The Night Watcher of Great Jing - Chapter 18

Emperor Longqing had maintained himself well and looked young, with a remarkably amiable face.

His hair was arranged in a Daoist topknot, and he wore Daoist robes. At present, he stared helplessly up at the carved coiling dragons on the rafters.

Below the steps, several powerful grand councillors argued in a furious knot. Their verbal battle looked ready to escalate into a physical one.

Every man present was over sixty, yet they overflowed with energy. Emperor Longqing found this deeply distressing.

A stack of memorials lay upon the imperial desk, all submitted by censors accusing Shen Yan of interfering with agriculture and conscripting laborers to dam an irrigation canal.

Because of the matter, the grand councillors quarreled like village peasants.

Just as blows seemed imminent, a young eunuch announced from outside, “Eunuch Shen requests an audience!”

The arguing officials instantly fell silent.

Only one continued staring at the entrance with fire in his eyes.

Emperor Longqing’s eyes brightened, and he sat straighter.

Shen Zhixing entered the hall.

Though a eunuch, his presence was as pure and upright as pine and cypress.

When he prepared to bow, Emperor Longqing waved a hand.

“No need for ceremony, my dear companion.”

Shen Zhixing heard but properly completed the salute anyway.

Then he turned and greeted each grand councillor.

Unlike Shen Yan, Shen Zhixing maintained a much kinder expression.

No matter how viciously men cursed Shen Zhixing in private or swore themselves irreconcilable with the Eunuch Faction, no one dared show him open disrespect.

Even the most haughty old man merely scowled and gave a casual salute.

Shen Zhixing’s arrival delighted Emperor Longqing.

“You came at just the right time! The censors want to impeach A-Yan. You handle it.”

After delivering this absurd command, he lifted the hem of his robe and left.

At the palace door, he stopped.

“The imperial cattery has received several new female kittens. Remember to tell A-Yan to enter the palace and see them.”

“I do not know what that boy has been doing. He has not come to the palace in two days. I rather miss him.”

Muttering, Emperor Longqing fled at remarkable speed, terrified that the old ministers might catch him again.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Shen Zhixing bowed with a smile toward the emperor’s retreating back, then straightened.

Still smiling, he addressed the councillors.

“My lords, on what grounds do you wish to impeach my nephew?”

“Eunuch Shen, Shen Yan may be your nephew, but there must be limits. Irrigation canals concern the livelihood and foundation of the people. How can he alter one at will?” a vigorous old man demanded with a cold snort.

“Ordinarily, we might overlook his contempt for law and order. But now he dares tamper with the foundation of the state. Such motives are beyond reprehensible.”

The accusation of undermining the nation was extraordinarily vicious, yet Shen Zhixing remained unhurried.

Another old man stepped forward instead.

“Grand Councillor Lin, your words are unreasonable. Commander-in-Chief Shen clearly stated that witchcraft and supernatural matters forced him to act. He seeks only to preserve peace in the area. How does that undermine the state?”

“Huang Li, be silent! I am ashamed to serve in the same court as you.”

Huang Li and Shen Zhixing came from the same region. Huang Li owed his position as Chief Grand Secretary to Shen Zhixing’s patronage.

Lin Zhu despised Huang Li for lacking a scholar-official’s integrity and joining the Eunuch Faction. The two had always been enemies.

Huang Li did not care.

He had already joined the Eunuch Faction. What use did he have for integrity or reputation?

With the emperor gone, he traded insults and exposed weaknesses without restraint.

“Grand Councillor Lin, I know you are angry over your son-in-law Zhao Huai. But Zhao Huai was not alone at fault. You also failed to properly teach your daughter!”

“Stop talking nonsense!”

The words were a spark thrown into gunpowder. Lin Zhu exploded.

Information released by the Jingning Guard had spread through every neighborhood.

Under deliberate, organized encouragement, the story of Zhao Huai and the Zhao family abusing their switched daughter had produced eighteen different versions, each fouler than the last.

Zhao Huai had shut his gates and refused all visitors. His in-laws, the Lin family, had also suffered greatly.

Yet Lin Zhu was certain that the rumored abuse could never have happened.

His son-in-law Zhao Huai was an honest official.

His daughter Lin Jiaoniang was virtuous and kind.

His grandson Zhao Kaiyang was filial and upright.

His granddaughter Zhao Yaoguang might have been switched, but she was still a child as pure and lovely as carved jade.

They were a harmonious family of loving parents and filial children.

Even with the addition of Zhao Li, they could afford to raise one more girl. How could anything as shocking as abuse occur?

The mere mention of Zhao Li gave Lin Zhu a splitting headache.

He had met her once and remembered only a shallow, competitive temperament that fell far short of Yaoguang’s generous bearing.

Sure enough, someone had easily lured her away. She had bitten the hand of her family and committed the absurd act of severing their ties.

His outstanding grandson had nearly been ruined as a man. What young lady could do such a thing?

The thought of his grandson lying in bed with his legs spread and his daughter sick with fury made Lin Zhu’s rage burn hotter.

He did not know that both the Zhao family and Lin Jiaoniang prized their dignity.

The greatest reason Lin Jiaoniang had fallen ill with humiliation was that Zhao Li had slapped her across the face.

The matter had never been mentioned outside. Even within the Zhao estate, only a handful knew.

Had Lin Zhu learned of it, he would have suffered far worse than a splitting headache.

“True or not, the Jingning Guard has investigated, and His Majesty has issued a decree,” Huang Li said, stroking his beard smugly. “Do you mean to claim His Majesty was wrong?”

He loved watching that old mongrel Lin Zhu stamp with rage.

Later, he would have someone send a gift to A-Li of the Zhao family. He had heard she remained with the Jingning Guard.

From now on, that girl would be his own beloved granddaughter!

That would infuriate the old bastard Lin Zhu.

“Investigated?” Lin Zhu’s teeth ground audibly. “Listening only to Zhao Li’s side of the story counts as an investigation?”

“Listen to him. Just listen.” Huang Li pointed a finger. “*Zhao Li?*”

“What maternal grandfather calls his own granddaughter that? The abuse is clearly real.”

“Huang, you’re asking for a beating!”

Shen Zhixing stood smiling at one side, hands folded, watching the dignified grand councillors quarrel.

Only after a long while did he speak.

“My lords, since my nephew has clearly stated that supernatural matters are involved, why not send the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to verify it?”

Lin Zhu glared at Huang Li, turned, and snorted.

“What can the Imperial Astronomical Bureau discover? The Master never spoke of strange forces or disorderly spirits! Some treacherous men merely borrow the language of gods and immortals to commit sinister acts.”

In his youth, Grand Secretary Lin Zhu had written three essays on selling ghosts, using spirits to satirize the human heart. He refused to believe so many ghosts and monsters truly existed.

When His Majesty liked cats, auspicious cats appeared everywhere as tribute.

When His Majesty became obsessed with immortality and the Dao, strange incidents suddenly multiplied across the realm.

What principle explained that?

The ghosts in human hearts.

To Lin Zhu, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau and Jingning Guard were two of a kind.

His words finally provoked an old man who had not joined the brawl. The man had been repeatedly studying Shen Yan’s report.

“Watch your words, Grand Councillor Lin!”

The old man, whose Daoist title was Xuanxu, headed the Imperial Astronomical Bureau and had been summoned because of the supernatural case. He could not tolerate Lin Zhu’s slander.

After rebuking the red-faced grand councillor, Daoist Xuanxu turned toward Shen Zhixing, his Daoist robes and crane-feather cloak rustling.

“Eunuch Shen, might this poor Daoist visit Mount Jin?”

He had never heard the theories in the report: White Tiger Biting the Blade, or a starvation ground.

They appeared fantastical, yet careful thought showed them to be seamless and persuasive.

They even formed the outlines of an independent theoretical system.

Daoist Xuanxu was certain that some expert from the spiritual schools had intervened. Naturally, he wished to meet this fellow practitioner.

Before Shen Zhixing could answer, Lin Zhu cut in.

“This old man will go as well! I want to see what tricks they can produce.”

He would expose these charlatans who hid treachery behind gods and ghosts.

“Then I am going too!”

If that brute Lin Zhu went, so would he. Huang Li stepped forward with his head held high.