Character Index
Zhu Simo: Right Secretariat of Revenue, an official from Shandong. Conservative faction.
Han Daizhi: Official from Shandong, brain of the conservative faction.
Chen Caichun: Chamberlain of the Court of Judicial Review, the only female court official. Sister of Imperial Investigator Chen Jian. Formerly bound to Kayla by obligation, but Kayla officially called off their patronage relationship at the end of Book 2.
Jiang She: Conservative official from Shandong.
Empress Gongsun: Deposed Empress of Empress Xuanzong. Mother of the First and Second Princes.
Imperial Royal Consort: Mother of Kuang. As Yunqi's birth mother is dead, as the consort of the previous generation with the highest standing, she became the Empress Dowager.
Zhou Yunqi: Formerly the Fifth Prince, currently the Emperor.
Zhou Ying: The previous Emperor, posthumously titled Emperor Xuanzong.
Zhou Xianchun: Former Seventh Prince, currently an Archduke. Lost out to Yunqi in the battle for the throne after a series of unexpected events.
Zhou Kuang: The deceased Third Prince, Yunqi and Xianchun's older brother.
Lord He: A capital aristocrat, official in the Three Departments.
Zhang Dingyong: Minister of Justice, formerly supporter of Zhou Kuang.
Lord Cao: Father of Cao Shuyi, father-in-law of the deceased Zhou Kuang.
Cao Shuyi: Third Princess Consort, left the capital with her son Zhou Chenqian.
Empress An: Yunqi's empress, she hails from Kuang's maternal clan.
Wei Guang: Deceased Imperial Edict Bearer and Minister of Censor.
Qiu Jinwei: Yunqi's eccentric but brilliant advisor who has remained loyal to Yunqi throughout the hardest times.
Shu Ling: Kayla's retainer, was formerly sent to guard Feng Yi, a hapless merchant who got tangled up in the succession battle.
Jin Yu: A blind mage who worked for Lin Yaoguang. After being captured by Kayla, she was freed from the magical contract that bound her to Lin Yaoguang and subsequently fled.
Lin Yaoguang: The Grand Duke's money-launderer. Was conspiring with Archduke Qi against the Emperor.
Hu Qing/Liang Hongfei: Lord of the Liang clan and Oversight Officer, currently in the north with General Yan, assisting Chuluo Khagan against the Western Turkic Khaganate.
Ashina: Personal name Ibilga, princess from the Eastern Turkic Khaganate. In Book 2.5, she left the capital to take a vacation at the Imperial Villa.
Tao Qian: Kayla's bodyguard and retainer.
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It was the first year of the Tianyou Era, and the first year of the new Emperor’s reign. The capital was alive with activity, full of those who sought an audience with their new ruler, those who sought to curry favor with patrons in the court, to consolidate or dissolve alliances, new officials who had come in to replace the old, and of course, the family members, staff, and servants of all these people.
There were also those leaving the capital in quite a hurry—officials who had previously insulted or offended the new Emperor while he had still been the unremarkable Fifth Prince, those who had received a pardon through the amnesty declared at the Emperor’s coronation, those who felt they had something to fear from the Emperor’s favored retainers. Carriages flowed through the street like water, and horses wove through like dragons in the clouds. In truth it was a lot more smelly, crowded, and slow, but for onlookers from balconies and rooftops, it was a mesmerizing sight.
It was no wonder that merchants also flooded the city and its surrounding areas, sniffing out an opportunity to milk these new sources of cash for all they were worth.
Some took to petty crime. In a peculiar and inexplicable string of events, countless residences were found to be in sudden and desperate need for new door hinges, for their outer gates were falling apart. It later turned out that a merchant who had a stockpile of hinges was paying street urchins to damage the gates. He was arrested, his store closed, and two more merchants emerged immediately to bid for the storefront.
Things were still uncertain. The new Emperor Yunqi had yet to fully consolidate his power at court. A lot of power was left in the hands of those who had no ties to him.
Some of those who had supported his elder brother had little faith in Yunqi, and some of those who had supported his younger brother were opposed to him. Those officials remained stubbornly silent, refusing to cooperate with the new regime. They were reluctant to take a stance and slow in completing their duties, dissatisfied with their new ruler but unwilling to directly oppose him. These officials simply followed what the rest of the court did.
Some others wanted to protect their own interests and ill-gotten gains, and tried to slow down the new Emperor’s consolidation of power at any cost. There were also those who held a staunchly conservative stance, who opposed Yunqi’s progressive regime on principle alone, afraid that the changes would destroy the way of life they had known thus far.
Then, there were the border regions, where countless senior military officials had felt snubbed when they only received news of Emperor Xuanzong’s death days after it had happened. Though the incident had been smoothed over, wounded prides still smarted beneath the illusion of reconciliation.
With all these troublemakers biding their chances, it was only a matter of time before one of them made a move.
It was in such an atmosphere that a court session ended, leaving no one satisfied.
Officials filed out from the Imperial Hall, some looking a little befuddled, others with unreadable expressions. Still some were blatantly outraged. A trio of officials strode out from the palace together, keeping in a close-knit triangle until they reached an office. All three were very tall–unsurprising, since they were all from Shandong.
The second the door was closed, the oldest one among them erupted in anger.
“For widows–the widows of the Emperor! To toss their heads and expose their faces to the general public! It is outrageous–what has society come to? It is unacceptable!” The forty-five year old Zhu Simo was the Right Secretariat of Revenue, a position befitting his uptight personality.
The youngest of the trio, Han Daizhi, gave him a look of mild exasperation.
“Well, nuns engage in charity too,” Han Daizhi said.
Distributions of food, clothing, and medicine for widows, orphans, and the destitute elderly was hardly so shocking as that, in Han Daizhi’s mind. There was already a charity institution in the capital that did exactly that. Chen Caichun, the young architect of the charity institution initiative, had evidently considered the backlash that would certainly arise. She had chosen only the tamest duties for the Dowager Consorts, acts that couldn’t really be called into question without the opponent sounding heartless.
But of course, Zhu Simo had found an entirely new angle to get angry over.
“Nuns?! Nuns have dedicated themselves to chaste prayer, and have shaven their hair accordingly! Their piety is evident–yet this? For the widows to forego every tradition and instead bend themselves to serve commoners? The Emperor might as well pimp them out!” Zhu Simo roared, his face reddening.
Han Daizhi raised his eyebrows. “You know that it’s voluntary, right?”
Zhu Simo’s face grew concerningly red. “And think of what type of women would volunteer! A widow should be modest, and only those who are already filled with vulgar and indecent thoughts would volunteer!”
The most reticent of the three, Jiang She, bit the inside of his cheek, deepening his ever-present frown of concern.
“It’s true that the previous Emperor’s selections focused more so on looks than character, that much is true, it is,” Jiang She said in his school-master cadence, a habit that he could never fully break after years as a backwater school instructor. “The fact that he deposed the virtuous Empress Gongsun and favored the beautiful Royal Consort rather than selecting another Empress of good character and background says as much, indeed it does.”
Zhu Simo puffed with self-righteous indignation. “Precisely! Many of his widows are still young, and the fires of lust within them may yet be tempted by indecency! And indecent they shall be, mark my words on it! I cannot agree to this–out of respect for the previous Emperor’s memory, I will oppose this to my last breath!”
Han Daizhi tried not to laugh at his friend’s genuine outrage. From how Zhu Simo was reacting, one would have thought that someone was trying to seduce away his old, widowed mother.
Jiang She shook his head, the movement slow and rhythmic. “To think that such a filial son would come up with such a strange scheme…goodness, I really am disappointed.”
“Well, it doesn’t really feel like the Emperor’s doing, right?” Han Daizhi jumped in, determined to add fuel to the fire.
“What?” Zhu Simo whirled towards him.
Han Daizhi gave a small shrug. “He has always observed the rites carefully. After he was widowed, he did not even take a concubine for years because his father had not given his blessing. Would a man like that come up with such a ridiculous plan that goes against both heavenly morals and human values?”
Jiang She stroked his goatee with a frown. “Now that you say it…”
“Think about it,” Han Daizhi said, rather enjoying this whole thing. “Two new reforms were proposed to the Three Departments, weren’t they? One for trade, one for agriculture. But both faced such strong opposition that they never even made it to the court. Instead, the Emperor is tossing the matter of his stepmothers at us as bait–to see if we will bite. Yet the Emperor has a long history of moderation. What could cause him, so soon after his own father’s death, to allow these reforms to be proposed?”
“So it’s not by his will?” Zhu Simo asked.
“I’m saying that he may have been misguided by people close to him,” Han Daizhi suggested.
None of them said a name, but everyone thought of the same person.
Zhao Wenyuan. The protege of Wei Guang, who had pushed through the communication network policy to directly interfere with the people, breaking through the layers of hierarchy that had been the basis of this country. Where did that leave the tenets of basic respect for authority, for the official hierarchy?
Now, the godson was inheriting his godfather’s mission of upsetting the norms and fundamental values of the country.
It had to be him, that much was immediately clear to them.
“This is unforgivable…just why is the Emperor listening to the words of that crafty bastard? Are we never to be rid of him?!” Zhu Simo snarled.
“What do you think? He was the Emperor’s greatest supporter when the Emperor was still the Crown Prince. They say that he may have even been the one to make the Emperor Crown Prince right after the Third Prince’s death. Say what you want about him, but you have to admit that he knows how to seize opportunity,” Han Daizhi said.
Zhu Simo looked ready to combust. “So he’s untouchable? I don’t believe that! No one’s untouchable!”
“I think you’re right,” Han Daizhi replied.
His friends’ looks of indignation changed to confusion. The festival of self-righteousness abruptly shattered in the face of the actual chance for a change.
“He’s going too far, too fast. It’s only a matter of time before the Emperor realizes the threat. I mean, just look at Qiu Jinwei,” Han Daizhi said meaningfully.
If his friends put half as much energy into politicking as they did ranting about the state of society, Han Daizhi doubted that they would’ve only made it this far in life. Sure, it had been fine in the previous state of things, where too many people stood in the way of their ascension. But now? So many officials and clans had fallen from power that the fruits were ripe for the picking. If Han Daizhi didn’t prod them along though, he didn’t think those two would ever achieve anything. Han Daizhi wasn’t even half as moralistic as either of them, but he was from Shandong. He knew how the minds of his fellow Shandong officials worked–the conservative platform was his best bet at reaching the top.
“Qiu Jinwei can’t be enjoying this either,” Han Daizhi said.
The three of them fell silent for a moment. The Emperor’s strategist and advisor, who had been with the Emperor through the worst years of his life. An eccentric man who didn’t hold an official position even now.
“Qiu Jinwei definitely hates Zhao Wenyuan, even if he doesn’t show it,” Han Daizhi said. “Just think about it–he’s the one who was at the Emperor’s side all along, but here swoops in this young Duke to bask in the Emperor’s trust and affection. Do you seriously think he would be able to accept that?”
“Like a scorned wife, basically,” Jiang She muttered.
“Exactly, like a wife who ate coarse grains with the husband only to turn around and see a young concubine on the doorstep the moment their family’s situation improves. Not exactly a respectful way to talk about the Emperor, I’ll admit, but that’s just how the situation is,” Han Daizhi said.
“So? What do you want to do about it? Even if Qiu Jinwei dislikes Zhao Wenyuan, he’s still striving to upkeep a picture of unity within the Emperor’s faction,” Zhu Simo pointed out.
“Hmm, well, I’m sure he has a great number of concerns about all this, no? How could he not? In all honesty, Zhao Wenyuan’s a bit off in the head, isn’t he? So why don’t we just play to Qiu Jinwei’s concerns?”
“You mean to turn the two against each other?” Jiang She asked. “Can it be done?”
“Yes. There must be something in these reforms and policies that doesn’t sit well with Qiu Jinwei,” Han Daizhi replied.
“We wouldn’t know what,” Jiang She pointed out. “There’s no one from Shandong high up enough in the Three Departments to know what they talked about.”
“Well, perhaps it’s time for us to make some new friends,” Han Daizhi said. “What do you know of Lord He and Lord Cui?”
“The old capital elites? They look down on us Shandong officials for honoring the traditions,” Jiang She said.
He conveniently did not mention how the Shandong officials looked down on the capital elites for their decadence.
“Look down on us? What on earth do they have to be so haughty about?! Shandong is the hometown of Confucius and Mencius, we have no reason to falter before them!” Zhu Simo snapped.
“Yes, it’s just as you say,” Han Daizhi said with a smile. “What does it matter where each of us are from? Like those of the kingdoms of Wu and Yue on the same storm-battered boat, we too are destined to cooperate.”
It wouldn’t have mattered if they were from the backwaters of Yunnan. Their goals aligned, Han Daizhi was sure of it. None of them wanted the Emperor to destroy centuries of tradition in shortsighted enthusiasm. More importantly, none of them wanted the Emperor to consolidate too much power.
They would get along just fine.
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Inside the Emperor’s study, Kayla and Chen Caichun stood before Yunqi with contrite expressions.
“I’m very sorry, my liege. I didn’t think they would react this badly,” Kayla said.
Yunqi leaned his head on his hand, looking worn out.
“No, it’s not your fault. I also wasn’t expecting them to oppose it to this extent.”
After initial shouts of outrage had erupted, Lord He, the leader of the capital aristocrats, had hastily stepped in. The officials had knelt down in unison, loudly pleading for Yunqi to consider thrice before taking a course of action that departed from the classics and betrayed the rightful path.
Lord He had timed it perfectly–just quick enough to prevent someone from saying something that would cross the line and give Yunqi an excuse to unleash his wrath, and just late enough to show Yunqi just how much instinctive backlash the policy elicited.
Yunqi now turned his head to the white-face Chen Caichun, the unfortunate young official who had managed to keep her voice from trembling even as her surroundings erupted in protests.
“You did well, Chamberlain Chen,” he said gently. “The policy is good. It’s just that the court has trouble supporting it, but that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with your proposal.”
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Chen Caichun said.
Kayla gave the young woman a sympathetic look. Chen Caichun had been subjected to no small amount of scrutiny since becoming an official–the only female court official, for that matter. Kayla had done what she could to help Chen Caichun stack up accomplishments while staying out of the limelight, building up a foundation that couldn’t be easily shattered by gossip. But the furor of the court wasn’t something that could be so easily contained.
The matter of the Dowager Consorts wasn’t just about how to deal with a group of widows. It was about expanding Imperial influence, and it was Yunqi’s first major break with tradition. If successful, it would soften the landing for their next reforms.
“It was very well-written,” Kayla said encouragingly.
“Thank you, Your Excellency.”
“Frankly, this proposal is beneficial to us, but not enough to take on the court for,” Qiu Jinwei jumped in, his voice flat. “But now that the court has put up a fight, we can’t afford to just meekly back down anymore.”
Yunqi gave the strategist a look of mild exasperation. He, of course, knew Qiu Jinwei’s eccentricities, and could easily overlook the man’s unintended rudeness. But it wasn’t always the case for other people.
“What’s done is done,” Yunqi cut in before Qiu Jinwei could say anything more. “Not everyone will agree on the value of any given proposal, but I do not intend to give in to the officials so easily. For one, this is a family matter. As the head of the family, I have the right to push this through. I have the support of the Empress Dowager as well, so it’s only a matter of time before this goes through.”
“Not necessarily,” Qiu Jinwei said. “I’m afraid that it’s not as easy as that. Everyone knows the age-old adage. The first attack musters your courage, the second begins to falter, the third ends in defeat. The court wishes to prevent you from reaching success precisely because they want to temper your vitality after inheriting the throne. A competent Emperor…everyone says that they wish for a wise and competent ruler, but how many officials actually want such a thing? For them, a weak-willed Emperor with limited ability and influence is ideal. That’s also why the heads of the Three Departments shot down the trade and agriculture reforms so quickly. That, and also because they were too outlandish.”
He tried not to glance in Kayla’s direction, but the suppressed movement was more noticeable than if he had just gone ahead and looked.
I already avoided a land reform to mitigate the backlash as much as I could. Tackling the unequal distribution of land ownership could come later, when the infrastructure for the survival of small farms had already been properly implemented. She wasn't even touching the holdings of the major clans yet, but any reform was inevitably met with backlash–even if it were for trade, the least valued of occupations. Still, lots of officials are involved in trade through intermediaries. Even if they all spout the whole ‘prioritize agriculture and devalue trade’, they dig their own claws into the market.
“Then what should we do?” Yunqi asked. “It’s clear that they will not give in so easily.”
“We may have to compromise,” Qiu Jinwei said grimly. “But not without a fight. We need to show that we can back them into a corner.”
“I agree with Advisor Qiu,” Kayla chimed in. “Of course, given that I envisioned the various components of the reforms to tie into each other, I wish for as little compromise as possible. But that is likely impossible. The court cannot be made to either think that the Emperor is entirely stubborn and unyielding, nor that he can be easily pressured.”
“Yes,” Qiu Jinwei said dismissively. “As I have said, not without a fight. The question is of support–the supporters of the late Third Prince are not as enthusiastic as we would like them to be. Perhaps they require a stronger hand.”
Yunqi’s face grew heavy with shadows.
“In their eyes, I’m nothing but an opportunistic profiteer who leeched off Brother all my life,” he muttered darkly. “A stronger hand…no degree of strength will bring them to support me wholeheartedly!”
“Duke Zhao, isn’t there anything you can do about them?” Qiu Jinwei said abruptly, turning to Kayla.
“What?” Kayla asked in surprise. “What I can do?”
“Your Excellency is good at forcing people’s hands, are you not?” Qiu Jinwei asked.
Huh? Is that something you’re supposed to say to my face? Kayla frowned in genuine confusion. I mean, this is a private meeting after all, so I suppose it’s…fine. No need to go in circles when it was just them.
“I’m afraid I don’t have such capabilities as you speak of, Advisor, but I will do my best to rally their support,” Kayla said.
Qiu Jinwei frowned as if he didn’t understand.
Yunqi cut in, a slight edge in his voice.
“Good, that’s good. Wenyuan, my dear cousin, we should work hard together to resolve this matter.”
“Yes, my liege,” Kayla said.
He’s like a parent trying to step in before the kid says something offhanded, Kayla thought to herself in sympathy.
“Minister Zhang Dingyong has been of great support to me,” Yunqi remarked. “But he does not get along very well with many of Brother’s other supporters. I need someone else who enjoys high regard among that circle.”
“What about Lord Cao?” Kayla suggested. “He is a man of dignity and virtue, surely he can be won over with good sense.”
“Lord Cao…” Yunqi muttered. The Emperor sighed. “Ever since I gave my sister-in-law leave to move to her fief, he has been distant from me. No, even before that, he began rapidly withdrawing his relations from politics once Brother died, much like many of Brother’s other supporters. He bears a grudge against me, I must think, but is too kind to let it show.”
Kayla exchanged an uneasy glance with Chen Caichun.
“The An clan of the late Third Prince’s maternal family had little sway in the capital, but perhaps having them champion your cause–” Kayla began.
“It would make them look shameless,” Qiu Jinwei cut in. “The new Empress is already from their family. If they then turn to the late Third Prince’s supporters and wax praise about the new Emperor, it would seem cheap. As if the moment their prince of choice died, they immediately pimped out a daughter to leash in a new one.”
Kayla swung a quick horrified glance in Yunqi’s direction. He didn’t even blink at the words.
“I’ll look into other options then,” Kayla said.
“Thank you, Wenyuan,” Yunqi said. “Things may not be progressing very smoothly yet, but I have confidence in our success.”
“It is as you say, Your Majesty,” Kayla replied.
She could only hope that success would come sooner rather than later. Kayla wasn't sure exactly when the natural disasters and international strife in the country's future would take place, but Lady Lin had said it was urgent. A reasonable estimate was less than ten years. How much time did that leave them?
Far too little to spend on petty political squabbles.
The meeting came to an end, and Kayla bid goodbye to Yunqi and Qiu Jinwei, taking Chen Caichun along with her.
As they headed out of the study, Chen Caichun glanced back over her shoulder. Qiu Jinwei was staring after them, his face completely blank.
“My lord,” Chen Caichun called softly, quickening her steps to match Kayla’s pace.
“Yes?” Kayla asked.
“Advisor Qiu…is he always like this to you?”
Kayla heard the worry in her voice. “Oh, it’s fine,” she assured Chen Caichun. “You heard it too–he even speaks like this to the Emperor. A brilliant mind, certainly, but the heavens are fair. If you’re successful in one area you’ll surely be lacking in another.”
Sure, he can be a bit of a pain to deal with, but he’s basically just someone who says what they want because Yunqi lets him get away with it. Hu Qing’s also like that because of me, so I can’t really complain.
“But…” Chen Caichun trailed off awkwardly. “I hope that I am just overthinking it, but is he not a little harsh towards you?”
“At least he’s straightforward about his objections,” Kayla said. “I’d much prefer that to if he just badmouthed me to the Emperor when I wasn’t there. In fact, I find his personality rather refreshing.”
“Still, I think you should be mindful of him, my lord.”
“If you say so, then I will certainly follow your advice,” Kayla said.
“He is not the type of person to let something go simply because his interests align with yours,” Chen Caichun warned.
“I’ve never offended him, I don’t think,” Kayla said.
“I understand, my lord, but nonetheless.”
“I’ll keep an eye out,” Kayla promised. “Thank you. But Qiu Jinwei aside, you’ve done very well with the matter of the Dowager Consorts. Don’t be disheartened by what the court says–or what Qiu Jinwei says, for that matter. Until now, Dowager Consorts either stayed in the palace, went home, went to a nunnery, or went to the tomb. You’re creating a new path for all the generations that come after us for thousands of years after.”
“Thank you, my lord.” Chen Caichun smiled contentedly.
Kayla smiled back.
We get along much better this way, don’t we? She’s been a lot more relaxed since I cut off her obligations. Maybe that was something Kayla should’ve done from the start, but hindsight and all that.
“Are you heading home now?” Chen Caichun asked.
“Ah, yes, I have dinner with my wife. She’s been in a great mood since returning from her vacation in the villa, so I’m enjoying it as much as I can,” Kayla replied.
“How wonderful! It must have been nice outside the city. The capital really is unbearable in summer.”
“What, is it not this bad in Shandong?”
They walked out of the palace together, chatting all the while.
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Back in the plain robes of her everyday wear, Chen Caichun carefully hung up her official uniform, taking care that there were no creases. That done, she made her way over to her desk to pore over her documents.
Rather than the proposal for the Dowager Consorts, she turned to Wenyuan’s reforms instead. Her own proposal was easy to deal with–the Dowager Consorts could become “lay nuns” and thus circumvent outrage about their virtue, the test sites could be cut down in number, the functions of the charity institutions could be reduced.
The real meat was in the reforms. She was impressed, of course she was, but she agreed with Qiu Jinwei’s description of it: outlandish.
Why didn’t Wenyuan seem to think so? There was a strange confidence in how he had presented it, and Yunqi had been visibly affected by the display. As an Emperor who had countless trials before him, the thing Yunqi wanted the most was certainty.
Other countries had sales tax and customs tariffs, that was reasonable enough. Market control institutions weren’t uncommon either, given what Wu traders had reported from their travels.
Part of Wenyuan’s proposed agricultural subsidies could also be seen as an extension to the Ever-Normal Granaries and the Balanced Delivery policies of the Western Han Dynasty. Both were controversial during their time, opposed by wide sectors of scholars and government officials for various reasons.
The Ever-Normal Granaries Law created a system where the government sold from the local granaries to prevent price gouging during years of bad harvests and bought surplus grain from the market in years of good harvests, but it had long since fallen out of use. There were worries that it hurt farmers and merchants due to the lack of price caps and price floors respectively, and in the past, it was almost impossible to keep proper track of on a national scale.
The Balanced Delivery Law was even more controversial when it was put into use by Emperor Wu of Han as part of an extensive series of economic reforms to fund his wars against the Huns. It allowed government purchases of market surpluses from the most prosperous provinces, to be delivered and resold in the most impoverished provinces at controlled prices–and had been opposed so fiercely that even Emperor Wu of Han could only enact it on limited occasions despite his iron hand and bloody enforcement techniques.
Still, given that these centuries-old policies had managed to be enacted all the way back in the Western Han Dynasty, they weren’t outside of the realm of acceptability for moderate officials.
But special trade zones, export zones, agricultural insurance, hometown tax gifts…I’ve never heard of any of these before. Why is he so sure that they’ll work?
Wenyuan had been sure–a bit too sure, almost as if he had seen the success play out before his eyes already.
That alone had aroused her skepticism.
Yet upon careful consideration, she found that the reforms weren’t impossible to carry out. Everything Wenyuan proposed could be made to happen, thanks to the communication network that now sprawled through the country. There had been many misgivings about the whole matter throughout the regions, but the blockade on communications to the border regions after Emperor Xuanzong’s death had finally set people scrambling. It suddenly became clear that the pace of developments had changed, permanently. If officials dragged their heels when it came to the communication network, they were sure to suffer for it as new events decided their fates without their knowledge.
The rollout of the communication network had been completed at an unprecedented pace after that.
Chen Caichun almost suspected that it was orchestrated.
But in any case, the new infrastructure indeed made Wenyuan’s reforms possible.
Did he have this in mind from the start?
If so, he had played his cards well. The problem was that the reforms were far outside the realm of acceptability for the more conservative elements of government. Even the more progressive officials would find themselves taken aback at first.
The Duke might not even realize it, but he’s made himself the perfect scapegoat for any dissatisfaction with the Emperor, she thought grimly.
If something wasn’t done about it, it would result in an endless battle of attrition that resulted in Zhao Wenyuan’s destruction. So what if Yunqi won over a few officials here and there? Unless he could gain overwhelming support, he would need a compromise.
A compromise…
Caichun carefully traced her finger along the characters, mind spinning for a solution. What could be changed? What could be removed? How much could they add or cut before the potency of the reforms were gone altogether? They didn’t have much time, that much was sure. Wenyuan seemed almost certain that they had no more than ten years at most before the country was waylaid by disaster and strife. Barely enough time to prepare if they started this very day.
Rather than compromising based on the content of the reforms, Chen Caichun suspected that more underhanded dealings would become necessary. That much was within Wenyuan's expertise, yes, but if they didn't prepare properly for the aftermath, Wenyuan wouldn't be an official for much longer.
Chen Caichun began jotting down notes, scribbling out tiny words on a scrap of paper.
Enjoy dinner with your wife, my lord. You won’t have much time for that again in a long while.
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Tao Qian walked through the courtyard, humming softly under his breath. The Duke was back from court and Tao Qian was off guard duty for the day.
“Tao Qian.”
He started, turning towards his colleague with a look of annoyance.
“Shu Ling, are you trying to scare me to death?” He asked.
The young woman’s severe expression only tightened.
“As if that were possible. Can I speak with you for a moment?”
Tao Qian went over, sensing something was off.
“What is it?”
Was something wrong with Shu Ling? Was Shu Ling thinking of quitting and tying the knot with Feng Yi?
“Jin Yu was found dead in Hebei,” Shu Ling said.
Tao Qian blinked in confusion before the name clicked.
“Jin Yu, the blind mage who worked for Lin Yaoguang?”
“Yes,” Shu Ling said in a heavy tone. “And not just her–everyone who worked with Lin Yaoguang–the ones the Duke ordered me to find, they’re all turning up dead or disappearing without a trace.”
She shifted uncomfortably.
“I wouldn’t dare to object to the Duke’s actions, or to tell him what to do, but many of those people were noncombatants. Is it necessary to be this thorough?” Shu Ling asked.
“No, wait, what are you talking about?” Tao Qian asked, bewildered.
Shu Ling frowned. “Tao Qian, you don’t need to lie to me about this. I don’t–”
“The Duke didn’t order that,” Tao Qian said.
“What?”
“The Duke never ordered such a thing,” Tao Qian said, a sense of urgency building up inside him. “If he had, I certainly would know, because he would have had me supervise it. He wouldn’t just entrust this to some random backwater assassin. You know how paranoid he gets–if he wanted them dead, they wouldn’t be turning up dead.”
“Then–”
“Someone else is behind this,” Tao Qian said. “Maybe one of Lin Yaoguang’s rivals in the underworld–but whoever it is, this isn’t good news for us.”
Shu Ling gave him a look of alarm.
“I’ll find out more about this,” she promised.
“Please do that,” Tao Qian said. “And I’ll notify the Duke about what’s happened. I think this isn’t something we can overlook. Whether it’s a new criminal faction gaining influence or someone who means us harm, we need to take precautions as soon as possible.”
Shu Ling nodded. “I’ll start immediately.”
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Cultural Notes
天佑元年/First Year of the Tianyou Era: The practice of era names was used in Ancient Chinese dynasties, and the era name was often changed at the beginning of a ruler's reign or during a momentous occasion. Yunqi's era name is Tianyou, which means Heavenly Protection.
车如流水马如龙/Carriages flowed through the street like water, and horses wove through like dragons: An Ancient Chinese proverb describing the bustling streets filled with constant travelers.
山东/Shandong: A province in Eastern China, it is known for being home to a host of Confucian scholars, and is further an important cultural site for Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. It is also known for having people who are a little taller than the average height, and more traditional/conservative people.
抛头露面/Toss their heads and expose their faces: A derogatory term used to describe a woman who participates in immodest public behavior.
未有好德如好色/Does not value virtue over looks: A quote from Confucius, that "he has never seen someone who values virtue over lust."
天理人情/Heavenly morals and human values: An Ancient Chinese proverb.
糟糠之妻/Wife who ate coarse grains with the husband: Refers to the wife that a man marries before becoming successful, often of a lower background or of plainer looks than the partners that he may attract as a more successful person. In the Tang Dynasty, there was a law that prevented men from divorcing their wives after becoming successful if she stayed with him throughout his poverty.
孔孟之乡/Hometown of Confucius and Mencius: Refers to Shandong, the cradle of Confucianism.
吴越同舟/Those of the kingdoms of Wu and Yue on the same storm-battered boat: A pre-Qin proverb. The Southern kingdoms of Wu and Yue in pre-Qin China were constantly at war, but in many places they were only separated by a river. It was said that even when on the same boat/ferry, people from Wu and Yue would ignore each other and refuse to greet one another, but when the boat is caught in a storm, the people from the rival nations would work together as if they shared hand and foot.
云南/Yunnan: A Southwestern province in China, it was often thought of as a backwater area and as rather difficult to govern, given the diversity of ethnic groups, each with their own beliefs, cultures, social systems, and political stance.
离经叛道/Departed from the classics and betrayed the rightful path: An Ancient Chinese proverb. The classics refer to the Confucian classics.
一鼓作气，再而衰，三而竭/The first attack musters your courage, the second begins to falter, the third ends in defeat: A pre-Qin saying that describes the importance of morale and momentum in a battle. Originates from the record of a battle where the small kingdom of Lu defeated the invading army of the large and prosperous kingdom of Qi.
重农轻商/Prioritize agriculture and devalue trade: The traditional Chinese Confucian values prioritized scholars above farmers, but farmers above merchants, who were often viewed with distaste as they create nothing and profit off of selling the products of other people's labor. Part of this was because of relatively low agricultural yields due to lack of technology during earlier Chinese dynasties, hence why the government promoted agriculture but discouraged large swathes of the population from entering trade when the market briefly booms (out of fear that they will lose money and also not have enough food for the winter if the market doesn't yield enough income due to overcrowding).
带发修行/To [be a] lay nun: A practice where a Buddhist may become a lay practitioner, but more devout and with more religious commitment than a typical layperson who has Buddhist beliefs. Not dissimilar to lay affiliates of nun orders in Catholicism.
平仓法/Ever-Normal Granaries Law: A practice in the Western Han Dynasty. It was limited to areas near the capital where it was possible to administer the policy. However, it fell out of use.
均输法/Balanced Delivery Law: A practice in the Western Han Dynasty, proposed by the economist Sangmu Yang, who supported Emperor Wu of Han's military campaigns through brilliant albeit harsh methods of squeezing revenue out of nobles and commoners.