The Lonely City Closed

Chapter 62

Lady Qinghe nodded: "Indeed. Before the acupuncture, Mr. Zhang forbade anyone to close the palace gates. If he had any ulterior motives, he would not have been so open."

Lady Qinghe has always been gentle and kind, and her attitude towards serving the Emperor and Empress is very respectful, quite different from her sister. Hearing her say this now, I feel somewhat relieved.

The Lady of Qinghe County bowed to Wen Yanbo again and said, "His Majesty has been in distress for a long time. I hope that you, Prime Minister, will grant the Emperor a pardon to avert disaster."

Wen Yanbo also bowed to her: "This is the duty of a prime minister, and I dare not fail to do my best!"

Then, Wen Yanbo turned to Zhang Maoze and said, "When serving the lord in the future, do not let him see any metal or stone weapons, and put away the acupuncture needles for the time being."

Mr. Zhang smiled wryly but did not reply.

At this moment, an imperial courtier came out of the palace and said to Wen Yanbo, "His Majesty is calling for the Prime Minister again."

Wen Yanbo and the other officials from the two prefectures went inside to meet the emperor, while Shi Quanbin, who had just helped the emperor into the hall, came out again and walked straight to Mr. Zhang's side, saying, "Just now the emperor accused you of treason. Although this matter may not be true, in order to avoid suspicion, Pingfu, may we go to your residence for a look?"

This means searching Mr. Zhang's residence to see if there is any evidence of treason.

Seeing that Mr. Zhang remained silent, Wu Jilong said to him, "We have worked together for many years and know that you are not in this situation. However, since the Emperor has said so, there are many people in the palace who may make unfounded speculations. It would be best if we went to see for ourselves, so that if anyone spreads rumors in the future, we can defend you."

Mr. Zhang stood frozen in the bleak, cold wind, his gaze drifting aimlessly to some uncertain place ahead. After a long while, he finally spoke: "I leave it to you two to decide what to do."

For Mr. Zhang's quiet and elegant residence, this search was nothing short of an unprecedented catastrophe. The eunuchs brought by the two men searched every corner of the room, leaving it in a mess, with nothing left in its original place.

However, they found no evidence sufficient to prove that Mr. Zhang intended to commit treason. I had initially worried that they would find copies of some officials' memorials or the scroll containing the edict deposing the empress, but they didn't.

On second thought, since being transferred to the Imperial Pharmacy, Mr. Zhang had accompanied the Emperor to court and had heard all the major and minor political affairs clearly, so there was no need for him to keep any more documents. As for that imperial edict, Mr. Zhang must have memorized it by heart. After the suppression of the rebels, he had become even more cautious and probably wouldn't have kept it in his room.

During the search of the bedroom, Shi Quanbin found three large locked boxes and asked Mr. Zhang to open them. Mr. Zhang refused, saying, "I would swear on my life that these are just personal belongings and there are absolutely no contraband items inside."

Shi Quanbin didn't believe it at all. Seeing that Mr. Zhang insisted on not opening the lock, he ordered his men to forcibly pry it open and rushed up to check. He was immediately disappointed. What was hidden inside were just hundreds of scrolls of paper filled with writing, with only a few words. Unlike letters, which were specific and did not express any particular matter, these scrolls had no clear meaning. They were all written in the "flying white" style, with varying skill levels and different ages of paper. They were probably waste paper left over after practicing calligraphy.

Shi Quanbin was still not giving up. He unfolded and read each scroll, but still found no words of treason. So, he could only curl the corners of his mouth at Mr. Zhang and say, "So, Pingfu also loves calligraphy."

Finding nothing, the search party confiscated all the sharp knives and utensils in Mr. Zhang's room, including a small knife for cutting paper and acupuncture supplies. Finally, Shi Quanbin said "excuse me" and left.

After they left, Mr. Zhang bent down and began to carefully put the remaining fragments of the paper back into the box, one by one. I and the eunuch beside him assisted, and even with four or five of us working together, it still took several moments to finish.

We wanted to continue tidying up Mr. Zhang's messy belongings, but he shook his head and said, "I'm tired and want to rest. You can go back first."

His face was pale and his eyes were lifeless; he was indeed extremely tired. We agreed and went outside to let him rest.

I was about to go back when I couldn't help but turn back after taking a few steps. I saw Mr. Zhang closing the door from the inside, his hands on the two sides of the door. Before it closed, he turned his head to look towards the central palace, a tear glistening in his eyes, his expression desolate.

I was taken aback, vaguely sensing that something was amiss, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. In the end, I turned around and slowly walked out.

As I approached the Inner East Gate, something suddenly fell from above, hitting my turban before rolling to the ground. Looking down at the ground, I saw a small clump of mud-like substance. Looking up again, I realized it was mud from an old swallow's nest that had fallen from the beam of the porch.

In that instant, I was startled and immediately turned around and ran as fast as I could toward Mr. Zhang's residence.

His door was tightly shut. I called out loudly but he didn't respond. So I didn't dare to delay any longer. I took two steps back, kicked the door open, and broke in.

I rushed into the inner room and saw exactly what I had guessed: a white ribbon hung from the beam, and Mr. Zhang's head and neck were caught in a ring, hanging from the beam.

I immediately stepped forward, supporting his feet while calling for help. The surrounding eunuchs stopped abruptly, all greatly alarmed by the sight. They hurriedly untied Mr. Zhang, helped him to the bed, and pressed on his chest and philtrum. After a while, when Mr. Zhang coughed, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Once they had recovered, someone ran out to find the imperial physician and to inform the chief minister in the small hall at the inner east gate.

The imperial physician arrived quickly, treated Mr. Zhang and announced that he was out of danger. He prescribed a medicine, gave instructions on how to care for him over the next few days, packed up his medical equipment, and went back to report the details to the chief minister.

After Mr. Zhang regained consciousness, the eunuchs who usually served him were all in tears, asking him why he had resorted to such a desperate measure. He simply closed his eyes, turned his head inward, and said nothing.

A short while later, a eunuch who was standing in the small hall at the inner east gate came and announced: "Lord Wen invites Mr. Zhang to the Secretariat for a discussion."

Deng Baoji and I, who had arrived earlier upon hearing the news, helped Mr. Zhang to his feet, supporting him on either side, and led him to the Secretariat. At this time, the officials of the other two ministries were probably still in the small hall inside the East Gate. Only Wen Yanbo was in the Secretariat. Upon seeing Mr. Zhang, he immediately asked, "Have you done the treasonous thing that the emperor has accused you of?"

Mr. Zhang shook his head.

Wen Yanbo questioned again: "If you did not do it, why did you do such a foolish thing during this critical period, making people think that you committed suicide out of fear of punishment?"

Mr. Zhang lowered his eyes and did not answer. Seeing this, Deng Baoji explained on his behalf: "Because the Emperor mentioned the Empress, Pingfu may feel that he has implicated the Empress, so..."

Wen Yanbo shook his head and said to Mr. Zhang, "The Emperor is ill; what he said was merely delirium during his illness. Why are you making such a fuss?"

Seeing that Mr. Zhang remained silent, Wen Yanbo's expression turned stern. He pointed at him with his sleeve and said sternly, "If you die, how will the Empress feel ashamed?"

Mr. Zhang immediately raised his head, seemingly moved. After exchanging a silent glance with Wen Yanbo for a moment, he bowed deeply to the prime minister before him, his throat, which had just been injured, uttering a broken, hoarse voice: "Maoze thanks the prime minister for his instruction."

Wen Yanbo nodded, called over the servant outside the door, and ordered, "Go and invite all the chief and deputy chief officials of the palace over."

Soon, the eunuchs stopped. Wen Yanbo looked at Zhang Maoze and said to everyone, "Today's matter has been investigated. The so-called treason was the Emperor's delirious talk during his illness, not the truth. Maoze is innocent. Please inform everyone to warn those around him not to make any rash statements. If any rumors are spread in the future, they will be executed without exception!"

His expression was serious, and his gaze was imposing. None of the eunuchs dared to disobey him, and they all bowed their heads and obeyed his orders.

Wen Yanbo looked at Mr. Zhang again, his expression softening considerably. He gently instructed him, "From now on, you should still serve the Lord. You must do your best and not leave him."

Mr. Zhang nodded in agreement. Wen Yanbo then summoned Shi Zhicong to his presence and said, "Please inform the Empress that the two chief ministers wish to hold a ritual in the Daqing Hall, burning incense day and night to pray for the Emperor's well-being. We hope the Empress will grant permission to set up tents and couches in the west wing of the hall for the two chief ministers to stay overnight."

The ritual of offering sacrifices and praying for blessings was probably just an excuse. Minister Wen must have seen that the emperor was uneasy, so he wanted to use this as an excuse to stay overnight in the palace in preparation for any unforeseen circumstances.

Faced with this request, Shi Zhicong hesitated before replying, "According to the established customs of the dynasty, no one from the two prefectures is allowed to stay overnight in the palace..."

Wen Yanbo then frowned and said loudly, "The situation is extraordinary now, how can we talk about stories anymore!"

Shi Zhicong was shocked and hurriedly agreed, then left to carry out the order.

Wen Yanbo then waved his hand, signaling everyone to leave.