Chapter 29: Poisoning

The palace attendants and gifts sent by Empress Ma were gradually moved into the backyard. After examining Minmin, the imperial physician prescribed several doses of anti-miscarriage medicine and, retrieving various precious herbs from his small kit, instructed the palace maids on how to decoct them.

Zhu Shuang, silent, gave Ma Sanbao a look. The two walked to the rockery by the backyard pond.

The previously smiling face turned cold in an instant. Gritting his teeth, Zhu Shuang asked, "What did Doctor Du say after looking at the prescription and the dregs?"

Ma Sanbao replied respectfully, "My lord, Doctor Du says the proportions of two of the ingredients are incorrect. A fraction too much or too little could cause the mistress to miscarry."

"Have Imperial Physician Xu drowned in front of Imperial Physician Liu. Make sure he keeps his mouth shut. From now on, you will personally oversee all medicine and food in the manor."

"As you command, my lord."

"Sanbao, the New Year is approaching. See that the filth in this city is cleaned up."

"I shall handle it personally."

Watching Ma Sanbao depart, Zhu Shuang looked at the Prince’s Golden Patent in his hand, a chilling glint flashing in his eyes.

Imperial Physicians Xu Wenshou and Liu Wentai had just returned to their duty room and were about to close the door when a group of black-clad eunuchs kicked it open and stormed in.

"You castrated curs! How dare you trespass into an official's duty room?" Xu Wenshou, hair and beard bristling, rebuked them furiously.

The black-clad eunuchs, wearing partial armor and wielding crossbows, aimed at them. Ma Sanbao, their leader, wore a mocking smile. "I am Ma Sanbao, Chief Steward of the Prince’s Manor. Officer Xu, you have quite the nerve to be drinking while on duty, don't you?"

"That is a lie! I never drink."

Liu Wentai hurriedly tried to play the peacemaker. "Gentlemen, is there a misunderstanding? I have been with Officer Xu attending to the Princess the entire time. I can testify that he has not touched a drop of alcohol these past few days."

"A misunderstanding? Men, help Officer Xu have a drink."

Two burly eunuchs pinned Xu Wenshou to the table and pried his mouth open, while another poured a pot of wine down his throat. Once the pot was empty, Xu Wenshou’s face turned flushed and he stood unsteadily, drunk.

"A private room at West Lake, please, Imperial Physician Xu."

By the edge of West Lake in Kaifeng, Liu Wentai, pale with terror, watched helplessly as the unconscious, drunken Xu Wenshou was tossed into the lake.

"He was here under the Empress’s orders to treat the Princess!" Liu Wentai’s teeth chattered. "You actually killed him!"

Ma Sanbao, unfazed, pulled a letter from his robe and read, "On the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month in the fourth year of Hongwu, Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices Lü Ben hosted a banquet for his colleagues. The Imperial Hospital was not on the list, yet you two entered the western wing in the corner of the Lü residence. The following day, the steward of the Xu household took a fake landscape painting by Wang Ximeng to the Treasure Studio in Yingtian Prefecture and exchanged it for five hundred taels of gold, two hundred of which were brought to the Liu residence by a page boy. Officer Liu, am I correct?"

Ma Sanbao handed the letter to Liu Wentai, who broke into a cold sweat as he read the transcript.

"Who... who are you people?" he stammered. "Even the Imperial Guard doesn't know this! How could you be so well-informed?"

"Officer Liu, we are the Night-Wandering Gods. What the Imperial Guard manages, we manage; what they cannot, we manage as well. Serving the Heavenly Emperor by patrolling the night and silencing crying children—that is the work of the Night-Wandering Gods."

"You are not the Emperor's men; you are the Prince of Qin’s men! We are under imperial decree; the Prince of Qin cannot possibly kill us."

"Your entire household of twenty-seven, including the mistress you keep in Wuyi Lane and your illegitimate child—it all depends on your sincerity, Officer Liu. The Prince says there is only one chance."

Liu Wentai kowtowed frantically. "I shall report to the Empress that Officer Xu was drunk and died from an accidental fall."

"Officer Liu is truly a sensible man. You know what to do from now on, yes?"

Seeing nearly a hundred crossbows aimed at him, Liu Wentai was terrified out of his wits. "From now on, the Prince is my master."

"Officer Liu, sign and press your thumbprint."

Seeing the petition explicitly stating 'Acting under Heaven to quell chaos,' Liu Wentai gritted his teeth and pressed his bloody thumbprint upon it.

That night, the secret base of the Imperial Guard in Kaifeng was raided by remnants of the Yuan Dynasty. Nearly a hundred spies in the city met with 'accidents,' 'fires,' and 'drownings.'

Inside the command tent of the Pacification Army, Zhu Shuang sat on the commander’s throne, his face like frost. A black panther crouched before him, snarling at a centurion of the Imperial Guard who had been beaten into a pulp.

The panther’s green eyes glowed with excitement. Zhu Shuang, gnawing on a lamb leg, said coldly, "Not talking? Your bones are quite hard. Sanbao, increase the intensity."

The bloodied centurion pleaded, "Spare my life, Your Highness! Spare me! I, Ji Gang, will answer whatever you ask truthfully."

Zhu Shuang looked puzzled. "Sanbao, didn't I ask him?"

"My lord, you have been eating since you entered the tent," Ma Sanbao replied.

"Oh, my mistake. Then drag this centurion out. If he isn't beaten to death, beat him until he is. If he dies, feed him to the dogs."

The black panther stood up and flicked its scarlet tongue against Ji Gang’s chin. Ji Gang saw the sharp fangs inches from his face and smelled the stench of carrion from the giant wolf's maw.

Terrified, he whimpered, "Your Highness, spare me! In my next life, I will serve you like an ox or a horse to repay your great kindness."

"Ji Gang, you are a clever man. If you wait until your next life to repay me, I might as well send you to be reincarnated early."

"I, Ji Gang, will follow your lead in all things, even if it means climbing a mountain of blades or plunging into a pot of boiling oil!"

"I have a good eye for talent. You, Ji Gang, are destined to be a Commander. Tell me, whose orders were you following to spy on me?"

"I was acting under the Emperor’s orders."

"Men, drag him out and feed him to the dogs."

"I... I was acting under the secret orders of the Chancellor to monitor Your Highness."

"Zhang Yu, cut off his toes and thumbs."

As Zhang Yu waved his hand, four soldiers pinned Ji Gang down. Seeing the gleaming saber descending, a stubborn resolve rose in Ji Gang’s heart: *I, Ji Gang, must never become a cripple. I must rise to the top.*

"My lord! My lord! It was the Crown Prince! He ordered me to monitor every move of yours and report every detail, no matter how trivial, to Minister Lü of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices!"

Zhu Shuang smiled as he watched Ji Gang regain his composure. *No wonder he was the man who dared to grab the stirrups of the Fourth Prince during his uprising in history.* To rise from a nobody to the Commander of the Imperial Guard—he was truly a talent. In his ability to read faces and fathom the intentions of his superiors, he was even better than Liu Bowen. Neither Mao Xiang nor Jiang Huan, his predecessors, could compare to him.

"A clever man. Do you know what it means if your words today reach the ears of the Crown Prince and the Emperor?"

"I understand. If they find out, the only thing awaiting me is the execution of my entire clan."

"I like clever men. You know what should be said and what should not from now on, don't you?"

"I am willing to be a claw and fang under your command, my lord. Whatever you want the Forbidden City to know—or not know—it shall be exactly as you desire."

"Very well, you may go."

Ji Gang handed over the list of all eyes and ears within Kaifeng to Ma Sanbao and limped away.

"Sanbao, keep a close watch on this man. He has great ambition and is prone to opportunism. If there is any sign of betrayal..."

Zhu Shuang made a throat-slitting gesture.

"Rest assured, my lord," Ma Sanbao said. "I will ensure he never gets the chance."

"Bring the next one in."

Tie Xuan, having just finished his official duties, was pinned by several black-clad eunuchs and dragged into the tent.

Seeing Zhu Shuang, he bowed. "I do not know why Your Highness has summoned me in the dead of night?"

Zhu Shuang smiled. "Should I call you Scholar Tie, or Official Tie, the Crown Prince’s attendant?"

Tie Xuan remained calm. "As a low-ranking official of the sixth grade, I am unworthy of such a title before Your Highness."

"Ding-shi was the courtesy name given to you by my father, wasn't it? He likely hoped you would become a cornerstone of the Great Ming."

"The Emperor has been generous to me. With my humble abilities, I have only a heart full of patriotic fervor to repay him."

"And you brought your patriotism to my manor? From the moment I first saw you, blocking my horse, you tried to pose as a scholar, yet the composure in your bones betrayed you."

Zhu Shuang picked up a wine cup, poured a drink, and handed it to him.

Tie Xuan downed it in one gulp. Zhu Shuang laughed. "Aren't you afraid I’ve poisoned the wine?"

"If Your Highness wished to kill me, why go to such trouble? Two executioners would suffice."