Chapter 6
1453 Words
Last night, when the imperial guards broke through the gates, they carried no decree of confiscation.
The commanding officer delivered only a brief verbal summons: the Princess Consort of Lanling was to appear at the great court assembly the next morning.
Gao Changgong had barely left the city when Yecheng’s blade found Zheng Wantang’s throat.
The next day. Tai Chi Hall.
A bone-chilling cold rose from the blue brick floor.
Giant braziers blazed in the four corners, yet the assembled civil and military officials all kept their heads lowered.
Zheng Wantang stood among the imperial clansmen’s wives.
Her hands were folded before her.
Her gaze swept over the men at the peak of Great Qi’s power.
The nineteen-year-old Emperor Gao Wei huddled on the dragon throne.
His shoulders were hunched.
He did not look at anyone. His ten fingers clawed into the armrests.
At the head of the officials, Zu Ting stood withered and stooped.
From his sleeves came the constant *click-clack* of walnuts rolling against each other.
To the left of the imperial steps, Court Attendant Lu Lingxuan slowly waved her white silk fan painted with ink plum blossoms. The rhythm never changed.
The chief eunuch had barely finished announcing the opening of court when Zu Ting stepped forward.
“Your Majesty,” he said, “the crisis in Jin Province is dire. Prince Lanling’s hasty departure to reinforce the front is fortunate. But the Ministry of Revenue has audited the treasury. The amount of grain requisitioned for the front is immense!”
His face was heavy with concern for the state.
“Not only has the Prince taken the elite troops with him, but rumors in the capital say his household supports a private army of wounded soldiers costing three hundred taels of silver a month! The army knows only Prince Lanling—they no longer know the Son of Heaven!”
Not a single person in the hall spoke.
Zu Ting raised his voice. “When a subject’s achievements overshadow his sovereign, the threat cannot be ignored! I propose the grain shipments be divided into ten separate convoys, and that a military supervisor be dispatched to the front immediately! I beg Your Majesty’s wise judgment!”
Gao Wei’s fingers clawing at the golden dragon tightened abruptly.
He began to gasp for breath.
Zheng Wantang stepped forward.
The heavy skirt of her formal consort’s robes swept across the blue bricks. Her footsteps echoed in the hall.
She walked past Zu Ting and fixed her gaze on Gao Wei.
“Minister Zu, are you in such a hurry to open the gates of the capital to the Northern Zhou army?”
The officials raised their heads.
Zu Ting’s walnut-rolling stopped. His small eyes went wide. “Outrageous! This is the imperial court! A woman has no right to meddle in state affairs!”
Zheng Wantang turned to face him.
“One hundred thousand Northern Zhou soldiers are at our border! The commander at the front is risking his life, and you want to cut his supply lines and install roadblocks?”
“If Jin Province falls, enemy cavalry will trample Tai Chi Hall within seven days! When Great Qi falls, which of your nine clans will you offer up to pay for your betrayal?”
“Nonsense!” Zu Ting pointed at her. “I am acting for the safety of Great Qi! Your household spends three hundred taels a month on a private army of wounded soldiers. What exactly are you planning?”
Zheng Wantang stepped closer.
“Those three hundred taels are what the Prince pays from his own pocket to keep wounded veterans alive! If you think a pack of blind men and cripples can start a rebellion, send the imperial guards to search the household!”
“If you begrudge the expense, fine. From today, let the Ministry of Revenue take over those three hundred taels and distribute them in the southern market to every disabled soldier still drawing breath!”
Zu Ting opened his mouth to retort.
Zheng Wantang struck first.
“You want to audit the Prince’s household accounts? Why not look at your own death warrant first?”
*Slap.*
A pawn ticket stamped with a red fingerprint landed at Zu Ting’s feet.
“Last night, you sent a spy into the Prince’s mansion to spread rumors. This morning, at the hour of the hare, your steward exchanged ten thousand taels of pure gold at a pawn shop in the southern market.”
The intelligence gathered by Old Han’s network, thrown into the open court.
Zheng Wantang stepped closer.
“You sell off your estates for gold. You block grain shipments on the court floor.”
“Minister Zu, have you already decided Great Qi will fall and made your plans to flee? Or have you already negotiated your price for betraying us to the Northern Zhou?”
Zu Ting’s face twitched.
He collapsed to his knees with a thud. His walnuts rolled across the floor, clattering into the distance.
“Your Majesty! This is a slanderous accusation! I exchanged the gold to raise private funds for the front! The Princess Consort of Lanling is spitting blood!”
Zheng Wantang withdrew her gaze.
She raised her head, meeting Gao Wei’s shifting, evasive eyes.
“Your Majesty is sovereign over all under heaven,” she said, slowing her pace. “Any territory the Prince wins will be recorded in the histories under the reign title of Emperor Wu Ping. If the Prince fails, Great Qi falls. If the Prince prevails, Your Majesty’s throne stands firm as Mount Tai!”
Gao Wei stopped glancing around. His gaze locked on her.
“Any official in this hall could surrender to the Northern Zhou and find a new master to serve.”
Her voice was cold.
“But Your Majesty has no way out.”
“The true threat to Your Majesty is not the blood relative bleeding for you at the front—it is these sycophants, clutching their grain and gold, waiting to sell their nation for their own skins!”
Gao Wei stopped gasping.
His ten fingers, white-knuckled on the dragon armrests, loosened one by one.
Lu Lingxuan, who had feigned deafness throughout, finally stopped her fan.
She glanced at the pawn ticket on the floor, then at this consort who had once been so easily manipulated.
“Approve the full grain shipment,” Gao Wei said, his voice dry. “Suspend the military supervisor. Zu Ting, since you raised those private funds, those ten thousand taels of gold will go entirely to military expenses.”
Zu Ting lay crumpled on the floor.
“Your servant… obeys.” His jaw was locked.
Court adjourned.
Zheng Wantang stepped through the hall doors.
Snow pellets stung her face on the white marble steps.
Lu Lingxuan approached, fanning herself slowly, her smile in place.
“Princess, the wind is strong today. When one first climbs to such heights, one must be careful to keep steady.”
Zheng Wantang turned her head, meeting her eyes.
“With Court Attendant Lu here, the winds in Yecheng only blow harder.”
Lu Lingxuan’s smile faded. “You are very clever. But in Yecheng, the very clever die quite badly.”
“How fortunate,” Zheng Wantang said with a cold laugh, “that I am the type to outlast any misfortune.”
Lu Lingxuan withdrew her gaze and descended the steps.
Zu Ting approached from behind, his face dark.
“The Princess has earned a debt today. I have etched it into my bones.”
“I do not fear your accounting, Minister,” Zheng Wantang said without looking at him. “I only fear your life will not be enough to repay it.”
Zu Ting snorted and swept away.
The Prince’s Mansion.
Han Changluan paced outside the main hall. “Princess, today in court—”
“We won. The grain leaves soon.”
Zheng Wantang strode into the hall and tore off the heavy formal robes.
“But I have just received intelligence intercepted by our network. The Ministry of War’s travel pass.”
*Slap.*
A pressed copy of the document hit the desk.
“They did not stop the grain. They changed the route. The supply convoy must pass through Zhangzi City.”
Han Changluan’s face went pale. “That is the garrison of Zu Ting’s old faction—and a regular post for Northern Zhou scouts.”
“Exactly. They will not act themselves. They will let the Northern Zhou burn our supplies for them.”
Zheng Wantang spun around.
“Saddle horses.”
“Tonight, I am going to the grain depot in the southern market.”
- Writer
