Chapter 33: The Grand Secretary Visits the Eunuch

Zhang Jing's mansion is located in Denghua Alley on Fugui Street, covering an area of over ten mu.

He was originally a minor eunuch under the command of Ceremonial Eunuch Zhang Hong; for twenty years after entering the palace, he was cautious, meticulous, and diligent.

In the early years of Wanli, Feng Bao rose to the position of Director of Ceremonial and immediately set about purging the remnants of Meng Chong's faction.

It was precisely at this time that Zhang Jing's wife finally became the mother-in-law, and he became an Attending Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

In the sixth year of Wanli, he gained the Emperor's appreciation once more, and now he has become a Drafting Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, ranking only below Feng Bao and Ceremonial Eunuch Zhang Cheng.

After becoming prominent, there were naturally countless sycophants.

The wretched youth who clashed with the Emperor today was precisely one who had sworn himself as a godson to Zhang Jing, which was why he was so emboldened.

He is called Zhang Yun, originally a nephew-generation relative in Zhang Jing's household.

Thinking that Zhang Jing, as a eunuch, had no way to carry on the family line, he volunteered to continue the incense for Zhang Jing.

Zhang Jing was naturally pleased; after all, who doesn't want to have incense offerings after death?

Coupled with the fact that this son was still quite filial to him, Zhang Jing valued him highly, which fostered Zhang Yun's little-tyrant personality.

However, after clashing with the little Emperor, he wandered around for a while, felt bored, and headed straight toward Denghua Alley.

After stepping off the carriage, the two gatekeepers immediately greeted him with smiles, fawning, "Young Master."

"Has Father woken up yet?" Zhang Yun asked.

"He has."

Hearing this, Zhang Yun was delighted; eager to claim credit, he lifted his robe hem and rushed straight inside.

At this moment, in the living room.

Two figures were seen sitting opposite each other.

One of them was about fifty years old, with a slender build, broad nostrils, and prominent cheekbones; he wore a cyan summer-cloth straight-collared robe with a jade belt at his waist, and just sitting there, he exuded a certain air of authority.

It was none other than Cabinet Secondary Minister Zhang Siwei.

As for the one opposite him, he was forty-seven or forty-eight, with fair skin and wearing a black ramie robe; although a smile always hung on his face, he consistently gave people a sense of eeriness.

It was Ceremonial Eunuch Zhang Jing.

The two of them were, one, a top-tier figure in the Inner Court, and the other, a Secondary Minister among the outer officials.

Both were being suppressed by others, becoming like a deaf man's ears—mere ornaments. Sharing the same plight, they were birds of a feather and quickly gathered together.

Zhang Jing smiled and took a small sip of tea, saying, "Outside the capital, I already knew that Feng Bao's nephew had caused a great disaster. This time, let's see how Zhang Juzheng manages to absolve Feng Bao's nephew."

"That old fox Zhang Juzheng is dragging it out now. The incident happened over a month ago, and the Imperial Censors have submitted memorials five or six times demanding a swift conclusion, yet he insists on stalling. If he drags it out any longer, he might really let the matter fade into nothingness." A trace of venom flashed in Zhang Siwei's eyes.

"Now that I've returned, will I let him drag it out?" Zhang Jing smiled and added, "To say nothing else, I consider myself no less favored in the Emperor's heart than that Feng Bao."

"That old thing Feng Bao relies on having entered the palace early and guards against me at every turn; sooner or later, I will have my revenge."

"Judging by your tone, Zhangin, you must have had a great harvest on this trip out of the capital!" Zhang Siwei joked with a smile.

Zhang Jing stood up, smiled mysteriously, looked at Zhang Siwei, and asked, "Guess how much money I've secured for His Majesty this time?"

"One hundred thousand taels?" Zhang Siwei said without hesitation.

"Wrong, guess again." Zhang Jing shook his head.

"One hundred and fifty thousand?"

"Wrong."

"Could it be two hundred thousand?"

"Hahaha," Zhang Jing laughed out loud, took a step toward Zhang Siwei, looked down at him, and teased, "Grand Secretary Zhang, your family is, after all, the wealthiest in Shanxi; why are you still so stingy?"

"This time, I secured a total of three hundred thousand taels of silver!"

"That much?!" Zhang Siwei frowned, his heart greatly shocked. The income of the Emperor's Treasure Note Treasury mainly came from two sources: one was the "Grain Field."

The second was taxing the world's gold, silver, copper, iron, and other mineral resources.

In order to scrape together more money, Zhang Jing suggested opening more mines throughout the country and dispatching eunuchs to collect taxes.

Once those eunuchs arrived in the localities, they engaged in extortion and plunder, making life unbearable for the common people and local officials.

The income of the Inner Treasury increased, but the people were already weary of the harassment.

With this collection of three hundred thousand taels in taxes, who knows how many families were ruined.

Although Zhang Siwei did not like this Zhang Jing either, forced by their alliance, he could only hide his dissatisfaction in his heart and said with a smile, "Zhangin is truly capable; no wonder the Emperor trusts you so much."

Zhang Jing chuckled and sat back in his original seat.

"A few days ago, I heard that Zhang Juzheng was suffering from a depletion of blood and Qi, but has his complexion improved recently?"

"Yes." Zhang Siwei nodded and added, "His health has indeed been much better than before recently, but in my view, it's like a rabbit's tail—it won't last long."

Having said this, the two looked at each other and smiled.

After a few seconds of silence, Zhang Jing's eyes shot out a cold light, and he said, "Very well, I will enter the palace tomorrow. Firstly, to see the Emperor, and secondly, to put some pressure on that Feng Bao, so he understands who the real master of the Great Interior is!"

Zhang Siwei nodded slightly, then suddenly remembered something and warned, "Zhang Juzheng's youngest son has been getting very close to the Emperor recently. You must not underestimate this kid; he is even more devious than his old man."

"Oh? Tell me about it."

"I went to pay a visit to the Wuqing Bo Mansion today and happened to run into this kid coming out from inside..."

Zhang Jing was completely bewildered and couldn't help but ask, "What was he doing there? The Wuqing Earl would love to skin Zhang Juzheng alive and eat his flesh; how could he get mixed up with Zhang Juzheng's son?"

"That is his brilliance. He used some small tricks and instantly bewitched the Wuqing Earl into losing his senses."

"What tricks?" Zhang Jing asked nervously.

"Bestowing a marquisate upon the Wuqing Earl." Zhang Siwei looked up at Zhang Jing and said word for word.

Zhang Jing was stunned for a moment, clearly shocked by this news.

He was silent for several seconds before shaking his head repeatedly, his face full of disbelief: "Impossible, impossible. That old fossil Zhang Juzheng, how could he allow the Wuqing Earl to be enfeoffed as a marquis?"

As he spoke, he became unusually agitated: "In the spring, it was precisely he who rejected the Wuqing Earl's request for a marquisate."

"Times change." Zhang Siwei stood up, paced to the window, and watched for a long while before saying, "Now, the most urgent matter for him is to suppress that affair involving Feng Bangning."

"This is what you call, killing two birds with one stone!"

Hearing this, a trace of resentment appeared in Zhang Jing's eyes, and he snorted: "So what if he is powerful? At the rate he is going, he will surely kick the bucket in a few years. The current Emperor is in the prime of his life, and sooner or later he will deal with the Zhang Family."

"Tell me, what if Zhang Juzheng decides to retire at the peak of his career? After all, the Emperor still has some teacher-student affection for him..." Zhang Siwei did not answer directly, but instead spoke in riddles.

"Impossible!" Zhang Jing shook his head firmly and quipped, "How could that old fellow ever give up power? Just look at you, Grand Secretary Zhang; aren't you also fighting tooth and nail for the sake of power?"

No one can escape the corruption of power.

That feeling of having the power of life and death, of holding others' lives in one's hands—once tasted, no one is willing to give it up.

Zhang Siwei thought this was true, smiled, and stopped dwelling on the matter.

By this time the night had grown deeper; Zhang Siwei rose to take his leave, and Zhang Jing saw him to the door.

As soon as Zhang Siwei had left, Zhang Yun slipped in from outside like a thief, holding several scroll paintings in his hands.

"Godfather, this is something I specifically bought to show my filial piety to you."

Zhang Jing took them, placed them on the table, and unfolded them to look. He exclaimed: "Wonderful! These paintings are excellent. I was just worrying about what to give the Emperor; these paintings are just right."

(End of this chapter)