The Kingdom That Never Sleeps CH 057 Don't Hear, Don't Ask
This was Tang Shen’s second time heading north, and once again, he was going to Ningzhou. This time, Tang Huang stayed home, and Yao San accompanied Tang Shen on the journey. Along the way, Yao San sat at the front of the carriage, driving, while Tang Shen sat inside, occasionally lifting the curtain to check the surroundings.
Starting from Shengjing, the official road was wide, built along the ridges of fields without damaging the crops. The Ministry of Works had cleared the weeds and hills, creating a flat road as wide as possible. After traveling for six hours, the newly constructed road came to an end, where many craftsmen were seen bending over, shoveling earth, and focused on building the road.
Tang Shen and Yao San had to take a detour. They had already covered two-thirds of the way, but this detour made the remaining third take another eight hours to reach Ningzhou.
Ningzhou City was even more prosperous than it had been the previous year.
Tang Shen and Yao San first found an inn to rest. The next morning, Yao San went out to inquire about where Wang Xiao, a fifth-rank official from the Ministry of Works, lived. After finding out, Tang Shen took a box of specialties from Shengjing and a box of Biluochun tea from Gusu to visit Wang Xiao in the afternoon.
Wang Xiao was not home, but his wife received Tang Shen.
By evening, when Wang Xiao returned from work, he was delighted to see Tang Shen. "Jing Ze, why are you here!"
Tang Shen stood up and walked over. "Brother Dai Yue, it’s been a while. How have you been?"
"Very well. You haven’t told me why you’ve come to Ningzhou." Wang Xiao then said to his wife, "Go to the kitchen and prepare a couple of your best dishes. Jing Ze is also from Jiangnan and will enjoy your cooking."
Lady Wang smiled and left.
As night fell, Tang Shen and Wang Xiao drank and celebrated together.
July was the hottest season. In Shengjing, the palace would have already used ice to cool down. But in Ningzhou, at the northernmost edge of the Song Dynasty, while the weather was hot, the evening breeze quickly dissipated the heat, bringing coolness instead.
After dinner, Lady Wang sliced some watermelon.
Wang Xiao said proudly, "Jing Ze, I bet you haven't seen this before. In Shengjing, this is a rare commodity, a tribute for the imperial court. It's called watermelon, a specialty from the Western Regions. The Liao people trade frequently with the Western Regions. I only learned about this after arriving in Ningzhou. Although it's expensive, it’s not impossible to buy it from Liao merchants. Try it, it’s refreshing and cools you down."
Tang Shen, of course, knew what watermelon was, but it was his first time eating it after traveling to the past. Without hesitation, he picked up a slice to try. It was juicy, but not very sweet. Having been in this world for so long, Tang Shen had almost forgotten the things from his previous life, including the sweetness of watermelons after modern breeding. Though this version was inferior, he was already satisfied.
Tang Shen genuinely praised, "It’s indeed refreshing!"
Wang Xiao laughed, "Hahaha, have a few more slices."
After finishing the watermelon, the two went out into the courtyard to drink some cold tea.
Wang Xiao couldn’t stop talking. "I've been in Ningzhou for three months, and you're the only old friend I’ve seen. Ningzhou is great in every way, except that there’s no one familiar around."
Tang Shen said, "Seeing Brother Dai Yue like this today reminds me of an idiom."
"Oh? What idiom?"
Tang Shen laughed, "Heart at ease, body grows fat (xīn kuān tǐ páng)."
Wang Xiao was stunned. After a moment, he replied, "What heart at ease, body grows fat! It’s big-hearted and serene (xīn kuān tǐ pàn)! How dare you, Tang Jingze. We took the imperial exams together, and after months of not seeing each other, I graciously host you, and you insult me by saying I’ve gotten fat. Have I really gained weight?"
Tang Shen shrugged. "Fat or not, don't you already know?"
"Hahaha." The two shared a laugh.
Back in Shengjing, Wang Xiao used to work in the quiet and unimportant Hanlin Academy. Watching his fellow jinshi getting promoted while he remained stuck, he had become bitter and gradually lost weight. Now in Ningzhou, far from the capital, as an official in the Ministry of Works, he had more authority. Additionally, he had been promoted, and as they say, success brings joy, which had clearly manifested in his appearance.
Tang Shen briefly shared the happenings in Shengjing over the past few months. Wang Xiao cut straight to the point: "Jing Ze, you didn’t come to me today just for a casual visit, did you?"
Tang Shen cupped his hands and said, "I won’t hide it from you, Brother Dai Yue. I do have a favor to ask. You know that my family, the Tang family, has a business in Gusu, and we have quite a few assets. The Xixia Tower in Shengjing is one of my properties. You even visited when it opened last year. The Xixia Tower mainly sells boxiagong, and the lamb and beef we sell are all purchased from Liao merchants."
Wang Xiao's eyes flickered slightly, understanding what Tang Shen was getting at, but he still asked, "Jing Ze, what exactly do you need?"
Tang Shen's tone became serious. "Brother Dai Yue, may I ask if the road from Ningzhou to Shengjing will be completed this year? On my way here, I saw a stretch of newly built road, but where will the remaining road go? For private merchants traveling between Ningzhou and Shengjing, how long will the round trip take?"
Wang Xiao sighed with relief and laughed. "Luckily, it’s just this. Although I’m only a fifth-rank official, I can’t help with anything bigger."
Then Wang Xiao explained the new official road’s route through several cities.
On the third day in Ningzhou, Tang Shen and Yao San went to Luohe Town to contact new Liao merchant suppliers. After half a year, Yelü Jiu was beginning to suspect something about the Xixia Tower’s business. In winter, the demand for lamb and beef at Xixia Tower was enormous, with several carts of meat being transported every day. But in summer, the demand dropped sharply.
Yelü Jiu’s Song shopkeeper had asked Yao San about this, but Yao San brushed it off. However, it would be hard to keep this hidden come winter.
The two also visited a broker and purchased some new staff.
On the way back to Shengjing, Tang Shen made sure to stop by several counties Wang Xiao had mentioned, to scout them out.
By the time they returned to Shengjing, a week had passed.
After a night’s rest, it was Tang Shen’s turn to report for duty. At the crack of dawn, he put on his official robes and headed to the palace. While waiting for the emperor’s morning assembly with other officials, Tang Shen chatted with the other two chamberlains from the Secretariat about recent events. As they talked, Tang Shen was shocked when he heard about an order from yesterday’s court session: "Inspectors?"
One of the chamberlain replied, "Exactly. Tang daren only just returned today, so of course, you wouldn’t know. Yesterday, the Minister of Works, Yuan Mu daren, personally returned to the capital to report on the construction of the three new roads. The emperor was very pleased and appointed three inspectors to depart within three days to inspect the construction progress in Youzhou, Cizhou, and Ningzhou. The three are Wang daren from the Ministry of Revenue, Su daren from the Court of Judicial Review, and Song daren from the Censorate."
Wang Zhen, Su Wenyun, and Song Xun.
The first two were Zhao Fu’s favorites, and Song Xun, a censor at the Censorate, was older than the other two, but he was also one of Zhao Fu’s trusted men, having frequently entered the Qinzheng Hall to speak privately with Zhao Fu.
The emperor sending his confidants to inspect the newly built roads seemed perfectly reasonable.
Tang Shen was slightly surprised but kept his doubts to himself.
After court, Zhao Fu summoned Wang Zhen, Su Wenyun, and Song Xun to Qinzheng Hall, asking if they were ready for their upcoming northern journey. The three inspectors answered one by one, and Zhao Fu bestowed each with a decree, officially granting them the position of inspector.
In the afternoon, Tang Shen, following Zhao Fu’s orders, delivered a memorial to the Secretariat.
Zhao Fu would be taking his afternoon nap, so Tang Shen didn’t have to rush back. After delivering the memorial, he hesitated, then headed to the hall shared by the Ministers of Revenue and Rites. Gathering his courage, he knocked on the door, only to find two low-ranking officials inside handling paperwork.
Upon seeing Tang Shen, the two were startled and rose to greet him. "Greetings, Tang daren."
Tang Shen felt a bit awkward. "Are Wang daren and Meng daren not here?"
"Meng daren has gone to the Censorate, and Wang daren is handling affairs at the Ministry of Revenue today. Does Tang daren need to see Wang daren? If it’s urgent, we can send word to the Ministry of Revenue."
"No need!"
Tang Shen left feeling awkward.
As dusk approached, Zhao Fu finished his cultivation practices, and Tang Shen left the palace with the two junior chamberlains.
As soon as they exited the palace gate, a person who looked like a carriage driver came up to them. He said to Tang Shen, “Tang daren, please this way.”
Tang Shen and the two junior chamberlains followed the direction pointed by the driver and saw a deep red cloth-covered sedan chair parked next to the side gate of the palace, having been there for an unknown amount of time. Among officials of the Song Dynasty, only officials of second rank and above could use sedan chairs covered with red cloth.
The driver said, “The Minister has been waiting for you for a while.”
Tang Shen remembered that he had gone to look for Wang Zhen this afternoon but had not found him. He cleared his throat twice and walked over.
Lifting the curtain of the sedan chair, he saw Wang Zhen holding a book and leisurely reading inside.
Tang Shen stood outside the sedan chair and said, “Senior Brother Zi Feng.”
Wang Zhen put down the book, glanced at the sky, and said, “The moon is high, and the stars are low. Little Junior Brother has just left the palace; truly devoted to his duties, a pillar of the state.” Tang Shen didn’t understand why he suddenly spoke a lot of meaningless words. He saw Wang Zhen slightly turn his body and smile, “A pillar of talent, come up here.”
Tang Shen was about to speak, but then he realized that Wang Zifeng wasn’t scolding him and there was no need to respond. He thought for a moment and then obediently got into the sedan chair.
Wang Zhen said, “Return to the Minister Residence.”
The sedan chair was lifted and went towards the Minister Residence.
The Minister Residence and the Tanhua Residence were on the same road, but the former was reached after passing the latter and two more alleys.
The sedan chair swayed as it moved, and Wang Zhen said, “Little Junior Brother, did you visit Qinzheng Hall this afternoon?”
Tang Shen: “…”
Wang Zifeng, you must have a hundred spies in the palace!
Tang Shen: “Did the two officials I met this afternoon tell you?”
Wang Zhen looked surprised and asked, “You met someone else? Who did you meet?”
Tang Shen: “…”
You really have spies!
Tang Shen: “It was nothing special. I happened to be sent to Qinzheng Hall by the Emperor to deliver a memorial and thought I’d visit Senior Brother on the way. Unfortunately, you weren’t there, so I left.”
Wang Zhen smiled and said, “In the past, when I went to Qinzheng Hall, I didn’t see you specially come to see me.”
Tang Shen remained silent.
Wang Zhen drawled his words and said with a smile, “Little Junior Brother?”
“There is indeed something.”
Wang Zhen’s smile faded for a moment. He looked surprised, as if he hadn’t expected Tang Shen to speak so frankly. He stared at Tang Shen, who took a deep breath and spoke directly, “As soon as I returned to Shengjing, I heard about your upcoming visit to Youzhou. As the Minister of Revenue, it’s unusual for you to take on the role of inspection envoy. The Ministry of Revenue still has many affairs awaiting your attention. So, I was curious and thought I’d see you since you’re leaving Shengjing.”
Wang Zhen frowned and did not answer.
Tang Shen noticed something was wrong and asked, “Senior Brother?”
At that moment, the sedan chair arrived in front of the Tanhua Residence. The bearer stopped the sedan chair and asked, “Daren, should we stop here?”
Tang Shen lifted the curtain and saw the sedan chair had stopped in front of his own door. Wang Zhen remained silent, and Tang Shen didn’t know what to say. According to his previous attitude toward Wang Zhen, he wouldn’t speak so directly. He thought he and Wang Zhen were at least close as brothers, and he could trust Wang Zhen, at least partially. But now it seemed he had to be as wary of Wang Zifeng as Liang Song had said.
Tang Shen said, “Senior Brother, we’ve arrived at my home. I’ll get out now.” Saying this, Tang Shen got up to leave.
He had just taken a step and hadn’t yet lifted the curtain when someone pulled his wrist from behind.
Tang Shen turned around in shock and saw Wang Zifeng looking at him calmly with clear and deep eyes. Wang Zifeng spoke in a mild and light tone, “Little Junior Brother, I will be leaving Shengjing for some time. There are only four words I hope you remember.”
“Don’t hear, don’t ask.”