Chapter 419: Chapter 404: Incompetent Ruler
Xie Jue publicly declared that Ruyi was his eldest son. The soldiers selected to go to the Capital City were all tight-lipped. Xu Zhou, who was originally Xie Zhang’s most trusted deputy general and had followed him since childhood, specifically chose soldiers under Xie Zhang’s command, making it even less likely that Ruyi’s identity would be casually disclosed. Throughout the journey, Xu Zhou couldn’t wait to compete with Ying Qi to hold Ruyi.
This matter was thus settled. Missing the little young master’s one-month celebration banquet was a slight pity, but Xie Jue planned to organize a grand event for Ruyi’s hundred-day celebration instead.
Though there were fewer family members now, and his parents were not by his side, whatever other children had, Ruyi would have too!
A wet nurse was quickly found, a woman who had lived in Jiaozhou City for decades and had not contracted any illness during this epidemic. Fengyu also brought the wet nurse’s child into the Mansion to live and eat together with Ruyi. In doing so, there was no worry that the wet nurse would not provide wholehearted care. Ruyi, having just reached his one-month milestone, either ate or slept and did not cry much. He was a very well-behaved child. At night, he would eat until full and then sleep. The doctor said he was in excellent health, and it was rare to see such a quiet and fuss-free baby.
Whenever Fengyu and Xie Jue had spare time, they would come by to see Ruyi, especially Fengyu. She would visit five or six times a day, leaving the wet nurse worried that she might not be taking proper care of Ruyi and thus upsetting Fengyu.
The Third Miss, although always smiling and warm when dealing with people, made everyone in the State Mansion fear her—from Xue Yu at the top to the sweeping women at the bottom. Fengyu herself found this puzzling and assumed it was because she wasn’t gentle enough.
No matter how warmly she smiled, people remained both deeply respectful and afraid of her.
Fortunately, Fengyu wasn’t the kind of woman eager to befriend everyone or earn universal goodwill. She didn’t care whether others feared or respected her. As long as they carried out what she instructed, that was enough.
She wished she could stay with Ruyi every day. But, regrettably, after Xie Jue returned, she had to go back to West Continent to oversee the spring planting, as it would soon be too late.
She considered taking Ruyi with her but ultimately refrained. The conditions in West Continent were harsh, and resources were scarce—far inferior to those in Jiaozhou. Moreover, Ruyi was now acknowledged as Xie Jue’s eldest son, so it wouldn’t be proper for her to take him along and raise him. Reluctantly, Fengyu had no choice but to leave him in Jiaozhou.
Administrative affairs in Jiaozhou had already mostly transitioned to Xie Jue; Xue Yu also needed to return to Jinzhou. From the southernmost areas of the Twelve States—West Continent, Jinzhou, and Jiaozhou—the three of them formed a triangular structure, overseeing and assisting one another. At the northernmost end lay Ningzhou, with Salt City extending its influence; nearly all of the Twelve States fell under the jurisdiction of the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry. Though local State Mansions had yet to officially declare allegiance to Ningzhou, the Xie Family had effectively established control over the Twelve States.
The recent floods and epidemic had caused severe damage to Yanyang’s vitality. Divided by Bei River, trade between the two regions had ceased. Though the Twelve States appeared less prosperous than Yanyang, Yanyang lacked sufficient funds to wage war, creating a peculiar yet tacit balance between them.
Yuwen Jing was exceedingly furious about all this. He held multiple officials in Jiangnan accountable and dismissed over ten of them. Using this opportunity, Yuwen Jing replaced all the positions with his own people, aiming to weaken the Fang Family’s influence over Jiangnan. By controlling Jiangnan’s financial resources, he forced Jiangnan’s merchants to rely entirely on the court for their survival.
The Yuwen Royal Family, having been sidelined by noble families and Marquis Mansions for years, lacked both money and troops, rendering them powerless in Jiangnan. The Inner Court was solely responsible for disaster relief and aid this time; Lin Cheng had even died in Jiangnan. Determined not to let the Inner Court and Marshal Fang dominate politics and military affairs, Yuwen Jing resolved to take action. Otherwise, he feared he would end up as impotent as the previous emperor. Therefore, he quickly confiscated the wealth of the Feng Family and the Su Family to gain their fortunes in the Capital City. Although Fengyu emptied the banks in the Capital City, she couldn’t clear out the Baofeng branches scattered across Yanyang. Through this confiscation, Yuwen Jing acquired most of the Feng Family’s and Su Family’s assets outside Fengyu’s control.
With money and the nearby armies of Shangjing and Zhongzhou answering to the Yuwen Royal Family, Yuwen Jing’s power now far surpassed that of the previous emperor. Consequently, the Inner Court’s influence diminished significantly compared to the previous dynasty.
Power, after all, is a zero-sum game—when one grows stronger, the other must weaken. If one retreats, the other advances. In this battle for power, Yuwen Jing leveraged the innate authority and prestige of the royal family to gain the upper hand.
Yet even with the upper hand, he didn’t dare engage in excessive killings like when he slaughtered members of the Marquis Zhenbei Mansion. Yuwen Jing understood well that he still needed to maintain good relations with the noble families, so he refrained from targeting them immediately.
Zhang Boju and Lin Helin, who originally had only a superficial friendship, now found themselves in the Inner Court. As future Family Heads of two prominent clans, they had developed a camaraderie built on shared fortunes and misfortunes.
Zhang Boju grew up alongside Fang Chuning and was taken under Fang Chuning’s wing from a young age. As Grandmaster Zhang’s legitimate grandson, he had been personally groomed since childhood. Despite this, his personality was far less rigid than Grandmaster Zhang’s. He disliked associating with the excessively aloof members of noble families. Though Zhang Boju took the Imperial Examination three years after Lin Helin and ranked second place as the runner-up, he was the most celebrated figure of that year.
For noble family scions, placing in the top three Imperial Examination ranks was a glorious achievement worth boasting about. Zhang Boju didn’t join the Hanlin institution but instead went to the Imperial Examination Office, where he rarely had dealings with Lin Helin. At most, they had met at banquets in their youth. Now, as colleagues, they truly found themselves in the same boat.
Zhang Boju worried greatly about Yuwen Jing’s ambitious moves. Although he and Lin Helin had deployed officials in the Capital City, ensuring representation in every department, neither the Jinyi Guard nor the Forbidden Army was within their reach. Zhang Bolan, though a member of the Zhang Family, was someone Zhang Boju had spoken to before. The Zhang Family was sprawling, and Zhang Bolan’s branch was relatively insignificant in the family hierarchy. Being of illegitimate birth and overly ambitious, Zhang Bolan valued his personal gains far more than the family’s interests. He was deeply aware that only Yuwen Jing could guarantee his wealth and power, making him steadfast in his allegiance. Thus, Zhang Boju didn’t approach him again.
Lin Helin also sought ways to infiltrate the Jinyi Guard and Forbidden Army, but those entities were fortified to the point of impossibility, leaving both men deeply troubled.
Now, with Yuwen Jing confiscating the assets of the Su and Feng Families, many wealthy merchants in the Capital City were on edge, fearing they might be next. Should Yuwen Jing succeed in controlling Jiangnan, the leverage of the noble families over the royal family would be greatly diminished.
"Last time Xie Jue went to Xiangguo Temple to assassinate him, the Jinyi Guard reinforcements were just slightly late. Xie Jue and his hundred men nearly ended up losing their lives there. But the way I see it, Xie Jue wasn’t there to assassinate him." Zhang Boju was discussing Yuwen Jing and the Jinyi Guard with Lin Helin at the Lin Residence. Inevitably, the topic of Xie Jue’s assassination attempt at Xiangguo Temple arose.
This incident caused quite a stir in court circles, with everyone speculating about Xie Jue’s real purpose in going to the Capital City. Lin Helin suspected Xie Jue’s intent was to establish ties with Sannan since Han Ziqi was still in the Capital City. Xie Jue’s presence in Capital City during such a time seemed highly suspicious. However, their surveillance on Han Ziqi showed no interaction between him and Xie Jue.
Xie Jue hadn’t even entered the Capital City.
"He didn’t go there to assassinate Yuwen Jing," Lin Helin concluded. "The Jinyi Guard was drawn away by the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry. The real target wasn’t him; it was merely a diversion tactic."