Waking Up to an Imperial Marriage with My Archenemy - Chapter 17

Zhang Zihe returned home and followed Qiao Wan’s instructions to the letter. He hired five girls from the Moon-Sleeper Pavilion and arranged a lavish banquet. He then sent an invitation to Zheng Wei, making no mention of the humiliation he had recently suffered. Instead, the note claimed he simply hadn’t seen his cousin in a long time and, knowing Zheng Wei had been busy with official duties, had prepared fine wine and beautiful women for his enjoyment.

Zheng Wei was no stranger to preying on women from respectable families, but he rarely had the chance to frequent the Moon-Sleeper Pavilion.

It wasn’t for lack of desire; rather, his salary was strictly managed by his wife, Lady Chen. A night of revelry at the Moon-Sleeper Pavilion was expensive, and spending the night with a top-tier courtesan was even more exorbitant. Zheng Wei simply didn’t have that kind of pocket money.

Given these circumstances, when he heard that his “useless coward” of a cousin had hired girls from the Pavilion to keep him company, Zheng Wei gladly accepted. He knew Zhang Zihe was likely currying favor because he needed a request granted, but he didn’t care.

Free pleasure is a waste to refuse, Zheng Wei thought. As for actually helping him? That remains to be seen.

Not daring to let his mother know he had invited courtesans to his home, Zhang Zihe set the banquet at a private villa. Halfway through the drinks, he dismissed the girls.

Zheng Wei, who was just getting into the spirit of things, was annoyed at being cut off.

“What are you doing, sending them away now? If you have something to say, why can’t you say it in front of them? Are you afraid they’ll laugh at you?” He was certain Zhang Zihe wanted to whine about the humiliation he had suffered at the hands of Princess Leping.

Zhang Zihe felt a surge of resentment at being so openly looked down upon by his cousin. However, remembering Qiao Wan’s warning, he forcibly suppressed his anger. He put on a fawning smile and said, “It’s not that I’m afraid of being laughed at, Cousin. It’s just that I have a matter of great secrecy to share with you.”

“All you do is idle around all day; what ‘secret’ could you possibly know?” Zheng Wei let out a wine-soaked belch. “Go on, call them back. Whatever it is, we can talk after we’ve had our fun.”

“I was afraid you might get too drunk, Cousin, and miss the gravity of the situation.”

“Business, business! Fine, speak then. Let’s see what ‘important business’ you could possibly have!”

Zheng Wei had planned to eat, play, and leave without a second thought. He hadn’t expected Zhang Zihe to play hard to get, revealing only half the story and making things difficult. Had it not been for the exceptional quality of the girls from the Moon-Sleeper Pavilion, he wouldn’t have had the patience to deal with this brat. He wondered when his cousin had learned such tedious, manipulative tactics.

On the other hand, ever since Zhang Zihe realized he had a chance to rise in the world, he had begun to look down on his lust-driven cousin. But since the position wasn’t in his hands yet, he had to endure for now.

“It’s like this. Yesterday, while accompanying Mother to Qinglu Temple to offer incense.” Zhang Zihe relayed the information he had “overheard,” carefully omitting the latter half of the conversation between Jin Yanzhou and Qiao Wan.

He only mentioned that Jin Yanzhou would soon suggest the Emperor split the Censorate into the Eastern and Western Supervision Offices.

Initially dismissive, Zheng Wei turned slightly more serious as the details emerged.

“I was thinking,” Zhang Zihe said tentatively, “regarding the position of the Eastern Supervision Officer, do you think you could speak to the Empress Dowager and the Grand Preceptor to let me have it?”

“You’re counting your chickens before they hatch. Just because Jin Yanzhou has the idea doesn’t mean the Emperor will follow it. Even if the Emperor agrees, Grand Preceptor Chen and the others certainly won’t.” Zheng Wei didn’t want to take on the hassle and brushed him off with a ready-made excuse.

“The Emperor was recently outmaneuvered by Grand Preceptor Chen; he definitely harbors resentment toward the Preceptor and the Empress Dowager. Why would he be willing to hand the position of Censor-in-Chief over to them?”

Zhang Zihe countered Zheng Wei’s first excuse and immediately moved to the second: “As for Grand Preceptor Chen, while splitting the Censorate into Eastern and Western offices divides the power and lowers the official rank, as long as the people in those positions are their own, isn’t it the same as not splitting it at all? Why would they disagree?”

Zheng Wei had assumed Zhang Zihe was easy to fool, but this time, the brat was speaking with surprising logic. He had no idea that every one of his reactions had been predicted by Qiao Wan, and that these rebuttals had been prepared for Zhang Zihe in advance.

“Heh! You little brat. Usually, when you’re on duty, you’re nowhere to be found, yet today you’re an expert in political analysis?”

Zhang Zihe pretended not to notice the mockery, rubbing his face and leaning in with a thick-skinned grin. “It’s only because I truly want this position, so I did a bit of homework. Don’t laugh at me, Cousin. Besides, if this succeeds, I’m not the only one who benefits. It would be of great advantage to you and the entire Duke of Ning’s Estate!”

“Oh? How so?” That caught Zheng Wei’s curiosity.

“Think about it, Cousin. If I become the Eastern Supervision Officer and someone tries to impeach you, I’ll suppress the memorial and notify you in advance. You can then find the whistleblower—threaten them, beat them, do whatever it takes to ensure they don’t dare speak nonsense in court. If all else fails, we can fabricate some charges and throw them into prison first.”

“That way, you can do whatever you want in this capital. You can take whoever’s wife you fancy! The Emperor is stuck in the palace; without memorials and the mouths of his ministers, what could he possibly know?”

Zheng Wei listened, finding the logic surprisingly sound. Take Qiao Wan, for instance; if she hadn’t been the Vice Censor-in-Chief back then, constantly tattling on him to the late Emperor, he would have kidnapped that little minx long ago.

The only reason Qiao Wan dared to act superior now was her status as the Princess’s consort. If Zhang Zihe became the Eastern Supervision Officer, they could conspire to frame Luo Fengxin for treason. Qiao Wan would be his for the taking.

And not just Qiao Wan, even Luo Fengxin herself.

In the past, Zheng Wei never dared to dream of touching Luo Fengxin, but now that a window of opportunity seemed to open, his heart began to itch with desire.

Someone so arrogant, if her dignity were trampled underfoot, the look on her face. Just thinking about it made his blood boil with excitement!

Seeing Zheng Wei waver, Zhang Zihe struck while the iron was hot. “Furthermore, the Grand Preceptor’s recent actions have publicly shamed the Emperor. The Emperor must loathe them. If I get the Eastern Supervision post, then with you, me, and Cousin Zheng Yi all holding key positions, plus the Emperor’s support, why should we fear the Chen family?”

“Cousin, think about it. How many people ridicule you because you married that slut from the Chen family? When Princess Leping insulted me the other day, do you know what she said? She said the entire Ning Estate were nothing but dogs for the Empress Dowager! She said you, Zheng Wei, only became the Commander of the Imperial Guard by crawling under that Chen woman’s skirt! Were the commoners laughing at me? No, they were laughing at you! Don’t you want to break ties with the Chen family? Don’t you want to kill that woman?”

Zheng Wei could not stand being mocked for his domestic scandals. By the time Zhang Zihe mentioned being “dogs for the Empress Dowager,” his face was flushed with rage. When he heard that Luo Fengxin had publicly exposed his scars, he felt as though his chest might explode.

He hadn’t even found a way to pay Luo Fengxin back for shaming him at the palace gates last time! New hatred piled upon old, until Zheng Wei let out a feral roar and flipped the table.

“Luo Fengxin and Chen Huiru, those two bitches! I’ll carve their hearts out with my own hands!”

A dark shadow flickered across the courtyard.

Inside the Princess’s Estate, Luan Yu reported everything he had seen and heard that night to Qiao Wan.

After Luan Yu left, Luo Fengxin stepped out from the shadows. Qiao Wan had said she wanted to provoke Zheng Wei into turning against the Chen family, but Luo Fengxin had remained skeptical.

“Zheng Wei is merely venting his anger in the heat of the moment,” Luo Fengxin noted. “Those who have been servants to the Chen family for too long forget how to stand up. Once his temper cools, he’ll choose to keep enduring.”

Qiao Wan smiled, gently adjusting the wick of the lamp. “Then we simply mustn’t let the fire go out.”