Chapter 14: Handling Young Master Yao (Please continue reading)

Chapter 14: Maneuvering Young Master Yao (Please keep reading)

"Young Marquis, you are truly clever. I originally intended for you to consolidate the old loyal troops of the founding heroes, but you passed the task to His Highness the Crown Prince. Aren’t you afraid the Crown Prince might mishandle it, causing distrust between father and son and leading to disaster?" Yao Guangxiao, sharp as ever, saw through Xu Jingchang’s hidden intentions with one sentence.

Xu Jingchang remained calm. Their first confrontation had forced the old monk to lay all his plans bare. From that moment on, Xu Jingchang had been scheming his way out.

You old monk want to push me forward to confront the founding heroes of the Jingnan Rebellion? Even if I win, what then? The ones who charge into battle always lose as many as they kill.

I, with my small arms and legs, really have no need for that.

Moreover, a hero who builds a massive power base only invites disaster.

In this world, only the Emperor and the Crown Prince can openly cultivate their own forces; anyone else is merely forming factions for personal gain.

Though young, Xu Jingchang was still haunted by the bloodshed of the Taizu era. Look at Lan Yu—such great merit, yet his skin was stripped off. Xu Jingchang certainly did not want to end up with a disgraceful fate.

Those old loyal generals could be left to Zhu the Fatty to handle. If he had the skill, let him win over these men, suppress his second brother, and firmly secure the position of Crown Prince.

As for the possibilities Yao Guangxiao mentioned, Xu Jingchang was too lazy to think about them. After all, wasn’t Zhu the Fatty the one who laughed last?

He should be able to handle it.

“If one is not in position, one cannot meddle in affairs. I have no choice,” Xu Jingchang said.

Yao Guangxiao snorted coldly. "You’re somewhat conscientious, but not much. I take my leave."

With that, the old monk turned to leave.

“Wait,” Xu Jingchang stopped him. “Master Yao, it’s still early. Our family cook is excellent. The vegetarian dishes are so realistic you’d think they were real meat. I invite you to a meal; let’s talk properly.”

Yao Guangxiao hesitated. He had never tasted the cooking at the Xu residence.

“Then thank you, Young Marquis.”

Within half an hour, Dongpo-style braised pork knuckle, steamed shad fish, scallion-braised sea cucumber, and garlic-flavored spare ribs were served.

Truly, these four dishes were crafted so lifelike that even if made with real meat, one could not tell the difference. Besides, Xu Jingchang brought out a jar of grape wine, a cellar-aged vintage from the early Hongwu era, roughly equivalent to an 82-year-old Lafite.

Monks could drink wine, but only vegetarian wine—not made from grain.

Yao Guangxiao was quite satisfied. Clinking cups with Xu Jingchang, eating and drinking, he said, “Young Marquis, your chef is truly remarkable. To make vegetarian dishes this convincing, I doubt there’s another like him in the world.”

Xu Jingchang smiled foolishly, “Nothing special, just practiced hands.”

He picked up a spare rib for Yao Guangxiao and whispered, “Master Yao, I’ve considered the situation. His Majesty is preparing for a three-department joint trial. No matter what, Qiu Fu cannot hold out. What do you think he’ll do? Will he wait passively for death?”

Yao Guangxiao ate the rib silently.

Xu Jingchang glanced at him, then poured another glass of wine. “Master, though I handed over the founding generals to Big Cousin, I will do my best with the tasks you entrusted. We’re still allies after all. Please give me some advice, or I really won’t be able to outplay them.”

This time Yao Guangxiao sighed deeply. “You’re cunning indeed, thinking this far ahead. Well said: no matter the weight before stepping on the scale, it’s less than three taels. Once on the scale, even a thousand jin won’t stop it. So no matter what, you must never step on the scale!”

Xu Jingchang furrowed his brow and whispered, “Master Yao, do you mean to silence someone?”

Yao Guangxiao replied, “Duke of Qi is a man of action, who likes to cut the Gordian knot. If I’m right, he’s probably had that hundred-household man killed already, then released the captured woman, and will claim someone forced the meritorious official to his death. His outcry will rally the Duke of Cheng and others to join him in the uproar. Then it depends on how much weight they carry in the Emperor’s eyes.”

“How dare he do that?” Xu Jingchang whispered in shock.

Yao Guangxiao smiled. “When you bear a dozen scars shielding His Majesty from hidden attacks, when you’ve eaten raw horse meat with him in mountains of corpses, you won’t see him as the supreme ruler. Your courage grows boundless.”

Xu Jingchang’s face instantly turned pale. Indeed, he had been wise to keep his guard up.

Without asking Yao Guangxiao, he wouldn’t have guessed this.

Though Xu Jingchang was close to the Emperor, Zhu Di’s throne depended on the Jingnan loyalists, comrades who had faced death together.

If it came to confrontation, he would be at a disadvantage.

Looking again at the golden ruyi scepter, Xu Jingchang suddenly understood everything.

Zhu the Fourth likely wasn’t just compensating him three months’ salary!

The Emperor’s heart was as scheming as ever, just like when Zhu Yuanzhang used Liu Bowen and others to deal with the Huai West heroes. Although unequal in numbers, the likes of Li Shanchang’s handling of Liu Bowen left wounds and leverage.

Then they had justification to suppress the Huai West heroes.

Could Zhu the Fourth be copying that playbook?

Or was Yao Guangxiao planning this, using himself to drain the Emperor’s favor from Qiu Fu and the others?

This old monk was no simple man; dealing with him required extreme caution.

“Master Yao, the court intrigues are too deep. I give up. I’ll go see the Duke of Qi and the Duke of Cheng, then ask my aunt for mediation. I’m willing to kowtow or kneel if needed. They are so close to His Majesty; I dare not fight them. Please spare me! I truly can’t handle this anymore. I won’t be the Commissioner of Communications; I’ll go to the Astronomical Bureau to watch the stars and observe the heavens.”

Yao Guangxiao’s temples throbbed. This brat was at it again!

“Can’t you be a bit more ambitious?”

“What’s ambition worth? My uncle had ambition—loyal to the Emperor all his life and look what happened. My father had ambition—he’d do anything for His Majesty, then he was gone. You want me to have ambition so you can attend my funeral and enjoy the feast,” Xu Jingchang said bluntly.

Yao Guangxiao was furious. He could manipulate Zhu Di and everyone else—except this brat.

“You want to kill me with anger!”

“You want to kill me,” Xu Jingchang retorted.

Yao Guangxiao clenched his fists. He understood the role of maintaining court stability. Even Zhu Di had realized this, creating the three-department joint trial to pressure the Jingnan new nobles. But letting Xu Jingchang run wild could ruin everything.

“Enough! I’ll make an exception and say a few more words,” Yao Guangxiao said helplessly. “The hundred-household man who framed Sheng Yong is Wang Qin. He was once His Majesty’s personal guard, later under Qiu Fu. I’ve known him long—he’s shrewd. Qiu Fu can’t casually kill him. You should assign men to watch Qiu Fu’s mansion. If anything unusual happens, act decisively; you’ll catch him for sure.”

Relief finally showed on Xu Jingchang’s face. This old monk had long understood the Jingnan nobles’ secrets under Zhu Di. He was cautious about offending anyone, but Xu Jingchang cared little. If the old monk wanted to use him, he had to be willing to take the blame. Fair enough.

“Master, should I say this is an order from Duke of Rong?”

Yao Guangxiao took a deep breath, his triangular eyes flashing fiercely. Through clenched teeth, he said, “Yes.”

Now Xu Jingchang was satisfied, quickly pouring more wine. “Master, how about this? One day, I hold a formal ceremony to apprentice under you, officially becoming your secular disciple. You look after me, and it’ll be natural.”

Yao Guangxiao shook his head fiercely. “I want to live a few more years. Farewell!”

Xu Jingchang watched the old monk leave, amused. Once you find the weak spot, even the old monk is in your palm. He hurried to arrange men to watch the Duke of Qi’s mansion.

At that moment, Qiu Fu summoned Wang Qin and poured him a glass of wine.

“I drank at noon, but this is a thirty-year vintage cellar wine. You’ve served me for years. Later I’ll find you a good post outside to enjoy life. Consider this a parting drink. Drink up.”

Wang Qin took the cup, looked at the wine, then at Qiu Fu, and smiled. “Duke, you never get drunk. Won’t you have a drink?”

Qiu Fu snorted, “No, this is for you.”

Wang Qin nodded. “Thank you, Duke. But I have a few words to clear up with you.”

“Speak!” Qiu Fu visibly impatient.

Wang Qin smiled, “Some time ago, we stormed Ying Tian and were to seal the treasury. You had me take out over a hundred thousand taels of silver, originally to be sent back to Beiping. But I took a tenth for myself and sent it back to my hometown. I can drink this wine, but where that silver ends up, I don’t know.”

Qiu Fu froze, his facial muscles twitching uncontrollably.

Wang Qin whispered, “Duke, should I still drink?”

Qiu Fu ground his teeth furiously, his eyes blazing. Stealing from the treasury was no small matter. Even one ingot leaked out would be disaster.

Before, Qiu Fu had taken advantage of the chaos in Ying Tian to seize treasury silver and made a fortune.

He never expected Wang Qin to dare privately withhold some and threaten him with it!

“You’re courting death!”

Wang Qin said, “Your Grace, not death, but afraid not to survive. If you’re merciful, I’ll go home, melt the silver and send it to you, leaving no ingots behind. Then I’ll flee with my family, leaving you no trouble. I hope you consider my years of loyalty and spare me.”

With that, Wang Qin knelt, prostrating before Qiu Fu.

Qiu Fu’s expression changed repeatedly, grinding his teeth, and finally sighed. This man had crawled out of the pile of corpses and was capable of anything.

Stealing treasury silver was a graver crime than secretly keeping women in the barracks.

“Fine, go. Leave now!”

Wang Qin hurriedly kowtowed, bowed, and left. His back was soaked with sweat. He dared not linger and rushed out of Qiu Fu’s mansion into the night.

But as he entered an alley, eight men appeared ahead. When he turned, eight more appeared behind. Then groups appeared along both walls—truly a net cast from heaven and earth.

“Commissioner of Communications, Wang Qin has been captured.”

(End of chapter)