Chapter 24: Zhaoyue
After their spar, both Feng Qi and Wen Ning’an were covered in sticky sweat, so they both rushed to bathe.
After Feng Qi finished his bath, he saw Wen Ning’an sitting properly on the edge of the bed, wearing only his inner robe, reading a book. His eyes held their usual indifference, and a faint smile played on his lips, just as usual. It seemed he was no longer dwelling on the matter of the spar.
Alright, how could he not be dwelling on it? Feng Qi knew Wen Ning’an was just enduring it, and would later secretly start a demonic training regimen, plotting how to defeat him.
“Yixin.” Feng Qi smiled and sat down behind Wen Ning’an, wrapping his arms around his waist to read the thin book in his hands with him. The two of them sat quietly together like this. Wen Ning’an, having just bathed, had a faint fragrance about him. Feng Qi rested his head on his shoulder, his nose filled with Wen Ning’an’s scent.
Wen Ning’an was reading a collection of poems, which Feng Qi had no interest in. They were all so mournful and sorrowful that they made him drowsy. Coupled with the nice atmosphere, he couldn’t sit still, nor could he control his hands.
Feng Qi’s hand slowly moved down, and he lowered his head, his lips moving towards Wen Ning’an’s earlobe. However, before he could touch that sensitive area, he heard Fu Che shout from outside, “Your Majesty! Master Xu Binghua requests an audience!”
Wen Ning’an was startled and, snapping back to his senses, pushed Feng Qi away.
Feng Qi frowned slightly. Fu Che was not one to be clueless; in fact, he was the best at discerning the emperor’s intentions. To interrupt them so rudely and hastily now, he must have been forced by the situation.
“Your Majesty—”
A miserable cry came from outside the door. Feng Qi and Wen Ning’an exchanged a look and both walked out.
Outside the hall, Xu Binghua was kneeling on the steps, his eyes bloodshot and his body trembling, as if he were suppressing some great pain.
Feng Qi raised an eyebrow. What madness has the Xu family gotten into now?
“Beloved Minister Xu, why have you rushed in without regard for etiquette?”
“This humble subject was reckless. I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness. This humble subject was just anxious. I heard from Eunuch Fu that… that An Su… he’s dead?”
“Yes,” Feng Qi said decisively. “Attempting to seduce the Son of Heaven through improper means—not implicating his nine clans is already my forgiveness towards him.”
After some discussion, Feng Qi and Wen Ning’an had decided to announce to the outside world that An Su was dead. Otherwise, if Feng Qi forcibly kept him at the villa, it would only alert the enemy and make the Xu family realize something was wrong.
“Dead… dead…” Xu Binghua trembled. “An Su is a criminal and should have been taken to the Ministry of Justice to await judgment. Your Majesty… Your Majesty…”
Feng Qi sneered inwardly. What’s the difference between sending An Su to the Ministry of Justice and sending him back to the Xu Residence? Xu Binghua was able to get An Su out of the Ministry of Justice back then, and he could do the same now.
Feng Qi blinked. “Beloved Minister Xu, are you blaming me?”
“This humble subject wouldn’t dare, wouldn’t dare…”
“Beloved Minister Xu, do you think I should listen to the Ministry of Justice, or should the Ministry of Justice follow my imperial edict?”
Xu Binghua was startled, a chill running down his spine. He immediately kowtowed. “Your Majesty is supreme. The Three Departments and Six Ministries should all follow Your Majesty’s lead. It was this humble subject’s slip of the tongue. This humble subject is foolish. I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness!”
“You may leave.”
Feng Qi took Wen Ning’an and turned to leave, while Xu Binghua remained kneeling in place, his eyes glazed over, muttering, “An Su… An Su…”
After returning to the cool hall, Wen Ning’an frowned. “Looking at Xu Binghua, it seems he truly liked An Su.”
“Heh, I think he’s just annoyed that he lost the leverage to threaten Wang Zhengyi. Coming here to ask for An Su back was definitely not out of any affection, but because he was afraid An Su would tell us something he shouldn’t. If he really liked him, would he have let An Su risk his life just to see us?”
“That’s true.” Even if he liked him, he didn’t cherish him before. Now that he’s lost, he has no right to blame others.
However, Feng Qi’s words gave Wen Ning’an a flash of inspiration. He felt he had overlooked something, but he couldn’t remember what it was…
He felt there was some loophole…
Seeing Wen Ning’an’s face wrinkled in a troubled expression, Feng Qi asked, “What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing…”
Wen Ning’an then smiled. “But… to be honest, not only do you not believe Xu Binghua, but in your heart, you don’t completely trust An Su either, right?”
Feng Qi shrugged. “Always leave a way out. When my imperial father taught me, he emphasized this point the most, constantly reminding me to always have a trump card.”
“But if you can’t truly trust anyone, isn’t it tiring?”
“Nonsense.” Feng Qi pinched Wen Ning’an’s cheek. “I trust you unconditionally. Let me tell you, even in the past, although I… although I didn’t like you, in my heart, I still trusted you. I’ve truly trusted you since we were children. Do you believe me?”
With Wen Ning’an, I truly have no trump cards, which is why I’m so uneasy…
Wen Ning’an was stunned. After a long while, he said, “I believe… I believe you.”
Feng Qi looked straight at Wen Ning’an, his thoughts unreadable. Perhaps feeling the atmosphere was a bit ambiguous and strange, Wen Ning’an changed the subject. “As we said before, after Xu Binghua thinks An Su is dead, he will definitely make a move against Wang Zhengyi. We need to be more cautious and not let the Xu family succeed.”
An Su had told them before that to ensure he was truly safe, Wang Zhengyi had demanded that Xu Binghua have An Su personally write him a letter every half a month to report his safety. Only after seeing the letter would Wang Zhengyi continue to work for the Xu family.
Wang Zhengyi knew the Xu family’s methods of forging letters, so he seemed to have a secret understanding with An Su. An Su would always add something to the letter that only “An Su” himself could write, something an outsider who hadn’t been a part of their lives couldn’t fabricate.
And tomorrow was the day the letter was due.
Feng Qi nodded. “Wang Zhengyi himself is not weak in martial arts, and I have already sent the shadow guards to the Ministry of Justice’s prison to secretly protect him. Plus your shadows, we can definitely fend off the Xu family’s assassins. Speaking of the Xu family, look…”
Feng Qi smugly took out a notebook handwritten by a shadow guard from a hidden compartment under the desk and handed it to Wen Ning’an. “A shadow guard gave me this while you were bathing. Although they couldn’t find the location of the factory or what exactly it does, they at least got this.”
Wen Ning’an flipped through it casually and asked doubtfully, “Is this the flow of silver for that factory?”
“Yes.” Feng Qi turned to one of the pages. “Look here, the silver flows from the Ministry of Works to the factory, and then from the factory to…”
Wen Ning’an’s mouth fell open, and he interrupted, “The Grand Tutor!”
The Grand Tutor of Bei Miao, Xu Rui, Xu Tongda’s father, the most powerful person in the Xu family, and one of the Three Grand Tutors of the court.
“This is getting very interesting. Even the Grand Tutor is involved. Heh, I will absolutely not let the Xu family go this time. With Xu Rui in the mix, let’s see how they save themselves.”
This case was too involved. If Xu Binghua and Xu Bingyuan fell, Xu Rui would be too busy to save himself. According to Feng Qi’s speculation, Xu Tongda should also be aware and likely an accomplice. If all these people fell, then the Xu family would be at the end of its rope.
Wen Ning’an frowned. “How could I not know how important this account book is to the Xu family? It’s no exaggeration to say it’s their lifeline. How could the shadow guards get it so easily in such a short time?”
“Hahaha, my training is good.”
Wen Ning’an pouted. He didn’t believe it. But perhaps this was Feng Qi’s secret power. It might not be appropriate for him to ask further, so he just lowered his head to look at the account book and said no more.
Feng Qi was amused by Wen Ning’an and patted his shoulder. “I was teasing you. Why did you take it so seriously? I told you I trust you completely. There’s no harm in telling you. The reason the shadow guards could get what we wanted so quickly is naturally because there’s an insider in the Xu Residence. For this thing, all the spies and insiders I’ve cultivated in the Xu family for years have been sacrificed.”
Wen Ning’an shook his head and smiled. “So besides shadow guards, you also cultivate spies. You are quite meticulous.”
“It’s not all me. Do you know of Zhaoyue Tower?”
Wen Ning’an nodded.
Zhaoyue Tower, a famous brothel in the capital. The girls and male courtesans there were said to be peerless beauties, yet it was not as prosperous as the Xu family’s pleasure industry. This was because Zhaoyue Tower operated with a low profile, focusing on “quality” rather than “quantity,” so it required more silver and had a higher class.
The ones who could go to Zhaoyue Tower, or rather, the ones Zhaoyue Tower pursued, were all high-ranking and powerful people. It was not like the Xu family’s establishments that welcomed all comers, so it was naturally quieter.
Feng Qi continued to explain, “The owner behind Zhaoyue Tower is actually Qin Zhaohuang. How should I put it? Zhaoyue Tower was originally just a simple flower house, run by the Qin family for generations. But in Qin Zhaohuang’s hands, it became an intelligence tower. Behind the intelligence tower is Qin Zhaohuang, and behind him is me. Understand?”
Wen Ning’an half-understood. “So, what does this have to do with the shadow guards being able to get the account book? The Xu family is the Xu family, and Zhaoyue Tower is Zhaoyue Tower.”
“Silly.” Feng Qi pinched Wen Ning’an’s nose. “Do you know that one-tenth of the maids in the palace are Qin Zhaohuang’s people? And in the homes of those nobles, as long as I want, there is at least one maid or concubine from Zhaoyue Tower.”
“I see.” Wen Ning’an had a sudden realization.
“It’s just that in the Xu family, we only managed to get this account book and couldn’t get any information about the factory at all. It seems we’ll have to start with the account books of the Ministry of Justice.” The Ministry of Works could be ruled out. After all, the Xu family couldn’t completely control it; there were still the Li family’s eyes there.
Feng Qi sighed. “Raise an army for a thousand days, use it for one. Now is the time for the insider in the Xu family to be of use. It doesn’t matter if they’re sacrificed; we won’t be using them anymore anyway.”
Wen Ning’an was stunned, then immediately understood the meaning behind Feng Qi’s words.
The Xu family was at the end of its rope.
The only reason Feng Qi hadn’t made a move yet was because he was afraid of alerting the enemy and wanted to continue investigating that factory.
The Xu family had never been a family with deep roots. It was just a case of “when one person achieves enlightenment, their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.”
[Translator’s Notes: “when one person attains the Dao, their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.” It’s used to describe a situation where a person rises to a high position, and their relatives and associates also benefit and get promoted, regardless of their own merits.]
To make matters worse, the Xu family was short-sighted. After rising to prominence, they didn’t manage their affairs well, but instead always thought about being greedy. They acted with a high profile and offended people everywhere. One could only say that they came quickly and would go quickly, like a storm—fierce and destructive when it arrived, as if it would destroy the world, but it didn’t last long.
In the court, one had to be like a continuous drizzle, moistening things silently, long-lasting. Before people realized it, the ground they stood on had already been soaked, drop by drop, by this rain.
Like the Li family.
Like the future Wen family.
