054 [Deep Within the Palace Walls]

December 6th, afternoon.

Shen Qing, the Commander of the Bureau of Tranquility, strode into the imperial palace holding two thick volumes of case files.

In the East Warm Pavilion of the Mingde Palace, Emperor Jiang Chen of Great Yan leaned back against a couch, motioning for Zeng Min to place the two dossiers on the desk. He looked at Shen Qing and asked, "Did Xue Huai enter the East Palace yesterday?"

Shen Qing replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty, Reader Xue entered the palace at the second quarter of the Chen hour and left at the very end of the Si hour, staying for nearly two hours in total. Judging from the Master of Ceremonies' records, Reader Xue lectured the Crown Prince yesterday on the historical anecdote regarding Emperor Zhaoniu of the Western Han dynasty recognizing the loyalty of Huo Guang."

The Emperor offered no immediate comment, then asked, "How did the two of them get along?"

Shen Qing stated concisely, "Quite congenially."

The Emperor did not inquire further. Although he was somewhat mindful of private contacts between the Crown Prince and senior court officials, a Hanlin Reader was not yet enough to make him wary of the Crown Prince—even though he knew the Crown Prince was currying favor with Xue Huai because of Shen Wang standing behind the young man.

"There is no need to closely monitor Xue Huai's future interactions with the East Palace, unless it involves Shen Wang."

Hearing the Emperor's injunction, Shen Qing lowered his head and consented.

Unlike the various ministries and bureaus of the imperial court, the Bureau of Tranquility served as the Emperor's eyes and ears. All their actions obeyed solely the Emperor's edicts, treating everyone else as nothing.

At the mention of Shen Wang, the Emperor smoothly asked, "What has Shen Wang been up to these past few days?"

Shen Qing replied, "Minister Shen is currently drafting the list of newly appointed bureau directors for the Ministry of Works. Among them, two previously served as officials in the Investigation Office: Imperial Censor Yuan Cheng from the Censorate, now nominated as Director of the Bureau of Waterways; and Ministry of Justice Secretary Fang Jiming, now nominated as Assistant Director of the Bureau of Agriculture."

The reason he specifically singled out these two men was, on the one hand, their outstanding performance while working in the Investigation Office, and on the other hand, the relatively large leap in their official ranks.

Yuan Cheng was promoted from a regular seventh rank to a regular fifth rank, while Fang Jiming rose from a regular seventh rank to a junior fifth rank.

However, their situation differed from Xue Huai's. Yuan Cheng had served as an official for twelve years and Fang Jiming for nine. Both possessed more than enough ability, seniority, and merit; previously, they simply lacked a suitable opportunity, coupled with a lack of patronage at court, which had left them marking time in the same spot for many years.

Now, having distinguished themselves through the investigation of the Ministry of Works corruption case and gained Shen Wang's favor and appreciation, their promotion was entirely reasonable. Even if the stride was somewhat wide, it could be regarded as compensation for their years of diligent and conscientious service.

The Emperor quickly weighed the pros and cons. Although Shen Wang's self-assertion displeased him, in the current political landscape, he still needed the existence of such a leader of the pure stream faction.

As long as Shen Wang remained in the court, those two old foxes, Ning Hengzhi and Ouyang Hui, would not completely escalate their conflict. They would maintain a state of mutual vigilance yet superficial peace; otherwise, no matter who struck first, it might ultimately end up benefiting Shen Wang.

The Emperor did not mind the pair occasionally tripping each other up, but he had no wish to see them engage in a massive brawl that would plunge the imperial court into chaos.

Since Shen Wang could not be brought down, and allowing him to take charge of the Ministry of Works had already served its purpose as a warning, the Emperor naturally did not mind him bringing a few capable assistants to the Ministry of Works.

Passing over this topic, the Emperor slowly asked, "What is this about the Jiangnan Shen family you mentioned the day before yesterday?"

Shen Qing briefly recounted how the Guangtai Firm had traveled north and run into trouble, and then brought up the old friendship between Xue Mingzhang and Shen Bingwen, the father of Shen Qingluan.

"The Ministry of Revenue..."

The Emperor mused, displeased as he remarked, "Does that old slippery fish Wang Xu also want to imitate Xue Minglun?"

He cared little for the life or death of the Jiangnan Shen family, but he felt deep dissatisfaction with the Ministry of Revenue's self-contained behavior and its increasingly close collusion with the Shanxi merchants.

Minister of Revenue Wang Xu was a native of Puzhou, Pingyang Prefecture in Shanxi. Hailing from a prominent official lineage, he had always possessed intricate, thousand-stranded connections with the Shanxi merchants.

This seasoned bureaucratic fox maintained good relations with all factions in the court, and neither Ning Hengzhi nor Ouyang Hui dared to underestimate him, let alone regard him as an insignificant weather vane swaying between two sides.

Shen Qing understood the source of the Emperor's displeasure. He would not offer defenses for Wang Xu, but simply said calmly, "Your Majesty, the Shanxi merchants have long formed tight-knit alliances. They practically monopolize the banking and draft house business in the capital. Regardless of whether Minister Wang is a Shanxi native or not, they will not sit by and watch the Shen family's Guangtai Draft House gain a foothold in the capital."

"That still does not mean they can be allowed to act however they please."

The Emperor frowned slightly. None of these people beneath him were pushovers; grant them the slightest slack and they would push for an inch. They needed to be frequently reminded to keep their senses.

Just as he was about to make a decision, Shen Qing suddenly said, "Your Majesty, before I entered the palace, I received news that the Ministry of Revenue has relented. The Guangtai Draft House has obtained its license."

The Emperor's gaze darkened slightly. The Shanxi merchants were not so kind-hearted, nor was Wang Xu a soft-heated philanthropist. He asked thoughtfully, "Did the Shen family pull strings through the inner court, or did Xue Huai go find Shen Wang?"

To his mind, there were only two possibilities: either the eunuchs of the inner court had helped the Shen family grease the wheels, or Xue Huai had invoked the generational friendship between the Xue and Shen families to persuade Shen Wang to step in and help. Otherwise, the Ministry of Revenue would not have relented so easily.

Hearing the first half of the Emperor's remark, Zeng Min, the Director of the Directorate of Ceremonies standing not far away, lowered his head, his heart suddenly rising into his throat.

Fortunately, Shen Qing immediately clarified, "Neither, Your Majesty. The day before yesterday, Su Erniang of Princess Yun'an's residence paid a visit to Minister Wang's home, and shortly afterward, the Ministry of Revenue issued the license for the Guangtai Draft House."

"Jiang Li?"

The Emperor was startled, asking in puzzlement, "Her relationship with Xue Huai is that close?"

Shen Qing answered unhurriedly, "Your Majesty, more than two months ago, Reader Xue accidentally fell into the water, and Princess Yun'an's guard rescued him. The two of them have maintained contact ever since. According to the records of the Bureau of Tranquility, Princess Yun'an has summoned Reader Xue on multiple occasions. However, in accordance with Your Majesty's edict, the Bureau of Tranquility has not planted informants around Princess Yun'an, so we do not know what they actually discussed in private."

This time, the Emperor fell into deep contemplation.

He had always doted greatly on his niece Jiang Li; after all, she was the sole surviving bloodline left by his own uterine younger brother, the Prince of Qi. Moreover, the girl was sensible and clever, and had always performed admirably in his presence.

Now that Jiang Li was growing older, both the Empress and Noble Consort Liu had obscurely hinted to him that the Princess's marriage should be placed on the agenda, yet the Emperor had never found a suitable candidate.

While it was true he doted on Jiang Li, he would not let her choose her own husband at will. After all, this marriage could serve a far greater purpose—helping him further balance the power dynamics within the court.

After a long silence, the Emperor slowly asked, "How old is that young woman of the Shen family this year?"

Understanding the implication, Shen Qing answered, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the Shen family daughter is younger than Reader Xue by a little over five months."

"Ah."

The Emperor gave a flat acknowledgement, and the conversation trailed off without further follow-up.

Shen Qing stood quietly, not presuming to comment on Princess Yun'an's actions.

The Emperor's gaze shifted to the two dossiers on the desk, a trace of coldness flashing in his eyes. "Has there been any breakthrough regarding that matter?"

The Ministry of Works corruption case originated with Gu Heng, and simultaneously, turmoil had stirred within the Hanlin Academy. The Emperor had suspected many people; whether it was Ning Hengzhi, Ouyang Hui, Shen Wang, or several of the imperial princes, all bore a certain degree of suspicion, possessing both the motive and the capability to be the mastermind behind the scenes.

"Based on the testimonies of Gu Heng and Liu Pingshun, your servant dispatched a large number of skilled operatives to investigate. Later, learning of the oddities surrounding former Hanlin compiler Chen Quan, I also sent men to thoroughly investigate Chen Quan."

Shen Qing lowered his head slightly and continued, "The other party's movements were extremely covert, and their methods seasoned, leaving no obvious evidence or flaws. However, the Bureau of Tranquility did find a clue. Among those mysterious individuals who coerced Gu Heng back then, one spoke with a very peculiar accent, and Gu Heng accidentally caught sight of his appearance. Through detailed comparison and screening, your servant determined that this mysterious person originated from Boxing County, Qingzhou Prefecture, in Shandong. Your servant then dispatched men to investigate Boxing County and discovered..."

He stopped short, hesitating—an exceedingly rare occurrence.

As the chief official of the Bureau of Tranquility and the Emperor's absolute confidant, Shen Qing had always spoken without reservation before the Emperor, rarely ever stuttering or holding back.

In fact, the moment he uttered Shandong's Qingzhou Prefecture, the Emperor's brow had already furrowed.

Immersed in statecraft for half a lifetime, the Emperor was exceptionally sensitive to certain details.

"Go on."

The Emperor's tone was frigid, dark clouds seeming to gather in his narrow eyes.

At that moment, Zeng Min felt an extraordinary weight of sorrow in his heart; he wished nothing more than to avoid hearing Shen Qing's next words, yet he could not quietly slip away.

Shen Qing seemed oblivious to the emotional shift in the Emperor. After a brief hesitation, he calmly stated, "At present, your servant can confirm that one of those mysterious individuals once served as a household guard for the Liu family in Qingzhou Prefecture for several years, until he was driven out by the Liu family due to a lapse in judgment, after which his whereabouts became unknown."

The Qingzhou Liu family.

The maternal clan of Noble Consort Liu.

The Emperor slowly stood up and paced with his hands behind his back.

Shen Qing and Zeng Min stood respectfully to one side.

"The Empress..."

The Emperor squeezed the two words out from between his teeth.

He did not believe that Noble Consort Liu was orchestrating everything behind the scenes, for the simple reason that the ultimate victim of the Ministry of Works corruption case was the Prince of Dai, Jiang Chang, rather than Crown Prince Jiang Xuan, who was observing politics in the Ministry of Works.

The Emperor knew that Noble Consort Liu had both schemes and capability, but precisely because of that, how could she concoct a plot targeting her own biological son?

Not to mention that this plot was riddled with flaws, specifically exposing a mysterious person who came from Noble Consort Liu's hometown, whose face Gu Heng happened to see. All these signs of human carpentry were far too obvious.

In the Emperor's view, this was clearly a conspiracy targeting the Prince of Dai and Noble Consort Liu. The person with the greatest suspicion was naturally the Crown Prince's biological mother, the mistress of the inner palace, Empress Wei.

Shen Qing and Zeng Min kept their eyes fixed on their noses and their noses on their hearts, not daring to court death by picking up the Emperor's thread.

A moment later, the Emperor exhaled a breath, clenched his hands tightly together, and said coldly, "Catch that man, alive. I want to see precisely who is stirring up winds and waves right under my nose, and I will make them wish they were dead."

Shen Qing bowed and said, "Your servant obeys the edict."