Chapter 520: A Benevolent Sovereign Above, Loyal and True Subjects Below

"Commander! Commander! News has arrived!"

A trusted junior officer of Qiu Lei's suddenly came running up, shouting at the top of his lungs outside the main hall.

"Has Prefect Du returned?"

Qiu Lei stopped in his tracks at the sound and hurriedly waved the man into the tent. The urgency in his heart was impossible to conceal. He now knew that Zuo Menggeng's entire family, every last one of them, was hanging neatly outside the gates of the princely mansion in Jiangling city!

And Li Guoying, Lu Zuguang, Xu Yong, Hao Xiaozhong, and the rest had fared no better — one by one they had been stripped of military command, their troops reorganized, and they themselves made into "Resolute and Valiant Generals" or "Majestic and Martial Generals" of the Shun army. Their days of ease were gone forever. Li Zicheng's method of swallowing up and reorganizing these motley forces was unexpected, yet entirely reasonable. After all, ever since his defeat at Shanhai Pass, he had been repeatedly betrayed by former Ming generals who had surrendered to him — a lesson deeply learned!

The junior officer said to Qiu Lei, "Commander, Prefect Du has not returned, but he has sent a letter in his own hand."

"A letter in his own hand?" Qiu Lei was taken aback. "Let me see it."

The junior officer glanced at the young Prince Zhu Cizhao and Princess Consort Zuo Mengmei seated high in the hall, and lowered his voice: "... Commander, the letter is addressed to the Princess Consort."

"What? To the Princess Consort?" Qiu Lei was startled, and turned to look at his daughter.

Zuo Mengmei stretched out a hand. "Give it here. I'll read it."

Qiu Lei took an envelope from the junior officer, dismissed the man with a wave, and then handed the envelope to Zuo Mengmei.

Zuo Mengmei took the envelope, tore it open, and drew out the letter inside. Unfolding it, she read it carefully, her fine brows unconsciously knitting together.

"What does the letter say?" Qiu Lei's brows lifted as he looked at Zuo Mengmei.

"Prefect Du says His Highness the Crown Prince has already arrived at the Hukou Crossing main camp... Furthermore, the Crown Prince wishes to see me!"

"What?" Qiu Lei was stunned.

"What does he want?" Zhang Yong also cried out.

"Don't go..." That was the young Prince Zhu Cizhao clamoring — he had been drowsy just moments before, but the moment he heard his elder brother wanted to see his wife, he was instantly on alert.

"My Prince!" Zuo Mengmei shot Zhu Cizhao an exasperated glare, and he immediately fell silent, looking at his wife with great grievance.

Only Jin Shenghuan said nothing, watching quietly from the side.

"Daughter, what do you think..." Qiu Lei had lost his own judgment and could only ask his daughter's opinion.

"I'll go, then!" Zuo Mengmei smiled. "Can the Crown Prince eat me?"

Zhu Cizhao nodded vigorously — the Crown Prince absolutely wants to eat you! Please, don't go...

Zuo Mengmei saw the boy Zhu Cizhao nodding, and asked with a smile, "My Prince, will you come with me?"

"G-go... go for what?" Zhu Cizhao asked.

"To beg forgiveness for our crimes!"

"Beg forgiveness..." Zhu Cizhao said guiltily, "I-I haven't committed any crime!"

Zuo Mengmei smiled and began counting off on her slender jade fingers. "My Prince, you have no filter on your mouth, spouting nonsense about rallying to the throne and purging the sovereign's side — that is the crime of shaking the foundations of the state! Jingzhou Prefecture is Your Highness's fief, and now more than half of it is lost — that is the crime of losing territory!

Neither of these two crimes is small. Should we not go and beg forgiveness?"

"I'm not going, I'm not going..." Zhu Cizhao's voice trembled as he spoke.

He was a half-grown boy, and though a bit simple-minded, he was not entirely ignorant. The crime of losing territory was one thing — half the Ming realm was already gone, and he was hardly the only prince to lose land. Besides, Jingzhou Prefecture was not entirely lost, was it?

But for a Prince to shake the foundations of the state and scheme for the position of heir apparent... that was punishable by death!

"If you won't go," Zuo Mengmei said, "then I shall go alone... I'll take all the blame upon myself, and let the Crown Prince punish me however he sees fit."

"No!" Tears burst from Zhu Cizhao's eyes. "Don't go! The Crown Prince won't let you off!"

Zuo Mengmei smiled. "My Prince, if the Crown Prince punishes me, he will spare you... My Prince, when I am no longer by your side, you must be very careful. Don't speak recklessly again, and don't harbor any improper ambitions!"

"Waaah..."

Frightened by Zuo Mengmei's words, Zhu Cizhao could hold back no longer and burst into loud sobs.

Zuo Mengmei ignored him and instead said to Zhang Yong and Jin Shenghuan, "Brother Feixiong, Commander Jin, will the two of you accompany me? The Crown Prince bears no grudge against either of you, and now is a time when he needs capable men — I trust he will not make things difficult for you."

Jin Shenghuan remained as detached as ever, merely cupping his hands and saying, "This general obeys."

Zhang Yong slapped his chest. "Princess Consort, rest assured — if the Crown Prince means to make trouble for you, I will certainly give him a piece of my mind!"

Zuo Mengmei nodded to him. "Then I thank you, Brother Feixiong."

At the Hukou Crossing main camp, Zhu Cilang's six-sided dragon banners, the banner of the Great Ancestor High Emperor Reborn, and the banner of the Commander of the Three Armies flew high before a great golden-roofed tent.

When word arrived at the great tent that Zuo Mengmei had come to beg forgiveness, Zhu Cilang was keeping an old woman company, drinking tea and talking.

The old woman was over seventy, dark-faced, tall, and somewhat stout, sitting there like an iron pagoda.

But what drew the most attention was the old lady's attire. She wore no women's clothing, but rather the python robe of a first-rank Ming military official, with a qilin rank badge upon it. In all the Ming realm, there was of course only one old woman who could dress so — Qin Liangyu, Pacification Commissioner of Shizhu and Associate Commissioner-in-Chief.

Old Lady Qin's domain of Shizhu lay in the northern part of Chongqing Guard's jurisdiction, some twenty or thirty li from the Yangtze River. Yet it did not command the vital route from the Yangtze into Chongqing Prefecture, for between Shizhu and the Yangtze stood Shima Mountain, running northeast to southwest.

Cut off by the mountain barrier, the Shizhu region was relatively isolated. Since the Southern Song it had been ruled hereditarily by the Fufeng Ma clan from Shaanxi, through the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties, down to the present day — in the original history, the Ma clan's rule over Shizhu lasted until the liberation of Shizhu in 1949... nearly a thousand-year lineage!

The mistress of this thousand-year lineage had been invited by Zhu Cilang to lend her aid — the Crown Prince was sorely lacking in experienced commanders. On the Jingzhou battlefield, where nearly a hundred thousand troops had gathered, the only "great general" Zhu Cilang could trust was Wu Guoyong alone — and just over a year ago, the man had been nothing more than a mid-to-low-ranking officer commanding a thousand cavalry. Entrusting him with command of a hundred thousand men was hardly reassuring. Moreover, Wu Guoyong came from the Guanning Army, and his only encounter with the roving bandits had been mopping up at the Battle of Tianjin.

So he simply did not understand the present enemy!

Qin Liangyu's Shizhu troops, however, had fought the roving bandits in life-and-death struggles for many years and understood the enemy situation fairly well. Bringing her in would at least make for a good staff officer.

"Summon the Princess Consort of Chu, Zhang Yong, and Jin Shenghuan." When Zhu Cilang heard his men report the arrival of the Princess Consort of Chu and her party, he smiled and gave the order, then said to Qin Liangyu, "Commissioner Qin, come meet this Princess Consort of Chu with Us... She is something of a heroine among women, at least far stronger than the Prince of Chu."

Qin Liangyu chuckled. "The Prince is still young — what does he understand? Teach him well, and he'll turn out fine."

Zhu Cilang smiled. "What the Commissioner says is true, but as his elder brother, I have no time to teach him. I'll have to leave it to Zuo Mengmei, as his wife, to do the teaching. She should be able to manage it."

As the two were jesting, Zuo Mengmei, Zhang Yong, and Jin Shenghuan came in together, following Du Yinxi.

Du Yinxi had arrived at the Hukou Crossing main camp almost at the same time as Zhu Cilang, and had put in many good words for the Prince and Princess Consort of Chu. Today, knowing the Princess Consort had come, he hurried over as well, prepared to speak on her behalf again.

"Your humble servant, Princess Consort of Chu, Zuo Mengmei, respectfully wishes His Highness the Crown Prince golden peace!"

"Your subject Du Yinxi respectfully wishes His Highness the Crown Prince golden peace..."

"Your subject Jin Shenghuan greets the Crown Prince!"

"Your subject Zhang Yong kowtows to the Crown Prince!"

The four knelt in a row, all performing their obeisances with utmost respect, their hearts filled with anxiety.

"All of you, rise. Grant them seats."

Zhu Cilang was as approachable as ever, greeting them with a smiling face—they were all loyal ministers and loyal consorts, after all! The Crown Prince was delighted just looking at them!

"Consort of the Prince of Chu, why are you still kneeling and not rising?" Zhu Cilang noticed that Zuo Mengmei was still kneeling there, though he had no idea why.

Besides, the girl's clothes were also wrong—all white... pretty, yes, but not in accordance with ritual propriety! And it looked a bit like mourning dress. Could it be that that brat Zhu Cizhao had died?

The moment he thought his younger brother might be dead, Zhu Cilang began to feel sympathy for Zuo Mengmei... such a fine girl, and already widowed twice! Could she have a husband-cursing fate?

"This concubine has crimes to confess, and dares not rise..." Zuo Mengmei answered in a soft, sticky voice that made people feel sorry for her just hearing it.

"Oh, then keep kneeling for now!" Zhu Cilang breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at Jin Shenghuan and Zhang Yong. These two were also a bit uneasy and had not dared to take their seats. "Why haven't you two sat down either? Do you also have crimes to confess?"

Jin Shenghuan immediately shook his head. "No, I have no crimes..."

Zhang Yong hastily added, "I have no crimes either."

Zhu Cilang smiled. "Good, good... You two are loyal ministers of our Great Ming, loyal-hearted and righteous, loyal beyond words—how could you have any crimes? Sit, sit down and listen together to what crimes the Consort of the Prince of Chu wishes to confess."

"Sister-in-law, don't be afraid. No matter how great your crimes, We will certainly deal with them leniently! We are not Li Zicheng—We are not so unreasonable."

Lenient treatment? Then she had better confess properly! Zuo Mengmei also breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. Although she had felt Zhu Cilang would hardly take offense at that fool of a Prince of Chu, matters of the imperial family were still hard to predict.

Now with these words, it seemed there was nothing serious after all.