Three years later.
A chilling breeze laden with moisture slipped through the cracked green-lattice window, causing the delicate smoke from the Boshan Censer to waver and rustling the Chengxintang paper spread across the entire desk.
Yuan Fuyu casually smoothed the corner of the densely written paper back into place with a paperweight.
On the twenty-third day of the sixth month in the fourth year of Yuanping, Imperial Censor Wan Chunming and Marquis of the Northern Army Lu Pingxuan forged an imperial decree to mobilize troops from the northern city, murdering the Assistant State Princess. Charged with treason, they were sentenced to extermination of three generations of relatives. All other officials involved were beheaded and their families’ properties confiscated. Males aged ten and above were exiled, while females were enslaved as government property.
Hundreds of prison carts were escorted to the execution grounds for beheading. All condemned prisoners had their tongues cut out, rendered mute and unable to speak. The stench of blood lingered in the city for three months.
Princess Yuan Fuyu, having made meritorious contributions to the state, was posthumously honored with ceremonial honors including feather-canopied processions and military funeral rites, buried in the same domain as Emperor Taizu’s tomb.
Imperial Son-in-Lie Xie Huaizhou held the position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and served as The Emperor’s Tutor.
The Princess’s political influence was entirely absorbed into Xie Huaizhou’s faction. Those who resisted were demoted or dismissed from office.
Pei Du, Chief Commander of the Mystic Eagle Guards and the Princess’s close attendant, now served by Xie Huaizhou’s side.
He Yichen, the Princess’s trusted aide and School Affairs Office Military Pacification Guard Commander, lost power and returned to his hometown in Xiaqui two years ago.
These were all the details Yuan Fuyu had managed to gather about the court changes following her death, since possessing the body of Cui Siniang, daughter of a merchant family, three years earlier.
All prisoners transported in those prison carts to execution had their tongues removed – what were they afraid the condemned might reveal?
More absurdly, nearly thirty percent of the officials on the execution list for the Princess’s murder case were her own people.
As Xie Huaizhou’s primary foundation in court, after her death… not only was Xie Huaizhou not purged by the noble families, but he became the primary beneficiary.
The identity of her murderer seemed self-evident.
The clinking of crimson gold bells beneath the beaded curtain drew Yuan Fuyu from her thoughts as her martial maid Jinshu entered.
“Fourth Young Lady, both Master Cui and Second Master have come to the estate. They say there’s urgent business requiring your presence.”
Yuan Fuyu glanced through the window crack and saw Cui Siniang’s father’s personal attendant anxiously wringing his hands at the courtyard gate.
If her guess was correct, the reason Cui Siniang’s father and uncle had condescended to visit this estate was likely related to the Cui Family’s mining mountains.
Years ago, the Cui Family had discovered iron ore in mountains that were another family’s ancestral property. Using unsavory methods that left the family ruined, they purchased the mountains at low prices.
Before the mountain deeds could even warm in the Cui Family’s hands, Yuan Fuyu during her regency had ordered all salt, iron, and copper mining operations to be nationalized.
The Cui Family had no choice but to conceal the existence of the mines.
This past July, the court relaxed salt and iron controls, switching to a taxation system. The Cui Family was overjoyed.
Since the mountain deeds contained no mining provisions, the Cui Family applied for mining permits in August, spending money like flowing water on bribes. Yet the authorities kept delaying approval until November, citing incomplete investigations.
The Cui Family was growing desperate.
Yuan Fuyu rose.
Perfect timing…
Wu City was too far from the capital. By the time whispers from the center of power reached Wu City and then her ears, the opportunity would be long gone.
It was time to return.
·
Cui Second Master paced anxiously outside the central hall.
Inside, Cui Siniang’s father, Cui First Master, hadn’t touched his tea. His elbow rested on the Huanghuali Wood side table as he massaged his temples.
The moment Cui Second Master spotted Yuan Fuyu, he immediately approached, waving for the servants to withdraw.
He walked beside Yuan Fuyu, stepping up the stairs as they entered, and asked: “Siniang, that poetry collection you mentioned when you went to plead with Magistrate Liu to secure our family’s lacquerware as imperial tribute – is it still with you? If so, quickly retrieve it and deliver it to Lord Liu!”
Yuan Fuyu leisurely entered the main hall, settled into a chair, and asked Cui Siniang’s father, Master Cui: “What exactly did Liu Chengzhang say?”
“Lord Liu stated that when Wu City’s lacquerware merchants were competing for imperial tribute status, you went to seek Magistrate Liu’s assistance and mentioned a poetry collection he greatly admired. Now that his three-year term has concluded, and he departs for the capital to report on his duties in less than half a month, if we could present him with the poetry collection for his perusal, he would be willing to assist with our mining permit before his departure.” Master Cui frowned, his gaze fixed intently on Yuan Fuyu. “Siniang, what exactly is this poetry collection Magistrate Liu speaks of? During the flood three years ago when diversion was implemented, did you use this very item to preserve the farmlands of Taiqing’s peasants?”
Cui Siniang’s father was no fool; he knew Magistrate Liu’s desire extended far beyond a mere poetry collection.
He needed to understand how crucial the item in Cui Siniang’s possession truly was, and whether it was worth exchanging for mining rights.
Three years prior, when Wu City suffered floods and multiple weirs collapsed, the authorities planned to divert floodwaters through Taiqing to minimize disaster-stricken areas.
It was Cui Siniang who sent word to Liu Chengzhang that ultimately saved Taiqing County.
Later, to avoid offending nobles whose fertile lands lay in Yang County, Liu Chengzhang publicized how Cui Siniang had persuaded him to alter the flood diversion weirs.
While Taiqing’s peasants were naturally grateful to Cui Siniang, the merchant Cui Family suffered greatly, facing repeated ostracization in business circles.
Until two years ago, when Wu City’s lacquerware merchants competed for imperial tribute status.
After a year of suppression and struggling in the market, the Cui Family planned a final all-out effort.
Although Yuan Fuyu cared little for the Cui Family’s business affairs, she saw this as an opportunity to gain intelligence from the capital and approached Liu Chengzhang again.
Yuan Fuyu informed Liu Chengzhang that her previous intervention delivering messages from the Xiaoshi Bureau had preserved both his official position and his life, resulting in the Cui Family’s business hardships over the past year.
The official, revisiting the area, learned of this and deeply resented Liu Chengzhang’s ingratitude, once again instructing her to convey…
If upon returning to the capital, the official discovered Liu Chengzhang had failed to assist the Cui Family in securing tribute status, then the several account books disguised as “Classic of Poetry” volumes – documenting how Liu Chengzhang extracted silver from the Xie Family for the Hanyang magistrate during his tenure six years ago – would no longer be kept confidential.
Liu Chengzhang broke into cold sweat once more.
Xie Huaizhou hailed from the Hanyang Xie Family.
Six years earlier, when Liu Chengzhang served under the Hanyang magistrate, Xie Huaizhou was neither a top imperial scholar nor the Imperial Son-in-Law.
While the Hanyang magistrate oppressed the wealthy Xie Family, continuously extorting silver and favors, Liu Chengzhang had naturally taken his share.
However, Yuan Fuyu, who inherently disliked merchants, had the Xiaoshi Bureau investigate and, finding no evidence of civilian oppression, suppressed the matter.
But after the Princess’s death, Xie Huaizhou became a transformed man – now Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, controlling all official promotions and transfers.
How could Liu Chengzhang not fear him?
The lacquerware tribute qualification unsurprisingly went to the Cui Family.
Now, with Liu Chengzhang preparing to return to the capital for his duty report and the Cui Family again seeking his assistance, he naturally wished to reclaim this leverage.
“Fourth Sister, speak up! You’re also a member of the Cui Family, surely you want the Cui Family to prosper?” Master Cui grew increasingly anxious as Yuan Fuyu remained silent, repeatedly stepping closer to her. “Look at last time… when you promised to secure the lacquerware tribute qualification for the Cui Family in exchange for non-interference in your marriage, your grandmother and your father haven’t mentioned the matter for two years! When you requested the steward traveling to the capital to bring you news from the capital, your father specially assigned a steward to gather information for you without ever being negligent! State your conditions freely – as long as you can deliver what Lord Liu wants and help the authorities grant our family the mining permit, I’d even kneel before you, your Second Uncle.”