Chapter 176
Cui Xie had seen such a wretched scene at the Li residence, and deep down he still harbored the hidden fear that his interference with history might have harmed his teacher. His heart felt as though it were weighed down by a boulder, leaving him uneasy at every moment.
Only upon seeing this man did that stone finally lift, and the burning anxiety within him eased a little. He couldn’t help but fix his gaze on that smooth, jade-like face, drawing from it a calming strength. Bowing deeply, he said, “Thanking Xie da-ren. Cui Xie has come about the matter of my Master, who was seized for questioning after an error in his memorial to the throne…”
Xie Ying supported him by the arm, refusing to let him complete the full formal salute, and instead helped him back up, speaking solemnly: “Academician Li is a man of loyalty and integrity. I have long admired his character. You, as his disciple, risk yourself without hesitation to rescue your Master. This too speaks of loyalty, filial piety, and righteousness. How could I possibly accept such a grand courtesy from you?”
Cui Xie’s brows knit tightly. He glanced up with a subtle signal, then lowered his voice to ask, “If you act this way… won’t it draw the attention of those two taijian and Consort Wan?”
Xie Ying gave the slightest shake of his head, then led him into the Depot, down to the long, damp, shadowy side rooms behind the main hall. “The Imperial prison is not a place one can enter easily,” he explained. “Those inside are not allowed to be seen except during interrogation. But I know you to be a man who upholds the law and acts for the public good, and I am moved by your filial devotion. Today I will make an exception. Have these things delivered inside. If the Li family has any more clothes or bedding, tell them to send them soon.”
The Imperial prison was half buried underground. Just looking into the pitch-black, grim interior from outside was enough to send a chill through one’s heart.
Cui Xie handed over wine, meat, and the silver from his sash to the prison guard, so that Li Dongyang could smooth things over inside and live more comfortably. In front of Xie Ying, the guard dared not take the money directly, but said respectfully, “Rest assured, Young Master. This lowly one has great respect for the Academician and the others, and will certainly see to their well-being.”
Their… ? Why “their”?
Cui Xie’s heart skipped a beat. Watching the guard disappear into the prison, he lowered his voice and asked, “Who else is there?”
Xie Ying frowned and replied, “There are also two censors. One you may know–the same Liu Zan, Imperial Censor Liu, who came to Qian’an to investigate your study case. The other is Censor Yang Yingning. They were the ones who uncovered the corruption in this year’s Imperial consort selection. Your Master learned of it from them, and the three of them jointly submitted a memorial, thus they all fell into trouble together…”
Censors cannot be punished merely for their words, so someone had secretly altered their memorial, adding a few strokes here and there so that the text appeared to offend either the Emperor’s personal name or the temple name of an ancestor.
Here in the courtyard, with guards standing well away, they were not afraid of being overheard. But Cui Xie had no business lingering in such a place, staying after delivering the goods would inevitably draw attention. He knelt at the prison gate, bowing three times toward the countless cells within. When he rose, he lowered his head and said respectfully, “From now on, I must entrust my teacher’s care to the da-ren.”
Then he quietly asked, “I want to run about to secure my Master’s release, and that of the two other gentlemen, but which path should I take to rescue them?”
Xie Ying replied, “First prepare the redemption silver for all three. Your Master, Academician Li, is accused of having the Emperor’s personal name appear in his memorial. This calls for one hundred strokes, redeemable for six strings of copper cash. The other two gentlemen are accused of offending a temple name, each faces eighty strokes, redeemable for four strings and eight hundred cash. The writing on that memorial is perfectly clear; even they could see no trace of alteration, so they had no choice but to admit to it. It is not worth enduring the punishment for such a petty charge. The palace has set a five-day limit for paying the silver; if it is not paid in full by then, the punishment will proceed and the debt will be pursued under torture.”
Cui Xie’s heart pounded in his ears. “I’ve brought the silver already,” he said quickly. “I’ll fetch it from the carriage right now, inviting the da-ren to inspect it.”
Xie Ying remembered the forty taels of silver Cui Xie had just handed the prison guard and knew he must have come with a much larger sum. He nodded. “Go. Even though paying won’t free them, the silver will at least help silence the taijian.”
Cui Xie bowed and almost broke into a run toward the gates. Xie Ying walked with him to the courtyard, assigned a man to accompany him to fetch the money, and stood at the terrace, watching him leave with a quiet sigh.
From the Imperial Prison’s Main Hall, Commander Lu emerged and saw Cui Xie’s hurried figure. He shook his head. “Pitiful. This case has reached the attention of the Imperial Noble Consort, he could pour in his whole fortune and still not save his Master.”
Xie Ying said calmly, “We can’t control everything, but we can do our duty without betraying our conscience.”
“Xie da-ren’s words make sense, but it is difficult.” Commander Lu gave a crooked, mocking smile. “Three senior officials, one Hanlin scholar and two censors, all ‘accidentally’ offending the Emperor’s name in the same memorial? Hmph…”
Anyone with the power to alter a memorial like that must be from the Directorate of Ceremonial or the Grand Secretariat. These three have angered not just two taijian but also Imperial Noble Consort Wan’s brothers. Even the Grand Secretary Wan would suppress them to curry favor with the Wan clan, they’ll never be released as easily as others after redeeming their strokes.
The Jinyiwei might all wish to be upright officials now, but they still had to obey the Emperor and the palace. Some things were beyond their reach. He sighed and went back inside.
Xie Ying remained in the corridor a long while, murmuring to himself, “Hard or not… not regretting is enough.”
Cui Xie returned with a bundle of silver, his expression tense yet hopeful. Xie Ying had the prison clerk count out the exact penalty amounts, then added several dozen extra taels to be distributed in the prison so the three could live more comfortably.
Since Cui Xie had paid, it was all the more reasonable for the Pacification Commissioner to let him stay and speak for a moment. Dismissing the attendants, Xie Ying told him quietly, “This isn’t something that can be solved by sending in a few more memorials. This is revenge from the Consort and her attendants. You need Gao taijian; a few words from him and Qin taijian before the Emperor will be worth more than a hundred memorials.”
“I’ll ask Commander Gao for an introduction,” Cui said. “But… do you know what the two taijian like?”
“You cannot go,” Xie Ying cut him off. “If a scholar’s disciple personally flatters eunuchs, what will happen to your reputation? Leave this to me. You just focus on moving Grand Secretary Wan, either persuade him yourself or get your Master’s friends to find a way to restrain him.”
Cui Xie nodded. “I’d planned to visit as many high officials as I can. If you handle the taijian, you’ll need jewels or antiques, my shops have enough surplus, I’ll bring more silver to your house.”
“My household has better things than you can provide,” Xie Ying waved him off. “Only one thing must come from you, your paintings of immortals. The Emperor’s birthday is on the second day of the eleventh month; paint me a fine ‘Immortals Presenting Birthday Wishes’ and I’ll take it to Gao taijian. Don’t worry about your Master and the others; I am watching over them and I will see he comes to no harm.”
Seeing that determined look, Cui Xie felt a sudden unease. He rose abruptly, wrapped his arms around Xie Ying’s waist, rested his chin on his shoulder, and murmured, “Xie-xiong, take care of yourself. There are other officials in court running around for my Master, but if anything happens to you, I’ll… I’ll not just fawn on taijian, if I must, I’ll castrate myself and become one to keep you safe!”
Even in such a grave moment, Xie Ying couldn’t help but laugh. He patted Cui Xie’s back. “I’m no hot-headed censor who dares to speak out against the Emperor, how could anything happen to me? For the sake of keeping your body intact, I’ll be fine.”
He straightened Cui Xie’s robes, brushed off his sleeves, and saw him out of the inner hall, watching him leave the Depot.
Outside, Cui Xie hurried into his carriage. “To the silk shop,” he told the driver. “We’ll pick up some silver and then go to Secretary Yang’s house.”
From just two trips, to the Li household and the Depot, nearly two hundred taels were gone. The three hundred taels he’d prepared weren’t nearly enough.
Only after running errands for an official case like this did he truly understand why Cui Laoye had once emptied the coffers entirely.
Cui Xie withdrew a thousand taels from the shop’s chest, and the shopkeeper of the silk shop, Cui Jinzhi, was nearly in tears:
“These funds are set aside for the spring trip south to buy new stock! And three hundred taels belong to long-time customers who deposited it here for interest. If the Young Master takes everything, what is this subordinate supposed to pay them back with?”
Cui Xie frowned deeply, a little impatient. “If anyone really comes to claim it, I’ll draw up a contract with the Peace of Mind Study and borrow to cover it, I won’t let you shoulder the loss. You’ll still get your year-end dividend. Just separate the silver: make twenty packets of fifty taels each, then another fifty taels in loose silver, and two strings of copper cash.”
He didn’t even expect that spending all this money would rescue his Master and the two censors. He only hoped it might persuade Grand Secretary Wan, Wan Xi, and Wan Da to ease their grip slightly, so the Jinyiwei wouldn’t be forced to torture them.
Carrying the silver, he went first to Yang Tinghe’s house, but the man wasn’t home. Following the household’s direction, he went on to the residence of Li Dongyang’s and Yang Tinghe’s Master, Right Vice Minister of Personnel, Li Chun.
At that time, Li da-ren was meeting with Right Censor-in-Chief Geng Yu, Left Vice Minister Li Yu, Liu Daxia, and Yang Yiqing, two of his disciples, as well as other prominent officials of the court, to discuss the imprisonment of Li Dongyang and the two censors. When word came that a young juren, without office, was requesting an audience, they were surprised, and also moved.
When a Master had offended the powerful and been thrown into prison; for a disciple to risk himself and tirelessly run about for his Master, such a worthy disciple was rare indeed.
Li Chun summoned him in to meet the officials and asked, “Young men should be at home with their books. What brings you here?”
Cui Xie bowed to all and replied respectfully: “Today, this disciple went to the Northern Depot and saw Commissioner Xie. Xie da-ren said my Master and the two censors have not been mistreated in prison. The error in the memorials have already been investigated; only redemption fines are required, which I have already paid. With Xie da-ren’s care, the three should not suffer further punishment. Grand-Master, Senior Uncle Liu, and Junior Uncle Yang, and all of you may set your hearts at ease1.”
“You went to the Northern Depot? And persuaded the Jinyiwei to look after them?” Left Vice Minister Li Yu had once been prejudiced against Cui Xie, believing his 《Four Books Questions-and-Answers》 was a bid for an empty reputation. But today, seeing him in person and hearing his words, he changed his mind. Smiling, he said: “Good! Good! ‘Only in tempest is hardy grass known, only in turmoil are loyal ministers discerned.’ Li Binzhi did not take you as a disciple in vain!”
To be praised like that by the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and the future Minister of Personnel was like a gilding of his career. At any other time, it would have been a cause for rejoicing.
But now Cui Xie could not rejoice. With lowered eyes he said, “This disciple cannot free his Master, only watch while he and the two censors languish in prison. What use is my filial devotion then? Since this case involves the Imperial Noble Consort Wan and her favored taijian, even if the da-ren admit guilt and pay the fines, the palace may suppress their release. The Imperial Prison is no place for good men…”
He fell to his knees and declared earnestly: “Though powerless, this disciple is willing to scatter all my family’s wealth if it can rescue my Master and the two daren.”
Yang Yiqing stepped forward to lift him up. “This is a matter for us ministers. Your devotion is already enough; don’t force yourself further. Otherwise, when your seniors come out and learn what trouble you brought on yourself for them, how would they face you?”
None of them would accept Cui Xie’s silver. They sent him off to rest in the guest quarters, while they themselves discussed how to rally friends and memorialize for clemency. But Cui Xie couldn’t sit idle there. He asked for white paper from the servants, steadied his spirit with eyes closed, and once calm, began sketching the composition for an Immortals Offering Birthday Felicitations painting.
If he could present that picture to Gao taijian, it might turn the tide to save Master Li and the others. And even if it didn’t, if Emperor Chenghua liked it, Gao taijian would remember Xie Ying’s favor, shielding him in turn, that too would be worth it.
=================================================================
After Cui Xie left, Xie Ying went to check on Li Dongyang.
The three prisoners were confined together in a single cell. They had been flogged upon entering the Imperial Prison, but since this kind of “memorial error” case was only handled by the Northern Depot and not overseen by the grand eunuchs of the Eastern Depot, and with Xie Ying quietly looking after them, their punishment had not been heavy. Their wounds had already been washed with strong liquor, treated with medicinal wound powder, and tightly bound with clean cloth. They looked in fair spirits, drinking wine, chatting, and laughing, showing not a trace of fear or unease.
The jailers, deferential toward officials who still had some hope of release, stood by respectfully, not daring to join in their laughter.
When Xie Ying came to the cell door, Li Dongyang even smiled and said, “That day, thanks to the Commissioner’s help, I escaped a beating. Today, I’ve only received it here in prison. Is this not exactly what the Buddhists call karmic retribution?”
Xie Ying smiled faintly with them and replied: “Da-ren’s disciple came just now. He has already paid the redemption fines for the three of you. Henceforth, the da-ren will not suffer further torture under questioning. Tomorrow, I will submit a memorial asking the Emperor for this case to be closed. But the Imperial Prison is unlike other places, release can only come with an imperial decree. I must ask the three da-ren to endure a few more days.”
Li Dongyang said freely: “Commissioner Xie, you are too courteous. I find this Imperial Prison more comfortable than the Ministry of Justice cells. The only regret is not being able to taste the liquor that cleanses wounds. I have no other concerns. Just troubling the Commissioner to pass a message to Cui Xie: we are well here and settling in at ease. Let him look after the household, and there is no need for him to come again.”
Yang Yingning remarked enviously: “Xiya2, truly has a fine disciple. My son is of the same age, yet cannot compare.”
Liu Zan, who had once personally examined Cui Xie, his favorability increased and now felt a twinge of regret: “Had I known earlier, I would have taken him as my own student. Once the case concluded, I would have brought him to the capital to study. Now, alas, I cannot vie with Xiya da-ren for him.”
Hearing their praise of Cui Xie, Xie Ying felt a trace of secret delight rising in his chest, his lips curving unconsciously. He quickly lowered his gaze to conceal it, instructed the jailers to take good care of the three, and returned to write his memorial. He reported that the three had confessed sincerely, that their families had already paid the redemption fines, and requested the Emperor’s decree to release them.
But after submitting it, there was no reply. No rescript, no edict, the memorial vanished into the void. Instead, a message came from inner attendants, saying the confessions were not entirely accurate and ordering a re-interrogation.
Xie Ying had expected as much. Without an imperial decree, just a vague word, he chose to ignore it. He simply instructed the jailers to continue looking after the three and submitted more memorials asking for closure of the case.
His colleague, Vice Prefect, Zhu Ji, seeing him risk himself with so many petitions, cautioned: “These three were all named in advance by higher powers. No matter how often you request, it will never be transferred to the Ministry of Justice, nor will they be pardoned. Don’t risk your own ruin for their sake” He glanced northward, toward the Imperial palace.
Xie Ying set down his brush and answered calmly: “I know this as well. But righteousness must sometimes be done. Those frail scholars can still argue for the people’s sake, how could I, deeply indebted to imperial grace, stand idle while Liang Fang and Wei Xing wreak havoc in the capital and sully His Majesty’s name?”
The matter of the Crown Prince’s consort-selection should have been kept secret until the Ministry of Rites formally announced it, forbidding marriage for commoners. By leaking it early, countless inappropriate marriages had been made in panic, mixing gentry with lowborn, old with young, even good families’ daughters forced into concubinage. The Jinyiwei had no power to prohibit marriages, only to storm into wedding households to inspect one by one, and forcibly order divorces for unlawful matches.
In the end, the once-pristine reputation of the Jinyiwei, even praised in popular plays, was stained by this chaos.
Zhu Ji thought of this and fell silent, sighing: “What you say is true. But we Jinyiwei are the Emperor’s sword. However the Imperial will goes, so must we…”
Xie Ying replied: “This official dares not defy His Majesty, merely delaying when I can, and submitting a few more petitions. There is no need for the da-ren to worry. And what has been passed down are not imperial edicts, nor the Consort’s commands, it is merely the will of two taijian. To put it bluntly, those two are not Wang Zhen or Wang Zhi of old. They do not have the power to force the Jinyiwei to bow.”
Zhu Ji felt his spirit roused by these words. Narrowing his eyes, he said: “True. They are not Wang Zhi, nor even the grand eunuchs of the Eastern Depot. They don’t hold the authority or favor to drive the Jinyiwei like hawks and hounds3.”
The Jinyiwei were subject to the Eastern Depot, that was proper. But were they to be subordinate to a mere taijian of the Imperial Stables? Liang Fang was not even directly over them, nor the most favored. How could a word from him compel them to torture ministers?
He bit his teeth. “Indeed. Since it is neither an imperial command, nor a direct decree from Wan niangniang herself, then we should not comply in secret. Otherwise, when these three men are vindicated and rise again, the court will pursue the matter, and won’t all the blame fall on us of the Northern Depot?”
Footnotes:
- To clarify the relationships:
Cui Xie is Li Dongyang’s disciple.
Li Dongyang, Yang Tinghe and Liu Yu are disciples under Li Chun. But, by age/ranking, it is Liu Yu, Li Dongyang and then Yang Tinghe (hence the Senior and Junior) ↩︎ - Li Dongyang’s artistic name, I’ve previously translated this as Master of the Western Waters ↩︎
- Hawks and hounds: like hired thugs ↩︎
TN: Hope everyone is doing well! It seems like the Imperial politics and intrigue is finally involving Cui Xie and Xie Ying! I felt a little bit emotional at the camraderie in this chapter~
Announcement: We have set up a kofi and patreon account! If you would like to support us or get early access to advance chapters to my current works (TMD and Spring Tree North of the Wei River), those options are available for you (in support us page)! I have just added a patreon tier for Transmigrating to the Ming Dynasty’s Imperial Examinations in which patreons can have access to a google document with ALL of my advanced translated chapters for the novel. Since I am a grad student, there should usually be at least 10 advance chapters in the document at a time, but depending on my schedules, there may be fewer or more. I’m currently extremely busy, but I have translated out some new chapters for you all! But, I will still post each week with the same schedule. Thanks!
Twin Dragons Translations 
Thank You for the new chapter (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤
LikeLike