"But that's one of the Li family, old Liu, you've got to bring out your best!"
Zhou Yi opened the food box, revealing eight dishes, four cold and four hot, all bursting with color, fragrance, and flavor.
Even the wine jug contained a century-old brew; the fact that such fine wine could be found overnight surely meant that the prison warden had put some thought into it.
"Of course."
Chef Liu curled his lips. "I used every trick passed down from eighteen generations of ancestors, all to avoid angering the nobleman."
There were many unspoken rules in the small kitchen of the heavenly prison, especially with regards to cell B9. Chef Liu had to tailor the meals according to the prisoner's family rank, official position, and the closeness of kinship.
It absolutely could not be one-size-fits-all. If a noble from the rank of a duke and an official at the level of vice minister were served the same dishes, trouble would surely arise afterward!
These dissolute sons of nobility, out of sheer boredom, competed only in terms of face-saving, thinking something like 'I'm in the heavenly prison yet I can eat four cold and four hot dishes, and drink a hundred-year-old wine, that certainly gives me more face than you with only four hot dishes!'
The reasons for the disputes and jealousies among these privileged scions might seem senseless and born out of idleness to ordinary people, but the officials up and down the prison had to comply anyway.
In the Chongming Dynasty, the most powerful family was the Long family, but now such treatment had shifted to the members of the Li family.
Li Wu pacified internal strife in the north and south of Fengyang Country, consolidated for a year, and then commanded an army of a million to launch a northern campaign against the Great Yong Dynasty, vowing to recapture the three lost states.
Now their power and influence eclipsed even that of the Long family during the Chongming Dynasty!
Zhou Yi, carrying the food box, first went to cell B9, encountering Captain Zhu who was responsible for the daytime guard.
Captain Zhu repeatedly cautioned, "Old Zhou, serve with utmost care. That lord is a violent man; if he flies into a rage, I won't dare rescue you!"
Zhou Yi said in surprise, "Captain, I'm just delivering the food..."
"Do you know why that lord is in the heavenly prison?"
Captain Zhu reminded him in a low voice, "For letting his troops loot the merchant roads, then pretending to attack bandits, he slaughtered several villages and claimed false merits!"
"..."
Zhou Yi fell silent for a long while before asking, "Such a horrifying act, who would dare expose it?"
Allowing troops to loot and killing good people while claiming false merits!
Each act was a major crime deserving of the extermination of the Nine Clans, and surely the Li family's Nine Clans would have to include Great General Li Wu. That man was in the midst of commanding a million-strong army on a northern campaign. If mishandled, this matter could lead to a cataclysmic upheaval!
Now even Captain Zhu knew about it, clearly indicating that it could no longer be concealed; it was akin to proclaiming the Li family's crimes to the world.
Zhou Yi did not believe that the Imperial Court, or rather Emperor Hongchang, had the audacity for such a thing!
Captain Zhu said, "Who else could it be but Chancellor Zhang!"
After his accession to the throne, Emperor Hongchang purged the remaining forces of the Long chancellor, and not one of the four cabinet officials escaped implication. Now occupying the position of Grand Secretary was his hidden residence teacher, Zhang Zhengyang.
"No wonder."
Zhou Yi had never seen Zhang Zhengyang, but from the gossip in the marketplace, he believed him to be a minister crucial to the country.
Rumors said that as soon as Zhang Zhengyang became Grand Secretary, his first memorial solved the internal and external troubles of Fengyang Country.
To secure the interior before repelling foreign threats, to go north before dealing with the south!
Emperor Hongchang's cancellation of five years' worth of taxes was also a strategy proposed by Zhang Zhengyang, using it to consolidate the hearts of the rebel forces and the people, definitively ending the issue of the rebels being defeated but not destroyed, a danger that could flare up again.
In the seven years as Grand Secretary, Zhang Zhengyang was the only person who could be spoken of in the same breath as Li Wu.
Cell B9.
Zhou Yi opened the prison door, took out the dishes from the food box, and arranged them on the table.
"Your Excellency, it's time to eat."
"Mhm."
The prisoner sat cross-legged on the soft couch in the inner room, eyes still closed, emitting a light snort from the tip of his nose.
Zhou Yi bowed and withdrew, feeling that this person did not flaunt his arrogance like the usual spoiled nobility, who feigned extravagance to show they were above others. Instead, this man seemed to look down on everyone from his bones.
"He is indeed fearless!"
...
Several days later.
Zhou Yi came to the small mess hall to collect the food and found that Chef Liu was not there.
"What's going on with this guy?"
The crimes of the prisoner Li Xiong were already the talk of the town, with many people pounding the Imperial Drum in protest in the previous days, claiming to be relatives of those from the villages he had slaughtered.
The Imperial Court turned a deaf ear, acting as if they heard nothing.
Ultimately, it was the capital's constables who took away the complainants one by one on the pretext of causing public disturbances, incarcerating them in prison.
With this development, the capital judiciary became the outlet for the people's grievances; each day, its main gate was smeared with all manners of filth.
The Imperial Censor submitted a memorial rebuking the Divine Capital's prefect for numerous offenses, including mistreating the populace, failure in oversight, sheltering a felon, and others, yet not a single word implicated the Li family.
Having no choice, the Divine Capital's prefect submitted a petition for his crimes and then entered the heavenly prison himself.
In just a short period of time, Divine Capital experienced swift and dramatic changes, with the storm's eye centered on cell B9.
Chef Liu had inexplicably lost his mind, and Zhou Yi rushed to find Captain Zhu, asking about today's meal delivery.
Captain Zhu spoke with righteous indignation, "He's just another prisoner in the heavenly prison. He should eat what the others eat; there's no need for special treatment!"
Zhou Yi frowned slightly, then suddenly said, "Is there news from the north?"
"You..."
Captain Zhu didn't keep it secret, since it couldn't be hidden for a few more days anyway, "Tomorrow at noon, the entire Li clan related to Li Xiong will be executed and their homes searched. I guess it won't be long before the Jinyiwei bring people here!"
Zhou Yi asked, "At the request of the Great General?"
"Indeed, the older the object, the more bizarre it becomes, the older the person, the more shrewd! Old Zhou, you are so astute, how come you're stuck delivering meals for a lifetime?"
Captain Zhu whispered, "The prison warden said the Great General personally wrote a petition in his own blood, claiming that the Li family should have implicated the Nine Clans, kneeling and pleading His Majesty for understanding, to grant mercy beyond the law, and only execute Li Xiong's branch!"
"The Great General is upright!"
"The Great General is wise!"
Zhou Yi and Captain Zhu exchanged glances, their eyes filled with horror, sensing that a storm hundred times greater than any the Capital had seen was about to sweep through.
Cell number nine.
Zhou Yi poured the watery porridge into the bowl and tapped the spoon against the bars, calling out.
"Time to eat!"
Li Xiong glanced at the swill and a flash of horror crossed his eyes, then returned to calm: "It seems my cousin, for the sake of his own reputation, is sending his uncle's family to death!"
In this era's clan ethics, covering up for family members was a virtue; Li Wu's actions were contemptible to the great clans.
Zhou Yi asked in surprise, "You know already?"
Li Xiong replied coldly, "Watching you lot scramble and step on one another, I could guess that the situation outside has changed."
"Tomorrow at noon, your entire family will be executed."
Zhou Yi said, "Your parents, wives, and children, all lost their lives because of your greed!"
Li Xiong, expressionless, glanced at Zhou Yi, as if mocking him with disdain.
"Do you have a son? How old is he this year? Is he cute? In the future he might learn martial arts and join the army, or perhaps study literature and take exams; he might marry a virtuous wife, and you'll have grandsons. Or maybe a daughter, who will marry..."
Zhou Yi continued unrushed, describing a blissful scene of a united family with children and grandchildren gathered around the knees.
Li Xiong's expression gradually changed, and by the last sentence, "Your ten-year-old son's head chopped off, spraying blood several feet into the air," his eyes were filled with furious crimson.
"...At around ten years old, probably not understanding anything, he will ask you why he is being beheaded, and if it will hurt a lot, won't he?"
Zhou Yi said with a smile, "I'll teach you a trick, get your son drunk before the execution to spare him the pain if the executioner's blade is dull, otherwise it would be a hundred times more agonizing!"
"Get out!"
Li Xiong roared, "What do you know? My cousin only thinks of leaving a noble legacy, watching our kinsman to death, not even allowing commerce!"
"I followed him for years in battle, shedding gallons of blood. Back in the Divine Capital without silver to host feasts, I was laughed at as a country bumpkin!"
"I can't embezzle military pay; I can't engage in trade; what's left but to rob!"
Li Xiong said coldly, "While I fought desperately on the front lines, those damned nobles sold arms to Great Yong, committing the same crime of treason. Why shouldn't I take it for myself?"
Zhou Yi asked doubtfully, "How do you explain killing innocents for merit?"
Having vented, Li Xiong's resentment dissipated somewhat, and his demeanor returned to calm: "Someone has to take the blame for robbing merchants, and those people were unlucky enough to be chosen by me!"
"If you lead troops to raid the noble's residence and behead the treasonous smugglers of military arms then and there, perhaps General Li might save your life. But you dare not, only capable of slaughtering the innocent commonfolk!"
Zhou Yi shook his head and said, "Such a bullying and cowardly nature, seems to have no difference from us, the scavenging, trampling breed, does it?"
Li Xiong slowly turned his head, finally looking directly at Zhou Yi
"Sharp-tongued!"
Zhou Yi shrugged and walked away with the bucket.
"Later when your family arrives, I'll arrange for you and your children to be in the same cell. Cherish your last night!"
...
The Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Silence reigned.
The Emperor dismissed the chamberlain from his side, leaving only Grand Secretary Zhang Zhengyang in the Hall.
"Teacher, this turmoil is too dangerous."
Emperor Hongchang came down from the dais, personally carrying two embroidered cushions, and sat facing Zhang Zhengyang at the same level.
"Your Majesty, I was left with no choice."
Zhang Zhengyang bowed and then sat down to speak, "The civil officials harbor treasonous intentions, even as powerful as Long Ni, they can be destroyed overnight. As for military officers like Li Wu, with their bravery and outstanding achievements overshadowing the sovereign, ruling over the world..."
He paused there, as if weighing his words, and after a moment added, "They are capable of upending the orthodox succession!"
Emperor Hongchang frowned deeply, "Teacher, Li Wu is diligent in royal affairs and excessively strict with his own kin. How can he be compared to the likes of Long Ni?"
"That is where the fear lies. If indeed Li Wu were as greedy and violent as Long Ni, that would be the end of it. But he's strict with his family to win the people's heart, clearly harboring grand ambitions! With Li Xiong's case, Your Majesty publicly made it an issue, intending for Li Wu to petition, and the Imperial Court compelled to pardon Li Xiong and his family."
Zhang Zhengyang said, "How could I expect that Li Wu would be so ruthless against his own uncle and cousins? With such callous and resolute actions, can he be said to have an ounce of loyalty or integrity?"
Emperor Hongchang asked puzzled, "Li Xiong's crimes are intolerable under heaven, how does the teacher explain this?"
"This destroys the golden body of Li Wu's reputation. He can lead armies, can conquer in all directions, but he must never have a virtuous name known throughout the world!"
Zhang Zhengyang said, "The common people will never allow a man who shields his kin while slaughtering the people to rule over them. This way, Your Majesty can rest easily without worry."
Emperor Hongchang shook his head, "Teacher, as the historical records say, he who has strong troops and valiant horses is suited to rule. If indeed Li Wu harbors treasonous ambitions, with his military authority, I am uncertain..."
"The records are correct, but not to be fully trusted."
Zhang Zhengyang continued, "After enduring the chaos under the previous emperor with the uprising of Long Ni, the people have only just settled in peace for a few years and would not wish to see turmoil again. Such is the will of the multitude, an overwhelming trend that no military force can overcome!"
Emperor Hongchang remained silent for a long time, still slowly shaking his head.
"Li Wu has been loyal and has contributed to the state, heeded the late emperor's testament, and subdued the north and south, only then do I have my today!"
"Li Qing has not failed me, nor will I fail him!"