Someday, if I achieve my towering ambition, I dare mock the Nine Provinces for lacking heroes.

"Surname Wu, your actions are going to ruin the Emperor's major affairs."

"Surname Hong, I am a conscientious doctor, and I cannot abandon a doctor's principles. No means no." Wu Yong showed not the slightest bit of fear, firing right back, "You brought a bunch of illiterate, dirty, pig-like Green Standard Army soldiers here to work—are you trying to cure illnesses or murder people?"

As they were bickering, Wu Yong's sharp eyes suddenly grabbed a sickly soldier and ripped open his uniform. The man's body was densely covered in red pustules.

Everyone instantly gasped.

"Smallpox is already running rampant in your workshop. You, Hong Chengchou, still have the nerve to impeach me? Let's go to the imperial presence and argue this out!"

"Why, you—"

Hong Chengchou and Wu Yong began to wrestle and brawl.

After all, Governor-General Hong was a man who had commanded thousands of troops. Throwing a flurry of straight punches, he caused blood to stream from Wu Yong's nose.

While fighting, he cursed, "You quack!"

...

Forbidden City, Palace of Heavenly Purity.

The Shunzhi Emperor smashed several porcelain vases in succession.

"Hong Chengchou, you are simply arrogant beyond bounds. Wu Yong is the Chief Physician of the Imperial Hospital! He is the imperial physician treating the royal family! How dare you beat him?"

"This subject deserves death."

"Now tell me, is your vaccine problematic or not?"

"Replying to the Emperor, perhaps it is not as high quality as the one in the South City, but it is still usable."

"Can it be used or not?"

"Yes!"

"Fine, I shall trust you one last time!"

Hong Chengchou walked out of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, lost in a daze, and glanced up at the sky. The sunlight was fine and dazzling, yet he felt a chill on his body.

...

The eighth day of the first lunar month.

South City, Gendarmerie Alley, the Jiang Residence.

An uninvited guest arrived—Hong Chengchou's son, Ministry of Rites Section Chief Hong Shiming. It was he who had gone to Needle and Thread Alley to propose marriage previously.

Now visiting once more, he appeared slightly awkward.

Madam Wen stepped forward to receive him with all due courtesy.

After some polite small talk, Hong Shiming finally stated the purpose of his visit.

"My father holds Qingyun in high regard and often praises him as a rare young talent in the capital. Coming to pay a visit today, he hopes our two families can forge a marital alliance."

Madam Wen offered an awkward smile, "Thank you, Minister, for your high praise, but my son is already married."

"No matter, no matter. My father's intention is that she become a concubine."

"What?"

"I have a younger sister, intelligent and strikingly bright, who is willing to become Qingyun's concubine."

This attitude could truly be described as lowering oneself into the dust.

"Madam, I implore you to consider this thoroughly."

Hong Shiming stood up and bowed deeply with his hands cupped.

...

After seeing Hong Shiming off, Madam Wen hurried to find Jiang Qingyun and relayed the matter to him.

"Yun'er, has the Hong family run into some insurmountable hurdle?"

"Mother, you are truly sharp."

"Don't beat around the bush."

"Hong Chengchou is currently caught in a dilemma. The task he bears is a giant pit; if he doesn't resign, he will surely die. If he resigns, he dies all the same."

"But hasn't your smallpox inoculation in the South City been proceeding quite smoothly?"

"Mother, my vaccine is different from his. I didn't use the Imperial Hospital's formula at all, but rather created a superior one of my own. Yet even so, over three thousand commoners in the South City have broken out in pustules."

"The Nanyuan shelter clearly has only two or three hundred patients, and most of them have mild symptoms."

"Mother, I evacuated the other patients to various counties in Zhili."

"You are simply daring beyond belief."

"Mother, our entire family received the exact same vaccination. We too face the possibility of failure, the possibility of death! Treating everyone equally is the most perfect fairness in this world!"

Madam Wen asked in a low voice, "So, once implemented, the situation in the Inner City will be even worse, and the number of patients could be several times, or even tenfold, that of the South City, correct?"

"Let us leave it to fate."

Jiang Qingyun smiled, revealing a row of gleaming white teeth.

...

Madam Wen remained silent for a moment before dropping a remark, "Shall I find you another concubine?"

"Whose family?"

"I'll select a girl for you from a collateral branch of the Donglin Party in Jiangnan."

"Mother, didn't you always say that a woman's lack of talent is a virtue, and that a woman like Luzhu is just fine?"

Madam Wen shook her head, "That is entirely different! The path you are walking now is perilous; you need allies, and that requires a marital alliance!"

"If our ways differ, we cannot plan together. What should we do if our opinions clash?"

"Once they are aboard the ship, where it sails is no longer up to them. You can become the leader of the Donglin Party, and expel anyone who doesn't support you from the Donglin roster."

...

Madam Wen left.

Leaving Jiang Qingyun alone in the study to quietly ponder.

That's right!

Most of the members of the Donglin Party are still alive, and these people constantly desire to re-enter the imperial court.

If Mother paves a hopeful path for them through the Changzhou Wen clan, how could these people possibly refuse?

Marital alliances—ancient and effective.

Once he rises to a high position, he can have these people lend a hand in terms of financial resources and public opinion.

As for future disagreements, they can cross that bridge when they come to it.

In short, the party leader has the qualification to purge the ranks and redefine the Donglin Party. Politics, after all, is just like that.

Brilliant, simply brilliant!

"Luzhu, attend with brush and ink."

Luzhu was still dressed in verdant green, her clothes fitting snugly, her hands and feet nimble.

Jiang Qingyun took up the brush and wrote in one fluid motion.

"If one day I achieve my towering ambition, I will dare mock the Nine Provinces for lacking heroes."

"Young Master's calligraphy is truly exquisite."

"Take it and burn it."

"Yes."

Jiang Qingyun had a very good habit: aside from official documents, he burned whatever he wrote on the spot and never left any works behind.

The renowned scholar Shi Naian once said: Leave traces in your work, but leave no traces in your life. Leaving traces is an attitude, while leaving no traces is wisdom.

...

Cao Xi, a Plain White Banner bondservant.

He had a great-grandson named Cao Xueping.

At this moment, Cao Xi, who had just returned from the Shanxi frontline, was brought to the South City Gendarmerie for interrogation.

"Cao Xi, someone accuses you of faking your military achievements. In the Shanxi campaign, you clung to life and feared death, standing by while your allies fell into distress without offering assistance. Is this true?"

"Imperial Censor, this slave is wronged! This slave followed the Prince Regent of the Imperial Father through battles across three prefectures and four counties, and has always been brave. This is a well-known fact."

"Audacious! Whose fact? Whose reputation? Cao Xi, a slave of bondservant origin like you dares to spout nonsense before this Censor. Slap his mouth!"

The jailer immediately leaped forward and delivered four sharp slaps, alternating left and right.

Eliminating the bondservant Cao Xi by availing oneself of the Dorgon case could also be considered entirely justified and lawful, and there would be no *Dream of the Red Chamber* in the future.

In that case...

*The Plum in the Golden Vase* would have a strong chance of stepping up to fill the ranks of the Four Great Classical Novels, thereby edifying readers and guiding the customs of later generations—which could also be considered a small contribution to senior writer Xiaoxiaosheng.

Garden operas were still too far removed from the common people, whereas the bustling marketplace was right at hand.

...

Cao Xi was beaten until blood streamed from his nose, terrified and panicked.

A terrifying thought suddenly occurred to him: could it be that the imperial court had gone back on its word and intended to redefine the Prince Regent of the Imperial Father? Was it suppressing the Two White Banners?

"My Lord, this slave is wronged."

Watching the wailing Cao Xi...

Jiang Qingyun stood up, flicked his sleeves, and left. As he stepped down from the hall, he quietly cast a look at Zhao Zesheng, who was standing to the side.

Zhao Zesheng walked down to the hall with a beaming smile.

Pulling up a chair, he sat down in front of Cao Xi.

"Cao Xi, there is no one else here now. Let me speak a few words from the heart to you."

"You don't need to be nervous. Military reports having a bit of moisture in them is a very normal thing—it's the lingering style of the Great Ming. Our Lord isn't blaming you either. As long as you honestly confess and squeeze the moisture out, everything will be fine."