Chapter 046: The Initial Plan

As soon as he arrived at the gate of the Duke of England's mansion, cries echoed from within. Looking up, he saw white paper lanterns hanging at the entrance and white mourning banners erected inside. Witnessing this scene, Xue Rui understood at once: the mansion had already confirmed the news of Zhang Fu’s death, and preparations for the funeral had begun.

He hesitated about whether to enter, when someone walked out from inside. Xue Rui recognized him—it was Cao Si, the steward of the Duke of England’s mansion. It had been Steward Cao who saw him out when he left the day before.

Upon seeing Xue Rui, Cao Si hurried forward and greeted him, “Young Master Xue, the lady instructed that if you came, you are to be invited to the main hall for tea. I’ll escort you inside.”

“Thank you,” Xue Rui responded, straightening his clothes and following Cao Si into the mansion.

After waiting in the main hall for a short while, Mrs. Wu entered wearing mourning attire, holding her son Zhang Mao, who was also clad in white. Clearly, both had wept. Mrs. Wu’s eyes were swollen and red, her face full of sorrow, a truly pitiable sight.

“Greetings, madam and young master,” Xue Rui rose and bowed, then gently advised, “The departed are gone; please, madam and young master, accept my condolences.”

Mrs. Wu returned the gesture softly, wiping at the corners of her eyes. “Please, sir, have a seat. Mao’er, serve our guest some tea.”

“I dare not,” Xue Rui quickly protested. Zhang Mao, being the son of a duke and future heir to the title, should not be serving him tea; it was more honor than he could accept.

The day before, Zhang Mao had glared at Xue Rui in anger, but today he appeared much more compliant. Hearing his mother’s words, he picked up the teapot, poured a cup, and handed it to Xue Rui. “Sir, please have some tea.”

“This…” Seeing Mrs. Wu gesture for him to accept the cup, Xue Rui immediately understood her intention: she wished for Zhang Mao to win his favor, so that he might help them with advice and strategies.

It seemed that, now the news of Zhang Fu’s death had been confirmed, Mrs. Wu and her son had come to believe in his ability to foresee events, and were formally viewing him as a collaborator.

Of course, Xue Rui was a man who knew his place. As Mrs. Wu and her son honored him, he too needed to respond with humility. Accepting the tea, he said to Mrs. Wu,

“You are too kind, madam. Young master’s calling me ‘sir’ is really more than I deserve. If you wouldn’t mind, perhaps you could treat me as one of your own nephews, and call me Rui. Then I and young master can address each other as equals. How does that sound?”

Mrs. Wu had been troubled over how to draw closer to Xue Rui; hearing him bring it up himself, she was naturally delighted and nodded quickly.

“That would be wonderful. You and Mao’er shall be brothers from now on… Mao’er, aren’t you going to greet your elder brother?”

Zhang Mao was still young; caught off guard by the sudden addition of an elder brother in just a few words, he froze for a moment. Mrs. Wu reminded him, and he hurriedly bowed to Xue Rui. “Greetings, elder brother Xue.”

“Please rise, little brother,” Xue Rui quickly helped Zhang Mao up, feeling a sense of relief. His initial plan to forge ties with the Duke of England’s mansion had succeeded perfectly!

Once the three were seated, Mrs. Wu suddenly recalled something and spoke to Xue Rui. “By the way, I had someone look into your father’s situation, and there’s news at last.”

“How is he now?” Xue Rui’s nerves tightened. His father had been imprisoned for over a month, with no definite word, and he was deeply anxious.

“Your father is not in serious trouble, though he recently caught a chill and has grown rather weak. I’ve sent some medicinal soup for him; he should have taken it by now.”

“That’s good to hear.” Xue Rui relaxed. The imperial prison was cold and damp; catching a chill was only natural. He wasn’t too worried, for soon, when the time was right, he would be able to rescue his father from misery.

After discussing his father’s situation, Mrs. Wu lowered her voice, “Brother Rui, can we begin the first step of the plan you spoke of?”

“Certainly!” Xue Rui nodded. “From what I know, the eldest young master’s conduct is rather scandalous. Is that true?”

“It is indeed,” Mrs. Wu replied with a bitter smile and a sigh. “I needn’t speak of distant matters—just these past days, I’ve heard from the servants that he brought four or five courtesans into the mansion, indulging in pleasure day and night. Of three days, two are spent in drunken stupor; I doubt he’s even awake now. The reason I want Mao’er to fight for the title is so that he won’t squander the estate that his father built with such effort.”

“The title of Duke should be inherited by one of virtue. Rest assured, madam, I will give my utmost to help young master claim the inheritance!”

“What should we do next?” Mrs. Wu pressed eagerly.

Xue Rui thought for a moment. “To plan for the inheritance, we’ll need to make many preparations. If the eldest young master remains in the capital, our actions will be severely restricted. We must find a way to send him away.”

“That won’t be easy—his legs are his own. If he refuses to leave, we can hardly bind him and drag him out of the city, can we?”

“Madam, have you noticed how, these past few days, the prominent families in the capital are all hastily sending their wives and children out of the city?”

Mrs. Wu of course knew, and replied with a bitter smile, “I’ve heard as much. There’s talk outside that the court is considering moving the capital. Those who can leave are sending their families away; were it not for the inheritance, I’d want to send Mao’er away myself.”

“There’s no need for concern, madam—the capital will surely be defended. What I mean is, perhaps we can use this opportunity to persuade the eldest young master to leave the city for safety?”

Xue Rui hinted.

“Send him out to escape danger?” Mrs. Wu frowned, beginning to consider how to convince Zhang Zhong to leave the capital. Unfortunately, intrigue was not her strength; after much thought, she still couldn’t find a good solution.

“If there’s no way, I do have an idea—but it would require your resolve, madam,” Xue Rui finally said, unable to keep silent any longer.

Hearing he had a plan, Mrs. Wu quickly urged, “Tell me, what is your idea?”

“It’s like this…” Xue Rui outlined his proposal.

Although Zhang Zhong was debauched, he wasn’t without brains. Now that the Duke of England had died in battle, no one remained to restrain him. With the vast estate before him, he would certainly want to seize control. Currently, Mrs. Wu held power in the mansion, but Zhang Zhong’s status gave him the legal advantage, making it easy for him to sideline her.

Thus, it was necessary to send Zhang Zhong out of the capital to implement their plans. But how could they do this? It was indeed a difficult problem.

Fortunately, the precarious situation in the capital offered Xue Rui a chance. With the defeat of the three main garrisons, the capital’s defenses were hollow; the Oirat would surely seize the opportunity to march south and attack the city. In short, the Ming capital was in imminent danger.

Rumors abounded that the court intended to move south, causing panic among the people. Those able to flee were scrambling to escape to the provinces.