gnovel Chapter 055: Hibernation
Chapter 055: Hibernation
"How do you plan to take this knife from the Empress Dowager?" Zhang Quwei looked at Zhao Bocong, his eyes filled with a long-lost anticipation.
"The Empress Dowager's knife is too dull." Zhao Bozong's reply was calm to the point of being cold-blooded.
"We need to help her sharpen her sword, but we can't let her draw it too early. If it's too early, Qin Hui will make the first move; if it's too late, the Empress Dowager's sword will rust."
We need to find an opportunity for the Empress Dowager to publicly mention Yue Fei's name in court without being stopped by Qin Hui on charges of interfering in state affairs.
"At what time?"
Zhao Bozong did not answer immediately. He sat back down at his desk, picked up his pen again, and wrote two characters on the paper:
"winter solstice."
Zhang Quwei looked at the two words, thought for a moment, and slowly nodded.
The winter solstice is the day of the imperial court's grand ceremony to worship Heaven.
The ceremony of offering sacrifices to Heaven required the presence of the Empress Dowager, who would offer incense and pray for blessings in front of civil and military officials as the mother of the nation.
The annual winter solstice sacrifice to Heaven was the most important ritual activity in Lin'an, and the people of the Imperial City Guard could not stop the Empress Dowager from speaking during the ceremony.
If Consort Wei could offer a prayer for Yue Fei on the Winter Solstice.
Even if it were just a hint of "a loyal minister suffering injustice" embedded in the sacrificial rites, Qin Hui would no longer be able to keep the "Yue Fei case" hidden from view.
"There are still more than three months until the winter solstice," Qin Keqing said. "During these three months, we need the Empress Dowager to continue to remain silent."
She couldn't mention Yue Fei in public, couldn't confront Qin Hui directly, and couldn't allow the Imperial City Guard any pretext to place her under house arrest.
"The Empress Dowager will cooperate with you, but you must also know one thing: she has been holding back for sixteen years, and not just anyone can suppress her."
When Zhang Quwei said this, there was worry in his tone, but also a kind of expectation that was not easily detected.
After Zhang Quwei left, Zhao Bocong and Qin Keqing sat in the study until very late. The news Zhang Quwei brought made them re-examine the current situation in Lin'an City.
The rain outside has stopped, and the cool moonlight shines through the window paper.
The map of Lin'an city on the table was laid out again. Qin Keqing used charcoal to draw a small circle at the location of Cining Palace, and then drew a dotted line from the small circle towards the old camp in the southern suburbs.
"Your Highness, after Zhang Quwei returns, a dedicated communication channel will be needed between Cining Palace and the old camp in the southern suburbs."
This route cannot pass through any existing drop-off points for the dead letters. If Zhang Quwei is tracked, Qin Hui will follow the trail to find our entire network.
"Perhaps we can use Deshou Palace." Zhao Bozong thought for a moment and moved his finger from Cining Palace to Deshou Palace. "Feng Yi is the head eunuch of Deshou Palace, and Zhang Quwei is the head eunuch of Cining Palace."
It was a common sight in the palace for the two old eunuchs to walk back and forth.
"Have Feng Yi choose a fixed time and a fixed reason to go to Cining Palace every three days. The reason could be to deliver Zhang Xianfei's greetings to the Empress Dowager."
"Okay." Qin Keqing marked this passage on the map with a line of small print.
Zhao Bozong picked up Xin Qizong's Xihe waist knife from the table and drew the blade.
The blade was ground very thin, the blade pattern was like water, and the deep notch near the back of the blade was particularly glaring in the candlelight.
He rubbed the old steel edge curled up on the notch with his fingertip. "General Xin said this knife is missing a blade, and I said I would fix it for him."
Now, the Empress Dowager's ebony box, Zhang Quwei's chipped copper coin, and Feng Yi's route to Deshou Palace—these three items, when pieced together, form the first piece of steel to complete this blade.
"The first one," Qin Keqing looked up, her gaze flickering in the candlelight, "and the second one?"
"The second one is the Winter Solstice."
Zhao Bozong sheathed his sword. "Before the winter solstice, we must make the Empress Dowager see clearly who in the court is still an ally who can fight Qin Hui to the end."
It wasn't just us, but also those local military officials, scattered members of the imperial clan, and former members of the Censorate who remained silent but never signed a peace treaty with Qin Hui.
"You're the most suitable person for this task. Zhang Quwei will be the pivot, and you'll be the extension."
Qin Keqing stood up and walked to the map. She first circled Cining Palace and Deshou Palace with her fingertip, and then scanned down to the large blank area at the outer edge of the Lin'an city map.
That was the extension of the three-location network outside the city.
"The Empress Dowager needs to verify the connections of the several distant branches of the imperial clan that Manager Wang has made in Xiuzhou, the list of surrendered soldiers from Jiaoshan that Jinbao has collected in Zhenjiang, and the four hundred veterans that Yue Yinping has in Xiangyang.
Her fingertips traced each node like a thread, finally stopping at the northernmost point.
"After I leave the city, General Xin will take over the management of the documents between the southern suburbs and the city, while Liu An will be responsible for the internal defense of the Prince's Palace."
I've handed over the task of distributing death notices in Lin'an to the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, who will return from Xiuzhou.
"I'll go to Zhenjiang myself; Xiangyang is too far away." Zhao Bozong stood up. "General Xin will arrive at dawn tomorrow. Let's rearrange all the light and dark handover points of the old camp in the southern suburbs."
......
August th, Mid-Autumn Festival.
It didn't rain in Lin'an that day. The moon started to rise at dusk and hung on the willow branches at the end of the canal, round and white.
Zhao Gou held a banquet in the palace, and all the members of the imperial clan attended. Consort Wei, as the Empress Dowager, attended the grand banquet in the palace for the first time and sat on the phoenix chair to the right of the throne.
Qin Hui was seated at the banquet in a more forward position than usual, which was inconsistent with his rank, but no one dared to say anything.
His face showed no abnormality, and his posture when offering a toast was steady and composed. He even offered the Empress Dowager three times, although each time Consort Wei declined on the grounds of feeling unwell.
Zhao Bozong sat in his seat, not far from the throne.
He noticed a detail at the banquet: Zhang Quwei was standing at the very end of the line of female officials in Cining Palace, in an inconspicuous position, but just in time to see Qin Hui’s every move.
Every time Qin Hui toasted the Empress Dowager, Zhang Quwei would slightly tilt his head and whisper something to the eunuch beside him.
The young eunuch then left the banquet and disappeared in the direction of the side hall.
After the banquet, Zhao Bozong did not return to the palace immediately.
He waited outside Lizheng Gate for a while and then Feng Yi arrived.
"Your Highness, Zhang, the military officer, has asked me to convey a message to you." Feng Yi glanced around.
"After the banquet ended today, Qin Hui stood outside the Cining Palace gate for another incense stick's time. He had someone from the Imperial City Guard hand in a roster, saying it was a new arrangement for the Cining Palace guards' shifts."
The Empress Dowager did not accept it, but instructed Zhang to return the roster intact.
"What's written on the roster?"
"Zhang Yaban glanced at it and saw at least six names on the roster, all of whom were original eunuchs and palace maids of Cining Palace."
Qin Hui, citing security for the emperor's arrival, wanted to replace all six men with officers from the Imperial City Guard.
Zhao Bozong stood on the steps outside Lizheng Gate and remained silent for a moment.
"Tell Zhang Yaban that the people in Cining Palace cannot be replaced, and have the Empress Dowager summon Zhao Shiyi, the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan, to the palace tomorrow."
They claimed they needed to consult the imperial genealogy, and had the Grand Court of Imperial Clan Affairs intervene, using the rites of imperial clan protocol as a pretext to reject Qin Hui's request to transfer personnel.
Feng Yi nodded, turned and disappeared into the shadows of Lizheng Gate.
When Zhao Bocong returned to the Prince's Mansion, Qin Keqing was still awake, sitting in a small room in the side courtyard reading a piece of intelligence that had just been sent from Xiuzhou by candlelight.
The cat was curled up on her lap, dozing off, its tail twitching occasionally in its sleep.
Zhao Bozong knocked on the doorframe. "Miss Qin, today is the Mid-Autumn Festival."
Qin Keqing looked up at him, then folded the intelligence report and tucked it into the booklet. "Is there something you need, Your Highness?"
Zhao Bozong entered the small house, carrying a plate of mooncakes he had brought back from the banquet.
He placed the plate on Qin Keqing's table and sat down on the low stool next to her. "It's nothing, I just wanted to wish you a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival."
Qin Keqing looked down at the plate of mooncakes, her eyelashes fluttering in the candlelight.