A Single Tie Of Long Hair Seals A Lifelong Commitment - Chapter 63.1

The second year of Zhenyuan was recorded in the history books of the Great Lin Dynasty as a truly extraordinary year.

In this year, the Great Lin Dynasty saw the rise of two immensely famous figures.

One was a Grand Marshal who had never suffered a single defeat in battle, and the other was an imperial black sheep universally acknowledged across the land.

On the day the Wanliao Lu (Record of Officials) was compiled into a register of merits, Xie Wenjun completely solidified her reputation as the imperial black sheep.

The farmlands that Crown Prince Yizhang, Xie Yu, had painstakingly recovered for the court from the gentry and aristocratic families, were, with a grand sweep of the hand, returned to them by Jiangning Eldest Princess Xie Wenjun in the name of granting rewards for merit. Furthermore, she liberally bestowed official titles and hereditary privileges. The expenditure for the salaries of officials in the first year of Zhenyuan actually doubled the budget from the Xuanyuan era.

This was truly unprecedented.

Who knew if Crown Prince Yizhang could sleep soundly underground?

It was said that the Ministry of Revenue, under Minister Su, only had three things that were truly ingrained in the people’s minds: crying poor to the commoners when collecting taxes, crying poor to the officials when issuing salaries, and crying poor to the Emperor twice a year—once at the beginning of the year for the budget and once at the end for the audit.

This year, just the expenses for the Agricultural Affairs Office and the Wanliao Lu had already consumed half of the annual revenue. Su Chasang felt the sky was collapsing on him. He ran to the Hall of Political Guidance every few days to enquire about the Emperor’s health, troubling Xie Yuan immensely.

Xie Wenjun, who was away on an inspection tour of the fields, only heard on her way back that Su Chasang, the accountant for the Ministry of Revenue, held a strong grievance against her.

However, great as the grievance was, no one dared to step forward and shatter the hard-won, stable situation between the court, the gentry, and the aristocratic families.

When Xie Wenjun re-established the Agricultural Affairs Office in the counties under her jurisdiction, it initially faced considerable condemnation. Zhao Mingqin had to lead the Black-Armored Army to suppress over ten large and small rebellions before the situation was generally stabilized. Failing at open confrontation, they resorted to covert assassinations. After several attempts on her life, Xie Wenjun reorganized Crown Prince Yizhang’s Eastern Palace Guards, forming a personal retinue that answered only to her. She named it the Changning Guard.

The Changning Guard would later become the personal army that followed Xie Wenjun throughout her life.

Heng Miao, the eldest concubine-born son of the Heng family in the Southern Region, had earned the Emperor’s favor and the Eldest Princess’s appreciation for his efforts in supporting the new Emperor. He was now the de facto controller of the Southern Region. Because of Heng Miao’s merit alone, Xie Wenjun personally wrote a note on the last page of the Wanliao Lu: All bestowed farmlands and property shall be equally divided among the family’s descendants, regardless of legitimacy, seniority, or age, for inheritance.

Meanwhile, Heng Jinan remains imprisoned in the old Heng family residence.

As the farmlands were granted and the Wanliao Lu, which rewarded wives with titles and sons with privileges, was increasingly formalized, the aristocratic families’ outcry against the Agricultural Affairs Office gradually weakened.

This combination of tightening and loosening, of benevolence and power, was all a warning to the scholars of the realm: Be sensible!

Eventually, the protests died down.

A delicate balance was thus achieved.

Since Zhang Diancheng’s execution, the position of Right Prime Minister remains vacant. The Agricultural Affairs Office is seen as a hot potato that no one is willing to take over as the figurehead, leaving all major and minor affairs for Xie Wenjun to handle.

Yesterday, before leaving the Hall of Political Guidance for the Imperial Mausoleum to find Chen Liangyu, Eunuch Zhang spoke vaguely, not quite making his words clear, but implying that Xie Wenjun should prepare to change her palace residence.

Xie Wenjun currently still resides in the Eastern Palace.

Official documents from the Agricultural Affairs Office are no longer sent to the Secretariat-Chancellery but are delivered to the Hall of Heavenly Purity in the Eastern Palace, where Xie Wenjun personally reviews and approves them.

The officials have no major disagreement with the Eldest Princess taking overall charge of the Agricultural Affairs Office and its affairs—or perhaps they do, but having just received great favors, and seeing no one else in the court capable of shouldering this burden, they remain silent about the Eldest Princess’s involvement in state affairs. They only dare to stir up trouble concerning Xie Wenjun’s residence.

Censor Zhao Xingli of the Court of Judicial Review suggested that the Eastern Palace has always been the residence of the Crown Prince, and since Crown Prince Yizhang has passed away, it is inappropriate for the Eldest Princess to continue residing there.

Rebuilding a palace would be hugely expensive, and even if Su Chasang were driven to death, the Ministry of Revenue’s accounts could not spare the money for a new one. Some suggested Xie Wenjun move to the Yaohua Palace, where Empress Huixian lived during her lifetime. Others, considering the Eldest Princess is constantly busy with official documents, suggested that residing in the Inner Palace would be inconvenient, and that perhaps she could establish a separate manor. There are several unoccupied princely manors in Yongdu that could be renovated and bestowed upon the Eldest Princess.

It was a complete mess.

Xie Wenjun rubbed her temples.

Yuan Rong meticulously adjusted Xie Wenjun’s attire, smoothing and draping the cloud-like sleeves, then skillfully straightening the slightly wrinkled collar. Her peripheral vision accidentally caught a flash of red, and her hands paused. “This servant will fetch some perfume powder to cover it.”

Xie Wenjun instantly understood what she intended to cover. She glanced at the bronze mirror, raised her hand, and touched the spot. “No need to cover it.”

Yuan Rong quickly bowed her head and replied, “Yes.”

Dai Qing also hung her head, not daring to speak or look. Xie Wenjun waited for a moment. Seeing no movement from her, she slightly turned her face. Dai Qing snapped back, hurrying to take the wooden hairpin from the dressing table and placing it in her hair. “Your Highness, you will inevitably have to meet people when returning to the palace today. Are you still wearing this wooden hairpin? It is a bit too simple.”

Xie Wenjun said, “Just this one.”

After dressing, Xie Wenjun looked once more towards the bed. Chen Liangyu was still deep in sleep. She walked over and lightly touched Chen Liangyu’s forehead again. Her body temperature was still slightly high, but the night sweats had completely subsided.

Zhu Ying’s medicine contained a very effective sedative. It looked like Chen Liangyu would sleep for a long while yet.

Xie Wenjun instructed the servants of Liangyuan, saying, “Do not wake her. I am returning to the palace to deal with some matters, and I will be back by the latest, Xu Shi (7-9 PM).”

The solitary ginkgo tree in Liangyuan was sprouting green, unfurling its first bud in early spring.

Xie Wenjun stepped onto the bluestones leading to the outside gate. The doors of Liangyuan opened to both sides, revealing a burly figure kneeling on the steps, holding a saber with a scabbard engraved with an eagle-and-cloud pattern in both hands.

Xie Wenjun noticed the saber because Chen Liangyu also had one of the same designs.

She usually carried a sword, so she was rarely seen using that short saber.

As the doors opened, the figure heavily knocked his head against the ground towards the doorway and cried out, “Miss, kill me! If it will make you feel even a little better, kill me! I failed to save the Young Marshal. I have failed you, failed the Second Young Master, failed the Marquis and Madam, and most of all, failed the Young Madam and the Little Miss! I am useless! How could I be so useless!”

The six-foot-tall man began to wail aloud.

Xie Wenjun walked up to him and said, “She had a high fever last night, took medicine, and fell asleep. She hasn’t woken up yet.”

Jing He couldn’t stop crying, his eyes blurred with tears. He vaguely saw a graceful, enchanting woman emerge from Chen Liangyu’s Liangyuan. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve, finally seeing the person before him. Still sobbing, he paid his respects. “General Jing He greets the Eldest Princess.”

He choked out, “Eldest Princess, is Miss ill?”

Xie Wenjun nodded slightly.

“It’s all my fault for being useless…”

He had only gotten halfway through his self-reproachful words when he glimpsed two figures, one large and one small, approaching Liangyuan. He couldn’t utter another word, burying his head very low, his back hunched like a shrimp.

Yan Nian was wearing the attire of a First Rank Imperial Madam today, with a phoenix coronet on her head. She held the hand of Chen Huai’an, who could now walk steadily. “Your Highness, this Madam greets the Eldest Princess. May Your Highness live a thousand years. Why was no one notified that the Eldest Princess had arrived?”

The servants were silent and trembling.