The Kingdom That Never Sleeps CH 059 Officialdom
Xie Cheng and Xu Linghou were third-rank vice ministers, while Ji Zhi was the supervising censor of the Censorate, responsible for overseeing officials and maintaining court decorum. Though it sounded imposing, he was merely a sixth-rank official, a rank lower than Tang Shen. However, in the entire city of Cizhou now, no one dared to underestimate Ji Zhi.
He was the imperial-appointed inspector, and until the incident at the Jing River Bridge was resolved, the lives and careers of all officials in Cizhou depended on him alone.
After the inspection delegation entered Cizhou City, they went straight to the Cizhou governor's office without stopping anywhere else.
Ji Zhi was a stern, cold, and determined-looking middle-aged man. Though the Censorate’s officials were of a lower rank, they feared nothing in court, for they reported directly to the emperor and obeyed no one else. Aside from the emperor, no one could threaten their lives.
Upon entering the governor's office, Ji Zhi confidently seated himself at the head of the room.
Sweeping his gaze around, Ji Zhi spoke in a cold tone, "Gentlemen, I have been dispatched by His Majesty to Cizhou. You are surely aware of our purpose here. Heavy rains caused the Jing River Bridge to collapse, and nearly a hundred craftsmen and officials perished. His Majesty is furious. If anyone thinks they can cover up the truth, they are mistaken. In the coming days, I ask for your full cooperation to facilitate our investigation."
Everyone responded, "Yes."
Soon, Ji Zhi divided the inspection delegation into two groups. One group remained in Cizhou City, while the other accompanied him to the Jing River to inspect the scene. Tang Shen was left in Cizhou City.
Nearly a hundred people had died, and the cause was not only a natural disaster but also human negligence.
Following the incident, the officials in charge of constructing the Jing River Bridge were immediately arrested and imprisoned. The craftsmen involved were also thrown into jail. Xie Cheng, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, accompanied the inspection delegation to Cizhou's prison, where they selected a few officials and craftsmen to be taken to the governor’s office for questioning.
By the end of the day, all the officials and craftsmen in the Cizhou prison had been brought to the governor’s office for questioning.
Tang Shen, who had followed the delegation to the prison, saw that the officials had been stripped of their hats and their robes were covered in mud. They were thin and disheveled, though most of them shared cells with two or three others and still appeared relatively composed. However, the craftsmen were crudely thrown together into one cell, over twenty of them cramped in a filthy, foul-smelling room. Currently, it was also the heat of summer, some craftsmen were already so traumatized that when it was their turn for an interrogation at the governor’s office, they were too dazed and unable to speak.
Officials and craftsmen who commit crimes never receive the same treatment.
Tang Shen sat in the governor’s office, feeling a sudden sense of sorrow.
But his gaze slowly shifted toward the hall, settling on Xie Cheng, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, who was seated in the secondary seat.
Among the officials responsible for the incident, the highest-ranking one was Xie Cheng! Yet he wasn’t imprisoned; instead, he sat there receiving the inspection delegation and interrogating the offending officials.
Such is the way of officialdom!
Tang Shen sat there without a change in expression, occasionally taking notes. By the end of the day, he had a rough understanding of the events surrounding the Jing River Bridge.
In early April, officials and craftsmen arrived in Cizhou to begin constructing the imperial road. In late April, they first went to the Jing River and began building the bridge. Because this bridge was the most difficult part of the project, Xie Cheng planned to spend six months completing it before using it as a hub to connect the north and south sections of the road.
Xie Cheng’s plan to tackle the hardest task first wasn’t wrong, but no one expected that the half-completed bridge would be washed away by heavy rains!
The main cause of the disaster was the natural elements.
Heavy rains are rare in the north, but this year, they came. Rivers are scarce in the north, but they had to deal with the Jing River, the swiftest and widest of them all. These two coincidences, combined with the bridge being only half-finished, led to its collapse as the river surged and rains poured down.
By the end of the first day, the inspection delegation had a general understanding of the incident.
Ji Zhi left Cizhou, and the leader of the inspection team became a waterworks official from the Ministry of Works surnamed Guo. He was a fifth-rank director, but since he held the title of inspector, both Xie Cheng and Xu Linghou treated him as a superior and showed him great respect.
After questioning all the officials and craftsmen, Director Gao said, “That’s enough for today. It's getting late. We’ll continue tomorrow.”
The officials responded, “Yes.”
The inspection delegation returned to the Cizhou posthouse to rest. (TN: The Chinese term "驿馆" translates to "courier station" or "post house" in English. It refers to an official rest house or inn used historically to accommodate couriers, officials, and travelers, often part of a system of relays for messengers in ancient China.)
This was Tang Shen’s first day in Cizhou. The emperor’s orders were for him to send a letter every three days, but it wasn’t specified that the first letter had to be written three days later. Tang Shen sat in his room, closed his eyes, and pondered the events he had witnessed at the governor’s office. He replayed them in his mind before taking out pen and paper to write.
"To the highest authority, I am filled with trepidation, fearing that my words may be inadequate, and that I deserve a hundred deaths if I fail to fulfill my duty.
On the sixteenth day of August, I arrived in Cizhou with the inspection delegation. The officials greeted us at the city gate..."
Tang Shen wrote down everything he had seen and heard that day. After filling one sheet of paper, he dried the ink, sealed the letter carefully, and took it to where the posthouse officials were stationed. He produced a token and said, "Send this letter to Shengjing at top speed."
The expression of the official responsible for the mail changed upon seeing the token. He accepted the letter and quickly replied, "Yes."
Soon, a courier mounted his horse and left Cizhou with the letter.
At the same time, in a posthouse in Youzhou.
Minister of Works Yuan Mu sat in a clean and elegant room, lifting a blue-and-white porcelain teapot to pour himself a cup of tea. After savoring a sip, he praised, "What a fine tea! It's fresh and sweet with a lingering aftertaste—this is Mingqian Biluochun, picked just before the rains this year. Indeed, in this desolate place like Youzhou, it’s only in Wang daren’s residence that one can enjoy such tea. It’s a pity that you’re leaving tomorrow. Wang daren, how about leaving the tea behind?"
Wang Zhen blew on his tea and responded with dignified poise, though his reply was rather infuriating: "No."
Yuan Mu wasn’t bothered and poured himself another cup.
Outside, the rain poured heavily, pounding against the window sills in a sharp, clear pitter-patter. Inside, Yuan Mu commented, "This year is truly unusual. Heavy rains are rare in the north, but they’ve come nonetheless. What a twist of fate. If it weren't for this rain, that bridge over the Jing River likely wouldn’t have collapsed."
Wang Zhen replied, "Does Yuan daren have an interest in meteorology?"
Yuan Mu said, "I’ve dabbled, but I’m not well-versed."
The two men sat facing each other for a while before Yuan Mu said, "You were originally supposed to return before the Mid-Autumn Festival, but that incident delayed your departure until today."
“Is Yuan daren returning to Shengjing next month?”
“Of course. Once I’m back in the capital, I’ll visit your Minister Residence to request another teapot of Biluochun from Wang daren. You must provide it.”
Wang Zhen smiled faintly and said nothing.
Yuan Mu stood up, walked to the window, and closed it to prevent the rain from coming inside. Just as he was about to shut the window completely, he looked up at the dark, overcast sky and quietly gazed for a moment before saying, "His Majesty sent you to Youzhou to investigate something."
Wang Zhen didn’t look up as he lit a candle in the room and calmly replied, "Hasn’t Yuan daren already guessed?"
Yuan Mu closed the window and turned to face Wang Zhen with a smile. "I did guess, but it’s a pity, Wang daren, that your efforts have been in vain. You came to the wrong place. However, none of us—neither you, me, nor even His Majesty—could have predicted such heavy rains in the north or that the bridge over the Jing River would collapse. That fellow truly has fate on his side. How is it that he always stumbles upon good fortune? I’m quite envious."
Wang Zhen said in surprise, "Yuan daren would be jealous of a mere fourth-rank official?"
Yuan Mu replied with a sigh, "A mere official? By the time I return to Shengjing, that fellow may very well be a major third-rank official, perhaps even on the same level as us!"
The room fell silent, and no one spoke further.
Yuan Mu drank another cup of tea and got up to leave. Wang Zhen suddenly said, "Yuan daren, why don't you take that jar of Biluochun tea with you?"
Yuan Mu turned back, looking at him in surprise.
Wang Zhen smiled and said, "It was brought for you in the first place."
Yuan Mu looked at Wang Zhen for a long while, then smiled helplessly, "They say a grand feast is often a final meal. Why do I feel like this premium jar of Biluochun you’ve brought is meant to send me off on my last journey?"
"Why would Yuan daren think that?" Wang Zhen asked, eyes wide in surprise.
Yuan Mu looked at him for a while, then with a wry laugh said, "Wang Zifeng, no need to say more. See you in Shengjing next month!"
Taking the jar of Biluochun, Yuan Mu returned to the Youzhou government office, and without a second glance, he tossed the tea into the bottom of a chest. Feeling frustrated, he muttered, "Out of sight, out of mind! Wang Zifeng, you're something else, still not even willing to tell me the truth at this point. Clearly, this matter has nothing to do with me, yet you still pretend! No wonder, out of all the people in the Qinzheng Hall, I find you the most annoying!"
After dinner, Yuan Mu lay in bed for a long time before finally retrieving the jar of Biluochun from the chest.
“I can’t let Wang Zifeng get away with this. This is good tea, after all.”
As conniving as Wang Zifeng might be, the Biluochun tea he brought was innocent, so it couldn't go to waste.
Elsewhere, Tang Shen finished writing a letter. He wasn't worried about anyone intercepting it, as it bore the special token Zhao Fu had given him. If someone managed to see it, his concern would shift to the safety of the courier instead.
That night, just as Tang Shen was about to retire, an official from the posthouse knocked on his door, informing him of a visitor.
Tang Shen was a bit surprised. After getting dressed, he saw a young man dressed in black embroidered robes entering. After a moment’s pause, Tang Shen stepped forward and said, "Greetings, Su daren. It’s late; may I ask why you’ve come?"
The visitor was none other than Su Wenyun.
Tang Shen had never seen Su Wenyun dressed in black before—in fact, it was his first time seeing Su Wenyun in anything other than official robes. It had to be said, if Wang Zifeng resembled an immortal descended from the heavens, elegant and otherworldly, making others feel inadequate by comparison, then Su Wenyun was like a sharp dagger. Hidden beneath his sheath, not only was his blade sharp, but it was also laced with poison. Though he was handsome, his appearance was highly aggressive, making it hard for people to warm to him.
Su Wenyun got straight to the point: "Tang daren, after seeing the prisoners in the Cizhou jail today, do you have any thoughts?"
Tang Shen hesitated, "What does Su daren mean by that?"
Su Wenyun smiled. "Do you truly believe it was merely a natural disaster?"
Tang Shen quietly stared at Su Wenyun’s extraordinarily beautiful face, illuminated by the candlelight.
In July, Zhao Fu had dispatched three trusted aides to Youzhou, Cizhou, and Ningzhou.
In August, the Jing River Bridge collapsed, enraging the emperor. The inspection team was sent to Cizhou, and for no apparent reason, Zhao Fu had included him, Tang Shen, in the team.
So… that’s how it was!
Suddenly, Tang Shen smiled. It all became clear to him, but the feeling in his heart was complicated—a mix of helplessness and amusement.
His sudden laughter caught Su Wenyun off guard, who failed to notice anything strange about Tang Shen at first. Lit by the dim candlelight, Tang Shen’s faint smile left Su Wenyun momentarily stunned, forgetting what he had been about to say.
Tang Shen remembered that day in the sedan chair when Wang Zifeng had grabbed his hand and told him those words.
Don’t hear, don’t ask.
...Don’t hear, don’t ask—it was certainly a way to protect oneself.
But it would only be a way to protect oneself.
Tang Shen showed a puzzled expression and thought for a long while before finally replying, "I... really don’t understand what Su daren means!"