Chapter 69: Counter-Kill
The next day, after the public business of the morning court was concluded, Wei Qi summoned people to escort Fang Jian, Xiao Xian, and Lu Qian to the Ming Tang Hall for a public trial before all the civil and military officials.
First, Xiao Xian and Lu Qian were interrogated. The former swore that he had been deceived by Fang Jian and, in a moment of confusion, had wanted to cause trouble for Gao Yunqu. The latter testified that he had personally seen Fang Jian deliver the letter.
Lu Songnian immediately spoke with righteous indignation: "Your Majesty, this matter is already clear. Previously, Fang Jian and Vice Minister Gao have had several disputes over the New Policies. Everyone has witnessed Fang Jian express her dissatisfaction with Vice Minister Gao. There was already a rift between them. This time, the position of imperial envoy was given to Vice Minister Gao, so Fang Jian must have been resentful and thus committed this despicable act! Your Majesty, Fang Jian is a petty person, disloyal and unrighteous. Her crime is deserving of death! I respectfully ask for Your Majesty's judgment!" The officials below the dais were also filled with righteous anger.
Wei Qi nodded and replied, "That makes sense. However, after hearing one side of the story, we must also hear the other. Let Fang Jian come up and speak."
So the guards escorted Fang Jian up. Fang Jian was covered in injuries, looking utterly wretched. She collapsed limply to the ground, appearing even more miserable than Xiao Xian.
When Wei Qi questioned her, Fang Jian endured the pain and said, "Your Majesty, that letter was not written by Lord Gao Yunqu. It was a forgery by your subject."
"Oh? What proof do you have?" Wei Qi ignored the whispers in the hall.
"Lord Gao has some unique habits in her calligraphy, particularly with the hook and rising strokes. When I forged it, I made some alterations. Others might not notice, but a master of calligraphy would know at a glance. This was a flaw I left intentionally."
Wei Qi summoned several ministers known for their skill in calligraphy to appraise it together. After examining it and discussing it for a while, they all confirmed Fang Jian's statement.
Wei Qi asked again, "Then why did you commit forgery to frame Vice Minister Gao?"
"Your Majesty, please see the truth. Your subject only committed forgery; I did not frame her. Someone forced your subject to write that letter."
"Who was it?"
"The Minister of Rites, Lu Songnian!"
"Insolence! Who gave you the audacity to make baseless accusations in the Ming Tang Hall!" Lu Songnian could no longer stand still and cursed angrily.
"Minister Lu, may I ask what you were doing at my home last month?"
"You…" Lu Songnian faltered. He hadn't gone there to tell her to frame Gao Yunqu, but he couldn't admit in front of the entire court that he had gone to win Fang Jian over. He could only say stiffly, "Lord Fang is young and promising. Your subject brought his young son to visit and seek your guidance."
"Since the tenth month of last year, the court has been rife with debates over the New Policies. Your subject was also swept up and pitted against Vice Minister Gao. Both in and out of court, it was said that Vice Minister Gao had abandoned the new for the old, switching allegiances, and she was widely criticized. Being in the midst of it, your subject felt something was wrong. Upon careful observation, I discovered that someone was deliberately guiding public opinion to attack Vice Minister Gao. Your subject's strength alone was not enough to counter it, so I devoted myself to gathering information, tracing it back, and the trail led to Minister Lu."
Last year, Fang Jian had been furious that she and Gao Yunqu were being used as figureheads by the two factions. On one hand, she threw herself into her official duties, using the power of the Jingzhao Prefecture to crack down on crime in the capital, which led to the uncovering of the gambling case. On the other hand, she mingled at various banquets, large and small, observing coldly, trying to find the vine leading to the person behind the scenes. It was a long shot, but she actually managed to identify a few petty individuals. Those people were also members of the Reformist Faction, yet they were always stirring up trouble at banquets. Fang Jian suspected they were backed by the Conservative Faction, so she took the initiative to befriend them, revealing dissatisfaction with Gao Yunqu and her current official rank in her words, and cultivating an image of herself as someone eager for quick success and vindictive.
Sure enough, people began to contact Fang Jian frequently. Fang Jian kept them on the hook, maintaining a certain distance, making them feel as if there was an opportunity to sway her. These people were also from humble backgrounds but had, for various reasons, pledged allegiance to the Lu family. Feeling that Fang Jian was similar to them, they wanted to drag her into their fold. Because of the gambling case, Lu Songnian had initially thought Fang Jian was as incorruptible as Gao Yunqu and disliked her immensely. This contact, however, made him change his view. He came to believe that Fang Jian's iron-faced demeanor was a ploy to gain fame and smooth her official career. He had always loved to manipulate power and prided himself on his ability to read people. He had always succeeded by using others' strength against them and luring them with benefits, which made him extremely confident in his own judgment. Fang Jian wanted power and fame; as long as he promised her great benefits and treated her with condescending courtesy, he was sure he could move her.
He ordered his subordinates to arrange a transfer for Fang Jian. For one, her stirring things up in the Jingzhao Prefecture was indeed annoying. For another, it was a way to do Fang Jian a favor. When she ended up in the position of a Ministry of War Secretary, he did not obstruct it. Fang Jian returned the favor, giving him some response, which further confirmed his suspicions about her.
In the second month, when the draft of the New Policies was promulgated and the trial locations and candidates were being discussed, Lu Songnian realized in advance that Wei Qi might favor Gao Yunqu. He then thought of Fang Jian as a pawn. He condescended to personally visit Fang Jian's home to try and win her over, doing his utmost to stir up Fang Jian's dissatisfaction with Gao Yunqu in his words. At the beginning of the third month, Fang Jian sent the letter to Xiao Xian. Xiao Xian immediately informed Lu Songnian. Lu Songnian determined that his provocations against Fang Jian had worked and signaled for Xiao Xian to blow the matter up. In Lu Songnian's calculations, it would be best if they could bring down Gao Yunqu. If not, he could turn around and crush Fang Jian completely. Then, he could offer a helping hand and completely make Fang Jian his own.
However, he never expected that Fang Jian would bite back at him directly, claiming in front of the entire court that he was the mastermind. He had indeed not instructed Fang Jian to forge the letter, but he had indeed provoked her. This truly left him with a grievance he could not voice.
"Your Majesty, Minister Lu threatened my family, coercing and luring me, demanding that I find a way to slander Vice Minister Gao. It was not my intention!
"…Your subject's family was poor when I was young, and I was only able to study and advance thanks to my parents' hard work and support. With my parents in trouble, I cannot be unfilial. Lord Gao and I are from the same hometown. Seeing my family's poverty back then, Lord Gao always sponsored my studies. When I came to the capital for the examinations, she let me stay in her home and recommended me to the Imperial Academy. That is how your subject has reached this day. Lord Gao has shown me great kindness; I cannot be unrighteous. With filial piety and righteousness on opposite ends of the scale, how could I choose? Did I have a choice? I could only do this." Fang Jian lamented tearfully, every word like blood from her heart. Her crying made the entire court feel sorrowful. Coupled with her battered and wretched appearance, the mood in the hall imperceptibly shifted.
"Lord Xiao claims that because Young Master Lu saw me deliver the letter, he assumed I was the mastermind. May I ask, your subject also has servants and stewards, why would I deliver a letter in person? If I were the mastermind, wouldn't that be far too foolish? Your subject once served as a judge in the Jingzhao Prefecture and is very familiar with matters in the capital. Young Master Lu has also had dealings with me, so I knew that he often passes by Lord Xiao's residence at that time to go to the Jinshi Workshop for cockfighting. I deliberately chose that time to deliver the letter so that Young Master Lu would see me. That way, Lord Xiao would implicate me, and I would have the chance to speak here today. I know I have wronged Vice Minister Gao and have no face to see her, but I have never had a single thought of ingratitude! I beg Your Majesty to punish your subject!" Fang Jian prostrated herself and kowtowed, her forehead hitting the ground with loud thuds.
Lu Songnian was caught completely off guard by this flurry of wild punches. His vision went dark, and he knelt to plead with Wei Qi, "Your Majesty, this is malicious slander and false accusation from Fang Jian! Your subject has never instructed anyone to forge evidence to frame Vice Minister Gao! I beg Your Majesty to investigate clearly!"
Wei Qi's face darkened. She did not reply, but looked again at Fang Jian.
Fang Jian said to Xiao Xian at her side, "Lord Xiao, you did not see me with your own eyes, did you? Can a letter of unknown origin be presented as evidence in court?"
Having heard all this, Xiao Xian knew there was no hope of turning things around. He was already trembling like a leaf in the wind. At these words, his mind raced, and he quickly said, "It was Lu Qian! He is Minister Lu's second grandson. I believed him because he said it! Before this, Minister Lu repeatedly signaled for us to impeach Vice Minister Gao and prevent her from going to Chuzhou. That's why I believed Lu Qian as soon as he spoke, without further investigation! Your guilty subject was momentarily blinded; I did not intentionally forge evidence to frame Lord Gao!"
"Xiao Xian!" Lu Songnian trembled with rage. He had not asked Fang Jian to forge the letter, so naturally, he wasn't afraid of her framing him. But Xiao Xian, believing Lu Songnian could no longer protect him and eager to lessen his own guilt, had spoken the truth.
Fan Ying, who had been watching for a long time, finally stepped forward to speak, settling the matter with one final blow: "It is common to have disagreements due to different political views. But for someone like Minister Lu to form cliques for personal gain and use extraordinary means to slander a colleague is truly unheard of. He must be severely punished!"
"We, your subjects, second the motion!"
Lu Songnian hurriedly kowtowed: "Your Majesty, I will not admit to something I have not done. I am wronged!"
Wei Qi gave a cold laugh. "What a fine show. Minister Lu, what do you take my court for? Setting aside the matter of framing, what are you doing winning over these officials from humble backgrounds? Hmm?"
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
"Guards! Take Lu Songnian into custody. The Court of Judicial Review and the Imperial City Guard are to cooperate with the Eldest Princess Xinyang in investigating the case! Abusing power and harming the state is intolerable by heaven's law! My lords, you would all do well to conduct yourselves properly!" Wei Qi had long been annoyed by the factional strife in her court, but it was not something that could easily be brought out into the open. She could only issue gentle warnings. Fang Jian's move had dragged it directly onto the stage, giving her an opportunity to make an issue of it. It truly scratched her right where she itched and was indeed a great surprise. Fang Linshen, what a Fang Linshen.
Fang Jian successfully shifted the court's attention from Gao Yunqu to Lu Songnian. A vice minister's romantic affair was naturally less eye-catching than the downfall of a second-rank minister and the leader of a faction. The Emperor's attitude also served as a warning to everyone, high and low, creating a tense atmosphere of fear and suspicion for a time.
But Wei Qi was not in a hurry to deal with Lu Songnian. Gao Yunqu had already left the capital, so she could take her time considering her next move.
With the case unresolved, Fang Jian naturally had to remain in prison as well. Fortunately, the chief investigator was Wei Zhi, and Cui Miao was by Wei Zhi's side, so she would not be mistreated. Although in prison, she ate and lived well, focusing on recuperating without any distractions.
Lu Songnian was locked in the cell next to hers. At first, he was silent, but one night, he suddenly let out a laugh. Fang Jian, not yet asleep, heard his voice through the wall.
"Young Lord Fang, what a fine calculation."
"Not as good as Lord Lu," Fang Jian replied nonchalantly.
"To think I prided myself on being a good judge of character, only to be pecked in the eye by a little wild goose like you." Lu Songnian covered his face and chuckled softly. "Ah, one really must admit when one is old."
"Lord Lu, this subordinate also learned this skill from you. The move you used against Vice Minister Gao last year was truly brilliant. Being in the middle of it, this subordinate experienced it quite deeply."
Lu Songnian laughed loudly. "You should have been one of my people. What did Gao Yunqu give you? To make you so devoted to her."
"Does Lord Lu still not understand?" Fang Jian cursed inwardly but showed nothing on her face, only lowering her voice to hint, "Her Highness Xinyang is an extension of Her Majesty's hands and feet, and Secretariat Drafter Cui Miao, who accompanies Her Highness, is my dear friend. I am in prison, yet Drafter Cui does not avoid me. Why do you think that is?"
Lu Songnian fell silent, then sighed. "If it was Her Majesty, then everything makes sense. I should have known long ago."
"Lord Lu, how can one walk by the river often without getting one's shoes wet?"
"Then I wonder why Young Lord Fang chose to walk this path by the river?"
"The path is muddy; one cannot walk it often. But to occasionally take a shortcut and risk some danger can be considered worth it."
"Young Lord Fang has great courage. In that case, this old man wishes you success in achieving your desires."
Fang Jian pulled a piece of straw from beneath her, twirled it around her fingertip, then let it go, her consciousness entirely focused on the desultory conversation with Lu Songnian. The wounds on her back from Gao Yunqu's caning still ached faintly, a constant reminder not to indulge in political machinations and walk the wrong path.
By the end of the fourth month, everything had settled. On the surface, the case was closed with Xiao Xian being found guilty of false accusation. Xiao Xian's false accusation was confirmed; he was dismissed from office and exiled. Fang Jian was at fault, but her circumstances were extenuating, so she was fined one year's salary. Wei Zhi was also fined half a year's salary for using corporal punishment on an official. As for Lu Songnian, he was let off lightly, allowed to take an early official retirement. A second-rank official forming a clique to frame another was a disgrace to the court. Wei Qi knew the matter couldn't withstand close scrutiny; forcing Lu Songnian to concede was enough. Pushing him too hard might cause him to retaliate, which would be troublesome. The situation in the court underwent another reshuffle. Although the Conservative Faction was not heavily implicated, they had lost Lu Songnian as their linchpin in the court and showed signs of disarray. This was precisely what Wei Qi wanted. It is human nature for people to form groups, but without that linchpin, the group cannot grow large. That was enough.
Fang Jian spent over a month in prison before she could finally see the light of day again. She returned home, bathed thoroughly, and had Xiuzhu press her down on the couch to apply medicine. Looking at the large and small wounds on her body, Xiuzhu was both heartbroken and angry.
"Ow, ow, ow, be gentle!"
Xiuzhu said irritably, "So now you feel the pain? What were you doing before? You just had to go and suffer like this."
"Good Xiuzhu, stop scolding me…"
"I don't understand why you set up this scheme. Didn't Lord Gao still go to Chuzhou in the end?"
"Stopping her was just a secondary goal. I know her temperament all too well. But finding out that I have a place in her heart makes it not a loss." Fang Jian sighed. "This scheme was originally set for Lu Songnian. That old fox's provocations before made my skin crawl. I've been holding this in for almost half a year. The original plan was to take it slow, but given the situation, even without me, he was going to make a move against Lord Gao. It was better for me to enter the game and take him out directly to eliminate future trouble. With Lord Gao away, she wouldn't be thrown into disarray by worrying about me."
"What a self-injury ploy. You're really not afraid Lord Gao will beat you to death when she comes back."
"…" Fang Jian refused to think about it and buried her head in the bedding.
But things were not going smoothly for Gao Yunqu in Chuzhou.
In the sixth month, news came from Chuzhou that Gao Yunqu had been abducted by mountain bandits while surveying roads, and her whereabouts were unknown.
When the messenger reported, Wei Qi was speaking with Wei Zhi. Hearing the news, she flew into a rage, violently throwing the teacup in her hand to the ground. Porcelain shards scattered. "What about the Imperial City Guard soldiers accompanying her? The chiliarch? The Chuzhou garrison? With so many people, they let a civil official get abducted by mountain bandits! What is the Prefect of Chuzhou doing! Is this a rebellion? Huh?"
The attendants in the hall knelt, none daring to speak. Wei Zhi stepped forward to support her, consoling, "Elder Sister, don't be anxious."
Wei Qi gripped Wei Zhi's hand to steady herself and ordered, "Have the people in Chuzhou search for her! Even if they have to dig three feet into the ground, they are to find her for Us!"
Wei Zhi helped her sit down. She calmed herself for a moment, then waved for everyone in the hall to withdraw. After the hall was cleared, she said to the Head Eunuch, "Relay an order for a contingent of the Quzhou Army in the Southwest to move near Chuzhou, just in case."
"Your Majesty?" Quzhou was a southwestern border garrison, defending against the untamed southwestern territories. Although there had been no large-scale wars in recent years, there were frequent conflicts and skirmishes, making it one of the important border armies. The significance of mobilizing the Quzhou Army was self-evident.
"Elder Sister, do you mean you fear there will be trouble in Chuzhou?" Wei Zhi asked after a moment of thought.
Wei Qi sneered, "Mountain bandits? I'd have to be a fool to believe their nonsense. Gao Lushuang is skilled in both literary and martial arts, and she has a contingent of Imperial City Guard soldiers protecting her. What kind of mountain bandits could abduct her? Although the truth is not yet clear, there is definitely a problem. We must take precautions."
"Then what about Vice Minister Gao? Are we relying on Chuzhou to find her?"
"Summon Minister Fan. We need to send a suitable person to investigate Minister Gao's matter. Have the Imperial City Guard dispatch another elite unit to go with them."
"Yes."
Author's Notes
Little Fang hints to Lu Songnian that Wei Qi is behind it, but it was actually Little Fang's own scheme. Wei Qi guessed as much, but since she helped Wei Qi get rid of Lu Songnian, Wei Qi doesn't hold it against her. Fang Jian had been planning to take down Lu Songnian for some time. The reason she chose this time and this incident to set it off was that Gao Yunqu's attitude pushed her over the edge, and she decided to take a desperate risk. When Gao Yunqu saw the memorial, she knew it was Fang Jian's doing, which is why she kept hinting to Wei Qi not to investigate and to let the matter pass quickly. Before leaving, she even vouched for her, guaranteeing that Fang Jian had not betrayed her teacher. If the betrayal had been confirmed, there was a high probability Wei Qi would have wanted to kill Fang Jian to protect Gao Yunqu.
I've mentioned before that Fang Jian and Gao Yunqu are not on the same path. Gao Yunqu is a person of integrity, while Fang Jian is a gambler. Her choice of Gao Yunqu from the very beginning was a gamble; at that time, she had already resolved to walk the path of a favored courtier. That's why she told Gao Yunqu that she was inherently base, only to meet Gao Yunqu, who insisted on teaching her to be a person of integrity. Without Gao Yunqu, Fang Jian would have grown up to be the next Lu Songnian.
PS: If Gao Yunqu had returned normally, a sound beating would have been unavoidable.
That's roughly the logic. It took three revisions to make it barely coherent. It's really hard to write == My skill in political intrigue and my literary level are really average. I'm quite embarrassed by everyone's praise.
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