Bianzhou
"General, a secret message has arrived from the capital." Zhou Cong's voice came from outside the door. Jiang Jin took the opportunity to glance at Wei Shu's expression, which remained cold and unchanged.
"Come in." Zhou Cong pushed open the door and entered. Wei Shu sat down to one side and took the letter Zhou Cong handed him.
"Then I'll go for a walk." Jiang Jin was about to get up when Wei Shu stopped her.
"No need, it's nothing serious." Wei Shu burned the letter to ashes and then picked up a pen to write.
"Madam, these are jade dew dumplings that the General specifically instructed me to buy." Zhou Cong carefully took out a three-legged plate from the food box. Several white jade dew dumplings were hidden on the plate.
Jiang Jin glanced at Wei Shu, who was diligently writing a letter, then took a jade dew ball from the three-legged plate and presented it to Wei Shu.
"Since it was ordered by the general, of course the general should eat it first."
Wei Shu was taken aback when he saw the suddenly appearing jade dew ball. He then looked up at Jiang Jin, whose face was illuminated by candlelight, a smile playing on her lips, and the delicate jade dew ball in her hand.
Wei Shu lowered his head and glanced at what was written in the letter: "The magistrate of Guqing County is a man of moderate character, and the Ministry of Personnel has rated him as average. The county lieutenant, Zhu Si, is upright and principled. He can be investigated and won over. He knows about the affairs of Bianzhou. If necessary, he should be killed to prevent future troubles."
Upon comparing the two, Wei Shu suddenly felt a different emotion. "No need, I don't like these pastries."
“Alright, then Zhou Cong, you can have it!” Jiang Jin placed the jade dew dumpling into Zhou Cong’s palm. “How could anyone not like such a delicious jade dew dumpling?”
"Jiang Jin, have Zhou Cong escort you back to the capital." Wei Shu folded the letter into a small stack and handed it to Zhou Cong.
"But what happened in Bianzhou?" Jiang Jin knew that something must have been written in the letter from the capital that caused Wei Shu to suddenly change his plans.
"You don't need to know about the power struggles in the court." Wei Shu decisively placed Jiang Jin's unopened bag back into Zhou Cong's hands.
"You two horses, tonight we'll head to Songzhou and travel by water back to the capital." Wei Shu tried to take Jiang Jin's hand, but she dodged it.
“Wei Shu, the Prefect of Bianzhou is not someone to be trifled with. His eldest daughter married General Liu’s second son, and his third daughter married into the household of the Marquis of Tongan County. Although she will inherit the title with a lower rank, she will still be a county earl. The Marquis of Tongan and Lord Dou have a very good relationship.” Jiang Jin picked up a pen and wrote on the paper.
"The governor of Bianzhou appears to be neutral, but in reality, he's betting on both sides. Yet, neither faction seems dissatisfied with him, demonstrating his exceptional ability to navigate both sides," Jiang Jin advised, handing the paper to Wei Shu.
"Whether or not you have His Majesty's backing, the powerful families are deeply entrenched. If you offend the governor of Bianzhou without cause, you will be met with a barrage of impeachment memorials upon your return to the capital."
"You were able to touch Zhou Lu, the Vice Minister of Rites, because although he had pledged allegiance to Dou Gong, in the eyes of the aristocratic families he was just a pawn, at best a pawn that had climbed higher and was more useful. The same goes for Governor Wu. But the Governor of Bianzhou is different. Although he is not from the direct line, he can still be considered a member of the Wang family."
Jiang Jin glanced outside, and Zhou Cong, having put down his package, tactfully went out to stand guard at the door.
"Do you know why most aristocratic families are unwilling to take sides with either of the two parties?" Jiang Jin sighed.
"Although a new emperor brings a new court, aristocratic families are an exception. Although the imperial examination system has some influence on them now, the royal family has been the most affected, but their foundation remains."
"So, your father wasn't from a noble family, yet he still chose to support and be loyal to His Majesty." Wei Shu burned the note to ashes. In the dim candlelight, Jiang Jin showed no fear.
“My father benefited from the imperial examination system, and he also chose a very correct path for himself: entering the Censorate. Firstly, there was no personal gain involved; secondly, he was directly under His Majesty's jurisdiction; and thirdly, even if the two factions tried to win him over, it would be counterproductive and would only attract His Majesty's attention.” Feeling a bit warm, Jiang Jin took off her shawl.
"Then what other options do those officials from humble backgrounds who rose through the imperial examinations in the Six Ministries have besides the powerful families of the two major factions?" Jiang Jin took out a folding fan from his bundle to cool himself off.
"Does His Majesty not deserve to be trusted?" Wei Shu frowned slightly upon hearing this.
"Of course not. His Majesty is wise and powerful. Since His Majesty ascended the throne, the people have lived in peace and prosperity. Yet, how many officials in the court are from humble backgrounds, and how many are from aristocratic families? It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that aristocratic families occupy half of the court." Jiang Jin took another sip of cold tea.
"General, your ambitions lie in the court, and you may not know much about matters of the inner quarters. However, having lived in the capital for a long time, I may know more about the marriage arrangements among officials than you do." Jiang Jin touched the ring on her hand.
“My father passed the imperial examination in the second year of Yonghe. There were five other poor students who passed the examination with him. There were as many as thirty people who passed the imperial examination that year.”
"Of the twenty-five Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) in the fourth year of the Yonghe era, three came from humble backgrounds, while the other twenty-two were from prominent families," Wei Shu said in a deep voice, revealing what he knew.
"Until the eighth year, His Majesty exceptionally selected ten scholars from humble backgrounds and twelve from aristocratic families," Jiang Jin continued, twirling the ring in his hand.
"Very few poor scholars could stay in the capital. Apart from those who relied on aristocratic families, the rest of the poor scholars either served as county magistrates in remote towns or held minor official positions. Their children, who were not married, were either poor scholars who had passed the imperial examinations or minor officials."
Jiang Jin knew that Wei Shu wasn't unaware of this principle, but rather simply unwilling to face it.
"Actually, the Prefect of Bianzhou isn't without flaws either," Jiang Jin said with a smile, placing the dagger on the table.
"Isn't there a perfect topic right now?" Jiang Jin drew his dagger, its cold gleam shining on Wei Shu's face.
"The Wang family can form cliques and abuse their power for personal gain, but there's one thing that's a red line for aristocratic families." A cold glint flashed in Jiang Jin's eyes.
“Secretly plotting to seize control of the main family.” Wei Shu continued Jiang Jin’s words, “His Majesty may be furious about all of the above, but not enough to completely destroy them. The Wang family will also do its best to protect them. But only when this matter of challenging the Wang family’s power and the person in charge comes up, His Majesty will have a reason to punish him for corruption, and that person in the Wang family will also take decisive action.”
"So, General, are you willing to gamble?" Jiang Jin asked, twirling her fingers around the hem of her skirt as she looked at Wei Shu.
"Haven't we been gambling all along?" Wei Shu used the dagger on the table to lift Jiang Jin's chin. The cold dagger made Jiang Jin flinch as it touched her skin.
"You are both literate and skilled in martial arts, intelligent but ruthless. Jiang Jin, I seem to have underestimated you."
Wei Shu slowly used a dagger to pry open Jiang Jin's blouse, revealing an ugly reddish-brown wound on her fair collarbone.
"Wei Shu, I am good at literature because I love reading, and I am good at martial arts because you injured that person so I could kick the knife out of his hand. And you don't think I only learned horseback riding and archery when I was young, do you?"
The icy touch of the dagger gnawed at Jiang Jin's reason like a persistent, stabbing wound.
"Is that so?" Wei Shu continued to lower the dagger, his expression as cold as when they first met on the long street.
"Of course!" Jiang Jin appeared before Wei Shu, no longer suppressing her trembling, her eyes quickly filling with tears.
"Why are you crying!" Wei Shu paused for a moment before sheathing his dagger, but Jiang Jin continued to cry, large tears dripping onto her dress.
"Don't cry!" Wei Shu sighed deeply, then lowered his voice and said as gently as possible, "I didn't mean to kill you." Jiang Jin was seething with anger, but her face remained impassive.
"But you scared me! Do you think I want to care about you? Do you think I don't want to go back to the capital? If you die, my fate will be terrible too. Wei Shu, I may be a pawn, but I'm still a human being!" Jiang Jin threw the scabbard at Wei Shu, then pushed open the door and ran out of the inn.
"Jiang Jin, it's so late outside, where are you going!"
Wei Shu followed behind Jiang Jin. Upon seeing this, Jiang Jin frowned slightly, quickly took a thin piece of paper, and wrote the four characters "Tian Dong Bian Yi" (天动汴异) on it with lip rouge. She then gently held the paper between her fingers and placed it under her ring.
"Jiang Jin!" Wei Shu tried to grab Jiang Jin's arm, but she dodged him and wiped away the tears on her face with her fingers.
"General, it's late and the dew is heavy, why come out to chase me? If you catch a cold, won't you suspect me again?" Jiang Jin took a few steps, and the hidden guards in the darkness instantly caught his movements.
"Jiang Jin, do you think now is the time for you to throw a tantrum?"
Wei Shu, his face cold, hoisted Jiang Jin onto his shoulder. As Wei Shu walked, Jiang Jin looked up and saw the note tucked in her ring had been tossed aside. As their conversation grew quieter, the guards in the darkness carefully searched the area Jiang Jin had just passed, finding the note under the leaves.
"You return to the capital and give this item to His Highness. I will stay and protect Lady Jiang."
"But His Highness ordered us to protect Lady Jiang at all times. Why not use carrier pigeons? Besides, can you manage alone?" Yi Er glanced at the inn heavily guarded by the Imperial Guards.
“No, the message that Lady Jiang can send through us must be very important. You go there yourself. Don’t worry, these Imperial Guards are not useless. If Wei Shu really doesn’t want Lady Jiang to get hurt, then no one but that person can hurt Lady Jiang.”
"Okay, I'll be right back." Otsuji quickly disappeared into the darkness, while Otsuichi remained around the inn to continue protecting it.
In the capital, a man sat on the dragon throne, looking at the secret memorial delivered by Wei Shu.
"Lin Ben, look at Wei Shu, he hasn't mentioned that young lady from the Jiang family at all, not even once. He hasn't even thought about getting her a reward."
"Your Majesty, this shows that General Wei is wholeheartedly devoted to the country and has no personal feelings!" Lin Ben bowed respectfully.
"I think he doesn't take my orders seriously. It seems I've been too lenient with him all these years."
The man on the dragon throne spoke with an air of authority that commanded respect without a hint of anger. Even Lin Ben, who had followed him for many years, could not fathom the emperor's mood and could only remain silent, daring not to speak up for Wei Shu.
"Alright, looking at you like that, anyone who didn't know better would think I was some kind of wolf or tiger serving meals." Lin Ben withdrew, and the hall returned to silence.
It was already past 7 PM when Wei Shu carried Jiang Jin back to the room. He placed Jiang Jin on the bed and then lowered the curtains.
"Jiang Jin, go to sleep peacefully, and don't try to go out again!" Then she left the room. Looking at the shadowy branches outside the window, Jiang Jin opened the window.
"When will the wind stop?" Only the sound of the wind rustling through the branches answered her.
Jiang Jin leaned against the window, gazing at the bright moon in the sky, her hand clutching the jade pendant at her waist, her mind slowly pondering the matter of the Prefect of Bianzhou.
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