Chapter 97
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The palace craftsmen were scheduled to install kang bed-stoves in the homes of nobles and officials in the capital, including the Xue residence in the first batch.
When Old Madam Xue learned of this, she and her daughter-in-law meticulously cleaned the areas where the kang bed-stoves would be installed.
After instructing the servants on where to start cleaning, Madam Xue worriedly went to Xue Yuan’s room.
Ever since she had found a box of yushis under Xue Yuan’s bed, he had forbidden anyone from entering his room. Madam Xue had returned the box to him, but no matter how absurd it was, she needed to hide it before the emperor’s craftsmen arrived.
Thinking of this, Madam Xue shed tears again. The maid supporting her asked, “Madam, are you missing the eldest young master?”
“Miss him? For what,” Madam Xue’s tears soaked a handkerchief. “A good young man, ruining others’ lives…”
She wept all the way to Xue Yuan’s room, but when they started cleaning, they found the yushis gone.
Madam Xue’s face turned cold, her heart sinking, “Who has been in the young master’s room?”
After a moment of silence, a servant replied, “Madam, when His Majesty visited the Xue residence, he had someone lead him to the young master’s room.”
Madam Xue felt dizzy and almost collapsed, “Did he take anything?”
The servant hesitated, “I don’t know.”
Madam Xue thought of the worst possibility and struggled to breathe, nearly fainting.
***
A few days later, before the craftsmen arrived at the Xue residence, a letter was delivered.
It was a letter from Xue Yuan to Xue Lin.
Hearing Xue Yuan’s name, Xue Lin trembled but couldn’t refuse the letter. When he opened it, he almost fainted, wishing he couldn’t read.
It was just a letter from Xue Yuan sent back from the North Border.
Naturally, it wasn’t a family letter but a threatening one. If Xue Lin didn’t follow Xue Yuan’s instructions, he could forget about ever getting out of bed again.
Xue Lin couldn’t hold back his tears as he held the letter.
After crying, he regained his composure and changed his tone: “Look, this time it’s arranged by the eldest young master. Don’t try to be clever. Send someone to keep an eye on these people, Chu Wei, Zhang Xu… Oh, why is Chang Yuyan also on the list?”
The servant obediently complied and asked, “And after keeping an eye on them?”
“Go see who is closer to the Emperor,” Xue Lin said, choking up again, “The Emperor is the highest authority, how could I dare to spy on his whereabouts? But if we don’t act, I might as well give up these hands. Make sure those who are watching these guys pay attention. If anyone gains the Emperor’s favor and stays with him every day, find an opportunity in secret to… you know,” Xue Lin gestured to his neck, “Understand?”
The servant nodded and asked, “Is it the same for Lord Chang?”
Xue Lin smirked with a touch of schadenfreude, “My elder brother would kill me if he got angry. Do you think he would spare Chang Yuyan, an old childhood friend he hasn’t seen in over ten years?”
“I understand,” the servant said, and departed to carry out his orders.
This letter was written by Xue Yuan in the North Border, before he was provoked to return to the capital from the North Border. At that time, because he hadn’t received any responses to the envelopes he had sent to Gu Yuanbai for several months, Xue Yuan thought that the Emperor had forgotten about him. The letter sent to Xue Lin was precisely to ask Xue Lin to check whether the Emperor had been swayed by others in Xue Yuan’s absence and whether he had become intimate with others. If so, then make a note of who it was.
“The people who are close to him, who make him smile, who touch him,” the tone in the letter of the eldest son of the Xue family was lazy, but as gloomy as a guard dog, “Remember each one and write to me.”
These were Xue Yuan’s exact words.
Xue Lin guessed that he intended to personally eliminate these people.
The second son of the Xue family believed that he still understood Xue Yuan. Knowing Xue Yuan’s ruthlessness, although Xue Yuan did not explicitly state in the letter that he intended to deal with these people, Xue Lin also had his own thoughts. He wanted to go further to please Xue Yuan.
In case someone died, if Xue Yuan was happy, then he wouldn’t care about the fact that he had once planned to harm Madam Xue, right?
***
With the installation of kang bed-stoves in the palace, a wave of enthusiasm for these stoves swept through the officials.
However, during this period of imperial favor, only the emperor could decide who could have a kang bed-stove. After the initial distribution, officials could hire craftsmen to install them in their homes.
At the same time, the court announced that local carpenters could learn the method of building kang bed-stoves. Palace craftsmen would teach them, but for each stove installed, a fee would be paid to the court. The fee was modest, and there were no charges for the training. This move was akin to distributing a treasure trove to craftsmen across the country.
Upon hearing this news, carpenters in the capital flocked to the government offices to register for training. The queue was long by the time they arrived.
An old carpenter, seeing many familiar faces, remarked to his apprentice, “Everyone’s here to learn how to build kang bed-stoves.”
The apprentice, peering around, exclaimed, “Why are there so many people?”
“This isn’t a lot,” the old carpenter replied. “The government says this method of building kang bed-stoves is remarkable. Once you learn it, you can make a living off it for the rest of your life.”
“Really?” the apprentice doubted.
“Of course!” the old carpenter calculated, “Our country has so many people. Until now, there hasn’t been a way to build kang bed-stoves. If everyone wants one, you couldn’t finish even if you built one a day for a lifetime. As people have children, new houses will be built, and each new house will need a kang bed-stove. Everyone fears the cold; if they can have one, who wouldn’t want it?”
The apprentice was amazed, “True.”
“Big households will need more, dozens of stoves,” the old carpenter laughed, “This winter will be busy!”
Indeed, this winter became busy.
The officials, many of whom were scholars, appreciated the warmth of the kang bed-stoves. Lying on these stoves, feeling the warmth spread through their bodies, they were so comfortable that they didn’t want to move a finger. This cozy feeling inspired a wave of poetic creativity among them.
Imagine, on a snowy winter day, they could lie on a kang bed-stove, enjoying the warmth, sipping hot alcohol, and watching the snow fall outside. This was like living a divine life.
Experiencing this, the officials were inspired to write poems and essays about the kang bed-stove, which quickly spread across the country. These writings, all praising the kang bed-stove, were called “Odes to the Kang.”
Despite their poetic enthusiasm, they privately wondered why the emperor named it “kang bed-stove,” finding the name too plain and lacking in poetic elegance.
Meanwhile, the emperor, who was considered unimaginative by his officials, laid on his newly installed kang bed-stove, handling the remaining state affairs.
Half-reclined with his black hair falling over his arm, he reviewed memorials, his expression sometimes frowning, sometimes smiling.
As the scent of tea filled the air, Gu Yuanbai finished reading a memorial, “This official from Fujian is interesting. No wonder the Ministry of State Affairs forwarded this memorial to me.”
Tian Fusheng was curious, “Does Your Majesty think it’s well-written?”
Gu Yuanbai got up and took a damp cloth from Tian Fusheng to wipe his hands and face, “It’s neither good nor bad. This memorial discusses the ten advantages and disadvantages of customs. In my view, eight of them are substantive points. The official earnestly implores me not to neglect the navy’s training, emphasizing its importance as equal to the army.”
Gu Yuanbai glanced at the memorial again, “The official is a county magistrate from a coastal county, named Lin Zhicheng. Does this name sound familiar?”
Tian Fusheng thought for a moment, “It seems familiar, but I can’t recall.”
Gu Yuanbai was just asking casually, “Have the Ministry of State Affairs look into his records.”
Tian Fusheng agreed and pondered over Lin Zhicheng’s identity. The more he thought, the more familiar it seemed. Finally, he remembered, “Your Majesty, I recall who Lin Zhicheng is!”
Gu Yuanbai asked casually, “Who?”
“He was a pirate subdued by the late emperor!” Tian Fusheng spoke quickly, “In his youth, Lin Zhicheng had a chivalrous spirit and was both brave and resourceful. He was once the pirate leader who controlled the seas around Zhejiang and Fujian. When various pirate factions wanted to establish their own territories, Lin Zhicheng led his men to eliminate multiple pirate groups, eventually commanding a vast maritime territory alone. Due to his efforts in clearing the seas of pirates, he repeatedly petitioned for the development of maritime trade. When the late emperor realized the extent of his power, he ordered the navy to besiege Lin Zhicheng.”
Gu Yuanbai listened intently, “And then?”
“Many of Lin Zhicheng’s subordinates escaped to Fusang under the government’s siege, but Lin Zhicheng himself gave up his position as pirate leader, voluntarily went ashore, and accepted the government’s amnesty. The late emperor then placed him in a county near Linhai, making him a county magistrate in Fuzhou.”
Gu Yuanbai almost clenched his fists. He paced back and forth, sighing several times, “Such a figure, such a hero, and the late emperor made him just a small county magistrate? What a pity, what a pity.”
Tian Fusheng rarely saw the emperor in this state. The emperor had no interest in exotic treasures, but his desire for talent was well-known throughout the empire. Tian Fusheng, considering the situation, also felt a pang of regret, as if losing a treasure. “Lin Zhicheng seems to have been a county magistrate for five years.”
Gu Yuanbai stopped in his tracks, “Five years? County magistrates in the empire are supposed to rotate every three years.”
Tian Fusheng said, “It seems he was transferred from one place to another.”
Gu Yuanbai, “…”
How many treasures had the late emperor and Lu Feng buried in such positions? As the late emperor was Gu Yuanbai’s father, Gu Yuanbai couldn’t blame him. At times like this, Lu Feng had to be used as a scapegoat to vent his frustrations. After cursing Lu Feng in his heart, Gu Yuanbai finally felt relieved. He set Lin Zhicheng’s memorial aside, intending to review his records more carefully tomorrow.
He had a premonition that he was about to find a general who would leave a mark in history.
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