Chapter 58

The snowflakes fell all night, gradually subsiding by dawn. The sky was clear, and the accumulated snow gave the earth a fresh new look, transforming the capital city into a silver-clad wonderland.

Shen Yao loved snow, so she got up early in the morning to build a snowman in the courtyard. After a while, Miao Niang joined in, and a tall and fat snowman was born.

Shen Yao rested her chin on her hand, increasingly satisfied with what she saw, and asked Miao Niang, "Are there any carrots in the kitchen?"

She wanted to use a carrot to make the snowman's nose.

Miao Niang laughed and said, "How would I know? Go and check in the kitchen."

Shen Yao went to the kitchen to ask around, but couldn't find out.

Miao Niang suggested that they buy some things and bring them back while they were at the Dashilan Bookstore, which Shen Yao thought was a good idea. There were still patients in Dashilan, and she was going to visit them anyway.

On the second floor of the study, when Shen Yao pushed open the door, she was immediately greeted by a blast of cold air. The room was deserted, without a trace of warmth, because the windows were wide open and the charcoal fire had long since gone out.

Shen Yao was greatly surprised. She had clearly sealed the windows tightly when she left last night. She quickly looked at Xu Xuan, who was lying on the bed, fast asleep.

I touched his head; it was still burning hot.

Shen Yao groaned incessantly, closing the windows while simultaneously starting a fire to boil water. Once the charcoal was burning and the room was slightly warm, she went to call Xu Xuan. His face was flushed, and his lips were pale; at this rate, he would probably burn himself silly.

Without thinking twice, she quickly took off his clothes, poured some hot water into the basin, and wiped his body to cool him down. In just a few days, he had become much thinner, and Shen Yao could feel the hardness of his bones as she held the towel.

Xu Xuan slowly opened her eyes, realizing she was completely naked. She frowned and resisted fiercely, "What...what are you doing?"

The sound was so soft it was almost inaudible.

"You have a fever, so if you don't want to see the King of Hell, you'd better just bear it." To dispel his suspicions, Shen Yao added, "Don't worry, I don't lust after your body."

Shen Yao vigorously rubbed his body, then his back and chest, muttering softly, "The lines are quite smooth!"

"You, you...you."

Xu Xuan was extremely embarrassed and stammered for a long time, unable to utter a complete sentence.

Her body was completely naked as she was tormented by her. Xu Xuan's face turned bright red, and she tried to resist but found herself powerless.

Seeing this, Shen Yao hit even harder.

After wiping his upper body, she changed his dressing. Tearing off the blood-soaked white cloth, she found rotten flesh mixed together, with scabs and ointment stuck together, emitting a strong bloody smell. For a moment, Shen Yao almost vomited. She even wanted to take a dagger and cut off the rotten flesh.

While others might have some suggestive thoughts when looking at buttocks, she only felt nauseous.

Sigh, what a huge loss.

Clean the wound patiently and apply medication.

Completed in one go.

Shen Yao wiped away her sweat, threw down the blood-stained cloth, and by then the medicine was ready. She poured a bowl and handed it to Xu Xuan, "Can you drink it yourself?"

"Yes, that's fine."

He struggled to sit up with trembling arms. Shen Yao handed him the bowl and instructed, "Drink your medicine first. I also brought some steamed buns."

Hand it to him together.

Shen Yao started adding charcoal with fire tongs when, just then, the door banged loudly.

Is anyone home?

The two looked towards the door together, and Shen Yao responded with "Coming!" and ran to open the door.

A young man's face came into view, and Shen Yao asked, "Who are you looking for?"

The man bowed first, then smiled and asked, "May I ask if you are Madam Shen?"

"I am."

"I was sent by Madam Guo to deliver a message to you."

Zhao Lian's wife?

Shen Yao's eyes sparkled as she took the letter and smiled, "I understand. Please thank your wife for me."

Upon opening the letter, I found an address that wasn't far from here.

Shen Yao was immediately itching to get her way.

Xu Xuan's voice came through, "Who delivered it?"

Shen Yao put the letter in her pocket before answering Xu Xuan, "It's Zhao Lian's wife. I need to go out for a bit."

Xu Xuan looked at her and remained silent.

Shen Yao asked again, "Where did your servant go?"

If it weren't for his servant yesterday, Duan Kaizhi's letter wouldn't have reached Xu Xuan's hands, causing her great anxiety.

"I told him to go back to the Xu family to get his clothes, but perhaps the snowstorm was too heavy and he couldn't make it back in time."

"Oh, he'll definitely come later, so I won't stay here."

Before Xu Xuan could react, Shen Yao had already disappeared like a gust of wind in front of the door.

"..."

The room quieted down. Xu Xuan wrapped herself tightly in the blanket, her naked body feeling slightly itchy, and a strange sensation arose within her.

He turned his head to look out the window; snow covered the tree branches, and strings of icicles hung from them, creating a scene of jade trees and silver flowers.

*

Following the address, Shen Yao quickly found Zhao Lian's residence. At that moment, there were many carriages and horses parked outside the gate, and many servants were going in and out, indicating that there were quite a few people inside the house.

Shen Yao stood at the door for a long time, observing, before finally stepping inside.

The gatekeeper stopped her: "Who are you looking for?"

Shen Yao's voice was loud and clear, "I want to see Zhao Lian. Take me in quickly, or the young master will beat you if you're late."

Shen Yao was fierce, but just then someone called for his help, so the servant let her in and pointed in the direction, saying, "Keep walking along the right side, and you'll find the young master."

Shen Yao did as instructed.

From afar, she could hear the commotion inside the hall, and there were many servants guarding outside. Just as Shen Yao approached, the main door suddenly creaked open.

"Brother?" Shen Yao's eyes widened in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Shen Fan was also startled, and stood there for a long time before approaching. "A Yao, what are you doing here?"

"I asked you first."

Shen Fan touched his nose, pulled Shen Yao aside, and lowered his voice, saying, "I'm telling you, but you have to keep it a secret."

Shen Yao nodded and listened intently.

"The Crown Prince sent men here yesterday to capture the tiger. Zhao Lian and the others are very angry and say they will go to the Military Command to demand justice."

Shen Yao was surprised, "What justice is there to seek? Keeping tigers privately is illegal. The Crown Prince did the right thing."

As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Fan flicked her head, "What are you saying? Remember, your surname is Shen. No matter what the Crown Prince does, we will oppose him."

"So you're here to cause trouble?"

Shen Yao scrutinized him.

Shen Fan smiled and said, "Of course. Zhao Lian wanted Duan Kaizhi's help, but he was unwilling, so he came to me."

"So what are you going to do?"

Shen Yao's heart raced. Shen Fan must have her father's permission to come here and cause trouble. She knew that the Shen family would inevitably get involved in this kind of thing.

"If you're going to do something, do it right away and just rob it."

Is it that direct?

Shen Yao opened her mouth wide, "But the Crown Prince is there, what are you going to do?"

"That's not something you should be thinking about."

"But brother..."

"Alright, alright," Chen Fan interrupted her, demanding, "What are you doing here?"

"I...I'm here to find someone."

"Liu Ru is in the backyard."

"...!"

Shen Yao's expression changed drastically; he actually knew!

"This isn't a secret; Xu Xuan will find out sooner or later."

Shen Fan crossed her arms, her eyes smiling, "Little sister, you've finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel."

"Bullshit! Clouds clearing!" Shen Yao stormed angrily toward the backyard.

*

Inside the military headquarters, a large iron cage stood in the courtyard, and a tiger was fast asleep inside.

Commander Xiao Yang, his face grim, asked, "What should we do with the tiger? It's not good to keep it here."

Hearing the complaint in his tone, Wei Luo glanced back at him and said leisurely, "I will petition His Majesty to send the tiger to the West Garden."

"Well... it's alright."

Xiao Yang sighed softly and asked again, "What about the room full of forbidden books?"

"Naturally, we'll find a time to burn it."

Wei Luo blurted it out.

Xiao Yang's expression changed slightly.

As he pondered, Guo Zheng, the Vice Minister of Rites, stepped in, greeted him, and said, "Your Highness, let's hurry to the Cabinet."

Recently, news of the seizure of 9,000 banned books by the Military Affairs Office spread throughout the Six Ministries, and many officials demanded that they be burned in order to uphold the law.

Two days later, however, some people started to think outside the box and suggested that instead of burning the banned books, they should be kept in government offices to wipe their bottoms. This suggestion surprisingly gained the support of many officials, especially the Grand Secretary's faction.

Guo Zheng was so angry that he couldn't sleep. The other party was blatantly coming at them, completely shameless.

What is partisan strife?

Oppose everything the other party agrees with; agree with everything the other party opposes.

Attacking people instead of addressing the issue is partisan strife.

*

Inside the cabinet, Grand Secretary Liu Zhengxin and Wei Yizheng were discussing the draft resolution.

To the side, the Second Assistant Minister Liu Shen was reading documents alone.

When Wei Luo and Guo Zheng entered, all three of them stood up and bowed.

No need for formalities.

Wei Luo glanced at Liu Zhengxin, walked straight to the main seat and sat down, casually picked up a document and flipped through the contents of the draft.

Liu Zhengxin stepped forward and asked, "Your Highness, you've had a long journey. What brings you here today?"

Wei Luo lifted his eyelids, closed the notebook in his hand, and smiled slightly, "I heard that the cabinet is going to discuss the matter of banned books today, so I came to listen."

After Wei Luo finished speaking, Guo Zheng stepped forward and asked, "Grand Secretary Liu, I heard that you intend to use banned books as toilet paper. Is that true?"

"That is indeed true."

Liu Zhengxin looked directly at Guo Zheng and spoke eloquently, “At the end of the year, the weather is cold, the canal is frozen, and there is a shortage of paper in the capital. Now that we have seized this batch of books, instead of burning them, we might as well keep them at the government office to wipe our behinds.”

"Absurd." Guo Zheng's expression changed immediately, his hands trembling slightly with anger. "In the two hundred years of our dynasty, we have never heard of banned books being used as toilet paper."

"Then let's set a precedent."

Liu Zhengxin roared, his spittle almost hitting Guo Zheng's face, "According to custom, banned books are to be burned in public, but even after they are burned, they are still repeatedly printed by the people. So this time, the court wants to find another way."

"So it's going to be used as toilet paper?" Guo Zheng found it hard to accept.

"Purifying customs requires a certain attitude, especially when it comes to obscene books. The court intends to use humiliating sexual behavior to degrade such books, so that those who buy them can see that the value of such things is no longer in the inner chambers, but in the latrine."

"How vulgar! Books are refined objects; how can they be used to wipe one's bottom?"

Liu Zhengxin sneered and retorted, "Good books are elegant, while obscene books are vulgar. Since they are obscene books, it is most appropriate to deal with them for their filthy purposes."

After he finished speaking, he rolled his eyes, looked at Wei Luo, and respectfully asked, "What does Your Highness think?"

Wei Luo raised his eyes, smiled and nodded, "I think what the Prime Minister said makes some sense."

"Your Highness?" Guo Zheng was shocked and interrupted him, "You must carefully consider this absurd move."

Liu Zhengxin turned to look at Guo Zheng, about to refute him, but Wei Luo quickly stood up to stop him, "Burning is indeed too wasteful, but using it directly as toilet paper is a bit strange. My idea is to crush it and remake it into paper, and this batch of paper will be distributed to the officials in the capital at the end of the year along with their salaries."

What do you think?

Wei Luo raised his eyes and glanced at the group, his gaze settling on Liu Shen, the second assistant minister who had been silent all along.

So everyone looked at him.

All eyes turned to him, and Liu Shen rose to his feet. “Your Highness agrees,” he said. “This action not only demonstrates the court’s stance but also avoids waste and prevents criticism from scholars. What do you all think?”

Liu Zhengxin glanced at him sideways, grunting silently through his nose.

Guo Zheng immediately chimed in, "That's a good idea."

He strolled up to the Grand Secretary, raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Now the Grand Secretary can draft the proposal."

While the group was drafting their proposals, Wei Luo was also writing a memorial to the emperor, requesting that the tiger be kept in the West Garden and that the person who kept the tiger be punished.

Just as he wrote Zhao Lian's name, he suddenly remembered that Zhao Lian was Guo Zheng's son-in-law. He couldn't very well disrespect his teacher, but what Zhao Lian and his group had done was really too much.

Wei Luo was at a loss.

After much hesitation, I decided to tell Guo Zheng about it and let him decide...