After Shen Xu and the rest of the Embroidered Uniform Guard left, Xie Ze familiarly greeted a few passersby. He warmly asked an old man for a favor and smoothly called out to an uncle for a hand. Together, the group lifted and righted the overturned carriage.
After distributing the fish he had caught himself to the passersby as a thank-you gift, Xie Ze continued to ride his little donkey—which had just been as quick as a fleeing hare but was now as calm as a good steed—insisting on escorting Zhu Qingyu home.
The Zhang family's small two-courtyard residence was where Zhang Shen used to stay when he came to the capital for business. He wouldn't even stay there for a few months a year. When the master was away, the small house was looked after by an old servant couple.
The old servant's surname was Lyu, and his wife's surname was Wang. Both were approaching sixty years of age. Zhu Qingyu had met them when she came to the capital last year, and following Zhang Shen's example, she called them Uncle Lyu and Nanny Wang.
Xiong Kun went to knock on the door. When Nanny Wang opened it and saw Zhu Qingyu, she was quite stunned for a moment, then smiled with pleasant surprise:
"Madam! When did you arrive in the capital? Why is there only one carriage? Where is the Master? Is he behind you?"
She then shouted inside:
"Old Lyu, come quickly! The Master and Madam are here! Come help with the luggage!"
Zhu Qingyu instructed Nanny Wang:
"The Master isn't here, it's just me. Nanny Wang, we have guests, please serve tea."
Having escorted her home and noted the address, Xiong Kun considered his mission accomplished. He needed to hurry back to report to Lord Gu about Shen Xu's violent act on the street today, so he immediately said:
"Doctor Zhu, the two of us must return to report back, so we won't trouble you any further."
Xie Ze had just heard Zhu Qingyu tell the servant to serve tea and was eagerly hoping to go in for a cup and chat a bit more with her.
But seeing that Xiong Kun and his companion had already left, Xie Ze felt it inappropriate to go in alone. Leading his little donkey, he said:
"Miss Zhu, ah, no, Doctor Zhu, since your husband isn't home, it's not proper for me to go in alone for tea. How about next time? When your husband is home, I'll come visit you."
Zhu Qingyu didn't expect the young marquis, who usually seemed uninhibited and informal, to be so observant of propriety at a time like this.
But she had something to ask of him, so she immediately said:
"My husband has been thrown into the Embroidered Uniform Guard's Imperial Prison. Young Marquis, I came to the capital precisely for this matter."
Upon hearing the words "Imperial Prison," Xie Ze's expression instantly changed to a seriousness Zhu Qingyu had never seen since she met him.
Xie Ze tied his little donkey to the horse-tying post in front of the door and stepped inside:
"Doctor Zhu, let's talk inside."
Once inside, without even waiting for Nanny Wang to serve tea, Xie Ze's first words upon sitting down were:
"Doctor Zhu, you must leave the capital immediately. Although I don't know what your husband is involved in, the Embroidered Uniform Guard never arrests just one person; they always arrest the family members as well. You need to leave right now, before the Guard gets here."
Thinking of something, Xie Ze then asked in confusion:
"Wait, that's not right. Why did Shen Chongshu just leave earlier? Is my influence really that great? He didn't dare to arrest you because I was there? No, that can't be, I don't have that much face."
Zhu Qingyu hadn't been very familiar with the names of people in the court before, and she asked speculatively:
"Is the Shen Chongshu you mentioned Shen Xu? But he didn't come to arrest me; he came to kill me."
Xie Ze's eyes widened into perfect circles:
"Yes, Shen Xu, courtesy name Chongshu. Why would he want to kill you? How did you offend him?"
Zhu Qingyu smiled bitterly:
"I have no idea, Young Marquis. Today was the first time I've ever seen him."
Hearing Zhu Qingyu say this, Xie Ze surprisingly wasn't too taken aback. He replied:
"Sigh, that's just how he is. The Embroidered Uniform Guard has always operated like this—without any rules, just sheer chaos. If Shen Chongshu wants to kill someone, there's no running away. Since that's the case, Doctor Zhu, you shouldn't run either. I'll act as a middleman and go ask him on your behalf to see what he's thinking. He can't just shout about killing for no reason. If there's a misunderstanding, we can just clear it up, right? As for your husband, do you know what crime he committed?"
Zhu Qingyu hesitated for a moment, wondering whether she should tell Xie Ze everything and ask him to plead with the Emperor.
Given Xie Ze's familiar and friendly attitude, Zhu Qingyu felt that if she asked, he would most likely be willing to help plead her case.
She was just worried—would it be useful if Xie Ze spoke up? Or would it have the opposite effect?
Zhang Shen being sent to the Imperial Prison was the Emperor's will. Choosing the Embroidered Uniform Guard to make the arrest instead of the Ministry of Justice indicated that the Emperor did not want Zhang Shen's falsification of the account books to be tried publicly.
She had never met the Emperor and didn't know what kind of person he was, but deducing the cause from the result, the Emperor did not want this matter to become widely known.
Why was that?
Thinking from the Emperor's perspective, a Son of Heaven who ruled the world wouldn't have any reservations about a mere commoner like Zhang Shen, who was like an ant to him. The only possibility was that the Emperor felt that if this matter were made public, letting the whole world know that he, the Son of Heaven, had been made a fool of by a commoner, it would be extremely humiliating for him.
The Son of Heaven was also human and naturally had human weaknesses. Driven by human nature, this reason was the most logical scenario she could come up with.
Zhu Qingyu also recalled Gu Zhao's parting words to her that morning: the Son of Heaven makes no mistakes. By the same logic, the wise and mighty Son of Heaven, who sees all under heaven, could not be made a fool of by a commoner.
If that was the case, then before she found a way to change the Emperor's mind, she shouldn't let this matter spread, lest she anger the Emperor further. Just as Gu Zhao had said, the more people who knew and the more people who brought it up before the Emperor, the faster Zhang Shen would die.
Therefore, Zhu Qingyu said:
"Young Marquis, I am not very clear on the details either. So I'd like to ask for your help. I want to enter the Imperial Prison to see my husband, but I am not very familiar with the capital and have no connections. Do you know if there is any way to visit the Imperial Prison? Or, even if I can't get in right away, I want to send my husband some food, drinks, and necessities, and give some silver to the officials at the prison to ask them to look after him a bit. I don't dare to ask for much, just that he has food to eat, clothes to wear, and blankets to cover himself with. Just please don't let them torture or beat him. His health is very poor, and he cannot withstand such things. Don't worry about the cost; I have silver, a lot of it."
Xie Ze looked at Zhu Qingyu and sighed:
"Doctor Zhu, you are a person of deep affection and loyalty, and I really don't want to make you sad. But to tell you the truth, apart from one exceptional case, I have never heard of anyone coming out of the Imperial Prison alive. Those who go in generally don't live long. You need to mentally prepare yourself. No matter how much silver you spend, it will ultimately be useless, and you will likely end up losing both your husband and your wealth. Since he is already in this situation, your life will probably be difficult from now on. It would be better to keep some silver to support yourself and not waste it on futile efforts."
Zhu Qingyu nodded:
"I know, Young Marquis. Thank you for thinking of me, but silver is ultimately not as important as a person. Young Marquis, you mentioned there is one exceptional case. Do you know who he is? Is he in the capital? I would like to visit him and see how he managed to retreat unscathed from the Imperial Prison back then. Since he could get out, setting a precedent, my husband isn't completely without a chance, is he?"
Xie Ze's expression turned a bit strange:
"Doctor Zhu, I am afraid it will not be easy to seek advice from this rare exception who made it out of the Imperial Prison alive. He is Shen Chongshu. Back when he was imprisoned there, all eighteen members of his family were executed by the late Emperor. It is an agonizing memory for him, so you had best not ask him about it. Otherwise, he might truly lose his mind and kill someone."
