Chapter 338: The Sovereign’s Heart (Part 1)

At the grand court assembly three days later, in addition to the edict elevating the Fifth Prince to the title of Prince Hui, Xiang Zheng issued two further decrees.

The first, in recognition of the Sixth Prince Xiang Zhi's meritorious service on the mission to the Dansui front, conferred upon him the title of Prince of Qing, with an additional annual stipend of one thousand shi (a unit of grain).

The second decree rewarded a minor military officer:

Le Jue was promoted to the rank of Battalion Commander of Guanshan Camp, while retaining his duties in charge of firearms experimentation. In further recognition of his contribution in presenting the designs, he was granted the honorary title of Military Cavalry Commandant, along with a reward of one hundred silver taels.

Le Jue had originally been a Military Tanhu—third-place graduate of the martial examinations—yet had spent years warming the bench.

At the time, many had lamented his fate, though they also saw it as inevitable.

After all, whose fault was it that he was Le Wuya's elder brother?

His talent went unappreciated, but at least he could live in peace, right?

Now, by presenting the designs for the new firearm, he had greatly benefited border defense. Combined with his original status as a Tanhu, this reward was hardly excessive.

Yet the deeper implication behind this affair sent shockwaves through the court:

— Was this a signal that the Le family was being given a chance to make a comeback?

To be honest, Xiang Zheng had little desire to show the Le family any kindness.

But Wang Su had been sloppy in his dealings, and his misdeeds had been exposed before the entire court. The confiscation of Le Wuya's property had yielded almost nothing, and Wang Su's confidants who had participated in the confiscation had all been thrown in prison. Some, upon entering, confessed everything readily after barely any interrogation.

With ironclad evidence before him, Xiang Zheng found himself powerless to shield anyone, even if he wanted to.

After all, to cover it up, he would first have to dismiss many officials in the Ministry of Revenue, then subtly suggest to the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review to look the other way, and also punish Xu Yingrui for bringing it to light...

By the time he went through all these steps, Xiang Zheng's reputation would be in tatters.

Wang Su was already useless; there was no need to sacrifice imperial prestige and public support for his sake.

And Wang Su, always in tune with the emperor's wishes, would surely have no objections.

Le Jue's presentation of the designs at this moment gave Xiang Zheng a convenient way out.

He had been worried about how to get himself out of the mess of having once directed courtiers to frame Le Wuya.

Le Jue's offering solved the problem for him.

So long as he was generous with his favor, others would naturally argue on his behalf, pinning all the blame on Wang Su.

As for the Le family, after all the hardships he had put them through, they surely didn't have the energy or will to fight back—they need only express their gratitude.

Xiang Zheng felt he had been kind once again.

Le Jue, for his part, could never have imagined that he would leap from an obscure Seventh-Rank Official to a deputy fifth-rank post, and receive a military honor on top of that!

This meant the Le family finally had a chance to return to government service.

Le Jue didn't care much about holding office himself, but he could not bear to see his family suffer indignities.

Especially his older brother.

If he could be promoted, then his brother could certainly go even further!

At this thought, his face lit up with joy, and he wished he could embrace Lord Wenren—his benefactor—and plant a kiss on him.

His face, beaming with gratitude, happened to catch Xiang Zheng's eye. Naturally, the emperor assumed this joy and thankfulness were meant for him, and his expression grew ever more tolerant and benevolent, the perfect image of a kind ruler and father.

Another day of harmony between ruler and minister.

...

The messages sent at this grand court assembly were simply too numerous, and would have to be processed slowly by the court officials.

A few days later, the ripples started to spread.

The first matter was the greatly increased number of visitors coming to offer congratulations and gifts to the residences of Prince Hui and Prince Qing.

Among them, Prince Hui's mansion was the busiest, with carriages and horses everywhere, guests arriving in droves.

For Xiang Zhiyun, this was indeed an immense joy.

The emperor had first placed the Ministry of Revenue in his hands, then granted him the honor of a princely title.

Apart from the former Crown Prince Xiang Zhiming—who had been given the title of Prince Yan before being elevated to Crown Prince—the highest title any prince had received was merely that of Commandery Prince.

Xiang Zhiyun was only the second prince, after Xiang Zhiming, to achieve this, and his prospects seemed boundless.

As guilty as Xiang Zhiyun felt, he was ultimately delighted.

Amidst his joy, he strictly ordered his entire household to show restraint, to accept no gifts, and to conduct themselves with humility and integrity, to build a good image in the eyes of their imperial father.

As for whether anyone actually listened to him...

Let's just say it was about fifty-fifty.

On this matter, Le Wuya remarked: "He can manage himself, but can he manage others?"

Wenren Yue had recently written, saying that as an advisor for the Fifth Prince, Juren Su had begun accepting "calligraphy fees" from others—a hundred taels of silver for a single piece, and his pockets had gotten a lot fuller.

The Fifth Prince's Secondary Consort had also begun plotting. Relying on the prestige of her father, the Minister of Personnel, she socialized with other officials' wives in place of the Primary Consort, trying her hardest to drive the Primary Consort to death.

This was precisely the time to climb the ladder—the more she backed the Primary Consort into a corner, the more others would see her worth and value, and the better her chances of securing a future.

The Primary Consort's stipend was considerably greater than that of a Secondary Consort.

Not to mention... what the future could bring.

Since the founding of Dayu, there had been cases of Secondary Consorts becoming Empresses.

Second only to the emperor—who wouldn't want that?

Xiang Zhiyun's title of "Hui"—meaning benevolent—made it clear that the emperor was well aware of his son's character.

He was gentle and honest, kind and dutiful, yet his administrative abilities left a lot to be desired.

His authority in managing people and household affairs was nowhere near the Sixth Prince's, who was known as a true gentleman.

Throughout the household, when it came to politics, Hua Rong could still exchange a few words with Le Wuya: "My lord, does the promotion of Prince Hui suggest that His Majesty may... favor him in the future?"

Le Wuya smiled. "Of course."

Hua Rong pursed his lips.

As the chief steward of the Wenren household, while the master was away on official business, Hua Rong had been diligently studying at home, having already gotten a solid read on the visible factions and political landscape of the capital.

He also knew better than anyone who Le Wuya had truly chosen.

He said, his voice full of worry, "Then what should the Sixth Prince do?"

"Isn't that good enough? He's been made a commandery prince." Le Wuya stretched, looking relaxed. "By the way, prepare some materials for making kites over the next few days. The autumn sky is clear and crisp—perfect for flying kites."

Hua Rong agreed readily, though inside he had some misgivings:

Since the master had entered the capital, the Sixth Prince hadn't been shown any special favor.

Now that he had been made a commandery prince, well, there was still a gap between a commandery prince and a full prince.

Hua Rong wasn't exactly upset for the Sixth Prince; he was just worried that the Sixth Prince might harbor resentment toward the master.

If the two of them fell out, what would happen then?

...

Le Wuya had no idea what Xiang Zhijie was thinking.

In any case, he was pretty pleased.

Because he had heard that Le Heng's wife had finally returned from her parents' house.

Over the years, to keep their daughter from being implicated by the Le family, Le Heng's wife—Yao Yao, the eldest daughter of the Yao family—had been taken back to her parents' home under the pretext of recovering from illness. She was forcibly separated from her children.

Though Lady Ye often brought the two children to visit the Yao household, in the end, husband and wife could not meet, and the family couldn't be together for long.

Now that the emperor had relented and shown Le Jue favor, it was basically the same as saying the Le family wasn't being held responsible for how they raised him.

The eldest Miss Yao had finally seen the sun break through the clouds and could reunite with her husband and children.

This set off a chain reaction. The Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice, which had been vague and evasive before, suddenly all confirmed that Wang Su had fabricated evidence and framed Le Wuya.

The case, which had been progressing at an agonizingly slow pace, suddenly picked up speed and went smoothly.

Jie Jitong, who was known for being a stickler for cleanliness, volunteered to enter the prison to see Wang Su.

Officially, he came on the emperor's orders to admonish him to watch his tongue, so that he might still save his entire family (all nine clans).

In reality, he also wanted to get some answers for himself.

...

In just a few days, Wang Su's sparse, carefully maintained hair had turned white as frost. Even after meticulous combing, it stuck out every which way like weeds in the wild.

Jie Jitong, a stickler for cleanliness, could barely stand the musty stench and filth of the prison. He covered his nose and mouth with a handkerchief in disgust and asked in a muffled voice, "Lord Wang, years ago, you and I jointly impeached Le Wuya, and you were so sure he was guilty. Now, can you tell me, how much of it was actually true?"

Wang Su stared at Jie Jitong for a long moment, then let out a hoarse laugh.

As he laughed, his throat produced an unpleasant, gurgling sound.

The prison was utterly filthy. If the emperor hadn't visited a while back, no one would have bothered to clean it at all.

In the accumulated stale and foul air, his lungs had quickly deteriorated.

On top of his advanced age, his condition was even worse and more pitiful than Le Wuya's had been before he died.

He lay limp on a hard wooden plank bed: "Lord Xie, feeling a little guilty, are we?"

After asking, he tilted his head and wheezed like an animal: "Rest assured, Le Wuya—he got what he deserved!"

"Deserved?"

Jie Jitong didn't buy it: "Now, of the eighty-two major crimes he was convicted of—colluding with the enemy, corruption, and so on—seventy-eight of them have as their core evidence letters that don't match his handwriting. And of the crimes he confessed to, any involving money simply doesn't hold up. Lord Wang, you served as head of the Censorate for many years—when the crimes don't fit the evidence, can you really call that getting what he deserved?"

"But he wanted to kill the emperor." A strange smile curled at the corner of Wang Su's mouth. "Tell me, doesn't that count as a heinous crime?"

These words were like a drop of water hitting a pan of sizzling oil.

Jie Jitong forced down the shock and terror inside him, his tone cold and hard: "If he intended to assassinate the sovereign, why not execute him openly and charge him with the proper crime? Why bother fabricating a pile of baseless charges and let him die unjustly?"

"Because His Majesty didn't want that." Wang Su smiled strangely. "The emperor didn't want him to die a clean death, and he definitely didn't want the world to know why he had to make the emperor die..."

Jie Jitong's voice trembled slightly: "Why?"

Wang Su's face twisted a little: "Because he was ungrateful! He couldn't tell right from wrong!"

"If it weren't for the emperor's... cough! cough—if it weren't for the emperor's mercy in allowing him to stay in the Le household to be raised, he, as the illegitimate son of the enemy general Da Yue and the Helian family, should have been killed and hung before the army as a warning long ago!"

"Wasn't the emperor good to him? Bestowing favor, granting titles, allowing him at such a young age to stand at the head of all officials—why did he have to hold onto that one old grudge?"

"Truly... cough! Those who aren't our kind will always have different hearts!"

Jie Jitong felt a chill run down his spine.

He knew that Le Wuya was a descendant of the Helian family of the Jing tribe.

But he had assumed this had come out by accident during the investigation!

He had only thought the Le family had pulled some tricks in the battles that year, deceiving the emperor and deliberately hiding this—how could he have imagined...

Now he understood everything.

Indeed.

If the world were to learn why Le Wuya, who had been showered with imperial favor, suddenly went mad and tried to kill the emperor, then anyone else hearing it would probably say, "Well done, pity he didn't succeed."

How could the emperor, a man who cared so much about his reputation, tolerate such a thing happening?

Jie Jitong asked: "The palace defenses are tight—how could he possibly assassinate the emperor?"

Wang Su, evidently having held it in for too long, was uncharacteristically eager to unburden himself, coughing and wheezing as he let it all out like a burst dam:

"He acted alone, intending to commit treason—how could he hope to do it without leaving any trace? The first time he attempted to harm the emperor, he caused a fire in the Jiusi Hall, and afterward the emperor started to get suspicious."

"Earlier, while in the borderlands, he had established a spy camp called the Tianlang Camp. The emperor deliberately selected his former subordinates who weren't that close to him to be transferred to the capital, placed them by his side to serve, and secretly had someone reveal to him the background of Rebel Le."

"He took the bait, went to find Rebel Le, vented his grievances, and asked what he could do."

"Rebel Le initially acted aloof, comforting him and telling him not to believe the rumors."

"Rebel Le spent a year with him, yet saw no movement, so the emperor raised the stakes, having this man appointed as a close patrol guard—but Rebel Le was still playing the long game and ignored it."

"The emperor had long seen his wild ambition. That Le Wuya clearly knew his own identity, yet pretended not to notice—neither reporting nor investigating—which showed he already had schemes in his heart!"

"Sure enough, a year and a half later, that old Tianlang Camp subordinate suddenly tried to kill the emperor, and after failing, was executed on the spot. Before dying, he confessed that Le Wuya had instigated it—and that's when the truth came out!"

Jie Jitong felt a cold shiver run down his spine.

Perhaps in the eyes of the emperor and Wang Su, Le Wuya was indeed a treasonous villain beyond redemption.

After all, they knew all too well how dirty their own hands were.

But if he put himself in Le Wuya's position, it wasn't hard to see that the appearance of this "veteran of Tianlang Camp" was truly suspicious.

He knew a secret that he had no business knowing.

That alone was suspicious enough.

If he were in Le Wuya's shoes, he wouldn't have given it a second thought either, let alone colluded with the man and plotted regicide.

Having spent years at the emperor's side, Jie Jitong was a master at reading his sovereign's mind. As he listened, a treasonous thought began to take root in his mind:

Could it be...

The emperor, racked with his own guilt, had repeatedly tested Le Wuya, and when he failed to discern his true stance, his suspicion grew like a man convinced his neighbor stole his axe. His suspicions festered day by day, until he finally staged the whole assassination himself and pinned it on Le Wuya?

This wasn't a frame-up for the public's sake—it was to give the emperor an excuse to get rid of Le Wuya.

That was why he hadn't charged him with regicide.

Because the matter couldn't withstand close scrutiny or detailed investigation.

He needed a pretext to punish Le Wuya.

Nothing more.