Chapter 30: The Truth of the Demonic Tome

The gatehouse servant respectfully escorted Su Ze to the front of Zhang Daocheng’s study. Su Ze entered, and upon seeing Zhang Daocheng, bowed and saluted.

“Uncle Zhang, I am most grateful that you entered the palace and saved me the other day.”

Seeing him behave with such formality, Zhang Daocheng instead felt displeased. He gave a cold snort.

“Young Master Su, there is no need to be so courteous. Now that you have made a name for yourself in the literary world of Bianjing, do you look down on a merchant family like ours?”

Su Ze quickly realized his mistake and changed his form of address.

“Uncle Zhang, I have no such intention.”

At once, Zhang Daocheng’s expression brightened. He rose, took Su Ze by the arm, and led him to a seat.

“You foolish child. Your uncle has watched you grow up—how could I stand by and watch you die? Besides, Lady Zhang later sent word from the palace that His Majesty admired your talents. It was not my doing, and I would not dare claim the credit.”

A warmth rose in Su Ze’s heart. The Zhang family had indeed treated him well. After his parents died, they had remembered their old friendship and even helped Su Ze secure several positions.

It was only that his former self had been arrogant and impractical, looking down on such work while living a dissipated life. That was what had driven him away from the Zhang family.

Zhang Daocheng was an honest merchant who obeyed the law. Even after securing Lady Zhang’s favor, he had never thrown his weight around or abused his influence. He continued to conduct respectable business. Though a merchant, his family maintained strict principles, and he enjoyed a good reputation throughout Bianjing.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Su Ze finally told Zhang Daocheng the news Wang Anshi had brought that morning.

Zhang Daocheng’s expression darkened as he listened.

One had to pass the preliminary examination before being allowed to sit for the Ministry of Rites examination. Having spent years navigating the marketplace, Zhang Daocheng quickly understood that someone was making a move against Su Ze.

Yet he was, after all, a merchant and knew little about struggles within the court. Frowning, he said, “This concerns the outer court, so it would not be convenient to petition Her Majesty in the palace. I have another relative, Lord Zhang, who currently oversees the Court of the Palace Drum. Shall I introduce you to him? The Court of the Palace Drum is also part of the Censorate. Perhaps we could ask him to intercede and have them stop investigating?”

Su Ze shook his head.

“Uncle Zhang, now that rumors have begun to circulate, the censors will not simply stop. I did not come to ask you to plead for me. I merely wish to ask you about something.”

“What is it?”

Su Ze spoke solemnly.

“After the case of the demon book, did anything change within the palace?”

Zhang Daocheng froze, then stared at Su Ze in astonishment.

“How did you come to that conclusion?”

Su Ze said, “I have been thinking about this for days. What was the case of the demon book really intended to accomplish? It was an old matter from the reign of Emperor Zhenzong. Empress Dowager Liu has been dead for many years, and the Liu clan’s influence as an imperial in-law family has long since withered. So whom was it truly aimed at?”

“After considering it from every angle, I believe the case of the demon book must be connected to affairs within the imperial harem. But I have no way of learning the palace’s secret history, so I can only turn to you, Uncle Zhang.”

“Only by knowing whose interests have been obstructed can I determine who wants me dead—and find a way to break out of this predicament.”

Zhang Daocheng looked at Su Ze. Only after a long while did he speak.

“The younger generation is truly formidable.”

He walked to the door and closed the study before continuing.

“This concerns the secret history of the palace. It is of the utmost importance. Under no circumstances must you repeat it to anyone else.”

Someone was trying to retaliate against him. Su Ze had to know who was pulling the strings.

He nodded hurriedly. This was precisely why he had come to seek out Zhang Daocheng.

Zhang Daocheng said, “Do you know that His Majesty still has no son?”

Su Ze nodded.

“Empress Cao had originally persuaded His Majesty to adopt the Thirteenth Military Commissioner as his son. But after the case of the demon book, His Majesty withdrew the decree. Though he met the Thirteenth Military Commissioner once, he still sent him back to the Prince of Pu’s residence.”

Su Ze was struck dumb with shock. At last, he understood what lay behind the case of the demon book.

The Thirteenth Military Commissioner was Zhao Shu, the thirteenth son of Prince Pu Anyi, Zhao Yunrang. He was now serving as the Military Commissioner of Yuezhou. On the historical timeline Su Ze remembered from before his transmigration, it was this very Thirteenth Military Commissioner who would inherit the throne after Emperor Renzong’s death.

When Zhao Shu was young, he had once been raised in Empress Cao’s palace. Later, when Emperor Renzong fathered a son of his own, Zhao Shu was sent back to the Prince of Pu’s residence. Now that all of Emperor Renzong’s sons had died in infancy, the empress had requested that Zhao Shu be adopted and establish the succession. It was entirely reasonable.

Su Ze did not remember the precise details, but in the history he had known before crossing over, it was Empress Cao’s support for Zhao Shu’s adoption that established his claim to the throne. In the end, Emperor Renzong never managed to father another child, and Zhao Shu became the later Emperor Yingzong of Song.

The matter had originally been on the verge of completion. But because of the case of the demon book, together with Su Ze’s memorial, Emperor Renzong had changed his mind.

Zhang Daocheng lowered his voice. “The case of the demon book, combined with the words in your memorial—‘The imperial succession derives from the former emperor’—gave His Majesty a new idea.”

He let out a long sigh.

“Even ordinary families understand that an adopted son can never compare with a true son. His Majesty was Emperor Zhenzong’s own son, yet after ascending the throne, he still found himself embroiled in the case of the demon book. If he were to adopt a son and leave him the throne, what sort of turmoil might arise a hundred years from now?”

Su Ze understood completely. Emperor Renzong’s misgivings were, in truth, justified. On the historical timeline he remembered, Zhao Shu had barely taken the throne before the controversy known as the Pu Debate erupted—a dispute over whether Emperor Renzong should be recognized as his true father.

Moreover, the Pu Debate differed from the Great Rites Controversy later stirred up by the Jiajing Emperor. Jiajing’s accession had been entirely in accordance with ritual law; he had been the rightful heir by order of succession.

Zhao Shu, however, had gained his right to inherit the throne through adoption. The legitimacy of his claim therefore rested on recognizing Emperor Renzong as his father. Yet once he came to power, he tried to change that designation, naturally causing violent upheaval throughout the government.

Now Su Ze understood. He had obstructed someone else’s path.

He asked again, “Uncle Zhang, when you met Lady Zhang that day, did she agree to ask His Majesty to pardon me?”

Zhang Daocheng nodded.

Su Ze drew a deep breath. He had reached a basic conclusion: the mastermind behind the case of the demon book was very likely Lady Zhang.

If the Zhao Shu adopted by the empress were made crown prince, then the person who would suffer the greatest blow would naturally be Lady Zhang, who was competing with Empress Cao for the emperor’s favor.

She had manufactured the demon book and used it to remind Emperor Renzong of the circumstances surrounding his own accession.

In the past, Empress Dowager Liu had adopted Renzong and then governed in the name of the empress dowager. Once Renzong’s true parentage was revealed, he had harbored deep resentment toward her.

Yet Empress Dowager Liu had genuinely possessed considerable political ability. Renzong had been unwilling to overturn her entire political legacy, and so, holding his nose, he acknowledged her position and granted her posthumous honors.

At the same time, he elevated his birth mother, Consort Li, to the rank of empress dowager and bestowed favor upon the Li clan as an imperial in-law family.

Putting himself in another’s place, how would an adopted son treat the woman who had adopted him once he inherited the throne?

An adopted son could never compare with a true son. Thus Emperor Renzong rejected Empress Cao’s request and hoped that, with further effort, he might father another son himself.

The case of the demon book was merely a means. Lady Zhang had simply borrowed it to destroy Empress Cao’s plan to adopt Zhao Shu.

Lady Zhang had readily agreed to ask the emperor to pardon him because she intended to place the blame upon him, then swiftly bring the case of the demon book to a close.

What an extraordinary stratagem.

Su Ze straightened solemnly. As expected, no woman who climbed to a high position within the imperial harem was simple.

But when he heard that Lady Zhang intended to ask the emperor to pardon him, Su Ze concluded that although he had ruined her plans, he had ultimately caused the emperor to reject Empress Cao’s proposal to adopt Zhao Shu. In a roundabout way, he had helped Lady Zhang.

Then the people seeking revenge against him could not belong to her faction.

If that was so, could it be Empress Cao?