Chapter 8: Vice Minister
Liu Zihe didn't dare to speak, and still only kept his head lowered. Yet Song Juguang was unforgiving. "Now, when the court has needs, how come you didn't act as an example?"
Liu Zihe lowered his head even further, even raising his voice to blame others. Song Juguang didn't pay attention to him, and walked to Wu Dongmu's side. "Only on leaving the capital did I hear that Wu-daren had spent money a great deal of riches to buy a painting from the previous dynasty, yet he can't draw out any money now?"
At this, Wu Dongmu also shirked responsibility. When Song Juguang had entered just then, her face had still carried a smile, but now, that smiling expression had dispersed entirely. Suddenly furious, a foot kicked Wu Dongmu's chest, causing him to fall a few meters away.
"A Guang." Only then did Jiang Changbai speak, stopping her.
Song Juguang, hearing this, drew back her vicious behaviour, and turned around, walking to the front of the hall. "It was this minister who lost propriety, and I ask that Bixia punishes me."
"It's alright, you're also impatient." Jiang Changbai spoke these character lightly, giving this farcical scene an ending, and only then said to Lin Yingqing, "Minister Lin, this matter still needs to be considered at length."
Lin Yingqing lowered his head and let out a "yes", and then immediately slowly returned to the spot he'd originally been standing.
In the end, the morning court couldn't be held, and hurriedly ended with singing of praises. However, the officials of third rank and above had only just returned to their residences and completed a meal when they once more entered the palace to discuss official business.
Within the Shengru Palace, Jiang Changbai had long since sat on the xumi seat;[1] Song Juguang, that deep sandalwood-coloured fan within her hand as she sat by her right side. The remaining ministers stood, hands hanging, at the base of the steps, a an expression of hard to avoid hesitance showing. This morning's labours, conferring the decree of Prince Regent on Song Juguang, had long since spread among the multitude of officials. In the past, the Great Li had been cautious in confering the title of prince; like this, the high specifications of bestowing it were even more seldom seen. But there wasn't anyone who, because of this decree, felt anything out of order; after all, within the eyes of the vast majority, if Song Juguang wished to sit on a higher position, she could.
Beneath her eyes, everyone had more or less arrived, yet the spot behind Liu Zihe was still empty. Jiang Changbai's compression suddenly grew profound, and she asked, "Where is the Vice Minister of Appointments?"
Liu Zihe, hearing this, hurried to answer. "Bixia, the Vice Minister of Appointments, he, he went missing. This minister went to his home to search for him; the occupants were long gone and the place was empty, not even a single servant remaining."
Unexpectedly, Jiang Changbai's expression on hearing this chilled further. "Minister Liu, you haven't gone to the Ministry of Appointments today?"
Liu Zihe, without even thinking about it, knelt, the empty, pale flagstone letting out a sharp sound. "Bixia, please forgive me!"
Song Juguang still leisurely sat to one side, and said, "During the morning court, this minister didn't see Xie-daren."
Jiang Changbai's face distinctly expressed an exasperated expression, but when she spoke, it was only a, "Nevermind". If one point was lacking, then the subject would be dropped, but the other matters couldn't be dropped like this. Discussing and going over official business, commenting and suggesting, in the end it was merely that matter whose solution hadn't been discussed to a close in the morning court. But this group of great ministers were usually glib, with mouths like a torrent; when it came to them truly being about to take out money, each one of them were as if they'd contracted mutism. Even with Jiang Changbai calling on them one by one and interrogating them, asking hither and yon, she could only compel out twenty thousand liang of silver.
Twenty thousand liang; for disaster relief, it would be a cup of water on a burning cart of firewood.
"This minister arrived late, I hope Bixia forgives me!" Suddenly, the loud shout came from outside the palace doors, causing everyone's gazes to be attracted to the doorway. Only Xie Qianbing was visible, wearing casual dress and hastily hurrying towards the centre of the hall at a rush, her coarse cotton garments, within the beautiful gauze outfits of all the ministers, looking especially wretched. However, if one were to look carefully, they would be able to see the mud flecked along the bottom of her clothes.
Xie Qianbing walked directly into the centre of the hall, and in an instant, knelt on the ground. A muffled sound rose as her knees crashed against the flagstone, but it was far less than the great sound of Liu Zihe knocking his head against the ground just before. But she didn't have the mind to consider this, and spoke: "This minister was alarmed on hearing that the state treasury was empty, and the court didn't have surplus to relieve disaster; my heart was deeply pained. So I rushed about the capital, and raised one hundred fifty thousand liang of silver to lend to the Ministry of Revenue; it was only because of this that I was late, and I hope that Bixia will forgive me."
"Get on up, then." The expression on Jiang Changbai's face changed from fury to delight, indicating to Lin Yingqing to take the banknotes in her hand. Immediately afterwards, her gaze swept across all the great ministers, standing awkwardly, and exhaled. "Qianbing has only just entered the bureaucracy, and was able to take out one hundred fity thousand liang; you've all been officials for a great many years, and added together, you can only find twenty thousand liang? Is it that you truly can't take it out, or that you aren't willing to? As an official, for the state and for the citizenry, you dare to call yourselves educated men?"[2]
Yet waiting until Xie Qianbing had stood up, only then were the great ministers finally able to look at her face. Her brows were bright and she had striking eyes, red lips and white teeth, and though her hair was bound up at the top of her head, it was clear that her appearance was that of a woman's.
"This—"
It wasn't clear who first muttered this word, but immediately afterwards, the great ministers who, just before, had been keeping quiet out of fear, started to quietly speak. In a split second, a muttering, rustling sound rose in the hall.
Jiang Changbai coldly huffed. "What, is everyone's inclination for discussing that they've thought of which of their private banks still have money remaining?"
"Bixia, I fear that this is unacceptable!" The fat official behind Wu Dongmu rose, cold sweat rising on his forehead, and knelt down, trembling as he spoke.
With his lead, the officials around Liu Zihe also rose. One after another, in the midst of a couple breaths, the entirety of the flagstone was full of kneeling ministers. Each one, as they kowtowed, called out that it was unacceptable, and the scene became even more disorderly.
"In what way is it unacceptable?" Jiang Changbai seemed angry, yet her words unexpectedly had an increasing degree of a smiling sound. "Is it disaster relif that is unacceptable, or you all in the court borrowing money that is unacceptable?"
"None, none of them," that fat official said, this time kowtowing as he spoke, prostrate on the ground as he added, "in over a hundred years, the Great Li hasn't had a precedent for a woman entering the court as an official; I fear that this isn't in accordance with our ancestors' etiquette."
Now, if his colleagues around him were to raise their heads, they could see that, unexpectedly, his back had already been soaked in sweat. It was just that there was no one paying attention to this; once this official's final syllable fell, the others followed after to agree with him.
Jiang Changbai absentmindedly felt that what was before her wasn't only this group of great ministers like misers, but also as if deceased ghosts from counting a few generations backwards who had been pulled up from the underworld by them. Speaking on ritual and closing on ancestors, it was as if she were a great sinner,[3] the likes of which hadn't been seen in countless years.
But she wasn't a sinner, but the current emperor.
Song Juguang was still sitting in the chair, watching the theatrical scene, and only felt that a shadow swayed before her gaze. When she drew her spirit back, the folding fan in her hand had already come to Jiang Changbai's hand, and before waiting for her to make a sound in inquiry, this fan flew through the air towards the forehead of that minister who had taken the lead.
This fan of Song Juguang's was a great deal heavier than a typical fan, so although Jiang Changbai had thrown it with her entire might, it still only crashed against the ground before the minister's forehead.
Within her mind, Song Juguang sighed silently, and rose, gathering up her own fan up. Athough this wasn't the end of it, standing before that great minister, she once more kicked his chest. "You haven't even gained some memory."
"How could We forget which emperor established the practice, saying that women couldn't serve as officials?" Jiang Changbai asked sternly. "Our Ancestral Emperor, founding the Great Li's golden age single-handedly, was a woman; We who sit in the emperor's place now are a woman; the one who can rival ten thousand, the Prince Regent who beat back the hostile forces at the Western border, is a woman. The North is struck by disaster, and the state treasury is empty; each of you useless, wine sack and food bags added together can only gather twenty thousand liang of silver, while Qianbing alone managed to take out one hundred fifty thousand. How fortunate you all have the facee to kneel here and say her becoming an official is unacceptable; if We were to say it, all of you added together couldn't compare to one of Qianbing!"
Song Juguang stood to the side, fanning the flames. "So it seems that Zhao-daren and the Wang-daren who was punished yesterday have a very close relationship." Though she smiled as she spoke, anyone could hear the implicit threat. That Zhao-daren trembled as he laid on the ground, wishing he could meld his entire person with the pale flagstone of the ground into one.
Actually, of all the great ministers standing in the Shengru Palace, the one most hidebound by scrupulously abiding to the ancestors' laws, then it would have to be Lin Yingqing who counted as the most. Actually, he was the one who most feared nothing in the heavens or on the earth; when the late Emperor Tai had held power, he'd quarreled with Empror Tai over the matter of etiquette who knew how many times. So, the group who'd stood out just before all furtively watched Lin Yingqing, only hoping he would, as in the past, stand out and argue strongly. But despite their expectations, Lin Yingqing stood straight, head facing directly forward, not having the slightest degree of intent to participate in this matter.
"Just now, didn't you speak very well? How is it that now you've become mute?" Jiang Changbai's tone had some indignance, and her wide eyes stared at the official surnamed Zhao.
"This minister, this minister was irreverent, I ask Bixia not to punish me. This minister will definitely take Xie-daren as an example; as soon as court ends I'll go raise money to loan to the Ministry of Revenue, so as to ease Bixia's worries." His speech was full of stuttering, and he was solely focused on kowtowing, not daring in the slightest to raise his head and look towards Jiang Changbai. Those great ministers who had followed with him also drew a dipper with a gourd as their model and followed after, saying similar words , making the exact same, mechanical movements.
Suddenly, Wu Dongmu, who had watched the scene for a great deal of time, drew a deep breath, and stood at the centre, blurting out a phrase that cut off the ministers. "Bixia, this minister has a matter to report."
Actually, he'd kept thinking about the matter of Shejin's small group of troops causing a commotion in the northern part of the border, and now, raising it, he only hoped that Jiang Changbai would take a suggestion. He hadn't imagined that Jiang Changbai would actually have a clearly understanding expression, and say, "This matter, We have already commanded the guard Wei Xiren-jiangjun to lead troops and quell it first, Minister Wu can be at ease."
Wei Xiren; it was another name that no one had heard before. But with that minister surnamed Zhao's bitter lesson, this time, there wasn't anyone who dared to raise an objection. However, Wu Dongmu wore an unusual expression, and he said, "Bixia, leading troops to fight and serving as an official in the court aren't the same; if this Wei Xiren-jiangjun doesn't have true skill, I fear that it'll be hard to convince to masses."
"How does Wu-daren think?"
"This minister believes that it would be better to call him to have a contest to measure with this minister. It would allow this minister to experience this Wei-jiangjun's abilities; don't wait for an accident to occur while leading troops outside; when the moment comes, it would be very troublesome."
Although this speech of Wu Dongmu's sounded very fair, anyone could hear that he didn't have confidence in Wei Xiren. Now, those who had followed that official surnamed Zhao in calling Xie Qianbing into question were still kneeling on the ground and hadn't risen, and Wu Dongmu had raised this, it couldn't help but cause one's heart to rise up in their throat, terrified that Jiang Changbai would once more become furious.
Yet, unexpectedly, Jiang Changbai nodded slightly. "Then We will follow Minister Wu's suggestion; A Guang, call Wei Xiren in."
Translator's notes:
[1]: Probably in the Buddhist style, similar to this or this.
[2]: 圣贤书都读到狗肚子里去了? (shengxianshu dou du dao gou duzi li qu le?), literally "you've read the holy books to a dog's stomach?", satirising the other party.
[3]: 罪人 (zuiren), specifically one who transgresses divine law.
Comments
Post a Comment