No matter how one looked at it, this was a great opportunity for the Ye family.
Zhao Baozhu thought to himself.
With the Crown Prince missing, the Emperor favoring Consort Chen, and placing great expectations on Ye Jinghua, even to the extent of urging him again and again to sit for the spring examinations. Huiqing, Huiqing… to anyone hearing it, the Emperor clearly intended for Ye Jinghua to enter officialdom and support his young son.
A favored consort in the palace, a chief minister in court, and a noble prince of imperial blood.
No matter how one thought about it, the Ye family seemed already suspended at the very peak, only a single step away from the supreme seat.
But why was Ye Jinghua unwilling?
Zhao Baozhu fell into a daze, then suddenly his eyes shifted, and he turned to Deng Yun to ask, “Wait, Lord Cao’s aunt was the Empress, and the Crown Prince is his cousin. How can he still be friends with someone from the Ye family?”
Though Deng Yun had not explained in detail, the shifting tides of court politics had already been sketched out in just a few sentences. If the Empress and the Crown Prince were still alive and well, then the Cao family would be the one at the height of power. But the Empress had died early, and now the Crown Prince had most likely perished on the battlefield, the Cao family had suddenly lost all hope. They should be grinding their teeth in hatred and regret.
Hearing this, Deng Yun sighed. “The Cao family… Cao Shangshu and our old master are now practically like fire and water. But Lord Cao and the young master still get along well. Especially after the young master moved out to live on his own, Lord Cao has been visiting more often.”
Zhao Baozhu understood. Most likely the older generation had already fallen out, while the younger generation, holding onto their bond from the palace, still kept in contact in secret. Thinking of Cao Lian, Zhao Baozhu felt that he really was unlike those arrogant noble sons in storybooks who looked down on others through their noses. He seemed extremely easygoing, for someone with official rank, he had even taken the initiative to apologize to a mere servant of the Ye household like him.
Zhao Baozhu rolled his eyes thoughtfully and asked, “Just now, that Lord Cao was very friendly toward me. Is he always like that with people?”
At this question, Deng Yun’s expression suddenly changed, looking somewhat awkward. Seeing this, Zhao Baozhu knew something was off. He frowned slightly and asked, “He’s not usually like this? Then why?”
Deng Yun hesitated, glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then lowered his voice and said to Zhao Baozhu, “I’ll tell you, but don’t tell the young master I told you.”
Zhao Baozhu nodded, and Deng Yun leaned in to whisper, “It’s probably because you’re good-looking.”
?!
Zhao Baozhu’s eyes widened in shock. “What?” Deng Yun quickly shushed him. “Keep your voice down, don’t let anyone hear.” He pressed a hand on Zhao Baozhu’s shoulder and made him lean closer, whispering, “People who’ve been around the young master for a long time all more or less know this, Lord Cao used to keep a delicate-looking young servant by his side named Shanyi. They say the two grew up together, and their relationship was very close… Later, after Lord Cao got married, Shanyi was seen less often, but I’ve heard from people who served in the Cao residence that he’s still kept in the inner courtyard–”
Deng Yun’s voice rippled in Zhao Baozhu’s ears like waves. At first Zhao Baozhu didn’t quite understand, but then it suddenly clicked, and he shot to his feet: “W-what?!”
Zhao Baozhu was utterly shocked. He hadn’t expected that Cao Lian was, was, his face turned alternately pale and flushed. He wasn’t a child anymore; he had heard some things about relations between men. But in his village, only men who truly couldn’t find wives would become sworn brothers. These noble young masters, however, already had wives, yet still kept male favorites in their inner courtyards, how shameless!
So these grand aristocratic families of the capital were secretly engaging in such filthy dealings!
Seeing his expression, Deng Yun thought Zhao Baozhu was frightened and quickly reassured him, “Don’t be afraid. The young master would never let him do anything to you.” He pulled Zhao Baozhu to sit down, then added after a pause, “Besides, although Lord Cao has that kind of preference, at most he teases a few delicate young servants when he sees them, he’s never done anything as vile as forcing himself on anyone.”
Hearing this, Zhao Baozhu’s brow relaxed slightly. He tilted his head and asked, “Does… does the young master know about this?”
Deng Yun thought for a moment. “He probably does. But the young master isn’t very concerned with matters between men and women. Although he’s close with Lord Cao, he–” Deng Yun had intended to say that Ye Jinghua never concerned himself with the affairs of other households’ inner quarters, but suddenly thought of what had happened today, Cao Lian had run straight into Zhao Baozhu and even followed him all the way to the Ye residence…
As he thought about it, Deng Yun suddenly turned and glared at Zhao Baozhu. “Look at you, running around showing yourself off all day, now you’ve attracted trouble right to our door!” Seeing Zhao Baozhu’s expression of “what nonsense are you talking,” Deng Yun snorted angrily. “Just you wait, maybe the young master won’t even allow you to go out anymore!” After delivering this threat, he turned away anxiously. “No, I need to go check the front.”
With that, he ran off, leaving Zhao Baozhu standing there alone, mouth open and speechless.
What did that have to do with him?
***
Meanwhile, in the study.
Cao Lian and Ye Jinghua sat facing each other, a chessboard between them. Black and white stones interwove across it like a tightly woven net.
Cao Lian’s brows were tightly furrowed. Holding a piece in his hand, he hesitated for a long time, his expression extremely anxious.
Opposite him, Ye Jinghua remained completely at ease. Leaning slightly by the window, his eyes half-lowered, his jade-like face calm and indifferent, he did not urge Cao Lian at all, merely watched the board quietly.
After a long while, Cao Lian gave up first. He let out a long sigh and tossed the piece back into the bowl. “Forget it, forget it.”
Shaking his head, he said, “This game is impossible, I concede!”
Only then did Ye Jinghua slowly lift his eyes. Without commenting on how many stones Cao Lian had lost by, he simply said, “Another round?”
Cao Lian had just gathered himself to agree, but the moment he met Ye Jinghua’s gaze, his resolve deflated again. Shaking his head, he said, “No more!”
Ye Jinghua was not annoyed. He turned his head and called for someone to clear the board. Cao Lian raised a hand to rub his forehead and looked at Ye Jinghua. “What did you eat today, gunpowder? You played like this, not giving me any face at all.”
Ye Jinghua ignored him. Cao Lian glared at him angrily. He had always known Ye Jinghua was skilled at chess, even the Crown Prince had not been his match. But Ye Jinghua had always been measured in his dealings with others. Now it seemed that in their usual games, he must have held back considerably. Today, who knew what had gotten into him, he had slaughtered mercilessly across the board, leaving Cao Lian’s heart aching.
The maids cleared away the chess pieces and took the board, then brought in two fresh cups of tea.
The fragrance of yulu maojian tea spread through the room. Cao Lian’s anger subsided somewhat. Taking a sip, he looked up just as Yueqin finished pouring tea and was about to withdraw.
“This is a new face.”
Cao Lian said. After a moment’s thought, he asked Ye Jinghua, “Where’s that one who used to be by your side, Yuqi?”
At his words, Yueqin’s face turned pale, and she quickly retreated to stand by the wall. Ye Jinghua, however, did not even raise his eyes as he said, “Drink your tea.”
Cao Lian laughed. “Of course I’ll drink it. The tea here must have been sent from the palace, it tastes like tribute tea.” Raising his brows, he added, “Such a beauty, and you could bear to send her away? Didn’t Madam Ye make trouble for you?”
Now everyone in the capital knew that the Ye family was extremely troubled over Ye Jinghua’s marriage. Maids like Yuqi and Yueqin, who attended closely by his side, had all been personally selected by Madam Ye. In other households, the mistress guarded against charming maids leading the young masters astray, but in the Ye residence, they carefully chose the most beautiful maids and sent them all to Ye Jinghua.
The more Cao Lian thought about it, the more amusing it seemed. “I’ve also heard that the granddaughter of the Duke has taken a liking to you. The Duke’s wife has already visited your family several times. She’s lowered herself so much, what exactly are you still dissatisfied with?”
Ye Jinghua set down his teacup. Instead of responding, he turned and instructed Yueqin, “Bring the newly shelled lotus seeds for Lord Cao.”
Yueqin nodded and turned to leave. Cao Lian, however, made a bitter face, lotus seeds were his least favorite. He quickly stopped her. “No need, no need.” Turning back to Ye Jinghua, he said, “I won’t say any more, don’t use those bitter things to stuff my mouth.”
Only then did Ye Jinghua raise his eyes to look at him. “What is it you came for?”
In truth, Deng Yun had only been half right in judging people. Cao Lian’s easygoing and approachable manner was genuine, but he was by no means without depth. Running into Zhao Baozhu might have been coincidence, but coming to the Ye residence was indeed for serious business.
Hearing this, Cao Lian’s expression grew more solemn. He said in a low voice, “The flooding in the south has more or less been endured for now, but the matters of relief and resettlement are proving troublesome.”
Since the beginning of spring, many places in the south had suffered disasters, and refugees had poured into the capital. Now that the floods had passed, the issue of disaster relief had become a major difficulty. First, because three years ago the Crown Prince had mysteriously disappeared during the campaign against Shan Country, the Emperor had been enraged and thoroughly investigated the southwestern prefectures, replacing a large number of officials. Second, during this flood, corruption among officials had come to light, resulting in another wave of dismissals. With these successive purges, when it came time to dispatch officials for relief efforts, there were suddenly no capable personnel left in the southern prefectures.
Hearing this, Ye Jinghua raised his head. “The Emperor intends to send you for disaster relief?”
“Yes.” At this point, Cao Lian’s spirits lifted somewhat. “You were right, the imperial decree has already come down. At tomorrow’s morning court, I will be appointed Inspector-General of Jiangzhou.”
After placing first in the imperial examination, he had remained in the Hanlin Academy for a full three years. Though the work of compilation was quiet and leisurely, Cao Lian had ambitions to accomplish something, and these three years had been especially stifling. Ye Jinghua had once told him that he would only need a single major event to leave the Hanlin Academy. When the spring floods occurred, Cao Lian had already sensed an opportunity, and indeed, just as Ye Jinghua had predicted, the Emperor had chosen him for the task of disaster relief.
Ye Jinghua lowered his eyes and poured himself a bowl of tea. “This is something you should ask your father.”
Appointments and transfers of officials were all managed by the Ministry of Personnel, and Cao Lian’s father was the current Shangshu. Hearing this, Cao Lian made a bitter face. “You think I haven’t asked him? It’s just… you know how things are between us and the south.”
When the Crown Prince’s incident occurred, not only was the Emperor furious, but his father was also extremely anxious. He was convinced that someone in the south had sabotaged the Crown Prince. Taking advantage of the Emperor’s order to thoroughly investigate the south, Cao Shangshu, as the highest-ranking official in the Ministry of Personnel, exerted considerable effort in the investigation. However, after all the effort, nothing was found, thus creating deep-seated grudges with many officials in the south. Frankly speaking, if it had been someone else, Cao Shangshu’s position as Minister of Personnel would likely have been in jeopardy. It was only because the Emperor pitied the deceased Empress and felt a sense of guilt towards the Cao family because of the Crown Prince’s incident that Cao Shangshu’s position was preserved.
“Now, even though my father is still Shangshu, if he forces orders through, the people below may drag their feet. Disaster relief could be delayed for months.”
Cao Lian sighed repeatedly at the thought of this matter. It had only been three years since the crown prince incident, yet the mere mention of the name “Cao” still caused a great uproar in the southern officialdom. To make matters worse, the emperor had appointed him as governor. Cao Lian was grateful for the emperor’s trust in him, but he was also really troubled by the fact that he couldn’t handle the job. Therefore, as soon as he heard the news, he came to Ye Jinghua to discuss it.
At this moment, Deng Yun hurriedly made his way to the front yard and pressed himself against the study, only then hearing his young master’s voice coming from inside: “Why don’t you go to Song Chunhua?”
After a pause, Cao Lian asked, puzzled, “Song Chunhua? What does he have to do with this?”
Inside the room, Ye Jinghua took a sip of tea, offering no reply, but simply watching Cao Lian silently. Cao Lian pondered for a moment, his expression shifting from doubt to seriousness, then gradually softening. After a brief pause, he clapped his hands and said: “You’re right. I should find him.”
Cao Lian suddenly stood up from his chair, circled the front hall several times, and the more he thought about it, the more he understood the logic. He nodded repeatedly, “Only he can solve this problem!”
Having figured this out, Cao Lian turned back to the question: “But he already set off a few days ago, heading south ahead of me. How can I possibly catch up with him?”
Ye Jinghua thought for a moment and said, “If you chase after him now, he should still be in Beiming Mountain.”
Upon hearing this, Cao Lian suddenly realized and slapped his forehead: “You’re right, Old Master Song is a very devout Buddhist, he must be in Beiming Mountain!”
Hearing this seemingly random conversation from outside, Deng Yun sensed that his two masters were discussing serious matters, and felt much relieved.
Helplessly, Cao Lian felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders as Ye Jinghua’s few words had illuminated the path to his important matter, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief. It was nearly dark, and he wasn’t in a hurry to chase after them out of the city. Instead, he turned around and personally poured him a cup of tea. “Huiqing, I owe you another huge favor. How can I possibly thank you for this?”
Ye Jinghua didn’t drink his tea, but instead picked up the half-carved jade rabbit on the windowsill: “Owe it for now.”
Upon hearing this, Cao Lian glanced at Ye Jinghua and sighed inwardly. He had no idea how many favors he owed Ye Jinghua. Repaying them would be incredibly difficult; he’d practically be skinned alive by that kid!
He sat down, rolled his eyes, and suddenly seemed to have thought of something, saying, “How about this, if you are willing, I will let Baozhu study at our clan school, and say that he is your younger brother.”
Outside, Deng Yun was tiptoeing away when he heard this and suddenly turned around, his face turning pale with shock.
In the study, Ye Jinghua paused in his carving of the jade rabbit, leaving a slightly deep scratch on the rabbit’s eye.
