“No.”
She rubbed her eyes as she spoke, releasing Yang Wan and standing up, “Have you told anyone else about you and Supervisor Deng?”
Yang Wan shook her head, “No.”
“Don’t tell anyone, and even if someone asks in the future, never admit to it.”
Yang Wan sat quietly and nodded. “I understand.”
Song Yunqing sighed: “Actually, there were already rumors in the palace about you and Deng Ying before, but back then you were still in the Department of Ceremonies, and they only dared whisper about it. Now that you’re in the Palace of Diligent Government, those words have become even more unpleasant. You know, while the palace doesn’t forbid food-sharing arrangements, it forbids licentiousness. Once tainted with those two words, one will die without burial.”
“Yes. I know, thank you, Yunqing.”
Song Yunqing smoothed Yang Wan’s hair, straightening up: “Then I’ll go.”
“Let me dress and see you out.”
The sun had reached its zenith. On the terrace of the Palace of Mental Cultivation, Noble Consort Jiang had been kneeling for two hours, her vision growing dark in waves. Seeing Hu Xiang come out from the hall, she hurriedly asked, “Secretary Hu, has His Majesty read the confession I submitted…”
Hu Xiang looked down at her: “He has read it, but there’s no response yet.”
“Yes, then would you…”
As they spoke, they suddenly saw Deng Ying leading Bai Huan and the Minister of Revenue from the Inner Cabinet duty room. Noble Consort Jiang, awaiting punishment with loosened hair and bare feet, suddenly seeing the external officials, quickly fell silent and raised her sleeve in shame, trying to cover her face.
As Deng Ying walked, he turned his head and quietly told the nearby eunuch: “Go over there, shield the Noble Consort.”
Hu Xiang glanced at the sky – it wasn’t yet time for submitting memorials – and asked Deng Ying: “Is there a palace council today?”
Deng Ying lowered his hands and responded, “Yes.”
Hu Xiang lowered his voice to ask Deng Ying: “Why is there a palace council today? This Noble Consort…”
Bai Huan coughed once, and Hu Xiang quickly stopped speaking.
Deng Ying stepped aside and bowed, gesturing: “This way, Minister.”
Just as the three entered the inner hall, they heard Emperor Zhenning say from behind his imperial desk: “Deng Ying, summon Zhang Luo.”
Then he raised his hand to exempt Bai Huan from the formal greeting between ruler and subject, “Minister, please be seated.”
Bai Huan thanked him and sat down.
Emperor Zhenning took a sip of tea, “How are your discussions going about Yang Lun’s new tax policy?”
The Minister of Revenue responded: “The Ministry of Revenue has held three joint discussions with the ministers of the Inner Cabinet, but we haven’t yet written up the final policy proposal. Please forgive us, Your Majesty.”
“No matter, tell me what you’ve discussed.”
“Yes.”
The Minister of Revenue adjusted his official hat, “Originally, we planned to implement the silver-per-mu tax in Hangzhou and Jingzhou, for a one-year trial period to assess its effectiveness. Yang Lun personally oversaw the land survey work in these two places. The Ministry of Revenue has already matched the existing farmland with local household registries. Once we supervise the local distribution of fields, we can implement the reforms. However, Jingzhou’s dikes broke last year, flooding over a dozen counties, and Your Majesty has already graciously exempted much of their taxes.”
“Then let’s not discuss Jingzhou, tell me about Hangzhou.”
“Yes.”
The Minister of Revenue continued: “Hangzhou is fine, but there are some counties where the school lands… haven’t been assessed yet.”
The emperor propped his chin with his bent arm, “Why haven’t the school lands been assessed?”
The Minister of Revenue glanced at Bai Huan, “The local educational administration has been running deficits these past few years. Though the Ministry of Revenue has been covering the shortfalls year after year, we’re still stretched thin. These school lands weren’t established by the government but were lands granted to several major academies to support private education. When Yang Lun was in Hangzhou, seeing the academies’ poverty and with the provincial examinations approaching, the students were already anxious enough – he couldn’t bring himself to reclaim the lands, so he set it aside.”
Emperor Zhenning said: “Did no one raise objections?”
“Yes, Minister Bai opposed it at the time.”
“What about Vice Minister Zhang?”
At this question, Bai Huan couldn’t help but raise his head.
Emperor Zhenning lifted his teacup: “What did he say?”
Though the Minister of Revenue didn’t understand why the emperor would specifically ask about Zhang Cong, he sensed something unusual and his voice grew more cautious.
“Vice Minister Zhang… didn’t say anything at the time. But I don’t know about later cabinet discussions…”
“Your Majesty, let this old minister report.”
Emperor Zhenning raised his teacup, “Please speak, Minister.”
Bai Huan stood up. Given his advanced age, rising suddenly after sitting for so long made him slightly dizzy.
“Minister, please remain seated.”
“This old minister is fine.”
After speaking, he took a breath, “Yang Lun is this old minister’s student. I understand his consistent concern for local education, so at the time I also agreed to temporarily set aside the school lands. As for Zhang Cong, he has always had doubts about the new policies, and these past couple of years he’s been occupied with matters at the Hall of Literary Splendor. This old minister hasn’t discussed the new policies much with him.”
Emperor Zhenning set down his teacup, “So there is discord between you two.”
“Yes, this old minister is at fault.”
Emperor Zhenning laughed shortly, “This isn’t good for state affairs.”
After a pause, he continued: “Your cabinet should discuss and recommend someone from among the Hanlin Academy lecturers to fill Zhang Cong’s position at the Hall of Literary Splendor.”
“Your Majesty.”