Two Thousand Lives? Merely a Trivial Matter

"What counts as a big deal?"

Ning Zhao'an was busy giving her son a bath at the moment, and without even raising her head, she said, "Back in the previous dynasty, my great-grandfather colluded with the Provincial Administration Commissioner to frame and execute the then-Prefect of Shunqing, simply because that prefect wanted to shift the commoners' tax burdens onto the local gentry and landowners."

"He sought a good reputation while others supplied the money and effort. He argued that the wealthy ought to bear more of the taxes—and logically speaking, he wasn't wrong. But which local gentry member would ever be willing?"

"Because of his blunt and upright nature, he offended the Provincial Administration Commissioner. So they orchestrated a trap, slapped him with a charge of attempted treason, and had him executed on the spot."

That era coincided with the turbulent twilight of the dynasty, with rebel forces and generals rising everywhere. The emperor could barely protect himself and certainly had no time to investigate whether a mere prefect had been wronged.

Since it was all ancient history from a bygone dynasty, she spoke of her family's dark past without the slightest burden, almost as if she were gossiping about strangers.

A fourth-rank local official—he was killed simply because they wanted him dead.

She looked up at her husband, "So, although you've won a major victory this time, you must absolutely not lower your guard. Fortunately, you've just arrived and haven't offended any high-ranking local officials."

As long as one did not offend those at the very top, local factions still had to exercise some restraint no matter how powerful they were.

Li Yu was taken aback. "There's such a history in your family?"

His in-laws possessed truly audacious courage, and the crucial part was that they had never suffered any retribution for it.

Ning Zhao'an chuckled and continued washing their son. Without such audacity, how could they have protected all that family wealth? It would have been looted by others long ago.

Li Yu gazed up at the sky, wondering, "I wonder what Prime Minister Wang is thinking?"

In order to cover up his son's crimes, Zhang Jiao had wiped out an entire family. He heard that Zhang's son was now serving as an Academician in the Hanlin Academy...

***

In the capital.

Wang Zhiqiuhad burned the letter immediately after reading it. Behind him, Hua Lang furrowed his brows deeply. "We absolutely cannot touch Zhang Jiao right now!"

Even though Zhang had secretly pledged allegiance to Fan Chengyuan long ago, on the surface he was still part of their faction. Moving against Zhang Jiao would only alienate others.

Hua Lang reached out and gently uncurled his close friend's tightly clenched fingers, one by one.

"Mingfeng, to bring peace to the realm, one must first possess power. We must secure power before we can bring peace to the world. You must understand this logic."

How could Wang Zhiqiuhave failed to understand this principle? After deep thought, he hurriedly sat down, wrote a letter, sealed it with beeswax, and instructed a trusted messenger to deliver it quietly to Zhangqiu at the first opportunity.

The coiling dragon golden pillars of the Fengtian Hall gleamed brightly. The young emperor, Zhao Bo, sat straight upon the dragon throne, yet hidden within his bright yellow sleeve was a cricket cage.

Finding the court discussions entirely uninteresting, he only allowed his eyes a flicker of vitality when he took covert glances at his cricket while no one was paying attention.

Sensing the young emperor's utter lack of enthusiasm for state affairs, Fan Chengyuan stepped forward, intending to suggest an early adjournment of the court session, but his official boot had barely taken a step out.

Hua Lang's court tablet intercepted him right at his belly, launching the day's verbal warfare.

***

"Are the folds of Prime Minister Fan's belt holding enough flesh to feed the frontier troops for half a month?"

"Precisely," Wang Zhiqiuhissed, staring with mounting malice at the night pearls embedded on Fan's court boots. "Are you not going to offer His Majesty an explanation as to why the grain supply for the Liaodong army was delayed by a full month?"

Did the starvation of so many soldiers not even warrant a single report to the emperor?

"Hmm?"

Hearing that such a grave incident had occurred, Zhao Bo temporarily set aside his childish distractions. "What is the meaning of this?"

How could military provisions possibly arrive a month late, especially in Liaodong where the snow piled up half a person high?

Fan Chengyuan's tiny, mung-bean-like eyes rolled instantly as he bowed to the emperor.

"Although it was indeed delayed by a month, this subject has already penalized the officials involved, and the Ministry of Revenue has already begun handling the bereavement compensations. This subject merely thought that among state affairs, though every single matter is crucial, Your Majesty is young, and excessive worry might impair the imperial dragon's health."

"That is why I wished not to alarm Your Majesty with such trivialities; once I, your subject, handled it properly to share Your Majesty's burdens, it would suffice. Since Prime Minister Wang has brought it up today, I also feel it was inappropriate. This subject knows his crime, and in the future, I shall certainly never do this again."

Hearing this, Zhao Bo hardly knew what to say. After all, wasn't Prime Minister Fan acting with his best interests at heart?

His flattery was obsequious, his attitude humble and sincere—he was the spitting image of a treacherous minister.

Wang Zhiqiuhwas so enraged he felt like crushing his ivory tablet into pieces. "Trivialities? Letting nearly two thousand soldiers freeze and starve to death is a triviality? What kind of triviality is that?"

This scoundrel Fan Chengyuan possessed two completely different faces. During the late emperor's reign, he had acted diligent and upright—he had managed to keep up this act for twenty full years.

"Is Prime Minister Wang trying to emulate a street shrew?"

When Fan Chengyuan flicked his sleeves, it stirred up a wave of agarwood fragrance so strong that Zhang Jiao, standing behind him, nearly failed to suppress a sneeze. Fan continued in a self-righteous tone, "Our dynasty boasts three million elite troops, with Liaodong alone guarded by six hundred thousand soldiers. If a couple of thousand soldiers die, what is that if not a triviality?"

"Besides, did I embezzle the bereavement silver, or did I fail to make up for the grain? I merely wished to spare His Majesty from vexation. Why must you press us so aggressively?"

"Press my ass!"

Wang Zhiqiuhsuddenly hurled his ivory court tablet to the floor. The loud crash startled the cricket in Zhao Bo's sleeve into letting out a sharp chirp. The young emperor hurriedly handed the cage to the junior eunuch behind him, signaling him to take it away at once.

Wang Zhiqiuhroared, nearly beside himself, "The pillars of two thousand families are gone just like that, while your precious nephew, the one responsible for transporting the grain, is still debauching himself in the brothels and pleasure quarters!"

"He's still writing verses about not blaming the King of Chu for his fondness for slender waists! How do you intend to deal with that nephew of yours?"

***

And just how inflated those three million troops truly were—did Fan not have the slightest inkling in his own heart?

Fan Chengyuan immediately replied that naturally, it was up to His Majesty to decide, and it should be dealt with however His Majesty saw fit.

Though Zhao Bo was angry that Fan's nephew was so utterly useless, the thought that Fan Chengyuan had generally treated him quite well made him soften his stance, and he settled for demoting the nephew by two ranks.

So many people had died, and the punishment was merely a two-rank demotion? Where under heaven was there such a cheap bargain?

Wang Zhiqiuh's face turned livid with fury, yet Fan Chengyuan was already bowing in gratitude.

Hua Lang grabbed his arm tightly and whispered in a low voice, "Mingfeng, you cannot openly contradict His Majesty."

If they constantly opposed the emperor, wouldn't that play right into Fan Chengyuan's trap?

After the court dismissed, Wang Zhiqiuhremained entirely silent. Before the session ended, the emperor had summoned Fan Chengyuan to stay behind.

Under the guise of a tutoring session, who knew what sort of playthings encouraging idleness and ruining ambition he was concocting for the emperor this time? Seeing Wang's cloud-covered face, Hua Lang was so anxious he spun in circles.

"Mingfeng, why don't we follow my idea? Can't we just act like Fan Chengyuan?"

Wasn't it just about currying favor with the emperor?

If this emperor was ruined, so be it; once he was ruined by excessive play, there were other imperial sons and grandsons who could inherit the throne.

But if they let Fan Chengyuan keep operating unchecked like this, the two of them would undoubtedly die.

Hua Lang had gambled the lives of his entire household, young and old alike; no matter what, he could not afford to lose.

"I dreamt of the late emperor last night," Wang Zhiqiuhsighed heavily, tears shimmering in the corners of his eyes. "His appearance and voice were identical to when he was young."

"He stood in the corridor of my courtyard, smiling at me, saying the exact same words he spoke when he drew his last breath: 'Mingfeng, my eldest son has only this single line of blood left. You must ensure he becomes a wise ruler of an era.'"

Unless absolutely driven to desperation, he truly wanted to guide the young emperor onto the right path.

Wang Zhiqiuhwiped the corners of his eyes, steadied himself against his friend's arm, and choked out, "Didn't they want to send a delicate singing girl to your son-in-law? Tell your son-in-law to accept her. Given his cleverness, even if we are defeated, he can still maneuver and survive."

The Hua family's disciples and students spanned the entire realm. If they fell from grace in the future, Fan Chengyuan would not dare to exterminate them utterly, especially since they intended to court the favor of Li Zixuan's brother-in-law.

Hua Lang clenched his fists. What singing girl?

That was his son-in-law's pledge of allegiance, except that his clueless daughter would likely have her heart broken.

Wang Zhiqiuhwiped away his tears and said resolutely, "We must also begin preparations for that other matter. Even if His Majesty... we cannot let the empire of Daorong be destroyed."