At noon, the snow stopped.
Yet the streets and alleys of the capital were even livelier than they had been while the snow was falling.
In front of the Ministry of Justice, clerks hurried in and out, carrying stacks of case files.
Outside the Censorate, several censors were arguing heatedly over a list, their faces flushed with anger.
The Three Judicial Offices were selecting the officials to accompany the southern investigation, and the entire capital was in an uproar.
Who would conduct the interrogations? Who would escort the prisoners? Who would audit the accounts?
Every position represented a step up the ladder. Some people were pulling strings, trying to squeeze their way into the delegation so they could claim a share of the credit in this earth-shaking case.
Others had reported themselves ill overnight, terrified of getting involved in the mess surrounding Xu Youde. If old scandals were dug up later, they might never be able to clear their names.
The undercurrents in the bureaucracy were surging.
…
At the Xu residence.
Xu Qinghuan was reclining against a couch, a stack of papers spread across her knees. She held a brush in her hand and was writing something, stroke by stroke.
Two strokes, then a pause to chew on the end of the brush. Two more strokes, and every now and then she would giggle to herself.
On the small table beside the couch lay several confidential reports delivered from outside. The ink was still wet, but she could not be bothered to give them more than a glance.
Xie Yunwan sat on a low embroidered stool nearby. Holding a cup of tea, she leaned over curiously and took a look.
“Qinghuan, what are you writing? The sky outside is practically falling, yet you have the leisure to scribble away in here.”
“A story.” Xu Qinghuan did not even look up.
“A story?” Xie Yunwan blinked. “What sort?”
“Journey to the West.”
Xu Qinghuan set down her brush and blew gently on the sheet she had finished.
“It’s about a monkey that sprang from a stone. He wreaked havoc in Heaven, was imprisoned beneath the Five Elements Mountain by the Tathagata for five hundred years, and later accompanied a monk on a pilgrimage to the Western Heavens to obtain the scriptures.”
Xie Yunwan blinked again. “A monkey? On a pilgrimage for scriptures?”
“Exactly.” Xu Qinghuan sat up, now thoroughly interested. “This monkey has an iron staff weighing thirteen thousand five hundred jin. It can grow as large as he wants or shrink as small as he wants—even small enough to fit inside his ear.”
“Along the way, he fights all kinds of demons: the White Bone Demon, the Spider Demon, the Bull Demon…”
“What happens after that?” Xie Yunwan set down her teacup and leaned forward. “The Monkey causes such a ruckus in Heaven that even the Jade Emperor can’t do anything about him?”
“Nothing at all,” Xu Qinghuan said with a laugh.
“All the gods in Heaven take turns fighting him—the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, Third Prince Nezha, Erlang Shen…”
“They’re all beaten so badly by his staff that they run around clutching their heads.”
“In the end, they have no choice but to go west and ask the Tathagata for help.”
“How does the Tathagata subdue him?”
Xu Qinghuan drew out the suspense with deliberate slowness. “He makes a wager with the Monkey. He says that the Monkey can travel a hundred and eight thousand li in one somersault, then asks whether he can leap out of the palm of his hand.”
“The Monkey refuses to believe him. He flips through the air and travels all the way to the horizon, where he sees five pillars. He even urinates on the middle one and writes a line on it!”
“‘The Great Sage Equal to Heaven was here.’”
Xie Yunwan was completely absorbed. “Did he make it out?”
“Heaven knows.” Xu Qinghuan folded the paper shut.
“Those five pillars were actually the Tathagata’s five fingers. The Monkey traveled a hundred and eight thousand li, yet never left the Buddha’s palm at all. When he returned, the words he had written were still there—on the Tathagata’s finger.”
Xie Yunwan stared blankly for a moment before suddenly bursting into laughter. “That Monkey spent half his life causing trouble, only to discover that he had been running in circles within someone else’s hand the entire time.”
“Exactly.” Xu Qinghuan gave an enigmatic smile, folded the sheet, and slipped it beneath the small table.
“The people outside are much the same as the Monkey now.”
Xie Yunwan’s brows shifted slightly. She was just about to ask what Xu Qinghuan meant when the door curtain was lifted and a figure came in, wrapped in a gust of cold air.
It was Xu Fu.
He carried a basin of freshly replaced silver-frost charcoal. His steps were neither hurried nor slow.
After entering, he first tucked the curtain securely into place to keep out the wind. Only then did he walk over to the brazier.
His movements as he tended the fire were smooth and practiced, every action steady.
Under ordinary circumstances, with such chaos raging outside, this steward of the Xu household should have been so flustered that his legs turned to jelly. He would have rushed in shouting, “Miss, something terrible has happened!”
But today, after replacing the charcoal, he merely brushed the ash from his hands, turned around, lifted the kettle from the small stove, and poured a cup of hot tea for Xu Qinghuan. He even topped up Xie Yunwan’s cup, without a trace of panic on his face.
Xu Qinghuan accepted the tea and shot him a sidelong glance. “Well, Xu Fu, you’ve grown capable.”
“You flatter me, Miss. When have I ever failed to improve?” Xu Fu said with a grin.
“Do you know what’s happening outside?” Xu Qinghuan took a sip of tea. “The Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Court of Judicial Review have all been selecting people since early this morning.”
“They’re all rubbing their hands and sharpening their knives, declaring that they’re going south to strip my father of his official cap and plume, then drag him back to the capital to answer for his crimes.”
“Oh, indeed! That’s exactly what they’re doing!” Xu Fu brushed a speck of charcoal ash from his sleeve, his tone utterly calm.
“The gatekeeper came to report just now that the Vice Minister of Justice has selected four assistant directors and eight clerks. The Court of Judicial Review has sent two judicial officers, and Censor Zhou volunteered to lead the way.”
“As for the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of War, and several other offices, their carriages have been coming and going all morning. They’ve been passing messages back and forth like old friends. I hear that even several retainers from the First Prince’s residence have sent invitations to Censor Zhou’s home.”
He paused, then added, “Oh, and there’s also a crowd gathered outside the Grand Secretariat, waiting to get their hands on the court gazette. They’ve nearly trampled the threshold flat.”
Xu Qinghuan raised a brow. “You’re not nervous?”
“What’s there to be nervous about?” Xu Fu tossed another piece of charcoal into the brazier. Sparks leaped with a sharp crack, casting a red glow over half his face. “Li Sheng brought me along to serve the Master and Miss. For the past few months, haven’t we faced one crisis after another with our heads practically hanging from our belts?”
“Compared to that, look at these censors who only dare spray spittle in court…”
He curled his lip and snorted.
“Hmph! They’re nothing but clowns making a spectacle of themselves! This heart of mine has long since grown calluses. The louder they shout, the more at ease I feel! If they truly had the ability, they would have taken action already. Why would they need to make such a racket for the whole world to hear?”
“Good! Very good!”
Xie Yunwan applauded and turned to smile at Xu Qinghuan. “Qinghuan, your steward has truly been reborn! Half a year ago, just hearing the words ‘Three Judicial Offices’ would have made his knees knock.”
“You flatter me, Miss Xie.” Xu Fu was not offended in the slightest. His face shone with delight as he bowed, looking almost bashful. “It’s all thanks to the Master and Miss for teaching me well.”
“All right, enough chatter.” Xu Qinghuan waved a hand. “The fire is settled, so go downstairs. Keep an eye on the tremella soup the cook has simmering in the kitchen and make sure the heat stays right.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Xu Fu answered and withdrew, his footsteps still steady.
The curtain fell, and the warm chamber grew quiet once more.
But the smile on Xie Yunwan’s face slowly faded.
She returned to her stool and ran a finger around the rim of her teacup twice before finally asking the question she had been holding in all morning.
“Qinghuan, it’s true that Xu Fu has grown more capable, but there’s one thing I still can’t understand, no matter how much I think about it.”
“Go on.”
“The emperor agreed to a joint trial by the Three Judicial Offices in open court.” Xie Yunwan raised her eyes, lowering her voice. “Song Yubai… well, he joined in the attack as well, and the entire court pressured His Majesty. Yet His Majesty agreed on the spot without saying even a single word in Uncle Xu’s defense…”
“Isn’t it because the pressure from the northern aristocratic families and all the censors at court has become too great for His Majesty to withstand? Is he planning to bring Uncle Xu out as a scapegoat and calm the public outrage?”
“Qinghuan, don’t accuse me of talking too much. Tell me, how many times throughout history have we seen this very same act of sacrificing a pawn to save the king?”
Xu Qinghuan smiled and replied, “Yunwan, let me ask you something. The Three Offices’ joint investigation—from selecting the officials and setting out, to traveling south, conducting the inquiry, gathering evidence, closing the case, and returning to the capital to report—”
“Tell me, how long would all that take?”
Xie Yunwan froze. She counted on her fingers. “It’s the twentieth day of the twelfth month. Selecting the officials alone will take three to five days. They’ll be traveling south by government vessel along the Grand Canal. Even at full speed, it’ll take nearly half a month.”
“When they reach Jinling, every one of those charges will have to be substantiated before anything can be settled.”
“With an investigation like that, the case won’t be closed in less than two or three months.”
“Two or three months.” Xu Qinghuan nodded. “And what season will it be then?”
“Spring.” Xie Yunwan answered instinctively, then her pupils contracted slightly.
Xu Qinghuan seemed to have thought of something, and a trace of loneliness entered her eyes. “That’s right. Spring will have arrived.”
Xie Yunwan drew in a sharp breath. “You mean… His Majesty agreed to this joint investigation by the Three Offices not because he was giving in, but because he was buying time?”
Xu Qinghuan shook her head. “Buying time? I’m afraid that won’t do…”
Xie Yunwan couldn’t make sense of it. Suspicious, she asked, “If it isn’t to buy time, then what is it?”
Xu Qinghuan put on an air of mystery.
“Yunwan, remember this.”
“The capital must be moved south. It is inevitable.”
“No one in the entire court can stop it. The northern aristocratic families cannot stop it. The censors’ dying remonstrances cannot stop it. Even the First Prince’s twenty years of careful cultivation cannot stop it.
“This is the tide of history.
“The nine border regions are in disarray. Though the northern frontier has won its battles, it has been weakened in the process. Seven-tenths of the court’s grain and tax revenue comes from Jiangnan. If the imperial government does not move south, the lifeline of the Great Qian will remain in the hands of others. The emperor understands this better than anyone.
“Besides, maritime transport also requires someone to oversee it from the south!”
“So, all we need to do is sit back and watch the show.”
Xie Yunwan was stunned. She silently turned the words “the tide of history” over in her mind. Gradually, clarity appeared in her eyes, and she exclaimed in sudden realization, “So that’s how it is! No wonder His Majesty agreed so readily in court…”
The door curtain lifted once more.
Xu Fu entered carrying two bowls of tremella soup. He had clearly heard the last few words from outside. His steps halted at the doorway, and for the first time, a look of shock appeared on his face.
He set down the bowls, rubbed his hands together, and finally could not hold back. “Miss, may I be so bold as to ask you something?”
“Ask.”
“The prominent clans of Jiangnan will put up tremendous resistance. They’ve formed alliances and even submitted a joint petition in the name of the common people.”
“The First Prince has spent a full twenty years building his power in the north. The border garrisons, the capital camps, the horse administration—he has woven them all into an ironclad network.”
“For His Majesty to uproot everything in one sweeping move…”
Xu Fu swallowed hard.
“Can he really bring this to a decisive conclusion now?”
“Whether he can or not, he has no choice but to do it.” Xu Qinghuan lowered her eyes. Her voice was light, yet it struck like thunder on a calm plain.
“Because the emperor is going to die.”
Clang!
Xie Yunwan’s teacup lid slipped from her hand and struck the table. Xu Fu’s pupils contracted violently. He sucked in a sharp breath and stood frozen in place.
Xu Qinghuan, however, acted as though nothing had happened. She simply scooped up another spoonful of tremella soup.
“M-Miss, you must be careful with your words…” Xu Fu waited in dread, his voice already trembling.
Xu Qinghuan set down her spoon and raised her eyes, letting her gaze pass over their deathly pale faces.
Then she suddenly asked a question that seemed to come from nowhere.
“Do you know…” She drew out the words, a hint of meaning showing in her eyes.
“What Li Sheng has really been doing all this time?”
