Deng Ying stood up and walked behind Yang Wan, following her gaze behind the screen. “I know who wrote ‘Five Virtuous Consorts.'”
Yang Wan turned back, “Who?”
Deng Ying looked down at her, “You know him too—your brother Yang Jing.”
“What?”
Yang Wan nearly failed to control her voice when she heard Yang Jing’s name. “Wasn’t it written by Du Heng?”
Deng Ying looked down at her, “You mean Du Heng from the Hanlin Academy?”
Yang Wan asked puzzled, “Is there another Du Heng?”
Deng Ying shook his head, “That man has been seriously ill and left the academy over a month ago, but ‘Five Virtuous Consorts’ was written at the end of last month. The whole piece isn’t long; the writer took about ten days. Why did you mention Du Heng?”
How should she answer?
Should she tell him the historical records didn’t match reality?
Yang Wan was deeply shocked, unconsciously gripping the edge of the screen.
How difficult historical research truly was—she had been immersed in it for ten years and had already experienced countless hardships.
When she first began writing notes about the Zhenning era, she had built a framework, yet in just two short years, she found countless holes in that framework. Things erased by those in power, things altered by later generations—they were innumerable. Looking at it this way, though the documents that survived to modern times were extremely precious, there weren’t many trustworthy words among them.
“Eh… madam.”
The shopkeeper had returned after seeing someone off. Seeing Yang Wan lost in thought by the screen, he tried to call out to her but was stopped by Deng Ying, “Speak to me.”
“Oh… yes, yes, speaking to you is the same. I went to look for the printing blocks Madam mentioned earlier. They’re still there. I’ll have someone bring them out for madam to see.”
“Good.”
Deng Ying glanced at the door, smoothly changing the topic, “I thought I heard that Qingbo House is going to print ‘Five Virtuous Consorts.'”
Hearing this question, the shopkeeper hesitated slightly, “Well…”
Yang Wan picked up Deng Ying’s thread, “Kuanqin Hall is also printing ‘Five Virtuous Consorts.’ Though your versions are different, you’re selling them at the same time—what profit is there in that?”
Hearing her question, the shopkeeper dared not answer anymore. He stepped back several paces, carefully looking them up and down.
“Who… exactly… are you people?”
Yang Wan folded her arms, raising an eyebrow, “We’re from the Northern Patrol Commission.”
“Wh-wh-what?”
The shopkeeper’s face turned white.
Yang Wan was completely unconcerned about her blatant lie, “You don’t believe me?”
She pointed outside, “You can step out right now, but once you’re through that door, you’ll just be interrogated somewhere else.”
Hearing her words, the shopkeeper tremblingly looked outside.
The book market for Shuntian Prefecture’s spring examinations was extremely busy at this time. Yang Wan knocked on the screen, gave a cold laugh, and started walking out.
The shopkeeper hurriedly fell to his knees with a “thud,” “Please, officers, give me a way out. Our proprietor went south to visit relatives and hasn’t returned. I… I’m truly terrified.”
Yang Wan stopped walking, and Deng Ying smoothly said, “Take us inside to talk.”
“Yes… I’ll take you officers in right away.”
Behind Qingbo House was the printing factory. The shopkeeper led Yang Wan and Deng Ying into the inner hall of the factory, personally closed the hall doors, and not daring to remain standing, fell to his knees trembling, “Officers, please ask your questions.”
Yang Wan said, “Who was that person who just left?”
“Oh, I saw his pass—he’s someone from the palace.”
“Which palace?”
“He said Chengqian Palace.”
Yang Wan’s brow furrowed, “Chengqian Palace?”
The shopkeeper’s shoulders began trembling in fear, “Yes… he… he said so.”
Deng Ying asked, “What did he discuss with you?”
The shopkeeper hurriedly said, “I dare not deceive you. He said the lady of Chengqian Palace has been unwell recently and recuperating in the Banana Garden. She wants to do some virtuous deeds to educate worldly women, so she wants to write a preface for ‘Five Virtuous Consorts.’ Officer, didn’t you just ask what profit there was for Qingbo House? This is a precious consort from the palace personally writing a preface! How could Kuanqin Hall’s version compare to our Qingbo House edition? With the consort’s preface, this becomes ‘Six Virtuous Consorts’! We’re not worried about being outsold by Kuanqin Hall.”
Deng Ying said, “Bring that preface here.”
The shopkeeper didn’t dare delay for a moment, frantically fetching the preface.
Deng Ying took it and opened it, saying softly to Yang Wan, “Look at the handwriting.”
Yang Wan quickly scanned the preface in Deng Ying’s hands. The writing was neat, but it wasn’t Consort Ning’s handwriting.
Yang Wan withdrew her gaze, pressed her lips together, pinched her tiger’s mouth point, and stepped back into the shadows, trying to process this matter from beginning to end as quickly as possible in her mind.
On the surface, Yang Jing wrote “Five Virtuous Consorts” to praise the virtuous deeds of imperial consorts, with Consort Ning writing a preface from imprisonment—once this version of “Five Virtuous Consorts” circulated in the capital, what direction would court opinion take?
Yang Wan remembered how in the previous dynasty, an official surnamed Hu had petitioned the former emperor to treat the then-ill and neglected empress well. She felt a chill down her spine.
But this situation was different from that truly ill empress.
Though the Banana Garden was nominally a place for Consort Ning’s recuperation, it was Emperor Zhenning’s prison for his discarded consort. Since it was a prison, Consort Ning absolutely could not have sent this preface out of the palace. Others might not understand this, but Emperor Zhenning himself knew clearly.