Chapter 41
Inside Yinghui Pavilion, within the hall.
Ji Qingzhou and Tu Dayou entered together and knelt in the middle of the hall.
Li Zhan’s gaze fixed on Tu Dayou as he calmly asked, “Speak. Whose orders are you carrying out?”
The moment Li Zhan finished speaking, Tu Dayou was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Li Zhan to skip any formalities and get straight to the point. Even Qin Zheng, standing nearby, looked surprised. From Li Zhan’s tone, it was clear he already knew the full story and didn’t need the background.
Ji Qingzhou glanced briefly at Li Zhan. Their eyes met for a moment before quickly breaking away.
Two days earlier…
The very night Ji Qingzhou discovered two lists missing from the inventory.
He had stood by the window for a long time, deep in thought, before finally deciding to visit Li Zhan.
At that time, Li Zhan had already retired for the night. When he heard Ji Qingzhou had come, he ordered someone to let him straight into the sleeping chamber.
“Even though you only had three days to do this, there’s no need to work day and night, is there?” Li Zhan sat on the low couch in the outer hall, wearing only a thin shirt. Though not tight-fitting, the shirt was light and thin, outlining the strong muscles beneath his skin in a subtle but pleasing way.
Ji Qingzhou’s eyes lingered on Li Zhan briefly before lowering and turning away. He lifted his robe and knelt down.
“If you have something to say, just say it. Did you wake me up in the middle of the night just to kowtow?” Li Zhan said.
Ji Qingzhou knew Li Zhan disliked formalities and didn’t insist. Instead, he pulled a piece of paper from his sleeve and handed it over. Li Zhan took the paper, unfolded it, scanned it quickly, and asked, “What does this mean?”
“Though the Regent never told me the exact purpose of this task, I dared to guess some of it,” Ji Qingzhou said. “But today I suddenly realized that among the nineteen departments of the Inner Attendant Department under investigation, there seem to be two factions…”
Li Zhan’s eyes sharpened. “Go on.”
“One faction is probably the group the Regent wants to target this time. Most of the nineteen departments are involved with them. But there are a few less noticeable departments that seem to have other people behind them, though I don’t have proof yet,” Ji Qingzhou said. “If we follow the original plan, we could clarify the problems in all nineteen departments, but that would make it hard to distinguish between the two groups.”
In other words, the second faction is smaller and not the Regent’s primary target, so they could take advantage of the confusion, push all blame onto the first faction, and walk away clean.
“There’s only one chance for this investigation. If we miss it, the other side will be alerted, and there won’t be a second chance anytime soon,” Ji Qingzhou said. “So I dared not delay and came at night to disturb the Regent.”
Li Zhan considered for a moment, then asked Ji Qingzhou, “What’s your idea?”
“I was thinking maybe we could go with the flow, give them a little breathing room to patch their loopholes,” Ji Qingzhou said. “That way, three days later, among the nineteen departments being investigated, two results would appear. One: the accounting issues are fully exposed. Two: no problems can be found because they’ve already fixed the gaps.”
With this, the two factions would be clearly separated!
Li Zhan raised an eyebrow, looking at Ji Qingzhou for a moment, then asked, “Wouldn’t that mean the latter would be acquitted?”
“Only temporarily,” Ji Qingzhou replied. “Besides, Wang Ye never intended to trouble them much anyway, right?”
Li Zhan’s goal was very clear. Discovering another person was unexpected. Ji Qingzhou knew that at this stage, Li Zhan couldn’t take on two enemies at once. Targeting one accurately was the safest and most reliable approach.
And if they could find the other person this way, even without acting against them immediately, it would at least lock down the next target.
Li Zhan acting in secret, the other side exposed — it would be only a matter of time before they were dealt with…
“That sounds like a good plan.” Li Zhan looked at Ji Qingzhou, a faint smile playing in his eyes. “Now, tell me your terms.”
Ji Qingzhou quickly said, “I dare not… I only want to ask for a favor from Wang Ye…”
Li Zhan’s gaze settled on the youth’s lowered eyelashes. He noticed a slight twitch as if Ji Qingzhou was very nervous.
“Before coming to me, you weren’t sure if I’d agree to your conditions?” Li Zhan asked.
“No,” Ji Qingzhou replied. “This isn’t really a condition. Whether you agree or not, the task has to be done. But…”
But if Li Zhan refused, Ji Qingzhou’s actions would endanger Tu Dayou’s life.
And according to his own plan, if Tu Dayou died because of this, he…
“Don’t worry. Whether he lives or dies, I won’t let you lose your life over him,” Li Zhan said.
Hearing that, Ji Qingzhou finally relaxed, knowing Li Zhan had agreed.
At that moment, inside Yinghui Pavilion.
Tu Dayou knelt on the floor, looking extremely fearful.
Just as he was about to speak, Li Zhan suddenly changed his mind and said, “Tu Dayou, stay here. You two may leave.”
Qin Zheng and Ji Qingzhou were both stunned but dared not argue. They bowed to Li Zhan and then exited the hall.
The night was deep, and a moon missing a small chunk hung in the sky.
Ji Qingzhou and Qin Zheng sat on a stone step in the courtyard, both weighed down by heavy thoughts.
“You two must have planned this long ago, right?” Qin Zheng said with a bitter smile. “No wonder when he got the list you gave him today and saw the problems, he didn’t get angry at all. Meanwhile, I felt like a fool, thinking I’d caught you out.”
Ji Qingzhou smiled and said, “Young Master Qin, there’s no need to say that… I’ve always known you held a grudge against me.”
“I’m not that petty, don’t say nonsense,” Qin Zheng argued.
“Right, you’re not petty. I know our thoughts are the same,” Ji Qingzhou said.
“What thoughts? How are they the same?” Qin Zheng turned to look at him.
The youth’s handsome profile, bathed in moonlight, looked soft and blurred. The usually sharp features were less defined, replaced by a delicate grace that made Qin Zheng pause. The youth’s lips curled slightly as he said, “Loyalty to Wang Ye is the same.”
Qin Zheng: …
He was so entranced he didn’t catch what was said…
Ji Qingzhou turned to meet Qin Zheng’s gaze and said, “Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. When the Ji family was destroyed, my father and dozens of family members met tragic ends… It’s only natural I feel some bitterness. Young Master Qin is a sentimental person who should understand my frustration, which is why you’ve been so suspicious of me.”
Qin Zheng was taken aback, not expecting Ji Qingzhou to say these things to him.
“But people do change… When I entered the palace, I was unwilling but also momentarily lost. My father’s teachings and the sage’s lessons often echoed in my ears…” Ji Qingzhou sighed a little theatrically, trying hard to sound sincere, even forcing a slight tear from his eyes. “And since the Wang Ye has dedicated himself wholly to the Dayu dynasty, and I’m by his side every day, how could I remain indifferent…”
Qin Zheng noticed the youth getting emotional, his eyes glistening with tears, and he felt a stir in his heart.
“Actually, I…” Qin Zheng felt a twinge of guilt.
“I’m not telling you this for any other reason… but since we both serve Wang Ye, if you keep holding grudges against me…” Ji Qingzhou sniffled.
Before Ji Qingzhou could finish, Qin Zheng hurried to speak, “You don’t need to say any more. It’s just that I was thinking ill of you. As the saying goes, a prodigal son’s return is worth more than gold. Maybe when you first came to the palace, your heart was distracted, but after this matter, I already know how loyal you are to Wang Ye.”
Ji Qingzhou secretly breathed a sigh of relief at this but remained outwardly calm.
When he received that partial list a few days ago, he already suspected the idea must have come from Qin Zheng.
It wasn’t that he was confident Li Zhan wouldn’t test him, but the idea was too “unwise.” Someone as clever as Li Zhan wouldn’t use such an obvious test that he could easily see through. Pooling from what he knew about Chi Zhou, it seemed unlikely Chi Zhou was clueless enough to give Li Zhan such a poor plan—at most, Chi Zhou might have reminded Li Zhan but wouldn’t have suggested the idea.
By process of elimination, it was obvious who had given that idea.
It had to be Qin Zheng, no doubt…
Ji Qingzhou wasn’t afraid of Qin Zheng. Though Qin Zheng often suspected him, he was straightforward and hadn’t ever set traps behind his back. He had even helped him before with the Xiao Shan matter. Overall, Ji Qingzhou quite liked him, so he wanted to use this chance to win Qin Zheng over.
Otherwise, Qin Zheng might casually mention such things to Li Zhan, and over time, Li Zhan might really be convinced by him.
Ji Qingzhou definitely didn’t want to fail quietly in the shadows…
“From now on, I won’t target you anymore. I guess we can consider ourselves friends, right?” Qin Zheng said.
“Uh…” Ji Qingzhou was about to say their statuses were different and he wouldn’t presume, but then thought Qin Zheng wasn’t the kind to fuss over such things and changed his answer, “Yeah, I guess so.”
Qin Zheng chuckled and returned to his usual casual self, leaning over to put an arm around the youth’s shoulder and asked, “Then tell me, when you went to the Jiao Fang Department with Wang Ye a few days ago, did you guys…?”
“No! Absolutely not!”
For some reason, Ji Qingzhou suddenly felt nervous at the reminder of his “small favor.” Though Qin Zheng joked with him all day, if he really found out about that, Qin Zheng might think Ji Qingzhou was trying to seduce Li Zhan, and their hard-earned friendship would be ruined!
“I wasn’t done asking. I meant…” Qin Zheng pressed on.
“Nothing happened. Wang Ye didn’t, and neither did I, and there was nothing between Wang Ye and me!” Ji Qingzhou said firmly.
Just then, the hall door behind them suddenly opened.
Ji Qingzhou tensed, watching as several guards entered and escorted Tu Dayou out…
Ji Qingzhou was stunned and quickly stepped forward to speak, but Tu Dayou said, “Don’t worry about me, Qingzhou… take good care of yourself.” As he spoke, his gaze briefly flicked to Ji Qingzhou’s lower belly before adding, “I understand your feelings. If you insist, that’s fine, but please take care of yourself…”
His unspoken meaning was that he supported Ji Qingzhou’s plan not to keep the child.
Ji Qingzhou was momentarily stunned and hadn’t reacted when Tu Dayou was taken away.
“Don’t act rashly,” Qin Zheng firmly placed a hand on Ji Qingzhou’s shoulder and said, “Wang Ye has his own considerations. Don’t you know him well? Now is not the time to ask questions…”
“But I was the one who sent him here…” Ji Qingzhou said.
“Since Wang Ye promised you, he will protect Tu Dayou’s life. You should believe that,” Qin Zheng said.
Ji Qingzhou felt slightly relieved hearing this, recalling that night when Li Zhan did promise he would spare Tu Dayou. Li Zhan was a man of principle and didn’t easily go back on his word.
“Where will he be held?” Ji Qingzhou asked.
“At the Office of Judicial Review,” Qin Zheng replied.
Ji Qingzhou took a deep breath and, remembering Li Zhan had allies there, didn’t press further.
Tu Dayou’s actions counted as betrayal of his master, and according to palace rules, he was certainly doomed to death. Ji Qingzhou took this opportunity to let Tu Dayou make a contribution in a roundabout way—so that if Li Zhan later wanted to go after the people behind Tu Dayou, Tu Dayou could still serve as a witness.
Making merit to atone for his mistakes and saving his life should be possible.
Ji Qingzhou had thought that once Li Zhan had the evidence in hand, he would immediately start dealing with the culprits.
But several consecutive morning courts passed in complete calm, with no signs of action.
It wasn’t until a few days later that someone from the Jiao Fang Department submitted a memorial.
That memorial caused a huge uproar in the court!
The Jiao Fang Department’s memorial accused the current Imperial Uncle*, Qiu Lanting!
Note: because he’s also the young emperor’s uncle but maternal uncle and his title is different to Li Zhan, so whenever other people refers to his title it’s also Imperial Uncle instead of when the young emperor calls Li Zhan Imperial Uncle (uncle).
The accusation concerned his overdue payments to the Jiao Fang Department for prostitution fees…
This was a first in the Dayu dynasty. Although officials visiting the Jiao Fang Department was not exactly a secret and there were even popular stories about talented men and beautiful women in the court, such matters were never considered proper, and bringing such an accusation to court was embarrassing.
What made it worse was that the accusation was about overdue payment for prostitution!
“Imperial Uncle has bought every girl in the Jiao Fang Department at least once in the past year, over thirty in total. Each time he bought a new girl, he would send the old one back. Everyone liked the pure girls, but Qiu Lanting took them all. Over time, the other customers grew dissatisfied…” the man explained in detail, “At first Imperial Uncle paid in silver, but later he just put it on the account and never settled it… Our Jiao Fang Department needs income too, and we have to pay taxes to the court. If this keeps up, everyone will be in trouble!”
Qiu Lanting listened nearby, his face flushing red and white, angrily shouting, “These are slanderous lies!”
“Yes, Imperial Uncle, you haven’t been there yourself, but your younger brother, though young and without an official post, used your badge at the Jiao Fang Department. The debts are all in the Qiu family’s name,” the Jiao Fang Department man said, “Since you are head of the family now, we can only ask you to pay!” Ji Qingzhou listened and understood: the one who frequented the Jiao Fang Department was Qiu Lanhui, the young man who had ridden his horse recklessly through the streets that day.
So this young man had bought every new girl in the Jiao Fang Department, and the one who tried to snatch girls from him on that fourteenth night—Fuliu—was probably Qiu Lanhui! Ji Qingzhou felt conflicted. He and Li Zhan had accidentally stolen someone’s business from Qiu Lanhui.
Qiu Lanting’s face turned beet red but he couldn’t deny it.
The ministers whispered among themselves, all eager to watch the drama unfold.
Since the Qiu family produced an empress, they had gained prestige, though the empress—now the Empress Dowager—had always behaved properly and never overstepped her bounds. But the Qiu family still made a lot of trouble at court over the years.
The late emperor favored the empress and turned a blind eye to the Qiu family’s misdeeds.
The other ministers, except for Qiu’s allies, naturally disliked the Qiu family.
With this scandal, the ministers couldn’t wait to grab their melon seeds and watch, hoping for more embarrassing details to come out, and that the Imperial Uncle would be disgraced.
“I… my brother has been negligent. I ask His Majesty and Wang Ye to punish me!” Qiu Lanting said, lifting his robes and kneeling to kowtow.
The young emperor sat on the dragon throne, lost in thought. He didn’t understand much of what the Jiao Fang Department people said and was puzzling over its meaning when suddenly he saw his uncle kneeling, startling him. He quickly looked to Li Zhan.
Li Zhan remained calm throughout, and after a pause, said, “Qiu Lanhui is still young; it’s understandable that a youth makes mistakes… but…” He looked up at Qiu Lanting, “This younger brother of yours has been a bit too indulgent.”
“I am incompetent and will discipline him properly from now on,” Qiu Lanting said, his face full of shame.
“Hm,” Li Zhan said coolly, “Let’s leave the Qiu Lanhui matter for now; there’s no need to rush a verdict… The Jiao Fang Department says the Qiu family owes money—this matter will be handled by the Dali Temple. Chi Zhou…”
“I’m here,” Chizhou said.
“You will take people to check the Jiao Fang Department’s accounts and review the figures before making a decision,” Li Zhan said.
Everyone was surprised by Li Zhan’s decision. Qiu Lanting, meanwhile, was sweating profusely, his expression very grim.
Ji Qingzhou quietly looked at Li Zhan and silently lit a candle for the Qiu family’s fate.
Li Zhan had obviously planned this move long ago. If there were any shady dealings at the Jiao Fang Department, Li Zhan had already had someone investigate. Giving it to Chi Zhou to process through the Dali Temple was just following formal procedure—and once it entered the Dali Temple’s system, what would happen next was easy to predict…
After court ended, Ji Qingzhou asked Li Zhan for a favor and went to the Office of Judicial Review.
Tu Dayou wore prison clothes but showed no signs of torture; he looked surprisingly relaxed.
“I thought you’d be starving,” Ji Qingzhou said, offering him a food box with wine and meat.
“Wang Ye is magnanimous and wouldn’t treat me harshly over this,” Tu Dayou smiled wryly.
Ji Qingzhou arranged the food and then sat beside him.
Tu Dayou poured himself a cup of wine and asked, “This isn’t the last meal before execution, is it?”
“Don’t say unlucky things,” Ji Qingzhou glanced at him.
Tu Dayou immediately smiled, leaned closer to smell the food, and then asked, “Who made this? It can’t be you cooking, right?”
“If I cooked it myself, this meal would probably break your heart,” Ji Qingzhou smiled. “Don’t worry, Xiao Shan made it—it’s all your favorite.”
“Your expression makes me nervous,” Tu Dayou joked.
Ji Qingzhou wasn’t in the mood to joke. He asked, “What did you say to Wang Ye that night? Why did he have you sent to the Office of Judicial Review, and what did he say to you?”
“He asked who my master was. I told him clearly,” Tu Dayou said. “Actually, ever since you first urged me to quit, I had begun to waver… Wang Ye is a wise ruler, you have better insight than I do.”
“Then why didn’t you leave sooner?” Ji Qingzhou asked.
“It was just a moment’s hesitation…” Tu Dayou smiled bitterly. “Your face looks pale today. Is there something going on at court?”
Ji Qingzhou told him the whole story about the Qiu family. Tu Dayou laughed bitterly at that, “The Imperial Uncle really got himself into trouble this time… If I’m not mistaken, once the Dali Temple digs into the Qiu family’s accounts, they’ll probably uncover your recent investigations too, right?”
“Yes,” Ji Qingzhou said. “Wang Ye still hasn’t dealt with Qiu Lanhui yet. He’s waiting for the last chance.”
Tu Dayou nodded. “No wonder last time, when officials opposed leniency in the reckless horse-riding incident, he was so mild. He must have planned this situation back then.”
Ji Qingzhou thought silently that perhaps Li Zhan’s plan hadn’t just started then.
Ever since Old Wang Ye said he would arrange a marriage with the Qiu family… no, even earlier—when Ji Qingzhou met the Qiu family’s young lady at Fengxian Pavilion—maybe Li Zhan had already conceived this plan. Old Wang Ye’s marriage proposal was just pushing forward what Li Zhan had long intended!
“If nothing unexpected happens, after dealing with the Qiu family, the next target will be…” Tu Dayou stopped, not finishing the sentence.
But both knew what was implied: once Li Zhan finished with the Qiu family, the next step was to deal with the person behind Tu Dayou.
If Ji Qingzhou hadn’t found this opportunity to pull Tu Dayou back, the outcome for Tu Dayou would have been predictable soon enough…
Inside Yinghui Pavilion, Li Zhan was staring absentmindedly at a document.
After a while, the familiar voice of the youth came from outside. Li Zhan responded softly, and the youth entered carrying a bowl of mung bean soup.
“The summer heat is getting worse. Wang Ye should take care of his health,” Ji Qingzhou placed the soup in front of Li Zhan.
Li Zhan’s gaze fell on the youth’s slender, fair fingers, then traced up to the neck, flushed red from the sun, and his expression subtly shifted.
“You just came back from the Office of Judicial Review?” Li Zhan asked.
“Yes,” Ji Qingzhou answered honestly.
Li Zhan chuckled lightly and looked at the youth, “Were you trying to plead for Tu Dayou?”
“Yes.” Ji Qingzhou didn’t deny it when Li Zhan guessed right and immediately moved to kneel.
But Li Zhan suddenly grasped the youth’s slender wrist with just enough strength to stop him from kneeling.
“Qin Zheng was right,” Li Zhan said.
“Young Master Qin… what did he say?” Ji Qingzhou frowned, feeling an ominous premonition.
Li Zhan looked meaningfully at the youth and said calmly, “He said if I spoiled you any more, you’d start taking your favor for granted.”
Ji Qingzhou: …
Is that how you use the phrase “taking favor for granted”?
“Do you know why I’m not inclined to let him off easily?” Li Zhan released the youth’s wrist and asked.
“Because what he did was betrayal of his master. Wang Ye’s mercy in sparing his life is already great,” Ji Qingzhou said. “I know my limits. I wouldn’t dare… take my favor for granted… I just want to keep him alive.”
Hearing “take my favor for granted” come from the youth’s mouth, Li Zhan somehow couldn’t help but smile faintly. After a long moment, he reined in his expression, looked toward the window, and his voice turned colder: “He once tried to take my life. Though he failed, I’ve never been able to let it go.”
Ji Qingzhou: !
What did Li Zhan mean by that?
Tu Dayou had tried to take Li Zhan’s life…
If Ji Qingzhou remembered correctly, that was only once, at the palace banquet after Li Zhan returned to the capital in April!
That time, after hearing Ji Qingzhou’s words, Tu Dayou hadn’t acted. Aside from the person behind Tu Dayou, only Ji Qingzhou knew about it. How could Li Zhan have known?
Unless…
Ji Qingzhou looked at Li Zhan, and a chilling suspicion suddenly arose in his mind…
Author’s note: The first one to be unmasked was actually Wang Ye~ Surprised? Shocked?
Love the drama and palace machinations? Buy Ciacia a coffee on Kofi to keep the intrigue brewing.
Tired of cliffhangers? The Zhouzhou Tier unlocks up to 5 chapters early, letting you peek behind the golden screens before the rest of the court.
