Chapter 88: Water Moon, Mirror Flower, Discussing Heavenly Secrets

"Punishment does not reach the grand counselors, and ritual does not extend to the common people." Whenever the literati gained control of the discourse, they would invariably and intentionally enshrine this phrase as their supreme creed, twisting and interpreting it according to their own understanding. Then, they would proclaim to everyone that this was the ancient ritual, the proper rule, and the inviolable baseline of an enlightened ruler.

However, ever since the Zhao family lost the realm, whether it was the Mongols, the Founding Emperor of the Ming, or Emperor Chengzu, all of them had treated this maxim as a joke. It was not until the Tumu Crisis, when the civil officials rose to prominence once again and the Great Ming slowly drifted back onto the old path of "sharing the realm with the scholar-bureaucrats," that this distorted slogan of "punishment does not reach the grand counselors, and ritual does not extend to the common people" was once again picked up by the civil officials.

At the very least, the civil officials needed it to ensure that they could stand above the Great Ming Code and guarantee their own absolute safety. After several dynasties, there were finally faint signs of its revival.

Yet, the moment Liu Jin gave the order and countless agents of the Imperial Secret Service charged into the midst of the civil officials, decades of effort by the Ming bureaucracy vanished into thin air within a single instant.

Once the butcher's knife was raised, how terribly difficult it would be to make the emperor lower it again!

Chaos erupted among the crowd as the dignity of the scholars was ruthlessly trampled under the boots of the secret service hounds.

Several Grand Secretaries turned ashen with rage. Trembling all over, they pointed at Liu Jin, unable to catch their breath or swallow it down, watching helplessly as the secret service agents knocked countless officials to the ground and dragged them out of the crowd.

Iron chains, ropes, and clubs flew everywhere. The civil officials, possessing nothing more than glib tongues, found themselves utterly powerless in the face of violence. The fiercer they resisted and the harsher they cursed, the more miserable their fates became. Soon, a few officials, stubbornly clinging to their integrity, continued to hurl bitter curses even after being beaten to the ground. In a momentary surge of fury and indignation, they even began to curse Zhu Houzhao himself.

At this, not only Liu Jin and the secret service agents, but even the senior scholar-bureaucrats changed their expressions. If this farce continued any further, heads were truly going to roll!

"Stop!" Li Dongyang and the other Grand Secretaries could no longer hold back. This concerned the dignity of the civil officials and the safety of all court ministers. If Li Dongyang and his peers did not step forward now, they would surely forfeit all public trust and lose their ability to lead the scholarly community.

"Grand Secretary Li, Grand Secretary Yang, and esteemed colleagues, are you intending to defy the imperial edict?" Although Liu Jin called a halt to the agents' actions following Li Dongyang's stern shout, a considerable number of officials had already been arrested, while many others lay beaten on the ground in wretched states.

"I must ask Grand Secretary Liu to suspend the arrests for a moment and report to His Majesty that I, Li Dongyang, request a private audience!" No matter how furious Li Dongyang was right now, he had to swallow his anger. Could he truly stand by and watch refinement perish and the dignity of all officials be completely lost?

Nearby, Yang Tinghe, Liang Chu, and the others turned pale at these words. Were they about to submit to the inner court? Exchanging glances, they let out a deep, heavy sigh and swallowed back the words that were about to escape their lips.

Liu Jin hesitated, feeling uncertain whether he should grant this favor to Li Dongyang and the members of the Cabinet.

"This servant can relay the message on your behalf, but these officials here cannot leave," Liu Jin said, grinding his teeth after much deliberation.

After all, Li Dongyang was one of the few Grand Secretaries among the cabinet heavyweights who had occasionally shown him a favorable expression. Liu Jin could not afford to deny this veteran of three reigns his courtesy. More importantly, there was the mind of that sovereign deep within the palace; Liu Jin could not bear the crime of cutting off the emperor from the outside world.

Liu Jin gave a subtle wink, and the young eunuch beside him immediately understood, vanishing toward the palace gates like a gust of wind.

By this time, the civil officials had fallen into a pitiful state, with countless numbers of them bound in iron chains and forced onto prisoner carts. That reckless fellow who had spoken without restraint became the primary target of the secret service agents. With the charge of "insulting the sovereign" leveled against him, he would consider himself fortunate if his family was not implicated.

After quite some time—just as the hundred officials were beginning to doubt whether Liu Jin had actually sent anyone to inform the emperor—the young eunuch finally came running back, drenched in sweat, and loudly proclaimed the imperial decree: "His Majesty has decreed an audience for the Senior Grand Secretary, Grand Secretary Li Dongyang!"

The complexions of the civil officials improved slightly, while Liu Jin's expression shifted through several changes. As for what he was thinking in his heart, presumably only he himself knew.

Meanwhile, Liaochen and Zhong Kui were seated in the front courtyard of the Divine Realm's Daoist temple, enjoying wine and exchanging pleasantries while secretly observing the shifting winds and clouds over the capital!

"Alas, the civil officials of this dynasty fall far short of those in our Great Tang!" Zhong Kui sighed as he gazed at the scene reflected in the Water Moon Mirror. "They lack the strength to truss a chicken and possess soft backbones. How can they pacify the state and secure the realm?"

"Naturally, they cannot compare to your dynasty. In those days, everyone spoke of being generals in the field and prime ministers in court. The civil officials of this dynasty rely entirely on their glib tongues. In your time, scholars could command armies while military officers could be enfeoffed as prime ministers. But nowadays, military commanders are nearly being trodden into the mud. The cautionary example of the former Song Dynasty is not far off, yet regrettably, no one dares to mention it, heh!" Liaochen smiled bitterly.

Zhong Kui's expression suddenly changed. "Junior brother, you are well-versed in the art of physiognomy. Have you also deduced the destiny of the Great Ming?"

Liaochen hastily denied it. "The grand trends of the world and the entanglements of karma—how could they be so easily calculated? Now that I dwell outside the secular world, why would I diminish my blessings and shorten my life by meddling in such thankless tasks?"

Zhong Kui remained unconvinced. "Junior brother clearly knows something, which is why you speak thus."

Liaochen nodded. "Although I have never explicitly calculated the national destiny of the Great Ming, I do have a vague awareness of it. But now that the Dao of Heaven has changed, I wonder if those events will still come to pass?"

Zhong Kui's expression shifted. "The fixed numbers of the Dao of Heaven—if junior brother wishes to achieve transcendence, you should touch upon karma as little as possible! Dynasties rise and fall in this world, and your surname is not Zhu. Why must you bother with those affairs?"

Liaochen smiled bitterly, drained the wine in his cup in a single gulp, and said, "What if there comes a catastrophe akin to Yishan, and the realm falls once more?"

Zhong Kui's countenance changed. "Junior brother, choose your words carefully. The secrets of heaven must not be lightly leaked. Though your foolish brother is not well-versed in the Book of Changes, I still know that the numbers of the Heavenly Dao cannot be spoken aloud. Beware the retribution of the Heavenly Dao!"

Liaochen replied, "Here within the Divine Realm, you know and I know. You are also a deity of the Heavenly Dao; though you may not understand the Book of Changes, what harm is there in knowing? If we do not speak it outside, how is it leaking heavenly secrets?"

Zhong Kui chuckled. "Barbarian dynasties do not last a century; is this Great Ming truly going to lose the realm once again?"

Liaochen smiled, pointing to the civil officials in the Water Moon Mirror, and said, "The five-thousand-year fortune of the Chinese race, the three-thousand-year heritage of the Xia, and the two-hundred-odd-year empire of the Great Ming will all be destroyed at the hands of these glib-tongued men. Pity the fall of the Great Song, which still saw one hundred thousand plunge into the sea. Yet these creatures spend their days discussing mind and nature with their hands in their sleeves, but when crisis strikes, they find it hard to repay their sovereign. They have cast away their integrity and lost every ounce of spine."

Zhong Kui gave a light chuckle and offered no comment. When all was said and done, although his divine office was that of a military general, he had essentially been a scholar during his mortal life.

Having finished discussing mortal affairs, Zhong Kui finally returned to business. "Junior brother, you have established this Divine Realm to guide the souls of those who died in battle. The Heavenly Dao is settled, and the netherworld naturally dares not defy it. However, netherworld soldiers have traditionally come from the battlefield. If they all enter your Divine Realm and are no longer subject to the netherworld's jurisdiction, how shall the shortfall of soldiers in the netherworld be replenished?"

Liaochen smiled. "The Divine Realm shall only guide those who died fighting foreign enemies; those who perished in civil wars or palace coups shall enter the netherworld. How about that?"

Zhong Kui burst into laughter. "It's a deal!" With that, he raised his wine cup, and he and Liaochen drank together to the last drop.

Zhong Kui was to return to the netherworld, while Liaochen intended to leave an avatar here and take his true self back down to the mortal realm. Thus, they parted ways at the gates of the Daoist temple.

As Zhong Kui rode the clouds to depart, he suddenly turned his head and said, "Junior brother, the path of immortality is arduous. Do not dwell too much on mortal affairs. The karmic ties are too deep, and I fear you will become entangled in worldly matters, which is detrimental to the Great Dao. Ponder this well!"

Liaochen smiled. "I shall firmly remember my brother's words, and Liaochen will deliberate carefully. I thank you, brother." With a cupped-hand salute, Zhong Kui returned to the netherworld. Liaochen shook his body, and instantly two Liaochen figures emerged.

"Immeasurable Heavenly尊! Compassionate is the Daoist." After bowing to one another in greeting, the two Liaochen looked at each other and laughed heartily.

"Beneath the slanting shadows of sunset, evening clouds are faint,
I chant in the ancient land, departing without intent to return.
The night-jar cries on, lamenting the altars of state,
While a strip of white silk falls upon the inner palace.
The fragrance of locust blossoms fades softly in the fifth month,
And the thousand-year moonlight grows ever sparser.
Do not wonder why facing the wind fills me with twofold melancholy—
How many still recognize the garments of the Han?"

Chanting these verses, Liaochen vanished into invisibility and flew swiftly toward the capital of the Great Ming.

Because I had to revise the earlier chapters—mostly punctuation, typos, and awkward sentences—this update is a bit late. Please forgive me, fellow book lovers! Your humble Daoist carefully deduced this recent political storm and found that one truly cannot engage in a massive slaughter. Chongzhen killed quite a few shameless officials, but it was utterly useless. What the Great Ming needs is balance; whether the civil officials hold sole dominance or military commanders seize absolute power, neither is beneficial to the Great Ming!