Chapter 34, Thirty-Four Prejudice, When He Fell From the Building

The eunuch knelt and replied, "Your Majesty, the Vice Chancellor has already left the palace."

Xu Heng glanced at the dripping water clock; it was past midnight. He hadn't expected Zheng Yangzhi to walk so slowly. He must be seriously injured, or perhaps he had encountered birds on the road, adding to his fright.

A faint smile appeared on Xu Heng's lips. Just as he was about to dismiss the eunuch, the eunuch reported again: "On the way, the Vice Prime Minister fainted in front of the Immortal Master Miaojing's gate and was then carried inside."

Xu Heng's smile froze for a moment, then he slowly glanced at the water clock. Qingfu, hearing this, lowered his head and also stole a glance, until the very last minute.

"Why not report it?" Xu Heng suddenly asked.

The eunuch looked up at the emperor, whose face was calm and whose emotions were unreadable, and wondered a little: "Is it Your Majesty who said to wait until Prime Minister Zheng leaves the palace before reporting back?"

The emperor had found the constant reports annoying, and his intimidating tone had silenced them completely.

What exactly is wrong? The eunuch gave Eunuch Qingfu a look for help while his heart pounded as he replied, "Your Majesty, we came to report as soon as the Vice Chancellor left the palace."

Qingfu bowed his head: What a brilliant move!

After a long silence, the emperor slowly parted his lips and said, "Step back."

Huang took his leave.

After a long while, the emperor calmly ordered, "Qingfu, summon the imperial physician."

Qingfu immediately turned and bowed to the emperor, then jogged out the door. A moment later, he heard a loud crash from inside. Qingfu feared that the emperor had bumped into something, so he immediately turned back to serve him. Suddenly, he heard a second crash. Qingfu's worry turned into fear, and his knees buckled as he knelt down. The eunuchs guarding outside the door also knelt down one after another.

*

Zheng Yangzhi's attendant waited at the palace gate.

Having inquired with the ministers who had come out earlier, the attendant learned that his master had been kept behind by the emperor alone. He wasn't surprised—this was common practice; after late meetings, His Majesty would grant the young master permission to leave the palace at night. Sitting on the carriage, the attendant gazed at the palace gate. Seeing the shadow inside the gate growing larger, he jumped down and hurried towards the gate: "Young Master!"

The servant noticed that Zheng Yangzhi was wearing a dragon-patterned cloak, which was a frequent gift from the emperor, so he wasn't surprised. What worried the servant was that his master had wrapped the cloak tighter than a blanket, with the neck and hem of the robe completely sealed together. Was he not able to withstand the cold night wind?

The servant hurriedly went back to the carriage to get a hand warmer and a mink hat. When he returned, Zheng Yangzhi was halfway there when he refused, saying, "No need."

He barely parted his lips, his hands clutching the thin straps tightly within his cloak, afraid to move lest he expose his skin. When he stepped onto the carriage, he not only had to tighten his belt around his waist but also his calves to prevent any giveaway. Therefore, Zheng Yang's posture as he boarded was somewhat strange, causing his attendant to frown. After entering the carriage, Zheng Yang coughed twice uncontrollably, prompting the attendant to ask with concern, "Young Master, have you caught a chill?"

"It's alright," Zheng Yangzhi said as he sat down. Wang Yuying had settled him in the open courtyard in late autumn. He wasn't covered with a sheet, so he was inevitably a little cold, but there were gains and losses. The important thing was that he could finally express his feelings and get what he wanted.

The carriage swayed and rattled into Chongwen Lane; the quiet made the sound of the wheels particularly loud. Although the red lanterns at the entrance of the Zheng residence were lit, the two stone lions were obscured by the darkness, leaving only silent outlines.

The carriage continued its journey and stopped before the side gate. A single lamp flickered in the gatehouse. The servant knocked lightly, and soon an old servant came out to open the door. Zheng Yangzhi, as usual, was about to walk through the hall back to the east wing, but seeing the brightly lit hall in the distance, he hesitated.

When he first entered officialdom, less than seven days later, he returned home late one night after discussing politics with the late emperor and his ministers. When he came back, his father and mother were both awake and waiting in the hall.

Later, whenever he came home late, his parents would wait for him. It wasn't until a whole year later that his family, especially Zheng Yangzhi's mother, Shangguan, got used to it and stopped staying up late to wait for her son.

At this hour, Zheng Yangzhi would usually go back to the east wing for a late-night snack and a short rest before going to court at dawn. The hall below was completely dark, a sight not seen in a long time.

He guessed it was his parents, especially his mother, who knew that the emperor had spared him out of the thirteen ministers who had remonstrated with him. He couldn't help but pull his cloak tighter, quicken his pace, and climb the steps in a few strides. He was also glad that the Zheng family's secret agents in the palace had obeyed him instead of his father, and that they could conceal the truth about his meeting with Wang Yuying.

Someone had already informed Madam Shangguan, who came out from the hall to greet Zheng Yangzhi at the door. Madam Shangguan's face was sagging, making her look somewhat old, but one could still see from her fair skin and bone structure that she had been a stunning beauty in her youth. She carefully examined her son, as if she couldn't get enough of looking at him, murmuring, "You're back?"

Zheng Yangzhi bowed and said, "I returned late from the meeting, and I am sorry to have troubled you, Mother. I am an unfilial son. I should be serving my parents, but instead I have made my father and mother stay up all night to take care of me. I am truly guilty."

"Don't talk about yourself like that," Madam Shangguan immediately stopped him, unable to bear the sight of her son belittling himself, and then asked with concern, "Are you very cold? Was this cloak a gift from His Majesty?"

Zheng Yangzhi nodded: "Mother, there is no need to worry. I didn't say much today, and His Majesty not only didn't blame me, but also rewarded me with a cloak because it was late and the dew was heavy."

Madam Shangguan still felt something was amiss and uneasy, and hesitated to speak.

"Alright, now that you've seen her, hurry back to your room and get some sleep!" Old Master Zheng spoke from the head of the table. After speaking, he stood up, walked to Madam Shangguan's side, waved his hand to urge her on, and yawned, "I'm so sleepy."

Upon hearing this, Madam Shangguan glared at the old man and said, "All you do is sleep! You never care about your son!"

Zheng Guolao insisted on finishing his yawn before laughing with his wife, "Isn't it because I have such a virtuous wife like you?"

He put his hand on Madam Shangguan's shoulder and helped her back to her room.

Zheng Yangzhi stepped aside to make way, bowing his head respectfully: "Father and Mother, please rest early."

After Zheng Guolao accompanied his wife back, Zheng Yangzhi walked towards the east wing. His attendant closed the door behind him, and Zheng Yangzhi slowly removed his cloak. The attendant, seeing his master's condition, was both shocked and horrified, filled with anxiety: "Young Master, what happened to you? How did you get like this!"

Zheng Yangzhi said calmly, "Don't make a fuss. We'll ask the family physician to come privately later."

Wang Yuying was naive and didn't notice that his wound had been soaked in medicine, so applying purslane would be useless.

He looked at the bandages wrapped around his body: "All the medicine on these needs to be washed off and cleaned again."

The servant frowned upon hearing this: "That must hurt so much."

Zheng Yangzhi pursed her lips, her eyes still fixed on the gauze—these were all cut from her gauze dress, and she would keep them carefully after taking them off.

He curled his lips into a smile and said with delight, "What is lost on one front is gained on another."

"Young master, someone is coming," the servant reminded him.

Zheng Yangzhi had no internal energy and was completely unaware of the breathing sounds coming from the other side of the wall. He hurriedly wrapped his cloak around himself again. Just now, Zheng Guolao, who had been drooping his eyelids and nagging about wanting to go to bed early, burst into the room, lifted the cloak, and looked down. His heart ached as if it were being torn apart.

He had anticipated that his son would be punished, but he never expected the emperor to be so ruthless.

He had just pretended to be confused in front of his wife because, as a husband, he should take responsibility, protect her from the wind and rain, and not let her worry or be anxious.

As a father, he must love and protect his children and do everything in his power.

“Father, there’s no need—cough cough!” Zheng Yangzhi hurriedly tried to explain, but couldn’t stop coughing, and his vision blurred. He swayed unsteadily, but still said urgently, “This isn’t…”

Before he could finish speaking, he leaned back and fell. Zheng Guolao leaned over and reached out to catch Zheng Yangzhi around the waist. In that instant, Zheng Guolao looked at Zheng Yangzhi in his arms and suddenly couldn't help but recall the scene of the first time he held his son. At that time, Yangzhi was still an infant. Now, he was old and gray, while his son was still unconscious like an infant because of the emperor's questioning.

In an instant, Zheng Guolao was filled with resentment, so much so that he could hardly breathe.

He suppressed his anger and instructed his attendant: "Go and ask for leave for the eldest young master. Tell him that he caught a cold while returning home late at night and will be unable to attend court for the next few days."

They then asked the physicians to look after him and administer acupuncture. Only after learning that their son was out of immediate danger did they move him to a side hall.

Although Zheng Guolao had gradually relinquished control since the token of the eldest son was passed to Zheng Yangzhi, he was wide awake tonight and made an exception by summoning his "guests" to his home.

Zheng Yangzhi is currently unconscious, so he can only inquire from the sidelines, gather information, and review the events surrounding the thirteen people's remonstrance.

One scholar analyzed: "Liu Sheyu, Ma Yingxing, and Hua Zhichun are definitely the three, but Ren Changjian is not necessarily the one."

Zheng Guolao remained silent, never expecting that Liu Sheyu, Ma Yingxing, and Hua Zhichun would serve the emperor with such loyalty.

“Besides these three, there are probably others…” another guest murmured.

“Of course there are!” a guest beside him agreed.

Only then did Zheng Guolao slowly open his lips and sigh, "Your Majesty has been biding your time for a long time. How could you possibly use up all your trusted ministers at once? I'm afraid the court is already scattered like stars."

He remembered how heartbroken the Empress Dowager and the late Emperor were when the Crown Prince died. But the late Emperor had no other children, which allowed the current Emperor to have such a lucky break.

At first, Zheng Guolao was very anxious, after all, he had no blood relation with the current emperor, and was not as close as the Crown Prince. But he gradually discovered that the new emperor was indecisive and foolish without realizing it—this was probably because he had never learned, and had been forbidden from learning, the art of rulership since childhood.

Anyway, as long as the new emperor is placed in the position of a wise ruler, he can be controlled. I remember once when the new emperor hesitated and issued an edict of self-reproach, the old man of Zheng was amused.

What seems like a misfortune may actually be a blessing in disguise. The Empress Dowager is just his cousin, and she is separated from Crown Prince Huai by the Jiang family. Furthermore, if Crown Prince Huai, a man of such ruthless temperament, were to ascend the throne, he would inevitably become wary of the Zheng family's great achievements over time. In that case, he would be like a rabbit being killed after the hunt, and would be far less easy to deal with than the new emperor.

Sometimes he couldn't help but feel fortunate that a new emperor had ascended the throne.

Who would have thought, who would have thought...

"Report—" A courtier who had just left rushed back, leaning on his knees and panting as he reported, "Elder, Prime Minister Li submitted a memorial to His Majesty last night requesting to retire, saying that he is old and frail and no longer able to serve His Majesty and the court. The memorial was submitted to the palace half an hour ago, and I'm afraid His Majesty has already approved it."

These words were like a stone thrown into water, creating ripples. The guests began to murmur among themselves: "Why does that old man run away as soon as he encounters trouble?"

"That's right, everyone takes a cut, and in the end, they're all the ones who run away the fastest."

"Old age and declining vitality? Hmph, didn't Jiang Ziya and Baili Xi only emerge from seclusion at seventy?"

...

"Alright," Zheng Guolao interrupted.

Once the hall was completely silent, he sighed softly, "Don't mention Old Li anymore; his son's condition is enough to worry him."

At this moment, Zheng Guolao slowly realized that the emperor had been focusing on agriculture for the past two years. One of the things he did was to allow displaced people to reclaim wasteland, but in reality, he was slowly encroaching on the farmland of these aristocratic families.

Zheng Guolao immediately reflected on his actions, realizing that his arrogance and contempt for the emperor had caused him to overlook many things.

“We were too careless,” he sighed, stroking his beard. “We hunt eagles all day long, but the eagle pecked our eye.”

The emperor has only revealed three generals so far, and it's unclear which of the court officials are his true confidants, nor can it predict the emperor's next move. Now, the emperor is in the shadows while they are in the open, putting them at a disadvantage.

"Elder Zheng." A physician from the Imperial Physician who was taking care of Zheng Yangzhi in the east wing entered. The cloudiness in Elder Zheng's eyes immediately cleared, and he listened attentively to the physician's whispers, much more attentively than when he had listened to the chatter of a group of scholars earlier.

The more he listened, the more his lips pursed, his brows furrowed as he suppressed his anger.

Zheng Guolao had only one woman in his life, Lady Shangguan. Zheng Yangzhi was their first child, and he looked just like Lady Shangguan when she was young.

When Lady Shangguan gave birth to Zheng Yang, it was extremely smooth; it seemed as if the baby slipped out without much pain. However, when she gave birth to her second son, the baby was breech, causing Lady Shangguan to suffer for four or five hours, and she also suffered severe bleeding afterward.

Old Master Zheng was terrified. From then on, he drank contraceptive medicine and ate sheep intestines, never daring to let his wife get pregnant again. He felt most guilty about this matter in his life, believing that he was unlucky for his wife, his second son was unlucky for his mother, and only Zheng Yangzhi was lucky for his mother.

In Zheng Guolao's heart, Zheng Yangzhi held a higher position than himself. The father and son rarely argued, except for one argument when urging Zheng Yangzhi to get married. Later, unable to persuade him, he let his son have his way.

For Zheng Guolao, some things are minor and can be swallowed for the time being, but some things are intolerable. For example, the emperor not only wounded Zheng Yangzhi with a sword, but also ordered people to strip Yangzhi of his clothes and humiliate him by binding him like livestock after the crime!

That's not treatment at all! First they apply poison, then they apply herbal medicine. This is deliberately worsening the condition and trying to kill Yang!

They wouldn't even let me wear clothes, I had to come back in just a cloak, what a humiliation!

According to the imperial physician, Zheng Yangzhi was also suffering from wind-cold invasion, which had damaged his muscles and bones. It must have been the emperor who ordered Zheng Yangzhi to be thrown to the ground; the night dew, like ghostly saliva, seeped into his muscles and bones through his acupoints. All of this only added fuel to the fire, making matters worse!

That's why Yang Zhi couldn't bear it and collapsed in front of his old father.

The imperial physician even said that if the eldest son had returned an hour earlier, his condition would have improved considerably. But the emperor deliberately delayed and procrastinated! In the hours following his injury, the eldest son had already expended a great deal of energy on talking and walking!

Poor kid, even in his last words he was thinking of his family and making sacrifices, saying that what is lost on one front is gained on another!

It's all Xu Heng's fault, he's so cruel and vicious!

Even he, as the father, knew that Yang Zhi had regarded the emperor as a close friend, a childhood friend, and a subject-emperor relationship. Yet the emperor had to humiliate Yang Zhi like this. Was he even human?

Zheng Guolao was so angry that his beard bristled. He believed that every wrong had its perpetrator and every debt had its debtor, and that every single one of these incidents and every single debt had to be settled with the emperor!

He will definitely avenge his son and seek justice!

Another servant stood at the door, but Zheng Guolao remained calm and waited until all the guests had left before raising his hand.

The servant understood and leaned closer to whisper in his ear, "Elder, Seventh Lady is here again."

Qi Niang was an old maidservant of the Empress Dowager, who was responsible for relaying messages between the Empress Dowager and Zheng Guolao. In recent years, the Empress Dowager had been frequently visiting Tonghua Temple in the east of the city to worship Buddha. Some time ago, after the Emperor deposed the Consort, the Empress Dowager returned to the palace, but the Emperor not only did not personally welcome her, but also made up an excuse to avoid her. The Empress Dowager claimed to be ill, but the Emperor did not visit her at Tonghua Temple.

Then I heard that the deposed empress had returned to the palace.

That very day, the Empress Dowager sent Seventh Lady to the Zheng residence to discuss their grand plan. Old Master Zheng feigned compliance, and after a few exchanges, he managed to extract the Empress Dowager's scheme—he believed the woman was short-sighted and rather unwise!

Zheng Guolao neither rejected, opposed, nor supported it.

Seventh Sister came again, begging the Zheng family to help Grand Commandant Feng and Prime Minister Li with their remonstrances the next day. Old Master Zheng, thinking of the kinship still existing and considering that they had been repeatedly invited, decided to give them face this time. So he mentioned to Zheng Yangzhi that if it was convenient, he could go to the palace with Grand Commandant Feng another day, but this time he shouldn't be like last time, foolishly risking himself to help the Empress Dowager and Consort Jiang.

Never again bump into the dragon pillar!

Zheng Yangzhi readily agreed.

Who would have thought? Who would have thought!

Thinking of this, Duke Zheng harbored considerable resentment towards the Empress Dowager, but compared to the Emperor, the Empress Dowager was closer to him than the Emperor. He ordered someone to invite Seventh Sister in. Seventh Sister indeed conveyed the Empress Dowager's decree, bringing up the old matter again. This time, Duke Zheng clearly stated his position: "Rest assured, the Zheng family and the Jiang family are of one blood, sharing both prosperity and adversity. We will certainly stand behind the Empress Dowager and provide our full support."

At dawn, before daybreak, a peddler pushed a rice cart into Tonghua Temple.

At dawn, pilgrims came and went in a steady stream to Tonghua Temple. A woman who had finished offering incense carried a bamboo basket and hurriedly walked into the back alley. When she came out again a short while later, she had transformed into a scholar with a long beard and wearing a bamboo hat and entered the Jiang family's residence.

At night, the night watchman passed by Zheng's residence, Jiang's residence, and Tonghua Temple one by one.

"At midnight, all was well and nothing happened."

"At dawn, early to bed and early to rise, take care of your health—"

As soon as dawn broke, the east began to lighten.

Sunlight is the fairest thing in the world, shining on the Emperor's Chuigong Palace and Funing Palace, as well as the Yeting Palace.

The palace maids in the inner palace had been working for more than an hour, sweeping and washing. Jiang Mei was doing the same. She wore a brown robe, without jewelry or makeup, and looked no different from the others.

She lined up with the palace servants and received her breakfast in order. The first group was given thin soup, but when the soup ran out, it was replaced with porridge and steamed buns. By the time it was Jiang Mei's turn, the soup had run out, and the eunuch serving the food slapped a flatbread in front of her: "Only flatbread left, just one flatbread!"

Jiang Mei took the flatbread and walked into the room, trying her best to suppress her trembling hands and the joy in her heart—flatbread, it's flatbread! After many days, she had finally received the signal from her aunt to make a move!

Just one flatbread means it's today!

Jiang Mei took a bite of the flatbread. It was hard and chewy. She would never touch this kind of food in the past, but this morning she found it delicious! She held the cold flatbread in her hand like a treasure and chewed it vigorously.

Meanwhile, Wang Yuying was also serving breakfast. The palace servants opened the food boxes one by one, and each hot dish had a small stove underneath to keep it warm, with steam still rising from some of the open lids.

Wang Yuying watched as dishes were laid out on the table: perch soup, braised pork, blood duck, drunken shrimp… She thought Xu Heng was really out of his mind, arranging these lavish meals for her every morning. Wang Yuying's gaze seemingly casually swept over the palace servants one by one, but in reality, she was subtly observing them, not missing a single subtle expression.

She does this every day, three meals a day, without ever slacking off.

She felt something was off about the third palace maid from the left, the one with the rice-grain pearl earring—for a moment, the maid blinked repeatedly and even touched her temple, as if she was nervous about something.

But upon closer inspection, it appeared normal again.

Wang Yuying then kept "casually" observing this palace maid, but could not find any further clues.

She suddenly thought of Jing Ye. Sigh, even a palace maid is better at pretending than him.

Wang Yuying sighed, "I have no appetite today, let's take everything away."

The palace servants looked at each other, but dared not disobey. They cleared away all the breakfast dishes, leaving the table empty again.

After the palace servants left, Wang Yuying instructed Juan Xue Shuangtian: "Lock the door from the inside."

The two maids obeyed. Wang Yuying stood up and began searching from the left side of the door, circling the wall and returning to the right door, but found nothing unusual.

She searched the table again, but fearing the items might be poisonous, she used a handkerchief to shield herself before touching them, examining them from all angles. Everything else was fine, except for the copper bowl with double ring handles holding osmanthus and white chrysanthemums, which seemed heavier than usual. It felt like there was something inside, but she couldn't pour it out.

Wang Yuying reached inside through the handkerchief and pulled out a straw doll smaller than the palm of her hand. It had no nose or eyes and was very rough. There were needles stuck in the doll's body and a talisman stuck on it. At first glance, it looked like her handwriting.

Juanxue and Shuangtian were terrified, kneeling and kowtowing, trembling like leaves: "Immortal Master, we're innocent! This wasn't done by us! Absolutely, absolutely not!"

Wang Yuying pondered for a moment, carefully examining the writing. She realized that even the strokes of the copyist were not as vigorous as hers. She then peeled back the talisman to look at the other side, which contained Xu Heng's birth date and time.

Wang Yuying looked at the two maids on the ground; they had been kowtowing and their foreheads were red.

"Get up, I know it's not the two of you." Wang Yuying asked unhurriedly, "Do you all know the palace maids who deliver breakfast and change the flowers every day?"