The sky had not yet fully brightened when the snow stopped.
Beneath the tiled eaves, icicles hung half a foot long. The faint blue-gray glow from a wisp of smoke rising in the courtyard glimmered against them.
Xu Qinghuan was reclining by the window on a rosewood couch.
A soft rustle came from the side gate.
Xu Fu slipped inside, bringing with him a chill damp enough to seep into the bones.
His lips had turned blue from the cold outside. He blew several breaths into his hands before finally reaching into the hidden pocket of his padded jacket and pulling out a small package wrapped tightly in coarse oil paper.
“Miss, Old Master Xu sent this back from the south specially.”
Xu Fu craned his neck curiously as he presented the oil-paper parcel on the desk.
“It arrived a full day later than the eight-hundred-li express dispatch sent to the Grand Secretariat.”
Xu Qinghuan set down the brass poker and used her fingernail to pry open the waxed thread.
This was her father’s handiwork all right.
Official documents delivered to the capital by courier stations were written for all the civil and military officials to see. What was hidden in a private pouch was where the truly important secrets lay.
After peeling away three layers of oil paper, she found a strip of leather paper, cut extremely narrow. The ink had blurred in places, clearly written in haste.
It made no mention of any Great Qian laws or regulations. Instead, it described the disgraceful spectacle in the courtroom:
“Zhou Mingxiu sat behind the bench with banknotes tucked against his chest. His hands trembled so badly that he could barely keep the teacup from rattling. His face shifted from yellow to green, and cold sweat trickled from his temples, dripping onto the embroidered insignia on his official robe and leaving two stains the size of copper coins.”
“That old cur Yang Bonian knelt below the bench, appearing righteous and impassioned. Yet both kneecaps struck the blue bricks with a sound like a clapper beating, while the hand holding the blueprints shook like a sieve. He was terrified that I would lose my temper and deal with the entire Yang family on the spot.”
“When Chen Shichang was dragged away by four yamen runners, one of his shoes fell off. His white silk sock was caked with mud, and he cursed the Yang family’s ancestors for eighteen generations. He screamed until his throat bled.”
Xu Qinghuan read slowly.
At the very end of the note, Xu Youde had drawn a thick line in heavy ink. Beneath it was a crooked line of cursive:
“As for Zhou Mingxiu’s three million taels, your father already knows where they went.”
The corners of Xu Qinghuan’s eyes lifted slightly.
She casually held the narrow strip of paper to the vent of the little red clay brazier.
With a whoosh, a cluster of blue flames leapt up. In an instant, the paper curled into gray-and-white fragments and fell deep into the ashes.
Glug, glug…
Xu Qinghuan lifted the copper kettle and poured boiling water into the teacup. She asked indifferently, “Is my father keeping well in the south?”
Xu Fu lowered his hands and replied softly, “The old servant who brought the letter said the Minister is eating heartily. He can finish two large bowls of polished rice in one meal, along with half a plump hen.”
“That’s good.”
Xu Qinghuan pushed a cup of freshly brewed hot tea to the edge of the desk. “Go to the kitchens and have two bowls of ginger soup yourself. Warm up properly, then get some sleep.”
Xu Fu bowed with a grin and left.
When he reached the door, he could not resist glancing back at his young mistress.
She was perfectly composed!
Working for a mistress like this was truly a comfortable business.
…
By the time daylight spread across the sky, the servants had swept a neat stone path through the snow in the courtyard.
The first report of the day had already been placed on the redwood desk.
“Last night, the Vice Minister of Revenue sat alone in his study until the hour of the ox. After receiving a copy of the Grand Secretariat’s dispatch, he immediately ordered half a jug of strong sorghum liquor warmed and dragged all four of his trusted advisers out of bed. He drank until his face glowed red, shouting that Heaven had finally opened its eyes and that he had backed the right immortal.”
Xu Qinghuan rested her chin in her hand and clicked her tongue.
“Useful, but not dependable.”
Such a seasoned old hand in the bureaucracy would work harder than anyone when the wind was at his back. But when the executioner’s blade was hanging over his head, he would be no less eager to kick you into the water.
Still, he could be useful for now.
The new capital in Jiangnan was about to be laid out, with a palace to be built. Silver would flow through the treasury like a mountain torrent. They needed someone clever yet timid to keep watch over certain matters and help her father make the books airtight.
Just after two quarters past the hour of the snake, the second report came through the corridor.
“Senior Vice Minister Sun, who had once sat the metropolitan examination in the same year as Old Master Xu, smashed a Chenghua doucai purple-clay teapot in his own rear courtyard. Pointing toward the Censorate in the north of the city, he cursed Zhou Mingxiu for having studied the sages’ books in vain and for being worse than a beggar who betrayed his own conscience.”
A trace of mockery surfaced in Xu Qinghuan’s eyes.
She had heard that Senior Vice Minister Sun treasured that purple-clay teapot as dearly as his own eyes. Even his disciples would be beaten if they touched it.
Yet this time, he had smashed it loudly enough for the commotion to spread so quickly.
Clearly, he was using that crash to send the Xu family a message—to offer up his pledge of allegiance.
“There we have it. When we go after the silver, let him lead the charge. Heh!”
The three million taels in Zhou Mingxiu’s banknotes had been filthy money given by the Chen family. Now that the Chen family had been branded traitors and wiped out, that enormous fortune had become a pot of boiling oil suspended over the heads of the Censorate.
Before long, two more notes arrived one after the other.
The first was a message from Vice Minister Song.
“After reading the Grand Secretariat’s dispatch, Song Zhiyuan threw the document in the brazier, closed his doors to visitors, and summoned every member of his clan for a stern lecture. From this day forward, all branches are to remain confined to their homes, do more and speak less, and pretend they are deaf and blind.”
Xu Qinghuan studied the note and fell silent for a moment.
When she had been in Jiangning, she remembered that Song Zhiyuan had already become the First Prince’s immovable stake in the Ministry of Rites. He usually styled himself a pillar of the pure and upright faction, with rules thicker than the city walls.
At first, after she had arrived in this world through the novel, his nephew Song Yubai had still often shown her great enthusiasm.
But now…
The world was unpredictable. One had to be careful not to place one’s bet on the wrong horse.
Xu Qinghuan nodded and murmured, “Forget it. There’s no hurry to deal with him.”
The other note described the mess in the Censorate’s duty office.
“Seven or eight of Zhou Mingxiu’s colleagues crowded into the heated room, as chaotic as a pot of spoiled porridge.”
“Some were trembling all over, while others slammed the tables and shouted curses. Two censors who had been close friends had even secretly prepared memorials impeaching Zhou Mingxiu for accepting bribes and extorting money. They intended to sever ties and save themselves before the Three Offices returned to the capital.”
Xu Qinghuan casually tossed the note aside, her eyes cold and clear.
The iron bucket Xiao Jingxing had spent twenty years forging in the Censorate had finally been softened by the stench of copper.
The more those censors below fought to distance themselves from Zhou Mingxiu, the more thoroughly he would die.
Once that imperial censor was dragged back to the capital prison, Xiao Jingxing would certainly feel the pain.
Creak—
“Qinghuan!”
Xu Zhan strode into the room, ice crystals clinging to his clothes.
“Something major has happened!”
He flung his leather gloves onto the desk, picked up the cold tea, and drained it in one gulp. Then he wiped the water from his bristling beard.
“News of the Three Offices’ joint trial in the south has spread everywhere! Father’s fire has burned the First Prince’s trousers clean off!”
Xu Zhan’s tiger eyes bulged wide, his voice hurried and blunt. “The First Prince poured so much silver into Jiangnan, and now every last bit of it has gone up in smoke! With that temper of his, after suffering such a crushing loss, he’ll never swallow it!”
He paced back and forth twice before the writing desk, his boots thudding against the floor tiles.
“We can’t wait for him to catch his breath! We need to send word to the Third Prince at once and have him submit a memorial accusing the First Prince of forming a faction for personal gain and colluding with the great clans to resist the imperial decree! Strike while he’s down and finish him off!”
Xu Qinghuan smiled and reassured him, “Second Brother, take a rest.”
Just as Xu Qinghuan had expected, Xu Zhan scratched his head and sat down, fretting, “Meimei, you’re usually the one who plans ten steps ahead. So why are you dragging your feet now, with a knife already at your throat? The Third Prince is still hiding under the covers and pretending to be ill!”
“Pretending to be ill is precisely the right thing to do.”
Xu Qinghuan did not even lift her eyes.
“Tell me, Second Brother, you’ve fought countless battles. Have you ever seen a wild dog fall into a deep pool and get beaten to death by people throwing stones from the bank?”
Xu Zhan frowned. “Of course not. It would thrash about until it ran out of strength, then sink on its own.”
“Exactly.”
“The one directing this game of moving south is the man seated upon the Golden Hall.”
“What the emperor wants is stability in Jiangning. He wants the imperial court’s central offices to relocate smoothly. He certainly does not want the two princes publicly tearing each other’s clothes off.”
“The First Prince is furious and terrified right now, but what he fears even more is that His Majesty will suspect him of harboring rebellious intentions. At a moment like this, if the Third Prince cannot hold himself back and jumps out to kick a drowning dog…”
Xu Zhan’s expression shifted. “His Majesty will think the Third Prince is taking advantage of another’s misfortune—or even that he has long intended to form a faction of his own?”
Xu Qinghuan smiled, a touch of easy nonchalance in her eyes and brows. “Precisely.”
Xu Zhan drew in a sharp breath, then grinned and cursed. “Thank heavens I’m your brother. If I were your enemy, I’m afraid I wouldn’t even know how my bones had rotted away.”
“Who are you cursing?”
Xu Qinghuan shot him a look, then raised her voice. “Qingque, go and fetch Xu Zijin.”
A crisp voice answered from outside.
The curtain was lifted, and Xu Zijin hurried in.
His blue robe still carried the chill of the outdoors. Upon entering, he first bowed properly toward those seated beside the couch and at the desk.
“Qinghuan, Second General.”
“All right, all right. We’re family behind closed doors, so spare us all that empty ceremony.”
Xu Zhan waved his large, fan-like hand dismissively.
Xu Qinghuan suddenly let out a soft laugh.
“Have a seat, Xu, the examination runner-up.” The corners of Xu Qinghuan’s eyes lifted slightly as she nodded toward the armchair beside them.
Only then did Xu Zijin pull out the chair and sit down.
“I could hear Second General’s booming voice from outside,” Xu Zijin ventured. “Has something new happened in the south? If the court intends to pursue the matter of the discourse on New Learning at Mingyue Tower…”
His voice faltered briefly before his expression settled into calm resolve.
“I stand by every word I said at Mingyue Tower. If I am truly summoned to court for a confrontation, I will not take back a single word.”
Xu Qinghuan was speechless.
“Who has the time to drag you into court?”
She pointed at the tabletop and pushed a neatly folded sheet of snow-wave paper, along with several freshly transcribed summaries of secret reports from the various ministries, directly in front of him.
“The Three Offices have dealt with the Chen and Fang families in Jiangning from top to bottom. That old fox Yang Bonian has completely switched sides and admitted defeat, and the old man has taken the opportunity to stake out every inch of land he can in the new capital.”
“The board is fully laid out. The First Prince is vomiting blood as we speak, and the pillar of the Censorate is about to fall as well.”
Xu Zijin lowered his head and scanned the few lines of shocking intelligence. His expression grew solemn.
“Then… what of Prince Jing?”
“That one is still pretending to be ill in his residence. He eats great fish and meat at every meal. His brain must be swimming in grease by now.”
Xu Qinghuan looked at him with a bright, teasing smile.
“Xu Zijin, this time, you’re going to tell our Third Prince how he should play this move.”
Xu Zijin’s expression instantly turned grave.
“I… I’m the one who’s supposed to make the move?”
He raised a hand and pointed at his own nose. “This concerns the struggle for the heirship, upheaval at the heart of the court, and even the suspicions between the imperial father and his sons. Princess, you aren’t going to give me even the faintest boundary?”
“No.”
Xu Qinghuan shrugged and spread both hands. “You’re on your own. Weigh it for yourself and write whatever you want. Even if you advise Prince Jing in the letter to lead troops into the Palace of Heavenly Purity in the dead of night and overturn the Dragon Throne, as long as you dare write it, I dare have it delivered to the Third Prince.”
“Pfft—cough, cough, cough!”
Xu Zhan, who had been pouring himself more tea beside them, sprayed the entire mouthful onto the floor.
Xu Zijin hurriedly rose and waved both hands, trying to stop her. “Miss Xu! How can you say such reckless, head-losing nonsense aloud?”
“What, are you frightened already?”
Xu Qinghuan tilted her head and eyed him. “Did you get too cozy with Yunwan last night and melt all that statecraft in your head? Hahahahaha!”
Xu Zijin’s entire face flared scarlet, the redness spreading all the way to his ears.
“Princess! Don’t make fun of me over Yunwan!”
“Fine, I’ll write it!”
