Chapter 57: New Year's Eve Dinner

Fighting crickets?

Wang Zhong suddenly chuckled. "Director Xu, to tell you the truth, when I was ten years old, I used to catch crickets everywhere. Back then, a top-tier cricket could be traded for five catties of fine grain. One year I caught two in a row and got ten catties of flour. The hand-rolled noodles my mother made for me were just heavenly... Now that I've been ennobled as a marquis, every single meal consists of polished rice and white flour, yet I can't even taste the flavor anymore."

Xu Jingchang smiled. "It's not that the flour has lost its flavor, but that your ambitions have grown. As the saying goes, a snake wants to swallow an elephant even if it can't. If the Marquis of Jing'an can rein in his desires, perhaps he will have a vast and boundless future ahead of him."

As Xu Jingchang spoke, he had already opened the cricket jar, picked up a straw twig, and began to tease the insect.

Wang Zhong froze for a moment, then sighed as well. "What you say is right, but also wrong. Who doesn't want to live a better life, eat the finest delicacies, and wear brocades and silks? Among all the civil and military officials in the court, how many are truly incorruptible and take not a single coin? Take those fellows who read the sages' books, always shouting about the country and the people, yet how much have they embezzled in private? Compared to them, I am merely a dwarf standing before a giant, not even worth mentioning."

Xu Jingchang did not refute him; instead, he smiled and said, "Marquis of Jing'an, a gentleman loves wealth, but he acquires it through proper ways. Flagrant violations of state law are, after all, quite indefensible. If you could engage in some legitimate business and make a handsome profit, that would also be a fine choice."

Wang Zhong paused and gave a helpless, bitter smile. "It's easy to say, but I'm just a rough-hewn fellow who knows nothing at all. Make a fortune? I'll just be glad if I don't lose my shirt."

Xu Jingchang smiled. "That's no problem either. I've also set up an academy and cultivated quite a few talented individuals. It's been several months now, and once I get out, I'm planning to make big moves. Would the Marquis of Jing'an be interested in joining?"

Wang Zhong rolled his eyes, then suddenly smiled. "My mind isn't very sharp, and I'm reckless and impulsive. I need to think this over carefully and figure out all the pros and cons... Director Xu won't blame me for that, will he?"

Xu Jingchang said, "Of course not. Whatever you might joke about, never joke with real money and your own life... As officials, we must learn to think three times before acting."

"Three times?"

"Yes, that means thinking about danger, thinking about retreat, and thinking about change," Xu Jingchang said with a cheerful smile.

Wang Zhong's eyes lit up, and he leaned forward eagerly. "Director Xu, could you elaborate a bit more?"

"Certainly. The so-called 'thinking about danger' means clearly seeing where the dangers lie. High official positions and generous salaries are undeniably prominent, but it is lonely at the top, surrounded by open spears, hidden arrows, and enemies on all sides. If you fail to see the danger and stumble right into it, you will lose your life. Therefore, the first step in being an official is to think about danger."

Wang Zhong thought for a moment and nodded. "Indeed. I couldn't see the danger and ended up in the Heavenly Prison. Fortunately, His Majesty is magnanimous; otherwise, given my offense of storming a government office, during the Hongwei reign I probably would have lost my head."

Xu Jingchang smiled. "That is thinking about danger. The second step is 'thinking about retreat.' Once you see the danger, you must avoid it—seeking fortune and shunning harm is human nature. You must retreat to a place where others cannot see you, properly conserve your strength, observe the situation, reflect upon yourself, and thoroughly think through everything inside and out."

Wang Zhong nodded forcefully. "That is even more correct. Once I get out, I will shut my doors and reflect, thinking everything through thoroughly."

Xu Jingchang continued, "The third step is 'thinking about change.' When the original path is blocked, you must choose a new path, open up new fields, and expand into new spaces. Since we can't outrun others on the old path, there's no need to force it; we can simply switch to a different track. Knowing when to yield and hide is no disgrace. After all, the capital gathers all the cleverest minds in the Great Ming Empire, and failing to surpass them is only natural. Being treated like a monkey played by others is also within reason. Wouldn't you agree?"

Wang Zhong hesitated for a moment, then suddenly turned his head to look in the direction of Xia Yuanji's cell, unable to help grinding his teeth.

That's right. Although Xu Jingchang was the one who ultimately impeached him and sent him to the Heavenly Prison, the real mastermind who ruined things was Xia Yuanji, who had even dragged His Imperial Highness into it—making it blatantly clear that he was treating him, Wang Zhong, as the sacrificial chicken!

Utterly detestable!

"Director Xu, let's set the business aside for now. From now on, I, Wang Zhong, will come to your door more often to seek your counsel. If I encounter any troubles, I ask for your continued guidance."

Xu Jingchang smiled. "Easily done. I am young and direct by nature, and sometimes I speak without thinking. I hope the Marquis of Jing'an will bear with me."

Wang Zhong hurriedly smiled back. "Director Xu is too polite. Truth be told, your Xu family is the head of all military nobility. People like us started out as mere thousand-household or hundred-household officers, and only by sheer luck following His Majesty did we reach where we are today. How could we compare to the founding heroes who fought bloody battles for decades to establish the Ming dynasty? From you, Director Xu, I've seen the true prowess of your family. I am thoroughly convinced!"

To say the least, once a person enters prison, both their IQ and EQ improve at a rapid pace.

Not long ago, Wang Zhong had been threatening to curse Xia Yuanji's mother and raging in court... and now he had already mastered flattery and sycophancy.

Life for Xu Jingchang inside the grand prison could not be described as difficult; aside from not being able to leave, it was practically no different from being at home!

He slept on the finest silk-cotton quilt, had an endless supply of fresh spring water, kept a warm stove burning, and received Liu'an and Xihu Longjing teas sent straight from the palace because Empress Xu could not bear to see her nephew wronged.

Fearing he might catch a chill, she even sent over a leopard-skin mattress that Emperor Zhu Di had hunted himself.

And young Zhu Zhanji had a bit of a conscience, too; after sending over a single fish, he brought his prized hawk, the Haidongqing, over every single day.

Consequently, Xu Jingchang lacked absolutely nothing within arm's reach.

Pine nuts, dried fruits, pastries from both palace and folk artisans, roast chicken, roast duck, pig's head meat... cluttered the entire table.

That wasn't all. Various fresh vegetables and fruits, chicken, fish, duck, and pork were all carted in without reservation.

Xu Jingchang actually possessed rather decent culinary skills, clanging knives and spoons as he stir-fried, braised, and deep-fried.

He stubbornly turned serving a prison sentence into A Bite of Ming Dynasty.

He cooked inside, Wang Zhong acted as his sous-chef, and the two of them dined together afterward. Although Wang Zhong was a marquis, prior to the Jingnan campaign he had been a nobody who had never enjoyed such luxuries.

Ever since experiencing Xu Jingchang's cooking, he was utterly captivated, cleaning his plate at every single meal and leaving not even a drop of broth for anyone else.

The Six Ministers and high-ranking court officials gritted their teeth in fury. Watching the two of them feast lavishly gave them the overwhelming urge to strangle the pair on the spot.

Wang Zhong, in particular, would take an ice-braised pork knuckle that had been stewed for an hour and a half, march right up in front of Xia Yuanji, and chew away with exaggerated smacking sounds, relishing every single bite with absolute glee.

This drove Xia Yuanji hopping mad, yet there was nothing he could do.

After all, he didn't have an empress aunt taking care of him, nor did he have an imperial grandson sending him food... Not only did he lack these things, but none of the other court officials had them either.

Everyone else could only gnaw on blackened, hard flatbreads and drink vegetable soup without a single drop of oil, watching Xu Jingchang's side with long, dripping trails of drool.

They finally understood that serving time in prison wasn't the hardest part; the truly fatal thing was that while some people treated imprisonment like a resort vacation, their own days in prison felt like years.

This torment was far more excruciating than slow slicing.

As New Year's Eve approached, the court officials could no longer hold back.

A scholar may be killed, but not humiliated!

Death was at hand, yet even condemned criminals were granted a decent final meal. Given their status, and without any formal conviction yet, to be locked away like this with neither food nor drink—it would be far more merciful to simply chop their heads off and get it over with.

Furious, the gathered ministers raised their necks and shouted in protest.

After half an hour of roaring curses, the prison authorities finally showed some mercy, sending in a single clay jar. Upon opening it, they found it filled with aged, pickled radishes. Who knew how long they had been sitting there, but a layer of putrid scum floated on top, emitting the stench of a pair of unwashed feet from twenty years ago.

Seeing this, the ministers completely broke down.

This was going too far!

Following this, Jian Yi, Xia Yuanji, Song Li, and Liu Jun exchanged glances and marched together toward Xu Jingchang's quarters.

Wang Zhong was still rubbing his belly and pondering what to have for New Year's Eve when he suddenly sensed a wave of intense murderous intent. With a single flip, he leaped to his feet, dashed in two or three strides to the entrance of Xu Jingchang's room, and glared furiously at the officials.

"What are you lot doing?"

The eyes of this crowd were entirely bloodshot. "Marquis of Jing'an, you may be a military officer, but you have neither armor nor weapons, and you're all by yourself. There are so many of us, and things have come to this—we'll just smash our pots and sink our boats, and beat the two of you to death!"

Wang Zhong instinctively swallowed a mouthful of saliva. "Aren't you afraid of His Majesty's thunderous wrath?"

"Afraid! But the law cannot punish the masses. Once things have reached this point, we don't care about anything anymore! His Majesty surely won't execute all six ministries and nine offices. Director Xu, you forced us into this!"

As they spoke, these ministers and vice ministers actually began picking up benches and chamber pots, looking thoroughly prepared to swarm them and beat Xu Jingchang to a pulp.

Xu Jingchang's expression also shifted. Oh no, what an enraged group of civil officials might do was truly unpredictable... A wise man yields to circumstances.

"Minister Jian, Minister Xia, you can't bully a young man like this. It's the New Year, everything is open for discussion... How about I treat everyone to New Year's Eve dinner, and I'll cook it myself. How does that sound?"

Hearing this, the expressions of several men eased slightly.

However, Gu Pu, a vice minister in the rear, suddenly shouted angrily, "No way! Just that one Haidongqing bird, how much food can it possibly bring back? There are so many of us—either we all eat together, or we break the pots and burn the jade together!"

The ministers whose faces had just softened broke out in a sweat once more.

Oh no, public indignation had gone too far, and this was becoming genuinely difficult to manage.

Just at that moment, a yellowish figure suddenly appeared atop the prison wall, letting out a series of excited barks.

Xu Jingchang recognized it instantly. He quickly pushed the crowd aside and dashed from his room into the courtyard.

Big Yellow carried two heavy sacks of food, leaped down from the wall, trotted straight up to Xu Jingchang, and affectionately rubbed its head against his thigh.

"Good dog! You've saved my life!"

Tears welled up in Xu Jingchang's eyes. He hurriedly unstrapped the food and said to Big Yellow, "You've worked hard! Make a few more runs and bring in whatever else there is!"

Afterward, Xu Jingchang turned his head to glare at the crowd, shouting aloud, "Stop yelling! There's enough for everyone! Everyone gets a share, alright?!"