For someone that loved fine food as much as Tang Fan did. Being unmoved by food and rejecting Wang Zhi’s invite was certainly something highly unusual.
However, his status was not what it once had been; even Wang Zhi had to bow to him when meeting him, so the insignificant Wei Mao couldn’t stop him, either. If he wanted to leave, Wei Mao could only watch helplessly on, too afraid to force him to stop.
On his end, Tang Fan hurried back home. Before he stepped through the door, the aroma of food hit his nostrils. A room that should have been lightless now looked to be lit up bright with lanterns, the autumn night seeming to make one warm up from the bottom of the heart.
He smiled lightly.
After he had entered the Cabinet, he no longer lived together with Sui Zhou, instead moving back to his original home next door.
Tang Yu had taken He Cheng — his name should really be changed to Tang Cheng now — with her out of the place, having purchased her own residence in the capital that wasn’t far so they could still look after each other. Ah-Dong had also moved, and a home guard hired; with Qian San’r still around, thieves did not dare to drop by.
The reason behind this was that between Tang Fan and Sui Zhou, one was now a Cabinet member, and the other was a head of the Brocade Guard. Even if no one criticized or denounced them, they needed to defend against the monarch’s suspicions, as their statuses were sensitive and could easily give someone a handle on them. Furthermore, the Wan party would occasionally latch on to smaller handles of Tang Fan; if there ever came a time where he was charged with the crime of colluding with the Emperor’s personal bodyguard, a jump into the Yellow River wouldn’t wash him clean.
Following his return from Jiangxi, Tang Fan had been promoted due to his credits, and Sui Zhou had earned even more of the Emperor’s trust. He had originally been going to seal him as Marquis Ding’an, but his repeated refusal to accept it had made the Emperor feel sorry for him, so he had bestowed him with much more salary to compensate for the lack.
Due to Consort Wan, her little brother Wan Tong still held the post of Commanding Envoy of the Brocade Guard. Sui Zhou had never been able to take control of the Brocade Guard in an above-board way, but it was only an issue of when, really; in the years-long contest between the two sides, those who genuinely obeys Wan Tong were getting lesser and lesser. Now, apart from the Southern Bastion Office, the Northern Bastion Office and several Guard posts were Sui Zhou’s people in an overwhelming majority. It had gotten to the point where others said that the Guard currently had two Commanding Envoys of real power. In spite of Sui Zhou being a Bastion Envoy at his surface level, his post a rank down from Wan Tong’s, the reality was that even he had no way to seize the power that his counterpart firmly grasped.
Wan Tong didn’t want to watch such circumstances unfold, of course, but the Emperor trusted Sui Zhou no less than him. His frequent tactics to eradicate dissidents, like slander and vilification, had no effect on Sui Zhou, so, in light of that, Wan Tong had been forced to give up for right now and form some other plan.
Even so, to Tang Fan and Sui Zhou, there was not too much of a difference between being neighbors and being under the same roof. They would leave at dawn and return by night; even if they did live in the same home, they still might not have many chances to meet up.
In contrast, after coming to be neighbors, the courtyards of the two homes were connected by side-doors. As long as they could come home in a timely manner, they would sit down and have dinner together, even if such opportunities were few.
Today was a lucky coincidence. Sui Zhou hadn’t had much to do as of late, and Tang Fan had been able to return earlier, not required to hole up in the Cabinet and look at Head Vizier Wan’s face until after mealtime.
He walked a bit more briskly once in the door, went through the moon gate connecting the inner and outer courtyards into the dining hall, then saw that there were several dishes arranged on the table, all his typical favorite foods. A wine pot was to the side with two cups and two chopsticks; he knew who put this all here.
The smile on his face deepened. He picked up his pace to head in, reached out, and nabbed the nearest plate of salt-Sichuan pepper ribs.
They had been fried to a crispy tenderness, their fragrance wafting up from the plate, still warm. Clearly, they had not been off the pan for long. Every single rib was silently saying “Come eat me, quick,” the very considerate Mister Tang would never let them down…
“Go wash your hands.”
A familiar voice suddenly came from behind him. His hand jolted, nearly dropping the ribs onto the ground.
He quickly put a hot rib in his mouth, then turned to give him a favor-currying, yet guilty smile.
Count Sui’s culinary skills were top-rate, and everyone close to him knew that, but he was no cook. Even if he had free time, he might not be willing to cook; it depended on his mood. That was why not everyone had the fortune to sample his work.
There were exceptions in all things, as he was happy to cook for a certain someone. And even so, the other was busy all day long, not having much off-time to go home and eat a quiet meal.
“I will after this!” Tang Fan still had the rib in his mouth, which muffled his speech, his expressed the utmost of innocent. He grinned, eyes curving, at Sui Zhou, and his gaze landed upon the crab tripe-tofu soup he held, immediately lighting up. “Why did you make so much tonight? The two of us won’t be able to finish it.”
The second he spoke, he forgot that he had something in his mouth, and the rib fell right to ground before it could be caught.
“…”
“…”
Who could have imagined that Solon Tang, erudite and never losing prestige in the outside world, would be like this at home?
Tang Fan laughed dryly, quickly bending over to pick up the ribs. “You’re busy, you’re busy — I’ll go wash my hands!”
Sui Zhou shook his head, set down the soup, then turned for the kitchen to take out a tray of mantou that had been fried to a golden crisp. By the time he returned to the dining hall, he saw an extra figure at the table.
Tang Fan was not yet back from washing his hands.
“What are you doing here?” Sui Zhou asked with a cold face, his tone not any sort of good.
“Eating. I was just in time to keep up with you!” Wang Zhi answered with a laugh, going right into grabbing a wine glass and pouring himself some. “I invited Solon Tang to Immortal Cloud, and he said he had to go home tonight, or he’d be punished with kneeling on a washboard by his Hedong lion. The second I heard that, I was awfully curious, so I specifically came to see what the lion in his house looked like. Hey, he wasn’t talking about you, right?”
There were also maids in the home that Tang Yu had carefully picked out, but mere maids could not have stopped Eunuch Wang, and ordinary people wouldn’t break in without asking like he did.
Sui Zhou had the desire to dump the plate of mantou right onto this guy’s head and kick him out, but he kept it down. Because Wang Zhi’s skills weren’t bad, if they got fighting, only this table of food would end up unlucky. Thinking of how it hadn’t been easy for Tang Fan to be home for dinner in half a month, Sui Zhou could only pinch his nose and tolerate this guy strutting in and eating for free.
He shot Wang Zhi a cold look, feeling that he was an incomparable eyesore no matter how he looked at him. “Less drivel. Eat if you want, and leave when you’re done.”
The more Sui Zhou kept up that cold face, the more delicious Wang Zhi’s wine tasted, and he even smiled. “You’re busy with yours, no need to care about me. Where’s Solon Tang? Call him out to come have a drink with me!”
Ignoring him, Sui Zhou turned and left.
There was still a pot of old duck soup on the stove, with ladybell and jadestalk roots in it, which he was making for Tang Fan. He had to check the fire on occasion.
In result, the instant he returned to the kitchen, he saw someone with his back facing him, concentratedly fiddling with a plate of garlic chicken gristle that had not yet been taken to the table. It used to be padded with a layer of taro shreds underneath, but now they had all been put on top, used to cover up what little gristle remained.
“…You don’t have to do that. I’ve seen everything.”
Tang Fan froze for a moment, and slowly turned, smiling dryly. “No matter how you walk, you don’t make a sound — that made me jump!”
Hah. This was a reversal, a villain being the first to complain.
Seeing Sui Zhou watching him expressionlessly, Tang Fan had a guilty conscience that he couldn’t hide. “I didn’t steal a taste on purpose, I just wanted to help you with making sure the taste was right…. cough, who made you make it so tasty? I couldn’t hold back for a second, haha… don’t blame me, don’t blame me!”
He just can’t ever not get into trouble, Sui Zhou thought with some helplessness, still having no expression. “You told Wang Zhi that I’m a Hedong lion that would punish you with kneeling on a washboard, hm?”
Tang Fan grinned apologetically. “I only didn’t want to go to a feast and talk about junk. You’ve cooked this all by yourself; what in the world would I be doing eating elsewhere, right?”
As the other’s expression wasn’t easing up, apparently not accepting his explanation, Tang Fan tried to butter him up, somewhat tentatively. “Why don’t I go and tell him that I’m actually the lion?”
“…”
Eunuch Wang, in the dining hall, had not a bit of guest-based awareness; before the owner of the home had even taken a seat, he was already picking from the dishes. When Count Sui returned carrying Solon Tang, he lazily called out to them, “Done? Come over and eat if you are, huh?”
He was flipping the roles of guest and host, while acting like he was right to do so…
Sui Zhou already had no wish to say anything, but Tang Fan was a little surprised. “Why are you here?”
“I heard that you refused my invite, Solon Tang, so I deliberately came here to take a look,” Wang Zhi said cooly. “It turns out that your… partner cooked for you personally. No wonder you didn’t even think much of Immortal Cloud!”
The ‘Solon’ tag coming out of his mouth did not only not seem to have a bit of respect or flattery, but even had a hint of mockery.
Tang Fan laughed. “Then you’re in luck tonight. Guangchuan cooked — not everyone is blessed enough to encounter that!”
While he said that, he put all of his mind onto the ladle Sui Zhou was spooning him soup in, not paying attention to the appellation Wang Zhi had used for Sui Zhou.
And yet, Sui Zhou paused in his actions, raised his head to look at Wang Zhi, and narrowed his eyes. “Partner?”
Tang Fan blankly raised his head in sync.
Wang Zhi was unruffled. “Yeah, partner. What is it? Can you not be a partner if you’re also a Hedong lion?”
Tang Fan’s mouth twitched. Very worried that Sui Zhou wouldn’t give him the soup out of anger, he rushed to resolve the dispute. “You’re not my partner! You’re a stranger! A stranger!”
“…”
“I’m not a stranger,” Sui Zhou corrected.
Solon Tang nodded his head like he was pounding garlic, then said, with no principled standpoint at all, “Husband, then! Husband!”
Wang Zhi stared at him in disbelief. “You’re a mighty Vizier of the Cabinet; can you not have some backbone?”
Tang Fan giddily took the soup from Sui Zhou, joyfully ate several spoons of it, and only then found the spare time to answer him. “What’s a backbone? Does it taste as good as crab-tofu soup?”
Look at those words. If an outsider heard them, what would they feel?
Sui Zhou gave him a piece of roasted duck, previously bought from an established shop that Tang Fan often went to. “Eat,” he said.
His implication being for him to not pay Wang Zhi mind.
Noticing that this wasn’t too great to spectate, Wang Zhi also took a piece of chicken gristle and put it into Tang Fan’s bowl, imitating Sui Zhou’s voice, “Eat, Fluffy. Eat some more.”
“…”
“…”
That was a total, purposeful troll.
Sui Zhou’s gaze towards him went straight murderous. Were it not for his consideration for Tang Fan’s reputation, Wang Zhi would have now been swept out the door.
And it was precisely because he knew this that Eunuch Wang was getting all the more smug and unscrupulous in his assurance.
The two exchanged looks, not giving in to each, invisibly brawling for a round.
Mouth twitching, Tang Fan buried his head into the food.
How could this minor interlude be worthy of talk? The meal went on in storms and silence.
Sui Zhou’s skills were truly good. After all these years of experience, even Wang Zhi, someone used to royal meals made by the imperial kitchens and the craft of Immortal Cloud’s cooks, felt that these dishes could be called exquisite. However, he had no idea that it was because Sui Zhou had known that Tang Fan was coming back today that he had painstakingly made this table of food, its taste not to be compared to the skills of outside cooks.
After eating up, a maid tidied up the table and dishes, and the three moved into the main hall. Tang Fan steeped tea of his own volition. “It’s so late, and you invited me to meet outside the palace; there must be something important happening?”
Wang Zhi was now working as an agent of the palace, which was not the same circumstance as operating the Western Depot outside so many years ago. If he wanted to stay outside the palace for a long time, he could, and he could also leave it on vacation, but he was generally less unrestricted than before. More importantly was that Tang Fan’s status was of a Cabinet member, and a Cabinet member having too close a relationship to a palace eunuch was taboo in this Court. Even though Wang Zhi never spoke of such, he would still give as much attention as possible to these intricacies. There had to be something really critical, for him to come out and see him in person, as opposed to having Wei Mao or someone else do it.
“There is.” Not savoring the taste, Wang Zhi drank down his tea in one gulp, then set down the cup. “His Majesty wants to rebuild the Longevity Palace. You heard, right?”
“I more than heard.” Tang Fan smiled bitterly. “Before I came home today, the Cabinet was discussing it.”
“Oh? What was said?” Wang Zhi showed an expression of interest.
There were no genuine secrets in the palace. A high-ranking eunuch like Wang Zhi would quickly learn of many things that went on in the Cabinet, but when he had left in the evening, he hadn’t time to ask.
“To curry favor with His Majesty, Wan An planned to answer the question by getting Liu Ji to take out five-hundred-thousand taels from the Ministry of Revenue for the monastery’s repairs,” Tang Fan summarized. “Liu Cottonflower fears bearing a poor reputation, so he repeatedly refused, saying that the funds had already been set for the Ministry of War. Wan An was pretty unhappy, and is having us all draft articles for another discussion tomorrow.”
While he spoke, his hands ceased their tea-making actions, and Sui Zhou took his teapot, headed inside to fill it with water, then poured three cups for all of them, passing Tang Fan his.
The latter took it smoothly, giving him a smile, then turned his head to give Wang Zhi a pained one. “As I see it, this ism’t something easily decided upon. Liu Cottonflower is unwilling to stick out, and Liu Hui’an is definitely not going to budge one cun, so there’s going to be another quarrel.”
Liu Hui’an was Liu Jian’s address.
“What about you, then? What do you think about this?” Wang Zhi asked.
“To be frank with you, the annual income of the national treasury tops out at a paltry six-million taels,” Tang Fan answered, serious-looking. “I estimate that the silver from Li Zilong’s mining vein could be cast into more taels than that, but that also requires favorable weather and high harvests in all areas to be kept; there’s no way to compare it with Tang and Song. At the root of it, abuses sprouted from the taxation system the Great Ancestor set at the country’s founding — that is not a grandiloquence I alone have, it’s something everyone knows that has long not been a secret. Still, because the ancestor-set laws cannot be changed, anyone that proposes altering the taxation system will immediately be group-attacked by censors.”
Wang Zhi was somewhat impatient, but had to listen patiently. Based on his understanding of Tang Fan, the other was not one fond of speaking nonsense, so whatever he was saying had to be related to his next statement.
But, from Sui Zhou point of view, it didn’t matter if Tang Fan was acting casually, shamelessly, or even seriously as he spoke honestly, like now, he was cute.
Other peoples’ personalities being in flux would inevitably have him believe them to be indeterminate in mood or back-stabbing, but Tang Fan having the same was not a bit disharmonious, instead adding a lot of charm to him. Outsiders knew only of the refined, approachable Tang Fan, while only those close to him could see this variable side to him.
Tang Fan took a sip of tea, proceeding. “For that reason, the national treasury has all that money, but it needs to be spent on countless things; frequently, it survives payment-to-payment, so if the next year needs to be paid for ahead of time, how could there be any funds remaining for His Majesty’s monastery? He could just take the money from the internal treasury and no one would say anything, but Wan An had the unique idea to want to use the national treasury’s money to please His Majesty. Liu Jian’s objection aside, if Wan An wants everyone to express themselves tomorrow, I would definitely object.”
That said, he smiled in slight mockery. “And, as I see it, His Majesty definitely wasn’t the first to propose this. Someone probably incited him to take from the national treasury.”
Wang Zhi sneered. “You all probably can’t actually object to this. Ji Xiao suggested to him that after the monastery is built, it can become a bridge between the mortal world and the immortal realm, reaching up directly for the Heavens to hear. Since the Emperor is the Son of Heaven, he was born not of the mundane world, and paired with the bridge that is the monastery, whatever he seeks from the Heavens will definitely be permitted.”
Tang Fan heard something amiss. “Wait… Ji Xiao is a buddhist monk, right? Why is he intervening with someone else’s building of a Daoist monastery?”
“He claimed that Buddhism and Daoism have been one school since antiquity, also that the Deity Cihang from Daoism was originally the Bodhisattva Guanyin of Buddhism; as long as there is an ability to extradite all living things from suffering, there is no need to distinguish between Buddhism and Daoism. That said, those cheap, I-can-turn-stone-into-gold-by-touching-it tricks he performed in the palace made His Majesty think of him as a celestial out of shock. Even if he said that he was the Buddha’s reincarnation, His Majesty probably wouldn’t doubt it, to say nothing of him merely claiming Buddhism and Daoism to be the same.”
“…”
Tang Fan and Sui Zhou looked at each other, both a bit alarmed. They had clearly not expected for the Emperor to have already become this obsessed with such things.
Previously, Ji Xiao had recommended many monks to the Emperor, and the latter had granted each one a title, even bestowing them golden seal of the State Master, jade crowns of the zhenren, and so on. Many censors admonished him for this, only to be rebuked by him in turn for disrespecting divinity, with several censors that had made the most fuss getting throw into prison. This was something Sui Zhou had handled.
Even so, compared to major national affairs, these were insignificant details. Given that the Emperor’s conduct did not influence the nation at large, the Cabinet members — Tang Fan included — would let him do it. His present wish to use the national treasury to fund repairs for the monastery would made everyone discontent.
Tang Fan shook his head. “Even if Wan An agrees to it, it’s no use. As long as the rest of the Cabinet objects, he can’t just think and act alone. If His Majesty wants to repair the monastery, he has to take the money from the internal treasury. The national one really doesn’t have money to spare.”
Wang Zhi didn’t argue with him, because he hadn’t come with that goal in mind today. “I’m only warning you; it’s good for you to have a bottom line. I came here for something else.”
Tang Fan felt a bad premonition. “Is it even worse news than that?”
Wang Zhi pulled up a fake smile. “Yes. No matter who pays for it, His Majesty has set his heart on fixing that pain-in-the-ass monastery. Not only does it need to be built, but it needed to be built within three months, because when the time comes, the Crown Prince will be made to pray there on his father’s behalf, showing heavy respect in that way.”
“That’s nonsense!” Tang Fan unthinkingly rebuked. “That’s another devil-made idea! How can the valuable Crown Prince leave the palace so rashly?! Moreover, forcing the prestigious heir apparent to go to some unorthodox monastery and pray would ruin his reputation!”
Sui Zhou pressed his hand to his back, lightly patting it with an intent to console.
“What’s the use in aiming your anger at me? Am I the one that suggested it to His Majesty?” Wang Zhi asked coldly.
Tang Fan quickly calmed down, smiling bitterly. “Don’t misunderstand; I’m not aiming it at you, this is just really preposterous!”
“That’s why I came to inform you that Ji Xiao proposed this, and His Majesty will most likely agree to it. Huai En and I are in sensitive positions, so it’s hard for us to speak dissent, or His Majesty will get a bad feeling in his heart, believe that the Crown Prince wishes to bully his own father, and end up turning all the more to Ji Xiao’s side. Therefore, this is all up to you two.”
Tang Fan creased his brow. “Why did Ji Xiao suddenly make that suggestion? He typically has no association with the Crown Prince…”
“Ji Xiao was recommended by Li Zisheng, and Li Zisheng walks close to the Wan party. Is there any connection in there?” Sui Zhou asked.
Ever since the Prince’s studybuddy, Han Zao, died of poisoning, in addition to the attendant that taste the Crown Prince’s food, a eunuch with medical knowledge was arranged to specially supervise the Prince’s everyday diet. To someone with motive, the path of wanting to poison the Prince was completely blocked off.
Also, following Orator Lin Ying’s framing of Tang Fan during his last visit to the palace, with the Emperor’s quiet approval and Huai En’s command, a major purge had been conducted in the East Palace and Court of Education’s staffing. Those that remained were all deeply loyal to the Crown Prince; were someone to want to buy off one of them to assassinate him, it would basically be impossible.
However, the Prince still wasn’t completely safe. His time of crisis was always present, on the contrary, because Consort Wan’s idea to have Zhu Youyuan, son of Consort Chen, be the Crown Prince had never been extinguished. The Wan party was doing all it could to incite the Emperor in abolishing the Crown Prince, while Consort Wan would even constantly bring Zhu Youyuan in the Emperor’s presence to foster feelings for him.
A few instances more, and the Emperor indeed came to particularly favor Zhu Youyuan, and because of Consort Wan’s preferences, he started having some thoughts to abolish the Crown Prince, but hesitated on end, never able to set his heart to it. Now that his health was gradually waning, some people were getting especially antsy.
Reminded by Sui Zhou’s words’, Tang Fan’s brow knotted tight, and he had to say, “The Wan party has always been set on abolishing the Crown Prince… they shouldn’t be thinking to use the time he’s out on the road to assassinate him?”
Those were clearly the words of a layman. Sui Zhou and Wang Zhi both shook their heads hard hearing that. “That’s impossible. Even if he does leave the palace, the escorting guards would be extremely strict. Anything else aside, the Brocade Guard would definitely arrange for people to line the road. If someone wanted to assassinate the Prince under everyone’s staring eyes, they’d have to be sick of being alive. Even if they are, their only end would be getting shot with arrows until they turned into a hedgehog, leaving the Crown Prince unharmed.”
Since there would be no assassination, why did the Prince have to step up for it? Was Ji Xiao’s proposal and what Wan An said in the Cabinet today merely a coincidence?
Tang Fan couldn’t think of a reason for right now, merely shaking his head. “In that case, I will get into contact with Liu Hui’an and them to jointly send a memorial request that His Majesty cease his idea to rebuild the monastery. If we really can’t stop him, we’ll speak more on it later. For right now, His Majesty has not yet proclaimed that the Crown Prince is going to pray; if I make a hasty suggestion, it will only tell him that information is leaking out of the palace, which would be bad for all of you.”
Wang Zhi got up, patting off his butt to leave. “Alright, do what you can. A young lady wants to get married, and it rains — no one can stop this, so we just need to counter every single move!”
Even with Wang Zhi’s warning, Tang Fan had long prepared for this, going during the night to discuss things with Liu Jian and Xu Pu at their homes. The next day, the three of them jointly sent a memorial to unanimously object to the construction of the monastery during the Cabinet meeting, causing Wan An to be unable to so unabashedly demand funds from the national treasury.
They were not alone. After learning of the news, many censors also sent memorials of opposition. However, just like how Wang Zhi had anticipated, the progress in rebuilding the Longevity Temple did not slow because of this, and the crowd’s opposition just impelled the Emperor to be contrarian. He stubbornly demanded that it be rebuilt, and that there was no need to get funding from the national treasury — it would be paid for straight from the internal treasury.
His meaning was clear: I’m spending my own money. All of you can stuff it.
At that point, everyone’s dissent was ineffective, so they could only listen and let go.
In late autumn of the twenty-second year of Chenghua, the Palace of Esteemed Realness and Longevity had its location selected, and construction began. By orders, Li Zisheng was the Head Supervisor, accepting the rank of Chief of Works.
To please the Son of Heaven, the monastery’s construction progressed at a mystifying pace, being over halfway done in the twelfth month. At that time, the Emperor suggested that when construction was done, he would personally go out there to pray.
As soon as that was said, every level of society was alarmed.
All the officials spoke out in opposition, the scene far more fervent than the opposition to him building the monastery. Even the every-internally-discordant Cabinet had a rare moment of uniting their voices to express their opposition.
Following the Tumu Stronghold Crisis and Yingzong nearly making a mess of moving the capital from Beijing, the Court officials were abnormally repulsed to the Emperor leaving the palace, wishing to keep him confined in the Forbidden Palace all his life so another fracas wouldn’t occur.
With everyone else having the combined will to oppose it, the Emperor took a step back at last. He did not demand to leave himself, but proposed that the Crown Prince go out to pay respects and pray in his place.
Everyone disagreed with that too, of course, and another mess ensued.
This matter continued to be deadlocked until the end of December, when the monastery was about to be completed, and two major events happened in succession.
One, a comet streaked across the North Cup.
Two, the Gold Star encroached over the Sun.
For someone that loved fine food as much as Tang Fan did. Being unmoved by food and rejecting Wang Zhi’s invite was certainly something highly unusual.
However, his status was not what it once had been; even Wang Zhi had to bow to him when meeting him, so the insignificant Wei Mao couldn’t stop him, either. If he wanted to leave, Wei Mao could only watch helplessly on, too afraid to force him to stop.
On his end, Tang Fan hurried back home. Before he stepped through the door, the aroma of food hit his nostrils. A room that should have been lightless now looked to be lit up bright with lanterns, the autumn night seeming to make one warm up from the bottom of the heart.
He smiled lightly.
After he had entered the Cabinet, he no longer lived together with Sui Zhou, instead moving back to his original home next door.
Tang Yu had taken He Cheng — his name should really be changed to Tang Cheng now — with her out of the place, having purchased her own residence in the capital that wasn’t far so they could still look after each other. Ah-Dong had also moved, and a home guard hired; with Qian San’r still around, thieves did not dare to drop by.
The reason behind this was that between Tang Fan and Sui Zhou, one was now a Cabinet member, and the other was a head of the Brocade Guard. Even if no one criticized or denounced them, they needed to defend against the monarch’s suspicions, as their statuses were sensitive and could easily give someone a handle on them. Furthermore, the Wan party would occasionally latch on to smaller handles of Tang Fan; if there ever came a time where he was charged with the crime of colluding with the Emperor’s personal bodyguard, a jump into the Yellow River wouldn’t wash him clean.
Following his return from Jiangxi, Tang Fan had been promoted due to his credits, and Sui Zhou had earned even more of the Emperor’s trust. He had originally been going to seal him as Marquis Ding’an, but his repeated refusal to accept it had made the Emperor feel sorry for him, so he had bestowed him with much more salary to compensate for the lack.
Due to Consort Wan, her little brother Wan Tong still held the post of Commanding Envoy of the Brocade Guard. Sui Zhou had never been able to take control of the Brocade Guard in an above-board way, but it was only an issue of when, really; in the years-long contest between the two sides, those who genuinely obeys Wan Tong were getting lesser and lesser. Now, apart from the Southern Bastion Office, the Northern Bastion Office and several Guard posts were Sui Zhou’s people in an overwhelming majority. It had gotten to the point where others said that the Guard currently had two Commanding Envoys of real power. In spite of Sui Zhou being a Bastion Envoy at his surface level, his post a rank down from Wan Tong’s, the reality was that even he had no way to seize the power that his counterpart firmly grasped.
Wan Tong didn’t want to watch such circumstances unfold, of course, but the Emperor trusted Sui Zhou no less than him. His frequent tactics to eradicate dissidents, like slander and vilification, had no effect on Sui Zhou, so, in light of that, Wan Tong had been forced to give up for right now and form some other plan.
Even so, to Tang Fan and Sui Zhou, there was not too much of a difference between being neighbors and being under the same roof. They would leave at dawn and return by night; even if they did live in the same home, they still might not have many chances to meet up.
In contrast, after coming to be neighbors, the courtyards of the two homes were connected by side-doors. As long as they could come home in a timely manner, they would sit down and have dinner together, even if such opportunities were few.
Today was a lucky coincidence. Sui Zhou hadn’t had much to do as of late, and Tang Fan had been able to return earlier, not required to hole up in the Cabinet and look at Head Vizier Wan’s face until after mealtime.
He walked a bit more briskly once in the door, went through the moon gate connecting the inner and outer courtyards into the dining hall, then saw that there were several dishes arranged on the table, all his typical favorite foods. A wine pot was to the side with two cups and two chopsticks; he knew who put this all here.
The smile on his face deepened. He picked up his pace to head in, reached out, and nabbed the nearest plate of salt-Sichuan pepper ribs.
They had been fried to a crispy tenderness, their fragrance wafting up from the plate, still warm. Clearly, they had not been off the pan for long. Every single rib was silently saying “Come eat me, quick,” the very considerate Mister Tang would never let them down…
“Go wash your hands.”
A familiar voice suddenly came from behind him. His hand jolted, nearly dropping the ribs onto the ground.
He quickly put a hot rib in his mouth, then turned to give him a favor-currying, yet guilty smile.
Count Sui’s culinary skills were top-rate, and everyone close to him knew that, but he was no cook. Even if he had free time, he might not be willing to cook; it depended on his mood. That was why not everyone had the fortune to sample his work.
There were exceptions in all things, as he was happy to cook for a certain someone. And even so, the other was busy all day long, not having much off-time to go home and eat a quiet meal.
“I will after this!” Tang Fan still had the rib in his mouth, which muffled his speech, his expressed the utmost of innocent. He grinned, eyes curving, at Sui Zhou, and his gaze landed upon the crab tripe-tofu soup he held, immediately lighting up. “Why did you make so much tonight? The two of us won’t be able to finish it.”
The second he spoke, he forgot that he had something in his mouth, and the rib fell right to ground before it could be caught.
“…”
“…”
Who could have imagined that Solon Tang, erudite and never losing prestige in the outside world, would be like this at home?
Tang Fan laughed dryly, quickly bending over to pick up the ribs. “You’re busy, you’re busy — I’ll go wash my hands!”
Sui Zhou shook his head, set down the soup, then turned for the kitchen to take out a tray of mantou that had been fried to a golden crisp. By the time he returned to the dining hall, he saw an extra figure at the table.
Tang Fan was not yet back from washing his hands.
“What are you doing here?” Sui Zhou asked with a cold face, his tone not any sort of good.
“Eating. I was just in time to keep up with you!” Wang Zhi answered with a laugh, going right into grabbing a wine glass and pouring himself some. “I invited Solon Tang to Immortal Cloud, and he said he had to go home tonight, or he’d be punished with kneeling on a washboard by his Hedong lion. The second I heard that, I was awfully curious, so I specifically came to see what the lion in his house looked like. Hey, he wasn’t talking about you, right?”
There were also maids in the home that Tang Yu had carefully picked out, but mere maids could not have stopped Eunuch Wang, and ordinary people wouldn’t break in without asking like he did.
Sui Zhou had the desire to dump the plate of mantou right onto this guy’s head and kick him out, but he kept it down. Because Wang Zhi’s skills weren’t bad, if they got fighting, only this table of food would end up unlucky. Thinking of how it hadn’t been easy for Tang Fan to be home for dinner in half a month, Sui Zhou could only pinch his nose and tolerate this guy strutting in and eating for free.
He shot Wang Zhi a cold look, feeling that he was an incomparable eyesore no matter how he looked at him. “Less drivel. Eat if you want, and leave when you’re done.”
The more Sui Zhou kept up that cold face, the more delicious Wang Zhi’s wine tasted, and he even smiled. “You’re busy with yours, no need to care about me. Where’s Solon Tang? Call him out to come have a drink with me!”
Ignoring him, Sui Zhou turned and left.
There was still a pot of old duck soup on the stove, with ladybell and jadestalk roots in it, which he was making for Tang Fan. He had to check the fire on occasion.
In result, the instant he returned to the kitchen, he saw someone with his back facing him, concentratedly fiddling with a plate of garlic chicken gristle that had not yet been taken to the table. It used to be padded with a layer of taro shreds underneath, but now they had all been put on top, used to cover up what little gristle remained.
“…You don’t have to do that. I’ve seen everything.”
Tang Fan froze for a moment, and slowly turned, smiling dryly. “No matter how you walk, you don’t make a sound — that made me jump!”
Hah. This was a reversal, a villain being the first to complain.
Seeing Sui Zhou watching him expressionlessly, Tang Fan had a guilty conscience that he couldn’t hide. “I didn’t steal a taste on purpose, I just wanted to help you with making sure the taste was right…. cough, who made you make it so tasty? I couldn’t hold back for a second, haha… don’t blame me, don’t blame me!”
He just can’t ever not get into trouble, Sui Zhou thought with some helplessness, still having no expression. “You told Wang Zhi that I’m a Hedong lion that would punish you with kneeling on a washboard, hm?”
Tang Fan grinned apologetically. “I only didn’t want to go to a feast and talk about junk. You’ve cooked this all by yourself; what in the world would I be doing eating elsewhere, right?”
As the other’s expression wasn’t easing up, apparently not accepting his explanation, Tang Fan tried to butter him up, somewhat tentatively. “Why don’t I go and tell him that I’m actually the lion?”
“…”
Eunuch Wang, in the dining hall, had not a bit of guest-based awareness; before the owner of the home had even taken a seat, he was already picking from the dishes. When Count Sui returned carrying Solon Tang, he lazily called out to them, “Done? Come over and eat if you are, huh?”
He was flipping the roles of guest and host, while acting like he was right to do so…
Sui Zhou already had no wish to say anything, but Tang Fan was a little surprised. “Why are you here?”
“I heard that you refused my invite, Solon Tang, so I deliberately came here to take a look,” Wang Zhi said cooly. “It turns out that your… partner cooked for you personally. No wonder you didn’t even think much of Immortal Cloud!”
The ‘Solon’ tag coming out of his mouth did not only not seem to have a bit of respect or flattery, but even had a hint of mockery.
Tang Fan laughed. “Then you’re in luck tonight. Guangchuan cooked — not everyone is blessed enough to encounter that!”
While he said that, he put all of his mind onto the ladle Sui Zhou was spooning him soup in, not paying attention to the appellation Wang Zhi had used for Sui Zhou.
And yet, Sui Zhou paused in his actions, raised his head to look at Wang Zhi, and narrowed his eyes. “Partner?”
Tang Fan blankly raised his head in sync.
Wang Zhi was unruffled. “Yeah, partner. What is it? Can you not be a partner if you’re also a Hedong lion?”
Tang Fan’s mouth twitched. Very worried that Sui Zhou wouldn’t give him the soup out of anger, he rushed to resolve the dispute. “You’re not my partner! You’re a stranger! A stranger!”
“…”
“I’m not a stranger,” Sui Zhou corrected.
Solon Tang nodded his head like he was pounding garlic, then said, with no principled standpoint at all, “Husband, then! Husband!”
Wang Zhi stared at him in disbelief. “You’re a mighty Vizier of the Cabinet; can you not have some backbone?”
Tang Fan giddily took the soup from Sui Zhou, joyfully ate several spoons of it, and only then found the spare time to answer him. “What’s a backbone? Does it taste as good as crab-tofu soup?”
Look at those words. If an outsider heard them, what would they feel?
Sui Zhou gave him a piece of roasted duck, previously bought from an established shop that Tang Fan often went to. “Eat,” he said.
His implication being for him to not pay Wang Zhi mind.
Noticing that this wasn’t too great to spectate, Wang Zhi also took a piece of chicken gristle and put it into Tang Fan’s bowl, imitating Sui Zhou’s voice, “Eat, Fluffy. Eat some more.”
“…”
“…”
That was a total, purposeful troll.
Sui Zhou’s gaze towards him went straight murderous. Were it not for his consideration for Tang Fan’s reputation, Wang Zhi would have now been swept out the door.
And it was precisely because he knew this that Eunuch Wang was getting all the more smug and unscrupulous in his assurance.
The two exchanged looks, not giving in to each, invisibly brawling for a round.
Mouth twitching, Tang Fan buried his head into the food.
How could this minor interlude be worthy of talk? The meal went on in storms and silence.
Sui Zhou’s skills were truly good. After all these years of experience, even Wang Zhi, someone used to royal meals made by the imperial kitchens and the craft of Immortal Cloud’s cooks, felt that these dishes could be called exquisite. However, he had no idea that it was because Sui Zhou had known that Tang Fan was coming back today that he had painstakingly made this table of food, its taste not to be compared to the skills of outside cooks.
After eating up, a maid tidied up the table and dishes, and the three moved into the main hall. Tang Fan steeped tea of his own volition. “It’s so late, and you invited me to meet outside the palace; there must be something important happening?”
Wang Zhi was now working as an agent of the palace, which was not the same circumstance as operating the Western Depot outside so many years ago. If he wanted to stay outside the palace for a long time, he could, and he could also leave it on vacation, but he was generally less unrestricted than before. More importantly was that Tang Fan’s status was of a Cabinet member, and a Cabinet member having too close a relationship to a palace eunuch was taboo in this Court. Even though Wang Zhi never spoke of such, he would still give as much attention as possible to these intricacies. There had to be something really critical, for him to come out and see him in person, as opposed to having Wei Mao or someone else do it.
“There is.” Not savoring the taste, Wang Zhi drank down his tea in one gulp, then set down the cup. “His Majesty wants to rebuild the Longevity Palace. You heard, right?”
“I more than heard.” Tang Fan smiled bitterly. “Before I came home today, the Cabinet was discussing it.”
“Oh? What was said?” Wang Zhi showed an expression of interest.
There were no genuine secrets in the palace. A high-ranking eunuch like Wang Zhi would quickly learn of many things that went on in the Cabinet, but when he had left in the evening, he hadn’t time to ask.
“To curry favor with His Majesty, Wan An planned to answer the question by getting Liu Ji to take out five-hundred-thousand taels from the Ministry of Revenue for the monastery’s repairs,” Tang Fan summarized. “Liu Cottonflower fears bearing a poor reputation, so he repeatedly refused, saying that the funds had already been set for the Ministry of War. Wan An was pretty unhappy, and is having us all draft articles for another discussion tomorrow.”
While he spoke, his hands ceased their tea-making actions, and Sui Zhou took his teapot, headed inside to fill it with water, then poured three cups for all of them, passing Tang Fan his.
The latter took it smoothly, giving him a smile, then turned his head to give Wang Zhi a pained one. “As I see it, this ism’t something easily decided upon. Liu Cottonflower is unwilling to stick out, and Liu Hui’an is definitely not going to budge one cun, so there’s going to be another quarrel.”
Liu Hui’an was Liu Jian’s address.
“What about you, then? What do you think about this?” Wang Zhi asked.
“To be frank with you, the annual income of the national treasury tops out at a paltry six-million taels,” Tang Fan answered, serious-looking. “I estimate that the silver from Li Zilong’s mining vein could be cast into more taels than that, but that also requires favorable weather and high harvests in all areas to be kept; there’s no way to compare it with Tang and Song. At the root of it, abuses sprouted from the taxation system the Great Ancestor set at the country’s founding — that is not a grandiloquence I alone have, it’s something everyone knows that has long not been a secret. Still, because the ancestor-set laws cannot be changed, anyone that proposes altering the taxation system will immediately be group-attacked by censors.”
Wang Zhi was somewhat impatient, but had to listen patiently. Based on his understanding of Tang Fan, the other was not one fond of speaking nonsense, so whatever he was saying had to be related to his next statement.
But, from Sui Zhou point of view, it didn’t matter if Tang Fan was acting casually, shamelessly, or even seriously as he spoke honestly, like now, he was cute.
Other peoples’ personalities being in flux would inevitably have him believe them to be indeterminate in mood or back-stabbing, but Tang Fan having the same was not a bit disharmonious, instead adding a lot of charm to him. Outsiders knew only of the refined, approachable Tang Fan, while only those close to him could see this variable side to him.
Tang Fan took a sip of tea, proceeding. “For that reason, the national treasury has all that money, but it needs to be spent on countless things; frequently, it survives payment-to-payment, so if the next year needs to be paid for ahead of time, how could there be any funds remaining for His Majesty’s monastery? He could just take the money from the internal treasury and no one would say anything, but Wan An had the unique idea to want to use the national treasury’s money to please His Majesty. Liu Jian’s objection aside, if Wan An wants everyone to express themselves tomorrow, I would definitely object.”
That said, he smiled in slight mockery. “And, as I see it, His Majesty definitely wasn’t the first to propose this. Someone probably incited him to take from the national treasury.”
Wang Zhi sneered. “You all probably can’t actually object to this. Ji Xiao suggested to him that after the monastery is built, it can become a bridge between the mortal world and the immortal realm, reaching up directly for the Heavens to hear. Since the Emperor is the Son of Heaven, he was born not of the mundane world, and paired with the bridge that is the monastery, whatever he seeks from the Heavens will definitely be permitted.”
Tang Fan heard something amiss. “Wait… Ji Xiao is a buddhist monk, right? Why is he intervening with someone else’s building of a Daoist monastery?”
“He claimed that Buddhism and Daoism have been one school since antiquity, also that the Deity Cihang from Daoism was originally the Bodhisattva Guanyin of Buddhism; as long as there is an ability to extradite all living things from suffering, there is no need to distinguish between Buddhism and Daoism. That said, those cheap, I-can-turn-stone-into-gold-by-touching-it tricks he performed in the palace made His Majesty think of him as a celestial out of shock. Even if he said that he was the Buddha’s reincarnation, His Majesty probably wouldn’t doubt it, to say nothing of him merely claiming Buddhism and Daoism to be the same.”
“…”
Tang Fan and Sui Zhou looked at each other, both a bit alarmed. They had clearly not expected for the Emperor to have already become this obsessed with such things.
Previously, Ji Xiao had recommended many monks to the Emperor, and the latter had granted each one a title, even bestowing them golden seal of the State Master, jade crowns of the zhenren, and so on. Many censors admonished him for this, only to be rebuked by him in turn for disrespecting divinity, with several censors that had made the most fuss getting throw into prison. This was something Sui Zhou had handled.
Even so, compared to major national affairs, these were insignificant details. Given that the Emperor’s conduct did not influence the nation at large, the Cabinet members — Tang Fan included — would let him do it. His present wish to use the national treasury to fund repairs for the monastery would made everyone discontent.
Tang Fan shook his head. “Even if Wan An agrees to it, it’s no use. As long as the rest of the Cabinet objects, he can’t just think and act alone. If His Majesty wants to repair the monastery, he has to take the money from the internal treasury. The national one really doesn’t have money to spare.”
Wang Zhi didn’t argue with him, because he hadn’t come with that goal in mind today. “I’m only warning you; it’s good for you to have a bottom line. I came here for something else.”
Tang Fan felt a bad premonition. “Is it even worse news than that?”
Wang Zhi pulled up a fake smile. “Yes. No matter who pays for it, His Majesty has set his heart on fixing that pain-in-the-ass monastery. Not only does it need to be built, but it needed to be built within three months, because when the time comes, the Crown Prince will be made to pray there on his father’s behalf, showing heavy respect in that way.”
“That’s nonsense!” Tang Fan unthinkingly rebuked. “That’s another devil-made idea! How can the valuable Crown Prince leave the palace so rashly?! Moreover, forcing the prestigious heir apparent to go to some unorthodox monastery and pray would ruin his reputation!”
Sui Zhou pressed his hand to his back, lightly patting it with an intent to console.
“What’s the use in aiming your anger at me? Am I the one that suggested it to His Majesty?” Wang Zhi asked coldly.
Tang Fan quickly calmed down, smiling bitterly. “Don’t misunderstand; I’m not aiming it at you, this is just really preposterous!”
“That’s why I came to inform you that Ji Xiao proposed this, and His Majesty will most likely agree to it. Huai En and I are in sensitive positions, so it’s hard for us to speak dissent, or His Majesty will get a bad feeling in his heart, believe that the Crown Prince wishes to bully his own father, and end up turning all the more to Ji Xiao’s side. Therefore, this is all up to you two.”
Tang Fan creased his brow. “Why did Ji Xiao suddenly make that suggestion? He typically has no association with the Crown Prince…”
“Ji Xiao was recommended by Li Zisheng, and Li Zisheng walks close to the Wan party. Is there any connection in there?” Sui Zhou asked.
Ever since the Prince’s studybuddy, Han Zao, died of poisoning, in addition to the attendant that taste the Crown Prince’s food, a eunuch with medical knowledge was arranged to specially supervise the Prince’s everyday diet. To someone with motive, the path of wanting to poison the Prince was completely blocked off.
Also, following Orator Lin Ying’s framing of Tang Fan during his last visit to the palace, with the Emperor’s quiet approval and Huai En’s command, a major purge had been conducted in the East Palace and Court of Education’s staffing. Those that remained were all deeply loyal to the Crown Prince; were someone to want to buy off one of them to assassinate him, it would basically be impossible.
However, the Prince still wasn’t completely safe. His time of crisis was always present, on the contrary, because Consort Wan’s idea to have Zhu Youyuan, son of Consort Chen, be the Crown Prince had never been extinguished. The Wan party was doing all it could to incite the Emperor in abolishing the Crown Prince, while Consort Wan would even constantly bring Zhu Youyuan in the Emperor’s presence to foster feelings for him.
A few instances more, and the Emperor indeed came to particularly favor Zhu Youyuan, and because of Consort Wan’s preferences, he started having some thoughts to abolish the Crown Prince, but hesitated on end, never able to set his heart to it. Now that his health was gradually waning, some people were getting especially antsy.
Reminded by Sui Zhou’s words’, Tang Fan’s brow knotted tight, and he had to say, “The Wan party has always been set on abolishing the Crown Prince… they shouldn’t be thinking to use the time he’s out on the road to assassinate him?”
Those were clearly the words of a layman. Sui Zhou and Wang Zhi both shook their heads hard hearing that. “That’s impossible. Even if he does leave the palace, the escorting guards would be extremely strict. Anything else aside, the Brocade Guard would definitely arrange for people to line the road. If someone wanted to assassinate the Prince under everyone’s staring eyes, they’d have to be sick of being alive. Even if they are, their only end would be getting shot with arrows until they turned into a hedgehog, leaving the Crown Prince unharmed.”
Since there would be no assassination, why did the Prince have to step up for it? Was Ji Xiao’s proposal and what Wan An said in the Cabinet today merely a coincidence?
Tang Fan couldn’t think of a reason for right now, merely shaking his head. “In that case, I will get into contact with Liu Hui’an and them to jointly send a memorial request that His Majesty cease his idea to rebuild the monastery. If we really can’t stop him, we’ll speak more on it later. For right now, His Majesty has not yet proclaimed that the Crown Prince is going to pray; if I make a hasty suggestion, it will only tell him that information is leaking out of the palace, which would be bad for all of you.”
Wang Zhi got up, patting off his butt to leave. “Alright, do what you can. A young lady wants to get married, and it rains — no one can stop this, so we just need to counter every single move!”
Even with Wang Zhi’s warning, Tang Fan had long prepared for this, going during the night to discuss things with Liu Jian and Xu Pu at their homes. The next day, the three of them jointly sent a memorial to unanimously object to the construction of the monastery during the Cabinet meeting, causing Wan An to be unable to so unabashedly demand funds from the national treasury.
They were not alone. After learning of the news, many censors also sent memorials of opposition. However, just like how Wang Zhi had anticipated, the progress in rebuilding the Longevity Temple did not slow because of this, and the crowd’s opposition just impelled the Emperor to be contrarian. He stubbornly demanded that it be rebuilt, and that there was no need to get funding from the national treasury — it would be paid for straight from the internal treasury.
His meaning was clear: I’m spending my own money. All of you can stuff it.
At that point, everyone’s dissent was ineffective, so they could only listen and let go.
In late autumn of the twenty-second year of Chenghua, the Palace of Esteemed Realness and Longevity had its location selected, and construction began. By orders, Li Zisheng was the Head Supervisor, accepting the rank of Chief of Works.
To please the Son of Heaven, the monastery’s construction progressed at a mystifying pace, being over halfway done in the twelfth month. At that time, the Emperor suggested that when construction was done, he would personally go out there to pray.
As soon as that was said, every level of society was alarmed.
All the officials spoke out in opposition, the scene far more fervent than the opposition to him building the monastery. Even the every-internally-discordant Cabinet had a rare moment of uniting their voices to express their opposition.
Following the Tumu Stronghold Crisis and Yingzong nearly making a mess of moving the capital from Beijing, the Court officials were abnormally repulsed to the Emperor leaving the palace, wishing to keep him confined in the Forbidden Palace all his life so another fracas wouldn’t occur.
With everyone else having the combined will to oppose it, the Emperor took a step back at last. He did not demand to leave himself, but proposed that the Crown Prince go out to pay respects and pray in his place.
Everyone disagreed with that too, of course, and another mess ensued.
This matter continued to be deadlocked until the end of December, when the monastery was about to be completed, and two major events happened in succession.
One, a comet streaked across the North Cup.
Two, the Gold Star encroached over the Sun.
