Chapter 41: Bargaining with the Wenchang Emperor

The setting sun hung over the city walls of Bianjing, bathing the entire city in a crimson glow.

At the beginning of the Xu hour, Shen Jifeng arrived before the Donghua Gate, alone on horseback. The final rays of the sunset struck her, gilding her in a layer of golden light. She dismounted with a fluid, practiced motion.

"Seal the gates!" the gate guard called out, his voice drawn out as he raised a brass key into the air.

Shen Jifeng raised a hand. "Wait!"

The guard ignored her, continuing his motion. Shen Jifeng retrieved a piece of silver from her robe and flicked it sharply at the guard’s wrist.

"Ow!" Crying out in pain, the guard dropped the key; it clattered against the stone floor. While he bent to retrieve it, Shen Jifeng dashed to the gate, flashed her identity medallion, and squeezed through the gap.

Recognizing her, the guard said, "Your Highness, once the palace gates are locked, you won't be able to leave. Please return tomorrow morning."

Shen Jifeng picked up the silver from the ground without so much as a glance at the guard and sprinted toward the Chongwen Hall. The guard stared at her retreating figure, still dazed, until Dongyang pressed two pieces of silver into his hand. "It's hot out. Buy yourselves a glass of iced wine and act like you saw nothing."

Emperor Yuanchang had just finished reviewing memorials and was resting with a cup of ginseng tea. Learning that Shen Jifeng was outside asking for an audience, he set down his cup and remarked, "She arrived quickly."

Shen Jifeng knelt, kowtowed, and rose—every movement was smooth and graceful. "Grandfather Emperor, your granddaughter has a request."

The Emperor acted as if he were completely unaware of her purpose. "What matter could be important enough to bring you here at this hour? Rushing about in such a hurry—you’re becoming more like your fourth uncle every day."

"Grandfather Emperor," Shen Jifeng said, moving to his side and taking his arm. "Those twenty or so craftsmen are vital to the silver mine. If they are taken to the capital for interrogation, there is no telling how long it will be before they can return. Your granddaughter cannot wait that long."

"How is the progress at the mine?" This was the first time the Emperor had shown interest in the mining itself.

Shen Jifeng’s face fell, her brows knitting together. "We haven't reached the main vein yet. According to the plan, if we work day and night for a month, we should reach the site where we found the initial ore, but there is no hundred-percent certainty that it is the main vein. We have to adjust the direction of the excavation constantly based on the geological formations. Only the master craftsmen can handle such a responsibility; without them, the rest of the miners are like headless flies. They are useless."

She reached into her pouch and brought out a small silver bead, presenting it to the Emperor.

"Grandfather Emperor, look. This was smelted from the ore found by the master. It’s only a stone this big." She held up her fist to illustrate the size.

The Emperor took the silver bead, turning it over in his hand. Under the candlelight, it shimmered with a rich, oily luster.

"Seven black, eight gray, nine turns green; when it reaches nine-five purity, the color clears. Grandfather Emperor, this is ninety percent pure silver—finer than any other mine in Great Ning."

"Grandfather Emperor," she pleaded, shaking his arm. "Your granddaughter can certainly smelt the silver by the ninth day of the eighth month, provided no one interferes with the progress at the mine." She drew out her tone. "Please, help me."

The Emperor looked at her, his gaze holding both a grandfather’s affection and an emperor’s scrutiny, along with an emotion she could not decipher. "How do you want me to help you?"

"Please issue an imperial decree allowing the Ministry of Justice to send officials to Xijing to conduct the interrogations, but ensure the number of craftsmen questioned daily does not impede the excavation."

"Nonsense," the Emperor rebuked lightly. "The Ministry of Justice is not playing games. This is a major treason case involving remnants of the former dynasty; how can I let you have your way?"

"The former... the former dynasty's remnants?" Shen Jifeng felt a slight tremor, as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over her head. In the sweltering heat of the hall, she felt a sudden chill.

The Prince and Princess of Qi, along with her own father, Shen Xi, had died at the hands of those very remnants. The "remnants" the Emperor spoke of were not a specific individual, but a secret organization loyal to the former royal family: the Azure Dragon. It was a shadowy group; after the incident with the Prince of Qi, the Emperor had ordered a long investigation, but they had vanished like a drop of water in the ocean, leaving no trace. Even the Emperor himself had believed they were gone, only for them to resurface ten years later, intent on stirring up chaos.

Each year, during the Ullambana Festival, the Emperor would lead his officials to Xiangguo Temple to pray. This year, the security preparations were handed to the Prince of Chu, Zhao Jian. Since receiving the order on the twenty-fifth of the fifth month, Zhao Jian had practically lived at the temple, adding sentries and preparing the altars, working himself to the bone. Yet, while he was busy there, someone had been raising death-sworn warriors in a manor on the west side of the temple, stockpiling explosives, blades, and fire oil.

"If the tenant farmers of Xiangguo Temple hadn't noticed the suspicious people coming and going and reported it to the Capital Prefecture, there is no telling what catastrophe might have occurred."

"Grandfather Emperor, have you caught the murderers who killed my father and mother?"

The Emperor had no intention of hiding the progress from her. "It is precisely because we have only caught a few underlings that we must hold all suspects. They found iron ore produced in Chaoxian at the manor. With over two hundred miners and overseers currently in the Ministry of Justice prison, this concerns your father—I would rather kill the innocent than let a single guilty one escape!"

The Emperor’s face was no longer kind; the grief of losing his son was his deepest wound. "Your second uncle was caned twenty times by my order because of this and is still bedridden. Those twenty-odd craftsmen at the mine—every day they remain there, the variables increase. Leaving them in Xijing is no different than releasing a tiger back into the mountains."

"Grandfather Emperor, I also wish to see the Azure Dragon wiped out, but I have carefully checked the household registers of those craftsmen. They are citizens of Great Ning, with parents, wives, and children. Take Old Han Zhang, for instance; he is from Huaiyang, and his granddaughter is only three. Three generations of his family have been vein-masters; they cannot be remnants of the former dynasty."

The Emperor sneered. "Yanru, have you ever considered that if there are their people among those craftsmen, is your mine still safe?"

Shen Jifeng was confident in her investigation, but she knew it was useless; the Emperor would not believe her. "Grandfather Emperor, your granddaughter does not wish to shield them. I only ask that you consider the military pledge I have made and allow the Ministry of Justice to verify the facts in Xijing without delaying the mining progress."

The Emperor's gaze flickered. After a moment, he said slowly, "Everything must be done according to the laws of Great Ning. There is no precedent for setting up a separate tribunal."

A buzzing sound filled Shen Jifeng's head. Her stomach growled, and recalling the days she had spent running around for the sake of the mine, a wave of grievance surged within her. "Since Grandfather Emperor is so unyielding, then just grant me death. Better to die early and be reincarnated; I am going to die anyway if I fail my mission. It would be better to end it now and stop suffering in the sand at the mine!"

With that, she tore down the curtain sash and prepared to hang herself in the hall. Lin Ping'an rushed forward, gripping her arms to stop her.

The Emperor watched calmly, neither angry nor pleased, as if watching a play. At that moment, a young eunuch entered, hesitant to speak. The Emperor gestured for him to continue.

The eunuch stammered, "The Princess has... tied up the Ministry of Justice official and is holding him hostage at the mine."

"Utterly ridiculous!" The Emperor threw his cup to the floor.