Chapter 147: The Wrath of Two Sages and the Return of Dui Li

A very thick case file.

It contained relevant memorials written by various ministers, detailing the ins and outs of the incident, along with selected transcripts of confessions.

In fact, once the assassins were captured from Xu Jingzong’s estate, Xu Jingzong would have no way to quibble. If Shu'er's testimony did not count, there were still several guards. If the guards' testimony did not count, there were still Xu Li, Pei Judao, and the servants they brought with them.

Li Wei had not expected this either. In his heart, he still harbored doubts as to whether Di Renjie could crack the case; after all, his opponent was Xu Jingzong. Even if it were solved, it would take a long time. Had Di Renjie not said it would take three months? He wondered inwardly what the urgent report could be about. Could it be that people were dying of hunger and the commoners had started an uprising? Or perhaps Tibet, seeing the Tang Dynasty's weakness, had begun an invasion?

He had guessed all of these wrongly. Although there were disasters year after year, the remedial measures taken by the imperial court were rare throughout dynasties. Even if someone wanted to rebel, the commoners would not follow. Tibet was even less likely; at most, they would cause trouble at the border. In the Battle of Wuhai, Xue Rengui had killed over ten thousand Tibetan soldiers, and in the several major battles that followed, Tibet had also lost a number of soldiers and generals. Although victorious, their losses were extremely severe. They no longer had the strength to expand eastward. Besides, having swallowed Tuyuhun, most of the influential ministers in Tibet felt quite satisfied.

Following this, Li Wei saw the veins on his father's forehead bulge fiercely. His eyesight was not very good, and he could not see clearly, but instead of having Wu Zetian read it aloud, he continued reading, roughly finished the dossier, handed it to Wu Zetian, and said, "Empress, have a look."

After reading it, Wu Zetian's expression became even more furious. She raised her head and asked Li Wei in a low voice, "Hong'er, what is your view of Xu Jingzong?"

Li Wei was just about to give a perfunctory evasion when he suddenly woke up and replied, "He has been ill for a long time, and certain aspects of his character are no longer concealed. He is no longer the Prime Minister Xu of the past."

"When did you find out that it was Xu Jingzong who sent assassins to kill you?"

A wave of wild joy surged within Li Wei. Of course, eliminating his mother's most capable lackey would displease his mother, and even his father would not be happy. But without this person fanning the flames, he could be safe for the time being. It all depended on how his mother would view things in the future; she was bent on becoming an empress, and he was powerless against that for now, but at least for the next two or three years, things should be calm and peaceful.

Thinking of this, he said, "Imperial Father and Imperial Mother, please listen to your son's report. Previously, your son told Imperial Father and Imperial Mother, and told the various ministers, that Xu Yanbo assisted Helan Minzhi in the Hongwen Pavilion as an accomplice, humiliating your son. Perhaps, as Grand Tutor Xu said, he was young and ignorant. But if he was truly ignorant, why would he do such a thing? Your son thinks he must have heard certain remarks from Grand Tutor Xu, believing that your son's position as Crown Prince was insecure, which is why he became so bold. Later, seeing that Imperial Father and Imperial Mother actually allowed your son to host two sacrificial ceremonies, which exceeded Grand Tutor Xu's expectations, he first had Xu Yanbo enter the capital to confess his crimes. Countless people were implicated in the case of Helan Minzhi, yet Xu Yanbo alone was not only unaffected, but was instead demoted to an official post. As for the matter of the assassination attempt on your son, your son did not know about it originally; he only knew that Grand Tutor Xu was unfavorable to your son. Di Renjie had also once said something, advising your son to hurry to the Eastern Capital. After all, your son is flesh and blood of Imperial Father and Imperial Mother, and by fulfilling filial piety by the side of Imperial Father and Imperial Mother, even if he had any schemes, Imperial Father and Imperial Mother would forgive your son. Upon arriving at the Eastern Capital, your son listened to the advice of Di Renjie and Wei Yuanzhong, keeping Xu Yanbo closely by his side so that whenever Grand Tutor Xu wanted to sow discord, whatever your son did, Xu Yanbo was right there beside him. But I never expected Ming Chongyan to arrive. Knowing that his intentions were treacherous, your son had no choice but to host a banquet in the Eastern Palace to express thanks and offer subtle hints. However, in his words, Ming Chongyan did not regard your son in his eyes at all. As soon as the matter of Ming Chongyan was settled, there came the memorial regarding the woman of the Wei family entering the Eastern Palace—this was Grand Tutor Xu wanting to drag both the Wei and Pei families into the water. Yet Grand Tutor Xu made it look so grand and proper that Imperial Father and Imperial Mother could not perceive it. These past few days, your son has been terrified day and night. As for the assassination case, your son only heard Di Renjie mention it a few days ago; presumably, it was around that time that Di Renjie became certain of it. After all, the other party was a Grand Tutor; no matter who it was, they would find it hard to believe."

"Then why didn't you report it?"

"It is not that. Xu Jingzong enjoys the profound favor of Imperial Father and Imperial Mother, and even deep within the palace, he may have one or two eyes and ears. At that time, your son had no evidence. If I had spoken out, you both would surely have flown into a rage, and the news would have reached Grand Tutor Xu's hands. Eliminating these assassins would not be difficult for him. Once the clues were severed, the truth of this case would never come to light."

"You, child, have a crafty mind. You may withdraw."

"Yes." Knowing that his mother's remark indicated great dissatisfaction, inwardly he scoffed: without a crafty mind, one might not survive three months in this Eastern Palace, let alone hold the position of Crown Prince. Yet in his heart, he was extremely happy; this great bane to his heart was finally going to be eradicated.

He just wondered what earth-shattering methods Di Renjie had used to bring the truth of the case to light in such a short time. He felt immense admiration...

The rain finally fell.

It brought a sense of joy to see the potholes on the streets filled with puddles of accumulated water, which many commoners regarded as treasures.

***

However, this astonishing major case had not yet spread. Many people in Luoyang continued to focus on the imperial court's permission for merchants to purchase noble titles in exchange for transporting grain to Guanzhong. Some people were still continuing to submit memorials of impeachment.

Someone was reproaching Li Zhi: this year was a severe drought, yet he conferred three or four official titles on people; next year there would be a severe drought, and he would again confer three or four official titles. If this continued for long, how many merchants would manage to enter officialdom? What they said seemed to make some sense, but upon reading it, Li Zhi flew into a rage. These people were not submitting memorials; they were cursing. One severe drought was not enough, and they wanted ten or eight more?

Yet now speakers were not to be punished, so nothing could be done about it.

Another person submitted a memorial stating that during the Sui Dynasty, the renowned official Linghu Xi, while serving as the Prefect of Bianzhou, banned wandering idlers and suppressed commerce and industry. All shops opening toward the street were completely sealed off, and commercial boats were not allowed to stop in the suburbs either, but had to anchor outside the city of Bianzhou. Consequently, agriculture and sericulture flourished greatly, and the customs of the people became simple and honest.

Because he read every day, Li Wei knew a thing or two about this matter. The affair originated when Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, performed the Fengchan sacrifices and passed through Bianzhou. Due to the development of water transportation, Bianzhou's commerce was very prosperous. The result of commercial prosperity was that the sex industry flourished immensely; painted courtesans and prostitutes were everywhere. Yang Jian could not bear the sight of it, so he specifically appointed the capable official Linghu Xi to serve as the Prefect of Bianzhou. This was a truly remarkable official who ranked first nationwide in several Sui Dynasty merit evaluations—a genuine top-scoring scholar-official.

Upon receiving the imperial edict, Linghu Xi also found it a massive headache. At that time, this industry was not illegal; how was it to be banned? He then thought of a drastic measure: to completely ruin Bianzhou's commerce so that the courtesans would have no space to survive, whereupon these industries would naturally cease. It actually worked, yet this regression in history was regarded as a virtue by the people of that time.

The memorial also mentioned that during the Tang Dynasty, the renowned official Li Xiyu, while serving as the Senior Historian of the Yangzhou Metropolitan Prefecture and Inspection Commissioner of Jiangnan Circuit, saw that the regions of the Huai and Yangtze rivers valued merchants and neglected agriculture. He therefore persuaded the people to abandon commerce and take up farming, diverted the waters of Leipi, and built the Yucheng Pond, acquiring eight hundred qing of fine farmland. Contemporary opinion praised this highly as well.

It was still a historical regression, but given that commercial taxes were imperfect at the time, strictly speaking, no matter how prosperous Yangzhou's commerce was, the imperial court gained very little profit. It was far better to let the commoners engage in farming and sericulture to gain greater profits.

Some ministers even submitted memorials stating that the imperial court had strict orders that ministers of the third rank and above should not visit the markets, yet the Crown Prince, whether in Xijing or the Eastern Capital, wandered leisurely through several markets. It was not that they had malicious intentions; this was advising the Crown Prince to be a "good Crown Prince," striving for perfection.

Such a law existed, but did the law really work? The imperial court also strictly prohibited incest, adultery, same-name marriages, and even forbade the prominent clans of the "Five Surnames and Seven Families" from intermarrying, prescribing severe penalties for violations. Yet were there truly no same-name marriages? There were even marriages within the five degrees of mourning. Some ethnic minorities, like the northern nomads, even married their own birth mothers, sisters-in-law, or shared a single wife among several men. Besides, what about Li Zhi and Wu Zetian? Did that count as adultery and incest?

Of course, he knew it, but he dared not argue; presumably even Di Renjie would endorse these memorials.

However, a truly heavy downpour had arrived.

Returning to the Eastern Palace, Li Wei saw the eunuch Jin happily teasing a pair of small orioles.

He asked, "Eunuch Jin, have they finally returned to their cage?"

"This servant must thank Ying'er; otherwise, they still wouldn't have been willing to return to the cage."

"Who is Ying'er?"

"She is one of the palace entertainers who just arrived at the Eastern Palace a moment ago, but we have a bit of trouble."

"Why?"

***

"Your Highness, please look," he said, handing over a slip of paper on which the names and specialized skills of these palace entertainers were written. These palace entertainers were all to be assigned various chores in the Eastern Palace, so Eunuch Jin had made inquiries. As for their beauty, it went without saying: while Luoyang's internal music academies were not as large as Chang'an's, their scale was by no means small. The internal music academy alone had several hundred people, and these had been carefully selected, all of them being young maidens of sixteen. But their specialized skills were quite problematic. Some were proficient in the musical arts, some in painting, some in calligraphy, or chess, or the classics and histories, or singing, or dancing; a few were even proficient in weaving and needlework, and a tiny minority possessed rudimentary medical skills, particularly massage. Only two young maidens were proficient in culinary arts and of practical use; apart from being able to serve Li Wei and provide him with entertainment, they possessed almost no practical abilities.

If they were not stuffed into the inner palace, they would be rather difficult to manage.

Among the entertainers, one named Ying'er was also skilled at training birds and could even train fighting cocks.

Therefore, Eunuch Jin had called her over to figure out how to lure this pair of small orioles back into their cage. Following Li Wei's advice, she went out every day to scatter feed in the trees; the wild survival ability of this pair of small orioles was indeed very poor, and unable to forage for food, they had no choice but to eat the food provided by Eunuch Jin. But for some reason, when the food was placed outside the cage to feed them, the moment it was put inside the cage, they refused to eat.

The old eunuch running out to the woods every day to feed this pair of little darlings had become a standing joke in the Eastern Palace.

Perhaps Ying'er had some skill and imitated a few bird calls, or perhaps because it was a rainy day and foraging was difficult, somehow she finally coaxed the pair of small orioles into the cage.

Having finished recounting this, the old eunuch looked at the cage and said with pity, "Look at you two, not knowing what's good for you. You've suffered for it this time; instead of growing bigger, you've grown thinner."

Whether the pair of small orioles understood or not, they pecked at the birdcage with their beaks and chirped away.

Ignoring the little birds, Li Wei looked at the roster and said, "Eunuch Jin, you may arrange for these people yourself. The Empress has already said that they are all palace entertainers and their status is somewhat awkward. Allowing them into the Eastern Palace is merely seeing that many of the palace maids in the Eastern Palace are elderly, so they are being used to fill out the roster. As for these people, Gu can only look at them from afar and may not become intimate with them."

"Understood."

Eunuch Jin acknowledged the order and withdrew.

Li Wei felt a pang of reluctance. These young maidens entered the Eastern Palace full of excitement, yet the fate awaiting them might be even more miserable than that of the internal music academy. But having witnessed helpless situations too often, he had grown numb to them.

As he was deep in thought, Wei Yuanzhong and the other two entered once again. Wei Yuanzhong said in a low voice, "Just now, Palace Assistant Di had someone inform Your Highness that the Xu Jingzong assassination case has made headway, and he is already preparing to set out for Xijing."

"Gu already knows a thing or two. Why is it so fast?"

"This is called 'heaven makes its own way, you cannot live through it.'" Wei Yuanzhong recounted the matter regarding Xu Jingzong's concubine, Lady Yu, and briefly described the course of events. Of course, the news Di Renjie had obtained was only a portion brought back by Guan Fu; he knew that various heavyweights in Chang'an had stepped forward, but he did not know what happened afterward. Moreover, he was traveling alone, unlike official imperial couriers who changed horses and riders, so his speed actually lagged behind.

Li Wei, however, murmured to himself, "Zhou Xing..."