Old General Chen came to the imperial study and found Geng Jing there as well.
“This old subject presents himself to Your Majesty.”
“No ceremony, Old General. Quan Sheng. Bring him a seat.”
Once Old General Chen was seated, the Xuan Emperor asked, “Have you been to see Ning Chen?”
“Reporting to Your Majesty. This old subject has just come from the Inspectorate cells.”
The Xuan Emperor inclined his head slightly. “And how is the boy?”
“Ning Chen is in fair enough condition.”
Old General Chen said it, then glanced at Geng Jing with the look of a man who had something to say and had stopped himself.
The Xuan Emperor said it mildly. “Say it plainly, Old General. If it concerns Ning Chen there is no need to keep it from Geng Jing.”
“Yes.” Old General Chen thought a moment. “When this old subject went to see Ning Chen just now, he told me he has the evidence against every official in Chongzhou.”
That startled the Xuan Emperor, and he looked at Geng Jing.
But Geng Jing’s whole face was blank. He knew nothing whatever about it.
The Xuan Emperor said quickly, “Where is this evidence?”
“Reporting to Your Majesty, the evidence is still in Zhenyuan County… Because Ning Chen trusts this old subject and nobody else, he has never spoken of it to a living soul.”
Old General Chen was rather pleased with himself.
The Xuan Emperor was not happy about it at all. The wretched boy actually doesn’t trust this emperor?
This emperor is turning over every way there is to get him off, and the boy doesn’t trust him?
Something went sour in the Xuan Emperor, and he was very angry.
Geng Jing stole a look at the Xuan Emperor’s face and knew His Majesty was angry… Don’t be angry, Your Majesty. The boy doesn’t trust me either.
Old General Chen said, smiling, “Your Majesty. Your subject would like to send men to Zhenyuan County to bring the evidence back, and begs Your Majesty’s leave.”
The Xuan Emperor was silent a moment.
“Old General Chen. Geng Jing. Take your orders.”
“This emperor commands you to send men to Chongzhou at once… Old General Chen, pick several men you can trust and send three hundred imperial guards with them.”
“Geng Jing, you send men to assist.”
The Xuan Emperor narrowed his eyes and went on. “Establish whether the evidence is genuine. If it holds, take every official in Chongzhou, high and low, and bring them back to the capital to be tried.”
“If any man obstructs or resists, this emperor grants you the right to execute first and report afterward.”
Old General Chen and Geng Jing said it quickly. “Your subjects have the order.”
The Xuan Emperor said heavily, “See one spot and you know the whole leopard… Chongzhou is very likely not the only case. This time this emperor means to show the men who hold a post and eat the bread of it and do nothing exactly what doing nothing comes to.”
“They eat their sovereign’s salary and spend it butchering this emperor’s own people… What is the use of keeping men like that alive?”
“Go and see to it at once. This emperor waits on good news from you.”
Old General Chen and Geng Jing made their bows and left quickly.
The Xuan Emperor picked up the sheet of paper on the desk. There was a poem on it.
“A thousand hammers and ten thousand chisels, and it comes out of the deep mountain; the fierce fire burns it and it counts that as nothing. Ground to powder, broken to pieces, and it is not afraid at all — it means to leave its whiteness clean in the world of men… A fine poem. A fine poem indeed.”
“Quan Sheng. Tell me, is the boy some god of poetry born again… How else does anybody that young write one immortal work after another?”
Eunuch Quan bent at the waist and said respectfully, “This servant does not know. But Young Master Ning is certainly brimming with talent.”
The Xuan Emperor made a cold sound. “Every scrap of that talent goes on making this emperor angry… Leave its whiteness clean in the world of men. What is that? Does he take this emperor for a fool on the throne? That the boy must be killed and nothing else will do?”
“The wretched boy. He is as tiresome as those censors who set themselves against this emperor to make a name.”
Eunuch Quan kept his head down, with a fawning smile all over his face.
Nobody understood His Majesty’s mind better than he did. Never mind the complaining — underneath it His Majesty truly doted on Ning Chen… He had never seen him treat any prince this way. Even the crown prince got a scolding three times a day.
“Has the crown prince been to see Ning Chen?”
Eunuch Quan said quickly, “This servant does not know. He should have been by now, surely?”
“Should have?” The Xuan Emperor frowned. “With that elm-block head of his he certainly has not… Go and remind him. Tell him to visit Ning Chen. It is the best chance he will ever get to win the boy over, and he cannot see even that. It worries this emperor to death. Even Huai’an knows enough to plead for Ning Chen.”
“Yes. This servant will go at once.”
“Wait.”
Eunuch Quan bent quickly. “Has Your Majesty some further order?”
The Xuan Emperor’s face filled with doubt. “Tell me. Why would Huai’an plead for Ning Chen?”
“The Ninth Princess may not want to see a young talent like Young Master Ning beheaded. It would be a loss to our Great Xuan.”
“Is that so? Does that head of hers think that deep?” The Xuan Emperor had a very clear idea of his own daughter’s intelligence. He said, half to himself, “This emperor remembers Huai’an disliking Ning Chen a great deal. And now she runs off to plead for him. There is something in that. There is definitely something in that.”
“Huai’an will be fifteen herself before long. Could it be… That will do. Go on.”
Eunuch Quan made his bow and withdrew.
Elsewhere, once Old General Chen and Geng Jing were out of the palace they split up at once and went two ways.
Two hours later Qi Yuanzhong, at the head of three hundred imperial guards, met two gold coats and thirty silver coats of the Inspectorate at the city gate, and they went straight for Chongzhou.
Three days went by.
Ning Chen stayed shut in the cells, and had a very comfortable time of it.
Gao Ziping and Feng Qizheng came often with good things for him to eat.
Geng Jing and the crown prince came as well.
All Ning Chen cared about now was whether Old General Chen had gotten hold of the evidence.
And when they meant to behead him.
Ning Chen was so bored he had taken to keeping pets… several mice.
At first there was only the one, stealing what he left of his food.
Later, seeing that Ning Chen meant it no harm, it fetched its seven aunts and eight aunts along.
There were five or six of them now, and the establishment showed every sign of growing.
Ning Chen was passing the time teasing one of the small ones with a straw. A mouse born in the cell has no fear of people, and it played happily enough with him.
A sound of footsteps started up.
Ning Chen thought somebody had come to visit him again, and turned his head — and found a crowd of men he did not know at all.
At the head of them was a young man of twenty-three or twenty-four, in fine brocade, and there was something out of the ordinary about the way he carried himself.
Four men came behind him.
By the dress of those four they were palace guards.
Before Ning Chen could open his mouth the man said sharply, “You are Ning Chen?”
Ning Chen stopped short. This one had not come with anything good in mind.
“I’m not Ning Chen. My name is Ning Gan.”
The man laughed coldly. “Ning Chen. Don’t put it on. I know it’s you.”
Ning Chen spread his hands. “Then why ask?”
“Ning Chen, you have some nerve. You dared cut down the Empress’s brother with a sword and disregard the dignity of the imperial house. Do you know your crime?”
Ning Chen laughed coldly. “You’re one of the imperial house yourself, I take it? Don’t blacken your own family’s face… All I killed was an animal. He was not fit to be one of you.”
“Good. Very good… At death’s door and still hard-mouthed? A little nothing of a silver coat, and he dares kill the Empress’s brother… Today I’ll have blood pay for blood.”
“Come on. Get that door open… This prince is going to kill him with his own hands, and avenge his uncle.”
Something contracted behind Ning Chen’s eyes. He had worked out who this was.
This was the Third Prince.
The story was that the Empress, for reasons nobody knew, had never been able to bear a child of the dragon’s line. And how is the mother of the nation to have no issue? People would talk.
The Third Prince was born of Consort Ming, and was carried into the Empress’s palace at birth and raised by her.
The dead man was the Empress’s own younger brother, and this man had just said he was avenging his uncle… so it could only be the Third Prince.
In the court as it now stood, the greatest threat to the crown prince was this Third Prince.
The crown prince was His Majesty’s eldest son.
But the Third Prince had been raised by the Empress, and his standing was high.
So the ministers had split into two parties, one behind the crown prince and one behind the Third Prince.
The crown prince was the heir apparent, true. But until a man is actually sitting on the throne, everything is still possible.
(End of Chapter 60)