Along Heaven Street (1)

It was midsummer, and the weather had yet to turn truly hot, but before Zhang Xing transferred to the Central Pacification Office, the atmosphere in the Eastern Capital suddenly grew tense.

The reason could not have been simpler: Yang Shen's major treason case had been handed over to the Ministry of Justice, and its minister, Zhang Wenda, had immediately adopted a stance of uncompromising severity.

This was a case vast enough to blot out the sky, yet its chief conspirator, Yang Shen, was himself a Supreme Pillar of the State, the legitimate eldest son of the late Yang Bin, the dynasty's foremost founding hero, prime minister, and Supreme Pillar of the State. His pupils and former subordinates filled the realm; his relatives by marriage and family friends spanned both capitals. Once the investigation began following the vines to every melon, things would become very interesting indeed.

Thus, every great family in the Eastern Capital feared for its own safety, while all manner of people attached to those families exchanged meaningful looks on the roads and proceeded with extreme caution.

In fact, Yang Shen's case had naturally begun with the Jing'an Directorate, and should have been personally overseen by Cao Lin, its Intendant and a minister of the imperial clan. But Cao Lin's initial proposal had been to execute only the chief culprits and avoid excessive investigation. The Southern Office's chief ministers had unanimously approved it and submitted it to the palace, only for the palace to return it that very day without a word.

The emperor, the Son of Heaven, the Sage-whatever the title, that being who had led armies against Southern Chen as early as the previous emperor's reign, universally acknowledged for his civil and military genius, his brilliance and martial prowess, and styled the supreme sovereign of the human world-had returned the jointly signed memorial without a single annotation or word.

No one dared take the Sage's attitude lightly.

After a brief discussion, the gentlemen of the Southern Office had promptly handed the matter over to the Censorate's Intendant.

The Censorate's Intendant, Dou Shang, had gone back, worked on it for a while, and produced a somewhat harsher proposal. The Southern Office's gentlemen had submitted it to Ziwe Palace again, only to have it returned once more.

At this point, according to procedure, the Ministry of Justice was supposed to take over.

The Southern Office's gentlemen had therefore formally notified the Ministry of Justice, ordering Minister Zhang Wenda to deliberate on a proposal.

Now, this matter and the disastrous defeat in Dongyi were the two greatest issues facing the court, and everyone was watching. As the matter went back and forth repeatedly, countless people had privately guessed at the Sage's intentions in Ziwei Palace countless times, and had long since grown impatient.

Minister of Justice Zhang Wenda was clearly among them.

After receiving the Southern Office's dispatch, instead of immediately approaching the Jing'an Directorate to compile information on the prisoners and the course of the rebellion, he remained silent for three days, then suddenly submitted a public memorial.

In this memorial, which openly passed through the Southern Office and Northern Office into Ziwei Palace, Zhang Wenda publicly accused the Southern Office's gentlemen of allowing themselves to be swayed by the officials because so many courtiers had marital or longstanding ties to the Yang and Li clans. Despite Yang Shen's heinous crimes and his plunging the realm into chaos, they had readily abandoned their position, occupied their posts while eating for free, and betrayed the Sage's trust.

As for Cao Lin, Intendant of the Jing'an Directorate, and Dou Shang, Intendant of the Censorate, they were naturally incompetent men who occupied their positions without thinking of repaying their country, allowing public opinion to shackle them instead.

Finally, Zhang Wenda specifically pointed out that the disastrous defeat in the second Dongyi expedition had not resulted from flawed court planning, cowardice among Great Wei's soldiers and officers, or the Sage's virtue failing to illuminate the realm. Its root lay precisely in the villain Yang Shen's calculated scheming, which had placed the Sage and court in peril and brought division upon the realm and the four seas.

Unless a criminal so vile was thoroughly investigated and his accomplices implicated, the country could never know stability. Even Lord White Emperor might scorn the weakness of the country's justice and cease to shelter it.

Upon receiving the memorial, the Sage immediately added participation in the Secretariat of Chancellery's general affairs to Zhang Wenda's duties as Minister of Justice, and sent his memorial back to the Southern Office... The Secretariat of Chancellery, Chancellery, and Department of State Affairs all occupied a shared hall in southern Ziwei Palace, separated from the inner palace by a single wall. Together, they represented the authority of the chief ministers and were commonly called the Southern Office. In other words, a single memorial had made Zhang Wenda one of the very gentlemen he had denounced.

By this point, how could the Southern Office's gentlemen fail to understand the Sage's intentions?

They soon submitted another memorial, requesting that Zhang Wenda, Minister of Justice and participant in the Secretariat of Chancellery's general affairs, be placed in overall charge of Yang Shen's treason case and Dongyi's military and state affairs.

This time, the inner palace approved it immediately.

"So that's how all this commotion started?"

At noon, on Old Central Bridge in Jingshan Ward, Zhang Xing, newly dressed in embroidered uniform that day, drank sour plum soup spilling cold vapor beneath the envious eyes of nearby children. For the past half-day, he and Qin Bao had been discussing the matter while watching the feverish activity to the north.

There, countless Ministry of Justice soldiers and laborers were transporting cartloads and shoulder-loads of documents from north to south, leaving no need for unrelated passersby to squeeze through. Together with the many sweating ministry clerks and idle spectators, they had almost blocked the road entirely, forcing Zhang Xing, who had come to complete his enrollment procedures on his first day, to openly slack off in public with Qin Bao.

"You've got it backward, Brother Zhang." Qin Bao swallowed some sour plum soup and, unusually, curled his lip. "The commotion's finally over... The Ministry of Justice rarely gets the upper hand over our Jing'an Directorate. They've been making the most of it these past few days, bristling and glaring over Yang Shen's case, demanding prisoners and documents. Even a single sheet of paper needed the relevant people in the directorate to sign and stamp their marks. At the slightest discrepancy, they summoned everyone to start all over again. If anyone dared not come, they seized the chance to cause trouble and slapped them with a charge of deceiving the sovereign... Everyone says the only thing they haven't done is raid the Jing'an Directorate itself. When has the directorate ever swallowed humiliation like this? Yet there's nothing we can do."

Holding his sour plum soup, Zhang Xing hung the matter high above his head, since it did not concern him. "You have to understand. The ministry's been pushed around by the Jing'an Directorate for years. Now they've finally climbed on top, what's wrong with letting off a little steam?"

"To tell you the truth..." At this, Qin Bao glanced around and lowered his voice. "If everyone in the directorate hadn't been tied up with this annoyance, that business across the river probably wouldn't have blown over so easily... Don't pocket the advantage and then make smug remarks, Brother Zhang."

"If you get an advantage without showing off, or do good deeds without leaving your name, isn't that like wearing brocade through the night?" Zhang Xing shamelessly retorted on the spot.

Had anyone else said that, Qin Bao would certainly have thrown his soup at them and severed ties. But he knew that in the earlier case, although the man before him had indeed been settling his own scores as he pleased, there had also been something of the knight-errant about him, cutting down the strong and helping the weak. And he really had left no name... That made it difficult to say much.

Indeed, only when the Ministry of Justice personnel to the north began thinning out, and the two finished their soup in one go and prepared to enter the directorate, did Qin Bao notice that the vendor behind Zhang Xing had more than half a jar of sour plum soup already wreathed in cold vapor.

And clearly, Patrol Rider Zhang had left no name for that good deed either.

Enough idle talk. With the road clear, the two embroidered-uniform patrol riders strode proudly into the directorate-though "entering the directorate" actually meant going onto an island.

The Jing'an Directorate's location was rather interesting... The entire Eastern Capital was designed to mirror heaven and earth, making the fullest possible use of North Mang Mountain and the Luo River. Ziwei Palace and the Western Park naturally drew in vast quantities of flowing water for their layouts, which eventually poured out through the drainage system east of the imperial city.

This drainage system was called the City-Draining Canal.

Meanwhile, two artificial canals branched off from the Luo River: one inside the city, running south to north, and one branching off outside the city, running east to west. They led respectively to the arsenals and warehouses north and east of the imperial city and were proper transport canals. These two canals joined the City-Draining Canal southeast of the imperial city, naturally forming an urban pool and enclosing an island.

Yes, the Jing'an Directorate's headquarters and the Central Pacification Office's prison system stood on that island.

"The old hands say this island was originally called Lide Ward, named in connection with Chengfu Ward across the pool. Chengfu Ward, in turn, took its name from Chengfu Gate southeast of the palace, which was used specifically to unload goods from the transport canals. One link followed another." After crossing the bridge onto the island, Qin Bao automatically began acting as a guide. "People even used to live here. But as the Eastern Capital's population grew, the transport canals were widened, and the Western Park's waters expanded, the pool to the south kept getting broader while Lide Ward kept shrinking. They simply moved the residents out. Now the Jing'an Directorate has it all to itself."

Zhang Xing nodded without further comment, though thoughts had already begun stirring in his mind. Backed by the imperial city, enclosed, and self-contained, this place could easily foster a sense of belonging and independence. No wonder Qin Bao, who had joined the Brocade-clad Patrol Cavalry barely half a month before him, already said "our" at every turn.

"What's that?" Rounding a bend, they came within sight of buildings previously hidden by a mound and trees beside the pool. The first thing Zhang Xing noticed was a strange black structure that was less a building than a tower.

It was not tall, only five or six stories, but that was enough to draw the eye.

"I knew you'd ask." Qin Bao smiled. "That's where we're going... The top floor belongs to the Intendant. He usually discusses affairs at the Southern Office in the morning and works here in the afternoon. Since he has no concubines or children, he spends five or six nights out of ten here too... The lower floors house the assessment and promotion departments and personnel archives. Promotions for chief banner officers and above in the Eastern Pacification Office, and even common soldiers in the Central Pacification Office and Western Pacification Office, all have to be handled in the afternoon."

Zhang Xing understood, then his heart gave a jolt. Suddenly nervous, he immediately asked in a low voice, "Didn't you tell me the day before yesterday that the Intendant was a Great Grandmaster?"

"Yes." Qin Bao's face immediately lit up. "It was learning about his cultivation that convinced me cultivation and official service needn't get in each other's way..."

Zhang Xing could not muster a retort.

A Great Grandmaster of imperial birth, unmarried and childless all his life, and twenty years older than the reigning Sage-it would have been strange if he could not become a high official. What made Zhang Xing nervous was that such a man personally reviewed every personnel appointment and promotion. Heaven knew what might come of that.

"Don't be nervous." After a couple of steps, Qin Bao seemed to realize and hurried to reassure him. "The Intendant's very kind to low-ranking patrol riders. I met him once that day too..."

Zhang Xing was already inwardly speechless, but having come this far, could he turn back? He simply nodded and walked slowly toward the tower with Qin Bao.

At the courtyard entrance beneath the tower, Qin Bao stepped forward, presented his waist token, and briefly explained. Those inside immediately cleared the way.

But once they entered the courtyard and were about to go into the tower, Qin Bao suddenly stopped and spoke.

"Brother Zhang, I can't accompany you inside... Still, although I've always admired your knowledge, today I can't resist testing you before the examining officers inside get their chance... Do you know where the Central Pacification Office's famous imperial prison is?"

Zhang Xing looked around, his gaze settling on the tower before him. After a moment's hesitation, he pointed beneath his feet.

Qin Bao was instantly speechless. "How did you know?"

Zhang Xing said nothing, merely spreading his hands in return... Wasn't this fucking common sense? In a world with True Qi, what jailer could be more reliable than a Great Grandmaster?

A treasure pagoda to suppress the river demon!

Indeed, only when Qin Bao asked did Zhang Xing realize that this tower had probably been built specifically over the imperial prison to hold it down.

But this was no time for idle chatter. After spreading his hands, Zhang Xing lowered his head and walked straight into the five-story black tower.

"Name."

A voice came as soon as he stepped inside.

Zhang Xing looked around, found the surrounding space empty, and immediately looked up. Sure enough, several screens stood on the curved second-floor gallery directly ahead. Figures moved behind them, and that was where the voice had come from.

After some thought, Zhang Xing decided not to indulge these interviewers. Amid a strange silence, he turned and went straight upstairs. Under the eyes of numerous busy clerks, he found the screens and discovered a Black Sash and two White Ribbons behind them, each holding a cup of cool tea and staring straight at him.

Only then did he solemnly cup his hands in salute.

"I didn't know which superior was asking just now, or whether you were asking me. I am Zhang Xing, formerly a street-patrol soldier in the Eastern Pacification Office's Eastern Capital Division, Fifth Squad, reporting under orders to join the Brocade-clad Patrol Cavalry."

"I didn't ask you all that."

Only after a long pause did the Black Sash speak coldly.

"Yes. I am Zhang Xing." Zhang Xing cupped his hands again.

The Black Sash stared hard at him before finally asking another question. "Why did you come upstairs?"

"Out of courtesy." Zhang Xing saluted repeatedly. "When I was downstairs, I didn't know who was calling or what rank they held. But in a place so central to the directorate, it had to be a fellow member of the Jing'an Directorate... As colleagues, we face life and death together outside, and share sweetness and hardship within... What sense is there in hiding one's face behind a screen, shouting, and deliberately creating distance and division?"

The surroundings grew so quiet that a falling pin could have been heard. The Black Sash and both White Ribbons glanced upward almost simultaneously, then withdrew their gazes together.

After a moment, one of the White Ribbons reluctantly picked up a sheet from the long desk behind him and asked with a frown:

"Joining the Brocade-clad Patrol Cavalry? Recommended by Inspector Bai? Originally one of the Street-Cleaning Tigers?"

"Yes." Zhang Xing was speechless. Didn't they still have to ask it all again?

"Do you know there's a problem with your file?" The White Ribbon holding it frowned more deeply. "Even if your parents are dead, surely you have other relatives? Why aren't any listed? Having lived twenty-three or twenty-four years, you ought to have friends and neighbors too... Regulations require five guarantors who've known you for more than five years before your background can be considered clean. But here there's only..."

At a muffled grunt from the Black Sash, the White Ribbon stopped immediately, then looked up at Zhang Xing. "Whatever the case, you must explain this clearly, or we absolutely cannot register your file."

"It's actually very simple." Zhang Xing sighed. "I told Inspector Chai about this just a few days ago... To be frank with you, I was originally a soldier in the Central Rampart Army. Almost the entire army was wiped out at Fallen Dragon Shoal. I escaped alone..."

"You injured your head and can't remember?" The Black Sash's tone softened slightly. "How should I put this? We're not trying to make things difficult... Your account won't convince people. Most obviously, what if you're a Dongyi suicide spy?"

Zhang Xing had nothing to say.

If he had known what to say, he would have come here to report right at the start.

But he was not worried either, because Bai Yousi's sending him here meant someone would answer that question for him.

Sure enough, just then, a bell suddenly rang somewhere upstairs. The Black Sash's expression turned solemn, and he raised a hand toward the floor above. "Go to the third floor... You needn't concern yourself with the file anymore."

Zhang Xing went up in silence. On the third floor, he found another Black Sash standing like an iron tower. This one's demand, however, was very simple.

"Ice True Qi, is it? Put all your strength into a punch to my chest!" the Black Sash called out proudly.

Zhang Xing did not stand on ceremony. He swung a fist, only to feel the next instant as though he really had struck a human-shaped iron tower. The pain was unbearable, and his entire body staggered back seven or eight steps. He nearly tumbled down the stairs.

"Five Orthodox Meridians unblocked. Your reactions and strength are both decent. A promising seedling, though nowhere near as gifted as that Qin Erlang Inspector Bai recommended last time." The Black Sash raised a hand and pointed upward. "Up you go!"

Enduring the pain, Zhang Xing climbed to the fourth floor, only to see, with his liver quivering, an unfamiliar middle-aged Vermilion Sash standing in the open space at its center.

The next moment, the Vermilion Sash calmly said, "Punch me too!"

Zhang Xing froze, his scalp prickling. He wished he could flee at once.

Indeed, his legs seemed to give way, and he turned and took two steps toward the stairs. But just then, laughter sounded behind him. Having taken only two steps, Zhang Xing gritted his teeth and turned, mustered every bit of Ice True Qi he could command, kicked off the floor, and hurled a punch at the man's face.

The middle-aged Vermilion Sash visibly froze, apparently not expecting this. The very next instant, almost instinctively, dazzling golden radiance flared from his body.

Zhang Xing's fist struck, but the expected pain never came. Instead, his body felt as though it were no longer his own. He soon realized what had happened-an old man in purple robes, wearing no crown, had abruptly appeared before the middle-aged Vermilion Sash and seized that seemingly tangible radiance from a distance with one hand. Behind Zhang Xing stood Bai Yousi, who had just casually set him upright.

There was nothing to say. The purple-robed elder could only be Great Wei's imperial uncle, Cao Lin, Duke Who Secures the State and serving Intendant of the Censorate. He and Bai Yousi had been upstairs all along. Seeing trouble about to erupt below, they had come down together to save someone.

Of course, who had moved first, and whom each had come to save, was difficult to say.

"Xue Liang!" Once the situation settled, Cao Lin rebuked him on the spot. "I won't ask why you suddenly decided to toy with a subordinate instead of properly testing his knowledge of criminal cases, nearly causing an accident. I'll ask just one thing: did it never occur to you that he might wheel around and strike back? With your cultivation at Great Perfection of Meridian Unblocking, who gave you the courage to underestimate a living man?"

The Vermilion Sash surnamed Xue flushed scarlet with shame and immediately cupped his hands. "Please punish me, foster father."

But Cao Lin ignored him completely and turned instead to Zhang Xing, his expression easing.

Though the graying duke merely looked over with a softened expression, his eagle eyes flashed like lightning. "Zhang Xing, is it? Sisi has her reasons for wanting to employ you. If she's willing to vouch for you, I'm willing to trust her... But the proper words must still be said. You were far too glib on the second floor. I dislike that. Remember, even among colleagues, there must be distinctions of rank and seniority. Still, whether on the second floor or the third, even when you reached the fourth, you retained courage in your breast, and it only grew stronger. That last punch was especially fine. Even without Sisi speaking for you, I would now be willing to acknowledge you as a stout-hearted man and admit you into the directorate... Before Zhiye Ward closes, go with Qin Erlang to collect your money and buy yourself a good horse. From today onward, you are an embroidered-uniform patrol rider, not one of the Street-Cleaning Tigers. Don't disgrace me when you go about your business."

Having only just caught his breath, Zhang Xing hurriedly bowed behind Bai Yousi and answered yes.

PS: Thanks to our new alliance leader, Bachelor A. This is the book's fortieth alliance leader.