CH 41

“My Second Uncle brought that wine from Lingnan, and I only have two jars,” Lou Jing said, somewhat surprised. He didn’t think that the Empress would like lychee wine that much. “It’s quite a common product in Lingnan. I’ll get people to send a few more jars over, but it’ll take at least a month to get here.”

Of the two jars, one had been given to the Empress, and the other had gone to Xiao Chengjun. The latter also liked this wine very much, and Lou Jing was not going to take his own husband’s portion to give to the Empress. 

“I was just asking casually. You don’t have to go to such trouble,” Ji Zhuo said, waving a hand to show that it was no matter. “Has General Zhengnan left the Capital?”

“They left this morning. They’re trying to get back to Lingnan in time to celebrate New Year’s there,” Lou Jing said, smiling.

The Empress nodded and didn’t say anything further. He asked Lou Jing to pass a message to Xiao Chengjun for him. The Lingnan Hou would be in the Capital in just three to five days’ time, and since he had already reported sick, he should just rest a few days more. “Regarding the proposed conscription of forced labourers – tell him that he is not to get involved at all costs,” Ji Zhuo emphasised.

Conscription of forced labour wasn’t strictly taboo per se. However, there were a number of conditions that had to be met in order for this to be done fairly, and in a way that wouldn’t arouse the people’s anger. First, the Emperor had to be principled and righteous, and second, the Imperial Court had to be one of high integrity. This would ensure that punishments and rewards were dealt out fairly, that the labourers were not abused, and that the food and money due to the labourers would be given in full and on time. 

However, in all of history, there had been very few dynasties that managed to do this well, let alone the current corrupt administration. If they screwed this up, the consequences would be very dire, and there would certainly be a witch hunt to punish the person responsible. Whoever was in charge of the canal repair project would also likely be the one sacrificed at the altar of public opinion, and bear the brunt of public hatred.

If Xiao Chengjun was the overseer of the canal repair project, he would be this very object of public hatred. Even if he managed to wrest the throne and be the Emperor in future, the history books wouldn’t have much good to say about him.

After bidding farewell to the Empress, Lou Jing didn’t head straight back to Zhuque Hall, and also didn’t go to the Min Wang mansion. He didn’t go to the Northern Barracks to work either. He chose instead to go to the Minister of the Left’s mansion.

The Minister of the Left Zhao Duan was still dealing with work in the Shangshu’s office when Lou Jing arrived, so his servants brought Lou Jing straight to the Ninth Young Master’s residence within the mansion.

“The old masters are all at the government office presently. I pray that Shizi will pardon them for being poor hosts,” the butler of the Zhao Mansion said. He spoke in a very formal, bookish manner, rather like a Jiangnan scholar.

Lou Jing waved his hands to show that he wasn’t offended. He was here to see Zhao Xi to begin with anyway.

“Wealth permeating the house. Morality permeating the body. A big heart and a big body. These are the hallmarks of a gentleman…” A scholarly voice recited these lines clearly from behind the bamboo surrounding the residence, and Lou Jing picked up his pace. He wanted to get to Zhao Xi quickly so he could laugh at him for finally deciding to apply himself to his studies seriously.

After passing through the bamboo patch, he saw Zhao Xi standing in front of the stone table in his residence with books strewn all around him. Zhao Xi himself was holding a brush, writing furiously on a piece of white paper on the table. 

Lou Jing crept up silently behind Zhao Xi, intending to slap him on the back whilst he was unawares. However, just at that moment, Zhao Xi suddenly turned around. The both of them got a rude shock.

“Ahhh!” Zhao Xi screamed.

“Qtja jgf sbe sfiilcu obg!” Obe Alcu ujnf tlw j delmx rwjmx bc atf tfjv. Ktf yeaifg tjvc’a ubcf ojg, jcv klat Itjb Wl rdefjilcu ilxf j qlu ja atf jyjaablg, atf yeaifg kbeiv qgbyjyis atlcx atja Obe Alcu tjv tla Itjb Wl. Vlcmf tf kjr ilxfis ab yf atbeuta ab yf atf juugfrrbg, tf oluegfv tf wluta jr kfii vb atf vffv tf’v yf rerqfmafv bo jcskjs jcv rwjmxfv Itjb Wl.

Zhao Xi held his head in his hands. It hurt! He glared At Lou Jing. “I’ve had an epiphany. I now know why I can’t become a gentleman,” he said. 

“Why?” Lou Jing asked. He looked down and saw what Zhao Xi had been writing. The words “a big heart and a big body” were written all over the paper.

“Because I’m too skinny,” Zhao Xi said, taking the book called “Great Wisdom” and pointing out the line to Lou Jing. “See. It says ‘Morality permeating the body. A big heart and a big body.’ I have no morals, so it can’t permeate my body and make it big.”

Lou Jing pulled the book from Zhao Xi’s hands and tossed it on the floor. He sat down on the stone stool next to the table without being invited. “Lord Zhao asked you to study properly at home, and this is how you do it? It looks like you’re not going to pass the exam. You might as well dress up as a lady and marry yourself off as one,” he said, pinching some snacks from the table and tossing them into his mouth.

“You have some nerve, bringing up my dressing up as a lady,” Zhao Xi snapped. “You know, that Crown Prince husband of yours really did it the last time. I got punished because of the letter he asked me to bring to my Second Uncle! I took a whole two weeks to write the essay he set me.” 

“Dianxia and the Minister of the Left already had an understanding. There was no reason to punish you,” Lou Jing said, giving him a sideways glance. This little donkey probably got tricked by Zhao Duan.

“What did you say?!” Zhao Xi exclaimed. He leapt to his feet at once. So he had painstakingly written that long essay for two weeks for nothing?!

“Let me ask you something. Has the Minister of the Left spoken about the Qinghe canal repair project these few days?” Lou Jing asked. He caught hold of Zhao Xi, who was about to stomp off and settle the score with Zhao Duan. He pressed Zhao Xi down and made him sit on a stone stool.

“The Minister of the Right was the one who suggested conscripting forced labourers,” Zhao Xi replied. His expression became serious when he said this. “I hear that the impetus was the unrest caused by the Qinghe refugees in the neighbouring towns. The Qingyang County government doesn’t want to deal with them any more, and they want to use this excuse to round up all the troublemaking refugees as conscripted labourers.” 

Lou Jing understood now. Scholars indeed had a different perspective from him. This piece of news was very useful. “Does the Minister of the Left know who instigated the situation with the Qinghe refugees?” he asked.

“Bah, it’s so obvious,” Zhao Xi said, his upper lip curling. “The Minister of the Right and his cronies are all like mad dogs. They dare to do anything.”

Lou Jing raised his eyebrows. Describing them as mad dogs was pretty accurate. He got up and patted Zhao Xi on the head. “Study hard. I await the news of you getting one of the top three positions,” he said.

“What are you going to do about that stepmother of yours?” Zhao Xi asked, frowning as he looked at Lou Jing. He hadn’t heard much news about the Anguo Gong lately and was worried that Lou Jing might have suffered. “If you want to pick a fight, remember to bring me along. I can help.” 

“Don’t worry. I don’t need to involve you for something small like this,” Lou Jing said, chuckling. This Ninth Young Master of the Zhao family was very aggressive when quarrelling, and if he brought him along, Madam Wei might actually get a heart attack. If she died, things would become much more complicated.

Lou Jing returned to the Min Wang residence that night and had dinner with Xiao Chengjun. The latter had slept a lot during the day and wasn’t the least bit tired in the evening, so Lou Jing brought him for a walk in the garden.

The autumn winds were strong, and they blew the withered leaves off the trees. The leaves cascaded down onto the ground, and Xiao Chengjun sighed when he saw this bleak sight. “The weather is so cold now. I wonder how the Qinghe refugees are coping,” he said, his tone melancholy.

The Qinghe disaster relief efforts were no longer under Xiao Chengjun’s purview after he was deposed, but he still heard some news about it, and the news was all bad. 

“I heard that the forced labourers the Minister of the Right wants to conscript are these refugees,” Lou Jing said, taking the cloak that An Shun brought over.

“How can the people live in these terrible times?” Xiao Chengjun sighed deeply. He reached out to take the cloak, but Lou Jing wrapped the warm cloak around himself, then took Xiao Chengjun into his arms and arranged the large cloak to cover them both.

Xiao Chengjun didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he looked at Lou Jing. He dismissed An Shun with a wave of his hand. If he continued to let Lou Jing pamper him like this, he was going to get lazier and lazier, Xiao Chengjun thought. He nevertheless leaned back into Lou Jing’s warm embrace.

“I have a plan to turn the forced labourers into willing labourers,” Lou Jing said, nuzzling at one of Xiao Chengjun’s ears, which was slightly cold from being outside. 

“What plan is this?” Xiao Chengjun asked, turning to look at him.

“You’ll know tomorrow,” Lou Jing said in a deliberately mysterious manner. He gave Xiao Chengjun a quick peck on the lips. “However, I can only do it tomorrow night. I want to go somewhere fun with you in the day.”

The busiest people in the Yulin Troops were the Deputy Commanders. They had to make sure the Yulin Troops changed shifts on time and also served as palace guards. Lou Jing was now the Left Commander-General, and was really only busy during the New Year and the leadup thereto.

Xiao Chengjun didn’t pursue the issue of Lou Jing’s skiving off either. “If you keep spending time away from the Anguo Gong mansion, aren’t you afraid people will talk?” he asked, smiling faintly. 

“My father and I are running separate households now,” Lou Jing said, an icy glint in his eyes. “I’m going to make Madam Wei go to the country estate very soon.” These were all small matters, anyway. To Lou Jing, nothing was more important than spending time with his husband.

Ultimately, Xiao Chengjun didn’t agree to Lou Jing’s suggestion to have a fun excursion together. His reason for being absent from Court was that he was ill, and it wasn’t good if he were seen gallivanting around happily outside. He did, however, want to go to Jingyi Mountain to visit Xiao Chengjin.

The next day, the two got on a horse carriage early in the morning and left stealthily for Jingyi Mountain.

The Imperial Physician said that Jing Wang’s condition had deteriorated over the last few days, and Xiao Chengjun was full of worry. 

The Mountain Palace and its surroundings were quiet and peaceful as usual. The trees were mostly bare, having shed most of their red leaves. The mountain looked very lonely and desolate. The interior of Changchun Manor was warm as always, but the people in the manor all wore worried frowns on their faces.

“Wang ye has not been well of late. When he heard that Dianxia had been deposed, he… vomited blood that night,” the butler said quietly to the two of them in the front yard. He looked very troubled.

Lou Jing’s brows knitted together, and he grasped Xiao Chengjun’s hand, which had balled into a tense fist. “If Wang ye isn’t feeling well, you all should put on a happier face. If everyone around him is pulling a long face, he’d fall sick with worry even if he were healthy,” he said.

The butler heard the dissatisfaction in Lou Jing’s voice and realised that he had been adding to his master’s troubles. “This old servant should be punished,” he said soberly. 

Xiao Chengjun waved a hand to stop the butler from going down this line of reasoning, then pulled Lou Jing towards the interior of the house.

The Second Prince Xiao Chengjin was lying down in the centre of the hot spring pavilion as usual. His eyes were shut, and his brow was slightly creased. It seemed that he wasn’t sleeping well. His face was even more deathly pale than it had been the previous time.

“Chengjin…” Xiao Chengjun said, sitting down by the side of the mattress and calling out to him softly.

Xiao Chengjin slowly opened his eyes. When he saw who it was, his lips immediately curved upwards into a smile. “I can set my heart at ease, now that I’ve seen you both here together… cough cough cough cough…” He was racked by violent coughs in the middle of his sentence. 

“Wang ye!” Consort Jing rushed out from the room next to the hot spring. Propriety demanded that she keep herself out of other men’s sight unless absolutely necessary. She quickly made her way to Xiao Chengjin’s side and rubbed his back, trying to soothe him. “Wang ye is not feeling well, and I was unable to avoid coming forward. I hope you both will forgive me,” she said.

“We’re all family. There’s no need to be so formal,” Xiao Chengjun said, looking worriedly at his brother. He had no mind for propriety or etiquette right now, not when his little brother was in this state.

Xiao Chengjin finally stopped coughing with great difficulty. He tugged at his elder brother’s hand and sighed. “I sense that I may not have many days left. I have some things I want to say to you,” he said.

Xiao Chengjun wanted to refute what he had just said, but looking at his weak condition, the words stuck in his throat. It was true. His brother’s body might not be able to hold up for much longer. 

“The Minister of the Right and his cronies – they cannot be dealt with using external forces. You have to work from the inside out,” Xiao Chengjin said, putting a small, palm-sized notebook into Xiao Chengjun’s hand. “These are records that I’ve copied out over the past few days. It contains a list of all the Minister of the Right’s disciples, as well as their respective places of birth and official positions. Their relationships with each other are also recorded inside. I believe this will be of help to you.”

Lou Jing looked at the little notebook and felt a deep sense of respect for Xiao Chengjin’s intellect. He flipped through the pages of the notebook, and one of the names caught his eye. An event from many years ago suddenly resurfaced in his memory, and he couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment. This person might just be the key to defeating the Minister of the Right’s faction!

Xiao Chengjun didn’t notice Lou Jing’s change of expression. He pressed his lips tightly together and was silent for a moment. “I’ve said before – you’re not to exhaust yourself this way. Why don’t you listen?” he said.

“I want to help you in some way, gege,” Xiao Chengjin said, smiling. He exhaled audibly. “Rui’er is still small. Gege was originally the Crown Prince, and I couldn’t ask this before, but now that you’re a Qinwang, I ask that you take care of him when I’m gone… cough cough…”