A dozen days later, Deng Ying was able to walk.
On the 30th day of the first lunar month, the people sent by the Imperial Household Department took him to the direct-house next to the Imperial Household's transport warehouse (1). This place was next to the moat of the inner city and was where the Junior Supervisor, the Chief Supervisor, and the attendant of the Imperial Household Department lived. As for the eunuch He Yixian, the seal-holding eunuch of the Imperial Household Department, and several of the scribes, they lived to the north of the gate of the Hall of Mental Cultivation. The direct-houses there were built in a row, close to the Longdao Pavilion. Further west was the dining room, which had been demolished by Deng Ying because it was connected to the cooking fire and was used to house the "auspicious jars (2)".
He Yixian did not say anything about this, but several eunuchs in charge of the Imperial Household Department under him negotiated with the Ministry of Works on the grounds that "something happened in the emperor's presence at night and they might not be able to respond in time." Now, this project has been temporarily shelved because of Deng Ying's conviction, but these are all trivial matters. What makes the Imperial Household Department uneasy is that along with this project, the construction of the three main halls, which is becoming increasingly difficult, has also been shelved.
Especially the Hall of Supreme Harmony among the three major ones.
Seven years ago, Zhang Chunzhan had just finished building it when it was ignited by thunder and burned down to ruins. The court could not bear the expenditure and left it abandoned for five years. This year is the emperor's 50th birthday. The emperor decided to receive the homage of all officials in the Hall of Supreme Harmony on the day of the birthday, so he ordered the Ministry of Works to speed up the reconstruction. Deng Ying took over the reconstruction at the beginning of last year and tried to avoid the spread of the fire in the construction method. During his recovery, Xu Qi and a group of craftsmen did not dare to work on the original drawings.
Xu Qi was the new construction supervisor, a person promoted from the local level by the Ministry of Works.
At the beginning, the Ministry of Works told him that although he was assigned to build the three main halls, Deng Ying was the main person in charge. Xu Qi was very unhappy about this. He was originally expelled to the local area because he offended Deng Yi's party. Now he returned to the capital because of the rehabilitation, but he had to work under Deng Ying. If Deng Ying was in the same court with him, it would be fine, but now he was a slave, no matter how he thought about it, he felt unfair.
Zheng Yuejia led Xu Qi to walk along the moat, and seeing that he remained silent, she asked casually.
"I didn't see Lord Xu eat much at the banquet after the imperial lecture today."
Xu Qi hurriedly said, "I dare not."
Zheng Yuejia brushed aside the drooping branches beside the road, which were already showing spring buds. "Actually, there's no need to go see Deng Ying right now."
Xu Qi shook his head. "Eunuch Zheng is being sarcastic. The intention of both the superiors and the subordinates is that I should assist him. Seeing that the construction period is tight, if I don't go to see him, do I have to wait for him to come to see me?"
Zheng Yuejia smiled, "That's all. No matter what, it doesn't exceed his status. Since he entered the Imperial Household Department, he is a servant of the inner court. If Lord Xu thinks so, he is guilty."
This statement is openly disparaging, but privately meant to protect.
Xu Qi was disdainful, "I'm afraid this is not the only crime."
Zheng Yuejia stopped, held his hands and turned around, "I'd like to hear more details."
Xu Qi looked aside and said coldly, "You don't have to ask, sir. I made a mistake anyway. I shouldn't have asked about those things in the court."
When he said this, Zheng Yuejia understood what he meant.
At the end of this month, Zhang Luo returned from Zhejiang.
At the same time, the news of Yang Wan secretly meeting Deng Ying in the lake spread all over the capital. But it was just a rumor after all, and the Zhang family did not dare to file a complaint. If they canceled the engagement privately, it would be disrespectful to Concubine Ning who acted as matchmaker. The old lady of the Zhang family had been seriously ill for a long time, and her condition was getting worse. The gossipers in the capital spread the rumor that the old lady's illness was caused by her anger over her grandchildren's affairs.
Zhang Luo's father, Zhang Jingshen, the chief minister of the cabinet, also took three days off due to this.
But the busier it got outside, the tighter the Yang family’s door was closed.
Yang Lun locked Yang Wan in the ancestral hall and only allowed her maid Yin'er to guard her, not even allowing Chen to see her.
Yang Wan's knees were almost broken from kneeling in the ancestral hall. She wanted to get up and walk around, but Yin'er was standing behind her like a door god.
"Yin'er..."
"Don't think about it, Miss. Yin'er will only listen to the Master and Madam today."
Yang Wan pressed her temples, "You guys listen to the adults, you want to lock me up here and kill me, right?"
"Yin'er doesn't dare to think like that."
Yang Wan pointed to her knees and said, "Can I sit up for a while?"
"No, young lady, you better kneel down. Madam said that our master will question you when he returns from the ministry today. You have to think about your mistakes carefully. Otherwise, if the master really uses family rules, Madam will not be able to stop you."
Yang Wan couldn't help but rolled her eyes, "Then can you tell the old lady?"
"The old lady drank the medicine today and has gone to bed. Miss, Suan Yin'er begs you to be more obedient. This time... Oh, it's really a difficult hurdle to overcome."
Yang Wan looked at Yin'er's mature appearance and blurted out, "How old are you? You say such things."
Yin'er said anxiously, "What does this have to do with age? Miss, you've become a different person since you came back. You used to be especially considerate of Madam and the old lady. When the sisters at home were sick, you were very distressed and took good care of them. We all said privately that in the mansion, no matter what you did, you were the one who was most considerate. But this time when you came back, Yin'er felt like she didn't recognize you anymore."
"I… "
Yang Wan didn't expect that she would be criticized every day in modern times, and she was still criticized in the Ming Dynasty hundreds of years ago. It was a bit ironic, but also quite sharp. Thinking about it, she nodded unconsciously and knelt down resignedly.
Yin'er hadn't finished her words yet, but when she saw that she didn't say anything, her voice became even louder.
"Do you know that if the old lady of the Zhang family cannot survive this disaster, the adults in our family will have to suffer a lot outside? Moreover, even if you don't think about the adults in the family, you should think about yourself. You have been promised to the Zhang family since you were a child. If the Zhang family really cancels your marriage this time, what will you do in the future?"
"Can't you just live alone?"
Yang Wan just mumbled this sentence, but Yin'er heard it clearly and became anxious.
"What are you talking about! If the old lady heard this, wouldn't she cry for the young lady again?"
Yang Wan waved her hands at her, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Suddenly, she was a little confused. Although these words came from the mouth of a yellow-haired girl in the twelfth year of Zhenning, and they were full of feudal thoughts, when she thought about it carefully, except for the ancient words, they were not fundamentally different from the words her modern friends used to criticize her. Hundreds of years after the Ming Dynasty fell and the Qing Dynasty succeeded it, the Qing Dynasty also disappeared. The Spring and Autumn Period came and went, and the "culture" was passed down. Women still have the shackles of fear of the world.
Even so, what this girl said before still makes sense.
Chen treated her as her own daughter and really wanted to protect her. Although Yang Lun was tough and stubborn, he was also a person who protected his shortcomings. Even Yang Lun's wife Xiao Wen was the same. She stood on the side of the Yang family and was sincere in what she said and did to her. Yang Wan felt that she really shouldn't have betrayed everyone in the Yang family because of this mistake.
She thought about it and rubbed her knees with her head down, then simply loosened her legs and sat down cross-legged.
"Miss, you..."
"Get me something to eat."
"How dare you eat."
Yang Wan raised her head and said, "How can I think of anything if I don't eat."
Yin'er squatted down and said, "It's already like this. Madam and the others can't think of a solution. What can you think of?"
Yang Wan stopped talking and pinched her wrist again and again, calming down and trying to sort out her situation.
Zhang Luo was in charge of the Jinyiwei prison. His reputation in history is polarized. Some scholars who studied him believed that he was an upright and honest official who effectively curbed the evil of the Dongchang during the Jinghe period. To put it bluntly, he was Deng Ying's mortal enemy. Others believed that he was too vicious, which led to the rampant prison during the Jinghe period. When Yang Wan was studying Deng Ying, she also read a lot of historical materials about Zhang Luo, and her thoughts were more inclined to the latter.
Therefore, Yin'er's statement was correct. If the Yang family did not handle the situation properly this time, Yang Lun, the reformist, would face resistance in the officialdom from more than just those law-abiding officials.
Yang Wan slowly pinched her wrist.
Is there any way to extricate myself from the social relationships of the third lady of the Yang family in the past without causing the Zhang and Yang families to become enemies
She tried to unwind her thoughts.
The only thing the Zhang family is concerned about now is the inner court.
The Silijian where Deng Ying was located could still be regarded as a shelter at this time.
But in the Ming Dynasty, is it possible for a woman to find a place where the Zhang family dare not touch her and where she would not be bound by marriage in the future and could still seek a way to make a living
She suddenly thought of Yang Yu.
Yang Wan's sister, Concubine Ning.
The advantage of the God's perspective is that it can indeed timely escape from the complex interpersonal relationships and directly grasp the essence of various social mechanisms of this era.
"Yin'er, go see if your brother has returned from the ministry."
Yin'er refused to move and kept saying that she didn't dare.
Yang Wan was just about to stand up when the door of the ancestral hall was suddenly opened from the outside. Yang Lun, still in his official robes, walked in covered in snow.
"Who told you to get up? Get down on your knees."
His voice was not loud, but hidden fire was surging in his lungs.
Xiao Wen hurried in from behind, grabbed Yang Lun and said, "I made her kneel for a whole day, let's forget about it now."
Yang Lun's eyes were red and he didn't hear what Xiao Wen said at all.
"Kneel down."
"Okay, I'll kneel."
Yang Wan struggled to move back and knelt down again, "Old Madam Zhang..."
"You still have the nerve to ask!"
"Well, I'm too embarrassed to ask."
"… "
Yang Wan's head shrank.
Over the past few days, she gradually found the rhythm of talking to Yang Lun.
Xiao Wen took advantage of Yang Lun's sudden frustration and squatted down to protect Yang Wan behind her. "Promise me that no matter what happens outside today, you won't get angry when you come back. Talk to Wan'er."
Yang Lun gnashed his teeth, "Zhang Luoren is right in the main hall, how can I talk to her properly?"
"What?"
Zhang Luo came in person, which surprised Yang Wan so much that she couldn't stop talking.
Xiao Wen looked back at Yang Wan, her voice a little timid, "Why is he here?"
Yang Lun sighed deeply, walked to the side, and said in a controlled tone, "The old lady of the Zhang family passed away early this morning."
Xiao Wen was stunned.
"What… "
Yang Lun looked at Yang Wan, "The news of your death was reported to the court at noon. Now even I don't know what to do to save you."
Xiao Wen hurriedly pulled Yang Wan behind her and said, "The old lady of the Zhang family has been bedridden since April. She was probably so sick before the New Year that she didn't even recognize herself. This time, it's fate, and it's not Wan'er's fault."
"What can I do?"
Yang Lun asked Xiao Wen, "I am an official in the court. If we discuss marriage and etiquette according to the word 'etiquette', there will be no such thing. Now, I am also involved in this and cannot move. I don't even have time to think about the affairs of the ministry. Moreover, this is not a major issue of money, grain, and military affairs, but it makes my Yang and Zhang families enemies. I am not afraid of damaging my official career, but I am afraid that this Northern Pacification Envoy will make his private hatred public. If he gets the chance to catch me, you, mother, and this ignorant girl will be trampled into mud by the outside world for the rest of your life."