Yanfu Temple in the eastern part of the city was an ancient monastery with a long history, incense offerings flourishing, its fame growing even greater after displaying the Blood Sutra.
On this day, Yanfu Temple closed its gates from early morning, swept the paths, and refused to receive ordinary pilgrims or visitors, focusing solely on awaiting the arrival of the Noble Consort’s phoenix palanquin.
At the end of the chen hour, the phoenix palanquin passed through the temple gate amidst attendants. Noble Consort Wei switched to a shoulder-borne sedan carried by six men and ascended the steps toward the main hall, where she dismounted with the help of her palace maids.
The abbot of Yanfu Temple led the monks personally to receive her. After Noble Consort Wei offered incense and prayers in the Great Buddha Hall, the monks all sat to chant sutras for the blessing of her mother.
The chanting took quite a long time. Naturally, they could not let the consort simply wait idly, so the abbot invited her into an elegantly furnished quiet chamber to rest until the sutras were finished and the purification ritual could be held, at which time she would be called back to the front hall.
After the monks withdrew, Noble Consort Wei gave a meaningful look to Ruan Hongjiao at her side.
Ruan Hongjiao understood instantly, sending away the guards and palace maids to block every passage, forbidding anyone to approach. She herself, along with a personal maid, stood guard right outside the quiet chamber door.
Satisfied, Noble Consort Wei nodded, entered the room, and dropped the bolt behind her.
She smoothed her hair at her temples, adjusted her robes and skirt, and felt a surge of nervousness—just like the day she had first entered the palace to meet the emperor.
Rounding the screen, she saw through the beaded curtain a man in white seated cross-legged before a feast-like arrangement. Before him rested a qin, incense burned at his side, and on the papered window behind him was painted a misty spiritual mountain with cascading waterfalls, setting him off as though he were not of this mortal world.
Noble Consort Wei gazed at him in a daze for a long while before coming back to herself. Biting her lip, she called softly: “Sir.”
Master He opened his eyes, smiled faintly: “Peace to Niang Niang.”
—
Outside the door, Ruan Hongjiao paused in thought, then beckoned a maid over and whispered in her ear: “Go deliver a message to Lord Su’s servant. Just say… ‘Phoenix and Crane, Meeting at the Eastern Temple.’ Go naturally, don’t draw attention.”
The maid nodded, repeating the words to herself, then worriedly said: “Miss, please be careful by yourself. I’ll be back right away.” She turned and left.
Ruan Hongjiao herself hadn’t thought much of it, but with the maid’s concern she actually grew a little nervous. She thought: Since I’ve already gone this far, I may as well go all the way—find a chance to eavesdrop on what they say.
She circled the quiet chamber, found all doors tightly shut without a gap, then pressed her ear to the paper window, but could hear nothing clearly inside. Frowning, she began seeking another way.
—
At the morning audience at Fengtian Gate, Su Yan finished presenting the last two charges of his impeachment—it really only took him two ke.
“…I beg Your Majesty to heed your minister’s words, see clearly the treachery of the Wei clan, and rid the world of thieves. The Wei family has gnawed at the state for too long, their power deeply rooted and widely entangled. I request the establishment of a special investigation group: the principal culprits should be punished with crimes of usurping power to rectify the law of the state; the accomplices should be ordered to retire and stripped of office for the dignity of the realm. Once the traitors within are removed, governance will be cleansed!”
Su Yan bowed deeply before the throne.
He remained kneeling, the mythical beast xiezhi embroidered on his blue court robe glaring with wide, fierce eyes. Emperor Jinglong silently watched his back.
The hall was utterly silent, officials seeming both to wait and to measure, as if a storm sweeping the court and the land was brewing.
“Your Majesty, this minister has words to say.” A Ministry of Justice official, Lanzhong Zuo Guangbi, stepped forward. “The crimes Lord Su has impeached the Wei family for—his sources are unreliable!”
All looked toward him in astonishment.
Zuo Guangbi continued: “In Lord Su’s public trial before, everyone knows the most important witness was Marquis Fengan’s brother-in-law, Wan Xin. He not only exposed the Void Sect conspiracy, but also implicated the Wei family, providing Lord Su with a great deal of testimony and intelligence.
‘—Lord Su, am I wrong?’”
Su Yan rose and said calmly: “You are not wrong.”
Zuo Guangbi gave a faint sneer and raised his voice: “Do you gentlemen know that Wan Xin has already gone mad!”
“Mad?”
“Is that true? How did he go mad?”
Censor Chu Qiu immediately stood forth: “On the day of the public trial, you and I were both present. Wan Xin’s mind was clear, his words coherent—he was not a madman. Lord Zuo, what do you mean by this!”
Zuo Guangbi looked at his former friend. Different paths cannot be walked together—from this day, we are political enemies. He sighed inwardly with regret.
“Since Wan Xin was secretly arrested by the Northern Surveillance Bureau, he has been held in the imperial prison. When I went with Ministry of Justice papers to fetch him, the Northern Surveillance Bureau made every excuse and refused to release him. Whose orders do you think that was, need I say more?”
Turning, Zuo Guangbi fixed his gaze on Su Yan: “Wan Xin, left in your hands to be molded at will—whatever testimony you wanted, that was what you had. The Northern Surveillance Bureau has countless cruel methods to deal with prisoners. If he could not withstand it and was driven mad, that is only natural.
“Lord Su, if I am lying, then bring Wan Xin out, let everyone see with their own eyes—mad or not mad!”
Su Yan’s face was dark as water.
Wan Xin truly had gone mad—but he had lost his reason after submitting testimony, lost it in the Wei family and Master He’s plot. From the moment he chose Ruan Hongjiao’s life over the intelligence she carried, Su Yan had known this day would come.
Zuo Guangbi pressed on: “Lord Su, why do you not answer? Is it an admission that what I said is true?”
“…I am ashamed before Wan Xin,” Su Yan said heavily.
The court instantly erupted in murmurs.
Su Yan raised his voice: “I promised Wan Xin I would ensure his safety. I told him the imperial prison was the safest place for him. To keep him alive long enough to testify in court, I did not let the Ministry of Justice transfer him, fearing he might be assassinated en route. But even with a hundred precautions, there is always a flaw. The enemy did not choose to silence him with death—but instead used another, far more vicious method.”
“After Wan Xin gave his testimony, he was drugged into madness. That was a failure on the part of the special investigation team. As team leader, I should take responsibility for it.”
“But the evidence he provided remains valid, because it is not a lone piece of testimony. There are many other exhibits and victims that can corroborate and supplement it. This is called an ‘evidence chain’—like links of an iron chain, joined ring after ring. A flaw in one link does not invalidate the entire chain.”
“As for who ordered Wan Xin’s madness, how that person infiltrated the Imperial Prison, and whether there are accomplices within the Northern Surveillance Bureau, I will continue to pursue the investigation to the end, to see Wan Xin receive justice!”
Evidence chain? The penal officials present mulled over this fresh term, finding it rather meaningful, and could not help nodding slightly.
Indeed, a single piece of testimony does not stand on its own. Wan Xin’s confession was an important piece of evidence, but not the only one.
But Zuo Guangbi still clung to the point: “The source of the evidence is dubious, and the key witness is no longer in his right mind. In this official’s view, Su Shaoqing’s impeachment of the two Marquises of the Wei family smacks of seizing the chance to bite at them. His words are not enough to be trusted. I beseech Your Majesty to discern clearly!”
“Meritorious nobles and senior ministers must not be allowed to be insulted and slandered at will. We beseech Your Majesty to discern clearly!” Quite a few officials knelt, voicing support for the Wei family.
“Your Majesty, the Wei clan’s crimes are plain for all to see. Please execute these traitors to the state and set the order straight!” Another group of officials also kowtowed, pressing their petition.
Emperor Jinglong slowly spoke: “On this matter… what do the Grand Secretaries think?”
Grand Chancellor Li Chengfeng was just about to speak, but his throat itched unbearably; covering his handkerchief, he fell into a fit of coughing.
The Vice Chancellor, Jiao Yang, seized the chance to say: “This is a grave matter, it must not be rashly decided. Your Majesty might as well assign another investigation.”
The emperor said: “Does Vice Chancellor Jiao mean, to set up another special investigation?”
Hearing that, Jiao Yang, worried Su Twelve might be made team leader again, hastily added: “Su Shaoqing has long-standing personal grievances with Marquis Wei. I fear he cannot act with impartiality, and ought to recuse himself.”
Emperor Jinglong pondered a moment, just about to speak, when Lan Xi received a whisper from a young eunuch, shuffled in quick steps to the throne, and reported softly: “Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager requests your presence.”
“You tell them, after court I will go to Cining Palace,” the emperor replied.
Lan Xi said, troubled: “The Empress Dowager’s illness has suddenly flared up. She asks Your Majesty to go at once, without delay.”
The emperor fell silent. Lan Xi bowed low, not daring to look at his face, but from the deepening and roughening of his breath, he could tell His Majesty was displeased.
After a brief silence, the emperor rose and said: “—Court dismissed!”
—
This impeachment, spanning two days, involving many officials, and carried out with considerable momentum, ended with the two sides trading accusations and the emperor giving no response at all, dismissing court abruptly—something of an anticlimax.
Blending into the stream of officials leaving court and crossing the Jinshui Bridge, Su Yan kept pondering: What exactly had Lan Xi reported to His Majesty that made today’s court session end so hastily?
Yu Wang strode up from behind, leaned close, and whispered: “Royal Mother summoned urgently, I too must go to Cining Palace to visit. Once you board your carriage, go straight home and don’t make detours. I left guards at your residence, and elder brother also secretly placed Embroidered Uniform Guards nearby—it should be relatively safe.”
Su Yan nodded, thanking him sincerely.
Yu Wang, still uneasy, warned again: “From today on, you must be especially cautious. Beasts, when cornered, are the fiercest in their counterattack.”
Su Yan nodded again and smiled: “Rest assured, Your Highness. I value my life greatly, and will act with the utmost caution.”
Yu Wang almost raised his hand, wanting to touch Su Yan’s cheek, but in the end restrained himself and drew back halfway.
“I’m off—” he said, then turned, walking against the stream of courtiers, who stepped aside for him, toward the towering, majestic halls of the deep palace.
His back was proud and imposing, yet tinged with loneliness, like a soldier stripped of armor, or a solitary traveler on campaign. Su Yan stared for a moment, lost in thought, before hastily pulling back his gaze. With a heart full of mixed feelings, he returned to his carriage.
Driving him to court today was Su Xiaojing, livelier and more boyish than Su Xiaobei. Seeing his distracted look, Su Xiaojing teased: “My lord looks so absent-minded—did you lose the shouting match?”
Su Yan sighed softly: “Too many variables. Hard to say who wins or loses.”
Su Xiaojing cracked his whip, urging the horses forward, and said brightly: “My lord has skill and good fortune too. Every time, you manage to turn danger into safety. This time will be no different.”
“You trust me that much?”
“Of course! Instead of worrying about losing, better think about what we’ll eat tonight. Lately Brother Xiaobei has been steaming buns all the time—I’m nearly turning into a bun myself. How about roasted lamb ribs tonight…”
The boy’s clear and cheerful voice trailed off with the sound of hooves and wheels.
—
As soon as the door opened, Su Xiaobei hurried out from the gatehouse to greet him: “My lord, there’s something urgent.”
“What is it?”
“The buns are ruined?”
Su Yan and Su Xiaojing asked at once.
“Get out of here, go fetch buns from the kitchen yourself. Don’t get in the way of me and my lord discussing proper business.” Su Xiaobei drove Su Xiaojing off.
He shut the gate tightly, led Su Yan into the main hall, and only then said: “Head Courtesan Ruan’s personal maid—the one who insisted on trading soybean paste with me last time—came again this morning to pass a message. Since you weren’t here, I overstepped and took the note, waiting for your return.”
Su Yan said: “I told Sister Ruan last time to be careful, not to secretly pass news again. Why won’t she listen?”
Su Xiaobei handed him the slip: “Head Courtesan Ruan has her own mind. Even you can’t sway her.”
Su Yan unfolded it. Only a few words were written: Phoenix and Crane, Meeting at the Eastern Temple.
He thought for a moment, frowned, and said: “Noble Consort Wei is far too reckless! To dare such an absurd thing—has she let lard cloud her mind?”
Su Xiaobei asked: “If the Wei clan does foolish, absurd things, doesn’t that favor us? When the enemy makes blunders, isn’t it our chance?”
Su Yan sighed: “If it didn’t involve His Majesty’s dignity, of course I’d welcome it.”
Su Xiaobei didn’t quite understand, and asked again: “Then should we seize this opportunity?”
“Of course the chance mustn’t be missed. But we need a better point of entry. Let me think…”
