Chapter 330: Please, Sit

Thunderbolts or gentle rain — all are the sovereign's grace. Today, Shi Chen truly understood the weight of those words.

He had never imagined the matter would become so complicated. When Feng Yan first persuaded him to surrender, he had sworn with absolute conviction that the King of Wei chose to rise on the twenty-fifth day of the fifth month largely to prevent Wang Mang's marriage to his daughter from taking place!

It sounded absurd, but at the time Shi Chen had no other path, and with that added reason, he gladly answered the call.

Since the gentleman had feelings and the lady was willing, she should have been swiftly brought into the palace afterward. Yet after that, the King of Wei gradually stripped away his military authority, completely sidelining him, while conveniently forgetting this one matter.

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Was this not discarding the bow once the birds were gone? What of the King of Wei's promise?

Shi Chen dared not speak openly. Nursing his resentment, he probed twice and met a wall each time, growing more aggrieved. Sensing something was wrong but not daring to question Diwu Lun directly, he went mandate omen to confront Feng Yan.

Feng Yan was just then about to depart on a diplomatic mission to Shu. He had actually forgotten all about this matter!

Longyou, the east, Ba and Shu — Feng Jingtong had far too many places demanding his attention. Where would he find the leisure to bother with such a trifle?

And Feng Yan fancied himself a second Zhang Yi — but Zhang Yi had once boasted of giving Chu six hundred li of land. Could the words of a strategist of the Vertical and Horizontal school ever be trusted?

Yet he could hardly admit it was his own reckless fabrication. So Feng Yan let his mouth run wild, telling Shi Chen to exert himself in some other direction.

"Perhaps it is because... because His Majesty fears his wife! How could a consort be installed without the Queen's approval? Junior Guardian, do you take my meaning?"

Feng Yan had met the Queen — a woman of reason. Given the status of the Shi family daughter, she would absolutely never agree to this. Once Shi Chen met with rejection again, he would most likely give up, the matter would fizzle out, and all would be well. Enough said — he was off to Shu to accomplish great things.

Shi Chen had a sudden revelation. This was what led to his subsequent maneuvers. He had heard that after the Queen arrived at Lanchi Palace, she had properly settled the King of Wei's three serving maids, granting them the status of "Upper Family Retainers." She seemed, by all appearances, a magnanimous and gracious person.

Shi Chen then used his position overseeing the renovation of Lanchi Palace to have his daughter enter as a maidservant to "attend" the Queen of Wei, currying favor and exploiting the Queen's soft heart to secure a foothold in the rear palace.

Fearing Diwu Lun would refuse again, he also coordinated with a junior secretarial courtier he knew, one who frequently came and went at Lanchi Palace to inspect the renovation progress.

Through him, Shi Chen learned of Diwu Lun's habits: every day he brought unread memorials back to the palace, approved half the previous night and the other half upon rising the next morning. So, just as the King of Wei finished his work and the secretarial courtier was gathering the memorials, he had Shi Chen's memorial slipped to the very bottom!

This way, no one could accuse him of failing to report. But by the time Diwu Lun saw the memorial, the daughter would already have spent a night in the palace, and the King of Wei would find it hard to explain.

He was, after all, the great hero of the Ba crossing, one of the Three Solitary Ministers. Having begged and groveled to this degree, would His Majesty not consider his toil if not his merit, and still drive him out? A delicate, lovely girl — who could bear to send her away?

After some time, once the Queen's consent was obtained, the die would be cast. His daughter was beautiful and well-mannered; since His Majesty had originally harbored such intentions, he would half-reluctantly accept. At the very least, she could become a Favorite Lady, and thus the awkward status of the Shi family would be resolved.

But who could have expected his daughter to be sent back at breakneck speed that very night? When he asked what had happened, his somewhat tipsy daughter vomited all over Shi Chen and could only stammer that she had drunk with the Queen, and by the end, whatever she was asked, she answered... spilling everything she should and should not have said.

And so, when Shi Chen arrived at Lanchi Palace in answer to the summons, he was trembling with fear.

"Junior Guardian Shi, please sit."

The Queen was not in her usual plain everyday attire. Today she wore an elaborate wig, dangling hairpins, and ear ornaments, which lent her petite figure a certain stature. Her expression, however, was quite gentle as she spoke thus to Shi Chen, who was prostrated on the ground.

Shi Chen acknowledged the command and moved to sit on the mat, trembling so badly he seemed more to be kneeling, his buttocks not daring to touch the seat. Then the Queen's voice reached him.

"When I was in Maoling, I often heard the names of the Xu and Shi families."

The eleven meritorious ministers of Han Emperor Xuan's Qilin Pavilion were the luminaries of their time, but the families that truly remained entrenched through the later generations of Han were the Xu and Shi maternal clans. Emperor Xuan's maternal Shi family and the family of Empress Gong'ai of the Xu — the Xu clan had declined during Emperor Cheng's reign due to failed harem struggles, while the Shi family, by promptly picking the right side and groveling to Wang Mang, had endured to this day.

"The Shi clan raised Emperor Xuan to adulthood, while Shi Gao and Shi Dan were meritorious servants of Emperors Yuan and Cheng. In particular, the Marquis Qing of Leling, Shi Dan, turned the tide in the succession crisis of Han Emperor Yuan and helped secure Emperor Cheng's position as Crown Prince."

"'Diligent, respectful, and prudent is called Qing.'"

Ma Chanchan said, "That posthumous title was given most fittingly. The Xu clan, which produced two empresses, declined, while the Shi clan, which never re-entered the rear palace after Emperor Xuan, preserved itself. The reasons behind this truly give one pause. The words 'respect' and 'prudence' from your ancestor — Junior Guardian, you would do well to savor them deeply."

"Your servant..." Cold sweat streamed down Shi Chen. He knew exactly what the Queen was alluding to.

"The Shi were Han dynasty maternal relatives, and nearly became maternal relatives of the Xin Dynasty. If — I say if — you were now to become maternal relatives of Wei as well..."

Ma Chanchan shook her head. "Maternal relatives across three dynasties — that would truly be unheard of since ancient times, absolutely unprecedented. I truly do not know how the world would regard it, what they would say. It would not benefit His Majesty's prestige, nor would it necessarily be a good thing for the Junior Guardian's family."

"Does the Junior Guardian understand my meaning?"

"I understand." Though his mouth said this, Shi Chen knew his every thought lay bare in the Queen's eyes.

"Last night I indulged in drink and, to my discourtesy, made your daughter accompany me until she was thoroughly drunk. I have already sent her back; there is no need for her to come again."

Ma Chanchan said, "But I am quite fond of her. I pitied her as she wept, saying Wang Mang had ruined her reputation and made it hard for her to marry. Since that is the case, I will in time select a good match and act as her matchmaker. Let the Junior Guardian have no worries."

In these past few months, Diwu Lun had three concubines. She had settled each of them properly, granting them the formal title of "Upper Family Retainer." But the Shi daughter was absolutely out of the question — that sensitive status was a headache just to contemplate.

Moreover, Ma Chanchan knew that what Diwu Lun detested most was others overstepping their bounds. What Shi Chen and Feng Yan had done, all that talk of "loyalty" and "expediency," had already touched his reverse scale.

This affair had infuriated Diwu Lun, prompting yesterday's angry words. Was he some great benefactor, some grand philanthropist? That he could restrain himself from killing them or sending them to be killed, as he had with Cai Mao, was already the limit of benevolence.

Shi Chen could only rise trembling and bow. No sooner had he exited Lanchi Palace than he received word that Diwu Lun summoned him.

When he hurried to the side hall where Diwu Lun worked, he saw a junior secretarial courtier from the Diwu clan's charity school stripped of his robes and being publicly caned outside, beaten to a bloody pulp. It was the very man Shi Chen had bribed. Word was that after the beating, he would be driven home!

"It's over."

Shi Chen's legs went weak at once. He was practically carried inside. Diwu Lun was reviewing the memorials left unread from the day before. Seeing Shi Chen arrive, he said, as if to himself, "I must beg the Junior Guardian's indulgence. The State of Wei is newly founded, its institutions unclear, and many areas remain rather slipshod."

"Zhu Di has only been dispatched to Weinan for a few days on my orders. A few juniors under him have already lost their heads, picking up the tricks of petty government clerks — daring to take bribes and tamper with the memorials submitted by officials. It seems the secretarial courtier office, like the rear palace, needs rules and regulations established and a thorough housecleaning."

This time, pulling out and suppressing a memorial was a small matter. But what about next time? Not even a maternal relative yet, and already displaying the audacity and temper of one. What exactly do you think you are, that you need to be indulged?

Diwu Lun himself reflected as well. Many matters could no longer be handled casually under the pretext of a new foundation. A strictly regulated secretarial office must be established immediately. The Han-era sealed memorial system must also be implemented. Any institutional loophole would be exploited by petty men.

"Your servant..." Shi Chen's tongue was tied. For a moment, he was too terrified to speak.

Diwu Lun said nothing further, only slowly reading through memorials one by one. When he reached the last, he picked up Shi Chen's memorial and tapped it in his hand. The slapping sound rang crisply in the ear, echoing the agonized cries of the junior secretarial courtier being beaten outside, making Shi Chen tremble all the more.

Yet in the end, there was no shouting of death threats, only a sigh. Diwu Lun had someone return the memorial to Shi Chen. Everything was conveyed in that unspoken silence.

"Let your daughter go for now to Wannian Palace, to keep the Empress Dowager Xiaoping company. And word arrived yesterday: Weinan's Duling has been taken by Wan Xiu. All the Shi family's houses and estates in Xiadu are to be returned in full to the Junior Guardian. Your ancestors' tombs lie at Duling, buried alongside Han Emperor Xuan. It is time to go pay your respects and comfort the forebears!"

Only then did Diwu Lun look at Shi Chen, who seemed like a puddle of mud on the floor, and recall that he had forgotten to offer his "Three Solitary Minister" a seat.

"Junior Guardian Shi, please sit!"

Shi Chen's duties were all revoked. The small measure of power he had so painstakingly gained, along with the sliver of Diwu Lun's trust, was entirely withdrawn. His political life would end here.

This matter could not be made public, but neither would any minister protest Shi Chen's "inexplicable demotion." He was, after all, merely a surrendered general.

Thunderbolts or gentle rain — all is the sovereign's grace.

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Today, after a skyful of thunderbolts, only a single drop of gentle rain fell. And he could only cup both hands to receive it. Bitter though his heart was, who could he blame for believing Feng Yan's lies in the first place? For putting his whole heart into currying favor?

"That damned Feng Jingtong! His Majesty surely never intended this — it was all your reckless babbling! To think you and I, old man, are both from Xiadu, fellow townsmen, and yet you deceived me so. You and I are sworn enemies from this day forth!"

But cursing aside, Feng Yan now held "high rank and heavy authority," while Shi Chen, as the horse bone, spending the rest of his days as a wealthy householder under the title of Junior Guardian, had already received the greatest clemency — what more could he do? He could only hope that Diwu Lun would harshly punish Feng Yan!

Shi Chen no longer dared to try to divine Diwu Lun's attitude. He did exactly as he was told, and within days, leading his clansmen, pushing carts and driving horses, he left Weibei in dejection, heading south along the completed West Wei Pontoon Bridge.

This place lacked entirely the peace and stability of Weibei. Shi Chen saw the hamlets, withered and ruined in the aftermath of Liu Bosheng's defeat and the trampling of mutinous soldiers. The fields that should have been planted with winter wheat lay bare. Until the summer of the coming year, Weinan would have no harvest at all and would have to rely entirely on Weibei for provisions.

The common folk who had not followed Diwu Lun north stood blankly in their shattered homeland. No longer as fearful of the Wei army as they had been at first, and with nothing of value left to plunder — not even hempen clothes to ward off the cold — they gathered in groups of three or five, stretching out their hands to beg from those returning home.

"Take all the surplus grain my family has brought and give it to them!"

Shi Chen suddenly thought of something, wanting to do a good deed to mend his standing in Diwu Lun's eyes. But the moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them and immediately called a halt.

"What if the King of Wei thinks I am disgruntled and trying to win hearts by distributing grain in Weinan? And if the people eat my grain and then say the porridge stations the King of Wei ordered set up give too little food, what then?"

He no longer dared to do anything. He simply led his clansmen south in silence, traveling all the way to Xiadu County, which had just seen the end of a fierce battle.

Half a month ago, the pins Diwu Lun had pressed one by one onto the map had nearly all been pulled out. Western Han's relief forces never arrived. After Wan Xiu led his troops south, the fortified manor of Wang Zun at Baling was the first to be smashed, followed by the counties around Chang'an: Nanling, Duling.

The gates of the Shi clan's fortified manor stood wide open. It was said that after the Shi family left, a band of Greenwood outlaws had occupied it, and now the Wei army had driven them out.

The officer who had taken this place was called Qin He, a rough, ugly fellow. He called his men out from the Shi clan's fortified manor and handed it over to Junior Guardian Shi, who had come south a bit early.

And Zhu Di, a Gentleman of the Masters of Writing whom Diwu Lun had sent to inspect Weinan, also told Shi Chen one thing.

"Your family's fortified manor may still be used to defend against outlaws, but you may not privately reinforce it any further!"

Once the Guanzhong region was pacified, Diwu Lun would demand that all fortified manors in Weinan be torn down!

Shi Chen stammered his assent, no longer daring to decide anything on his own. After the soldiers had drifted off into the distance, he gazed at the residence and fortified manor where his ancestors had lived for generations. Though lost and now regained, Shi Chen seemed to see the day they would come crashing down with a roar, bricks falling and tiles shattering.

"To discourse on the persuasions of Fan Ju and Cai Ze among the Jin, Zhang, Xu, and Shi clans — that would be madness."

Shi Chen recalled that fu poem by Yang Xiong. As one of the four great families of the capital since the time of Emperor Xuan of Han, their wealth and honor, after two changes of dynasty, had finally reached their end. All efforts to prolong them were in vain.

Towers rise and towers fall — in just a few short decades, a matter of a few generations. When the tide of the age struck, the great houses built upon the power of the previous dynasty scattered like sand.

Shi Chen's legs went weak again. He slumped down before the broken walls and ruins and muttered:

"In the future, the consort clans that will rise in the State of Wei and dominate the court will be the Ma and the Geng, won't they?"

PS: Chapter 2 at 18:00.