CH 140

The instant the two appeared, Wan An and Wan Tong’s expressions changed in unison.

Wan Tong seized the lead, saying unhappily, “You’re very mighty, Solon Tang. Who here has ill intent? This letter is His Majesty’s personal statement, ordered for the Cabinet ministers to read! I only came here on decree, yet you dare to say I have ill intent! Ignoring the Emperor’s command is the real ill intent here! Whoever wants to act as a traitorous subject will not be forgiven by the spring-gilt sabre I hold!”

After that, he drew his sabre out of its sheath with a shing!

As if responding to an order from their leader, the rest of the Brocade Guards also unsheathed their sabres simultaneously. The room instantly became a bit colder, a dense, murderous aura hitting one in the face. Even though the Cabinet members were the height of the Court and set policies for the empire’s operations, they had never seen such a scenario before. Their expressions all twisted up; to say that they didn’t feel uneasy would be false.

It had to be said that Liu Ji was no fledgling that had only just left his home and would sign his name out of idiocy; a large portion of his reasoning was intimidating pressure like this. Also, his mind had been wavering to begin with, and once compelled by an external force, he had followed his gut.

When Xu Pu had refused to sign, he had been pressured similarly hard, and was also not great at arguing. Had Tang Fan and Liu Jian not arrived, he might truly have been half-forced to sign, in the end.

Thus, the second he had seen them show up, he had finally let out a sigh of relief.

Faced with Wan Tong’s antagonism, Tang Fan displayed a completely unrelenting serenity. “This is an important and confidential area that not a single unrelated official is allowed to enter unauthorized. Violators will not be spared from punishment. Could you not read the words hanging outside, Envoy Wan?”

Wan Tong sneered. “What of them? I cam on imperial order — who could stop me?”

“After the seventh year of Zhengtong, the Pavilion of Literary Profundity has been the working place of Cabinet members. Even if His Majesty came here, he would need to send someone to report that ahead of time. Who or what gave you the misconception that you’ve become more important than the Son of Heaven?” Tang Fan answered, tone indifferent.

“Tang Fan, stop being such a pest! I came here on His Majesty’s approval!” the other raged.

“You have his approval, but did your subordinates get it, too?” Tang Fan sternly questioned. “Don’t claim that you don’t even know that rule! Why are you not having them leave?!”

When had Wan Tong ever been yelled at to his face, following his sister becoming the Noble Consort? He was dumbstruck for a moment, complexion green and red at the same exact time. His hand that gripped the hilt tightened, as if he wanted to lift it and bring it down upon Tang Fan.

However, if he did that, whether Tang Fan would actually die was hard to say. Him daring to attack a Vizier in the Pavilion was probably something his sister couldn’t defend him from.

Seeing that the situation was going poorly, Wan An quickly spoke up, “I have something to—“

Before he could finish speaking, Tang Fan interrupted him by looking towards one of the Guards brought by Wan Tong. “Xi Bo, you aren’t supposed to be on duty today. For what reason did you show up here?”

His counterpart was clearly an unarmed civil official, but being swept over by that sharp-as-a-blade gaze made Xi Bo automatically take a step back. After that, he reacted at last, embarrassed. “This… this subordinate…”

He was unable to give a justification, as Tang Fan had already looked towards another person, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Xia Rui,” he called out.

“This subordinate is on duty today!” Xia Rui subconsciously replied.

Tang Fan sneered. “I didn’t say you weren’t! You’re from the Southern Bastion Office, right? Since when have you all intervened in palace defense?”

Xia Rui immediately became speechless.

Prior to entering the Cabinet, Tang Fan had come and gone from the Brocade Guard’s Capital Commanding Envoy Office many times, and had come to recognize a majority of the faces therein. Immediately after calling out the names of several people, he interrogated them on why they had appeared here.

Sui Zhou’s eminence in the Brocade Guard was quite high. Had it not been for Wan Tong pressing down on his head, he would long be a true Commanding Envoy. As it were, these people were also aware that Tang Fan had a deep friendship with Sui Zhou — as soon as they witnessed Tang Fan’s interrogations, they recalled Sui Zhou’s methods, immediately feeling some timidity.

Wan Tong was about to die of rage. He was the Commanding Envoy, so why, in Tang Fan’s words, were his own words less useful than a Bastion Envoy’s?

Looking at these Guards’ reactions, he had really lost a lot of face!

With Tang Fan’s disturbance, the hostile atmosphere dissipated some. Wan Tong could not allow him to keep speaking.

He took a step forward at once. Relying on the oppression of his big and tall stature and the sabre he held, he glared at Tang Fan with a sneer, trying to intimidate him. “Solon Tang, you speak quite a lot of nonsense! We’re discussing proper business here, it’s not for you to come in and reminisce with Guards! Since His Majesty asked all of you to read the letter, you must fully understand his desire!”

Saying so, he went to grab Tang Fan’s shoulder.

Wan Tong had no intent to injure him, as he wasn’t an idiot. He knew the consequences of hurting a Cabinet minister. However, with things having unfolded like so, he needed to take advantage of the time that his side was on the high ground to quickly get the memorial jointly signed, else everything that they had done today would be a waste.

Tang Fan was not slow to react. He took a step back when the other was first stretching out his hand, one of his own picking the letter up off the table. “Wan Tong, would you also have the nerve to confirm that with me, in the Emperor’s presence? His Majesty had you deliver the letter, and you brought a huge group of Brocade Guards to menace Court members! I want to see for myself who gave you this enormous courage!”

His voice and expression were harsh, his typical smile gone from his face, and he had a certain valor that could terrify.

“Yes, Wan Tong! Even if His Majesty told you to deliver the letter, he would never have let you bring so many people in there! Leave, quickly!” Liu Jian also shouted.

Talking was slow, actions were quick. Liu Ji seized the time when no one was paying attention to get up, snatch the memorial that had been set in front of Xu Pu, and then, with a shredding sound, rip it in two!

At that moment, everyone’s eyes moved from Tang Fan and Wan Tong to him, wide-eyed and tongue-tied as they stared at the torn-asunder memorial he held.

Wan An grew dreadfully enraged, to the point that he called Liu Ji by his derogatory name. “Liu Cottonflower, are you courting death?!”

“What I tore wasn’t His Majesty’s letter, but a mere memorial,” Liu Ji answered passively. “It was an accidental slip of my hand. I’m afraid you will need to rewrite it, Yuanweng.”

Saying so, he stuffed the memorial he had signed into his pocket.

Wan An was near about struck stupid by this man’s audacity!

Clearly, he had written his name down a moment before, but when Tang Fan made a racket, he had gone back on his word! Even if he had regrets, a dignified Solon still had the cheek to do something like tear a memorial, right in front of everybody!

It was not only Wan An, but all the others that were staring at Liu Ji in a daze, not reacting at all.

His nickname of Liu Cottonflower had not been in vain. Someone that could remain unscathed beneath many years of continuous verbal and written castigation by censors would have to be someone beyond the average. When it came to thick faces, if Vice Vizier Liu had second place, no one in the Great Ming would dare to have first place.

With that rip, Wan An knew their great momentum was gone.

Like Liu Ji, the reason why they had been deceived was, for one, that Wan An’s group had put in a strong first hit, and for two, there had been the pressure of the nearby Brocade Guards. Something like this could not be repeated, because as soon as the others woke up, there would be no second chance. Furthermore, Liu Ji had just destroyed the joint memorial, which was his ploy to completely deny his part.

As for Xu Pu, with Tang Fan and Liu Jian around, he was even more unlikely to concede.

All of the advantages that the Wan party had wracked its brains building were now dumped into the river, vanished without a trace.

Wan An’s mood was a bit down. He sat right down, not even wanting to say anything.

Wan Tong was of a similar mood. He tightly gripped the hilt of his sabre, itching to leap up and cut Liu Ji and Tang Fan into bits. However, logic told him not to do that, so he took extreme effort to endure, the fat on his face trembling. In the end, he could only puff hot air out of his nostrils, turn, and leave.

With their leader going, those he had brought with him naturally followed after.

“Hold it!” Tang Fan announced. “Envoy Wan, aren’t you forgetting something?”

Wan Tong had a breath of noxious air stuck in his chest that wanted to come out, but couldn’t. Hearing this, he turned around to spit out nastily, “What would I forget?!”

After so many years, the people of the Court had long come to an agreement: Every day that Consort Wan existed was a day the Wan party would not fall. As a core of the Wan party and her brother, it didn’t matter if Wan Tong whipped up a massive catastrophe; as long as he didn’t want to overthrow the Great Ming or plot a rebellion, the Emperor wouldn’t do anything to him. Those that opposed him generally wouldn’t have a good end, either.

For that reason, even if people refused to yield to the Wan party, they would always stay far away from it, and wouldn’t provoke it if they didn’t have to. Like today, for example; even though the party had lost and failed at the last moment, Wan Tong was still that arrogant Wan Tong who no one could provoke. Everyone had been happy to see this pestilence god off, never having expected that Tang Fan would take it upon himself to provoke him.

Xu Pu was somewhat worried, opening his mouth in want to help Tang Fan with mediation so that he wouldn’t offend Wan Tong severely, but when he saw Liu Jian watching Wan Tong with an indignant look, he was forced to swallow the words in his mouth back down, smile bitterly on the inside, and feel himself to be too much of a pushover. No wonder Tang Fan and Liu Jian had been blocked outside; if only he had been let in, then forced to sign, he wouldn’t have had Liu Ji’s shamelessness to repent. He would have just dug a hole and buried himself in it.

At that point, he knew that Tang Fan’s method was the right one. Stately Viziers getting pushed around by someone would only cause others to think them powerless, should their hues not be returned to them. How could they lead the officials, then?

Tang Fan raised the letter, saying coldly, “Barging into the Pavilion without authorization means you should face the rod and reproach, to say nothing of you rushing in with Brocade Guards. If the Cabinet was to allowed anyone to come and go as they see fit, where is the law of our forebears? Where is the law of the Court?!”

Wan Tong glared at Tang Fan, a dense wish to kill in his eyes. In that moment, there was no doubt in anyone’s minds that if he could have, he likely would have cut Tang Fan down. Liu Jian had even taken a step forward, planning to come up and stop him in case things got dire.

However, Wan Tong ultimately did nothing. Despite his lack of good traits and his reliance on his sister to reach his current position, he was not an idiot completely without sophisticated thought. “What do you want, then?” he asked, teeth bared in extreme anger.

“Go with me to confirm how right you are with the Emperor, or apologize to all the Solons present,” Tang Fan answered mildly. “Your choice.”

“Solon Tang, you’ve set your heart on opposing me, right?” Wan Tong particularly enunciated.

Tang Fan shook his head. “Why would I oppose you for no reason? I’m managing affairs that are well within my position. I only want to protect the dignity of the Court and the Cabinet; if word of this spreads out, future generations will imitate you. What accusation will you deserve then, Envoy Wan?”

Wan Tong had no argument, because Tang Fan’s every word had stabbed him in his weakpoint.

This had been plotted by the Wan party to begin with, first using the celestial phenomena to build momentum, having Ji Xiao and Li Zisheng hint for the Emperor to depose the Crown Prince, then having Wan Tong put forth a proposal for the Cabinet to take the lead in this, in order to lessen the talk the deposition would trigger and cause the Emperor to agree. This had been something Wan Tong had long discussed with Wan An and then. Once Wan Tong had received the Emperor’s approval, he was to bring the letter over, but to force the other non-Wan party Cabinet members to agree, he would also bring a squadron of Brocade Guards.

And since Tang Fan was holding on to that point without letting go, if a fuss was made before the Emperor, Wan Tong would be in the wrong.

Silence stretched out in the discussion hall. Everyone looked at the two of them, Wan Tong especially.

The latter stared at Tang Fan, his scorching gaze seeming to want to glare a hole through him, but it seemed to have no effect on him, the other’s aura never ebbing in the slightly. It gave Wan Tong the very powerless feeling of punching a cottonflower.

After a long deadlock, Wan Tong could only say, “This humble official acknowledges my mistake! Please forgive me, gentlemen!”

His attitude in admitting his error was not much different than one for demanding a debt, but being able to force Wan Tong to bow his head was something that had never happened before.

In that split second, everyone had a subtle feeling. It wasn’t towards Wan Tong, but Tang Fan.

In the Cabinet, one could pick out the qualifications of any single member, and they would be higher than Tang Fan. And yet, at a critical juncture, it was he who had maintained the Cabinet’s dignity.

Wan Tong left after he spoke, but before he did, he gave Tang Fan a vicious glare. The rancor in that look could shock the heart.

Tang Fan did not call out for him again, allowing the team of Brocade Guards to leave, then joining up with Liu Jian, because they had to apologize to the Head Vizier for being late this morning.

Everyone’s mind were still immersed in what had just happened. Who cared if they were late?

Wan An should have hated these two for ruining the Wan party’s plan, but what purpose would there be in saying anything further? Opportunities were fleeting. If they were missed, they were missed.

Like so, a massive incident that could have raised great waves was invisibly eliminated. By the time the other officials learned what had gone on in the Cabinet this morning, the storm would long be gone.

Many felt as though this was not the end of things, inevitably apprehensive at heart. All levels of society spoke a lot of it, like mountain rain threatening to come over.

After returning home from the palace, Solon Tang — placed at the heart of this vortex — just casually strolled to his sister’s home to see his nephew, go over his coursework, and stay for dinner. It wasn’t until Sui Zhou, off from work, came looking for him that he said goodbye to Tang Yu, her son, and Ah-Dong.

Pelted with the ambiguous smiles of his sister and Ah-Dong, Tang Fan somewhat exasperatedly allowed their teasing. They had no idea what had gone on in the Cabinet that morning, nor did they know that what step the situation had developed to, tense inside, lax outside. If they did, Sui Zhou wouldn’t have so easily come and picked him up.

Tang Fan didn’t wish for his relatives to worry about him. He had basically completely gone hostile with the Wan party. Although this morning had looked majestic from all sides, where even Wan Tong had bowed his head to him, the party hated him to the core, and would certainly not let things lie. The next vicious battlw was already brewing.

After Wan Tong had left the Pavilion, the Cabinet meeting couldn’t proceed. Soon following, Tang Fan and Liu Jian brought the letter into the palace, and harshly complained about Wan Tong to the Emperor.

On account of Wan Tong having acted improperly, him barging into the Pavilion with Brocade Guard was very likely to get people talking, the Crown Prince’s whole deposition aside. The Emperor had no way to excuse Wan Tong, instead forced to console the Cabinet and berate Wan Tong. The issue of the letter was left up in the air.

Sui Zhou had not been idle when this happened, of course. The Brocade Guard was not entirely under his control right now, with a portion still loyal to Wan Tong. Basically, Wan Tong and him each had one half of the influence in the Guard, with Sui Zhou having a slight advantage.

Still, the Brocade Guard was not Sui Zhou’s whole domain. It had been due to Wan Tong being a real Commanding Envoy that he had been able to mobilize people for the palace.

After the Emperor had reprimanded Wan Tong, Sui Zhou had seized the chance to re-organize the Brocade Guard again. Such was why he looked slightly worn-down upon appearing before Tang Fan.

“Have you eaten yet?” Tang Fan breezily took the lantern he held.

Sui Zhou shook his head. “I’m not hungry.”

“You’re not hungry, yet you must eat. I haven’t been to the wonton stall in the city’s north for a long time. Let’s go! I want a bowl of it, too!”

“Didn’t you just eat your fill?”

Tang Fan’s face did not go red and heart did not jump at being seen through. “I didn’t eat much just now, really. I can have some scallion youbing.”

“…”

The wonton stall still stood. Because the day was getting later, the customers were gradually dwindling. Tang Fan hadn’t been here for a some time, yet the owner still recognized him at a glance, enthusiastically calling for them to sit. “Sir, that beardless friend of yours seems to have not come here for a long time,” he casually chatted.

“You still remember him?” Tang Fan asked with a smile.

The vendor smiled back. “Of course I do! Last time he was here, he fought with the Eastern Depot while I was here. It was quite impressive, and difficult to forget! The Eastern Depot has always been arrogant — that fight was pretty satisfying!”

“The Eastern Depot is under new management. It acts very low-key now, not arrogant.”

“Really? No wonder I haven’t seen them come over in such a long time!” the vendor said, confused, then slapped his forehead. “Look at this memory of mine; when I start talking, I don’t stop. What would you two like to eat? This lowly one will go make it!”

“Bring two bowls of wontons, and one scallion youbing—“

“One bowl,” Sui Zhou said.

“…One-and-a-half bowls.”

“One bowl.”

The vendor was quiet.

In the end, Tang Dan admitted defeat. “One bowl, then. Listen to him. I want two youbing, though.”

The vendor smiled apologetically at that. “I’m sorry, Sir Tang. The youbing are sold out.”

“…”

Seeing his whole being appear to droop listlessly, Sui Zhou had a smile in his eyes, lightly patting his hand. “It isn’t good to overeat for dinner. I’ll share the bowl with you later.”

Solon Tang brought all of his haggling drive. “The two bowls.”

Sui Zhou ignored him.

The vendor came over bearing two cups of tea. “Drink, Sirs. The wontons are in the pot, and will be ready soon!”

The tea was very average-quality wild yea, incomparable to what they typically drank, but Sui Zhou didn’t mind, taking a sip of his. Whenever he had abroad business, he would experience unforgiving environments; a cup of coarse tea was nothing to speak of.

“Huai En might be heading for Nanjing,” he said.

Tang Fan was caught off guard, his motion to get his own tea cup stopped midway. “What happened?”

“He urged His Majesty to not listen to the celestial phenomena’s statement, and spoke up for the Crown Prince. His Majesty got angry, so he sent him to be an Incense Tender at the Ming tombs.”

Incense Tender was a real position for tomb-guardings, responsible for putting incense on the memorial tablets every day. The dignified Supervisor of Ceremony Management being assigned to watch over tombs in Nanjing was a treatment as different as sky and soil.

Most importantly, everyone knew that Huai En was quite protective of the Crown Prince. This development would certainly deal a heavy blow to the the Crown Prince party’s power.

After Huai En, who else would dare to speak up for the Prince?

Tang Fan creased his brow. “What about Wang Zhi? Is he alright?”

“For now, but the situation right now isn’t great. You should be more careful.”

Tang Fan nodded. “I know. You, too.”

While they spoke, piping-hot wontons were brought out. Tang Fan’s expression immediately changed from deadly serious to severely salivating; he eagerly water Sui Zhou bow his head to spoon some broth, gaze too burning for anyone to ignore.

Sui Zhou had to pass the brimming spoon, which had one wonton in it, over to the other’s mouth.

“Don’t do that. I’ll eat by myself,” Mister Tang said, putting on an air.

Sui Zhou turned his spoon right around and brought it to his own mouth.

Not caring if anyone was watching, Tang Fan grabbed the other’s wrist, then brought the spoon to his side, finally getting the in-limbo wonton into his mouth.

The umami of the chicken broth and wonton flooded his tastebuds, fully satisfying him at last. “Give me another?” he said, sweet-talking Sui Zhou.

The latter was disinclined to acknowledge him, simply bowing his head to start eating.

Unlike Tang Fan’s peace within hardship, the Emperor was in an especially horrible mood right about now. He had just started falling asleep, then had a nightmare.

The scene of his dreams was hard for him to shake off. Therefore, the frail Emperor disregarded the chilly weather, and left his bedroom that had the warm earth-dragon of a kang, descended the white jade steps, and walked aimlessly down the long palace path.

Towering palace halls in daylight had transformed into oscillating black behemoths, hidden within darkness by night’s cover.

In the massive Forbidden City, were candles to be lit up all over the place, the expenses for it would undoubtedly be immense. To cut costs, palace-goers had to reduce the amount of candles used. From far away, the speckles of palace lights made the atmosphere all the more mysterious.

With Huai En not here, no one dared to come up and persuade him. A few young eunuchs had no choice but to follow the Emperor as he wandered all around, one with a meaningful look already turning his head and going to inform the Noble Consort, quick as flight.

The Emperor’s movements were doubtlessly abnormal, but ever since he started believing in Daoist magic, this was not the first time such a curious scene had been seen.

“Your Majesty…”

Seeing him walk farther and farther, a eunuch trembled uneasily. He had wanted to speak up to advise him, only for the Emperor to turn his head and stop his words, the look in his eyes extraordinarily harsh, unlike a sick person’s at all.

“Silence!” the Emperor said. “We heard something like someone calling for us…”

Why would anyone be calling the Emperor’s taboo name? And why would anyone call for him in the middle of the night?

The eunuch was truly terrified, not daring to speak.

Then, the Emperor turned many corners, going all around. It was unknown how far they had walked, until the eunuch actually did hear some whispering at a corner up ahead.

He automatically lightened his footsteps and held his breath. Once he heard the contents of the words clearly, his complexion changed.