Chapter Thirty-Seven: Promise

  The King of Guangping did not give a definite answer: "In fact, I am also unclear, and even do not know how many people were pulled over, what role they played. But one thing is certain, the clever king has always been intelligent, if there is no strong enough power, he will not act rashly. However, he performed so strangely in the matter of the Marquis of Southern Building, even disregarding the reputation of Secretary Tian, letting Secretary Tian say such absurd words, without considering the consequences, he must have his reason."

  Mrs. Zhang was half-believing and half-doubting his words, always feeling that he actually knew who had defected to King Ying, but didn't want to reveal the secret, why? Was it because she would mention their past relationship in her letters and alert the others? She sighed, although she was a woman from an inner chamber, she also knew what was important and unimportant, how could she do such a thing?

  She said to Guangping King, "I don't understand the affairs of the imperial court. There are His Majesty, Your Highness, and the officials in the court who will take care of it. As for those who have defected to Ying Wang's former subordinates, no matter who they are, if they really set their minds on committing such a heinous crime, they would be going against the teachings of the late Duke. Whatever fate awaits them in the future, they will get what they deserve."

  The King of Guangping immediately understood her meaning, and was moved by her profound sense of justice. He solemnly said: "Don't worry, old madam, the Emperor will not wrong an innocent person, nor will he let a guilty person escape."

  It is unclear whether this refers to the military general who surrendered to King Jing of Zhou or Zhao Jiong.

  Zhang smiled faintly: "Your Majesty has made a decision, what's there to be worried about?" She asked the King of Guangping: "As for the matter of Prince Ying, I suppose Your Majesty already had a plan in mind?"

  This question is indeed difficult for Emperor Guang to answer. The emperor has always been both wary and tolerant of his younger brother, Ying Wang. He is wary because he almost lost the position of crown prince and emperor to him, but he is also tolerant because he had sworn to treat his brother well before their father, Taizu Emperor, passed away, and would never harm him. Since childhood, Guang has been a straightforward and honest person, educated by all his teachers to be a "benevolent ruler", which means that he always considers public opinion and whether his actions will damage his reputation as a benevolent ruler. Even though there are signs that Ying Wang is trying to win over the officials and plotting something, as long as Ying Wang does not openly rebel, Guang has no intention of taking action against him, leaving several princes and high-ranking officials unable to help but wipe away their sweat. However, if Ying Wang really did something, Guang would naturally not let him off scot-free, at most he would not kill him, but instead imprison him, which would also fulfill the oath he made in front of his father.

  Guangping King, as the son who had been involved in politics for the longest time, could be said to have understood his father's temperament very clearly. However, he couldn't honestly tell this to Zhang Shi, so he just said: "Don't worry, old madam, Father has a plan."

  Zhang nodded and suddenly raised his head, staring tightly at the eyes of Guangping King: "Your Highness, if the Emperor wants to deal with Ying Wang and block his rebellious move, he must first figure out how many followers he has. You just said that Taizu Emperor had long taught that a scholar's rebellion would not succeed in three years. For Ying Wang to rebel, the most important thing is the army, and those who have defected to him in the army are likely to be the old subordinates of the Duke of Guangping. In other words, the Emperor must first investigate who these people are? Now that the Emperor has delayed issuing an edict to deal with Zhao Jiong and take away the title of Marquis of Xiaochang, is it not to deceive Ying Wang and Tian Shangshu, making them think their sinister plan has succeeded? If so, then as soon as Zhao inherits the title, there will be people who will contact him, and at that time, won't the Emperor still know who has defected to Ying Wang?"

  The King of Guangping was stunned, Zhang's words sounded reasonable, but did his father really think so? He was unsure, as his father's temperament didn't seem to match this kind of decision. Of course, it was also possible that some high-ranking official had planned it. He needed to return to the capital to figure out the truth.

  Madam Zhang saw that the Prince of Guangping was silent and didn't speak, but instead thought she had said it correctly. However, this secret matter wasn't something she should be asking about, so she smiled calmly: "Your Highness doesn't need to say anything, I understand in my heart."

  The King of Guangping looked at her with a knot in his heart, wanting to tell the old lady the truth, but swallowed his words. As a son, he still had to avoid speaking ill of his elders. He couldn't say that this plan, which was somewhat tainted with ulterior motives, didn't seem like something his father, who cherished his reputation as a benevolent ruler, would do.

  Zhang thought for a moment, and then solemnly said to the King of Guangping: "Your Highness, I am just a woman who doesn't understand state affairs, but when it comes to princes plotting rebellion, it's absolutely necessary to stop them. Whatever the Emperor wants to do, I won't ask questions. If you want to use the title of Duke of Jianan to take action, I won't say another word. There is just one thing, I hope the Emperor will show mercy."

  The King of Guangping said solemnly: "Please speak, elderly madam."

  "Zhao Jiong must be punished according to the law!" Zhang said gritting her teeth, "Maybe someone will say that he is the son of the Duke, and the Emperor should show leniency towards him. Maybe someone will say that he is now paralyzed, which is already a punishment, so there's no need to pursue it to the end. But I just can't swallow this! My son was also the flesh and blood of the Duke, why did he die in vain? Those who commit great crimes must be punished!"

  "Please rest assured, Old Madam," Guangping King said solemnly. "The Emperor is not a muddle-headed person who cannot distinguish right from wrong. Zhao Jiong's crimes are clear-cut, and I am a witness to them. How can he be allowed to retract his confession? Even if it were Zhao Jiong's son, I can promise you here and now that I will never permit him to inherit the title of Duke of Jiangnan. Let him see it but not touch it, always seeming to have hope of succeeding, yet never seeing the imperial edict. My original concern was that this would put Brother Wei in danger, but since Old Madam has made up her mind and is willing to give up the dukedom, there's nothing to worry about anymore. Let Zhao Jiong's wife and children stir up trouble in the capital on their own. When the day comes for Prince Ying to confess his crimes, they will not have a good ending. Their crimes are even more severe than Zhao Jiong's crime of murdering his mother and brother."

  Zhang's expression changed slightly, and she asked Guangping King, "Isn't this serious? If Zhao is not allowed to inherit the title, will Ying Wang be satisfied? He will say who among the old subordinates of the Zhao family is his accomplice?"

  Guangping King smiled and said, "The Ying King only wants to borrow the prestige of the Zhao family in the military, where is the sincerity to help Zhao protect his title? This matter is highly controversial, and it's not difficult to drag it on for a year or two. Even if Zhao can't inherit the title in a year or two, can the Ying King still wait? The descendants of the Zhao family are still recognized by the military as the descendants of the old Marquis of Zhao, even without the title. When the time comes, the Ying King wants to lure Zhao, just use the position of Jian Nan Hou as bait, and it will save a lot of trouble."

  Zhang coldly smiled: "Whether or not the Zhao family descendants have a title, they are all descendants of the Duke, but if they are the children of a criminal, the military may not necessarily recognize them! I've written letters to the old subordinates of the Duke today and will send them out immediately. If they still think Zhao Jiong is a good person after receiving the letter, stubbornly helping the young master of the Chang family, even going against the Duke's orders, and surrendering to King Ying, then they deserve to die!" She took out four letters from her sleeve and placed them on the table: "These four were written by me overnight. The recipients are all in the capital. When you return to the capital, Your Highness can help me deliver them. I will write and send the rest later."

  The King of Guangping glanced at the envelopes of several letters and found that the recipients were three commanders of the Imperial Guard and the son of another founding merit subject, who was now a pillar general. He had always been close to Zhao Laojun Gong and if they knew about the actions of Zhao Jiong's family, at least they would not plead for Zhao Jiong in court. They also each had deep connections and countless subordinates, so news could spread quickly, and there was no need to worry that old subordinates of the Zhao family would be misled by Zhao Jiong's son into doing wrong things. In the future, when investigating the accomplices of King Ying, it would not be difficult to avoid mistakenly harming innocent people. Because after knowing the truth, if someone still insists on going down a wrong path, it is clear that they have a guilty conscience.

  Guangping Wang carefully collected the four letters and stood up again to bow to Zhang Shi, saying: "The old lady is wise and just, I will not betray the old lady's trust!"

  He left again, this time taking his wife and children with him to return to the capital. The emperor issued a secret decree, ordering him to inspect the coastal defenses after completing his mission and then hurry back to report in detail on the case of Zhao Jiong's assassination of his brother. He felt that no matter what, his father, the emperor, would not let Zhao Jiong off lightly, but since the imperial edict had not yet been issued, Zhao Jiong was allowed to stay in his old residence with servants attending to him, which seemed too lenient. Therefore, he left four guards to watch over Zhao Jiong, only allowing Gao Cheng to have contact with him, and forbidding any maids or women from entering, nor was he allowed to leave the room by any means. Even Gao Cheng, who attended to him, had his movements restricted. Once the imperial edict arrived, whether Zhao Jiong lived or died would be settled.

  Zhao Kuangping lay on the bed, looking at the four fully armed Wangfu guards outside the door with the corner of his eye. His face was pale and he was covered in cold sweat. He had never felt so clearly that he might really lose his life because of the death of Zhao Zhuo's couple. But he really didn't send anyone to dig a hole in the boat, they fell into the water just because of bad luck, at most he just saw them die and did nothing to save them. Zhang Shi hated him, wanting to put him to death was understandable, but why would his most trusted wife and son also push these terrible crimes onto him? Was he really willing to accept his fate willingly?

  "He couldn't help but bellow: 'I'm innocent, I didn't kill them... You can't treat me like this! I'm Zhao Zhu's son! I'm the eldest son of Zhao Zhu, Duke of Jian'nan! It was my father who protected the emperor's throne! I'm a descendant of a meritorious official, you can't treat me like this!' By the end of his sentence, he had already become hoarse, but no one outside the courtyard paid attention to him. Only Gao Cheng, trembling all over, knelt down beside the bed, feeling that his future was bleak."

  Zhang listened to Wang Siping's report on the latest intelligence from the East Wing, and smiled slightly without saying anything. She turned around and walked to the east wing house to see her grandchildren drawing red. Zhao Wei's handwriting was getting better and better, just like his father when he was a child, so clever.

  Zhao saw her grandmother coming, pulled her and coquettishly said: "Grandma Grandma, come see the words I wrote, are they a little better?" Zhang Shi looked at the three characters "heaven, earth, human" she drew, smiled and said: "Indeed, it's much better than before, especially this 'human' character is written particularly well."

  Zhaoyi's heart skipped a beat, and a smile spread across her face. She couldn't help but ask Zhangshi: "Has the King of Guangping left again? I really want to talk to him, I don't know if he saw the letter I left for the Crown Prince last time. I thought I could see him one more time, but it turns out he didn't come."

  Mrs. Zhang smiled and stroked her granddaughter's face: "It's okay, there will be a day when we meet again."