"WE'RE ALREADY HERE, Shen-gonggong, so spare me the jokes." The prince of Fu's eyes remained fixed on the imperial edict in Shen Jue's hands. "Quick—show it to me!"
Shen Jue didn't dare push his teasing too far; the prince of Fu was his superior, after all. He presented the edict to the prince with both hands then lowered his eyes to the cloud-patterned carvings on the square table of red-lacquered huanghuali wood, calmly waiting for the prince to finish reading.
Unrolling the edict hesitantly, the prince of Fu studied Shen Jue's expression, but it was inscrutable, revealing nothing. The eunuch was notorious for being a smiling Lord Yama;28 he was friendly to your face even while he stabbed you in the back. The prince had long had his guard up, but he'd never expected that this disgraced eunuch, exiled to Nanjing to guard the imperial mausoleums, would be carrying an imperial decree—an edict intended to take effect posthumously!
His lowered his eyes and hastily scanned the document, skipping over the formalities—lines like The emperor governs the realm by revering heaven and emulating our ancestors, nurturing the people—and ignoring the emperor's self-aggrandizing drivel. Skimming ten lines at a time, he reached the final passage and saw these words: Zhu Muchen, the prince of Fu and my eldest son, is of noble character. He resembles me in virtue and is assuredly capable of inheriting the great throne. Gripping the edict tightly, the prince of Fu raised his trembling head in disbelief.
"Father named me his successor?!"
"It's exactly as Your Highness sees. These are His Majesty's own words, recorded by the Grand Secretariat's scribe Gao Caimao and witnessed by Shen Jue himself."
The prince of Fu clutched the edict, taking a long moment to compose himself. Doubt soon crept in, and he looked up at Shen Jue with a cold sneer, as if he'd suddenly realized something unsavory. "But Wei-gonggong claimed that my father intended to name my younger brother as heir and feared that I would harm him. That's why I was never summoned to the capital! If Father truly meant to name me, why wasn't I called back? Forging an edict isn't impossible—surely this isn't some trick of yours, Shen-gonggong?"
Though the prince of Fu was rather sloppy, he was no fool. Having spent most of his life in the palace, he'd read few books but absorbed plenty of deceit and intrigue. Manipulation and schemes were Shen Jue's forte—and the prince of Fu's as well. He wasn't some pushover, and fooling him would require significant leverage.
Unfazed, Shen Jue lazily retrieved something made of white jade from an inner pocket. He slid it across the table toward the prince. "An edict can be forged, but can a tiger tally?"29
He'd been carrying a carved white tiger half the size of one's palm. The tiger's head was raised, its teeth bared. Polished smooth from years of handling, the carving gleamed with a yellowish hue that faded to white toward the tail, which was chipped at the tip. The prince recognized the object at once: As a child, he'd dropped his father's tiger tally while playing and chipped it on the floor tiles.
The prince of Fu picked up the jade tally carefully, rubbing its broken tail. "Yes, a tiger tally can be forged too—but this broken tail couldn't be. I was the one who damaged it, and Father scolded me relentlessly, so I've always remembered." The situation was bizarre, but with the undeniably authentic tally in his hand, he had no choice but to believe Shen Jue. Suppressing his doubts, he set down the tally and clasped his hands in apology. "I never imagined that you were the one my father truly trusted, Shen-gonggong. My earlier rudeness was unwarranted. I hope you won't take offense."
Shen Jue gripped the prince's hands, stopping his apology. "Your Highness flatters me. A lowly servant like me deserves no such courtesy—even if you scolded me or issued me commands on a whim, my duty would be to accept it."
"You're too modest," the prince said. "Having received this edict, I still have one doubt."
"Does your Highness wish to ask why His Majesty never summoned you to the capital?"
"Exactly." The prince frowned. "Wei-gonggong told me that Father has grown exceptionally fond of my younger brother in recent years—personally teaching him calligraphy, taking him to the leopard enclosure, even bringing him to meetings with the grand secretaries with no hesitations. Wei-gonggong repeatedly sent me word that Father's health was failing, urging me to prepare early, but never mentioning succession. This…"
"His Majesty's affection for the second prince is just ordinary fatherly love. Think back—didn't His Majesty also teach you calligraphy in your youth? Didn't he take you to gardens and scenic spots? Is fatherly love tantamount to appointing an heir to whom to entrust the land? Your Highness misunderstood His Majesty." Shen Jue sighed. "His Majesty has long intended to name you as his heir. His delay in announcing it—well, that's a question for Wei De!"
The prince flinched; Shen Jue's tone was openly hostile toward Wei De, omitting even the expected honorifics. "Could it be…?" he wondered aloud.
"Think carefully, Your Highness—who relayed all the palace news to you?"
"But what about the empress dowager? She also said that Father held my brother in high regard."
Shen Jue sighed again. "Your Highness may not know this, but His Majesty hasn't visited the inner palace in a long time, and even the empress struggles to see him. The only one with regular access to the emperor is Wei De."
Shen Jue rose, gazing at the lush trees in the garden, his hands clasped behind his back. "Wei De is His Majesty's lifelong companion. He has served him for over sixty years. Since becoming the head of the Directorate of Ceremonial, he's wielded unchecked power over the court. Forgive my bluntness, but without His Majesty's protection, how could Wei De have grown so brazen? Consider the massacre of the Xie family and the torture of Vice Minister Gao in the imperial prison—not to mention Prefect Li of Shuntian, Chancellor Yang of the Imperial Academy… How many upright officials have fallen to his schemes?
"His Majesty's backing let Wei De ignore the people's grievances and turn a blind eye to rivers of blood. But once Your Highness ascends, righteous officials will surely rise against Wei De. Will Wei De remain secure as head of the Directorate when he doesn't share sixty years of history with the emperor?"
"Of course not." The prince shook his head. "No ruler would anger his ministers just to protect a eunuch."
"Precisely. That's exactly why he seeks to drag you down." Shen Jue smiled faintly. "Should Your Highness storm the palace and seize the throne, your claim will be illegitimate. You will be branded disloyal and unfilial from the beginning, setting you at odds with upright officials. Some stubborn ministers might even sacrifice their lives to plead for your abdication, staining the court with blood and branding you a tyrant. To resist them, you'd have to rely on Wei De's power, further entrenching his invincibility—that would be the first part.
"In addition to that, since you'd been kept in the dark about His Majesty's true intentions, Your Highness would believe that your smooth ascension to the throne was thanks to Wei De. Your Highness has always been kindhearted by nature, and if you were grateful to Wei De, he'd inevitably manipulate you into securing his position."
The word "kindhearted" pricked like a needle at the prince. He glanced at Shen Jue, but Shen Jue remained unmoved, his smile unwavering. Shen Jue's rise to chief of the Eastern Depot had proved that he was no simpleton. The prince had dealt with him before and knew his duplicitous nature well. His words were generally credible, but not entirely, and his motive was clear: He wanted power. With Wei De gone, wouldn't Shen Jue take his place? Wei De schemed to collect favor—wasn't Shen Jue doing the same?
Despite all he knew, the prince played his part, slamming the table in feigned fury. "That Wei De! To devise such a vile plot, let alone scheme against me! Had I followed his advice to storm the palace, not only would I have alienated my father, but my reign would have been on thin ice from the start!" Clasping his hands, he added, "Thanks to your timely intervention, Shen-gonggong, that disaster has been averted. Rest assured that I'll show a villain like Wei De no mercy. Once I'm enthroned, the Directorate of Ceremonial will be yours!"
Shen Jue lowered his eyes with a faint smile. Empty promises were easy to make—one could even vow to hand over the throne itself. When it came to betrayal, however, the prince was a master. How could his assurances guarantee Shen Jue's future? The prince likely distrusted both Shen Jue and Wei De—and would likely discard both in time.
Seeing through the prince, Shen Jue shook his head. "Your Highness underestimates me. His Majesty has repeatedly tried to summon you, only to be thwarted by Wei De. On his deathbed, he has finally seen Wei De's true nature—still, it's too late. That's why he entrusted this task to me; he forced a rift between Wei De and myself before exiling me from the capital so that I could meet you. How could I exploit such a heavy responsibility for personal gain?"
The prince chuckled. "You may be a devout Buddhist known for your great compassion, but I'm not a child. I've heard plenty of lofty words about self-sacrifice, but I've yet to believe any of them—even those so-called upright officials scramble for promotions and fame. Now that you're here, Shen-gonggong, we're in the same boat. Let's speak plainly. It'll set us both at ease."
Shen Jue nodded. Despite the prince's soft appearance, the man was quite sharp. "I'll hold nothing back, then. Twelve years ago, assassins from Qiye Garden massacred Jinling's Xie family. Xie Bingfeng was my father. 'Shen Jue' is a false name I adopted to enter the palace. My real name is Xie Jinglan."
The prince was clearly unprepared for the magnitude of that revelation. His eyes opened wide in shock. "What?! How can that be?"
"At the time, I was only twelve. I was studying late in the library when Garden assassins stormed the estate and slaughtered everyone on sight. I escaped through a dog's hole and barely survived. Later, I wandered the jianghu and followed refugees to the capital. There, starving and desperate, I entered the palace as a eunuch. That was fate: Had I not become a eunuch, how could I have learned that Wei De was my family's murderer?" Shen Jue's eyes brimmed with sorrow. He bowed deeply. "The one thing I seek is to kill Wei De and avenge my family. I beg Your Highness's permission!"
Verifying Shen Jue's story wouldn't be hard; a trip to Jinling would suffice. And however capable Shen Jue was, he was still a eunuch, so how could he possibly usurp the throne? Reassured, the prince helped Shen Jue stand up straight again, feigning sympathy. "So that's the truth. Who could've imagined that you had such a past? Your father was a great scholar; I once attended his lectures, and his erudition impressed me deeply. Then, suddenly, that tragic news arrived—that an entire family of over a hundred members had met an unjust end in Jinling. How heartbreaking! I've also heard about Dai-xiansheng's attempts to expose Wei De's crimes—the grievances he listed and submitted! Alas, Wei De misled Father, who shielded him stubbornly. I could never condone that act, however! The heavens aren't blind—they left one Xie survivor for a reason. Rest assured, Shen-gonggong, I'll help you exact your vengeance!"
"Then my wish will be fulfilled. Once Your Highness succeeds, I'll leave court affairs behind and retire to Jinling." Shen Jue clasped his hands. "May Your Majesty rule the realm in peace and prosperity."
As they walked out together, Shen Jue glanced toward the mountain behind them, where Situ Jin had been watching through a gilded telescope. Catching Shen Jue's signal, Situ Jin immediately led his men down the slope. The prince's attendants were already at the gate, and they ushered the party inside to settle.
Shen Jue and the prince continued to converse under the eaves. Then, excusing himself to freshen up, the prince invited Shen Jue to dine with him later. The moment the prince walked away, however, Shen Jue's smile peeled away like flaking lacquer and vanished without a trace.
The prince allotted Shen Jue a private courtyard to rest in. There, bamboo cast blue shadows on the ground, the leaves rustling in the wind. Shen Jue passed through dappled light and cicada song to enter the house. In the main hall stood a rosewood side table and a round-backed chair flanked by a stone screen depicting a landscape and a celadon vase of orchids.
Shen Jue sat, massaging his temples. He couldn't relax as the servants and maids, all the prince's eyes and ears, roamed about; he couldn't afford a single misstep.
Still, the first hurdle had been cleared. The prince had accepted the forged edict and had sided with Shen Jue. Meanwhile, Wei De still waited eagerly in the capital, unaware that his men were already dead.
Deceiving both sides was a treacherous path. Shen Jue sighed, opening his eyes as Situ Jin entered the courtyard.
"The men are all in place," Situ Jin reported.
Shen Jue grunted in acknowledgement, too weary to speak.
Situ Jin didn't leave, however. "Why have you spared that man? He's a liability."
Shen Jue rubbed his forehead listlessly. "I can't kill him—he was Xiahou Lian's friend. Let him stay. When this is all over, whether I live or die, set him free."