Waking Up to an Imperial Marriage with My Archenemy - Chapter 15

Success!

The moment Qiao Wan heard his voice, she knew the plan had worked. She turned to face him, her eyes flickering with a perfectly calculated sequence of emotions: a hint of confusion, followed by surprise, and finally settling into a calm, submissive stillness. She lowered her gaze and performed a standard curtsy. Since she no longer held an official rank, she greeted Zhang Zihe according to the customs for an ordinary lady of the Yu Dynasty.

“Blessings to the Young Marquis.”

“Censor Qiao, there is no need for such formality,” Zhang Zihe said, stepping forward to offer a hollow gesture of assistance. “Even if you have lost your position, I am certain it is only temporary. Why bother emulating those sheltered maidens of the inner chambers?”

“Even sheltered maidens have their strengths. Qiao Wan is currently but a commoner; in many respects, I may not even be their equal.”

Although Luo Jinhe’s decree had granted her the title of Madame of the State, the formal conferment wouldn’t happen until after her marriage to Luo Fengxin. For now, she was indeed a commoner.

Zhang Zihe had intended to flatter her, but he immediately hit a soft wall. He wasn’t discouraged, however; his glorious future depended on this woman’s schemes. What was a little bowing and scraping now?

“Censor Qiao is right; it was inconsiderate of me to say so.” Zhang Zihe smoothed over his mistake. Usually, he was stubborn and never accepted a rebuttal, but trying it now felt strangely refreshing. Recalling the “Old Censor’s” earlier assessment of him, he felt more than ever that he was, indeed, a man of great potential.

Qiao Wan kept her head lowered and did not respond. Zhang Zihe continued, “I have heard that Censor Qiao is usually the most amiable of people, meeting everyone with a smile. Why do you look so heavy-hearted today?”

Qiao Wan glanced at him and let out a self-deprecating laugh. “The Young Marquis knows exactly why. Why bother mocking me?”

She can tell what I’m thinking at a glance—a sharp one, indeed! With her help, how could I fail?

“How could I mock you? I share an irreconcilable enmity with that Princess Leping. If I ever come into power, I will surely see her destroyed!”

Zhang Zihe tried to strike a pose of deep-seated resentment, but the series of joyful revelations he’d just overheard had filled his heart to bursting. His previous misery had long since been replaced by the imagined pleasure of revenge; he couldn’t manage a convincing look of anger to save his life.

Since he couldn’t fake it, he decided to stop beating around the bush. “I won’t hide it from you, Censor Qiao—I overheard everything you and Old Censor Jin discussed just now.”

Qiao Wan allowed a flash of alarm to cross her face at the perfect moment. Seeing this, Zhang Zihe hurried to reassure her. “I know you were discussing secrets; I won’t breathe a word to anyone. I came to tell you that if you are willing to help me, I will certainly help you in return! Surely you don’t want to be under Princess Leping’s thumb for the rest of your life?”

Seeing that Qiao Wan still remained silent, he grew anxious, remembering her conversation with Jin Yanzhou.

Jin Yanzhou was leaving the capital soon and couldn’t help him. If he wanted that position, he had to rely on Qiao Wan. But Qiao Wan seemed dissatisfied with him as a candidate. If she refused to help, his fantasies would vanish like mist, and he would remain the same ridiculed waste he had always been!

Zhang Zihe couldn’t endure such a massive fall from grace. With a heavy thud, he dropped to his knees before Qiao Wan, bowing low until his forehead hit the ground. “I may have been lazy in the past, but if I become the Eastern Inspector, I will work hard! I won’t join factions, I won’t show favoritism, I will, um, be selfless and devoted to the public! I’ll be a good official! Please, Censor Qiao, teach me!”

Qiao Wan’s expression softened with feigned emotion. She hurried to help him up. “The Young Marquis humbles me too much. Since you think so highly of me, I shall do my utmost for you from this day forward.”

Having secured her promise, Zhang Zihe’s heart settled. He immediately felt a twinge of regret for kneeling; if word of this ever got out, he’d lose a lot of face.

But it doesn’t matter, he thought. To get her help, I’ll play the humble student for now. Once I’m the Eastern Inspector, I’ll kill the donkey once the grinding is done. No one will ever know what happened today.

Qiao Wan saw his eyes darting around and knew exactly what he was plotting. She gave a mental “tsk.”

A vain idiot like Zhang Zihe always has a mysterious level of self-confidence. A piece of rotten wood who fancies himself a pillar of the state. He hears two words of flattery and truly believes he’s a misunderstood genius. No talent, but a massive appetite—he’s already thinking of burning the bridge before he’s even crossed the river.

Well, it didn’t matter. Let him think what he wanted. If it weren’t for that delusional self-confidence, she wouldn’t have been able to trick him so easily.

“This matter will be difficult, but it is not without opportunity,” Qiao Wan said, feigning deep thought. “The Chen family will certainly strive to claim both the Eastern and Western Inspectorate posts. However, no matter how lawless they are in private, they must maintain a facade of propriety. If they pocket every good thing for themselves, the other noble families will inevitably grow resentful. If those families unite, even the Chen family won’t be able to withstand the pressure.”

She continued her analysis. “Following their usual pattern, the Chens will yield certain positions to those they can use, thereby winning people’s hearts—just as they did for your two cousins at the Ning Mansion. Since the Grand Preceptor could give a position as vital as the Commander of the Imperial Guard to your cousin, why couldn’t the Eastern Inspectorate go to you?”

Zhang Zihe was delighted by the logic, then frowned. “But my family has no ties to the Chens. There are countless people trying to climb that social ladder; it’s a difficult branch to reach. Do you think I should follow my cousin’s example and request to marry a girl from the Chen family?”

Qiao Wan scoffed. “What? Does the Young Marquis also wish to follow in Commander Zheng’s footsteps and wear a ‘green hat’ known to the whole city?”

Zhang Zihe flushed with embarrassment at the jab. He asked irritably, “Then what do you suggest?”

“The Marquis of Jingnan’s manor has no ties to the Chens, true. But does the Ning Mansion not possess the Grand Preceptor’s absolute trust? You cannot petition the Grand Preceptor or the Empress Dowager directly, but you can certainly ask your cousin to do so on your behalf.”

“And here I thought you had a brilliant plan! If asking them worked, would I even be here today?” Zhang Zihe’s disappointment was immense. He didn’t even want to maintain his facade of politeness anymore.

“It seems the Young Marquis has hit a wall at the Ning Mansion recently.” Qiao Wan was not at all provoked by his dismissal; instead, she wore a knowing smile. “How did you present your request to them? Would you care to tell me?”

It was an embarrassing tale, and Zhang Zihe had no desire to share it. Yet, he realized that apart from Qiao Wan, he had no other allies left.

He paced back and forth irritably before finally recounting the events of the past few days in full detail.

“That’s how it went. Relying on them for help is about as likely as seeing crimson rain fall from the heavens!”

As soon as he finished, Qiao Wan’s smile widened.

“What are you laughing at?” Zhang Zihe snapped. Ever since his public humiliation by Luo Fengxin, he couldn’t stand the sight of anyone wearing a smile that even hinted at mockery.

“I am laughing because the Young Marquis is far too straightforward. If I were either of the Duke’s sons, I wouldn’t help you either. Have you never heard the saying, ‘No one rises early without a profit in sight’? What does your humiliation have to do with them? Why should they stick their necks out for you for nothing?”

Zhang Zihe looked at her suspiciously. “Are you saying you have a way to make them help me?”

Qiao Wan leaned in and whispered a series of instructions into his ear.

As she spoke, Zhang Zihe’s eyes lit up. Qiao Wan added a final note: “Follow my words, and I guarantee success. However, there is one condition: Commander Zheng and I have had our grievances in the past. You must never let him know it was I who gave you this idea.”

Zhang Zihe was well aware of his cousin’s unsavory and petty nature; hearing this, he didn’t doubt her for a second. He was so agitated with excitement that he wanted to fly back immediately to put her plan into motion.

After parting ways with Qiao Wan, Zhang Zihe hurried back to find his mother. On the way, he ran into his young attendant, who had arrived with a gaggle of family servants in tow.

“Young Master, are we still catching the bird?” the boy asked, scurrying to keep up with his master’s brisk pace.

“Forget the bird! Your master is about to hit the big time!”

He burst into the main hall, saw his mother still listening to the Abbot’s sermon, and lunged forward to grab her arm. “Mother, it’s getting late. We must return at once.”

His mother looked at him in surprise. “It’s still early. I usually stay for the vegetarian meal before leaving.”

“You might have the time, but the Great Master is busy. I just ran into Old Censor Jin in the temple; he has an appointment to play chess with the Abbot.”

His mother glanced blankly at her son and then at the Abbot. The Abbot merely bowed and chanted, “Amitabha.”

“Well, very well. I shall not impose upon the Master’s time, then. This humble woman shall return another day.”

“Phew, thank goodness I cleared it with the Abbot yesterday, or the ruse would have been up.”

Behind a stone pillar, Yue Xiu and Qiao Wan watched as Zhang Zihe and his mother departed. Yue Xiu had already shed her disguise and was dressed in ordinary female attire. “You have no idea how difficult that old monk was. I had to debate Buddhist philosophy with him for a whole day before he agreed to help me this once.”

With the plan progressing smoothly, Qiao Wan felt a weight lift from her shoulders. She smiled at Yue Xiu. “When I asked if you’d have any trouble, who was it that puffed out their chest and guaranteed such a small matter would be a breeze?”

“And I got it done, didn’t I!” Yue Xiu gave Qiao Wan a playful nudge with her shoulder, her face lighting up with gossip. “By the way, I heard that the Princess had you locked up in her manor recently and things got intense. Word is you fainted from the ‘excitement’ and had to call the Imperial Physician in the middle of the night. Is that true or what?”