Chapter 17#
The Spring Terrace Chess Tournament had finally arrived.
A light rain had fallen the night before, but since the shelters were set up in time, the chessboards, tables, and chairs beneath remained untouched by any dampness.
Moreover, spurred on by the rain, the peach blossoms budding inside and outside Huiyang Gate had fully bloomed, crowding the branches in a mix of pink and white, drenching the teahouses, taverns, peddlers, and porters in a night of peach fragrance.
The grand occasion lifted Emperor Shunyuan’s spirits somewhat. He took Precious Consort Zhen by the hand and ascended the palace walls, tossing down a hundred jade chess pieces as a gesture of spreading blessings and sharing joy with the people.
The commoners standing outside the city wall finally got a glimpse of His Majesty the Emperor. They fell to their knees, crying out “Long live the Emperor,” their eyes brimming with tears of gratitude.
Emperor Shunyuan was pleased. Leaning on the wall, he smiled and waved at his subjects, whose faces he could barely make out.
The crowd below responded with another wave of heartfelt reverence.
Then, weariness crept across the emperor’s countenance. His gaze swept over the ministers below and finally settled on Wen Zhuo. He spoke earnestly, “The Spring Terrace Chess Tournament concerns the face of the realm and embodies the dignity of our Great Qian. You must preside over it properly and ensure fairness.”
“Your servant will bear that in mind.”
The emperor nodded. Eunuch Liu Quan quickly draped a cloak over him, and the imperial carriage slowly withdrew into the depths of the palace.
Horses’ hooves had already sounded beyond the city walls. Wen Zhuo adjusted his court robes and stepped into his carriage without delay. The horses’ hooves clattered against the blue stone pavement as they headed toward Huiyang Gate.
After a swift ride, the ministers arrived at Huiyang East Street. The officials of the Military Command had already cleared away all irrelevant persons and invited Wen Zhuo to ascend the viewing platform.
Wen Zhuo wore a vermilion official robe, with an embroidered fur robe over it. Bathed in sunlight, his bearing was awe-inspiring.
In his left hand he held the imperial edict; with his right, he lightly gathered the hem of his fur robe. Every step seemed to fall on the hearts of the onlookers.
A high-ranking official, a dragon among men, gifted with talent—any one of these traits would be enough to make others envious, yet he possessed them all.
The chess players from the various prefectures were mostly seeing a noble of the capital for the first time.
At the first sight of Wen Zhuo’s face, their minds were stirred as if lost in a mist, and even the chess manuals they had memorized slipped their minds.
Some painters fumbled for their brushes, sketching against the wind, their paper trembling and hands shaking, barely able to capture the fur robe billowing in the breeze.
Upon reaching the highest point of the viewing platform, Wen Zhuo slowly turned, his gaze sweeping across the crowd below.
In a single glance, he spotted the familiar stall of Granny Wang.
A large steaming pot was set up outside, with a crowd of people crowded around it, peering in. Granny Wang’s fingers moved swiftly, stuffing hot date-rice cakes into oil paper and handing them to customers.
There were clearly six more steamers waiting, but a “Sold Out” sign had long been hung above the door. Still, the crowd gazed on expectantly, hoping for one leftover portion to taste the capital’s delicacy.
He should have realized—with so many out-of-towners pouring into the capital recently, the date-rice cakes would be hard to come by.
He wondered how much effort Shen Zhi had put into acquiring them.
Wen Zhuo calmly withdrew his gaze and refocused on the thousand spirited chess players before him.
“By imperial decree, I hereby announce to all: the Spring Terrace Chess Tournament shall commence forthwith. Patrol officers, have the players draw lots.”
With that, Wen Zhuo sat down. The other officials also took their seats on the viewing platform, waiting for the games to begin.
There wasn’t much to see in the first few days. With hundreds of chess tables, who could watch them all? Besides, most of the players were of lower skill and wouldn’t produce particularly brilliant games.
Gong Zhiyuan led the Xie family members up to the platform. Only first- and second-rank ministers could sit at the highest level, so Gong Zhiyuan took a seat while the others stood behind him.
The Xie family of Nanzhou had long thrown their lot in with the Crown Prince, which was why Gong Zhiyuan had arranged a marriage with the Xies, and why Gong Yuwen had married Xie Langyang.
But Xie Langyang himself had not sided with the Crown Prince.
This was also part of Gong Zhiyuan’s advance planning.
Currently, Tang Guangzhi of the Ministry of Personnel was a man of the Virtuous Prince, obstructing the Crown Prince’s faction at every turn in official appointments and transfers. Gong Zhiyuan had long planned to groom Xie Langyang for the Ministry of Personnel, to eventually replace Tang Guangzhi.
To thrive in the Ministry of Personnel, Xie Langyang must not be too close to the Crown Prince. But Gong Zhiyuan wasn’t worried.
With Gong Yuwen married to him, every move Xie Langyang made was under his surveillance. When the time was ripe and Tang Guangzhi eliminated, if Gong Zhiyuan ordered Xie Langyang to side with the Crown Prince, would Xie Langyang dare refuse?
By then, the Gong family would have rendered meritorious service in supporting the new emperor, surely earning them a princely title of a different surname. As for Xie Langyang, he could be content as Minister.
Gong Zhiyuan sighed with emotion: “A gathering of worthy talents, a hundred boats racing forward—those in brocade robes and those in coarse garments sit face to face. A poem must be composed.”
The Xie retainers, quick to seize the moment, flattered him: “Your Excellency the Grand Secretary is immensely talented—this will surely be a masterpiece for the ages!”
Gong Zhiyuan stroked his beard, took a breath, and was about to recite—
When Wen Zhuo lazily waved his folding fan and said with a smile, “Forget it.”
Gong Zhiyuan: “…”
It was like a pricked wineskin—he deflated with a hiss.
Gong Zhiyuan frowned deeply, suspicion rising in his heart.
Why would Wen Zhuo, out of the blue, come looking for trouble with him?
Having weathered decades in the court, Gong Zhiyuan’s eye was sharp. He knew Wen Zhuo had some cleverness—otherwise, he couldn’t have risen through the ranks so quickly in just a few years. But Wen Zhuo had always adopted a stance of watching tigers fight from across the river, never involving himself in factional strife.
At first, Gong Zhiyuan had also entertained the idea of recruiting him. But despite repeated overtures, Wen Zhuo never budged. Gong Zhiyuan found him hard to fathom.
Anyone with eyes could see that the emperor didn’t have many years left. Then would come the great reshuffling of court power. If Wen Zhuo didn’t place his bets soon, was he waiting to accompany the emperor to the grave?
Gong Zhiyuan sneered: “Is the Director Wen in a bad mood today?”
Wen Zhuo thought to himself, Naturally I’m displeased with you, you old dog—sooner or later I’ll destroy you!
He closed his fan and rolled up his sleeve: “Grand Secretary Gong, you’re getting on in years, and your eyesight is failing. Take a closer look—there isn’t a single person in coarse garments down there.”
Gong Zhiyuan’s face stiffened.
Wen Zhuo said calmly: “Traveling to and from the capital from various prefectures takes anywhere from a few days to over a month. The expenses along the way can equal two years’ harvest of a tenant farmer. Even the provincial graduates who come for the metropolitan exam struggle financially with local support. How much more so for a chess player in coarse clothes?”
“Those who appear before us now are no more than wealthy landlords, local gentry, or officials’ families. Locals can register, but aren’t all the slots taken up by the sons of the eight noble clans? How can ordinary families have the chance to study advanced chess or see the wider world?”
Gong Zhiyuan’s face darkened further. He was the Grand Secretary, yet Wen Zhuo showed him no respect whatsoever.
“Director Wen seems to know all this quite well.”
Wen Zhuo replied nonchalantly: “It’s just that the Grand Secretary has sat in a high position for too long and only seen coarse garments described in books.”
The Xie clan belonged to the eight noble clans, so they naturally couldn’t stomach this. Someone stepped forward and said with sarcasm: “It seems Director Wen has many grievances about the Spring Terrace Chess Tournament. What’s the use of throwing your weight around here? If you’ve got the guts, let His Majesty hear it too!”
Wen Zhuo turned his head and carefully noted those faces.
There were two officials from other provinces, looking unfamiliar, but standing behind Gong Zhiyuan, they were surely direct descendants of the Nanzhou Xie family—close relatives of Xie Langyang.
Wen Zhuo propped one hand on the back of his chair, twirling the fan handle at his fingertips in a lazy manner: “Fine then. Go ahead and tell His Majesty what I said.”
The man wasn’t intimidated: “Though I am in Nanzhou, I am qualified to submit a memorial to His Majesty!”
Gong Zhiyuan said in a deep voice: “Enough! His Majesty is busy with countless affairs—let’s not add to his troubles.”
The man was taken aback, clearly not expecting Gong Zhiyuan to oppose him.
“This… Your Excellency?”
“Watch the chess,” Gong Zhiyuan said unhappily.
He knew very well that even if this matter was reported, the emperor would not do anything to Wen Zhuo.
Back in the Cao Fangzheng case, the emperor had turned a blind eye to Wen Zhuo harboring a rouge thief. Today’s mere complaint was even less of a concern.
If the emperor saw the memorial, he would likely blame the Xie family for stirring up trouble, just to exonerate Wen Zhuo.
Moreover, Wen Zhuo was now in charge of the Spring Terrace Chess Tournament. While he hadn’t given any clan special favors, that didn’t mean he couldn’t create obstacles for a particular clan.
Offending Wen Zhuo now was simply unwise.
The games below had been going on for some time. The shop assistants from the major chess houses in the capital had gotten their permits and entered the venue to seek out brilliant games. Once found, they would display them in real-time at their houses, attracting the capital’s citizens to come for tea and entertainment.
Wen Zhuo hadn’t been seated long before he spotted Shen Zhi standing in the crowd, still holding a packet of date-rice cakes.
Since the Crown Prince hadn’t graced this first round, Shen Zhi hadn’t revealed his identity. He simply watched from the crowd.
But his stature and bearing were too striking, and he wore a fine robe—impossible not to notice.
How had he managed to snatch them among so many people, without even rumpling his clothes?
Wen Zhuo noticed that Shen Zhi was also holding that stone in his other hand, lifting it up and down. It dawned on him that Shen Zhi hadn’t been joking.
Could it be that he carried the stone to snatch the date-rice cakes, scaring off the other customers?
He hoped he hadn’t frightened Granny Wang!
He was lost in these idle thoughts when suddenly he heard a voice behind him, clear and with a hint of familiarity.
“Director, you look well. Weizhi has come especially to pay his respects today!”
Wen Zhuo spun around, his spirits lifting: “Gu Weizhi!”
The newcomer was tall and straight as a pine, dressed in a plain cloth robe without a single ornament. A green silk ribbon carelessly bound his hair, yet it did nothing to diminish his dignified air.
“Director, don’t mind my abruptness. It’s been a long time. I’ve come at the behest of the officials from all prefectures in Bozhou to see you.” Gu Weizhi had a square face and large eyes. His skin was not fair, but it radiated an open and honest quality.
Wen Zhuo quickly rose, tossing his folding fan aside, and clasped Gu Weizhi’s arms with both hands. His eyes shone bright as stars: “I’m genuinely happy you’ve come! Is everything well in Bozhou?”
When Wen Zhuo served as the judicial officer in Bozhou, Gu Weizhi was his registrar, helping him draft documents and manage seals.
Later, when Wen Zhuo became prefect, he promoted Gu Weizhi to assistant prefect, overseeing household registration and taxes.
The rouge thief case was handled by the two of them together. This made Gu Weizhi a man Wen Zhuo could trust.
Apart from Gu Weizhi, many of the current officials in Bozhou had been discovered and promoted by Wen Zhuo. They all held deep respect for him.
“Director, you laid a solid foundation—everything is fine.”
Wen Zhuo nodded: “This isn’t the right place to talk. Wait for me below. Once the tournament ends today, we’ll talk in detail.”
The last time Gu Weizhi visited him, Wen Zhuo had been just as delighted, and he had then introduced Gu Weizhi to Shen Chen.
Gu Weizhi was experienced in collecting tax silver and handling funds. Before impeaching Wen Zhuo, Shen Chen had tested Gu Weizhi.
But Gu Weizhi had said: “Anyone in the world may impeach the Director, but Weizhi cannot. The grace of knowing and promoting me—I will repay even in death, my whole life long. Weizhi may fail to be a famous minister, but I will not be a petty man.”
Thus, Gu Weizhi was demoted by Shen Chen. After that, Wen Zhuo didn’t know what happened.
“Alright, I’ll wait for you, Director!” Gu Weizhi laughed heartily and turned to leave with enthusiasm.
Shen Zhi’s eyes were sharp as a torch; he saw everything clearly, including the way Wen Zhuo had spontaneously gripped Gu Weizhi’s arms.
He thought to himself: That beautiful, treacherous minister acts like a proud cat, yet he’s this close with someone? Hah?
When Gu Weizhi came down, Shen Zhi approached with a faint smile.
He hid the date-rice cakes behind his back, holding his hands behind him like a scion of a scholarly family, looking utterly harmless: “Sir, are you well acquainted with Director Wen?”
Gu Weizhi saw that Shen Zhi’s clothes were luxurious and his bearing extraordinary, and knew he must be someone of status. The capital was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers; he felt a bit nervous.
“I wouldn’t dare claim that. I was a subordinate of the Director when he served in Bozhou.”
Shen Zhi raised an eyebrow: “Oh… after so many years, you still come to see him. It seems Director Wen had good relations in Bozhou.”
“More than that!”
Gu Weizhi tilted his head back at a forty-five-degree angle toward the sky, sighing brightly: “Plum blossoms like snow, snow like a person—not a speck of dust. Mountains like jade, jade like you—a glance, a smile, warmth.”
“…”
What kind of fanboy look was that?!