Stranger Danger

Chapter 472: Directorate of Ceremonial, Zhou Dongchao

“Who are you? How dares you eavesdrop on our conversation! Get lost!” Zhou Hengshan yelled at the servant. It was bad enough that the servant had eavesdropped on their conversation, but he had criticized his decision as well. If this was his headquarters, he would’ve killed him already. What kind of lawless servant was this?

“Please don’t be angry, General Zhou. The reason I came is because I have an imperial edict to share with you all,” the slave replied amiably.

“Wait a second, an imperial edict?” An Yifang, Tu Yulei and everyone else suddenly felt that something was amiss. “Who are you... honored one?”

“Please don’t call me that, it is too much for the likes of me. I am Zhou Dongchao. A pleasure to meet you all, Your Highnesses, my lords,” The servant greeted them with a deep bow.

“Zhou Dongchao?” Tu Yulei and An Yifang exchanged a look of growing astonishment with each other. “If I may ask, are you Director Zhou of the Directorate of Ceremonial?”

“Please don’t call me director. I’m just a slave who’s currently acting as a messenger for his master,” the servant replied smilingly but didn’t object to the inquiry.

The atmosphere in the room changed immediately. Tu Yulei, An Yifang, Hong Jianglong, Lei Xiaodan and everyone else immediately shot to their feet and bowed deeply. “Well met, Director Zhou!”

Zhou Hengshan nearly dropped to his knees when he realized who he just offended. His face was white as a sheet, and his back was drenched in cold sweat.

Zhou Dongchao was the Seal-holding Director of Chu’s Directorate of Ceremonial. One of the twelve eunuch Directorates, the Directorate of Ceremonial was the de-facto chief of the imperial household staff and responsible for all eunuch-related matters such as composing the emperor’s answers to his subjects’ queries, issuing an imperial edict on behalf of the emperor and so on. They were also known as the “First Directorate”.

There were many posts in the Directorate of Ceremonial such as the Seal-holding Director, Superintendent, Secretary Eunuch[1], Assistant Secretary Eunuch and so on. The Seal-holding Director was the head of the directorate.

Although the Directorate of Ceremonial belonged to the Inner Court and forbidden from involving themselves in politics, they were the inner attendants of the Son of Heaven himself. No one could question their authority and status. The current Grand Mentor of Chu once said this: The Seal-holding Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial was to be treated with the utmost respect just like a Principal Support[2] of the Outer Court.[3]

Forget the likes of Tu Yulei, An Yifang or Zhou Hengshan, even the Grand Secretariat, the Three Dukes or the Nine Chamberlains wouldn’t dare to offend the Seal-holding Director.

As if that wasn’t enough, Zhou Dongchao was no ordinary Seal-holding Director. He had been serving Emperor Jin Run long before he ascended the throne. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he had helped the emperor to put on his clothes, led his horse, stopped all kinds of disasters from befalling the emperor, and performed many meritorious services for the emperor and the realm. He was one of Emperor Jin Run’s most trusted aides.

Zhou Dongchao might have called himself a “slave who’s currently acting as a messenger for his master”, but no one took him seriously as a matter of course.

“Please rise. I cannot possibly receive your salutes.” Zhou Dongchao waved his hand a little, and everyone rose back to full height involuntarily.

The powerful warriors in the room had to hide their shock. They were all Grandmasters, and yet Zhou Dongchao had magicked them into standing up straight with the wave of a hand. Not only that, he did it in a way that didn’t feel forceful in the slightest.

The wind felt gentle, but the thunderclaps bespoke the true power of the distant storm.

An Yifang and Tu Yulei were the only ones in the room who had met Zhou Dongchao before, and only briefly. It was because the Seal-holding Director spent most of his time serving the emperor inside the palace. Most people knew that he was a trusted aide of the Son of Heaven and wielded a ton of power, but few knew that he was a powerful warrior as well.

As for how strong he really was, only those in the know could answer that question. He could be a Great Grandmaster or a Half-Sage. He could even be a true Sage—a god or celestial-on-earth.

The reason for this was very simple. Zhou Dongchao rarely revealed his power, and when he did, those in the know usually ended up dead.

“I have offended you with my reckless words, Lord Director. I hope you will forgive me.” Zhou Hengshan knelt on the floor again and apologized. He might be a general with a powerful army under his command, and as a third-rank official he was technically an equal of Zhou Dongchao, he wasn’t stupid enough to disrespect the eunuch intentionally. If Zhou Dongchao wanted to, he could remove him without lifting a finger. Literally, the eunuch could make a careless comment to the emperor, and he would no longer be a general.

There was a clan known as the Luo Clan of Jin Xiu. Back then, their power was unmatched by no one except the emperor because they had two Marquises in the family. During the day, their front entrance was packed with wealthy and influential people who wanted to curry favor with them, and during the night, the melodious sounds of songs and instruments were neverending.

Seeing this, Zhou Dongchao made a single remark, “Instead of investing their fortune on the people, they instead blow it all on songs and dances every night.” He was lamenting the fact that the Luo Clan was more focused on indulging themselves than serving their country.

He never even mentioned their name, but the very next day, countless memorials flooded the Sun-facing Palace, and every official suddenly had something to complain about the Luo Clan. A total of one thousand eight hundred and eight crimes ranging from something as minor as oppressing the meek to something as serious as forming cliques to further their self-interests were reported, and Emperor Ji Run demoted their Marquises to commoners on the spot.

In just one day, the proud and noble Luo Clan of Jin Rui had gone from a prestigious clan with two Marquises to a powerless commoner family. Where they were pleasuring themselves from night to day before, now their front entrance was as silent and empty as a wasteland. Not only that, they couldn’t take one foot out of their doorsteps without being attacked like mice.

If even a clan with two Marquises could collapse overnight, why wouldn’t Zhou Dongchao be able to ruin a mere general like him?

“It is just a small matter, General Zhou. You don’t need to think too much about it,” Zhou Dongchao replied amiably. “Besides, I was at fault. I shouldn’t have eavesdropped on your conversation without announcing myself.”

“Not at all, Director,” everyone responded.

“So, why have you come today, Director Zhou?” the Harmony King asked.

“Oh, right. I nearly forgot what I came here for. Time really is a relentless killer. Please forgive me for wasting your time, Your Highness.” Zhou Dongchao apologized before continuing, “My master has a message for you and everyone else in this room.”

Zhou Dongchao was referring to Emperor Jin Run, of course. Everyone dropped to their knees and touched their foreheads against the floor, saying, “We humbly receive the eternal emperor’s message!”

“The customs are quite tedious, aren’t they? Let’s skip it.”

Zhou Dongchao personally lifted the Harmony King to his feet before motioning for the others to rise as well. It was only then he said, “My master has four lines for you all. One, the dignity of the heavens is absolute, so Ye Qing must die. Two, this matter should be handled discreetly as it involves the Pacification Bureau, the Hengshan Army and the Harmony King. Three, His Majesty offers you his deepest condolences, Your Highness. And four, he entrusts the matter to the Intelligence Department and the Intelligence Department only. No one is to interfere with their work, or the consequences will be severe.”

“Have you understood, my lords?”

Tu Yulei, An Yifang and Lei Xiaodan were old foxes who had dabbled in the court for ages. It only took them a second to fully understand Zhou Dongchao’s message.

The first line was exactly what it sounded like. Ye Qing must die to preserve the Son of Heaven’s dignity.

The second line was saying that this matter had started with Ye Qing, and it would end with him. They were not to use this incident as an excuse to start some other trouble.

It made sense. Ye Qing was a member of the Pacification Bureau, but he had killed an imperial prince, massacred hundreds of Hengshan soldiers including a battalion commander, and ultimately succeeded in escaping from Tian Yong.

This was embarrassing enough, but if Zhou Hengshan suspected that the Pacification Bureau was behind Ye Qing’s escape and decided to take it out on them—and obviously the Pacification Bureau wasn’t going to take it lying down—then this was going to devolve into a bigger shitshow than it already was. When that happened, the Pacification Bureau, the Hengshan Army and even the imperial court’s face would be dragged through the mud, and that was plain unacceptable.

That was why the emperor ordered the matter to be handled discreetly.

The third line sounded like nothing special, but it was really a warning. The emperor was warning the Harmony King not to take out his son’s death on the Pacification Bureau.

As for the final line, it was a warning to the Pacification Bureau and the Hengshan Army to stay out of the matter. The Pacification Bureau especially mustn’t help Ye Qing in secret, or else.

In conclusion, Ye Qing was the reason behind Chu Qingli, Duan Zipao and the Hengshan soldiers’ deaths, and so they would settle this with his death. Nothing else.

As for whether there were more hidden meanings behind the message—for example, the emperor was really doing this to cover up some sort of secret—it wasn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility. After all, this incident was serious, but was it really that serious that Zhou Dongchao himself had to play the messenger?

As if that wasn’t enough, the Son of Heaven had responded to this incident at first notice. The implications were unsettling to say the least.

But Zhou Dongchao didn’t tell them why, and so they didn’t ask.

There were some things in life that must never be questioned.

In fact, there were some things that one shouldn’t even think about.

In the end, one man bore it all alone.

1. I couldn’t find the official translation for this and so have to make one up myself. The job of the secretary Eunuch is one, composing the edicts, two, deciding which report or memorial may enter the emperor’s purview, and three, allowing or rejecting a proposal sometimes without needing the emperor’s input. ☜

2. common unofficial reference to a paramount executive official of the central government such as a Counselor-in-chief, a Grand Councilor or a senior Grand Secretary. ☜

3. Once again, shit that took me so long to translate even though there are official translations, but none of you would actually read. Argh! ☜

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