Two days later, Han Jianming, in Wang County, received the news. Looking troubled, he remarked, "It seems I'll have to return to t...
Two days later, Han Jianming, in Wang County, received the news. Looking troubled, he remarked, "It seems I'll have to return to the capital myself."
Originally, Han Jianming had sent another group to pick up Han Jingdong and guide him along a different route to the northwest. He believed that the more scattered people were, the safer they would be. Unfortunately, Han Jingdong had disrupted his plan.
Mr Zhao said, "My Lord, if you are detained in the capital, there'll be no way out. Perhaps I should go and bring the matriarch and the lady here."
Han Jianming hesitated for a moment before replying, "I'll go with you. When you enter the capital, I'll be outside to support you."
Upon reaching the outskirts of the capital, Han Jianming received news that Yan Wushuang had made a declaration: he demanded that the Emperor and the Song family atone with their lives for the deaths of the hundreds of thousands of people in Tong City.
Mr Zhao didn't understand. "The Emperor's reputation for treason is cemented—what right does the Crown Prince have to sit on the Dragon Throne? What is the Yu family scheming?" This situation left Mr Zhao puzzled. A father without virtue meant that his children had no right to ascend the throne.
Han Jianming shook his head. "Whether the Crown Prince sits on the Dragon Throne is not important—the most important thing is the Yu family's power." The Crown Prince's surname was Zhou, not Yu.
Mr Zhao asked, "My Lord, do you mean the Yu family does not intend to let the Crown Prince ascend?" This thinking was something he hadn't considered.
Han Jianming shook his head. "Fujian and Hunan have also rebelled. Whoever ascends won't change the fact that the realm is already in chaos."
Mr Zhao said, "My Lord, it's a thousand li1 from the capital to the northwest. With so many family members, can we reach the northwest safely?" Once there, their safety would certainly be assured. However, in today's chaotic world, the roads are full of bandits who rob and pillage, so travelling with a group of women and children along would be far too dangerous.
Han Jianming answered calmly, "There won't be too many people." He had never planned to take everyone to the northwest. He only intended to bring Qiu Shi, Ye Shi, and their two children. As for the concubines and illegitimate children, he did not plan to take them out of the capital. The journey was long, the roads were unsafe, and bringing a bunch of women and children would be courting death! Nevertheless, Han Jianming would not abandon them. He had already arranged places for them. Whether they could avoid disaster, however, was uncertain.
Mr Zhao felt relieved upon hearing this. If they had also taken the concubines and illegitimate children, they would undoubtedly have been a burden.
At that moment, the Emperor, seated on the Dragon Throne in the Golden Throne Hall, gazed at the civil and military officials below. His expression was calm, as if he were unaware he was about to face death. "Grand Chancellor, you've brought all these officials to the Hall of the Golden Chime📹—what do you intend? A rebellion?"
Grand Chancellor Yu replied calmly, "How could this old humble servant commit such a treasonous act? This old humble servant merely wishes to know whether the evidence submitted by Yan Wushuang is accurate. Did Your Majesty participate in the Tong City incident back then?" This time, Yan Wushuang had delivered all the letters, and even if the Emperor wished to deny it, he could not.
The Emperor stated expressionlessly, "Zhen2 have long known that you colluded with that traitor Yan Wushuang. You prevented the military provisions from reaching the front lines and created favourable conditions for him. Your actions are merely to support a puppet who obeys you. Why pretend to be so righteous?"
Grand Chancellor Yu's expression did not change. "This old humble servant merely wishes to know the truth of the matter." He wanted to position himself on the side of righteousness.
The Emperor's gaze settled on Grand Chancellor Yu. "Even if Zhen2 says there's nothing, you won't believe Zhen2. Bringing so many people is merely an attempt to confirm Zhen2's guilt. If that is the case, Zhen2 will oblige you."
Seeing that the Emperor did not refute the matter at all, a sense of foreboding swept through Grand Chancellor Yu's heart. The Emperor was not usually so easy to talk to, so when things went against the norm, it meant that something sinister was afoot3.
Yuchen was talking with her son when Shiqin ran in and exclaimed, "Wangfei, something terrible has happened—the Imperial Palace is on fire."
Yuchen handed Zhou Yan over to his wet nurse and hurried out of the courtyard. She climbed to the top of the wangfu's highest tower and looked into the distance, where she could see thick smoke billowing from the direction of the Imperial Palace.
After watching for a while, Yuchen calmly instructed, "Go back." Since Jing Wang was not present, news reached the Jing Wangfu more slowly. However, Yuchen keenly sensed that with the Imperial Palace on fire, there was an eighty to ninety per cent chance that something had happened to the Emperor. At a moment like this, it was certain that they could not remain in the wangfu.
They had barely arrived at the main courtyard when the sound of bells rang out. Upon hearing the bells, everyone knew that the Emperor had passed away.🦊
The Chief Steward hurried into the rear courtyard and relayed the latest news to Yuchen. "Wangfei, the Hall of Golden Chimes has caught fire. His Majesty and many of the officials attending court were burned to death inside."
Yuchen's face turned pale. "How could the Hall of Golden Chimes have caught fire?"
There was no time to investigate the matter further. The Chief Steward urged, "Wangfei, please pack some changes of clothes. I will escort you and Lord Shizi5 out of the residence." He added, "Wangye has already arranged a safe place. If anything changes in the capital, we will send Wangfei and Lord Shizi5 there to take temporary refuge."
Yuchen hurriedly inquired, "Where are we going?" She had actually been thinking of leaving earlier, but had planned to wait until nightfall, as leaving during the day would draw too much attention.
Unable to concern herself with much else, Yuchen said, "Wait a moment." Nearly a quarter of an hour later, she finally emerged from the room.
When Yuchen came out, she looked like a completely different person. She was wearing coarse clothing and had wrapped her hair in a grey headscarf; her face had taken on a sallow, waxy hue. Walking outside like this, absolutely no one would recognise her as Jing Wangfei. Zhou Yan had also changed into dull grey clothing. However, Yuchen only changed his outer garments, leaving the inner layers untouched—otherwise, such rough clothes would have been unbearable to wear. As for Momo Gui, she also looked like an ordinary old woman.
The Chief Steward was very satisfied when he saw them and said, "Wangfei, please follow me." Yuchen left with only Momo Gui and Shiqin; everyone else remained behind at the wangfu.
When the Hall of Golden Chimes caught fire, more than half of the officials attending court inside lost their lives. However, Grand Chancellor Yu was exceptionally fortunate and survived the calamity. Still, having inhaled a large amount of thick smoke and given his advanced age, he remained unconscious.
Eldest Master Yu sought out Yin Mincai, the Minister of Rites, who had also survived, and asked, "Who set the fire in the Hall of Golden Chimes?"
Eldest Master Yu had not attended court that day, having been instructed by Grand Chancellor Yu to handle other matters. Otherwise, he might not have been as fortunate as his father.
Yin Mincai's hands were trembling as he replied, "The fire was set on the Emperor's orders." No one could have imagined that the Emperor would want to burn them all to death. Even now, Yin Mincai was still in a state of shock.
Upon hearing that the Emperor had set the fire, Yu Chunhao fell silent. He had already suspected as much; aside from the Emperor, no one else would have possessed the authority to do such a thing.
Eldest Master Yu exclaimed in disbelief, "How could it possibly have been the Emperor who set the fire? How would he have even done it?" They had their own people close to the Emperor, so if he had made any unusual moves, they would have known about it a long time ago.
Yu Chunhao responded, "Dabo6, there's no point in investigating this now. What matters is handling the aftermath properly. After something like this, the capital will certainly fall into chaos. Dabo6, we must stabilise the situation as soon as possible." There were many in the palace who remained loyal to the Emperor; they simply never expected him to be this insane, willing to drag so many people down to be his back-cushion7.🦊
Eldest Master Yu nodded. "Rest assured. At this critical moment, Dabo6 won't collapse." As long as the Old Master was still standing, the sky over the Yu family would not fall.
Upon receiving news of the fire at the Imperial Palace, Qiu Shi immediately summoned Ye Shi and instructed, "Tonight, have Concubine Jia and the others bring the children to Changle Courtyard." Due to a previous robbery at the residence, Qiu Shi had already ordered the walls of the Changle Courtyard to be raised and reinforced. With extra guards stationed at night and proper defensive measures in place, it was certainly safer than anywhere else in the residence.
Ye Shi replied, "Mom, I'll make the arrangements right away."
When Concubine Jia and the others learned that Qiu Shi was moving them to the Changle Courtyard, they were delighted and had no objections whatsoever. Unfortunately, the Old Duke, Han Jingdong, refused. It wasn't that he wasn't afraid of death; he simply believed that Changle Courtyard was not as safe as his current residence, the Wuyou9 Courtyard.
Ye Shi told Qiu Shi, "Mom, Dad has instructed the Chief Steward to assign many guards to the Wuyou9 Courtyard. What do you think about this?" There were already not many guards at the residence to begin with, and splitting them into two groups could be extremely dangerous.
Qiu Shi replied, "Let him do as he pleases." She had already fulfilled her duty: if Han Jingdong refused and something went wrong, it would no longer be her responsibility.
The facts soon proved that Qiu Shi's concerns were well-founded. That very night, the Duke's residence was attacked by a gang of thieves. They were only interested in gold and silver, not antiques or paintings. However, Qiu Shi, Ye Shi, and the others had already hidden all the easily portable valuables, so the thieves were naturally left dissatisfied.
Hearing the shouts outside, several children burst into loud sobs. Holding Qiqi in her arms, Qiu Shi said, "Zumu10 is here. Don't be afraid. Qiqi, don't be afraid…" Her voice was calm, as if what was happening outside was nothing at all. Her composure quickly spread to the others, and everyone soon calmed down.
Han Yong directed the guards in the courtyard to repel the thieves. Because they were well prepared, the thieves failed to gain any advantage.
As soon as the thieves clashed with the Duke's guards, they realised something was wrong. Not wanting to prolong the fight, they quickly withdrew from the Changle Courtyard.
Han Yong wiped the sweat from his forehead as he entered the courtyard to inform Qiu Shi, "Old Lady, the thieves have been driven off." None of their people were injured, nor were any of the thieves killed.
Qiu Shi let out a sigh of relief and ordered, "Send someone to check on Wuyou9 Courtyard." To be on the safe side, she did not dare dismiss the guards, but instead had them rest in the courtyard. Fortunately, it was the sixth month, so there was no concern about the cold.
Half an hour later, the person who had been sent out returned. With a grave expression, Han Yong reported, "Old Lady, those thieves have completely looted Wuyou9 Courtyard."
Qiu Shi's hand trembled slightly as she asked, "Is the Old Lord all right?" Although there was no affection between them, Han Jingdong was still Jianming and Jianye's father.
Lowering his head, Han Yong replied, "The Old Lord has been seriously injured." In truth, these thieves were far more capable than the last group. They only sought wealth and did not kill indiscriminately. However, when Han Jingdong saw them taking his treasured collection, he actually tried to seize it back and was severely wounded as a result.
Qiu Shi stood up and said, "I'll go take a look."
Ye Shi grabbed Qiu Shi's arm and pleaded, "Mom, this place can't be without you. Please let me go instead!" If her mother-in-law were to come to any harm, they would lose their main pillar of support.
Qiu Shi patted Ye Shi's hand and assured her, "Don't worry. I'll be fine. Stay here and take good care of the children."
Footnotes Full List
- 里 lǐ: a traditional unit of length, equal to 150 zhang (市丈), and equivalent to 0.5 kilometres or 0.311 mile
- 朕 zhèn: (used by an emperor or king) I; me; we (royal "we")
- "事出反常必有妖 (shì chū fǎn cháng bì yǒu yāo)": An idiom meaning "When something is abnormal, there must be something suspicious going on." Often used to imply hidden danger or conspiracy.
- Man, he has an easy getaway!
- 世子 shìzǐ: heir of a noble house
- 大伯 dàbó: father's eldest brother; eldest paternal uncle
- 垫背 (diànbèi/literally "to cushion with one's back") means to make others suffer or die along with oneself, implying ruthless selfishness.
- In chapter 685, Yu Chunhao addressed the eldest master of the Yu family as Dabo, but in the raw text for this chapter, he called him Dad (爹 diē). 😮💨 So, I will follow the former way he had called him, which was Dabo.
- 无忧 wúyōu: carefree
- 祖母 zǔmǔ: father's mother; paternal grandmother. If you put 外 (wài/outside) at the front of Zumu, it will be 'mother's mother' or 'maternal grandmother'.
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