Grand Secretary Hu and Grand Secretary Chen have the best chance, but Minister Zhang must be unwilling to give up. Don't you, as his son-in-law, intend to help your father-in-law? His Majesty cares about only two things: personnel and money. Whoever can do these two things well can become the Grand Secretary. If you can go south and quell the eight major merchants and collect the salt tax, the position of Grand Secretary can only belong to Minister Zhang."
Chen Ji shook his head again: "Your Highness thinks too highly of me. The eight major merchant groups are deeply entrenched and complex. How could I possibly manage them? Your Highness has just returned to the capital. You should go to the palace to meet the Emperor first. I'm sure His Majesty is eager to see you."
When the topic turned to the emperor, Prince Fu's face darkened, but he changed the subject: "His Majesty wants to see me? Perhaps not. After learning in Jinling that my mother had been framed, I immediately wanted to return to the capital. However, Zhou Kuang and his accomplices were incredibly audacious. They bound me in a room for three days and three nights, claiming that I was a prince and that His Majesty had issued an edict forbidding me from returning to the capital without permission, as doing so would be treason. The Crown Prince and Consort Xue knew that I acted impulsively, and if I returned to the capital, I would fall into their trap. For those three days, I wished I could return to the capital and kill the Crown Prince myself..."
Chen Ji remained calm: "And now?"
Prince Fu smiled: "Now, I only wish to take away what the Crown Prince values most." (End of Chapter)