Yang Wan didn’t react immediately.
Seeing her stunned expression, Deng Ying suddenly became anxious and hurriedly said, “Deng Ying meant no offense.”
Hearing him say this, Yang Wan smiled, resting her chin in her hand, “Are you asking about my recent situation? Worried that Zhang Luo is giving me trouble? Ha…”
Her eyes sparkled, “Don’t worry, probably every woman in the capital looks down on him now, cursing him daily for being unfaithful, forcing me to break off the engagement while still trying to tarnish my reputation. Yesterday, my sister seemed to mention my situation with him before His Majesty. The Emperor was angered and ordered the Office of Careful Punishment to give him twenty strokes. He’s probably at home nursing his wounds now. My brother publicly submitted a petition asking for leniency for the Zhang family, but privately, I can see he’s quite pleased.”
She laughed after saying this, and once she managed to contain herself, continued: “Don’t worry, none of this has anything to do with you. Just focus on your matters. When you go to the Inner Study, let me know so I can ask for leave from the Department of Palace Affairs.”
“I haven’t lectured in a very long time.”
“You… get nervous too?”
Deng Ying shook his head, “No, I’m afraid I won’t live up to your expectations. Deng Ying has carried an undeserved reputation for many years, in truth I’m just a teacher’s discarded student.”
When Yang Wan heard him speak of this, she suddenly remembered Yang Lun mentioning in his private collection that after Deng Ying’s death, there was no coffin for his burial, and no one in the capital dared to handle it. It was White Huan who gave Deng Ying the coffin he had prepared for himself, and when he died later, he was hastily buried in a cheap wooden coffin.
Such deep teacher-student sentiment, yet in their lifetime, they could not speak of it.
This was a tragedy of the times.
Some emotions violated the current ethical principles – though they existed, they had to be guarded with one’s life to prevent them from being exposed.
Walking back to Chengqian Palace with her lantern, Yang Wan kept thinking about the relationship between White Huan and Deng Ying.
Their real break happened in the autumn of the twelfth year of Zhenning when a particularly brutal massacre occurred in history – over seventy people from the Tongjia Academy were beheaded.
These people were mostly members of the Donglin Party, who had dared to criticize even the imperial cabinet. In the end, they were tortured one by one by Zhang Luo until they were mutilated. Many couldn’t endure the torture and betrayed the principles they had believed in all their lives in the imperial prison, yet in the end, not a single one survived.
Yang Wan had once read such a description in historical materials:
“Zhou Conghai’s knees were exposed to the bone, unable to kneel at the execution platform anymore. Before death, he cursed the emperor bitterly, vomiting blood that clotted, showing much-rotting flesh. It could be said his internal organs were all wounded and festering from torture, the brutality beyond description.”
There were several blind spots in this piece of history that Yang Wan had tried to verify many times but couldn’t find concrete evidence.
First, these people were imprisoned for defending Deng Ying, but their tragic deaths were caused by Zhang Luo. Why Zhang Luo killed these people so cruelly wasn’t clearly explained in historical records.
Second, these people’s fates were so tragic that the civil official corps was shaken. The emperor, unable to withstand the pressure, was forced to employ the Eastern Depot to supervise the Imperial Guards, thereby weakening the power of the Northern Depot.
It was at that time that Deng Ying walked from the Hall of Supreme Harmony to stand between the Directorate of Ceremonial and the entire Ming Dynasty’s civil official corps. The historical records don’t document the exact process, but later researchers, analyzing the fact of White Huan and Deng Ying’s falling out, believed this tragedy must have happened with Deng Ying’s instigation. This became the first crime that historical academia attributed to Deng Ying – for the sake of his advancement, he pushed those who had once risked their lives speaking for him into a pile of bones.
Yang Wan didn’t agree with this view, but regrettably, this was just an emotional disagreement – she had no concrete evidence to support it.
Now, half a year remained until the autumn of the twelfth year of Zhenning, and this seemed to be Deng Ying’s purest time in the inner court.
Yang Wan recalled how he sat before her eating nuts like a hamster, feeling somewhat melancholic.
She quickly rubbed her eyes, warning herself not to think too much.
History was history after all, and no matter how difficult it was for those involved, it had nothing to do with her.
“Auntie.”
A child’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
Yang Wan looked up and found she had already reached the gates of Chengqian Palace.
The Consort Ning’s son, Crown Prince Yi Lang, was swinging his arms, “I want to see Auntie make little people again.”
Seeing no one was with him and he was sweating, Yang Wan crouched down and took out her handkerchief to wipe his face.
“You’re calling this servant ‘Auntie’ again.”
Yi Lang grabbed Yang Wan’s hand, “Mother said you’re her sister, so you’re my auntie.”
Seeing his little boss’s expression, Yang Wan always wanted to pinch his face when no one was around.
No matter the era, warm-hearted children always touched people’s hearts.
“Auntie, are you unhappy?”
Yang Wan shook her head, “This servant is not unhappy.”
Yi Lang let go of her hand and asked very seriously, “Then why were you staring at the ground without speaking just now?”
Yang Wan smiled, “This servant’s earring fell off.”
Just as she finished speaking, a gentle voice suddenly came from the palace gate, “When did it fall off? I’ll have someone help you look for it.”
Yang Wan looked up to see Consort Ning walking down the steps. She had just removed her evening makeup and was dressed simply. She said to Yi Lang, “When did you run out?”
Yang Wan hurriedly bowed, and Consort Ning held Yi Lang’s hand with one hand while helping Yang Wan up with the other.
“You’re back.”
“Yes.”
“Where did you go?”
“Went to see an old acquaintance.”
Consort Ning asked her gently, “What old acquaintance does Wan’er have in the palace?”
“…”
Yang Wan just smiled without answering.
“It was Junior Supervisor Deng, wasn’t it?”
Yang Wan was startled. Consort Ning tucked a strand of Yang Wan’s rain-dampened hair behind her ear and said softly, “Silly girl, you used to be the most cautious, what’s happened to you now?”
Though she said this, there was no reproach in her voice.
“Aren’t you afraid?”
“With Your Highness protecting this servant, what should this servant fear?”