A Single Tie Of Long Hair Seals A Lifelong Commitment - Chapter 77

“My Lady, an urgent dispatch from Wuzhou,” Jing Ming said, climbing the city wall steps rapidly and handing over a rolled piece of paper.

There were only two short lines of text. Chen Liangyu read it, and her eyes narrowed.

The main entrance of the Qunfang Garden was blocked by many people, who, judging by their attire, were official runners from the Wuzhou State Yamen. Separated by the door and wall, sounds of angry shouts and Du Peixun’s desperate attempts to stop them could be heard.

When Chen Liangyu rode up on horseback, the encircling official runners automatically split apart, making way for her.

The capital, Yongdu, had sent an Imperial Censor to the Northern Frontier. Zhao Xingli and his entourage were heading straight for the Qunfang Garden in Wuzhou.

Chen Liangyu immediately thought, This is bad.

She had read the court gazette not long ago: Xie Wenjun had detained the students who caused trouble at the Imperial College. That group of students had been thrown into the Dali Temple prison and had not been released since. Gu Xie was also imprisoned awaiting trial, with charges yet to be determined.

This time, Xie Wenjun was truly locked in a contest with the group of rigid officials in the court who opposed the female academy. Both sides were at a stalemate, engaged in a game of chance. They both held hostages, and it simply depended on whose chips were greater, giving them a better chance of winning.

Zhao Xingli coming straight to Qunfang Garden was clearly intended to seize a handle against Xie Wenjun.

Zhao Xingli had the nickname “Iron Face.” He was unreasonable and constantly cited national laws, regulations, and moral principles. If he saw something he disapproved of, no matter how small, he would immediately report it in a memorial, showing absolutely no regard for anyone. This person was not without merit; years ago, he risked his life to collect evidence for the official palace embezzlement case involving Yao Chongshan and the Cangnan commoners’ hardship case. He spoke frankly and was promoted to a fourth-rank Qian Du Yushi (Assistant Investigating Censor), proving he was not without talent.

In terms of seniority and ability, he should have been promoted to Deputy Chief Censor by now.

However, due to his overly rigid nature, he offended many colleagues in the court. After he repeatedly impeached the officials in the Ministry of Personnel responsible for official promotions and transfers, his path to advancement was cut off. One of the most ridiculous public incidents was when the new Minister of Personnel, Liao Songqing, stopped at an official post station during a public trip. Because he couldn’t get used to the local food, he ordered his subordinates to buy dozens of chickens to make a dish called “Imperial Concubine Chicken Wings,” which helped him endure those few days. As soon as Zhao Xingli heard about this, he relentlessly impeached Liao Songqing for excessive spending and extravagance, finally forcing Liao Songqing to observe vegetarianism for several days to show repentance.

He was utterly rigid.

His arrival at the Northern Frontier was both good and bad.

The good part was that he was not coming due to factional conflict. The bad part was that Gu Xie, whom Xie Wenjun was protecting, implicated a figure named Yao Jifeng. Since Zhao Xingli had personally uncovered both the palace embezzlement case and the Cangnan commoners’ hardship case, he naturally could not tolerate the thought of a guilty member of the Yao family slipping through the net. Therefore, even if he was being used by factional politics, he would definitely stand on the opposing side of Xie Wenjun.

“Imperial Censor!” Chen Liangyu adjusted her robe and stepped into the Qunfang Garden.

The hundred flowers in the Qunfang Garden had withered and died from lack of water and care. The branches and leaves of one flowerbed still showed signs of being cut by swords and blades, but the broken branches and residual leaves had been cleaned up. Although the garden no longer displayed any scene of competing beauty, it was tidied and bright.

Du Peixun, who had just been arguing fiercely, instantly breathed a sigh of relief, “Great General, you’ve finally arrived.”

Zhao Xingli bowed in salute: “Your subordinate greets the Great General.”

After Xie Wenjun left Wuzhou, Lu Sutai and the others were confined to the Qunfang Garden. Du Peixun had planned to keep them locked up for a few years until the matter was forgotten, and then release them. Shi Tan, knowing he had caused trouble, had voluntarily requested a demotion to guard the cattle and sheep herd at the Wuzhou pasture.

Now, these young men were crudely shackled and being pressed, their eyes filled with unconcealed panic and confusion. When they saw Chen Liangyu, their faces first lit up with joy, then their gaze turned into a plea for help.

Chen Liangyu said, “These people are kept here by this General to amuse myself. Is the Imperial Censor unable to tolerate even this?”

Of course, Zhao Xingli could not tolerate it. What surprised him even more was that Chen Liangyu would openly state such a disreputable matter, speaking of it without a hint of shame. Shameless.

Before his anger could flare up, he calmed down, “Great General, since your subordinate is here, I know whose servants they are. The General need not confuse the facts.”

Chen Liangyu countered, “Is the Imperial Censor suggesting that the Grand Princess’s male favorites have been kept here with this General?”

Zhao Xingli looked around at everyone, “You, what kind of decorum is this!”

Chen Liangyu said, “Decorumn? Your Excellency Zhao’s wife died in childbirth, and you remarried within a year. Everyone says Your Excellency Zhao is incorruptible and selfless, yet besides your current wife, you also keep two concubines in your home. Your Excellency speaks of decorum, yet you are surrounded by beautiful wives and concubines, embracing them left and right. What kind of decorum is that? Let alone the fact that these men are merely entertainers who dance and fence for fun. Even if this General took them as official concubines, so what?”

Zhao Xingli’s eyes widened, showing an extremely astonished expression. For a moment, he couldn’t find a word to refute.

Chen Liangyu continued, “This General has long heard of the Imperial Censor’s reputation as the ‘Iron Face.’ I also advise Your Excellency to discern right from wrong in all matters. Do not let this reputation be used by those with ulterior motives to frame the innocent.” Chen Liangyu glanced sideways, and Jing Ming immediately led his soldiers to seize Lu Sutai and the others from the officials brought by Zhao Xingli. “These people, this General intends to keep. Your Excellency cannot take them out of Wuzhou. If Your Excellency has any dissatisfaction with this General, feel free to submit a memorial and impeach me.”

The report date for the Northern Frontier military affairs was once a year, due before the end of the lunar year. Before the year-end, the frontier military commanders would return to the palace. However, before the year was out, Chen Liangyu received an imperial decree summoning her back to the capital for her report.

Accompanying it was a letter of rebuke, ordering her to “rectify oneself and cultivate virtue, and not to engage in immoral and disorderly conduct.”

Chen Liangyu sat with her legs crossed, speechless: “He really did impeach me.”

The civil officials were at a deadlock with Xie Wenjun, and the Emperor’s attitude wavered, but the situation couldn’t stay deadlocked forever. Sooner or later, one side would lose. After much difficulty, they found a small clue in the Qunfang Garden and intended to use it as a breakthrough to force the Grand Princess to release the people. But Chen Liangyu intervened, taking all the witnesses and enrolling them in the army. The civil officials, who had accumulated half a year’s worth of resentment, shifted it onto Chen Liangyu, who could have otherwise remained uninvolved.

In fact, Chen Liangyu never intended to stay out of it; she was simply far away at the frontier, and her reach wasn’t long enough to interfere in the affairs of Yongdu.

It was precisely at this moment that the summons from Yongdu gave her an opportunity to get involved.

As soon as Chen Liangyu appeared, the spearhead was aimed directly at her. The Chongzheng Hall was like a dueling ground, erupting in a chaotic clamor.

“The Northern Yong did not invade. Why did the Great General mobilize troops? Are you trying to tear up the peace treaty?”

Chen Liangyu said, “The soldiers were merely having a spar.”

“Your military report from the Northern Frontier clearly states thousands of injuries. How can a spar result in casualties?”

Chen Liangyu said, “The soldiers are hot-blooded. As they fought, their national hatred and familial grievances flared up. There was nothing I could do.”

“You are simply… you can twist black into white, and white into a riot of colors!”

Chen Liangyu glared at the officials, “The Northern Yong was conducting military drills right on our border. This General mobilized troops under the guise of an ‘array practice,’ which already saves everyone’s face. As a military commander, if I don’t repel the enemy, are the two hundred thousand soldiers of the Northern Frontier just there for decoration? Could it be that among Your Excellencies, someone is secretly hoping for Zhai Ji’s army to reach the gates of Yongdu?”

The Chongzheng Hall fell silent for a moment.

Someone said, “The Northern Yong’s drills indeed provided a reason to mobilize troops. However, the court has already resolved to establish mutual trade with the three major nomadic tribes of the grasslands, and the decree has been sent to the Northern Frontier. Yet, the Great General, simply because the Qiudi (barbarians) slaughtered a few chickens and sheep, disregarded the national decree and drove the Qiudi deep into the grasslands. How do you explain that?”

Chen Liangyu said, “Minister Liao, that group of horse-riding bandits entered the city to rob, cutting down anyone they saw, seizing any woman they saw, and taking any livestock they saw. If they couldn’t lead it away, they’d slaughter it. The men who labor is worn out and can no longer do heavy work. The whole family relies on the old mother and the wife to mend and wash to make a living. They keep a few old hens, hoping to sell the eggs in the market for some money to buy medicine for the men. They saved for a whole year just to buy a new pair of shoes for the child at the New Year. Those few chickens, the wife, even when pregnant, couldn’t bear to kill one to nourish herself. They were all captured by the Qiudi bandits, plucked, put in the pot, and then half-eaten and half-discarded. Minister Liao, you cut down dozens of chicken wings just for a meal, so of course, you don’t care about a few chickens and sheep. But to the common people, those chickens are more important than your life, Minister Liao!”

Liao Songqing’s face instantly flushed crimson. Everyone in court knew he had been humiliated by Zhao Xingli over this incident and had observed a vegetarian diet for a long time. When the embarrassing incident was brought up, he was speechless for a moment, and another person quickly took over.

“In the past, during wartime, the Shuofang trade route was managed by the Northern Frontier Grand Marshal, and the tax silver did not need to be handed over to the national treasury but was used for military expenses. But now, the national treasury is empty, and financial resources are scarce. Yet, you are using the tax silver from the Shuofang trade route to heavily establish academies in the three states of the Northern Frontier. What is your intention?”

Chen Liangyu turned her head from side to side, clearly seeing that the speaker was the current Chancellor of the Imperial College, surnamed Cheng.

“What state, what county, what district does not have an academy? Everyone can read the sagely texts, so why can’t the people of the Northern Frontier? Are the people of the Northern Frontier not considered subjects of His Majesty? If we are to save national resources by shutting down academies, then let’s just close the Imperial College as well! Your Excellency Cheng can retire, and none of us will work!”

The Minister of Works, Tang Shiqiong, stepped forward, furious: “How can the Imperial College be shut down! Good grief! The Grand Princess is detaining the students of the Imperial College, and the Great General wants to shut down the Imperial College! How can the foundation of the nation be messed with by the likes of you! The Northern Frontier has always shown little respect for scholarship. Even the old Marquis never mentioned this matter. Why is it that under the Great General, you must vigorously promote education? If you have a clear conscience, present the accounts for the tax silver usage of the Shuofang trade route and let us investigate. Everything will become clear then.”

Chen Liangyu spread her palm upwards, “Minister Tang, ten years ago, the entire household of the Minister of Works, Yao Chongshan, was executed. Do you still remember why? Now that the Yanzhi Mountain Palace is being rebuilt, let’s hope we don’t end up with another case of palace embezzlement.”

Tang Shiqiong was enraged: “This official is clean and pure! Great General, do not slander me!”

“This General is merely reminding Minister Tang. Saving national resources cannot rely on me alone. Everyone must contribute.” Her gaze locked onto one person, the Minister of War, Sheng Xiuyuan. “Minister Sheng, if your son, Young Master Sheng Yuan, buys a few less flowers at the Yifeng Pavilion, wouldn’t the national resources be saved? Minister Sheng, I’m glad you are here, lest you accuse this General of gossiping behind your back.”

Chen Liangyu’s gaze swept across the array of high officials, “You can investigate, but you can’t just investigate the expenses of the Northern Frontier. Can everyone here withstand an investigation? Whose backside is clean?”

“You are vulgar!”

“And you are refined. Your Excellencies possess great talent, writing flourishing and pristine articles, documenting peace across the world, but refusing to bow your heads to see the common people!”

The arguments were endless, and ultimately, nothing was resolved. When the session was dismissed, the officials walking out of the Chongzheng Hall were all red-faced and fuming. Chen Liangyu strode out of the Chengtian Gate, mounted her horse, and rode away.

“When the old Marquis was alive, she at least knew how to be humble and sensible. Now that the old Marquis and the Marquis of Wu’an are gone, look at her conduct. No one can control her anymore!”

Chen Liangyu hadn’t lost the argument; she had battled wits with the officials, but her spirit hadn’t entirely been soothed. She retrieved her Lancang Sword and practiced freely in the Liang Garden, stretching her muscles and bones.

Her hair was simply tied up in a single lock, and the air moved with the sweep of her sword. Her brow bone was prominent, and her nose was like an eagle’s beak. When she held the sword, the movement of her clothing gave her the fierce sensation of an eagle striking the sky, making people instinctively hesitate to approach.

After finishing a set of sword forms, Chen Liangyu was sweating on her forehead. She walked up to a stone table piled with rocks in the courtyard, lifted a pot of cold tea, and tilted her head back to drink.

Her throat bobbed up and down.

Some tea spilled onto her chest, spreading out like ink.

Her peripheral vision inadvertently swept past the door of the Liang Garden, where she noticed a figure standing. She turned her head to look. A noble and graceful beauty was standing in the doorway.

Xie Wenjun was dressed in a brocade long dress and wore a white fox-fur collared cape. Like the person herself, she was peaceful yet magnificent, standing quietly there.