Chapter 11: Setting the Stage

The carriage swayed and jolted along, Zhu Xu sitting inside while Cao Wenzhao drove.

"Everything arranged?" Zhu Xu asked, eyes half-closed as he dozed.

Cao Wenzhao hurriedly turned his head and said, "All arranged. The two sisters have been placed in Kunning Palace, and their father has been assigned to the Embroidered Uniform Guard — there happened to be a Centurion vacancy."

Zhu Xu nodded. These three were the father and two daughters he had encountered on the street a few days ago. The sisters, one named Wu Rou and the other Wu Qing, were both clever, quick-witted, and agile. Having them placed beside the Empress, Zhu Xu felt a slight sense of relief.

Before long, the carriage stopped in front of a tavern.

Zhu Xu stepped out of the carriage, looked at this very ordinary little tavern, and squinted slightly. "This is the place?"

Cao Wenzhao stood behind him and said in a low voice, "This is the place. In the past few days in the capital, Lord Liu has come here every day for a few cups of wine — always at the same time, always at the same seat."

A sly little fox-like smile curled at the corners of Zhu Xu's mouth. "Everything's arranged?"

"All arranged." Cao Wenzhao chuckled along with him.

"Good, then let's go watch the show." Zhu Xu waved his hand and strode in with an air of authority.

Seated on the second floor, he could see a certain spot downstairs with a sidelong glance.

"Sir, what would you like to order?" The waiter, sharp-eyed and quick, had followed him from downstairs to upstairs. Seeing Zhu Xu sit down, he wiped the table briskly as he spoke.

"Your best wine, and five of your best dishes." Zhu Xu sat there with great presence, looking every bit the man with money to burn.

"Right away, sir, please wait a moment." The waiter was delighted, finished wiping in a flash, and quickly ran back downstairs.

"Your Highness," Cao Wenzhao sat beside Zhu Xu and said in a low voice, "this Censor Liu is said to be quite famous in Henan, known for his uprightness and integrity."

Zhu Xu picked up some melon seeds from the table, cracking them open as he glanced down below with a beaming smile and a nod.

This Censor Liu they were waiting for was a Surveillance Censor of Henan, who had just returned to the capital to report on his duties. He had always dared to speak his mind, and held considerable influence within the faction of the pure-stream officials. Most notably, he was a top-notch hand at writing denunciatory manifestos. Most importantly, he was a fellow graduate of the same year as Zhou Jianzong, Right Assistant Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and a close, dear friend.

"I hear this Lord Liu also has the nickname 'Twenty Days of Memorials'?" Zhu Xu asked with great interest.

"Yes," Cao Wenzhao said with amusement. "I hear it's because since he just took office as Surveillance Censor of Henan, for twenty days of every month he submits memorials every single day, but for the last ten days he's as quiet as if asleep — nothing at all. That's how he got the nickname."

Zhu Xu's smile grew wider. "It seems this Lord Liu is about to break his own rule."

Cao Wenzhao nodded, thinking to himself that this time, Lord Liu's temperament wouldn't be allowed to have its way.

"Waiter, the usual." Before long, a middle-aged man in a white robe with blue-flower patterns appeared at the door and said to the waiter who rushed up to greet him.

"Right away, please have a seat, it'll be ready in a moment." The waiter hurried off to deliver the order, then turned and ran toward the kitchen.

The middle-aged man walked in and took a seat by the window — directly face to face with Zhu Xu, one above and one below.

Zhu Xu's hand cracking melon seeds slowed as he began to size up this Censor.

Sitting on the bench, his back was ramrod straight, standing tall like a spear. His face was somewhat long, his gaze piercing and bright. One glance told you he was one of those stubborn officials — upright, incorruptible, and utterly unwilling to compromise.

"Seeing him puts my mind at ease." Zhu Xu turned around, letting out what seemed like a long breath as he spoke to Cao Wenzhao.

Cao Wenzhao immediately rose, made a gesture toward the window, then sat back down. "Your Highness, it's arranged."

"Good. Now it's up to the several Censors." Zhu Xu held his chopsticks, looking at a plate of fish the waiter had already brought up.

Cao Wenzhao hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Your Highness, isn't this a bit too hasty?"

Zhu Xu took a bite of fish, nodded slightly — the taste was good — and only then said with a smile, "Haste doesn't matter. It's simply moving up a plan that was already prepared long ago."

Cao Wenzhao nodded silently. Having followed Zhu Xu for so long, he understood his way of thinking well — and supported it completely!

Thinking of the eunuch faction whose arrogance was growing ever more rampant these days, he couldn't help turning his gaze toward Censor Liu below.

Before long, three men walked in from outside. Nearly thirty years old, they had the look of frustrated scholars. The three glanced around, and one of them sighed, "Brother Liu, after this failure, I've given up all thoughts of the metropolitan examination. I will never set foot in the Forbidden City again."

That Brother Liu was taken aback. "Brother Zhao, why must you be so disheartened? With your talent, passing is only a matter of time."

The last one shook his head and sighed. "Nowadays the eunuch traitors hold sway at court, and upright men can hardly make their voices heard. To enter officialdom through the examinations — I fear it's harder than climbing to heaven."

As the three talked, they sat down behind Liu Mingde and casually ordered a few small dishes, then fell back into sighs and lamentations.

Zhao sighed, "Now that the eunuch traitors run rampant and all upright men are blocked, we have no hope of advancement through the examinations."

Feng said, "I'm afraid it's worse than that. I hear Grand Secretary Fu has already been pressured into requesting retirement, and Minister Zhang of the Ministry of Personnel has submitted a memorial asking to return to his hometown in old age..."

Liu, who had seemed to still hold some hope, fell silent for a moment after hearing the two men's words, then said, "I'm afraid you two brothers don't yet know — I come from Henan, the same hometown as the Lady of Fêng-sheng. When she returned home this time to visit her relatives, wherever she passed, she actually demanded that the local yamen build living shrines for her and the eunuch traitor, with daily sacrifices that must never cease!"

A living shrine, in simple terms, is building a temple for a living person to be worshipped in — much like venerating a deity. In ancient times, this was the ultimate form of singing someone's praises and extolling their virtues.

Liu Mingde, the Censor who had been listening with a furrowed brow all along, suddenly changed expression, his gaze turning terribly dark. He was the Surveillance Censor of the Henan Circuit and had heard rumors before — but he never imagined they would now come true!

"You probably don't know this yet," Zhao said, "Lord Zhou of the Censorate previously submitted a memorial impeaching the eunuch traitor, but unexpectedly the eunuch traitor wept before the Emperor claiming he was being framed, and in the end the matter was simply dropped..."

Feng said, "That's not all. I hear the eunuch traitor privately wanted to have Lord Zhou beaten with the court rod, and only gave up after being scolded by the Emperor."

Liu said, "I hear Lord Zhou fell ill from anger over this and hasn't left his residence all day."

"And there's more," Zhao looked around in all directions, lowered his voice yet pitched it just enough for Liu Mingde behind him to hear: "I hear the eunuch faction is already fabricating evidence to put Lord Zhou to death!"

Liu Mingde's expression changed drastically as he listened to their conversation. He suddenly stood up. It wasn't that he hadn't known about the earlier events — it was that he hadn't realized the situation had deteriorated to such a degree!

Liu Mingde slapped some loose silver onto the table and said loudly, "Check, please." With that, he turned and left.

"Your Highness, will this work?" Cao Wenzhao watched Liu Mingde walk away like that and couldn't help asking Zhu Xu.

By this time Zhu Xu had eaten and drunk his fill. He wiped his mouth and said, "Let's go. On to the next act."

The two left the tavern. They hadn't been driving long in the carriage when Cao Huachun, dressed in plain clothes, walked over.

"Your Highness, everything is prepared." Cao Huachun entered the carriage and said respectfully to Zhu Xu, "That young eunuch is from the same hometown as Lord Zhou's steward. The two just had drinks together not long ago. Even if someone asks questions, they can't trace it back to me, much less to Your Highness."