Volume Two: Great Men and Petty Men, Chapter 74: The Changes of a Single Day (Part Two)

The night deepened over Northern Tongzhou.

Unlike Southern Tongzhou, which connected to the Grand Canal and served as the essential thoroughfare for travelers from the southern provinces heading to the capital, Northern Tongzhou was far more desolate. It was not only a smaller town with fewer buildings and inhabitants, but aside from the official post station, it boasted only two inns, one at each end of the town. All other structures were simple residential dwellings.

No one would have guessed that an unassuming courtyard here served as a clandestine outpost for the Jinyiwei—the Embroidered Uniform Guard—outside the capital. It was typically used for transmitting intelligence from the northern border garrisons and occasionally for sensitive internal operations.

Currently, this outpost had been activated to hold a high-value individual: Meng Chuyao of the Imperial Medical Academy, the key witness and perpetrator in the poisoning of the Zhengde Emperor. Even within the Jinyiwei, fewer than five people knew of his location. Thus, to the dozen or so guards stationed inside and outside the courtyard, the site felt absolutely secure.

For two days, it had remained calm. With the arrival of Thousand-Household Liu Botao yesterday to oversee the post, the guards felt even more confident, which inadvertently led to a slackening of their vigilance. As the night grew deep and silent, the sentries became listless, occasionally swatting at the buzzing mosquitoes.

It was precisely in such moments that calamity often struck.

In the shadows, undetected by the guards, two dark figures crept forward silently. The low walls offered no resistance, and using the clutter in the courtyard as cover, the intruders reached the sides of two yawning guards without making a sound. Suddenly, they lunged. With a swift grab and a strike, the two sentries collapsed into unconsciousness without even a whimper.

After neutralizing the guards, the two figures quickly moved to the rear courtyard, dispatching four more sentries in the same fashion before charging toward the east wing.

Inside the room, Imperial Physician Meng lay on the bed, fully dressed but wide awake. Since being placed under house arrest—or rather, since Huang Ming revealed that secret to him—he had been in a daze, unsure of what to do or say. He had not slept for days; his eyes were bloodshot, and his mouth was covered in fever blisters, yet sleep eluded him, his mind besieged by a whirlwind of thoughts.

*What should I do now? Should I cooperate with the Jinyiwei to mitigate my own guilt?*

*No, I cannot. That would harm others and myself, and worse, it would jeopardize the stability of the Ming Empire. If Grand Secretary Yang is implicated by me, the world will fall into chaos...*

*But can I truly bear all of this alone? My son is young, my mother is still alive, and the ancestors of the Meng clan are watching... They would all be executed for my crimes...*

*Perhaps I should just die. Maybe that would end everything...*

*But what if they label it a suicide out of fear? What if they refuse to let the matter drop?*

Over the past few days, these same thoughts had churned in his mind a hundred times, yet he remained unable to make a decision. He feared implicating Grand Secretary Yang, but he feared even more the prospect of shouldering all the blame and seeing his entire lineage wiped out. The pressure was so immense that Meng Chuyao felt he was on the verge of madness.

Just then, the door, which had not been fully latched, creaked open. A figure stood in the moonlight, casting a shadow over Meng, who lay on the bed. His body shuddered violently.

*Has the time finally come to make the final choice?*

In that instant, all other thoughts vanished. He recalled a line his teacher had taught him when he first began his studies, spoken by the Han dynasty historian Sima Qian: "Death befalls all men; it may be heavier than Mount Tai or lighter than a feather."

To die for the stability of the Ming Empire, to die to preserve the untarnished reputation of Grand Secretary Yang—that would be heavier than Mount Tai!

Without turning around, he said in a deep voice, "You might as well give up. I will say nothing. Death is all you can offer me..."

"Then, for the sake of Grand Secretary Yang, you may die!"

The cold reply came as the intruder reached the bedside. A sharp blade sliced through the air, aimed directly at Meng’s back.

Although Meng had steeled himself for martyrdom, when the attack actually came, he could not help but scream. He instinctively rolled forward, desperately trying to evade the strike.

*Rip.*

The blade grazed his body, tearing through his clothes and slicing into his flesh, drawing blood. The searing pain terrified him, and he shrieked again, "Help! Assassins!"

The courage and fearlessness he had felt moments ago evaporated completely.

Meanwhile, in the adjacent room, shouts erupted, and several figures shot out like arrows from a bow. Before they even arrived, a roar echoed: "What wretched coward dares to run wild here!"

The assassin remained undeterred by the commotion. With a flick of his wrist, a short blade flew from his hand, aimed at the physician's heart. Meng, unable to dodge, scrambled off the bed, but the blade struck his shoulder. Blood poured out, and he collapsed to the floor with a thud.

The assassin hesitated for a split second, looking to finish him off, but the first defender arrived. Liu Botao roared like a tiger descending a mountain. While still in the doorway, he bellowed, "How dare you, thief!"

He unleashed a powerful punch from two yards away. The force of his strike struck the assassin mid-lunge, causing the intruder to stumble. The assassin dodged instinctively, but still took the blow to his shoulder, reeling back with a muffled grunt.

Liu Botao did not waste another word. He lunged into the room, bypassing the attacker to reach the struggling Meng Chuyao, shielding him firmly behind his back.

By then, the other Jinyiwei guards had arrived, shouting as they swarmed the assassin. The intruder was decisive; seeing the situation turn against him, he retreated without hesitation toward the window. He moved with a blur of motion, smashing through the frame and leaping outside.

Several bangs and groans followed, and someone shouted, "The assassin has escaped!"

The perimeter defense had failed, allowing the assassin to slip away under the cover of darkness.

Liu Botao’s expression was grim, but he did not pursue. Instead, he helped the wailing Meng Chuyao to his feet. "Physician Meng, where are you hurt? This is our failure. We never imagined that such a hidden location would be discovered... we nearly let them kill you."

Meng Chuyao was trembling violently, gripped by both terror and rage. In that life-or-death moment, he had finally seen his true heart. Neither the weight of Mount Tai, nor the Grand Secretary, nor the fate of the empire mattered as much as his own life.

In the wake of this shock, his attitude shifted. His mind was made up.