SEHE Chapter 59

Case Files 

After a hearty meal of meat, those scholars were quite excited, their thoughts flowing like a spring, writing as if divinely inspired. Without any urging, they quickly drafted what Pei Yanci wanted.

Pei Yanci reorganized everything once more, had Yue Ting copy it out neatly, reviewed it once, and only then was he satisfied. He put it away properly and returned to the Crown Prince’s Mansion with Wuli and Wushu.

As soon as he entered the mansion, a servant came to report that today Gu Jiuqing had summoned the Eastern Palace officials and was currently in the front courtyard hall discussing related matters.

Pei Yanci didn’t go to interfere midway, instead having the tea room servants take advantage of going in to add tea to inform Gu Jiuqing of his return.

In less than two quarters of an hour, Gu Jiuqing hurried to his courtyard.

Pei Yanci didn’t say much, directly handing him the newly drafted legal provisions.

Gu Jiuqing eagerly opened it, “Never expected, never expected…”

Never expected what?

Never expected that Pei Yanci had actually accomplished it, never expected that the legal provisions above were drafted so well, never expected that he could finally act tough in front of the Zheng family and regain some ground.

It was truly exhilarating.

Realizing he was too focused on the legal provisions, he didn’t forget to show concern. “Where have you been these past few days?”

He had heard from the mansion’s people that after Pei Yanci left the mansion with his men, he had sent people to track his whereabouts, wanting to know whom he sought help from. Pei Yanci hadn’t taken the mansion’s carriage, so his people followed the carriage around the city for several circles, discovering it finally stopped at Great Scholar Fang’s mansion gate.

“This humble one stayed at an inn in the city for a few days,” Pei Yanci said. “This is from the Song family, Great Scholar Fang, and Yue Ting.”

“Steward Yue hasn’t left Anjing yet?” Gu Jiuqing was somewhat surprised. Hearing these names, he felt much more at ease. He had learned from his subordinates that the three of them had been staying there these days. Pretending to be casual, he said, “You’ve actually formed such good relationships with them. Usually this prince sees you always in the mansion, never seeing you associate with them.”

What he didn’t know was that those subordinates had long been watched by the Elu Bureau’s agents.

“It’s all thanks to Your Highness’s blessing, otherwise how would they look favorably upon a mere chief steward,” Pei Yanci said. “They all want to serve Your Highness, even if it’s just to contribute their small effort.”

Suddenly, he found himself embraced.

“Your Highness?”

“How good it is to have you here.”

Gu Jiuqing buried his face in his neck, lightly inhaling the clean, refreshing scent from his body. Where no one could see, behind his ear, he shed the cold armor of dignified composure, his dark brown glass-like pure eyes slowly revealing genuine tenderness toward him.

“This humble one has said before, Your Highness can trust this humble one wholeheartedly.” Pei Yanci felt a bit ticklish, became distracted for a moment, thought about it, and still placed his hand on his back.

“This humble one can only rely on you now.”

“Because of Wu Luo?”

The voice by his ear suddenly turned cold. Pei Yanci paused slightly at this somewhat unfamiliar name, not immediately answering his question.

This person was being somewhat moody and unpredictable.

Gu Jiuqing released him, his brow cold and sharp, his tone mocking. “So it really is because of him that you’re so loyal to this prince, isn’t it?”

“This humble one serves Your Highness, for Wu Luo, and also for my own future.” He had almost forgotten about this person, and also almost forgotten that initially the Crown Prince had suspected he liked Wu Luo, thinking he had grasped his weakness, which was why he began to trust and rely on him completely. “How is his illness?”

It was almost early summer now, he wondered how much longer this person could drag on.

“He won’t die.” After Gu Jiuqing said this, he felt he was being petty and harsh, quite different from his usual self. He calmed his mood. “This prince has invited the best physicians in the city to examine him, and he’s been taking medicine to recuperate. This prince should have let you visit him more often for reunions, but the physician says he has tuberculosis, so it’s not good to visit.”

“This humble one will listen to Your Highness in everything.”

Seeing his obedient response, Gu Jiuqing felt much more comfortable, believing that during this time apart, Pei Yanci’s feelings for Wu Luo had faded considerably. In the future, he would find another excuse to let him die naturally of illness, and that would be the end of it.

“Your Highness, does this humble one have no other living relatives?” Pei Yanci looked at him sadly.

Seeing that he still hadn’t remembered past events, Gu Jiuqing silently sighed and said, “Your father was imprisoned for embezzling disaster relief funds and died of illness in prison not long after. Your mother and sister were sent to the Jiaofang, and upon hearing this terrible news, they both committed suicide. The other uncles in your clan were all exiled to the frontier, and there’s been no news for a long time – their fate is unknown.”

(TL: 教坊 (jiàofāng) historically meant the Imperial Music Bureau — an official institution in ancient China responsible for training female entertainers, singers, dancers, and musicians.

But in novels (especially historical or xianxia), it often carries an implicit meaning closer to courtesan houses or government-managed brothels, since women assigned there usually had to serve as entertainers or even concubines.)

“Why was this humble one’s father imprisoned?”

Gu Jiuqing looked at him. “What, do you want to overturn your family’s case?”

“That is indeed my intention.” Pei Yanci’s hand gripped the newly drafted legal provisions, the ink barely dry, and a faint scholarly fragrance permeated between the two of them.

“This prince has had this thought before, but,” Gu Jiuqing shook his head, “his embezzlement case caused quite a stir at the time. The causes and consequences were crystal clear, with both witness and physical evidence present. This matter is set in stone with no room for argument. Even this prince is powerless to help.”

His hand clutched the paper rolled into a cylinder, looking at Pei Yanci, gradually applying force.

Both hands froze at either end of the paper. Finally, Pei Yanci was the first to let go.

Gu Jiuqing smiled with satisfaction and took the paper.

He was certain this person would compromise.

Otherwise, what other choice was there?

He was merely a servant – he could easily control his fate.

Even though he was very intelligent and sometimes capable to a frightening degree.

But he would never escape from his palm.

“This humble one understands.” How unsurprising indeed.

“It’s alright, you still have this prince,” Gu Jiuqing placed his hand on his shoulder. “The Crown Prince’s Mansion is your home.”

“May this humble one examine the case files?” Pei Yanci looked at him hopefully.

Having refused once, to refuse again would seem too heartless and unreasonable, and this wasn’t such a major matter.

“Case files involving court officials, once closed, can only be re-examined by the Dali Temple Deputy and Ministry of Justice Department Directors and above. To overturn a case, only the Dali Temple Deputy Minister and Ministry of Justice Vice Ministers and above have the authority to petition His Majesty. You know, this prince has only recently gained real power.”

Seeing Pei Yanci’s pale face, he changed his tone. “Knowing you care most about this matter, how could I bear to let your hopes come to nothing? This way – this afternoon this prince will privately go speak with the Dali Temple. As for whether this prince’s face carries weight, we’ll have to see the results then.”

He clearly explained the difficulties of doing this and how much face he would sacrifice for him, so that he would become even more devoted to him and remember this kindness in his heart.

“Thank you, Your Highness.” Pei Yanci bowed respectfully, using this opportunity to unobtrusively free himself from the hand on his shoulder.

He had never expected Gu Jiuqing to help him escape his status as a criminal slave – from the beginning, he had only wanted to see the case files.

Provoking the Wang family, having the Elu Bureau publicly criticize the Wang family in court, driving a wedge between the Zheng family and the Crown Prince – all of this was to isolate the Crown Prince and smoothly obtain the drafting of the new tax law provisions. Whether they would be implemented was a matter for later. Of course, the scholars’ and Yue Ting’s hard work would very likely come to nothing, because the Zheng family and the aristocratic families allied with them would never agree to let provisions that greatly conflicted with their interests pass.

He could already imagine how furious the Zheng family would be when they saw the legal provisions in the Crown Prince’s hands, leading them to suspect the Crown Prince was turning against them and wanting to move against them. He also knew that everything drafted by the Zheng family’s retainers was just trivial, inconsequential tinkering.

If they truly wanted to solve the current tax law problems, they had to target the aristocratic families.

But this wasn’t the issue he wanted to resolve right now.

Only by achieving great merit and resolving Gu Jiuqing’s urgent crisis could he increase his weight in his heart. Combined with his strategic retreat, finally, he had gotten his wish to see the case files he wanted to see.

He had separately asked Tang Xizhui and Gu Jiuqing about his background, but they were unwilling to reveal much – perhaps they felt this matter was insignificant, not worth their effort to remember, or perhaps because of his humble status, they didn’t deign to pay attention.

But for him now, overturning the case was like a life-saving straw – the key to his turnaround.

It’s just that no one cared.

And this matter would bring him another benefit.

After seeing off Gu Jiuqing, Pei Yanci came to inspect the front courtyard tea room and inadvertently encountered Wang Lingche.

This person finally remembered he was still a Crown Prince’s Attendant.

“Chief Steward Pei.” He stopped his steps. “Since our last parting, I never imagined so many days would pass.”

“Does Young Master Wang have something to say?”

“The matter of your visit to my mansion last time was discovered by the Zheng family. Your conversation with my little uncle was even passed to the Elu Bureau’s ears.” Wang Lingche looked somewhat dejected. “The Wang mansion has been in chaos these past days. All the servants who attended that day were beaten to death by father. Little uncle was taken away for questioning, and when he returned, he was mentally disturbed and had lost a lot of weight.”

Pei Yanci said coldly, “Is Young Master Wang suspecting that I was harboring resentment that day and therefore complained to His Highness, intentionally embarrassing the Wang family?”

“How could that be?” Wang Lingche hurriedly explained. “I just asked His Highness, and you never mentioned this matter to him – not even a single word.”

So he really had suspected him. This person didn’t quite follow the usual patterns.

“Later I thought about it – you are His Highness the Crown Prince’s trusted aide. Since His Highness intends to win over the Wang family, even if you wanted to use underhanded tactics behind the scenes, he would never believe your slander, much less want a third party to know about it. This matter would be a lose-lose situation for both the Wang family and His Highness.” Wang Lingche lowered his eyes. “After coming out, I realized that questioning you face-to-face in front of His Highness probably already left him with a bad impression.”

Should one say this person was frank and sincere, or slow to react? Anyone with a bit of awareness would have thought of this long ago and wouldn’t have asked in front of the Crown Prince.

“When you left the Wang mansion last time, you specifically reminded me to watch my little uncle and not let him speak carelessly, lest he bring fatal disaster and implicate the Wang family. Regrettably, I didn’t pay attention at the time. Now looking back, the scheming and life-and-death struggles of officialdom are no less than those of the battlefield.”

Wang Lingche’s eyes were moist and bright. Just looking troubled while stating facts, he already seemed like he was about to be bullied to tears. Speaking thus, he looked up at him. “Now I know you are good. Can you speak more good words for the Wang family in front of His Highness?”

Flowing imperial families, enduring aristocratic houses – the Wang family could trace back several generations of officials serving in the Great Wu dynasty and even earlier dynasties. It was normal for them to look down on the current Gu Jiuqing, but this couldn’t be said openly, much less let others know about it.

Now, the Wang family wanted to actively improve relations with the Crown Prince, making things work on the surface and glossing over this matter. Naturally, they needed the Crown Prince’s trusted aide to put in good words for them.

Pei Yanci couldn’t quite handle those eyes of his.

Gu Jiuqing’s eyes looked clear and transparent, and his whole person seemed sacred and upright, because of his cold, thin, and aloof nature – arrogant and proud, untainted by worldly dust.

Wang Lingche’s eyes were truly clear, carrying a sincere and genuine innocence. When he looked at him so eagerly, Pei Yanci could clearly feel that genuine emotion.

“Consider it that I owe you a favor, how about that?” he said.

Innocent as a child, yet not ignorant of worldly dealings – truly likeable indeed.

Pei Yanci blinked and teased. “What would I do with a favor from a lay Buddhist?”

(TL: 居士 (jūshì) usually means a lay Buddhist (not ordained, but devout)