Volume One: The Supervisor and the Candidate Chapter Twenty-Eight: An Unexpected Grand Gift

As usual, when Yang Tinghe returned home, night had already fallen.

The somewhat weary Grand Secretary rubbed his brow, allowing the servants to help him remove the intricate official robes and change into something lighter and more comfortable.

At the same time, he asked offhandedly, “Has Xiuyong had his meal yet?”

The trusted old steward, Yang Shouli, hesitated slightly, but under his master’s gaze, he dared not conceal anything and replied in a low voice, “To answer Master, the young master hasn’t returned yet.”

“Hmm? Out carousing again with his idle friends?” Yang Tinghe’s face darkened, his tone displeased. “Already past thirty, and still so dissipated! Furthermore, he knows full well that in a few days, he’s to preside over this year’s final Classics Lecture, yet he isn’t preparing at home! So frivolous—how can he ever accomplish great things?”

Yang Shouli dared not say more, only standing aside with a conciliatory smile. Finally, he ventured, “Master, please calm your anger. The meal is ready, would you…”

“Send it to the study. I’ll eat while I finish the remaining work,” Yang Tinghe said as he strode out.

After only a few steps, he added, “Also, when he returns, send him to see me in the study.”

He didn’t have to wait long. Yang Shen knocked and entered the study when the meal was only half-finished, a hint of pride still on his face.

Seeing him thus, the father’s expression grew even more severe. “Do you not realize curfew has passed? Yet you still loiter outside. Is it because you’re my son that you think the city patrols won’t dare touch you? And instead of preparing at home for the upcoming Classics Lecture, you’re out drinking—do you intend to remain a mere Hanlin scholar all your life?”

Faced with his father’s reproach, Yang Shen listened respectfully, hands folded and head bowed, not daring to show the slightest discontent.

When the rebuke finally ended, he answered quietly, “Father, your admonishment is just. I was indeed thoughtless today. I intended to escort my drunken classmate home and return before curfew, but was delayed. It will not happen again.”

Seeing his father’s expression soften slightly, he continued, “But today, I wasn’t out carousing—I was attending to a matter of importance.”

“A matter of importance? Was it to discuss essays for the Hanlin Academy, or something related to the Classics Lecture?” Yang Tinghe now asked in earnest.

“Neither. It concerns the grand undertaking you’ve long wished to accomplish—curbing the secret police, expelling the eunuchs who wield power in the palace, and persuading His Majesty to distance himself from them…”

Yang Tinghe’s expression changed again, growing even more grave.

As a veteran minister who had served three reigns, he had witnessed with his own eyes how Emperor Xiaozong had conducted himself with integrity, ruling for the country and the people. Then, under Emperor Wuzong, the court had fallen into chaos, with debauched favorites wielding power, turning the imperial court into a den of corruption.

From Liu Jin, who dominated the court and acted with impunity, to the likes of Gu Dayong, Zhang Yong, Qian Ning, and Jiang Bin—though some had reined in their behavior, their power remained unchecked.

These figures, whether eunuchs or commanders of the secret police, had not risen through the proper channels, yet occupied high office and abused imperial authority, causing countless ministers to suffer or die, and bringing ruin to countless commoners.

Yang Tinghe loathed them to his very core. Thus, after Wuzong’s death, as Grand Secretary, he began to move against these villains.

Though heads of the Embroidered Uniform Guard like Qian Ning and Jiang Bin, lacking the new emperor’s protection as outsiders, were quickly brought down and punished, removing the eunuchs within the palace was a far more difficult task. Especially since his aim was not merely to eliminate a few, but to root out, once and for all, the possibility of eunuchs usurping power.

Yet such an endeavor was not one that an outside minister could easily initiate, even one as highly placed as himself.

Eunuchs were the emperor’s men—how could an outsider presume to interfere? A suitable opening was essential.

But so far, it seemed that, having learned from past events, the eunuchs were now exceedingly cautious. Especially those like Gu Dayong, who had survived the downfall of Liu Jin and Jiang Bin; they were now more vigilant than ever, united in self-preservation.

As for those who had accompanied the new emperor to the capital, such as Huang Jin, there was, for the moment, no sign of vulnerability.

This problem had troubled Yang Tinghe for a long time. Now, hearing his son had a solution, he was taken aback. “Is this true?”

“How dare I deceive you with empty boasts?” Yang Shen said, presenting a document in his hand. “Please, Father, have a look.”

As Yang Tinghe unfolded the paper and read swiftly, Yang Shen explained further, “Yesterday, there was a disturbance in front of the Imperial Academy. The servants of the Marquis of Jianchang’s household were publicly beaten by members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, with many reportedly injured.

“I thought this might be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for. You’ve mentioned before that even when submitting memorials to impeach the secret police and eunuchs, there was no suitable occasion. Moreover, you worried that it would arouse the emperor’s suspicion—that the ministers were attacking their opponents and undermining imperial authority.

“But this time is different. The impeachment comes from someone serving the Marquis of Jianchang. Everyone can attest that Chu Hong has always been under the Marquis’s patronage and is resented by his colleagues. There’s no way he could collude with other ministers.”

Listening to this explanation, a smile appeared between Yang Tinghe’s brows.

It was indeed a brilliant move—allowing them to remain above suspicion while still touching the emperor’s heart.

Because, as stated unambiguously in the memorial, why did the Embroidered Uniform Guard dare to assault the Marquis’s retainers in broad daylight? It was at the behest of Huang Jin’s son.

A commoner, with no official rank or connection, simply because he was the son of a palace eunuch, could command the secret police to attack the household of a marquis at will.

What did this reveal? It showed how brazen and rampant the eunuchs had become. If the court and His Majesty did not act to restrain them, another Liu Jin—an overreaching, traitorous eunuch—would soon rise again.

“Father, before I escorted Chu Hong home, he had already submitted his memorial in his own hand to the Office of Transmission. I expect by tomorrow it will be known throughout the court.

“And this is only the first step. I believe a host of censors and officials will seize upon this to impeach the eunuchs for all manner of misconduct. Furthermore, this coming Classics Lecture can serve as a means for us to drive these palace eunuchs out.

“If we seize this opportunity, your long-cherished wish can be fulfilled in one stroke. The court will be cleansed, eunuch dominance ended, the secret police curbed—and your name will be recorded in history!”

At this, Yang Shen’s face was alight with excitement, feeling that everything was now under control. “This Huang Ming was the very one you arranged to have admitted to the Imperial Academy. Who would have thought that in only a few days, he would present you with such a precious gift!”