Chapter 599: Adding to the Fun |
Inside the three-courtyard residence of the Falconry Office, the ground beneath the dozen or so old locust trees was covered with pigeons pecking at corn kernels.
Xuan She, draped in a black cloak, hurried passed under the tree shade, startling the pigeons beside him to flap their wings and fly up into the Sky.
He arrived at the main hall in the backyard, just in time to see Wu Xiu sitting behind the desk doing Cinnabar Rescript Drafting Rescripts, with a tall stack already piled up on his left.
Chang Xiu stood to the side, both hands tucked into his sleeves, his eyelids drooping as if he was dozing.
Hearing the footsteps, he lazily opened his eyes, cupped his fists toward Xuan She without even taking his hands out of his sleeves, merely sliding his arms forward a bit, which counted as a greeting, and then narrowed his eyes again.
Xuan She stepped into the main hall, cupping his fists to Wu Xiu: "Lord, this lowly official has a matter to report."
Wu Xiu didn't reply, only looking at the Drafting Rescripts in front of him.
Gripping that Cinnabar Brush in his hand, the tip of the brush hung three inches above the Drafting Rescripts, delaying its descent for a long time.
On the Drafting Rescripts was the rations and pay allocated by the Ministry of Revenue to the Guyuan Border Army. The Guyuan Border Army reported three hundred and ten thousand taels, while the Ministry of Revenue approved one hundred and eighty thousand taels, a full difference of one hundred and thirty thousand taels.
But Guyuan had just finished fighting a war this year. Military Ordnance, Winter Clothes, and medicinal herbs all had actual shortfalls.
Wu Xiu flipped open the Memorial to the Throne and read the list presented by the Border Army again. Every single item was listed clearly, rationally, and reasonably: six thousand two hundred Padded Cotton Jackets at one tael and two mace of silver each; six thousand two hundred Padded Cotton Trousers at eight mace of silver each; medicinal herbs converted to three thousand taels of silver; repairing Military Ordnance converted to five thousand taels of silver; compensation for fallen soldiers at twelve thousand taels of silver... There was not a single sum that shouldn't be spent.
The Imperial Court was short of money.
Only by sitting in this position could one know that this vast territory was like a pair of Padded Cotton Trousers leaking wind everywhere, needing to be patched up everywhere. But patching this side, that side tore again; there was always a missing piece of cloth.
Wu Xiu wasn't in a hurry to lower his brush, merely setting the Memorial to the Throne aside.
He then picked up another Drafting Rescripts. It was presented by the Ministry of Personnel, regarding filling the vacancy of the Investigating Censor for the Henan Circuit.
The Grand Secretariat drafted two candidates: one was Zhou Quan, a Reviewer in the Hanlin Academy, and the other was Li Duan, a Bureau Director in the Ministry of War. Zhou Quan was a Protégé of Elder Qi, while Li Duan was someone recommended by Zhang Zhuo.
For the person recommended by Zhang Zhuo to be drafted in by the Grand Secretariat could be considered as giving a bit of face, showing that Zhang Zhuo had established a firm foothold in the Grand Secretariat.
But placing Zhou Quan in front, the meaning was also very clear. Although the Qi family lost a Left Censor-in-Chief, Elder Qi was still there, the Protégés were still there, and the roots of the Pure Stream Faction were still there.
The tip of Wu Xiu's brush paused over Zhou Quan's name, but didn't drop.
He suddenly said: "I finally understand why the Inner Chancellor previously said that as one gets older, the blade only gets lighter while the pen gets heavier..."
He set this one aside as well, looking up at the long-waiting Xuan She: "What is the matter?"
Xuan She bowed his body: "Lord, Jiao Tu and Yun Yang are currently confiscating the home of Ye Yan, the Bureau Director of the Bureau of Ceremonies in the Ministry of Rites. The officials of the Ministry of Rites are clamoring to enter the palace to seek an audience with His Majesty, accusing our Directorate of Ceremonial of Having No Regard for the Law and Using Private Torture. The Censors should also know about this matter by now, the commotion won't be small."
Wu Xiu raised his eyebrows, looking toward Chang Xiu: "Why are they conducting a Property Confiscation again? Didn't they just confiscate one yesterday?"
Chang Xiu opened his eyes from the side: "Lord, it's something that just happened. This lowly official came in to report this matter as well, but seeing you doing Cinnabar Rescript I didn't disturb you. Yesterday it was the Li family tampering with the medicinal herbs for imperial use, Passing Off Inferior Goods as Premium and Giving Short Weight. Today it is Ye Yan, the Bureau Director of the Bureau of Ceremonies in the Ministry of Rites, eating, taking, blocking, and demanding (extorting) during the Imperial Academy of Medicine assessments, deliberately creating difficulties for the imperial physicians. Because of this he has previously dismissed twelve imperial physicians, among them even Zhang Wenqing, a master of the Pediatrics Department. The Director of the Imperial Academy of Medicine brought a note from Chen Ji; Jiao Tu and Yun Yang went as soon as they saw the note."
Wu Xiu sneered: "Petty cleverness. Trying to delay for a while; by the time this seat finishes the Cinnabar Rescript, the Ye family's confiscation will also be finished."
Chang Xiu said shyly: "Seen through by the Lord."
Xuan She said in a serious voice: "Lord, Jiao Tu and Yun Yang Acted with Reckless Abandon. To actually not discuss this kind of matter with the Lord and instead take orders from Chen Ji, what kind of propriety is this? In addition, the Directorate for Imperial Use Superintendent is your man, how could Chen Ji touch him? This lowly official believes those two should be demoted to Gyrfalcons, and Chen Ji should be exiled to Lingnan."
After hearing this, Wu Xiu suddenly began to laugh: "Lord Xuan She, whose man are you?"
Xuan She said respectfully: "Naturally, I am the Lord's man."
Wu Xiu closed the Drafting Rescripts in his hand, stood up to walk outside, finally stopping at the threshold. The sunlight shone in from outside, reflecting brightly off his black python robe.
With his back to Xuan She, he looked at those pigeons that had returned to the ground in the courtyard, speaking leisurely: "You are not my man. Remember, whether it's the Secret Spy Division or the Trouble-Resolving Guard, whether it's the Directorate for Imperial Use or the Directorate for Hall Maintenance, in the final analysis, they are all His Majesty's men. Therefore, when you and I do things, we can only have one standpoint, and that is His Majesty's standpoint."
He paused, his voice slowing down a bit: "Over these years, I rose from a small wood-chopping eunuch in the Fuel and Charcoal Bureau to the Seal-Holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial. It's not because I, Wu Xiu, am so smart, but because I only did this one thing right."
Xuan She was startled in place.
Wu Xiu smiled and said: "The godson of the Directorate for Imperial Use Superintendent tampered with the medicinal herbs used by His Majesty; he deserves to die. Ye Yan tampered with the imperial physicians who treat His Majesty; he also deserves to die. At this point, Chen Ji is smarter than you. He knows that even if he confiscated all these people, the people who hate him will at most seek to settle the score afterwards, but right now they wouldn't dare to touch him. And my only regret is that these confiscated people didn't have much money and cannot make up for the Imperial Court's deficit."
To the side, Chang Xiu softly praised in admiration: "Doing the right things is only petty cleverness; choosing the right side is great Wisdom. No wonder Lord Wu Xiu can wear the python robe and serve as the Seal-Holding Eunuch."
Wu Xiu turned his head to look at him, with a half-smile: "Being so good at flattering, no wonder the Inner Chancellor likes you."
Chang Xiu smiled bashfully: "The Lord overpraises."
Wu Xiu walked back behind his desk. As he passed Xuan She, he patted him on the shoulder: "Fighting wars requires money, repairing the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility also requires money; state affairs and people's livelihood all require money. If I were you, what I should be deliberating right now is how my Directorate of Ceremonial can confiscate the homes of all the Eight Great Chief Merchants. That is what our 'Eunuch Faction' should be doing."
Xuan She's body bowed even lower: "Yes, this lowly official will go back and think of a way right now... Oh right, Lord, this lowly official received a secret report from a subordinate saying that a horse carriage didn't head for Changping after leaving Anding Gate, but instead turned around and went south. The Travel Permit stated it was heading for Luo City. The person driving the carriage was a burly man."
The Inner Chancellor's carriage.
Wu Xiu gazed at Xuan She, speaking after a moment: "Well done. Continue dispatching people to keep an eye on them, but don't get too close."
Xuan She came in a hurry and left in a hurry.
With only the two of them left in the room, Wu Xiu tapped his fingers on the table: "Going to Luo City at this time..."
Chang Xiu asked in a low voice: "Does the Lord also want to go?"
Wu Xiu said calmly: "This seat indeed wants to leave this capital city to take a stroll, but the time has not yet come... What do you think Chen Ji actually intends to do by confiscating these two families? Does he genuinely want to stand up for the Imperial Academy of Medicine, or does he have other thoughts?"
Chang Xiu pondered for a moment and said earnestly: "Lord, it's not that this lowly official intentionally speaks a good word for him, it's just that Lord Chen still harbors a Heart of a Newborn Child, nothing more."
Wu Xiu let out a long sigh, rubbing the space between his eyebrows: "Currently, the most urgent matter is still the Morning Newspaper. The Directorate of Palace Servants Superintendent has printed them out, but they cannot be sold. No one reads those two pages on Governing the World and Providing for the People, while the remaining pages are full of singing praises and chanting virtues, and Auspicious Omens from various places; the common people don't like reading them. Today His Majesty flew into a great rage after reading the Morning Newspaper. If this isn't handled well, even this seat will eat a hanging reprimand (be implicated and punished)... This matter is handed over to you. How to handle it well is your business from now on."
Chang Xiu didn't decline this hot potato, instead asking rhetorically: "Does the Lord want to continue running the two pages on Governing the World and Providing for the People?"
Wu Xiu shook his head: "Not only that. Chen Ji understands this Morning Newspaper the best. This seat wants to know what other better uses it has."
Chang Xiu began to laugh: "Deal. It's just that this lowly official's style of doing things is different from others. I'm afraid I'll have to ask the Lord to lend me two people to use, otherwise it won't show the Lord's sincerity."
Wu Xiu turned to gaze at Chang Xiu: "Use them. Go tell Chen Ji, this seat is not a narrow-minded (small belly, chicken intestines) person. Everyone works for His Majesty. As long as he is useful, everything is easy to talk about. The one he should be worrying about is not this seat, but the Qi family."
...
...
At the hour of Shen (3-5 PM), the Imperial Academy of Medicine was livelier than past days.
The Director led the imperial physicians through the main gate. In the courtyard, several minor clerks currently decocting medicine looked up, the Cattail Fans in their hands all stopping.
Someone had silver tucked in their bosom, while another had Calligraphy and Painting clamped under their arms—these were all things they had previously gifted to Ye Yan, which Jiao Tu returned on the spot while confiscating the Ye family's property.
Walking at the very front was Zhou Fangping, a bulging cloth bundle tucked into his chest, walking with a swagger.
Following behind him was Physician Ren, a silk-wrapped scroll of Calligraphy and Painting clamped under his arm, tightly protecting it with both hands, deeply afraid of bumping or scratching it.
Further back was Registrar Liu, empty-handed, but his mouth wasn't idle, currently gesturing something to the person beside him, spitting flying everywhere as he spoke.
The people in the courtyard swarmed forward with a whoosh.
"Confiscated?"
"Confiscated!"
"Where is that bastard Ye Yan?"
"Escorted away. Jiao Tu escorted him personally, saying he will be sent to the Inner Prison. Not only was he confiscated, but Jiao Tu returning the things we had gifted to Ye Yan all these years on the spot!"
Right then, someone looked at the Director, only to find the Director's expression heavy.
The Vice Director, who stayed behind to guard the Imperial Academy of Medicine, was puzzled: "Lord, why are you showing Locked Brows? Could it be that the scroll of Calligraphy and Painting you gifted to Ye Yan is gone?"
The Director shook his head, sighing long and hard: "This old man is thinking, the Director has offended so many people for my Imperial Academy of Medicine, will anyone do him harm? First it's the Eunuch Faction, then followed closely by the Ministry of Rites. Those people are not easy to provoke."
The Director?
It took the Vice Director a long time to react and realize that the other party was talking about Chen Ji: "It seems the Lord is in a good mood to still have the mind to joke."
As soon as the words fell, footsteps sounded outside the gate of the Imperial Academy of Medicine. Everyone turned their heads just in time to see a little eunuch smiling like a little fox standing outside the gate with his hands tucked in, trailed by a squad of Trouble-Resolving Guards.
The imperial physicians acted as if facing a great enemy: "Who are you?"
Chang Xiu said smilingly: "This humble one is Trouble-Resolving Guard Chiliarch Chang Xiu, come to look for Lord Chen Ji."
The Director frowned: "What do you want to find him for? If you have matters, target us..."
Chang Xiu hurriedly said with a smile: "No, no, no, everyone please do not misunderstand. This humble one is here to deliver gifts to Lord Chen."
Saying that, he clapped his hands, and the Trouble-Resolving Guards escorted two people with disheveled hair and dirty faces into the Imperial Academy of Medicine.
The Director hesitated: "This is..."
Chang Xiu explained seriously: "One is the Directorate for Hall Maintenance Superintendent Wang Zhan, and the other is the Directorate for Hall Maintenance Managing Eunuch Wang Kui. These two have always conspired to steal medicinal herbs from the Imperial Pharmacy. This humble one has confiscated these two as well, to Add to the Fun for Lord Chen." (End of Chapter)