Gongsun Yin heard about the imperial edict-bearing eunuch hastily fleeing Kang City and hurried to find Xie Zheng. Upon entering the study, he immediately said:
"That eunuch is the adopted son of Wang Xi, the Chief Steward of the Imperial Presence. He came here on the emperor’s orders. By cutting off one of his ears, you’ve essentially slapped the emperor in the face. Are you truly prepared to sever ties with the court?"
Xie Zheng sat behind the desk, his left arm resting on the armrest of the yellow pearwood Grand Tutor chair. A military deployment map of Great Yin lay spread across the desk. His lips curled into a faint smile as he gazed at the map, but his eyes were icy. "That young emperor is still playing the fool under Wei Yan’s thumb, and he already treats the lives of his generals on the battlefield as expendable. Do you really think he’ll be any kinder once he truly holds power?"
Gongsun Yin was momentarily speechless. After a brief silence, he admitted frankly, "The emperor has been stripped of his authority for years, first by Wei Yan, then by Grand Tutor Li. In terms of endurance and temperament, he stands out among past emperors. But precisely because he’s endured for over a decade, his hunger for imperial power must have reached its peak. There’s likely little benevolence left in him—only an unyielding determination to reclaim his authority by any means."
Xie Zheng raised a brow. "Your judgment of people remains as sharp as ever."
With that, he tossed a thick stack of documents at him.
Gongsun Yin caught them with both hands. "What is this?"
Xie Zheng replied simply, "You’ll understand once you read it."
Gongsun Yin opened the documents and scrutinized them, his frown deepening until anger was plain on his face. "Is all of this true?"
Xie Zheng answered, "Zhao Xun gave me this evidence to persuade me to support the imperial great-grandson."
Gongsun Yin flipped through the stack, his jaw tightening in fury. "The drought two years ago, the floods in Jiangnan last spring—how many died? The factional strife between Li and Wei was bad enough, but the inspectors sent by Grand Tutor Li concealed the true extent of the disaster just to let more people die so they could incriminate Wei Yan—and this was the emperor’s doing? Back then, the Chengde Crown Prince gave his life in Jinzhou for the sake of thousands of soldiers and civilians. Now, the man sitting on the throne is willing to sacrifice hundreds of thousands of disaster victims to fuel his own ambitions?"
Two years prior, severe droughts in Guanzhong and floods in Jiangnan had nearly emptied the national treasury in relief funds. The silver passed through Wei Yan’s subordinates, but the Li faction had at least sent inspectors along. Yet in the end, over half the victims still perished from starvation and disease.
The entire realm was outraged. The scholars led by Grand Tutor Li had publicly denounced the Wei Faction in court.
It was then that Wei Yan, pressured by the entire court and the people, suffered his first defeat against Grand Tutor Li. He sacrificed several of his own high-ranking officials to take the blame before the matter was settled.
But Wei Yan’s reputation among the people was already as vile as that of Meng Shuyuan, the reviled traitor after the Jinzhou Massacre.
Xie Zheng’s expression was frigid. "That old man from the Li family is no less ambitious than Wei Yan. But as a scholar, he fears the condemnation of the people more. The young emperor wants to use him to overthrow Wei Yan, but he’s also wary that one day the emperor’s blade might turn against the Li family. So while the emperor was powerless, he left himself a way out."
"The inspectors he sent to oversee disaster relief wrote eleven urgent reports to the capital. The courier stations in every prefecture have records of fast horses dispatched to the capital, but the palace has no record of receiving any disaster reports."
At this point, Gongsun Yin understood everything.Deliberately concealing disaster reports, resulting in over half of the victims perishing, is a grave crime no matter when it is revisited.
The emperor wanted to firmly pin this blame on Grand Tutor Li, but the old fox had his subordinates deliver urgent reports to the capital. As for why these reports never reached the palace—should the truth come to light later—the emperor and his minister would each tell their own version, leaving it to public judgment.
Gongsun Yin couldn't help but ask, "How did Zhao Xun obtain those urgent reports Grand Tutor Li's people sent to the palace?"
Xie Zheng lifted his gaze slightly: "Who do you think has been taking the fall for the young emperor in the palace?"
After a moment's thought, Gongsun Yin uttered a name: "Wang Xi?"
Xie Zheng remained silent, tacitly confirming.
Gongsun Yin quickly grasped the intricate web of interests. With imperial power in decline, no eunuch in the palace would stake everything on a single path.
That Wang Xi, having served as Chief Eunuch for years without offending Wei Yan while still enjoying the young emperor's trust, was clearly a man of remarkable cunning.
Using disaster relief to fabricate a major case as the first step to topple Wei Yan—the emperor wanted Grand Tutor Li to take the blame, while Grand Tutor Li sought to implicate the emperor. The urgent reports sent to the palace couldn't reach the young emperor, so Wang Xi had to intercept them all himself.
As long as the emperor and Grand Tutor Li remained united against external threats without exposing each other's secrets, he was safe.
When the emperor and Grand Tutor Li eventually clashed, he could side with the winner—a move with no downside.
If the young emperor won, he could destroy those eleven disaster reports, ensuring the blame fell squarely on Grand Tutor Li.
If Grand Tutor Li won, he could produce those reports and testify himself, providing irrefutable evidence of the young emperor's lack of virtue.
Even if Wei Yan ultimately prevailed, he could quickly present this evidence to restore Wei Yan's reputation by exposing how the young emperor and Grand Tutor Li had conspired against him.
After his initial anger subsided, Gongsun Yin felt a pang of sorrow. He sighed, "The waters of Great Yin's court have long been too murky to see through."
The Wei Faction might be a pack of corrupt officials, but an emperor and Grand Tutor who would sacrifice hundreds of thousands of disaster victims to incite public outrage against Wei Yan were no better.
Turning to Xie Zheng, he said, "With the one on the throne so devoid of virtue, now scheming even in military affairs—I know you cannot pledge loyalty to such a ruler. But even if we cooperate with Zhao Xun to support the imperial great-grandson, who's to say in ten or twenty years he won't become just like this young emperor?"
Xie Zheng simply said, "I won't become another Wei Yan."
Gongsun Yin replied, "I know your aspirations differ from Wei Yan's. But even if you retreat to the northwest and withdraw from court affairs, as long as you retain military power, whoever sits on that throne will always covet it when they come of age."
This time Xie Zheng remained silent for a long while.
After standing quietly for a moment, Gongsun Yin sighed, "Enough—that's a worry for decades hence. For now..."
"If the new emperor proves benevolent and cares for the people, I would gladly return military power and live as a free man. The Xie family wasn't born to command armies. As long as someone continues guarding Great Yin's lands, I have no qualms about relinquishing authority."
Gongsun Yin's words were interrupted. Glancing sideways, he could only see the razor-sharp profile of the man seated in the Grand Tutor chair—handsome yet unyielding as forged steel.Xie Zheng lowered his gaze slightly. "If he turns out like that little emperor, I can kick him off the dragon throne just as easily as I put him there, and choose a new one."
Gongsun Yin was momentarily stunned by these words before chuckling softly. "Indeed, that sounds more like you."
He abruptly changed the subject. "In her letter to me, the Grand Princess mentioned the little emperor intends to move against Miss Fan. It would be extremely dangerous for her to remain in Chongzhou. Should I send more men to protect her?"
Another wave of itchiness rose in his throat. Xie Zheng pressed his lips together to suppress the urge to cough. "Unnecessary."
Gongsun Yin's expression turned peculiar again.
He had assumed Xie Zheng's urgent return was due to receiving his letter, but apparently not?
Recalling Xie Shisan's latest report, he said with deliberate provocation, "Well, He Jingyuan may have left Chongzhou, but he sent his prized disciple there instead. That Zheng... Zheng something-wen. I hear he's not only handsome but also accomplished in both civil and martial arts. Most importantly, he led troops to rescue Miss Fan when Wei Yan's Martial Assassins pursued her in Lin'an Town. One might say he owes her a life debt now."
The thick wolf-hair brush handle snapped cleanly in Xie Zheng's grip, though his face remained impassive. "Leave."
Dissatisfied with this reaction, Gongsun Yin fanned the flames further. "Imagine them fighting side by side on the battlefield—countless life-and-death situations ahead. What's that phrase? Oh yes, 'proximity breeds affection'!"
Xie Zheng suddenly looked up at him. Gongsun Yin instinctively took a large step back.
But Xie Zheng showed no anger, only saying, "After three years away from the capital, the Grand Princess still knows your whereabouts. Is her network truly that formidable, or have you been deliberately revealing your location to someone?"
All traces of mockery vanished from Gongsun Yin's face as he regarded Xie Zheng with surprise. "Using that against me? You must be genuinely furious."
After Gongsun Yin left, Xie Zheng discarded the broken brush.
Tiny, sharp wood splinters had embedded in his fingertips. He removed them expressionlessly. The knife wounds and whip marks on his back still ached dully, yet the sharp, uncontrollable pain in his chest when hearing she might grow close to another—and the sudden urge to destroy everything—had been equally vivid.
He found he couldn't wait another moment.
When they parted, he'd known full well that a woman like her would find good men in this life even without him.
But when that moment truly arrived, he realized with startling clarity how his blood seemed to flow backward. In that instant, his mind screamed with nothing but boundless jealousy and murderous intent—yet his entire being remained eerily calm.
Within seconds, he'd even devised ways to make any man she favored disappear without a trace.
Coming to his senses brought only intense self-loathing, his palms slick with cold sweat.
He knew his sickness was worsening. He refused to become the kind of man he despised most.
Xie Zheng leaned back limply into the Grand Tutor chair, an arm draped over his eyes, shadowing most of his face. The dark archer's sleeves accentuated the sickly pallor of his jaw as an aura of gloom enveloped him.Before Gongsun Yin arrived, the personal guard who had been instructed to prepare the troops entered the room, knelt on one knee with a fist salute, and reported, "Marquis, the carriages and horses for escorting Sui Yuanqing are ready. The army can depart at any time."
Xie Zheng responded somberly, "Let's go."
By the time Gongsun Yin belatedly received the news and rushed to the city wall to watch the departing army, he was so furious he nearly jumped three feet in the air. He fumed, "No wonder that scoundrel Xie Jiuhang said no additional troops were needed—he’s already taken the whole army there! What’s the point of sending more?"
Chongzhou.
After the death of Changxin Wang (Prince of Changxin), the Jizhou army clashed twice more with the rebels inside Chongzhou city, both times in small-scale skirmishes. Though these were only minor victories, they still managed to boost morale somewhat.
After Fan Changyu attended another strategy meeting in the central military tent, she received new orders—her vanguard unit would soon engage in a large-scale battle.
Whether it was Tang Peiyi deliberately arranging it due to He Jingyuan’s earlier instructions or not, the officer assigned to support and coordinate with the vanguard happened to be Zheng Wenchang.
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