Chapter 328
Chapter 328
It was a rare, quiet day. Shen Lang was playing Go with the Fifth Prince, Ning Zheng. Ning Zheng asked him,
“Shen Lang, are you serious about what you said before?”
Shen Lang had previously suggested that Ning Zheng take the position of Prefect of White Night Prefecture. Shen Lang replied,
“Of course. Your Highness will serve as the Prefect of White Night Prefecture, and I will become the Lord of Zhenyuan City. The two of us will replace Zhang Chong as the standard-bearers of the New Policies. When that happens, the world will witness a most interesting spectacle.”
Interesting? It would be enough to make everyone's jaws drop.
‘Shen Lang, weren't you the representative of the old aristocracy opposing the New Policies just a short while ago? And now you've turned around and become their standard-bearer. How utterly absurd.’
Ning Zheng looked up from the Go board and said to Shen Lang,
“I still find the idea preposterous and difficult to execute.”
“What is His Majesty the King's greatest defeat right now? It's not the war in the Southern Ravage Nation. We still hold the upper hand there. The King's greatest defeat is the failure of the New Policies. If Your Highness can raise the banner of the New Policies, the King will not only be delighted but deeply moved.”
Ning Zheng shook his head.
“I don't have that kind of ability.”
In response to Ning Zheng's answer, Shen Lang boasted,
“But you have me. Your Highness only needs to protect me so that things can proceed smoothly. Our destruction of the Su Clan will be what makes the New Policies shine brilliantly.”
Everyone would surely curse Shen Lang for promoting the New Policies when he had just been fighting against them. Did this mean he had no principles? His principle was to have no particular principles. He only did what was advantageous to himself and the Jin Clan.
“To continue with the New Policies and draw your sword against the Su Clan, you must first drag Su Nan down from his position in the court.”
“That's right. Su Nan must be brought down!”
“That is an even more difficult task.”
Indeed. It was an incredibly difficult task. The Yue court was divided into three factions: the Crown Prince's faction, the Third Prince's faction, and the neutral faction. Su Nan was the central figure of the neutral faction, deeply entrenched in the court, his power so immense it could eclipse the sky. Shen Lang was like a powerless weed, while Su Nan was a towering tree that reached the heavens. For a weed like Shen Lang to fell a tree of such magnitude, everyone would surely dismiss it as sleep-talking.
“Soon!”
Ning Zheng asked in surprise,
“What will be soon?”
“The time for Su Nan's downfall will come soon.”
Ning Zheng looked at Shen Lang, perplexed and incredulous.
‘There isn't even a hint of his downfall right now. Su Nan is like the midday sun in the court, showing no signs of decline.’
“Do you, by any chance, have a secret weapon to deal with Su Nan?”
A secret weapon? Of course, he wasn't entirely without one. Shen Lang possessed a forged secret letter—the one in which the late Marquis Su Zhan had tried to persuade the Jin Clan to side with Ning Yuanwu. It was for this very letter that Su Jianting had braved public condemnation and led the masters from the Western Regions to attack the Jin Clan. However, it couldn't be called a secret weapon. It could only serve as a minor tool to help bring about Su Nan's downfall, but it was far from a fatal blow.
Therefore, Ning Zheng couldn't imagine how Shen Lang, a lowly official with no faction in the court, could possibly topple the powerful Su Nan. Shen Lang had even lost that insignificant post and was now confined to his home, meant to be reflecting on his actions. For him to bring down Su Nan was, quite literally, like an ant trying to shake a tree.
“Your Highness, if I take the lead in attacking Su Nan, I might achieve a small victory, but it will never be a fatal blow. The power I hold is far too weak, and I have no influence in the court.”
Ning Zheng nodded.
“But the most dangerous moment is also the best opportunity. The instant the enemy draws their sword to strike is the best moment to counterattack. If I can seize that once-in-a-lifetime chance, I can strike back in an instant. The moment for the decisive battle will come soon.”
Ning Zheng still couldn't comprehend Shen Lang's plan. Just then, two fair-skinned, pretty children came toddling over. The older one immediately sat on Shen Lang's lap, while the younger one climbed onto Ning Zheng's lap and settled down. Ye Jiajia asked Shen Lang,
“Uncle, what are you doing?”
Shen Lang was truly terrified of this little girl. Every day before dawn, she would bring her younger sister into his room, jump all over his bed, and chatter away, shouting, “Uncle, wake up, wake up.” If he didn't get up, they would rip the blankets off him. They didn't come to play with him; they just believed that no one should be sleeping while they were around. After waking him up, the children would run away.
Shen Lang answered,
“We're playing Go. Why aren't you playing with your fatty big brother?”
Fatty big brother was, of course, Jin Mucong. Ye Jiajia replied,
“Fatty big brother is angry.”
“Oh? Why is he angry?”
“I asked him why the white uncle has a wife and the black uncle has a wife, but fatty big brother doesn't have one, and he got angry.”
Hah! How could Jin Mucong not get angry when his greatest weakness had been poked?
‘Fatty Jin Mucong, you still don't have a woman?’
A child's unfiltered words could be especially hurtful. The white uncle Ye Jiajia mentioned was the fair-faced Shen Lang, while Ning Zheng, with his darker complexion, was called the black uncle. Ye Jiajia asked again,
“Uncles, what are you doing?”
Shen Lang repeated his answer.
“We're playing Go.”
The child stared intently at the black and white stones covering the Go board with her jet-black eyes and asked,
“Uncle, what are these?”
“They're Go stones.”
“Can you eat them?”
“No.”
“You really can't eat them?”
“You really can't.”
Ye Jiajia, thinking Shen Lang was tricking her, looked at her two-year-old sister and said,
“You try one and tell me if it's tasty.”
“Okay!”
Ye Huihui foolishly picked up a Go stone, put it in her mouth, and bit down with her baby teeth. It happened so fast that Ning Zheng couldn't stop her. The Go stone was incredibly hard. In contrast, Ye Huihui, who was only two, had nothing but soft, white baby teeth, so it must have been very painful. The child stared blankly for a moment, then burst into a loud wail. Ning Zheng quickly took the stone out of her mouth and checked her teeth, but thankfully, none were hurt. Hearing the cry, Lady Zhuo rushed over, picked up Ye Huihui, and carried her away. Shen Lang looked down at Ye Jiajia in his arms with pity.
‘This girl is so naughty. Tricking her sister every time. And Huihui is so gullible. She falls for it every time.’
Seeing the look in Shen Lang's eyes, Ye Jiajia thought she was about to be scolded and quickly slid off his lap.
“So you really can't eat them?”
After saying that, Ye Jiajia quickly ran away. But she didn't get far before Xiao Bing caught her and spanked her bottom.
“You naughty girl, bullying your sister again?”
Another piercing cry was heard, but once again, it was a cry without a single tear. Shen Lang and the Fifth Prince, Ning Zheng, continued their conversation.
“When you and Su Nan have your decisive battle in the court, will it be a fierce fight, or do you think the outcome will be decided in an instant?”
“The outcome will be decided in an instant.”
“When?”
“That moment will come soon.”
* * *
Inside the Crown Prince's Fragrant Pavilion.
Governor Zhu Rong said,
“Your Highness, Jin Zhuo has now been enfeoffed as the Marquis of Xuanwu, and His Majesty was very pleased.”
The Crown Prince continued to fiddle with a jade carving in his hand, saying nothing.
Zhu Rong continued,
“Now is the best time to save Zhang Chong. If Your Highness just says the word, His Majesty will surely release him.”
The Crown Prince's face broke into a wide smile. Suo An said,
“Master Zhu, Zhang Chong may be very important to you, but in His Highness's view, there are matters of greater importance, of higher strategic priority. His Highness's words are like gold and jade; every word he speaks is precious.”
This was not a lie. The Crown Prince was the young sovereign of Yue, a position of immense weight. Therefore, every word he spoke, especially every request he made to the King, had to be carefully considered. Zhang Chong was Zhu Rong's confidant, but not the Crown Prince's. From the Crown Prince's perspective, there were more pressing matters to prioritize; Zhang Chong's case could be considered later. Besides, although Zhang Chong was part of the Crown Prince's faction, his loyalty was to the King. Naturally, the Crown Prince found this displeasing.
He had once bestowed upon Xu Guangyun a plaque that read ‘The Xu Clan Embellishes the Southern Sky Province.’ And what was the result? The Xu Clan was destroyed. Now, the Xu Clan had shown signs of wanting to make a comeback, but Xu Qianqian had instead sought refuge with the Jin Clan, not the Crown Prince. Wasn't that a slap in his face?
Zhu Rong said,
“Your Highness, Zhang Chong is a clever and capable official. Now is the perfect time for Your Highness to save him. If you bestow this grace upon him, Zhang Chong will surely be moved to tears and pledge his life to you.”
Crown Prince Ning Yi smiled faintly.
“Uncle, I have already considered it.”
After Zhu Rong left, the Crown Prince asked Suo An,
“Is it true that Xu Qianqian has sought refuge with Shen Lang and the Jin Clan?”
“It is. How could that lecher Shen Lang let a beauty like Xu Qianqian go? They must have already had an affair.”
“Then do they still have the ‘The Xu Clan Embellishes the Southern Sky Province’ plaque I bestowed upon the Xu Clan?”
“They should.”
“Go and bring it back.”
* * *
Half a year had already passed since Zhang Chong was imprisoned in the Supreme Court's jail. He seemed to have been completely forgotten. His second son, Zhang Jin, was still kneeling outside the Supreme Court every day. At first, many who saw him were moved, calling him a great filial son, but behind his back, even more people sneered that he was putting on too good of an act. Now, however, it was such a common sight that no one found it strange anymore. The officials of the Supreme Court had come to regard Zhang Jin as a gatekeeper statue. He would arrive every evening and leave in the morning—truly a remarkable person. He had apparently mastered the divine art of sleeping while kneeling, and in the process, perfected the Great Art of Knee Strengthening. By now, Zhang Jin's knees were harder than stone.
By now, everyone treated the Zhang family's affairs as trivial. Zhang Chong's eldest son was under the command of the General of the Southern Pacification Army, fighting in the Southern Ravage Nation, and did not hold a high rank. His second son, Zhang Jin, was merely a sixth-rank censor in the Censorate. Zhang Chong himself, once a key figure in implementing the New Policies and a trusted confidant of the King, had been on the verge of a great career, but his ambitions were crushed in Xuanwu City. It now seemed he would spend the rest of his life in the Supreme Court's prison. A considerable amount of time had passed, and just a few days ago, the King had cheerfully enfeoffed the Marquis of Xuanwu. Logically, his anger should have subsided. Yet, Zhang Chong remained imprisoned with no hope of release.
* * *
The King had very complicated feelings about Zhang Chong. He valued Zhang Chong's character and abilities but did not particularly like him as a person. It was the same reason he respected Jin Zhuo but did not like him. He preferred people like Shen Lang—extremely discerning, intelligent, meticulous, and even arrogant. But if someone like Shen Lang were to enter the court and become an official, wouldn't there be a very high chance he would become a treacherous minister? Most rulers genuinely disliked capable but unbendingly rigid men, and Zhang Chong was precisely that type of person. From the moment of his arrest until now, Zhang Chong had not written a single confession admitting his guilt.
‘Even if you are in prison, you could still write a memorial of apology, couldn't you?’
But there was nothing of the sort.