"Calling himself a humble subject with every other word, then saying he wants to devote himself wholeheartedly to Us until death—Lu Fang, what do you think this humble subject is after?"
Lu Fang said with a smile, "Your Majesty, this servant says he wants an office. He wants to become a minister."
Wang Yan grinned cheekily. "How high an office would be high enough? This humble subject wants nothing else, only to share Your Majesty's burdens and fulfill a subject's duty."
"You came to the capital to stand trial, and you only just beat Yan Shifan. It will not be so easy for you to get through this. Wait for now. We will discuss it after the new year." Jiajing waved a hand, though there was little worry in his tone.
Earlier, Zheng Michang and He Maocai had turned the tables and reported to the Grand Secretariat that Wang Yan had sheltered Japanese pirates. At the time, Yan Shifan had wanted to strip Wang Yan of his position, but Jiajing had stopped him. Furthermore, the Jinyi Guard had followed and recorded the entire affair, so Jiajing knew every detail clearly.
Whether by reason or by law, Wang Yan was not going to die.
Jiajing said, "We heard that you treated Hu Zongxian and even taught him a set of exercises for nourishing the body?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Without waiting for Jiajing to ask further, Wang Yan gave him a detailed account of Hu Zongxian's physical condition and their conversation at the time. Jiajing certainly already knew these matters. He would surely continue monitoring Hu Zongxian afterward as well, to see how his body had fared after practicing for so long.
For someone at Hu Zongxian's level—and even for a minor county magistrate like Hai Rui—physical health was one of the