When the spring breeze came, she never saw anything more dazzling than the stars again...
At midnight, most of the officials who were to attend the morning court session got up with trepidation. Some officials, however, were eager to watch the spectacle and left their homes with high spirits.
The incident on Gulou Street last night caused an uproar in the government and the public in no time.
Fortunately, the fire at the restaurant on Gulou Street served as a warning to the common people, and apart from a few minor injuries from being trampled, no one else was injured. However, on the roof of the Observatory, four members of prominent families were seriously injured, and two died—the youngest son of the Earl of Qingping and the son of the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy. Also unfortunately caught in the blaze was the daughter of the former Grand Tutor Luo.
Upon hearing the tragic news from Gulou Street, the Emperor and Empress immediately dispatched a royal physician to the Luo residence. Just then, the Luo family's daughter had been running a high fever all night. The physician hurriedly instructed the servants in the residence to close the doors and windows tightly, and sighed repeatedly.
The implication is that it can no longer withstand even the slightest breeze.
Impeachment memorials poured in like snowflakes, reaching the Emperor's ears. Emperor Kang Le was furious and did not sleep all night.
The target of their criticism is none other than the two individuals.
One of them was Gao Jian, the Minister of Works who was in charge of building the Star-Gazing Tower during the first year of the Kang Le era.
One of them was Li Yuanda, the Marquis of Wuding.
Yesterday at the Medicine King Temple Fair, Li Yuanda's youngest son, Li Sheng, disregarded the soldiers' warnings and, along with a group of cronies, dragged the reluctant youngest son of the Earl of Qingping up the Star Gazing Tower during the curfew. They even attempted to hold a drinking game. They bribed the soldiers guarding the tower to disperse and continue their revelry. Just as a pillar supporting the tower was about to collapse, the group, instead of leaving, continued their revelry, tragically leading to the deaths of the Earl of Qingping's youngest son and the son of the Imperial Academy's Chancellor in the Star Gazing Tower.
Subsequently, the Observatory, which should have been "as stable as Mount Tai," collapsed after being repaired every year on the day of the Autumn Equinox, despite the Ministry of Works submitting reports that all of them met the standards.
Outside the Star-Gazing Tower, as far as the eye can see, there are only broken tiles and ruins.
Emperor Kang Le dared not imagine what would have happened to the people lingering in that market if the fire at the East Market restaurant hadn't served as a warning.
He couldn't help but recall the twenty-six years his father had reigned, a time of great peace and prosperity for the Great Xia Dynasty.
The youngest son of the Earl of Qingping had already passed the imperial examination last spring and entered the Hanlin Academy. At that time, Emperor Kangxi even held a banquet for these newly appointed scholars who had passed the imperial examination.
But fate was cruel to him, and he died here, barely twenty-four years old.
At midnight, Emperor Kangxi ordered his chief advisor, Chen Guiyi, to immediately visit the residences of the two individuals involved and issue an edict to Gao Jian, the Minister of Works, and Li Yuanda, the Marquis of Wuding. He then ordered Li Sheng and the group of noble scions who had accompanied him to the tower the previous night to be thrown into the Jinyiwei prison. The Northern Garrison Command was to act as their deputy, with the authority to directly torture and interrogate them, and to act upon imperial orders.
The Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Justice, and the Inspectorate had no authority to intervene.
The punishments in the Embroidered Uniform Guard Prison were extremely cruel.
This is undoubtedly a declaration to the world, and it will surely give an explanation to the public, the Earl of Qingping, and the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy.
It was past midnight, and there should have been no one outside the Meridian Gate at this time. In the past, as dawn approached and the hour of Yin arrived, officials would arrive at the Meridian Gate one after another, waiting for the palace gates to open at the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), and then enter the palace in turn.
However, today was somewhat special. All the officials bowed their heads early and stood under the Meridian Gate, sharing the Emperor's grief.
In the dead of night, with the moon and stars shining brightly, Zhou Quan, the Vice Minister of Revenue, rode ahead of Chen Guiyi in his carriage, his servants sitting on the shafts and cracking whips, heading swiftly toward the residence of the Marquis of Wuding, which he usually passed on his way to court.
As they approached, the servant's spirits suddenly lifted, and his hand holding the whip trembled.
Sitting in the carriage, Zhou Quan's official hat tilted to one side, and he said angrily, "What kind of behavior is this, all in such a flustered state?"
He glared and turned around, shouting, "Master!"
Zhou Quan lifted the carriage curtain, making a move to kick him off the carriage shaft, and whispered, "What are you doing? What are you doing?"
The servant pointed tremblingly to a dark figure in the distance, his heart pounding in his throat, when he suddenly remembered the two who had died at the foot of the Star Gazing Tower the night before.
He couldn't help but exclaim, "Ah! Is it the young master of the Qingping Marquis's family who has come to claim my life? Heaven is jealous of talent, what should I do!"
Zhou Quan hurriedly covered his mouth, his eyes widening even more: "Good heavens, it's the dead of night, are you out of your mind?"
He turned around and took a palace lantern from the carriage, then gently kicked the servant off the carriage shaft: "Go, go home. I'll ride Chen Guiyi's horse or take his carriage to court later. I need to get rid of this old hag today." He then lowered his voice and said to the servant: "Remember to tell Madam that if I don't return home on time today, she should carry a vegetable basket and cry all the way from home to the market. Remember, don't say anything else."
"The Emperor has valued Marquis Wuding highly over the years. If I am unharmed by what I have done today, then they will be the ones to suffer." As he spoke, he tucked his hands into his sleeves and sighed softly.
In the winter of the third year of the Kang Le reign, on the night of the princess's ordeal, a large, dark crowd knelt outside the Imperial Library. Zhou Quan, the Vice Minister of Revenue, was among them, and he submitted a memorial impeaching Duke Dingguo, Qin Heng.
The writing style is both moderate and sharp.
It is said that Qin Heng's achievements overshadowed the emperor's, and he harbored rebellious intentions. Fortunately, the wise ruler nipped the treacherous plot in the bud. Although we suffered the loss of over ten thousand of our soldiers, the people of Great Xia were spared from disaster and prevented from becoming homeless. The people often say that the ruler of Great Xia is benevolent and virtuous, bestowing grace upon the world, and treating the elderly, children, and women kindly. In the three years since his ascension to the throne, he has built many "charitable" embroidery workshops and pharmacies.
It allows women who are physically weak to find a job in the embroidery workshop. It also allows elderly people with white hair to afford medicine with a small amount of money.
In the winter of the third year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, Zhou Quan's impeachment memorial led the emperor to open the doors of the Imperial Secretariat. This also caused the seemingly frail and pale-faced Zhou Quan to develop paralysis.
Therefore, in order to show his consideration for this loyal minister, Emperor Kangle made a special permission for him to ride a horse to court, just like other ministers who were over sixty years old, thus avoiding the hardship of walking.
Speaking of which, he's only thirty-nine years old this year.
The servant rolled his eyes, quickly glanced at the dark figure in front of him, and nodded repeatedly.
In the blink of an eye, the servants and carriage had already disappeared outside the Meridian Gate.
Zhou Quan muttered under his breath, "You little bastard." With that, he picked up a palace lantern, wrapped his fox fur cloak around himself, smoothed his meticulously combed hair, and strode forward with great speed.
"Oh my! Who do we have here? So, Lord Li, you're going to apologize with thorns on your back? In the dead of night, aren't you afraid of falling into the river?" Zhou Quan stretched out his hand, shining the palace lantern on the white figure in front of him, and smacked his lips.
Li Yuanda was naked, carrying a bundle of thorns on his back, and was not riding a horse. He walked in the dark with drooping eyelids.
Judging from this, they seem to want to go into the palace.
Hearing the sound, Li Yuanda looked up, glanced sideways at Zhou Quan, and continued walking. Seeing him wrapped in an out-of-season cloak, he sneered, "What? Is it snowing in May? Or are you nearing your end?"
Zhou Quan chuckled, "Look how much you care about me, you still remember my old leg pain!" Then he sighed, "I'm old and useless now."
He looked up at the sky and muttered to himself, "I'm not feeling too well either. I keep feeling like it's going to snow!" Suddenly, he changed the subject: "Lord Li, you're forty-eight years old this year, aren't you?"
Li Yuanda looked at him coldly with his nostrils flared, and said in a cold voice, "What?"
"How many more years can you protect your youngest son?" He shook his head, seemingly with a hint of regret. "In a few more years, once you're gone, this grand Marquis's mansion will be a mess! Look, you only have this one illegitimate son, and you still want to raise him like the eldest son? What do you think? You've ruined him, haven't you?"
Upon hearing this, Li Yuanda stamped his foot and narrowed his eyes: "You little brat, when I was serving His Majesty with all my might, you were probably dozing off somewhere! You're still too green to try and lure me into a fire pit."
Zhou Quan smiled and quickly bowed to apologize, "I wouldn't dare, we both serve His Majesty and are willing to give our lives for him. It's just that I was wondering if Lord Li would be willing to put aside his own family for the greater good and become a truly loyal subject from now on?"
"Zhou brat, stop talking nonsense!" Li Yuanda suppressed his anger, staring intently at him.
The rumbling of a cart behind him grew louder as it approached. Li Yuanda felt dizzy and short of breath, and coughed a few times. He quickly covered his chest and tried to catch his breath, but then felt a metallic taste in his throat and couldn't help but vomit a pool of bright red blood.
Immediately, his eyes rolled back and he fainted.
Zhou Quan took several steps back, his face showing surprise, and exclaimed, "Lord Li, Lord Li! What's wrong?"
Upon seeing this, Chen Guiyi, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, who had arrived shortly after, hurriedly dismounted from his carriage. The soldiers accompanying him also rushed over in a flurry.
The sky began to lighten with the first light of dawn.
Tao Qingyun and Jiang Yuanfu brought many novelties and delicacies from the capital to the Luo residence. Jiang Yuanfu went straight to the curved screen on the second floor of Tingyuxuan.
"Xiaoxing, how are you? Are you feeling any better? Poor thing. Since childhood, other girls have enjoyed the spring blossoms and the summer streams, going wherever they wanted. But Xiaoxing, you've suffered this on your first trip back to the capital. It's all my fault, it's all my fault for not taking good care of you." She looked at the girl on the chaise longue with worry in her eyes and spoke softly.
Tao Qingyun followed her into the house, handing the food to Feng Hua: "These are freshly baked pastries, quickly put them on a plate for her. She loves eating chestnut cake while it's hot." He then took a deep breath at the large curved screen blocking his way and immediately ordered the two or three maids serving him inside: "Remove it, remove it. How can a brother come to see his sick sister and have to stand so far away, separated by a wall? Are you going to raise your voice and expect me to crane my neck to speak?"
Behind the screen, Luo Zhaoxing smiled faintly, her lips pursed.
Jiang Yuanfu chuckled and said to her, "Look, the other day Mother said that my eldest cousin has become a bit more composed lately. But has he really changed? Hanqing Jushi, it's the real deal!"
Tao Qingyun watched as the eyesore was removed and finally nodded in satisfaction.
He smiled mysteriously, took out a brocade box from his sleeve, and then poured the contents into his palm and spread them out in front of Luo Zhaoxing.
Soon the two saw two round beads appear before them.
"A luminous pearl?" Luo Zhaoxing asked.
Tao Qingyun smiled broadly: "I went to the Jingning Marquis's residence today to look for that fellow, but I didn't see him. However, I found a brocade box on the desk. I thought it was some rare treasure, so I secretly brought it to you to play with."
Chu Yening.
Luo Zhaoxing lowered her eyes to look at the two beads in his hand, her eyelashes fluttering.
She looked up at the vibrant, tall trees outside the small window.
A spring breeze blew, carrying away a lone green leaf, which drifted far away, all alone. Her thoughts, too, drifted away with that solitary leaf swaying in the wind.
From childhood, she was most afraid of the dark. So her father tirelessly collected many exquisite yet not boring objects that could provide light in the dark and hung them outside the small window of her room.
But after that winter snow, in the long years that followed, she never saw a light brighter than the stars again.
"Shameless!" Jiang Yuanfu cursed immediately upon seeing Tao Qingyun's smug expression. Then, with a smile, she picked up a bead and stroked it in her hand, just like Luo Zhaoxing.
He fell into deep thought.
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