CH 16

Xiao Chengjun knew about the flooding disaster at the Qinghe River. Before the wedding, he had been doing the administration for the relief efforts. He hadn’t paid much attention to whether the Qinghe County Magistrate had embezzled money or not – that was under the Ministry of Justice’s purview. How did this end up implicating him?

“Who was the one who raised the issue? And what did my Father Emperor say?” Xiao Chengjun put his cup down calmly, gesturing to Lou Jing to release Yao Zhu.

Yao Zhu hadn’t interacted much with the Crown Prince prior to this incident. He only grit his teeth and approached the Crown Prince this time because the Crown Prince so happened to be involved in this situation. He was amazed that the Crown Prince could keep his cool even after hearing such earth-shattering news, and thought to himself that this Crown Prince had really hidden his true abilities very well all these years.

“The submission was put forward by the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Justice. He said that the Qinghe County Magistrate had already confessed to embezzling the silver, and that he had used it on doing repairs to the Qingliang Temple. He requested to check the Ministry of Revenue’s records,” Yao Zhu said, watching the Crown Prince’s reaction carefully. “I am an official in the Ministry of Rites, so I’m not very familiar with this sort of thing, but because my brother was implicated, I made an effort to find out.”

The smile on Lou Jing’s face had completely disappeared. He exchanged a look with the Crown Prince. There seemed to be some foul play going on here.

Given the magnitude of this issue, rumours about the Crown Prince’s alleged involvement in the Qinghe River scandal must have started circulating prior to it being brought up in Court today. Yao Zhu was a seasoned government official and certainly would have access to the grapevine. Additionally, he was personally interested in the matter given that his brother was implicated, which gave him all the more reason to keep an ear out for news. It was actually a very simple matter to investigate the Qinghe County Magistrate’s corruption, and there was no reason why it took so long to surface the matter in Court. Things wouldn’t have panned out this way unless someone was pulling the strings.

“Dianxia, there is no matter that can be considered trivial in the Imperial Court; even little things can blow up overnight. It would be wise to make your plans early,”  Yao Zhu said. He hesitated for a moment before continuing. “The Emperor has given the Qinghe case to Shen Lian to investigate.”

Lou Jing raised an eyebrow. If one focused on what Yao Zhu originally said, it sounded like Yao Zhu was here to commit his loyalties to the Crown Prince. However, when one considered what Yao Zhu said in totality, it was clear that his primary purpose was still to get his brother out of a tight situation. What he really wanted to achieve, after beating round and round the bush, was to get the Crown Prince to help him suppress Shen Lian, so that the matter could just be glossed over. Yao Su’s future would then have a glimmer of hope.

Xiao Chengjun sighed deeply, then spoke in a solemn, unemotional voice. “I’m afraid this matter is more serious than it looks. If you wish to protect yourself, you should look for the Minister of the Left, Zhao Duan. He can guide you out of this tricky situation. Also…”

When Yao Zhu heard this, all the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. The Crown Prince’s meaning in telling him to “protect himself” was an implied warning that he might pay with his life for his involvement in the matter.

“Get Yao Su to leave the Capital. The further, the better,” Xiao Chengjun said, raising his head to gaze into the distance. There were some clouds in the sky that blocked the sunlight, casting great shadows over the earth.

“Chen… understands,” Yao Zhu said. He took a step backward, then knelt again, kowtowing respectfully to Xiao Chengjun. “Chen Yao Zhu thanks Dianxia!”

And well he should thank the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince had just mercifully saved his and his brother’s life.

Yao Zhu left with a heavy heart. Lou Jing walked over to the Crown Prince, who was standing with his hands behind his back. “Yao Zhu has left in his carriage,” Lou Jing said.

Xiao Chengjun nodded. “We should get back to the palace too,” he said.

“What are your plans, Dianxia?” Lou Jing asked. He reached out to tug gently at Xiao Chengjun’s hand. This situation was going to be difficult to deal with. The matter was already before the Imperial Court, and they had known about it after the fact; they were already ten steps behind.

“First, I have to understand the ins and outs of the situation,” Xiao Chengjun said, looking down at their entwined hands. “I cannot move rashly.”

“I’ll get Yun Shiliu to investigate things at Qinghe,” Lou Jing said, summoning his shadow guard.

Each of the members of the Youyun Sixteen specialised in something. For example, Yun Ba and Yun Shiliu were particularly skilled at espionage and information gathering. Yun Qi and Yun Shiwu specialised in healing. There were always two in each specialisation, so that if one died, the team would not be left without anyone in that specialisation.

Xiao Chengjun looked at Yun Shiliu kneeling in front of him, then nodded. If he sent someone from the Eastern Palace to investigate, it would definitely arouse suspicions. Getting Yun Shiliu to go would save him a lot of trouble. He gave Yun Shiliu a briefing of the things that he needed to look into, after which the shadow guard left immediately to attend to the mission.

Lou Jing originally planned to have a meal with Xiao Chengjun at the country estate so that the latter could try the food made with his homegrown produce, but there was no time for that now. Lou Jing instructed his servants to pick two baskets of apples and peaches, thinking to give them to the Empress when they went to pay their respects.

The Crown Prince’s every move was being watched; if he went to his Consort’s country estate, then he should act the part and bring some of the local produce back with him. It would look suspicious otherwise. Most people probably wouldn’t bother investigating what the Crown Prince did today if he brought back a bunch of fruits with him.

“My Father Empress is a man, so he doesn’t give gifts to the Emperor’s consorts and concubines unless it’s an official occasion. He won’t be able to distribute these. Two baskets is too much,” Xiao Chengjun said. He felt very secure seeing how calm and collected his Consort was even in the face of impending doom. If he had married a woman, she might have been frightened to tears by now. She probably wouldn’t have had the presence of mind to remember to put up appearances for him.

“If Father Empress can’t finish them, we’ll eat them,” Lou Jing said, pulling his Crown Prince up the horse carriage. They had to get back to the Eastern Palace quickly. The Imperial Court officials were the type of people who bent with the wind, and the longer they took to deal with this Qinghe scandal, the worse it would be for the Crown Prince.

Xiao Chengjun picked up an apple that was green on one side and red on the other. “If Su Fei niangniang was still around, we could give some to her,” he said wistfully.

Lou Jing paused for a moment, then reached out to clasp the hand holding the apple. Su Fei was Xiao Chengjun’s birth mother, and he heard that she had passed away when Xiao Chengjun was only a year old. “The Crown Princes have never been allowed to have a close relationship with their mothers. Even if your mother was still around, she wouldn’t be able to see you. She’d just be another sad, lonely soul in the palace,” he said comfortingly.

“Zhuoyu…” Xiao Chengjun began, but didn’t know what to say next. He looked at him quietly, then looked down at their hands holding on to the apple together.

It was noon when they reached the Eastern Palace. Xiao Chengjun wanted to call his Eastern Palace officials over to discuss the Qinghe situation immediately, but was hauled off by Lou Jing to eat his lunch first.

The two had a quick meal in Chongren Chambers whilst the Eastern Palace officials gathered in the study.

Lou Jing was about to excuse himself as usual, but was stopped by Xiao Chengjun. “You can stay,” he said.

Cai Yi and the others looked at each other in disbelief. They hadn’t thought that this Consort would have been able to gain the Crown Prince’s unequivocal trust in just four days.

The visit to the country estate had certainly been effective. That Xiao Chengjun allowed Lou Jing to stay for discussions with his officials indicated that he was comfortable with sharing his power and connections with Lou Jing. Lou Jing’s lips curved into a smile. He didn’t make the usual polite protests, and simply sat down directly next to the Crown Prince.

“Chen has read the submissions regarding the Qinghe River situation that Dianxia reviewed previously,” Cai Yi said. He took out the records referred to in the submissions. “There’s only one temple where the embezzled silver could have been used, and that’s the Qingliang Temple. Repairs for the Qingliang Temple were approved in the third month, and silver was disbursed accordingly.”

The Qingliang Temple was a monastery in Qinghe County. During the time the Taizu Emperor was fighting wards to conquer the empire, the abbot of Qingliang Temple did him an important favour. The Qingliang Temple was therefore made a Temple of National Protection, and received a sum of silver every few years from the Imperial Treasury for repairs.

Xiao Chengjun frowned. The silver for the temple repairs and the strengthening of the river dikes were both disbursed at a specific time and in specific amounts. How could the two get mixed together this way?

“Lies are always inconsistent. Wait a few days – someone will definitely try to fix the inconsistencies,” Lou Jing said, looking at the thick record book. The whole premise was implausible given the manner in which the silver was disbursed. Also, if they suspected Xiao Chengjun of participating in this embezzlement, why didn’t they mention this when he was still attending Court? Why did they deliberately wait until he was unable to attend to matters of state to present this submission to the Emperor? There was only one logical conclusion.

The Eastern Palace officials’ eyes all widened in unison. “You’re saying that someone is deliberately trying to frame Dianxia?” one of them exclaimed.

“Now that Dianxia is unable to attend Court, he can’t even defend himself,” Cai Yi said, pacing around agitatedly.

Rumours… a burst dike… unable to attend Court at this time…

Lou Jing felt something go off in his brain. Everything was connected, from the marriage that was hastily bestowed on them the previous month, to the various things that had happened after they were married. He turned suddenly to look at Xiao Chengjun. “Dianxia, why do you think our wedding was done in such a hurry?”

Understanding flashed in Xiao Chengjun’s eyes, and his expression darkened. “What you mean is…”

The Crown Prince was usually excused from attending Court in the ten days immediately after his wedding, but Xiao Chengjun was prohibited not just from attending Court, but also from attending to all matters of state. He didn’t go to the Imperial Court, didn’t review any submissions, and had to rely on his Eastern Palace officials to get his news. All of his Eastern Palace officials were below the third rank and had no right to attend Court. It was obviously all aimed at getting the Crown Prince out of the Imperial Court. The Qinghe dike burst in the early part of the eighth month. Their wedding had only happened in the ninth month. Why did they deliberately delay raising the Qinghe River scandal until now, when the Crown Prince could not attend to affairs of state? It was all too coincidental.

Xiao Chengjun slowly clenched his hands into fists inside his sleeves. The Emperor’s actions clearly indicated that he had lost the Emperor’s trust.

Cai Yi broke out in cold sweat. “The Emperor is definitely suspicious if he used the wedding to clip your wings. Dianxia, we must come up with a plan now. We can’t just let them cast stones at the Eastern Palace like this!”

“We must not be reckless. First, we must investigate this matter thoroughly.” Xiao Chengjun said solemnly. “Cai Yi, have you prepared that thing I asked you to prepare?”

“Dianxia!” Cai Yi’s face turned pale, and his tone became heavy. “It is ready. But Dianxia…”

Xiao Chengjun raised a hand, cutting him off. “Good. Be alert, but don’t make any moves. I will go and meet with my Father Emperor. We will meet again this evening, and I will give my orders then.”

“Understood,” Cai Yi said, bowing in acknowledgment. The other Eastern Palace officials didn’t know what “thing” it was that the Crown Prince and Cai Yi were referring to, but they weren’t dumb enough to ask what it was then and there. They each bowed and left, trailing after Cai Yi.

“Now that we’ve got a clue, we can start planning a counter-attack,” Lou Jing said, heaving a relieved sigh. He had been very perturbed by the circumstances in which their wedding had occurred, and even though they’d just leapt out of the frying pan and into the fire, he actually felt calmer now that he didn’t have to make wild guesses in the dark.

“That is true,” Xiao Chengjun said. He was comforted by Lou Jing’s calm reaction, and he looked at him with warmth in his eyes. “Let’s go to Fengyi Palace now.”

“Ah, how very thoughtful of you,” the Empress said, accepting the two baskets of fresh fruits. He dismissed the servants and took out a small box. “This is a wedding gift from the Prefectural Governor of Yuezhou. He sent it over on an urgent basis, and it arrived just before noon today.”

Xiao Chengjun took the red-painted box from the Empress. “Father Empress, there’s trouble in the Imperial Court,” he said.

“I know,” Ji Zhuo said. His piercing eagle eyes were hard. “You should prepare for the worst.”

“Father Empress…” Xiao Chengjun looked at the Empress’ cold, solemn face, then slowly furrowed his brows. “Perhaps it will not come to that.”

“The Lingnan Hou will be back in the Capital next month,” Empress Ji sighed. “I told you this even before the wedding – you need to investigate the matter carefully, but remember always that even if you’re innocent, you cannot let the masses take your side and cry for redress. If the Emperor sees that the people’s hearts are with you, nobody can save you.”

The early autumn moon always looked a little cold and distant. Xiao Chengjun stood at the window with his hands behind his back. Moonlight streamed in from the window, illuminating the spacious main hall of Chongren Hall, adding a layer of silver frost to the Crown Prince’s apricot-coloured robes.

Lou Jing walked into Chongren Hall. The candles weren’t lit, and he saw that lonely silhouette from afar, standing elegantly in the silver moonlight. To Lou Jing, Xiao Chengjun looked like he himself would disperse into insubstantial rays of moonlight at any moment, and he unconsciously quickened his footsteps. He stood quietly behind Xiao Chengjun, afraid to startle him or break his train of thought.

“What brings you here?” Xiao Chengjun asked, looking back at him over his shoulder.

“Lord Cai has left, and Dianxia should rest as well,” Lou Jing said, smiling a little mischievously. “Since Dianxia didn’t come to Bafeng Hall, I had no choice but to come and spend the night with you at Chongren Chambers.”