"The Way of Go (Continued)"
"All right, then I'll speak plainly."
They were meeting in private. Zhao Huiluan had chosen a spot by the lake, with a rockery at their backs and the lakeside's green willows and flowering branches to screen them. Xichun was keeping watch outside as cover.
They had little time to talk.
Zhao Huiluan said, "I want you to read the stars. I don't understand such things, but what you must tell His Majesty is that the stars reveal one cause for joy and one cause for concern."
"The cause for joy is that a general's star has risen in the south, shining brilliantly. In the future, it will be able to quell the trouble in the south."
"The cause for concern is that the light of the general's star in the north is gradually dimming, showing signs that it may be shrouded in dust and fall. I fear the northern barbarians may stir up trouble within three months."
"Archivist Tao, have you understood what I said?"
Zhao Huiluan reached out and made a gesture of helping Tao Xingzhi to his feet.
Tao Xuanzhi rose with the gesture. Though he was full of doubt as to why a seven-year-old princess would say such things to him, he solemnly agreed.
"I have committed it to memory."
"It's just that this jade pendant..."
Tao Xuanzhi hesitated. He remembered that the voice he had heard from behind the carriage curtain back then had been a woman's. How had the pendant come into Princess Zhenning's hands? Could it be...
He looked up at Zhao Huiluan in disbelief, then immediately lowered his head when he realized he had overstepped.
"It was my mother the empress's," Zhao Huiluan explained. "The jade pendant returns to its rightful owner today."
"I hope you will do your utmost to carry out what I have entrusted to you. Observing the heavens and divining fortune and misfortune are duties you should be fulfilling as an archivist of the five offices. What happens afterward has nothing to do with you. His Majesty naturally won't suspect you, and your future won't be harmed."
"Rest assured, Your Highness. I am not one to leave a kindness unrequited," Tao Xuanzhi said. "But when should I advise His Majesty?"
"The sooner the better. Tonight, or tomorrow morning at the latest."
It had to be done before the remonstrance officials began attacking Marquis Jingwu's Residence.
That old scoundrel Wen Hong left not a drop of water leaking in his affairs, and this impeachment was meant to draw blood. Whether it came from the supervising censors or the supervising secretaries of the six offices, not the slightest whisper would get out before the impeachment memorial reached the Grand Secretariat.
Only if the astrological divination came before that would it have the weight of foreknowledge.
Tao Xuanzhi agreed.
Before they parted ways, Zhao Huiluan added, "Remember, you and I have never met."
Tao Xuanzhi nodded his assent, grumbling inwardly that the princess was so cautious at such a young age.
By the time he returned to the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, it was a quarter into the hour of the dog, and stars filled the sky.
What Her Highness had said about "tonight" was impossible. To observe the heavens and divine fortune and misfortune, he had to observe first and divine afterward. Only once he had gone through the proper procedures could he seek an audience with His Majesty.
Early the next morning, Tao Xuanzhi submitted a memorial to the palace. Memorials from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau did not need to pass through the Grand Secretariat and went straight to the emperor. Before long, he met the Yongzhao Emperor in Tianji Hall.
The Yongzhao Emperor favored the Dao. Tianji Hall had originally been where he handled state affairs each day, but it had gradually become his altar for seated meditation.
When Tao Xuanzhi came out of Tianji Hall, he met Zhao Huiluan head-on along the palace path as she came to pay her respects.
He stood with his back against the palace wall, cupped his hands, lowered his eyes, and silently bowed.
Zhao Huiluan walked past him without looking aside. Her previously taut jawline softened at once.
The human heart was hard to fathom. Fortunately, Tao Xuanzhi had not disappointed her.
Xichun had not heard the two of them speak the day before. She did not know what Her Highness intended to do, but judging by the present scene, it seemed to have succeeded.
Since the empress had passed away, Her Highness seemed no longer the same as before. Xichun could not say quite what was wrong. It was as though she had many things buried in her heart that she could tell no one, leaving her anxious day after day and often pressed for time.
Back at Jade Balance Palace, Zhao Huiluan motioned for Xichun to close the door.
"Xichun, do you have a way to find out what's happening at court?"
Xichun was shocked. "Your Highness, you..."
Since ancient times, the inner palace had been forbidden to interfere in government. They belonged to the inner court; seeking news of state affairs was a grave offense.
"You were left to me by my mother. I trust you."
Zhao Huiluan knew that if she wanted to accomplish anything, she could not do it alone. She needed to cultivate trusted aides of her own.
Xichun suppressed her wildly pounding heart and nodded solemnly. "I do! Her Majesty made arrangements while she was alive, but they were never used."
Zhao Huiluan sighed inwardly. Her mother had mastered the art of chess and excelled at laying plans, knowing better than anyone to mend the roof before the rain. Yet she probably had never imagined that the man who shared her pillow would deal her a fatal blow as she gave birth, with one foot already through the gates of hell.
Zhao Huiluan told Xichun about her dealings with Tao Xuanzhi and instructed her to keep an eye on the Grand Secretariat.
"Impeachment memorials will arrive soon."
Only then did Xichun learn that Her Highness's worries over the past few days had been for the sake of protecting Marquis Jingwu's Residence.
She frowned and said indignantly, "The old marquis spent his life in the saddle for Great Yin. His entire household has guarded the northern frontier, keeping the land and its people safe for decades. Their toil and merits are immense. How can they treat those who have rendered such service this way?"
"It's only an impeachment."
A chill entered Zhao Huiluan's eyes as she sneered. "Who among the civil and military officials at court hasn't been impeached? How many memorials are piled up in Wenyuan Pavilion, with the Grand Secretariat too lazy even to send them up? In the end, it all comes down to whether His Majesty believes them, and whether he's willing."
Whether in her previous life or now, her imperial father was happy to see it happen. This time, however, he had no choice but to take the Imperial Astronomical Bureau's words into account.
If he acted against Marquis Jingwu's Residence, would the northern frontier truly fall into chaos?
Three days later, in Jade Light Hall.
The Yongzhao Emperor pressed a large hand over a stack of memorials and remained silent for a long time.
Wen Hong and the other grand secretaries had thought this impeachment was a sure thing, but when they saw the Yongzhao Emperor's dark expression, their hearts began to pound.
"I know."
The Yongzhao Emperor said nothing more and simply waved Wen Hong and the others away.
He rubbed the space between his brows and looked at the memorials with considerable impatience.
"You deal with them."
Afterward, he proceeded to Tianji Hall.
"Old Ancestor, what does His Majesty mean by this?"
Unable to fathom the Yongzhao Emperor's thoughts, the scribe eunuch hurriedly turned to Seal-Bearer Duan for help.
Duan Siqi said coolly, "Keep them in the palace."
Xichun whispered the news that the memorials had been "kept in the palace without a response" to Zhao Huiluan at the first opportunity.
At last, joy appeared on Zhao Huiluan's face.
She took Xichun to Celestial Jade Palace to see her little brother. In a rare good mood, she held a cloth tiger and played with him for quite a while. For some reason, her little brother suddenly began crying without stopping, and nothing she did could soothe him.