Chapter Seventeen: Impeachment

Inside the Ganlu Palace, Li Shimin stared blankly at two distinct stacks of memorials on his desk. On his left lay the "Proposal for the Hexi Trade Market," already marked with his vermilion imperial seal. The mountain of memorials on his right, however, was filled entirely with impeachments against the Crown Prince.

"Hmph!" Li Shimin let out a cold snort through his teeth. "In the imperial court, they act like quails, too timid to even challenge him, yet in the blink of an eye, they incite so many lackeys to file these impeachments!" Li Shimin’s expression was one of utter disdain. He knew perfectly well that the vast majority of these officials were secretly aligned with the Wei Wang, Li Tai. Naturally, this only deepened his resentment toward the Prince of Wei.

The Prince of Wei was indeed not wrongly accused; he had indeed sent secret messages to his cronies after the morning court session, ordering them to submit these memorials. What angered Li Shimin even more was that these sycophants, having seen the "young dragon" of his own house—the Crown Prince—show his mettle in court, hadn't dared to let out a peep, instead groveling and heaping praise upon the Crown Prince’s wisdom. Yet, within half a day, they were flooding the palace with impeachment requests like snowflakes. Acting one way to his face and another behind his back—it was the behavior of petty men! Were they trying to disgust him on purpose?

He had indeed used his imperial statecraft to foster the Prince of Wei as a whetstone for the Crown Prince, just as Zhao Mu had once suggested. Previously, the Crown Prince had been dull and dissolute, looking entirely incapable of the mantle. Li Shimin had even learned of those filthy love letters the Prince had written to the lowly palace servant, Chengxin, and for a fleeting moment, he had truly considered changing the succession.

But now... the Crown Prince’s sudden improvement had truly caught Li Shimin’s eye. Though he knew these strategies originated from Zhao Mu, the Prince’s performance in court today had been astonishing. Consequently, the Prince of Wei, who had prided himself on his literary reputation, now seemed rather unsightly by comparison. These impeachments were, quite simply, the actions of idiots.

Li Shimin grew angrier the more he thought about it, tempted to have them all flogged. Instead, he decided to simply set the memorials aside without action. At that moment, a palace eunuch approached the imperial desk with light steps. "Your Majesty, the Duke of Zhao requests an audience."

"Send him in!" Li Shimin ordered without hesitation. Before long, Zhangsun Wuji arrived in the Ganlu Palace. After the formalities and being granted a seat, Zhangsun Wuji began, "Your Majesty, the investigation you ordered last night into Zhao Mu has yielded some results."

"Oh?" A sharp light flashed in Li Shimin’s eyes. He had been curious about Zhao Mu to the extreme. Hearing there was progress, his earlier rage transformed into the sharpness of a hunting hawk. "So fast? What is his background? Did you find anything?"

"Your Majesty, his origins are somewhat complicated," Zhangsun Wuji said steadily, "and his experiences are even more staggering."

"Hmm?" Li Shimin paused, annoyed that the old man was still being coy. "Fujie, stop playing games and tell me!"

"Your Majesty, I sent men to Pingkang Ward and the 'Heavenly Paradise' to inquire. It turns out Zhao Mu is a native of Chang'an, but he traveled extensively with his elders as a merchant since childhood. He wandered throughout the world, visiting the Western Regions in his teens, and even reached a country called Serica... they say it is a land of great abundance, a paradise on earth."

"But later, his caravan encountered bandits. Of nearly a thousand people, he was the sole survivor. Heartbroken by the tragedy, he wandered eastward. It was only half a year ago that he finally returned to his ancestral home of Chang'an..."

Zhangsun Wuji recounted Zhao Mu’s story with such flair that it sounded like a professional storyteller’s tale. Even Li Shimin, a man hardened by years of slaughter, felt a pang of pity. Suddenly, Li Shimin felt something was amiss. "Wait, Fujie. You said he was a refugee following a bandit attack, only returning to Chang'an half a year ago?"

"If so," Li Shimin asked, incredulous, "he should have been destitute upon his arrival. How did he manage to build an establishment as grand as 'Heavenly Paradise' in just half a year?"

Zhangsun Wuji smiled at Li Shimin’s astonishment. "I was just as skeptical, Your Majesty. I even suspected him of being a foreign spy and had my men investigate thoroughly."

"And?" Li Shimin pressed.

"I discovered that he was indeed penniless upon arrival, wearing rags worse than the beggars on the street. He started by working at a shop in Pingkang Ward. But once he earned a little money, instead of buying food or clothes, he spent every copper on the cheapest brown sugar!"

"Buying brown sugar? To cure an illness?" Li Shimin’s expression became increasingly strange. "Such eccentric behavior is certainly curious."

It was strange indeed. Brown sugar was low in sweetness, somewhat astringent, and primarily used for medicine—the cheapest sugar available. And it certainly couldn't cure any disease. Li Shimin’s curiosity had reached its peak.

"Your Majesty, it gets even stranger!" Fortunately, Zhangsun Wuji did not hold back this time. "Three days after buying the brown sugar, the Xinghua Tower in Pingkang Ward bought half a jin of 'frost sugar' for fifty strings of cash, causing a sensation. It was rumored to be as sweet as cliff honey and as white as fresh snow. For a time, the brothels of Pingkang Ward could buy this premium sugar every few days. It wasn't until three months ago that the supply stopped. Then, Zhao Mu used a massive sum to purchase a property in the ward. That is the 'Heavenly Paradise'..."

After hearing Zhao Mu’s rise to fortune, Li Shimin’s eyes gleamed with intrigue. "Fujie, according to you, this Zhao Mu possesses a method to turn the most astringent brown sugar into premium frost sugar?"

"If my guess is correct, that is exactly the case," Zhangsun Wuji nodded. "Although he claimed to be getting shipments from outside, he never once left Chang'an. If I hadn't had my men check so carefully, I would have been kept in the dark as well."