Chapter Thirty-Five: Undercurrents

  Guangping King listened to Zhang's question and sighed: "The old lady is indeed sharp-eyed, and she saw the cat's trick at a glance. Secretary Tian would say such nonsense, no more than two words of power."

  Madam Zhang's heart skipped a beat as she carefully thought back to her understanding of Tian Shangshu. Gradually, an idea formed in her mind: "As a woman, I don't usually get involved in court affairs. Since the old Duke retired, he hasn't paid much attention to official matters except for occasionally asking about military affairs. I don't know Tian Shangshu well, but I've met his wife and two daughters a few times. I heard that he doesn't have any sons, so he's particularly fond of his two daughters, regardless of whether they're born to the first or second wife. However, I'm not fond of Madame Tian's temperament, and we don't get along. Her eldest daughter is too calculating, and although she's a good person in other ways, as the daughter of a Shangshu, marrying the son of another Shangshu should have been a perfect match. But after less than a year of marriage, her father-in-law retired due to illness, and she changed her attitude, wanting to divorce but unable to do so. She's always living in her natal home, and Madame Tian is spoiling her, turning her own family into enemies. On the other hand, I've heard that Tian Shangshu's younger daughter from his second wife is quite good - beautiful, capable, and knows how to get along with people. She married the Prince of Ying as a concubine and even gave birth to a son."

  Is it just that he gave birth to a son? The king's wife, due to difficult labor, has been bedridden for many years. The son is also weak and sickly, and it's unknown how much longer he can live. In the palace, it is Concubine Tian who is in charge of managing the household, and her second son is robust and intelligent. It is said that King Ying loves him like a treasure, always placing him ahead of the eldest son, with the intention of making him the heir.

  When Zhao, the old Duke of Jun, first spoke to Emperor Taizu about protecting the current emperor's position as heir, he used the affairs of the Ying King's household as a reason: The strong are born of concubines, while the weak are born of wives, which is the source of chaos in a family. If the Ying King were to become ruler one day, his two sons would both have prominent families behind them and would inevitably struggle for succession, causing turmoil. Although it's not known whether Emperor Taizu abandoned the idea of changing heirs due to this point or some other reason, Tian Shangshu had no sons, his eldest daughter was childless and didn't get along with her husband's family, so he naturally placed more importance on his grandson born to his second daughter. Perhaps he felt that Zhao, the old Duke of Jun, had ruined his grandson's bright future, but this is also unknown.

  Zhang looked at Guangping King with a meaningful gaze: "Isn't it that the Grand Secretary Tian is taking sides for his daughter's grandson? Just because in those years, the Duke of Jun had spoken to the previous emperor and secured the emperor's position as heir, shattering the hopes of the Duke of Ying to ascend to the throne, so he deliberately wants to make things difficult for the descendants of the Duke of Jun?"

  Guangping King couldn't help but praise Zhang's sharpness, but he also slightly corrected the deviation in Zhang's thinking: "The nonsense that Tian Shangshu said, once spoken, everyone would scold him, and if it spreads to the scholarly community, his good reputation of many years will be ruined! If it was just to vent his anger, it wasn't necessary at all. As an official for decades, how could he be so muddled? He must have said this for a greater benefit."

  Zhang was astonished: "What greater benefit could he still get?"

  Guangping King sternly asked her, "Has the old lady forgotten that the late Duke had such a high prestige in the military? Although he retired and returned home, even now many generals in the army are still willing to listen to his orders! Even if he has passed away, as long as someone waves his banner and shouts in the army, I'm afraid there will be countless people who will follow!"

  At the time when Taizu Emperor rose up in arms against the Qing, Zhao Lao Gong was only one of his trusted subordinates, although he was also heavily used, but not the most prominent among them. Later, after the establishment of the Great Chu Dynasty, when Taizu Emperor enfeoffed his meritorious officials, he was only granted a third-class marquisate, and later promoted to a first-class marquis, but still could not compare with those who became dukes. As year after year passed, Taizu Emperor's former trusted generals either died or retired, and some were even implicated in troubles caused by their family members, leaving few who could still remain in the court with honor. Zhao Lao Gong was one of the luckiest ones, standing firm for many years, always active on the border line, never causing any trouble to Taizu Emperor, occasionally achieving small merits, and his first wife, Qin Shi, had also rendered life-saving assistance to Taizu's Empress Dowager, thus he gradually became the most trusted old minister in Taizu Emperor's heart.

  In the military, the strong are respected. For more than 40 years, the great generals of the past have long since passed away, and even the most prestigious Taizu Emperor has also passed away. Zhao Lao Gong is one of the few surviving founding meritorious officials with the highest military position and prestige. The current emperor was not a wise and capable person from his days as a prince, and the generals in the army actually thought he was too indecisive and not a good candidate for emperor. If it weren't for Zhao Lao Gong's firm support of the emperor, there would be some chaos in the military. It can be said that Zhao Lao Gong's support is the greatest guarantee for the current emperor to sit firmly on the throne! Even if he has passed away now, as long as his old comrades and friends in the army still cherish this old relationship, the emperor will not worry about any major chaos in the army.

  Now that Zhao Laojun Gong's eldest son, Zhao Jiong, has inherited the marquis title, because he wasn't raised in the military from a young age, those old subordinates at most just looked down on him for being mediocre in martial arts, and somewhat tarnished the prestige of the old marquis. However, if he really needed help with something, considering his status as the old marquis's eldest son, as long as it was within their capabilities, they would be willing to lend a hand.

  In the past when the emperor's position was unstable, several of his brothers who had intentions of competing for the throne didn't hesitate to try and win over Zhao Jiong, precisely because of this point. It's just that they were all blocked by Zhao Laojun Gong.

  Now that Zhao Jiong is dead, Zhao Laojun Gong only has one son left, Zhao Jiong. If he were to come forward and speak on behalf of the King of Ying, the old subordinates in the military wouldn't understand the truth and have never been fond of the current emperor's temperament. They might really stir up some trouble, and at that point, the situation would be irretrievable.

  The northern border still has Qing people lurking around, and there is a possibility of counterattack at any time. The border army must not be in chaos!

  Zhao Lao Jun Gong still had several of his former trusted subordinates, who were now the main officials of the Imperial City Guard. If they were also incited, the consequences would be even more unbearable to think about.

  The King of Guangping slowly explained to Zhangshi, then said: "This is not the king's absurd thinking. There was news from the capital that after Tian Shangshu pleaded for Zhao Jiong and his family, he did not return home after leaving the palace, but went directly to the Weiyuanwang Fu. That night, someone from the Weiyuanwang Fu went to the Jiannanhou Fu. The king sent a letter to the emperor, and the emperor deliberately concealed it. Originally, no one outside knew about Zhao Jiong's fratricide, nor did anyone in the small house of the Zhao family know that the king had saved the old lady and her grandson. However, on the second day after that, Zhao Jiong pleaded guilty to his father, and Tian Shangshu helped him from the side. Who would believe that there was no collusion between them?"

  Zhang's face gradually turned pale.

  Although she didn't think of herself as a foolish person, and her eyes weren't only on the one mu and three fen of land in front of her own house, as an inner courtyard woman, her knowledge was indeed limited. She never thought that after so many years since the Duke left the army, there were still people eyeing his descendants' influence over the army, and they would openly turn black and white around. If Niu Shi and Zhao had lost their heads and conspired with Ying Wang to preserve their titles, really committing a heinous crime, wouldn't later generations shift the blame onto the Duke's shoulders? Even if it wasn't the Duke's fault for being used by the rebellious party, and the Zhao family was dragged into it, the reputation of the Zhao family would be irretrievable, right?

  There are also those who respect the county lord, even if the county lord is dead, they are willing to listen to his precepts in life. The military generals in the army are all extremely valued by the county lord in his lifetime. If Zhao Jiong and his family were really implicated in the crime, how would she explain it to the county lord after she died?

  Zhang's body was trembling, not with fear, but with anger. The prestige of the Zhao family today was also earned by her husband's bloody battles for decades. A few unworthy descendants who were born to enjoy wealth and nobility had never suffered, why should they reduce their ancestors' achievements to nothing for a little personal gain?!

  She remained silent for a long time, then spoke in a hoarse voice: "Your Highness, I don't understand the great affairs of the court, but I cannot watch as the good reputation of the Duke is ruined by his unworthy descendants! The old subordinates of the Duke, who had come to our house as guests in the past, many of whom I have met before. Although they came when the Duke was handling the aftermath, I didn't get to see them, but surely they still remember who I am. I will write a letter to them soon, telling them about Zhao Jiong's actions and the poor treatment my mother and I received after the Duke's death. We absolutely cannot let them be deceived by people with ulterior motives! If there are indeed people with sinister intentions trying to buy them off, they can also wake up early!"

  The King of Guangping was overjoyed: "If the old lady can do this, it would be perfect! Your words are a hundred times more credible to those generals than anyone else's!" He also suggested: "The commander of the guards in our palace, Fan Ben Zhang, will be sent to the Liaodong front line after escorting me back to the capital. If you don't mind, you can give him the letter and let him deliver it for you? This way, we won't have to temporarily dispatch someone, and if they get intercepted along the way, wouldn't that be a disaster?"

  Zhang thought for a moment: "If Lord Fan is willing to help me deliver the message, it would be great. However, relying solely on him might not be enough. The garrison commander of Zhenjiang was also a former subordinate of the Duke, and his son's marriage was even arranged by me. Zhenjiang is not far from here, so I'll write a letter to his wife, and once she knows about it, she will surely send someone to investigate the truth nearby. He has always been on good terms with his fellow officers and keeps in touch with them through letters, even sending people to pay respects to my husband and me during holidays. Once he finds out what Zhao Jiong did, he will tell others, and combined with the letters I'll write to other generals, they won't be fooled by Zhao Jiong's couple's true nature!"

  The King of Guangping smiled: "Madam, you've thought this through, let's do it this way. Why would the Duke of Ying and Grand Secretary Tian help Zhao Kuang's family keep their title for no reason? It's naturally because of the prestige of Old General Zhao in the army. As long as Zhao Kuang's family can't get anyone to listen to them in the army, why would the Duke of Ying bother with him again? The matter of the title is naturally not worth worrying about, besides, I don't think Father Emperor will believe what Grand Secretary Tian says."

  He couldn't help but remind Zhang: "As for Wei Ge'er's safety, please be extremely careful. According to the news from the capital, it seems that Tian Shangshu has been saying that Wei Ge'er is frail and may die young, which is why the Emperor and the ministers are worried that Zhao Lao Jun Gong's title will not be inherited in the future. Although Fengxian is far away from Beijing, it can't stop someone with ulterior motives from harming Wei Ge'er after seeing that the Emperor has been slow to agree. The Emperor respects Zhao Lao Jun Gong very much and will not watch him pass away only for his descendants to become commoners, which would benefit Zhao Jiong's later generations."

  "Your Highness can rest assured, I will take care of it," said Zhang solemnly.

  The King of Guangping left and would stay overnight in Fengxian County Town. The next day, after Zhang's letter was written, he would take it with him when he left.

  After he left, Mrs. Zhang sat alone in the main room, silent for a long time. Until night fell, Autumn Leaf quietly came in to light the candles, and she finally spoke softly: "Go get Brother Wei and Sister Er, I have something to say."