Chapter 134
Liu Heipi nodded at Fang Dai. “Only His Majesty and those close to Her Majesty know about this. Before the time is right, Young Master Fang must not let a word slip.”
Hearing that he was now considered one of Cui Lanyin’s trusted people, Fang Dai was delighted. He was filled with renewed energy.
“Not a single word of this will leave Jiutong Trading House.”
“Good.”
Liu Heipi then pointed to a pair of waist-high, multicolored vases decorated with blessings of fortune and prosperity standing in the corner. “What do you think of this pair of presentation vases, Young Master Fang?”
Palace-made objects were rare treasures outside, but in the former imperial residence, they could be found everywhere.
The Office of Commercial Tax Administration handled affairs in the buildings that had once belonged to the various offices of the princely residence. Though the furnishings inside appeared simple and unadorned, they were all made in the imperial workshops.
Although Fang Dai had never been allowed into such crucial places as the main and rear halls of the former residence, he was certain that even a pair of vases like these could not be placed in the covered corridors connecting the two halls.
Liu Heipi would not have pointed them out for no reason. Unable to guess his meaning, Fang Dai thought that since he was now an insider, he might as well ask directly. “Is there some significance to this pair of vases?”
Liu Heipi did not answer him. Instead, he asked, “I hear that Young Master Fang is on good terms with quite a few salt merchants.”
“There are indeed several with whom I can speak freely, and who are willing to show me some consideration,” Fang Dai replied.
Liu Heipi said, “This pair of vases came from Her Majesty’s private treasury. Do you think those salt merchants would be willing to spend silver on them to decorate their homes and show off their status?”
Fang Dai’s eyes lit up. “Once they know the vases came from Her Majesty’s private treasury, those salt merchants will certainly pay a great deal to acquire them.”
By now, he had grasped Liu Heipi’s meaning. “If word gets out that there is a way to obtain items from Her Majesty’s private treasury, those salt merchants are the sort who care most about outdoing one another. They will all come seeking connections. Each piece could probably be sold for a fortune.”
Liu Heipi happily slapped Fang Dai on the shoulder. “Talking to Young Master Fang is truly convenient. I only need to make a start, and you can work out the rest. That is precisely what I mean. Her Majesty wants to clear out the useless items in her private treasury and exchange them for silver. Later, we will need a large amount of silver to pave the way, so for now we have to find more places willing to provide it.”
“I understand. I’ll arrange the grain purchases and transport as soon as I return, then leave for Yangzhou at once.”
“Then I won’t keep you, Young Master Fang.” Liu Heipi personally escorted Fang Dai out of the former imperial residence.
***
In the western chamber of Yanhuadian, Cui Lanyin was still seated beside the large desk, reviewing memorials.
Ever since she had begun writing responses directly on the memorials on the fourteenth, Cui Lanyin had been waiting for the ministers to impeach her, protest to the emperor, or perhaps stage some grand kneeling demonstration before Tian’an Gate or Duan Gate.
Her wrists were weak, and the characters she wrote lacked force. They were too graceful and delicate, and anyone could tell at a glance that they had been written by a woman.
There were no palace maids in the emperor’s western chamber, and the emperor’s additions appeared beside her own responses. She refused to believe the ministers could not tell that she was the one writing those replies.
Yet today was already the sixteenth, and the ministers seemed to have collectively gone blind. Not one of them had raised a question about any of the memorials bearing her responses.
Cui Lanyin was almost beginning to suspect that the memorials had never been sent out. But that very morning, she had personally watched Academician Jiang and the others hand the completed memorials over to the officials of the Office of Transmission.
She looked at the emperor, who was reclining at the window on a raised couch, leisurely drinking tea and eating pastries. In any case, if the sky fell, the emperor would be there to hold it up. She might as well continue doing what she had to do.
The emperor had crossed his legs again. His eyes were half closed, and she could not tell whether he was meditating or dozing.
The raised couch beneath him had only been carried into the western chamber yesterday. Since the eastern chamber was available for rest, no previous emperor had ever placed a couch like this in the western chamber. After all, a place where officials were received and state affairs handled ought to be dignified.
She had only been reviewing memorials for one day when the emperor moved a couch into the western chamber. Cui Lanyin knew he had been thinking about it for some time. Previously, he summoned ministers in the mornings and reviewed memorials in the afternoons. Even if he had placed a couch there, it would have gone unused, so he had never bothered.
This man truly would not sit upright if he could sit cross-legged instead.
Though his eyes were half closed, the emperor could still sense everything happening in the room. He asked with a laugh, “Are you criticizing me in your head again?”
Cui Lanyin waved a hand at him. “If you have nothing to do, don’t come and annoy those of us who are working.”
“I know I’m an eyesore to Her Majesty the Empress.” The emperor chuckled from where he sat. “But I should let Her Majesty know that we won’t be reviewing memorials tomorrow. Once the three academicians have finished drafting the responses, you can simply inspect them.”
Since ascending the throne, the emperor had always reviewed memorials himself. The Grand Secretariat had effectively been left empty, which was also why the emperor had abolished it and instead appointed academicians from the Hanlin Academy to assist in governing—leaving the ministers with no grounds to object.
Cui Lanyin found it difficult to understand. “Wouldn’t having the academicians draft the responses mean giving even more authority to those below than when the Grand Secretaries prepared draft replies?”
The emperor did not answer. Instead, he said, “Think about it again.”
Cui Lanyin set down her brush and compared the differences between the former system and the new one in her mind. Gradually, she understood. The emperor had returned the Grand Secretaries to their respective ministries and replaced them with Hanlin academicians in the inner administration. Now he intended to have three academicians draft the responses to memorials. It appeared to be merely a change in personnel, but in reality, the two arrangements were worlds apart.
She ventured, “Others might leave loopholes for the ministers to exploit, but that will never work with you, Uncle.
“Everyone in court already knows that you have a photographic memory. No matter how many memorials arrive, you need only glance at them once to understand everything. That left the former Grand Secretaries with no real role to play; they could only pass messages back and forth.
“After the Grand Secretariat was abolished and the Hanlin academicians were brought in to assist with governing, they continued doing the work of conveying information up and down. This period has given them enough time to understand that nothing escapes your control. To you, they are merely the mouths and pens that relay messages. So even if you let them draft responses to memorials, they would surely not dare to use that authority for personal ends.”
“Exactly.” The emperor praised her, then continued to instruct her. “You must think this way whenever you encounter a problem in the future. Compare the circumstances back and forth, and there will be nothing you cannot understand.”
Cui Lanyin had learned a great deal from him again. An unconscious look of admiration appeared in her eyes.
The emperor was pleased by it and continued teaching her. “Before this, I needed to establish my authority, so I had no choice but to tire myself out for a while. I don’t pay those salaries so that I can do all the work alone. An overlord need only keep a clear and impartial eye on things; there is no need to handle every matter personally.
“The rules have been established. Starting tomorrow, we can both take things easier. If I had to bury myself in memorials for the rest of my life, I might as well give up being emperor.”
A leopard could not change its spots. Over the past six months, the emperor had been diligent in handling state affairs, spending his days rooted in the western chamber. Cui Lanyin had thought he had changed his ways. She could only admit that she still did not understand him well enough.
“Then I don’t need to come to the western chamber tomorrow?”
“Mm. Tomorrow I’ll have Academician Jiang and the others draft their responses and send the memorials to the eastern chamber for you to review. You can correct them as needed.”
Cui Lanyin knew it would not be that simple. First he had made her come to the western chamber to review memorials. Then he had had her write responses on them. Now he wanted Academician Jiang and the others to bring the memorials they had drafted to the eastern chamber for her inspection. With each step, he was raising the stakes. Was he dissatisfied that the ministers had been keeping too quiet?
A soft sound came from the door as it opened. When she looked over, she saw that Buyu had returned from outside.
Cui Lanyin asked, “What did Geng Dayou say?”
“The fabrics we got from the Brocade Workshop have all been sold. They said there wasn’t enough to meet demand, and some people have even started asking whether there are any other items made for the palace. The Eldest Young Miss asks that Her Highness find a suitable time to have the bulkier things moved over little by little,” Buyu reported. “Lord Liu has also explained everything to Young Master Fang. Just as Her Highness predicted, Young Master Fang didn’t refuse in the slightest. After leaving the former residence, he had his trusted men arrange the purchase of grain and the fleet of ships, then set off for Yangzhou.”
“You take Geng Dayou and go find Qi An. Have them select a batch of things to send over. Remember, don’t move too much at once.”
Buyu nodded with a smile. “I know. Lord Song said that rarity creates value. If we want to sell them at a good price, they can’t be things everyone can get their hands on.”
Cui Lanyin praised her, “You’ve grasped the essence of it. Go on, then.”
After Buyu left, the Emperor, who had appeared to be meditating, opened his eyes and flicked a finger toward the space beside him. “Come sit here?”
Cui Lanyin went over, and the Emperor affectionately pulled her into his arms. “My Lanyin is truly thrifty and capable of building a fortune.”
Cui Lanyin didn’t bother to be modest. She nodded. “I have to earn you enough money to make some more arrows and bolts, after all.”
“Ordinary silver wouldn’t catch Lanyin’s eye. I think you could even earn enough to make armor.”
“You knew?” Cui Lanyin’s response was tantamount to an admission.
When she had asked Buyu to search through the Empress’s private stores for something to send Hong Ji on the fourteenth, Cui Lanyin had already formed the idea.
After discussing it with Song Zhang and Jiang Shi, she had not expected Song Zhang to come up with an even grander plan. He had said to her, “Your Highness, why limit it to the things in your private stores? There are so many empty halls in the palace. We can choose the tables, chairs, ornaments, and other items that aren’t essential and sell them off.”
Jiang Shi had added, “Since His Majesty intends to move the capital, most of the palace’s larger furnishings certainly can’t be transported. Leaving them here would only mean letting them sit unused until they deteriorate. We might as well exchange them for more silver.”
With a bold ruler at the helm came bold ministers willing to act. Thus, the three of them decided to sell off all the palace’s idle furnishings.
The Emperor was even more ruthless. He marked out Yan Hua Hall, Fu Ning Palace, Luan Ju Palace, and Xuan Wei Palace. “We’ll still be coming back here to stay from time to time. As for everywhere else, you can clear it out before we leave.”
That meant the military households alone would never be able to take everything off their hands, so Cui Lanyin set her sights on the salt merchants, who had more money than they knew how to spend.
The salt merchants’ residences were spacious enough to hold as much as they could offer.
The Emperor stretched out his legs and pulled her back against him. “We’ll just have to see whether the salt merchants know how to behave this time.”
Cui Lanyin knew that once the Emperor had his hands free, he would turn his attention to reforming the salt administration.
The Emperor continued teaching her. “Remember this: as long as we have money and military strength in our hands, there’s no need to be constrained by anyone. If the ministers can’t be used, replace them with another batch.”
The next day, when Academician Jiang really did carry a stack of memorials over for her review, acting as though it were only right and proper, not only was Cui Lanyin baffled—Song Zhang was astonished as well.
Having spent so much time coming and going from Yan Hua Hall, Song Zhang could exchange a few words with nearly all the ministers who frequented the place.
Unable to contain his curiosity, he tactfully asked Academician Jiang, “It seems nothing much has happened at court these past few days. There’s hardly anyone in the West Side Hall either.”
Jiang Shi poured Academician Jiang a cup of tea. Seeing that there was hot tea and warm pastries on both Song Zhang’s and Jiang Shi’s desks—and even a pastry with a bite taken out of it on the plate before Song Zhang—Academician Jiang couldn’t help relaxing when he saw how informal things were in the Eastern Pavilion. He lifted the teacup and took a sip.
“Two days before the Grand Empress Dowager’s birthday, His Majesty began dictating his intentions and having us handle the memorials in his place. It’s just that His Majesty was far too… concise. We often couldn’t fully understand what he meant, so we wrote down something roughly corresponding to it. Once the memorials were sent below, the ministers were afraid of making mistakes and came to ask His Majesty for clarification. His Majesty did reply, but… but all the ministers felt as though they were fools. They had come to trouble His Majesty over matters that were so simple and obvious, which was truly unbecoming…”
Academician Jiang was an honest man. By this point, even he could no longer keep up the pretense.
Cui Lanyin didn’t need him to say anything more. Song Zhang and Jiang Shi both understood what had happened.
The ministers didn’t want the Emperor to look at them as though they were idiots. So whenever they saw a memorial approved by Cui Lanyin, with His Majesty’s handwritten additions beside it, everything was explained clearly and all they had to do was follow the proper procedures. When forced to choose between two evils, they naturally knew which side to take.
And so, Cui Lanyin’s handling of the memorials was silently accepted by the ministers, without stirring even the slightest ripple.
But that wasn’t all. Academician Jiang took two memorials from the very top of the stack and handed them to Cui Lanyin. “Because there is no precedent for these matters, Academician Zou, Academician Shen, and I discussed them among ourselves but couldn’t reach a decision. We ask Your Highness to make the call.”
Cui Lanyin asked, “Isn’t there still Grand Secretary Shen?”
Academician Jiang smiled awkwardly. “Grand Secretary Shen has just reported the matter to His Majesty. Now that the three of us academicians can approve the memorials, and His Majesty will review them afterward, his role has become more or less unnecessary. In view of that, he thought it best to return to his original post, and His Majesty granted his request.”
With that, the Grand Secretariat was formally dissolved. Academician Jiang, Academician Zou, and Academician Shen were no longer called grand secretaries, but instead became Academicians Assisting in Governance.
With one casual move, the Emperor had completely taken the ministers in hand. Song Zhang and Jiang Shi were filled with admiration.
Cui Lanyin silently counted in her heart: Just how many birds had the Emperor managed to bring down with this one arrow?
Here it comes. [Kiss]
