Chapter 131 : Taking Action

It was not the death of Old Jiang Madame that had considerably shaken up Jiang fu, but rather it was the shocking news that Jiang Ruan had been arrested and imprisoned. When Jiang Quan eventually learned of this situation he was naturally incensed beyond belief. That day in Gui Lan Yuan, only Cai Que had been with Old Jiang Madame, and she had served the old lady for so many years that people trusted her words. As for Old Jiang Madame’s tea, arsenic had actually been discovered in it.

The rumours circulating everywhere in the capital were that Jiang Ruan bore a deep-seated grievance against Old Jiang Madame and had therefore poisoned her. Although this rumour had spread far and wide, intelligent people were able to surmise the truth upon hearing it: if one wanted to murder someone else, it would be absolutely stupid to administer the poison right in front of the person. Moreover, Hong’an Junzhu was no fool so why would she bring about her own destruction?

However, suspicion aside, when all was said and done, this was a Jiang family affair. Everyone was eager to gossip whilst waiting to watch the ensuing show. This younger sister of Great Jin’s ‘god of war’, the Hong’an Junzhu who was currently the favourite by the side of Empress Dowager Yi De- how would she turn this undesirable situation around?

Perhaps because the rumours were flying around fiercely outside, Jiang Quan issued a confinement order – except for the purpose of making purchases, no one in the fu, without exception, was allowed to go out. In Second Yiniang’s courtyard, Yang Liu was cautiously serving Second Yiniang her medicine.

“Take it away!” Second Yiniang waved the bowl of medicine away with a vexed expression. Jiang Quan forbade anyone in the fu to go out, which meant no outsiders could come in either, and her people who were tasked with information dissemination and collection were unable to obtain any news. Thus, they were in the dark about what was happening outside. Thinking about the thirty thousand taels of silver which she had given out, Second Yiniang gritted her teeth. She had pawned all of her personal wealth; surely Jiang Ruan would be unable to escape even if she sprouted wings.

Although Hu Qian Qiu treated her with courtesy, in the end, many years had passed. On the surface, Hu Qian Qiu appeared to be helping her due to the past affection between them, but the truth was that he wanted to establish a line of connection with the Jiang family. The struggle between Xuan Hua and Xuan Li was growing in intensity, and although Hu Qian Qiu had aligned himself with Xuan Hua, he still harboured some degree of hesitation. Thus, if he could just gain a connection with Jiang fu, he would have a contingency plan for the future.

Li Qiang was her own nephew, but he was a gambling addict and had run up a huge debt. If she had not caught wind of this weakness of his, she would never have allowed him to help her. She had originally not considered framing Jiang Ruan in order to bring her down, and had only thought about letting Li Qiang employ his ‘methods’ while she was incarcerated. Any woman would naturally want to kill herself after having to suffer such circumstances, and even if Jiang Ruan did not commit suicide, Li Qiang would make it seem as if she had. All that Jiang Li had had to endure was due to Jiang Ruan: her body had been defiled by that lecher of a prince, and her reputation had become that of an utterly wanton woman. Now, Second Yiniang wanted Jiang Ruan to have a taste of her own medicine – to be defiled, and to lose her good name.

Jiang Ruan would be all alone in the prison so that would be the best time to take action. It was a foolproof plan, but there had been no news from that quarter, and Second Yiniang’s anxiety began to make itself felt. In addition, this anxiety came with a vague premonition, which caused her to be inexplicably flustered.

After a moment, she stood up and said, “I’m going to see Jiang Dan.”

* * *

Jiang Dan’s courtyard, which was very near Ruan Ju, was also still at the moment, with white silk hung up everywhere as part of the funeral arrangements. Attired completely in white, Jiang Dan sat in front of the window, fiddling with the little white flowers on the table. Her long hair had not been coiled up, but had been casually flung over her shoulder, the contrast causing her shoulders to look unutterably delicate and her entire being to be akin to the little white flowers in her hand, frail and vulnerable, clearly pitiful.

“Miss,” a maidservant came up to say, “Second Yiniang is outside.”

“I am indisposed today, I won’t see her.” Jiang Dan played with her hair as she stood up and walked towards her bed.

That maidservant felt a little awkward but she did not dare refuse to comply, so she braced herself and went out. Jiang Dan sat on the edge of the bed and pulled down the soft, wispy canopy curtain with ease. The newly sewn, dark yellow[1] canopy made of soft, tian xiang (heavenly fragrance) gauze gave off a faintly discernible fragrance; the colour was vivid, and one bolt of the cloth was highly expensive. Truthfully, as the head of household, based on the statuses of each daughter Hong Ying would not dare to short change anyone, however as a shu daughter, it was clear that Jiang Dan could not afford such material.

[1] 秋香色 (qiu xiang se) – lit. autumn fragrance colour.

In the end, someone had given her this as a gift without leaving behind his or her name. A little thought would readily yield this person’s identity – Zuo Jiang’s behaviour was really too intimate. Jiang Dan’s facial expression momentarily betrayed her disdain. If it had been an earlier time, Langzhong fu would have been a pretty good place to be, but now, Langzhong fu’s future was bleak, and even Zuo Jiang’s official career had very little likelihood of advancement. What’s more, she was no fool, thus why would she want to ruin herself there? Zuo Jiang thought too highly of himself, believing that she was waiting anxiously to marry him.

In the end though, there might be some use for it. Jiang Dan toyed with the fastener for the canopy in an extremely good mood. Second Yiniang, that moron, must have taken action yesterday. All she had done was to say a few words to instigate her, and that stupid woman had gone off on her own to find someone to help her. If she could bring down Jiang Ruan, that would certainly be excellent. However, Jiang Dan was very clear that Second Yiniang was no match for Jiang Ruan’s skill. The person on the losing end would ultimately be Second Yiniang.

And what of it? Hatred flashed in Jiang Dan’s eyes for a split second. At that time, when Second Yiniang had incited Jiang Li to snatch away her marriage arrangement, did they really think that Jiang Dan was a pushover? Now that Jiang Li was dead, she could not let Second Yiniang live well. In this world, those who offended her would get their comeuppance. Originally, it was Jiang Li; now, Second Yiniang, in future . . . She smiled slightly and reached out her hand, as white as porcelain, to roll up a piece of embroidery, upon which she was currently embroidering a young phoenix. The phoenix was stretching its neck out in a cry of longing, as if it was just waiting for a cool breeze to make the heavens resound with its call.

* * *

In the imperial study, Zhao Guang wiped off the sweat beading his forehead, his expression finally relaxing somewhat. He had expended his best effort to reason with the Emperor, who had hinted that this matter would not be rushed to a hasty conclusion. On thinking about it, Jiang Ruan had been conferred the position of junzhu by the imperial family, and if something really did happen to her, the Emperor’s reputation and image would be affected.

When he considered the Censorate’s Regional Inspector, Hu Qian Qiu, Zhao Guang felt his anger flare up. Zhao Guang was a senior figure in the founding of the Great Jin dynasty, as well as a titled General “Great Fuguo Grand Marshall”[2]; his colleagues in the imperial court would always greet him with proper courtesy whenever they met him. Hu Qian Qiu’s secure hold on his position as Regional Inspector in the Censorate could not be divorced from his astute, slick temperament. Zhao Guang had always viewed civilian officials with veiled criticism, and he had had very little interaction with Hu Qian Qiu. He could never have expected that this seemingly respectful Regional Inspector would just send Jiang Ruan to prison. On the surface, there appeared to be nothing wrong, but Zhao Guang’s gut instinct told him that this son of a b*tch was involved in some kind of plot.

[2] T/N: The highest ranked General in the army with a title, there are three kinds: fuguo (2nd tier title) which means assisting the nation, zhenguo 镇国 (highest tiered title) and fengguo (3rd).

The Emperor tossed the petition[3] in his hands aside and massaged his forehead. Eunuch Gao stood quietly to one side with his head bowed. Empress Dowager Yi De had just visited him, and she too had raised Jiang Ruan’s situation. In recent years, Empress Dowager Yi De had very rarely concerned herself with such trifles, so he would not have imagined that it would be on Hong’an Junzhu’s behalf that she would start caring about these matters once again. Eunuch Gao was quietly turning over things in his mind. Hong’an Junzhu was favoured by Empress Dowager Yi De, and also had the support of the Zhao family. Added to this, there were the meritorious deeds of Jiang Xin Zhi. The Emperor had initially paid scant attention to her, but now, it looked as if he needed to have another look at this di daughter of the Jiang family.

[3] 折子 (zhe zi) – a booklet made of thick paper, folded accordion style, usually kept in a slip case. For recording accounts and such.

At this point, the voice of a junior eunuch outside was heard, reporting that Jinying Wang was requesting an audience. Xiao Shao had only just entered when the Emperor looked at him and said, “What? Don’t tell zhen[4], you’re also here because of Hong’an Junzhu?”

[4] 朕 (zhen) – how Emperors refer to themselves; is the equivalent to the royal “we”.

Xiao Shao remained silent.

The Emperor had previously spoken casually, but he was shaken on observing Xiao Shao. With a slight frown, which indicated that he was turning things over in his mind, he asked, “What is the relationship between you and Hong’an Junzhu?”

Xiao Shao said, coolly, “Hu Qian Qiu, as an official of the Censorate, has been lax in investigation and hoodwinked by despicable persons, yet has been promoted repeatedly. I beseech the Emperor to punish him severely.”

“When you talk to zhen in this way, it means you have already taken action, what is the point of asking zhen?” The Emperor snorted before saying, “Hong’an Junzhu indeed has some tricks up her sleeve to have achieved all this in such a short period of time – the people who have come to intercede for her have really opened zhen’s eyes. Zhen does not know when his officials have developed such a friendly relationship with Hong’an Junzhu.”

Xiao Shao frowned. The Emperor’s words did not seem to refer to Zhao Guang and Empress Dowager Yi De; Zhao Guang and Empress Dowager Yi De would naturally plead for her with much feeling, so the Emperor did not need to speak of them this way. Could it be that there was someone else? He surveyed the Emperor suspiciously, who proceeded to rap on the table with the folded booklet and say, “No need to think about it further, Imperial Grand Tutor Liu has also been by.”

Xiao Shao was taken aback. Liu Min had also come to plead for leniency on Jiang Ruan’s behalf.

In truth, the Emperor was rather angry. This minor matter should not have to be discussed in the imperial study, but, today, from one person after another, all he had heard about was Jiang Ruan’s situation – how could he not start to ponder the circumstances? Ever since Liu Min had entered the imperial court as an official, he had always been aloof from politics and material pursuits, and there was no fellow official who could claim to be especially familiar with him. Yet, today, in an unprecedented move, he had pleaded for leniency on Jiang Ruan’s behalf.

The Emperor eyed Xiao Shao as the image of the beautiful and charming Jiang Ruan floated up in his mind. Had he seriously been bewitched by a woman’s beauty?

“Ah Shao, your marital arrangement . . .” The Emperor had not finished speaking when Xiao Shao calmly interrupted him to say, “Since there is nothing else, this subject asks for leave to withdraw.”

The Emperor choked. After quite a while, he waved his hand and said, “You may leave.”

The junior eunuch who was waiting outside observed that Xiao Shao had exited very quickly after he had entered. On seeing the Emperor’s somewhat disgruntled expression, he thought to himself that Jinying Wang was indeed ‘The Rebel’, and even the Emperor could do nothing about him. Within the room, Eunuch Gao sighed inwardly and shook his head.

Xiao Shao had visited the Emperor in the imperial study simply to inform him, for he did not need his permission. After leaving the imperial study, he went straight to the Censorate.

The Censorate’s officials were dealing with official documents; one could say this meant that they were busy, but it could just as equally be said that they were idle. Only those cases which involved the imperial family or important government ministers fell to the purview of the Censorate administrators. Most of the people in top positions were idle while their subordinates were busy. Moreover, everyone in officialdom was in tacit agreement on this, and there had never been any real trouble. Regional Inspector Hu Qian Qiu’s rash move to seize Jiang Ruan had already caused much discontentment among everyone in the Censorate.

Furthermore, in the Censorate, apart from the Regional Inspector, there was also the Supervisor, who was slightly lower in status. The Regional Inspector was Hu Qian Qiu, the Supervisor was Ke Xiu Ran. Ke Xiu Ran had been subordinate to Hu Qian Qiu for years on end, but Hu Qian Qiu had kept a firm grip on his position as Regional Inspector, so Ke Xiu Ran had never found an opportunity to rise.

Thus, the Censorate’s officials were roughly divided into two factions; one supported Hu Qian Qiu, the other supported Ke Xiu Ran. Naturally, the faction supporting Hu Qian Qiu was bigger. Therefore, in this instance, Ke Xiu Ran had opposed sending Hong’an Junzhu to prison.

The Censorate officials were astonished to see Xiao Shao walking in out of the blue. Within the hall sat a middle-aged man wearing a deep blue official’s robe. He was thin and somewhat dark, and there was a sombre look in his eyes. This was Ke Xiu Ran.

Ke Xiu Ran stood up, bowed to Xiao Shao, and said, “Xiao Wangye.”

Xiao Shao glared at him coldly and tossed him the item in his hand. Ke Xiu Ran was initially nonplussed, but realised that the item was a letter. He walked aside to read it, and when he had finished, his excitement was palpable. He looked at Xiao Shao with a hint of delight and said, “This . . .”

“Since Hu Qian Qiu does not want to be a Regional Inspector, then there’s no need for him to be one,” Xiao Shao pronounced, before turning and exiting the Censorate.

He left Ke Xiu Ran holding the letter in his hands, the contents of which were enough to clean up the Censorate. Fortunately, he would not be affected, but Hu Qian Qiu would lose his official post. Since Xiao Shao had tossed him the letter, it indicated his tacit approval of what Ke Xiu Ran would do and ensuring that he would not be stopped. The only question was why Jinying Wang, who normally stayed out of imperial court matters, would target Hu Qian Qiu out of nowhere.

Ke Xiu Ran thought for a moment and suddenly recalled the presently incarcerated Jiang Ruan with a jolt. Ah, so it was like this. Hu Qian Qiu had truly sought his own death. He had long known that it was not a good idea to provoke Hong’an Junzhu, for the Emperor would protect her due to Jiang Xin Zhi’s good reputation. Really, who knew what devil had instigated Hu Qian Qiu to imprison Hong’an Junzhu. He must not have even thought it through carefully, for anything that happened to her would inevitably offend that ‘God of War’, Jiang Xin Zhi. It would be safe to say that his official career would have ended right there.

Ke Xiu Ran naturally felt a perverse sense of pleasure when thinking about what would happen to Hu Qian Qiu. Hong’an Junzhu was truly no mere bystander, if even Jinying Wang would take the initiative to act for her benefit. As the memory of Jinying Wang’s face crossed his mind, he stood up hurriedly, for his expression clearly indicated that there could not be even an iota of neglect in handling the situation of Hong’an Junzhu. He had better carefully instruct the officials what to do straightaway.

* * *

The rest of the capital did not know anything about these happenings. The atmosphere in Jiang fu was extremely heavy; Old Jiang Madame’s coffin had been placed in the newly set up mourning hall and the entire fu was wearing mourning clothes. The two people keeping vigil at the mourning hall that night were Du Juan and Cai Que.

After Old Jiang Madame’s death, both maidservants had lost their place. Both the maidservants had worked with dedication for the old madame for so many years, so they would now be released from the fu according to usual practice. Du Juan and Cai Que were both presently more than twenty-seven years old and still unmarried. Du Juan had been born into a family of servants; her aged parents were still working in one of the fu’s rural residences. If she left the fu, she would still have a place of shelter. Cai Que, on the other hand, had been bought by Old Jiang Madame and brought into the fu, and had always been alone.

At night, the mourning hall was colder and more cheerless, and Old Jiang Madame’s coffin gleamed dully. A gust of wind blew in from outside, causing the feeble flames of the white candles to sway and splutter, while the half-burnt paper money in the basin swirled with the wind, as if an unseen hand was playing with the remnants. The musicians[5] had left long ago, and Jiang fu was even more desolate, as if they were the only two people in the huge fu.

[5] 司乐 (si yue) – It’s a government arm of the rites department that oversees the music and such rites for funerals of the nobility.

Du Juan had gone to the outhouse but was not back yet, leaving Cai Que by herself. The white paper lanterns in the rafters were swaying, casting mottled shadows which gave off an inexplicable sense of horror.

Cai Que’s heart clenched, and she could not help hugging herself tightly. Beyond the flower window, the moonlight had disappeared without her noticing, leaving her with only the feeble light of the mourning hall. Moreover, once the chill wind picked up, the light was close to being extinguished.

Suddenly, a rasping sound came from the coffin. It was a peculiar sound, as if someone was scratching the wood with her fingernails. Cai Que stiffened, and a chill spread through her entire being. Restless and ill at ease, she walked forward, when suddenly a loud noise startled her. Her face turned white and her knees gave way, so that she collapsed on the floor.

There was neither sight nor sound of Du Juan, who had not returned, and the loud noise grew in intensity, getting louder and louder, until it seemed to be exploding right next to Cai Que’s ears. On the ground, in the shadow cast by the lanterns, a figure unexpectedly appeared.

That figure was tall and thin, as if it had been strangely elongated. It was probably a woman’s figure, with long hair hanging down, abnormally eye-catching in the midst of the mourning hall.

Cai Que could no longer keep calm in the face of this horrific scene and let out a blood-curdling shriek. She instantly knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly to the memorial tablet in the mourning hall while saying, “Old Madame, this servant is in the wrong, this servant should not have harmed you, spare this servant, please spare this servant!”

That black figure did not let her go. It came towards her from behind, closer, closer . . . Cai Que felt a pair of ice-cold hands caressing her neck. The long grey nails swiped across her face, and she could no longer stop herself from looking up to face a deathly pale face and big black eyes, with straight hair coiling around its body and large black bloodstains at the corners of its mouth.

Cai Que finally crumpled and cried out loudly, “Old Madame, this servant is in the wrong! Old Madame. . .” The sound stopped abruptly as Cai Que’s eyes lost focus and she fell in a boneless heap.

The horrifying spectre pulled off its headgear, revealing a face that was capable of a multitude of expressions and emotions – it was Jin San. Jin San took out a medicine bottle from her robes and, with a practised movement, pressed on Cai Que’s chin and fed the medicine to her, whereupon Cai Que collapsed softly on the floor.

It was only then that Jin San left the hall with big strides. Beyond the window, Jin Yi was holding on to Du Juan, his face devoid of expression. Du Juan’s acupressure points had been pressed; alarm was evident on her face, but she was unable to utter a single word.

“Be good, you don’t want to end up like her, do you?” Jin San said as she smiled. Even though she was beautiful, in Du Juan’s eyes, she was just like an evil spirit.

Du Juan shook her head fearfully.

Jin San smiled and said, “Then, I will unblock your acupressure points. You’d better not cry out, but if you do and distract me, then . . .” The silver hairpin in her hand emitted a faint blue glow; it had obviously been dipped in poison.

Du Juan hurriedly nodded.

Jin San then released her acupressure points, whereupon Du Juan hastily asked, “How is she?”

“She’s fine,” Jin San continued lightly, “just that she will probably be an idiot from now on.”

Du Juan started, and a wave of sorrow surged up within her. She and Cai Que had served Old Jiang Madame together since their early years, and going through thick and thin together had deepened their relationship and affection for each other. However, just now, she had been seized by this stranger, and could only look on helplessly as Cai Que was terrified. And now, for her to be rendered an idiot . . . a maidservant who was an idiot, what good outcome could there possibly be?

“Oh, don’t dwell in sorrow,” Jin Sin said as she teetered in laughter. “Do you also want to become an idiot like her? But, I don’t know. If such a beautiful lady like you becomes an idiot, would Young Master Wang continue to be fond of you?”

Du Juan was dumbstruck and her body turned to ice. Young Master Wang. How could she know about Young Master Wang?

She knew better than anyone else how Old Jiang Madame had died. While she was astonished at how daring Cai Que was, she had also agreed to that person’s bargain. That person had said, if she was willing to bear witness, that person would help her leave her life as a slave.

Du Juan had constantly been at Old Jiang Madame’s side, and had planned to never marry. She had never imagined that she would meet Young Master Wang, but no matter what, a slave could never meet the qualifications for marrying him. Therefore, if she could be rid of her slave status, would it not then be possible for her to live happily with Young Master Wang and become the perfect couple? Thus, Du Juan had silently agreed.