Chapter 61#

Wen Zhuo thought back carefully. Liu Kangren had indeed died at the very end of the twenty-third year of Shunyuan, but he had originally considered this merely a trivial matter.

At that time, he was assisting Shen Chen, who had just gained the full support of the Yongning Hou’s household. His mind was entirely occupied with scheming to use the Wise King’s influence to counterbalance the Crown Prince.

From the very beginning, he had held no expectations for Duke Liu. Since he had already chosen the Yongning Hou, the military power represented by Duke Liu was inevitably going to be abandoned.

Because of the defeat Liu Kangren had suffered ten years ago, the two families had become mortal enemies.

When the memorial impeaching Liu Kangren was sent to the capital, Emperor Shunyuan flew into a thunderous rage.

Duke Liu, who had already retired to his home, did not hesitate to forsake his lifelong reputation upon hearing this news. He knelt for a long time outside the Qingliang Hall, his forehead bruised and bleeding from kowtowing, begging His Majesty to show leniency and spare his son’s life.

But Emperor Shunyuan had long harbored resentment over that defeat from years past. Now, with new crimes added to the old, he simply could not tolerate it.

An imperial decree was issued, combining both punishments, sentencing Liu Kangren to immediate execution without reprieve.

Wen Zhuo still remembered that Liu Kangren did not live to see the New Year of the twenty-fourth year of Shunyuan.

Struck by this blow, Duke Liu fell gravely ill. Although he barely managed to claw his way back from death’s door, his spirit was broken. His former vigor and vitality had all transformed into the frailty of old age.

Duke Liu had three sons in his lifetime. His eldest son had suffered a misfortune in childhood, leaving him paralyzed and bedridden, requiring constant care.

His second son was brave and skilled in battle, full of youthful spirit, but tragically fell into the schemes of Nanping, dying on the battlefield, his body wrapped in horsehide.

He had only this last son left—Liu Kangren, mild-tempered and of ordinary talent.

But now Liu Kangren was also to be beheaded. He had lost even this final hope.

At the time, in the imperial court, Wen Zhuo merely stood by and watched, believing that the Liu family’s fortune had run its course. Moreover, with Duke Liu having no worthy successor and his influence waning, it was actually advantageous for Shen Chen.

Yet he never anticipated that this seemingly unrelated old case would one day become a rope binding their hands and feet.

The change occurred in the spring of the twenty-fourth year of Shunyuan.

Duke Liu, worried that his paralyzed eldest son would have no one to care for him, and with no other recourse, was forced to participate in factional strife and joined the Wise King’s camp.

The Wise King had long been renowned for his virtue. As the Empress’s legitimate son and the Emperor’s eldest son, his foundation was solid. Now, having gained the military support of Duke Liu, he was like a tiger with wings, his influence growing daily. He became Shen Chen’s most troublesome rival.

At that time, Shen Chen was consumed with anxiety day and night, unable to sleep. He repeatedly ran to Wen’s residence late at night, weeping and sighing before Wen Zhuo, begging him for strategies to cut off the Wise King’s momentum.

It was then that Wen Zhuo truly felt the lingering heat of Liu Kangren’s death.

They had to clip the Wise King’s wings.

In the imperial court, they had Gong Zhiyuan act against Bu Zhangyi and Tang Guangzhi. On the military front, they placed their hopes on Jun Dingyuan and the Yongning Hou, seeking to bring down Duke Liu.

But what Wen Zhuo never anticipated was that both Jun Dingyuan and the Yongning Hou opposed destroying Duke Liu. Even Jun Mulan, who had suffered the deepest harm back then, spoke out to dissuade them.

It was then that Wen Zhuo suddenly realized that soldiers have their own integrity and sense of honor. Although Duke Liu stood on a different side from them, he was still a man who had fought on the battlefield. The Jun family could still pity his desolation.

He had no choice but to respect the Jun family’s feelings and think of another strategy.

Just as they were at a stalemate, the Fengyang Terrace fall occurred.

Many pieces of evidence pointed to an accident, but how could Wen Zhuo allow it to be merely an accident?

He employed a minor scheme, directing all suspicion toward the Wise King.

With old grievances and new hatred stacked together, the Yongning Hou and Jun Dingyuan could no longer block the way. After the Wise King fell from power, Duke Liu was sentenced to exile, and the Duke’s mansion was confiscated.

The entire family, old and young, became refugees. The Duchess, knowing full well that she could not care for her paralyzed eldest son, sank into utter despair. That very night, she poisoned her son and then hanged herself.

Upon hearing the devastating news while en route to exile, Duke Liu was overwhelmed with grief and sorrow. When he reached a desolate wilderness, he slammed his head into a large boulder by the roadside and died.

A great general of his generation had thus fallen.

Xie Langyang was certain that since Wen Zhuo could so skillfully frame the Fengyang Terrace tragedy on the Wise King’s faction, he must have been premeditating it. The entire affair was fundamentally orchestrated by Wen Zhuo.

He never believed that Wen Zhuo had improvised or acted on a whim.

Thus, he placed the blame for Duke Liu’s entire family’s death on Wen Zhuo’s head. This matter could not pass his sense of righteousness, and later became one of the reasons he believed Wen Zhuo deserved to die.

Remembering this matter, although Wen Zhuo felt wronged, he ultimately did not dare to raise his eyes to meet Shen Zhi’s gaze. He only lowered his eyelids even further, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the edge of his sleeve.

He had never expected that in this life, they would inadvertently stumble into Liu Kangren’s grain theft case in this manner.

“I actually do know this man.” Shen Zhi smiled upon hearing this. His eyes held neither surging anger nor the pleasure of revenge, only a calm stillness. “Tell me, what exactly did he do that was so evil, to make you so angry?”

Liu Hoo’er’s face was red with anger as he said, “He stole grain! Stole grain from the official granaries!”

Saying this, he slapped his bottom and stood up, as if only this could vent the fury in his heart. “Half a year ago, that locust plague was truly terrifying! A dark, dense swarm flew over, and in an instant, the crops in the fields were devoured clean! In our village, someone was so desperate they used a net to catch locusts and boil them to eat, but they died of poisoning after just a few days. That was when everyone was truly panicked, and we all begged the officials to open the granaries and release grain.”

“But nothing happened for many days. Gradually, people in the village began to starve to death. Unable to hold on any longer, some fled, and some braced themselves and rushed to the county town. Just then, Liu Kangren showed up!” Liu Hoo’er paused, his tone full of sarcasm. “He brought his subordinate flag soldiers to various towns and counties in Mianzhou to distribute porridge for disaster relief. But that thing they called porridge was clearly just watery rice soup, with hardly a single whole grain of rice to be seen! The more we drank, the hungrier we got, the more we drank, the thinner we became. My mother eventually couldn’t even walk, she could only lie down and barely catch her breath. But even so, back then everyone still considered him a living Buddha come to save them from suffering!”

His voice paused, then Liu Hoo’er suddenly turned around and viciously kicked the mottled wall of the Liu residence several times, leaving a trail of ugly black footprints.

“Later, guess what? That corrupt official was caught red-handed by the prefect embezzling grain from the government granaries. They caught him with the stolen goods, and he was thrown directly into prison! When the government posted the notice, we learned that he had taken advantage of being the son of a high official to promise promotions to the granary keepers, secretly bribing them, and bit by bit stealing all the grain from the granaries! He stole so much grain, but only gave us rice water to drink, and tricked us into being endlessly grateful to him! Tell me, isn’t that infuriating? Isn’t he the greatest villain in this world?”

Wen Zhuo listened quietly to the youth’s accusations. Although he didn’t know all the details, the matter of Liu Kangren stealing grain was most likely true.

Back when Duke Liu pleaded for his son, he had never uttered a single word of defense against this charge. According to the Great Qian Code, when an official stole money or grain from government warehouses, theft of under one guan meant eighty strokes of the cane, twenty guan meant a hundred strokes and exile to three thousand li, and forty guan could mean execution.

Liu Kangren had likely stolen far more than that—enough to warrant his death several times over.

For such an insignificant figure who had accomplished nothing, the Qian History had not a single word recording his death, so Shen Zhi also didn’t know that Liu Kangren’s incident had happened in Mianzhou.

However, the great battle between Liu Kangren and the Nanping ghost general Fan Wan had completely changed the fate of Great Qian, so it was recorded in various historical texts, and the local gazetteers of the southern regions also left behind detailed materials.

Later scholars, analyzing this defeat from an objective, outsider’s perspective, all believed that the fault did not lie entirely with Liu Kangren.

Great Qian had long had the saying, “In the south, rely on Liu; in the north, rely on Jun,” meaning that fighting in the south depended on Duke Liu, and fighting in the north on the Yongning Hou. Thus, Duke Liu’s military forces were primarily concentrated in the southern border, which was also why Emperor Shunyuan originally chose Liu Kangren to lead the southern expedition.

Although Liu Kangren was mediocre in talent, he could be considered diligent and hardworking, thoroughly memorizing military treatises and strategies.

But when he arrived in the southern border, he discovered that leading troops among his father’s old comrades and former subordinates was extremely tricky.

Those generals of his father’s generation were all deeply experienced, and he couldn’t command them. Moreover, mindful of his father’s feelings, he couldn’t completely fall out with them or enforce military discipline.

The practice of drawing salaries for nonexistent soldiers was rampant in the southern border camps. The roster listed many soldiers, but most were only nominally attached to logistics units. The truly elite troops who could fight in battle were few and far between.

And those who had embezzled these military funds were precisely Duke Liu’s sworn brothers from years past, elders he needed to respect.

After the defeat, Liu Kangren could never bring himself to execute these people. He could only bear all the blame himself, being demoted again and again, far away from the capital and the imperial court.

In terms of military strategy and commanding presence, Liu Kangren was indeed far inferior to Jun Dingyuan, and truly unworthy of being the commander-in-chief.

When Jun Dingyuan later arrived in the southern border, his situation was even more difficult. Wherever he looked, he saw Duke Liu’s former subordinates. Yet he managed to fight his way through, relying on his military achievements to be repeatedly promoted.

Once he had real power in his hands, he showed no favoritism to anyone. He carried out sweeping reforms, eliminating useless logistics units, reorganizing military registers, and eradicating the corrupt practice of drawing salaries for nonexistent soldiers. Anyone who violated military orders was severely punished without exception.

After ten years of this, the southern border camps were completely transformed, their combat power far surpassing what it had been.

When Nanping invaded again, Jun Dingyuan naturally won a morale-boosting victory, washing away Great Qian’s previous shame.

Later scholars held Jun Dingyuan in extremely high regard, calling him a rare military talent. Unfortunately, he incurred the Emperor’s wrath and died young.

As for Liu Kangren, their assessment was that he was too softhearted and weak, unfit to be a commander.

If one said that Liu Kangren needed to atone for the defeat in the southern border and for the people of Great Qian, Shen Zhi deeply agreed. But to say that a man so softhearted that he was willing to take all blame upon himself, trapped by old friendships, would steal official grain for personal profit and bring suffering to the people—that was somewhat illogical.

One thing at a time. Shen Zhi knew that Liu Kangren had a vendetta against the Jun family, and especially against himself, but he still wanted to get to the bottom of this matter.

“Let me ask you, how long did Liu Kangren distribute porridge?” Shen Zhi’s gaze was sharp, fixed directly on Liu Hoo’er.

Liu Hoo’er rubbed his neck, a trace of disappointment flashing across his face.

He had expected Shen Zhi to join him in righteous indignation, but he hadn’t anticipated such calm. Still, he answered honestly, “About three or four months, I can’t remember exactly. I just know we drank that rice water for a long time.”

Wen Zhuo’s brow tightened upon hearing this. He too had spotted the problem.

Sure enough, Shen Zhi then spoke: “That is to say, Mianzhou was affected by the disaster for half a year, but unlike Xing and Jing prefectures, it wasn’t littered with starving corpses—because of the several months of rice water Liu Kangren provided?”

Liu Hoo’er was startled, then quickly waved his hands in rebuttal, his cheeks flushing red with urgency. “No, no! Don’t be fooled by him! He only gave us rice water to drink, the real grain he kept for himself! Later, it was the great benefactor Wen who opened his granaries and distributed steamed buns, and that’s how we survived!”

“You think that the man who made you sell your children for steamed buns is instead the kind one?” Shen Zhi didn’t intend to interrogate. He knew how easy it was for local gentry and wealthy households to deceive little beggars like Liu Hoo’er.

“What’s wrong with that? Anyway, everyone survived and got to eat their fill. That’s better than starving to death.” Liu Hoo’er was unconcerned. He still remembered the days when he ate fragrantly every day at the Wen family estate.

“Then what about those who had no children to sell? Wouldn’t they have lost even the rice water?”

Liu Hoo’er was taken aback, then scratched his head. “Hmm… well, they can’t blame anyone else. Either they fled elsewhere, or like that old man yesterday, they went to the seaside. Lots of people collect ambergris. If they can find a lump of it in the sea, they can trade it for money and grain at the Mianzhou Incense Fair. Actually, I’ve always felt my mother didn’t run off with a man. She must have gone to the seaside to look for ambergris. When she finds it, she’ll definitely come back for me!”

Ambergris.

How difficult it was to find even a single piece.

Lou Changsui and the incense merchants had likely used this illusory hope to lure all the starving refugees to the seaside. That was why there were few visible corpses near Mianzhou city.

Most of the people who died in the sea wouldn’t blame the officials for not saving them; they would only hate their own lack of skill and bad luck for not finding the ambergris.

“Since Liu Kangren was caught red-handed by the prefect, then his home must have been searched and confiscated as well.” Shen Zhi slowly looked around the Liu residence. The courtyard was desolate, the furnishings simple. The only things worth anything were the two long spears in the front hall.

Perhaps they were too heavy or hard to sell, so the searchers had left them behind.

He turned and asked Liu Hoo’er, “Do you know how much money was confiscated from his house?”

How would Liu Hoo’er understand such official matters? He quickly shook his head.

“I don’t know… but it must have been a lot! After all, he stole so much grain, he must have sold it for a lot of money!”

“Since it was so much, all that silver should now be in the government treasury. So why hasn’t the government used it to buy grain for relief, instead letting the people sell their children?” Shen Zhi pressed on.

Liu Hoo’er was stumped. He opened his mouth, but couldn’t come up with a single word of rebuttal.

After holding it in for a long time, he finally shouted in exasperation, “Why do you keep asking me these questions? Are you trying to defend that great villain Liu Kangren?”

“Then let me put it another way. If the official granaries had always had this much grain, then why, at the very beginning of the locust plague, did they refuse to open them?”

“That’s because… that’s because…” Liu Hoo’er was bewildered. He finally realized that the biggest problem probably lay with the Mianzhou Prefecture, but their hatred of Liu Kangren was so intense that none of them remembered the prefect’s name anymore.

“I’m not actually asking you.” Shen Zhi’s gaze was deep. After thinking a moment, he said, “I’m also asking myself. Who is the real villain?”

According to historical records, the farmland in Mianzhou had been seized by incense merchants, mostly replanted with incense trees. The arable land had sharply decreased, no longer sufficient to feed the people of Mianzhou. So the official granaries could not have had adequate grain stockpiles.

Liu Kangren might have indeed stolen grain, but not necessarily to keep it for himself and make a fortune.

The most likely possibility was that he used all the stolen grain for disaster relief. But with so many people and so little grain, he could only give the people thin, watery rice soup.

Yet Shen Zhi still had doubts. If the truth were really like this, why didn’t Liu Kangren send a memorial to the court earlier, stating the real situation of the disaster in Mianzhou and the emptiness of the official granaries?

Even if people like Bu Zhangyi were obstructing him, he could have used his connection to Duke Liu to get the memorial onto the Emperor’s desk. These matters might only be answered by asking Liu Kangren himself.

Some things weren’t suitable for Liu Hoo’er to hear, so Shen Zhi pulled Wen Zhuo to a corner behind the wall, sheltered from view. Taking advantage of the shadow of that old, dying tree, he lowered his voice and asked, “Does Teacher think there’s a problem with this?”

Wen Zhuo, still feeling guilty about his past life, didn’t dare look at him. He turned his face slightly and countered, “What does Your Highness intend to do? Could you be thinking of investigating this matter deeply and overturning Liu Kangren’s case?”

Shen Zhi, assuming he was still shy about last night’s matters, didn’t press. Instead, he looked at Wen Zhuo’s handsome profile and said earnestly, “If his actions were truly justified.”

“The day Liu Kangren was imprisoned, Lou Changsui’s impeachment memorial was already sent to the capital by fast horse. It happened to coincide with our departure from the capital.” Wen Zhuo analyzed in a low voice. “I can tell Your Highness truthfully: Liu Kangren’s conviction would solve Mianzhou’s crisis. The Wise King’s faction would be only too happy. And those who admire General Jun and are inclined toward Your Highness would also seize the opportunity to add fuel to the fire, currying favor with you. This even includes Eunuch Liu Quan. So among the entire court, aside from Duke Liu, there would not be a second person to plead for Liu Kangren. He is doomed to die.”

“There is. I will.” Shen Zhi’s tone was solemn. “But time is pressing. If we investigate first and then send a memorial back to the capital, it’ll be too late!”

Wen Zhuo’s eyelashes trembled. He took a deep breath and said, each word measured, “Has Your Highness considered this? Duke Liu is the one person in this world who is least likely to submit to you. He and your maternal grandfather have been rivals for years, their political views greatly at odds. Later, on the southern battlefield, his son was utterly overshadowed by Jun Dingyuan, losing the Liu family’s military prestige. No matter which prince he eventually sides with, he will become our greatest threat.”

“I have considered it.” Shen Zhi looked at him. “If Liu Kangren had died on the southern battlefield, I might have said ‘good riddance.’ But if he died bearing guilt willingly to save the people of Mianzhou, and then had his reputation unjustly tarnished after death, I cannot accept that.”

“Your Highness should just consider that he was atoning for the defeat in the southern border.” Wen Zhuo slowly closed his eyes.

“Crimes should be punished as they deserve; merits should be rewarded as they deserve. I hope that everyone’s posthumous reputation can be fair and just.” Shen Zhi took Wen Zhuo’s cool hand. “Teacher, you always made me read the Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance. But the methods in it of altering historical facts to educate the people—I don’t approve. Those people whose lives were distorted and reputations sullied—if they knew they would be so misrepresented after death, wouldn’t they be grieved?”

Wen Zhuo’s heart suddenly seized, and he felt a chill.

If he had signed that absurd confession in his past life, what would his posthumous reputation have been like?

Most likely, he would have been infamous, a symbol of disgrace like Zhao Gao, never to be rehabilitated.

“Since it’s a posthumous reputation, once a person dies, their soul vanishes. What is there to grieve over?” Wen Zhuo’s voice was light and airy, as if spoken to Shen Zhi, or perhaps as a comfort to himself.

“Their descendants would.”

“What about those with no descendants?” Wen Zhuo’s eyes were misty, carrying a smile tinged with self-abandonment.

Shen Zhi was silent. In his heart, he thought, I am very grieved for you.

Seeing that Wen Zhuo remained unmoved, Shen Zhi’s peripheral vision swept over their surroundings. Liu Qiyi was talking with Liu Hoo’er, and Jiang Mannü had her back to them, stretching. No one could see them here.

His courage swelled. He reached out a long arm, wrapped it around Wen Zhuo’s slender waist, and pulled the man tightly into his embrace.

Then he leaned down, close to his ear, his voice soft and slow, coaxing, “Teacher, help me. I want to see Liu Kangren.”

Wen Zhuo found it preposterous. “Your Highness, Liu Kangren is currently in prison!”

“You’re so clever, you must have a way. All right?” Shen Zhi gently shook his arm, making Wen Zhuo’s body lightly bump against his chest. His tone was mischievously affectionate. “You won’t even look at me. Have I become ugly?”

Wen Zhuo stubbornly turned his face away and refused to answer.

Shen Zhi suddenly snapped open his bamboo folding fan with a swish, tilting the fan to cast a shadow over their heads, which were now close together.

Taking advantage of Wen Zhuo’s silence, he quickly pressed a kiss to his cool cheek.

Wen Zhuo’s eyes flew wide open in shock, and he looked back at him in terror.

Shen Zhi, emboldened, gently stroked his chin with his thumb, leaned down, and pressed his lips to the soft ones again, his breath warm. “My Wanshan is the softest-hearted.”

Your! Wanshan!

Wen Zhuo’s mind exploded. Shen Zhi actually dared, in broad daylight, to commit this act that violated the Great Qian legal code!

“You—”

Another kiss, cutting him off.

“Daylight—”

Not enough, another kiss, this one with a faint, moist sound.

“Don’t—”

Shen Zhi chuckled softly. His lips slid from the corner of Wen Zhuo’s mouth, up the bridge of his nose, and landed a tender kiss on the tip of his nose.

Wen Zhuo’s struggles gradually weakened. He lowered his eyelashes. After a moment of silence, he slowly lifted his chin, and as if burning his bridges, actively met Shen Zhi’s lips.