Chapter 140: On the Road After Court

The Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youxiao set down his tea, reached for a piece of candied fruit, and popped it straight into his mouth.

This candied fruit was truly sweet and delicious.

Glancing at Chen Hong beside him, Zhu Youxiao said in a casual tone, "I am to prepare for my grand wedding, so from today onward, the morning court is cancelled. If there is nothing of great importance, tell everyone inside and outside the court not to disturb me."

Attending court this once was already enough; there was nothing in the government that needed his personal attention for now. All he had to do was sit back and watch their drama unfold, and get married on the side.

To be honest, he was actually quite looking forward to it — this was marrying three women at once.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Chen Hong promptly acknowledged and turned to leave the palace to spread the news.

Zhu Youxiao was in the best mood he had ever been in — everything was settled, and he could just wait to watch the show.

But others were not so fortunate, especially Chief Grand Secretary Liu Yijing, whose mood could only be described as utterly dismal.

Throughout this entire grand court session, he felt he had been a textbook example of failure.

First, on the matter of Zhao Nanxing, he had failed to take him down in one stroke. His Majesty had given Zhao Nanxing a chance, letting him investigate on his own. Who knew how long this matter would drag on — he might not even live to see the day it was resolved.

And on the matter of Han Kuang, he had tried to gain an advantage and only ended up losing more — now Han Kuang had turned against him. Just thinking about it made his blood boil.

Not only that, but the Donglin Faction had actually found a chance to turn things around. After all this, he had lost every advantage?

This was utterly infuriating!

Liu Yijing couldn't help but think of Zhang Yingdao — that fine student of his. After all the trust he had placed in him, the man had gone and dug a pit and buried old Liu right in it?

Zhang Yingdao was simply insane — he absolutely had to be dealt with! If not for him, why would he be in such a passive position, afraid to say anything in court?

If not for this Zhang Yingdao, he wouldn't have resorted to risky tactics to win over Han Kuang, only to end up pleasing no one.

And now look — Han Kuang had jumped out on his own, leaving him alone to perform this play, and it was not going to be an easy one to put on.

Walking toward the Grand Secretariat's duty office, Han Kuang kept a grim face, inwardly resolving to find Zhang Yingdao after court and get to the bottom of things.

Glancing to the right, Liu Yijing noticed quite a few people gathered around Han Kuang and couldn't help but snort coldly.

Some of these people were fence-sitters who, seeing Han Kuang in ascendancy, were flocking over to kiss up to him.

Liu Yijing let out a disdainful snort.

A pack of short-sighted fools! Han Kuang might look like he was getting ahead now, but dangers lurked behind him as well — if he wanted to rise, he would still have to survive this ordeal first!

"Grand Secretary!"

Just then, Liu Yijing heard someone calling him. He let out a breath, composed himself, forced his expression to look somewhat more pleasant, and then turned around.

Upon seeing who it was, the smile on Liu Yijing's face froze somewhat.

Because Liu Yijing saw that the newcomer was Minister of Rites Sun Shenxing, which caught him somewhat off guard.

Why had Sun Shenxing come? Could he be here to kick a man when he was down?

At that thought, Liu Yijing's face sank like heavy storm clouds, and he said with a smile that did not reach his eyes, "May I ask what business Minister Sun has here?"

Sun Shenxing paid no mind to Liu Yijing's attitude and continued smiling as he said, "Grand Secretary, the realm of Great Ming is vast, and there are so many affairs. Today things are as they are — who knows how things will be tomorrow? We all take things one step at a time. Sometimes friends become enemies, but sometimes enemies become friends. Grand Secretary, what do you think?"

Though he was speaking to Liu Yijing, Sun Shenxing's gaze was fixed on Han Kuang in the distance, surrounded by a crowd of people.

Hearing Sun Shenxing's words, Liu Yijing confirmed one thing — these people of the Donglin Faction truly bore no good intentions toward Han Kuang.

They were plainly using Han Kuang to clear out certain people — those who had botched things.

Whether it was the Donglin Faction that wanted those people cleared out, or Sun Shenxing himself, was anyone's guess.

But in Liu Yijing's view, it was probably Sun Shenxing who wanted to clear away those who were in his way, which was why he had pushed Han Kuang forward.

In this way, he could cut off Han Kuang's reach toward the Donglin Faction, while also having an explanation within Donglin itself, because the deed was not Sun Shenxing's doing.

Add to that the fact that the senior figures of Donglin in court had been swept clean, and Sun Shenxing would become the true leader.

Liu Yijing couldn't help but consider a possibility — had Zhang Yingdao been bought off by Sun Shenxing?

If that were truly the case, then this whole affair really might have been arranged by Sun Shenxing. In that scenario, Han Kuang had been thoroughly trapped.

Looking at the whole matter, the one who ultimately profited the most was Sun Shenxing. The Donglin Faction had cleared out some people, cut off Han Kuang's hands, and expanded its own strength.

If his guess was correct, Sun Shenxing's next step would be to seek entry into the Grand Secretariat, and he would likely try to win over the other Grand Secretaries.

Or perhaps he would simply try to win over Liu Yijing himself, to push Han Kuang out.

At that thought, Liu Yijing's composure began to waver.

How had he never noticed before that this old fellow Sun Shenxing was so cunning and crafty?

Now he would have to be careful — he might well end up being the one pushed out.

Liu Yijing knew full well that everyone's ultimate goal was his own position as Chief Grand Secretary.

Liu Yijing did not believe for a moment that Sun Shenxing had not set his sights on the seat of Chief Grand Secretary.

Once this old fellow's plan to enter the Grand Secretariat succeeded, he might very well find himself unable to contend with Sun Shenxing.

Liu Yijing even grew firm in his resolve to mend relations with Han Kuang.

"Some people, once they leave, will never come back." Sun Shenxing said with a smile.

Perhaps knowing what Liu Yijing was thinking, Sun Shenxing's words struck a painful chord in Liu Yijing's heart.

"Grand Secretary, there will be plenty of days ahead." After saying this, Sun Shenxing smiled and walked forward.

In truth, for Sun Shenxing, he could have easily refrained from saying all this, but he had come precisely to say it.

Sun Shenxing's purpose was simple — he wanted to give Liu Yijing a scare.

He had some understanding of this Chief Grand Secretary of Great Ming. After being frightened, Liu Yijing would certainly go running to Han Kuang.

Not only would he not collude with Sun Shenxing, he would instead seek out Han Kuang, believing Han Kuang to be a trustworthy man.

But at this time, if those two grew especially close, it might not necessarily be a good thing.

Take it slow — no one needs to rush. The best show is yet to come.

Compared to Liu Yijing and Sun Shenxing, Han Kuang's mood was not much better either.

After dismissing those who had come to kiss up to him, the smile on Han Kuang's face vanished as well.

He had been set up several times today, so it would be strange if he were genuinely happy.

The Donglin Faction had dug a big pit for him, and Chief Grand Secretary Liu Yijing had gone along with the current to push him in.

Han Kuang felt extremely agitated inside.

Now he found himself in a dilemma, with everyone watching him. That broken case had snowballed into something so huge it was practically a hot potato.

No matter what he did, he would end up pleasing no one.

If he investigated too lightly, he would offend Your Majesty, offend Wei Zhongxian of the Eastern Depot, and even offend some people in officialdom.

The people he would offend were precisely those who wanted to topple the Donglin Faction. One should not underestimate the strength of these people—they had always had many supporters.

If he investigated too lightly, they would misunderstand and think he was in league with the Donglin Faction, only putting on a show. This might be exactly what Liu Yijing and his group wanted to see, and perhaps Sun Shenxing also wanted to see such an outcome.

If he investigated the case too heavily, he would completely break with the Donglin Faction, and then he would have to face them. At the same time, he would be reviled by many civil officials, including some neutrals, because he would appear to have sided with Wei Zhongxian's eunuch faction.

This move could be said to be quite sufficient—Sun Shenxing had reaped plenty of benefits.

No matter which choice he made, it would be a big win for Sun Shenxing.

If he handled it lightly, it would protect the Donglin Faction.

As the mastermind behind the whole affair, Sun Shenxing would naturally be credited with great merit and toil, and would gain the support of many. Those people would not be grateful to him, but they would certainly be grateful to Sun Shenxing.

If he handled it severely, then Old Han here would have to bear the blame himself, while all the benefits would go to Sun Shenxing.

That old fellow Sun Shenxing could be said to stand in an invincible position, which gave Han Kuang a feeling of losing his footing.

Han Kuang turned his head and glanced at Zhao Nanxing, who was lagging behind.

Zhao Nanxing's situation should be about the same now, right?

In fact, that was indeed the case—Zhao Nanxing also felt somewhat at a loss.

He had not been set up by someone, but rather targeted by someone.

Liu Yijing had directly dug a pit and buried him in it. That was not even the key issue—the key issue was that Your Majesty had gone along with the current.

Now the choice lay before Zhao Nanxing: what should he do?

If he investigated with a heavy hand, he would offend a huge swath of people, from top to bottom—everyone who ate from the bowl of the Ministry of Works would be offended, without exception. Among them would be many members of the Donglin Faction.

If he did not investigate with a heavy hand, then Liu Yijing's impeachment would be confirmed—he would be guilty of collusion, of forming a faction for private gain, of embezzling money.

Look at Zou Yuanbiao and Yang Lian, look at Yuan Yingtai and Wang Huazhen—what kind of end have they come to now?

At this moment, he could not even retreat even if he wanted to—there was simply no way out!

Zhao Nanxing also saw Han Kuang looking at him, seemed to realize something, and smiled while cupping his hands toward Han Kuang.

Seeing this, Han Kuang was startled for a moment, then also cupped his hands toward Zhao Nanxing.

The walk after court was not long, and the time it took to leave was not long either, but in that brief span, everyone's thoughts were churning—each person thinking about their own affairs, and also about others' affairs.

In just a few short steps, some matters were decided in that very moment.

Yu Maoheng, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, did not have a very pleasant expression either.

He had not been set up by anyone—it was because he was stifled.

He had prepared so well, yet in the end it was not used. How could his mood possibly be good?

For him, he was not afraid of exposing it himself; rather, he was afraid he would not be able to expose it.

Delay breeds change—who knew what might happen? If he did not speak now, he might not have another chance later.

Under such circumstances, his mood naturally would not be good. He walked forward a few steps, pondering as he went how to handle this matter.

Just as he exited the palace gate, Yu Maoheng saw Chen Hong standing there with a beaming smile.

This eunuch who served closely at Your Majesty's side was naturally no stranger to Yu Maoheng. He walked over with a smile, cupped his hands toward Chen Hong, and said, "May I ask what brings Eunuch here?"