Xiao Jingxing sat alone behind the desk, a copper chopstick in hand as he turned over a thoroughly charred coal. Sparks crackled and leapt into the air.
The memorial Censor Zhou had drafted lay on the desk before him.
Xiao Jingxing stared at it and let out a cold laugh.
If this memorial were submitted tonight, what would Father think first?
Only this:
Good!
The First Prince had just stumbled at the Luming Banquet, and now he was turning around to bite Xu Youde.
He was nursing a grudge down to the marrow!
The words “kicking a man when he’s down” would be nailed straight to his forehead.
What Father detested most was the princes forming factions and dragging personal grudges into the court.
Clang.
The copper chopstick was flung heavily against the rim of the brazier.
They wanted him to leap out and make himself a target? Dream on. There were plenty of knives outside.
A sinister glint flashed through Xiao Jingxing’s eyes. At the Luming Banquet, the Li clan of Taiyuan, the Zheng clan of Xingyang, and those old fossils from the Ministry of Rites led by Song Zhiyuan had swept out of the hall without leaving him the slightest shred of dignity.
But so what?
Once the move to relocate south succeeded, who would suffer most? The great clans whose roots lay entirely in the north!
If the emperor moved to Jinling, their estates, ancestral graves, and marriage networks—accumulated over a century—would all be uprooted overnight.
The enemy of one’s enemy was a ready-made blade.
With personal grudges set beside their very livelihoods, those old foxes would know exactly what choice to make, even with their eyes closed. Let them charge forward, let them die remonstrating, let them smash their heads bloody against the coiled-dragon pillars of the Hall of Heavenly Proclamation.
Xiao Jingxing only needed to stand comfortably behind them and hand them the knife.
He picked up his brush, loaded it with thick ink, and ruthlessly crossed out several lines on Censor Zhou’s memorial.
Not one word was to mention the First Prince. Not one word was to mention moving the capital south! They were to bite down hard on Xu Youde’s embezzlement and grave-digging, and argue everything by the laws of Great Qian!
He wanted every civil and military official in the court, as well as Father, to see clearly that this was the public outrage of the great clans and the censors. It had not the slightest connection to Xiao Jingxing—not even worth half a copper coin!
“To borrow a knife to kill, one must naturally make sure the blade never draws blood.”
Xiao Jingxing set down his brush and spoke in a low, distant voice.
After a long while, he turned his gaze toward the wind and snow beyond the window. The schemes in his eyes had already vanished without a trace.
…
The next morning, the wind and snow had yet to stop.
A plain sedan with blue cloth curtains was carried out through the side gate of the First Prince’s residence. Xiao Jingxing had changed into a somewhat worn stone-blue python robe, and he had removed every trace of jade from his belt and waist.
He went straight to the inner palace.
Mother and son spoke for a full hour in the warm chamber.
When the First Prince stepped over the threshold, his eyes were rimmed with red. Before leaving, he even personally tucked the heavy curtain more securely around his mother.
…
The earth-dragon heating made the Imperial Study warm as spring.
Emperor Tiansheng reclined halfway on a red sandalwood couch, a sable blanket covering his legs.
The people’s memorial, sent by urgent dispatch from eight hundred li away, lay open in his hands.
Its yellow cover faced upward, covered in densely packed signatures and stamped fingerprints. They stabbed at the eyes.
Eunuch Li knelt to one side, steadily grinding ink.
“Humph.”
Emperor Tiansheng casually tossed the memorial onto the small table.
“Forcibly requisitioning sacrificial fields, digging up people’s ancestral graves, and embezzling eight million taels?”
“That old dog, Xu Youde, certainly stirred up a storm in Jiangnan.”
Eunuch Li set down the inkstone, turned, poured a cup of hot tea, and offered it with both hands. Following the emperor’s words, he said softly, “Minister Xu was indeed rather ruthless in carrying out his duties.”
“But this servant heard that although the people of Jinling have been cursing him, the tenant families in the shanties south of the city all had a prosperous New Year after selling their land.”
“Mm.” Emperor Tiansheng accepted the tea and responded without warmth or coldness.
Lowering his eyes, Eunuch Li casually added, “As it happens, His Highness the First Prince entered the palace early this morning to pay his respects to the Noble Consort.”
“He sat with Her Highness for a full hour.”
“When he came out, his eyes were red. The old nurse serving Her Highness said that His Highness merely chatted with her about family matters and did not mention anything happening outside—not a single word.”
“Oh?” Emperor Tiansheng lifted his eyelids.
“Indeed.” Eunuch Li bent at the waist, his tone even. “Outside, people have been arguing themselves hoarse over this memorial. The offices of the Six Ministries kept their lamps burning until well past midnight.”
“And yet His Highness shut the doors and devoted himself to filial piety. He has been very well-behaved.”
His Majesty’s son had grown up and learned better.
Eunuch Li smiled along with him, then lowered his eyes and retreated to his former position. The fingers holding the tray remained as steady as stone.
Emperor Tiansheng took a sip of tea.
His gaze fell once more upon the people’s memorial, and he spoke in a low voice. “That old dog, Xu Youde, is one I unleashed to bite people. Only by biting fiercely can he make them afraid.”
“Those people outside submit memorials cursing Xu Youde, but what they are really testing is Me.” He let out a cold laugh. “Let them bite. I want to see how many turtles are still hiding beneath this muddy water.”
“Your Majesty is wise,” Eunuch Li replied quietly.
Deep in his lowered eyes, a calculating glint flashed and vanished.
…
The next day, the morning court was held in the Hall of Heavenly Proclamation.
Emperor Tiansheng, having only recently recovered from a serious illness, sat upright upon the Dragon Throne.
His complexion was still somewhat ashen, but his eyes shone with an intimidating brightness.
Below the vermilion steps, the civil and military officials stood with their heads lowered in solemn silence. Not a crow dared caw.
Everyone could sense that something was wrong with today’s atmosphere.
Xiao Jingxing stood among the officials, both hands tucked into his sleeves. He stood ramrod straight, pretending to be nothing more than a wooden statue.
“Those with memorials, step forward—”
Eunuch Li’s shrill voice had barely faded when someone stepped out from the ranks of civil officials, holding a memorial in both hands.
It was Song Yubai of the Ministry of Rites, Song Zhiyuan’s nephew.
“Your Majesty, this subject, Song Yubai of the Ministry of Rites, has a memorial to present!”
He lifted the hem of his official robe and dropped to his knees. Raising the memorial above his head, he cried out, “Minister of Revenue Xu Youde, while carrying out his assignment in Jiangnan, forcibly requisitioned sacrificial fields, dug up ancestral graves, and embezzled eight million taels of official silver!”
“Several hundred scholars in Jiangnan have jointly signed a memorial from the people, and it has already reached the Office of Transmission! Such a cruel official has corrupted the court and shaken the hearts of the people in Jiangnan! This subject humbly begs Your Majesty to issue an edict for a strict investigation!”
The entire court was stunned.
A faint stir ran through the ranks.
Some officials secretly raised their eyes toward the Dragon Throne, only to lower them again at once.
Before everyone could recover, another shout rang out from the ranks of the Censorate.
“This subject seconds the motion!”
The Black-Faced Censor Zhou strode out, swept aside his official robes, and knelt beside Song Zhiyuan.
“Your Majesty! The laws of Great Qian are perfectly clear: anyone who embezzles official funds shall be executed, and anyone who forcibly occupies the people’s land shall be exiled!”
“Xu Youde is a second-rank imperial commissioner. Having knowingly violated the law, his crime is compounded!”
“This subject humbly begs Your Majesty to hand this case over to the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Court of Judicial Review for a joint trial, so that the laws of the state may be upheld and the people’s hearts steadied!”
The entire hall fell utterly silent.
A joint trial by the three judicial bodies!
Those four words crashed down with terrifying weight. In the two hundred years since Great Qian was founded, the three judicial bodies had never been convened lightly. They were reserved for major cases—unless treason was involved, they were rarely mobilized.
Above them, on the Dragon Throne, Emperor Tiansheng looked down at the two kneeling men beneath the vermilion steps, then slowly swept his gaze across the ministers holding their breath in the silent hall.
The entire court was forcing his hand, hoping to borrow a knife to kill.
Then he would give them a knife and see whose neck it ultimately severed!
“Hahahaha!”
Emperor Tiansheng threw back his head and laughed. The sound made every official’s heart tremble.
“Good! Good indeed!”
Emperor Tiansheng slammed his palm against the arm of the Dragon Throne. “It is rare to see the entire court so united! Since every one of you is keeping an eye on that dog for Me, I shall grant your request!”
He straightened, his voice shaking the great hall.
“Convey My decree! Command the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Court of Judicial Review to jointly try the case of Xu Youde! Officials are to be dispatched at once to Jiangnan to investigate and question the accused!”
Boom!
The court and the realm were thrown into uproar.
The assembled officials exchanged bewildered glances, so stunned that none of them dared raise his head.
Approved? Just like that? Was His Majesty… yielding to the pressure and sacrificing a pawn to save the king?
Song Yubai knelt on the ground, forgetting for the moment to give thanks. He recalled what his uncle had told him the night before. At the time, he had been filled with righteous fervor, thrilled that he would be speaking in court for the first time.
And so he had prepared a whole bellyful of words for a remonstrance unto death—only to find that not a single one of them was needed.
Censor Zhou’s heart was pounding as well. He prostrated himself and called out, “His Majesty is wise!”
“Court is dismissed!”
…
The bells and drums fell silent, and the officials filed out in an orderly stream.
Eunuch Li stood to one side of the palace hall entrance, whisk in hand, seeing the procession out.
Xiao Jingxing followed the crowd toward the doorway.
At the instant the two passed one another, Eunuch Li bent his knee and bowed to clear the way. At the same time, he gave his whisk a casual sweep.
The tassels brushed silently across the hem of Xiao Jingxing’s robe.
Xiao Jingxing did not break stride, but the meaning in his eyes grew deeper.
