Chapter 98: Weakness
The alcoholic scent of Autumn Dew White was like a thick fog, a vast expanse of white, rising and falling, floating and drifting around the wine table and within the room, a bewildering haze.
The thick fog enveloped Feng Gao like an isolated island.
He grabbed the woman.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
The woman did not speak.
“Elder Sister, where are you going?” he asked again.
The woman moved further and further away from him.
He stumbled and chased after her.
After a few steps, he tripped on the threshold. The woman turned back and quickly helped him up.
She carried the familiar scent of grass, and her palms had the familiar calluses.
He stared blankly, tears falling.
“Elder Sister, do you also not want to be close to me anymore? I’m sorry. Elder Sister, I shouldn’t always look for you, I shouldn’t always try to be good to you with my own assumptions. I must have done many things wrong to make you ignore me. I just want to protect you, protect Pea. But I know I don’t have the right.”
He spread his palms, burying his face in them, speaking incoherently.
The woman looked at him. She had heard a few days prior that a distinguished guest from the Imperial Palace was being hosted at the residence that night. However, she hadn’t expected that by chance coming to the banquet to deliver an agate dish to Zheng Tai, she would witness such a scene. The so-called distinguished guest turned out to be an extremely handsome young man, who was crying uncontrollably at her, his words like the damp cooking smoke in the countryside at dusk in winter.
This was no distinguished guest at all; he was clearly a child who had lost something most important, timid, heartbroken, and self-reproaching.
Seeing this, Zheng Tai quickly reprimanded, “Ning Yue, what are you standing around for! Hurry and help the Eunuch to his seat!”
Ning Yue was the ninth concubine Zheng Tai had recently taken. Originally, the ninth concubine of the Zheng Residence should have been Zhu Sangyu. After the bride-snatching incident, he felt humiliated and resentful, so he ordered his subordinates to search everywhere for a woman similar to Zhu Sangyu. Later, he finally found Ning Yue, a singing girl with eyes strikingly similar to Zhu Sangyu, in a traveling troupe. After Ning Yue married in, Zheng Tai deliberately dressed her in the same clothes and adorned her with the same hairpins as Zhu Sangyu. The possessiveness of unrequited love found a retributive compensation in these true and false imitations.
However, Zheng Tai did not expect that Feng Gao, who was cold-faced and cold-hearted, and always kept his emotions hidden, would be so distraught upon seeing Ning Yue. It was as if a horse carriage had driven into his mind, its wheels spinning rapidly.
Ning Yue, hearing Zheng Tai’s words, bowed and said humbly, “Eunuch, please—”
Feng Gao stared at her and shook his head abruptly.
His deep drunkenness seemed to be doused by a ladle of cold water, waking him up.
She was not Elder Sister.
Elder Sister would not speak to him like this.
She was merely someone who looked very much like Elder Sister.
Feng Gao lowered his head and slowly returned to his seat. He said to Zheng Tai with a faint smile, “The Autumn Dew White from Lord Maternal Uncle’s residence is truly good wine.”
Zheng Tai smiled and cupped his hands, saying, “Whatever item in my residence the Eunuch fancies, it is that item’s good fortune.”
He waved to Ning Yue, saying, “Since the Eunuch has a connection with you, you shall sit beside the Eunuch and accompany him in drinking.”
Ning Yue lowered her head and said, “Yes.”
She walked to Feng Gao’s side.
Feng Gao frowned and said, “No need.”
Zheng Tai felt a bit awkward. He cleared his throat and said to Ning Yue, “Because of you, the mood at the banquet has been disturbed. Go and kneel under the eaves!”
“Yes.” Ning Yue nodded calmly, walked under the eaves, and knelt motionlessly.
Zheng Tai said, “Let’s continue drinking, continue drinking. Musician, continue playing. Ning Yue, sing a song.”
Everyone raised their cups in unison, as if the scene that had just occurred had never happened.
In winter, the night was cold. Kneeling under the eaves, soaked in the chill, Ning Yue watched Feng Gao.
She sang a folk song, accompanied by the musician’s melody.
“Speaking of Dongchang, its city walls are nine li and a half, with four gates and four passes. Dongchang is a good place. Almonds, locust seeds, and yellow flowers are shipped out to Suzhou and Hangzhou every year. Mother sewed clothes for me and sent me to a distant place. My dear son, if you achieve fame, mother will be happy. If you don’t achieve fame, mother still hopes you return home soon. Return home soon. What need is there for returning in glory, what need for embroidered robes? My dear son, my dear son, do not mistake a foreign land for your homeland, do not let mother’s heart break with sorrow…”
She sang softly, slowly.
Gentle as water.
The music troupe traveled far and wide, skilled in various regional melodies. Zheng Tai had told her he was from Dongchang Prefecture, so she sang this Dongchang tune.
Feng Gao took a sip of wine.
Zheng Tai said, “The Eunuch is a person His Majesty trusts greatly. My elder sister serves His Majesty, so we should be considered our own people. Eunuch, do you agree?”
Feng Gao smiled and remained silent.
Seeing that he did not object, Zheng Tai probed, “Because of Princess Pingning’s matter, the Eunuch and my elder sister had some misunderstanding, and my elder sister is very regretful. My elder sister has always respected the Eunuch’s diligence and loyalty to the sovereign, and the Eunuch seems to have misunderstood her intentions…”
The Maternal Grandfather, who had been silent, stroked his beard.
Zheng Tai stood up, personally poured Feng Gao a cup of wine, and changed the subject, saying, “The Eunuch is not like those pedantic scholars in the Imperial Court. Those people shout about loyalty to the country all day, but the Eunuch should know that loyalty to the sovereign is more important than loyalty to the country. Without a sovereign, there is no world. No one understands the Monarch’s will better than the Eunuch. A year ago, what did His Majesty say in Cheng Qian Palace? Does the Eunuch still remember?”
A year ago, Consort Zheng was pregnant, and His Majesty, while playfully chasing her, injured himself, resulting in the loss of the child. Consort Zheng thus resented His Majesty. His Majesty, pitying the Consort, swore to her in Cheng Qian Palace that if another son were born, he would be established as the Crown Prince.
At the beginning of the year, due to the incident with Princess Pingning, the Empress Dowager used Feng Gao’s hand to seize leverage against the Zheng family, threatening her to advise His Majesty to establish the First Prince Zhu Changluo as the Crown Prince.
Although the Zheng family was forced to agree at the time, she remained unwilling in her heart.
After Consort Zheng gave birth to a prince, Crown Prince Zhu Changluo became an even greater thorn in her side, an unbearable pain she wished to remove quickly.
On the first day of the twelfth lunar month, the Crown Prince was assassinated in the Eastern Palace. The Empress Dowager went there overnight and took the Crown Prince back to the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility to raise him. This incident shocked the court, and His Majesty had to feign an investigation by the Eastern Depot.
The Empress Dowager rarely involved herself in court affairs, but her stance on the Crown Prince issue was very firm. Her power struggle with Consort Zheng was incessant, and Feng Gao, caught in between, found himself in a difficult and cautious position at every step.
Originally, the Empress Dowager had promised him that during the year-end sacrifices, under the guise of a dream from the late Emperor, Feng Gao would be dispatched to Southern Metropolitan Region to guard the imperial mausoleum. Feng Gao would be able to leave the Eastern Depot and lighten his official burden. However, now, unforeseen complications had arisen, and the Empress Dowager refused to let him go.
The Empress Dowager and the Imperial Consort were engaged in a battle of sharp blades. Feng Gao remained vigilant, day and night, praying to navigate this treacherous situation smoothly.
Since the establishment of the Eastern Depot during Emperor Chengzu’s reign, how many Directors of the Eastern Depot of the Great Ming Dynasty had met a good end?
He smiled and said to Zheng Tai, “This humble servant naturally remembers His Majesty’s words.”
“But I wonder how the investigation into the Eastern Palace case is proceeding, Eunuch?” Zheng Tai asked.
Feng Gao finished his last sip of wine, stood up, and said, “This humble servant is drunk and should take his leave. Thank you to the Maternal Grandfather and Lord Maternal Uncle for the fine wine and music.”
He walked to the eaves.
The woman named Ning Yue was still singing.
He walked past her, paused for a moment, and then left in a hurry.
After Feng Gao left, the Zheng father and son exchanged glances.
Zheng Tai said, “This eunuch secretly pledged allegiance to that old woman long ago. We haven’t avenged the harm he did to my elder sister last time. How can Father and elder sister expect him to be recruited?”
“We thought that after your elder sister gave birth to a prince, he would be sensible, but I didn’t expect him to remain so stubborn. This Feng Gao is meticulous, ruthless, and quite cunning; he is not easy to deal with. We were tricked by him in the bandit incident in August,” Zheng Father said.
Zheng Tai walked to the eaves and ran his finger back and forth across Ning Yue’s face.
“However, tonight’s banquet had an unexpected gain, so it wasn’t a complete waste of effort. That eunuch…”
He grinned sinisterly, “Even the smartest person has a weakness. That eunuch’s weakness is Zhu Sangyu. We’ll make a bold move, trap Zhu Sangyu, and then we won’t have to worry about taking him down. This time, we won’t give him a chance to recover.”
Zheng Father nodded.
The two dismissed the idle onlookers and went into the inner room to plot.
Zheng Tai said, “I have a plan, I’ll tell Father.”
He explained his strategy in detail.
Zheng Father said with satisfaction, “Avoid the strong and attack the weak, control others without being controlled. Tai’er, you have finally grown some brains. If this succeeds, it won’t be difficult to have His Majesty replace the Crown Prince.”
After the father and son agreed on their plan, they secretly sent a message to the Imperial Consort.
The next day, Feng Gao arrived at the Zheng Residence to deliver an imperial decree of rewards, as per the Emperor’s command.
The Zheng father and son joyfully received the decree, not mentioning last night’s events at all, nor asking Feng Gao for any further details about the “Eastern Palace case.”
After completing his task, Feng Gao, as usual, rode his horse away from Yangzhou along the official road.
Upon reaching Plum Blossom Ridge outside Yangzhou City, he stopped at an inn to water his horse.
A person wearing a bamboo hat and a black robe had been waiting for him for a long time.
“Eunuch, may I speak with you privately?”
Feng Gao heard the voice and knew who it was.
“What do you have to say to this humble servant?”
The person walked into a room. Feng Gao pondered for a moment and followed.
“I want to do business with the Eunuch.”
“This humble servant does not do business with the Zheng Residence.”
“Not the Zheng Residence, but myself.”
The bamboo hat was removed, revealing Ning Yue’s face, so similar to Sang Yu’s, serene and gentle.
“Why should I believe you?” Feng Gao’s voice was as cold as the winter plum blossoms on Plum Blossom Ridge.
“Based on this—”
She stood before Feng Gao and removed her robe.
It was a shocking sight.
