The Kingdom That Never Sleeps CH 126 Princess Anding
At the end of October, Zhao Fu fell ill again, suspending the morning court sessions.
Li Xiaoren, the Chief Astronomer of the Astronomical Bureau, and the monk Shanting prayed daily for the emperor's health in Funing Palace. Throughout the palace, one could see Taoist priests in their robes and bald-headed monks in their cassocks.
This time, Zhao Fu's illness struck fiercely. Apart from a few top-ranking officials, no other officials were granted an audience. Not even Tang Shen or Su Wenyun could see Zhao Fu.
One day, Tang Shen returned home from the Censorate to find Accountant Lin, Yao San, and Tang Huang going over the account books.
Upon seeing Tang Shen, the three immediately handed him the books. Tang Shen flipped through them casually and was surprised to find that this quarter's profits had increased by nearly twenty percent compared to usual. He called Tang Huang into the study and, after careful questioning, learned that the additional profit wasn't due to increased revenue but rather reduced costs.
"I've been thinking, our biggest business is Baibao Pavilion. Now, the Xixia Pavilion has opened branches in Gusu, Jinling, and even Shengjing, with another branch in the capital. But Baibao Pavilion is different—it's hard to replicate elsewhere. Only in Shengjing can we attract so many customers. To reduce costs, I thought about hiring more people."
Tang Shen already understood what his sister had done but still asked, "Wouldn't hiring more people increase labor costs?"
Tang Huang replied, "But efficiency would also improve." She brought out an abacus, clicking the beads to demonstrate, "Take the glass workshop, for example. We've already tried to divide the labor among the craftsmen. But if one craftsman handles all the raw material preparation, he can only produce one barrel of material a day. If we assign one craftsman to grind the inkstone, another to mix the materials, and a third to check the proportions, the three of them can produce three barrels of material a day. The profit from this far outweighs the wages paid to the three craftsmen."
At sixteen, Tang Huang had grown into a young woman, no longer resembling the fierce girl from Zhao Family Village who jealously protected her fruit juice and chased away thugs. Yet, as Tang Shen looked at his sister, he felt she had become even stronger.
After a long silence, Tang Shen asked, "Did Brother Yao find what I asked him to look for earlier?"
Tang Huang sighed, "No. It's probably gone in the Song Dynasty, or no one has discovered it yet. We'll have to look in the Liao State."
The siblings chatted for a while longer before bidding each other goodnight and parting ways.
Naturally, Tang Shen didn't tell Tang Huang about the spies he had planted in the Liao State. This wasn't exactly using public resources for private gain. Qiao Jiu was a merchant, and having him search for something in the Liao State wasn't difficult, but Tang Shen decided against it.
However, Tang Shen didn't expect that the very night he discussed the Liao State with Tang Huang, an urgent secret report would arrive in Shengjing the next morning.
The courier had exhausted two fast horses, delivering the secret report to the palace in a state of exhaustion. That afternoon, Tang Shen and Su Wenyun received a confidential letter from Wang Xiao. The letter contained only a brief sentence, but upon reading it, both were shocked and incredulous, exchanging uneasy glances.
The next day, the matter could no longer be concealed.
Three days prior, in the Liao capital of Shangjing, Princess Anding was caught in an affair with the Liao Emperor's fourth son, Yelü Longzhen, by the emperor himself. Yelü Longzhen was exiled from the palace, while Princess Anding was whipped a hundred times and beaten to death. The Liao Emperor then turned his wrath on the Song Dynasty, sending an envoy who would soon arrive in Shengjing.
Princess Anding was the princess Zhao Fu had sent to the Liao State for a political marriage a year earlier.
The Ninth Prince had passed away many years ago, and the princess from his household had long been neglected by Zhao Fu. The only time Zhao Fu remembered her was when he sent her to the Liao State for the marriage alliance. He bestowed upon her the title "Princess Anding," but this time, there was no peace to be found—she had caused a major scandal.
Zhao Fu was still ill and unable to attend court, but he summoned several high-ranking officials to Funing Palace for a lengthy discussion.
Left Prime Minister Ji Wengji stepped out of the Funing Palace gates, pausing to gaze at the vast blue sky. Right Prime Minister Wang Quan walked past him, stopping to ask, "What are you looking at, Prime Minister Ji?"
Ji Wengji averted his gaze, "Just looking around, nothing important, Prime Minister Wang."
Behind them, Chen Linghai, Xu Bi, and others also exited the palace.
Ji Wengji let out a long sigh and left with a flick of his sleeve.
That night, Tang Shen and Su Wenyun entered the palace together to report the truth about Princess Anding's scandal in the Liao imperial harem.
Zhao Fu lay on his pillow, his eyes slightly closed, listening to Tang Shen's report.
After Tang Shen finished, Zhao Fu spoke in a low, weak voice, "According to Jing Ze, this niece of mine may not have actually done anything. A false accusation is easy to make—she was merely a pretext for someone to eliminate the Liao Fourth Prince?"
Tang Shen remained silent.
Zhao Fu asked, "Fei Ran, what do you think?"
Su Wenyun lowered his peach-blossom eyes, bowed, and said bluntly, "Princess Anding was a princess of Great Song. Whether she truly committed any wrongdoing is known only to the deceased princess, her executed maid, and the Fourth Prince of Liao, who has been stripped of his title. The truth no longer matters. What is crucial is the arrival of the Liao envoy in two days."
Zhao Fu's eyes drooped, and he said softly, "The Liao Emperor has only four sons. Now that one is gone, only three remain. Just like me."
Tang Shen and Su Wenyun bowed their heads in silence.
Two days later, the Liao envoy arrived in the capital.
Zhao Fu was still unable to attend court, so the task of receiving the Liao envoy fell once again to the Minister of Rites, Meng Lang. Fortunately, the Liao Emperor had not sent a prince this time, so the three Song princes, who were not in the capital, did not need to return to receive the envoy.
Tang Shen was naturally assigned by Zhao Fu to join the envoy's reception team, while Su Wenyun, having previously been exposed in the Liao State, feigned illness and stayed home, no longer leaving his residence.
This time, the Liao envoy was even more arrogant than the previous year.
A year ago, the Liao State, relying on its military strength, had attacked Youzhou City and then blamed the Song Dynasty for it. That time, their actions were unjustified. Now, with the scandal of Princess Anding, the Liao Emperor was furious. As soon as the Liao envoys saw Meng Lang, they berated him, "Is this how you Song people apologize? No wonder you have such a licentious princess! The behavior of Song people is disgraceful!"
Every Song official present was shocked and angered by these words, but the Liao envoys were so arrogant that even Meng Lang could do nothing about them.
Meng Lang tried his best to placate the envoys, waiting for Zhao Fu's health to improve so he could seek guidance on how to handle the situation.
After seeing off the cursing Liao envoys, Meng Lang returned to Qinzheng Hall, sighing, "What are we to do?"
Tang Shen followed behind him, keeping his head down, equally helpless.
The next day, Tang Shen found some free time and accompanied Meng Lang to the guesthouse to receive the Liao envoys.
This time, the Liao envoy was not Yelü Qin but another tall, thin Southern official named Xiao Zhang. Xiao Zhang spoke harshly to Meng Lang, showing no respect for the second-rank official. Meng Lang, already seething with anger, finally responded with a smile, "May I ask, where is our Great Song's Princess Anding now?"
Xiao Zhang was taken aback, "That adulterous princess was naturally beaten to death by our Liao Emperor and thrown out of the palace."
Meng Lang stepped forward, furious, "A princess of Great Song cannot be dealt with so casually! Even if she married into the Liao State and committed a grave crime, she should have been handed over to our Ministry of Justice for trial. At the very least, where is her body? No one has seen her alive or dead. The Liao Emperor's claim that 'the princess committed adultery in the harem' is a flimsy excuse. There is no justice in this!"
Xiao Zhang, "You...!"
Meng Lang said, "I will take my leave now. I hope the Liao envoy can provide a detailed explanation tomorrow." With that, he flicked his sleeve and left.
The Song officials followed Meng Lang out of the guesthouse, glaring at the Liao envoys as they left, venting their anger.
Tang Shen also pretended to feel vindicated, scanning the dozen or so Liao envoys in the guesthouse. Suddenly, his gaze paused on a young man standing behind Xiao Zhang. After Meng Lang left, Xiao Zhang leaned over and whispered something in the young man's ear.
This wasn't particularly unusual, but Tang Shen felt that Xiao Zhang seemed to be seeking the young man's opinion.
The scene felt familiar. Tang Shen pondered it after returning home, and suddenly it hit him—
Half a year ago, when he had secretly gone to the Liao State, wasn't this exactly how Qiao Jiu had spoken to him?
Tang Shen immediately had a thought. Under the cover of night, he quietly went to Su Wenyun's residence. Su Wenyun, upon seeing him, teased, "Tang daren gracing my humble abode truly brings it honor. To what do I owe this visit?"
Tang Shen got straight to the point, describing the young man he had seen at the guesthouse and sharing his suspicions.
Su Wenyun's expression changed. After a moment of thought, he asked, "The Liao State rarely has young high-ranking officials. Xiao Zhang is already a third-ranking official in the Liao court. Anyone above him is at least thirty years old. This person is definitely not a Liao official."
The two exchanged glances.
Tang Shen, "Which prince is it?"
Su Wenyun, "Describe his appearance."
Tang Shen, "Fair-skinned, handsome, not as burly and muscular as other Liao officials, more like a scholar from our Great Song. However, his demeanor was sinister, with a hint of ruthlessness in his eyes, suggesting he has blood on his hands."
Su Wenyun was momentarily stunned, then sneered, "This person is almost certainly the Liao State's Second Prince, Yelü Shege!"
Tang Shen quickly asked, "Why would he come here?"
Su Wenyun pondered for a long time before looking up and asking, "You mentioned earlier that the Liao envoy came to the capital to condemn the Great Song for sending Princess Anding to the Liao State. Besides that, did they make any other demands?"
"Nothing more than ceding territory and paying reparations. Ceding territory is out of the question, and the reparations are still under discussion. Apart from that..." Tang Shen paused, "The Liao State also wants to marry another princess!"
Could Yelü Shege's secret visit to Shengjing be related to the princess the Liao Emperor wants to marry?
Tang Shen was baffled, and Su Wenyun couldn't figure it out either.
As Tang Shen was leaving, Su Wenyun said, "By the way, Tang daren, did Minister Meng show great courage at the guesthouse today, no longer fearing the Liao envoys?"
Tang Shen was startled. During their conversation, he hadn't mentioned what had happened at the guesthouse earlier.
Tang Shen remained silent, but Su Wenyun, seeing his expression, already knew the answer. He scoffed, "Aren't you curious why?"
Tang Shen, "Why?"
"A year ago, Meng Lang suddenly gained confidence because someone secretly returned to Shengjing to back him up. What else could it be now?" Su Wenyun snorted, "A certain someone has secretly snuck back again."