BXG - 113

◎Ten Evils◎

The court returned to its usual calm, and the chatter in the streets ceased. Zhou Tan resumed his duties as chancellor as if nothing had happened, continuing to push forward with his reforms.

A crisis that threatened the throne ended with the final explosion at Chang Mausoleum, buried in silence. Only those present would ever know what truly transpired that day.

Song Shixuan ordered the restoration of Emperor De’s mausoleum, including proper burials for his two sons whose remains were lost.

One son was nameless in history, while the other became an infamous madman. It was unclear which fate was more merciful.

When Bai Shating wrote back, Qu You couldn’t bear to tell him what had happened. Zhou Tan quietly took up his brush and informed him that Bai Ying had resigned from office and embarked on a journey with no set return date.

If Qu You hadn’t known the truth, she might have believed the story would end here.

A powerful minister had helped his sovereign remove all obstacles to the throne, confidently pursuing his political ideals. Years later, he would leave the court surrounded by students, retreating to the mountains and rivers with his beloved—a tale worthy of legend.

But history rarely records such happy endings.

Another winter passed in the blink of an eye.

This year’s snowfall was particularly heavy. When Qu You opened the window in the morning, snowflakes blew into her face. She hurriedly closed the bamboo-framed window and noticed a flowered note on the wooden desk.

Zhou Tan had not yet awakened.

Beside the note lay a pen, its tip dried with ink. It seemed he had written it last night when sleep eluded him and he stood by the window listening to the snowfall.

His health had been deteriorating recently. At night, his body felt like ice, and no amount of charcoal braziers in the room could warm him.

To avoid disturbing her rest, Zhou Tan suppressed his coughing fits during the night. But Qu You heard every single one. Once, she even noticed a trace of blood on her pillow.

A cruel shade of red.

Qu You wrapped herself tighter in her pale blue woolen cloak and read the poem he had written the night before: “At night, I carve bamboo bones into blades; my heart is made of gold and stone, unyielding to death.”

Her nose tingled, and tears nearly spilled. She clenched her teeth, biting back her sobs with the back of her hand.

Winter felt endlessly long.

Zhou Tan’s eyelashes fluttered faintly but, as she wished, did not open.

Su Chaoci instructed servants to place more charcoal braziers in the main hall.

Soon, Shen Luo and Qu Xiangwen arrived together. They exchanged few words, sitting by the fire to warm themselves.

Snowflakes fell outside, and the morning court session had been canceled. The surroundings were silent except for the crackling of silver charcoal in the braziers.

Shen Luo couldn’t help but sigh deeply. “Have you gone to persuade Zhou… persuaded your brother-in-law?”

Qu Xiangwen shook his head. “He refuses to see me. He won’t see anyone now, stubbornly pushing forward on his own. My sister… alas, my sister used to be different. Now, like my brother-in-law, she’s determined to live as a recluse. She hasn’t visited our home in ages.”

“Everyone in the court, even Elder Luo and Elder Cai, has been turned away. Is there no one whose advice he’ll heed?” Shen Luo jumped up from his chair, catching Su Chaoci’s glance, then reluctantly sat back down. “Yesterday, His Majesty met with me in the study. He intended for me and the Censorate to try once more to reason with him. These reforms are being implemented far too hastily… In the past six months, the aristocratic families of Bianjing have grown increasingly restless. If this continues…”

Su Chaoci listened silently.

Song Shixuan had always supported Zhou Tan’s decisions, especially after Bai Ying’s death. Zhou Tan and Song Shixuan were the two people he trusted most.

Zhou Tan had never revealed his plans from Linfeng Pavilion to Song Shixuan. From that moment on, the young emperor genuinely supported Zhou Tan’s reforms.

But he was no longer the child who lived solely under his teacher’s protection.

Now he was the emperor, bearing the weight of heaven and earth above and the expectations of ministers and commoners below. Old nobles, new scholars, factions within the court, and pressures from all sides rested on his young shoulders. No matter how much he trusted Zhou Tan, he couldn’t blindly support every decision.

Yet Zhou Tan persisted stubbornly—or rather, pretended to persist stubbornly. The young emperor couldn’t even voice his objections, burdened as he was. Under the pressure, he repeatedly summoned Su Chaoci, hoping he could communicate with Zhou Tan and ease the pressure on the conservative faction.

Still too young. If this continued, even the emperor himself didn’t know what consequences might follow.

Su Chaoci sighed heavily.

Zhou Tan, with his sharp mind, surely understood Song Shixuan’s dilemma.

And he had done this deliberately.

Su Chaoci pressed his fingers against his temples, weary as he rose. From a yellow pearwood box behind him, he retrieved a thick folder and tossed it onto the table before the two men.

Shen Luo picked it up first, freezing after reading just one line.

—Petition accusing the Chancellor of Ten Evils, respectfully submitted.

Disloyalty, disrespect, unfilial piety, discord, injustice, internal strife, coupled with accusations of licentiousness, rebellion, bribery, flattery of the sovereign, and greed for power.

Qu Xiangwen’s face instantly paled, though for a different reason than Shen Luo’s. Shen Luo was shocked because of Su Chaoci’s document, while Qu Xiangwen recognized the handwriting!

He immediately looked up at Su Chaoci, but Su Chaoci lowered his eyes and shook his head slightly. Qu Xiangwen felt dizzy, clutching the chair as he sat back down, his mind still reeling.

Why would Zhou Tan write a petition fabricating crimes against himself?

The language of the document was venomous, painting a vivid picture of guilt. Such petitions were typically reserved for the most despised criminals, those condemned by all under heaven when they reached their lowest point.

Zhou Tan currently enjoyed imperial favor. Though the Censorate attacked him daily and many in the court hated him, everyone was adept at reading the winds. Who would dare write such an exaggerated indictment?

Qu Xiangwen sat there pondering, and after the time it took to burn an incense stick, he finally understood—and his face grew even paler. By then, Shen Luo had finished flipping through the document, his voice trembling with fear. “Chancellor… do you truly intend to submit this?”

Su Chaoci nodded simply.

Shen Luo paced back and forth in the hall twice, his handsome face flushed red when he returned. “Zhou Tan… though his actions are indeed reckless, and he pushes reforms without heeding advice, I never imagined you would write such a document! Do you know the consequences of submitting this?”

He grew increasingly agitated, nearly shouting. “Even if His Majesty rejects this petition, your leadership will embolden those who oppose you—the conservatives, the old guard, the noble families whose interests are affected—they’ll seize this opportunity to spread these accusations throughout the streets! You’re personally nailing him to the annals of history, ensuring his eternal infamy! Do you hate him so much? So irredeemably?”

Qu Xiangwen interjected, “Brother Shen…”

Shen Luo, brash and direct, cut him off harshly, addressing only Su Chaoci. “I misjudged you! Reforms may have flaws, but serving the people is always right! You’re using this to eliminate dissenters—you, you… Look up at this high hall and bright mirror! Won’t you feel any shame?”

Su Chaoci raised his eyes to Shen Luo, revealing a relaxed smile. “Sir Shen’s indignation is admirable, but alas… there’s no one else in the court like you. Once this document is submitted and spreads, the masses will thank me profusely, revering me endlessly. Historians’ brushes and public discourse will praise me as a loyal minister who removed a treacherous villain. Will anyone speak out for him as you do?”

Shen Luo stared at him, dumbfounded, as if seeing him for the first time.

The silver charcoal burned low, and the hall grew colder by degrees.

The snow fell harder.

Qu Xiangwen watched as Shen Luo laughed bitterly three times, pointing at Su Chaoci with an expression caught between laughter and tears. “It’s only today that I truly know you…”

He then removed his official hat and slammed it to the ground. “The world is corrupt, and I have no allies left! In the end, it’s the man I’ve criticized daily who deserves my lament… This bureaucracy, this court, this era… enough, enough! I’ll take my leave, Chancellor Su!”

With that, he turned and strode out. Qu Xiangwen scrambled to his feet, wanting to explain, but Su Chaoci stopped him. “Don’t chase him. Let him go into exile for a while—it’ll do him good. He’s not foolish; it’ll temper his character. In a few years, he’ll understand.”

Qu Xiangwen urgently asked, “Why are you…?”

Su Chaoci patted his shoulder, his voice hoarse. “Do you know? He doesn’t have much time left.”

His gaze shifted to the open door where Shen Luo had left, the north wind swirling snowflakes into the room. The young chancellor’s eyes shimmered with reflected snow. “This is his final wish. I will fulfill it for him.”

Qu You carried a bowl of medicine through the long flower corridor. Just as she was about to push open the door, she heard a fit of coughing from inside.

In recent days, Zhou Tan hadn’t attended court, closing his doors to visitors. She sat on the snowy steps beneath the falling snow, recalling the night she knelt in the passageway—it had been the deepest snowfall in the palace.

After that night, months of continuous snow finally stopped, and spring came late.

It seemed… not far away now.

She stood at the door, unwilling to dwell further. Just as she was about to enter, she heard another voice inside—it was Zhou Yang: “…I overheard Brother and Lord Gu’s conversation that year.”

Qu You froze where she stood, snow pressing down on the pine trees before the house, gently falling onto her shoulders.

Zhou Tan poured him a cup of tea. “Teacher must have gone to great lengths to bring you into the诏狱.”

Zhou Yang replied, “Yes, I knelt daily before Lord Gu, bleeding on the steps until he relented and risked bringing me to see you. The诏狱 was perilous, and I was so worried about you being alone.”

Zhou Tan chuckled softly.

“Brother’s actions since leaving prison—I understand them well. Knowing this, I could only pretend to be reckless, hoping to make something of myself to assist you… But when I was in the army, at the start of the month, I couldn’t bring myself to care about Brother.” Zhou Yang seemed to cry; Qu You detected a tremor in his voice. “I only returned in time for your wedding, learning of your grave illness—I was terrified… Did Brother know? The next day, I provoked him intentionally. If Sister-in-law had spoken ill of you, I planned to kill her.”

Qu You stifled a laugh.

Zhou Tan seemed to guess she was outside, glancing toward the door with a smile. Zhou Yang, oblivious, continued with his head bowed. “But Sister-in-law said that day that she had long harbored deep feelings for you, unable to control herself. I didn’t believe her at first, but after investigating, I learned she had sought doctors to care for you diligently. Only then did I relax. Alas, if anything had happened to Brother, how could I forgive myself…”

This time, Qu You couldn’t hold back, inhaling a breath of cold air and coughing outside the door. Zhou Yang panicked, quickly wiping away his tears, embarrassed. “Brother must have heard Sister-in-law arrive and conspired with her to mock me…”

Zhou Tan wrapped himself tighter in his blanket, smiling gently. “Hmm, deeply rooted affection. She deceived you, and yet you still trust her…”

Qu You pushed the door open decisively. “It wasn’t entirely false.”

She placed the medicine bowl down, picked roasted tangerines from the brazier, and tossed them casually to Zhou Yang. “You show some conscience, unlike Ren Yuechu!”

Zhou Yang caught them, smug. “Of course.”

Then, lowering his voice, he added, “Yuechu wouldn’t have acted this way if he knew. He was heartbroken… Still, Yuechu isn’t as steadfast as I am. Even if I knew nothing, I’d always believe in Brother. Later, disguising myself in black robes through Boss Ai’s connections—one reason was to avoid suspicion, the other was out of shame to face Brother…”

Zhou Tan shook his head helplessly, about to speak when hurried footsteps approached outside.

Zhou Shengde brought in a copper stove, adding charcoal to the room. Then he whispered, “Someone from the Su family sent a message earlier, saying the Master must attend court early tomorrow. Everything is prepared.”

Zhou Yang didn’t understand the implication, but Qu You grasped the hidden meaning, her face turning deathly pale.

Zhou Tan gripped her hand firmly, drawing strength from her as well. “I understand. You may go now.”