Chapter 1053
How Did They Get to Serve in the Same Court?
Chapter 1053 How Did They Get to Serve in the Same Court?
A faint voice drifted over.
The gloomy dungeon felt even more sinister and terrifying, and the wind howling like ghosts and wolves emanating from the entrance sent shivers down one's spine.
Hu Wenxuan's laughter was shrill and piercing, like that of a vengeful ghost.
"If you dare to speak, I dare to have it recorded. It is a common knowledge throughout the land that Jia Zhen of Ningguo Mansion in the capital has committed perverse acts and offended the heavens. If the Emperor Emeritus were to act in such a way, there would be people in the world to cleanse the court of corrupt officials. So why talk about daring to ask or not daring to ask?"
Almost shouting angrily, Xu Changwen suddenly stood up. The world should belong to all people. How could there be any talk of seizing the destiny of heaven? It's nonsense. At this moment, even Xu Dong's pen trembled slightly. The retired emperor had ruled for forty years, and his imperial power was overwhelming. Even the emperor... Never mind. Since he was devoted to the public good, why should he risk his life? Thinking of this, his pen was inspired and continued to record the truth.
"Very well, very well. Since you two Lord Xus have disregarded life and death, I am a criminal on the verge of death, so what do I have to fear? As for the question you just asked about, how the jade mines in the five counties north of the Yangtze River were opened, it was naturally done by digging with human lives. All the prisoners in the jails of the counties south of the Yangtze River were escorted to the north of the Yangtze River, guarded by the Yangzhou Prefecture Army, supervised by the Imperial City Guard, and I was in charge of directly digging with people."
They spoke on one side and recorded on the other, meticulously documenting every step, from when men were mobilized to when corvée labor was issued.
"You directly used people conscripted for corvée labor to dig them out. Which counties were these corvée labor assignments given to? And who gave the order?"
At this moment, Xu Changwen had already figured out the ins and outs of Jiangnan. It was nothing more than the allure of wealth and power, or rather, the higher-ups were even more greedy, while no one cared about the lives of the common people. If that was the case, then the world would have places for the Taiping Sect and the White Lotus Sect to survive. Only by being honest and upright for the sake of the people could one truly live the way of a sage.
"I gave the order to impose corvée labor on five counties north of the Yangtze River and to suppress the news. The Yangzhou Prefecture army was mobilized."
Hu Wenxuan spoke calmly, saying that these were all minor matters, nothing more than the use of some lowly people, guarded by the government troops, who had no choice but to go.
"Alright, it's recorded. Since you ordered the conscription of laborers, if I remember correctly, even if those jade mines are reopened, they won't be easy to mine. They've been sealed for many years and are deep underground. Even if you want to dig them up, there's no guarantee you'll find any jade. The Imperial Household Department must have given you a task. There's something to discuss here."
Since the palace needs it, the Imperial Household Department should have given a deadline; otherwise, why would they need to mobilize so many people?
"You're right. The Imperial Household Department requested a shipload of jade, but it wasn't easy to gather enough. Fortunately, the dikes were destroyed, and after the floodwaters receded, many people's houses had jade foundations, so they simply dug them all out and transported them away. By the way, that ship refers to a multi-storied warship. That's how they managed to gather the necessary materials. Now, this shipload of goods has already arrived in the capital."
Even Hu Wenxuan disagreed with this point. Chang Le Palace needed the jade for cultivation purposes, so the losses were negligible. But a whole ship full of jade was simply unacceptable.
"They are so concerned about plundering the people's wealth, yet no one in the world cares about the lives of ordinary people. How pitiful and lamentable! What's the point of having so much money? Just sign and put your fingerprints on it."
This was something Xu Changwen couldn't understand: an official's salary was more than enough.
“Alright, I’ll write it now. But, Lord Xu, if you put it this way, those who embezzle money will never lack it, but those who don’t embezzle money will never have enough, especially in the capital. They don’t even have any dignity; those who do have dignity do so because of money.”
Hu Wenxuan sighed, picked up a pen, affixed his seal and fingerprint to the confession, and then left without looking back, leaving only the three people in the hall sitting there with heavy hearts. Xu Dong put down his pen, carefully read through the confession, and found no omissions.
“All the testimonies remain unchanged, and I wrote directly about the Emperor Emeritus without any deletions. Brother Changwen, no matter what, do you really dare to send these to the capital? Although I am not afraid, the lives of the people and the affairs of the world, and our own lives, are hanging by a thread.”
A single charge of disrespect could land two men in jail; such precautions necessitate careful planning. Inside the dungeon, utter silence reigned. Even the head constable, Li Zhen, felt a chill. Who would dare present these confessions to the court?
"How many days would it take to travel to the capital by water using a fast boat?"
Xu Changwen suddenly spoke up, saying that the fastest way to reach the capital was by water; ordinary boats would take seven days to reach the capital and travel on the Anshui River.
"Using a single fast ship, it would take three days to reach the capital,"
Li Zhen quickly estimated that there were fast boats available at the dock, and if they traveled at full speed, three days would be enough.
"Alright, let's take a fast boat and send it along with a letter I wrote to the Marquis of Luoyun's residence."
Perfect timing! The grand court assembly is in three days. If it is delivered on that day, it will surely be surrounded by officials, and by then, the whole world will know about it.
"Alright, Officer Li, you'll have to make the trip. Take the Hou Mansion's fast ship; safety is guaranteed. Magistrate Xu and I will use an urgent document; you can have it delivered 500 li quickly. Also, I have a letter that needs to be delivered to Lord Nan. If you have time, deliver the letter first. If not, you can give it to the Hou Mansion's Chamber of Commerce members on the fast ship. The grand court assembly is in three days."
Xu Dong understood Xu Changwen's meaning. Since it was a grand court assembly with all civil and military officials present, and the army had returned victorious, they would inevitably meet in court. At this time, the case concerning the petition to Jiangnan was a matter of life and death, and a chance for survival. So be it.
"Yes, my lords, rest assured. I will risk my life to deliver these memorials and files, and hand the letters over to the Marquis's Chamber of Commerce. If I am not returned, I hope you will take care of your families."
Li Zhen knelt down and kowtowed. Then he took the prepared package, wrapped up the dossier, confession, and memorial to the throne on the table, carried it on his back, put the letters written by the two officials into his bosom, and took the two trusted confidants at the door. He headed straight for the dock, where a fast boat was already waiting.
“Brother Changwen, everything has been decided long ago. We are just waiting for the results. We will study together and both be at the top of the list. We have come to this beautiful place in Jiangnan, but we have not been able to do our best for the people. We can only do what we can. Now, we cannot back down.”
Perhaps true friends are hard to find. The two of them have reached a point where they either move forward or fall behind. Whether they live or die is up to fate. They have done what they should do.
"Brother Xu, to have a confidant like you, I can die without regret."
"Dismount and return to the manor."
Zhang Jinyu, having returned from the imperial palace in the capital, hurriedly led his personal guards back to the Marquis of Luoyun's residence. As soon as he arrived at the gate, he saw the gatekeeper and a group of people carrying boxes of unknown contents onto a cart.
After it came into view,
Curious, Zhang Jinyu reined in her horse from a distance and slowly rode over.
Where is this being sent?
Upon hearing the familiar voice, the gatekeeper turned around and saw the Marquis returning with his troops. His eyes reddened, and he knelt down abruptly.
"Your Excellency has returned; this old servant bows to you."
As soon as he knelt, the people still busy at the entrance followed suit, kneeling and kowtowing one after another. Zhang Jinyu patted his warhorse.
"Alright, get up. What kind of behavior is this?"
"Yes, my lord. I am so happy to see you that I weep with joy."
The gatekeeper, supporting his belly, slowly got up, and only then did the servants behind him dare to stand up as well.
"You were even crying tears of joy. How has the house been while you were gone? Where were all these things moved to?"
Looking at the cart full of goods, with no idea what was inside, the steward, upon hearing this, quickly rushed to the cart, opened one of the boxes, and found it filled with the finest Suzhou brocade from Jiangnan.
"My lord, these things were sent from Jiangnan. They are the finest Suzhou brocade from the Suzhou Weaving Bureau. Three cartloads arrived in total, along with some gold, silver, and jade artifacts, making up two cartloads. One cartload is for the Rongguo Mansion to celebrate, and the other, a smaller one, is for Shen Xueshi, the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner of Fuling County. A few days ago, the goods sent by the Marquis's Mansion were delivered on the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner's ships."
The gatekeeper stood there carefully and explained. Zhang Jinyu looked at the things in front of him, not paying much attention. But he hadn't contacted Shen Xueshi from Fuling County for a long time. It is said that officialdom also relies on connections. As for him, since he came to the capital, he had only exchanged letters and nothing else, but they had exchanged quite a few gifts.
There's another congratulatory message coming from the Rongguo Mansion. I wonder where that old lady gets so many happy occasions. "Well, it's good to reciprocate. It's only natural. But what kind of happy occasion does the Rongguo Mansion have that requires so many congratulatory gifts?"
You said it was a trivial matter, just sending some ordinary gifts with a monetary token would have been enough. But this cartload of valuables clearly indicates a joyous occasion. Apart from the empresses in the palace, only the Grand View Garden has been completed. No matter how skilled the master craftsmen are, they couldn't have finished it in such a short time.
"Reporting to Your Excellency, there is great joy at the Rongguo Mansion. It is said that the Second Master Bao of the Rongguo Mansion has arranged a marriage with the Meng family. The two families have exchanged marriage certificates, and the Rongguo Mansion has already sent out betrothal gifts three days ago."
The steward stood there, answering honestly, but Zhang Jinyu was filled with disbelief. Jia Baoyu was actually engaged, and the one he was going to marry was Meng Li's daughter.
The key is that both families have agreed. The Meng family member, always looking out for something, must have their eye on the one in the palace. As for the Rongguo Mansion's thoughts, the second branch is preparing to side with the civil officials. However, he's somewhat skeptical that Jia Baoyu would truly agree so readily, and asked...
"An engagement is a joyous occasion, a celebration, so naturally we should share in the good fortune. We must not skimp on the wedding gifts that come to our door. I wonder if Jia Baoyu from the Duke's mansion is still being raised there?"
"My lord, he is naturally being raised in the manor. However, this old servant has heard that the Second Master Bao has already gone to study in the west wing of the Imperial Academy, supposedly using a supplementary enrollment quota."
Turning back to the still-stunned servants, the old steward waved his hand, and the servants continued moving things. But these words startled Zhang Jinyu. The good-for-nothing Jia Baoyu actually had the ability to study at the Imperial Academy? Where did these supplementary students come from? He remembered that the Imperial Academy only had students of the lower ranks and students of the Imperial Academy. Had that Chancellor had a change of heart? Interesting.
"Reading is good; it helps one understand things. Since that person is willing to go, they are quite promising. Alright, send the things over."
Having said that, Zhang Jinyu waved his hand, dismounted, threw down the reins, and led his men into the Marquis's residence. Upon reaching the front courtyard, he paused briefly before heading towards Dongyun Tower.
As they passed the front courtyard, many maids and servants bowed in greeting. Several maids rushed off to the east garden to report, especially Baozhu, who immediately shouted upon hearing the news.
"The young master is back, Miss, the young master is back."
He dashed into the house like a gust of wind.
Inside Dongyun Tower
Zhang Jinyu stepped inside and saw her mother, Madam Wang, already waiting in the main seat of the hall for some time. Since wearing armor made things inconvenient, Zhang Jinyu had someone remove it from inside the doorway. Then, she solemnly kowtowed three times inside the room.
"I'm sorry to have worried my mother,"
moment,
Wang's eyes reddened; how could she not feel heartache looking at her son, who had become so much thinner?
"Get up quickly, sit here, let your mother take a good look at you, you've lost so much weight,"
"Yes, mother,"
Zhang Jinyu got up and sat down beside her. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Shu'er's face was rosy and unchanged.
"Mother, please rest assured. Although we endured wind and rain on the journey, Yue'er took care of us, which saved us a lot of worry. Now that the army has returned victorious, things will be more peaceful inside the pass. I wonder if you have received any news at home?"
More than a month has passed since they left, and they have no idea what's happening in the capital or beyond the Great Wall. After all, so many coincidences have come together today, which may not necessarily be coincidences at all.
Madam Wang's eyes narrowed; she knew her son wasn't just talking casually.
"Everything is normal outside the pass. The Jurchens have doubled their demand for supplies, and they are willing to spend any amount of money. We sent that girl's spy to investigate. It turns out that the Yuezhi people from the north have moved eastward and are competing with the Jurchens for the northern water source, which has caused them considerable losses."
He paused for a moment, then took out a stack of letters from the box behind him and placed them on the table.
"The affairs in the capital are complicated and cannot be explained in a single sentence. It's just that after Prince Teng returned, many officials submitted memorials, but they were all kept in the palace without being issued. On the other hand, there were some urgent letters coming from Nanjing in Jiangnan. There were almost four or five of them, with varying intervals. Because they were your students, these letters remained untouched. Furthermore, someone from the Ministry of Justice also delivered a message saying that Director Qin of the Textile Bureau would not be released for the time being, but the specific reason was not given."
Zhang Jinyu was somewhat suspicious. Two of her students had gone to Jiangnan, while only Xu Changwen remained in Jinling. She remembered what the eldest young master had said: that he had been assigned to be the magistrate of Chunyang County. What urgent business could a mere magistrate have? Could it be that he couldn't bear to miss his wife?
He picked up the secret letter from the table. The first one was nothing special, just an ordinary envelope. But the following letters were stamped with a red postmark.
His expression changed, and he quickly took the letter and tore it open. He glanced at it and saw that it mentioned the flood in Nanjing and the county's disaster relief efforts.
After reading the letter, Zhang Jinyu was somewhat stunned. Floods in Jiangnan? How could that be? He'd been to Jinling City before; it was arguably the most prosperous place in the land. If it was flooded, then this year's tax revenue would be gone. Was it a natural disaster or a man-made calamity?
Looking at the letters on the table, he immediately tossed the first one aside, picked up the bottom letter, opened it, and began to read.
really,
The more he looked, the more surprised he became. There really were people who weren't afraid of death. If the taxes in Jiangnan were affected, the Grand Secretaries in the imperial court would likely be held responsible. The breach of the Xinbei Dike was the work of the prefectural magistrate, involving the textile bureau and several other officials. The details of this affair were still unclear.
But where did a mere county magistrate get the audacity to accuse his superior? Is it because of this that the Chief Clerk Qin in the Ministry of Justice is unable to leave?
"Is it about things in Jiangnan?"
Madam Wang had already instructed Shu'er and several maids to prepare a banquet in the hall. Seeing her son's troubled expression, she knew something must have happened in Jinling, so she asked...
"It's nothing much. In Jiangnan, it's just factionalism and the suppression of dissent. Everyone wants to get involved, and when policies differ, trouble naturally arises. Since someone dares to do it, we're not afraid of being investigated."
Despite saying this, he carefully put away the letters on the table and tucked them into his pocket. These matters still needed to be discussed with the eldest son. He wasn't entirely clear on the specifics yet, but he knew that anything that several high-ranking officials in the court were concerned about was no small matter.
Perhaps the people at Nanjing University should also know this, since the name of Xu Dong, the magistrate of Yongning County, is prominently mentioned in the letter. In addition, there is Jing Cunliang, the Jiangnan Inspector General, Zhuang Shouzhi, the Provincial Administration Commissioner, Su Chong, the Inspector General who arrived later, and Eunuch Yang from the Textile Bureau. In this way, Jiangnan has become a hodgepodge, and it is probably impossible to stew it all in one pot.
Looking at the last letter, written by Su Jinkai of Nanjing, it mentions using grain transported from beyond the Great Wall to buy 30,000 mu of taxable land. What kind of policy is this? It's quite intriguing.
Just then, the maids inside had already tidied the table and brought in food boxes. The dishes inside were already on the table.
outside the door,
Another rustling of the curtain revealed Qin Keqing, dressed in plain clothes, with a wooden hairpin in her hair and a wide gold belt tied around her waist. She had a clever and charming face and was accompanied by her two maids, Baozhu and Ruizhu.
He entered the house with a smile.
Then she gave a charming smile and said, "May you have ten thousand blessings and peace."
"My lord's arrival was so sudden, and I failed to greet you; this has been impolite,"
A fragrant breeze wafted by, and perhaps sensing something amiss, Zhang Jinyu was somewhat surprised to see that Qin Keqing's figure had become rather fuller and her personality had changed considerably. She wondered how she had been doing these past few days.
"Quick, sit down and rest. There's no need for you to come and greet him. You should take care of yourself."
When Wang saw that it was Qin Yatou, she quickly invited her to sit down. But as she moved, she tensed, realizing this was unacceptable. Seeing the look in her son's eyes, she knew all too well that absence makes the heart grow fonder.
"What are you looking at? We'll have a meal when Yang arrives. Now that the family business is established, we'll need to expand our reach. Now that Keqing is pregnant, you'll need to be more careful."
Zhang Jinyu's expression froze for a moment, then he looked at Qin Keqing's shy face and was overjoyed. This meant she was going to have an heir.
"Madam has worked hard; you should take care of your health. There's no need to trouble yourself with the affairs of the household."
His tone was somewhat excited, and he seemed a little overwhelmed. Having lived two lives, and now being a father, his heart was filled with mixed emotions.
"Don't worry, my lord. I know that with Shu'er and Yue'er helping out at home, it won't be a problem."
A smile that could launch a thousand ships—now I understand.
(End of this chapter)