Top Scholar

Chapter 648 Eunuch Liu's Unlucky Fortune

Even Su Lu, who was not very familiar with the old affairs of the palace, knew that the late emperor was grateful for Consort Wu's nurturing kindness and provided her with food and clothing in accordance with the rites for an empress dowager.

How do we know this? Because after the current emperor ascended the throne, he continued to worship 'Grandma Wu' according to this standard.

Even if they cannot be buried according to the Empress Dowager's rites, there is absolutely no reason to cremate them!

"What on earth is Eunuch Liu thinking?!" He really wanted to pry open Liu Jin's skull to see if there was only a walnut kernel inside. How could he act on a whim without thinking at all?

"Didn't he promulgate the Cremation Regulations last year? This year he wants to curb extravagance and save money. With all this back and forth, he's going to cremate Lady Wu too!" Zhang Yong said with a wry smile.

"Can we really skimp on this kind of money?!" Su Lu couldn't help but raise his voice, "Without Consort Wu, there would be no late Emperor! This kindness has been reduced to ashes? What will the world think of the Emperor?"

As he spoke, he recalled Liu Jin's recent actions and was speechless. "Has he been bewitched? He's already in a terrible mess, yet he's still rushing to hand over incriminating evidence to others!"

"Right?" Seeing his strong reaction, Zhang Yong knew what was going on, so he asked the expert, "How should Lady Wu's funeral be conducted in accordance with the rites of Zhou?"

“Lady Wu’s status is too special, and there are no specific regulations in the funeral rites.” Su Lu pondered, “But if we adhere to the two core principles of the Zhou Rites—one is ‘rites define roles’ and the other is ‘filial piety is human ethics’—we will not go wrong.”

"To be more specific, Uncle Shi didn't have much education," Zhang Yong said with an embarrassed smile.

"Let's start with the 'established order.' Empress Wu's title has been abolished and has not been reinstated. According to the 'Rites of Zhou,' 'different ranks require different rituals,' so the funeral rites and mausoleum regulations for an empress cannot be applied. Crossing this line would be improper." Su Lu then said in a deep voice:
"Let's discuss 'filial piety' again. The Zhou Li (Rites of Zhou) places the utmost importance on remembering ancestors and honoring the deceased, with filial piety being the foremost of all virtues. If even the kindness of the late emperor and the filial piety of the current emperor are disregarded, what are we talking about regarding rites and laws?"

"Therefore, the most appropriate method is to follow the example of Empress Gongrang Zhang and bury her in the Jinshan Consort Cemetery with the rites of an imperial concubine, and to offer sacrifices according to the rites of a noble concubine of the previous dynasty. This would both fulfill the rites and demonstrate the emperor's filial piety."

“Empress Zhang, she was also an empress…” Zhang Yong naturally knew that Su Lu was referring to Hu Shanxiang, the first empress of Emperor Xuanzong.

"When she died, she was still a deposed empress, and her posthumous title was 'Jingci Xianshi'." Su Lu said, "'Gongrang Zhang Empress' was an honorary title bestowed by Emperor Yingzong in the seventh year of Tianshun... As for whether or not to also give Consort Wu an honorary title, it depends on the emperor's wishes. Moreover, there is no rush. It is not too late to discuss it in two years if there is a commemoration."

"Oh my, my dear nephew, you are truly a master of etiquette!" Zhang Yong praised sincerely. Su Lu not only explained the principles to him clearly, but also explained the specific procedures for carrying out the rituals in a very clear manner, which he understood immediately.

He exclaimed happily, "Now I know what to do!"

Su Lu whispered, "Uncle, please restrain yourself. Liu Jin is already in a difficult situation, and things will only get harder from here on out. There's really no need for you to add fuel to the fire. In the end, if he really falls, it might not be a good thing for you either."

“I understand what you mean, my dear nephew.” Zhang Yong nodded and said in a deep voice, “I’m doing this for his own good. No matter how I deal with him, it’s an internal matter for us eunuchs, which is better than letting outside officials use it as an excuse to make trouble.”

"That's true." Su Lu could only nod helplessly upon hearing this.

"Okay, I'm leaving now. You go ahead with your work." Zhang Yong went back to complain, completely satisfied.

Watching Zhang Gonggong's retreating figure, Su Lu sighed. His words of advice to Zhang Yong were not just empty words... He had already realized that Liu Jin's actions since the beginning of this year had been inappropriate and absurd, as if he had been cursed.

Of course, what evil spirits are there in the world? It was just Liu Jin causing trouble... He had been a scoundrel all his life, but suddenly he wanted to turn over a new leaf and become a good person.

He's over sixty years old, rotten to the core, and surrounded by a bunch of bad guys. How could he possibly be a good person? He's just trying to imitate others blindly, pretending to be a good person. It's bound to be half-baked, incongruous at every turn, and the things he does will be absurd and nonsensical.

Alas, why abandon the promising path of eunuch power and insist on changing course? How can they not make things worse?
So, people should stick to one thing from beginning to end; the worst thing is to change careers when you're old...

Su Lu keenly sensed that things were going to get worse if Eunuch Liu continued like this, and naturally he couldn't just watch him walk down a dead end, otherwise he and the Imperial Household Department would lose their shield.

Back in the signing room, Su Lu called Zhu Zihe over and instructed him, "From now on, all intelligence related to Eunuch Liu, whether direct or indirect, must be summarized and submitted to me immediately."

"Yes," Zhu Zihe replied, then couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Brother, is this... a preparation to take action against him?"

"It's just better to be safe than sorry," Su Lu replied vaguely, without saying anything more.

He only spoke his true feelings about Liu Jin to the Emperor, and even his close friend Zhu Zihe never revealed a word about them.

If people find out that Scholar Su actually hoped Eunuch Liu wouldn't fall from power, his reputation would be ruined and he would never be able to recover.

~~
As expected, when Zhang Yong reported Wu Niangniang's affair, Zhu Houzhao was immediately enraged and summoned Liu Jin, giving him a severe scolding.

"Are you out of your mind or have you lost your mind? You actually want to burn Grandma Wu alive? Why don't you just burn your father too?!" Liu Jin shrank back like a quail after being scolded, and replied cautiously, "Your Majesty, please calm down. My father is still alive... I was just thinking of saving Your Majesty some money."

"No need! I'm not short of money!" Zhu Houzhao said confidently. "My spending money is a good thing for the country and the people! If I don't spend the money, where will the common people get their money?"

"Ah, this..." Liu Jin's mind went blank for a long time, and he really couldn't understand what kind of logic this was.

"This is Guan Zhong's art of weighing the importance of things; you wouldn't understand even if I explained it to you!" Zhu Houzhao waved his hand impatiently, speaking with an air of wealth and power: "In short, don't get involved in this matter. Second companion, go and tell the Ministry of Rites to proceed as you previously said: bury Grandma Wu with the rites due to a Noble Consort. The coffin, funeral arrangements, and sacrificial offerings should all be lavishly provided. Don't worry about the cost. All the money will come from my imperial treasury; not a single penny from the outer court will be required!"

"Your Majesty, I obey your decree! Please accept my condolences." Zhang Yong bowed and accepted the decree.

"Go do what you need to do. I'm going to fire the cannons. I'm too lazy to waste words with you." In fact, Zhu Houzhao was not grieving. He had no connection with that old lady Wu. He only wanted to give her a grand funeral because of the late emperor's kindness and to protect his own reputation.

Of course, when he said "firing cannons," he wasn't referring to the vulgarities of the pleasure quarters, but rather to firing the proper, mighty general's cannon!

Zhu Houzhao is so fascinated by the power of guns and cannons that he has been practicing shooting and firing them every day in the Leopard Chamber!

After serving the emperor and changing into military uniform to go to the drill ground, the two chief eunuchs also left Tengxi Palace. Liu Jin grabbed Zhang Yong's collar, his face darkening instantly, and said, "Didn't we agree to a truce? You've tricked me again? You're asking for a beating, aren't you?"

"You're biting the hand that feeds you! I'm cleaning up your mess, you know?!" Zhang Yong was much stronger than Liu Jin. He raised his arm and slapped Liu Jin's hand away, retorting without any politeness, "Did you see the Emperor's attitude? If I really wanted to get back at you, I'd wait until you burned the body before filing a complaint, and then see how you'd make amends!"

"..." Liu Jin's expression changed several times, and after a long while, he snorted, "So I should thank you, huh?"

"Of course," Zhang Yong nodded proudly.

"Hmph, you don't know the cost of living until you're in charge!" Liu Jin said with a pained expression, "A concubine's funeral simply can't be held without 100,000 taels of silver!"

"Didn't you hear what the Emperor said? Money is only money when it's spent." Zhang Yong said slowly, "If people like you hide mountains of gold and silver at home, the common people will suffer."

"What kind of nonsense is this..." Liu Jin didn't believe a word of it and snorted, "Is it Su Zhuangyuan who has been in charge of the Emperor's affairs again?"

“Yes, the economics of Scholar Su!” Zhang Yong patted Liu Jin on the shoulder and sighed smugly, “Alas, you’re outdated, old Liu.”

"Get the hell out of here." This time it was Liu Jin's turn to slap his hand away and snorted, "Come on! I often hear the Grand Scholar talk about the principles of governing the country and managing finances, but they're all the same old stuff that's been around for ages. Forget about it."

"You wouldn't understand even if I told you." Zhang Yong felt a surge of superiority. He had been following the emperor around all day and had learned a little bit of the basics.

"You son of a bitch!" Liu Jin felt insulted and went off cursing.

~~
On his way back to the Directorate of Ceremonial, Liu Jin became increasingly furious.

He was clearly trying to help the emperor cut expenses, but in the end he was scolded mercilessly. It was like swallowing a fly, but he couldn't retaliate, so he stomped on the sedan chair in frustration.

The eunuchs carrying the sedan chair were terrified, wondering if their ancestor had gone mad.
As the saying goes, good fortune never comes in pairs, but misfortunes never come singly. When things are going badly, all sorts of unpleasant things seem to come at once, leaving no room to breathe...

As soon as Liu returned to his duty room at the Directorate of Ceremonial, he saw Jiao Fang pacing back and forth with a dark expression.

"Your Majesty, you're finally back!" Upon seeing Liu Jin, Jiao Fang couldn't wait to complain, "This is outrageous! The Cabinet has returned the 'Regulations for the Administration of Civil Service'!"

"What?!" Liu Jin was immediately shocked.

Previously, in order to set an example and practice frugality, he had even given up his habit of smashing teacups. Now, with a surge of anger rising to his head, he could no longer restrain himself and picked up the teacup and smashed it heavily on the ground!

*Crack!* Tea splashed everywhere, shattering the celadon porcelain on the floor. Liu Jin glared at Jiao Fang with her triangular eyes and demanded, "What exactly happened?!"

“Wang Ao is on duty in the cabinet today,” Jiao Fang replied hastily. “He took my draft of ‘Examples of Conduct’ and refuted it point by point, arguing sophistry and circling out dozens of so-called violations of ancestral rules, obstacles to imperial power, and encroachments on the authority of the Six Ministries. He returned the draft to me and asked me to re-edit and review it.”

"You're the Second Grand Secretary, and you just let him humiliate you?!" Liu Jin pointed at him and cursed, "Then you slink back to complain, making us lose all face!"

(End of this chapter)