Chapter 270.2: Hello Chang'an
Chapter 270.2: Frightening Herself
Chang Suining’s move was meant to create the illusion that they were terrified by the rumor of Xu Zhengye’s full-scale attack on Huainan Road — so that Xu Zhengye would believe their seventeen armies would be scattered everywhere to defend, focusing all their strength on holding the line.
In this way, Huainan Road would seem like an impenetrable wall of defense.
But to build such a “wall,” their forces would necessarily be dispersed across various locations. Everyone would see the grand scale of the defense and assume that all attention and manpower were focused on Huainan Road.
Then, if Xu Zhengye turned to attack Luoyang, the court’s army would be caught completely off guard.
Having grasped this key point, Xiao Min couldn’t help but sigh inwardly—
“Miss Chang really went to great lengths just to make Xu Zhengye comfortable enough to attack Luoyang.”
As for his knife technique...
Was there still hope?
The war in Jiangnan was of utmost importance to the imperial court. Any slight movement there would be reported back to the capital with the fastest possible speed.
Thus, the rumor that Xu Zhengye was gathering troops to attack Huainan spread rapidly through the empire.
In court, countless voices blamed Xiao Min and Chang Kuo.
In many officials’ eyes, it was precisely because of their poor command and their failure to take the offensive that Xu Zhengye was able to regroup and rebuild his strength—turning the situation perilous once again.
“Since Li Yi was executed, the seventeen armies have done nothing but defend. What exactly are General Xiao and Grand General Chang trying to do?”
The minister who spoke especially emphasized the four words “Grand General Chang”, clearly implying that these decisions came from him.
At that, more voices of doubt arose.
Some even began to speculate — subtly but dangerously — that perhaps Chang Kuo’s long silence and inaction meant he harbored Li Yi’s kind of ambitions.
“Grand General Chang is loyal and devoted. He would never commit treason!”
The Holy Emperor’s commanding voice rang out:
“I trust him.”
At such a critical time, no hint of imperial suspicion toward a commanding general could be allowed to spread; that would only make the situation more unstable.
The emperor’s defense quelled much of the public criticism — but not the dissatisfaction.
That discontent came from fear.
If Xu Zhengye really had two hundred thousand men ready to attack Huainan, and Chang Kuo’s forces continued to merely defend without adapting, could they really hold?
Truthfully, even the Sacred Emperor wasn’t as confident as she appeared.
At her signal, a minister close to Xiao Min secretly sent a confidential letter south to Jiangnan. The message urged Xiao Min to respond swiftly, warning that continued inaction would invite disaster. It also discreetly probed whether Chang Kuo had any rebellious intent.
The capital grew increasingly anxious. With unrest breaking out in multiple regions, the court was on edge. They even convened morning court on the day of the Lantern Festival.
In fact, ever since the previous winter, officials had barely rested.
Even at the end of the lunar year, when offices would normally close for the holidays, court sessions continued — even on New Year’s Eve.
Officials were exhausted and tense, afraid to relax for even a moment.
Grand Tutor Zhu was also busy, but his busyness revolved around preparing for the upcoming Spring Imperial Examination.
The emperor, seeing his age, excused him from court sessions and allowed him to remain in the Ministry of Rites to focus on examination matters.
(Of course, there was another reason — the old Grand Tutor had been arguing with nearly everyone in court lately, making the morning assemblies a battlefield of their own.)
Wei Shuyi privately thought that the Grand Tutor was simply suffering from a case of pre-exam anxiety and suggested he cool off in the Ministry of Rites.
Whether he calmed down or not, no one knew.
But the Ministry of Rites certainly didn’t — the whole place was terrified.
From senior officials to the janitorial eunuchs, everyone tiptoed around, worrying about which foot to step through the door with so as not to offend the Grand Tutor’s bad mood.
On the Lantern Festival day, tension eased a little — because the Grand Tutor only stayed at the Ministry of Rites for half the day before going home.
To be precise, he went home to change out of his official robes — and then went to Dayun Temple to burn incense.
Lately, everyone in the Zhu household had noticed his growing enthusiasm for temple visits.
He could no longer go to the Imperial Academy to “fish” with Head Master Qiao — the exam season was close, and a responsible examiner knew to avoid appearing too cozy with the candidates.
So, no more fishing — instead, he went to Dayun Temple to watch cranes and discuss Buddhist philosophy to ease his mind.
The Zhu family’s verdict on this change was:
“Head Master Qiao has been liberated. The one suffering now is Abbot Wujue.”
Indeed, Abbot Wujue had been quite distressed lately — but today was an exception.
He knew exactly why the Grand Tutor visited him each time — only to ask about news.
He had already promised many times: if a message arrived, he would secretly have it delivered to the Zhu residence. But the Grand Tutor still didn’t trust him, insisting on coming personally each time.
Fortunately, today the abbot did have a letter in hand, so he was calm.
After discreetly avoiding untrustworthy monks, Wujue handed the letter to the Grand Tutor.
Zhu’s heart trembled slightly as he accepted it and quietly tucked it into his sleeve, his expression calm as ever.
To avoid arousing suspicion, he stayed a while longer — played two rounds of chess with the abbot — and only then left the temple.
Once seated inside his carriage, he reached into his sleeve to take out the letter… but paused.
Last time, he had eagerly opened the painting the moment he stepped into the carriage.
Now, even though he was far more desperate to see this one, his fingers froze midair, unable to tear it open.
He sat in stillness for a long time — until he was back home, behind the locked doors of his study.
Only then did his thin, wrinkled but clean and steady hands slowly, tremblingly, unfold the letter.
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