Notes on Longevity

Chapter 92 How can a dynasty's thousand-year foundation be destroyed in a single day?
In the fortieth year of the Shangyuan era, in the spring of Yin.

Fuyang City, east of the city, Wuyue Hall.

"Come, gentlemen, let's have another drink." Zhang Jinggong looked at the people in front of him, slightly tipsy.

"Good! Good! Let me offer you a toast, Lord Zhang."

These men, with a young, beautiful, and disheveled woman in their arms, raised their wine glasses, laughing loudly as they downed the wine in one gulp at Zhang Jinggong.

"I wonder how Lord Zhang found such a place? This is so much better than a brothel!" One of the middle-aged men, after finishing his drink, flirted with the beautiful and charming woman in his arms while looking at Zhang Jinggong and asking.

The others echoed the question, "Yes, Lord Zhang, we've never heard of this place before."

The woman standing next to Zhang Jinggong refilled his wine glass. He smiled faintly at their questions, but his expression quickly fell again. "To be honest, gentlemen, I own Wuyue Hall."

"Ah, this." Upon hearing this, the men stood up in alarm. One of them said, "Lord Zhang, this is no joke. If word gets to His Majesty that you, the Minister of Revenue, are running a brothel, you will be dismissed! This is no laughing matter."

Zhang Jinggong's expression remained downcast: "I wasn't joking. Besides, if it hadn't reached His Majesty, I would have been fine! I don't think the officials would have said anything."

As Zhang Jinggong spoke, his expression suddenly changed, from a dejected look to a sinister one. His gaze was like that of a tiger or wolf staring at its prey, sending chills down one's spine.

"If I tell you, I think you gentlemen won't be able to escape either. If His Majesty finds out that you gentlemen have come to me, what do you think he will think? Forming a clique? Moreover, you gentlemen hold high-ranking positions and are in important posts. Some things will be difficult to explain then."

Upon hearing this, the group frowned. "Is this why Lord Zhang invited us here? To drag us into this mess?"

“Of course not, you may all leave now,” Zhang Jinggong waved to the women. He then rose and stepped down from his seat, walking to a passageway in front of them where the dancers performed. After the women had all left, he slowly spoke: “I invited you gentlemen here only to ask you one thing. I want to know who murdered the previous Minister of Rites, and who else was involved, so that even His Majesty was helpless.”

"Lord Zhang, are you here to investigate the murder of Lord Qu?" someone asked in a panic.

“That’s right, not only that. Although the Great Yan has stood for a thousand years and is powerful to the outside world, it is becoming increasingly corrupt internally and has lost all manners. If this continues, the Great Yan’s fate will be sealed! Do you gentlemen really want to watch the thousand-year-old Great Yan be destroyed in an instant?”

Zhang Jinggong spoke sincerely, his tone filled with resentment. Before he became an official, he saw the Dayan Kingdom flourishing and growing stronger; but after he became an official, he discovered that some things were not as the people perceived them to be.

The ministers formed factions, challenged each other's authority, and each took sides, which almost rendered the emperor powerless.

Some of them shared Zhang Jinggong's resentment upon hearing his words, while others frowned and stared intently at him.

"Lord Zhang, is His Majesty aware of your intentions?" A middle-aged man with an upright appearance stepped forward and stood opposite him, questioning him.

“His Majesty doesn’t know.” Zhang Jinggong shook his head and sighed deeply. “I approached His Majesty before, but he wouldn’t let me investigate. He told me that as the Minister of Rites, investigating matters concerning the Ministry of Justice would be overstepping my authority, and that if I did, His Majesty could kill me at any time. He also said that this matter would be over and done with. But I’m not willing to accept this. How can the thousand-year-old foundation of Dayan be left like this? Tell me, in this world, what dynasty can last for a thousand years? I don’t want this ancient tree of Dayan to be destroyed by some parasites! Do you want that?”

Zhang Jinggong's final rhetorical question stunned everyone. The Great Yan Dynasty had enjoyed a thousand years of prosperity, virtually free from disasters and diseases. They had grown accustomed to comfort, and their daily factionalism was merely for personal gain, not for the purpose of causing death. The death of the previous Minister of Rites was something they hadn't anticipated. And they didn't want the Great Yan Dynasty to perish, so Zhang Jinggong's words struck them like a thunderbolt. "Lord Zhang, what do you want? Just tell us, and we'll help you!" some echoed, while others remained silent, heads bowed.

"I want to know who killed Lord Qu, and who was involved."

-

"His Majesty."

Inside the Qitian Palace, Emperor Shangyuan sat quietly at the highest point of the hall, reviewing the memorials from his officials and letters from various regions. A middle-aged man stood below, looking up at him. This man was the one who had stood up in the Wuyue Hall to question Zhang Jinggong.

"What's wrong, Minister Zhao? Is something the matter?" The emperor put down the memorial he had just finished reading, wrote "Read" on it, glanced at Minister Zhao, and then continued to look at the letter.

"Lord Zhang Jinggong has recently purchased a brothel in the east of the city, and he's been secretly keeping a group of women in the brothel's secret chambers. He's invited many officials there, including quite a few high-ranking ones. Isn't he being a bit...?"

There were some things he couldn't say aloud, but he knew the Emperor Shangyuan understood, so he kept quiet and waited for a reply.

"Isn't this a common occurrence?" Emperor Shangyuan put down the letter and looked up at Minister Zhao. "Don't you also keep quite a few women in some place? And as far as I know, quite a few officials have gone there too. What? Are you trying to say that you're also forming cliques?"

Upon hearing this, Lord Zhao immediately knelt down and kowtowed to Emperor Shangyuan, saying, "Your Majesty, I dare not! My heart is only for Your Majesty and for the Great Yan, and I have never formed any factions for personal gain."

"Really?" the Emperor asked in return.

"Your subject has no disloyal intentions." Lord Zhao looked at Emperor Shangyuan with deep sorrow, almost bursting into tears.

"Alright!" Emperor Shangyuan stood up and walked down from the high place step by step, slowly coming to his side. "Since you have no ulterior motives, then go to the Ministry of Justice prison and think about it. Think about whether you participated in the assassination of Minister Qu, and come to me when you have thought it through."

Upon hearing this, Lord Zhao hesitated slightly. When Emperor Shangyuan finished speaking, his eyes widened in terror. He bowed his head at Emperor Shangyuan's feet and said, "Your Majesty, I am innocent! I was not involved."

"Guards!" Emperor Shangyuan roared at the palace gates. A group of guards rushed in immediately. Emperor Shangyuan pointed at Lord Zhao on the ground and said, "After you leave, cut out his tongue and chop off his fingers, then send him to the Ministry of Justice's prison."

"Yes!" The guard commander, a young man in his thirties, bowed to the Emperor and then said to the guards behind him, "Take him to the Ministry of Justice. Find a place on the way to cut off his tongue and fingers. If you meet anyone on the road, do not let him speak to them, or you will all be punished!"

"Yes!"

After receiving their orders, the guards dragged Lord Zhao, who was prostrate on the ground, weeping and wailing in disbelief. Only now did he realize that Zhang Jinggong's actions had actually been approved by the Emperor of Shangyuan.

(End of this chapter)