Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 171: Melting Ice
"I don't understand what you mean." Although it was still light outside, Cao Huachun still felt dim.

Wang An didn't answer, but instead asked, "Let me ask you, if you were the commander of the Western Depot and knew that Cui Wensheng was hunting down Prince Fu's followers, that Mi Jingwen, the father of Concubine Mi Mengshang, was a member of Prince Fu's followers, that Mi Jingwen was in Nanjing, and that Cui Yuanzheng was on his way to Nanjing, what would you do?"

"Of course I will send people to Nanjing to intercept Cui Yuan and protect Mi Jingwen. I don't care if he kills other people, but as long as Mi Jingwen, who has been pardoned, does not die, Mi Cairen will always be a good boy. In this way, there will be no threat to the emperor. Everyone will be happy." Cao Huachun swallowed and said slowly.

"Now that Mi Jingwen is dead, regardless of whether it was discovered later, it means they either failed to intercept him or sent someone. Or, Wei Zhongxian simply killed Mi Jingwen!" Wang An gritted his teeth. "You know, there's only one report on Mi Jingwen's cause of death. And it was issued by Wei Zhongxian himself."

"Why would he do this? What good would it bring him to exclude or even kill Mi Cairen?" Cao Huachun found a candle and lit it. "Besides, wouldn't the situation be clear once the two sides confront each other?"

"That's easy to say. Cui Yuan killed more than one person in Nanjing. Nearly twenty people have died in the two capitals recently. In a standoff, do you think it's more plausible that Cui Wensheng ordered the killings, or that Wei Zhongxian did? You know, there's absolutely no circumstantial evidence. This is a muddled story. I don't even know where to begin investigating. Alas! Neither of these two bastards is a worry." In the candlelight, Wang An's face looked even more haggard. "As for the upside, I can think of two possibilities."

Cao Huachun did not respond, but silently added some new charcoal to the charcoal brazier in the room.

"Either Mi Mengshang is watching him too closely, making him feel constrained." Wang An held up his index and middle fingers. "Or maybe she's just trying to win his favor."

"Competing for favor? Isn't it said that this matter has little impact on Cui Wensheng?" Cao Huachun asked.

"What if Wei Zhongxian was trying to win favor for others?" A solemn look appeared on Wang An's face.

"To compete for favors from others? Who would gain favors just because Mi Cairen was thrown into the cold palace or was sentenced to death? She has only been in the palace for a short time, who can she threaten?" Cao Huachun suddenly felt that managing the miscellaneous affairs of the twenty-four yamen was as simple as a child's play.

"Li Zhulan." Although Wang An hadn't personally witnessed the minor disturbance in the palace's backyard, Wei Chao was there. "Don't forget, Wei Zhongxian came from Li Zhulan's West Warm Pavilion."

"Are they connected?"

"I don't know. This is just my guess. It's all my guesswork. There's too little information." Wang An shook his head, not jumping to conclusions. "The only thing we can be sure of is that Wei Zhongxian wanted to exploit Mi Jingwen's death to make his master worry that Mi Mengshang might 'do something', and then put her in cold storage or even to death. But whether Wei Zhongxian took advantage of Mi Jingwen's death, passively watched her die, or even actively killed her, is impossible to confirm. As for his motives, I hope he was just as eager to protect his master as you are."

Wang An had absolutely no desire to get involved in the struggles between the imperial concubines. Such matters were both troublesome and dangerous. For a eunuch like him, who had reached the highest position, getting involved in the internal fighting between the imperial concubines was not only of no benefit, but could also ruin his reputation in later life. However, as the Grand Chamberlain, he could not turn a blind eye to this.

"Let's do this for now. Let's do our job first and protect Mi Mengshang according to the master's wishes. After the Donglin Party incident is settled, the master will definitely ask Cui Wensheng for questioning. By then, some things will be clear." Wang An stood up, and Cao Huachun immediately put a velvet cloak on him, and then went to open the door for him.

The wind blew in from the open door, causing the candlelight to flicker even more. "By the way, have someone clean up the east room," Wang An said suddenly.

"Eastern Corner Room? Which Eastern Corner Room?" All palaces that are slightly larger have eastern corner rooms.

"Where else could it be? Of course it's the Palace of Heavenly Purity."

"Master wants Concubine Mi to move there?" After discussing for so long, godfather kept talking about Mi Mengshang, so Cao Huachun subconsciously thought that the emperor wanted Mi Mengshang to move there.

"It's not Mi Mengshang. It's Li Qinfang." Wang An shook his head.

"Li Qinfang"—Li Qinfang was so invisible that it took Cao Huachun a while to recall her. "The one who raised the Fifth Prince?" Even after remembering her, Cao Huachun's first thought wasn't Li Qinfang herself, but the Emperor's son.

"Yes, that's her." Wang An tightened his cloak and said, "But I don't know if the master really has this in mind. The saying of East Li and West Li is definitely not aimless. It's good to be prepared. Fan Wencheng worried about the world before he worried about himself. We just need to worry about the master's worries first."

"Master went to Jingyang Palace today?" Cao Huachun was still the executive deputy chief steward of the palace.

"Yes. I don't know why I remembered it." Based on his analysis of Wei Zhongxian's motives and his knowledge of the emperor's recent behavior, Wang An speculated, "Without the Empress Dowager, the commotion is raging. The master might be trying to achieve balance. If there truly is balance, less noise, it would be a good thing for us."

------

Forbidden City, Ciqing Palace.

The eldest son, Zhu Youxiao, was standing by the window, enjoying the last rays of the setting sun as he admired his unfinished work with satisfaction. It was a wooden model, its beams, pillars, bricks, and tiles bearing his vision for the port city of Tianjin.

Zhu Youxiao's plans included government offices, residential areas, harbors, markets, and even brothels and red-light districts. He had no intention of building a palace for himself; since he was a prefect, he should live in the government office. His father was not going to allocate funds for him, so he had to figure out everything himself.

He first planned to sell land. After all, the whole world belonged to the king. With the right policies, even barren tidal flats could be transformed into fertile ground for silver production, ensuring no shortage of buyers. He would then seek a loan from the palace's banks to build several local building materials processing plants. Zhu Youxiao did not intend to impose forced labor, but instead planned to employ refugees and provide them with food and money, a small contribution to addressing the increasingly troubled security situation in the capital region.
Just as I was staring at my work in a daze, someone pushed open the door of the woodworking workshop.

"Royal brother!" The sudden voice startled Zhu Youxiao and made him tremble all over.

"What are you doing here at this hour?" Zhu Youxiao put down his things and instructed the eunuch Wu Jiaqi. "Go get some snacks for the Fifth Prince."

Unlike Jingyang Palace, Ciqing Palace's standards were exceptionally high. After Zhu Changluo ascended to the throne of the Eastern Palace, Ciqing Palace's standards remained the fourth highest in the Forbidden City, surpassed only by the Emperor's Qianqing Palace, the Empress' Kunning Palace, and the Imperial Noble Consort Zheng's Yikun Palace. The monthly budget for food and beverages alone reached a staggering 296 taels, 6 qian, 6 fen, 6 li, 6 hao, and 6 si. After Ciqing Palace's change of ownership, Wang An made no mistake about changing this figure. He even secretly added an additional 14 taels for kitchen supplies, raising the budget to over 300 taels. In other words, Zhu Youxiao had everything he wanted, as long as it was in season.

"Don't stay too long, it's getting late." Zhu Youjian glanced at the eunuchs lighting candles on lanterns outside the window and said, "Sit for a while and leave by yourself. I'm too lazy to run back and forth."

"Brother, I'm here to spend the night." Zhu Youjian had never slept in the same room with his brother before. The novelty filled his heart with anticipation.

"What?" Zhu Youxiao was completely baffled. "How can there be such a rule? Just go back and rest wherever you need to."

"My father sent a eunuch to bring me here." Zhu Youjian said.

"Father wants you to move out of Jingyang Palace?" Zhu Youxiao frowned slightly. He had thought his father was going to hand Zhu Youjian over to one of the other concubines. Although their interactions were rare, Zhu Youxiao had a very good impression of Li Qinfang, as she cared for him more than her own son.

"I'm not moving out. When the eunuch found me, he just told me to stay overnight with my brother." Zhu Youjian shook his head, then moved closer to the woodworking table to examine his brother's work. He praised, "Your brother's craftsmanship is as good as ever." Zhu Youxiao nodded complacently and asked, "Father, are you staying overnight at Jingyang Palace?"

"That's right." Zhu Youjian smiled and nodded. "It's a good thing." He wasn't very old, but he wasn't stupid. He certainly knew what his father's attitude was towards his adoptive mother. But he couldn't persuade him, nor did he dare to, so he could only pretend to know nothing.

"That's good." Zhu Youxiao half squatted down and stroked his younger brother's head affectionately.

On July 19th, the 42nd year of the Wanli reign, Zhu Youjian's mother, Lady Liu, fell from favor and was banished. She died of depression at the age of 23. After Lady Liu's death, Crown Prince Zhu Changluo felt a modicum of remorse. However, rather than feeling pity for Lady Liu's death due to banishment, he feared his father would learn of the incident and punish him. Therefore, he suppressed the news and sent eunuch Wang An, his tutor, to bury Lady Liu in the Western Hills.

At the time, Zhu Youjian was still young, under the age of five, unable to fully grasp the meaning of the word "death," much less the entire story. He only knew that his mother had disappeared, and his father had given him to be raised by his concubine, Li Zhulan. Later, Li Zhulan became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter, at which point his father gave him to the care of another concubine, also named Li.

"Why is your Royal Brother building a house?" Zhu Youjian asked. "Is it a gift for Father?"

"This is mine. The real thing I make compared to this will be the gift I give to my father." After his mother's death, what Zhu Youxiao wanted most was his father's love and recognition.

"Where is the real thing being built?" The last time Zhu Youjian came to Ciqing Palace, Zhu Youxiao's mind was full of his father and the affairs of the outer court, so he had no intention of showing this new carpentry work to Zhu Youjian.

Zhu Youxiao hesitated for a moment, but still said: "In Tianjin, by the sea. My father has assigned me a task. Next year, I will move there to live." Zhu Youxiao pointed to the location of the government office.

"My royal brother is leaving the capital? Can you take me with you?" Zhu Youjian looked expectantly.

Zhu Youxiao would certainly not agree, but he also had to know how to refuse. "I can't make the decision on this matter. You have to ask my father."

What Zhu Youxiao didn't expect was that Zhu Youjian took advantage of the situation and climbed up the ladder. "So, my royal brother is willing to take me with him? My royal brother is so kind!"

Zhu Youxiao was startled for a moment, then smiled and said, "As long as you get the emperor's consent, I will take you there."

------

East Six Palaces, Jingyang.

The sun had already set when Zhu Changluo arrived at the Jingyang Palace. But unlike ordinary homes, the Forbidden City was lit everywhere, from palaces and towers to pedestrian walkways, as if darkness had never existed.

Zhu Changluo had wanted to come a long time ago, but just when he was about to leave the Qianqing Palace, the cabinet sent him nearly thirty draft bills at once.

They were all impeachment memorials against Donglin Party officials at all levels.

The grounds for impeachment were varied, ranging from bias and pedantry to clique-building and self-dealing. It seemed every possible excuse could be used to smear political opponents. Yet, the conclusions drawn up were remarkably consistent: arrest, thorough investigation, and dismissal. Zhu Changluo understood that this was the outcome of the joint trial on Shen's side, and he eagerly drafted all the backlog of impeachment documents. He then returned to the Southern Study and worked overtime.

"Your humble concubine Li Qinfang pays homage to the emperor!" Before Zhu Changluo stepped into Jingyang Palace, Li Qinfang came to greet him from afar.

"Get up." Zhu Changluo approached Li Qinfang and said with a smile, "I said I would come, and I will definitely come."

"Yes, the emperor said so." Li Qinfang's voice trembled slightly.

"How long have you been standing outside?" The dim candlelight in the outer courtyard of Jingyang Palace was not enough for Zhu Changluo to see the ice crystals on Li Qinfang's temples, but he could touch them with his hand.

"Not long." Li Qinfang was not like Li Zhulan or Mi Mengshang, who could easily find images and flatter the emperor in an ambiguous way.

"How long has she been standing outside?" Zhu Changluo glanced at the palace maids who were still kneeling on both sides of the road.

"In reply to the emperor, after bathing at 4:30 pm, the concubine has been standing here." The palace maid replied.

Zhu Changluo thought about the time he had left the Qianqing Palace and said, "It's almost an hour. No wonder he's shivering. He didn't even know how to get a charcoal brazier."

Li Qinfang's expression froze, but she didn't reply. She just silently swallowed the bitterness.

Zhu Changluo had no idea that the charcoal allocated to Jingyang Palace was scarce, and that she had to conserve it during the day to sleep well at night. Furthermore, if she hadn't been ordered to care for the Fifth Prince, Zhu Youjian, her life would have been even worse, as the treatment at Jingyang Palace was arguably the lowest among the twelve palaces, even inferior to those of the two Korean women.

Jingyang Palace is a second courtyard with the main gate facing south. The main hall in the front yard is Jingyang Palace, which is three bays wide. The main bay has a door, and the secondary bay has windows. The main and secondary bays are separated by wooden screens.

After entering the house, Zhu Changluo pulled Li Qinfang to sit at the table in the main room. He wanted to talk to her about something, but he couldn't find a topic, so they sat in silence until Zhu Changluo suddenly remembered something. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Not yet." Li Qinfang's answer was still so concise.

When a concubine was favored by the emperor, she would usually accompany him for dinner. When the Imperial Household Department arrived to announce the emperor's arrival, the concubine would immediately bathe, cleanse herself, and wait for the emperor's arrival. Before the emperor's arrival, the concubine would have no food to eat, even if she was hungry. This was because the Imperial Household Department had already taken over the meal preparation. This meant that if the emperor didn't come, she would have to go hungry.

"Serve the meal." Zhu Changluo took out a handkerchief embroidered with dragon patterns from his arms and wiped away the water left by the melted ice crystals for Li Qinfang.

"You have a beautiful smile." Li Qinfang smiled, but within her smile was a chill as cold as shattered ice. Under the bright candlelight, Zhu Changluo recognized Li Qinfang's beauty. This was a poignant beauty distinct from youth, passion, and seductive allure. It was mournful and melancholy, capable of both stimulating a desire to destroy and a desire to protect.

Li Qinfang was surprised to find a tenderness in the emperor's eyes she had never seen before. Before this, she had only seen desire, panic, and disgust in his eyes. "Thank you, Your Majesty." Li Qinfang felt the warmth through the handkerchief, and her nose suddenly felt sore.

(End of this chapter)