In the ninth month of Jiandu, there was to be a chrysanthemum viewing, but because of the drought disaster in Yong City, the court was still withholding part of the monthly stipends of the officials. Inside and outside the palace, all followed the decree of Li Jianting and did not hold large chrysanthemum banquets. Fu Man had originally cultivated hundreds of pots of rare chrysanthemums in his own estate, but now he did not dare send them.
At the third quarter of the Yin hour, Fu Man woke up and, under the service of a young eunuch, rinsed his mouth and changed clothes. Eunuchs who served closely by the master could not have any smell on their bodies. Their collars were false collars; if stained with sweat, they could be changed immediately. Their socks and boots were stiff brushed velvet boots and socks, making no sound when walking.
Fu Man finished cleaning himself properly and dressed neatly, placing his waist token in front, then stepped out the door. Seeing that there were still stars in the sky, he went to the duty room in front of Mingli Hall and asked the eunuch who had been serving in the sleeping palace the night before:
“How did His Majesty sleep last night?”
The eunuchs were eating breakfast with tea. Those who stood night watch did not dare eat casually, afraid that they would need to relieve themselves at night, and also afraid of leaving taste in their mouths, so before going in they only dared eat a few snacks to fill themselves. Now they were starving. Hearing Fu Man’s question, they quickly lowered their hands and stood respectfully, answering:
“Reporting to Old Ancestor, His Majesty slept fairly well last night, turned over four times, but did not call for this servant.”
Fu Man calculated the time and estimated that Li Jianting should be awake, so he waited under the eaves for summons. After a moment, he saw Feng Quan come out and only smiled and nodded slightly as greeting. Feng Quan seemed not to notice, and returned the courtesy according to ritual.
“The emperor wanted to summon Old Ancestor to serve by his side last night,” Feng Quan said in a low voice while bowing, “Old Ancestor, this is double happiness.”
Fu Man could not see through what Feng Quan was scheming, and felt suspicion rise in his heart. He did not dare answer casually, and only said vaguely:
“Borrow your good words.”
After speaking, without waiting for Feng Quan to continue, he lifted his robe and entered Mingli Hall first.
Inside the sleeping palace, the hanging curtains had just been tied up, and all windows were open. It was early morning frost, and Fu Man felt the cold. He walked in small steps to the bronze mirror side and saw Li Jianting already finished dressing. Normally, at this time he would have praised her, but today he was cautious and only said:
“Your Majesty, breakfast is prepared.”
Li Jianting’s expression was normal. The flower mark on her forehead was striking. She adjusted her golden hairpin and said:
“Keep it light.”
“This servant does not dare forget Your Majesty’s instructions. I specifically had the Guanglu Temple prepare simple dishes,” Fu Man bowed, lightly supporting Li Jianting, “only gold-and-silver rolls and jade-white tofu.”
Li Jianting left the sleeping palace. On the imperial desk were memorials newly approved last night. She picked out a stack and looked through them again.
“Go back and tell the Grand Chancellor,” Li Jianting said while breaking apart a gold-and-silver roll, “those memorials of greetings can be omitted and need not be submitted through the cabinet. Like this Youtan of Xiliu Prefecture in Luzhou, his memorial is too verbose and long-winded, going back and forth with only flattering words. It wastes time.”
Fu Man served her meal and smiled upon hearing this:
“This official Youtan, this servant has also heard of him. It is said his memorials are always like this. Even Grand Secretary Hai in his early years could not be bothered to read them.”
Li Jianting did not respond. After finishing breakfast, she hurried to morning court.
At morning court, they discussed the eastward advance of Li Bei. Scouts from Dancheng reported that the Northern Plains training grounds were reinforcing troops. While the Ministry of War had not finished reporting, the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue began arguing, demanding that the delayed stipends be issued immediately. The Ministry of Revenue had no choice; without money they could not push responsibility onto Li Jianting, so they could only endure the scolding in silence. Halfway through the scolding, censors from the Court of Judicial Review accused local officials of negligence, saying that in Xinzhou of Huaizhou, the newly appointed prefect had been in office less than half a month before Huaizhou erupted in rebellion.
“Withholding stipends is to relieve Yong City,” said an official of the Ministry of Revenue. “At a time of national crisis, we should work together. Your stipends were not paid; ours from the Ministry of Revenue were also not paid. Everyone is starving, so why are you only scolding us?”
“You have been auditing accounts all this time—Dan City and Wu City were investigated, the Pan and Han families were confiscated. In Rucheng, the Fei family led the way, and now the remaining cities are filling land taxes,” an official of the Ministry of Personnel retorted. “According to the annual budget, stipends should be payable now. Where is the money? Where did all the money go? There must be an explanation!”
“You speak of stipends,” an official of the Ministry of Works said urgently, “why bring up unrelated matters?”
“We are upright and not afraid of shadows. All accounts are reviewed by the Ministry of Punishments and the Court of Judicial Review, then calculated by the cabinet and submitted to the emperor. There is no concealment at all.” Liang Dishan bowed to Li Jianting. “Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue submits accounts to the cabinet every month, the Grand Chancellor issues approval slips, and Your Majesty has applied vermilion approval. Every step strictly follows law and procedure…”
“Strict law and procedure? Lord Chongshen, not necessarily.” A censor from the Court of Judicial Review raised his hand and bowed. “Your Majesty, this minister is about to impeach former Minister of Revenue Xue Xiuyi for bribery!”
At this shout, the hall fell silent. All the arguing officials turned their heads.
Xue Xiuzhuo stood motionless among the officials, his eyes not moving at all.
Li Jianting looked at Xue Xiuzhuo for a moment and said:
“Is Xue Xiuyi now the warehouse custodian?”
“Reporting to Your Majesty, yes. This man, when he was originally in the Ministry of Revenue, acted confused and repeatedly slandered the court, and was never reused.” The censor lifted his robe and knelt, continuing, “Until a few months ago, Xue Xiuyi colluded with merchants, used Your Majesty’s amnesty as cover, bribed palace inner eunuchs with large sums, and obtained the position of warehouse custodian.”
The golden butterfly beside Li Jianting’s temple trembled slightly as she straightened her body.
“After taking this post, Xue Xiuyi amassed wealth on a large scale, purchasing three estates on East Dragon Street. This man knows no shame, and also colluded with inner eunuchs to falsify accounts, and resold stolen warehouse treasures, totaling two hundred thousand taels!”
The hall immediately erupted in uproar. The Yong City relief silver was only a hundred thousand taels; the Xingde years bribery case involving Xiao Chiyan only involved eight thousand taels of silk from Quan City. Who would have thought Xue Xiuyi, in less than three months in office, had embezzled two hundred thousand taels!
“Rats… rats…” an old cabinet minister nearly fainted.
Li Jianting’s expression darkened. Xue Xiuyi’s resale of warehouse treasures for two hundred thousand taels, yet Fu Man had only reported eighty thousand taels to her. The remaining one hundred twenty thousand taels had all been pocketed by them.
“This minister also impeaches Deputy Minister of the Court of Judicial Review Xue Xiuzhuo!” The censor turned his spearhead directly at Xue Xiuzhuo. “Xue Xiuzhuo is tyrannical and abuses power for personal gain! Holding high office but not reflecting on himself, receiving imperial favor but not understanding the emperor’s will, allowing rats to enter the granary, colluding with Xue Xiuyi—truly hateful, detestable, and contemptible beyond words!”
“You are insolent!” Li Jianting suddenly shouted coldly.
The entire hall knelt in a crash, silent as a needle dropping.
Li Jianting rose, stepped forward from the throne, and pointed at the censor:
“As a speech official, responsible for supervising and impeaching officials, you should verify facts! You know your words guide the court, yet you use them to exclude rivals. In my view, you are the hateful one!”
Speech officials had low rank, but their authority could penetrate all levels. Even the former emperor Guang Cheng did not dare reprimand them. Only in Tianchen years did Li Jianheng, that fool, act out during the bribery case involving Fu Linye. Otherwise, no emperor of the Great Zhou had ever dared offend a censor in court.
As expected, the censor immediately said:
“This minister has conclusive evidence, yet Your Majesty protects the guilty. Is this not failing to distinguish right from wrong, black from white—”
“Xue Xiuzhuo is the Emperor’s teacher!” Li Jianting said coldly. “How can I allow you to falsely accuse my teacher?”
Kong Qiu’s heart sank, and while kneeling, he exchanged a glance with Cen Yu.
“Xue Xiuyi’s corruption will be investigated immediately by the Ministry of Punishments. It must be tried as soon as possible. As for Xue Xiuzhuo,” Li Jianting swept her sleeve and left, “what you said is all nonsense!”
“Your Majesty,” the censor said mournfully, “if the Xue clan is not removed, it will become a faction! Xue Xiuzhuo is clearly the next Hua Sihai…”
Xue Xiuzhuo prostrated himself, from beginning to end not uttering a single word.
In Jiandu, by evening it also began to rain.
Feng Quan was serving outside Mingli Hall and vaguely heard Kong Qiu inside still remonstrating.
“Although Xue Xiuzhuo is the emperor’s teacher, he is involved in Xue Xiuyi’s bribery case. According to law, he should also be suspended for investigation,” Kong Qiu said. “Today the emperor publicly rebuked the censor, which violates the teachings of Emperor Taizong and is truly improper.”
After court, Li Jianting remained silent. No matter how urgently Kong Qiu spoke, she did not respond. Kong Qiu rose, bowed, saw she would not answer, and bowed again.
“My will is decided,” Li Jianting said. “Grand Chancellor need not persuade further. Feng Quan, escort the Grand Chancellor out!”
The light rain continued. Feng Quan supported Kong Qiu and personally held an umbrella for him. Kong Qiu stepped out of Mingli Hall. A gust of wind lifted fallen leaves. He turned all his warnings into a sigh, gently pushed Feng Quan away, refused the umbrella, and walked alone into the rain. Feng Quan hurried after him, lifting his robes and holding the umbrella high, escorting him all the way out.
On the other side, Fu Man heard the commotion and rushed to Mingli Hall. Before even entering, he knelt down. As soon as he knelt, he wiped tears with his sleeve, trying to cry injustice through the curtain. Before he could open his mouth, a teacup was suddenly thrown from inside, smashing at his feet into pieces.
“You covet merit and fame, colluding with officials to steal warehouse treasures.” Li Jianting shouted through the curtain. “Guards, drag this deceiver who deceives superiors and conceals truth out!”
Fu Man had already heard detailed reports of the morning court disputes in the duty room. He knelt fiercely on the broken porcelain shards, supporting himself and kowtowing in panic:
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty, hear this servant one more word! That Xue Xiuyi’s appointment was recommended by the Minister of Personnel—what does it have to do with this humble servant? Your Majesty!” he cried miserably, “what virtue does this servant have to suffer such injustice!”
Li Jianting did not respond, still seemingly in anger.
Fu Man quickly slammed his head down repeatedly, crying:
“This servant’s low life is not worth anything. Your Majesty may dispose of me as you wish, but all the ministers in court are learned scholars—how can they trample this servant so!”
The things Xue Xiuyi had given Fu Man had already been packed away. He was usually cautious; valuable items were never sent into the palace, all hidden in his residence in Jiandu, guarded by his adopted sons. Now that trouble had arisen, and the Ministry of Punishments would definitely investigate him, he immediately sent word to warn them from the duty room.
Hearing Fu Man’s miserable crying, Li Jianting seemed slightly moved.
Fu Man seized the chance, about to counter-accuse the Court of Judicial Review of seeking fame through remonstrance, when Feng Quan hurried back.
Feng Quan put away his umbrella under the eaves, seemingly not noticing Fu Man’s plea. He reported to Li Jianting inside:
“Your Majesty, this servant saw several young eunuchs carrying flowers hurriedly on the road. After asking, I learned they were being sent to Mingli Hall.”
Fu Man recognized those eunuchs—they were all carrying extremely valuable chrysanthemums. Seeing Feng Quan stand upright, he suddenly felt something was wrong. Li Jianting lifted the curtain and came out, frowned, and said:
“I already ordered not to waste time and effort cultivating these chrysanthemums. Who sent them? The duty room did not report this.”
The eunuchs knelt and knocked their heads, replying:
“Reporting to Your Majesty, this was ordered by Eunuch Fu.”
Fu Man felt his heart burn and retorted:
“You slave! You dare spout nonsense in front of the Son of Heaven! I was on duty today—when did I ever give such orders?”
The court was still owing stipends; Li Jianting had continued Yong City’s policy, maintaining frugality in the palace and suppressing extravagance. Fu Man was already entangled in the matter of warehouse theft, and was trying to push responsibility onto Xue Xiuyi to become a scapegoat, using his own supposed frugality as defense—yet an unexpected change now pushed him into a dead end.
“Shut your mouth, eunuch!” Li Jianting’s expression turned even darker. She said coldly to the eunuchs, “Speak truthfully.”
The eunuch said in fear:
“Last night Eunuch Fu sent someone to instruct us that the chrysanthemums from the estate, along with the Guanglu Temple purchases, were sent into the palace. The flowers are precious and must be well cared for, and when the emperor finished court today, they were to be sent to Mingli Hall to relieve boredom—”
Fu Man’s hands and feet turned ice-cold. In an instant he shouted:
“You dare falsely accuse me with empty words! If I sent someone, where is the receipt? Where is the token?”
The eunuch wiped rain from his arm, trembling so badly he almost collapsed:
“…The person was familiar, it was—one of Old Ancestor’s adopted sons. This servant did not dare ask for a token.”
Fu Man gripped a porcelain shard, his palm torn and bloody. Hearing that there was no token, he immediately said:
“All lies! I have served in the palace for nearly twenty years. Though foolish, I understand rules. Any official business requires tokens as proof. Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”
He raised his waist token and crawled forward on his knees, crying toward Li Jianting:
“Even if this servant dies today, I must die with clarity!”
“Your Majesty, this servant also finds this matter strange,” Feng Quan knelt in front of Li Jianting. “Eunuch Fu manages internal affairs and is Your Majesty’s trusted minister. He must not be falsely accused like this. It must be investigated. Why not summon the ‘adopted son’ who delivered the message to the imperial presence, and let Your Majesty see clearly?”
Fu Man saw mockery in that handsome face. Before he could respond, Li Jianting ordered the guards:
“Go, bring the Old Ancestor’s son here.”
She emphasized “Old Ancestor,” making Fu Man feel a bone-deep chill.
In less than a moment, the guards brought the person to the hall. Rain washed the steps. The adopted son lay prostrate in the rain, trembling all over.
Li Jianting could not see clearly and said:
“Raise your face.”
He whimpered, as if terrified, shaking his head wildly against the ground. The guards beside him pressed his shoulders and lifted his head.
Li Jianting did not recognize him, but a young eunuch in the rain said:
“It’s him, Your Majesty—it is Eunuch Yingxi!”
“Eunuch Yingxi, the military supervising eunuch of Tianchen years,” Feng Quan said softly to Li Jianting, “he was imprisoned by the Eastern Lie King and already sent to the Ministry of Punishments prison.”
Fu Man stared blankly at Yingxi. As the guards approached, he seemed to suddenly awaken and shouted:
“This servant is wronged… Your Majesty… this person is absolutely not—”
Yingxi scraped against the ground, wailing loudly. He clutched the ground, choking and crying:
“Old Ancestor—Old Ancestor, save your son!”
Li Jianting pulled away the robe that Fu Man had touched and looked at him:
“You have quite the ability. A eunuch already sentenced by the Ministry of Punishments, you can still pull him out. Truly worthy of being the ‘Old Ancestor’ relied upon by all.”
Fu Man felt cold all over and knew this was a dead end. He said:
“Your Majesty… please remember old feelings…”
“You and I are only master and servant in the deep palace,” Li Jianting said. “What old feelings are there? I elevated you, yet you do not know gratitude. You committed such grave errors—killing you would not be unjust.”
The guards dragged Fu Man away. The collar of his robe strangled his neck. He panicked and struggled:
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty—”
Feng Quan signaled the guards. They immediately gagged Fu Man and dragged him out as fast as possible.
“Did she not act?” Shen Zechuan turned and looked at Fei Sheng.
Fei Sheng nodded:
“It is said the empress angrily rebuked the censor in court, and it has already caused chaos in the capital. Master, she previously rewarded Jiang Qingshan precisely to contend with Xue Xiuzhuo. With such a good opportunity this time, how did it become teacher-student affection again?”
Shen Zechuan glanced at the mirror, the jade bead on his right ear dim and indistinct. After a moment of thought, he said:
“I still underestimated the empress.”
Yao Wenyu watched rain dripping under the eaves and suddenly swept his arm, scattering the chess pieces across the board. Black and white pieces scattered into the rain, quickly swallowed by ripples. His throat turned bitter and he coughed a few times:
“When wood stands out in the forest, the wind will destroy it; when a pile forms by the shore, the current will be violent¹. What the empress said in court is both to use Xue Xiuzhuo, and also to discard Xue Xiuzhuo.”
¹ From Li Kang, On Fate.