"Your Majesty, the princes are waiting at the Imperial Clan Court."
Shuangxi knelt to report, interrupting Zhu Yunwen's thoughts.
Zhu Yunwen smiled calmly and glanced at the sun outside. It was already afternoon. "I thought they weren't leaving," he remarked.
Ma Enhui giggled. "You can't blame them for that. The empress dowager kept the Prince of Liao, the Prince of Qin, the Prince of Jin, and the Prince of Min with her. They probably lost track of time while chatting."
Zhu Yunwen shook his head with a rueful smile. Zhu Di and the others were probably waiting to leave with Zhu Shangbing, the Prince of Qin, and Zhu Jixi, the Prince of Jin. They had waited and waited, dragging things out until afternoon.
"Prepare my carriage. I shall see them off!"
Zhu Yunwen gave Zhu Wenkui's cheek a pinch, then left the palace with a smile.
Around the Left Changan Gate stood chiefly the Imperial Clan Court, the Ministry of Personnel, the Revenue Ministry, the Rites Ministry, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Works, the Court of State Ceremonial, and the Imperial Medical Academy. Around the Right Changan Gate stood chiefly the Five Army Commandery, Changtai Temple, the Office of Transmission, and the Envoys Office.
The Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Jiaofang Office stood west of the Five Army Commandery.
The Imperial Clan Court was the institution that managed the imperial clan.
Come to think of it, this, too, had been Zhu Yuanzhang's invention.
Though old Zhu brimmed with energy, his mind was devoted entirely to governing the country. Where could he find the time or energy to manage his clan? Yet he was also a man who cherished family ties. He could hardly ignore every aunt, uncle, and distant relation, so he established the Imperial Clan Court.
Its main duties were to maintain the registers of the emperor's nine degrees of kinship, oversee sacrifices on the three festivals, confer titles on imperial relatives, arrange marriages, decide their posthumous names and burial places, and determine punishments for relatives who broke the rules. If everyone had gone too long without gathering, it would also organize a drinking party to strengthen family bonds.
Old Zhu attached great importance to the Imperial Clan Court, creating the posts of Director of the Imperial Clan Court, Left Clan Supervisor, Right Clan Supervisor, Left Clan Administrator, and Right Clan Administrator. Since Zhu Biao was rather busy serving as crown prince, he stuffed his second son Zhu Shuang, third son Zhu Gang, fourth son Zhu Di, fifth son Zhu Su, and sixth son Zhu Zhen into those positions instead.
Unfortunately, the second son held office for only six years before someone poisoned him.
After the second son was gone, the position of Director of the Imperial Clan Court fell vacant. Then the third son could take over.
Unexpectedly, before the third son had served even three full years, he died of illness as well.
The director's post was vacant again. By rights, Zhu Di should have been next, but he dared not accept it. Two elder brothers had died in succession while holding that office, and he wanted to live a few more years.
Presumably, Zhu Yuanzhang did not want to send Zhu Di to his death either, so the position remained vacant.
Had Zhu Yunwen not been seeing the princes off, he probably would never have come to the Imperial Clan Court.
Compared with the mournful atmosphere when they arrived for the funeral, their departure from the capital was a far grander affair. Ceremonial crowns and splendid robes, drums and music, and honor guards were naturally indispensable. Nor was there much sorrow on the princes' faces. Instead, they were in high spirits.
Zhu Yunwen understood. These men preferred their fiefs, where heaven was high and the emperor far away, and each could be king of his own domain.
But that was fine. Distance had its advantages.
There were far more than nine princes. Zhu Yuanzhang had twenty-six sons, and aside from the crown prince and his twenty-sixth son, who died young, all had been granted princely titles.
There was also a Prince of Jingjiang: Zhu Shouqian, the son of Zhu Wenzheng. However, Zhu Shouqian had died in Hongwu Year 25, and his eldest son, Zhu Zanyi, had succeeded him.
The group laughed and joked together in perfect harmony.
Upon seeing Zhu Yunwen arrive, Zhu Di led the princes in paying their respects.
Zhu Yunwen looked at them and smiled. "Uncles, your journey back to your fiefs will be long. Please take good care of yourselves. Especially you, Uncle Yan and Uncle Ning-the Northern Mongols remain a force to reckon with. I ask you both to shield Great Ming and defend our mountains and rivers."
Although Zhu Di and Zhu Quan wore smiles upon hearing this, their hearts were filled with bitterness.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhu Yunwen swept his sleeves back and bowed solemnly with clasped hands. "Go. Secure our borders, keep our people safe, and protect Great Ming! Your names will shine in the annals of history. Even five or six hundred years-no, a thousand years from now-the world will still remember you!"
The palace attendants knelt in unison.
The princes all knelt and bowed, declaring together, "We shall not fail Your Majesty or Great Ming! Your subjects take their leave."
Zhu Di rose and gave Zhu Yunwen a faint smile. "Your Majesty, take good care of your imperial health."
With that, he entered his carriage.
The other princes also said their farewells and climbed into their carriages.
The procession slowly departed.
Zhu Zhi, Zhu Shangbing, Zhu Jixi, and Zhu Geng did not leave, but remained beside Zhu Yunwen.
Zhu Yunwen waved a hand. "Go and look around for now. Come to the palace tomorrow, and we shall discuss the details."
The four quickly nodded, bowed, and took their leave.
Seeing that it was still early, Zhu Yunwen instructed Shuangxi and Liu Changge to change into ordinary clothes, then passed through the Right Changan Gate and headed toward the Jiaofang Office.
"How many people are currently in the Jiaofang Office?"
Zhu Yunwen put the question to Liu Changge.
Liu Changge replied, "Your Majesty, there are currently more than six thousand eight hundred names on its register."
"That many?"
Zhu Yunwen frowned.
Liu Changge hesitated. "Your Majesty, in Hongwu Year 26, the great general Lan Yu plotted rebellion and was executed by the founding emperor. A great many people were implicated, so..."
Zhu Yunwen glanced at Liu Changge but did not blame him.
Zhu Yuanzhang had indeed gone too far when it came to killing.
Of the four great cases of the Hongwu reign, the Blue Jade Case alone had claimed more than fifteen thousand lives. Almost all the army's valiant commanders had been wiped out, which was one major reason Zhu Yunwen repeatedly failed to defeat Zhu Di after ascending the throne.
Those killed were mostly civil officials or military officers. Some of their families were executed alongside them, while some female relatives were consigned to the Jiaofang Office, the Laundry Bureau, and similar institutions.
Upon entering the Jiaofang Office, they were met with a clamorous bustle.
Most of the windows in the buildings above stood half-open. Some women lingered behind them, while others leaned halfway out to peer at the visitors.
A voluptuous woman approached. Seeing Zhu Yunwen's extraordinary bearing, she concluded that he must be someone important and smiled. "Young master, is this your first visit? Do you have a beauty in mind?"
Zhu Yunwen smiled. "A beauty? Who is the finest here?"
The woman gave him a seductive smile. "There are thousands of women in the Jiaofang Office, each with her own springtime charms. In looks alone, Xiao Yue'er is the finest. In artistic accomplishments, Miss Mo Qiusheng surely takes the crown. But for sweetness and a charm that most stirs a man's tenderness, it must be Murong Jing'er."
"Oh? How intriguing. Bring all three of them here."
Zhu Yunwen spoke softly.
Surprise appeared on the woman's face. She looked him over and said, "Unfortunately, young master, both Miss Xiao Yue'er and Miss Mo Qiusheng already have guests today. Why not have Murong Jing'er keep you company?"
"Very well."
"Young master, heh-heh, well..."
The woman's smile came quite naturally.
Zhu Yunwen glanced at Shuangxi. "Are you really that slow on the uptake?"
Shuangxi hurriedly took out some silver and handed it to the woman. Only then did she beam with delight and lead Zhu Yunwen upstairs into the Warm Fragrance Pavilion. Stopping before a door, she said, "Miss Murong is inside. Please make yourself comfortable, young master."
He pushed open the door and entered. Rich fragrance filled the room, as though it were paradise.
"Wait outside."
As soon as Zhu Yunwen spoke, Shuangxi nodded repeatedly and tactfully closed the door. He muttered to Liu Changge beside him, "We must let this secret rot in our bellies. If anyone finds out, there will be serious trouble..."
Liu Changge nodded silently.
His Majesty really was something. With so many beauties in the palace, why come to the Jiaofang Office? This was taboo. Under the regulations, officials were forbidden from having any intimate entanglements with its female entertainers...
The red curtains offered little shelter from the chill as the autumn wind rolled them aside.
Zhu Yunwen lifted the curtain and saw a young woman standing quietly by the window, murmuring, "Heaven bestows autumn's light; turning, turning, love turns to sorrow. I seek the golden blossoms and know the Double Ninth draws near. Light robes newly tried, fresh green-foamed wine newly tasted. Each gust of wind, each fall of rain, each deepening chill..."
Zhu Yunwen walked over. Startled, the woman turned to look at him, and he softly continued, "The courtyard at dusk, desolate and fearful; waking from wine, the past knots my heart with sorrow. How can I endure the endless night, the bright moon, the empty bed? I hear the pounding of washing blocks, the faint song of crickets, the long drip of the water clock."
Murong Jing'er looked at Zhu Yunwen and dipped into a graceful curtsy. "Murong Jing'er greets you, young master."
Her dark hair swayed in the wind at her slender waist.
Graceful and aloof.
Fragile and sorrowful.
Zhu Yunwen looked at Murong Jing'er and nodded slightly. "Please sit, miss."
Murong Jing'er was somewhat surprised. There was no lust in Zhu Yunwen's gaze. Instead, he walked straight to the table, sat down, and began leafing through the poems she had written.
He was nothing like the others.
Zhu Yunwen turned a few pages, accepted the tea Murong Jing'er offered, and thanked her. "How long have you been at the Jiaofang Office, Miss Murong?"
"Six years, young master."
Murong Jing'er sat to one side and answered softly.
Zhu Yunwen frowned. That timing coincided precisely with the Blue Jade Case. He could not help asking, "Was someone in your family a military officer?"
Murong Jing'er shook her head, sorrow on her face. "My father was only an army clerk."
An army clerk!
An insignificant, low-ranking official.
Yet even men like him had been implicated in the Blue Jade Case and killed.
Zhu Yunwen felt a pang of guilt.
One of the greatest reasons Zhu Yuanzhang had slaughtered meritorious officials so freely was to ensure that Zhu Yunwen could sit securely on the throne.
"Is the Jiaofang Office paradise, or hell?"
Zhu Yunwen looked at Murong Jing'er and asked in a low, grave voice.
Murong Jing'er was surprised, and looked at him, unsure what to do. This young master had not come seeking pleasures of the bedchamber, nor did he seem some wild, unrestrained libertine.
Paradise?
Hell?
Murong Jing'er had never heard anyone ask such a question. Seeing that Zhu Yunwen was serious, she gave a bitter smile. "For you, young master, this place is paradise."
Zhu Yunwen shook his head slightly. "It seems the words left unsaid are the most important ones. Well, would you like to leave this life and be freed from the register?"
Murong Jing'er stared at Zhu Yunwen, too astonished to speak.
Zhu Yunwen rose, walked up to her, and said slowly, "You have not answered my question."
Murong Jing'er stepped forward, almost pressing herself against him. Raising her head slightly, she pleaded, "If you can free Jing'er from the register, young master, I would gladly serve you as an ox or a horse."
The women of the Jiaofang Office were not people. They were objects.
Playthings, to be precise.
No one truly treated them as human beings.
Zhu Yunwen placed his hands on Murong Jing'er's fragrant shoulders and, with gentle pressure, pushed her a step back. "The Jiaofang Office is hell to you. It is the same to me. But it stands on the soil of the human world, not in the King of Hell's underground palace! So wouldn't it be better to burn it down?"
"B-burn it down?"
Murong Jing'er stared at Zhu Yunwen in bewilderment and, as though prompted by some unseen force, asked, "How?"
Zhu Yunwen smiled. "Miss, may I borrow your firelighter?"
Not understanding his intentions, Murong Jing'er fetched a firelighter from nearby and handed it to him. Zhu Yunwen opened it and blew the ember into flame. Then, before her widening eyes, he tossed the burning stick onto the bed.
Watching the flames catch the quilt, Zhu Yunwen calmly said to Murong Jing'er, "Look. Isn't it burning now?"
Before you continue