Chapter 1971: Utterly Beset by Dread

"Zhang Dejun has always been loyal and respectful to me. Although he sometimes plays little tricks and shows off small cleverness before me, he has always been extremely measured on matters of great principle. He is utterly devoted to me, and this time his advice was given without reservation!" After a moment of calm, Emperor Liu raised his eyes, glanced sideways at Yan Tuo, and said with deep meaning:

"Tell me, when he came here so eagerly, and I not only rejected his report but also sternly reprimanded and harshly criticized him, what do you think he will feel? Will he harbor resentment?"

This question genuinely startled and delighted Yan Tuo. With the cunning heart he had honed through decades at Emperor Liu's side, he almost instantly glimpsed an opportunity—a chance to topple his old rival.

Yan Tuo was also an old man who had served Emperor Liu closely for some thirty years. He knew Emperor Liu incomparably well—even a fart could tell him something was different—let alone such an explicit question.

In the past, when Emperor Liu berated and punished Wang Ji'en, Yan Tuo felt pleased inside, but he basically only watched and never voiced or acted on anything. Doing so would only invite humiliation; even poisoning someone's reputation required picking the right moment.

But now, hearing Emperor Liu ask this, Yan Tuo had only one reaction: His Majesty has grown suspicious of that old dog Wang Ji'en! For Yan Tuo, this was truly good news.

For a moment, even his anxious fear receded. After pondering briefly, he answered: "Wang Ji'en often prides himself on having His Majesty's trust, and every memorial he presents is granted. Today's rejection—given this man's reverence for Your Majesty—I dare say resentment would not dare arise. Yet the human heart is hard to fathom; whether disappointment will breed from this setback is hard to say..."

Yan Tuo's answer was steeped in hypocrisy and cunning, but Emperor Liu fell silent upon hearing it. After thinking for a long while, he murmured: "The human heart is hard to fathom? Disappointment?"

Suddenly, Emperor Liu looked directly at Yan Tuo: "When disappointed, what would he do?"

"This... this humble one cannot presume to know. Your Majesty might as well observe patiently." Yan Tuo said this with a hint of restraint—he still had some sense of proportion, knowing that going too far was as bad as not going far enough.

And though Emperor Liu said nothing more on the subject, those eyes of his, deep as an abyss, grew ever more somber.

On the other side, Wang Ji'en did not choose to go to the Imperial Medical Institute to have his wounds dressed, but instead hurried straight back to the Palace City Office. The moment he returned to his lair, seeing his disheveled state, his disciples and followers all turned pale and exchanged uneasy glances.

Inside the hall, Wang Ji'en sat with a gloomy old face while the office's medical officer nervously tended his wounds. Hands that were usually nimble now trembled considerably, and only after the bandaging was done did the man hastily take his leave, fleeing as if escaping.

As soon as the man left, Wang Shouzhong, who had been waiting at his side, said urgently: "Father, are you all right?"

Wang Ji'en glanced at him, raised a hand to touch his neck, and said flatly: "Nothing serious! At least my head is still on my shoulders!"

"What on earth happened?" Wang Shouzhong asked with concern.

At the question, Wang Ji'en wore a look of deep frustration. After frowning and brooding for a while, he said with some chagrin: "A misstep! A misstep!"

After this period of respite, Wang Ji'en had calmed down. Reflecting back, he finally realized how improper his actions today had been. Of course, Wang Ji'en knew that what angered His Majesty was certainly not the planting of informants in the Hall of State Affairs—without using every means, how could one possibly monitor the nobles and officials and the public sentiment of the capital? Some overstepping, His Majesty ought to understand.

What was truly improper, what had provoked His Majesty's fierce reaction, was probably the report itself. Wang Ji'en prided himself on his loyalty, not avoiding the powerful, not even sparing the Chief Chancellor or the Crown Prince—but he had underestimated just how highly Emperor Liu regarded those two...

The more he thought, the more chagrined Wang Ji'en became, the more regretful, and the more afraid. In decades, Wang Ji'en had never felt so unsettled as now. Emperor Liu's reaction today was actually quite familiar to him—it was almost the rhythm of someone about to kill...

After Wang Ji'en briefly described what had happened at Chuigong Hall, Wang Shouzhong's face changed too, looking even more tense than Wang Ji'en. This was to be expected—their current power and wealth all derived from their adoptive father Wang Ji'en. If Wang Ji'en fell out of favor, how could they possibly fare well?

Wang Shouzhong was the most deep and calculating among Wang Ji'en's several adopted sons. After a brief panic, he quickly calmed down. Seeing Wang Ji'en's grim expression, he could not help but console: "Father need not worry overmuch. After all, you are an old intimate by His Majesty's side. Though this scolding was harsh, perhaps it will simply pass..."

"Let us hope so!" Wang Ji'en thought for a moment and sighed softly.

Yet Wang Ji'en still felt uneasy at heart, as if he had overlooked something important, but no matter how he racked his brains, he could not grasp it.

In truth, Wang Ji'en's actions this time had partly been a mistake born of haste. And that haste came from inner unease. These past two years, Wang Ji'en had felt that nothing was going smoothly, and most critically, the intimate master-servant relationship with Emperor Liu had undergone some subtle changes. Wang Ji'en was a sensitive man, and he could feel that Emperor Liu no longer trusted him as he once had.

And this was something Wang Ji'en absolutely could not tolerate. He had served Emperor Liu his entire life—though not without selfish motives, on the whole he had been loyal to his duties and considerate of his master. He also knew well that his current power and position all derived from Emperor Liu's trust. Once that trust showed a crack, he would find it hard to stand firm inside or outside the palace—that meant the very foundation of his standing was unstable.

It was precisely because he realized this that over the past two years Wang Ji'en had been racking his brains and working hard, trying to earn merit and regain Emperor Liu's favor. Including last year's Kangning case, his great enthusiasm was partly for this reason.

However, in haste, mistakes are easily made. This "memorial case" was another opportunity Wang Ji'en had found. In his thinking, since he did not even spare the Crown Prince or Zhao Pu, his utter devotion to His Majesty was plain, and His Majesty ought to recognize his loyalty...

Yet the result ran contrary to his wishes. Emperor Liu's reaction had developed in a direction almost completely opposite to what he had expected, and he had truly smashed his head against a wall.

It was precisely for this reason that Wang Ji'en found it so troublesome—he realized he could no longer keep up with Emperor Liu's thinking, and divining the imperial will had become far more difficult. Against others, Wang Ji'en had plenty of methods, but against Emperor Liu, he had no recourse at all—and even if he did, it would be hard to employ...

And these were things that juniors like Wang Shouzhong could hardly understand, nor could they be explained in detail. He could only digest them silently.

Thinking this way and that without finding a solution, sighing long and short to no avail, Wang Ji'en finally gave instructions to Wang Shouzhong: "Pass the word down—have the young lords and the investigating clerks all restrain themselves from now on, and not act recklessly. Also, keep watch on the palace; at the slightest sign of trouble, report to me immediately..."

"Yes!"

That same evening, Secretariat Drafter Chen Xiangyu was thrown into prison. The guards who carried out the order took him directly from the Hall of State Affairs.