Chapter 83: Wailing in Tears

As soon as he heard that Guo Jing had returned, Wang Zhen was startled and hurriedly asked where he was. Wang Shan replied that he hadn’t dared to bring Guo Jing directly, but had instead settled him temporarily in Chen Guan’s camp. Other than Chen Guan, no one else had been informed.

Such an arrangement was only prudent; at this moment, Guo Jing was a delicate matter, and the fewer people who knew of his return, the better. Without delay, Wang Zhen took Wang Shan and hurried toward Chen Guan’s camp.

Chen Guan was the Chief Supervisor of the Imperial Stables, commanding the Four Gallant Guards—an official who truly wielded military power in the Inner Court. These Four Gallant Guards were the emperor’s direct, elite troops, and for ease of control, every successive Chief Supervisor resided within the military camp, rarely daring to leave except for the most urgent reasons.

When Wang Zhen saw Guo Jing, he barely recognized him. The man before him was dark-skinned and filthy, his clothes tattered, his whole body emanating an unbearable stench. His hair and beard were matted and black, and he had an injured arm wrapped haphazardly in a grimy strip of cloth, which was still stained with blood.

Even though Wang Shan had given a brief account of Guo Jing’s condition on the way, seeing him in person still left Wang Zhen shocked at his wretched state—he hadn’t expected Guo Jing to have suffered so much.

When Wang Zhen entered, Guo Jing was sitting in anxious suspense. Chen Guan had been making conversation about the army, but Guo Jing’s mind was elsewhere—his heart thudded wildly as he fretted about how to speak to Wang Zhen, what to say to His Majesty, and how to persuade Wang Zhen to convince the emperor to withdraw the troops through Zijing Pass, thus fulfilling the promise he had made to that young man, Lu Qing. Distracted, his words were jumbled and incoherent, his answers often not matching the questions.

Chen Guan, perceiving Guo Jing’s distraction, didn’t take offense at his odd behavior. He kept glancing outside the tent until Wang Zhen finally arrived, visibly relaxing when he saw him.

The moment Guo Jing glimpsed a familiar figure, tears streamed down his face. He sprang up from the stool as quickly as he could, stumbled over, and dropped to his knees before Wang Zhen, bursting into loud sobs. “Lord Wang, I thought I’d never see you again in this life. Heaven has shown mercy—at last, I am able to see you once more! Heaven has not abandoned me, Guo Jing! Lord Wang, to see you again, I have suffered greatly—several times I nearly lost my life. To call it a narrow escape would not be an exaggeration…”

In truth, Guo Jing was a few years older than Wang Zhen, but at that moment, neither Wang Zhen nor Chen Guan nor Wang Shan found anything odd in his address. They were well accustomed to honoring those of higher rank.

Guo Jing’s natural, sharp eunuch’s voice, paired with his utterly miserable appearance, moved all who heard him. His weeping left Wang Zhen momentarily stunned, and then deeply softened; the words of reproach he’d intended to speak died on his lips. He couldn’t bring himself to scold this trusted subordinate who had endured such hardship.

No matter what crime Guo Jing had committed, he was a man from the Inner Court—moreover, he was Wang Zhen’s own protégé. Now, seeing this trusted aide in such a pitiable state, having suffered so bitterly, Wang Zhen found any dissatisfaction within him melt away; he simply could not muster any anger.

Suppressing his aversion to Guo Jing’s stench, Wang Zhen helped him up, repeating, “It’s enough that you’ve returned. It’s enough that you’ve come back…”

“Lord Wang, I have wronged you, and wronged His Majesty. The battle at Yanghe Pass was a disaster—too dreadful, truly too dreadful! My crime deserves a thousand deaths… I am unworthy of the fallen soldiers, unworthy of His Majesty’s and your high expectations, unworthy of the Ming Dynasty… Lord Wang, you must let His Majesty take my head, flay my skin—I deserve it, and no amount of deaths can atone for my guilt, Lord Wang…!” Guo Jing, in tears, refused to rise, only sobbing and pleading for punishment.

His constant pleas for forgiveness made Wang Zhen frown. In his view, Guo Jing had indeed erred, but not merely because of the defeat at Yanghe Pass. The real issue was that Guo Jing should not have escaped alive!

If escaping alive were all, so be it. But he had disappeared for so many days, leading His Majesty to believe he had already been captured by the Oirat, so much so that Wang Zhen himself had nearly issued secret orders to the Embroidered Guard to have him eliminated. Ever since the founding of the dynasty by the Taizu Emperor, not once had an Inner Court official in charge of a garrison been captured by the enemy. If Guo Jing had set such a precedent, it would have been a huge disgrace to the imperial family!

Above all, as an Inner Court official, Guo Jing represented the emperor’s honor. If he had been captured and then defected to Esen, not only would the emperor’s face be lost, but Wang Zhen’s as well—after all, it was Wang Zhen who had recommended him as the Chief Eunuch of Datong.

Fortunately, the worst had not happened. Guo Jing had escaped, and had not fallen into Oirat hands. Yet his disappearance had lasted too long—over ten days without a trace—inevitably raising suspicions about where he had been and what had happened.

If, as some civil officials claimed, Guo Jing had deserted out of fear, then the matter would be truly difficult. Whatever the reason, he had abandoned his post without permission, and that was a fact. If Guo Jing could not explain clearly where he had been and what had occurred during those ten days, Wang Zhen would not be able to protect him; the most he could do would be to secure him a whole corpse and ensure his family would not be implicated.

With these thoughts, Wang Zhen looked at the still-kneeling, wailing Guo Jing, and put on a stern face. “Get up first. I came to see you to find out what actually happened, not to listen to your wailing.”

“Yes, Lord Wang, I… I’ll get up.” Guo Jing dared not cry any longer; the performance had gone far enough. If he cried any more, it would be excessive. He stifled his sobbing, sniffling quietly as he slowly climbed to his feet. When he accidentally moved his wounded arm, pain brought fresh tears to his eyes—this time, the pain was real, not feigned.

Now that Wang Zhen had arrived, Chen Guan, as the host, naturally ceded the seat of honor, inviting Wang Zhen to sit while he took a lower seat. Wang Zhen signaled for Guo Jing to sit as well, and only then noticed two other men in the tent—a Banner Commander and a Junior Banner Officer. Since Wang Zhen had entered, these two hadn’t dared make a sound, their heads bowed low, clearly terrified of Wang Zhen.

Wang Zhen had no interest in questioning who they were, but what he was about to ask Guo Jing was of grave importance, and these two should not be present. With a questioning look at Guo Jing, Guo Jing immediately understood and turned to Song Bangde and Zhou Yunyi. “You two may leave for now.”

“Yes, Your Grace!” Since Wang Zhen had come in, Song Bangde and Zhou Yunyi had felt an oppressive aura bearing down on them, making it hard to breathe. They were only too eager to leave the tent, and without daring to raise their heads, they respectfully withdrew.

Once the two had left, Wang Zhen finally spoke: “Who are they?”

Guo Jing replied, “They serve under Yang Hong of Xuanfu.”

“Yang Hong’s men?” Wang Zhen was taken aback. “How did you end up with Yang Hong’s men?”

“It’s a long story…” Guo Jing hesitated, uncertain whether to recount all that had happened, fearing Wang Zhen would lack the patience to listen to his ramblings. He intended to focus only on the main points, omitting minor figures like Song Bangde and Zhou Yunyi.

But Wang Zhen waved away his concerns. “Tell me everything that has happened over these days, one event at a time—miss nothing. If you dare hide anything from me, I won’t be able to protect you.”

With such direct orders, Guo Jing dared not disobey and began to recount everything that had occurred.

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Author’s note: The Imperial Stables had two chief eunuchs—the Seal Keeper and the Chief Supervisor. However, the Chief Supervisor outranked the Seal Keeper because he commanded the troops directly. (To be continued…)